Sunday
Morning Bible Study
March
4, 2012
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel
preached? Does it speak to the broken hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk
– Meat – Manna Preach for a decision
The apostle
John found himself caught up into heaven before the throne of God.
He saw Jesus
take a scroll from the hand of God that had been sealed with seven seals.
As Jesus broke each seal and unrolled the scroll a little further, events begin to take place
on the earth and the time that we call the Tribulation begins to unfold.
The Tribulation is a time when God’s wrath is poured out on an unbelieving
world and God begins to make right all the things that have been so wrong.
For the last couple of chapters we’ve been looking at various events that
are connected to the middle of the Tribulation period when the antichrist
reveals himself to be pure evil.
We’ve seen the
ministry of the Two Witnesses in Rev.
11.
Last week in Rev. 12 we looked at a section
that told a symbolic story of the great cosmic battle between the seven-headed
dragon Satan and the nation of Israel.
In the middle
of the Tribulation period there will be a war in heaven where Satan is kicked
out and thrown to the earth.
When Satan was unable to destroy the Jewish believers who had fled from
Jerusalem …
(Re 12:17 NKJV) And the dragon was enraged with
the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the
commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
One of the ways
this will happen is through the antichrist.
Before we enter a chapter that looks more closely at the antichrist, we
need to set the stage with some prophetic background from the book of Daniel.
Daniel 2 (turn to it)
King
Nebuchadnezzar had a really weird dream, and not only needed someone to
interpret it, but even to tell him what it was.
Daniel was the man …
Neb’s dream was
about a statue with four parts to it, and this statue was destroyed by a mysterious
rock. Daniel explained that these four parts of the
statue were four world empires, one after another. Daniel explains to
Nebuchadnezzar…
(Da
2:37–45 NKJV) —37 You, O
king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a
kingdom, power, strength, and glory; 38 and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field
and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has
made you ruler over them all— you are this head of gold.
Nebuchadnezzar
and his Babylonian empire was the statue’s head of gold. This would be the first empire, the one
current with the time of Daniel.
39 But after
you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third
kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth.
As silver is
inferior to gold, the Medo-Persian empire would be inferior to Nebuchadnezzar’s
empire. It was the second empire.
The bronze
kingdom was that of Greece, the third empire.
40 And the
fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces
and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will
break in pieces and crush all the others.
The fourth
empire is going to be a little more complex because it not only has legs, but feet and toes. It represents the Roman Empire.
41 Whereas
you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the
kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as
you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay.
This fourth
empire had a section different from the legs, it had feet and toes which were made
of a different substance.
As we’ll see, this will be the Antichrist’s empire, a form of the older
Roman Empire, yet made of slightly different stuff. This is one of those prophetic “skips”
through time where there is a huge gap of hundreds of years between the legs
and the feet, when an ancient empire shows up in another form.
Note that two
feet usually contain ten toes.
42 And as
the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so
the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile.
There will be some strengths and weaknesses in the kingdom. Some see this mixture of materials as a kind of weak confederacy
or union of nations. The idea is that
different things are mixed and held together.
43 As you saw
iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they
will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. 44 And in the
days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never
be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break
in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. 45 Inasmuch
as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that
it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the
great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The
dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.”
The stone cut without hands is Jesus Christ, who will come to set up His
kingdom, and will destroy the other kingdoms.
Important points:
There is a set
of four empires, with a fifth
empire being related to, yet different from the fourth.
Progression
along the body parts is equal to the progression through time.
The further down you go down the body, the later the time is.
Ten toes,
related to Rome.
Daniel 7
In this chapter, we’re going to see lots of parallels with Daniel 2, but this is going to be a
vision that Daniel himself receives, along with some interpretation.
(Da
7:1–28 NKJV) —1 In the
first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his
head while on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream, telling the main
facts. 2 Daniel
spoke, saying, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of
heaven were stirring up the Great Sea. 3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the
other.
Daniel’s vision is going to be about the same four world empires, but here
they’re going to be pictured as beasts instead of body parts.
These four
beasts all come out of the “Great Sea”, which is most likely a reference to the
Mediterranean Sea.
All four of these world empires touch the Mediterranean at some point.
4 The first was like a lion, and had
eagle’s wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up
from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man’s heart was
given to it.
LION: This
is again the Babylonian Empire. The
“man’s heart” is a picture of Nebuchadnezzar as he went through his conversion
in Daniel 4.
5 “And
suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on one side,
and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to
it: ‘Arise, devour much flesh!’
BEAR: This
was the Medo-Persian Empire, in which the Persian portion became more dominant
through time. The ribs are the three
major nations that were conquered to form its empire: Babylon, Lydia, and
Egypt.
6 “After
this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its back
four wings of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to
it.
LEOPARD:
This was the Greek Empire under the leadership of Alexander the
Great. The Grecian Empire was later
divided into four kingdoms with four kings after Alexander’s death.
7 “After
this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and
terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring,
breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was
different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.
BEAST FOUR: This was the Roman Empire. Note that just as the statue in Dan.2 had ten toes, this beast has
ten horns. It isn’t compared to any
known animal.
8 I was considering the horns, and there was
another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the
first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were
eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.
This “little
horn” is the person of the antichrist.
He’s got a mouth on him.
9 “I watched till thrones were put in place, And
the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, And the
hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery
flame, Its wheels a burning fire;
The Ancient of Days is God the Father.
10 A fiery
stream issued And came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered
to Him; Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated,
And the books were opened. 11 “I watched then because of the sound of the pompous words which the
horn was speaking; I watched till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed
and given to the burning flame. 12 As for the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away,
yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time. 13 “I was watching in the
night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the
clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near
before Him. 14
Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all
peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an
everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one
Which shall not be destroyed.
Jesus Christ taking dominion over the earth!
15 “I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit within my
body, and the visions of my head troubled me. 16 I came near to one of those who
stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me and made known to
me the interpretation of these things: 17 ‘Those
great beasts, which are four, are four kings which arise out of
the earth. 18 But the
saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom
forever, even forever and ever.’ 19 “Then I
wished to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all
the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its nails
of bronze, which devoured, broke in pieces, and trampled the residue
with its feet; 20 and the ten
horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up,
before which three fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth which
spoke pompous words, whose appearance was greater than his fellows. 21 “I was
watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing
against them, 22 until the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor
of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the
kingdom. 23 “Thus he
said: ‘The fourth beast shall be A fourth kingdom on earth, Which shall be
different from all other kingdoms, And shall devour the whole earth,
Trample it and break it in pieces. 24 The ten horns are ten kings Who shall arise from this
kingdom. And another shall rise after them; He shall be different from the
first ones, And shall subdue three kings.
The ten horns are ten kings that arise from the older, Roman Empire.
The “little” horn, the antichrist, will “subdue”, or apparently conquer
three of the ten kings.
25 He shall
speak pompous words against the Most High, Shall persecute the saints of
the Most High, And shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints
shall be given into his hand For a time and times and half a time.
The antichrist will speak blasphemous things against God. He will persecute the “saints” – believing Jews.
In changing
times and laws, it is thought this might refer to the taking away of the temple
sacrifices, the morning and evening offerings, etc.
He is given authority for time, times, half a time (or, 3 ˝ years)
26 ‘But the
court shall be seated, And they
shall take away his dominion, To consume and destroy it forever. 27 Then the
kingdom and dominion, And the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven,
Shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is
an everlasting kingdom, And all dominions shall serve and obey Him.’ 28 “This is
the end of the account. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly troubled me, and
my countenance changed; but I kept the matter in my heart.”
In the end, antichrist will be destroyed.
Important points:
The progression
of the four empires.
The empires come out of what region?
The Mediterranean
Sea.
The first three empires are represented by what animals? A lion, bear, and a leopard.
The fourth,
Roman Empire will have a latter form with ten kings
A smaller king
(antichrist) will come from this Roman empire.
Revelation 13:1-2
The Beast
:1 Then I stood on the sand of the sea.
:1 Then I stood on the sand of the sea
Some of your Bibles read “the dragon stood on the sand…” There is a single
letter discrepancy among some of the ancient Greek manuscripts. We’re not going to spend time worrying about
it…
Some of the translations have “Then
I stood on the sand of the sea”, and some of them say “Then he stood on the
sand of the sea”. Some even say, “Then the
dragon stood on the sand of the sea”.
Some have all this in verse 1 of chapter 13, others have it in a verse
18 of chapter 12.
What’s this all about? Why the confusion?
Our English New Testament is
translated from the original Greek. We
do not have John’s original handwritten copy of Revelation, but only copies of
copies of copies. We actually have
thousands of these ancient copies, but they are just copies. And from time to time there are going to be
small, minor differences between some of the thousands of ancient Greek
manuscripts that we have.
In this case, the difference is a
single letter at the end of a word. Some
manuscripts have the Greek word “estathen”,
meaning “I stood”, and some manuscripts have the Greek word “estathe”, meaning “he stood” – which in
context would be the dragon back in chapter 12.
Is the Bible reliable? Is this a problem?
The Bible is extremely reliable. There are places like this where a letter is
missing or a word is spelled differently, there are even a few places where
entire verses are not in some of the manuscripts, but there are no discrepancies
where any major doctrines are involved.
When you compare the manuscript
evidence of the New Testament against other ancient documents, the New
Testament is overwhelmingly accurate and solid.
:1 And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten
horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name.
:1 a beast
– therion – a wild animal, wild
beast; implies ferocity and brutality
We’ve already seen this “beast” back in Revelation 11 when he rises up and kills the Two
Witnesses:
(Re 11:7 NKJV) When they
finish their testimony, the beast
that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome
them, and kill them.
This “beast” is
the antichrist.
There is some confusion that comes with the usage of this term “beast”.
There are times
when this term seems to be speaking of an individual.
There are times
when this term seems to be speaking of the nation or empire of the antichrist.
In fact, this “beast” could be the
“anti-god” empires all rolled into one.
NOTE:
The word “antichrist” does not mean “the opposite of Christ”.
The
word “anti” in Greek means “in the
place of”.
The “antichrist” is an individual who will try to
take the place of Jesus Christ.
:1 out of the sea
A beast that comes out of the sea.
Some see this “sea” as a “sea of nations” a picture
that’s used later. We’re going to see a
parallel passage in Revelation 17:
(Re 17:15 NKJV) Then he said to me, “The waters
which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and
tongues.
I think that if we put this together
with the empires we’ve looked at in Daniel
2&7, we might have a clue that this “sea” might also be a geographical location
- the Mediterranean Sea.
It’s the idea that his empire arises around the Mediterranean just like the
ancient empires of history.
:1 heads … horns …
crowns
This beast
sounds very similar to the dragon of chapter twelve.
Both have seven
heads.
Both have ten
horns.
The dragon has
seven crowns on his seven heads, but the beast has ten crowns on his ten horns.
I
wonder if this “beast” isn’t a
clearer picture of what Daniel described as the “fourth beast”, and he didn’t
compare it with any kind of animal.
We’re going to see this same “beast”
later on in Revelation 17
where we connect this same beast to the kingdoms of Daniel 2&7, and Rome, but we’ll
wait until we get there to do that.
(Re 17:3 NKJV) So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And
I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of
blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
(Re 17:9–13 NKJV) —9 “Here is
the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the
woman sits.
seven mountains - some say this is Rome because Rome is known
as the “city on seven hills”. It very
well could be this, but keep in mind Rome actually sits on nine hills.
I found a list in Wikipedia of 60 cities that claim to sit on seven hills, including
Albany New York and Cincinnati, Ohio.
John also says that these mountains
are seven kings (or even kingdoms) …
10 There
are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not
yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time.
These seven kings (or kingdoms) in
John’s day contained five kingdoms of the past.
Remember in Daniel 2, how as you progressed
along the body of the statue, you progressed along in time?
Here, as you go from head to head,
you are passing through time.
The five earlier kingdoms (in
John’s day) would be the five great world empires: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, and
Greece.
Egypt and Assyria weren’t in any of
Daniel’s prophecies, because he was only looking in the future, and they were
in Daniel’s past.
The king that “is”, refers to the
Roman Empire, current in John’s day.
There would be an empire in the
future to John, that of the antichrist’s.
11 The
beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven,
and is going to perdition. 12 “The ten
horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they
receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. 13 These are of one mind, and they will give their power and
authority to the beast.
The Antichrist is both an empire
himself, as well as part of the seventh.
The ten horns are ten kings who
band together, making up the Antichrist's empire (of course from Daniel 7 we know that this is after
the antichrist conquers three of them!).
I think the ten horns are all on
the seventh head since they are the kings that form the antichrist’s empire
We used to think this was the Ten Common
Market countries, now known as the European Union. It’s still possible, but the EU now has 27
member countries (and their flag is a blue background with a circle of twelve
golden stars)
This Empire of the antichrist will
be some form of a “revived” Roman Empire, most likely an Empire centered on the
Mediterranean.
Summary:
The seven
heads are seven world empires through history.
The ten
horns, located on the seventh head, are ten kings that make up the seventh
empire, that of the antichrist.
The ten
crowns refer to the power and authority of these ten kings who band together in
the last empire.
:1 blasphemous
– blasphemia (“injure” + “fame”) – slander,
detraction; impious toward God
Remember the “horn” of Daniel 7
spoke “words against the Most High”. This
is the epitome of the “world”. The world
has set itself up against God. These Empires are not godly Empires. Each empire carries a name that blasphemes
God.
(1 Jn 2:15–17 NKJV) —15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone
loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh,
the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the
world. 17 And the world is
passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides
forever.
:2 Now the beast
which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear,
and his mouth like the mouth of a lion.
:2 leopard … bear …
lion
It could be
that this is referring to animal qualities.
Do these animals sound familiar? I think John is referring to the picture of
world empires in Daniel 7.
The leopard was the Greek empire.
Perhaps the overall look of the antichrist’s empire will
be similar to Alexander’s empire.
The bear was the Medo-Persian empire.
Perhaps the way the antichrist’s empire conquers, or
perhaps the way it moves, will be somehow similar to the Medes and the
Persians.
The lion was the Babylonian empire.
Perhaps the way in which the antichrist speaks will be
similar to Babylon, to Nebuchadnezzar.
Nebuchadnezzar was an
absolute dictator. He had the power of
life and death by simply speaking the words over people.
:2 his mouth
Note, there are seven heads, but
only one mouth.
Probably the mouth is located on
the last head, the one of the end times, that of the Antichrist's empire.
Remember from Daniel 7 –
(Da 7:20 NKJV) …that horn which had
eyes and a mouth which spoke pompous words, whose appearance was greater
than his fellows.
:2 The dragon
gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.
:2 power – dunamis –
strength, power, ability
:2 throne – thronos –
a throne seat; a chair of state having a footstool; assigned in the NT to
kings, hence, kingly power or royalty
:2 authority – exousia
– power of choice; the power of authority (influence) and of right
(privilege); the power of rule or government (the power of him whose will and
commands must be submitted to by others and obeyed)
:2 power, throne,
authority
One of Jesus’ temptations by Satan involved these very things:
(Mt
4:8–10 NKJV) —8 Again, the
devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the
kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I
will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to
him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you
shall serve.’ ”
It sounds as if the antichrist will be tempted with the same temptation,
but he will give in to Satan unlike Jesus.
Lesson
Servant Leaders
Jesus did not take His ideas of leadership from Satan or the world. His followers are not to take their ideas of
leadership, power, and authority from the world either.
(Mk 10:35–45 NKJV) —35 Then James
and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do
for us whatever we ask.” 36 And He said to
them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” 37 They said to Him, “Grant us that
we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory.” 38 But Jesus said to
them, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I
drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” 39 They said to Him,
“We are able.” So Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink the cup that I
drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; 40 but to sit on My
right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for
whom it is prepared.”
I was reminded this week that godly leadership is connected to suffering. The “cup” Jesus referred to was that of
suffering. God’s leaders aren’t those
who live lives without pain, but are willing to learn through pain and endure
it – just like Jesus.
41 And when the ten heard it, they began
to be greatly displeased with James and John. 42 But Jesus called them to Himself and
said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles
lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 Yet it shall not
be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your
servant. 44 And whoever of you
desires to be first shall be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not
come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
We can live like those in the world, seeking power and authority over
others, but that is Satan’s way of doing things.
Jesus’ way of
leading is by being a servant and laying down your life for others.
He laid down His life for us. He died so we could be forgiven.
We can get caught up in these prophetic issues and miss the whole point of
it.
We should not be looking for the antichrist, we should be looking for Jesus
Christ.
We should not be patterning our lives after the world, but living to follow
Jesus.
Lesson:
Look for Jesus Christ
We can get very curious about all this
talk about the antichrist, but frankly, I’d rather be talking about Jesus
Christ.
(Heb 12:1–2 NKJV) —1 Therefore
we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay
aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us
run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our
faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the
shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
As fascinating as
all this end times stuff is, don’t lose sight of the race we’re in. Don’t let your eyes lose sight of the
goal. Don’t lose sight of the One who
has given us an example to follow.
Don’t lose sight
of Jesus.
As we continue to get into this
over the next few weeks, we’ll be able to lay out some of the distinguishing
characteristics of this person.
It’s not uncommon for people to
play the game of “Who is the Antichrist today?”
In my few years on the earth, I’ve
seen lots of people pointed to.
During WWII,
everyone was sure it was Hitler.
In the sixties,
Kennedy was a favorite (some still think so!).
Other nominees
have included Henry Kissinger, Ronald Reagan, and just about every American
President since then.
I’m not sure anyone is going to
know who the antichrist is for sure until the day that he steps into the
temple, stops the sacrifice, and demands to be worshipped.
(Mt 24:15–16 NKJV) —15 “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’
spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads,
let him understand), 16 “then
let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
It’s not until the abomination of
desolation that anyone is supposed to do any fleeing to the mountains!
It’s not until the antichrist steps
into the Temple and declares himself to be God that it will be obvious that he
is the evil one.
When we see signs of the antichrist
coming, it should only excite us to know that Jesus is coming too!
(Mt 24:32–33 NKJV) —32 “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch
has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is
near. 33 So you also, when
you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors!
When you see all these kinds of
things begin to develop, know that Jesus’ return is just around the corner.
When you see the Christmas
decorations starting to appear in the stores, what does it tell you? It tells you that Christmas is coming. It also tells you that Thanksgiving is
close. It probably tells you that
Halloween is in a couple of weeks.
It’s Jesus we’re supposed to be looking
for:
(Mt 24:42 NKJV) Watch therefore, for
you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.
When we keep our eyes on Jesus’
return, it will affect us:
(1 Jn 3:2–3 NKJV) —2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been
revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be
like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And
everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.