The Antichrist & the Mark of the Beast
Rev 1 // Jesus is GLORIOUS!
Rev 2-3 // Jesus calls His Church to ALIGN
Rev 4 // God is on the THRONE
Rev 5 // Jesus holds the FUTURE
Revelation 12:12 NIV
Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.
Revelation 12:17 NIV
Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands andhold fast their testimony about Jesus.
Revelation 13:1–2 NIV
And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.
How will the Devil Wage War in the Tribulation?
1. The Devil will Control the POLITICAL Sphere
Revelation 13:3-10 NIV
One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?” The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. It was given power to WAGE WAR against God’s holy people and to CONQUER THEM. And it was given authority overevery TRIBE, PEOPLE, LANGUAGE and NATION. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world. Whoever has ears, let them hear. “If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity they will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword they will be killed.” This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people.
2 Thessalonians 2:1–4 NIV
Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him... Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the MAN OF LAWLESSNESS is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.
“Jesus alone gets my ALLEGIANCE!”
How will the Devil Wage War in the Tribulation?
2. The Devil will Control the RELIGIOUS Sphere
Revelation 13:11-12 NIV
Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed.
A Counterfeit Trinity
Dragon – the Anti-GOD
Beast – the Anti-CHRIST
False Prophet – the Anti-SPIRIT
“Jesus alone gets my VOICE.”
How will the Devil Wage War in the Tribulation?
3. The Devil will Control the FINANCIAL Sphere
Rev 13:16-18 NIV
It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not BUY or SELL unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.
Matthew 10:32-33 NIV
“Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.”
“Jesus alone gets my RESOURCES.”
Revelation 7:15–17 NIV
Therefore, “they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. ‘Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them,’ nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”
“That is why a Christian can be an optimist. That is why a Christian can smile in the midst of all that is happening…We know what the end will be: the triumph of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
-- Billy Graham
Maybe you made a decision to follow Jesus today, or maybe you’re curious what life with Him is all about. Wherever you are on your journey, we invite you to share with us so we can help you discover your next step.
