The sermon for today, the beast out of the sea. The beast out of the sea. Please open your Bible to the revelation of Jesus Christ. Revelation chapter 12, verse 17. This is the last verse in Revelation 12. So now we enter into Revelation 13 and we see how the devil makes war with the New Testament saints. First, however, the devil has to acquire a body. Since the devil is a spirit, he cannot move things. He cannot carry weapons. He cannot kill the saint. So we read in Revelation chapter 12. verse 17, And the dragon was wrought with a woman, and went to make war with the raiment of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. And we'll continue so on with Revelation 13 verse 1, And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his head the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his seat, and great authority and I saw one of his heads as if he were wounded to death and his deadly wound was healed and all the world wondered after the beast and they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast and they worshipped the beast saying who is like unto the beast who is able to make war with him And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and power was given unto him to continue it forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name and his tabernacle, and then the dwelling heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them, and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the land, slain from the foundation of the world. If any man has an ear, let him hear. He that leaders into captivity shall go into captivity. He that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. If any man have an ear, let him hear. We can see the beast with the seven heads and the ten horns. We have here a chapter that is highly symbolic in nature. Nobody expects to see a monster with seven heads and ten horns coming out from the sea. We must remember that Satan works in a very subtle way. He will come as an angel of light, but God portrays him here as a grotesque monster to show his likeness to a dragon. So we read In Revelation 13 verse 1, And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his head the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear. his mouth as the mouth of a lion and the dragon gave him his power and his seat and great authority the first thing that we immediately see in this picture is the remarkable likeness to the dragon as he is described in Revelation chapter 12 verse 3 and there appeared another wonder in heaven and behold a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns upon his head. So great is the likeness of the dragon to the beast that many people think that this is the same dragon. So please turn a few pages into the prophecy of Revelation to Revelation 17 verse 15. Revelation 17 verse 15. We notice that this beast comes up out of the sea. The sea is the birthplace, the source or the origin of this beast. There is very little doubt that this sea must be taken in the sense of the peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues on the earth. So when you turn your Bible to the prophecy, please turn your Bible to the prophecy of Daniel. Daniel 7 verse 2. You find the prophecy of Daniel right after Jeremiah and Ezekiel. So Daniel chapter 7 verses 2 to 3. Daniel is fake and fake. I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea, and four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. Please drop down to verse 17. Daniel 7, verse 17. These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. And thus we see that the sea, in verse 3, does not represent water, but represents the troubled sea of nations on the earth. And thus we see that it is a very fitting symbol for the wicked all over the world. Four beasts came up from the sea. Perhaps you remember that in Revelation 13 verse 2, God said, And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion. The leopard the bear and the lion find their origin here in Daniel 7 so we read in Daniel chapter 7 verses 3 to 7 and four great beasts came up from the sea diverse one from another the first was like a lion and had eagle's wings I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked And it was lifted up from the earth, and may stand upon the feet as a man. And a man's heart was given to it. And behold, another beast, a second like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side. And it had three ribs in the mouth of it, between the teeth of it. And they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. After this I beheld, and, lo, another like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings, and a fowl. The beast had also four heads, and dominion was given to it." We read in Daniel chapter 7 verse 7, After this I saw in the night visions, and, behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible. and strong exceedingly, and it had great iron teeth. It devoured and breaking pieces, and it stamped the residue with the feet of it. And it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. What are we really seeing here? Some people interpret this chapter as it represents a series of kings in the course of history. They read as if the lion represents the kingdom of Babylon, and the bear represents the kingdom of Persia, and the leopard represents the kingdom of Greece. But when you continue to verse 12, this interpretation falls apart. Actually, it is in chapter 8 that God portrays for us the kingdoms of Persia and of Greece in a very historical fashion. On Daniel 7 verse 25 says, He shall wear out the saints of the Most High. And Revelation 13 verse 7 says, It was given unto him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. These are terrifying statements. But God placed these words in the Bible to give us a dense warning that this will come to pass so that we could arm ourselves and be spiritually prepared for these dreadful times. So let us now look at these four bits. First of all, the beast in Revelation 13 has a mouth as the mouth of a lion. In Daniel 7, the first beast was like a lion. And now we remember that Satan is described in 1 Peter 5, verse 8, as a roding lion, seeking whom he may devour. So this beast was made to stand upon the feet as a man and a man's heart was given to it so that he can be called the man of sin. Secondly, the beast of Revelation 13 has feet as the feet of a bear. In Daniel 7, the second beast was like to a bear. The bear is another picture of Satan, or of his antichrist. The beast of Revelation 13 was also like unto a leopard. In Daniel 7, the third beast was like a leopard, which had four wings. God spoke about flying leopards in Habakkuk 1 verse 8. God warned the nation of Judah that he would send the Chaldeans to destroy the nation. God says in Habakkuk chapter 1 verse 8, their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves, and their horsemen shall spray themselves, and their horsemen shall tongue four from far. They shall fly at the eagle that hasted to it. The third beast has four heads and four wings. The number four indicates universality, meaning all over the world. This third beast underscores the universality of Satan's rule over all nations. during the FTP. Fourthly, the piece of Revelation 13 is characterized by seven heads and ten horns. But the fourth piece in Daniel 7 is described as having only ten horns. That is by no means a defect in Daniel's prophecy. Daniel's prophecy focuses on the little horn on these four beasts. And that's why the description of these four beasts is incomplete in Daniel 7 verse 7. But these four beasts definitely correspond to the beast that comes out of the sea in Revelation chapter 13 verse 1. God Give us this clue in Daniel 7, verse 23, where we read the fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth. We shall be diverse from all kingdoms and shall devour the whole earth and shall thread it down and break it in pieces. Please turn again to Revelation 13, verse 1. Revelation 13 verse 1. One world power and its government. Is this beast in Revelation 13 verse 1 which represents Antichrist? Is it a person or a power or a system or a kingdom? God tells us in Daniel 7 that the beast is both the kingdom and the king. or to frame it in more general terms, the beast represents both the world power and its color. So we read in Revelation chapter 12 verse 3, the dragon had seven crowns upon his head, indicating his rulership over all the nations of the world. But in Revelation 13 verse 1, Antichrist has 10 crowns upon his horn, indicating that he is extremely, extremely successful in furthering the kingdom of the dragon. Although we do not interpret these 10 horns as representing 10 different kingdoms, we can see that these 10 crowns represent a great deal more authority for the dragon. The beast is the incarnation of the dragon who possesses all the kingdoms of this world. The dragon could say to Christ in Matthew chapter 4 verse 9, fall down and worship me and I will give thee all the kingdoms of the world. One of his head was wounded to death. Revelation chapter 13 verse 3 and I saw one of his head as if it were wounded to death and his deadly wound was healed and all the world wondered after the vision the Lord Jesus Christ has indeed fatally fatally wounded the head of Satan at the cross God says in Hebrew chapter 2 verse 14 For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself, likewise, took part of the same, that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil. Exactly as God promised in Genesis 3, Christ bruised the head of the serpent, God said in Genesis 3, Verse 16, I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed. He shall bruise thy head and thou shall bruise his heel. This was a promise that at the cross Christ would defeat Satan and he would hurt him as badly as if he had bruised the head of the serpent. However, God's promise in Hebrews chapter 2 verse 4 still stands. Satan will have to stand at the judgment seat on the last day, and he will be found guilty, and he will be cast into hell. Hebrews chapter 2 verse 4. This is a sure promise. After having declared that Satan will surely be judged, God goes on to say in verse 10 that this is a time that calls for patience and faith on the part of the saints. Why patient? This exhortation applies mainly to those who are living during the end time period, the FTP. We feel terrible to see that churches all over the world are modifying the Word of God just to please men. And they're preaching gospels that do not bring the message that God gave us in the Bible. My sheep, hear my voice. We need faith. When we read Revelation 13, verse 7, We're frightened by these words. Will Antichrist overcome us? Will he kill us? And will we lose our salvation? Remember that our God is immutable in his plan and action. It means our God never change, does not change. Please turn in your Bible to the gospel according to John. Chapter 10, verse 24, John 10, 24. We have here an event that may give us great comfort in times when we doubt our eternal destiny or in a time when we wonder if Antichrist shall be able to overcome us. The scene is in the temple of Jerusalem sometime after the Lord Jesus had given the parable that he is the good shepherd. We read in John chapter 10 verse 24. Then came the Jews round about him and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not. The words that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My father, which gave them me, is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my father's hand." We read in John chapter 10, verse 30, I and my father are one. Concentrate on verse 26. The Lord Jesus said, Do you believe not? Because you are not of my sheep. He did not say, because ye believe not, ye are not of my sheep. This would be the gospel that many preachers today are preaching. If you do not reach out to Jesus, you cannot be saved. But Jesus clearly said, ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep. Thereby indicated that only those who belong to his sheep whom the Father has given him according to verse 29 only those will believe that he is their Savior clearly the Lord Jesus has election in view and clearly the Lord Jesus indicated that the natural man will not believe because he is unable to believe secondly let us look at verse 27 The Lord Jesus said, My sheep hear my voice. He did not refer to his audible voice. We must remember that God ceased to give divine revelation after God finished Revelation 22 verse 18. The Lord Jesus was referring only to the Bible. Do we hear his voice in our minds when we read the Bible? Do we gladly read the Bible? And why do we gladly read the Bible? Is it because we then hear the voice of our bridegroom? Absolutely yes. This is why we rejoice to read and study his Word. But are there verses in the Bible that we don't like? Are we getting a little uneasy when the Bible confronts us with the sovereignty of God, or with election and reprobation, or with God's promises of hell and damnation. If so, then we are displeased with Jesus when he wrote these words. And we then should honestly ask ourselves if we have been saved. But if we examine ourselves and we see that we rejoice in everything we can find in the Bible. Then we know that God has done a wonderful job in our soul. For this is not something that the natural man rejoices in. And so if we see that God has done this miracle in our soul, let us move on to the next verse, verse 28, where the Lord Jesus said, And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. This is a promise from God, and we should not doubt his promise. If we live in the present time, and times are rough, and students in school are a pain in the neck, and in an important moment, We've lost time and the situation at home is unfriendly and so on. Remember that Jesus said they shall never perish. For if he has paid for our sins at the cross, nothing would ever be able to remove his grace away from us until the end of time. And this is our cherished position. until Jesus comes again and take us home. Amen. Let us turn to the Lord in prayer. Our merciful God and Heavenly Father, thank you, Father, for giving us this your church where we can come and exalt and praise your name. We pray that you will let this church be a strong voice crying in the wilderness of this world. We pray that you will help us to reach many in this world through the TV ministry and also through the internet. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.