TWENTY EAR-MARKS OF THE BEAST
Sermon by Dr. J. Frank Norris, June 16, 1940, First Baptist Church, Fort Worth, Texas
(Stenographically Reported)
DR. NORRIS: It is prophesied there would arise a man who had small origin. It says there would come “Another little horn,” before whom the three first horns broke off by the roots, and “behold the eyes of this horn were like the eyes of a man and out of his mouth he spake very great things.”
It is prophesied there would arise a strange character out of the sea of troubled humanity that would have the whole world in his hand – thank God only for a short time.
Let us see some of the characteristics of that strange character. He is called the “Man of Sin.” He is called the “Beast.” He is called the Anti-Christ.” He is called “That Wicked One.”
Mark some of his characteristics:
1. “And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.” (Dan. 11:21)
Again – “He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province.”
He will march on the nations. He will have their treasury in his hand.
2. “And the king shall do according to his own will” – he will recognize no authority but his own, no rule but his own.
3. “He shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god.”
4. “And shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods” – denying God Himself.
“5. “And shall prosper” – “He shall prosper.
But his prosperity will be limited I will notice that a little later.
6. “Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers.”
7. “Nor regard the desire of women.” This is especially significant just now regarding a certain man.
8. “But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver and with precious stones, and pleasant things.”
9. “Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.”
And now reading another portion of the Scriptures these characteristics, let us turn and see what the Apostle Paul says proclaiming and adding to what Daniel says – and the Scriptures are a perfect, harmonious message, and complete revelation.
10. II Thess. 2:4: “Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped: so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing him- self that he is God.” And the strange character, this beast, will require worship, and his people will worship him.
11. And the eleventh characteristic, these words – “And then shall that Wicked be revealed” – that is another of the terms – Then shall the wicked one be revealed.” (II Thess. 2:8)
I will stop here and say he will be on the scene a long time before he is revealed. For instance, the President of the United States has been in the world – not yet sixty years old – but he was here many years before he was made president. And so the Beast will be on the earth, a full grown man, and then when he gets in power and in his estate, and the time comes for him to be revealed, won’t be a child born then and grow up, but he will be a to be manifest, to the whole world will know him. He man already on the scene.
The question that is asked now is: “Is he on the scene now?”
I don’t know; he may be.
12. Then the twelfth characteristic, he will be the boss liar of all times. And he will be so perfect a liar that he will deceive the world – “Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders.” (II Thess. 2:9)
He will say, I am for peace while he is preparing for war.
13. The thirteenth characteristic, he will be the arch-deceiver to deceive them that dwell on the earth – “And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” (II Thess. 2:10)
Now listen – “And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie. That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (II Thess. 2: 10)
14. Notice the fourteenth characteristic – Rev. 13:4,14. from the revelation of John – he will be worshipped, not only worshipped, but the whole world will say, “Who is like unto the beast?” – “Did you ever see anything like it?” He will be greater than Alexandria, greater than Caesar or Napoleon – until the whole world will say, “Who is like unto the beast?” “Did you ever see anything like it?”
15. Then the fifteenth characteristic – the whole world will say, “Who is able to make war with him?” He will be a great warrior and the world’s greatest militarist.
16. Then the sixteenth characteristic – he will be the arch blasphemer. “And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies.” (Rev. 13:5)
17. And then he will be a blasphemer against God. “And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.” (Rev. 13: 6)
19. And then he will be given universal dominion and power. “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.” (Rev. 13:7)
[Note – There is no #18 in the source – “‘But God..,’ and Other Sermons”]
20. Now the twentieth and the last. He will hold supreme control not only in the political world, but he will regulate everybody’s life, and fix the price of everything that is bought and sold. He will be a complete tyrant and dictator. “And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” (Rev. 13:17)
Now these twenty characteristics – there are some others I will not take time to mention. Now then if such a character is coming, or about to appear, here would be the question that would be perfectly natural for you to raise.
Then we can do nothing about it. What shall we do? I will answer that question a little later.
THE DOOM OF THE BEAST
Now having seen clearly what the prophecies say concerning him, I want to make haste to say now, what shall be his fate? In the very same chapter – the eleventh chapter of Daniel – “and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished.” Then the next word says, “for that that is determined shall be done.”
That is God’s side of it. Then the next and last word of that chapter says – listen at it – “yet he” – this beast “shall come to his end, and none shall help him.”
Then turning again to the prophecy of Nahum, and there God tells His prophet to put down what his doom shall be – listen at it – I will make thy grave; for thou art vile.” (Nahum 1:14)
And then listen to what Paul says, “And then shall that Wicked One be revealed,” – now listen – “whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.” (II Thess. 2:8)
Listen to what David said concerning his doom, “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?” – Why do the rulers, the kings of the earth gather themselves together and conspire together? – And what do they say? – “We shall not have the annointed Son of David, the Messiah to reign over us.” “Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us” – “We will challenge his authority.”
Listen now to what he says, “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision” – and “shall dash them in pieces as a potters vessel is shivered on the rocks.”
Here is a difficult thing for us to understand with our short sight: how that God’s purpose runs through all the ages unceasingly. And here is another proposition that is hard to understand, that is difficult:
Good as God is, why does He permit millions thus to suffer and to meet horrible death?
Then there is a difficult question:
Why does God raise up wicked men to accomplish His judgment in the earth?
Well, the answer to that is, He couldn’t use a good man. “God,” says Paul, “raised up Pharaoh as a vessel fitted” – prepared “for destruction.” And he used old Pharaoh to scourge the people, and old Pharaoh pursued after the Israelites with six hundred iron chariots and chased them to the border of the unopened Red Sea. And the people wept and said, “What did you bring us out here for? To die”
Old Moses stood there alone, looked up at the cloudless sky, and waited. But at last God, who knew everything that was going on, said to Moses, “Tell the children of Israel to wait – wait, don’t be scared wait, I’m on my way. Then speak unto them that they go forward. Then Moses,stretch your rod across the sea – the same rod that you used down there as a symbol of divine power to turn the water to blood and the sand to lice, and the darkness reigned.”
And Moses now spoke to them and stretched forth that rod, and suddenly two walls of water stood up.
“Now,” God said, “Tell the children of Israel to follow down into the depths of that open sea.”
And they came and walked through dry shod. And when they got across, the last one of the children of Israel, He said, “Moses, stretch the rod back again.”
And I can see old Pharaoh coming down with his iron chariot, and God said to Moses, Wait till the last chariot gets down.”
And old Pharaoh, cursing and blaspheming, threatening, went down between the two walls of water, and suddenly they rushed together, and old Pharaoh and the iron chariots are still there.
And they sang the songs of deliverance on Canaan’s side of the Red Sea.
EXODUS – CHAPTER 15
“1. Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.
2. The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God.
3. And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you.
4. And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness.
5. And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night.
6. He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.
CHAPTER 14
And the Lord spake unto Moses,saying –
2. Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pihahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, before it shall ye encamp by over against Baalzephon: the sea.
3. For Pharaoh will say of the children.”
MOST GLORIOUS EVENT FIRST
And so therefore I come this morning and say to you, it matters not what may happen. Let the world be on fire, and let the Beast of Prophecy arise I will tell you there is one thing I am certain about. Before three things take place, there is one other event that must come to pass.
Before this strange character shall become officially recognized, before he strides across the world like some mighty Caesar, before he puts all the nations under his iron heel, before that happens, something else is going to take place. Before the dark Tribulation Period bursts on the world in all its fury, something else is going to take place. Before the final conflict, the Battle of Armageddon, something else is going to take place.
What is that event that is going to take place?
Before the Beast shall arise;
Before the Tribulation comes;
Before the Battle of Armageddon is fought;
The glorious event we are looking for is this – the trump of God shall sound and the dead shall come from their sleeping dust, and the living saints shall be changed and shall not see death – and together they will go sweeping through the air, and fill the heavens with the glad anthem, as the risen saints look back at their empty graves, and as the living saints who have been changed – with joy unspeakable and full of glory, they will shout together, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”
That is why I am going to baptize that great crowd of three hundred this afternoon at Lake Worth. You folks who were sprinkled – you haven’t got any prophecy that the graves are going to be empty. Like as Christ was buried and rose the first day of the week, so every believer through this act of obedience says, “I believe in the greatest miracle of all times, the resurrection of Jesus, and I believe that is proof that some glad morning I too shall arise from the grave.”
“Christ, who came my soul to save,
Entered Jordan’s yielding wave,
Rose from out the crystal flood,
Owned and sealed the Son of God,
By the Father’s voice of love
By the heaven descending Dove;
Saviour, Pattern, Guide for me
I, like him, baptized would be.”
Now beloved, I close with this question:
What shall we do?
Now there are some things we cannot do, but thank God there are some things we can do.
Quoting again from this same book of Daniel, 12th chapter and 9th verse, these words:
“At the time of the end” – what shall I do? – “Many shall be purifed, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; – but the wise shall understand.”
I love to quote that Scripture in John, and put with that verse in Daniel, this Scripture in John – I John, 3rd chapter:
“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God” – born agains – “therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God” – and listen, – “it doth not yet appear what we shall be:” but we know now what is the answer? We don’t know much on this earth, but we know “We shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” – not on His face in Gethsemane – not crowned with the crown of cruel thorns not with His hands and feet bleeding – not with His head bowed on His pulseless breast – we shall see Him in the darkness of the tomb, but we shall see Him clothed in majesty and light, and glory, as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
“We shall see Him as He is!” And beloved, one look on His face will be enough to pay for everything, for every heartache, for every burden, for every tear, for every cross, for every load that we have carried in this world.
Everybody stand while we pray, and if you want to accept Christ as your Saviour and unite with the church, come on.
(A large number came from the great audience that filled the auditorium to standing room.)