Introduction: Last week we learned that the choice for
humans is to either rely on God or rely on human theories
and works. The issue is not a superficial matter. Many
Christians in some way depend on human works and theories to
shape their Christian walk. On the one side are Christians
who believe their Godly works qualify them for heaven. On
the other side are Christians who believe that modern
culture can veto the plainest teachings of the Bible. Then
there are the unbelievers who totally reject the Christian
God. All of these approaches demonstrate a reliance on human
theory and not God. This week we take a deeper look at the
anti-Christ, pro-human philosophy.

I. Rebellion

A. Read 2 Thessalonians 2:3. Two weeks ago we
learned that this is Satan’s fake Second Coming of
Jesus. What attitude does this deception reflect?
(Rebellion against God.)

1. What is the nature of that rebellion?
(Lawlessness. Satan opposes the law of God.)

2. What is the ultimate result of the rebellion?
(Destruction.)

B. Read 2 Thessalonians 2:4. What is the claim of the
rebellion? (Superiority over every object of
worship, and every god, including the true God.)

1. Notice the claim is not just superiority, but
the lawless man opposes all other worship. How
do you expect that will happen? What will be
part of that effort? (This is not just live
and let live. This is active opposition to all
other worship, including the worship of the
true God.)

2. Is there a movement today that seems to oppose
all traditional religions?

C. Read 2 Thessalonians 2:5 What does this request to
those who were originally given the warning
suggest to us today? (We need to carefully
consider or reconsider this warning.)

1. Let’s do that. What do you think is the
rebellion? (It is a rejection of past
Christian norms. Satan fakes the Second Coming
of Jesus and he wants to reject past
allegiance to the true God.)

a. Is change wrong? (Many new things are an
improvement over the old. The issue is
whether it is God’s law that is being
changed. We know this because the next
description is “lawlessness.”)

b. What is one way that we can judge whether
a proposed change is wrong? (Is
destruction the result?)

(1) Consider the number of new ideas
that advocate violence to bring
about change. Does that give us a
reliable clue as to whether the idea
is part of the overall rebellion?

II. Old Ten Horn

A. Read Revelation 12:3-5 and Revelation 12:9. The
Bible identifies this “great red dragon” as Satan.
Why is he described as “red?”(Red may well
represent blood. This is consistent with the
destruction we just discussed.)

1. Why is Satan described as having seven heads
and ten horns? (Protestants, as we will see
below, have historically tied Ten Horn to the
Roman Empire. Since the Roman Empire was not
part of the battle in heaven, we need to
conclude that Ten Horn has a greater, deeper,
and broader meaning. Seven is the number of
completeness in the Bible. That might mean
that Satan is completely evil.)

2. Why would the heads be wearing crowns if they
symbolize complete evil? (This must mean that
ten rulers are involved in this complete evil.
Satan has agents.)

3. What do you think the horns represent? (Horns
on an animal represent weapons. Again, this
accords with the idea of destruction.)

B. Read Revelation 17:7. What are we promised? (The
mystery of Old Ten Horn will be resolved! We will
not have to speculate.)

C. Read Revelation 17:8-9. Did that solve the mystery
for you? (Not exactly. Note that Ten Horn arises
from the bottomless pit.)

D. Read Revelation 9:11. Who is the king of the
bottomless pit? (The Hebrew name Abaddon means
destruction. This is further proof we are talking
about Satan. It seems that the Abyss is hell. In
Revelation 20 we will learn that Satan is bound in
the Abyss.)

E. Let’s get back to Revelation 17:8. What do you
think it means that Ten Horn “was and is not and
is to come?” Does it mean that Satan is defeated
and then makes a comeback?

F. Read Revelation 13:1-2. Is this Ten Horn Satan?
(It cannot be for it says that the dragon (Satan)
gives power and authority to this Ten Horn.)

1. How can we have more than one Ten Horn? (The
logical conclusion is that Satan has agents
who carry his authority.)

G. Let’s get back to Revelation 17. Read
Revelation 17:9-13. Now that we have seen there are more than
one Ten Horn, is this a third? (In Lesson 9 we
discussed the historic protestant understanding of
the “seven hills” or “seven mountains.” Rome is
built on seven hills, which supports the idea that
Ten Horn arises from the Roman Empire and is Papal
Rome. Although the NIV (and other versions)
translate Revelation 17:9 as “hills,” it seems
more appropriate to translate it as “mountains.”
Could “mountain” refers to an area of influence in
the world? For example mountains could be law,
entertainment, business, and government, to name
some. Thus, this might mean that Satanic influence
covers many important and influential areas of
life.)

H. Let’s focus a minute on Revelation 17:12. What
does this suggest is the nature of the ten horns?
(Part of the revelation of the mystery is that the
horns at this point represent kings who are allied
against God’s people. There are many explanations
for these kings and kingdoms. However, we have
been discussing that the Ten Horn not only
represents Satan, but is also symbolic of
religious and secular powers which fight God and
His followers.)

I. In the introduction I wrote that we would take a
deeper dive into the anti-Christ, pro-human
philosophy. What has this deeper dive revealed?
(Old Ten Horn Satan has his agents on earth. They
have great power and are in a war against those
Christians who rely on God and not human power.
Today I think a clear sign of those who rely on
God are those who accept the Genesis origins
account and all of the issues which arise out of
that – the Sabbath, family, and the place of
humans in the creation.)

III. Victory

A. Read Revelation 17:14. Who wins in the battle with
Ten Horn? (Our God! Our side!)

B. Read Revelation 17:16-18. What other victory do we
see? (There is conflict among the opponents of
God. Ten Horn and his agents and allies have a
falling out.)

C. Friend, the time to be ready is now! Become a
serious student of the Bible so that you will not
be deceived by old Ten Horn and his allies!

IV. Next week: Ablaze with God’s Glory.

Copr. 2023, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. Scripture quotations are
from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard
Version ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing
ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All
rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within
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but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking on this
link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the
Holy Spirit as you study.