Monsters coming up from the deep have a long and colorful history. From Leviathan to the Loch Ness Monster, from the giant squid in 10,000 Leagues under the sea to the “here be monsters” with which mapmakers once marked the limits of the unknown, the sea has been the source of fear for earthbound humans. Of course nowadays whatever fear factor Nessie ever had is now gone for good, frittered away in tourist traps the length and breadth of Scotland while King Kong and Godzilla are cute, or camp, or cuddly. The beasts in Revelation and Daniel hardly rate a token shiver from today’s audience. What new horror could possibly compete against Freddy, or Hannibal Lector?
But for John’s readers in the first century, these images would have had power. The sea all by itself was the symbol of cosmic evil, a vast unruly and untamable source of danger, and the fact that this monstrous figure came out of the sea would be the verbal equivalent of spooky music, signaling the audience that something scary was about to appear.
It could have been anything. Remember, in the last chapter we saw the dragon, symbolizing Satan, cast down to earth after being defeated by Michael and his angels. We’ve been alerted to the fact that his task from now on would be to wage war against God by proxy, that is by targeting the people of God. So it could have been demons with forked horns and tails or grotesque armies of rotting corpses or - what’s your worst nightmare?
But John presents his hearers with a figure that seems to come right out of the Old Testament, from Daniel’s vision five hundred years before. John saw “...a beast rising out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads; and on its horns were ten diadems, and on its heads were blasphemous names. And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear's, and its mouth was like a lion's mouth." [v. 1-2]
Daniel’s four beasts were a winged lion that became somewhat human, a devouring bear, a four-headed flying leopard, and finally a ten-horned beast much more dangerous than the others. Jewish tradition understood this fourth beast as Rome, the fourth world empire to subdue Israel, after Babylon, Persia and Greece, and it was a signal also of the coming Son of Man.
This beast is a little different than the one Daniel describes, but the audience would still probably interpret the figure as representing not only Rome, but more specifically, Nero. Nero died before John has his vision, but many people believed he still remained alive. Somewhat more ominously than today’s Elvis sightings, several false Neros had already popped up in various parts of the empire, providing a focus for rebellions as well as a bogeyman to scare your children into obedience. So Christians heard this prophecy as heralding a new Nero. The tradition that Nero would come back as the Antichrist was in fact so strong that in Armenian, the name Nero actually is used to mean Antichrist.
But what do we need another monster for? Isn’t the dragon terrible enough? What’s the point of bringing in another figure on the scene? Remember that Satan cannot create anything new, he can only distort or copy what God has already made. So what we have in this chapter is the beginning of a dreadful mockery of the gospel. Where Jesus came to earth to save, Satan comes to earth to destroy. Where Jesus the Christ is the son of God, the beast - the antichrist - is the offspring of the enemy of God. And in the next passage the Holy Spirit’s evil twin shows up as a false prophet. In addition, the wound in the
beast’s head and his return from death is a parody of Jesus’ resurrection. And finally, the response of the people to the beast is eerily like the response of people to their first view of Jesus - they were astonished, and followed him. [v. 3]
There are two main approaches to this chapter of Revelation. One is to nail down the meaning of each specific item and confidently assign contemporary events and persons to what John is describing. The other approach is to ignore it, which is what I had done with John’s vision until the Thursday morning Bible study challenged me a couple of years ago.
But we can’t afford to take that approach. We need to understand what this chapter is about not just for its own sake but also because the public - even people who will tell you they don’t believe in the second coming - are still fascinated by accounts of The End. Of course the big one is Tim LaHaye’s Left Behind series, but it’s hardly alone. One series of films that came out a few years ago was the “Omen” trilogy. The first film deals with the birth and childhood of the antichrist. His parents suspect there is something different about their creepy little son, but they find out the awful truth when they discover 666 tattooed on his forehead. The second film, “Damien: Omen II,” showed him as a teenager and what happened when his identity was revealed to him by satanic agents. I haven’t seen the movies myself, as you know I don’t find fear entertaining, but the reviews made them sound like a nightmare waiting to happen. But even films like “End of Days,” “Armageddon,” “Deep Impact,” and “Independence Day”, which don’t consciously point to Revelation, still reflect an interest in how it is all going to end. We entertain ourselves with themes that should be taken much more seriously.
The important theme in this chapter is the identity of the antichrist. It is an endlessly fascinating subject for speculation. You may remember a few years ago when Gorbachev was presiding over the fall of the Soviet Union that many people identified him as the antichrist, because of the birthmark on his forehead. But what you need to realize is that virtually every tyrant or dictator who has risen to power since the first century - once people stopped expecting Nero himself - has been called the antichrist.
The antichrists of the world always use the same methods: intimidation and persecution. Throughout the Old Testament the prophets were persecuted and put to death. In the New Testament the first martyrs were John the Baptist and Stephen. The reason Nero held such a hold on the imagination of the early Christians is that he was the first of the Caesars to single out Christians for persecution. In May A.D. 64, a terrible fire broke out in Rome, raging for six days and seven nights and destroying most of the city. The fire had been deliberately set, and most people believed that Nero was behind it. The Roman historian Tacitus tells how he shifted the blame away from himself to Christians: “Hence, to suppress the rumor, he falsely charged with the guilt, and punished with the most
exquisite tortures, the persons commonly called Christians, who are hated for their enormities. . . . Accordingly, first three were seized, who confessed they were Christians. Next, on their information, a vast multitude were convicted, not so much on the charge of burning the city as of hating the human race. And in their deaths they were also made the subjects of sport; for they were covered with the hides of wild beasts and worried to death by dogs, or nailed to crosses, or set fire to, and, when day declined, burned to serve for nocturnal lights. . . .they seemed not to be cut off for the public good, but victims to the ferocity of one man.”
But there are many antichrists. After all, if Jesus said no one knows the hour of his return, that must include Satan himself - who must have an antichrist ready on the scene for each generation. So every age has identified it’s most colorful enemy as the antichrist John warned the church about. In this century alone we have seen such memorable despots as Stalin and Hitler, Mao Tse Tung and Pol Pot, Idi Amin and most recently Sadam Hussein. There’s a dreadful, numbing similarity to them all. There’s nothing new about their methods. They are all chips of the same block.
One of the most vivid descriptions comes in Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians, speaks of “the man of lawlessness.” although Paul further describes him as being “doomed to destruction.”, before that happens “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.” [2 Th 2:1-4] So one thing that we do know about this character is that he is someone who despises God’s laws.
What else do we need to know about the antichrist? “It was given authority over every tribe and people and language and nation, and all the inhabitants of the earth will worship it.” [v. 7-8] Many people believe that this verse points to a single world government and a single world religion. Preacher Rodney Buchanan writes this:
"The reason given for the need of a one world government will be that problems like global terrorism and international conflict cannot be controlled by the United States alone, or any other nation. We cannot continue to be international police. The growing problems of our global community will require a united government to handle these problems. The United Nations and its forces have been largely ineffective because of their limited jurisdiction, and the problems the world faces will call for increased authority and military power. The
person who heads this organization will ultimately grow in power through personal charm and an increasing use of force. He will disguise his true motives in the beginning and greatly appeal to the masses."
Is he right? It’s tempting to think so. From the beginning of history, people have wanted quick and easy solutions to the problems of being human. The people of Israel wouldn’t take responsibility for their own self- government based on a personal relationship with God, so they begged for a king like the other nations had.
Jesus said, “you always have the poor with you,” [Mt 26:11] but Marx and Lenin said the problem was capitalism, and that a new kind of human being would emerge if we could only create a society which outlawed greed or ambition. LBJ was less ambitious when he said, “Let’s get rid of poverty,” but he was just as wrong. You cannot solve the problems of being human - whether it’s racial prejudice or the oppression of women or economic inequality - by passing new laws or reorganizing the government - although a good government is certainly better than a bad one. The prerequisite for buying into any of these ideologies is
abandoning a biblical view of humanity, denying our need for repentance or salvation. Once you start thinking that people are basically good and that the only thing wrong with the world is unjust structures, you are set up for just that kind of failure, and a sucker for the loudest or most plausible con artist to promise you the moon.
Because even though we began this chapter with the appearance of the dragon and the beast, horrifying images that should have frightened us out of our socks, that’s not what happens. “The whole earth followed the beast” - but not out of fear. They followed because he promised to give them what they wanted. We follow the people who promise to give us what we want. Jesus said, “Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” [Mt 10:39] Satan says, "[I will give you [all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor] if you will fall down and worship me." [Mt 4:9]
We are drawn, always, to the easy answer, and we are usually quite able to rationalize our motives, to convince ourselves that good intentions guarantee effective solutions. Who would have thought that eliminating the stigma of illegitimacy would result in an epidemic of unmarried mothers and babies growing up without fathers? Among the other results are included child poverty and our exploding prison population. We see people killing each other over cultural or religious trifles - and so we make tolerance so high a virtue that we can no longer condemn, or even recognize, evil. We look at the unfortunate consequences of irresponsible behavior - whether sexual or economic - and by trying to alleviate the effects wind up encouraging the behavior. There’s an old
Tom Lehrer song called “It Makes a Fellow Proud to be a Soldier” - in which he says that not only does the army refuse to discriminate on the ground of race, it also doesn’t discriminate on the grounds of ability. It was written in the 50's, which is why people thought it was funny. Now, at the beginning of the 21st century, it’s become all too apt.
Assuming that the government has the answer to all of our problems is our way of worshiping Caesar. It is just as spiritually dangerous and just as much a denial of Christ as burning incense to Caligula was 2000 years ago. We are to give to Caesar what is his - but we are not to give him what belongs to God. And that includes our responsibility to the least among us.
But on the other hand, should we defy the government? And if so, when? And how? Abolitionists in the 19th century broke the law by hiding escaped slaves; should we break the law to confront the equally ungodly practice of abortion? Which law? The law against blocking the entrances to abortion clinics or the law against killing abortionists?
In the movie “The Mission,” 16th century Jesuit monks have been working with the Guarani Indians, bringing them not only the gospel but agriculture and medicine and music. Across the ocean, the Treaty of Madrid transfers the land from Portugal to Spain. The Jesuits are evicted, the Indian settlements are burnt, and the people slaughtered or taken into slavery. The two monks whose story forms the center of the movie react very differently. One keeps his vows, the other takes up arms - his previous profession - in a fruitless stand against the invaders. Both die. Is that what is meant by the last verse in today’s text? I think so.
"If you are to be taken captive, into captivity you go; if you kill with the sword, with the sword you must be killed. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints. ' [v. 10]
Genuine Christians differ over where to draw the line between the state’s legitimate authority and idolatry, but they cannot deny that such a line does exist. Some grounds exist for civil disobedience, even if it’s not always clear. Some South Africans refused to serve in the military when their duties included enforcing apartheid. Martin Niemoller, a German pastor was imprisoned for speaking out publicly against Hitler; when a shocked colleague asked him what he was doing in prison, Niemoller answered, “Brother, why are you not in prison?” Dietrich Bonhoeffer went so far as to get involved in a plot to kill Hitler.
It’s not always clear. But one thing is perfectly clear. The easy out - following the majority - is fatal. Because it’s not just the beast - not just Nero - not just Caesar whom we would then find ourselves worshiping by default. “They worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast.” [v. 4] There are only two sides, and if we do not consciously choose to stand on the side of Christ, we will be standing against him. Satan works through people, individuals who would never intentionally align themselves with evil. But evil is so seductive, so easy, so clothed in plausible promises of free lunches and quick fixes, that if we are not
vigilant we will find ourselves in slavery to the enemy of God. The only solution to the problems of being a fallen human in a broken world is the grace of Jesus Christ. Accept no substitutes.
