It's quite possible this morning that I may offend some of you this morning. I'm a little nervous, to be honest. So I just want to say, up front, that I don't take any particular delight in anything I'm saying today. All I'm trying to do, is be faithful to the message of Revelation 13. I'll leave it up to you, to decide if I'm accurately applying this chapter or not. But this is the kind of passage you teach because you have to, and not because you want to (and this is why topical preaching is safer than expository). And if you reject most of what I teach this morning, my skin is thick enough, that I can handle it just fine. Consider this a "take it or leave it" sermon.
Today, we will work through Revelation 13:11-18. But before we dive in, we need to backtrack just a bit, back into chapter 12. We saw in Revelation 12 that the dragon, satan, lost a war against Michael and his angels in heaven. As a result of that defeat, the dragon lost his place in heaven, so that he no longer accuses us before God. This moment is celebrated in heaven, and rightfully so. We should be pretty pleased about that as well.
At the same time though, that doesn't mean that satan is no longer a threat. In fact, in Revelation 12:12, a warning is announced to two places-- the sea, and the land-- because satan has now been cast down to them, and now is focusing all his energy on two places, instead of three. So the place of satan's operation-- the place of warfare-- is now (1) the sea, and (2) the land.
What happens next, in Revelation 12:18, is that satan stands upon the sand of the sea, and summons a beast.
Beast #1 rises up, claiming divine names for himself, and exercising authority over every nation, and tongue, and tribe, and people, across the earth. This beast has two main goals: (1) to deceive the ones dwelling on the earth into bowing down, and worshipping, it, and (2) to wage war on individual Christians and churches. And what we saw, is that Beast #1 is successful, throughout the time period of the church. All of "the ones dwelling on the earth"-- everyone whose name isn't written in the book of life-- will bow down to Beast #1 (Revelation 13:8). And individual Christians and churches will lose, over and over, until Jesus returns. Sometimes, that defeat ends with prison. Sometimes, it ends with a sword. And John encourages us, to accept this defeat. Let's read from Revelation 13:9-10:
(9) If anyone has ears, he should/must hear:
(10) If anyone [is going] into captivity, into captivity he goes. [I think "into captivity" is focused]
If anyone by the sword was killed, he, by the sword was killed. [I think "by the sword" is focused]
Here is the steadfastness and the faith(fulness) of the holy ones.
What it means to be steadfast, and faithful, is to willingly accept our fate. John calls us to understand that we conquer, by being conquered.
And who is Beast #1? What does the Beast represent? The critical clue comes in understanding the connection between Daniel 7, and Revelation 12:2. In Daniel 7, there are four separate beasts that arise, one after the other. One is like a leopard, one like a bear, one like a lion, and one with iron teeth and ten horns. Each of these beasts represents a human kingdom: Babylon, the Medes, the Persians, and (probably) the Greeks. In Revelation, all of these beasts are combined, into a single monster. The beast has characteristics of each of these superpowers-- it looks like each of them, in some way-- but it's bigger than any of them. And so Beast #1 stands for human empires, and human power structures.
Satan gives his power, and authority, and throne, to human empires, and specific leaders within those empires, for two main reasons: (1) to create an alternative for worship, and (2) to harm Christians. Every time we see people expressing patriotism, and waving flags, and bowing down to human authorities, we are seeing Beast #1 successfully deceiving the world into worshipping it, rather than the Lamb. And every time we see government forces harming Christians in some way, attacking them, we are seeing Beast #1.
Everything about this is hard. No one wants to hear this. And no one wants to experience the Beast. But, again, the Beast is active throughout the time of the church. No nation, or people, is spared. No nation is set apart, under God. Every nation is under the Beast. All of us have to be willing to suffer, and have a bad end (like John himself). And all of this, was last week's passage.
Now, if we take a step back, and think logically about Beast #1 for a minute, the Beast's success should surprise us.
When we look at mankind as a whole, we see that we humans aren't naturally very compliant. North Dakotans are maybe the worst (lol), but no one wants to be told what to do. Why would people across the world willingly bow down to Beast #1, and worship it, throughout the life of the church?
Based on what we've read so far in Revelation 13, we'd probably answer this two ways:
(1) Part of the answer, is that people are impressed by power. Let's read from Revelation 13:4 (NRSV updated no reason):
4 They worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”
We humans tend to respect raw power. When people claw their way up to the top, by any means necessary, doing things that we would never do, we respect that. They may have lied, and bribed, and manipulated, and blackmailed, and taken their 10% along the way, but they made it. When nations rise out of the ashes, and become world powers, winning great wars on the battlefield, we are impressed.
(2) Part of the answer, is that people think they have no other option. In the same verse, Revelation 13:4, we find people saying, "Who can fight against it?" From a human perspective, Beast #1 is too powerful to fight. You look at your biceps, and then compare them to a human superpower, and you know there's no sense resisting.
What we will see today, is that there's a third reason why people worship Beast #1. And that reason, basically, is Beast #2, who comes up from the earth.
Now, I think part of the trick to successfully understanding Beast #2, is that we have to try to read it as first century Roman Christians, living under Beast #1, in the form of the Roman empire. Revelation is a book that made sense to its first readers. It's going to take us a bit before we figure out who Beast #2 is. Don't worry about its identity right away. Just focus on what Beast #2 does (because the Beast "does" a lot of verbs). If we focus on what it does, rather than on who represents, we are more likely to get it right.
Revelation 13:11:
(11) and I saw another beast rising up from the earth,
and he/it was having two horns similar to a Lamb, [horns=strength]
and it was speaking like a Dragon,
What we see here, is the Dragon, satan, summoning a second beast. Beast #2. The first beast came from the sea; this one comes from the earth (Revelation 12:12).
This Beast, in one respect, is like a Lamb. And probably this isn't just any lamb-- this is Jesus. So Beast #2 is like
Jesus, with respect to strength, and power.
But when Beast #2 speaks, though, it doesn't sound like a Lamb. It speaks like a Dragon. And, again, this is not just your typical, everyday dragon. This is probably satan. So you can hear the family resemblance, when Beast #2 speaks.
Verse 12:
(12) and all the authority/power of the first beast he uses/exercises/does/makes on its/his behalf,
and he uses/exercises/does/makes [it toward] the earth and the ones in it dwelling,
in order that they would worship/bow down to the first beast-- the one whose wound of his death was healed,
Beast #2 serves a complementary role to Beast #1. It uses the first beast's power and authority, for the benefit of the first beast. It applies that authority, toward "the ones dwelling on the earth." And it does so, with the goal of making people bow down to Beast #1.
Now, right at the tail end of verse 12, John gives his readers a little clue, and reminder, about how to understand all of this (using overspecification; cf. Steven Runge, Discourse Analysis of the Greek New Testament). John reminds us that the first beast, is "the one whose wound of his death was healed."
Almost certainly, this is a way of talking about Rome, and the emperor Nero. Under Nero, the Roman empire really struggled. The city of Rome, itself, was largely burnt by out of control fires. Nero ended up killing himself, when he found out what his fate was going to be. It was a low, dark time in Roman history. But it emerged on the other side of that, at least as strong as before. Its wound was healed.
So if we were John's first readers, all of this makes perfect sense. Satan sends Beast #2, to make sure that people bow down to Beast #1, which was in the form of the Roman empire in the first century.
Now, why does John make such a strong link between Nero and Rome, when Nero at this point has been dead for decades?
The thing about Rome, along with most other human empires, is that they don't necessarily look like a beast. When you stepped outside of your Roman house in the morning to grab the daily newspaper, you didn't see a seven-headed monster that looked like a leopard, bear, and lion. You probably saw a nation that has its warts, to be sure, but overall seems like a pretty decent place to live, for most people. It's like when we look out our windows, at the U.S. as a whole. Is this a good nation, or is it a manifestation of the Beast?
It's a complicated question. Some of us instinctively find ourselves thinking about good things about the U.S. We have freedom of speech, and religion. Many of us can prosper financially. Many of us can raise our kids in relative safety. There are lots of positive things we can look at.
But what John is signaling, is that the only way to see an empire's true colors, is by focusing on the warts. You can tell you're living under the Beast, by how things looked under Nero, when you were being actively persecuted. When you think about Rome, think about Nero.
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Craig R. Koester, Revelation: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, ed. John J. Collins, vol. 38A, Anchor Yale Bible (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2014), 591:
"Revelation centers the ruler cult on Nero because the author believes that Nero’s brutality discloses the true character of imperial rule as a whole."
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Verse 13:
(13) and he uses/exercises/does great signs,
in order that, even fire, he causes from heaven to come down to the earth before the people,
So Beast #2, whoever it is, does miracles. And what we see here, is that the Beast here can do what only God's servants in the OT could do-- cause fire to come down from heaven. This is scary, because it feels like the rules have changed. In the OT, we are used to the idea that people who rely on satan are only capable of lower forms of magic. Pharaoh's magicians can turn a staff into a snake, but that snake gets eaten by Moses' snake. Elijah can cause fire to come from heaven, but the prophets of Baal can't. When God's servants do healings, and signs, and miracles, they are on a bigger scale, and more impressive, than when satan's servants do them.
But here, we see that Beast #2 has upped his game. He's a worthy adversary to the two witnesses of Revelation 11-- to the church. Beast #2 does some of the same things we do, perhaps because he has a stronger, closer, relationship to satan.
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With regard to calling down fire from heaven, Craig Koester, Revelation, 591-92, points to Elijah: 1 Kings 18:24, 37-38; 2 Kings 1:10, 12; David: 1 Chronicles 21:26; Solomon: 2 Chronicles 7:1. Koester also notes that Testament of Abraham 12:3-4 describes Abraham calling down fire (he incorrectly? references it as Testament of Abraham 10:11).
Testament of Abraham 12:3-4, found in James H. Charlesworth, The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, vol. 1 (New York; London: Yale University Press, 1983), 901:
12 1 And after Abraham saw the place of judgment, the cloud took him down to the firmament below. 2 And when Abraham looked down upon the earth, he saw a man committing adultery with a married woman. 3 And Abraham turned and said to Michael, “Do you see this sin? But, lord, send fire from heaven, that it may consume them.” 4 And immediately fire came down from heaven and consumed them. 5* For the Lord (had) said to Michael, “Whatever Abraham asks you to do for him, do.” 6 And again Abraham looked up and saw other men slandering (their) fellows, 7 and he said, “Let the earth open and swallow them up.” 8 And while he was speaking, the earth swallowed them up alive. 9 And again the cloud brought him to another place. And Abraham saw some people leaving for a desert place to commit murder. 10 And he said to Michael, “Do you see this sin? But let wild n beasts come out of the desert and rend them in two.” 11 And in that very hour wild beasts came out of the desert and devoured them. 12 Then the Lord God spoke to Michael, saying, “Turn Abraham away to his house, and do not let him go round all the creation which I made, because his heart is not moved for sinners, 13 but my heart is moved for sinners, so that they may convert and live and repent of their sins and be saved.” 14 And about the ninth hour Michael returned Abraham to his is house. 15 But Sarah, his wife, since she had not seen what had become of Abraham, was consumed with grief and gave up her soul. 16 And after Abraham returned, he found her dead, and he buried her.
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Verse 14:
(14) and he deceives the ones dwelling upon the earth through the signs which were given to him to do/make/perform on behalf of the beast,
saying to the ones dwelling upon the earth to make/do an image to the beast-- who has the wound of the sword and he lived-- (Mark 13:22; 2 Thess. 2:9-10; contrast Deuteronomy 13:1-3; h/t Craig Koester)
So Beast #2 is capable of doing great signs, and these signs successfully persuade people to bow down to Beast #1. So here we find a third reason why the world bows down to beast-- because they are deceived by the miracles.
Now, there are Christians who love this verse, because they take it as evidence that healings, and signs, and wonders, are demonic. Cessationists sometimes give the impression that the only one who has power to do anything on earth, is satan. If you see a miracle, it must be demonic. And if you really need a miracle, they seem to suggest that you should go talk to a satanist.
What cessationists don't understand, I would argue, is that the reason Beast #2 is so effective, and dangerous, is because he is able to copy us. We saw in Revelation 11 that we, the church, are the two witnesses. We are like Joshua, and Zerubbabel, and Elijah, and Jeremiah, and Moses. We do great signs on the earth, and these signs point people to the truth about Jesus.
Satan needs Beast #2 to manufacture miracles, if he wants to have any chance at countering our testimony.
The miracles, then, do two things: (1) they blunt the effect of our miracles, and (2) they point people to Beast #1 (and to satan).
So Beast #2, whoever this beast is, uses the signs to push people to make an image of Beast #1. They are supposed to make an idol of Beast #1, and bow down and worship it.
And this is another place where John's first readers have an easier go of this, than we do. This is a huge clue, but only if we pretend to be first century Romans (what follows is based on Craig Koester's commentary, 592-93, and Ed Neufeld's sermon. https://www.ourkcc.ca/sermons/holy-war-1/ ).
In the first century, in every major city, Roman emperors were worshipped as gods. People built temples to honor them. They set up images of the emperors, that people would bow down to, and worship. This wasn't done in a top-down, official sort of way. It was done from the ground up, as a way for wealthy people, and wealthy cities, to show their support to the Roman empire (here, especially, following Koester). Everyone was expected to bring an offering to the image, and worship it. Doing that is how you'd show your loyalty to the Roman empire, and to the emperor. If you refused, you'd look like a traitor. And if you refused, local authorities might have you killed.
So who is Beast #2? Based on what we've read up to this point, Beast #2 is made up of people who work together to enforce loyalty to human empire. Beast #2 is the local enforcer for the empire (h/t Ed Neufeld). The bouncer, who does security for the bar. And more specifically, we can say that Beast #2 is made up of three main groups:
(1) rich people who tried to curry favor with Rome by building images of the emperor and temples dedicated to him;
(2) the imperial cult with its priests,
and (3) the local officials who enforced emperor worship.
At this point, we can also ask, "Who then, is doing the miracles that cause people to bow down to the emperor?"
And the answer, is the priests at idol temples, who serve other gods. These priests do wonders, like calling fire down from heaven, to encourage people to worship the emperor. I assume that some of these first century priests are frauds, and charlatans, who use tricks to pretend to do signs. But I assume that some of these priests have intentionally partnered with satan, and been empowered by satan to do actual miracles.
Verse 15:
(15) and it was given to him/it (=to Beast #2) to give breath to the image of the beast (Psalm 135:17),
in order that both the image of the beast would speak (contrast Psalm 115:5; 135:16),
and he/it would make it,
in order that however many people, unless they bow down to the image of the
beast, would be killed, (Daniel 3:4-6; Revelation 13:10)
Beast #2 can do other amazing things, besides call fire down from heaven. He can give life to idols. He can make them speak. Again, we find that Beast #2 has upped his game. These false priests can do, what false priests could never do in the OT.
And the other thing these priests do, is enforce this emperor worship. If you don't bow down to the image of the emperor, you get killed. Probably, this means that the priests work with local government authorities, to make sure everyone serves the emperor. Anyone not bowing down, is an enemy of the state, and should be killed.
Let me read something from Craig Koester (Revelation, pg. 594):
"In the early second century CE, Pliny the Roman governor used a statue when trying to determine whether people were Christians:
I considered that I should dismiss any who denied that they were or ever had been Christians when they repeated after me a formula of invocation to the gods and had made offerings of wine and incense to your [the emperor’s] statue (which I had ordered to be brought into court for this purpose along with the images of the gods), and furthermore had reviled the name of Christ: none of which things, I understand, any genuine Christian can be induced to do. Others … did reverence to your statue and the images of the gods in the same way as the others, and reviled the name of Christ. (Pliny the Younger, Ep. 10.96.5–6)."
If you were a non-Christian, living under the Roman empire, worshipping the emperor was no big deal. You'd know that there's lots of gods, and you are free to worship all of them. You know the emperor isn't insisting that you worship him alone, but that this is simply a way to show your allegiance to him, and to the state. And so you'd bow, no big deal. But if Jesus is your Lord, and you worship God alone, all of this is completely unacceptable.
And the only question left, is how serious you are about Jesus. Are you willing to accept the sword, or will you turn your back on your Savior? That's the question.
Verse 16:
(16) and he makes/causes all people-- the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the slaves,
in order that they would give to them a mark upon their right hands or upon their foreheads,
and in order that no one would be able to buy or to sell, except only the one having the mark of the name of the beast or the number of his name.
Some people spend a lot of time and energy focused on verse 16, thinking about implanted computer chips, or credit cards, or something along those lines. But I think this verse made perfect sense to John's first century readers.
In the first century, four different groups of people were branded, or tattooed (all of this is based on Gregory Beale's commentary): (1) Slaves were branded, if they were disobedient. (2) People in different religions would dedicate themselves to a particular god by branding, or tattooing, themselves. (3) Soldiers could be branded as a way to demonstrate their allegiance to a particular king or nation. (4) Prisoners could be branded as punishment (Plutarch, Pericles 26, cited by Beale).
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On soldiers being forcibly marked, to demonstrate their loyalty; Herodotus, Herodotus, with an English Translation by A. D. Godley, ed. A. D. Godley (Medford, MA: Harvard University Press, 1920), cited by Gregory Beale:
[233] [1] The Thebans, whose general was Leontiades, fought against the king’s army as long as they were with the Hellenes and under compulsion. When, however, they saw the Persian side prevailing and the Hellenes with Leonidas hurrying toward the hill, they split off and approached the barbarians, holding out their hands. With the most truthful words ever spoken, they explained that they were Medizers, had been among the first to give earth and water to the king, had come to Thermopylae under constraint, and were guiltless of the harm done to the king. [2] By this plea they saved their lives, and the Thessalians bore witness to their words. They were not, however, completely lucky. When the barbarians took hold of them as they approached, they killed some of them even as they drew near. Most of them were branded by Xerxes command with the kings marks, starting with the general Leontiades.
On religious devotees tattooing themselves, Herodotus, Herodotus, with an English Translation by A. D. Godley, ed. A. D. Godley (Medford, MA: Harvard University Press, 1920), cited by Gregory Beale, Revelation:
[1] When I inquired of the priests, they told me that this was the story of Helen. After carrying off Helen from Sparta, Alexandrus sailed away for his own country; violent winds caught him in the Aegean and drove him into the Egyptian sea; and from there (as the wind did not let up) he came to Egypt, to the mouth of the Nile called the Canopic mouth, and to the Salters’. [2] Now there was (and still is) on the coast a temple of Heracles; if a servant of any man takes refuge there and is branded with certain sacred marks, delivering himself to the god, he may not be touched. This law continues today the same as it has always been from the first.
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So the idea of being forced to receive a tattoo, or mark, would've made sense to the John's first readers. It's a symbolism they would've understood. But I think it is symbolism, and not something that we are supposed to try to press literally. The idea in Revelation is that everyone has a tattoo. Those who have been purchased by the Lamb have a seal on their foreheads, with the name of God and the Lamb imprinted. And those who bow down to the Beast have a tattoo on their foreheads, or hands. Everyone has a tattoo. Everyone is clearly identified with the Beast or the Lamb. The question is, who owns you, and who do you worship?
I've tried really hard to not cheat ahead in Revelation, and use later stuff to explain earlier stuff (it's better to work from left to right), but I think I should make an exception to the rule here. Let's turn to Revelation 14:9 (NIV no reason):
9 A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, 10 they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath.
You receive the mark of the beast, by worshipping the beast. This is a warning addressed to Christians. You only have space on your forehead for one tattoo. You can only belong to one Lord; you can only worship one God. And if you choose to worship the beast, the beast's mark apparently replaces the Lamb's seal.
I say all of that, because I think it's important for us to understand that the mark of the Beast is not about some future government overreach, when computer chips implanted in the skin. The mark of the Beast, is designed to make sure people comply with human empire.
One of the ways you persuade everyone to worship the emperor, and to be the best possible Roman (or American) citizen, is by causing people financial harm when they refuse to comply. It's a lot like how the unvaccinated were harmed financially, by their refusal to get the covid shot. They weren't allowed on planes. They couldn't cross borders. They couldn't attend trade conventions, and special conferences. In some parts of the country, you lost your job.
That's more how the mark of the beast worked, in the first century. If you refuse to bow down to the image of the emperor, you got the Bud Light treatment. You were boycotted, and excluded. We find the same thing today in workplaces, and colleges, and schools. If you refuse to toe the line in any number of areas because you have God's seal on your forehead, you are harmed financially. If your preferred pronoun is "Belongs to Jesus," your wallet will suffer. [So this would add a fourth group to Beast #2-- trade guilds, and groups, who cause financial harm to Christians].
At this point, let's reread verse 16. I want to say one last thing about it:
(16) and he makes/causes all people-- the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the slaves,
in order that they would give to them a mark upon their right hands or upon their foreheads,
and in order that no one would be able to buy or to sell, except only the one having the mark of the name of the beast or the number of his name.
The mark of the beast is something you have on your "right hand" or upon your forehead. I think the symbolism here, is that you receive the mark of the beast by how you act (waving right hand; cf. Matthew 5:30, where your right hand symbolizes how you act; h/t Gregory Beale) and by how you think (pointing to head; Beale points to Exodus 13:9, 16; Deuteronomy 6:8; 11:18). If you act and think in compliance with the Beast, you get his tattoo.
Verse 18:
(18) Here is wisdom:
The one having understanding should/must calculate the number of the beast.
For the number of a (hu)man, it is,
and his number is 666.
I don't want to make too much of this verse, or say too much about it. My guess, is that the number 666 is another way of linking to the emperor Nero. If you take the letters in Nero's name, written out in Hebrew, and add up the numerical value of the letters, it comes to 666 (and the textual variant being 616 also points to Nero, because that's what the number comes to in Latin. The variants show that the first copyists understood this pointing to Nero. Following what's probably the majority here.).
John wants you to know that when you look at Rome, you shouldn't see a benevolent superpower, that's here to help you. That's not how governments work. When you look at Rome, or any other human empire, you should think about Nero's reign of incompetence, and terror.
Human empires work very hard to present themselves as being benevolent, and good. But once in a while, the mask slips, and you see the empire's true colors. And it slips more with some leaders, than others.
Many Christians in the U.S. today would love to say that we are a Christian nation, born in Judeo-Christian values. Many would even say we, as a nation, have entered into a special, unique covenant with God.
But our mask has slipped, rather badly. We've toppled governments across the world in places like Libya, Iraq, and Ukraine, causing chaos. We continue to occupy parts of Syria, basically just to steal their oil. We use done strikes to kill innocent people across the globe. We've held prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, without trial, for years. We've tortured prisoners at secret prisons around the world. And during the height of covid insanity, we've seen Christians lose jobs across the country, or have them threatened, unless they were injected with a drug developed from fetal cells. On top of all of this, we still murder thousands of unborn babies every year. The leading cause of death in U.S. children, I think, is abortion.
Focus on the warts, and it's easy to see the Beast.
So John wants us to look carefully at the empire we live under. To realize that ordinary human nations can become demonically inspired servants of satan.
The "ones dwelling on the earth" may bow down to human empires across the world, in their various heads. They may be deceived by sorcery. They may give in to the financial pressure. They may think that the human empires are too powerful to be resisted, and no one can fight against them. They may decide that they might as well live and think in line with the Beast.
But not us. We have a different tattoo on our forehead. We bow down to God Most High, and to the Lamb. We do not comply with Beast #2. We don't wave the flag. We don't pledge allegiance. We don't bow down and serve the empire. We've taken off the rose-colored glasses.
So be faithful to God, understanding that this may cost you dearly. You might get killed. You might get thrown in jail. You might suffer financially. But belonging to God, and to the Lamb, makes all of it worth it (and that's what chapter 14 will go on to reassure us about).
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So that's chapter 13. This has been one of the hardest things I've ever had to teach, and I'd just as soon be done.
But before I close, I think we should reflect on how Beast #2 works today, because the Beast works differently today, than it did in the first century.
When we think about Revelation 11, and the two witnesses, we could sum it up like this: We, the church, do PR for God, and the Lamb. Our job is to testify about Jesus, speaking of God's kindness, and greatness, and victory. And we testify, with power. We proclaim the full gospel, and the truthfulness of our testimony is attested by healings, and signs, and wonders. We are like Moses, turning a staff into a snake. We are like Jeremiah, breathing fire. We are like Elijah, opening and closing the heavens.
But what Revelation 13 shows us, is that there is a competing voice in the world:
Beast #2's job, is to do PR for Beast #1, human empires, and for satan. Beast #2's job is to make sure that satan, and human superpowers, are worshipped instead of God and the Lamb.
Now, Beast #2 has three main tools, that it uses:
(1) Deception
(2) Physical harm
(3) Financial harm
In the first century, Beast #2 primarily worked in the trade guilds, and in the imperial cults. Those are the areas where your allegiance to the empire was tested. That's where you had to make the choice, about who you bowed down to-- who you worshipped.
If we think about Beast #1 and Beast #2 today, from a 21st century, American perspective, what does all of this look like?
Let's say, for the sake of argument, that Beast #1 has been given power, and authority, and a throne, over every people, and tongue, and tribe, and nation (Revelation 13:7), for the entire duration of the church (Revelation 13:5). And let's say, hypothetically, that the reason we are the world's superpower, is because we've been blessed by satan. Satan has given us a helping hand, giving us his power, and authority, and throne.
Let's also say, for the sake of argument, that Beast #2 is still active in the U.S., trying to persuade people to bow down to the U.S. empire, rather than God and the Lamb.
If that's right, then in what areas is Beast #2 active?
Let me throw out two possibilities:
(1) Perhaps, the Beast attempts to persuade people through mainstream media. CNN, MSNBC, ABC, FOX, are the Beast's American mouthpieces. They are designed to make you think of yourselves as Americans, first and foremost. They encourage you to view yourselves as "the ones dwelling on the earth," and not as citizens of heaven. And they work in lock-step with Beast #1, promoting the Beast, defending what the Beast does, parroting the talking points of the Beast.
(2) Perhaps, the Beast attempts to persuade people through the school systems. Young minds are more easily manipulated, and controlled. We know when we see things like critical race theory, and transgenderism, and homosexuality, that we are seeing the demonic. But the same is true of patriotism. Beast #2 makes people uncritically patriotic, to blind them to indefensible things, and to offer an alternative to the Lamb.
So I believe that we live in a time when Beast #1, and Beast #2, are actively working to deceive the world, and intentionally setting up an alternative to God and to the Lamb. I believe that part of the reason why evangelism seems so fruitless, at times, is because when we testify about Jesus, we do so in a world with competing voices.
Satan successfully muddies the water, and deceives people, to blunt the power of our testimony. He sets up a rival to God, in the form of human empire. He gives it his power, so that humans can build great things (Genesis 11:1-4?), and look like gods. And satan uses that human empire to attack us, to make us look weak, and powerless, and disloyal. Through satan's efforts, our voice becomes something no one wants to hear (Revelation 11:10).
So understand that you live in a world with competing voices, with competing power structures.
Understand that in this world, you will suffer physical pain, and financial pain, for faithful testimony about Jesus.
Following Jesus will cost you, because there are lots of Neros out there.
And maybe this July 4th, don't wave the flag.
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A quote by Mitchell Reddish, Revelation, 263:
"In modern America, the church has often become an instrument, if at times unwittingly, of the policies and programs of the state. During times of war, from World War I to the recent Gulf War, many churches and church leaders have rallied around the military, demonizing our national enemies and portraying them as godless subhumans that deserve to be annihilated. In times of peace, churches hold patriotic rallies, particularly on the Fourth of July weekend, with much flag waving and singing of patriotic songs. During such celebrations-- even during Sunday morning worship-- churches are literally, as well as figuratively, wrapped in red, white, and blue, thus intertwining so closely God and country that it is difficult to tell where one starts and the other ends. Even more subtle, but perhaps more dangerous, is the practice of placing American flags in our churches and teaching our children to pledge allegiance to the United States flag as a part of Vacation Bible School activities. Caesar demands to be worshiped, and too readily the church obeys. The church becomes a servant of the state, making 'the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast.'"
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