NOTE: This Article IS NOT About What You Might Think That It Is.
Of all the images found in Scripture, one of
the most recognized is that of the Beast, found in the Apocalyptic book of
Revelation chapter 13 written by the Apostle St John just about 90-95-AD.
Even non-Christian have heard of this ominous
prophecy spoken or have read it for themselves.
"And I saw a beast coming
out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns,
and on each head a blasphemous name. The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but
had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave
the beast his power and his throne and great authority. One of the heads of the
beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed.
The whole world was astonished and followed the beast. Men worshiped the dragon
because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast
and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?” Rev: 13:1-5
Many, but not all, but many Christians, see
this image as the final manifestation of the world system in the
years ahead just prior to our Lord Jesus Christ descending from the
Heavens to bring the rule of the Great God openly over all things, and to be
sure it speaks to that, but I wanted to look at this "beast" different than most of us have ever
looked at it before, a way which shows us the depth of the word of the great
God.
Who Will You Worship?
At the time that St. John was inspired and
wrote the Book of Revelation we need to understand what was happening in the
world, in particular, the Roman Empire? Cesar Domitian had declared himself to
be the earthly embodiment of the sun god Apollo and was demanding worship and
veneration from the people under his rule, not just as the embodiment of the
empire, but as being a god himself.
At the time St. John wrote, the world system
found manifestation in Rome; now what was Rome? It was an empire building
entity which amassed territory for the purpose of gaining control and power
over the lives of people under the pretense of being a benefactor to those whom it ruled.
Rome claimed it had the answers to all of
humanities problems, as the world system always
does, regardless as to where or when it appeasers. In short,
Rome claimed Messianic status. This is what the Holy Spirit of God is telling
us:
"One of the heads of the beast seemed to
have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world
was astonished and followed the beast." Rev: 13:3
The fatal wound, and that wound’s miraculous
healing is a parody of the resurrection, that is, only the Messiah Jesus
has ever been truly been resurrected from "a fatal
wound" ; showing us all that Jesus is the Messiah, for the resurrection
confirms Jesus’ Messianic credentials and, without question , confirms his
divine identity as the Son of God.
“and who through the Spirit of
holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from
the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord”. Rom: 1:4
Jesus alone has the right to claim this
station as the Messiah, but we see here the Beast claiming it for its self.
Now, we see here the world system in the form
of Rome as presenting itself as a benefactor to those it wished to rule. One of
the means by which Rome gained control over peoples was through the promises of
economic gain and through this gain they would have "Peace and Safety" ...This was a motto inscribed on
some Roman coinage.
St. Paul wrote to the Thessalonian Christians
about this very thing.
"For when they will say, Peace and
Safety; then sudden destruction comes upon them, as travail upon a woman with
child; and they shall not escape."1Thess:5:3
This is a warning not to buy into the promise
of anyone or to put trust in anything other than Jesus, or in anything that
claims to be able to bring the fulfillment which only our Lord can give us, no
matter how sure it appears.
It has long been interpreted that the sea is a
reference to Roman being a Mediterranean power made up of many peoples, which
it was, and Rome used the sea as it's life blood for commerce and
transportation which gave Rome control over lives of people and expansion of its
power.
But, look again at it this way, in Hebrew cosmology,
that is, the way the Hebrew cultural mind viewed the order of things, there
were two places that demonic powers could be encountered, either on bodies of
water, like that of the sea and in the wilderness, like the
desert. So, is St. John telling us that the world system is of demonic origin?
That is, anything that climes the title of Messiah for itself is of the demonic
and its real goal is control and power over your life.
. "And I saw a beast coming out of
the sea." "The dragon gave the beast
his power and his throne and great authority”. Rev: 13:1-2
This tells us that when we worship anything
other than the God of the Bible we are worshiping Satan by proxy. It also shows
us that a nation, a people or a person will resemble the "god"
that they worship.
The world system looks like Satan. It is also
understood, that the Beast will be a political power which arises at the close of
human civilization that will dominate and control and regulate much of the
society in years to come. This power that will, like Roman, present its self as
a benefactor, and those who go along will get along. Revelation: 13:7-8 tells us that it will influence
many peoples.
As part of the control mechanism the Beast
will "Mark" those who worship it. In the Roman Empire
slaves were branded with the mark of Rome, that is the seal of the empire.
The Greek word used for mark is charagma. It was the technical term for the Roman
imperial stamp which had appeared on various official imperial documents.
The charagma was a
seal stamped with the name and date of the emperor, and attached to commercial
documents. Apparently, it also stood for the image of emperor’s head stamped on
coins. Thus, the charagma represented the
likeness or name of the emperor and empire.
The charagma was also a type of brand. In Roman
times, slaves were often branded with marks of ownership, much like
cattle are today. Religious tattooing was also widespread. Soldiers had a
custom of branding themselves with the name of a favorite general. Devotees of
a "god" labeled themselves with tattoos to designate
their loyal devotion. In short, Rome left its "mark"
upon those within it, those whom it ruled.
Whatever this mark may
be in the years to come, Revelation cites that it is on the hand and forehead
and that it will be visible in some way. It shows how they "buy and sell", or conduct business.
Second Beast
In Revelation: 13:11-17,
we are introduced to a second beast. this Beast emerges out of the "earth”. This second beast compels people of the earth
to worship the first beast. Some Biblical historians see this beast as to be a
reference to the Imperial Cult of Rome which had over site the worship of the
Empire in the person of Cesar.
Others have speculated that this may be an
apostate religious voice that will compel humanity to give their worship to the
beast, the world system in the years to come at the close of human
civilization, and it may speak to that.
This second beast compels followers of the
world system to receive the mark. This beast
looks like a "Lamb but speaks as a dragon", out
of the "abundance heart the mouth speaks”. No matter how good
it looks, the outward is only cosmetic.
Recall that, the historical and
eternal question that the Book of Revaluation is asking all of us is
"Who Will You Worship?"
I would like to ask each and all of
us to consider what may be an important question about these verses. What
do they say to us now, today in our everyday lives, not
historically or prophetically, but now, today?
It maybe that these verses speak to each of us now.
Is there a beast ruling
our lives, is anything building an empire over the territory of our
lives? Is a something that claims to offer us what only Jesus truly can
bring to us?
If we are looking to anything other than Jesus
as our Messiah, it will, like Rome, build an empire in our lives, that
is, gain greater control over territories of our lives’, all under
the pretense of being a benefactor that promises us "peace and safety"
security and prosperity, it will mark us as its
slaves and will dictate how we handle our personal economies, that is, how
we "buy and sell", that is, how we spend our
time energies and resources.
Anything which we will allow to rue our lives,
our hearts and minds will be upon our foreheads that is mark our foreheads, the very seat of our
thoughts, that is, it will have control of our thinking, which
controls our actions, and will be upon our hands and foreheads symbolizing
our thoughts and actions which shows who we worship.
Remember a nation or a person looks like the "god" which they worship as the world
system resembles the dragon.
When we look to the flesh or the world system,
we are accepting its mark, its charagama. We become its slaves, branded by the
Beast’s mark. One of the
reasons that Roman branded its slaves was so that they knew who “owned” them.
It was meant to be intrusive upon their person hood.
The second beast emerges out of the Earth,
that is, it speaks out of the earthly, our
carnal nature.
"But the natural man receives not the
things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he
know them, because they are spiritually discerned." 1Cor:2:14
This voice, out of the Earth of our lives, the
carnal nature, tells us to look to the natural, to the material, to the
gratification of the flesh, which makes great promises of fulfillment to us but
as always, those promises fall short, or betray and enslave us.
What the beast is, is the collective
expression of the world attempting to look to something other than Jesus. It is
this listening to that voice of the which speaks to us out of the Earth of our
carnal nature, which prophesies to the human heart, which causes conflict
in our lives as individuals and the world collectively.
What causes fights and quarrels among you?
Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something
but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You
quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God." Jam: 4:1-2
To Us Always
Who will we worship? That is the great
eternal question we are being asked. Will it be Jesus the Christ King of
the Kingdom of God or Cesar Emperor of Rome, the World System?
This is not just for those who lived long ago
in ages past, or for those who live times yet to come, but for us now and every
day.
I pray that we all we answer Revelation's
eternal question as to "who will we worship?”;
and that the voice our lives will daily proclaim loudly, Jesus, now
and forever.
Benediction: May we each and all look only to the
Lord Jesus Christ as the object if our worship, today, tomorrow and for
evermore. Amen.
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Rev.Todd Crouch, Norman, Oklahoma
"If It Is Not About Jesus, It Is Not
About Anything"
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