Revelation 13:16-18

The image above is from WikiMedia Commons — “Beast from the earth makes people adore the image of the beast from the sea” — by Shakko, is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International.

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We see in these verses the continuation of the message about the Beast from the Land —

The triple alliance between Satan (Dragon), the state (Beast from the Sea), and false religion (Beast from the Land) results in fruitless opposition to God but furious persecution of His people.

Let’s see further results of worshiping the Beast from the Sea—

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II. The State/Civil-Religion union desires conformity of its citizens and will punish those who dare to think otherwise.

Vss. 16 Also it [the beast from the land] causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name.

Our media-saturated world is a tool for group-think in the extreme. “The medium is the message” is a phrase coined by the Canadian communication theorist Marshall McLuhan. It means that the nature of a medium (the channel through which a message is transmitted) is more important than the meaning or content of the message. McLuhan frequently punned on the word “message,” changing it to “mass age”, “mess age”, and “massage”. (see The medium is the message article from Wikipedia for a summary of McLuhan’s still timely thinking).

The mark (charagma in Greek) is a leveling instrument. It tears down all of the distinctions in society. (It is a counterfeit to the mark placed upon God’s people in Revelation seven.) The mark on the hand affects humans’ work. The mark on the forehead affects humans’ thinking. Unless a person thinks like those around him/her, they will not be able to get a job.

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Persecution Stories from Open Doors USA

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The mark is a sign of loyalty to the Beast’s worship cult. It has as its background the following possibilities —

1. The branding of slaves;
2. The branding of soldiers as a sign of loyalty to the commander;
3. The sealing of contracts;
4. The stamping of coins;
5. The certificate of sacrifice to the gods given to those loyal to the imperial cult.
*6. A thing carved, a sculpture, a graven work of idolatrous images

The idol is the statue of the Beast from the Sea. The mark on a human says, “I follow the government/false religious way of thinking.” Wearing the mark of a particular person means giving allegiance to that person. Whatever the background, the reference is to an invisible mark, like the invisible mark the saints bear (cf. Rev. 7). Even though the mark is invisible to the eye, it is nevertheless idolatry.

18 Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? 19 What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons.

“Theology is the study of that which concerns each of us ultimately and its bearing on everything else… . With the preceding point in mind, it is worth noting that some people’s ultimate concern is money. For others, it is sex, drugs, etc. For others, it is their family, nation, or job.” (see Patheos, below.)

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III. The State/Civil-Religion union always falls short of perfection, try as it may.

Vs. 18 This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.

“His number is 666” — “This is a summons to “work out a number for the Beast’s name” (see Michael Wilcox, p. 128-131, below).

The enigmatic numbers are to be a code or a stock symbol to stand for the Beast. John then proceeds to offer a suggestion — 666. Since 7 is the number of perfection, 6 falls short of that perfection three times. The satanic trifecta attempts to attain perfection but always falls short no matter how many times it tries [cradle to grave care of the citizens]. Three attempts mean three failures. There is no reference to numerical equivalency of names of persons alive at that time or in the future — [Gematria is is an alphanumeric code of assigning a numerical value to a name, word or phrase based on its letters, e.g. some in the 1970s said Henry Kissinger’s name added up to 666.]

Later, Mikhail Gorbachev’s birth mark was the mark of the beast. My mother told me Hitler or Mussolini was the public choice during WWII. Six-six-six is simply a crypto-graph for the Beast.

I have shared the chart above earlier. I re-post it in this blog post to show the link between the three Chapters in Revelation.

The beast from the [land], called in later visions “the false prophet” (16:13; 19:20; 20:10), is in no way a rival or a competitor of the beast from the sea, but on the contrary is strictly subordinate to the first beast. Its mission is not to exalt itself or to demand worship for itself, but solely to make sure that the earth’s inhabitants worship the beast from the sea (vv. 14-15). Possibly John’s readers noticed here a kind of twisted parallel to the Christian [Trinity] — Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (see Michaels, below.)

False religion is a tool of the dragon to further persecute the Church. In our day, secular humanism is false religion that dominates the West’s thinking and actions. Religions that accept secular humanism’s ideas, get along well with evil governments. Those who do not conform are ostracized and persecuted.

Churches today must return to affirmation of the crown rights of King Jesus, no matter what the cost! God give us strength to be the church instead of going to a church building.

Next time on to Chapter Fourteen!

Notes (Commentaries on which I rely sometimes without direct quotation.)

Beale, G. K. (2015). Revelation: a Shorter Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Kindle Edition.

Death of an Age. (2013). Faith for all of Life May issue. Accessed 5 November 2020 from https://chalcedon.edu/resources/articles/the-death-of-an-age-and-its-faith

ESV. (2001). Accessed 24 June 2020 from https://www.biblegateway.com

Hendriksen, William. More Than Conquerors: An Interpretation of the Book of Revelation. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (p. 125).

Johnson, A. F. (1982). Revelation in Expositor’s Bible Commentary, ed. Gaebelein. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Johnson, D. E. (2001). Triumph of the Lamb: A Commentary on Revelation. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishers. Kindle Edition.

Kenner, C. (2000). The NIV Application Commentary: Revelation. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic.

Michaels, J. R. (1997). The IVP New Testament Commentary Series – Revelation. Accessed 29 October 2020 from https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/ivp-nt/Beast-Earth

Morris, Leon. (1987). Revelation in Tyndale New Testament Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

National Park Service. (2016). “A New Version of Making America Great (Again).” Accessed 10 November 2020 from https://chalcedon.edu/magazine/save-this-page-add-my-notes-a-new-version-of-making-america-great-again

NIV. (2001). Accessed 24 June 2020 from https://www.biblegateway.com

Patheos. (2014). “Your Ultimate Concern Is Your God.” Accessed 19 November 2020 from https://www.patheos.com/blogs/uncommongodcommongood/2014/09/your-ultimate-concern-is-your-god/

Weaver, R. M. (1948). “Ideas Have Consequences” article from Wikipedia. Accessed 20 November 2020 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideas_Have_Consequences

WikiMedia Commons for Images

Wilcox, M. (1984). The Message of Revelation. Bible Speaks Today series. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic. © 2020 C. Richard Barbare All Rights Reserved

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Revelation 13:15

15 And [the Beast from the Land] was allowed to give breath to the image of the [ the] beast [from the sea], so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain.

Image above is from Wikimedia Commons; “The number of the beast is 666” by William Blake 1805 in the public domain.

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We see in these verses the continuation of the message about the Beast from the Land —

The triple alliance between Satan (Dragon), the state (Beast from the Sea), and false religion (Beast from the Land) results in opposition God and persecution of His people.

This reminder about the apocalyptic images is important —

“Both these beasts oppose the Church throughout this dispensation [from the Resurrection-Ascension to the Second Coming of Christ]; yet the apostle describes them in terms that indicate the form that they assumed during the closing decade of the first century AD.” (see Hendriksen, p. 144, below.)

The reminder prevents us from reading newspaper/media headlines today, and then extrapolating today’s news as “Bible prophecy fulfilled,” specifically. Of course, it is fulfillment, but of the kind that every age sees until the Second Coming of Christ! This is the essence of progressive parallelism in Revelation.

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I. All who bear unquestioning allegiance to the State/Civil Religion-amalgam are worshiping “modern Beasts.“

vs. 15 And [the Beast from the Land] was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast [from the Sea], so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain.

False religion allied to evil government always manipulates things in such a way as to lend credence to itself. It only appears to possess vitality, however. Psalm 115 remind us the nature of allegiance to anyone or anything than The Lord our God —

4
Their idols are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
5
They have mouths, but do not speak;
eyes, but do not see.
6
They have ears, but do not hear;
noses, but do not smell.
7
They have hands, but do not feel;
feet, but do not walk;
and they do not make a sound in their throat.
8
Those who make them become like them;
so do all who trust in them.
9
O Israel, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.

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In ancient Greece men would consult the Oracle at Delphi for guidance about decisions they had to make. A priest would be questioned by one seeking advice. The priest would speak to the Pythia, who had inhaled the psychedelic vapors from the fissure opened by an earthquake. She muttered some phrase that the Priest interpreted and conveyed to the inquiring person.

Priestess of Delphi (1891) by John Collier, showing the Pythia sitting on a tripod with mind-altering vapor rising from a crack from the earth beneath her. Wikipedia Public Domain image.

Croesus, king of Lydia, consulted Delphi before attacking Persia, and according to Herodotus was advised: “If you cross the river, a great empire will be destroyed”. Believing the response favorable, Croesus attacked, but it was his own empire that ultimately was destroyed by the Persians. (WikiPedia “Oracle” page.)

How can people be duped by false government-religion working in tandem? Religion doesn’t have an oracle to consult. No, but the state always has ruling-elite-handlers who know what the vassals ought to think and do. Figure into the modern mix the main stream media, and we have our modern day oracle piped into our dens.

In his day, Richard M. Weaver, called the government-media cooperative “the great stereopticon.”

Weaver gives the name “The Great Stereopticon” to “the technologically enhanced thought control to which we are subjected by newspapers, film, radio, and television.” [I’m sure Weaver would add the Internet if he were writing today instead of in 1948.] (see Brother André Marie, below.)

Here, notably, Weaver echoes the sentiments of C. S. Lewis in his book The Abolition of Man (which was written nearly contemporaneously with Ideas Have Consequences), and anticipates the modern critique of consumerism. (see Weaver, below.)

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Consider this example of “a modern day oracle” speaking —

In November of 2015, a National Park policeman approached the tour group I was leading on the grassy knoll of Bunker Hill in Boston. He demanded I stop teaching about the battle that had been fought there in 1775, and drew his ticket book (not his revolver) and threatened to write me up for “illegal guiding,” a crime unknown in statutory law and a term new to Landmark Events, our history tour company.

We had been there a number of times in previous years and until now had always received a warm welcome and at least indifference over my lecturing about the battle on the grounds around the monument. I lecture using a headset transmitter while our guests have unobtrusive receivers and ear buds so we don’t disturb non-group members who may also be visiting the site. Unlike our groups, most people just visit the history center, climb the steps of the massive obelisk that commemorates the battle, and then move on. The National Park Service (NPS) personnel help people inside the monument and museum and run the gift store.

The president of our company…gently informed the irate guard that the NPS police and interpreters, indeed, work for us, the American people. In response, the guard threatened to ticket him and all our guests. In the end, the park rangers could neither provide a guide for us nor allow us to continue.

Sometime later [Landmark Events, a history tour company] led a tour to Charleston, South Carolina. The NPS interpreter told us that they would separate all the children from the families once we arrived at Fort Sumter. When [our tour director] remonstrated that we do not separate our families and that we have our own historians, she wagged her finger in his face and said “we know what your children need to know.” (see National Park Service, emphasis mine, below.)

“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” ― George Orwell, 1984

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The false prophet performs seeming miracles to convince the masses that the idolatrous religion is indeed real. But, it is a tool of Satan bent upon forcing men into loyalty to the state (and ultimately to Satan himself). The magical manipulations of the oracles and shrines in John’s day was proverbial. The Priests could make them say whatever they wanted to.

Christianity in the 21st Century must not lend an evil government a sense of propriety. The Church and faithful believers must speak out prophetically whenever the government depart from the clear teaching of Scripture.

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Next time on to the Mark of the Beast!

Notes (Commentaries on which I rely sometimes without direct quotation.)

Beale, G. K. (2015). Revelation: a Shorter Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Kindle Edition.

Brother André Marie, (2008). “The Great Stereopticon” article accessed 21 November 2020 from https://catholicism.org/ad-rem-no-84.html

Death of an Age. (2013). Faith for all of Life May issue. Accessed 5 November 2020 from https://chalcedon.edu/resources/articles/the-death-of-an-age-and-its-faith

ESV. (2001). Accessed 24 June 2020 from https://www.biblegateway.com

Hendriksen, William. More Than Conquerors: An Interpretation of the Book of Revelation. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (p. 125).

Johnson, A. F. (1982). Revelation in Expositor’s Bible Commentary, ed. Gaebelein. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Johnson, D. E. (2001). Triumph of the Lamb: A Commentary on Revelation. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishers. Kindle Edition.

Kenner, C. (2000). The NIV Application Commentary: Revelation. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic.

Michaels, J. R. (1997). The IVP New Testament Commentary Series – Revelation. Accessed 29 October 2020 from https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/ivp-nt/Beast-Earth

Morris, Leon. (1987). Revelation in Tyndale New Testament Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

National Park Service. (2016). “A New Version of Making America Great (Again).” Accessed 10 November 2020 from https://chalcedon.edu/magazine/save-this-page-add-my-notes-a-new-version-of-making-america-great-again

NIV. (2001). Accessed 24 June 2020 from https://www.biblegateway.com

Patheos. (2014). “Your Ultimate Concern Is Your God.” Accessed 19 November 2020 from https://www.patheos.com/blogs/uncommongodcommongood/2014/09/your-ultimate-concern-is-your-god/

Weaver, R. M. (1948). “Ideas Have Consequences” article from Wikipedia. Accessed 20 November 2020 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideas_Have_Consequences

WikiMedia Commons for Images

Wilcox, M. (1984). The Message of Revelation. Bible Speaks Today series. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic. © 2020 C. Richard Barbare All Rights Reserved

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Revelation 13:15-19

Image above is from Wikimedia Commons by Ki Sigit Ariyanto Dalang Wayang Kulit CC BY-SA 4.0. “Shadow play,” also known as shadow puppetry, is an ancient form of storytelling and entertainment which uses flat articulated cut-out figures (shadow puppets) which are held between a source of light and a translucent screen or scrim.

Government without God is shadow-play. Secular humanism, which most Western liberal churches believe, is false religion!

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We see in these verses the continuation of the message about the Beast from the Land —

The triple alliance between Satan (Dragon), the state (Beast from the Sea), and false religion (Beast from the Land) results in opposition God and persecution of His people. 

I have stated before in this blog that apocalyptic images were familiar to the first century church, like “political cartoons” are to us in the Twenty-First Century. “A political cartoon, a type of editorial cartoon, is a graphic with caricatures of public figures, expressing the artist’s opinion.” (see Wikipedia, Political Cartoon below.) 

Example from the Second Gulf War. “War 2” by Carlos Latuff.
2006 from Wikimedia Commons

We who were adults in the Second Gulf War era, realize this cartoon says private oil firms make the money while military and non-combatants spill their blood.

“Between the logistics giant Halliburton and a myriad of armed security companies, private military contractors comprise the second largest “force” in Iraq, far outnumbering all non-U.S. forces combined. There are as many as 100,000 civilian contractors and approximately 20,000 private security forces.” (see Fontline Report, 2005, below.)  

Private security can operate off the grid and without the “bothersome” constraints of law.

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The Horrors of War, During and After

Our soldiers are noble and do what any administration asks them to do. They often return damaged and troubled. After they serve, they are often ignored and shelved in VA facilities.

Many eventually die and are forgotten by the nation that asked them to give “their last full measure of devotion.” The motivation of the soldiers going into battle is often very different from the motives of the government which sends them to fight.

I like the theme song for HBO’s “Band of Brothers” — “Requiem for a Soldier.” I listened often to that song as my sons were sent to fight in the wake of the 911 terrorist attack (both graduated from military colleges).

You never lived to see
What you gave to me
One shining dream of hope and love
Life and liberty
With a host of brave unknown soldiers
For your company you will live forever
Here in our memory.

In fields of sacrifice
Heroes paid the price
Young men who died for old men’s wars
Gone to paradise
We are all one great band of brothers
And one day you’ll see we can live together
When all the world is free.

I wish you’d lived to see
All you gave to me
Your shining dream of hope and love
Life and liberty
We are all one great band of brothers
And one day you’ll see – we can live together
When all the world is free.

Lyrics from the YouTube site.

Note the third line in the middle verse — “young men who died for old men’s wars.” “Older men declare war, but it is the youth that must fight and die.” — Herbert Hoover

PTSD is the reason many soldiers commit suicide after they return stateside. One question de-briefers ask is, “Did you see a person in your unit die?” Really! “How many did you see die?” would be a fairer question. Many die in their comrades arms as they try to save their lives.

If you want to know what the ground war was like in Afghanistan, see the documentary film “Restrepo” by National Geographic (click on this blue link and see a clip from the film; the entire film (1hr. 29mins.) is also available on YouTube). “In May 2007, the men of Second Platoon, Battle Company began a 15-month deployment in the Korengal Valley of eastern Afghanistan. It was considered one of the most dangerous postings in the U.S. Military.”

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Image above is of Marvin Joe “Red” Blankenship, my maternal grandfather, in Fayetteville, NC, at his wedding in 1939 to Faye Williams (not my grandmother, but a sweet lady. Faye always made the best Apple hand pies for breakfast when we visited them in Spindale, NC.)

I once asked my maternal Grandfather, Marvin Joe “Red” Blankenship, what war was like. We always called him “Red.”

He replied, “I was a machine gunner on a tank at the Battle of the Bulge. The German infantry was mostly 16-17 year old boys. We mowed them down as fast as they came toward us, firing until the machine guns turned orange from heat and would fire no more until cooled. I still see the faces of those young boys in my dreams at least once a week.” I never asked him again.

My mother said she asked him the same question once. He told her a similar story—his unit sneaked into a German camp on recon and slit the throats of boys while they slept. She never asked him again.

He served on past WWII and retired from the army after 30+ years. One day when he could take it no more, he went to his bed for his afternoon nap and put a bullet through his head. He was a causality of war even though he lived beyond the conflict. Like many veterans in wars he had smoked (“smoke ’em if got ’em) and used alcohol to cope. He had quit both before I knew him, but the damage had been done. His wife Faye had been a strong Christian influence on his life! He told Faye he couldn’t go through another winter with COPD and pneumonia. I believe I will see him again in heaven!

PTSD is a living hell! One with it relives the battles over and over again as long as they live. A PTSD incident can be triggered by a sound, a smell, or a place.

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Secular Humanism is the West’s Religion

Ironically, [Secular Humanism’s] faith has led to what has been called “perpetual war for perpetual peace.” To demand the unity of all men is the essence of total imperialism [or New World Order for global unity]. The result is total warfare.

The peace lovers are history’s greatest warmongers. Worldwide interventionism to effect world peace has characterized the policies of late of the U.S.S.R., the U.S., the U.N., and others. …Man without God ends up as man without man, unable and unwilling to live at peace with anyone, and unable to live at peace with himself. …Hell then is logically “other people” [according to Sartre], and the humanistic faith in man as his own god becomes history’s major impulse towards suicide. The Satanic temptation (Genesis 3:5 “you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”) thus becomes the counsel of death to men and nations. (See Death of an Age, emphasis mine, below).

Where we Get Hope

Our only hope is to acknowledge the Ancient of Days and His Law. See Daniel 7:9-18.

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Veteran’s Day 2020

I wrote this post on Veterans Day 2020. I honor our soldiers! However, I do not support the concept of “my country, right or wrong.” The Church of Jesus Christ should speak truth to power and be the conscience of the nation.

By the way, when I was drafted in 1972, I went for induction along with 178 others from Greenville, SC. They took two guys only. (I suspected something was in the works to end the war in Vietnam.) I did not have to serve, but I would have done what my country asked of me without question. Our soldiers make that same commitment even before they set foot on a battlefield, and we at home sleep undisturbed each night.

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Section 60 is a small part of a much larger story. It’s a piece of Arlington Cemetery, roughly 14 acres out of 624. It’s most notable as the place where many of the people killed in Iraq and Afghanistan are buried. It has been called “The saddest acre in America.”

We honor the soldiers even if we disagree with our government’s foreign policy at times.

Excuse me for writing so much personal material about war. However, I am trying to show where the State allied to a false, civil religion operates—i.e. secular humanism. We as Christians cannot endorse courses of action that are contrary to the Word of God. We need to speak out. The church needs to address issues instead of endorsing or opposing candidates in elections. The stand on issues spoken loudly enough can deal with the candidates.

Next time, part 4, and, yes, I’ll get to the Mark of the Beast.

Notes

Death of an Age. (2013). Faith for all of Life May issue. Accessed 5 November 2020 from https://chalcedon.edu/resources/articles/the-death-of-an-age-and-its-faith

ESV. (2001). Accessed 24 June 2020 from https://www.biblegateway.com

Frontline Report. (2005). “Private Warriors.” Accessed 10 November 2020 from https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/warriors/etc/synopsis.html

Liberty Under God and Its Alternative. (2005). Accessed 5 November from https://chalcedon.edu/resources/articles/liberty-under-god-and-its-alternative

NIV. (2001). Accessed 24 June 2020 from https://www.biblegateway.com

WikiMedia Commons for Images

Wikipedia, Political Cartoon. (2020) accessed 10 November 2020 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_cartoon

© 2020 C. Richard Barbare All Rights Reserved

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Image above is “The Great Red Dragon and the Beast from the Sea” by William Blake 1805. Public Domain from Wikimedia Commons.

Revelation 13:12-18

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We see in Revelation 13, the alliance between Satan (Dragon), State (Beast from the Sea), and false religion (Beast from the Land) to oppose God and persecute His people. 

vs. 12 [The Beast from the Land] exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. [ESV]

Compare Genesis 3:15 to see the meaning of the wounding of Satan’s head.

I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise* your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.” (ESV, emphasis mine.

*Bruise (Shooph in Hebrew) means figuratively, to overwhelm — break, bruise, cover. The serpent’s poison is lodged in its head; and a bruise on that part is fatal. Thus, fatal shall be the stroke which Satan shall receive from Christ [on the cross]. (see Bible Hub, below.)

Image from https://pastorhistorian.com/2005/12/21/the-first-christmas-message-genesis-315/

“Verse 15 is known as the proto-evangelium — the first Gospel. It proclaims that God’s people will finally triumph over the serpent. The “seed of the woman” is a collective noun, indicating corporate victory. However, if left to ourselves, we cannot win this war. No, it took Jesus, Eve’s seed par excellence, to deliver the crushing blow (Col. 2:15), and if we are in Him, we share in and extend His victory (Matt. 28:19; Rev. 20:4).” (see Proto-evangelium, below).

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I. The godless state seeks to mold people into conformity with Satan’s purpose and plans.

To review, the Beast from the Sea is an apocalyptic symbol for a government that opposes God and persecutes His people.

“…The vision is fulfilled in every generation whenever the state, with the help of religious institutions, tries to make itself the object of worship or to claim for itself allegiance that belongs to God alone.” (see Michaels, emphasis mine, below).

The Beast from the Land is an apocalyptic image of false religion which  assists the godless state and pressures God’s people to conform to the will and wishes of Satan. Our modern false religion is “secular humanism” where each man is his own god. See Genesis 3:4-5 —

4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (see ESV, emphasis mine, below)

“Men who believe they are gods who have the right to determine all things will act in terms of that self-image. A divinized man is sure to be full of himself. Sometimes this results in ego-centrism, selfishness, or a lawless anarchy. Often, too, it results in men pooling their energies to control others.” See Liberty Under God and Its Alternative, emphasis mine, below.)

The so-called “New World Order” in our day is a prime of example of globalists attempting to subdue all people under one worldwide identity. It reminds me of the Tower of Babel — Gen. 11:4 “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”[ESV]

Image from wikipedia in public domain; Illustration of the Tower of Babel, published in Turris Babel by Athanasius Kircher, 1679.

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II. False religion aids the State to mold people into conformity with Satan’s purpose and plans.

This literally reads in the Greek—”he does all the authority of the first beast in his presence.” It is evident that the idea is that the second beast has the authority of the Beast from the Sea and that it performs wonders in the presence of it with its approval. The trifecta work together to achieve the same ends.

Daniel 3:4-6 4 “And the herald proclaimed aloud, “You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, 5 that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6 And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace.” Image from Pinterest, saved by Julie Lassetter.

“[the Beast from the Land] makes the earth. . .worship the first beast [from the sea]” — The task of false religion is to bolster up the state. It forces men into conformity to the state. It often uses national tragedy and common national experiences to forge the people into a godless homogeneous society. This society is indicated by the term “the inhabitants of the earth.”

Those of us familiar with Daniel in the Old Testament understand the desire of the state to make people conform to its wishes. The alternative in Daniel is the fiery furnace or the lion’s den. 

Image from ARPA Canada at https://arpacanada.ca/news/2019/05/22/ontariobenchers/shadrach-meshach-abednego-2/

Most likely today, people will not be executed for non-conformity. Western countries like taxpayers too much. But if Christians are tortured or executed, remember the fourth man in the fire! 

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A member of the Church of Almighty God (Christian group in China) has suffered persecution by drugs. She was arrested in 2013, and the police tortured her cruelly, trying to extort a confession from her. The woman developed severe pain in her head, and officers used the pretext of “treating her headache” to deceive her into taking psychotropic substances.

“A few days after taking the drugs, I felt a lot of pain in my stomach and heart, my hands and feet trembled, and I had muscle cramps all over my body. I also vomited from being nauseous and experienced blurred vision,” the woman recalled. Sometime later, a prison doctor advised her to stop taking medication, but the guards continued forcing her to take drugs for ten more months.

“Although it has been two years since she was released from prison, she continues to develop headaches whenever recalling the past. Sometimes the pain is accompanied by vomiting. Besides, her responsiveness rate has dropped a lot, and she has become very forgetful. (see Bitter Winter, below)

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III. Deception of people lies at the heart of Satan’s plans to pervert God’s program for mankind.

vs. 13 And [the Beast from the Land] performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. [NIV]

“And he makes great signs, so that fire comes down out of heaven in the presence of men.” This is an obvious parody of the two witnesses’ ministry in Rev. 11. False religion “apes” the true testimony of the Church in order to win men over to its false system. The word for “sign” (sēmeia) is the standard word for “miracle” in the Gospels. These are false miracles.

vs 14 Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. [NIV] 

“the earth-dwellers make an image of the beast” — The task of the Beast from the land is to create idolaters out of the earth-dwellers. Image Greek = eikōn, icon) is not just a copy, but is something that partakes of the essential character of the original. Compare I Corinthians 10:18-22 —

18 Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? 19 What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22 Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?  [ESV; emphasis mine]

False religion in league with evil government is idolatry. [cf. II Thess. 2:1-12 on this passage.]

Continued next week…the mark of the beast 666!

Notes
(Commentaries on which I rely without direct quotation) 

Beale, G. K. (2015). Revelation: a Shorter Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Kindle Edition.

Bible Hub. (2020). Accessed 7 November 2020 from https://biblehub.com/hebrew/7779.htm

Bitter Winter. (2019). “Devastated by Drugs: Nightmare of Detained Believers” Accessed 7 November 2020 from https://bitterwinter.org/devastated-by-drugs-nightmare-of-detained-believers/

Death of an Age. (2013). Faith for all of Life May issue. Accessed 5 November 2020 from https://chalcedon.edu/resources/articles/the-death-of-an-age-and-its-faith

ESV. (2001). Accessed 24 June 2020 from https://www.biblegateway.com

Hendriksen, William. More Than Conquerors: An Interpretation of the Book of Revelation. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (p. 125).

Johnson, A. F. (1982). Revelation in Expositor’s Bible Commentary, ed. Gaebelein. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Johnson, D. E. (2001). Triumph of the Lamb: A Commentary on Revelation. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishers. Kindle Edition.

Kenner, C. (2000). The NIV Application Commentary: Revelation. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic.

Liberty Under God and Its Alternative. (2005). Accessed 5 November from https://chalcedon.edu/resources/articles/liberty-under-god-and-its-alternative

Michaels, J. R. (1997). The IVP New Testament Commentary Series – Revelation. Accessed 29 October 2020 from https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/ivp-nt/Beast-Earth

Morris, Leon. (1987). Revelation in Tyndale New Testament Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

NIV. (2001). Accessed 24 June 2020 from https://www.biblegateway.com

Proto-evangelium. (n.d.). Tabletalk Magazine. Accessed 6 November 2020 from https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/proto-evangelium/

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