Pastor Chris’ Corona Quarantine Epistles to the Flock of AIC Ngong Road, in Dispersion and Isolation. 17th. Edition.
Dear Children of the Heavenly King,
Yesterday we saw how the Beast will deceive people and establish a religion around himself. This is something that the readers of John understood well. Rome practiced emperor worship, an evil man who persecuted Christians. The truth is, a man wants to be worshipped, we are in competition with God for glory – and that is our undoing. In verses 4-10 of Revelation 13, the Beast and the dragon are worshipped together. For 42 months (3½ years), the Beast has sway, blaspheming and boasting, persecuting the saints and lording it over everyone.
Everyone on earth will worship him, except those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. This really is the point. We could get the times completely wrong. The Beast could end up being simply a personification of evil humanity, or he could end up being the king of some nondescript little state. All of that does not really matter, in the end.
What does matter is that those who belong to Jesus will not worship the beast. Suppose the Beast were money, would this be true of us? Suppose it was pre-marital, extra-marital, homosexual, bestial, or other forms of sex that God has not approved of, would it be true of us that we would not worship the beast? You could be looking for some Godzilla-type beast, when in fact, the Beast is within! Verses 9 and 10 are a reminder that God is just.
Some will lead others into captivity – and the same will happen to them, others will kill by the sword – and the same will happen to them. Let us now look at the second beast in verses 11-18. This one is said to be coming from the Land. This could be indicative of the fact that the person is Jewish or Israelite. He has “two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon.” So this is the infamous False Prophet. He will pretend, probably impersonate, the Lord Jesus, but his lies will be like those of Satan.
The Bible warns us repeatedly about false prophets. One cannot be too careful. “Test everything, cling to the good.” This second beast will act on behalf of the first, perform counterfeit miracles in his name and cause people everywhere to worship the first Beast, failing which, they would be killed. This again resounds with what First Century Christians were experiencing. It seems it is this second beast who causes people to make a mark on the right hand or forehead, likely, on behalf of the first Beast, since it is in his power that the second beast acts. The mark is the number of a man, 666. We need to remember that the readers of John when he sent this letter out, would most likely have understood what this number meant.
The style of Apocalyptic used imagery to conceal, while at the same time revealing. Because of its Jewish origins, a non-Jewish person, unfamiliar with Jewish literature, was unlikely to understand the code. But most Jewish people who were familiar with Apocalyptic imagery would have been able to decode the number. Most fingers have been pointed at the Roman emperor, and most probably, rightly so. Different calculations have been done by scholars. We will not get into that. Suffice it to say that there was a Beast that Christians of the First Century were facing and they needed encouragement. Unless we assume that the evil systems that rule the world are all that John meant, there is a personification of an evil rule.
If that is so, then the Mark comes after the ruler is revealed, not before. A lot has been said on social media about digital identification in the last few weeks. That this is going to be used by the Beast to mark his people is probable, but not certain. Candidates for the Mark of the Beast have come and gone. What is important is that Revelation was written to assure the saints of victory, because the Lamb will defeat the beast and the dragon.
That the Christian faith has survived 2000 years is testimony to that. Let me conclude by saying, in all humility, that those saying we should not take a vaccine, because it will carry the Mark of the Beast, are in my understanding of the Bible, barking up the wrong tree. This is not to say that I approve of anyone inserting a tracking device in my body, wherever – back of the hand, forehead, thumb, shoulder – no. But let us separate issues. The Beast first, then the Mark. No Beast, no Mark. Join me tomorrow as we explore why it may not be time to hype about the Beast, yet
Your Loving Pastor Chris.