Word of Salvation – Vol. 46 No.9 – March 2001

 

The Two Beasts

 

Sermon by Rev L Douma

on Revelation 13

Scripture Readings: Daniel 7:1-18; Revelation 13

Suggested Singing: BoW 98a; 457; 238

 

Beloved in the Lord.

There is only one person who can get things done without any “tools of the trade”, who can do all without assistance – God.  He simply speaks and all is created by His Word.  But the rest of us creatures need tools, instruments and lots of assistance to get a job done.  Criminal masterminds need their henchmen and stooges to do their dirty work.  So does the monstrous red dragon, otherwise known as ‘Satan’ or ‘the devil’.

Last time we looked “behind the scenes” and saw how John showed the seven churches the ultimate reason why they were persecuted.  That is, the deep spiritual struggle where Satan and his angels are warring against the coming Christ.  Because Satan lost the battle in heaven with Christ’s ascension, he is on the rampage against the church as a whole and against Christians individually.  Why?  Because God is using the church to bring the kingdom – He’s bringing the whole creation to its redemption and Satan to his judgment.

Satan wants to stop this.  He wants his own world kingdom.  But since he is a spirit, he cannot establish an earthly throne in person.  He must have some human agent(s) to work on his behalf.  And what our text reveals here in chapter 13 are those human agents.  We are shown the instruments or tools which the dragon uses in his attack upon the church.

That’s what we have here with the two beasts.  We must see them as a pair that work together for the dragon.  The first is a monster of indescribable horror.  The second has a harmless appearance and for that reason is even more dangerous than the first.  The first beast comes up out of the sea.  The second arises from the land.  The first is Satan’s hand, the second is the devil’s mind.  The first represents the persecuting power of Satan operating in and through the world’s governments.  The second symbolises the false religions and philosophies of the world.  Both are used by Satan to attack the church during the period between Christ’s first and second comings (i.e., the “42 months”).  Let’s have a closer look.

In verse 1, John in his vision sees the dragon go to “the shore of the sea” to summon help.  And help comes in the form of the dreadful “beast”.  The way John describes it you can picture the monster emerging out of the water.  First John sees nothing but the horns – ten of them with crowns.  Then the seven heads appear each with a blasphemous name on it.  Now the body comes into view.  It’s that of a large, fierce leopard, quick to spring on its victim.  As the beast steps out of the water, John sees the feet.  They are like that of a bear – ready to crush and tear.

The mouth is the main point of the figure – it’s mentioned last.  It’s the mouth of a lion growling and “roaring looking for someone to devour” (as Peter put it 1Peter 5:16).  Now again we can see that John has symbolism here, not something that we can sensibly visualise because he speaks of “seven heads” but only a single “mouth”.

The first readers of John’s letter, being Jewish Christians and knowing their Old Testament, would have said to themselves, “Hey, this beast sounds familiar.” Because in Daniel 7 there was the vision of the four beasts, the first “like a lion”, the second “looked like a bear”, the third “looked like a leopard” and the “fourth terrifying…  with ten horns.”  Now Daniel in his dream is told that the “four great beasts are four kingdoms that will rise from the earth” (Dan.7:77).  In John’s vision we see the four combined into one awesome beast.  So it indicates kingdoms throughout the whole current era.

The sea from which the beast rises represents the peoples and nations.  Isaiah 17:12 speaks of “the raging of many nations, they rage like the raging sea.  Oh the uproar of the peoples – they roar like the roaring of great waters.”  Later in Revelation (17:15) John is told by an angel, “The waters you saw… are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages.”  So the sea represents the restless and raging peoples of the earth, seething and in turmoil because of sin and all its consequences.  The beast rising out of the sea symbolises the governments arising from the peoples.

Now since the beast looks very similar to the red dragon with its seven heads and ten horns, we can see that this beast symbolises the persecuting power of Satan in all the governments of the world throughout history.  But you notice that the beast has its crowns on its horns while the dragon has his crowns on his head.  So it is Satan who rules – his plans are carried out by the governments of the world.  The crowned horns show they have power to rule over their people but they are subject to and get their inspiration from Satan.

Now this raises a question.  Are we not told by Paul that the government is ordained by God?  How then can its authority come from the devil?  And, in fact, be so devilish that it actually looks like him?  Paul is right, “There is no authority except from God’ (Rom.13:1).  It was God who created the institution of human government.  The devil never created anything; he can only pervert what is already there.

That’s the whole thing with sin and evil – they make nothing new.  They pervert the good creation – like parasites sucking the life and joy out of the creation.  So Satan took what God instituted for human welfare, for law and order and made it an instrument of oppression.

We see that the beast “was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies.”  In other words, these governments deny God as Lord.  They blaspheme God and demand for themselves divine titles.  They see themselves as gods.

That was precisely the situation in John’s day.  Remember how the Roman emperor was to be worshipped as a god?  Remember how the Christians were persecuted at Pergamum because they would not call Caesar Lord, but said, “Jesus is Lord”?  Jesus described their situation as “the place where Satan has his throne” (2:13).

Governments over more recent years may not so blatantly claim divinity.  But, for example, the dictatorships of Hitler and Stalin, Pol Pot, with their totalitarian governments have come down to the same thing as they demanded total and unconditional allegiance of their people.

Throughout the centuries those whose “name is written in the Lamb’s book of life” (vs.8) have resisted the demand of these governments to obey and thus deny the ways of Christ.  They upheld the law of God, no matter the cost: “if anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go.  If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed” (vs.10).

The ‘beast’, the antichrist government may kill, destroy the body, but the believer’s soul they cannot touch.  God, in due course will avenge the wrong.  The believers who understand this will exercise “…endurance and patience” (vs.10).  Thus the Christians dare to criticise, to continually discern whether a government is functioning properly under divine authority and when the state is acting illegitimately as divine authority.

Now we notice with the beast that (vs.3) “One of the heads of the beast seemed to have a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed.  The whole world was astonished and followed the beast.”  In John’s time the Roman emperor Nero had started the persecution of the Christians, blaming them for the burning of Rome.  But in 68 AD he committed suicide.  So, as a persecutor, Rome received its ‘death stroke’, its ‘fatal wound’.  But there was widespread belief at the time that Nero would return after death – if not in his own person, then in the person of his successor.

And what we find is that later, under Domitian, the persecution of the believers resumed.  The “fatal wound had been healed”.  Sometimes we think that in our enlightened day and age, civilisation has outgrown such beliefs and persecution.  But not so.

The pattern of the “fatal wound healed” can be seen in the realm of politics at any time in history.  The communist sees in one place the failure of his political creed and then in another its resurrection.  And he is confirmed in his belief that communism is immortal, it is the truth.  And, “because it’s the only true way, it shall prevail”.  The right wing fascist sees the same happening for the system he believes in.  Yes, it is not very much in vogue but it sure won’t lie down dead.  Even liberal democracies – perhaps they, most of all, lead men to put their faith in the beast by the miracle of his resurrection.  Remember the old American song, “John Brown’s body lies a-mouldering in the grave, but his soul goes marching on.”  Fear not the apparent death-wound, for good sense and democracy and the human spirit can never be completely put down.

So it comes about that the whole earth follows the beast with wonder (vs.3), each one having seen how the head he idolises can die, yet rise again.  Those who do not ultimately hope “in the blood of the Lamb” have no hope except in some human system, and in doing so, either directly or by implication, blaspheme God.  Even in the so called “Christian west”, there is more value placed on the goodness and resources of the “human spirit” than there is in God.

Now, working hand in glove with the “beast out of the sea” is the “beast out of the earth”.  In fact the first beast is unable to have the authority and effect it has without this second beast.  This second beast is what persuades the people to be in awe of the first beast and to voluntarily follow it.  Let’s have a close look at this “beast out of the earth”.

He does not have ten horns, only two – two little horns just like a lamb.  How cute.  The beast looks very innocent, a nice little lamb, a pet for children.  And notice as a “lamb” he is in imitation of the “Lamb of God.” He seems so good and right – till he opens his mouth (vs.11), “but he spoke like a dragon”.  His speech reveals his true character.  He speaks like the dragon, like Satan himself.  It is Satan masquerading “as an angel of light”.

The lie of Satan is dressed up like the truth of God.  So this beast symbolises all the false prophets in this period of time.  Notice how he mimics the prophets of old.  He “performed great and miraculous signs, even fire to come down from heaven…” (vs.13).  It makes us think of Elijah on Mount Carmel.  So he deceives the masses with his performance.

He also orders the people to make an image or statue in honour of the first beast.  And then makes the image speak.  All who refuse to worship the image of the beast are killed.  Finally he orders the mark of the beast be placed on the right hand or forehead of everyone as evidence of loyalty.  Those who refuse are boycotted from “buying or selling”.

Now what are we to make of this?  Well the coupling of Christ-like appearance and satanic message, the status of prophet, the concern with worship and signs and wonders all add up to one thing: false religion.  But don’t just think of religion in the narrow sense.  In today’s ‘modern’ setting we could say ‘ideology’ – whether religious, philosophical (scientific) or political, i.e. whatever is the ‘faith’, or the ‘world-view’ of any human activity done independently of God – as if there is no God – as if it has become its own god.

This second beast takes the good things of creation and twists and distorts them to evil purposes.  For example, science, discovering and thinking God’s creative thoughts after Him.  With the deceptive powers of this beast, it has led man to believe that with his science he now understands so much he no longer needs God, in fact many conclude there is no God.

So many now marvel and wonder at what can be done with modern technology.  In this century we have gone from the horse and buggy to walking on the moon.  We no longer light a fire to cook a meal – we zap it for 30 seconds in the microwave.  With signs and wonders we follow the new religion – humanism, technology.  The beast takes God’s good and distorts it.  Think of public education for children.  Isn’t it good that all our country’s children can be taught for their future?  The last century the government has taken over from the churches and provided an education for everyone.

The problem is, in the bid to be ‘neutral’, religion is seen as having nothing to do with English or maths, history or art.  With the result that year after year we are producing thousands of educated people who are trained to think and function without reliance on God.  We have been fed the myth, which today seems so reasonable, that religion is private and has nothing to do with work, the market place, or public life.  God is pushed out of life into a smaller and smaller corner until, finally, without us noticing, we have pushed Him out all together and man has assumed the throne.

Such is the method of this second beast.  And you can see he is getting at us even now.  How many of us are striving for a distinctive Christian approach to our business, our sports activities, our leisure time?  Is Jesus Lord of all of life?  Do we actually strive to serve Him in it all?  Perhaps someone will say, “You can’t do business in a strictly Christlike manner.  It’s too competitive, you won’t make any money.”  Or, “if we were strictly Christ-like, then we wouldn’t really have much to watch or listen to – there’s so much that’s over the top or suspect.”

What we are beginning to see here is the true cost of being Christian.  That if we are truly follow Jesus, it will have severe ramifications.  That’s what John meant when he said that “no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark of the beast.”  Remember the church at Pergamum?  There were church-goers there who went along with “eating food sacrificed to idols and committing sexual immorality” (Rev.2:14).  Why did they follow those pagan rituals?  To get in with the crowd.  To have business contacts.  To be acceptable in the community.  Jesus said to them, “Repent…  otherwise I will soon come to you and fight against them with the sword of my mouth” (Rev 2:16).

We may think that persecution of the church only happens in places like China, where the government (first beast) is driven by the communist belief system (second beast).  But we in the west, we are also slowly being driven into a coma by a ‘soft’ persecution, as the secular education system and new laws of government often reflect the humanism rampant in our day.

John tells us that all people, “both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, are to be marked on the right hand or forehead”.  And that the “mark of the beast…  his number is 666.”  Now this, like all the rest, is symbolic.  We are not asked to check bankcards for the number 666.  Or find the number hidden in company logos.  Nor are we talking about literal numbers or tags on people.

The second beast imitates the Lamb of God.  We saw in Revelation 7 how the people of God were sealed, i.e., they are shown to belong to the Lamb by the indwelling Holy Spirit.  So the second beast wants to mark his own.  In John’s day slaves were branded or marked.  It meant, “this slave belongs to or serves this master”.  Soon the expression “to receive the mark of someone” meant to belong or be loyal to someone, to serve or worship them.

We see in Revelation 14:11, “they that worship the beast… and receive his mark on their forehead.”  So, receiving the “mark of the beast”, means following and worshipping the beast.  The forehead symbolised the mind, the thought-life, the philosophy of a person.  The right hand indicated his actions, his trade.

So, the receiving of the mark meant that the person thought and acted in the manner of the beast – in an anti-Christian spirit.  The believer sealed with the Spirit is one who thinks and does as Christ his Lord.

The mark, the number 666, shows us that as Christians we do not have to despair in our struggle to follow Jesus.  For the number of the beast is “the number of man”.  Man was created on the sixth day.  Six, is not seven (which is the perfect number), and never reaches seven.  So it always fails to reach perfection.  Six means missing the mark, failure.  Seven means perfection, victory.

So, John is saying, as he concludes this vision, that while we have a very tough battle, the victory is ours as the church.  The number of the beast is 666, i.e. failure, failure, failure.  It is the number of man, for the beast glories in man.  So it must fail.

The church follows the Lamb, the Son of Man, God Himself.  And the Almighty has already guaranteed the victory.  The two beasts may be powerful, especially working as the instruments of Satan.  But actually they are a pair of losers.

Amen.