SEPTEMBER 10 = REVELATION 13
THE BEASTS
The interpretation of this chapter is more contested than any so far. Actually, the interpretation of the beasts is pretty straightforward, as long as you don’t try to actually put a name or a date as to who the beast is.
It begins with Satan (the dragon) standing on the shore of the sea. The sea often indicates a kind of unstable political climate. A beast comes up out of the sea, with horns and heads and blasphemous names. It resembles various animals. One of the heads of the beast has a fatal wound (a knife cut), but was healed. Satan gives his power to the beast, and everyone in the world was filled with wonder. The beast blasphemes God and wages war against the saints and is given power to conquer them for 42 months.
This is one of those hidden messages that John was sneaking past the Roman guards when he wrote to the churches. The Emperor Nero is infamous for having Christians tortured and killed. His obsessed persecution of Christians lasted three and a half years—42 months. And then he committed suicide by slitting his own throat with a knife.
Some years later, Domitian became Caesar, and he seemed like a shrewd ruler who helped stabilize the economy, spread the empire and reestablish traditional Roman culture. Part of that cultural piece was to enforce pagan idolatry, and to re-establish persecution of Christians, who had a strong impact on changing Roman culture, in the name of Jesus. So you might say that Domitian was a reappearance of Nero, as if Nero were alive again.
“This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.”
The words Caesar Nero in Latin are “Neron Kaisar” in Greek. Translated again into Hebrew, it is “Nrwn Qsr.” A particular feature of the Hebrew language is that their number system uses the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, rather than Arabic numerals. So, guess what the Hebrew name of Nero is, when read in numbers? That’s right. But John was writing in Greek. So who would have had “insight” to “calculate the number” of the beast? Jewish readers! They would know right away that John was saying Nero was not divine, as he had claimed to be. And neither is Domitian, his copy.
That’s just commenting on a few of the hidden details of what John was secretly saying about the emperor.
Then a second beast enters the scene, coming out of earth, rather than sea. The second beast is the public relations specialist for the beast, and he crafts a statue and then makes it seem as if it had come to life. And he makes everyone worship the beast.
““It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.”
Just as God had sealed all believers a few chapters ago, so this beast writes a tattoo on the forehead or hand of every person in the kingdom. If you are a Roman, you had to have the mark in order to buy or sell anything. He forced everyone to worship the beast, and he spoke blasphemies.
This does, indeed, call for wisdom to know what to do when the beast calls on you. Bow down or die. What would you choose?
He slanders against God's name and all of heaven. He even has the power to conquer all the saints of earth. So listen all you saints who have an ear: Be patient and endure. Be faithful to the end. And do not be deceived by any being who looks innocent but who speaks a dragon’s lies.
So when he orders all to follow him or die, It takes great wisdom to recall that he's a man and not at all a God. His power is but counterfeit. And in the end, our Jesus wins. So this is not the final round at all!"
May we have faith enough to be courageous in the face of the most severe persecution. Amen.
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