Dear Briarwood Family of Faith and Friends,

Below you will find the manuscript of the sermon for August 29, 2021.
Yours with Christ,
Charles

The Dragon and the Two Beasts
Revelation 12:17-13:18

Have you ever seen a beast? A beast is a four-footed mammal that is formidably difficult to control. There are beasts of burden like donkeys or mules that can be willful and stubborn. There are also wild beasts that are completely out of our control. We do not encounter such creatures unless we are big game hunters or perhaps if we go to the zoo, but then the beasts are safely behind bars.

My father was stationed in South Africa during my high school years. I was in boarding school here in the United States, but I spent three consecutive summers with my parents in South Africa. The summer of my junior year, my father arranged for me to join a week-long walking safari in the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi nature preserve. These lands were the royal hunting grounds of Shaka, the famous and formidable chief of the Zulu nation. Ours was not a hunting safari, although we had guides armed with high-powered rifles for protection. It was a very civilized affair. We walked from one base camp to another each day. When we arrived, everything was set up for us including a very nice supper. At night we sat around the campfire, and sometimes when you looked out into the darkness, you saw yellow eyes glinting in the firelight staring back at you! I can still remember the sound of the hyenas “laughing” in the night. Their calls sent a chill up my spine. On the third day of our trek, we encountered a real beast. We were walking in single file. Suddenly our guides ordered us to stop, find a tree to stand behind, and remain perfectly still and silent. Unbeknownst to us we had gotten between a mother rhinoceros and her young calf. It was a very tense and dangerous situation. Thankfully, the mother rhino crossed our path to the calf, and the two went on their way much to our relief. That was my only encounter with a wild beast.

However, there are other kinds of beasts in this world. Revelation Chapter 13 describes three such creatures. Together they form an “unholy trinity” of evil.

The dragon is a parody of God the creator. Like the maker of all things, the dragon’s original abode was in heaven. “And war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, but they were defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven” (Rev. 12:7-8). Like the living God, the dragon has a throne he can give to others. Speaking of the beast of the sea, John records, “And the dragon gave it his power and his throne and great authority” (Rev. 13c). John also tells us that the dragon is none other than the embodiment of evil. “The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him” (Rev. 12:9). The dragon then symbolizes all of the anti-God forces on earth by whatever name they may be called.

The second beast is the beast from the sea. Commentators agree that the beast of the sea represents historical empires, specifically the Roman Empire and the Roman emperor. The sea beast is a parody of the Lamb. The Creator shares the throne of the universe with the Lamb (Rev. 7:17), and as already noted, the Dragon shares his throne with the beast of the sea. The Lamb is also depicted “as if it had been slaughtered” (Rev. 5:6a). Similarly, the sea beast has received a mortal wound but survived.

It is important to note that the Book of Revelation was read in the churches of Asia Minor. While the book may depict future events, John’s message was certainly intended to speak to first-century Christians. They were undergoing persecution. Most commentators believe that the historical figure behind the sea beast is the Emperor Nero. Nero demanded to be called “Son of God,” “Lord,” “Savior,” and even “God.” John describes the sea beast with these words: “The beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven” (Rev. 13:5-6). Furthermore, Nero was the first emperor to systematically persecute the Church. “Also, it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them” (Rev. 13:7).

In addition to being a tyrant, Nero was a madman. He set Rome on fire and then used the Christians as a scapegoat. Tacitus, a Roman historian, left a record of Nero’s persecution of the Christians in Rome. “And so, to get rid of this rumor, Nero set up as the culprits and punished with the utmost refinement of cruelty a class hated for their abominations, who are commonly called Christians. CHRISTUS, from whom their name is derived, was executed at the hands of the procurator Pontius Pilate in the reign of Tiberius. Checked for the moment, this pernicious superstition again broke out, not only in Judea, the source of the evil, but even in Rome, that receptacle for everything that is sordid and degrading from every quarter of the globe. Accordingly, arrest was first made of those who confessed; then, on their evidence, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much on the charge of arson as because of hatred of the human race. Besides being put to death, they were made to serve as objects of amusement; they were clad in the hides of beasts and torn to death by dogs; others were crucified, others set on fire to serve to illuminate the night when daylight failed. Nero had thrown open his grounds for the display and was putting on a show in the circus when he mingled with the people in the dress of a charioteer or drove about in his chariot. All this gave rise to a feeling of pity even towards men whose guilt merited the most exemplary punishment; for it was felt that they were being destroyed not for the public good but to gratify the cruelty of an individual.”

As an interesting aside, the letters of the alphabet in Hebrew and Greek were assigned a sequential numerical value. The name “Nero Caesar” comes out to the dreaded number 666! Look at verses 17b-18. “So that no one can buy or sell who does not have the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom: let anyone with understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a person. Its number is six hundred sixty-six.” The number was synonymous with an individual.

Unfortunately, the kind of barbarism described by Tacitus has continued through the centuries. As Eugene Boring observes, “The beast is not merely 'Rome' in an objective, reductionistic sense. It is the inhuman, anti-human arrogance of empire which came to expression in Rome – but not only there.” As we noted last Sunday, the “pageant of human suffering” is almost endless. We need only think of the Third Reich, the Soviet Union, or the People’s Republic of China. Tragically, horribly, the same despotism is unfolding before our very eyes in Afghanistan. We should keep our guard up. God intended government to be His servant for our good. Lamentably, government is fallen along with the whole creation, and it tilts towards tyranny. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. May God Almighty deliver us from a one-party form of government from which we are almost helpless to escape.

The final beast is the one who rises from the earth. There is less agreement about who this represents. Perhaps it is local Roman officials who enforced the edicts of Rome, especially those pertaining to persecution and the cult of Caesar. It could also represent the priests of the cult of Caesar. The beast of the earth is a parody of the Holy Spirit. It performs miracles and encourages people to worship the beast of the sea and the dragon. “It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in the sight of all; and by the signs that it is allowed to perform on behalf of the beast, it deceives the inhabitants of earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that had been wounded by the sword and yet lived; and it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast so that the image of the beast could even speak and cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be killed” (Rev. 13:13-15). The Holy Spirit, of course, performs genuine miracles and encourages us to worship the one true God.

As Boring insightfully surmises, “All who support and promote the cultural religion in or out of the church, however Lamb-like they may appear, are agents of the beast. All propaganda that entices humanity to idolize human empire is an expression of this beastly power that wants to appear Lamb-like.” As John puts it, “Let anyone who has an ear listen” (vs. 9).

There is one final related element to the beast of the earth that bears comment. The beast causes all people to be marked on the right hand and the forehead. “Also, it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead” (Rev. 13:16). There has been almost endless speculation about what this mark might be from tattoos to computer chips.

I think that the meaning of the mark is to make a distinction between the followers of the Lamb and the followers of the dragon and his minions. Remember that the Lamb marks his followers with the seal of the living God on their foreheads. (See Rev. 7:1-8; 14:1-15) Again, the beast imitates the Lamb. As one commentator observes, “For John there are only these two groups, these two choices – everyone bears one mark or the other, and conspicuously! There are no anonymous Christians, no middle-of-road, no non-aligned.” The vision of the dragon and the two beasts forces us to ask, “Who will you serve?”

The reality of evil can easily overwhelm us, for we are mere mortals. We are like the inhabitants of the earth who ask, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?” (vs. 4b). Resistance may seem futile. We might simply resign ourselves to live with evil as best we can. We might be tempted to surrender to helplessness. “If you are to be taken captive, into captivity you go; if you kill with the sword, with the sword you must be killed” (vs. 10). What will be will be.

However, we must not resign ourselves to evil. God is largely absent from the events that unfold in Revelation 13, but look at these phrases from verses 5, 7, 14, and 15a: “The beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months” (vs. 5). “Also, it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. It was given authority over every tribe and people and language and nation” (vs. 7) “And by the signs that it is allowed to perform on behalf of the beast, it deceives the inhabitants of earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that had been wounded by the sword and yet lived” (vs. 14) “And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast so that the image of the beast could even speak” (vs. 15a) Who “gives” and “allows?” It is God who exercises his mysterious permissive will.

Evil will rule for a time, but not forever. Remember that the fiery being still sits on the throne of the universe, and He shares His throne with the Lamb. Perhaps the language of verse 10 is not resignation but an affirmation of the sovereignty of the Creator who is present and active in creation, even in the most terrible circumstances.

Revelation Chapter 13 is a call to perseverance for those who have been marked by the Lamb with the seal of the living God. We know who we serve, in whom we have believed. As John says to us, “Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints” (vs. 10c).

Thanks be to God who has the power to control chaos and evil, the God who is our hope and strength. Alleluia! Amen.