You Can’t Fight Evil from the Belly of the Beast

Eventually I will go through Revelation verse by verse in audio form with a podcast, but I thought I would mention chapter 12 and relate it to our modern situation. Revelation 12-13, if I am correct regarding the structure of the book, is the climax of the book. Here is where “the dragon” is described:

12:9  The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

Chapter 13:1-4 then tells us what the dragon did:

The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?”

This is John’s reusing of the various beasts in Daniel. This beast is drawn from the sea, and the sea in prophecy represents the Gentiles. So Satan is drawing out his servant, human government, to oppress the people. At the time Revelation was written this was Rome. Today it is a different government; it is the same oppression with a different face. 

As Paul tells us in Romans 8, Christians who are martyred do not struggle against human governments alone, but against the secret demons that influence them. He clarifies this in Ephesians 6.

 ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

So how does this relate to Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party?  

It seems to me that both are making the same mistake. They think they can fight the beast from the inside. They will be co-opted. While Jesus expected us to be in the world, he did not expect us to be of the world. He expects us to be as self-reliant as we can. 

Jesus wants us to do something.  Revelation 18 tells us what He wants:

   Come out of her, my people,
   so that you will not share in her sins, 
   so that you will not receive any of her plagues; 
⁵ for her sins are piled up to heaven, 
   and God has remembered her crimes. 
⁶ Give back to her as she has given; 
   pay her back double for what she has done. 
   Pour her a double portion from her own cup. 
⁷ Give her as much torment and grief 
   as the glory and luxury she gave herself. 
In her heart she boasts, 
   ‘I sit enthroned as queen. 
I am not a widow;
   I will never mourn.’ 
⁸ Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: 
   death, mourning and famine. 
She will be consumed by fire, 
   for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.

I am not advocating that we need to "go" someplace-there is really no place to go. Instead I am proposing that each of us individually leave the system as best we can. We need to be more self reliant to prepare for the troubling times ahead. Are you ready?