I remember a boy from fourth grade, Kevin, who was something of a teacher’s pet. When the teacher needed a volunteer to run an errand, Kevin was always first to raise his hand. When the class reviewed the answers to a test or an assignment, Kevin rocked in his seat with excitement, like a soda bottle about to explode, doing all he could to keep himself from blurting out the answers before the teacher called on him. As much as I might poke fun at Kevin in these memories, the truth is, he was a great student and a kind, responsible human being.
And then one day…he was assigned the role of Hall Monitor. Suddenly, the Kevin we all knew and loved (and poked fun at), disappeared. Gone was the do-gooder. In his place stood a tyrant. As a Hall Monitor, Kevin terrorized the school, writing up his fellow students for the most minor of infractions. He watched the halls like a hawk, and his cry was heard constantly: “Walk, don’t run—walk!” And, “On the right side—I said, ON THE RIGHT!” And, “Do that again, and I’ll call the principal!”
Needless to say, Kevin didn’t last long in the role. Doubtless he had noble intentions of ridding the hallway of all violations and misbehavior. But that bright orange Hall Monitor’s belt-and-sash had transformed him. The power had gone to his head. No longer did he treat his classmates as fellow humans, culpable of things like forgetting the rules or impatience or youthful excitement. Now he treated them as objects of his control, elements of a chaotic world that needed to be brought under his iron fist.
Good Intentions, Bad Outcomes
What is it, exactly, that transformed Kevin from do-gooder to tyrant, from kind to controlling?
What is it that leads people with good intentions to do bad or harmful things?
You’ve probably heard about Facebook’s and Google’s recent legal troubles. Despite having internal research that suggested their products are addictive and potentially harmful, especially to teenagers and children, they brushed this evidence under the carpet and didn’t make any changes to address the issue. Later, internal documents were leaked, showing that Facebook and Google were well aware of the potential harm their products could cause. One internal report plainly concludes: “We make body image issues worse for one in three girls.”
Many Facebook and Google employees are proud of the work they do for their companies. As pioneers on the frontier of technology, they create new ways for people to connect with one another—that’s a noble venture, right? And yet many of these employees remained tight-lipped and said nothing when they learned about the addictive and potentially harmful effects of their products. Why? In a word: money. They were so wrapped up in the pursuits of their companies, who were so wrapped up in the pursuit of profit, that they chose to ignore these mental health concerns in order to maximize the bottom line. And the employees who initially indicated qualms or concerns were routinely bullied or pressured into silence, threatened with exclusion and termination.
The circumstances in this case are a bit more complicated than in the case of Kevin, but the dynamic is ultimately the same. Just as that bright orange belt-and-sash transformed Kevin from a do-gooder into a tyrant, so a Meta or Google name-badge transformed many conscientious employees from concerned to complicit, from honest and principled to silent and passive.
But what, exactly, accounts for this transformation? According to our scripture today, it’s just “the nature of the beast” to make good people do bad things. Let’s read on to learn more….
The First Beast
1 And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads; and on its horns were ten diadems, and on its heads were blasphemous names.
Last week John shared a vision in which the collective martyrdom of the church—represented by two “witnesses” who were killed and then raised to life—led to the repentance of the world and the kingdom of the world being transformed into the kingdom of God (Rev 11). Right after that, however, John begins to share a different vision. And in my opinion, this point is crucial. Revelation is a compendium of visions. Some commentators have likened it to one of those Russian dolls, where smaller and smaller figurines are nestled inside one another. In other words, the visions of Revelations circle back on one another, providing more and more detail on the same event—and this event is the world being transformed into the kingdom of God.
In John’s current vision (which begins in Revelation 12), a dragon that represents Satan makes war against God in heaven. And remember, heaven here represents ultimate reality—what is real and true, despite any appearance to the contrary here on earth. Satan loses this war in heaven—and in a way that might surprise you. It is the martyrs, the Christ-followers who “did not cling to life even in the face of death,” who defeat Satan by “the blood of the lamb” (Rev 12:11). The message is loud and clear. The blood that wins the war for Christ is not the blood of the enemy, but the blood of the one who insists on loving others to the end. Put simply: Love wins. Not violence. Not power. Love.
But the vision continues in today’s scripture, because Satan falls from heaven to earth. Which is to say, now we’re seeing things not as they really are, but as they appear in our world. And the vision of things here on earth begins with a beast of ten horns and seven heads. We’ll find out more about this beast momentarily, so let’s read on….
2 And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And the dragon gave it his power and his throne and great authority.
The imagery of a leopard and a bear and a lion are a clear allusion to a vision that Daniel has in Babylon, where a lion, bear, leopard, and fourth beast emerge from the sea, one after the other. In Daniel’s vision, the four beasts represent four different empires—probably Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome (Dan 7). In John’s vision here in Revelation, the four beasts are combined into one, perhaps signifying that Rome is the fulfillment of what an empire is. It is, to date, the empire par excellence. And John explains that its power derives the dragon, which is to say, Satan. Which is another way of saying, Rome is not the true enemy. The emperor, the senators, the centurions—they are not evil or bad people themselves; they are under the spell of the dragon.
3 One of its heads seemed to have received a death-blow, but its mortal wound had been healed.
Each head of the beast represents a Roman emperor, we’re told later in the vision (Rev 17:9-10). Many scholars point out that, because of other clear references to Nero that we see in Revelation, this mention of a death-blow to one of the heads, which has since been healed, may refer to an ancient Roman urban myth that Nero did not really die when he appeared to die. (Sort of the ancient equivalent to our mythology of Elvis today.) Whispers and rumors circulated for some time after Nero’s death that, actually, he was still alive and would come back to reclaim the throne before long. Some scholars go further to say that this death-blow imagery is meant as a parody—a purposefully poor imitation—of Jesus, the slaughtered-yet-victorious Lamb. In other words, Nero is but a poor pretender to the throne on which Jesus actually sits.
In amazement the whole earth followed the beast—that is, the Roman empire. 4 They worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”
To be clear, when John says that the whole earth worships the dragon, he does not mean that they literally worship Satan. They do not bow down before carved idols of Satan or anything like that. Think instead of Jesus in the desert, when he is tempted by Satan. Satan shows him the kingdoms of the world and says, “all this authority…has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours” (Luke 4:8). This temptation that Jesus resists, is the very same temptation to which the world falls, again and again and again. Every empire that has been and every empire that will be, falls for this temptation. It is the temptation toward power, toward control, toward getting your way no matter what. Notice the words of the world when they worship the beast: “Who can fight against it?” Who, in other words, is as powerful, as controlling, as dominating as this beast? This worship of the beast—this worship of Rome—was ubiquitous in the Roman empire, where coins featured a picture of the emperor and the words “son of God,” where sacrifices to the emperor were routinely required to enter the marketplace to buy and sell, where people regularly declared the greatness of Roman engineers, where people often trembled before the might of the the Roman military. (I wonder whether people don’t worship a similar beast today…?)
Has Satan actually been granted authority, as he has claimed? While this idea is theologically worrisome for many people, one of our Disciples forebears, David Lipscomb, argues that it is true. He says Satan’s authority goes all the way back to the garden of Eden. For when God created humanity, he charged them with responsibility and stewardship over the earth, which is to say, he granted them a portion of his own authority. But when the humans put their trust in the serpent, they gave away their authority. And so Satan’s authority is indeed genuine—not because God has given it to him, but because humanity has. What we worship, is what we give power to. When we worship the satanic fantasy of control and domination—we do not actually get the power that Satan promises. Rather we give it away.
5 The beast—which is to say, the Roman Empire—was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. 7 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, 8 and all the inhabitants of the earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that was slaughtered.
John’s vision here paints a bleak picture. Nearly everyone worships the beast—and so gives it power to wreak havoc on the earth, especially against God and “the saints” (which is to say, followers of Christ). It is crucial at this point to remember John’s preceding vision in chapter 12. Remember that, in heaven, John saw Satan defeated. That is the ultimate truth, despite the appearance of Satan’s victory here on earth.
9 Let anyone who has an ear listen:
10 If you are to be taken captive,
into captivity you go;
if you kill with the sword,
with the sword you must be killed.
Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.
John doesn’t pull any punches here. He acknowledges the most difficult realities that a Christ-follower might face. He’s not saying that everyone will endure these painful consequences, but rather encouraging everyone to resist worshiping the beast—the giant machine of the Roman empire—no matter the consequences.
The Second Beast
11 Then I saw another beast that rose out of the earth; it had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon.
Just as the wounded but revived head (symbolizing Nero) may have provided a parody—a purposefully poor imitation—of Christ crucified and risen, we see here another beast that bears a superficial resemblance to Jesus. For this second beast has two horns “like a lamb.” But that resemblance is a lie. For it speaks with the voice of the dragon—which is to say, the voice of Satan.
12 It exercises all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and it makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound had been healed. 13 It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in the sight of all; 14 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; 15 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.
Think of this second beast as something of a cheerleader for the first beast, which is the Roman empire. The second beast is not the empire itself, but the adjacent institutions that glorify the empire and declare its glory and might. The second beast includes all the grand temples that host elaborate ceremonies for the Roman gods; and all the coliseums where gladiators fight and where the Roman army is honored and where the emperor is praised; and all the great technological accomplishments of the Roman empire, such as aqueducts and the extensive network of roads; and the Roman military, which can indeed rain fire from the heavens in the form of its archers and ballistics. All of these things inspire awe and wonder from the people, so that they take their hat off to the Roman empire, so that they pledge allegiance to the Roman empire, so that their holidays and their sacred songs and their most revered stories are all in honor of the Roman empire.
And yet notice the dark underbelly of the beasts. All those who do not get on board, who do not worship the beast, who do not feeds its insatiable appetite for power and money, are targeted, even to the point of death.
One historical point illuminates this dual dynamic of Roman glory and Roman terror. Many rulers in the Roman empire celebrated what they called the pax Romana, the “peace of Rome.” And yet, as one of Rome’s own military generals said, “If you want peace, then get ready for war.” In other words, Rome’s famous peace was just the flipside to Rome’s violence. Its glory was just a flipside to its reign of terror. As John puts it, the second beast—Rome’s cheerleader—“deceives the inhabitants of earth” (13:14). It promises peace…even as it makes war; glory…even as it brings terror on all who will not worship it; riches and luxury…even as it treats as expendable the last and the least.
16 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, 17 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 seems to be a specific reference to a common practice throughout the Roman empire. Whenever you went to the market to buy or sell products, you would first have to offer incense at an altar to the emperor. If you did, you would receive a mark indicating you were free to buy and sell. If you did not, you could not enter the marketplace.
18 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.
This is one of the most famous lines in Revelation. Many scholars point out that when you spell out the name “Nero Caesar” using Hebrew letters, the number value of those letters adds up to “666.” Therefore, John seems to be linking the emperor Nero, who was known for his wanton cruelty and excessive indulgences, with the beast of the Roman empire—as though to say, here is how the empire shapes us, remakes us. We become what we worship. If you worship the beast, you will become beastly, just like Nero: selfish, short-sighted, impulsive, violent.
The Beast and the Son of Man
Today’s scripture is a dense text. Personally, reading it and interpreting it has felt a little bit like trudging through mud and brambles and bushes. It’s been slow going, and there’s some slipping, and getting turned around….
So to end, I want to offer two simple conclusions that I draw from today’s scripture.
First, please note that the beast is not a person. I cannot emphasize this enough. Paul said it earlier: “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood”—which means our struggle is not against Democrats or Republicans, not against liberals or conservatives, not against Russians or Iranians, and so on, and so on—“but against…the cosmic powers of this present darkness” (Eph 6:12), which is to say, the unseen spiritual forces that grip our world and shape us and remake us. For John of Patmos, the beast’s identity is clear; the beast is empire and all the institutions that are entangled with empire. The beast is this dark gravitational pull toward power and profit, toward the promise of control. Today, we might say the beast is nations, institutions, corporations, workplace cultures, and so on. Again, the beast is not identifiable with any one person involved in these various institutions, but these collective identities all exercise power over us—luring us to worship them, to serve them in their pursuit of more, more, more.
And when we worship any of these things, when we render our faith and allegiance to them rather than to God, we give them power over us. It is for this reason that good people—and we are all fundamentally good people created by a good God, as Genesis says at the very beginning of the story—it is for this reason that good people can help build a potentially harmful platform like Facebook and Instagram; that a do-gooder like Kevin can become a tyrant; that good, law-abiding citizens can endorse a violent, terror-inducing nation like Nazi Germany. (One early Disciples leader, David Lipscomb, remarked that national identity lures Christ-followers into a very unChristlike attitude and practice, namely causing them to view other humans as enemies—as happened in the Civil War. Lipscomb contended, on the contrary, that God’s kingdom is global and knows no borders.)
The second conclusion I draw is this. The beast makes us less than human. The beast remakes us in its image: selfish, short-sighted, impulsive, violent. It is no coincidence that the counterpoint to the beast in Revelation, Jesus Christ, more than once appears “like the son of man” (Rev 1:13). Which is to say, Jesus is the true human, the one who invites us back into our full humanity. If worshiping the beast makes us beastly, then the antidote is worshiping Jesus Christ and following him. To follow Christ is to divest ourselves of all the beastly influences that might get in the way of serving God and others—whether that be a bright orange sash-and-belt or a flag or corporate name tag.
Prayer
Patient and enduring Christ,
Who loves us to death and beyond,
And whose kingdom is without end
…
Open our eyes to see
Where the beast still prowls
In our world,
Where it hardens our hearts
And makes us think only of ourselves;
Inspire us to give our faith and allegiance
To you
And to walk with patient endurance
In your way.
Amen.
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