[Picking up my summary of Greg Albrecht's Exposition of Revelation (in Revelation Revolution) from Chapter 12 of Revelation. We had left at the end of chapter 11 in my previous post.]
The woman (in chapter 12 of Revelation) is the eternal home and dwelling place of Jesus Christ. Galatians 4:26 uses similar language when speaking of Jerusalem above as our mother. Jesus is the male child who came out of eternity to become one of us. The enormous red dragon identified clearly as ‘that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world’, persecutes the woman who not only symbolizes heaven but also the individual Christian within the body of Christ in whom Jesus lives his risen life. Christians live physical lives in which we suffer pain and tribulation, but the spiritual reality is that we are saved. After Jesus’ bodily ascension to heaven, the woman is in conflict with the dragon and all who represent him. The woman is taken care of by God for 1,260 days probably not a literal time period but a limited period of human history that the church will be subject to the dragon’s anger.
The beast (in chapter 13 of Revelation) that comes out of the sea represents political authorities, religious powers and civil governments that have opposed authentic Christianity through the ages. Multiple heads and crowns represent not just one government but many over time. The blasphemous names on each crown represent government and religion that presumptuously claim to directly speak to God, to be His representative and to bear His authority. To the early Christians, the seven heads and ten horns of the monster may well have symbolized the emperors of Rome after Augustus, seven significant emperors but ten in all. Roman emperors demanded worship as Gods. The fatal wound that had been healed may have been understood to be the death of Nero in AD 68 followed by the restoration of order under Vespasian. The monster of Revelation is not confined to any one legal entity, religious incorporation or religious-political alliance. All larger than life heroes that have demanded worship derive their power from the devil himself (as identified by the seven heads and ten horns on the monster like that on the dragon).
The second beast that comes from the earth speaking like a dragon has two horns like a lamb, an obvious reference to counterfeit Christianity that is based on the unique Lamb of God. It forces the world's inhabitants to worship the first beast. A way of life that glorifies meterialism, relativism, pluralism, consumerism, socialism, humanism while claiming to represent Christ is the spirit of the Antichrist. Remember Jesus' warning in his sermon on the mount of False Prophets who come in sheep's clothing while inwardly being ferocious wolves. The two beasts, one from the sea and one from the earth, work as a team for the dragon on earth. The first may be symbolic of military-politico-economic power with the second representing religious leadership that provides rituals and ideologies to deceive the earth. This co-mingling of the powers of religious influence with civil authority is one of Revelation’s themes. Speculations in different parts of Christendom has been focused on beasts outside their religious traditions and national origins. They could well be blinded to such powers within.
The mysterious mark of the second beast is described as his name, or the number of his name calculated as 666. Religious frenzy has led to concocting methodologies that would twist 666 to point to some human being present or future whose name equates to 666. The number 6 is often used throughout the Bible to represent human sin and imperfection compared to the holiness and perfection of God. Six hundred and sixty six is triple imperfection and sin, a reference to the complete moral failure and bankruptcy of human governments and religion. People have been widely speculating about technological advancements that would be used to place a tattoo or sytemic advancements such as a National Identity mechanism to brand the individuals. The mark of the beast is simply the alternative of being sealed by the Lamb of God. It simply means to be in accord and agreement with the cultural, political and religious systems that are enemies of God.
What happens to those who die for refusing to receive the mark of the beast and what happens to the beast and his followers. The 144,000 who were sealed earlier are seen standing victoriously (in chapter 14 of Revelation) on Mount Zion. “They are virgins” means that they are redeemed men and women who are not corrupted by the spiritual adulteries of Babylon. This group of 144,000 represents the universal body of believers. An angel issues a final offer of gospel to all the earth. A second angel proclaims that Babylon, the world’s anti-God and Antichrist system of materialism and idolatry, is fallen. A third angel warns that those who receive the mark of the beast will receive the punishment of the beast as well. God’s judgment upon evil is then depicted by three metaphors: wine in the cup of God’s wrath, the earth being harvested as grain, and the earth being harvested like a vineyard.
The scene again returns (in chapter 15 of Revelation) to the victorious saints in heaven, who watch seven angels receive seven golden bowls filled with God’s wrath ready to be poured on the earth. These plagues could be the third ‘woe’ announced earlier. We see a parallel between the continuing crisis that faces the body of Christ and the historical crisis that faced the people of God in Egypt. As the people of God were delivered from Egypt, believers are here redeemed by the Savior’s blood under the New Covenant. The song of Moses along with the song of the Lamb is on their lips.
(CONCLUDING POST . . . To Understand Chapters 16-22)
(PREVIOUS . . . To Understand Chapters 4-11 )
(CONCLUDING POST . . . To Understand Chapters 16-22)
(PREVIOUS . . . To Understand Chapters 4-11 )
