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The theme for our reflection is the “the beasts in Revelation” Like the book of Daniel, the book of Revelation is also an Apocalyptic literature, It was written by the Apostle John. It is the record of his vision of God’s revelation to him concerning the fate of believers and their hope for eternal life, especially, in an era where believers or Christians were been persecuted on account of their faith. John’s revelation sort to encourage or give hope to the suffering Christians at the time and also timelessly inform Christians to prepare for the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ amidst great tribulations.

In Revelation 13:1-18, John receives a revelation about a dragon and two other beasts. “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. ² 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… Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. ¹² It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed.” (Revelation 13:1-2, 11-12) The dragon symbolizes Satan, the first beast with ten horns and seven heads is represent the antichrist and the second beast with two horns like a lamb but speaks like a dragon represents fake prophets operating under the influence of satanic powers. The Dragon, Satan tries to rule the world through the first beast, the antichrist, It is for this reason John tells us that “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?” (Revelation 13:2-4). At the time John had this revelation, Christians were being persecuted and forced to denounce their faith and worship the effigy or statue of the emperor who was considered to be god and to take part in idol worship and practices. The antichrist or the beast with ten horns and seven heads tormented Christendom through the rule or governance of ungodly human rulers. “It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. ⁷ It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. ⁸ All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world. (Revelation 13:6-8). We must understand that John’s vision was a Revelation of the Spiritual battle that was taking place in the physical realm against the Kingdom of God and God’s people. Jesus had already informed us that “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. (Matthew 11:12) It means that Satan, the dragon became more fierce when John the Baptist announce the beginning of the end through the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ into the world. From that time Satan (the dragon) has been restless, therefore He has sent the antichrist(the first beast) to lead many astray or onto the path of destruction and also to frustrate the children of God through persecution.

The antichrist or the first beast operates through its agent, the second beast. These are false or deceptive prophets who have been given satanic powers to deceive many, including causing some believers to deny their faith and become worshippers of the antichrist. The second beast “… exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. ¹³ And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. ¹⁴ Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. ¹⁵ The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. ¹⁶ 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, ¹⁷ 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. ¹⁸ 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. Revelation 13:12-18. While the people of God are being marked with the blood of Jesus Christ, the fake prophets will collaborate with ungodly rulers of the world to force many to give their lives to Satan through a designated mark. It is important to understand that in John’s revelation, the number 666 referred to an identifiable human ruler who was persecuting believers for non-conformity to idol worship or pagan practices. It was not necessarily a symbol of hell or doom. Just as the blood of Christ is not physically marked on our foreheads, similarly those who are disobedient to God and will go to hell will be marked spiritually with the symbol of eternal condemnation which may not be physically visible. On this note, we are rightly informed that the number 666 is mere symbolism and not a number of doom or destruction.

Beloved in the Lord, the dragon who is satan, the first and ferocious beast who is the antichrist and the second beast who represents false-prophet and ungodly rulers are still on earth and are in the business of leading many astray. Peter reminds and encourages us that “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. ⁹ Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. ¹⁰ And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. ¹¹ To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 5:8-11). Beloved in the Lord, let us hold onto our faith in Jesus and always remember that our bodies will endure suffering and tribulation on account of Jesus but He has assured us that “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, ³² and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32). Again, Jesus has promised us that “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:11-12) My dear friend, let us remain focused and be heaven-conscious even as we await our day of redemption by our Lord Jesus Christ.

PRAYER

Holy Spirit, grant us the Spirit of endurance to withstand the great tribulations of the dragon and the beasts so that we shall be found worthy to be counted among the children of God. Amen.