Tag Archives: Revelation 16

Daily Bible Study

December 29, 2023 Bible Study — The Number of the Beast Represents Mankind’s Failure to Do Good Without God

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Revelation 13-16.

As with many people I am fascinated by the two beasts described in today’s passage.  That fascination primarily comes from how they seem to resemble things I see in the world around me today. I remember previous generations connecting these beasts with different things in the world than what they now look like to me.  First I want to note the circular reasoning of those who worshiped the dragon (which John had previously told us was also know as the Devil or as Satan).  They worshiped the dragon because it had given power to the beast, which they worshiped because of the power it had been given by the dragon.  I also find it interesting that the beast was something which one does not ordinarily think of as speaking (although perhaps I am reading too much into John noting that it was given a mouth).  I also think we need to take note of the fact that this first beast had been given what appeared to be a fatal wound before it rose to the power it exercises in this passage.  What else do we know about this first beast?  It utters proud words and blasphemies.  As I look around, I see organizations like the World Economic Forum, various UN agencies, and other similar organizations which all exercise power, but it is unclear from where their power derives.  In addition, many of these organizations express blasphemous contempt for God and those who put their faith in Him.

Which brings me to the second beast.  The second beast, in particular its mark, reminds me of the tech giants of today.  They seem to be working hand in hand with the shadowy organizations which I mentioned in the first paragraph.  I keep seeing new information about how the various tech giants (Google, Facebook, etc.) had secret agreements to manage what information people would be able to see.  In addition, the tech giants all seem to be promoting a move towards a unified system of identification, which people will be required to be part of in order to do even the most basic of business.  I want to state that I do not think that all of these organizations are intentionally working hand-in-hand towards these ends.  Rather, different people and groups are acting according to their interests, often working together because their interests converge.  Which brings us to the number of the beast, 666.   My understanding of that number derives from my understanding of two numbers with biblical significance: three and seven.  Three and seven are two numbers associated with God.  Seven is the number of completeness, while three is the number of divine perfection.  So, it seems to me that 666 represents the imperfection of man.  The number of the beast tells us that while, to a degree, the two beasts seek the best interests of mankind, their imperfection and incompleteness leads them to do the exact opposite.  Instead of ushering in an empire of perfection and goodness, a utopia, they usher in an empire of failure and evil, a dystopia.  The two beasts represent what happens when humans attempt to create a more perfect world without making God the center of their lives.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

December 29, 2021 Bible Study — The Number Of The Beast

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Revelation 13-16.

I am not sure, but we have something which might be another dream-like scene shift.  At the end of yesterday’s passage, the dragon made war on “the woman” and her offspring.  Today’s passage starts with the dragon standing on the shore of the sea and a beast coming out of the sea.  Then a short bit later a second beast rose out of the earth.   We know from yesterday’s passage where John came right out and told us that the dragon is Satan.  A little thought about how the writing style of this book was influenced by Daniel and Ezekiel reveals that the two beasts represent empires/governments/nations. The first beast derives its power from the dragon and the second beast derives its power from the first beast.  While I am convinced that people will recognize the relationship between the beasts, I also believe that John implies that people will pretend to not see the relationship between the beasts and the dragon, Satan.   Actually, as I am reading this today, I wonder if the second beast, instead of being a government or nation, is actually big corporations working together to do the will of the government, which would be the first beast.  Whatever the beasts are, John tells us that people worship them in place of God.  To be precise, those who have not fully given their lives to Christ will worship the first beast.  The second beast will use its power to direct worship to the first beast.  And I think the best warning we can have is the Mark of the Beast.  The Mark of the Beast is something without which you cannot buy or sell anything.  There were those who feared that one’s Social Security number would be the Mark of the Beast.  They were wrong, but they were not being silly (and it is not impossible for it to turn out that they were right, just highly unlikely).  The Mark of the Beast is something which will allow complete strangers to know that you are appropriately subservient to the beast.  Anyone who recognizes anything as a higher authority than the beast will lose their ability to do business with others.  You can see what I believe are precursors to the Mark of the Beast in the way in which banks and credit card companies shut off certain people who express unacceptable, but legal, thoughts and ideas.  Does that mean that I think banks and/or credit card companies are one of the beasts? Not really, I am merely pointing out that their actions, and that of other large corporations, are preparing the ground for the rise of the beast(s).

This did not end up coming out the way I expected, and reads much more “conspiracy theorist” than I would like.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

December 29, 2020 Bible Study Do We Need a Permit From the Beast To Buy and Sell

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Revelation 13-16.

As with much of yesterday’s passage I am unsure of the meaning of today’s passage, but there are some things which are clear to me.   One thing I think will be useful is to follow some of the threads which weave through this account.  Yesterday’s passage ended with the dragon pursuing the woman and her children.  The dragon is Satan, the one who promotes evil in the world.  Today’s passage begins with a beast which rises out of the sea.  This beast had been fatally wounded, yet lived.   I am not quite sure of the complete meaning of that fact, but the way in which it keeps getting mentioned makes me sure John wanted us to see it as an imposter to Jesus, Who had died and then rose from the dead.  The dragon gave its power to this first beast.

Then a second beast rose out of the earth and exercised the power of the first beast.  This second beast used the power it received from the first beast (which had received its power from the dragon) in order to make everyone worship the first beast.  This second beast caused a statue to be made of the first beast and then gave the stature the power to speak.  In describing the statue of the first beast, John felt it important to reiterate that the first beast had been fatally wounded, yet lived.  Once the statue was given speech it demanded that anyone who did not worship it be killed.  Further, it (or perhaps the second beast, the wording always leaves me unsure of this) required that everyone have a mark in order to buy or sell anything.  In light of the way things work today I find it somewhat disconcerting to realize that John is telling us that in the last days people will require a permit from the government of the beasts in order to buy or sell anything.

Daily Bible Study

December 29, 2019 Bible Study — Is It Already Over?

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Revelation 13-16.

Just as the four Living Beings from earlier in this book corresponded with, but had differences from, the four Living Beings in Ezekiel’s visions, so the two beasts in today’s passage correspond, but differ from, the beasts in Daniel’s visions.  First, I want to say that there is more to the meaning of this passage than what I am writing today.  Trying to get a starting point on writing about today’s passage I did an Internet search on what people had written about these beasts.  I found that some believe the first beast represents the great Empires of history.  I will not say that they are wrong, but that did not seem right to me.  However, as I thought about what they had written, it struck me that the first beast is, in a way, government.  In the passage, those who worship this beast say, “Who is able to fight against him?”, which reminds me of the phrase, “You can’t fight City Hall.”  Over all, there are those who worship government and look to it for answers that can only come from God.  This view would make the second beast, those religious leaders who direct people to the government for solutions to problems for which they should turn to God and the transformative power of His Spirit.  I want to point out that such religious leaders are not just on one side of the political spectrum.  And such leaders do not necessarily represent themselves as religious.

OK, I did not expect to write that much about the beasts.  What I wanted to focus on is something which puts a different perspective on the timing of the entire vision.   After the seventh angel poured out the seventh bowl containing God’s wrath upon the earth a voice cried out from God’s heavenly Temple, “It is finished.”  This is exactly the phrase which John wrote in his Gospel as what Jesus said just before dying.  So, everything which came before that phrase in John’s vision happened, at least symbolically, before Jesus died on the Cross.  Having made that connection, I want to think about what that means for understanding the earlier portions of the Book of Revelation.

Daily Bible Study

December 29, 2018 Bible Study — The Rise of the beasts

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Revelation 13-16.

John describes a great beast which will arise and rule over the entire earth.  This beast was given power by the “dragon”, which was the devil.  As a result of this power it survived and healed from a wound which appeared to be fatal.     People from all over the world will worship the beast and the dragon which gave it power.  The beast will blaspheme against God and against heaven.  It will wage war on God’s people.  A second beast will arise and exercise the power of the first beast.  This second beast will perform miracles in the name of the first beast.  It will commission a statue of the first beast to which it will give the power of speech.   The second beast will require everyone to have a number written on their hand or on their forehead in order for them to buy or sell anything.

 

As I read all of this passage, I wondered if John’s vision referred to a specific future event, or if it was a figurative description of history from John’s time until Christ’s Second Coming.  I struggle with writing this entry because for the most part, John’s Apocalyptic visions do not speak to me.

Having written the previous, I went back to the passage one more time for something to wrap up this entry.  Whereupon I read the part where God sent the Seven Plagues upon the earth.  The terrible plagues John describes seem to me to be the natural result of the behaviors of those who worshiped the beasts.  More importantly, rather than respond to their suffering by turning to God, the victims of these plagues cursed God and dedicated themselves more fully to service to the beasts.  That speaks to me because it is behavior I see all too often.  Time and again I see people double down on the sins which have caused their misery rather than repent and turn to God.

Daily Bible Study

December 29, 2017 Bible Study — Two Beasts and a Number

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Revelation 13-16.

    Today’s passage is almost completely metaphor. First is the beast which came out of the sea and spoke blasphemies against God. It had seven heads and ten horns. One of the seven heads had what appeared to be a fatal wound, yet the wound was healed. I am unclear if this beast is a person, a group of persons, a nation, or an organization (I lean toward the latter two). However, the people of this world will worship this beast and give it authority to wage war against God’s people (again unclear if this is the Church or the Jewish people). Those whose names are written in the Book of Life will be persecuted while the beast holds power (here it is clear that it refers to the Church). Then another beast will arise. This time out of the earth. Again, I am unclear as to whether this second beast is a person, or an organization. It will be given the authority of the first beast. The second beast will create a statue which will be given life by the beast. This sounds like a robot or a computer with Artificial Intelligence to me. John then mentions the number of the beast and tells us that it is “666”. Three sevens would represent perfection, but three sixes does not represent almost perfection. Instead the three sixes represents something which falls short of perfection in every way so that, rather than being wonderful, it is terrible.

    After an interlude describing things which I am not going to comment on today, seven angels holding seven plagues came out of the Temple in heaven. One after another they poured these plagues out on those who worshiped the beast and his statue. I am convinced that these plagues are the natural result of following the practices involved in worshiping the beast. However, that is not where I want to direct our attention. Instead, I want to take notice of a point which John makes several times here. After experiencing each of the plagues, those who worshiped the beast cursed God rather than repent of their sins and turning to Him. Rather than recognizing that God had warned them that their actions would result in these plagues and glorifying His name, they cursed Him and blamed Him for the suffering they had brought upon themselves.

Daily Bible Study

December 25, 2015 Bible Study

MERRY CHRISTMAS

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 30:29-31

    I think the point here is that the dangerous often strut and posture to avoid needing to use their power. On the other hand, all of these “strutters” have the ability back up their strut. Which suggests to me that perhaps the point is that if you strut about you had better have the ability to back it up. The final possible interpretation is that the first three of these are prepared to back up their strut with their own ability, while the fourth is counting on others to make them dangerous.

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Psalm 144

    I will praise the Lord because He trains me for the tasks which He sets before me. It is amazing that God pays attention to me. I am nothing compared to Him, or even to the Universe which He created. Even among human beings I am insignificant. Yet despite this, God has performed miracles for me and has prepared me for His tasks. He has reached down and rescued me when I was in despair. I will praise His name every day which I draw breath.

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Revelation 16

    Next in John’s vision came seven plagues poured out over the earth in judgment of people’s sins. The first plague afflicted only those with the mark of the beast (which suggests a disease spread by the process of placing the mark). However, the most important point in this passage is that people cursed God for the plagues, yet did not repent of their sins and turned to God. I have known all too many people who blame God for the things which have gone wrong in their life rather than admit that their own mistakes and sins had led them into the situations they found themselves in.

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Zechariah 8

    God promises through Zechariah that the day will come when the people of Jerusalem will walk the streets in peace. Old men and women will safely walk the streets with their canes and sit together in the city squares. The streets will be filled with boys and girls at play. When we look at the world today it seems impossible for such a time of prosperity and peace to come to pass, but nothing is impossible for God. For a long time the Jewish people have been a symbol of a cursed nation, but God promises to change that. He will make them not just a symbol of blessing, but a source of blessing. Indeed, He has already done so by sending Jesus to die on the cross, but I believe there is more to come.
    God will bring about peace in Jerusalem. However, He will not do so until the people of Jerusalem do their part. Their part is our part as well. It is to tell the truth to one another; to render just verdicts in our courts; to stop telling lies that we swear are the truth; and to not scheme against each other. If we do this, the day will come when the people of the world will travel to Jerusalem to seek the Lord. There will be peace not only in Jerusalem, but throughout the earth.