42. Placing the Beast

[Note: I will not have either video or audio for these three lessons on Revelation 13.}

I saw a wild beast rising out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and upon its horns, ten royal crowns, and upon its heads were slanderous names [calling good evil and evil good]. And the beast that I saw resembled a leopard, and its feet like a bear’s, and its mouth like a lion’s mouth. The dragon gave to this wild beast his power and his throne and great authority.

We have three questions concerning this beast. Our first question is – What is it not? Then the second question is – What is the beast? And finally, what is its purpose, that is – Why did God place such a thing into the human experience? – We will also consider a few details.

God’s Purpose. Most studies of Revelation will make Chapter 13 and the beast the significant part of their focus. Our primary interest is how John’s vision shows us the completion of the Gospel in power, that is, how Jesus proves every Word God speaks through us His Church. As we have continued through our study, this beast has become less and less important. Outwardly, it is significant, yes, and it causes great harm.

Actually, we must mention God’s purpose from the start. God’s purpose for the beast is to prove to all humanity that human control is a BAD idea.

What the Beast Is Not. First, this beast in Revelation 13 is NOT “the Antichrist.” There is no such thing as “the Antichrist.” That is, there is not a one-man dictator about to “take over the world” who is the embodiment of evil and who looks like Dracula. Not only is this not a Biblical concept; it is, in fact, an utterly pagan concept.

Think of that, a great battle between cosmic good and cosmic evil taking place in the sight of humans and completely separate from them – Christ vs Antichrist – in some great end-time “boxing match.” This is stupid and without purpose. God is not stupid.

Defining Anti-Christ. John defined anti-Christ in 1 John, the only place it is mentioned, as a plurality of deceiving spirits inside the Church teaching people that Jesus is not “Christ” and that Jesus does not share our human lives with us.

Second, the beast is NOT “the man of sin” mentioned by Paul in 2 Thessalonians. This “man of sin” is “the old man” of Romans 6, that darkened human spirit that is eliminated by the entrance of Christ Jesus into our lives. Yet we can extend this “man of sin” to be a factor alongside of God’s purpose for the beast, for just as He is determined to prove the stupidity of human control, so He is determined to prove the falseness of human self-sufficiency.

What God Wants. What God wants is directed towards every individual person and never towards any isolated figure or human group. What God wants is repentance.

We have a lesson coming up on the repentance God is bringing to every human inside the lifting of the curse. In essence, it is this. “I am guilty of all. I have hurt God and others, and destroyed myself. I am without excuse. I accept that I am crucified with the Lord Jesus. From here on out, I will shut my mouth concerning my-“self” and devote myself to knowing Christ Jesus, my only Life and Salvation.” Every human alive is being PRESSED with this repentance, a repentance that does NOT exalt sin.

Jesus Secret Boxes. Now, we do have a Jesus Secret Page titled “Placing the Beast & Its Image.” The boxes for that page will come from this lesson and three others, “The Issue of the Inheritance,” “The Image and Its Grip,” and “The Social Fabric.” Then we will have a page titled “Defeating the Beast.” Several of the remaining lessons in this study are devoted to an expansion of the “seven deadly attachments” as outlined in “We Protect the Church.” Many of our Jesus Secret boxes for these things will continue to be titled “Against” and will be, not only our prayer, but also how we place Christ first against the false. This lesson will have one box – “Against Worshipping the Beast.” It will include both definition and purpose.

The Curse. We can see right away, then, that our concern and our battle is NOT against the beast, but against the worship of the beast and its image among Christians.

Now, in Genesis 3, God spoke the elements of the curse, first to the serpent, second to the woman, and third to the man. This was not “God inflicting awfulness,” but rather, God setting out the consequences of eating of death. In those consequences, Satan and his demons were bound to human lust for their sustenance. The woman, that is, the mass of the population, was bound to the rule of tyrants and psychopaths. And the man, that is, human productivity, was bound to ruin and loss.

The “Husband.” These three things work together always for mutual misery and self-destruction. A study of these three things working together would be a study of the entirety of human religious, political, and economic bondage through history. Here is the political aspect as found in the consequences of human rebellion. – Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you. This so-called “husband” is all human political control in every generation and in every place on earth – the beast.

Yet, as we have seen, the beast itself is not the real problem. The real problem is the human lust to control, which was Adam’s purpose in sinning. Yet, by the curse, human control must result in poverty and ruin.

The Beast in Our Time. By God’s principles of interpretation in the Church Age, out from the Gospel, the beast of Revelation 13 must apply to every generation of the Church in every land on earth. Nonetheless, God’s principle of the fulness of times is in full operation in our day, and in the nature of modern human political government.

Now, I had you read Chapter 5, “The Image of the Beast” in Through Eyes of Fire. I would also point you to Chapter 17, “The Mystery of Iniquity” in Symmorphy III: Kingdom. Those chapters give factual and accurate accounts of the political appearance of the beast in the modern age, specifically, from about AD 1650 on.

The Second Great Victory. I have very little interest in the beast. My primary interest is found in Revelation 15 – I saw … those who defeat the beast, its image, and the number of its name, standing firm upon the glass sea, having harps of God.

At this point, however, that line is Lesson 50 in our study. This is the second great Victory of the overcomers. The first great Victory is getting the demons out of the Church; this second great Victory is protecting that Church from the world. Our job is to protect the Church. To do that, we must know what it is that threatens the Church.

Two Arenas. There are two arenas in which we protect our Christian brethren from the wickedness of human political government in the modern world, the first is inward and the second is outward. These two arenas are two very different kinds of danger, one greater and the other lesser.

The lesser danger is outward physical persecution. The greater danger is worshipping the beast. For instance, the U.S. government is extraditing a Christian family back to Germany where they will stand trial for the crime of home-schooling their children.

How Will God Save? This is an external problem, which this family will walk through inside of God, and by His grace will turn its outcome into goodness for many. We pray for their safety and protection.

But then consider the horrific practice taking place inside of Christian schools wherein Christian pastors, parents, and teachers instruct their little ones to swear a binding oath committing their hearts, hearts that belong to Jesus, into the service of the beast, to its thefts and to its murders. We expect God’s grace to keep the German Christian family, but how will we save our Christian brethren inside the justified anger of God?

A Beastly Sacrifice. Worshipping the beast begins with offering one’s children as a living sacrifice to that beast. In today’s world, this begins with offering one’s infant to white-coated priests of death who inject toxic chemicals into an infant’s blood, contrary to actual science, in order to turn that child into a psychotic slave to the beast. It then proceeds with an educational system that teaches them total allegiance to their particular country’s violent political control and war machine.

“Who is equal to the beast?” And, “Who is able to war against it?”

Defining the Beast. So, let’s define the beast for the purposes of this lesson. The beast is all human political government in every land on earth, specifically, today’s bureaucratic tyranny overseen by corrupt politicians in every nation.

I see ZERO practical difference between the government of China and the government of the United States. Both are bureaucratic dictatorships overseen by a corrupt political class chosen entirely by the financial powers, with “elections” of any kind as a deceit to keep people, not just quiet, but as rabid supporters. The strategy is two-fold, first, divide and conquer, and second, make them love slavery while mouthing “freedom.”

Praying for the Beast. Right now we are in the fulness of times, and God’s purpose for the beast in the fulness of times is to show all humans just how awful human control really is.

Do not pray for the beast; do not pray that your country will “get its act together.” Paul’s instruction was NOT to pray “for” kings. His instruction was to pray “that we might live in peace.” That is a prayer against kings, for theft and war are the actions of human government. We are in the dispensation of God wherein human government is spinning out of control. And we have seen that this is because the dragon that gives it power has LOST his strength!!!

Is Praying for the Devil. Consider this great contradiction. – The dragon gave to this wild beast his power and his throne and great authority. Versus – But the devil did not have the strength, nor was a place found for them any longer inside of heaven. Then the great dragon was thrown out… the devil has come down towards you filled with great fury, knowing that he has only a brief time.

To “pray” that the political criminal gangs who control your country would “get their act together” is to pray that the devil would regain his strength and his place. And the thing that is sweeping all this horror into the dustbin of history is that Kingdom rising up to take its place.

The Psychology of the Beast. I believe that it is important to have a reasonably accurate understanding of what is actually happening in the world. I look for people of integrity who are never partisan. I am including links that will enable you to understand the real meaning, the psychology of the beast and its workings.

https://www.lewrockwell.com/author/john-w-whitehead/  
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2023/03/no_author/a-state-of-never-ending-crisis-the-government-is-fomenting-mass-hysteria/  
https://www.lewrockwell.com/author/gary-d-barnett/  
https://www.corbettreport.com/

Understanding Our World. For nearly forty years, I have used John’s vision of the beast as my primary means of understanding this world, along with C.S. Lewis’s That Hideous Strength, which I share in Symmorphy III: Kingdom. In all these years, these two metaphors have served me well, enabling me to place everything going on in today’s world into an accurate view of God’s setting.

Let’s go through the details of John’s description and connect a number of the points to our world today. First, the description of the animal clearly comes from Daniel’s visions, representing four different governments.

Describing the Animal. The difference between Old Testament times and New is that now these truths apply to all human experience. The leopard (Alexander’s Greece) represents first stealth and then speed. For instance, the events of March 2020 came quickly, but they had been prepared for a long time. The feet of the bear (Persia) represents the great strength on which the concept of political government stands. The mouth of the lion (Babylon) is the great boasting hubris by which politicians hold the right to lie and to kill. And then the final beast (Rome) is that which fills the whole earth and destroys all.

Inner Circles. C.S. Lewis’s story shows us that the majority of people who devote themselves to the triumph of the beast actually believe they are benefitting mankind. But among them is a smaller group who are manipulating the larger group and who believe their devotion to evil will give them power over others. But among them is an even smaller group who are manipulating the power people. This smaller group serves death and Satan, knowing they also will be destroyed.

Since most humans cannot comprehend such evil intent, they remain blissfully unaware of the two smaller groups.

Many Heads, One Purpose. Seven heads and ten horns are not part of the description so that we would count “seven” or “ten” this or that. Seven is perfection and ten is the law of outward control.

The meaning of the “seven-headed” beast is that there is a perfect confusion of control, with many centers of control, each fighting and snapping at the others. Yet they are all connected to the same body and will always fight together against any real opponent, that is, against the Lamb. The exact same controls upon the people are being enacted in every country on earth. Two of the things that tie every ruler together are international finance and freemasonry.

Through the Beast. Let’s now come at the beast from a slightly different perspective. – And a mouth was given to the beast, speaking great boastings and slanders, and authority was given to it to act for forty-two months. Then it opened its mouth into slanders against God, to slander His name and His tabernacle, those dwelling in heaven. And it was given to it to make war against the devoted ones and to defeat them.

In other words, the religious, financial, and political/bureaucratic controllers of this world are the outward means by which the dragon, having lost its strength, is seeking to persecute the woman protected by the overcomers.

The Issue of Authority. Now, we must puzzle over this. Clearly, the beast is the outward means by which the dragon expresses its fury. In Chapter 12, the dragon fails at every point, whereas in Chapter 13 John saw that the beast was gifted (by the dragon) with the ability to defeat the devoted ones. Yet in Chapter 15 we see that the devoted ones defeat the beast! The issue in this extraordinary contradiction is the issue of authority and its subsequent power.

The dragon gave to this wild beast his power and his throne and great authority. – and authority was given to it to act – And it was given to it to make war against the devoted ones and to defeat them.

The Dragon’s “Authority?” It is evident from the text that this is the dragon’s authority given to the beast, not God’s. But what authority does the dragon have?

All authority inside of heaven upon earth is given to Me – Jesus (Matthew 28). This same Jesus dwells in His Church. And even more – Having renounced and stripped away the influencers, the sources, and the authorities, He exposed them as in bold public speaking, having triumphed over them in it (Colossians 2:15). Upon the cross, Jesus stripped all authority from the dragon and from all that is demonic.

Out of the Church. The only authority the dragon can have is the authority given to him by Christians as they speak not-Christ and curse. A Christian boasting in the flesh gives authority to the dragon who then gives that authority to the beast. When Christians try to ride the back of the beast, that is, to direct the violent power of government towards enforcing “rightness,” and when Christians run to war following the LIES of their government, they ARE giving that same beast the POWER to burn their flesh with fire (Revelation 17).

The devil has no authority and no power. Get the devil out of the Church and he is finished. Get the devil out of the Church, and the beast must fail in its war against the saints.

Worshipping Self AND State. This is why God’s place of protection MUST BE a desolate place, that is, NO sufficiency in self. “No sufficiency in self” strips the stolen authority away from dragon and beast. “I am my own source,” that is, “I come from my sinful self and NOT from the good speaking of Jesus,” is self-worship.

But human self’s are not alone. Thus vast numbers of humans, all worshipping self, then turn and worship the state as the consummation of self. Worship of self is inward (I am my own source); worshipping the state is outward (we together provide). Worshipping the beast is always both together.

Forty Two Months. Christian children pledging allegiance to the flag give to Satan the power he needs to destroy the Church. Stop worshipping the beast, and that power ceases.

And this is the extraordinary thing. Forty-two months is given to the beast – into slanders against God, to slander His name and His tabernacle, those dwelling in heaven. Yet this same forty-two months comes AFTER the serpent has lost his strength and is driven from the Church. A beast is most dangerous when it is dying. When human political government becomes the most dangerous to all humans, it’s because it has been given 42 months to DIE.

We Do Not Fight the Beast. But there is another way that the beast is enabled by Christians to defeat the devoted ones. That way is by fighting against the beast. Anyone who takes up the fight against one head of the beast is fighting for another head. Think of Frodo and Sam stumbling across Mordor. What if they had used the ring, the power in their hands, to fight against the Orcs or the Nazgul on their way? They would have been defeated. Their silence and obscurity was their victory.

NEVER ask “What is happening in human affairs.” Always ask, “Why are they spinning this bit right now?” The news is there always to sidetrack any who can be turned aside.

An Infestation of Devils. Christians extolling their political government and following the lies of their government into war (or the spinners to take sides) represents a most horrific infestation of devils.

I want to add a further dimension to our prayers for our fellow Christians, a dividing line, as we saw in Revelation 11. Blessed are those washing their robes, that their right will be upon the tree of life, and they shall enter by the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, and the drug poisoners, and the sexually immoral, and the murderers, and the idolaters, and everyone loving and doing fakery and pretending (Revelation 22 – rough JSV). The city is Community, a Church clothed with Jesus.

A Deliverance Service. The place prepared for God’s people is the city of God, Jerusalem, Christian Community upon the land, that is, in rural or semi-rural places. Just as you cannot worship self when you enter this place, so you cannot worship your government and its lies. Only a darkened heart believes the lies told by government officials and by the news media. Only a person ungrounded in God is sidetracked by the wrong fight.

The entrance into Christian Community is a deliverance service. To protect the Church and to provide for her in her place, we cast those demons down.

Against Worshipping the Beast. The beast is the second part of the curse, humanity subjected to the rule of tyrants and psychopaths. The beast is all human control over others in every generation and in every place on earth. Now, in the fulness of times, the beast world-wide has become bureaucratic tyranny in every nation, overseen by corrupt politicians. Elections are used to make the people complicit in theft and war. Control within the beast operates in concentric circles of deceit. The many heads of the beast fight each other in perfect confusion, yet always agree together by the body and control of international finance and freemasonry.

God’s purpose for the beast in the fulness of times is to prove that human control is a bad idea. We do not fight the beast; rather, our battle is against the worship of the beast and its image among Christians. Worshipping the state and its flags, the mirage of the collective, is the highest expression of self-worship. The only authority given to the beast is that which the dragon has obtained from Christians. Get the devil out of the Church, and the beast must fail in its war against the saints. It slanders God and His saints even as it dies. Our brethren cannot worship the beast in Jerusalem; our task is to set them free and to protect a now-free Church from the ravages of human control.

Honoring the Lamb. I am satisfied that God has given me a reasonable understanding of the world-beast and how it works, an understanding that has proven itself over many decades. Inside of this approach to Revelation 13, everything fits, and everything is relevant to God’s purposes, to His sons, and to their care over the Church.

I have read many who study the evil, including various Christian researchers, and I find, in that approach, neither any honor of God and His Purpose, nor any recognition of the unveiling of Jesus Christ. But I have given you a view of Revelation 13 inside of which the Lamb alone will be honored.

Reading for Next Time. The next lesson is titled “The Issue of the Inheritance.” For that lesson, read Revelation 13 again, in the JSV. For the ambitious student, you could look again at “The Two Covenants” in my book, The Covenant. The contention over the inheritance is the background force behind everything happening today. We build any argument we might present concerning the inheritance out from Paul’s gospel first. Any present-day considerations are then added to that understanding where they might fit.

To whom does the earth belong? To whom does Jerusalem belong? In the end, the victory is not a legal victory, but a heart victory, the answer to the question – Who cares?

Let’s Pray Together. “God, our Father, our brothers and sisters all across the earth are caught in the deceit of the beast and its image. They even imagine that worshipping the beast, and giving power to their political controllers, is of You. Father, we know that no one can enter into Jerusalem who waves any political flag or fights any worldly cause, for they are fighting against the Lamb who bought them.

“Inside of the name of Jesus, we break and cast down this demonic infestation that deceives our brethren into giving their hearts and their bodies to this world. The Blood has made you free. Be free in Jesus name; be devoted to the unveiling of His glory.

“Right now, Oh God, Your Spirit is moving across the Church in every land on earth. Thousands of pastors are opening their eyes to see the iniquity of this world and its deceit. They see their ‘countries’ at war against the Lamb, and their hearts encircle Your people to protect them. Right now, Father, millions of believers in Jesus are removing their hearts from this world and their minds from its lies. The dragon is cast out of the Church.

“Father, our hearts are open wide to our brethren, even as they flee the cesspools of this world, that they might rush with JOY into Jerusalem, into the celebration of Your Feast. Oh God, it is our welcome that strips from them all the deceit. Father, with Jesus we welcome our brethren into our hearts and into our shared Jerusalem with all JOY.”