The Beast Goes to War
The Book of Revelation uses “war” and related terms to illustrate Satan’s attacks against the followers of the “Lamb.” The Book shows little, if any, interest in conventional or nuclear warfare between nation-states. Instead, the “Dragon” strives mightily to annihilate the saints before his allotted time expires. To do so, he employs deception, compromise, and on occasion, outright persecution. The target of his hostility is the Assembly of Jesus Christ.
References to a coming “war,” SINGULAR,
employ the Greek verb polemeō and its noun form, polemos. Both are
applied to the cosmic battle described in Chapter 12 when “WAR (polemos)
arose in heaven” between the “Dragon and his angels” and “Michael
and his angels.”
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| [Beast - Photo by LINLI XU on Unsplash] |
Expelled from Heaven, Satan began his campaign against those who have the “Testimony of Jesus,” not the nations of the Earth. This “battle” is fought between Satan and Jesus through their respective followers – (Revelation 12:1-17).
This war manifests in the daily lives of believers
as they struggle against deceivers who are active in the Assembly,
namely, the “False apostles,” the “Nicolaitans,” the proponents
of the “teachings of Balaam,” and that “prophetess, Jezebel” who promotes
the “deep things of Satan.”
In addition, the “saints” endure opposition
and persecution from outsiders, and the time is coming when the Devil will assemble
all his forces in a last-ditch effort to destroy the people of God. The
struggles of the Seven Assemblies provide a localized picture of the larger war
being waged wherever and whenever the Gospel is preached, a conflict that will
culminate in a final global attack against the saints.
Satan has been targeting the saints for
destruction since it the founding of the Church. Jesus himself warned his
disciples of this very thing. The Devil would send “false prophets” and
“false messiahs” to employ “great signs and wonders,” not to deceive
an already deceived world, but “to deceive, if possible, the ELECT.”
THE BEAST
The “Beast”
first appears in Chapter 11 of Revelation as he “ascends from the
Abyss” to “overcome” and kill the “Two Witnesses.” Its ascent
results in “victory” over the “Two Witnesses.” However, the “Beast”
will not be unleashed to kill them until they have “completed” their
prophetic “testimony” - (Revelation
11:7).
The “Witnesses”
are not two individuals but “Two Lampstands,” and in Revelation,
“lampstands” symbolize churches, “assemblies” of God. The “war”
against the “Two Witnesses” is a graphic representation of the
persecution of the saints by the “Beast.” Though the “Beast” kills
the “Two Witnesses,” it will be a hollow victory as it is quickly
overturned when the Seventh Trumpet sounds - (Revelation 1:20, 11:15-19).
In Chapter
12, Satan is defeated and cast out of heaven.
Enraged, he descends to the Earth to “make war” with the “Seed
of the Woman,” namely, “those who are keeping the commandments of God
and have the TESTIMONY OF JESUS.” This group represents the followers of Jesus.
The same
reality is in view as in Chapter 11, though from a different perspective. As before,
the forces of Satan wage “war” on the “saints,” not against other
nations or the “Inhabitants of the Earth.” Chapter 12 ends with Satan
standing on the seashore where he summons his own “seed” to execute his war on
the “saints,” beginning with the “Beast from the Sea” -
(Revelation 12:17).
In Chapter
13, John sees Satan’s first “Beast ascending from the Sea,” an image that parallels the “Beast ascending from the Abyss.” Once again, the same “war”
– singular - is in view. In the Greek text, it is “THE war.” Rather than
resist the “Beast,” the “Inhabitants of the Earth” are awed by
its irresistible power, “Who is like the Beast, and who can make war with it?”
No resistance or revolt is raised against this creature by any of the nations of the Earth. The “Inhabitants of the Earth” are the worshipful subjects of the “Beast,” not its mortal enemies - (Revelation 13:1-4).
After
receiving the authority of the “Dragon,” the “Beast” launches its
campaign against the “saints,” and it “overcomes (nikésai)
them,” meaning, they are killed. However, the “Beast” can only do so
when and within the limits authorized by the “Lamb” – (“It was given
to the Beast” - Revelation 13:7).
The same term
for “war” found in Chapters 11 and 12 is employed in Chapter 13 when the
“Beast wages WAR on the saints.” All three passages allude to the same verse
in the Book of Daniel that describes the attack on the saints by the “Little
Horn.” This is a verbal link between the visions of these three chapters - (Daniel 7:21) - “I continued looking when this horn
made war with the holy ones and prevailed against them.”
Just as the “Beast from the Abyss” attacked
the “Two Witnesses,” so the “Beast from the Sea” wages “war”
against “the saints.”
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| [Photo by Tobias Rademacher on Unsplash] |
The term “saints” refers to men who follow the “Lamb wherever he goes.” In Chapter 14, they are identified as those men “who have the faith of Jesus.” They are recognizable NOT by their nationality, but by their attachment to Jesus - (Revelation 5:8, 8:3-4, 11:18, 13:7-10, 14:12, 16:6, 17:6, 18:20-24, 19:8, 20:6-9).
The battle
scenes in Revelation are not literal descriptions of military conflicts between
nation-states, but instead of assaults by Satan against the people of the “Lamb.”
The cosmic battles in the heavens manifest in the daily lives of disciples as
they struggle with false teachers, false prophets, deception, and persecution.
The “Dragon”
is engaged heavily in an existential battle with the Church. Either he
or the people of the “Lamb” will be destroyed. There can be no
compromise, no negotiations. The visions of Revelation unveil the true
source of persecution and deceivers and provide insights into the opposition experienced
by the Church.
The “Ancient
Serpent” targets the Church and does everything in his power to destroy it,
whether through persecution, deception, compromise, or apathy. Whatever works. His war is against the “Lamb,” and he wages it by
attacking those who have the “Faith and the Testimony of Jesus.”
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