Beasts and whatnots

We have had the seven churches, last week it was the seven angels with their trumpets; and we only at week 3 of our exploration of Revelation. I thought angels were kind but these seem to unleash nasties, beasts and whatnots across the world. There’s another angel who wants to open the last scroll and release the seven terrors. John, the supposed author, is ready to write down everything, but God says don’t. It’s like John needed God’s direction, guidance.

The Churches seeking to forgive

In our prayers we may offer God thanks but also seek forgiveness for what we have down or not done, what we’ve said or not said. It can be quite easy to say the words but a little more difficult to put that into action.

If we have upset another person, it can be beneficial to show some humility and make amends with that person. It could be trying to see their point of view or perspective. That’s linked to the parable of the Sheep from John 10 – hear the other. We might feel that this is the best course of action but please let’s also consider whether it is the best for the other person. All of our actions are guided by love. It’s not just that it’s best for ourselves.

Revelation 10:7 The 7^th angel blows their trumpet and God’s mysterious plan will be fulfilled. Sounds a bit like the passage from Acts 1, where the disciples were seeking to know how Jesus’ plan would unfold. 

Two prophets unfolding God’s Plan

In Revelation 11: 3-12, we hear of two witnesses, or prophets who will prophecy for 1260 days – long time. [Historicist interpreters have usually understood the “time, times and half a time” (i.e. 1+2+0.5=3.5), “1,260 days” and “42 months” mentioned in Daniel and Revelation to be references to represent a period of 1260 years (based on the 360 day Jewish year multiplied by 3.5).] They are not happy if people critique their work, and they have the power to turn off the rain, turn the rivers and oceans into blood, and strike the Earth with every kind of plague. After they are done, the Beast (below) will declare war on them, and they will die. Their bodies will lie there for 3.5 days, that is more than 3 days, but God will revive them. Recall Lazarus, and Jewish burial understanding. At this, an earthquake will destroy a tenth of Jerusalem with seven thousand people dying in the process.

These 2 witnesses are believed to be Moses and Elijah, the great prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures.  They are pleading with the people for them to repent, but they don’t listen. The beast in the one who was described in Daniel Chapter 7, which harks back to a previous time of domination by the Egyptians.  It is not necessarily Satan, in fact Satan is mentioned elsewhere referring to some particular Jewish church leaders or even Rome. It is a term to describe your enemy, not a specific deity. 

Remember these are metaphors, not a vivid, literal depiction of the end times.

A woman and a dragon

Revelation 12: 1-3 brings us a woman and a dragon. Remember that this is a vision of John, not real events portrayed as a prophecy of our future. It has a message. The beast in Revelation 13:1-2, looks like a leopard, the feet of a bear, and the mouth of a lion. It is able to fight with the angels of Heaven, and convinces many of the world to have allegiance to the Beast. The beast ordered them to build a great statue of the beast, and the people were all given a mark on their forehead, of 666. (Revelation 13:16-18).

Many have sought to recreate the number 666 in terms of history many centuries later.

Are you sure these aren’t the end times?

Many films have shown this portrayal. Rarely do they mention that this is a vision, not reality. But what might it mean to us today?

Power, Control, Influence…

As we started, we reflected upon nations that seek power and control, with their economic or military might. I am not going to mention particular countries, as each and every country could be described having such tendencies. Perhaps the message is to watch carefully: does our country show a desire to have excessive power over its people; does the church seek to have control over our money? The 666 number is supposedly connected to the Roman emperor Nero, albeit the current Roman Emperor (for John) was probably Domitian. I wonder whey they seemed to be relating a story back to past history, unless it meant a lot to the people of Turkey then.

Do we have a historical figure which has great power and influence over our country –
excessive control perhaps? They might also be seen in statues of the past,
where we have learnt a different perspective of history now. 

And what about us?

The author John was trying to describe what he saw to these 7 churches across Turkey. He wasn’t describing a future war to end the earth. Jesus spoken of Heaven being so near, and on Earth, so why destroy the earth?

John was seeking to persuade those whom he loved and knew, to make changes in their life, to see that Rome was the domineering beast, and that God would save them. He did hope that Rome would be destroyed, albeit Rome’s power and control would last a few more centuries before that happened. In all of this we need to reflect on what Jesus has taught us: that we use love to guide our thoughts and actions, that we make those changes to our life, so that it can flourish and that it is abundant in the riches of  God not materialistic wealth and power.

Can we identify where wealth, control over others and power are factors in our life, which drag us down – what might we do about that? Without resorting to beasts and whatnots…