heel.
I
could
not
believe
the
transformation that had come over
our soft, sweet and cuddly kitten.
I could feel the tension of pursuit
in its body. His whole being was
consumed with the chase. I could
feel its heart racing as it contorted
its body to get free of my hands
while all the time keeping its eyes
totally focused and following every
turn of the bird. I was shocked,
instinct had transformed my cat into
something I could not recognise.
The Beast
The experience I had of my
transformed cat reminded me of
what John saw in his apocalyptic
vision. As this vision unfolded he
discovered that in the end the
object of the whole earth’s worship
was a beast. He did not refer to it
merely as a man or an animal but
as a beast. Why a beast? He chose
that description for us to get a
better understanding of the nature
of the creature.
“So they worshiped the dragon
who gave authority to the beast;
and they worshiped the beast,
saying, ‘Who is like the beast? Who
is able to make war with him?’”
Revelation 13:4
I often wondered about the
descriptive words used in Scripture
and discovered that the wording of
Scripture is not by chance. Every
jot and every stroke was carefully
chosen by God. We must therefore
honour and carefully consider every
word that was recorded in it.
According to the Cambridge
Dictionary a beast is: an animal,
especially a large or wild one.
While this definition is a good start,
I believe there is much more that
could be said about a beast that
could help us to get a better picture
of what John saw.
Note, that a beast is an animal but
not a cuddly and playful one. For it
to be described as a beast it must
be the kind of animal that is wild,
brutal and most likely large. This
animal is fierce and gruesome. It
has no conscience, no compassion,
no regrets but is driven purely by
instinct and a thirst for blood. It will
hunt, kill and rip through flesh and
bone with absolutely no thought
for its victims.
Pause now and consider that this
will be the nature of the thing all
mankind will worship. But how could
this be, how could people worship
such a thing? Good question.
Another question one could ask is,
will all mankind worship it willingly
or by force?
My understanding is that John
recognised the nature of that thing
because he was in the Spirit but
to those not looking through the
eyes of the Spirit it will appear as a
sheep. Jesus warns us, “Beware of
false prophets, who come to you in
sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they
are ravenous wolves.” Matthew
7:15 In other words, outside they
look harmless but their true nature
is hidden underneath, they are
beasts.
Jesus speaking of false prophets
used words to describe them that
highlights beast like qualities. He
says they are “...ravenous wolves”.
Ravenous comes from the root
word ‘ravage’ which means: to
cause great damage to something
(Cambridge
Dictionary).
As
mentioned earlier, these beast like
men create great carnage as they
rip and tear through God’s people
with razor like fangs. Remember,
to the unsuspecting they will look
like sheep, until of course, their true
nature is revealed. For most this
realisation wil l come too late.
So yes, they serve him willingly
because they are deceived. The
language used by John shows
their admiration for the beast. John
records them saying, “Who is like
the beast? Who is able to make war
with him?” They are convinced the
beast is their champion. How tragic.
We observe similar language being
used when Peter described what
the devil does to those whom he is
able to take captive. “Be sober, be
vigilant; because your adversary the
devil walks about like a roaring lion,
seeking whom he may devour.” 1
Peter 5:8 Notice that he chose to
use the word ‘devour’ and not just
say ‘eat’. Why? Because devour
paints a whole different picture.
The word denotes a frantic, brutal
ripping of the flesh like that of a
hungry bloodthirsty beast.
Do you now get the picture?
Some wonder if the beast like
nature of this evil man who will
accept worship in the last days
will be the result of some human
biological genome experiment
that will make him part man and
part animal. Others think his cold
heartless nature could be as a result
of him being a cyborg, part man
and part machine.
While others speculate about what
it is that made this man the beast he
will be this we do know, his biblical
description makes it clear that he
won’t be a kind, gentle and loving
individual even though he may try
to paint that picture. The one who is
truly kind, gentle and loving is Jesus
who was portrayed in John’s vision
as the lamb. Instead of worshiping
Him however, the whole world (but
for the exception of a chosen few)
will gladly and willingly worship
the devil possessed man, the one
who will soon plunge his fangs into
them like a BEAST tearing the flesh
of its prey. Resist him standing firm
in your faith. p
October - December 2017
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