Day 235

You can hear John working hard to describe what he saw. Ten horns, seven heads, ten crowns, leopard, bear, lion. This is unlike anything he had ever seen, and unlike anything we have seen. No wonder we can’t picture it. This beast is given power by God for three and a half years and the world is his domain. Everyone except the Believers worship him.

John confirms that some Believers will go into captivity and some will be killed. This should not surprise any of us. If they killed Jesus, why should we be exempt. We need patient endurance and faithfulness. Whether we are alive during this time, or in our current lives, we need these two qualities to be evident in us. We want quick relief, fast service, instant access.

A second beast has a false personality. He looks like a lamb, but speaks like a dragon. Its role is to lift up the first beast. It sets up some kind of idol image of the first beast and then makes it talk. I can imagine a computer driven device of some kind doing this. But what John saw, I don’t know. But the penalty for refusing to worship is death.

And if you want to stay alive, carry on normal life, then you must submit to its authority. That authority is symbolized in some kind of mark being placed on your forehead or right hand. Lots of speculation about this mark has filled books. I will let the speculation to others.

What I find interesting is that John tells his audience to do some calculating. There must have been some way for his readers to understand the identity of this person. Or perhaps, when this person arrives on the scene, we will see the obvious connection to this verse. I know we have wisdom in Christ. When the day comes, and this person institutes this system, we will know it. It will not take us by surprise. We are aware it is coming. We may not know exactly what it looks like, but when it happens, we will be able to clearly see the connection.

I don’t know if it is a computer chip or some type of tattooed bar code, or some other identifying mark.  But when it happens it will be connected to someone who demands worship. They will have universal control over the earth. They will have the ability to control commerce. They will have a way to carry out their injustice against anyone they choose. This has not happened yet, so we know he is not in the position of power yet. This future event is still future (at least at the time of my writing!).