Jesus or Satan

The Inhabitants of the Earth refuse to follow the Lamb, choosing instead to give their allegiance to the Dragon. In Revelation, there is no geographic restriction on the reign of the “Beast from the Sea.” All the “Inhabitants of the Earth” take its “Mark” or “Number” and venerate it, and no government resists the “Beast.” It is granted “authority over every tribe, people, tongue and nation.” There are no exceptions to the rule.

Only the “overcoming” followers of the “Lamb” refuse to submit to its demand for total allegiance, namely, those who have the “Testimony of Jesus.” The Book of Revelation describes the attempts of the “Dragon” to destroy them. The animosity of the “Beast” toward this group is driven by its demand for absolute loyalty from one and all.

[Photo by Jürgen Scheeff on Unsplash]

This is an old story. Whenever the State is absolutized, it does not tolerate any competing claim of loyalty. Since Jesus is the Lord and absolute Sovereign over all things, clashes between his followers and the State are inevitable.

Humanity falls into two groups - Those who follow the Lamb wherever he goes and those who render homage to the Beast from the Sea. Nowhere is any third category or neutral ground described.

When one of the “Seven Heads” of the “Beast” was mortally wounded and healed, the “whole earth marveled after the Beast and rendered homage to the Dragon.” In contrast, through his Death and Resurrection, the “Lamb” redeems men and women “out of” every nation and ethnic group for his Kingdom.

The “Lamb” and the “Dragon” compete for mankind's allegiance, though they use very different methods. The Son of God “shepherds” the nations by leading them to “living waters.” Satan’s earthly agents impoverish anyone who does not swear everlasting fealty to the “Beast” and its “image.”

Satan’s final attempt to destroy the Body of Christ extends over all humanity. If the language in Revelation is limited geographically or ethnically when applied to the “Beast,” the same is true of the extent of the “Lamb’s” authority. Just as Christ’s redeeming activities extend over the entire Earth, so Satan’s efforts to persecute the Lamb’s followers reach every corner of the planet - (Revelation 7:9).

Not only do “all the Inhabitants of the Earth render homage” to the “Beast,” the same group is identified as “those whose names are not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb.” Therefore, all men whose names are not written in the Book will “render homage to the Beast.”

INHABITANTS OF THE EARTH

Whether a man’s name is excluded from the “Book of Life” is determined by how he responds to the “Lamb” AND the “Beast,” and not by geography, nationality, or political affiliation. The statement regarding the Beast’s reign - “All who dwell upon the Earth will render it homage” – is not limited by geography or nationality. Whether one “follows the Lamb wherever he goes” AND refuses to give allegiance to the “Beast” determines if the person’s name is “written in the Book of Life.”

In Chapter 13, another “Beast” ascended “from the Earth,” the “False Prophet.” He used deception and economic sanctions to “cause the Inhabitants of the Earth to render homage to the First Beast.” Elsewhere, the term “Inhabitants of the Earth” refers to all men who rebel against the rule of the “Lamb” - (Revelation 3:10, 13:11-15).

Similarly, after the Fourth Trumpet sounded, the angel cried out, “Woe, woe, woe, for the Inhabitants of the Earth.” The judgments unleashed by the “Seven Trumpets” targeted the “Inhabitants of the Earth” since they refused to repent and instead worshipped the “Dragon” and the “Beast from the Sea.”

The “False Prophet” deceived the “Inhabitants of the Earth.” All, whether “small or great, rich or poor, free or slave,” took the “Mark of the Beast.” In contrast, those who “follow the Lamb wherever he goes” had his Father’s name inscribed on their foreheads, the “Seal of God.” Everyone is branded with the “Mark of the Beast” or has the name of God written on his forehead.

Once again, only two groups are in view. There is no “third way,” no holdout nation, no middle ground where one may hide for the duration. Each man must declare for the “Lamb” or the “Beast.”

In Chapter 14, the angel announced the “everlasting gospel to the Inhabitants of the Earth, even to every nation and tribe and tongue and people.” If anyone rendered homage to the “Beast, he also would drink of the wine of the wrath of God.” This anticipated the final judgment when the angel would “gather the vine of the earth and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God,” the judgment of all men whose “names were not written in the Lamb’s Book” - (Revelation 14:9-10).

At the final battle, Satan gathers all the “Kings of the Earth” and the “nations from the four corners of the Earth” to destroy the “camp of the saints.” This description stresses the global scope of this final assault – (Revelation 19:17-21, 20:7-10).

[Lamb - Photo by Rod Long on Unsplash]

Nowhere does Revelation describe or even suggest the possibility of any nation or government opting out of or resisting the reign of the “Beast.” Humanity’s only hope is to submit to the “Lamb” and refuse the “Mark of the Beast,” and by suffering the consequences of that decision. Loyalty to Jesus must be absolute.

There will be no neutral ground and no room for compromise with the Devil or his earthly agents. Every man and woman must choose whom he or she will serve - The “Dragon” or the “Lamb,” Satan or Jesus.

History repeats itself because the “Dragon” has been plotting and pushing the same agenda since Adam’s disobedience when he succumbed to the alluring lies of that “Ancient Serpent.” This is why whenever the opportunity presents itself, the State demands absolute allegiance from its subjects, and each time this occurs, the “Beast” once again begins “Ascending from the Sea.”

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RELATED POSTS:

• Allegiance - (In Revelation, “all” men must choose between loyalty to the Beast from the sea or the sacrificial Lamb)

• Allegiance to Whom? - (Satan offered Jesus unlimited political power for his Messianic mission if only he would accept the Devil as his overlord)

• Religion and Economics - (The False Prophet mimics the Lamb and uses economic control and religious propaganda to advance the Beast’s sovereignty)