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This blog continues from the previous blog dated 24/02/2024. Much has been written about these two beasts and they might well represent future evil leaders such as the man of lawlessness or the antichrist.
But before we look at seeing a present or a future explanation for these two beasts, I want to set this chapter in its historical context.. When John was writing this amazing book, he was in the island of Patmos which was a Roman penal colony. He was able to get this book transmitted by a messenger to the mainland and it was read to seven actual churches in the Roman province of Asia Minor. They must have been mesmerised as they heard this letter / prophecy / apocalypse being read to them. They would be able to identify the beast although there might have been some considerable discussion at the 'coffee break!' John had succeeded in conveying a message to them criticising the Roman Empire while he was being held in captivity by the Roman army.
As they imagined a beast coming out of the sea, for the first century Christians were accustomed to apocalyptic writing, they would quickly identify this beast from the sea. The Romans had arrived by sea. One look at a map of the Roman Empire shows clearly that the 'sea' held a strategic importance. The Roman army travelled across the Mediterranean Sea to conquer foreign territory. The Roman Empire was the beast from the sea. It was powerful and all pervasive. It demanded allegiance and even worship. It ruled by force of arms. Those living in the Roman Empire, in cities such as Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea, became accustomed to Roman soldiers maintaining order in the streets. They paid taxes to the Roman authorities to pay for this privilege .
However, the Romans depended heavily on their counterpart - the beast from the land. In every colony of this vast Empire there were local people who had sided with the Romans. The Romans would not have been able to run their empire if it had not been for these local officials such as governors and magistrates who provided the administrative structure for Roman rule. So, there was a symbiotic relationship between these two beasts. The beast from the sea (the Roman imperial authority) needed the beast from the sea - local dignitaries who would sacrifice their patriotic feelings to support an invading army. But of course, the local bigwigs did rather well - they were financially rewarded and were given privileges and titles as a reward for their loyal service. These local traitors (is that word too strong?) were more Roman than the Romans. In the province of Asia Minor the various cities competed with each other to demonstrate their affection for Caesar.
In the first century, there grew up an imperial cult where the Roman Emperor was worshipped as a god. Of course, the occupied territories had their own deities. And there was a plethora of Roman gods and goddesses to be worshipped. But the emperor became one of these gods and might even claim to be the son of god - a blasphemy for any Jew or Christian. You can begin to see that religion was used to support the first beast - the mighty Roman Empire.
Throughout history, there have been many examples where church and state work hand in hand. Hitler, for example, drew up a Concordat with the Vatican which guaranteed him the loyalty of the Catholic church and thus ensured their silence when the Reich persecuted the Jews in concentration camps. There were brave individuals who were prepared to condemn this brutality but they suffered martyrdom. In today's Russia, Putin would seem to have the support of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Just to get back to the first century, think of the message John is conveying in this letter. Who is behind the beast from the sea? Who is behind this beast from the land?
The message is clear from the vision which John saw: the real power behind both beasts is the dragon who is a symbol of Satan, the devil. For the church at Smyrna this vision would clarify the nature of their persecution. They were suffering because some Jews were seeking to betray them to the Roman authorities because they were not prepared to worship Caesar. The Romans had made some compromise arrangement to enable the Jews to continue to practise their religion as long as they prayed to their one God for Caesar while not necessarily confessing that Caesar is Lord. The synagogue (the second beast) was in league with Rome (the first beast).
‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. [Revelation 2:9 NIV]
For the church at Thyatira, there was a real challenge because the second beast had taken the form of a false prophet and was nicknamed Jezebel after the wicked wife of King Ahab.
But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. [Revelation 2:20 ESV]
John described the teaching of this Jezebel (who might not have been a single individual) as 'the deep things of Satan' (Revelation 2:24). In its original context, this chapter was written to seven churches who were seeing everyday the evil caused by this symbiotic relationship between the two beasts - the Roman conquerors who had invaded their land (the beast from the sea) and the beast from the land which came in different guises but were those from their own city or locality who were prepared to sacrifice their country for their own advantage. They might have been local officials or tradesmen or religious groups but they were loyal to the occupying power. Chapter 13 clarified the true nature of this Roman Empire.
I hope to have another study of this chapter to look at the implications for us in our generation today.
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