MPC 25th April 2004.Revelation 13-14 - "The Power - or the Passion?"
Phil Campbell
MPC 25th April 2004.
Sometimes, they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Which may have been the case when a 3rd year Oxford Engineering student was mistaken for a New York economics professor. And actually pulled it off.
Matt Richardson is quite bright at Engineering. But he knows absolutely nothing about global economics. On the other hand you've got Professor Matt Richardson from New York University - who's a world authority on Global Economics.
It's a strange tale; but somehow, the wrong Matt Richardson was invited to address a conference on global economics in Beijing. And the student Matt Richardson, being the jolly sort of English chap he is, decided to accept. Thinking somehow it was all just part of a student exchange program anyhow. He said, "I knew next to nothing about economics. But I bought a text book called Introduction to Global Financial Markets, and I figured I could carry it off."
Matt Richardson was met at Beijing Airport by a sincere Chinese host. He said the truth soon became horribly apparent. I thought I'd be giving one lecture to school students. But he says "It became clear to me that my audience wasn't students, but people from the world of commerce studying for a PhD in business studies who already had an MBA. And instead of repeating the same one lecture, I was meant to deliver a series over three days. The first one was immediately after lunch." And everyone was bowing, and calling me professor.
Matt Richardson says he had no other option but to fake it. He tore chapters out of the textbook, and arranged them in a folder like lecture notes. He says, "Because I was speaking through an interpreter I had the time to look ahead at the pages and prepare myself for what I was going to say next." He says, "I started to ad lib a bit, and really got into the subject. I was learning as much as my audience." To add a touch of authenticity, he even made notes on a blackboard to emphasise points.
And the Chinese PhD students were soaking it up! At lunch break the following day, a number of students told him how informative they were finding his lectures. He says, "The only problem was, I was running out of chapters. By mid-afternoon on the second day I was already on chapter 15 of 16 and I still had the rest of the day and the following morning to go. I realised I wasn't going to make it." So during the afternoon coffee break, Engineering Student Matt Richardson, the fake professor of economics, took off. And headed for the airport. And home to Oxford.
While the real Professor Matt Richardson was still in New York. Having never received the original invitation. When he was contacted for a comment by the UK Daily Telegraph, the real Prof Matthew Richardson, said this. He said, "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I guess no real harm was done. And it seems to me this young man will go far."
Which he might. Sometimes imitation is harmless. Sometimes it's funny.
But of course, sometimes it's not. Often imitation is downright dangerous. And deceptive. I had an email recently from the National Bank. Asking me to update my account details. Official National Bank Logo. Official sounding language.
There's a report in yesterday's Courier Mail that more than 215,000 similar scam emails were detected in the last month. Which means that even if a small percentage were fooled... it's a potential financial disaster. In fact, if I'd actually ever had a National Bank account it probably would have sucked me in completely. And I would have sent off my bank account details to a swindler. Who would have emptied the account of my meagre life savings.
In which case imitations can be dangerous.
How much worse if there was a sort of imitation that could cost you not just your life savings, but your eternity.
It's a terrible thought.
What if there was an imitation that looked convincing; that looked impressive; and yet in the end was a deception that led to disaster.
Because that's the picture John's vision is painting for us here.
It's a few weeks since we've been here in Revelation. So a quick recap. Revelation is the re-telling of a vision. It's a comfort. And a warning. Which we've seen has first hand relevance... for Christians in the last three decades of the first century.
We've seen it over and over again as we've worked through the first 12 chapters. Symbols; that are painting what in the end is a fairly simple picture. Of the power behind the empire that says very bluntly, no Christians. And empire that says there is no higher power... than the Emperor of Rome.
And so at every major city, there was a statue of the Emperor you'd bow to as you passed the city gates. As you paid for your shopping, you'd say Caesar is Lord. As you drew water from the town well, you'd say a blessing to Caesar who provides everything good.
Unless, of course, you're a Christian. Who's convinced that there's another authority. That Jesus Christ who died and rose and ascended to God's right hand, is the only One worthy of worship. And so we've seen and heard the stories of countless faithful Christians... who stood firm in the face of the power of the Empire. And paid the ultimate price.
The danger is, it's so easy to be fooled. And so tempting. Especially when in so many ways the power of the Roman Empire is so incredibly impressive. But in spite of appearances, the message of Revelation 13 and 14 is very simple. Beware of weak imitations.
Behind all the imagery and the beasts and the dragons, there's a simple thread. If you're fooled into worship the wrong Lord, it's a terrible mistake. Beware of weak imitations.
Trouble is, of course, the reality is so often that the imitation doesn't look weak at all. It looks impressive. Very much like the tungsten coated drill set I bought at the bargain shop for $7.50. Which somehow started to rust within the first week on my toolbench.
First impressions can be impressive. But deceptive.
Take a look at what's happening at the start of chapter 13.
The end of chapter 12, if you can remember back before the break, had the dragon, the devil - pursuing those who obey God's commandments and hold on to the testimony of Jesus. And standing at the shore of the sea.
Where he's met, at the start of chapter 13, but the first of two horrible beasts; the first one comes up out of the sea, and it's somehow got ten horns spread across seven heads; and each horn's got a crown, and each head's got a blasphemous name on it.
And in verse 2, in a way that defies the imagination it looks like a leopard with bear's feet; and a mouth like a lion. And the dragon from Chapter 12, who we've been told is the devil, in verse 3 gives the beast his power... and his throne. And great authority.
And the whole world is so impressed by the power and the authority of the beast, verse 4, that they worship the dragon. And they worship the beast as well. And they're saying at the end of verse 4, "who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?"
And the beast in verse 5 and 6 is blaspheming God and boasting and slandering God's name and his dwelling place; and he exercises his power for 42 months.... And makes war against the saints in verse 7. And conquers them. Or so it seems. And he's given authority over every tribe and people and language and nation. And all inhabitants of earth will worship the beast... at which point I hope you want to say stop.
Because if you've been reading Revelation carefully you'll know he's an imposter. And every tribe and language and nation and tongue are meant to be worshipping someone else.
And without complicating things I want to take you back hundreds of years to another vision that's very similar. The vision of Daniel. An Israelite Exile in Babylon. Who in Daniel chapter 7 has a vision that helps us make more sense of this one.
A vision with beasts from the sea like John's vision.
A vision with leopards and lions and bears. Like this one.
A vision with heads and horns and a boastful voice... making war against God's saints.
A vision with the ancient of days on his throne.
And one like a son of man. Coming with the clouds. To receive a kingdom.
Can you turn back quickly to Daniel 7 verse 13 and 14?
Because we've seen already. They're verses that are quoted by Jesus. About himself. Daniel 7 verse 13. One like a son of man, coming on the clouds to the ancient of days.
And verse 14, he's given authority... and glory. And sovereign power. And all peoples, and nations, and men of every language... worship him. In an everlasting kingdom that will never be destroyed.
Still in Daniel 7. Verse 15. Daniel's troubled. He says, what does it all mean? You've got these horrible boastful beasts. You've got the son of man. He says, what does it all mean?
Which you can kind of sympathise with, can't you? I mean, you think you're finding it confusing reading about. Imagine you've had it all as a vision first-hand!
Verse 16, Daniel says, I approached on of those standing there in the vision, and I asked him the true meaning of all this. So he told me.
The four great beasts... are four kingdoms that will rise from the earth.
But there's good news. Verse 18; there are going to be tough times. But the good news is, the saints of the most high... will receive the kingdom. And possess it for ever. For ever and ever.
Now bring that picture back while it's still in your mind to Revelation.
And John's vision. And what it's all about.
The beasts in Daniel's vision are great kingdoms. Can you imagine for a minute... a kingdom... that's turned into a monster. Can you imagine a Kingdom that's red in tooth and claw. Can you imagine a Kingdom with a sequence of heads with crowns on... that are all intent on doing one thing. Crushing every other empire in the world. And not satisfied with that... demanding worship as well.
Let me tell you, it's not a big stretch of the imagination for John. Or the Christians he's writing to. They're living with it.
And as they see the people around them bowing to statues of the emperor, as they see people of every tribe and language and tongue bowing before Caesar and saying, "Who can make war against him?"... the fact is, everybody's doing it. Except, says John in verse 8, except, faithful Christians. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast - all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.
But make no mistake. It isn't easy. And John says in verse 10, your commitment to Jesus doesn't mean you won't face trouble and pain.
Funny how so often Christians think they've got some kind of immunity. Become a Christian, and you're magically immunised from suffering and pain. John says "Don't kid yourself." The fact you're a Christian, the fact that among all the nations you'll be the ones who don't bow to Caesar, that among all your friends you're the one who won't say Caesar is lord... it means you're going to cop it. If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go. Like I am, says John under his breath, if you remember chapter 1. Writing from exile. The prison island of Patmos. And if anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed.
Which means the Christian life is tough. And needs endurance. And not just a flash in the pan. This calls for patient endurance, verse 10, and faithfulness... on the part of the Saints.
Now I wonder if that describes you? And your expectation? Because so often it seems to me that Christians are almost instantly willing to trade faithfulness... for a quick fix. You name it. The teenage Christian girl; desperate for a relationship; sucked into exactly the wrong relationships... because an opportunity comes along. And instead of trusting God for the right relationship, she throws everything away. For a quick fix.
Or the first time suffering comes along... you say how can God let this happen to me? And spiritually, you throw in the towel. Or you've got to decide whether to chase the bigger, better house in the suburb where there's no good bible teaching church for miles; the quick fix. Or the faithfulness?
For the Christians John's thinking of, the quick fix is to say might is right. Who can stand against Caesar? Who'd even want to? And yet the reality is, when it comes to his claim over every tribe and nation and people and tongue isn't going to last. He's a cheap imposter. Whose blasphemous days are numbered.
There's a second beast in the vision; chapter 13 verse 11 to 18. Which is where we hit another one of the most legendary and famous sections of the book of Revelation. Which when we look at it you might feel is disappointingly straightforward.
Beast Number 1 came up from the sea. In the vision, Beast Number 2 comes out of the earth. And he's somehow beast number 1's number one fan. A bit later he's called the false prophet. And the actual description of this beast is pretty brief. Somehow you look at him and you'd almost think he's like a lamb. But he opens his mouth... and it's the dragon talking. Verse 11, "He had two horns like a lamb... but he spoke like a dragon." And in verse 12, he's exercising all the authority of the first beast on his behalf... and he makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast. Who's somehow had what should have been a fatal wound, and been healed. Which has some echoes of a legend about a dramatic recovery of the Emperor Nero.
And this false prophet beast is performing miraculous signs, and verse 14, he's deceiving the inhabitants of the earth; and he says set up an image in honour of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lives; and in the vision the false prophet beast somehow breathes life and words into the image of the beast... and all who refuse to worship the image of the beast... are killed.
It was a Saturday afternoon in June in the city of Smyrna, a few decades after John's words were written. Decius was the new Emperor of Rome. And Polemon, the Verger of the local temple was searching out Christians. To force them to sacrifice to the god Nemesis, and to the Emperor. He comes to the house of Pionius, a church elder; and arrests him; along with a group of his friends.
And Polemon the temple verger, playing out perfectly the role of the second beast, says to Pionius, "Surely you're aware of the Emperor's Edict?"
"We're aware," says Pionius, "of the commandments of God ordering us to worship him alone."
Pionus and his friends are dragged to the temple. Where there's a crowd.
Polemon questions him again. For the crowd. "Which god do you worship?" "The God who is almighty," says Pionius, "who made the heavens and the earth and all things that are in them, and all of us; the God who richly furnishes us with everything (1 Tim 6:17), the God we know through Christ his Word."
"Make a sacrifice to the emperor," says Polemon.
"I am a Christian," says Pionius. "I do not offer sacrifice to men."
On it goes for the whole afternoon. Pionius says to him in the end, you've been ordered to either persuade us or punish us. You're not going to persuade us. So let's get it over with.
And so they take him to the amphitheatre, and they nail him to a stake, and they build up a fire around him; and they light it. And burn him alive. As he gives thanks... that he's had the strength to keep worshipping God... and not men.
That's the picture painted so vividly in John's vision here in Revelation 13. The beasts at work... in the imposter kingdom that sets itself up in opposition to the Kingdom of Christ.
Verse 16, John says, he even forces everyone to get a mark on his hand or forehead saying I worship the beast. And they can't even buy or sell in the market place without displaying their loyalty.
There's been all sorts of fuss over this. By people who want to say it's implanted microchips, or a few years back, the symbol on your Bankcard.
But look at what John's actually saying. Because it's not so mysterious at all. It's loud and clear. John says in verse 17, no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, which is the name of the beast, or the number of his name. If you've got any insight, says John, calculate it. God's perfect number is seven. What's the number of the beast? It's not God's number. It's six. It's six, six, six. Which in case you miss the point, John tells you plainly, is man's number.
And no matter how hard they're going to make it for Christians like Pionius, or how tempting or how deceptive, that's always going to be the question. Are you going to keep trusting the Lord Jesus? Or are you going to worship a man?
Can I point out very briefly that Revelation 14 goes on to paint the other side of the picture. Because the beasts are impressive. The beast that's the Roman Empire looks unstoppable. The second beast that's the Roman religion and its priests are incredibly terrifying as well.
But on the other side of the coin are the ones marked out by their faithfulness. Faithful to the lamb.
And if you pick it up in 14:1 and 2 John looks and sees the lamb; the genuine article. Standing on Mount Zion with a huge crowd with his father's name written on their foreheads. And there's the sound of rushing waters and of harps. And they're singing songs of praise to the lamb. The blameless ones. Who haven't succumbed and been defiled by unfaithfulness with the great adulteress that's Rome.
And there's an angel in verse 6 sounding a warning to every nation and tribe and language and people. A warning that says, don't fear a puny emperor. I mean, he might say he's conquered every nation. But he's just a man. Read the words in verse 7. "Fear God, and give him glory instead. Because the hour of his judgement has come." Don't worship the empire. Worship the one who made it. Worship him who made the earth, and the sea, and the springs of water.
Because all the empires of this world are falling. If you've been caught up in their adulteries, kiss them good bye. They're going to be harvested. They're going to be flattened. They're going to be trampled. By the overwhelming justice of God.
Verse 14; one like a son of man. With a crown of gold. Is ready for the harvest.
Polemon says to Pionius,. "Which god do you worship?" And the answer comes back, "The God who made the heavens and the earth and all things that are in them; the God we know through Christ his Word."
"Make a sacrifice to the emperor," says Polemon.
"I am a Christian," says Pionius. "I do not offer sacrifice to men."
I guess in the end we can thank God that we're not put in the same situation. Of a regime that demands our worship. Of a regime that demands our ultimate loyalty and allegiance.
North Korea, for example, it's different. Likewise in China.
Sometimes, though, there can be a fine line between Patriotism ... and worship.
And so as Australia becomes less Christian, it's interesting to see more and more fervour being poured into Anzac day; in a way that's almost becoming like a national religion; I read the other day that Anzac Day has become the holiest day in the Australian calendar. Hotly contested, of course, by Melbourne cup day.
But that doesn't mean we can sit back and say, well, the warnings of Revelation 13 and 14 somehow have nothing to say. It'll come into focus more clearly in a couple of weeks in chapter 17 and 18; because the fact is, maybe we're so impressed by the power and prosperity of the world around us that it hasn't even occurred to us that we're worshipping the beast in all sorts of ways. That our loyalty is more with our comforts and our trivial pursuits than with the lamb who was slain. And we're marked out much more starkly by our commitment to our comfort zones... than our loyalty to the lamb.
Which means, in the end, we've been fooled by a fake. We've been taken in by an impostor.
Unlike so many Christians who want to tell you that the Christian life is meant to be the prosperous life, and the well adjusted life and the healthy life and the successful business life, let me remind you again... John from his prison island wants to remind us that it's the endurance race, not the walk in the park. He said it in chapter 13 verse 10. He says it in chapter 14 verse 12. And if you're a Christian who's struggling with the heckling of your workmates or your uni lecturers, if you're a Christian who's struggling with sacrificial moral choices, if you're a Christian who's struggling to stay sexually pure and nobody else seems to bother, if you're a Christian who's just downright determined to stay faithful; then you're exactly the Christian John's writing to. Chapter 14 verse 12. This calls for patient endurance... on the part of the saints... who obey God's commandments... and remain faithful to Jesus.
Because on the day when there'll be no rest for those who have bowed to the beast... the Spirit says in verse 13 says you'll be blessed. And you'll rest from your labour... because your deeds will follow you home.
The full account of the martyrdom of pionius:
http://users.drew.edu/ddoughty/Christianorigins/persecutions/pionius.html