Everyday Life in Revelation: Part 7 Cosmic WarsSampel

Enraged because he had failed to destroy Christ, Satan pursues the people of Christ, attempting to destroy them. Although these people enjoy the Lord’s protection and cannot be conquered, they suffer as they wait for the consummation of the kingdom of God.

Revelation 12:17 begins to describe one of the ways Satan, the evil dragon, warns God’s people. This verse tells us that he stands “on the sand of the sea,” and in 13:1, he calls forth a terrifying beast from the sea. Here we should note that Scripture frequently associates the sea with evil. This beast from the sea finds his origin in all that is wicked and opposed to the Lord, which is fitting since Satan brings him forth.

It is a good idea to read Daniel 7 to help understand this vision of John’s. In Daniel, the four beasts he sees represent four empires that hated the people of God. We believe these empires to be Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. In John’s revelation, these four beasts are combined. This beast from the sea is a super-charged version of what Daniel foretold. This beast is the epitome of evil that attempts to kill or destroy the church by forcing it into idolatrous worship.

The original readers of Revelation understood the threat of an evil government that demanded idolatry from its citizens. From the time of Julius Caesar, there was a tendency to worship the rulers of Rome. Christians who refused to show the honor of worship to the emperor faced a real threat of death and often ended up being blamed for the empire’s troubles. But Revelation is not saying that such persecution will be limited only to the Roman Empire. It describes the kinds of things that believers will face until Jesus returns. Today, the church faces hostile governments in many parts of the world.

Thankfully, in the West, overt persecution does not exist. Some hate us, and we do feel pressure when we hold fast to our faith and convictions in our world, but we do not have to choose between living or staying faithful to our Lord. Let us not forget about our brothers and sisters living in that reality. Today, pray for believers worldwide whose lives are in danger because of their faithfulness to King Jesus.