Stroll through Scripture for August 24, 2025

Based on Revelation 13:1-18

By the time we reach Revelation 13, fantastic beasts and monsters feel like the norm.  And I wonder if John does this on purpose.  Often in life, we are initially shocked by things out of the norm.  And then after some time, those become the norm.  They still have the façade of shock, but they are not as shocking as they were.  In fact, they are a continuation of what we come to expect.  

John’s letter, titled Revelation, is an unveiling.  It’s an unveiling, a stripping away, of the façade of empire – showing its ugliness, cruelty, and ultimate collapse.  John is also unveiling God’s reign through Jesus.  Revelation is a contrast.  Fantastic beasts that rage and wherever they go, they leave a path of destruction.  And the Lamb, clearly wounded yet living, leaving a path of restoration, mercy, and love.  

In verses 1-4, John shows us the beast with all sorts of abnormalities.  John shows us a dragon as well.  The dragon is worshipped.  John expresses something that catches our attention in verse 3 – “In amazement, the whole earth followed the beast.  They worshipped the dragon.”  Oh, how easy capitulation happens in order to save our own skin.  Yet, history has shown over and over that the ways of empire are always the same.  All empires operate on the ends justify the means, which ultimately means that everyone and everything is disposable, and that includes those who bend a knee to it.  Afterall, there always needs to be someone to blame when things don’t turn out the way the empire wants.  Empire is an addiction to control that it can never fulfill.  

John lays this out in his discussion about the second beast.  Those who refuse to worship the image of the beast are killed.  And “Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked…so that no one can buy or sell who does not have the mark.”  (Revelation 13:16-17).  

John is offering a critique not only of empire, but also the supporting mechanisms that make empire what it is – it’s economic system, it’s propaganda, it’s military, it’s need for conformity, it’s addiction to control and order.  Empire is nothing more than a narcissist.   For John, he offers a code for this in the number 666, which is interpreted as Emperor Nero.  

Questions for further reflection:

• What are the beasts and dragons on our time?  How do they appear so powerful, but in reality, are no different than just an empty image.  
• Why do you think it’s surprising that many follow the beast and worship the dragon?  What the beasts and dragons that society easily bow down to in our time and place?