We should move a little faster from now on. The next verses to consider are:
And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
If any man have an ear, let him hear. He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. Revelation 13:4-10
I believe someone asked about the word worship. It comes from the Greek PROSKUNEO. Literally translated in today’s language it means “to kiss ass.” In more sensitive language it would mean to “fawn over someone” that you see as your boss or master.
So do you know anyone who “worships,” in today’s world, that is, worships someone other than God? I think you will agree that we live in a world where almost everyone is sucking up to someone else. This worshipping the beast today is probably even more prevalent than it was in ancient Rome.
Someone said the statement “Who is able to make war with him?” is like the statement “you can’t fight City Hall.” There is a similarity, but there are many City Halls. Remember earlier we asked where the beast was in the political world? Perhaps the question would be better phrased if we asked where is the City Hall in Politics?”
Two of the “City Halls” in the United States are the Democratic and Republican Parties themselves. Often times we elect someone who seems to be very sincere about doing a good job and voting his conscience. Then after the guy spends a little time in Washington he seems to change and his vote becomes very predictable along party lines. Why? Because fighting his party leadership is like fighting City Hall.
The party leader says, “this is an important issue for the party so if you’re a team player you’ll vote with us.” The Congressman soon learns that if he doesn’t play ball then many problems will develop and leadership opportunities just dry up. In addition he will be shunned by other faithful party members. Then there are other City Halls like pressure groups, polls, and the press. A person just about has to be a saint to be free from the beast in politics today.
How about medicine? Where is City Hall or the Beast there? During my first marriage we had a family doctor who seemed like an intelligent sincere fellow and dabbled a little in natural medicine but was no fanatic by any means, but overall he was pretty much establishment. But then one day he criticized another doctors diagnosis. This other doctor happened to have a lot of authority in the hospital and trumped up a charge against our doctor and had him barred from the hospital. Since this was the only hospital in town this was a great inconvenience for our doctor and he was barely able to eke out a living. Nevertheless, we continued to go to him because he was the best doctor in town.
Then I met a guy several years ago when I was in real estate. He had a gold mine he wanted me to sell. He looked like an old prospector and had quite a story to tell. I won’t relate it all here, but the guy spent quite a bit of time in jail because the Beast, or City Hall of medicine would not let him cure people of cancer, even though his cure, right or wrong, never hurt anyone.
If you work for a large company and you have an idea of how to streamline things to make work easier for the average employee maybe after talking to several people about it you find subtle messages delivered to you that you need to ‘cool it’ or you won’t get that promotion. Maybe you fear you may even get fired. Tom Hanks, the other day, was reported as saying that he regretted donating to the Clinton Defense fund and would not do it again. Then several days later he said he was misquoted and may even buy the president a house when he gets out of office. Did somebody get to Hanks? Did someone make it clear to him that everybody who is anybody in Hollywood supports Clinton and he’d better play ball or his work will dry up? Did Hanks discover a City Hall he did not want to fight?
To succeed in this world within the organizations of the Beast you have to kiss up or worship someone because who can make war with the powers that be?
Verse 5 tells us that the Beast continues for 42 months. This time period is a symbol repeated over and over in the Bible. 42 Months is three and one half years. Sometimes it means three and a half periods of time, seasons or generations. Other times instead of 1260 days (See Rev 12:6) or it can mean 1260 years.
If we subtract 1260 years from 1776 (the time of the wounded head) we get the date 516. This was shortly after the fall of Rome when the seventh head of the beast started to form politically.
And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. Revelation 13:6
Questions:
What are these blasphemies?
How is the name of God blasphemed?
Hints:
What did God say about his name in The Immortal?
How does the Beast blaspheme those in heaven?
What is God’s tabernacle?
Copyright © 1998 by J.J. Dewey, All Rights Reserved
Download The Immortal, Book 1, Free as MP3, Text, or PDF
The Immortal is the story of an average truth seeker who stumbles across a fascinating teacher, only to discover that the man is John, the Beloved, the Revelator, an Apostle of Jesus, perhaps the most mysterious man in history, comes alive in this book. Legend has it that John never died and still roams the earth as a teacher. John finds JJ Dewey, the main character, to teach him the Twelve Keys of Knowledge to prepare the world for the new age of peace. The first question addressed in Book I is WHO OR WHAT AM I? The student gives all the standard answers…and they are all wrong. The lead character then realizes he is under the tutorage of no ordinary teacher and must apply himself in a quest for knowledge.
"The Beast" on this, and following pages, is taken from the initial writings by J.J. Dewey to the Keys of Knowledge discussion forum on the Internet. Eventually this became a chapter in The Unveiling which is an indepth, and totally unique explanation of the symbols and meaning of the book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible and the New Testament. From Amazon:
After almost 2000 years the key to understanding The Book of Revelation is finally manifest and it is not what you have been taught.First, it is important to understand common interpretations that are revealed to not be true. Among them are:
- The Beast is not a powerful Hitler type worldwide dictator.
- The mark of the beast has nothing to do with bar codes or a chip implanted in your hand or head.
- The letters to the seven churches have little to do with the seven churches.
- The two witnesses are not two prophets who will magically appear.
- When John said that the things in it will “shortly come to pass” he did not mean it would take 2000 years but he meant a short time just as we interpret the phrase.
The real meaning of the book is nothing like students have been taught but contains teachings in symbolic code disguised as an end of the world scenario to insure it would be included in the canon as we now have it. These teachings, previously hidden from view, tell the aspiring disciple how to tread the path that the Master has outlined. This is why the book was called the “Unveiling of Jesus Christ,” commonly mistranslated as "The Revelation of Jesus Christ" - or in short "The Book of Revelation."
Joseph J. DeweyJoseph J. (JJ) Dewey, born Feb 1945, has been a student of philosophy, metaphysics and the spiritual path most of his life and has taught numerous classes and seminars on a variety of avant-garde subjects.
In his trilogy of books in the Immortal series, the author draws from many true-life experiences to create novels that present unique and mystical teachings in a way that captivates the imagination. What is true and what is fiction? That is for the reader to determine. The trilogy consists of The Immortal, Books I & II in one volume, The Lost Key of the Buddha and Eternal Words.
A fourth Book called The Unveiling is available in the Kindle edition.
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