The founders of the United States of America had a clear understanding of something that over the years has been largely lost, but that now, under the corrupt leadership of Obama they are rediscovering - government is a beast - and humanity's only hope for happiness on earth is the restraint of that beast.
Revelation chapter 13 describes a Beast as well. The book of Revelation is a picture of God's war against His enemy, Satan, and reveals that every Holy aspect of God has a counterfeit in the work of the enemy.
- God Himself is counterfeited by Satan, represented in the book of Revelation by the Dragon (Rev 12:9)
- The people of God, the Saints, represented throughout the Bible as the Bride of Christ, are counterfeited by those who reject God, and worship the Beast, represented in Revelation by the Prostitute, the woman who rides the Beast (Rev 17:3-4)
- The Holy Spirit is counterfeited in the book of Revelation by The False Prophet. (Rev 13:11-17)
And finally, the Beast is the counterfeit of Christ Himself. Jesus Christ is the Savior of the Christian, the One to whom we look for life, for comfort, for wisdom, for counsel, and for salvation.
So who is Christ's counterfeit? What agency (or "power") on earth serves the "Prostitute" (those who reject Christ) in the same capacity as Jesus Christ serves His Bride?
What power rises up out of the sea, which Rev 17:15 says is the clamoring multitudes of humanity, promising to give them what only God can give, and deceiving them into trading their souls for a crust of bread?
I believe the answer is found by considering what it was that the Founding Fathers were trying to chain. What is it that promises prosperity, promises to save the world, promises to protect you from those who would hurt you, promises to meet all your needs, promises to take care of your health?
What force on earth is nearly irresistible? What agency has the strength of armies, the power to take wealth, the power to limit freedom, the power to accomplish "great things" for it's supporters, and the very power to chose life or death?
To whom do the huddles masses turn? Where is their hope?
What is the nemesis of nearly every business in America? To whom must they pay allegiance? What agency holds the power to shut you down, or lift you into the stratospheres of success? Who is it that must be stroked and padded with lavish gifts by our lobbyists?
At some points in history, it was a King, such as Saul (1 Samuel 8), whom the Israelites believed would keep them safe and provide for them. At other times it was represented by Emperors like Nero of Rome. At other times it was a dominating dictator like Stalin, Khrushchev, or Hitler to whom a nation turned in hopes of victory and worldly success. And at other times, it was a charismatic leader who promised a chicken in every pot, a victory in times of war, a job for every worker, a safety net for the down-and-out, or a doctor at your disposal.
Yes, the Beast of Revelation, whom our Founding Fathers tried to chain and limit, against whom we fight even now on a daily basis and has become a very present threat to our prosperity, our freedom, and our lives is the seductive power of human government.
Revelation reveals that humanity will worship the beast and bow down to it, and surely we do (Rev 13:4).
It grows in response to every crisis. It consumes wealth of this generation and the next. It promises life, but delivers only slavery, fear, and death.
America as founded was a shining city on a hill, a beacon of hope to a dark and brutal world - proof that life on earth could be worth living. It was our faith, our freedom, and the limitation of government power that made it so.
The worst of history's experiences came as a result of power accumulated in the hands of a few. Great human power cannot be director for good, for very long, for the Beast grows within it. At first it looks appealing and we fall for it's seduction, but in the end it utterly destroys.
Will we decide again as a nation to chain the Beast? Will we return to our First Love, to the Creator who does give life, to living by faith and not by sight, and to the Constitution which formed the only chains the world has ever known capable of restraining the Beast?
3 comments:
Very profound thoughts. I wonder if government itself is really the enemy or the powers that control it? greed, fear, pride, etc.
My first thought is: "you shall know them by their fruits".
I always thought the beast was the almighty dollar and when "Babylon has fallen" it meant a stock market crash or some other incident that made money useless.
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