Beware the Beast: July 20, 25

Beware the Beast

Revelation 13      July 20, 2025

          Have you ever heard a reference to the numbers 666? It comes from the book of Revelation. Do you know who the author of this book was referring to when he said, 666?

          Have you ever heard about the mark of the beast? What is that about? Do you have the mark of the beast?

          That leads to the more important question – Who is the beast?

          We’ll discover the answers today in John’s Revelation land. John uses apocalyptic literature full of symbols to tell a story of hope for Christians who are scared for their lives. This is the third in a five part message series on the book of Revelaton.

          John talks about 666, the beasts, and the mark of the beast in chapter 13.

          Let’s start with that first question. Who or what is 666? John says, “You need wisdom to understand the number of the beast. But if you’re smart enough, you can figure this out. Its number is 666 and it stands for a person.”

          So who was John talking about? It had to be someone that the people in his day knew. He said, “You can figure this out.” In addition, John says it has to be a person.

          Most scholars today agree that John was talking about Nero Caesar, the Roman emperor Nero. If you add up all the numbers related to the Hebrew letters for Nero Caesar, it adds up to 666. It was someone the people of John’s day were very familiar with. He was the Roman leader who ruled with an iron fist two decades before. 666 is Emperor Nero.

          Let’s go to the next question, “What is the beast?” When John is describing in symbolic form this beast, who or what is John talking about?

          In verse one he mentions that this beast has seven heads. Later in chapter 17, verse 9, John says, “The seven heads that the woman is sitting on stand for seven hills.”

          What city was built on seven hills?

          The city of Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire.

          In verse 7 John talks about the beast being allowed to fight against God’s people and defeat them. The Roman Empire was persecuting the Christians at this time.

          In verse 7 John also says, “It was also given authority over the people of every tribe, nation, language and race.”

          At this time, most of the known world had been conquered by Rome and had become part of the Roman Empire.

          The beast that John is symbolizing refers to Rome, the Roman Empire.

So if John is talking about the Roman Empire and the emperor Nero, why doesn’t he just use those names – instead of all these weird animal symbols and the weird number 666?

          John’s not writing for a newspaper article or a history book. He’s writing in this special apocalyptic writing style. It’s the symbolic way to write in this style. In addition, he doesn’t want the Romans to confiscate and destroy his writing; which they would if he had put the Roman Empire in a bad light.

          It’s important to know that John is basically talking about the Roman empire in this chapter.

This leads to the other question, which is, “What is the mark of the beast?” John said, “This mark stood for the name of the beast and for the number of its name.” John also said, “They all had to have this mark or else they could not buy or sell anything.”

Let me read that last sentence again. “They all had to have this mark or else they could not buy or sell anything.”

          What is the mark of the beast John is talking about? He’s probably referring to the use of Roman money. The Roman coins had pictures of their emperors, the Caesars, on them. The coins would also have some reference to how divine the Roman Empire and its leader were.

John was indicating that using Roman money was one way people showed their support for the Roman Empire. Using the money marked you as one who stood on the side of Rome.

As far as John was concerned, Rome was the epitome of evil and any cooperation with and support of Rome showed that you were on the side of evil, not God. Using Roman money was the mark of the beast for Christians.

But you say, so what? What does any of this have to do with our lives today?

I believe John is telling us in this chapter – Beware the beast.

           My parents live out in Rapid City, South Dakota. Many years ago we traveled out there for my parent’s wedding anniversary family reunion. We visited Custer State Park while we were there. One of things Custer State Park is known for is their buffalo. They have one of the few large herds of buffalo still existing in the United States.

          We drive through the park keeping an eye out for buffalo. Finally, we turn a corner and see cars pulled alongside the road. That’s always a sign that some animals are near. We pull off and get out.

          Now I know that the park brochures and park signs all emphasize that buffalo can be dangerous. They say, “Buffalo are wild animals. Some people have been hurt by getting too close. Please keep your distance. Please stay in your car when near a buffalo.”

In other words: Beware the beast.

I know I should, but do you think I did.

 No.

          I have to get some good pictures of these animals grazing in the wild. What else are vacations for, but to get good pictures? I get out of the car and venture closer and closer to the herd of buffalo, snapping a few pictures along the way. Finally, one of them starts charging in my direction.

          I think of those warning signs as I quickly run to my car.

          “Beware the beast.”

          That’s what John is telling us in this chapter of the book of Revelation: Beware the beast.

          In verse 10 he says, “This means that God’s people must learn to endure and be faithful.”

          Faithfulness for John meant not supporting the Roman Empire. It meant resisting the ways of the Empire. It also meant enduring the consequences of that resistance, which sometimes meant imprisonment and even death.

          In verse 14 John says, “This second beast fooled people on earth.” In other words, the beast tried to deceive people into supporting it. The Roman Empire tried to deceive Christians into supporting it by presenting itself as a respected government institution established by God.

          But Christians need to “Beware the beast.”

What or who is the beast in our day?

          What is the closest to being like the Roman Empire in power in our day?

          Could it be that our country and the current administration are acting like the Roman Empire?

          We have to be very careful as a nation that we don’t act like the Roman Empire. Lord, help us. Lord, help our leaders. As others have said, “We need to pray in these days.”

          What is it about the Roman Empire that was so bad?

          One thing is the use of their power. The Roman Empire had an iron fist instead of an open hand. They were very controlling.

          The issue of being controlling hits close to home for me. I’ve asked Lori in the past if she thinks I’m controlling.

I was sort of hoping she would say, “No, not you Michael.”

But she didn’t. She said, “I remember that time years ago when your Sunday School class was having a party at someone’s house. At 9:30 in the evening, you suddenly told everyone that the party was over and they could go home. The hostess was a bit shocked by the way you dismissed her guests.”

I thanked Lori for remembering that time long ago when I was a bit controlling. Unfortunately, she didn’t stop talking.

“Actually, Michael you’re just a controlling person. But I love you anyway.”

Lord, help me beware the beast of that controlling spirit. Lord, help me learn from the open hand of your Son Jesus Christ.

Are there other beasts we need to beware of and resist in our day?

A few months ago Lori and I went to the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee. So many stories were highlighted in that museum, but one of them centered on Rosa Parks.

I had forgotten the story of Rosa Parks. But if you’ll remember, it was one of resistance to the beast of segregation in her day. She chose to not sit in the back of the bus. She chose the way of peaceful resistance.

The story made me ask myself the question: What are the things I need to resist today because I’m a follower of Jesus Christ. It’s something I’m continuing to pray about.

We start our service every week with a hymn that talks about God’s desire for peace in this world. But the emphasis is on the words, “Let it begin with me.”

God wants to complete His work in this world. But God’s depending on us. We must live God’s way. We must resist the way of the beast. Beware the beast.