Even as the
subject of Epistemology rightly must begin with the knowledge of God,
so the subject of Government must begin with the government of
God.
The following material is from my study of the Book of Revelation.
I am not a "Left Behind", the Rapture is coming, Scofield
Bible Dispensationalist. I approach the text from the
perspective of Covenant Theology. I understand the Book to
reveal the present and future work of the Risen and Enthroned
Christ
in the affairs and history of the world. The Kingdom is now,
as
well as future.
Revelation, the Book, was written first
and foremost, to encourage a persecuted Church. Throughout
the
ages, more now than ever, the Church of Christ has suffered.
The Message of this Book is "Hold Fast", overcomers shall
inherit the Kingdom to come. Christ is now on the
Throne.
He is in control. Do not despair or give up.
Victory is
coming.
Far from being some mysterious writing of interest only to Prophecy buffs who make a hobby of trying to decipher symbols and numbers, the Book of Revelation is written for practical, pastoral help for struggling Christians today.
This is not an exposition of the Book. For my purposes on this website, I shall zero in on passages that directly relate to the subject of government. That means omitting a lot of wonderful material.
There are at least
four Visions recorded in the Book. The first was in Chapter
one. The second is found in Chapter four. In this
Vision
(in the Spirit) John, the Writer, is in Heaven and sees a Throne
(4:1-2) "Heaven" can mean the Universe or Sky.
Here it means God's eternal dwelling place. We do not believe
in a 3-storied Universe, with "Up" and "Down".
There is an eternal, supernatural realm- a spiritual reality.
This material world is not all there is. We must begin our
"World View" from that vantage point. It absolutely
leads to a different understanding about Life, about how the world
works, about what is essential and certainly about our subject here:
Government.
Some would have us believe there is nothing in the
Universe holding it together. All is random. All is
Chance. Not so! At the center of the Universe is a
"Throne". There are many, many "Thrones" on
earth: national and local civil Governments, Bureaucracies and
administrations (Rulers of all kinds) , Military Powers, Religious
Potentates and Business Moguls, Crime Lords and Terrorist Chiefs, et
al. There are also invisible powers and authorities,
including
Sin, Satan and Death. John's Vision in Chapter four tells us
that there is an ultimate Throne at the center of everything and it
is in "Heaven" not on earth. This Throne represents
Authority and Power above all others.
On the Throne
above all thrones is a Person (v.2) At the center of the
Universe is a Person. This means there is a person in charge
of
everything- not the stars or fate or any -ism or -ology. The
Person sitting on the Throne is God and the Regent at His side is
Jesus Christ, Crucified but Risen. All authority in heaven
and
on earth has been given by the Father to Him, the Son.
The Vision reveals Christ to be Holy, Separate, Awesome and Fearsome. Every creature serves Him. He is worshiped by all who are in Heaven and shall be by all, people and animals alike, who are on earth. They exalt in the Lord Jesus for who He is. They exult in the Lord Jesus for what He does. He is Sovereign over all. Literally. This is where a study of government must begin.
It is true that God is love [which by the way, is very different than saying Love is God], but it is not enough that God is Love. The God who is Love is on the Throne. All that is, all that happens, will ultimately serve Him. The Creator has a preordained Plan for His creation. for the world, for History. The Transcendent is immanent in the affairs of the world, in current events. God is working His plan out and can not be stopped. Resisted? yes, but not stopped! The unfolding of the Scroll in Chapter five, still part of the second Vision, is the unfolding of History. History is His Story. Some of our parents lived through WWI and the Great Depression Some of us have lived through WWII, Korea, Vietnam, the 60's, the Civil Rights Demonstrations, Gulf Wars, Bosnia and the Middle East Wars. Is there any sense to all of this? Is there any purpose or meaning to all this violence and social upheaval? Do things just happen? Is history just one thing after another? To believe that God is on the Throne, is to believe that He is in control. Much of what we experience is hostility toward Him, rebellion against His Throne- His Authority, a constant attempt to push Him off the Throne. Spiritual warfare explains much of the evil we experience in the world. None of that changes the truth that God is still on the Throne. He will not be moved!
Christian Philosophy of History
What we have been laying out here are the basics of a Christian Philosophy of History. Many ancient peoples, some non-Christian Religions and some philosophers believe History runs in cycles. They talk of the rise and fall of civilizations. Both Marxists and Capitalists are convinced that economic forces drive the world. Some historians believe that history is determined by powerful men, the Napoleons, Ghandis and Roosevelts. Other philosophers believe that climate, geography or environment determine what happens to people and nations. These are all determinative factors, but not the most fundamental or ultimate causes.
John was
greatly troubles that no one knows where History is really
going.
He learns that Jesus has the answer By opening the
Scroll, Jesus demonstrates that He can explain History. That
is
a huge claim. God makes the History. His Son, the
Risen
Jesus reveals the Father's Plan and administers it. (5:4-6)
He
can do this because He has triumphed over sin and death. He
alone! The Risen Christ is Lord of History. He
explains
it all. Apart from Him there is no explanation.
Worse
than that, apart from Christ, there are only bad and false
explanations.
Everything that happens in History must be seen
in relation to Christ. Only in this relationship can we
measure
and understand and correctly interpret what is. This truth
applies to all Fields and Subjects and has serious ramifications for
Education and Scholarship across the board.
Far from aimless,
far from random, far from meaningless, far from cyclic, History is
linear. It has a purpose, a goal- God's purpose and
goal.
Life must be lived always with that End in view. Life today
must be controlled by the expectation of the End Times
(Eschatology). The Secularist does not know it, the Atheist
denies it; but, the Future determines the Present. If we do
not
live, if Nations and earthly governments do not function with the
Future in mind, they are doomed. All will end,
finally,
at the Throne. That is the Omega Point of History.
All
will lay their "crowns and scepters at the feet of the Lord of
History.
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
The scroll that appears in Chapter 5 is rolled up parchment, sealed along the leading edge 7 times. Before the contents can be fully known and the present, future and meaning of History be revealed, all the seals must be removed. Only the Risen Christ can do that. Only He can make known what is to come. He can do that because He has ransomed the Elect by His Blood and, by His Resurrection, has conquered Sin and Death (5:1-5, 9-10 cf 1:17-18) The Risen Christ holds the Key to the meaning of History.
What are the seals? They reveal that war, famine, disease and death will always be part of the human experience. Christians can not escape these things. We live in a fallen world and can not avoid evil. But, the Book of Revelation hastens to assure us, God is on the Throne. He loves us and will see us through.
When the seventh seal opens, a new series of 7 trumpets begins. These reveal acts of judgment by God upon the nations and peoples of the world. They assure us that the God who is on the Throne is a God of Justice, therefore justice will prevail. These acts of divine judgment are meant to bring sinners to repentance. Most do not and so the “trumpets“ are followed by a series of more and ever worse judgments called the “Bowls”.
We must remember the primary purpose of the Book of Revelation is to bring comfort and encouragement to the persecuted Church. These terrible judgments upon a hostile world are meant to assure suffering Saints that God has not forgotten them. He will vindicate them, even as He did their suffering Savior (Acts 2:22-24, 31b-33a;3:13-15 cf Rom 1:4) The Message of the Book to struggling Believers is “Hold Fast”. God knows. His Help is on the way.
The interpretation of the Book of Revelation that has been most popular among conservative Bible Christians for more than 150 years has deprived the Persecuted Church of this Message and Hope. Millions of our Brothers and Sisters in Christ around the world need it now. As events unfold in America, we shall also need it.
Let us a take a closer look at the Seals. We see four horses and their riders. “Come” is addressed to each of them. We start with the second (v3) horse, colored red for “blood”. It’s rider instigates violence, bloodshed and war on the earth. These are a given in History, constant around the globe, in our cities, everywhere.
The third, black, horse and rider spread economic injustice, famine and starvation around the world (v.5-6). As Jesus foretold, devastating poverty will always be with us. The fourth seal reminds us of the pale horse of death, whose rider always follows the previous horsemen. Violence, war, and poverty lead to famine, disease and gray corpses.
The fifth seal (v.9) reveals persecution of the Church, people being killed for their faith. Currently, 200 million around the world are suffering because they are Christians. More people suffered for Christ during the 20th Century than in the previous 19 centuries combined. The Tribulation is not only future, it always has been and is now, in some parts of the world.
The sixth seal reveals an ever increasing number of “natural” disasters, such as- hurricanes, tsunamis, floods, earthquakes and erupting volcanoes (v.12)
Notice something very important and amazing about all of these seals- these phenomena that we call “evil”. Reread what is said of each. They all come from Christ. He calls them to come. He gives them their power. This does not necessarily mean that Christ caused them all directly. It does mean that they exist by His permission and that they all serve his purposes.. This also means that, though they seem all powerful and interminable when they happen, they are in fact limited and temporary. As we must keep insisting, Christ is the Lord of History. He is Sovereign. On a personal level, this means nothing, absolutely nothing, comes into your life each day that does not first pass by the Throne of God.
The White Horse
Now we return to the first horse (v.1-2) What is this white stallion? Who is its rider? A common interpretation is that the horse and rider symbolize Imperialism. Look more closely. The rider wears a crown and rides to conquer. Now look at chapter 19:11-13. Here, too, is a white horse and a rider wearing a crown. No question who this is. He is the Risen Christ. The Word of God. This means that the rider in Chapter 5 could also be Christ. Indeed, Christ is said to be a conqueror in 3:21 and 5:3. The reference there is to His victory over sin and death at the cross and tomb. But there is also 17:14. The entire Book of Revelation is about cosmic conflict: Christ versus Satan. [The Gospel of Luke is built on this concept, too]
When we emphasize the humanity of Jesus, confining our interest in Him to interest in his relationships with the poor and marginalized and his teaching about money, we are missing the Big Picture. Jesus the Nazarene, the suffering servant is now the King of kings with all power in heaven and earth. When others focus on the death of Christ, his atoning blood, they too are missing the Big Picture. The crucified Man, who died for us, is not in the grave. He has risen and now sits above, in Glory. The Gospel is about the Cross and the Tomb. Both are now empty. The Gospel also includes the Cloud, the Ascension. Christ now reigns. The Lamb is on the Throne.
All of this is the Good News. Not only do the other horsemen and their steeds room the earth. Christ does, too. And He rides to conquer the others- to conquer violence, war, economic injustice, disease and death.
We shall see in the Book of Revelation (in coming passages) that there are Beasts who fight Christ. Babylon wars against Christ. The Nations line up top battle Christ. He wins!
Now what weapon does Christ use to conquer and rule? See 19:15- a sharp sword, but it is not made with steel. It comes from his mouth. Christ conquers and rules with His Word (We recognize metaphors when we see one) The Apostle Paul speaks of the sword of the Spirit. It, too, is the Word of God (Eph 6:17) The “rod” is also an image of the Word, used for discipline and correction (2 Tim 3:16)
The Risen Christ engages the “Powers” with His Word, with the Gospel, with the Law. He modeled this in His skirmish with Satan in the wilderness at the beginning of His Ministry. We especially see the Risen Christ going forth to conquer, as His Church carries out His Missionary Mandate to make disciples, teaching Believers to obey all that He has commanded (spoken).
Throughout History, and our lives, there will always be the experience of conflict and hardship, We are not to despair. In the fray, Christ and the Gospel are slaying the dragons. After the dust settles, at the End, He will have won and we shall share His Victory and reign with Him (3:21)
Cosmic Conflict: the Pregnant Woman and the Red Dragon
We must jump now to Chapter 12, as we seek passages in the Book that are relevant to our larger topic of Civil Government. This chapter is not a Vision of the Future, the End Times. It is a Vision of what happened in the Past and is happening now in the Present.
We must grasp a very basic, important truth: what we read about in the daily news and in history books is not what it seems. We are witnessing in real time the cosmic conflict between Christ and Satan being acted out in the time-space world in which we live. Everything in Chapter 12 is symbolic of that Conflict
1 And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2 She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth.
Jesus was a Jew. His Heritage was the Faith, Tradition and History of Israel. In a very real sense, Israel was his mother. She is the pregnant woman in this passage.
5 She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron
Jesus was born to fulfill the Old Testament prophecies of the coming Messiah, Savior of Israel, who would govern all Nations.
3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon… 4 … And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it.
From the beginning of time, Satan hated Jesus. His purpose was to destroy him, preventing him from becoming Ruler of the world. He sought repeatedly to interrupt his royal lineage and prevent his birth, throughout Old Testament history. Failing that, Satan sought to have the infant Ruler to be killed. Failing that, too, Satan sought to derail and ruin Jesus’ earthly ministry and again worked to have him murdered. For his part, the miracles and exorcisms of Jesus were his attacks against Satan. These two characters were locked in fatal combat. The entire Gospel narrative must be seen in this wider context. Satan engineered the trial that led to Jesus murder, but God had something else in mind. Jesus was not destroyed by the crucifixion.
5…, but [instead, the woman’s] child was caught up to God and to his throne
By his death and resurrection, Jesus defeated Satan; but, his enemy was not finished with him.
Being defeated enraged Satan and he turns his hatred of Jesus against his followers, the Church. This explains much of the trouble and suffering that the Church has experienced throughout the last 2000 years. Paul speaks of this when he writes that our struggle is not really with people. It is with evil spiritual powers that manipulate those people. (Eph 6:12) The Cosmic Conflict continues on earth-
7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but he was defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world--he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
Jesus, the woman’s baby and now the Risen Christ, has become Ruler of the Nations. As He said, after His resurrection, all authority in Heaven and earth had been given by the Father to Him. We do not simply try to be like Jesus as he was when he walked beside the Sea of Galilee. We now have to do with the exalted Sovereign Lord. We worship and serve the King of all kings.
10 I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come
But the authority of the Sovereign is contested and Satan is determined to prevent His rule over the nations and to cause havoc on earth among men
12 “… woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!" 13 …when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth…17 [he] became furious … and went off to make war … on those who …hold to the testimony of Jesus.
Thus, this advice from the Apostle Peter to the persecuted Church of his day-
5:8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Chapter 12 in more depth-
We absolutely affirm faith in the historic Reformed Doctrine of Substitutionary Atonement. Jesus, as our High Priest, offered himself as the perfect and full Sacrifice, sufficient to atone for all sin. His death was both expiation for sin and the propitiation of God. It was a ransom securing forgiveness of sins for the Elect. We further affirm, without reservation, faith in the physical bodily resurrection of Jesus after his crucifixion, victory over the grave and death, assuring the same for all who have saving faith in Christ.
Having affirmed all that, there is more that must be affirmed. Jesus, through his death and resurrection, defeated His enemy, Satan
Hebrews 2:14 We are people of flesh and blood. That is why Jesus became one of us. He died to destroy the devil, who had power over death.
Colossians 2:15 There [at the Cross] Christ defeated all powers and forces. He let the whole world see them being led away as prisoners when he celebrated his victory.
When Jesus rose from the dead, he ascended into Heaven; not because He was alive and could, but in order to sit on the Throne and become Sovereign over all other powers.
Ephesians 1:20 [God] raised Christ from death and let him sit at his right side in heaven. 21 There Christ rules over all forces, authorities, powers, and rulers. He rules over all beings in this world and will rule in the future world as well.
The Church does not need to defeat Satan and evil powers in the world. That has already been done. We go against institutions, structures and systems knowing that they are already vanquished. They control people who do not know that, who have been convinced the enemy is invincible. Knowing the truth is our first step toward overcoming them in our lives and society.
Because Jesus has gained the victory, we, too, may have victory. His victory is our victory. We take on injustice and crime and disease and ignorance using the authority of Christ.
Luke 10:19 I have given you [my] power … to defeat the power of your enemy Satan.
The snakes and scorpions in this text are not actual reptiles or deadly arachnids. These are common symbols of the demonic and evil. The snakes and scorpions that infest churches are hatred, jealousy, discord, fits of rage, jealousy, selfish ambition, dissensions and slander. We have Christ’s authority to trample them all. We overcome them through what Christ has done (blood of the Lamb) and our faith in that (testimony)-v.11
The Beast from the Sea
As Chapter 13 opens, the red dragon, Satan, is seen standing on the shore of the sea. The appears a Beast coming out of the sea and Satan gives his power to this beast (v.6) In turn, it exercises authority over all peoples and nations around the world (v.7) This must be understood.
Satan, the Enemy of Christ and His Church, incarnates himself in a system of Civil Government, a totalitarian System. The Beast coming out of the Sea is Totalitarian Civil Government. Sure, there will be a titular Head of that Government, but it is the System itself that we must be concerned about. Satan is embedded in the System, controlling and using the system to war against Christ and His Church.
Evangelical Christians rightfully promote a personal Savior for personal sins; but we must also accept the reality of systemic Sin and systemic Redemption. We like to champion individual freedom, but we certainly know that we have little of it and most of our lives are controlled by systems. Besides civil government and bureaucracies on all levels and in all aspects of our lives, we must deal with legal, health, education and business systems. Street gangs, sports teams, families and churches are systems. Systems have more than organization, they are dynamic. Each part or member interacts with the other, impacting and changing, over time, all the members. Indeed, systems take on lives of their own and gradually control their members. Instead of serving us, we serve them. Civil Government Bureaucracies are obvious examples of that, but so are typical weddings. It is obviously good strategy for Satan to use systems to wage war against Christ. By ignoring the reality that Satan invades and uses social and corporate systems and structures to accomplish Evil, we allow Satan free-rein in them. Instead, we are to oppose systemic evil and work for the redemption of social systems and structures. Christ is not Lord if He can be excluded from them. When Christians deny this concept and mandate, they aide and abet the Enemy in his efforts to prevent Christ from Ruling the Nations.
Remember Ephesians 1:20- [God] raised Christ from death and let him sit at his right side in heaven. 21 There, Christ rules over all forces, authorities, powers, and rulers. We are to raise His Banner over all of them. If Christ is to be Lord of our lives, He, not Satan, must be Lord of the systems that seek to control our lives.
This sets us up for a life of daily conflict. Most Christians, like non-Christians, prefer to avoid conflict. They prefer a life of comfort and “peace”. “Not making waves” is one of their most important values, but here is no way honest Christians can live in this world and avoid conflict with sin and evil. In fact, we are called to it, our cross. It is how we best imitate Christ“- the essential nature of discipleship.
13:5 [The Beast] opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name … 7 Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them…,
We dare not keep our heads in the sand: We have an Enemy who will not quit. This enemy hates God and everything we hold dear as Christians. To the degree that this Enemy controls Civil Government (the beast from the Sea), that State hates God and opposes Him. This holds for everything that the State controls, including Education (“Public” Schools are actually “State” Schools) Governments per se are not evil; but neither are they neutral. (Absolutely nothing is neutral) God created Government to be His servant. It has a God-given mandate to maintain Justice in society. But instead, all government can become the Beast from the Sea, an instrument of Satan and evil. [See my study notes re Government on this website]
8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life …
Totalitarian Government is Government that takes the place of God in people’s lives. They learn to trust it, obey it and depend totally on it. The State becomes a god, whom people worship as almighty. Whenever there is a problem, “take it to Jesus, uuh, I mean, take it to the State”. The State will protect us, feed us, house us, educate us and heal us. In turn, we will die for the State if need be. This arrangement serves the schemes of Satan. It successfully usurps the Risen Christ’s rightful place as Sovereign. In fact, such a government is Anti-Christ.
Those who take this possibility seriously are always suspicious of Government, Left or Right. They will appreciate its role in preserving law and order in a society of sinful human beings, but will resist its encroachment into any other area of our lives beyond that basic function. This is at the heart of the philosophical differences between “Conservatives” and “Liberals”.
The Christian will obey any Government under God. He will not obey any Government that claims to be God. However, such a Christian will not overthrow the Government nor become an anarchist. Rather he submits for conscience sake and says,
10 If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.
What makes it possible for the Beast from the Sea to control all the peoples of the world (other than the saints) ? It has an ally-
The Beast from the Earth
11 Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth 12 It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence
People, the masses, must believe in the Government. No one does anything unless he is convinced, even if just for a moment, that it is the good or right thing to do. We have just seen that people will worship the State as a god. It is the work of the Beast from the earth to make that happen.
[It] makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast
This could be described as a great propaganda machine. Every government has one, but three times this Beast is named the “False Prophet” (16:13, 19:20, 20:10). It is religion in service of the Totalitarian State. It is whatever promotes fear and loyalty, persuading people that it is their patriotic or Christian or Muslim or Jewish (etc) duty to support the Government.
it deceives those who dwell on earth (v.13)
Spiritual warfare is primarily a battle for minds: Truth vs. Deception
The Greek word “Deception” (planao) means to cause to stray, to lead astray, to lead aside from the right way- from Truth. Apostle Paul describes what has happened in Rom 1-
18 [men] by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools…, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
This is the Great Deception, starting in the Genesis Garden. Apostle John [Revelation] is telling us that Satan has persuaded humanity to worship the totalitarian State as a substitute for God and His Regent, Christ. People are led, by Satan’s ally, False Religion, to make the secular, anti-Christian State their god. Now that is a great deception! It is evident in the minds of both conservative and liberal Christians.
As the Roman Empire captured the attention and loyalty of the masses by giving them bread and circuses, including crucifying, burning and throwing Christians to the lions in public spectacles; so the False Prophet-
13 performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, 14 and by the signs … it deceives those who dwell on earth cf 16:14, 19:20; 2 Thessalonians 2:9 and Mark 13:22
In light of this, many are understandably leery about Churches and parachurch organizations that major in spectacular entertainment and claims of “supernatural” phenomena in order to attract and persuade crowds. The test for “deception” is always the same: does whatever is being taught lead people away from the True God revealed in Scripture?
In the scenario described in Revelation, loyalty to the State is required in order to “buy or sell”. The State is in total control of the Economy and participation in the process requires political loyalty. It is the work of the False Prophet to secure that. Those who resisted were to be eliminated.
16 Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name.
15 And it was allowed to … cause those who would not worship … [the Totalitarian State) to be slain.
This was the dilemma of the Church described in the Book of Revelation. What John wrote was to encourage them not to cave in to the State, not to buy into the Deception of the False Prophet. Hold fast and walk by faith. Christ was in control.
A Christian is not an anarchist. S/he believes God has instituted civil government [see my notes on that topic on this website] Government is necessary and is meant to serve God. However, owing supreme loyalty to God and His Regent, Christ, the Christian has the responsibility to be a loyal critic of a particular government’s administration and policies. The Christian must never equate any human leaders with God and must always ask if specific policies and laws are serving God, pursuing His will on earth as it is in heaven. When the State we live under falls short, seeking to be God in our lives and insisting that we obey its dictates when they transgress the Law of the True God, we must agree with Apostles Peter and John-
Acts 5:29 We must obey God rather than men and accept the consequences. Historically, when Christians have walked such talk, the Kingdom has made great progress in the world
The Book of Revelation, while meant to be encouraging, can come as daunting, discouraging and depressing- all that conflict, persecution and suffering. Fear not, there is a good ending.
Babylon
We are omitting here the account of Babylon (Chapters 17-18). The Woman (Babylon) is supported by the Beast from the Sea (the Anti Christ), functions with the help of various Rulers and dominates multitudes (vs 7-13). Babylon represents materialistic, hedonistic Culture. Satan wields his control over the nations through civil governments with the aide of False Religion, Ideology and Propaganda; but, that control is most evident in commerce and popular culture. It is on this everyday, man-in-the street, level that Satan exerts his control most directly in people’s lives. All this needs to be unpacked, but our purpose now is to look at passages most directly related to the issue of civil government.
The Risen Christ is intent on being Sovereign over all. Materialist, hedonistic culture shall be destroyed (18:21b) Anti-Christian governments shall resist, to the end of time, the Sovereignty of the Risen Christ over them. They, too, shall be destroyed. False Religion and the Anti-Christ himself shall be vanquished.
Revelation 19:19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. 20 And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet … These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. 21 And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse…
Revelation 20:7 Satan …8 will … deceive the nations … to gather them for battle…10 [but he] who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Instead of the City of Babylon, the City of New Jerusalem, from which Christ rules, shall be triumphant. The New Jerusalem is the Bride of Christ, the Church.
Revelation 21:1 I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 9 … the wife of the Lamb.
Babylon was not a People. It was a Culture, described as a City. In contrast, the Saints, collectively, are described as a City. They are perfect, without a blemish, beautiful. cf. Eph 5:27 They are filled with the Light, with God, always. All darkness and death is gone. All their needs are met abundantly.
Where are these Holy People? The Church is seen as in Heaven. It “comes down” from there, but it does not land on earth. “Comes down” is a figurative way of saying the City originated from God (cf John 3:3,7 –born from above; also 18:36) This is not a prophecy that the cities of this world, like New York or Bombay, shall one day in the future be redeemed. The Holy City exists now, parallel with our time-space world. Throughout his letter, John is shown (and writes about) scenes in Heaven, including people and their activities there. That was some 2000 years ago.
At the end of John’s book, the Risen Christ is not shown ruling the Nations on earth. This final scene transpires after the nations have been destroyed, after the destruction of Babylon, the False Prophet and the anti-Christ. Even Death has been conquered by then, with the dead being raised from their graves. When did Christ exercise His authority on earth as King of kings?
Satan is bound (restricted, not destroyed) for a very, very long time (a “millennium”- not a literal number) according to 20:2. After that, he is defeated and destroyed, as we read earlier. His agents, the Anti-Christ (Beast from the sea), the false Prophet as well as Babylon continue his work in the world.
Satan is restricted by Christ. The Risen Christ is operating, by Spirit and Word, in the world. He bound the Strong man by His death and resurrection. Often the wrong seems so strong, but this is still our Father’s world and His Son is on the Throne. Satan’s power is not unrestrained. We learned this back in the Chapter about the Horsemen. Evil in the world is strong, but limited, and exists only by the permissive will of God in Christ.
We have seen here in earlier studies, Christ ascended to the Throne after His Resurrection and has been actively reigning in this world ever since. His Rule, the Kingdom of Christ, began then, more than 2000 years ago. We need the eyes of faith to see Him at work in history. The popular, dispensationalist interpretation of this Book, misdirects our eyes to the Future. This has tended to lead Christians to despair about this world and ever seeing it change. It has led Believers to become separatists, just waiting for the “Rapture”. The more Biblical view is that the End Times have started in the Now Times.
1 Corinthians 15: 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27For "God has put all things in subjection under his feet." But when it says, "all things are put in subjection," it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. 28When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him that God may be all in all.
Hebrews 2:8 Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. 9 But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor
The Church has a part in this. The Sovereign does His kingly work primarily though us. He also uses non-Believers and “secular” means to get it done, as well. Christ has made us a kingdom (1:6) We are to “rule” on earth (5:10 20:6 cf 1 Peter 2:9, Exodus 19:6) for this entire long, long time (the “millennium”) We have kingdom work to do here and now. This does not mean we covet earthy power or use political or military coercion to accomplish that.
We have already seen, the Sword that Christ the King rules by is the Word of His mouth. He smashes the nations with the rod which is his Law. Likewise, the Church engages the world and the nations and civil government by proclaiming and living the Gospel.
2 Cor 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ
Our Vision is that of Isaiah
Isaiah 2:2 It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, 3 and many peoples shall come, and say: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths."
For out of Zion [the Church] shall go the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4 He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks;nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.
Then comes the New Jerusalem. Victory is complete. Promises of the Kingdom are fulfilled. Christ the King will the Kingdom over to the Father. God will be God.