NOTES for Rev 13:11-18

No war, even the longest, can last forever; sooner or later every war ends in peace. But, as is evident, the peace offered by the devil is not much better than the war he himself imposed. It is no accident that peaceful times in John's vision are also symbolized by a "beast," but one that comes not from the sea now, but from the earth (v. 11). And if water in the mythologies of the overwhelming majority of Near Eastern peoples was a symbol of chaos opposed to the higher powers, then earth was associated above all with cults of fertility, childbearing, and material wealth. All this, of course, has little compatibility with endless war. But earthly goods in themselves, as is well known, do not bring anyone closer to the Kingdom either. And the "beast from the earth," meanwhile, proclaims precisely them as the highest value.

It is no accident that its symbol becomes the number 666. And the point here is not numerology: John says directly of it that this number is "human," having no relation to any mysticism (v. 18). In the Bible it occurs only once: Solomon is said to have had an annual budget for his country amounting to 666 gold shekels (1 Kings 10:14; 2 Chr 9:13). As is evident, the mystery of the number 666 must be sought not in the mystical-symbolic sphere, but in the social and economic sphere.

And proof of this is easy to find in the Book of Revelation itself: the power of the "beast from the earth," as is evident, rests on economics and trade; it is precisely this that gives him power over everyone who does not want to find himself outside society, deprived of the possibility of participating in economic life (vv. 16-17). And the point here is not specific technologies, but society as such, its structure and organization, totalitarian if not in form, then in essence.

Of course, this totalitarianism does not necessarily have to frighten people with a beastly snarl; it can have not only a "human face," but even wear a mask resembling something "Christian": it is no accident that the horns of the "beast from the earth" resemble the horns of the "lamb," that is, Christ. Still, its proclamation does not thereby become Christian: it speaks not like the "lamb," but like the "dragon" (v. 11). And it calls people to worship not Christ, but the "beast from the sea" (vv. 12-14). More than that: it directs and structures society's life so that society itself gets rid of anyone who refuses the worship imposed on everyone (v. 15).

Before us is the age of the "black horseman" with a measure in his hand (Rev 6:5-6), an age when economics comes to the foreground, when by peaceful means, through economic expansion, people achieve what they formerly achieved by force of arms. Yet, as is evident, it does not become more humane: open dictation and violence are replaced by hidden, "soft" dictation carried out under the slogans of "humanism," "human welfare," and "universal prosperity." But the Kingdom and its witnesses clearly hinder such "humanists" no less than they hinder supporters of direct and open violence. This is not surprising: the one who stands behind both "beasts" does not care what mask he hides under; the only important thing to him is that people worship neither God nor the One whom He sent for the salvation of the world. Any other worship, as is evident, he easily redirects to himself and turns to his own benefit. And only those who have avoided the "traps" set by both beasts will enter the Kingdom they seek.