And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. (Revelation 13:1b, NIV 1984).
My Musings – The Greek word used here for Beast more specifically means wild beast. Man becomes beastly when he severs himself from God, in whose image he was first made. World leaders and powers seeking their own glory, and not God’s, are represented as beasts. A classic example was Nebuchadnezzar, who in self-deification “failed to give glory to God,” and lived like a wild beast for a number of years.
This symbolic description of the beast enables us to learn something about his origin and character. God does not view him as a man, made in His divine image, but as a wild animal, under the control of Satan. While described as a beast, he will be a human. “If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man’s number.” (Revelation 13:18, NIV 1984).
But he will be energized by Satan, for he comes out of the abyss. “The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction.” (Revelation 17:8, NIV 1984). Just as Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, so the beast will be entered by Satan, or perhaps by “the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon,” (Revelation 9:11, NIV 1984). A poor imitation of God the Son, the second person of the Trinity. Again, Satan wants to “be like,” but he cannot be.
My Advice – Don’t fall for any imitation.
Resources:
Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 2, p. 582). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 604). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
The Brew Is A Musing 