a dragon and a beast

Good morning brothers and sisters,
We read about the great serpent/dragon/Satan yesterday. Today we see that the dragon is working with another evil beast who rises up from the water. This beast symbolizes Rome, the power that threatened the church at that point. The passage talks about a head that had received a mortal wound but been healed. The Emperor Nero was an especially wicked ruler who killed himself. One of his successors shared many of Nero's qualities and was sometimes seen as Nero reborn. We see in this passage that the beast, Rome, is given power to oppress the church, but that power won't last always. Since then the church has faced other times of oppression, and we can expect that we will again. But God is faithful and one day God will conquer every evil power and all injustice.

God bless,
Sam

Revelation 12:18-13:9

(12:18) Then the dragon took his stand on the sand of the seashore. (13:1) And I saw a beast rising out of the sea having ten horns and seven heads; and on its horns were ten diadems, and on its heads were blasphemous names. ²And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And the dragon gave it his power and his throne and great authority. ³One of its heads seemed to have received a death-blow, but its mortal wound had been healed. In amazement the whole earth followed the beast. ⁴They worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”

⁵The beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. ⁶It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. ⁷Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. It was given authority over every tribe and people and language and nation, ⁸and all the inhabitants of the earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that was slaughtered.