No Neutrality

The Inhabitants of the Earth choose not to follow the Lamb. Instead, they swear fealty to the Dragon and his Beast and take his Number.

There are no geographic restrictions on the reign of the “Beast” in the Book of Revelation. All the “Inhabitants of the Earth” take the Beast’s “Mark” or “Number” and venerate its image. No national government resists the monster from the Sea, for it is granted “authority over every tribe, people, tongue and nation.” There are no exceptions, no nation or government will stand against the “Beast” except Christ's “Kingdom of Priests.”

Only the “overcoming” followers of the “Lamb” refuse to submit and give allegiance to the “Beast.” The Book of Revelation describes the attempts of the “Dragon” to destroy the saints, those men and women who have the “Testimony of Jesus.” The animosity of the Dragon and its “Beast” toward them is driven by their unrelenting demand for absolute loyalty from nations, peoples, and individuals - (Revelation 12:17).

[Decision - Photo by Caleb Jones on Unsplash]

The consequences of how we respond to the challenge could not be more serious. While men who submit to the “Beast” may benefit for a time, in the end, all those who take the Beast’s Mark will be “cast into the Lake of Fire” along with the Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet - (Revelation 19:20, 20:15, 21:8).

In contrast to the “Inhabitants of the Earth,” though they suffer economic loss, persecution, and martyrdom in this life, the followers of the Lamb will find themselves standing before Jesus in the Holy City of New Jerusalem - (Revelation 7:9-17, 21:24).

This is an old story. Whenever the State is absolutized, it does not tolerate allegiance given to anyone or anything other than itself. Since Jesus is the absolute Sovereign over all things, clashes between his followers and the State are inevitable.

Humanity is divided into two groups - Those who follow the Lamb wherever he goes and those who swear fealty to the Beast from the Sea. There is no room for any third category, nor is there any neutral territory.

When one of the “Seven Heads” of the “Beast” is mortally wounded and healed, the “whole earth marvels after the Beast and pays homage to the Dragon.” In contrast, through his Death and Resurrection, the “Lamb” redeems men and women “out of” every nation and ethnic group for his Priestly Kingdom - (Revelation 1:5-7, 5:9-10).

The “Lamb” and the “Dragon” compete for our allegiance, though they use very different methods for doing so. The Son of God “shepherds” the nations by leading them to “living waters.” Satan’s earthly agents impoverish anyone who does not swear everlasting fealty to the “Beast” and its “image.”

Satan’s final attempt to destroy the Body of Christ extends over humanity. If the language in Revelation is limited geographically or ethnically when applied to the “Beast,” the same is true of the extent of the “Lamb’s” authority.

Just as Christ’s redeeming activities extend over the Earth, so Satan’s effort to persecute the Lamb’s followers and subjugate all men reaches every corner of the planet - (Revelation 7:9).

Not only do “the Inhabitants of the Earth swear fealty” to the “Beast,” the same group is identified as “those whose names are not written in the Book of Life.” All men whose names are not written in the Book will “swear fealty to the Beast.”

NO MIDDLE GROUND

Whether a man’s name is excluded from the “Book of Life” is determined by how he responds to the “Lamb” and the “Beast.” The statement regarding the Beast’s reign - “All who dwell upon the Earth will render it homage” – is not limited by geography or nationality. Whether we “follow the Lamb wherever he goes” and refuse to give allegiance to the “Beast” determines if our names are “written in the Book of Life.”

In Chapter 13, another “Beast” ascends “from the Earth,” the “False Prophet.” He uses deception and economic sanctions to “cause the Inhabitants of the Earth to render homage to the First Beast.” Elsewhere, the term “Inhabitants of the Earth” refers to all men who rebel against the rule of the “Lamb” - (Revelation 3:10, 13:11-15).

• “Because you kept the word of my endurance, I also will keep you from the hour of the trial that is about to come upon all the world to try the Inhabitants of the Earth” - (Revelation 3:10).

Likewise, after the Fourth Trumpet sounds, the angel cries out, “Woe, woe, woe, for the Inhabitants of the Earth.” The judgments unleashed by the “Seven Trumpets” target the “Inhabitants of the Earth” since they refuse to repent and instead worship the “Dragon,” the “Beast from the Sea,” and its image.

The “False Prophet” deceives the “Inhabitants of the Earth.” All men, whether “small or great, rich or poor, free or slave,” take the “Mark of the Beast.” In contrast, those who “follow the Lamb wherever he goes” have his Father’s name inscribed on their foreheads, the “Seal of God.” Every man and woman is branded with the “Mark of the Beast” or has the name of God written on his or her forehead. It is one or the other.

Again, only two groups are in view. There is no “third way,” no holdout nation, nor is there any neutral territory to which we may flee and hide. We must declare ourselves for the “Lamb” or the “Beast” before the world regardless of the consequences.

Our only “defense” is faithfulness in witness. We overcome the Dragon and its “Beast” by the “blood of the Lamb, the word of our Testimony, and because we love not our lives to the death.” Martyrdom for Jesus is victory, not defeat - (Revelation 12:11).

In Chapter 14, the angel announces the “everlasting gospel to the Inhabitants of the Earth, even to every nation and tribe and tongue and people.” If anyone swears fealty to the “Beast, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God.”

This pronouncement anticipates the final judgment when the angel will “gather the vine of the earth and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God,” the judgment of all men whose “names are not written in the Lamb’s Book” - (Revelation 14:9-10).

At the final battle, Satan gathers all the “Kings of the Earth” and the “nations from the four corners of the Earth” to destroy the “camp of the saints.” This description stresses the global scope of the Devil’s final assault against the People of the Lamb – (Revelation 19:17-21, 20:7-10).

Nowhere does the Book of Revelation describe or even suggest the possibility of any nation or government resisting the reign of the “Beast.” Our only hope is to submit to the “Lamb” and refuse the “Mark of the Beast,” and by suffering the consequences of that decision. We must only swear fealty to the Slain Lamb. Our loyalty to Jesus of Nazareth is absolute or it is less than worthless.

History repeats itself because the “Dragon” has been pursuing this same agenda since Adam’s disobedience when he succumbed to the lies of that “Ancient Serpent.” This is why whenever the opportunity presents itself, the State demands absolute allegiance from its subjects, something a faithful follower of Jesus Christ must never give, or he may find his name erased from the “Book of Life.” We must choose to give our allegiance to Jesus or to Satan’s Beast. There is no third alternative.

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SEE ALSO:

• The Coming Storm - (The New Testament warns of a future apostasy caused by deceivers and the Lawless One before the Day of the Lord arrives)

• The Antichrist Spirit - (The Antichrist Spirit works to destroy the church from within, especially through deception spread by false teachers and other deceivers – 1 John 2:18-22)

• The Apostasy - (Before Jesus returns, the Church will experience a great falling away from the faith as many believers are deceived by the Son of Destruction)

• The Son of Destruction - (Many saints will apostatize when the Lawless One, the Son of Destruction, seats himself in the sanctuary of God)