By Guest Writer
Scripture Reading: Revelation 13:1-18, Proverbs 1:7, Hebrews 10:32-39
Who could forget this scene?
Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, and the Scarecrow stood quivering before The Great and Powerful Oz. Smoke filled their nostrils. Sound waves wreaked havoc on their eardrums. A giant, green disembodied head communicated his displeasure while their hearts raced and knees buckled.
And then…Toto pulled back the curtain.
The terrifying wizard was just an illusion. He had no more power to inflict harm than the old man pulling the levers.
Revelation 13 paints a perturbing picture. An otherworldly beast rises from the deep accompanied by a power-hungry dragon. Together they command the worship of the world. Death and destruction are their national anthem.
And it was permitted to wage war against the saints and to conquer them. It was also given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation.
—Revelation 13:7
This isn’t a Hollywood screenplay. We can’t disassociate from the realities of these demonic powers as we watch them unfold from our couch with a bowl of popcorn on our lap. Perhaps your heart wants to race and your knees want to buckle at the thought of it. But when fear of the forces of darkness begins to grip you, let Scripture pull back the curtain.
Look at those verses again. Ask yourself: who’s really in control?
The beast was given a mouth to utter boasts and blasphemies (v.5).
It was allowed to exercise authority (v.5).
It was permitted to wage war (v.7).
It was also given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation (v.7).
Every ounce of authority the beast possesses was granted to him by our holy God. And that which the Lord giveth, He will most certainly take away.
The powers of darkness are never outside the authority of the Light of the World. God never surrenders His sovereignty—not for a nanosecond. In the end, the beast’s power will be exposed for what it truly is, a temporary and limited illusion. There will be real death and devastating destruction. Even now the “the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour” (1Peter 5:8), but soon enough, the King of kings and Lord of lords will place the beast and the dragon where they belong: underneath His feet (Romans 16:20).
Church, we’ve got our marching orders:
This calls for endurance and faithfulness from the saints.
—Revelation 13:10
How can we endure the darkness of our day? And the darkness that’s to come? With our eyeballs glued to Jesus, the One who was, and is, and is to come. The one and only sovereign.
Plant your feet. Square your jaw. Allow the Word to run a steel rod up your back. Whatever beasts may come, Jesus reigns supreme.
Keep this command without fault or failure until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. God will bring this about in his own time. He is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see, to him be honor and eternal power. Amen.
—1 Timothy 6:14–16
Written by Erin Davis
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