Nebuchadnezzar, the man who ruled the ancient world descended into madness when he turned his back on God and denied the true authority over Him. The beast he became, as a result of his prideful choice, is the prototypical warning of the potential future of all human governments that turn their back on God and seek His power as their own. His life is history but it is also, prophecy because the prophesying of human behavior requires only that one know history of how people behave and cast it into the future. People, like all living creatures, are predisposed to certain behavior and they repeat it over and over again. Though thousands of years have passed, rulers are still subject to pride and imaging themselves to be gods.
In the modern world, monarchies are a thing of the past and government now, functions by the efforts of many people. The original thought was to delegate authority through those elected to represent the people and thereby, prevent the corruption of rulers by giving them too much power. The intent was noble and the idea good but people being made both good and evil soon corrupted the system by ceasing to acknowledge that such an idea was founded in the Christian faith. (The ideal of freedom in Western Civilization can’t exist apart from the Bible.)The Beast that rules the world now, is a multi-headed beast with global power that is descending into madness as it attempts to usurp the authority of God. All the world is following this Beast because they are afraid and don’t know how to resist it; and out of fear, they surrender their personal liberties. As each individual surrenders the rights imputed to them, by God, from birth, the Beast gains more power. This greater power feeds the insanity that drives it as the Beast drags the world after him into destruction. All who place their hope in human government have no hope and those who follow him will be like him and share his destiny. Hope lies in resisting the Beast and refusing fear by maintaining the joy found by faith in Jesus.
Resist the Beast and don’t become like him. Acknowledge God as the true authority. Jesus is the King who reigns in lives of believers through conscience and never denies His Father as the ruler of all. Don’t think like the beast and pride-fully, imagine His works as your own. Pride is delusional thinking that leads to greater madness. People, like those in government, are incomplete apart from God and without the imparting of His divine nature; none of us are anything more than another kind of beast. Do not become like the Beast in your thinking and don’t use your hands to serve him. No matter how great the madness of the world, as violence and destruction fills it, remember God’s authority isn’t threatened. He holds it all in His hands and He is working all these things to the good of those who are His in Christ Jesus and who serve His purpose. The Beast must have its day but this day will pass and when it passes, the long-promised Kingdom of Heaven will come. Christ’s righteous rule will put to rest the beastly rule of man-over-man. Those who are Christ’s may enjoy that peace today, as subjects of that Kingdom, while the world rages in fear and hopeless resentment toward the Beast.
Nebuchadnezzar returned to his right-mind when in humility He acknowledged God’s power over him. He experienced complete restoration as the result of his faith. The world that is now firmly in the grip of the multi-headed Beast of today, will also, be restored when Jesus is recognized as the Savior of individual believers and the world. When Jesus returns as the Lion of Judah, the world will be filled with cries of resounding joy!
Daniel: 1-4
joyindestructible 
ah yes, pride and the beast. I agree.
Pride also caused the fall of God’s light bearer Satan and causes so much evil in the world. Love dwells always in humility, it’s humbling to love.
The beast of Revelation, yes again the worldly system based on greed, exploitation, and commerce fits the bill. I cannot wait till Jesus returns and turns this world right way up (it’s all inside out and upside down to what it should be right now).
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Amen, Claire! He is the world’s only hope!
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Jesus is still the Light that shines in the darkness. He did say, “You are the light of the world” and “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glory your Father in heaven.” We are the current light bearers in a dark world and we will be hated for exposing the deeds of darkness. But Jesus has already overcome the world…Therein lies our joy!
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And even the Beast can’t take that joy away!
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As you shared Pam, Satan’s influence is very strong in the World, he controls it but we must reject his evil and choose to do good so we can be empowered to by The Holy Spirit as we put our carnal flesh to death and aim to be perfected in Love, we have been set free from the slavery and bondage of sin (John 8:34-36)
We see confirmed in the Scriptures below, that the Beast is a man that will soon rule the World through the one World Government and Church, his name is equal to the number 666, and 6 being the number of man, we know he will be part of a False Trinity and they will rule with him.
2Thessalonians 2:1-12 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that Man of Sin be revealed, the Son of Perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as god sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the Love of the Truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the Truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (KJV)
Revelation 13:13-18 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If any man have an ear, let him hear.
He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the Faith of the Saints. And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(KJV)
Christian Love – Anne.
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Hi Anne, Thank you for providing the scriptural references to the Beast. I agree that the Anti-Christ will be a man, a ruler like Nebuchadnezzar who with a heart filled with self and pride, will knowingly, turn his back on God and attempt to take His power as his own. He will fail because human beings without God are only another kind of animal, vicious ones at that and his global rule will end in the worst violence and destruction ever known to human beings. The governments of the western world have also, done the same thing as Nebuchadnezzar and the government they form collectively, has the same beastly sickness that plagued that ancient king. I believe the Anti-Christ will rise out of this system to world domination, a Hetleresque dictator with even greater power to destroy.
My post was not intended to reteach the scripture but to reveal the heart of the Beast and encourage others to not fear him but resist him by focusing on Jesus and living as God directs each of us to live. I have taught scripture as expositional but that isn’t what God is leading me to do, at this time. I write about Jesus and my relationship with God through Him because life is in Jesus, not in the scriptures (though I love scripture and am blessed by it every day. I believe it is the written revelation of God.) Jesus is coming soon and when He comes, I want to be found doing whatever He purposes for me. I pray He finds me living the scriptures and not just intellectualizing them. We all have a unique function in the body of Christ and my desire is to be true to that which God calls me to accomplish and not be found as a dysfunctional member. I’m not about the business of leading people after me or making them a member of any earthly organization but I do want to lift Jesus in my life, through my writing, that others may look to Him for themselves.
Thank you for reading and taking the time to share a genuine response in place of an ‘ata’ boy’. :0) “Iron sharpens iron” and even when brothers and sisters don’t quite agree, or misunderstand and think they don’t agree, we are improved by the fellowship. God bless you, Anne.
Love,
Pam
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At first, I too thought that you were telling us that the antichrist had come to power, but then saw that the beast to whom you refer is the mindset and attitude of the people. I totally agree with you. It is because of the heart attitude of the world that the true beast system will be accepted with open arms. No born again believer should fear this system.
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Thank you, Patrick and I’m sorry if I misled. Then again, there have been other times in history when Christians believed the anit-Christ was living in their time and if I’d lived then, I might believe just like them. The potential is certainly, with us at all times and the only way to conquer the Beast is to resist him from within. People are afraid these days and that spirit of fear doesn’t come from God.
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Oh I definitely agree. And, to be totally honest, I often wonder if our generation is the last. From all appearances, it very well could be.
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I think so too…but I am just a woman. It will come to pass in God’s time and all I really have to concern myself with is obeying God. The times are complicated but the real solutions are pretty basic.
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Yes He will, Amen!
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