The two witnesses of Revelation 11 represent the church, who’ve been given the crucial task of prophesying to the nations. God’s people must warn humanity that if they persist in evil, they will certainly be destroyed by divine judgment. Yet for those who humble themselves and repent, God is gracious and willing to forgive. In this way, God will bring many more people into his kingdom.
In the last blog, we saw how God’s people will be granted power and protection in order to accomplish their mission. They will be like Elijah & Moses, who confronted the wicked, idolatrous rulers of their day.
But narrative of the two witnesses then takes a dark turn: “When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them and overpower and kill them.”
Without warning or explanation, John abruptly introduces his audience to the beast. Until this moment, he hasn’t said a single word about this character. But the beast will play a major role throughout the rest of the book of Revelation.
There’s been all kinds of wild speculation about the identity of the beast. Who exactly is this cryptic figure?
In order to solve this puzzle, we must once more return to the book of Daniel, upon which John draws heavily. Daniel had a vision of four beasts arising from the sea. These monsters each symbolized an idolatrous pagan empire which would persecute the people of God. There is some debate about the precise identity of Daniel’s beasts. They seem to correspond to the Babylonian, the Medo-Persian and the Greek (or Macedonian) Empires. Some believe that the Roman Empire is the fourth beast.
However, most scholars equate the fourth beast with the Seleucid Empire. Following the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC, his enormous Macedonian Empire fragmented into four parts. Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander’s military officers, assumed sovereignty over much of Asia Minor, Syria and Mesopotamia. Eventually, the Seleucid Empire would also take control of Judea.
In 175 BC, the Seleucid throne was seized by Antiochus IV, even though he was only 4th in the line of succession. (He thus fits Daniel’s description of the “little horn” before whom three horns were uprooted.) Antiochus was a megalomaniac. His arrogance was reflected in the title which he took for himself: Epiphanes, which means “manifestation of God.”
Beginning in 167 BC, Antiochus IV sought to impose Greek religion and culture upon the Jewish people by brute force. The worship of the God of Israel was forbidden. Anyone found with the Jewish scriptures in their possession was put to death, and the holy writings were burned. Observation of the sabbath and circumcision were also prohibited. Antiochus even desecrated the temple in Jerusalem by erecting a statue of Zeus. The tyranny of Antiochus IV Epiphanes sparked the famous Maccabean rebellion.
For our purposes, it is not necessary to pinpoint the exact identity of Daniel’s beasts. We just need to keep in mind that the beasts represented idolatrous, unjust and immoral pagan empires which oppressed the people of God.
For John, there could only be one candidate for the beast: the Roman Empire.
According to legend, the city of Rome had been founded by Romulus in 753 BC. Romulus and his twin brother Remus were the sons of Mars, the god of war. A despotic local king ordered the that the boys be drowned in the Tiber River, lest they become rivals to his throne. However, the king’s servants didn’t finish the job; they abandoned the twins, who managed to survive, having been nursed by a female wolf until they were found and raised by a shepherd named Faustulus.
Romulus and Remus would later seek to establish a new city along the banks of the Tiber where they had been exposed as infants. But they quarreled over the exact site; Remus favored the Aventine Hill while Romulus argued for the Palatine Hill. The conflict escalated until, in a fit of fratricidal rage, Romulus slew his brother. He then assumed royal authority over the city which was named in his honor.
Initially ruled by a series of kings, Rome overthrew its potentate in 509 BC when the people rose up against a tyrant named Tarquin the Proud. The monarchy was then replaced by a republic, governed by the Senate and elected magistrates. The two most senior magistrates were called consuls; they held office for one year.
The Roman Republic endured for almost five centuries. During this time, Rome steadily gained power, first over the Italian Peninsula and then over lands abroad. By the 1st century BC, the Roman Republic controlled much of the Mediterranean world.
But the Republic could not withstand the unbounded ambition of Julius Caesar. Caesar’s political and military genius has made him one of the foremost figures of antiquity. He was elected consul in 59 BC. Following his year in office, Caesar seized a plum appointment as governor of key Roman Provinces – Cisalpine Gaul and Transalpine Gaul (Northern Italy and Southern France). This gave him control of substantial Roman military forces. From 58-50 BC, Caesar used his legions to achieve astonishing conquests over the tribes of Gaul (France); he even crossed the English Channel to make brief raids into Britannia.
Caesar’s exploits earned him the adulation of the Roman populace. He had also gained tremendous wealth and the unwavering loyalty of his troops. But many in the Senate feared that Julius Caesar had now accrued far too much power. When his governorship ended, they ordered him to give up his command. Some plotted to prosecute him in court. Caesar was thus faced with a dilemma. If he gave up his command, he would be vulnerable to his enemies. But to refuse meant civil war.
The little Rubicon River marked the boundary between Caesar’s provinces and Italy itself. Leading armies beyond this border was a solemn violation of Roman law. In January of 49 BC, Julius Caesar took the momentous step of invading Italy. As he crossed the river, he famously declared, “The die is cast.”
Caesar’s aggression did indeed lead to a bloody civil war from which he would emerge victorious. He would consolidate his power and eventually be granted the title “dictator for life.” However, his autocratic rule would not last long: Julius Caesar was famously assassinated on March 15th, 44 BC by senators who wished to restore the Republic.
Caesar’s adopted son Octavian (only 18 at the time) sponsored a series of public games in honor of the slain dictator. During these festivities, a brilliant comet appeared in the sky. Many Romans interpreted this celestial visitor as a sign that Caesar’s soul had ascended to the heavens to join the gods. The Roman Senate later followed suit, officially recognizing Julius Caesar’s divine status. These events were a propaganda coup for young Octavian, who could now claim the exalted title Divi Filius, “the son of a god.”
The assassination of Julius Caesar sparked yet another bout of civil wars. Eventually, Octavian seized sole possession of the Roman world by defeating the forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra in the battle of Actium (off the western coast of Greece) in 31 BC. In 27 BC, the Senate granted Octavian the title by which he is best known: Augustus (“revered”). For most historians, this date marks the end of the Roman Republic and the beginning of the Roman Empire.
In 29 BC, the city of Pergamum erected the first temple to honor the emperor as a living god. Over the next century, the practice of imperial worship would rapidly grow. Cities throughout the empire eagerly constructed grand temples in honor of the emperor’s divinity. This was particularly true of the great cities in Asia Minor – the same places which John addressed in the book of Revelation.
Revelation was composed around 90 AD, during the reign of Domitian (81-96 AD). By this time, the cult of emperor worship had come to full flower. The Roman historian Suetonius informs us that Domitian demanded that he be addressed as Dominus et Deus (“Lord and god”).
The imperial cult placed enormous pressure on the early church. The Christians had committed their allegiance to “another king, one called Jesus.” (Acts 17:7) It was Jesus, rather than Caesar, who was the true Lord, the son of God and savior of mankind. But refusal to worship the emperor brought severe consequences.
The pagan world widely believed that failure to honor the gods would bring wrath upon the entire society. Especially in times of famine, flood or drought, it was easy to blame Christians. The followers of Jesus were often ostracized from pagan society. If they were denounced before the authorities, they could be executed.
In later years, the Emperor Decius (249-251 AD) instigated the first organized, empire-wide campaign against Christians. He issued an edict which required every Roman citizen to make sacrifices to the pagan gods and the emperor. They were required to appear in Caesar’s temple, burn incense and declare, “Caesar is Lord.”
This was a test of political loyalty. Those who complied were given a certificate (libellus) to verify their allegiance. Those who refused were branded as traitors. Many Christians were imprisoned and tortured, including the great theologian Origin. Many others perished on account of their faithfulness to Jesus. Just as John had foreseen, the beast had arisen from the Abyss to attack and kill them.
