THE LAST TIME WE STARTED STUDYING THE MATTER OF THE BEAST AND THE MARK OF THE BEAST in the book of Revelation, we saw that this curious beast had the characteristics of four different animals. This was really a repetition of the series of beasts, which Daniel had seen. These, like Nebuchadnezzar’s image, were prophecies of four great Gentile world empires, which would rule the then known civilized world, one after the other.
The book of Revelation looks farther into the future than Daniel did, it points out something. Remember Daniel’s last beast was the Roman Empire, which was finally broken up and came to its end. The book of Revelation goes beyond this point and shows us that the same forces, which were operative in these four successive empires, the same dominant satanic leadership which made them all of similar character, are operating even in our own day. It also shows us, by its many references, what it calls great Babylon. The forces that made Babylon the outstanding one of these ancient civilizations, so far as a purely materialistic culture lacking all spiritual values made Babylon the most advanced of all.
Nevertheless, because of this complete lack of any spiritual understanding, it was a satanic organization. Long after the old city of Babylon had fallen, the same forces, the old Babylonian economic system which absolutely governs us today, the old political ideas, the old Babylonian religion, are still operative even in these days.
Before we go any farther with this study of the beast, which is starting the final exercise of complete economic control and which we are beginning to feel tighten down on us even today, there is more information we should study to identify these forces. Our churches have gotten nowhere identifying this problem. This is usually because they persist in misidentifying the people, races and forces involved. The result of this is a mixed up mess.
The Bible doesn’t bother recording incidents, which were of no importance after their own day. The Bible records those things, which will be of lasting effect. It was never intended that any portion of the Bible should be something good for a matter of a few years, then obsolete, and no longer useful.
As Paul said in I Corinthians 10:11, “Now all these things happened to them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the end of the age is come”. So the information you find in the Bible are the forces that are still operating. True, a particular king the Bible mentions doing this or that, is long since dead. However, his modern day successors are still carrying out the same policies and still getting the same evil results.