Revelation Thirteen – It’s been on my mind lately…

Growing up in a large conservative Christian family, Pa read the bible every night as we sat around the wooden table on our wooden chairs in the dimly lit basement with one lightbulb screwed into a socket in the ceiling. We didn’t use any study guides, or moral story coloring book lessons for young children. From my earliest memories, it was Pa reading the bible scriptures, giving a short interpretation as he understood it. It was not an interactive study where anyone could take part, it was the daily sermon.

Often he read scriptures with the intent to scold us or correct our behavior. It was never a conversation with us, it was a sermon directed at us which we had to interpret to figure out who specifically he was reprimanding. I would nudge the foot of a sibling as if to silently say, you are the one who got us into this long sermon about disobedience. Or a sibling would nudge me. After the scripture reading, we would each move our chair back from the table, turn around and kneel on the cement floor in front of our chair as Pa prayed.

Women didn’t read the bible out loud or lead a prayer in our family. Wives were to be in silent submission to their husbands, and children were to obey their parents in all things. The tradition was in accordance with I Corinthians Chapter 11 that women were to have their heads covered during prayer or worship. Ma wore a headscarf all day and would take it off at night to sleep. For some reason which I never understood, Pa didn’t require my sisters and I to wear our head covering all day, only during our daily devotions or table prayer. We always read from the King James Version of the Bible.

King James Version – I Corinthians Chapter 11, verses 1-15

Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. ² Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you. ³ But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. ⁴ Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head. ⁵ But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven. ⁶ For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered. ⁷ For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man. ⁸ For the man is not of the woman: but the woman of the man. ⁹ Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man. ¹⁰ For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels. ¹¹ Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord. ¹² For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.¹³ Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered? ¹⁴ Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? ¹⁵ But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.

Our hair had to be long and never cut or trimmed. This rule extended as well to the shaving of legs or armpits.  Before I was in junior high school, my sister, Doris, had money to buy personal items that she provided for us. We had a secret hiding place under the mattress of the top bunk where we stored the forbidden items like deodorant, hairspray and razors. I wrote in my diary in 1967 that our family was visiting a conservative Mennonite family and their daughter (about my age) asked me how I got my legs to be so smooth. We were in her bedroom sitting on her bed and she rubbed my bare leg and marveled at the smoothness of my skin. I didn’t want to confess my sin, so just mumbled something that it was just the way they were.

Back at home during the daily scripture readings and long prayers, my mind wandered. I was practicing multiplication tables in my head or fantasizing about having nice things and pretty clothes. When Pa started reading the book of Revelation, however, the stories and imagery scared the bejesus out of me. As Pa understood it, in the end times before the return of Jesus Christ, a false prophet would arise to great political power. An antichrist who would be a “wolf” in sheep’s clothing. In other words, someone who presented as a follower of Christ and a savior of the people, but in fact was pure evil. Pa said we had to be always aware so we would not be numbered among those Christians who were deceived. I had nightmares of our family not being able to buy anything because we wouldn’t receive the “mark of the beast” that would be required to buy and sell. The number 666 known as “the number of the “beast” is derived from this Chapter.

In today’s political upheaval, most of the conservative Christians I know favor the current political leaders which have characteristics of the false prophet and antichrist. They believe the lies and blasphemous statements that spew from the mouth of this administration’s multi-headed beast. Many believe the current leader to be the “chosen one” ordained by God to serve as a “sacrificial lamb” for his loyal supporters. The lies and false statements are repeated, shared, and believed without questioning whether it is actually true or not.  

As I understood it, the Armageddon war was expected to be a physical altercation like all other wars had been fought. However, now it seems we are living during an Armageddon war on truth – where the social and political technology brings followers into submission by false prophets who deliver a false narrative with a false enemy and a false savior – it spreads like wildfire.

From Wikipedia – The Book of Revelation or Book of the Apocalypse is the last book of the New Testament, and final book of the Christian Bible. Written in Koine Greek, its title is derived from the first word of the text “apokalypis” meaning the ‘unveiling’ or ‘revelation’. The Book of Revelation is the only apocalyptic book in the New Testament canon and occupies a central place in Christian eschatology. The book spans three literary genres: the epistolary, the apocalyptic, and the prophetic. It begins with John, on the island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea, addressing letters to the “Seven churches of Asia.”  He then describes a series of prophetic visions, including figures such as the Seven Headed Dragon, the Serpent and the Beast, which culminate in the Second Coming of Jesus.

King James Version of Revelation Chapter 13

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. ² 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. ³ 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. ⁴ 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? ⁵ 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. ⁶ And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. ⁷ 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. ⁸ 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. ⁹ If any man have an ear, let him hear. ¹⁰ 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. ¹¹ 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. ¹² 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. ¹³ And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, ¹⁴ 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. ¹⁵ 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. ¹⁶ 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: ¹⁷ 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. ¹⁸ 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.