Idolizing Caesar

The Empire’s propagandists encourage men and women to give allegiance to and idolize Caesar, the imperial Beast from the Sea.

In the Book of Revelation, the “False Prophet” uses religious symbolism and economic control to coax the inhabitants of the World Empire to render homage to the Imperial Throne. Whether by force or persuasion, the goal remains the same. Men who refuse to submit and venerate the “Beast” are excluded from economic activity and thereby impoverished.

Since the Tower of Babel, monarchs and emperors have encouraged their subjects to venerate their absolutist regimes. Antiochus IV Epiphanes fancied himself the son of Zeus, the Roman imperial cult encouraged subject peoples to offer incense to the image of Caesar, Filio Dei or “son of god” as it read on Roman coins, and so it remains to this day. Terms and specific rituals vary over time and geography, but Caesar and the State continue to demand total allegiance.

[Caesar - Photo by Gertrud on Unsplash]

In painting its picture, the Book of Revelation uses a graphic Greek term to describe the agenda of the “Dragon,” but its sense is lost in many English, French, and other translations. The “False Prophet” exploits the authority of the “Beast from the Sea” to lure men to “worship” the “Beast.”

The Greek verb ‘proskuneô’ translated as “worship” does not mean doing so as in the ritualistic adoration of a deity. The sense is “to prostrate” oneself before someone of superior rank, to “render homage” and otherwise venerate that person as if divine. This term combines the Greek preposition ‘pros,’ meaning “towards,” with the word for “kiss.” In other words, a picture of bowing down to kiss the hem of the dignitary’s robe.

From this comes the idea of “rendering homage” to an overlord. The practice of swearing allegiance to persons, causes, and governments best represents the idea in a modern context. That is what the “False Prophet” does by causing individuals, peoples, and whole nations to submit to the “Beast from the Sea.” If this Master Deceiver cannot persuade men through words and trickery, he employs Economic Coercion.

The “Inhabitants of the Earth” who follow the “Beast” have its “number” branded on their “right hand,” but the followers of the “Lamb” have his name “written on their foreheads.” The “Mark of the Beast” is the counterfeit of the “Seal” of God received by His “servants.”

The “Inhabitants of the Earth” who take the beastly “mark” are legally authorized to engage in commerce, to “buy and sell.” The followers of the “Lamb” are excluded from the economic life of society and the empire. Loyalty to the “Beast” has its rewards. Remaining faithful to the “Lamb” means personal loss.

Humanity is divided into two groups: those who follow the “Lamb” and those who give allegiance to the “Beast from the Sea.” There is no middle ground. To whom a man gives his allegiance determines whether his name is included or excluded from the “Book of Life” - (Revelation 13:16-18).

VENERATING THE BEAST

The “False Prophet” leads men to manufacture an “image” of the “Beast” before which they prostrate themselves. What distinguishes the image is not its shape or size, but the total devotion to it required by the “Beast” and his mouthpiece, the “False Prophet.”

The “Beast” employs the authority of the “Dragon,” the “Ancient Serpent, called the Devil and Satan.” Like its Master, the “Beast” has “seven heads” and “ten horns.” He is the earthly representative of the “Dragon.” Likewise, the “False Prophet speaks like the Dragon” since he is the mouthpiece of the “Beast.” He is the “mouth that boasts of great things” as he slanders God and His “saints” – (Revelation 12:1-5, 13:1-12).

Thus, the result of the False Prophet’s activities is that the allegiance that belongs only to Jesus is lavished on the “image of the Beast” and the imperial power it represents.

This is the ultimate form of idolatry, the veneration of the State. It occurs whenever the political order demands the kind of loyalty that belongs only to God and His appointed King, Jesus of Nazareth.

Any man who wishes to be a disciple of Jesus must choose between Christ and Caesar. If he chooses the latter, his name will be expunged from the Lamb’s “Book of Life.” It is one thing to show due respect to governing officials, and the Apostolic teachings summon believers to do so.

However, giving total allegiance and especially veneration to the politicians, political ideologies, and governments of this fallen age is a line the follower of Jesus must never cross. Doing so will come with everlasting consequences. It is the ultimate act of betrayal and apostasy. When we do so, intentionally or not, we take the “Mark of the Beast” and become its slaves and property.

One day, a political entity will appear in the world that will use its economic might against nations, peoples, and individuals that refuse to submit to its demands or acknowledge its absolute authority and divine mandate. That will be the sign that the “Beast” is “Ascending from the Sea” in preparation for Satan’s war against the “Lamb” and his “saints.”

[PDF Copy]

SEE ALSO:

• Usurping God - (The submission of Jesus to an unjust death stands in stark contrast to the political mechanisms and ideologies of this age)

• The True Emperor - (Messianic promises from the Psalms are applied to the present reign of Jesus who possesses all authority in Heaven and on Earth)

• Allegiance to Whom? - (In the Book of Revelation, every man must choose between loyalty to the Beast from the Sea or the sacrificial Lamb)

• Adorer la Bête - (Les propagandistes de l'Empire encouragent les hommes et les femmes à prêter allégeance et à idolâtrer César, la Bête impériale de la mer)