Reflections on God and Money: Babylon and the Beast (16)

And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, ‘If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God's wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulphur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.’

Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying, ‘Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ‘Blessed indeed’, says the Spirit, ‘that they may rest from their labours, for their deeds follow them!’

Revelation 14:9-13

The symbols in the visions in Revelation are not always explained the first time they appear. In Revelation 14, three angels each deliver a message to the world. The first has the eternal gospel, the good news about Jesus Christ; the second warns of Babylon’s fall; the third warns people what will happen if they take the Mark of the Beast.

The phrase that caught my eye recently was that those who take the Mark of the Beast, ‘have no rest, day or night’. It reminded me of the persistent restlessness of the people caught up in our capitalist, materialist, consumer society.

I remember that when I first left school and started work, there was a general expectation that modern technology would free up more leisure time for people. Greater prosperity would flow for being to achieve more in less time; people would work shorter hours and lead more relaxed lives. I expected that, before the time came for me to retire, that people would enjoy 3-day weekends!

I am not yet ready to retire but the prospect of shorter working hours and longer weekends is more remote than ever. Most people now work longer hours and are significantly more stressed. As the job market became more flexible, people had to work very much harder just to keep what they had, because there was always someone waiting to take their job. And if they could not really do anything to help the stress, they could at least indulge distractions.

It seems to me from Revelation 17-18 that anyone who fails to act on God’s call to get out of Babylon will not only share in the material loss when it falls but also become vulnerable to the Mark of the Beast. As the Mark symbolises people’s devotion, it must surely be impossible for anyone to take it accidentally or to have it forced on them.

But I do wonder whether any will take it as a convenience, simply in order to maintain a way of life which they are reluctant to give up. Like the Israelites who stayed in Babylon.

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Sunday, 14 July 2013

Babylon and the Beast (16)