Reflections on God and Money: Babylon and the Beast (21)

Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head as he lay in his bed… ‘I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another. The first was like a lion and had eagles' wings… A second one, like a bear… Another, like a leopard, with four wings of a bird on its back… A fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.’

And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear's, and its mouth was like a lion's mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority… And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.

Daniel 7:1-7 & Revelation 13:1-8

Both Daniel and John (who wrote Revelation) saw God-given visions in which human governments were portrayed as monstrous animals that progressively become fiercer and more evil.

St Paul writing in his letter to the church in Rome explains that governments ‘have been instituted by God’ and that we should obey them and no wonder therefore that, later, he encourages Timothy to make it a priority to pray for them (see Romans 13 & 1 Timothy 2)!

We often fail to see the true nature of things in the world around us, especially where we have grown up, and so often fail to pray about them. We need to get to ‘another place’ if we want to see things as they really are and pray constructively.

At the start of Revelation 17, St John was taken (in his vision) by an angel into the wilderness, where he saw Babylon riding the Beast. We may not have visions but we do have the Bible to help us get to ‘another place’, one where we can see things as they really are.

Many few years ago, I was surprised to realise that King Ahab is remembered in history as one of Israel’s greater kings, for the ways that he fortified the borders and enhanced international trade, while the Bible records him as one of the most evil kings, for leading the people into idolatry.

In a similar way, I think the Bible – and the teaching of Jesus of Nazareth in particular – can help us understand the true nature of the societies in which we live. It can help us to see past our own passive acceptance of the ways that we have grown up with.

I will resume this thought tomorrow.

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Friday, 9 August 2013

Babylon and the Beast (21)