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Chariot August 2010 - Norm Wakefield

Battling the Beast of Self, Part 4

J. Oswald Sanders, author of Spiritual Maturity, general director of what was called China Inland Mission, and worldwide conference speaker wrote, "God cannot entrust a man with any deep blessing, any important ministry, until there has come a complete collapse of self. There is no need to fear being brought to an end of ourselves for ‘the end of self is the beginning of God.'" Does this seem like a radical statement to you or has this been your experience?

I have raised this question: Have you ever considered the first beast of Revelation 13 as the beast of self, the flesh, pride, or the uprising of original sin? What if John was teaching his readers about their greatest enemy in their spiritual battle–self, human nature under the control and power of sin? I made a list of characteristics of the beast from Revelation 13 and took this approach. Whatever John had in mind, it had to have all the characteristics. As I tested the various interpretations of who the beast is, only self fit every characteristic.

Doesn't it make sense that John would write about the antichrist in the Revelation just as he did in his first epistle? Of the antichrist, he wrote, "every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world." Self masquerading as God is already in the world and will always be coming.

Last month we began looking at Rev. 13:1 and noted these five characteristics of the beast to which we will add five more.

• The beast of self rose up before the devil.

• The beast of self rose up out of the sea of man.

• The beast of self is deluded about its power and authority.

• The beast of self is deluded about its knowledge and perfection.

• The beast of self blasphemes God (proclaims himself as God).

The beasts of self acts like wild beasts which pursue their prey.

And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. Rev. 13:2

Why did John use these three animals of prey to describe self? First, leopards stalk their prey by coming up on them silently and jumping on their prey, strangling prey with a quick bite. Generally, leopards hunt at night time. Furthermore, when a leopard is under duress, they have been known to hunt down humans! So it is with self, is it not? How silently and quickly flesh strangles us into submission to its lusts and desires. Self lives under duress in this world because we can't control everything. Furthermore, self loves the darkness. Self is most powerful when cloaked in darkness.

Second, bears are opportunistic omnivores. This means that they will feed on any animal that they can easily kill. All bears have claws which are used to climb, dig, catch and tear prey. Have you noticed that at every opportunity, self catches you and others in its powerful claws and tears you and them apart?

Third, Satan powerfully holds us in his grip through selfishness, like a lion's jaws clamp on and tear its prey. If John were describing us, we would be like the helpless antelope or sheep caught in the jaws of the flesh. Selfishness tears us to pieces as it leads us to consume everything and everyone upon our own lusts and desires. How quickly we make life all about us to the neglect of the Lord Jesus Christ.

What do you think? Is this the description of a person, a man, a world leader or is it the figurative portrait of the flesh or self that rose up within mankind at the fall? If the rest of scripture portrays self this way, why should we think John was teaching something different?

Isn't this description of self supported by your experience? The lusts of the flesh wait silently to spring into action (leopard) when the opportunity arises. Then it tears into its prey with its powerful claws (bear), and devours the helpless victim to satisfy its own desires (lion). Who hasn't experienced the explosion of selfish anger, jealousy, or impurity? Is this not the battle we wage on a daily basis–the battle against the antichrist of self and the flesh? The question we must all consider is this: Are we defending this beast when he springs into action and destroys its prey or are we battling the beast with confession and repentance? The fact is, none of us are a match for this beast in our own strength because...

The beast of self has its power and authority from Satan.

And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority (Rev. 13:2).

In Rev. 12:9 we learned that the dragon is Satan. John was very clear about where the beast derives its power and authority–from Satan. That's why Jesus called those who wish to come after Him to deny themselves (Luke 9:23). The Apostle Paul commanded believers to do nothing from selfishness (Phil. 2:3). The Apostle James considered selfish-ambition as demonic. Peter described those who are false professors of the faith in 2 Pet. 2:10 as those who "indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties..."

Self or the flesh cannot and will not submit itself to God because it does not recognize or honor God's power and authority. As I have said before, self is an agent or spy-in-place in the soul of man. His handler is Satan himself. Satan authorized him at the fall by planting his seed in Adam. Adam received that seed, and it gave birth to the flesh–self under the control of sin. Therefore Satan has authority to curse and kill eternally all of mankind who have lived for themselves instead of Jesus Christ, the true God with all power and authority.

What self doesn't know is that Satan has no authority or power but what is authorized by Jesus Christ. Have you ever noticed that Satan and his demons always obey Jesus? As you read the beginning chapters of Job, it is clear that Satan can't make a move without Jesus' authorization. Notice the description of Saul's torment. "Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord terrorized him" (1 Sam. 16:14). The demons fled when Jesus commanded them to leave the man who lived in the tombs (Mark 5:13). Because self only recognizes the power and authority of Satan, it is impossible for the flesh to submit to God. As Paul wrote in Romans 8:7, self and the flesh are hostile to God.

So when we are selfish, it is important for us to realize that we are moving in the flow of Satan's power and authority. God has given him freedom to test us by providing opportunity for self to spring into action so he can accuse and condemn all men before God. Here is the truth we must all face: Everyone of us are bound by Satan's power through the agent of self who is exalted as god in our hearts. We are all like the sheep gone astray which is in the lion's mouth. We cannot help ourselves. Self is the enemy and is empowered by Satan, who has been given authority by God to capture everyone who lives for self. We need to be rescued–mercifully delivered from Satan and the beast of self. How are we to be delivered?

The beast of self suffered a fatal head wound at the cross.

I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast (Rev. 13:3).

Immediately after Satan had tempted Adam and Eve to rebel against God, God prophesied the victory of Jesus Christ at the cross. "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel" (Gen. 3:15). Have you ever considered that the fatal head wound of the antichrist wasn't actually regarding a political leader who suffers a head wound and miraculously survives? Have you ever thought that John was being shown the fulfillment of the promises of God from the beginning of Genesis?

Let's remember the context: Satan is at war with the woman of promise, the prophetic promises of God regarding the Messiah, Jesus Christ. If this is what John has in mind, this is a powerful word of encouragement to the believers. Jesus Christ crushed the head of Self, which is Satan, at the cross. It was a fatal head wound.

The Apostles John and Peter surely believed the same thing about what took place at the cross with regard to Satan and the flesh. Peter wrote, "...Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him" (1 Pet. 3:22).

Later in Revelation 13, John told his readers more about the fatal head wound.

"And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life" (Rev. 13:14). The head wound was caused by a sword. Surely this is a reference to Jesus as the Word of God and not to a real person being wounded by a literal sword. In Revelation 19:3 John wrote about Jesus, "He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God."

I suggest that the key to understanding Revelation is the teaching of the Apostle Paul. John and Paul served for a year and a half together in Ephesus. Paul's letters had circulated to the seven churches of Asia minor. These churches would have been more familiar with the writings of Paul than the writings of either Daniel or Ezekiel. Paul wrote to the Ephesians that they were to take "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Eph. 6:17). In Hebrews, the author wrote, "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword" (Heb. 4:12). I don't think he is referring to the scriptures, but to the word of God, Jesus Christ, through whom God runs all things (Heb. 1:3). When Jesus, who has all authority in heaven and on earth speaks, God's purpose is accomplished.

That day on Calvary's cross, Satan's power, his headship over fallen mankind was subjected to Jesus Christ. God swung His sword and delivered a fatal head wound to the beast which delivered His own from the jaws of death. Could this be the way the Spirit of God gave John to explain the work of deliverance accomplished by Jesus Christ, our Lord? He overcame the powers of Satan, sin, self, and death at the cross. Hallelujah! But did sin, flesh, and self disappear? Did the flesh cease to exist?

The beast of self continues to live.

I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast (Rev. 13:3).

There is a mystery in this verse. The head wound is said to be fatal. The root word of the Greek word used by John means to die, or death, so it clearly implies that the wound suffered was a mortal wound. The head died! However, it says that the wound was healed. Now we could understand if this were a description of Jesus' death on the cross and his resurrection, but clearly John was describing a head of the beast. The antichrist suffered a head wound, but still lived. How can this be? I find it difficult to believe that a politician is going to be killed with a head wound by a sword and then come back to life. Might there be another, more biblically supported explanation? I think he's describing the antichrist, the beast of self or flesh.

One might think that if God struck the fatal blow against Satan and self, that they would be no more. He would be done with them. The cross and the resurrection should have been the closing chapter of the book of the war between God and Satan. However, that's really when the battle intensified. Yes, Satan knew he was defeated. Yes, self and all of its sinfulness was dealt a death blow at the cross, but God has left Satan and self in place to fulfill His work of glorifying Jesus Christ in the saints.

Although self, the flesh, and sin was conquered at the cross, does it not continue to live and thrive within your soul? Are you not amazed at its power to overcome you? Later in the 13th chapter, John wrote, "It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him" (Rev. 13:7). The antichrist of whom John wrote overcomes the saints!

Are we to think that any one man or political figure will overcome the saints? There is nothing in scripture that indicates such a thing. However, the scriptures clearly state that although we have been saved from the penalty of sin and self, we have yet to be set free from its presence and power. Believers can still be selfish. In fact, we can be overcome with it! Why else would Paul write, "Do nothing from selfishness" and "So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live" (Rom. 8:13)?

The point is that the New Testament scriptures all agree that the power (the head) of flesh and self were defeated at the cross, however, a battle must still be waged against flesh and self because it still lives to wreak havoc and bring shame to the name of Jesus Christ. Why has God allowed this? I think the battle against self is what separates the sheep from the goats–the ones whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life and those who are not. The sheep don't worship the beast, the antichrist. They fight selfishness and condemn it because Jesus Christ died that they might no longer live for ourselves. In contrast...

The beast of self is worshipped and followed by the whole earth.

I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast (Rev. 13:3).

All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain (Rev. 13:8).

Everyone on the earth worships self, the beast of Revelation 13 except those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life. John was writing about the difference between those who truly believe in Jesus and those who don't. Those who belong to Jesus, although overcome by selfishness, do not worship self. In contrast, those who do not belong to the Lamb, but belong to the earth, do worship and exalt self in the place of Jesus Christ.

They are subjects of the antichrist. The prefix anti means to put in the place of; to put one thing over against another thing. That is exactly what everyone on earth does. They put themselves in the place of Jesus Christ which is the same as worshipping the beast or antichrist. To live for self is to be antichrist. To live for Christ is to be antiself. This is the teaching of all of the apostles in the New Testament, and it seems wisest to interpret what is unclear by what is clearly taught in the rest of scriptures than to make up a scenario with no scriptural warrant.

The typical view of Revelation 13 being the description of a man at the end of time fails in every way to meet this description. Furthermore, if I were Satan, that is exactly what I would want to convince people in the church to believe, namely, that the antichrist is a powerful political figure of a one world government. They would live in fear and be ignorant of their true enemy. They would be looking for an enemy outside the gates and never notice the enemy that is within their walls.

This has happened before our eyes! While watching for enemies abroad, we have failed to detect and fight the enemies within our ranks. Purveyors of self have now taken up residence in the White House and Congress. How did this happen? They appealed to the self-interests of people who worship self. The beast is bigger than any one politician. He is the power behind the politician rising to power. Both the politician and the people of the earth worship the beast, the antichrist, and so they war against God, the Lamb, His promises, and those who hold to the testimony of Jesus (Rev. 12:17).

WAKE UP!

Have you surrendered your self to God? Or are you still worshipping and protecting your self? Consider the destruction self has caused in your life. What has selfishness done to your relationships, our country, the church? Your engaged in the great cosmic battle between Jesus Christ and Satan, the question is: whose side are you fighting for? Like the first readers of Revelation, we also need to be aware of the spiritual battle both going on around us as well as within us. With John, I want to encourage you that the battle has been won, the fatal blow has been made, but you still must wage war against Satan and his agent within, self or the flesh. This cannot be done in the power of the flesh, but only by the power of the Holy Spirit who continues to wield the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, against the flesh. Take up the sword and take it to the beast!

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            Norm Wakefield
            Elijah Ministries
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