Question:
I have some Bible questions for you that I’ve been trying to figure out from Revelation 13 as it appears those events are now happening. I’m sure you’re familiar with “One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed.” from Revelation 13. I’m sure you saw the news when Trump got shot at the first time in the assassination attempt, I was actually watching him live on TV when it happened. I remember the blood, and his “Fight” fist bump thing to the crowd. The rest of the verses of course line up perfectly with Trump “It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them” (US presidents obviously have the military etc)
Now here is my question, later in the chapter it describe a second beast… the beast of the earth:
“Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed”
My first reaction was this must be Elon Musk. I see things like, “It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their forehead.” This seems like the MAGA hats, and those Trump wrist watches. I think there is another verse about things raining from the sky.. my first thought was Starlink could deorbit for some reason. Do you think Elon could be the second beast? Or maybe Putin?
I write this to you from Kyiv, as the world now teeters on WW3. The North Koreans have joined the fight with Russia and well, things all over the world seem to be a bit of a mess. What I think is the most interesting about all of this, is the birth of AI. Mankind is extremely close to giving birth to a new form of life. Is there anything in the Bible that discusses something like AI or a new life form that comes from man?
Answer:
By coincidence, I am currently teaching a class on the Book of Revelation here in Merced. To add to the coincidence, I just covered Revelation 13 last Wednesday. You can go to my website and find the notes, power point and audio for all of these lessons! https://evidenceforchristianity.org/class-on-revelation-at-uc-merced-by-dr-john-oakes/
In short, John tells us in Revelation 1:1 that what Jesus revealed to him concerned things that would “soon take place.” Then, in Revelation 1:3, he repeats himself that the “time is near” for the fulfillment of these visions. Besides, the letters were written to the seven churches in Asia. These visions do not concern things in the 21st century!!! They concern the events of the churches in Asia in the very late and perhaps the second and third centuries.
People in every generation since the early centuries have claimed that Revelation was about their own current events. These people have always been wrong, and anyone doing the same today will almost certainly also be wrong. So, let me be clear. No! Trump is not the Beast from the earth in Revelation 13. If you look at my notes, and also at Revelation 17, you will see that the beast who appeared to have been killed was the Roman persecutor. When Nero, the first persecutor died, and with him the Claudian line, perhaps the Christians thought that their persecutions had ended. However, with the emergence of the eight king (Revelation 17), Domitian, persecution was about to re-emerge. This agrees with the prophecy in Revelation 17:8-11, which describes the eight king as the re-emergence of the persecution of the saints. The persecution was (Nero) now is not (Vespasian and Titus and early Domitian, who did not persecute the church), but soon will be again, as Domitian began an empire-wide persecution, making Christianity an officially illegal religion. The details of Revelation 13 and 17 are in remarkable agreement with the facts of Nero (the fifth emperor of Rome) and Domitian (the eighth emperor of Rome). And these are things which “soon took place” from the perspective of the churches in Asia to whom John wrote. The beast of the sea is the economic and political power of Rome, and the beast of the earth is the spiritual power of Rome, which supported and was subservient to the political power of Rome.
No! No! No! Trump and Musk are not the two beasts of Revelation 13! Trump did not appear dead. And even if he had, the visions of Revelation are not about current events. Trump is not trying to destroy Christianity. In fact, he is cynically using Christianity for his own purposes. MAGA hats are definitely not the mark of the beast!!! Please do yourself a favor and desist from looking at current events and trying to read them into the Bible. To do so would to be to repeat an error that has been made countless times for hundreds of years.
The situation in Ukraine is heartbreaking, for sure, but if you look at history, events like this have always happened. Surely the situation in 1915 or in 1942 was far bleaker than that of today. My suggestion is that you listen to Jesus in Matthew 24:26 when he says that if you hear people saying “There he is” do not believe it!
About AI, I, too, am concerned about some of the potential uses of this technology. In my own personal musings, I have wondered if the advent of AI just might be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, and God decides to put an end to the current age in the next generation due to the advent of AI. BUT…….. This is pure speculation on my part, I would never say this publicly, and I will admit that this is just me thinking my own little thoughts. I give no credence to my own thoughts in this case! I have no idea what God is doing or when Jesus will return. Jesus tells us in Matthew 24 that no one knows the hour of his return, and I plan on remembering this fact. No, the Bible does not mention AI or a new life form that comes from man. Definitely not!
My suggestion: move on to more fruitful lines of endeavor other than comparing Revelation to current events.
John Oakes
