CHAPTER XIII

TWO BEASTS

In the previous one, Satan, the dragon, acts as a spiritual force, openly waging a spiritual struggle (although not only by spiritual means) with the Kingdom of God, with the Church. In Chapter XIII, however, this struggle takes on a different, not only spiritual, but also soul-carnal, alien to the spirit and in this sense an animal form. Satan acts in the world through the bestial and bestial nature of human life. It is this struggle of the beast with the Church that is depicted in this chapter. Of course, the beast here is still the human principle, only in a state of bestiality. This bestiality in man, expressed in his brutality as the unkind, carnal power of life, is already known to the Old Testament, which knows in it the anticipation of Satan's persecution, the Antichrist. He is mentioned in the book of Fr. Daniel (as in the apocrypha, for example, in 3 Ezra). To that extent its seventh chapter is a direct parallel to the thirteenth chapter of Revelation, which concludes and clarifies in the light of the New Testament the images of the Old Testament. The vision of the beast is contemplated by the seer "on the sand of the sea" (1) as "coming out of the sea." The latter is here a synonym for the abyss, but in this case it can also denote the sea, the people's natural humanity, taken from the point of view of its carnal and spiritual life, in this sense of its bestiality. The beast in this case, obviously, means the state, and not simply in the sense of the state organization of law and order, which helps mankind in its ways (as the Apostle says: "For there is no power except from God" (Rom. XIII, 1), but totalitarian statehood, which claims to become the only determining and exhaustive principle in human life. Such a state, which knowingly exaggerates itself in its significance, is thus not just a pagan, but a demonic principle, it is the earthly face of Satan or his multiple faces. Such a state as an earthly kingdom opposes the Kingdom of Christ, fights against it, and by the force of things is, consciously or unconsciously, an anti-Christian force, an instrument of the "prince of this world," his kingdom, and the heads of this kingdom are his masks. In this sense, the totalitarian state is opposed to the Church and fights against it; thus, a new theme is posed and revealed in Revelation – namely, about the external and internal relationship between the Church and the state, this is the true theme of the thirteenth and subsequent chapters of Revelation. Two chapters of the thirteenth chapter beg for comparison: the Epistle to the Romans and the Apocalypse.

Thus, the new actor in Revelation is the beast, to which his attributes are assimilated: "I saw a beast with seven heads and ten horns." This is a spiritual and allegorical vision, which is clothed in visual images in the language of the apocalyptic epoch, beginning with Book II. Daniel. A parallel with the images of this book in their similarities and differences therefore begs for comparison. One beast of Revelation corresponds to four large beasts, which do not resemble one another. The first of them was "like a lion," the second was "like a bear," the third was "like a leopard," and the fourth beast was terrible and terrible, which "was different from all the former beasts" (Dan. VII, 4-7). In John, these images of bestiality are concentrated in one thing: "The beast which I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like those of a bear, and its mouth was like the mouth of a lion, and the dragon gave it its strength" (XIII, 2). This difference does not change the essence of the matter, which consists in the fact that the beast embodies the fullness of bestiality with its various aspects and manifestations. The beast of Revelation has seven heads (in Daniel, the same number is obtained from the addition of the two heads of the first beasts with the four heads of the third and the head of the fourth: Dan. VII, 6-8). The seven heads are interpreted both concretely and historically in Revelation itself, XVII, 10-11, as the seven emperors and the seven mountains (the cities of Rome): "The seven heads are the seven mountains on which the woman sits, and the seven kings, of whom five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come, and when he comes, he will not be long." It can be said that some historical riddles are solved here by others, and one cipher is deciphered into another. [47] These political allusions, which for their time give the prophecy the sharpness of a political pamphlet, for our time, as for all later times in general, lose their political bouquet and interest, and the septenary number retains only its general meaning, the fullness of the principle which is vitally revealed here, i.e., state totalitarianism and despotism.

The ten horns are characteristic of both the fourth beast in Daniel and in Revelation. On his horns there are ten diades (absent in Daniel). These apocalyptic numbers, like those already encountered earlier, also mark the fullness and power of expression of the corresponding life principles, in this case, the demonism of power. But, in addition, this symbolism could also find for itself a concrete historical interpretation in the present, which for us has already lost its significance. "On his (the beast's) heads are blasphemous names." [48] This expresses the general idea that state totalitarianism, the absolute pretension of state power over humanity, is in itself godless and blasphemous, is a temptation along the path of which it irresistibly slides even beyond its conscious spiritual self-determination. Therefore, in relation to all authority, the apostolic word must first of all be valid: "He must obey God rather than men" (Acts 2:10). V, 29). Here this "more" or "less" is possible as a test of the commands of earthly power by the highest criterion of faith and truth of God. But in Revelation there is also more evidence, namely, the direct presence of blasphemous names on the heads of the beast, i.e. in his consciousness, self-determination, and confession. This is not only active non-Christianity in pagan and generally non-Christian states that exist to this day, but also a deliberate anti-Christianity as a direct persecution of Christianity. The latter existed at the time of the writing of the Apocalypse, as it exists today, directly in Bolshevism and indirectly in racism. In addition, it also refers to the personal man-worshiping claims of emperors and heads of state in general, which were expressed in the blasphemous application of divine titles to themselves: Divus Augustus, etc., in the giving of divine honors to them, etc. The diadems on the heads of the beast themselves signify the blasphemous claim of the beast, i.e., of the totalitarian state, since in Revelation the diadems are peculiar only to Christ as a symbol of His kingdom (XIX, 12): "On His head there are many crowns, He had a Name written, which no one knew but Himself." This parody of the 10 diades with blasphemous names on the heads of the beast is an anti-Christian claim of the state, a "caricature of Christ," which the Antichrist is in general in many respects.

In general, the absolute state on earth is an image of man-godliness and anti-Christianity, the embodiment of the spirit of the prince of this world, of whom it is said: "And the dragon gave him (the beast) his power and his throne and great authority" (2). If in the days of the writing of Revelation this obviously referred to the Roman state as an image of state absolutism, now it can be applied to varieties of this principle in general, to Bolshevism and racism (not to mention the pagan man-godliness of Japan, etc.). The next verse contains a mystical-political cipher: "And I saw that one of his heads was as if mortally wounded, but this deadly wound was healed" (3). This could be directly applied to the legend of Nero redivivus, a monster on the throne of Caesars, who, according to the superstitious attitude towards him, rebels by demonic forces even after his death. At least, this is how this verse could sound to contemporaries. However, its more general and essential meaning relates again to the parody of Christ by Satan in the form of the Antichrist, who is not without reason the mystical "monkey" of the divine principle. Just as in V, 6 it is said of Christ: "The Lamb stood as if slain" (ως εσφαγμένον), so this ως – "as if wounded to death" – is parodied when applied to one of the heads of the beast, which is a false sign of the resurrection. Finally, in an even broader sense, this text signifies in general the seeming indestructibility and invincibility of the animal nature, inspired by the dragon and supported by the forces of Satan in history. "And all the earth was amazed, watching the beast, and worshipped the dragon who gave power to the beast. And they worshipped the beast, saying, "Who is like this beast, and who is able to fight with him." Here is described the hypnosis of state man-worship, which is produced by the power of the beast and is expressed in the "worship" of him. [49] It is difficult to add anything to the simplicity and force of these words, which have been used throughout the history of the world. Caesarism (Führerism) of our day, both of the Russian and German types, is in its own way a new and as if unexpected parallel to Roman absolutism, as well as its triumphant self-assertion, which drives the peoples subject to it into a state of insanity. But this hypnosis of power is essentially only a cover for the satanic principle that is at work here – the struggle of the prince of this world for enthronement in this world with its spiritual devastation and godlessness.

The struggle of the beast-state is a special and deliberate theme of the Apocalypse, which is peculiar only to it and is absent in the New Testament revelation. In the Old Testament, it is expressed in the struggle against paganism and its temptations, which surrounded the chosen people of God and constantly corrupted them. This clash reaches its greatest acuteness, of course, in the persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes, which is reflected in the apocalypse of Fr. Daniel (this book is, of course, more apocalyptic than prophetic in its type). Other clashes of the Old Testament Church with the power of the beast are also described here (Belshazzar, Nebuchadnezzar). But, of course, it is only in the New Testament revelation that this antagonism and struggle reaches its final irreconcilability, and this is expressed precisely in the Revelation of John. In other New Testament writings, as in the writings of Ap. Paul and in Ap. Petra (Rom. XIII, 1-7; Titus. III, 1; 1 Tim. II, 12; Peter. II, 13-17), a certain reconciliation with the state is sought and found, recognition of it as a legal order of things, a guarantee of external peace. The state here serves humanity as a means, not an end in itself, obeying the highest standards of morality. In this sense, it could be said: "There is no authority except from God." This recognition of the divine value of law applies to all authority, i.e., not only Christian, but also pagan, in so far as it serves its legal purpose, but is also limited by it. In those cases when we are dealing with a Christian state, as far as it has ever existed and can exist, or more precisely, with a state of Christians, new boundaries and tasks arise for it, namely, the service of Christian morality. However, such service presupposes the presence of a certain spiritual balance, in which the state does not go beyond the limits of its legal goals. But this state always remains unstable, and the state turns into a beast when it goes beyond these limits. Then, first, from the human principle of life, it becomes bestial and bestial, losing its highest spiritual goals, and then, by the force of things, it turns into demonic, satanic, antichrist, and thereby is drawn into a direct struggle with Christ and His Church. It is this image of power as a beast not only with its bestiality, but also with its godlessness and paganism, and then with its active anti-Christianity, that gives Revelation. Such a teaching about power is his deliberate revelation, which, strange as it may seem, has remained and remains, as it were, unheard in the history of Christianity. True, he was heard, and it was impossible not to hear, by contemporaries of the Apocalypse, who themselves experienced the persecution of Nero, Caligula, and Domitian, and in general knew the persecution of the Christian faith by the authorities. However, when these direct persecutions ceased, and the state declared itself Christian and the so-called Constantinian era began, the new state of affairs was perceived as the achieved existence of a "Christian state", in application to which it becomes inappropriate even to recall the bestiality of state power. True, from time to time the heretical emperors who persecuted the Church were forced to remember this, but this was easily forgiven and forgotten. In general, peace was concluded with the state, although it was fragile, compromise and insincere. The union of the Church and the state became its enslavement, bureaucratization, the Church lost its freedom to such an extent that it itself ceased to feel it. For the "state church" such an alliance of "Orthodoxy and autocracy" (and in addition other definitions, such as "nationality") became a normal correlation between them, and the ears were closed to hearing the word of Revelation. However, now, in the light of contemporary events, it is no longer possible not to see all the bestiality of power (and sometimes even its brutality), and the revelation of the Apocalypse becomes accessible and modern to us, as if new and hitherto unknown. But now it must also be accepted into church dogmatics as a dogma about the Church and the state. Revelation deals not only with individual historical events, but also with the ontological principles of life in their dialectics and struggle. It gives an image of history not as an idyll of the pseudo-Constantinian epoch, but as a tragedy, inescapable and terrible, of the struggle against Christ by anti-Christian or simply pagan and spontaneous forces.

Further, the blasphemous nature of the power of the beast, hostile to all religion, is described: "A mouth was given to him, speaking proudly and blasphemously, and he was given power to act for forty-two months" (XIII, 5). Here, first of all, this given (εδοθη) arouses bewilderment. It can be understood both in the sense of God's providential allowance and the direct suggestion of the dragon, which, however, could not be realized by his own will alone. It remains to be recognized that such a trial lies in the ways of Providence, like the temptation of Job, or like demonic possession, or blindness from birth, so that "the works of God may be made manifest" (Jn. IX, 3). Here we have to distinguish the twofold nature of this indulgence. In him the demonic inspiration and possession of the beast is manifested, it is the animal nature in man that is deduced from religious indifference to blasphemous malice. We are now witnesses of active blasphemy, combined with unbelief, in the godless movement in Russia, whereby all the artifices of blasphemy are combined with the denial of the existence of God in a certain contradictory frenzy. At the same time, however, even such demonic possession, which, strange to say, according to Revelation is still higher than Laodicean indifference, is included in the spiritual dialectics of human history and to that extent has its right to exist, is needed in its own way. Thus, it turns out that instead of fear, bewilderment and wavering in faith, which are awakened in us in the face of persecution of religion and all kinds of blasphemy, Revelation teaches us to see in this with spiritual calm the allowance of God's Providence. Tolerance is an apparent inaction or a negative action of it, but here it is revealed precisely in its positive meaning: "given" as a test, as a temptation, as a path which, on the contrary, cannot be avoided, for the fullness of knowledge and the depth of faith. In any case, these lips given to the blasphemous beast suggest a parallel to the angels of God's wrath, namely, the seven seals, trumpets and bowls, which fulfill the divine command given to them. The ability to blaspheme is "the power which is given to him (the beast) to act for forty-two months" (5). This definition of the term once again confirms the power of the divine allowance, because, obviously, the power of the beast, if it were spontaneously assimilated by him or entrusted to him by the dragon, would not have such a limitation in time, but would remain infinite. Here, however, this fence is determined by the apocalyptic period already known to us, which is used in various and even opposite accomplishments. This period here also signifies the fullness of the mystical period. We have a direct parallel to it in Dan. VII, 8, 20, 25, the action of the little horn during time, times and half a time (equal number of months). The same period in various numerical versions is applied to the time of the trampling of the holy city by the pagans (XI, 2), the actions of two witnesses (3), as well as the flight of the woman into the wilderness (XII, 6). All these are different aspects of an ontological accomplishment, of one mystical period. Naturally, the question arises: is this a one-time event that has taken place and is no longer repeated in history? However, we can testify that it has already been repeated in it (and we do not know how many times it will be repeated). In any case, an excessive narrowness of the historical outlook, which would force us to limit this period only to the time of Nero's or even the first Christian persecutions, would be decidedly inappropriate to our present historical age, which already knows their recurrence. Of course, this is also possible in the future.

The blasphemy of the beast is depicted in the following terms: "And he opened his mouth to blaspheme against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven" (6). We now know from the history of Soviet Russia, Spain (and earlier the "great" French Revolution) the entire deliberate reality of this blasphemy, which is directed against God and against His Name: it is precisely a malicious defamation of the Supreme Being, Whose very existence is denied, which, however, does not prevent blasphemy from being spewed out against Him. Satan himself does not know atheism (for "even the demons believe and tremble"), which is implanted in the union of the atheists inspired by him, and therefore he himself feels the need for blasphemy, which is, of course, a self-contradiction in the mouths of the atheists. However, we constantly observe such a contradiction, an itch, or even a passion for blasphemy in the atheists, to whom consistency should inspire only indifference. The imiaboric blasphemy is here combined with blasphemy against all that is divine: "His dwelling place (heaven or the temple of God) and those who dwell in it (angels and saints)." And this is not only blasphemy, but also war: "And it was given to him to wage war against the saints and to conquer them" (7). Here again this "given" arouses our bewilderment: how and from where this given can arise and what it means. In any case, it is God's allowance, although, of course, not His direct will, which, of course, is excluded. But this allowance is providential, it is included in the ways of building the Kingdom of God. And not only that, this allowance or given is not limited to this, but goes even further: "And power was given to him over every tribe, and people, and tongue, and nation, and all who dwell on the earth, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world," and this idea is also deliberately confirmed: "Whoever has an ear, let him hear" (7-9). The beast is here ascribed universal power over all peoples. This is a thought, on the one hand, terrifying, and on the other hand, soothing, for the spread of the power of the beast is not contrary to or contrary to the command of God, but as an allowance in the ways of Providence or "given." Of course, verbal hyperbolism should not be understood literally: "everything" and "all" if only because in the following text we will encounter a limitation for it, since at the same time "the patience and faith of the saints" will be manifested (10), and their holiness, therefore, is still preserved in the world, of which there can be no doubt.

As has been said above, the blasphemous movement in the world, caused by Satan and carried out by the beast, should not necessarily be understood as a one-time and one-time event. The compiler of Revelation himself had before his eyes what was directly happening, and consequently he observed the epoch of the early Christian persecution of the Church. However, for our time, these events have already lost their uniqueness, they have become repetitive and have common cosmic features. They are expressed in the fact that people worship the beast, i.e., they humble themselves before the totalitarian claims of the state and accept them for themselves as the guiding principles of life, reconciling themselves to the pagan life of "all those who dwell on earth, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain before the foundation of the world." [50] Is this an active predestination to the rejection, or at least to the non-salvation of those who are not inscribed in the book of life, or is it only a divine foreknowledge of the plan of history, in which a place is allotted along with the salvation of some to the abandonment of others? Exegetically, no direct answer is given here, and it can only be given for dogmatic reasons. The latter, on the other hand, are decisively opposed to fatalistic predestination to the destruction of anyone, but rather in favor of the determinism of universal salvation, given the difference in its images and ways. It is this, and only this, that is suggested to hearing by those who have ears, that is, those who know how to listen, who have mystical attention and understanding. (We have had seven similar applications of the same formula in chapters II and III, in the Epistles to the Seven Churches, see above.) Further, the special nature of this pre-enchantment that conquers the power of the beast is explained: "He who leads into captivity will himself go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must himself be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and faith of the saints" (10). Here two ways, or two methods, of struggle with the beast are contrasted: capture and murder, i.e., earthly, bestial violence, which, however, does not lead to success and, quite the opposite, is accompanied by defeat; or by the patience and faith of the saints, i.e., by non-resistance and outward defenselessness. However, for a correct understanding of the text, it is useful to compare Rom. XIII, 4: the ruler "does not bear the sword in vain: he is God's servant, the avenger of him who does evil"; as well as Rev. XIX, 15: "Out of His mouth proceedeth a sharp sword to smite the nations." From this it follows that this non-resistance with the sword, in its various understandings, finds for itself a boundary, beyond which there is still room for Christian militancy. However, this should not be understood as the defense of the Church by the armed force of the state. Its conquering weapon is only "the patience and faith of the saints." Does this not mean, when applied to the beast, i.e., to the totalitarian, self-sufficient, self-lawful state, that for the Church in its relations with the state in history it is natural to have a certain apoliticism and super-partisanship, to which the militant parties of Bolshevism, racism, fascism, and in general political formations such as the false Church are alien? The latter are characterized by claims to the absoluteness of their worldview. The Lord warns the disciples: when "one of those who were with Jesus" wanted to protect Him with the sword, He said to him: "Return your sword to its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword" (Matt. XXVI, 52). Patience and faith are indicated here as two forces of struggle: passive and active, courage in suffering and endurance, steadfastness in hope and foresight of the future.

Beginning with verse 11 of chapter XIII, a new image appears, the "other beast," which, unlike the first, which comes out of the sea, appears "out of the earth." The interpretation of this distinction among the exegetes is that the first beast belongs to the west, to the Mediterranean basin, i.e., to the Roman Empire, while the second comes from the east, from Asia. The inner meaning corresponding to this difference is such that the power of the first beast is primarily quantitative, based on military power, while the second is spiritual, occult, mystical, peculiar to a false prophet who carries into the world the seeds of falsehood and all kinds of temptation. There is, therefore, a certain difference between the two beasts, although only external and imaginary, but also a similarity amounting to internal identity, the image of the Antichrist being two-faced. This general correlation is expressed in the following paradoxical comparison: "he (the other beast) had two horns like a lamb, and spoke like a dragon." On the one hand, he adopts the make-up of the Lamb, there is a parody of Him, namely, "has two horns" like the Lamb. The deceptiveness of this make-up is exposed in advance in the Sermon on the Mount of the True Lamb, in which it was said: "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's (= lamb's) clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves" (Matt. VII, 15). "False prophets" the second beast is directly called in other places of Revelation: XVI, 13; XIX, 20; XX, 10. We have the same prelude in the "lesser (synoptic) Apocalypse": "Many will come in My name, and will say, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many" (Matt. XXIV, 5; cf. Mk. XIII, 5-6; Lux. XXI, 8). From this we must conclude that the false prophet, as a representative of the intellectual and mystical power, takes the image of the Lamb, who deceives precisely by this seeming meekness and love of his, although in reality he will be a deceiver, and as the bearer of evil he will be of the same spirit as the beast, will not differ from him in essence, although he will hide behind false and flattering speeches. Unlike the first beast, which subdues itself by fear and violence, and makes it be said of itself: "Who is like this beast, and who is able to fight with it" (4), this beast deceives with flattery. But he receives his inspiration from the first beast, which has it from the dragon and is also his tool, the executor of his commands. It is in this sense that it is said that "he acts before him with all the power of the first beast": "before him," i.e., together with him, fulfilling his will, merging with him and spiritually identifying. However, outwardly, he also receives "all the power of the first beast," i.e., all the power of state coercion. The teaching of the false prophet becomes a state-obligatory confession. He becomes the mouth of the beast and the preacher of bestial worship, which is also Satanism. By the combined forces of spiritual seduction from the false prophet and external coercion from the state, a forced cult of the beast is being carried out – a totalitarian state with absolute claims not only to power, but also to conscience, and it can assume unlimited dimensions and become world-wide. This is expressed in the words: "He (i.e., the second beast) causes the whole earth and those who dwell in it to worship (ινα προσκυνήσουσιν – an expression of deification, divine worship) the first beast, whose wound was healed" (cf. v. 3). What can this picture of the victorious triumph of lies and Satanism refer to historically? Directly before the face of the seer stood the power of the Roman emperors with their madness of self-deification in the form of Nero, who inspired the frightened and trembling contemporaries with a superstitious fear of his imaginary resurrection, the legend of Nero redivivus. Of course, there was also a jealous grimace of the Antichrist, who wanted to resemble Christ in this too, parodying this resemblance with superstition about his resurrection from the dead. It is also true that the historical panic inspired by these images made us not only horrified at this phenomenon, but also exaggerated its quantitative dimensions, as well as its qualitative strength. Of course, in the epoch of the persecution of Christianity, there was a battle or even a series of battles against it, but not so much on the part of conscious anti-Christianity (it did not come to this point at that time), but on the part of dark and superstitious paganism and state man-worship (the version of early and, in comparison with today, still naïve racism). All this, although it bore the stamp of anti-Christianity, was not yet – it must be said frankly – the "last times" of the Antichrist, which were far from approaching. Historically, such a depiction of Rome and the Roman Empire was still a great exaggeration, as we see and know it now. This was only a prelude or image, which in prophetic clairvoyance was revealed by the seer on the occasion of and in connection with contemporary events, but no more. From this follows a general methodological conclusion regarding the interpretation not only of these chapters, but of Revelation in general, as containing a plan or scheme of world history in concrete artistic-historical images. Although it is impossible not to find in them a connection with the events of the epoch of his time, this connection should not be exaggeratedly overestimated, deciphering them historically in all accuracy and completeness. This is usually done by exegetes, thereby turning a book of prophetic symbols and ontological revelations into a political pamphlet on contemporary themes. The same rule should be followed in the interpretation of the present chapter, in which one can see much more spiritual allegories than historical concreteness. The actual transformation of Revelation into a political pamphlet or cipher detracts from its prophesied significance, confining it only to a certain epoch, although for us and for our time it is clearly outgrowing such a limitation.

In the same language of historical symbols, after the first beast, the appearance of the second is described. In particular, it is said of him: "And he did great signs, so that fire also brought down from heaven to earth before men" (13). This is said under a certain impression of the story of 1 Kings. XVIII, 38 and 2 Kings. I, 10 with the bringing down of fire from heaven for burnt offerings and for fifty (cf. Rev. XI, 5). Whatever one may think of the textual understanding of the Old Testament story, in any case it is difficult to accept literally the given testimony about the descent of "fire from heaven before men" (if only for the fact that in our days this fire is descended in unlimited quantities by the "air fleet" in addition to any miraculous meaning, if one does not see in all this "the miracles of the Antichrist"). And there is no need to take these images literally, and not to see in them in general an expression of the amazing impressions of the appearance of a false prophet. Such an understanding is more in line with the general content of the Gospel prophecy: "False Christs and false prophets will arise, and will give signs and wonders, to deceive, if possible, even the elect" (Matt. XIII, 22), as well as 2 Thess. II, 9: "The coming (of the lawless one) according to the work of Satan will be with all power and signs and false wonders." In the same sense, this story continues further in Revelation: "And by the miracles which he was given to do before the beast (i.e., by his power and inspiration), he deceives those who dwell on the earth, telling those who dwell on the earth that they should make an image of the beast, which has the wound of the sword, but lives." False miracles, without further designation of them, introduce forced idolatry, not only the worship of the beast, but also the veneration of its image, i.e., all kinds of appropriate state emblems. (Something similar can be observed today in the countries of the cult of the beast, in particular in modern Germany with its "swastika", portraits of the Fuhrer, Neil Hitler, etc., as well as in Soviet Russia, where the embalmed corpse of Lenin, false relics, is now an object of forced worship along with the worship of Stalin). However, Revelation speaks not only of this superstitious idolatry, but also of this mystical trick (there is no other way to call it): "And it was given to him to put his breath into the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would both speak and act in such a way that everyone who would not worship the image of the beast would be killed" (15). Here we are talking about the manifestation of religious charlatanry and superstition, which are moving talking statues (whether through human ventriloquism, ventriloquism, or a person hiding inside them). This is mentioned in Christian writers, [51] as well as in pagan ones,[52] although it is not directly attributed to any specific imperial cult. Such a mass hypnosis of fear and superstition could exist in pagan darkness. But, of course, even such an image can be applied even less literally than the descent of fire from heaven for later times, and in particular for our days. If it can be applied to us, it is, of course, only in the general allegorical sense of intimidating people in every way in order to keep them in a state of magical stupor. This is also how this threat must be understood, by virtue of which not only the beast itself, through the direct action of its organs of power, but even the very thought of it, has a paralyzing and murderous effect, so that "everyone who does not worship the image of the beast will be killed," i.e., even ideologically, in thought, and not only in fact, in actions, it will not be enough to honor (προσκυνήσωσιν — to give him divine worship). This allegory expresses the idea of the general intimidation of the power of the beast – the absolutism of the state, which we observe at different times of history up to the present day, when the numerical minority of the party, by the force of its cohesion and ruthlessness, violates the life of the peoples: such are Bolshevism, racism, fascism. At the same time, this refers not only to the actual violence of the authorities, armed with all means of external coercion, but also to their purely spiritual hypnosis. That is why it is attributed to the action of a false prophet, who incites those who dwell on earth to spiritual idolatry, to "make the image of the beast" and then "put the spirit into the image of the beast." In all this is expressed the final triumph of despotism, together with the cruelty of spiritual and external tyranny.

A further subterfuge of the false prophet, directed to the same affirmation of the absolutism of the beast, is expressed in a special spiritual brand, or mark, as a symbol of the slavery of this power: "And he shall cause it to all, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to have a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads" (16). Obviously, there is hyperbole for everyone here, as must be concluded from the general context, which nevertheless presupposes the presence of those who have survived spiritually even during this persecution and despotism of the Antichrist, but this expresses the widest spread of this despotic influence. The "mark" (χάραγμα) "on the forehead or on the right hand" [53] in all the vagueness of this image obviously signifies some kind of marking, no matter in what this spiritual fall is expressed (such may be the entry into the party of the Bolsheviks or racists in our time, and not out of conviction, if one can speak of such in cases of this spiritual brutality, but under compulsion, out of fear or for the sake of self-interest).

Next comes another feature of the same enslavement of the individual to the state, which did not yet find full realization for itself in antiquity, but is now receiving truly prophetic confirmation. This is enslavement of an economic nature, through the card and ticket system of distribution of the master's goods for the satisfaction of the most urgent needs, "and that no one shall be allowed to buy or sell except the one who has this mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name" (17). Everyone who preserves and asserts freedom from the despotism of the beast is declared an economic boycott, the deprivation of "food cards" with all its terrible consequences – the threat of starvation. "The mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of its name" in this case is one and the same thing: it expresses a sign of citizenship and loyal feelings in relation to the beast. Such is this prophesied and terrifying picture of the future, which is being fulfilled before our eyes and in our days, and no one can say whether this is already the end and the summit, or whether it is only the beginning of the calamitous enslavement of the beast and the false prophet organized by anti-Christianity. And this whole picture is imprinted with a kind of mystical cipher, denoting the name of the beast through the number of this name. It is preceded by a special emphasis on its meaning: "here is wisdom" (even with the term: ή σοφία). Here, of course, of course, is not the highest divine wisdom, but a definite, concrete thought, as if it were some mystical secret. This earthly wisdom does not presuppose for itself the inspiration of higher wisdom, but only the mind: "who has a mind" (ο εχων νουν) practical (and not theoretical, contemplative, "pure" reason), common sense, cunning, and cunning, as it corresponds to the base object of this understanding. It is now a question of "counting," i.e., of knowing, spying, determining the "number of the beast." This is possible and accessible to man, because the animal number is still human, and the Antichrist – personal or conciliar – in this case it is all the same – is still a man, albeit possessed by anti-Christian man-worship.