The following ideas are not original with me, but are based on an article written by Earl Mackey that appeared in the Sarasota Herald on November 18, 2004. His article, in turn, was based on the writings of the theologian, Jacques Elul in a work entitled “Apocalypse, the Book of Revelation.” I have written my own interpretation based on those same ideas. Let me say that I do not view “The Revelation of Jesus Christ” as a map for history, but I do believe there are some great truths revealed in this book.

In the twelfth chapter of Revelation, a dragon appears on the scene. He proceeds to do battle with God and the forces of good. He is roundly defeated and is ultimately thrown out of heaven. This dragon represents chaos and evil. Since he could not defeat God in his realm, he takes up his position on the seashore and gets ready to do battle with God's people here on earth. He enlists two lieutenants in this venture.

First, there appears out of the sea a beast that represents all political power over the whole earth. Today, we would call that an empire. Indeed when John wrote the Revelation, he was imprisoned by the Roman Empire under Domitian, a brutal emperor. The beast does battle with God's people and is mortally wounded, although the wound seems to have healed. The empire lives on. Those of us who live in the Twenty-first Century have seen a succession of empires come and go over the centuries. Each was mortally wounded, but was reincarnated into the next empire. The people of God are then given an admonition; if you are taken into captivity, go willingly. Those who kill while trying to get free will in turn be killed by the beast.

Now, recognizing that the succession of empires is not achieving his purpose, the dragon enlists the help of a second beast. This one looks like a lamb. He is soft-spoken and kind. He appears to have the qualities of a liberator. He even aligns himself with those people of God who would follow his militarism and together they establish what appears to be a benevolent, God-fearing empire. However, it is a false empire. It is really working for the dragon and not for God.

This alliance between the church and state has been formed a number of times down through the ages. Constantine aligned the Roman Empire with the church. It soon fell. The Holy Roman Empire ruled all of Europe for a long time, but it too fell. Then, following the Thirty Years War, central Europe was divided up into a number of principalities that were ruled under the auspices of various branches of the Christian Church. Those alliances also fell. There appeared to be a way out of this dilemma. Across the sea, a new country was born, based on religious freedom. The United States of America sometimes seemed like it might indeed be the Kingdom of God on earth.

However, it very quickly succumbed to the siren of greed, power and militarism. Its virginity fell to the allure of the dragon. It became like the first beast, and established its power over all the earth. At the beginning of the Twenty-first century, those who followed the first beast wanted to speed up the process. They brought out the second beast and again established an alliance of church and state. Is this the way it will all end?

I am reminded of the line from James Russell Lowell's hymn, “Once to Every Man and Nation.” The line reads as follows: Though the cause of evil prosper, Yet 'tis truth alone is strong.” It is not yet time for the seekers of truth to give up, nor to run away and hide. There was a true lamb that appeared in an unlikely place during the reign of the first emperor of Rome. His name was Jesus of Nazareth. He taught us a new and different way of dealing with violence and suppression. He also used the phrase, “Those who live by the sword will die by the sword.” His way of dealing with oppression was to love your enemy. This is not just an abstraction. In his teachings, he gave us a number of ideas as to how we might do this.

He suggested we turn the other cheek, go the extra mile, and even to pray for those who persecute us. That's quite a plateful to serve up. Jesus looked back over history and saw that the perpetuation of the cycle of violence did not work. Evil still held sway. In the words of Lowell, truth was forever on the scaffold, and wrong forever on the throne.

Finally, when the dragon could no longer allow one who taught such revolutionary ideas to live, he had this Jesus arrested. It was time for Jesus to decide. Do I go against everything I believe in and fight back, or do I show my love for my enemy, and turn the other cheek? He chose the latter. So, Jesus was nailed to a cross and he died. By choosing this path, he set the ultimate example of how we must respond to defeat the dragon. Again, to quote the writer of Revelation, If you are to be taken captive, into captivity you go; if you kill with the sword, with the sword you must be killed. This Jesus became the true lamb.

Let's look at some examples of the use of non-violence. Gandhi helped achieve independence for the Indian peoples through the use of non-violence. Martin Luther King led his people to freedom using those same principles. The people of Poland used non-violent methods to overthrow the yoke of the Soviet Union without firing a shot. In an unbelievably short period of time, the whole Soviet empire collapsed. Finally, the oppressed people of South Africa under the leadership of Nelson Mandela overturned the white South African regime without resorting to civil war.

Today the dragon, the beast of the sea, and the pseudo-lamb again seem to be solidly in control of a world populated by the oppressed and the suffering. It seems like such a daunting task to establish a kingdom of peace and justice under this kind of oppression. Do we take the path that has always failed, namely violent overthrow of the empire? No, that will also fail. The only hope is to take the path that breaks the cycle of violence. The path offered by the simple carpenter of Galilee is the only way to bring in a kingdom of peace and justice; "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” When men and women of good will follow that path, at the end of the journey lies a shining city of love, peace, and justice. Again, in the words of Lowell, “Yet that scaffold sways the future, And behind the dim unknown, Standeth God within the shadow, Keeping watch above his own.”

The Christian church has always had a remnant of the faithful who follow the teachings of Jesus. Through the church, the spirit of Jesus lives on. That is the spirit of resurrection that originally gave rise to the church. I pray that that those who love the ways of peace will provide a leaven for the church, so that it will eventually embody the fulfillment of God's kingdom. But, this must be done apart from the empire.