Ten Reasons (7) Economic Power

The Terrible Beast manifests is an Economic Empire in which it controls all buying and selling. The nations are unable to buy or sell without the permission of the beast (Rev 13:17).

Controlling buy and selling ▶ Powerful government controlling the world economy.

The Mark of the Beast symbolises management of the economy by political power. Traditional empires imposed massive taxes and collected them harshly, but they did not attempt to control other aspects of economic activity. They let businesses do what they liked, but made sure they captured a big share of the profits. They did not care if businesses were dishonest, because they could demand an even bigger share of any corrupt gains.

In contrast, the Terrible Beast seeks to control every aspect of economic life. It sets prices and sets rules that businesses must comply with. Over the last century, we have seen a vast increase in interference in the economy by human governments.

When studying the Mark of the Beast, Christians focus on the technique used (a mark) which is quite obscure, rather than the outcome, which is clear. People and nations are unable to buy and sell without the permission of the democrat beast. John saw a great political power waging war and controlling the world using economic weapons.

The technique by which control is accomplished is less important, because it is determined by the legal situation at the time when it will be fulfilled. John did not know how societies would change, so he did not understand the techniques available to future rulers, so he described it in terms of images that he understands.

Marking people with an image/stamp was the way that empires and slaveowners controlled people in John's time. So that is the way that John described the techniques used by the empire to impose control. That does not mean that the vision will be literally fulfilled in that way.

A modern empire can use tariffs, import controls, quality standards and documentation requirements to limit trade. The United States has also used the SWIFT system that banks use for international transfers to control trade. This is a practical implementation of the Mark of the Beast that previous empire could do.

John’s vision will be fulfilled in a time when people, businesses and nations are represented by numbers, actually digits on a computer database. The beast has a number. Every other person has a number. This is the situation in the modern world. John saw a situation where a powerful political power used the numbers issued to people and business to prevent them from buying and selling.

The United States uses its place at the centre of the world financial system to control other nations. Nations that do not submit to the American interests are not allowed to trade. Sanctions are imposed on nations that will not submit to the dictates of the United States. Nothing like this has been done before.

These sanctions are directed at nations, but they are mostly imposed on people and businesses. The list of people and businesses that are banned is thousands of pages long. Some of the bans have been in place for nearly fifty years. The United States uses control of the financial system to prevent people and companies from other nations trading with the nations on their list of baddies.

The Church provided moral support for this behaviour by declaring that the sanctioned nations are evil. Many churches advocate the full use of economic power to implement American power in the world, but their selection of targets is highly selective. The Beast decides which nations can buy and sell.

John said that the people of the world would be deceived. The United States claims to be a leader of the free world and claims to be a staunch advocate of free trade, yet it is acting to limit the free flow of trade. This is probably what John saw in his vision?

Economic sanctions are immoral. No person or nation has the right to prevent other people or nations from buying and selling. The person who owns something does not have to sell it if they choose not to, regardless of the price that is offered. But if they choose to sell to someone, they are free to sell. No political power has authority to prevent them. All economic sanctions are immoral. They are a form of blackmail.

Christians think of American business as free enterprise and a force for good in the world. They don’t notice the harm done by powerful, but soulless US corporations all over the earth.