November 24 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

The second beast is not from the sea. That is to say, he does not come from the chaos of political powers. This beast rises from the earth, the ordered world that came from God's hands. And this beast is better-looking than the first beast. He even resembles the Lamb—though he speaks like the dragon.

This second beast represents the religious and cultural power that supports the first beast. No political power can stand merely by might. The beast needs might and meanness, but it needs more. It needs an ideology that justifies the worship of the beast. Every tyrant needs a prophet. Every dictator needs a manifesto.

The second beast makes up the enticing slogans everyone believes. The false prophet forms the ideas and composes the hymns of the beastly kingdom. He performs the miracles everyone admires. It is this false religion that makes so many people loyal to the order of the beast.

Did you notice that the kingdom of the beast is an exact caricature of the kingdom of God? It has a messiah, and it has signs and wonders. It aims at a new order that involves all of life. It even has a form of baptism, a sign to show that you belong. It is a mark not of God but of the beast.

The gospel is not an ideology. But the gospel of the kingdom does include a world-and-life view. We need Christian ideas spelled out in theories and programs that apply to politics and economics. We need Christian students who can pick apart the slogans of the false prophets with the scalpels of keen analysis. We need Christian schools and colleges. Christian businessmen have to speak up. Christian journalists must write sanely and soberly in a sea of madness.

If we are merely concerned with saving our souls, we are disloyal to the Lord and we surrender the country to the false prophets of our age.

Only the gospel of God's kingdom can give us the weapons we need to fight the beastly thoughts of the false prophet.

REFLECTIONS

Think of two or three false ideas and philosophies that threaten the church today. How can we fight against these false prophets?

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published by Paideia Press in 1977. This updated edition is copyright 2009 by Faith Alive Christian Resources. You can order a copy of this revised version of the book directly from the publisher.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this updated edition of Daylight are from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version copyright 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society.