Mark 7 · Both beasts
War on the Holy Ones
The beast is allowed to make war on the holy ones and to conquer them. Revelation tells it so that the holy ones will know the war is permitted, measured, and already lost by the one who wages it.
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- Texts
- Revelation 13:7, 10, 15; 11:7; 12:11, 17; Daniel 7:21–22, 25–27
- Figures
- The beast from the sea, and the beast from the earth who enforces its worship
- Authority
- Scripture
What the text shows
"It was also allowed to wage war against the holy ones and conquer them" (Revelation 13:7). Like the beast's power, its mouth and its time, the war is allowed: it is permitted, not won by right. The second beast carries the war to its end, having anyone who will not worship the beast's image put to death (Revelation 13:15).
The war was announced before the beast appeared. The beast from the abyss makes war on the two witnesses, conquers them and kills them (Revelation 11:7), and the dragon, unable to reach the woman, goes off "to wage war" on the rest of her offspring (Revelation 12:17). The beast is the dragon's instrument in that war.
Who the holy ones are
Revelation names them: those "who keep God's commandments and bear witness to Jesus" (Revelation 12:17). They are not a nation or a party but the faithful, in every tribe and tongue (Revelation 5:9–10). In this mark the beast's enemies are known by their faith and their witness.
Conquered, and conquering
The beast "conquers" them, and yet Revelation calls them the victors. They conquered the dragon by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and "love for life did not deter them from death" (Revelation 12:11). Those who won the victory over the beast and its image stand by the sea of glass and sing the song of the Lamb (Revelation 15:2–3), and those beheaded for their witness reign with Christ (Revelation 20:4). The beast's victory is death; theirs is life.
The horn that wore down the holy ones
John is drawing on Daniel. The little horn "made war against the holy ones and was victorious until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was pronounced in favor of the holy ones of the Most High" (Daniel 7:21–22). It will "wear down the holy ones of the Most High," and they are handed over to it "for a time, two times, and half a time" (Daniel 7:25). Then its dominion is taken away, and the kingship is given to the people of the holy ones (Daniel 7:26–27).
First fulfillment
The NABRE note on Daniel 7:25 refers it to the persecution of Antiochus IV and the disruption of the Temple worship (1 Maccabees 1:41–64), when the faithful died rather than break the law (2 Maccabees 6–7). For John's first readers, the war was Rome's: Antipas, Christ's "faithful witness," had already been martyred at Pergamum (Revelation 2:13), Smyrna was warned of prison and death (Revelation 2:10), and the souls of those slain for the word of God cry out beneath the altar (Revelation 6:9–11).
The Fathers
St. Irenaeus reads Daniel's horn as the one to come, who "made war against the saints, and prevailed against them" and will "wear out the saints of the most high God" for three years and six months, during which "the saints shall be put to flight" (Against Heresies V.25.3–4) A Father or Doctor. St. Hippolytus describes the last enemy sending out decrees that the saints be put to death unless they worship him (On Christ and Antichrist 56) A Father or Doctor. St. Augustine reads the last persecution as the fiercest, and the shortest, and teaches that the Church will not fail in it (City of God XX.8, 11) A Father or Doctor. The Fathers agree that a final persecution of the faithful comes before Christ's return Fathers in agreement.
The Church Church teaching
"Before Christ's second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth will unveil the 'mystery of iniquity'" (CCC 675). The Church will enter the glory of the kingdom only by following her Lord in his death and Resurrection (CCC 677). Martyrdom is the supreme witness to the truth of the faith (CCC 2473).
Where interpreters differ Disputed
- One final persecution under one man: St. Irenaeus, St. Hippolytus, St. Augustine.
- Rome's persecution first: the first meaning for John's readers, emphasized in modern commentary.
- The war of every age: the dragon's war on the woman's offspring runs through the whole time of the Church, and every persecution shares in it.
- What "conquer" means: the faithful are truly killed, and in that same death they conquer (Revelation 12:11).
These readings can stand together. The Church teaches that the final trial will come; she has not said when (CCC 673).
The response asked of us
"Such is the faithful endurance of the holy ones" (Revelation 13:10). The Lord says, "Remain faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life" (Revelation 2:10). Christ also tells his disciples to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them (Matthew 5:44). The holy ones fight the beast's war with nothing the beast uses: with witness, endurance and love.
Sources
- Revelation 13 and Daniel 7, New American Bible Revised Edition, with notes: Revelation 13; Daniel 7
- St. Irenaeus, Against Heresies V.25: New Advent
- St. Hippolytus, On Christ and Antichrist 56; St. Augustine, City of God XX.8, 11 (to be checked against the editions cited before publication)
- Catechism of the Catholic Church 673, 675, 677, 2473