THE HEART OF A BEAST
By
Dr. Stephen Jones: Nov 02, 2018
In Daniel 4:25
and 32
we read a prophecy that the king of Babylon would dwell with “the beasts of
the field” and “given grass to eat.” In other words, he would
identify with “beasts” for a period of “seven times.”
What
does this signify?
Both
Daniel and Revelation refer to the world empires as beasts. Babylon was like a
lion (Daniel
7:4). Persia was like a bear (Daniel 7:5).
Greece was like a leopard (Daniel 7:6). Rome was also a beast, but it did not resemble
any known animal on earth (Daniel 7:7). The “little horn” arising out of the Roman
beast was not specifically compared to a beast, but yet it was an extension of
the Roman beast (Daniel 7:8).
Although
each beast had different characteristics, they all had the heart of a beast and
therefore had something in common. They all were beasts of prey. In other
words, they saw men and nations as prey, rather than as people in need of a
Jubilee. Nebuchadnezzar himself was supposed to eat grass (Daniel 4:25),
and we are told that “all flesh is grass” (Isaiah 40:6;
1
Peter 1:24). In other words, a beast is one who consumes men and nations as
prey.
The
Seed of Abraham
The
contrast, of course, is seen in the children of Abraham, who, by following
their father’s example of faith, are a blessing to all families of the earth (Genesis 12:3).
As the revelation of Scripture unfolds, we see that this means the children of
(New Covenant) faith seek to set the nations free from bondage, beginning with
the bondage of their own sinful flesh. As men are set free from the root of
sin, then societies as a whole may be changed until all of creation is set free
from its “slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the
children of God” (Romans 8:21).
No
law is more revealing of this purpose than the law of Jubilee, which is
the law of grace. The primary motive of the overcomers, the true seed of
Abraham, is expressed by the law of Jubilee. The seed of Abraham are those who
imitate Father Abraham, those who have faith in Jesus Christ. In other words,
like Abraham, their faith is in the promise of God, not in their own promises
or in the promises of any man. Romans 4:21,
22
says it best:
21 and being fully assured that what He had promised, He was able
also to perform. 22 Therefore also it was reckoned to him as righteousness.
Only
by understanding the nature of the New Covenant can we truly have the kind of
faith that is required to be of the seed of Abraham. (See my book, The Two Covenants.) Anything short of that
still shows some mixture with the heart of a beast.
The
nation of Judah held the dominion mandate (Genesis
49:10), which had been passed down from Adam since God first instituted
authority in the earth in Genesis 1:26. That authority was to be used to implement
the fruitfulness mandate in Genesis 1:28. However, Judah failed to use its authority
properly, because the people failed to comprehend the nature of the Abrahamic
blessing. They thought God had given them the right to rule all nations for
their own benefit—essentially, seeing other nations as prey, rather than as
their responsibility to bless. They had the heart of a beast, not the heart of
Abraham. Hence, they were not the seed of Abraham, regardless of any
genealogical claim. Many are called, but few are chosen (Matthew
22:14).
For
this reason, God judged Judah by placing them under the authority of other
beast nations, beginning with Babylon. The judgment fit the crime, as the law
demands. But because they did not understand the law, they failed to recognize
the lesson that the divine judgment was teaching them. Hence, they chafed under
the rule of the beasts, blaming God and blaming their beast masters, rather
than praising God for showing them the condition of their own heart.
The
Darwinian View of Man as a Beast
In
the mid-nineteenth century, Charles Darwin proposed that man was just an
animal, differing only by a greater intelligence. This proposal was combined
with Marxist atheism to promote the idea of Socialism, which now pervades all
nations. Socialism is the secular way to promote “love” through theft—the Robin
Hood principle. But the rulers of the beast systems always ensure that they
themselves are not robbed along with the common people. At least Robin Hood
robbed only the rich.
Socialism
claims to rob (tax) the rich at the highest rates, but in fact, they rob the
middle class in order to create a huge wealth gap between the rich and the
poor. The super-rich use tax-free foundations and overseas tax havens to
protect themselves from most taxation. Most still pay some tax, but the rate is
far lower than the tax rates paid by the middle class.
Darwin’s
idea that men are beasts gave the world a new self-image that justified power
and force as the only real human values in the earth. The elimination of
God as the Creator left a moral and spiritual vacuum that could only be filled
by powerful men. Might makes right, they say, which is the law of the jungle,
the law of tooth and claw. There is no real basis of morality or a love-based
society. Morality has been replaced by the survival of the fittest (i.e., the
most powerful).
Since
Darwin, we have seen a steady decline in both morality and freedom. These have
been replaced by illusions of morality and freedom, based on what feels good
and self-interest. The result is amorality (sexual “freedom”) by which men are
enslaved by their own flesh and by the political systems that promote such
illusions of freedom.
Biblical Foundations
The
Bible reveals that God is the Creator and has the right to determine creation’s
use and purpose. Though God is Power, He is also Love and Wisdom. The law of
tooth and claw is not a reflection of God’s character, nor is it His purpose
for men to live like that.
Instead,
we were created in His image so that we would reflect who He is, not who beasts
are. God put man here to subdue the earth and to shape that which He had
created, so that the earth itself would become a virtuous paradise. In that
sense, man was a missionary to the chaotic jungle. But when man fell into sin,
the chaotic jungle became a missionary to mankind and converted men to its law
of tooth and claw.
Later,
when Israel conquered Canaan, God deliberately left many Canaanites in the land
to test the hearts of the Israelites to see if they would be influenced by the
idolaters or if the Israelites would be a positive influence upon the
Canaanites (Judges
3:1, 3,
4).
On a deeper level, God left Canaanites in the land to give Israel the
opportunity to be a blessing to all families of the earth, as the Abrahamic
covenant mandated.
But
most of the people retained an Old Covenant mindset. The physical sword was
their weapon of choice, rather than the sword of the Spirit which they had
rejected at Mount Horeb when they refused to hear the voice of God (Exodus
20:18-21).
Believers
are meant to bring order out of chaos and to subdue the earth by the
Love-nature of God through the power of His Word. But this cannot be done apart
from a change of heart on the deepest level. Without that change of heart, even
believers are influenced by the chaotic, sinful world, and they adapt to the
ways of the world.
The
overcomers understand the ways of the world because of direct experience in
life, but they rise above the world in order to raise it up above the chaos and
darkness that springs from the Darwinian beast-view. Overcomers show the path
toward a transformation from a beast to a son of God.
Most
people want peace and liberty, but few know how to get it. Religions have
sprung up with their own views about how to achieve such lofty goals. But their
solutions are always flawed, mostly because they want to achieve their goals at
the expense of others. They seek peace through war. They seek liberty by
enslaving others. Paradise, for them, is achieved when those not of our class
or religion are content to be our slaves forever.
Hence,
the Jewish Talmud says, “When the Messiah comes, every Jew will have 2800
slaves” (Simeon Haddarsen, fol. 56-D). How then can creation be set free
from slavery?
Likewise,
Islam rewards its martyrs and righteous men with 70 virgins, especially if they
kill enough infidels. What reward do those virgins have, except to serve at the
pleasure of men for eternity? And how are those "infidels" set free?
There
are many warped forms of Christianity as well, which would have God burn and
torture men for eternity for not serving as slaves to the leaders of the church
denomination.
All
of these religious viewpoints are part of a beast mindset that is selfish and
limits the blessings of God to the few. Such views prevent men from having the
faith of Abraham and from being a blessing to all nations.
In
view of the deepening darkness in the world today, let us pray for an
outpouring of the Spirit that God has promised, so that His light may shine and
that the Kingdom of Light may push back the outer darkness and ultimately
eliminate it altogether.
