WEBVTT
1
00:00:22.359 --> 00:00:25.839
In the minds of the pole read something that made
2
00:00:25.879 --> 00:00:29.000
you stop, lean back in your chair and go, hold on,
3
00:00:29.760 --> 00:00:35.600
what did I just read? Not because it was confusing,
4
00:00:35.759 --> 00:00:41.159
but it felt like someone accidentally left classified files in
5
00:00:41.200 --> 00:00:48.600
the open. That's the book of Revelation. Now, most people
6
00:00:48.679 --> 00:00:53.320
hear the word Revelation and immediately think of end time
7
00:00:53.439 --> 00:00:57.119
movies and fire raining from the sky, the Mark of
8
00:00:57.159 --> 00:01:01.759
the Beasts, four horsemen doing what four horsemen do best,
9
00:01:02.399 --> 00:01:07.920
causing absolute chaos. But here's the strange part. When you
10
00:01:08.159 --> 00:01:11.760
actually read the book carefully, Revelation doesn't feel like a
11
00:01:11.840 --> 00:01:17.519
disaster movie. It feels more like a war briefing, and
12
00:01:17.640 --> 00:01:22.359
not a human war. I'm talking about a cosmic conflict,
13
00:01:23.120 --> 00:01:30.799
a supernatural struggle happening behind governments, behind history, behind everything
14
00:01:30.840 --> 00:01:36.159
we think we understand about power. Because in Revelation you've
15
00:01:36.200 --> 00:01:42.719
got some very strange players. You've got a dragon waging
16
00:01:42.799 --> 00:01:46.640
war in heaven. You've got beasts rising from the sea
17
00:01:47.480 --> 00:01:53.799
and the earth, manipulating nations and economies. You've got angels
18
00:01:53.799 --> 00:01:57.239
pouring out balls of judgment like some kind of divine
19
00:01:58.200 --> 00:02:05.040
hasmat cleanup crew for corruption of the world right and
20
00:02:05.120 --> 00:02:08.800
standing right in the center of it all, not a warrior, king,
21
00:02:09.400 --> 00:02:17.639
not a general, not some mythological hero right. A lamb, Yeah,
22
00:02:18.120 --> 00:02:23.360
a lamb, which, if you think about it, might be
23
00:02:23.400 --> 00:02:26.240
the weirdest part of the whole story because in Revelation,
24
00:02:27.479 --> 00:02:30.639
at the end of the day, the Lamb wins not
25
00:02:30.759 --> 00:02:39.240
through brute force, not through armies, but through sacrifice. Right now, tonight, today,
26
00:02:39.520 --> 00:02:42.759
whatever you want to say, we're going to look at
27
00:02:42.800 --> 00:02:45.719
one of the most intense and overlooked themes of the
28
00:02:45.919 --> 00:02:49.879
entire Bible, the clash between the dragon and the lamb.
29
00:02:51.199 --> 00:02:55.080
It's not symbolic poetry either. It's a picture of a
30
00:02:55.120 --> 00:02:58.639
war that started long before humanity showed up on the scene,
31
00:02:59.039 --> 00:03:03.479
and according to relation, it's still playing out right now.
32
00:03:04.159 --> 00:03:08.520
And if that sounds a little wild, well, welcome to
33
00:03:08.599 --> 00:03:12.960
Broadcasting Seeds. I'm your host, Benettant, and on the show
34
00:03:13.000 --> 00:03:17.919
we dig into strange things, the cryptids, the conspiracies, the paranormal,
35
00:03:18.520 --> 00:03:23.919
the biblical mysteries, and sometimes the uncomfortable questions about what's
36
00:03:24.080 --> 00:03:29.120
really going on behind the curtain of the world. Because
37
00:03:29.639 --> 00:03:32.560
every once in a while, the story we were told
38
00:03:32.759 --> 00:03:38.680
about reality is missing a few chapters. So today we're
39
00:03:38.719 --> 00:03:42.199
stepping into the final book of the Bible to ask
40
00:03:42.240 --> 00:03:46.759
the big question, what if Revelation isn't just about the
41
00:03:47.039 --> 00:03:51.919
end of the world. What if it's about revealing the
42
00:03:51.960 --> 00:03:57.120
war we've been standing in the middle of this entire time.
43
00:03:59.560 --> 00:04:02.719
And before we get into it, quick favor, folks, if
44
00:04:02.759 --> 00:04:07.039
you enjoy episodes like this, make sure you like the episode,
45
00:04:07.080 --> 00:04:11.080
share it with someone who enjoys digging into all this
46
00:04:11.159 --> 00:04:15.400
strange stuff, and leave a review. That's honestly the biggest
47
00:04:15.439 --> 00:04:19.879
way the show grows and how more people find broadcasting seeds.
48
00:04:20.399 --> 00:04:25.279
All right, let's start by talking about the moment Revelation
49
00:04:25.600 --> 00:04:29.600
pulls back the curtain and introduces us to the dragon
50
00:04:35.639 --> 00:04:40.480
section one, the war behind the curtain. So all right,
51
00:04:41.160 --> 00:04:46.000
let's start with the moment Revelation basically pulls the curtain
52
00:04:46.040 --> 00:04:51.560
back on reality, because buried right in the middle of
53
00:04:51.600 --> 00:04:54.399
the book is one of the most bizarre scenes in
54
00:04:54.480 --> 00:04:58.879
the entire Bible. And it's a war in heaven. Not
55
00:04:59.079 --> 00:05:04.399
symbolic poet not metaphorical language about inner struggles, I mean
56
00:05:05.040 --> 00:05:11.079
a literal conflict between supernatural beings. In Revelation chapter twelve,
57
00:05:11.399 --> 00:05:17.120
John writes that a giant, great red dragon appears, massive,
58
00:05:17.279 --> 00:05:23.680
terrifying seven heads, seven horns, crowns on its heads, the
59
00:05:23.759 --> 00:05:27.959
kind of creature that sounds like it called straight out
60
00:05:27.959 --> 00:05:32.360
of ancient mythology, right, except for John tells us exactly
61
00:05:32.399 --> 00:05:36.759
who it is. The great Dragon was hurled down that
62
00:05:37.000 --> 00:05:42.279
ancient serpent called the devil or Satan, the enemy who
63
00:05:42.399 --> 00:05:47.319
leads the whole world astray. Right. Now, here's where it
64
00:05:47.360 --> 00:05:50.759
gets interesting is that the Dragon doesn't just sit around
65
00:05:50.800 --> 00:05:55.519
plotting in the shadows, right He's actively at war. And
66
00:05:55.680 --> 00:06:00.000
Revelation says, Michael and his angels fight against the Dragon
67
00:06:00.040 --> 00:06:05.360
and his forces, and the Dragon loses, and he's cast
68
00:06:05.399 --> 00:06:09.000
out of heaven and thrown down to Earth, which raises
69
00:06:09.040 --> 00:06:14.759
the question most people don't stop to ask, Right, if
70
00:06:14.800 --> 00:06:20.720
Satan was thrown down to Earth, where exactly did he land? Now,
71
00:06:21.800 --> 00:06:28.800
according to Revelation, here earth becomes the battlefield. And now
72
00:06:28.879 --> 00:06:32.560
think about that for a second, because if Revelation is
73
00:06:32.600 --> 00:06:39.959
describing an actual spiritual conflict happening behind human history, then
74
00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:45.360
the wars, the corruption, deception, and chaos we see in
75
00:06:45.399 --> 00:06:49.360
the world might not just be political or cultural problems.
76
00:06:50.000 --> 00:06:54.199
They might be symptoms of a deeper conflict. And the
77
00:06:54.319 --> 00:06:59.000
Dragon doesn't show us breathing fire on cities like something
78
00:06:59.000 --> 00:07:02.959
out of Game of Thrones. Revelation says his main weapon
79
00:07:03.040 --> 00:07:08.040
is something much more subtle, and we've talked about this before, deception.
80
00:07:09.079 --> 00:07:13.319
He leads the whole world astray. That's his job, that's
81
00:07:13.399 --> 00:07:20.040
his battlefield strategy, not just destruction, straight up manipulation. And
82
00:07:20.120 --> 00:07:23.040
if you zoom out and look at human history, you
83
00:07:23.120 --> 00:07:26.839
start seeing a pattern that makes Revelation feel less like
84
00:07:27.120 --> 00:07:33.720
fantasy and more like a disturbing possibility. Empires rise, promising
85
00:07:33.839 --> 00:07:39.639
peace and order, then they collapse into tyranny. Leaders gain
86
00:07:39.759 --> 00:07:45.439
power through persuasion, then rule through fear. Entire populations can
87
00:07:45.480 --> 00:07:50.199
be convinced to believe things that are completely and utterly
88
00:07:50.279 --> 00:07:54.439
detached from reality. Now, I'm not saying every bad decision
89
00:07:54.480 --> 00:08:00.560
in history is the result of supernatural influence. Okay. Are
90
00:08:00.600 --> 00:08:05.839
perfectly capable of making terrible choices all on their own,
91
00:08:05.920 --> 00:08:09.639
we all do it. But Revelation suggests there might be
92
00:08:09.720 --> 00:08:17.439
something amplifying those tendencies, something whispering in the background, something
93
00:08:18.079 --> 00:08:24.519
nudging the chaos forward. That would probably be the Dragon. Okay.
94
00:08:25.800 --> 00:08:30.120
And here's where the story takes a turn. I guess
95
00:08:30.199 --> 00:08:33.000
that most people miss because in the middle of this
96
00:08:33.159 --> 00:08:39.720
cosmic conflict, Revelation introduced a second figure, one that couldn't
97
00:08:39.879 --> 00:08:45.679
look more different from the dragon if it tried. No clause,
98
00:08:45.799 --> 00:08:53.120
no horned, no terrifying imagery, just a lamb. And somehow
99
00:08:53.559 --> 00:08:57.480
the lamb becomes the most dangerous enemy the dragon will
100
00:08:57.600 --> 00:09:08.320
ever ever face. Section two, the most unlikely warrior in
101
00:09:08.600 --> 00:09:14.879
the war, the lamb who conquers. Now, if you're writing
102
00:09:14.919 --> 00:09:18.919
a story about a cosmic war, you probably design your
103
00:09:19.200 --> 00:09:23.240
hero a little differently than the Bible does. Think about it.
104
00:09:23.399 --> 00:09:27.720
If you're facing a dragon, you want something impressive on
105
00:09:27.759 --> 00:09:32.200
your side, maybe a warrior king, a flaming sword, which
106
00:09:32.559 --> 00:09:37.159
I think exists, but an army of angelic commandos descending
107
00:09:37.200 --> 00:09:41.440
from the sky like something out of an Avengers movie. Right,
108
00:09:42.279 --> 00:09:45.480
But Revelation introduces the hero of the story in a
109
00:09:45.519 --> 00:09:52.960
way that honestly feels absolutely underwhelming. John says he sees
110
00:09:52.960 --> 00:09:57.679
a lamb standing as though it had been slain, not
111
00:09:57.759 --> 00:10:03.720
a lion charging into battle. A lamb, which, if you've
112
00:10:03.759 --> 00:10:07.960
been around sheep, you know they're not exactly the apex
113
00:10:08.000 --> 00:10:12.039
predators of the animal kingdom. Right. Sheep don't dominate. They
114
00:10:12.759 --> 00:10:18.639
don't dominate anything. They mostly wander around eating grass, occasionally
115
00:10:18.639 --> 00:10:22.639
getting themselves stuck in places they shouldn't be, not the
116
00:10:22.720 --> 00:10:26.200
sharpest tools in the shed. Right, So when Revelation says
117
00:10:26.240 --> 00:10:30.840
that the Lamb is one the one who defeats the dragon,
118
00:10:31.440 --> 00:10:35.600
it forces you to rethink what victory actually means. Because
119
00:10:36.080 --> 00:10:42.879
the Lamb and Revelation represent represents Jesus. We all know this,
120
00:10:44.000 --> 00:10:51.039
and his victory doesn't come through conquest. It came through sacrifice.
121
00:10:51.960 --> 00:10:55.799
That's the paradox at the center of this entire book
122
00:10:56.000 --> 00:10:59.360
that we call the Bible. Every empire in history is
123
00:10:59.480 --> 00:11:05.559
operated on the same formula. Power through force, control through intimidation.
124
00:11:06.360 --> 00:11:11.840
Dominate your enemy before they dominate you. Rome did it,
125
00:11:12.879 --> 00:11:18.279
Babylon did it. Every superpower since it has done it,
126
00:11:18.799 --> 00:11:22.440
us as the United States have done it. But the
127
00:11:22.559 --> 00:11:27.759
Lamb flips the entire system upside down. Folks, Instead of
128
00:11:27.840 --> 00:11:32.080
conquering his enemies by killing them, he conquers by giving
129
00:11:32.360 --> 00:11:37.440
his life. Now, on the surface, that sounds like losing, right,
130
00:11:38.320 --> 00:11:41.679
And for a moment in history it looked exactly like that.
131
00:11:42.360 --> 00:11:47.440
A public execution, a Roman cross, the Son of God
132
00:11:47.600 --> 00:11:52.919
dying like a criminal outside the walls of Jerusalem. If
133
00:11:52.960 --> 00:11:57.159
you were standing there that day, you wouldn't have said, ah, yes,
134
00:11:57.960 --> 00:12:03.840
this looks like the victory for of Heaven. You wouldn't say, well,
135
00:12:05.120 --> 00:12:11.360
that moment's over. You would have said that, well, that happened.
136
00:12:12.279 --> 00:12:17.440
But Revelation tells us something strange. That moment of a
137
00:12:17.559 --> 00:12:21.240
parent defeat was actually the turning point in this entire war.
138
00:12:21.600 --> 00:12:27.799
Because the Dragon's power has always relied on two things,
139
00:12:29.000 --> 00:12:36.399
accusation and death. Revelation literally calls him the accuser of
140
00:12:36.879 --> 00:12:42.720
the brethren, the one who stands before God accusing humanity
141
00:12:43.200 --> 00:12:49.039
day and night, that legalistic courtroom figure. Right, And honestly,
142
00:12:49.559 --> 00:12:55.120
if we're being real for a second, that accusation has
143
00:12:55.159 --> 00:12:57.320
some pretty solid evidence to work with.
144
00:12:57.759 --> 00:12:57.960
Right.
145
00:12:58.240 --> 00:13:04.399
Human history isn't exactly spotless, Your life isn't exactly spotless, right,
146
00:13:04.559 --> 00:13:09.840
none of us. Greed, violence, betrayal, corruption, I mean, the
147
00:13:09.960 --> 00:13:14.159
list goes on, and it is long. The Dragon's argument
148
00:13:14.240 --> 00:13:20.159
has always been simple, look at them, these humans, They're corrupt,
149
00:13:20.399 --> 00:13:28.200
they belong to me, right, That's his always been his argument.
150
00:13:29.840 --> 00:13:34.679
But the Lambs sacrifice does something that breaks this entire
151
00:13:35.080 --> 00:13:41.519
accusations accusation system, because if the debt is paid, right,
152
00:13:42.399 --> 00:13:48.559
the accusation loses its power. That's it. Revelation actually says,
153
00:13:48.639 --> 00:13:52.360
believers overcome the dragon by the blood of the Lamb
154
00:13:53.000 --> 00:13:59.039
and the word of their testimony, not by swords, not
155
00:13:59.200 --> 00:14:04.960
by political power, not by revolutions, right by the victory
156
00:14:05.039 --> 00:14:10.200
that already happened at that and on that cross, which
157
00:14:10.320 --> 00:14:14.600
leads to one of the most fascinating ideas. Fascinating ideas
158
00:14:14.639 --> 00:14:22.000
in Revelation, the war is still happening the way that
159
00:14:22.559 --> 00:14:27.039
the outcome has already decided, And that realization changes how
160
00:14:27.080 --> 00:14:31.559
you see everything else in the book, because the dragon
161
00:14:31.679 --> 00:14:37.799
may still rage, right, but the Lamb, bottom line, has
162
00:14:37.840 --> 00:14:43.759
already won and already won the decisive battle. And that
163
00:14:43.799 --> 00:14:47.559
brings us to the next strange piece of the story,
164
00:14:48.039 --> 00:14:52.799
because if the Dragon can't defeat the Lamb directly, he
165
00:14:52.879 --> 00:15:05.320
then changes his strategy. He starts building beasts section three,
166
00:15:06.159 --> 00:15:12.240
The Beasts of Revelation when power becomes possession. All right,
167
00:15:12.399 --> 00:15:17.279
so the dragon gets thrown down to earth. The Lamb
168
00:15:17.360 --> 00:15:21.320
wins the decisive battle at the Cross, But the story
169
00:15:21.360 --> 00:15:26.600
doesn't end there. In fact, Revelation says something unsettling. It
170
00:15:26.759 --> 00:15:31.399
says the dragon knows his time is short, so he
171
00:15:31.600 --> 00:15:38.000
changes tactics. Instead of fighting Heaven directly, he starts building
172
00:15:38.120 --> 00:15:44.159
systems here on Earth, and that's where the beasts come in. Now,
173
00:15:44.559 --> 00:15:48.639
when people hear beasts of the Beast of Revelation, they
174
00:15:48.759 --> 00:15:52.000
usually jump straight to the Hollywood versions, Right, some kind
175
00:15:52.039 --> 00:15:57.840
of obvious super villain with glowing eyes and lasers and
176
00:15:58.279 --> 00:16:02.600
dramatic evil music playing every time he enters the room. Right,
177
00:16:03.519 --> 00:16:08.200
But Revelation paints a more disturbing picture. The first beast
178
00:16:08.320 --> 00:16:13.120
rises out of the sea, seven heads, ten horns, right,
179
00:16:13.799 --> 00:16:18.720
authority given to it by the dragon. And the world
180
00:16:18.799 --> 00:16:24.480
looks at this beast and says something fascinating. Who is
181
00:16:24.840 --> 00:16:29.759
like the beast? Who can wage war against it? In
182
00:16:29.799 --> 00:16:35.399
other words, people straight up admire it, and they respect it,
183
00:16:36.960 --> 00:16:42.039
they follow it. Okay, that should already make us pause
184
00:16:42.240 --> 00:16:47.039
for a second, because the beast doesn't rise through obvious evil.
185
00:16:47.799 --> 00:16:55.840
It rises through power, political power, military power, power, cultural influence.
186
00:16:56.240 --> 00:17:03.480
It absolutely looks unstoppable. Now here's where things get interesting.
187
00:17:05.119 --> 00:17:09.359
Biblical scholars for centuries have noticed something about the beasts
188
00:17:10.240 --> 00:17:14.319
in Revelation. They resemble the beasts ascribed in the Book
189
00:17:14.359 --> 00:17:20.400
of Daniel. Now, in Daniel, those beasts clearly represent kingdoms
190
00:17:20.440 --> 00:17:24.920
and empires, which means the beast in Revelation might not
191
00:17:25.359 --> 00:17:31.839
just be a single individual. It may represent systems of
192
00:17:31.960 --> 00:17:38.720
power that become corrupted by the Dragon's influence. Governments, empires,
193
00:17:39.279 --> 00:17:44.960
economic systems, and other ideologies. Any structure that promises order
194
00:17:45.079 --> 00:17:50.799
but slowly morphs into control. That sounds really familiar. Huh. Now,
195
00:17:50.880 --> 00:17:55.160
before anyone starts throwing tomatoes at their phone at the stream,
196
00:17:55.920 --> 00:18:00.240
let me say this clearly. Not every government is is
197
00:18:00.279 --> 00:18:07.000
the beast. Not every system of authority is evil either. Okay, order,
198
00:18:07.559 --> 00:18:10.200
bottom line, we talk I talked about this this morning
199
00:18:10.200 --> 00:18:16.960
with my family. Order is necessary, and civilization absolutely one
200
00:18:17.039 --> 00:18:22.680
hundred percent needs structure. But Revelation warns that when power
201
00:18:22.759 --> 00:18:28.640
becomes absolute, it starts to resemble something darker most of
202
00:18:28.680 --> 00:18:32.359
the time, usually right, because the beast doesn't just rule
203
00:18:33.240 --> 00:18:38.759
that the beast, it demands worship. That's the turning point.
204
00:18:39.240 --> 00:18:46.160
Healthy authority actually serves people, right, leadership. I'm gonna say
205
00:18:46.160 --> 00:18:51.240
it one more time, Healthy authority actually serves people. The
206
00:18:51.279 --> 00:18:55.640
difference is the beast demands people to serve it, and
207
00:18:55.799 --> 00:19:01.279
history gives us plenty plenty of examples who demand loyalty
208
00:19:01.359 --> 00:19:09.039
above morality, Regimes that punish anyone who questioned the official
209
00:19:09.160 --> 00:19:14.359
narrative systems where speaking the truth suddenly became dangerous. We
210
00:19:14.400 --> 00:19:20.640
see these things over and over and revolution Revelation describes
211
00:19:21.839 --> 00:19:27.359
a world where buying and selling becomes controlled, where allegiance
212
00:19:27.720 --> 00:19:32.480
is measured, and where dissent is treated as rebellion against
213
00:19:32.480 --> 00:19:40.920
the system itself. So unfamiliar. Now, I'm not telling you
214
00:19:40.960 --> 00:19:45.640
that Revelation is describing one specific modern country or political movement.
215
00:19:46.559 --> 00:19:49.799
That really is not the point. The point is that
216
00:19:50.400 --> 00:19:53.799
is the pattern, and that's in a lot of what
217
00:19:53.880 --> 00:19:59.359
I say, the pattern. The dragon empower systems that slowly
218
00:19:59.519 --> 00:20:03.680
move human hmanity, or should I say, nudge humanity away
219
00:20:04.319 --> 00:20:09.759
from truth and toward control. And if that wasn't enough,
220
00:20:09.839 --> 00:20:15.839
Revelation introduces a second beast, and this one rises from
221
00:20:15.839 --> 00:20:22.039
the earth. It performs signs and miracles, It convinces people
222
00:20:22.119 --> 00:20:27.960
that the first beast is worthy of worship, and in
223
00:20:28.039 --> 00:20:32.240
other words, it creates the narrative. If the first beast
224
00:20:32.559 --> 00:20:41.079
represents corrupted power, the second beast represents corrupted influence. Okay, propaganda,
225
00:20:42.119 --> 00:20:48.160
false spirituality, and deception dressed up as truth. And when
226
00:20:48.200 --> 00:20:52.519
those two forces combine power and persuasion, you end up
227
00:20:52.519 --> 00:20:58.039
with a system that can move entire civilizations without people
228
00:20:58.119 --> 00:21:02.720
realizing they're being moved, which leads us to the most
229
00:21:02.720 --> 00:21:09.240
important question of the entire story. If the Dragon is
230
00:21:09.279 --> 00:21:15.279
working through systems, influence, and deception, how does anyone stand
231
00:21:15.519 --> 00:21:23.880
against that. Revelation's answer might surprise you, because the Land
232
00:21:23.960 --> 00:21:32.279
doesn't call people to overthrow the beasts. What he calls
233
00:21:32.400 --> 00:21:36.640
them to remain faithful. And that brings us to the
234
00:21:36.680 --> 00:21:40.839
final and most hopeful part of the story, because no
235
00:21:40.920 --> 00:21:47.519
matter how powerful the Dragon and the beasts appear, Revelation
236
00:21:47.759 --> 00:21:54.599
says their time is limited, and the ending it's not
237
00:21:54.680 --> 00:22:04.200
even close. Section four the end of the war, when
238
00:22:04.359 --> 00:22:10.119
the Lamb returns. All right, so let's zoom out for
239
00:22:10.160 --> 00:22:15.119
a second. At this point, At this point in the story,