A Predictable Tactic of the Dragon
The world is abuzz on Twitter over the blasphemous imagery of the drag queen Last Supper. Christians are rightfully offended, and I, too, was initially outraged by the brazen depravity on display. But then I remembered: these are the tactics of the dragon. What dragon?
The dragon of Revelation 12 is introduced, and this dragon has one mission: destroy the Christ child, destroy anyone claimed by the Christ child, and when faced with its ultimate doom, to mock, ape, and mimic the Triune God.
Revelation 13 goes on to describe the aping and mimicry the dragon employs as its mission to destroy everyone related to the Christ child.
John says, “I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast; they worshiped thedragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, ‘Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?’ There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven” (Rev. 13:3-6).
Having remembered this passage and the entire book of Revelation, which was given to the church not as a distant future prognostication tool, but as a book for the 1st century, the 2nd century, the 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc. This book is about a drama of redemption which, as unpopular as it sounds to our all-inclusive culture, has one good guy and many bad guys. The righteous (bad guys made good) because of the Lamb, and the dragon and its minions (bad, left in their badness). This entirely changed my perspective on the drag queen Last Supper.
What was seemingly out of the blue at an event that touts world unity is the perfect place for the dragon to do its thing. It did it to the best of its ability. It mimicked, it aped, it ridiculed, it mocked, but it fell short of doing any real damage—which has to be a truly demoralizing and infuriating realization. The dragon ultimately fails to devour the Christ Child and so it turns its attention to all who follow the Christ child.
There is a truly ironic homage paid to the Christian faith in this mockery. The dragon knows where the real threat to its autonomy lies—the eternal threat to its existence is at the feet of Christ. To be clear it’s the dragon’s head under the foot of the risen Christ. That’s how the whole drama starts and ends.
The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life; And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel. Gen 3:14-15
Therefore, the mockery must be directed towards the true enemy of Satan, and he engages all his minions in an affront to the gospel, the resurrection, and the work of the Holy Spirit. The dragon spends no time puttering around in mockery of other world religions. That is a waste of time. They serve the dragon’s purpose as an alluring alternative to Christ without all that dying to self bit. You can be whatever you think you are in those religions or in the case of Islam, mimic the law and forget grace altogether.
I think Christians ought to embrace the power of the book of Revelation for what it is: a book of encouragement for the entire church history. It helps us to see what is substantial, eternal, and true, as quite spiritually the forces of darkness are at work all around us.
If Christianity wasn’t the biggest target and object of ridicule, it would be irrelevant. Clearly, the minions of depravity have chosen their largest threat to their brand of wickedness. We, Christians, ought to wear the mantle of the biggest and boldest bullseye because we have the only weapon that can overcome the enemy: grace, mercy, and the gospel message.
Lest we forget, the disdain we may hold for those who mocked this Last Supper are just like you and me. Our hearts were black as night once; our minds were twisted and upside down once; our goal in life was rebellion, suppression, and unbelief—once—until the Lamb sent His Holy Spirit into our hearts, minds, and wills, and turned them around, gave us truth, and breathed life into our immortal souls.
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Eph 2:1-7
I’m certain this perspective will either delight or anger most everyone. You don’t have to agree, and I most certainly won’t agree with you. The outstanding question you must ask yourself is why?
Why did these confused and bitter souls choose to mock, denigrate, ape, and ridicule the Christ who rules over heaven and earth?
Was it simply their own “good idea,” or are they taking orders from a spiritual force they would deny?
Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. (Eph. 6:11-13)
Let me know what you think, either in the comments below or on Facebook.
P.S. They shouldn’t have done what they did, but in hindsight, it’s not at all surprising that they did, and it changed the entire universe, NOT ONE LITTLE BIT.
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