If the beast of the book of Revelation showed up today with seven literal heads and ten horns, nobody would argue about it. There would be alerts on every phone. Cable news would go wall to wall. Someone would try to film it for clicks.

That is not how the beast works.

The beast adapts. It mimics our lives and our politics.

In Revelation, the beast is power that demands ultimate loyalty. Not service. Not respect. Loyalty. In our world, that kind of power rarely roars. It usually comes with a meme, a logo, a slogan, or a promise to make life easier.

Modern beasts do not say, worship me, they say;

Trust me.
Depend on me.
Do not question me.
Get on board, everyone else agrees.

Those should all be warnings to us.

Some of this works because entire generations have grown up inside the matrix of mediated reality. Not stepping into the world and learning from consequences, but absorbing it through screens that filter, frame, and repeat the same messages day after day. When reality is experienced secondhand and reinforced constantly, control does not require force. It only requires repetition.

Sometimes the beast looks like government or political power that insists your entire identity must belong to one side. Disagreement is treated as betrayal. Pushback is not tolerated. Fear becomes the motivator and outrage becomes the language. When power says, if you are not fully with me then you are against me, Revelation reminds us that this story is not new. It is as old as the ages. Measured against the sweep of history, our moment is brief, even when it feels all consuming.

The most effective form of control is not persuasion but saturation. When the same claims are repeated by institutions, platforms, and authority figures, or even bloggers, repetition begins to feel like truth. Over time, evidence becomes optional, and questioning is not tolerated and indeed becomes suspect.

Sometimes the beast looks like an economic system that promises security while quietly stripping people of dignity. Work harder! Produce more! Rest less. Measure human worth by output. When a system says you matter only for what you generate, that is not neutral. That is power demanding obedience with a balance sheet.

Sometimes the beast looks like technology. Algorithms and social media platforms that decide what you see, what you fear, what you are allowed to say, and how angry you should be today. Tools meant to serve the people slowly begin shaping them instead. When convenience turns into control and silence becomes the cost of participation, Revelation starts to sound familiar.

Sometimes the beast looks religious, and that one cuts close to home. Faith that demands conformity instead of repentance. Certainty instead of humility. Control instead of love. When God is reduced to a mascot for power and Scripture becomes a weapon rather than a guide, Revelation does not celebrate that. It warns against it. When faith becomes performance instead of obedience, the beast should have our attention. The first step in any battle is identifying the enemy.

But here is the part that makes people uncomfortable.

None of these powers think they are the beast.

Much of this does not come from malice. It comes from misplaced trust. People are conditioned to defer to institutions that speak with confidence and authority. Over time, that deference hardens into obedience, and obedience begins to feel like virtue.

They believe they are necessary.
They believe they are justified.
They believe the ends excuse the means.

That is why Babylon rides the beast so easily. Power feels safe when it benefits you. It only looks dangerous once it turns on you… and it always turns eventually. Power that demands worship is loyal to nothing but power itself.

The beast rarely asks for everything at once. It asks for small things. Your silence. Your outrage. Your attention. Your fear. Your uncritical loyalty. Even your ignorance. Piece by piece, until stepping away feels impossible.

Revelation is not calling people to panic. It is calling people to pay attention.

Who you trust when things feel unstable.
Who you give loyalty to when fear is loud.
Who you allow to demand what belongs to God alone.

The beast does not announce itself. It normalizes itself.

And Revelation keeps pointing back to a simple truth.

God’s kingdom does not need fear to function.
It does not require blind allegiance.
It does not crush people to prove its strength.

Anything that does may wear a crown.

But Revelation still calls it what it is.

Note to readers. This was adapted from a FB post by “The Farmer Girl” I have no idea if she was the original author or not but it moved me this morning.

Originally published on Substack: https://kevinjmccabe.substack.com/p/who-do-you-trust