Feeding the crowd and imprisoning the devil
it chains up God as the Apocalypse chained the devil.
The Apocalypse is Revelation. In Revelation 20:1–3 an angel descends carrying a chain, binds the dragon identified as the devil and Satan, and confines him so that he cannot deceive the nations during the thousand years. Chesterton reverses the distribution of power: an intellectual system now performs on the creator the restraint that heaven imposes on its enemy. This is a pointed allusion, not a quotation or a literal account of materialists believing in an imprisoned deity. Revelation 20:1–3, King James Version, Project Gutenberg transcription.
The earlier feeding in the wilderness probably recalls Jesus' feeding of the multitude: Luke 9:10–17 moves from a deserted place and the disciples' shortage of food to everyone's being fed. The allusion is not precise enough to identify a single Gospel narrative exclusively. Chesterton turns a Gospel scene into a test of political desire: one can reject the event's possibility without finding the relief of hunger objectionable. Luke 9:10–17, same edition.
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