Petra - Beat The System Lyrics

Thirty three years ago an excerpt from this video was used in an advertisement produced by the Christian Television Association. I was twelve. I was starting to listen to rock and pop music. From the advertisement I learned that there was a genre of music called Christian rock.

Two years later I heard the full Beat The System album, and I loved it.

face the heat, Dare to beat the system!!

Praise God!!!!!!!!

35 people wont beat the system. LOVE THIS SONG!!!!!!!!!

I love this band. Old AND new Petra. I saw them in concert 3 times post 1993. And i saw John Schlitt solo once in concert . Say, Did anyone else notice in this video that they were standing in water while playing electric instruments? Had to have been unplugged or turned off.

Belo clássico do Petra

Excelente

you CAN beat the worlds slave death system....Follow Jesus Will in your lives...You will be blessed...YOU WILL BE.....MORE...THAN A CONCOUR..!!!! BEAT THE SYSTEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Conceptually, one of the dopest videos ever made

:) .......

I love the song and the message

hehe i once thought George Bush was the antichrist.
But it seems He wasnt

actually Trump is not a Christian.
hes got more in common With Hitlers naziteachings than That.

Excelente banda esse Petra!!!

So much relevance to today 2018.. Beat the beast system

The beginnings of Bob trying to hide his baldness at any cost. Although the beret was cheesy, it was certainly better than the toupees he went on to wear.

I love the message of the song. but remember god is still throne and he is coming again

Gracias por subir el video..ojala tuvieran tiempo y subieran subtitulada..gracias

Love, love, love this song and this group!! Each singer was so awesone for Petra!! Especially john Sclitt! He rules the universe!! Through his music and through his messages of god!! So does this one!! Always loved the group Petra!! I listen to their music a lot, religiously I do!!!

john Sclitt can't hold a candle to Greg X Volz. I hated hearing John try and sing Greg songs.

This is very nostalgic for some of us. Beat The System was the first Christian rock song I ever heard. I loved it right away.

Greg X. Voltz sounds the exact same today. Looks kind of like James Cameron singing frontman, but sounds the same...haha.

My first time ever seeing Petra was on this tour! It still holds a great place in my heart. My first ever purchase was Petra's "Not of this World". My favorite band of all time!

the first ever Christian rock song I heard

2:24- 2:28 without volume looks kinda silly

2:23
What's he doing with his hands? XD

Playing two keyboards! Very talented and handsome dude ♥️

This almost sounds like a commercial jingle of sorts.

Good Music is Good Music. People who say any music is cheesy at one point listened to the very same music they make fun of. Yes we evolve and yes a lot of the videos and music make me cringe now as well haha. BUT the MUSIC never gets old.

are they singing wise up or rise up because either one makes sense to me.

I think they alternate between the two.

armydillo is correct. it's wise up, rise up, in that order

The lyrics are: " Rise up.... wise ones...." [repeat] - that is how you Beat The System, you wise up to it, then rise up against it.

lori loves PETRA

A good old video from 1984. Greg X Volz was (and still is) a very powerful singer. I remember being surprised by his vocal ability and overall stage presence. I had never seen this line up live, but I had a vhs concert and several cassettes (that I still have) and did enjoy playing them. My Aunt Bonita and Uncle Wayne gave me a cassette tape of Petra's "More Power To Ya". I'm sure to help counter balance the education I was currently receiving from Motley Crue and OzzY Osbourne. I have to admit some of it did take seed, even if I was unaware of its planings at the time. I came to really enjoy the band's music and messages. Their songs some how lead me to research reference and lyrics. "What is a Judas Kiss?" and who is "The Graverobber"? My always inquisitive mind needed to know the reason behind, and the source of, the lyrics therein. Now I have to point out, this did not stop me from listening to Motley or Ozzy. But it did instill some alternate viewpoints and information that I would later understand more deeply. I was happy to have recently stumbled across some reunion videos on youtube. Was fun to watch the band play those songs again after all these years. And pleased that I still knew every word and melody. This was one of their videos, that I think was aired on MTv a time or two. Face the heat and dare to beat the system.

DRIvIN RAIN Petra is my favorite band!! And although I listen to 80s regular rock, the Christian stuff is still my favorite and I have much more of it than the regulars. I'd never take their lyrics to heart though. Only the Christian bands do I do that with 😏

Greg X. Volz... nossa! Que voz! Ele cantando "Adonai" é de arrepiar! Glória a Deus!

"In the world you will have Trib, but be of good cheer, "I have overcome the world."" In the last book of the Word of God, Rev. There is promises to those who overcome. They overcame by the Blood of the Lamb, the word of their testimony, having not loved their lives to the death. Rom. 6:11-13

Your move,, Nillamarch!

Veritasya TAKES Youtube CHECK!

hello I grew up in the 80s and 90s and I love jesus! I fuck up alot but I will never loose my faithi in jesus christ! as a desert storm vet I will go against the one world system that god said is happening right before are very eyes! lets just pray that next president will be the right one, but I dought it very highly! satan you can go to f****kin hell!!!!!

Watch that "F" word brother

seanlockyer1976 -- I'm a little stunned that of all the things you could share w/ another Christian brother, you take the time to urge him NOT to concern himself about his use of casual and pointless profanity ... seriously, give me a break. There is no reason for a believer to use language that even many unbelievers would find inappropriate. Of course, as you write, saying "fuck" isn't the worst thing a Christian could do, but since when is that the standard we're to uphold? Jesus said -- not I, but Jesus -- "Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect" (Mt 5:48). Again, the Savior's words, not mine. That is the target -- perfection. By His grace, we are to be continually moving toward that, confessing our failures when we blow it, with His help becoming more and more like Him in every way. Telling a fellow believer to ignore the target is not helpful. We are saved from guilt AND sin -- ie, so that we need to sin no longer in any area. We are to ongoingly CHOOSE to walk in that reality, not in the reality of our old selves (see: Romans 6). Our speech is a significant area Jesus died to redeem; what comes out of our mouths is anything but trivial. (James 3). That's where we should be heading, not suggesting some sins are no big deal because they are not as bad as others. And exhorting one another to live righteously is not "Ned Flanders" -- it is obedience to a biblical command (Hebrews 10: 24, 25).

david laboy -- THANK YOU for serving our nation. Keep on pressing on in Jesus. Let me echo MegaBOBCAT11's encouragement to trim the F-bombs out of your vocabulary. It;s simply not necessary and only distracts from your testimony. You can speak with passion without stooping to that kind of language. Thanks again for your service.

These guys beat the system . I can beat system

So cool!

Glorified 1980s by Petra! Esp a New Mexico artist!

"Beat The System", Love It 2 Corinthians10:3-6;Romans8:35-39;Amen YET IN ALL THESE THINGS WE ARE MORE THAN CONQUERORS THROUGH HIM WHO LOVED US.1 CORINTHIANS1:31-THAT AS IT IS WRITTEN,"HE WHO GLORIES,LETHIM GLORY IN THE LORD."AMEN KILLS GOLIATH - 1 SAMUEL 17:4-51.Speaking of my enemy he is defeated Both in the spiritual,soulish and physical realm In Jesus Christ name Amen.Jeremiah23:5,6,-Type of Christ:The name designates Christ Ezekial34:23,24;Matthew1:1;Mark11:10;luke1:32;Acts15:16;isaiah22:22;Hebrews11:32,33.

Excelente grupo y excelente vocalista. Un grupo que pudo haber durado más si hubieran cambiado a Jhon Schillt.

All you people whining about this being cheesy 80's stuff are missing the point. Beating a system is relevant in any time, because it is about living for worldly things versus being a Chris

gingervytis t

as a Chris I am offended

#Beat_thesystem #BE_THE_DIFFERENCE

esse não é o John

+Amanda Linda é o Greg X. Volz, que foi vocalista até 1985. O John entrou em 86

essa banda não é a Petra !?

Sim. É a banda Petra sim, com o vocalista Greg.

that drummer looks so goofy lol😂

Jacob Rocha Not as goofy as he does now- now he wears an awful, very unconvincing bright yellow wig to cover his baldness.

the concert footage was filmed in San Antonio... about a billion years ago.. i was front row that night.. wearing my Petra shirt..  i had no idea that i'd for ever be in a Petra video.

AWESOME!!!

You mean in the red & white? COOOOLLLL DUDE!!!!

what is he up to these days Greg X Voltz

This dude has a Hip-hop channel but was surprised to see a Petra compilation Live video on his channel.
It seems to feature Greg X. Volz and old petra live songs from 1985 and 2012:
Search for:
"Petra - Great Moments Live - Greg X. Volz era "

good grief.  could this BE any more 80's?

@Rachel Stevens Nope. It was 1984, I think. So that's pretty '80s! But while it sounds so obvious then, this was some revolutionary music at the time due to new electronic becoming affordable to musicians and performed by real musicians with real talent and no electronics to make them sound good...like today.

+partysover These guys are such awesome musicians!

Happy late bday! 🇮🇱

Rachel Stevens well yeah but they actually dressed pretty plain compared to Poison, David Lee Roth, Bon Jovi, ad infinitum

partysover Funny you should say this about an album where the band had a programmer do all the bass and drum parts on a synthesizer instead of having their actual bass player and drummer play them on their actual instruments.

PRAISE THE NAME OF THE LIVING GOD..! THANK YOU PETRA..!

amen man love you jesus

I hope the 80's never come back  >.<

@Angie Garcia This was some pretty revolutionary music then because electronics were just taking off and becoming affordable to most musicians. It did have one thing that most music doesn't have today: actual talent. And as far as the 80's coming back? Unless you have a time machine I suspect you'll get your wish. In truth they were far FAR superior days to the ones we are living in now. I know because i was there.

+partysover Tell me about it. Nowadays what people call "music" doesn't take any talent to make. This was a band that had soul. This song had meaning. Nowadays all "music" is pretty much souless and meaningless. nowadays people just do this noise that people call music for fame the good artists are usually not as popular as the fake artists that actually get paid money to do the bullcrap that they do

Greg X. Volz: IMHO, their best lead singer. LOVED it when Classic Petra put out an album in 2010 (I attended the concert taping in Nashville too!). Sure hope they put out another album; getting nervous now, it's been 4 years....

Another Classic Petra album is not going to happen.  The two albums we got (one studio, one live) were pretty much one-offs brought into existence almost entirely through the efforts of Greg Volz, and he wasn't able to sustain the momentum to keep the project going. Classic Petra is officially dead.

@Darren Z It seems you have some _actual intel_ on the matter. If so, sad day. Thanks for sharing, though :(

There is some debate about whether or not Volz was actually offered a position with REO Speedwagon. You ask members of the band and they're like "Greg who? Sorry, name doesn't ring a bell." I think he might have been asked to audition, perhaps through an agent or other third-party, but I don't get the impression that he was ever formally offered the lead singer job, and certainly not by the band itself.

Time ticking, Truth

Stay strong! Praying for you! If you feel like telling me more, feel free to message.

The GOOD NEWS is that God lowered Himself and became a man.And His name is Jesus.He walked on the earth and showed the world that He is God.He died on a cross for our sins and had victory over over death when He arose from the grave.After that He ascended into Heaven.All that believe in Him and follow Him will receive Eternal Life.You must be born again to see the Kingdom of God.Read Saint John 3:3

I THANK THE LORD FOR PETRA. I ONCE LIVED FOR THE DEVIL AND I CAN TELL ANYONE THAT NOTHING WILL EVER MAKE YOU FEEL AS GOOD AS JESUS CHRIST. I STRUGLE TODAY AND NEED PRAYER SO PLEASE REMEMBER ME. JESUS ROCKS!

Cheesey today, Orwellian almost 30 years ago. Remember Apple Super Bowl ad.

Yes. The bit where people are walking around, wearing blindfolds.

Beat the System was released in 1985, and I'd imagine that the video came shorty afterwards. That explains the low quality of the video, unless you refer to the setup of the video.

I know this song was from 1984 (maybe the Orwell novel inspired the idea for the song). But now it is 2013 and the song is more relevant now than it was back then. Keep our eyes in the Word, stay in prayer and be aware of what the world, the flesh and the devil are trying to do to turn our little heads around the wrong way!

I prefer the New American Standard Version... I find the wording of the King James a bit difficult to grasp.

Are you referring to this song? If so, I am not getting your point.

I didn't know Christian music existed until I heard this song after my step mom's sister had recorded it from the radio; some secular station played an hour of Christian rock in the wee hours of Sunday mornings back in the early 80s.

The best

Guess it's true: receive Christ, gain a conspiracy theory! Proverbs 14:12 and 16:25.

YEAH, Beat the System!!!!! Down with the Illuminati and the New World order trying to make us biological androids!

I wish that there were some new bands that had this style of singing.

Petra has been around long before Loverboy was. Petra started back in 1974, yes they changed their style through the years but don't compare them to Loverboy please.

Sounds like the Christian version of Loverboy

Return. Some of us will make many won't because they won't give up the world. Or they have forgotten Him. Either way we will see who is true, false, and blind. My advice to you is to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Truly and fully. Become baptized for the remission of your sins. Also baptized in the Holy Spirit. Get yourself a King James Bible. And start your walk in life with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Time is short. America is gonna fall. Choose whom you will serve.

must remember why He died for our sins and what He did for us. If it was up to Him He could've drop Adam and Eve let them serve satan and be damned and sent to hell for all eternity. But no. He had compassion and mercy and given them grace for a second chance. As you read the Bible it's a rollercoaster relationship with God and His people. On and off. But was merciful and patient to send His Son to die for us that we may be with Him eternally. To go home. Right now some of us are waiting for

We brought them here too. Other than that like I said earlier is that the "system" is very complex .I can go on and on. But it's purpose It's too keep people like you and me dumb down and not see, or recognize, or accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Our way out. Jesus doesn't oppress, seduce, or confuse. He is humble, He gives and He reveals. Those who are and accepted Him the devil will do many things to keep them from drawing close by giving the pleasures of the world. We Christians-

the back of your dollar bill. (the Pyramid and the Eagle/phoenix) (nazis had the same eagle too but it looked the other way) It's been used to sell products to watching TV, money right down to slavery. When a kid gets involve...oh well. I'm not just talking typical child molesters on the streets on internet or jail. I'm also talking about underground child pornography where they raise kids too be sex slaves and mind control victims. Look what Hitler scientist practice on people.

and trade with other countries. We don't make our own food (well some) then we get fat or obese. We drug our own people to death with drugs from the streets to pharmacy. When got a small problem pop a pill. Either that spend thousand of dollars on person with a degree to listen to talk about your problems when you go to Jesus. Another thing that comes after pride is sex. It's everywhere in America. Enjoyable yes but it keeps you dumb down. Tooo worry about whats between your legs that whats on

many other places around the world. Main thing that devil does is teach people his ways...secretly. For example pride. Pride is what got him kicked out of heaven because he desired God's throne and a couple of other things. Pride is everywhere. Like the media what do singers sing? "It's all about me" "my love" "my loss" "my car" "my girl or girls" "my money" "I'm lonely" ect. Not only that but America is big on pride we go to other countries and force our ways upon them. We even produce drugs...

A good general and typical theological response but 'the system' is not a generality it is a working machine with parts or specifics. Define the system by specifics?

OK, smarty pants Christians, define the system.

Don't you dare let the system beat you, beat you up, or beat you down. RISE UP!!!

Ahhhh good times. Petra in the 80s!!!! The 80s rocked and this Christain Rock band was a favourite along with U2 at the time.

I loved Petra, they were the greatest until Greg left, after that the sound wasn't the same. It was like when Perry left Journey.

lengatraff JOHN IS BETTER THAN GREG!

Petra should have supplied the theme music for the Crusades. I could listen to this while needlessly slaughtering infidels in the name of Christ.

This is a classic from the best gospel/rock singer to date!!!!!!!!

Eu tenho esta música gravada em um cassete, ma não sabia que era Petra. Nossa! É o vocalista antigo!

maiis que uma raridade, me emocionei aqui agora me lembrei qd eu era criança!!!!!!uhuhuhu

A merciful creator would condemn followers who made excuses for a lame band just because they're on the same team.

Who are these 8 dislikes? Can't they appreciate probably the best Christian Rock Band ever?

Daca i dau like la clipul asta crek o sa ma trezesc cu mascatii la usa pentru incitare la violenta :))

@kirk1968
christians ripping open the backs of other christians .Why am i not surprised.

My first-ever concert was the 1985 Beat the System tour, it was amazing. Michael W. Smith opened, hahaha. What an unforgettable experience that was.

@Gummid777 It's funny to look back on their videos. They were so eighties retro. They are still my favorite band to this day.

The last album of the Greg X. Volz techno-rock era. Now they are called Classic Petra. I attended the same church as Mark Kelly when he left to get an MBA.

Perfeito

@timothyjames21 YW

@timothyjames21 Just go to their website, ClassicPetra com. It has all their tour dates, and tons of other info.

The last time these five played together was 1985--until now! Greg X Volz, Bob Hartman, Mark Kelly, John Lawry, and Louie Weaver reunited in 2010 under the name Classic Petra. They have recorded new music and are touring the world, singing some of Petra's greatest old songs, and some great new songs. They are calling millions of prodigals to return to the Lord. I admit, I got emotional when I saw them together again after so many years.

one of my favorite song. Now i recommed to my american's friend

He he he, I love Petra like my own mother, but this song is soo trippy, sometimes it scares me. Interpretive dance. It was amazing in the 80's hahaha. That is to say, long live Petra.

On my computer I have Petra cd albums from 1974 to 2005 and Petra The Ultimate Collection :) And I have few cd ablums with Greg X Volz one of the former vocalist in Petra :) And yeah I do spend some of my free time listening to Petra, but other music too I like to listen to :)

Best band in the 80:)many good memories!

Anyone else notice the subtle nod to the movie "1984" at the end? Song kinda matches it, too.