Revelation 17:8-18 - The Hero, the Lamb
REVELATION 17:12–14
“The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. 13 They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. 14 They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.” [1]
EMBODYING THE BEAST
The Beast, which is Babylon, visits every generation. She is at work seducing those in the seats of power, luring them into her ways, and disciplining them in the ways of the Beast. The mission of the Beast is to embody Babylon and to bring others to embody her as well. But the Beast has an enemy, the Lamb.
EMBODYING THE LAMB
The Lamb, which is Jesus Christ, is always present. The Lamb is strong through weakness, a deceptive strength which is unafraid of the violent threats of the Lamb but which stands firm while the beast rages around it. The Lamb manifests the goodness of God in the world and deals in the currency of the Kingdom of God: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The mission of the Lamb is to embody the Lamb and to teach the followers of the Lamb to do the same.
A Community of Embodiment
In this picture we see an inspiring depiction of the Christian life. We are being discipled, either unto the beast or unto the lamb. The work of the body of Christ is to embody the lamb as a community, while also watching for the ways in which we and others are embodying the way of Babylon.
The difficulty of it all is that the Beast is constantly mimicking the Lamb, a parody of the real thing. The beast takes the things of God that we desperately desire and roots them, not in love, but in desire, greed, anger, and selfishness. Babylon takes the things of God that we were designed to receive and embody, things like the fruits of the Spirit that we crave intensely, and perverts them until they serve Babylon herself. The Beast promises the things of the Lamb, while claiming they can be attained apart from the path of Jesus. It is a powerful deception, and the church has a long history of falling for it.
The church's role is not to argue, fight, or upend or overthrow. It is not to take power and try to steer the ship. The role of the church is simply to be the church.[2] The church's role is to embody the lamb, display the cross through our everyday lives, and gather all people at the table of communion with Jesus.
The church is the presence of Jesus throughout human history. We display subversive and dissident lamb power, which disrupts and exposes the injustice and brutalism of the empire, showing a different path towards goodness, mercy, grace, and enemy love. And we do it all in the presence of the Beast.
The lamb cannot be ignored, and neither can it be defeated without releasing its power to heal, reconcile, and save. To persecute it is to empower it. To publicly execute it is to amplify its message. To send it into exile is to take its message to new lands and establish it in new hearts.
The Lamb will always win because love is more powerful than hatred.
Discussion Questions
1) Is there a recent situation that caused you to make a decision on wether to embody the Beast, VS the Lamb?
2) Can you tell of a time when you (or someone you know) embodied the Lamb in the face great fear? How did God work in that situation?
3) In what ways do you see Babylon acting as a parody of the Lamb?
4) Have you ever witness someone attempting to accomplish the things of Jesus through the means of Babylon?
5) Name a couple of ways that the church can embody the Lamb in the midst of Babylon in our own day.
[1] The New International Version (Re 17:12–14). (2011). Zondervan.
[2] Stanley Hauerwass said this, but the source has escaped me.