The War of the Lamb: What Is God Doing About Evil?
Jeph Holloway, Associate Professor of Theology and Ethics
East Texas Baptist University
Our university chaplain has planned a series of chapel services, "Kingdom Practices of Kingdom People," intended to address some of the significant ethical issues of our day. I endorse such an emphasis with the recognition that often the concern to direct attention to what we call "ethical issues" is a response to a situation we perceive to have gotten out of hand. The proliferation of ethics courses in business schools or medical schools, the appearance of a weekly column offering ethical guidance in the New York Times, and the competition between political parties as to who can lay claim to the language of "values" are all indications of a situation that has gotten out of hand.
I have been asked to provide a theme interpretation for this series of chapel services. My strategy for doing this is for us to look at a set of concerns from the Book of Revelation that I believe go to the heart of a Christian response to ethical challenges that can seem complicated and ominous. My plan is to look to the Book of Revelation to examine God`s strategy for dealing with evil. Undergirding any Christian response to this or that ethical concern has to be an inquiry concerning the larger question of what is God doing about evil. If we are to address in a faithful way the appropriate concerns we have about the moral challenges in our world, what better strategy to pursue than how God is at work in our world?
To consult the Book of Revelation, however, is risky. New Testament scholar Harry Meier warns, "Wherever the Book of Revelation shows up, trouble is not far behind. It is a menace to public safety." But, he adds, "the Apocalypse makes trouble far too important to ignore, and not all of it is bad"-especially for churches that have grown comfortable aligning themselves with the reigning definitions of reality.[xxiii]
There are ways of avoiding trouble from the Book of Revelation. Some diminish the dangers by interpreting the bizarre language of the book as "static symbols, referring only to specific events, individuals, or institutions in the first century," rendering Revelation "a `safe` text, one that does not address us or make demands on us."[xxiv] We must read Revelation in light of the first century situation and of the relationship between believers and the Roman Empire. But the book is more than an ancient relic. It is Scripture that addresses us.
In other circles, Revelation is taken as a forecast of end-time events suitable for wide distribution through super-market tabloids, where we can learn of both the two-headed baby that does algebra and the identity of the beast (Rev. 13). Such an approach to Revelation is an escape mechanism enabling us to project onto some safe horizon a chronology of horrific events that Christians will supposedly escape. Such an approach is similar to voyeurism-as peeping toms we read Revelation to gain a thrill but without the risks that come from intimate involvement.
But the Book of Revelation causes trouble and it demands our involvement. It speaks not just to a distant past, or to some speculative future, but to the question of how God`s people are today to engage in the war of the Lamb-God`s triumph over evil. If we are concerned to address this or that ethical concern from the standpoint of the Christian faith, we must first ask what God is doing about evil and how we are challenged to participate in God`s work.
John writes Revelation to underscore that Christians must take the conflict with evil seriously, engage this conflict in the same manner as God does, and face the future with confidence in God`s strategy for victory. We have many questions for Revelation. John`s initial readers had many questions as well, but of a different sort. By the end of the first century, the situation for Christians was becoming quite ambiguous. For some it was becoming more difficult as their exclusive commitment to Christ required a measure of social and moral distance between believers and the surrounding culture. Others, however, had evidently found ways by which they could enjoy the benefits and advantages of their culture and, at least to their mind, not jeopardize their Christian identity. Either group of Christians might have had some important questions to ask: What price might I have to pay for my faith? Where is God in these difficult times? How am I to respond to the challenges of a wider culture that does not support my faith? Following Jesus doesn`t really have anything to do with politics or economics does it?
John responds to each of these concerns, but he really boils them all down to one question: Whom do you worship? That is the main concern of his book. As Richard Bauckham puts it, "In a sense the theme of his whole prophecy is the distinction between true worship and idolatry, a distinction which Christians in the contemporary situation needed prophetic discernment." In Revelation 14:7 an angel issues the basic challenge "to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people . . . . `Fear God and give him glory . . . and worship him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of water.`" But in Revelation 13 we read of those who "worshiped the dragon . . . and they worshiped the beast, saying, `Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?`" The issue of worship is not incidental to the Book of Revelation or to the question of what God is doing about evil. It is a reminder that "the conflict between God and Satan takes historical form in the conflict between human allegiances manifest in worship.[xxv] And so the question is raised: Whom do you worship?
Most of us are confident we can answer the question to John`s satisfaction. We certainly would not engage in the pagan rituals that tempted John`s readers. There is no beast worship in our Sunday bulletins! But John had some readers that were equally confident of an uncompromised loyalty of whom Jesus speaks. To the church at Pergamum he says, "You have there some who hold to the teaching of Balaam" (2:14). To the same church he insists, "You also have some who . . . hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans" (2:15). To the church at Thyatira he says, "You tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess" (2:20). What each of these villains had in common was the idea that Christians could compartmentalize their lives, maintain Christian spirituality, and still, for whatever reason, participate in practices that John sees as contrary to Christian confession.
The assessment of this strategy in Revelation is pretty clear; it is called "the deep things of Satan" (2:24). Over and over the complaint is made about idolatry. What is John going on about and what does all this concern for worship versus idolatry have to do with what God is doing about evil?
The Book of Revelation will present a stark contrast between two different visions of the world, of world order, and of how things really work in this world. One vision is of the God who is the creator of all things and of life ordered by that God in worship. The other vision is of the beast as a parody of God who apparently rules creation in a very different way and who demands participation in a completely different order of things. John invites his readers to join with him in the worship of the one true God where the differences between these two visions of reality will be made clear. In fact, one of John`s great goals is to provide his readers with a new way of seeing. He wants them to have a new way of seeing so they can pursue a new way of living. This new way of living includes participation in what God is doing about evil, so that they will experience a new way of conquering-by their participation in the war of the Lamb.
John`s new way of seeing has to do with what we read in chapters 17-18 about Babylon, a harlot, and the beast. While certainly John is referring to Rome with all this talk of harlots and beasts, his concern is not to speak in some sort of code in order to confuse us, but to speak in images in order to awaken us to some startling realities. John will use the language of Babylon, harlot, and beast to strip the conventional description of Rome away and to unveil the true character of a system of world order that is fundamentally at odds with the ways of God.
We do hear in these chapters echoes of the conventional account of Rome and an appreciation of all that Roman order had to offer. In chapter 17 Rome is depicted as a woman clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls-images of regal power and prosperity. In chapter 18 we hear of the vast commercial network that kept the Mediterranean busy with trade and industry ultimately centered on Rome.
The signs of prosperity were part of a bigger package offered by Rome to all who would come under her standard. We hear of security and stability that Roman power would guarantee: "I sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning" (18:7). Client kings and sea fairing merchants would exclaim, "What city is like the great city . . . the great city, in which all who had ships at sea became rich by her wealth" (18:18-19)? John cites those who saw in Rome a channel of peace, prosperity, security, and stability whose source was divine blessing. The power, prosperity, grandeur, and glory evoked a sense of awe and allegiance that ultimately gained a religious character so that loyalty to Rome became integrated into expressions of religious devotion. Rome offered security and prosperity, assured through its use of superior military power; and all of this seen as the way in which divine power was at work in the world. And so we hear "They worshiped the dragon . . . and they worshiped the beast" (Rev. 13).
John`s concern is with whether Christians can see things differently. Will they see engagement with a political, economic, and military system as a threat to their faith, or as an innocent accommodation? Will they see in Rome the channel of divine blessing, or as the inspiration of Satan? Will they accept the standard account of the glory of the empire, or will they learn a new way of seeing?
He has good reason to worry about them. Some Christians had evidently enjoyed first-hand the benefits of the empire. The congregation at Laodicea could claim, "I am rich and have become wealthy and have need of nothing" (3:17). And there were plenty of prophetic voices around, like a Balaam, to assure any troubled conscience that the spiritual relationship with Jesus is on an entirely different plane than the mundane realities of economics, politics, and imperial relations.
But John crafts his language carefully and chooses his images purposefully. Rome is "the great harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed acts of immorality, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality" (17:1-2). John knows that what Rome offers will be attractive. But the attractions are the seductions of a harlot, the imagined benefits are ultimately delusions brought on by strong drink. "Rome offered . . . unity, security, stability, the conditions of prosperity. But in John`s view these benefits are not what they seem: they are the favours of a prostitute, purchased at a high price."[xxvi] Some looked at the busy seaports and vast network of commerce as the blessings of a stable order safeguarded by strong leadership. John sees the enticements of a harlot. Some looked at the military achievements of the ancient world`s greatest superpower and saw the wise use of force to promote peace and security. John sees a harlot drunk on the blood of the saints and whose threats of violence covered the globe (17:6; 18:24). Some gazed upon the splendor and power of Rome and expressed thanksgiving for divine blessing. John saw the deceptions of idolatry and he wants his readers to wake up and smell the cheap perfume. He wants them to see in a new way.
I need to underscore something here. Seeing past the conventional required the work of God in John`s life and such would be the case for his readers. The standard account of the world order as one that promises security and prosperity based on the threat of violence is so entrenched in John`s world that to see past the deceptions required a journey into the wilderness by the work of the Spirit (17:3). The nature of the beast is not discerned by those immersed in its attractions. Only those who can see from a distance created by the Spirit will see things as they really are. For John`s readers to see things as they really are will require what John has provided; not an objective analysis that would be accessible to any observer, but a revelation that unveils the true character of dominant realities that routinely use subterfuge as a strategy for maintaining control.
But John wants them to see in a new way so that they can live in a new way. Once they realize the true character of the choices facing them, the demands of a new way of living will become more apparent. This new way of living will at least include this: Balaam, Jezebel, and the Nicolaitans are out! Any teaching that suggests some sort of distinction can be made between personal religion and public matters of economics, politics, or the use of violence for the sake of world order is fundamentally at odds with John`s practice of assessing the practices of Rome in light of the ways of the Lamb. To worship the Lamb will mean a critical eye cast toward every other claim to allegiance. As David Peterson says, "John is very concerned to show that Christian commitment has political, social, and economic consequences. Acceptable worship involves faithfully serving God in the face of every conflicting loyalty."[xxvii] To those who think Christianity is simply a matter of personal salvation free from responsible choices concerning economics, politics, or issues of violence, the Book of Revelation says "No!" The notion that economic and political activity exist in some autonomous region exempt from the demands of the "King of kings and Lord of lords" is fundamentally excluded.
In the midst of his critical reading of the Empire, John hears a voice from heaven calling to God`s people, "Come out of her, my people, that you may not participate in her sins" (18:4). Clearly John`s message challenges that of Balaam, Jezebel, and the Nicolaitans-that Christian spirituality operates in a sphere separate from the day-to-day practices in which we find ourselves embedded. When we confront issues of prosperity, security, politics, and violence the Book of Revelation is right there with its penetrating question: "Whom do you worship?"
This was no small issue for John`s initial readers. For them to worship God rather than the beast would mean the creation of a critical distance between the Christian community and the wider culture. Such a move is filled with risks and is always costly. Some would say, however, that creating such a distance removes the possibility for any creative involvement that might tame the beast at least to some degree. The angelic call is bad strategy for confronting the serious moral and ethical issues of the day. Should not Christians risk some compromise with the ways of the Empire if it means having some measure of influence in that Empire? After all, we want to be in some position of influence and power so as to effectively address those serious moral and ethical issues, don`t we?
But for John the new way of living also brings with it a new way of conquering, a new way of fighting, a new way of confronting the challenge of evil as believers engage with God in the war of the Lamb. If the Book of Revelation is about worship, it is about worship as an arena of conflict where competing visions of faith, world order, and issues of allegiance and loyalty come to a head. Whom do you worship-the beast or the Lamb? The answer is revealed in our vision of world order and what we really believe God is doing about evil.
The beast has his own answer. Security, stability, prosperity, and peace are the blessings of a divine order that employs threats, intimidation, and violence to safeguard a system of privilege and prosperity enjoyed by the few at the expense of the many. The chief symbol for this vision of world order is the cross, which always stands as a reminder of what can happen to those who challenge the vision. The Lamb offers a drastic alternative. But its chief symbol is also the cross.
Bauckham describes the Book of Revelation as something of a Christian war scroll, permeated with holy war imagery, describing not only God and Christ`s conflict with the forces of evil, but also a messianic army of believers who enlist in the war of the lamb.[xxviii] Yes, the Book of Revelation uses the language of conflict and warfare to describe what God is doing about evil, but the vision of world order and of God`s rule over his creation is other than the vision of the beast. The key passage here is Revelation 5:5, where John hears of "the lion of the tribe of Judah," a traditional image evoking "the idea of the Messiah as the Jewish nationalistic military conqueror." But in verse 6 the image is transformed completely and John turns and sees the lamb standing as if slain, the picture of a sacrificial death by which God redeems a people from all the nations. "By placing the image of the sacrificial victim alongside those of the military conqueror, John forges a new symbol of conquest by sacrificial death."[xxix] How does God seek to order his world? Not as the beast does through the threats of violence symbolized by the cross, but by the sacrificial death of the lamb who embraced the cross for the sake of others. God`s way of dealing with evil is the way of the cross. And this is explicitly the pattern given for believers to pursue as we engage in the war of the Lamb. How do we conquer? What are we to do about evil in the world?
Let me be as clear here as I can be. There is all the difference in the cosmos between the world order envisioned by the beast and the world order promised by God. And the difference has everything to do with whether the cross is a symbol of threat, intimidation, and coercion backed by an appeal to force, or the cross as a reflection of our willingness to suffer for the sake of others.
Many Christians are cheered at the insistence of the public character of the Christian faith. They are suspicious of attempts to keep a Christian perspective out of public affairs. And so there is a concern on the part of some to champion what some call "traditional values" in the public arena. But what this often means is our eagerness to allow others to suffer for what we believe as we use the methods of coercion and constraint to impose our vision of world order. That is different from our being willing to suffer for what we believe. To require others to suffer for the sake of our vision of world order was precisely the way of Rome with all its glory, grandeur, and its promises of security and peace. To follow God`s strategy is to follow the Lamb wherever he goes. So what is this new way of conquering? Revelation 12:11 reveals the pattern for actually following Jesus: "They overcame because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life, even to death."
Rome`s use of the cross is entirely different from the Lamb`s. For Rome the cross is its most fearsome symbol of authority and power over others. For the Lamb and his followers it is the symbol of suffering service for the sake of others. It is a central issue: do we seek to cause others to suffer for our faith, or are we willing to suffer for the sake of others in the name of our faith? How we answer that question reveals whether we worship the beast or the Lamb.
What is God doing about evil? Through the work of the crucified Lamb he is creating a people who will gather in his name for worship and in that worship is revealed the truth about the world in which we live. The truth is that there are two distinct and opposing visions for how divine power orders the cosmos. There is the way of the beast, the harlot, Babylon-its attractions are obvious and its dangers known only by revelation. But there is also the way of the Lamb that calls us to conquer by the way of suffering service.
From the standpoint of Babylon, the way of the Lamb has to be seen as utterly foolish. Question the offer of security, prosperity, and peace assured through the might of Babylon? Stake your life and the well-being of the cosmos on the way of the Lamb? What kind of fool would say something like that?
Early in Revelation John challenges the teaching of one he calls Balaam, an echo of an Old Testament figure who sought to threaten the integrity, identity, and calling of the people of Israel. If you remember the OT story, you remember that Balaam`s donkey turned and spoke to him in rebuke and refused to participate in Balaam`s scheme. If today you feel as if you have heard the braying of a donkey, I will take comfort in knowing that I stand in a long line of voices concerned to uphold the integrity, identity, and calling of the people of God. What is that calling? To overcome by the blood of the lamb who in righteousness judges and wages war.
Footnotes
[xxiii] Harry O. Meier, Apocalypse Recalled (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2002), 1, 7.
[xxiv] Mitchell G. Reddish, Revelation, Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary (Macon, GA: Smyth & Helwys, 2001), 353.
[xxv] Richard Bauckham, The Climax of Prophecy (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1993), 135.
[xxvi] Ibid., 347.
[xxvii] David Peterson, Engaging God: A Biblical Theology of Worship (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992), 262.
[xxviii] Bauckham, 212.
[xxix] Ibid., 215.
