Those Enrolled in the Book of Life
(Rev.17: 7~18)
The earth is a spiritual battlefield. Only those who win the war can be enrolled in the book of life, the record of victory. We might not be enrolled in the book of life even after having fought the good fight. How then can we be enrolled in the book as a witness of Jesus? Lets see the reality of the beast in todays passage as a follow-up message of last weeks, which focused on the reality of the prostitute.
1. The great prostitute and the beast are one. The great prostitute riding on the beast shows us that her pleasure and the beasts power are inseparable. The woman is riding on the beast, instilling the Roman values in the world. Intoxicated with Roman pleasure, people became Romanized in spite of themselves even while criticizing it. The beast drives people into terror, ruling them with the power of its despotic government while the great prostitute captivates them with pleasure, driving them into chaotic debauchery and addiction. The taste of power, like opium, makes us addicted to it. Likewise, the great prostitute captivates us with her unforgettable pleasure, making us chase it again and again. Notice that Satan is behind the scene of her riding on the beast. Only those who recognize the mystery of the gospel can discern the secret of the beast with its seven heads and ten horns.
2. The power of the beast is tenacious. The Antichrist tempts us with miracles, wonders, and healing. Those who are not enrolled in the book of life chase those events. Spiritually blind, they dont discern heresy from Gods grace. For discernment, we need heavenly wisdom. The beast, which received its power and authority from Satan, continues to tempt or persecute us.
The seven hills refer to the evil power that stands against God and his people. The ten kings in the world are the beasts agents. They will have only provisional power with which they can rule over the world with the Antichrist right before the second coming of Christ. Actually God allowed them the provisional power for the sake of his peoples spiritual growth and holiness. God, along with Jesus Christ, is the one who is, and who was, and who is to come. Satan tries to copy them, but he is the one who fell, and who falls, and who is to fall. Christians can be persecuted, yet only for a specific time. Thats the hope for them.
3. The evil show off their power of unity for a while. Satan wants all the people in the world to be as evil and depraved as himself. People easily get together for evil schemes, but not for righteous things. The alliance of the beast and the great prostitute seems to be huge. However, it is part of Gods strategy to fulfill his good will to destroy the evil power of non-believers. The seven heads, the seven hills, and the ten kings stand against God, believing that they can build their utopia on earth, which wont happen because its not in Gods plan. Gods plan is putting his people under the power of their enemies in order to fill his kingdom with his persecuted people. Our light and momentary troubles cant be compared to an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. Thats why our faith life is a war. The way of being enrolled in the book of life is to discern the evil and defeat it with proper strategy in our daily life.
4. The beast falls because of internal discord. God judges evil with another evil. Internal conflict brings about the great prostitutes fall. Satans characteristic is self-dissociation. At first, the followers of Satan seem to enjoy an amicable relationship, but end up falling because of their internal discord. When we enjoy worldly pleasure and status, we think that they are everything. However, they are just fleeting. Sooner or later, they will disappear. So it is with those who dont know Jesus. The ten kings seems to have empowered the beast. However, behind the scenes is the Lord. God designed an internal strife among the evil. We dont need to struggle to fight against our enemies because they will fight among themselves. No matter how hard they persecute us, we will survive by faith.'
5. We can win the war when we stand by the Lamb. The Lamb has no showy appearance. Still, he is the Lord of lords and king of kings. We need to stand by the Lord in order to win the war. His called, chosen and faithful followers will be able to discern the reality of the beast. We need to have physical training and spiritual training of godliness in order to defeat the seven heads and the ten kings. Godliness comes from our meditation on the Word and the application of it in our life. It is setting a good example as a Christian. The great prostitute is drunk on the blood of Christians. Wisdom comes from the cross. We need to bleed on our cross in order to fulfill our mission. We need to be in our place our small group gathering, worship place, and the place of our ministry. We need to be there for ourselves first of all. This is how we stand by the Lamb. Those enrolled in the book of life are not perfect people. They are those who discern the secret of the beast and recognize the mystery of godliness, seeing their sins with a humble heart, not with human zeal. Heres a deacons confession from his small group, who used to live as a witness of the great prostitute, enjoying his hypocritical life as a lawyer. Now he prays that God will give him wisdom to live as a witness of Jesus. He also tries to share the gospel at every opportunity, taking the Word as Gods consolation for him as Baruk did. He devoted his house as a place of his small group gathering. He meditates on the Word every morning. What a model life for Gods people, who will be recorded in the book of life through their constant training of godliness!
Then the angel said to me: 'Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns. (Rev 17: 7)
