The Lamb Conquers

Rev. 17:7-14 (ESV)
But the angel said to me, "Why do you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her. [8] The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come. [9] This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; [10] they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he does come he must remain only a little while. [11] As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction. [12] And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. [13] These are of one mind and hand over their power and authority to the beast. [14] They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful."

“They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.” Much ink has been spilled trying to line up the seven kings and the ten kings and put names to earthly rulers for each of the seventeen kings. I’m not going to do that. Senseless, numbers in Revelation are always symbolic. The beast which the whore rides is one of earthly power, the seven heads are of those who claim divine right, the other ten of those who don’t. History has taught us that both can be extremely dangerous, and earthly power in one way or another always makes war with the Lamb, persecuting the body of Christ. Oh the church in the west has enjoyed peace more or less for a long time, but the tension between church and state has never ceased. And persecution is always there it is a matter of degree and type. But I don’t really care to talk much of persecution in the west when I look at the Sudan or China. Perhaps that is the problem though, when pastors in Sweden are arrested for preaching from Romans and not condoning Homosexual Behavior, though perfectly willing to forgive the same. Perhaps it is the western style persecution that has been more successful in history. The churches empty as the state uses the church for its purposes, and the church tries to do the same with the state. Perhaps the church was healthier in the Pre-Constantinian era when Christians were thrown to lions and burned on grid Irons.
But the message of this passage is, try as they might they will not conquer the Lamb, rather the Lamb will conquer them, and those who stay with the Lamb will share in that victory because they are called, elect, and faithful. Yes the Greek says elect not chosen, but the words mean the same thing. God chooses us. He makes us his own. And because of our election we are kept faithful because He is faithful to us. So not matter what is thrown our way, the Lamb is at work through his word and sacraments calling us, electing us, and being faithful to us with the forgiveness of sins.