The Phony Lamb

I have little use for the many popular "interpretations" of the last book in the Bible which reduce John's magnificent vision to a series of charts, maps, and timelines. Revelation, as its title suggests, is a work of apocalyptic and cannot be properly interpreted without an adequate understanding of that particular genre of literature.

Quite often in apocalyptic, the meaning of a passage can be so obvious that it can be overlooked, especially by interpreters bent on sensationalism. A case in point is Revelation 13:11, "Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon." The "lamb" in Revelation is Christ. The "dragon" is Satan. So, a "beast" which looks like a lamb but talks like a dragon is clearly an impostor, an agent of Satan sent to deceive those who are willing to be led astray.

More than once in Scripture, we are reminded that outward appearances count for nothing, but the inward orientation of the heart reveals one's true character. For fallen humanity, however, this truth is turned on its head. A human race whose perception is clouded by sin can only gaze upon the outward appearance of the beast and see it as a harmless lamb and, thus, receive the smooth talk coming out of its mouth as the truth.

Only those with eyes to see and ears to hear--those redeemed by the blood of Christ, the true lamb of God--will see through the beast's thin disguise and hear its words for the lies they are. But this will not be well received by the rest of the world, being caught in the beast's deadly web of deception. The fallen will despise the redeemed and literally make war with them. To the fallen, the deception has become more important than the reality. Their heart and soul are given over to maintaining and perpetuating an illusion, even as the utter corruption of their fantasy world becomes more and more apparent.

If one thing in Revelation is crystal clear, it is the utter foolishness of following the beast. The discerning eye can see right though its superficial disguise. The discerning mind can hear its words as outright lies. But sin has so clouded the perception of so many that there seems never to be a shortage of foolish, pitiable souls who are all too willing to follow this phony lamb to destruction.