Your Questions: Are we in the End Times?

Conquering Like the Lamb: Rethinking Power in Revelation

When we hear the word “conquer,” we usually imagine strength, victory, and triumph—winning at all costs. In the ancient world, conquest meant armies, power, and domination. And in many ways, not much has changed. Power is still often measured by control, influence, and the ability to impose one’s will.

But in the book of Revelation, that whole idea is turned upside down.

A Different Kind of Victory

Revelation was written to a Church living under the shadow of the Roman Empire—a world where power was displayed through military might and economic control. In that context, believers were called to “conquer.” But not in the way anyone expected.

They were called to conquer by imitating the Lamb.

The central image of Revelation is not a roaring lion crushing enemies, but a slain Lamb—Jesus, who wins victory not through violence, but through self-giving love and sacrifice. His death is not defeat; it is the decisive victory over evil.

And that changes everything about what it means for the Church to be powerful.

The Army That Doesn’t Kill

At one point, John hears of a great army—144,000 strong. It sounds like a military census, something familiar in the ancient world. But when he looks, he doesn’t see soldiers prepared for battle. He sees a vast, multiethnic crowd of people redeemed by the Lamb.

This is the “army” of God.

They do not conquer by taking lives, but by laying down their own. Their strength is not found in weapons, but in faithfulness. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes—even when that path leads to suffering.

The Power of Witness

Revelation places a strong emphasis on witness. The word itself is closely connected to the idea of martyrdom—those who testify to the truth, even at great cost.

Jesus is described as the faithful witness, and his followers walk in the same way. Their lives point beyond themselves to what is true: that Jesus is Lord, not Caesar; that God’s kingdom is real, even when it doesn’t look powerful.

This kind of witness is not loud or forceful. It doesn’t dominate. But it is deeply powerful because it reveals a different reality—one that cannot be crushed by fear or even death.

Loving Enemies as Resistance

Perhaps the most confronting part of this vision is the call to love enemies.

In a world shaped by violence and retaliation, the Church was given what might seem like a strange mission: to resist evil not by destroying enemies, but by loving them. To absorb hostility rather than return it. To remain faithful, even when mistreated.

This is not passive weakness. It is active, costly resistance.

By refusing to mirror the violence of the “Beast” (a symbol of oppressive systems and empires), believers expose it for what it is. They reveal that its power is hollow, built on fear and control, while God’s kingdom is built on truth, grace, and self-giving love.

Suffering, Then Vindication

Revelation is honest about the cost of this way of life. The vision of the two witnesses shows the Church suffering—even being overcome and killed by the beast.

But that is not the end of the story.

God raises them. He vindicates them. And through that pattern—suffering followed by resurrection—something remarkable happens: the nations begin to see the truth.

Victory, in Revelation, is not about avoiding suffering. It is about trusting that God will have the final word.

Living as Faithful Exiles

This way of conquering echoes a much older story—the experience of God’s people in exile, particularly in the book of Daniel. Living under foreign rule, they were called to remain faithful without compromising, trusting that God would one day humble the proud and establish his eternal kingdom.

Revelation picks up that same thread.

The Church lives in the world, but not by its values. Surrounded by the pull of “Babylon”—a symbol of human systems that oppose God—they are called to resist not by withdrawal or aggression, but by faithful presence.

The Triumph of the Lamb

In the end, Revelation offers a profound hope: that self-giving love is stronger than violence, that faithfulness is more powerful than force, and that the Lamb truly has overcome.

To “conquer,” then, is not to win in the way the world defines it. It is to remain faithful to Jesus. To bear witness to the truth. To love even when it costs. To trust that God sees, God knows, and God will make all things new.

That is the way of the Lamb.

And it is still the way the Church is called to follow today.

Key Sources: bibleproject.com; enterthebible.com