Revelation 13:8 says everyone will worship the beast “whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.” That means that those whose names have been written in the book of life will not worship the beast.
Last week, we saw what the beast is. Now we see that the beast is on God’s leash and despite all the beast’s rage and deception, he achieves God’s purpose to save God’s people. “The beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words” (13:5). Given by whom? By God. Grammatically, the verb — given — is passive, when the subject is not named, just assumed. This is a “divine passive,” referring to God without naming Him. God gives the beast a mouth that it uses to promote itself and accuse God. Then the beast is given – implicitly by God; God gives the beast – the authority to act. The beast doesn’t know it. It thinks it owes its authority to nothing but itself, the barrel of a gun. He gives no recognition to any higher power, no “heaven” giving a mandate, or divinity giving a right, or Creator endowing us with rights. There’s just his will. And with it, he imposes his way, he thinks. But God says, ‘I gave you that authority.’ Then the beast is also “allowed,” by God, “to make war on the saints and to conquer them.” Notice that he can only do this with God’s allowance. God gives it “authority over every tribe and people and language and nation.” Thus, Revelation 13 is teaching God’s absolute sovereignty over all things, even the beast.
Because of what God allows the beast to do, he appears successful, and nothing succeeds like success. So, “all who dwell on earth will worship it.” They don’t dare resist its power, except those whose names “have been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.”
Notice the order. It’s not that if they resist the beast, refuse to be quislings and play along with it, rebel, only worship God, then they will have earned the right to get their names written in the book of life. No. First, their names are written, “from the foundation of the world.” When God founded the universe, He wrote the book of life. He made a list of who would be saved. They don’t gain their name on that list by resisting the beast. They are on the list first, and because they are, they don’t worship the beast. They worship God alone. Stop with that. Think about it.
This is so important, Revelation stops and repeats that call familiar to the churches in chapters 2 and 3: “If anyone has an ear, let him hear.” Hear what this means. Pay attention to the fact that those who do not worship the beast — submit to totalitarian government — are only those who have previously had their names written, by God, in His “book of life.” What is it calling you to do? It isn’t a call for you to earn your way into heaven by bucking the system, flouting the beast, because if you do, then, as a reward, you get your name on God’s list. No. You can’t. God wrote the list “from the foundation of the world.” Think about that. It means that if God put your name in His “book of life,” from the beginning, before you were born or had done anything good or bad, then, as a result of that, you will not worship the beast. Your brave refusal to worship the beast is not what gets your name on God’s list. It’s the fact that your name is on God’s list that gives you the courage to not worship the beast.
“From the foundation of the world” shows that God’s predestination of His people is not contingent upon human actions or foreseen faith.
It means that “from the foundation of the world” God chose whom He would save. Revelation 13:8 describes how those "whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world" worship the beast. It reveals God's sovereign choice in salvation—His eternal decree determining who will be saved. “From the foundation of the world” shows that God’s predestination of His people is not contingent upon human actions or foreseen faith. Rather, it is the other way around. God sovereignly chose to write some names before He created the universe, and then, because He wrote them, the people with those names, then, worship Him instead of the beast. God, in His sovereignty, elects some for salvation and others to condemnation, according to His perfect, holy purpose. Thus, Revelation 13:8 shows that salvation is entirely God’s gracious initiative. The names written in the Lamb’s book of life are chosen before the world began, emphasizing God’s glory in His sovereign and unmerited grace.
It means that if God put your name in His book of life, from the beginning, then His will prevails, not the beast’s, not the dragon’s. If someone is going to captivity, then they will (Rev. 13:10). “Who can resist God’s will?” (Romans 9:19). If they are going to be killed, they will be killed. The beast’s will, the dragon’s will, the emperor’s, the god-king’s, the president’s or chairman’s or yours will not change that. Salvation does not depend on your will (Romans 9:16) but on whether God wrote your name in the Lamb’s book of life.
Revelation 13:10 states, “If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain.” The phrase “is to be” is key. It shows that even the persecutor and the persecuted are under God's sovereign control. It demonstrates God’s ultimate authority over all events, including suffering and death, which are part of His predestined plan for His glory and the fulfillment of His purposes. The term shows God’s sovereign decree. He has decreed that one person will be taken captive and another killed by the sword. Every event—be it captivity or death—is foreordained by God's divine will. It shows that nothing occurs outside God’s sovereign purpose. The phrase "is to be" signifies that these outcomes are not left up to chance or merely permitted. They are directly determined by God’s sovereign decree.
That means that God’s sovereign will determines the course of each person’s life, including yours. Revelation 13:10 shows the doctrine of predestination—that God's sovereign decree extends over every detail of history and individual destiny. Nothing happens outside of God’s sovereign will. Even the suffering of believers and the (temporary, apparent) triumph of His enemies depend on God’s plan for His glory. In the end, the dragon will be thwarted and frustrated. God will not. That means, for you, if God’s will is to save you, He will.
For the full exposition of Revelation 12:1-13:10, listen:
Covenant Reformed Baptist Church is Caswell County’s & Danville’s Reformed church.