Every year I anticipate John Piper's message at the Passion Conference in early January.

And this year in Atlanta, he preached on Revelation chapter 13 in a message titled, The

Beast, the Book, and the Beauty of the Lamb, is worth listening to the entire message.

But here's a clip from Revelation 13-8 where Pastor John explains that the slaying of

the Lamb of God was planned before the universe existed.

Mind-boggling, here's John Piper to explain.

In verse 8, we have now arrived at our first point on the journey and our roadmap, namely

in eternity past, and we see it in the phrase before the foundation of the world.

With me, we are now before the foundation of the world.

So let's read it again, what happened there?

All who dwell on the earth will worship it.

Everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book

of life of the Lamb who was slain.

There is a book before the foundation of the world, and the book has the name.

And the name of the book is the book of the life of the Lamb who was slain.

Which means that in the mind of the author of this book, the Lamb is slain.

It is as good as done, and the author of this book is God.

The slaying of the Lamb of God was the plan of God before the universe.

You with me?

Is that in the verse?

The slaying of the Lamb of God was the plan before the universe existed.

The slaying of the Lamb of God was the plan before history existed.

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