Waters of Life

Biblical Studies in Multiple Languages

Search in "English":
Home -- English -- Revelation -- 045 (Preparations for the Enthronement)
This page in: -- Arabic -- Armenian -- Bulgarian -- ENGLISH -- French? -- German -- Indonesian -- Polish? -- Portuguese -- Russian -- Yiddish

Previous Lesson -- Next Lesson

REVELATION - Behold, I am Coming Soon
Studies in the Book of Revelation
BOOK 2 - THE ENTHRONEMENT OF JESUS CHRIST (REVELATION 4:1 - 6:17)
PART 2.2 JESUS CHRIST IS ENTHRONED BY GIVING HIM THE SEALED SCROLL (REVELATION 5:1-14)

1. The Preparations for the Enthronement (Revelation 5:1-6)


The Lion of the Tribe of Judah Appears as a Slain Lamb

REVELATION 5:6
6 I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, having seven horns, and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth.

John let his eyes wander across the heaven. He wanted to see the mighty and victorious lion from the tribe of Judah who should conquer the whole world and subjugate it. Try as he might, John could not see any lion in heaven!

Suddenly the seer recognized in the midst of the throne, in the midst of the four frightening throne guardians, a small white lamb. There was not a strong lion, but only a weak, piteous, little lamb, harmless and defenceless, standing in the centre of the glory. How could it get there? The radiant, judging glory of God had neither burnt nor destroyed the sacrificial lamb. It had always been at home in the throne and has now returned to his father, to its origin.

The little lamb stood in the centre of the twenty-four elders, whose thrones were around the lofty throne of God. The term lamb as a theologically central term occurs in the book of Revelation 28-times and represents since its appearance the centre of the salvation proceedings and world affairs in the book of Revelation. In heaven an outer and an inner circle arrange around the lion of the tribe of Judah which was a lamb.

The Lamb of God wants to become the centre of our thoughts and actions too. Our life, family, service, church, nation, the whole world and even the angels are to have Jesus in their centre. Not the Kaaba in Mecca with its black stone is the centre of the world, but the Lamb of God that carried away the sins of all generations of mankind.

The outcast Jesus who died as a forsaken and despised man outside the doors of Jerusalem had become the calming centre of our existence.

The Greek word John uses here is a diminutive of the term lamb and means "little lamb". John put his whole love of Jesus into this term. He did not want to belittle the Lamb of God, but to indicate that it is naturally weak, harmless, feeble and unable to become victorious.

John kept the image of the Lamb of God in his heart from his childhood on. His family had annually killed and roasted a Passover lamb and eaten its meat (Exodus 12:1-13). He knew that solely the blood of the lamb saved the frightened people from the judgment and wrath of God. The basis of understanding the New Testament sacrifice and salvation remains the mysterious message of the suffering servant of God according to Isaiah 53:2-12 who carried our sin and infirmities and suffered from the punishment that should have been ours, when he was led like a lamb to the slaughter.

All these prophecies the apostle John had known from his childhood on. Yet the breakthrough in his thinking took place when John the Baptist his disciples made aware of Jesus whom he had just baptized and called out to them, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." (John 1:29+36). Then, Andrew and Peter together with James and John left their strict teacher and followed the Lamb from that moment. They saw, recognized and testified the suffering, dying and rising from death of Jesus as the sacrifice of the unique Lamb of God that reconciled the world with God (John 3:14-16; Acts 8:32; 1 Corinthians 5:7; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 1:18-19; Hebrews 9:14; 10:14). Therefore, Jesus do not need to die once more especially for Muslims and Jews. His death is sufficient for each of them, too. Yet they do not know their right or do not want to know about it.

John himself had witnessed the sacrificial way of Jesus. He saw his Lord prostrate during his prayer struggle in the garden Gethsemane and having sweat of fear on his forehead (Matthew 26:38-39; Mark 14:34-36; Luke 22:42-44). In his vision at the threshold of the door to heaven, however, John saw the Lamb of God stand in the midst of the throne as conqueror.

On the cross Jesus cried after his pains of agony, "It is finished!" (John 19:30). Then he passed away, despised and cursed by the elders of his people. Yet in his vision the disciple whom the Lord loved saw his king stand as a Lamb in the midst of the throne of God, alive and highly esteemed. Jesus had exemplified to his disciples what Paul described as follows, "If I am weak, then I am strong!" (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

Jesus died as a young man 33 years of age. In his vision John saw his Lord in the centre of twenty-four elders, all of whom had become older than the Lord. Jesus has risen! He is alive and quickens through his life even the fathers of faith.

The obvious central position of the Lamb of God in heaven wants us to teach: The Lamb solely works the salvation, reconciliation and redemption. To follow the way of the Lamb is the only way to God. Through the Lamb all things will become new. In the face of the spirit of the Lamb the wolfish greed of man collapses. If in a family or in a team "the Lamb" abides, then peace survives.

PRAYER: Upright Omniscient One, You revealed to Your prophets that the promised Christ would come as a meek lamb to overcome, with His weak body, the accusations of hell, and deliver us through His substitutionary death from Your just judgment that what You had already said, "'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit' is the salvation of the world" might be accomplished.

QUESTION:

  1. Why did the lion appear as a weak lamb?

www.Waters-of-Life.net

Page last modified on November 27, 2012, at 11:22 AM | powered by PmWiki (pmwiki-2.3.3)