The Lamb of God

RV96-01

The previous two sessions were two of the most critical messages on the book of the Revelation. If you missed that, you're going to have a hard time taking hold of the whole rest of the book of the Revelation, because it is the establishing of Jesus Christ, in his capacity as the Lion of the tribe of Judah and the root of David, that is the core of the whole theological battle and discussion that goes on today concerning the purpose of the ministry of the local church, and the purpose of the individual believer's life. Jesus Christ is indeed the fulfiller of great promises of the Old Testament to the Jewish people which have never been fulfilled. These are contained in these two titles: the Root of David; and, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Because of what those titles mean, we have someone who can turn loose the tribulation events, and fulfill history.

So, the apostle John has been told to stop weeping over his disappointment that there was no executer to open the seven-sealed scroll. This parchment holds the decrees of God which had been revealed to Daniel, but which Daniel had to seal up. They are now about ready to be opened, and to be executed. Before the scroll can be opened, and before these things can be executed, there has to be someone in the form of a kinsman redeemer who is qualified, by what He has done, to break those seals.

That's why John is weeping, because initially there was no response when the angel said, "Who is to do it?" At this point, one of the 24 elders directs John's attention to one who is a qualified executor. The executor is identified as the Lion of Judah and the root of David. These titles, of course, belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Lion of Judah in His role as King of the Jewish nation. Of course, He died with that title over His cross: "King of the Jews." And the Lord Jesus Christ has crown rights to rule the earth because He is a descendant of the dynasty of King David. These titles belong to Jesus Christ. God the Father, as we saw, made a covenant with David which contained eternal and irrevocable promises. David was promised an eternal throne – a seat of government. David was promised an eternal house (a dynasty) to rule that would always have a king. David was promised an eternal kingdom – a political authority. The eternal promises of the Davidic kingdom are to be exercised over the whole world during the millennium. That's when the Davidic Covenant will finally be fulfilled. Jesus Christ, as the final king of the dynasty of David, is to rule at that time over the whole world.

I remind you again that that statement which you sit and listen to, and nod to because you agree to it, most of the Christians you know would laugh in your face. You must understand that most of the Christians who are in the world today have been totally deceived by Satan. They do not believe that Jesus Christ is ever going to come back to rule on this earth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. They do not believe that the Jewish nation is going to become the number one country in the world; that the city of Jerusalem will become the capital of all the world; and, that Jesus Christ will rule there as David's greater Son.

However, that's exactly what the Bible says, and that's why, as we have pointed out, that the importance of this throne room scene has been a variety of symbols that have been shot at us one after another, all of which are fraught with enormous importance because they give us understanding for everything else that comes through in the book of the Revelation. These two titles of Christ are among the most important. He is, to this very day, the King of the Jews. He is to this very day of the line of David. He is to this very day the Lion of the tribe of Judah. He has never fulfilled His role in any of those capacities.

The Old and New Testament very clearly indicate, as we showed you last time, that the fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant is still future, but it will be a literal earthly fulfillment when it comes. It is Jesus, as the kinsman redeemer of mankind, who is the only one who is qualified to act as the executor of the title deed to the earth, and to fulfill the Davidic covenant.

Well, the apostle John, needless to say, is relieved to hear the elder's word of comfort. He turns his eyes to where the elder is pointing. John is eager to see who the executor is. He eagerly awaited the taking of the scroll from the Father's hand and the breaking of the seals, because he knows that the scroll contains the secrets of Daniel. John knows that the show is about to begin; the curtain is rising; and, the secrets of Daniel are waiting on stage.

A Lamb

You remember that looking at it from a top view, we have the Father's throne, and we found that there were four living creatures (cherub class angels) surrounding that throne. We won't go into all that they represent, but you remember that those angels represented that which is represented in the four gospels concerning the fourfold character of the person of Christ; His ministry; and, the government of the world through those characteristics in the Son.

John looks, and he sees in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and then it says again, "in the midst of," and this time of "the elders." That's the same word we've had before: "presbuteros." "Presbuteros" is a word that refers to the spiritual maturity, and it is referring to these 24 elders who are the representatives of the church which is now in heaven. The rapture has taken place. The word "presbuteros" refers to the spiritual maturity of these leaders who, as elders, were leaders of local churches on the earth.

You remember again now that the picture that we have previously seen is that these 24 elders are sitting on 24 thrones, completely surrounding the throne. So, what you have here are two circles. You have the circle of the Father's throne in the middle with the four living creature angels. Then you have the larger circle surrounding that of the thrones of the 24 elders. That is what is meant in the opening part of verse 6. In the English language, we say between point A and point B. However, in the Greek here, this is a Hebrew way of speaking, and the Hebrew would say, "In between point A and in between point B." That's the idea of this expression "in the midst of the throne and the living creatures, and in the midst of the elders." It is saying in between point A (the throne and the four living creatures), and in between point B (the circle of the 24 elders).

So, what we are directed to is right in between these two circles. As John sees this dramatic scene in heaven, and he sees the elder tapping him on the shoulder and saying, "Stop crying, there is the executor," John looks and what he sees is someone standing between these two dramatic circles. He sees a Lamb: "A Lamb stood" ("histemi"). This is the word for "standing." The point of this word is that this is someone who is alive. This is not something that is dead – that's fallen over. This is "standing erect," indicating that this is alive.

What he sees standing is a lamb. This word is "arnion." This is the word in the Greek for a lamb who, while it has been sacrificed, stands in the position of majesty, honor, power and authority as a result of its having been sacrificed. John immediately see him as not just a sacrifice animal, but as an animal that stands in a position of great majesty, power, and dignity because of the sacrifice. There is another word. It's this one: "amnos." That's the other Greek word for "lamb," and "amnos" stresses the role of sacrifice itself.

For example, we have this word "amnos" used in such a way that the idea is upon the sacrifice, and not at the consequent position of dignity in John 1:29, where John the Baptist says, "The next day, John saw Jesus coming unto him, and said, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." There the word "lamb" is this word "amnos," which stresses the sacrificial aspect only: "The lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world." This is stressing the sacrificial position. You also have that in John 1:36, and you have it in 1 Peter 1:19, all of which refer to Jesus Christ as God the Father's sacrifice. When it is sacrifice that is being stressed, then it uses that word.

However, we don't have that here in the book of the Revelation. We have instead this other word "arnion," because it is not only sacrifice, but now this Lamb stands in the position of majesty, honor, power and authority. Isaiah 53:7 predicted the role of the Messiah Jesus Christ in sacrifice. This is one of the passages that the Jews didn't really know what to do with. The scribes had a terrible time with it, because they never could conceive of the one who was to be the King of Israel to be slaughtered as a Lamb. Isaiah 53:7 says, "He was oppressed," speaking about the coming Messiah, "and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. He is brought as a Lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before shearers is dumb, so He did not open His mouth." There you have the idea of this second Greek word of slaughter that Isaiah 53:7 is speaking about.

This passage is the one that the Ethiopian treasurer was reading when Philip came upon him in Acts 8:32. You remember that Philippi asked him, "Do you understand what you are reading?" What Philip was asking him was, "Do you understand what it means about someone to be treated like an animal in sacrifice (as an 'amnos' who was going to be killed as a sacrificial animal)?" And this treasurer from Ethiopia said, "No, I don't unless somebody explains it to me.

So, the distinction is very important. It is not without reason that God the Holy Spirit uses the word "arnion" to stress that this Lamb, while sacrificed, is one that now stands in something which is the consequence of that experience, in a position of dignity, honor, majesty, and power.

The Lamb had been Slain

One other place we have this used in the Bible, that is very informative because of the meaning of this word, is in John 3:12: "Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one (one under Satan's control), and who 'sphazo" (killed) his brother, and why 'sphazo' his brother (why did he kill him)? Because his own works are evil, and his brother's were righteous. You remember the story of Cain and his younger brother Abel. Cain observed his brother Abel killing a lamb for his sacrifice by cutting the lamb's throat. Cain, as you remember, was angry against God for rejecting his agricultural offering. He hated his brother Abel because he had an offering which was accepted by God, because it was an animal sacrifice, and therefore, it had blood.

Cain probably decided to retaliate by giving God a blood sacrifice, since God was so interested in blood sacrifices. You can just almost see the mental processes of Cain. He was so indignant, and he was so angry because he had been rejected. He was so arrogant. Don't forget that that is the key word for sin: the key expression of the sin nature is "arrogance." He was so arrogant, and you can almost follow his mental processes such that he said, "I'll give you a sacrifice if that's what you want, God." And he goes out to the field where his brother Abel is working; takes a knife; grabs his brother Abel by the hair; jerks back his head; and, slashes Abel's throat. That's how he killed his brother. He killed him as if he were offering Abel in sacrifice to God.

The Lamb that John saw appeared to have had its throat slashed in slaughter for sacrifice. John is seeing the symbol of Jesus Christ, in His role as the Lamb of God, sacrificed on the cross for the sins of the world, but now alive in heaven, in a position of majesty, honor, power, and authority. He is seeing a Lamb which represents Jesus Christ as the one who had been slain, but who now stands in the position of honor. Revelation 1:18 describes that same idea concerning Jesus Christ, where it says, "I am He that lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of Hades and of death."

We know that after the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, He bore in His body the marks of His sacrificial death. John 20:20 tells us that. John 20:27 tells us that, in connection with the incident of Thomas. The marks of the wounds of sacrifice were still there on His body.

So, the word "slain" refers to the Lord Jesus Christ sacrificed as the Lamb of God for the sins of the world. It's in the perfect tense, which, as you know, means that it is something which was done in the past, and these results continue to the present. It is important that the perfect tense is used here to describe Jesus Christ in the symbol of this Lamb saying, "As if it had been slain." The perfect tense indicates that this sacrifice does not need to be repeated. Its effects continue forever. The perfect tense means it starts in the past, and then continues.

This same principle is stated in Hebrews 10:14: "For by one offering, He has perfected forever them that are sanctified." One offering perfected them forever. No repeats were necessary. That's why I have a very creepy feeling every time I walk into a Roman Catholic Church, and see the crucifixes with Christ hanging on the cross. That is one of the most degrading insults to the person of the Son of God that you can imagine. Here, John rejoiced to see that indeed this Lamb has upon it the marks of having once been slain, but it is standing. It is not fallen over in death. It is standing on its feet alive. And people who conceive of Jesus Christ as one who is dead are those who don't have a hope in the world. Our concept of the Savior is that He is alive, and that He is living – not that He is dead. But when you get the sin nature in there, it wants to emphasize the very opposite. It wants to emphasize a dead Christ, so that, as long as Christ is dead in your thinking, then there is no hope. It is the resurrected Christ that makes the difference.

The travesty of this in Roman Catholicism is horrid. It's not only all those crucifixes you see in the grimness of a Roman Catholic Church, but it is the fact of the mass. That in itself is the travesty of all travesties, because what the mass is doing is sacrificing this Lamb all over again. The Bible says that He perfected us once-for-all forever. It's perfect tense. He has been killed, and the effects of that continue forever. It is passive voice. The sacrifice was done to Jesus Christ. He did commit suicide on the cross. And it's participle – a spiritual principle is stated here.

The slain Lamb which John saw in heaven is the resurrected Lamb, Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus, as the sacrificed Lamb then, is standing erect in heaven. You will notice that He is at that point no longer seated on His Father's throne. In Revelation 3:21, He stressed that He was sitting on His Father's throne: "To Him that overcomes I will grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and have sat down with My Father in His throne." Jesus Christ has a throne of His own, and He has told you and me that He invites us, as believers, to join him on His throne. He has not invited us to join him on His Father's throne, which He is now occupying in heaven. But at the point that John sees Him, He has left the Father's throne. He is no longer seated on the Father's throne, because He is now ready to come to the earth to take His own throne as a descendant of King David – the earthly throne over the nation of Israel, and from there over the nations of the world.

One of the exciting things that I saw when visiting the city of Jerusalem was the enormous number of cranes all over the city. One day, as I was looking out over the city and seeing all these cranes of construction, the thought hit me: "This city is being prepared to be the capital of the world." That's exactly what's happened. It is being prepared with dramatic construction to be a suitable city to be the capital of the world.

As John sees Jesus Christ, He is no longer seated upon His Father's throne. This indicates that something very important has happened. In Hebrews 10:10-12, we read, "By which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily, ministering and offering often the same sacrifices which can never take away sins. But this man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins, forever sat down on the right hand of God."

So, the sacrifice for the sins of the world having been completed, Jesus ascended to heaven and sat down on the Father's throne at the Father's right hand. Now John sees that He has risen. He's standing. He's no longer seated on that throne. He's no longer seated there as mediator between God and man, because that's the role He has been playing. He is now standing prepared to be the judge of mankind. The Lord Jesus Christ is now ready to break the seven seals of the scroll, and to turn loose the judgments of the tribulation on the earth.

Jesus Christ, as the sacrificed Lamb, is about ready now to fulfill what was predicted in Daniel 7:13-14. Daniel says, "I saw in the night visions and, behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days. And they brought Him near before Him. And there was given Him dominion and glory and the kingdom that all people, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and His kingdom: that which shall not be destroyed." This is describing the Lord Jesus Christ in His millennial kingdom, and the breaking of the seals will execute this passage in the book of Daniel.

So, the standing Savior (the standing Lamb) indicates that the Savior is alive. He is not still hanging on the cross. He is ready now to take His role as King of the earth.

You remember what the significance of the Lamb image was. This was one of the easier symbols in the book of the Revelation for us to understand. But it's good to remember the way John thought of it. John, first of all, thought of the Lamb in terms of the Passover festival. It is in Exodus 12:5-13 that we have described for us the first Passover festival, where they killed the lamb, and they put its blood on the door posts and over the lintel of every house. When the death angel came through Egypt, any house that did not have the smear of blood over the doorways and on the side of the doorways, that house was entered by the death angel, and the firstborn was killed.

So, the Lamb, to John, first of all, meant the Passover lamb. It, first of all, meant release from slavery in Egypt by the blood of the lamb, as indeed it symbolizes the release of the believer from slavery to the sin nature by the blood of the Lamb. For this reason, the Passover feast was the most important religious festival in the Jewish calendar. It symbolized eternal life for them. All of the promises which had been made to Israel, such as the Davidic Covenant, all became effective only by virtue of the death of Jesus Christ as God's Passover Lamb.

So, John rejoices to see that this Lamb is standing there, and He is alive. He gets the significance of the role of this Lamb because of its Passover connection. Then he looks a little more closely, and he discovers something very strange about this lamb. I can't draw a picture of this, but perhaps some of you could. It would be a very monstrous looking animal (a monstrosity) if you could draw it. So, don't try to push too far. Just recognize that John sees these strange symbols. These are symbols which elsewhere in the Bible are explained and, therefore, have meaning.

Seven

Seven Horns

For example, in Deuteronomy 33:17, we have a clue: "His glory is like the firstlings of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of a wild ox. With them, he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth. They are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh." Here, the horns represent the military power and strength of Israel.

1 Kings 22:11 also uses the symbol of the horns: "And Zedekiah, the son of Chenaanah, made horns of iron, and he said, 'Thus says the Lord, 'With these you shall push the Syrians, until you have consumed them.''" Here he made the horns of iron as a symbol of the victory that the armies of Israel would experience over the Syrians.

Power

In Psalm 112:9-10 we read, "He has distributed; he has given to the poor: His righteousness endures forever. His horn shall be exalted with honor. The wicked shall see it, and be grieved. He shall gnash with His teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish." Here the horn of the Messiah will be frightening to His enemies.

So, the picture that you get out of the Bible is that the horn represents various kinds of powers. In Zechariah 1:18, we have it symbolizing political power: "Then I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, four horns: and I said unto the angel who talked with me, 'What are these?' And he answered me, 'These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem." What this is referring to are the horns that are described as political powers revealed to Daniel. You find those in Daniel 2:36-44 and Daniel 7:3-7. Zechariah is talking about four political powers, and he describes them as horns.

Zechariah 1:20: "And the Lord showed me four craftsmen. Then I said, "What have these come to do?' Then he spoke saying, 'These are the horns which have scattered Judah (these four world empires), so that no man did lift up his head, but these are come to terrify them: to cast out the horns of the nations which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it.'"

Hannah's Prayer

Then in verse 3, Israel is admonished not to talk in pride and arrogance because God knows the truth about them: "Talk no more so exceeding proudly. Do not let not arrogance come out of your mouth, for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed." So, in her prophecy, she warns Israel as a nation to be careful of its arrogance.

Then, in verses 4 and 5, she refers to Israel's history of alternating periods of obedience and apostasy. Verse 4: "The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength. They who were full have hired out themselves for bread. They who were hungry ceased to hunger, so the barren has born seven, and she who has many children languishes" – up and down in the period of history of Israel, as they obeyed God and as they disobeyed Him.

Then verse 6 looks at the death and the resurrection of the Messiah: "The Lord kills, and makes alive. He brings down to Sheol, and He brings up:" He resurrects again.

Then verses 7 to 9 portray the grace era of the church. Hannah probably didn't know the full significance of what she was saying: "The Lord makes poor and makes rich. He brings low and lifts up. He raises up the poor out of the dust, and lifts up the beggar from the refuse, to set them among the princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory; for the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and He has set the world upon them. He will keep the feet of His saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail."

Then in verse 10, tribulation is judgment resulting in the exaltation of God's Horn, the Messiah, Jesus Christ: "The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces. Out of heaven He shall thunder upon them. The Lord shall judge the ends of the earth, and He shall give strength unto His King, and exalt the horn of His Anointed." Now that, of course, has never happened. But it's interesting that Hannah's prayer follows a little bit of a historical progression from her joy in the fact that she who was barren finally bore a son, and then proceeded to briefly review what was to happen to Israel: the warnings to them; the era when God's grace would be poured out during the age of the church; and, finally the exaltation of the Horn of God's Anointed; that is, the power of the Messiah Christ.

Omnipotence

The Lord Jesus Christ has seven horns. He is omnipotent. There is nothing wimpy about Him. The Lamb which John sees is the one who wages a victorious war against the antichrist and his confederates (Revelation 17:12-14). Boy, how the peace movement people hate this passage! Jesus Christ, the Man of peace, is being described as the one who has the capacity to wage war victoriously: "And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet." Again, horns represent power: "But receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them. For He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings. They that are with Him are called and chosen and faithful." And you are the called and chosen and faithful.

So, look forward to enjoying one of the greatest moments of combat that human history has ever seen, when you, with Jesus Christ, conquer the antichrist, because the Lord that you follow has seven horns. He is omnipotent in power. This is the Lamb – the one who the tribulation unbelievers will so fear the wrath of this Lamb. Understand that. They will so fear the wrath of this Lamb that they will call upon the rocks and the mountains and the caves to fall on them and crush them to death.

Revelation 6:15: "And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every slave, and every free man hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb." Do you know why that wrath is so great? Because He has seven horns. He has omnipotence. When the Lord Jesus Christ gets mad, you better look out: "For the great day of His wrath is come. And who shall be able to stand?" The answer is that nobody will be able to stand.

Yes, one time they put Him up and made a fool of Him. They mocked Him; they spit on Him; they blindfolded Him; and, they smashed Him across the face and said, "Now tell us, who hit You?" They put a robe upon Him; they put a stick in His hand; and, they said, "Hail, King of the Jews." Then they didn't even have the decency to let Him die on the cross before they stripped Him naked in order to gamble away His clothes among themselves. There He hung, completely nude, on that cross: the Son of God; and, the Creator of all the world.

The priesthood of Israel had its heyday. It had its great moment, but they didn't realize that what they were doing was preparing themselves to bear the wrath of this same creature that they had so brutalized, so that Isaiah tells us that when you looked at the face of Jesus Christ, it was no longer the face of a man. It was just a mush. You couldn't tell where the eyes were; where the nose was; or, where the mouth was. It was just mush. They had smashed it to smithereens.

This is the one who is going to be so powerful – the Lamb with omnipotence, whose wrath is going to be without restraint against the world, exercising the justice of God.

So, it is sad to see what people do to the Lord today. But it is encouraging to remember, and it was encouraging to John's heart no doubt to be reminded, that this Lamb, representing Christ, had complete power, and was going to execute it and use it. It is the omnipotent Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, as mankind's kinsman redeemer, who came to redeem the earth from Satan's control. It is because of that that He is entitled to open the title deed scroll.

Now John looks at the Lamb, and he sees something else that is as equally important as the horns. We shall look at those features next time.

Dr. John E. Danish, 1982

Back to the Revelation index