The Messianic Lamb

Jesus is the Lamb and the true Messiah of Israel. He was sent by God to redeem men from every nation by his sacrificial death.

Jesus is the Faithful Witness and the Ruler of the Kings of the Earth, and these designations are inextricably linked. The first establishes how he obtained the second, his sovereignty. Through his death, Jesus redeemed his people, and because of his “obedience unto death,” God exalted Christ and made him Lord over all things:

• “And from Jesus Christ, THE FAITHFUL WITNESS, THE FIRSTBORN OF THE DEAD, and THE RULER OF THE KINGS OF THE EARTH. Unto him who loves us and who liberated us from our sins by his blood; and he made us A KINGDOM OF PRIESTS for his God and Father. To him be the glory and THE DOMINION FOREVER AND EVER. Amen” – (Revelation 1:5-6. Note the verbal allusions to Exodus 19:5-6, Psalm 89:27, 89:37, Daniel 7:27. Compare Colossians 1:18, 2 Peter 2:6-20).

And so, through his death and resurrection, Jesus of Nazareth became the king who rules the Cosmos from the right hand of God, and he does so in the present tense.

• “But he, when he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, HE SAT DOWN ON THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, as for the rest, waiting UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE HIS FOOTSTOOL” – (Hebrews 10:12-13. Compare Psalm 110:1, Hebrews 1:3).

[Photo by Paul Zoetemeijer (Dordrecht) on Unsplash]

At the conclusion of his letters to the seven churches of Asia, Jesus promises Christians who remain faithful through tribulation that they will reign with him, and they will do so “just as I overcame and took my seat on my Father’s Throne” - (Revelation 3:21).

The Nazarene conquered his enemies, including death, by his faithful testimony and his obedience even until his death. His victory was confirmed and forever sealed when God raised him from the dead, and his sovereignty extends even over Hades, the realm of the dead:

• “Fear not! I AM THE FIRST AND THE LAST, and the Living one. And I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I HAVE THE KEY of death and of Hades” – (Revelation 1:17-19. Note the allusions to Isaiah 22:22, 48:12, 53:10-12. Compare Philippians 2:9-11 [“He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death”]).

• “And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire” – (Revelation 20:14. Compare Hosea 13:14, 1 Corinthians 15:23, 15:53-54),

In chapters 4 and 5 of Revelation, John sees the Divine Throne at the center of the universe, and the one who sits on it holds a scroll sealed with seven seals (Revelation 5:1-4). A search is made for someone worthy enough to open the scroll. However, no one worthy is found, and so John begins to weep bitterly. Then, one of the twenty-four Elders commands John to cease weeping:

• “Weep not! Behold, the LION OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH, THE ROOT OF DAVID, has overcome to open the scroll and its seven seals. And I saw in the middle of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the middle of the elders, a Lamb standing, as though slain. <…> AND HE CAME AND TOOK THE SCROLL out of the right hand of him who sat on the throne” – (Revelation 5:5-7. Note the allusions to Genesis 49:9, Isaiah 11:1, 10, and Daniel 7:13).

John heard ‘lion of Judah’, but when he looked, he saw the ‘slain Lamb’. What he saw interprets what John first heard. Jesus is the messianic lion, but he fulfills this role as the Lamb who sacrificed his life for his people. And because of this, the entire creation declares the Lamb worthy to receive all honor and the dominion:

• “And they SANG A NEW SONG, saying, You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and you purchased for God with your blood men from every tribe and TONGUE AND PEOPLE AND NATION, and you made them A KINGDOM AND PRIESTS for our God. And they are reigning upon the earth. <…> Worthy is the Lamb that has been slain to receive the power, and riches, and wisdom, and might, and honour, and glory, and blessing!” – (Revelation 5:9-12. Note the allusions to Isaiah 42:10, Daniel 4:1, 7:13-14).

The Greek word translated as “overcome” in Revelation 5:5 means ‘to conquer’. It is the same verb used in Revelation 3:21, where Jesus exhorted his followers “to conquer” as he did. By doing so, they qualify to reign with him. Likewise, in Revelation 5:10, the saints purchased by the Lamb’s death reign with him on the earth.

Jesus is called ‘Lamb’ for the first time in Revelation 5:5-6. The name ‘Jesus’ occurs fourteen times in Revelation, ‘Christ’ seven times, and ‘Son of Man’ twice. However, from this point, ‘Lamb’ is the primary designation for him, a total of twenty-eight times.

HIS REIGN BEGINS

Upon his arrival at the Throne, the Lamb took the Scroll and began to break open its seven seals, revealing the contents of the scroll. The reign of Christ from his Father’s Throne began following his death and resurrection. It is the slain Lamb who rules over the Cosmos, not the predatory lion. And it is the Lamb who breaks each of the seven seals in chapters 6 through 8 – (Revelation 6:1, “And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals…”).

In Chapter 7, the servants of God are sealed, twelve thousand males from each of the tribes of Israel. This is the number that John heard, but when he looked, he saw a multitude so vast that no man could number them. As before, what John sees interprets what he hears. And so, the image of the tribes of Israel is transformed into the innumerable multitude of men redeemed by Jesus - (Revelation 7:1-8).

• “These are they who come out of THE GREAT TRIBULATION, and they washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this cause, they are before the throne of God, and they are rendering divine service to him, day and night in his sanctuary. And he who sits upon the throne WILL SPREAD HIS TENT OVER THEM. THEY WILL HUNGER NO MORE, NEITHER THIRST ANY LONGER, neither will the sun fall upon them, NOR ANY BURNING HEAT. Because the Lamb that is in the middle of the throne WILL SHEPHERD THEM, and HE WILL LEAD THEM TO FOUNTAINS OF LIVING WATERS; and God will WIPE AWAY EVERY TEAR FROM THEIR EYES” - (Revelation 7:14-17. Note the verbal allusions to Daniel 12:1, Isaiah 4:5-6, 25:8, 40:11, 49:10).

This group is found again in Chapter 14 of Revelation, where they “stand with the Lamb on Mount Zion” and sing a “new song before the Throne.” No one else can learn the song except those men who have been redeemed by the Lamb. They sing the same ‘new song’ as those who declared the Lamb worthy in Revelation 5:9-10, which identifies the 144,000 men on Mount Zion with those who were declared redeemed from every nation in Revelation 5:9-10 - (See Revelation 14:1-5).

The group of 144,000 saints standing on Mount Zion is seen again in Revelation 15:1-3, where they “sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb,” while standing upon the sea of glass, having overcome the Beast, his image and “the number of his name.”

Satan is expelled from heaven in Chapter 12, which was accomplished when the messianic Son was seized and taken to the Throne. This represents the same reality as that of the slain Lamb who began to reign from the Throne in Chapter 5, and it portrays the same reign described by Jesus in Revelation 3:21, the victorious Son who now rules with his Father on his throne – (Revelation 12:1-11).

Because Jesus conquered the Dragon through his death, his saints share in the same victory. Moreover, they overcome the Devil in the same manner as the Lamb – Through faithful testimony even when it results in their martyrdom:

• “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, and because they loved not their life unto death” – (Revelation 12:11).

Everlasting life is obtained through the Lamb, and in no other way. Only men whose names are written in “the book of life of the lamb that has been slain” will inherit everlasting life and escape the Second Death – (Revelation 13:8).

The ten kings allied with the Beast attempted to make war with the Lamb, but the Lamb overcame them, because it is the Lamb who is “the Lord of lords, and King of kings.” He is the “ruler of the kings of the earth,” and this has been so since his death, resurrection, and exaltation to the throne of God - (Revelation 1:5-6, 17:14).

Finally, the Lamb is the heart of the Holy City, New Jerusalem. The city is the bride of the Lamb, and New Jerusalem is built on twelve foundation stones that bear the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. There is no temple in the city, for the Lamb is the sanctuary. There is no need for outside illumination, because the Lamb is the lamp of the city. The city is inhabited by everyone whose name is “written in the Lamb’s Book of Life” – (Revelation 21:9-27).

Living waters cascade from the Throne and from the Lamb. The curse caused by Adam’s sin is no more, and the “throne of God and the Lamb” is at the center of the city – (Revelation 22:1-3).

Thus, the term ‘Lamb’ occurs seven times in the vision of the Holy City. Jesus does not cease to be the slain Lamb, even after the Great Judgment and the arrival of the New Heavens and the New Earth.

By transforming the traditional image of the Davidic Messiah into that of the slain Lamb, the Book of Revelation undermines every concept of Jesus as a militaristic conqueror who slaughters his enemies. Instead, he is the Shepherd of the nations who redeems men and women from every nation by means of his own death.

• “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and today and forever” – (Hebrews 13:8).

• “And if you call on him as Father, who without respect of persons judges according to each man's work, pass the time of your sojourn in fear, knowing that you were redeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, from your vain manner of life handed down from your fathers, but with precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without spot” – (1 Peter 1:17-19).

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[Citations of Old Testament passages in this article are based on the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint (see the links here and here). Text printed in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS represents quotations and verbal allusions from the Old Testament. The Septuagint is represented by the Roman numeral for ‘seventy’ or LXX based on the Latin name of the translation, ‘Interpretatio septuaginta virorum’]

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SEE ALSO:

• The Son of Man - (Revelation’s first vision presents Jesus as the Son of Man, the high priest who watches over his people – Revelation 1:9-20)

• Lord of All! - (The Book of Revelation applies messianic promises of the Old Testament to the present reign and exalted status of Jesus Christ)

• Our Shepherd and King - (The reign of Christ began after his death and resurrection, and since then, he has been guiding the nations to the New Jerusalem)

• Agneau et Messie - (Jésus est l'Agneau et le vrai Messie d'Israël. Il a été envoyé par Dieu pour racheter les hommes de toutes les nations par sa mort sacrificielle)