The Exalted Lamb

The Sovereignty of Jesus is based on his Death and Resurrection, the immovable foundation of his present reign and the Gospel.

The death and exaltation of Jesus are inextricably linked in the Book of Revelation. Its visions unveil the plan to redeem humanity, and God implements it through Christ’s sacrificial death, resurrection, and enthronement.  However, this Jesus is no tyrant. He does not subjugate his enemies through force.

Rather than resort to violence or the coercive power of the State, Jesus “shepherds the nations” and purchases men, women, and children from every “tribe and people and tongue” with his shed blood, thereby making them citizens of God’s kingdom destined to live forevermore in the city of New Jerusalem.

[Half Dome - Photo by Mick Haupt (Orlando) on Unsplash]

The New Testament tells a consistent story. The rock-solid foundation of the Apostolic Faith is Jesus Christ, especially his Death and Resurrection:

• “Now, I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word that I preached to you, except you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which also I received, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he has been raised on the third day, according to the scriptures” - (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

The Book of Revelation tells the same story in its own way. Jesus has become “the Faithful Witness, the Firstborn of the Dead, and the Ruler of the Kings of the Earth.” The term “Faithful Witness” points to his death by which he gave faithful testimony before the courts of this world. “Firstborn of the Dead” refers to his resurrection, and consequently, Jesus has become “the Ruler of the Kings of the Earth” – (Revelation 1:4-6).

In Chapter 1, John the Revelator sees Jesus as the glorious “Son of Man,” an allusion to the incident when the Prophet Daniel saw “one like a son of man” receiving “the kingdom and dominion” from the “Ancient of Days.” In Revelation, this figure is portrayed as a high priest, using imagery from the Book of Leviticus:

• “And in the midst of the lampstands, one like a son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about at the breasts with a golden girdle” - (Revelation 1:13).

• “With these things will Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin-offering, and a ram for a burnt-offering. He will put on the holy linen coat, and he will have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and will be girded with the linen girdle, and with the linen mitre will he be attired. They are the holy garments” - (Revelation 16:3-4).

This “Son of Man” describes himself as “the Living One, and I became dead and, behold, living am I unto the ages of ages,” once more referring to his Death, Resurrection, and Exaltation. He is sovereign even over the realm of the dead. His authority is without limits - (Daniel 7:13-14, Revelation 1:12-20).

• “I have the keys of Death and of Hades. Write, therefore, the things which you saw, and the things which are, and the things which will come to pass hereafter. The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are seven churches” - (Revelation 1:18-20).

Because Jesus is the one who died and rose from the dead, he has the authority to unveil “what things must come to pass soon.” He is the priestly figure who walks among the “Seven Golden Lampstands” in the Sanctuary of God as he oversees and leads his people – (Revelation 1:1, 1:20).

The Risen Christ encourages, corrects, and chastises his assemblies. He assures saints who “overcome” of their everlasting rewards, and they participate in his reign: “Just as I also overcame and took my seat with my Father in his Throne.” Jesus overcame by enduring the Cross, and his disciples conquer Satan in the same way -(Revelation 3:20-21):

• “Now is come the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ, for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, who accuses them before our God, day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony, and because they love not their lives unto death” - (Revelation 12:10-11).

The theme of Christ overcoming through his sacrificial death is central to the vision of the Throne and the Sealed Scroll in Chapter 5. God’s redemptive plan could not commence until the scroll was unsealed. The only one who was found “worthy” to open it was the Slain Lamb. Jesus is the messianic “Lion of the Tribe of Judah,” but he fulfills that role as the sacrificial Lamb - (Revelation 5:6-10).

After Chapter 5, the term “Lamb” becomes the dominant title applied to Jesus. He is called the Lamb twenty-eight times (4 x 7). In contrast, he is called “Christ” seven times in Revelation, “Jesus” fourteen times (2 x 7), and “Lion of Judah” only once. The name “Lamb” stresses his victory through self-sacrificial death. It is the Lamb who is now enthroned on God’s Throne.

Upon his arrival, the Lamb immediately took the Sealed Scroll from the right hand of the “One Sitting on the Throne.” The heavenly choir then declared him worthy:

• “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals because you were slain and thereby purchased for God by 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 reign upon the earth” - (Revelation 5:9-10).

The Slain Lamb acts in concert with “the One who sits on the Throne.” Together, they reign over the Cosmos, judge the impenitent, subdue their enemies, inaugurate the New Creation, and grant rewards and everlasting life to the righteous.

The Lamb has seven horns and seven eyes, signifying his complete authority and unchallenged knowledge, respectively. Nothing is hidden from his eyes. Even the Beast from the Sea is incapable of launching his war on the saints until he is authorized to do so - (“And it was given to him to wage war on the saints…” - Revelation 13:7).

The Letter to the Hebrews makes a similar point. The Son achieved the purification of sins; therefore, he sat down on the right hand of God and “inherited all things,” and now he is “bearing up all things by the utterance of his power.” Likewise, in Revelation, after overcoming the Devil, Jesus “sat down” on the Throne of God, where he remains – (Hebrews 1:1-3, Revelation 3:21).

Or as the Apostle Paul describes the present state of reality: “And he is before all things, and in him, all things hold together” - (Colossians 1:17).

In Chapter 7, John sees the Innumerable Multitude of redeemed men standing before the Throne and the Lamb. They are proclaiming, “Salvation to our God who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb!” These men came out of “the Great Tribulation, having washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Redemption and victory are achieved through “the Lamb who was slain” - (Revelation 7:9-17).

In Chapter 12, John sees Satan. He is pictured as the Great Red Dragon. The Devil is poised to destroy a male figure who is about to be born from “the Woman clothed with the Sun.” Identified as the Messianic “son,” he is destined “to shepherd the nations with a scepter of iron.” Before the Dragon could destroy him, the child was “caught away to God and to his Throne,” and the Dragon was banished to Earth - (Psalm 2:7-10, Revelation 12:1-10).

NEW JERUSALEM

In Chapter 14, John sees 144,000 males standing victorious on “Mount Zion.” Each has the name of the “Lamb written upon his forehead.” Together, they “sing a New Song before the Throne” that no one else can learn. Only those who belong to the Lamb can sing the song of redemption - (Revelation 14:1-5).

The 144,000 “males” are identified as those “who have been redeemed from the Earth,” and they “follow the Lamb wherever he goes.” This is the same group seen previously in the vision of the Throne and the Sealed Scroll, and in the vision of the Innumerable Multitude. Note the parallels:

• “They sing a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are you to take the Scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain and by your blood purchased for God men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation” – (Revelation 5:9-11).

• “After these things I saw, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could number, out of every nation and of all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. <…> These are they that come out of the great tribulation, and they washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, they are before the throne of God” – (Revelation 7:9-15).

The visions of Revelation conclude with the picture of the city, New Jerusalem. All God’s enemies have been defeated. Sin and death are no more, and overcoming saints inherit everlasting life. The victory is total. Nevertheless, Jesus is still identified as the sacrificial Lamb, and he is at the very center of the Holy City:

• “And I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb. And the nations will walk amidst its light. and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it” – (Revelation 21:22-24).

Furthermore, New Jerusalem is identified as “the wife of the Lamb.” The Apostles are called “the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.” Only those men whose names are “written in the Book of Life of the Lamb” gain access to the city. The “river of water of life” flows from “the Throne of God and of the Lamb,” which is located at the center of the city. There is no life and no redemption without the Slain Lamb - (Revelation 21:9-22:5).

Through his sacrificial death, Jesus fulfills the role of the Davidic Messiah, and because God raised him from the dead, he now reigns supreme over the Cosmos. Christ’s exaltation and the redemption of humanity are based on his past Death and Resurrection; therefore, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain!”

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SEE ALSO:

• Christus Rex - (The New Testament applies messianic promises from the Hebrew Bible to the present reign of Jesus. He is Christ the King!)

• The Lamb or the Beast - (Humanity is divided into two and only two groups – the followers of the Lamb and the subjects of the Beast)

• The King of Kings - (Jesus, the Faithful Witness, now reigns supreme over the Kings of the Earth, and he is shepherding the nations to the Holy City of New Jerusalem)

• The Name above all Names - (Because he sacrificed his life for others, God resurrected and exalted Jesus and installed him as Absolute Lord over all things)