The Lamb on the Cross Becomes the Lion of Wrath -By Brother Chuck

By Brother Chuck

The first time Jesus came to Earth, He came as a sacrificial lamb. When He comes again, He'll come as a Lion of conquest. The sacrificial servant becomes the conquering King. The Lamb becomes the Lion. This epithet of the Lion and the Lamb represents the Messianic Age. The Lamb symbolizes Christ' sacrificial death. The Lion, His resurrection.

"He endured death as a lamb; he devoured it as a lion." -Saint Augustine of Hippo (Sermon 375A)

Behold, the Lamb of God

God sent John the Baptist to prepare the way for Jesus. John the Baptist, had been baptizing in the Jordan River. "The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29 ESV) "The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!" (John 1:35 ESV) When John the Baptist called Jesus, the Lamb of God, he was referring to Him as the perfect and ultimate sacrifice for sin.

In His role as Savior of the world, the Bible portrays Jesus as the sacrificial Lamb. But when He comes again, He'll not only come as the King of Kings, He'll come as the conquering lion. He'll come as the just Judge. And He'll come to administer God's wrath upon all those who have rejected His love and His grace. He will no longer be the sacrificial Lamb of peace. He is after all, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah; a Lion of wrath, ripping apart all those who cross His path. The fury of His wrath and His anger and the fury of His rage will be against the wicked. He'll let loose on them a band of destroying angels. (Psalm 78:49 NLT)

The Sacrificial Lamb

Jesus came to Earth as the perfect and ultimate sacrifice for our sins, to make a way for us to be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:18 ESV). One important Jewish holiday in the Old Testament was the sacrifice of the Passover lamb. This slaying of the Passover lamb, and applying it's blood to the doorposts of dwellings, found in Exodus 12:11-13, signifies Christ's atoning work on the cross. Those for whom He died are covered by His blood.

Another important sacrifice in the Old Testament was when God ordered the sacrifice of year-old lambs twice a day at the temple in Jerusalem (Exodus 29:38-46 ESV). This sacrifice was a burnt offering to atone for the sins of the people so they could commune with God. This burnt offering was a foreshadowing of what was to come, Christ' sacrificial death on the cross.

In the story of Abraham and Isaac, God instructed Abraham to sacrifice "your son, your only son" (Genesis 22:2) on a mountain top in the region of Moriah. When they arrived at Moriah, with no lamb in sight, the boy asked where the sacrificial lamb was. Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." (Genesis 22:8 NIV). At the very last moment, with a knife in hand, just before Abraham could slay his son who was bound to the altar, God provided the lamb in a thicket for Isaac (Genesis 22:13 NIV). And just as God provided the lamb for Isaac, He provided the Lamb for us as well through Jesus, His "one and only Son" (John 3:16 NIV), who is the sacrificial Lamb of God. Only a sacrifice coming from God, can be sufficient enough to atone for the sins of the whole world.

God's entire sacrificial system established in the Old Testament prophetically points us to the coming Messiah. This Messianic prophecy is woven throughout the Old Testament in preparation for Christ' coming as the Lamb of God. This Old Testament sacrificial offering of a lamb symbolically atoned for the sins of the people. You can read more about God's sacrificial system on my page, THE TABERNACLE.

Lion of the Tribe of Judah

The first time Jesus came, He came as a servant; He came as a Shepherd in search of His sheep, and He came as the sacrificial Lamb of God. He'll come again, just as He said He would! But this time, He'll come as King and Judge, wielding His power and authority. He'll come as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. The symbol of the Lion represents majesty, strength, courage, justice, and might. The lion after all is "the KING of the beasts."

The tribe of Judah refers to one of Jacob's twelve sons named Judah. The descendants of all twelve of these sons formed the twelve tribes of Israel. Jesus was a descendant of Judah. That linage includes David and Solomon, and makes its way all the way down to Joseph, Jesus' earthly father. If you would like to read the entire genealogy, you'll find it here Matthew 1:1-25 NLT.

Jesus Has Conquered! The Lamb Opens the Scroll.

"Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?" And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, "Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals." (Revelation 5:1-5 ESV)

Reference: The Lamb Opens the Scroll - Revelation 5:8-10 (ESV), The Sixth Seal - Terror and Cosmic Disturbances - Revelation 6:12-17 (ESV)

The Lion of the tribe of Judah, from the Root (linage) of David, has conquered. Only He is worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals. Only Jesus, the crucified Lamb of God, who died and paid a ransom with His life for the sins of the whole world; He conquered death and rose again; only He is worthy to judge the world with might and just. As God justly judges the wicked and pours out His wrath, His desire remains the same, to bring all of humanity to salvation. After the sixth seal is opened, 144,000 people representing the twelve tribes of Israel will be sealed and protected during this judgment. They will go out and preach the good news to everyone everywhere and many will come to Christ during the tribulation. This is confirmed by an angel as many believers from every nation and tribe and people and language come out of the tribulation and are worshiping God. (See Revelation 7:1-17 NLT) Sadly, there will also be many people who will not repent and instead, they will curse God for His judgment of the world.

Friends, make no mistake about it. Both the Lamb and the Lion are prophetic representations of Jesus. In Revelation 5:5 (ESV), Jesus as, "...the Lion of the tribe of Judah ... has conquered." And in the very next verse, we have Jesus as the Lamb standing "as though it had been slain" (Revelation 5:6 ESV). This reference to the Lamb standing "as though it had been slain" is important because it represents the slain Christ on the cross. As the Lamb, Christ was slain, but as the Lion, Christ has conquered. Jesus is the victorious and conquering Lion of the tribe of Judah and He is also the Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world. Hallelujah!

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