The Throne of Heaven
Welcome to day 98. Today’s reading is Revelation 4:1 – 7:17
Read the Bible passage here or listen to the audio file below.
From Otago University New Testament Professor Paul Trebilco…
Revelation 4-7 starts with a vision of worship in heaven to God and to the Lamb. The passage then describes the havoc on earth that results from the opening of the seals, and ends with the worship of heaven again.
A crucial point in Revelation is in Chapter 5 verse 2. There an angel asks, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” The scroll is about God’s judgement.
No one is found who is worthy to open the scroll. But then one of the elders says, “Do not weep. See the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” This is Jesus; as the Lion of the tribe of Judah he is clearly the strong, conquering Messiah.
Yet note how Rev 5:6 goes on: “Then I saw … a Lamb standing as if it had been slaughtered”. John is told of the Lion, but when John sees the Lion of Judah, what he sees is actually the Lamb, who has been killed and has risen to Life. The Lion is revealed as a Lamb.
Jesus conquers, but as the Lamb who has been slain. It is through his death on the cross that Jesus has conquered sin and evil. Jesus is the powerful Lion, but he establishes the Kingdom through his death. He shows he is the Lord of Lords, by suffering and dying as the Lamb, dying for the world, and for those he so loves. He reigns – because he died. So the Lion is the Lamb. This challenges all our worldly ideas of power.
Jesus, our Lord, is the all-powerful one, who has conquered all his enemies. But he has conquered as the slaughtered Lamb. He is the Servant Lord. This is the one we are to follow, who as Revelation 7:17 says, will be our Shepherd and “will guide us to springs of the water of life”.
Paul
Filed under: Week 20 - Paul Trebilco
