Seals--Ch 8-The Worthy "Bleeding" Lamb - Endtime Issues October 2007

Verse 6: “And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.”

Verse 6 – “And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders,”

“In the midst of the images of Ezekiel’s living beings and Isaiah’s elders stands a Lamb ‘as slain.’ That the Lamb stands ‘in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures and ... of the elders’ could suggest [at first] that he is on the throne and surrounded by the cherubim and elders. However, ‘in the midst of the throne’ ... more likely refers generally in figurative manner (by synecdoche) to the inner court area around the throne. That the Lamb stands somewhere in the area around the throne instead of on the throne itself is apparent from the fact that v 7 portrays the Lamb making an approach to the throne.... In 5:6 it appears that the Lamb is near the throne, preparing to make his approach to [the throne].”¹

John the Baptist first used the designation of a “Lamb” for Christ (John 1:29: “Behold the Lamb of God”). John identified Him as “the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet” (4:1) as the Being inviting him into the throne room. Suddenly, the Lion of the tribe of Judah (5:5) is seen as a Lamb. This opens new imagery in this book. This crucified Messiah, the Lamb slain, still pleading His blood, gives the Son of God special authority, and will justify His final work and heavenly actions as the apocalyptic story unfolds.

From this point on, the culminating steps in man’s salvic history will be revealed. Remarkable activity is to be set in motion to terminate evil. Every event will unswervingly point toward the vindication of God’s character. The Lion and the Lamb will blend typological forces. Final invitations to repent will be offered. Doors will be opened to the faithful. The Son of God will rip away barriers to God’s wrath against satanic strongholds. Step by step events will prepare for the grand arrival of Jesus as King of kings. But now God has been waiting for the Lamb to approach Him and take the scroll. That will mark the beginning of the very end – the onset of the “appointed time” (Daniel 8:19, Habakkuk 2:2-3).

“An important interpretive issue here is the problem of why the Lamb, who has not been seen by John before, suddenly appears on the scene. It could simply be for dramatic purposes, just as the scroll in the right hand of the One seated on the throne is not mentioned in Revelation 4 but is suddenly the focus of attention in 5:1.”² As each Seal is broken, it will be apparent: “it is time.”

In the Daniel 7 motif when a courtroom judgment review began, it noted shortly in Daniel 7:13 that Jesus, the “Son of man came … to the Ancient of Days.” That means They had been separated. In our discussion of Revelation 4, there was a time in the 1844 period alluded to when God had moved into the Most Holy place; Jesus then led His remnant people “out” from the Holy Place to wait. And then He “came to” the Ancient of Days. That was the termination activity of the 2300 years, which stated that a signified judicial work preparatory to the end of time. We are about to see Jesus once again, in an apocalyptic setting “coming to” the Father to prepare for the final judicial work just prior to His second coming.

“A slain lamb is perfectly appropriate to the intended paradox. On one hand, the elder has described this Being as the lion of the tribe of Judah (5:5), depicting supreme power. On the other, His appearance is that of ‘a lamb standing as having been slain,’ which speaks of supreme self-sacrifice (Swete). These figures draw attention to the unique characteristics combined in the life of Christ. His supreme self-sacrifice leads to His supreme power, so there is no contradiction between the two (Charles).”³

The wound identifies Jesus as the sacrificial lamb, the “faithful martyr” (1:5). Yet He is standing near the Father at the center of the universe as one who has prevailed and conquered. Now He is seen as the lamb ruler or leader.⁴

“In addition to the resurrection, the defeat of death was itself ironically a victory for Christ. That is, Christ as a Lion overcame by being slaughtered as a Lamb, which is the critical event in Chapter 5.

“Consequently, the Lion conquers initially by suffering as a slain lamb. This juxtaposition implies that, in their struggle against the world, believers should remember that Christ also suffered at the hands of the world but triumphed over it. His destiny is to be theirs, if they persevere.

“But how is the paradox of ‘conquering through suffering’ to be understood more precisely? In the light of how believers overcome according to the letters, we can say that Christ himself overcame by maintaining His loyalty to the Father through suffering and finally death (cf. 1:5). He was physically defeated but spiritually victorious. He willingly submitted to the unjust penalty of death, which was imposed on him ultimately by the devil. As an innocent victim he became a representative penal substitute for the sins of his people. While he was suffering the defeat of death, he was also overcoming by creating a kingdom of redeemed subjects over whom he would reign and over whom the devil would no longer have power. This is indicated by 5:9-10, which views the Lamb’s redemption and creation of a kingdom as a basis for his worthiness. Therefore, while Jesus was being defeated at the Cross, he was nevertheless beginning to establish his kingdom.

“This does not mean that the Lamb’s resurrection is not conceived of as a victory but only that there is an intention to highlight the death as a victory.”⁵

He is described by John “as if it had been slain.” Though suggesting “tentativeness” in his understanding it is simply descriptive of a lamb that is fully functional, still pleading His blood. Thus, he witnessed the resurrected Lamb that is about to play out a judgment scene as if a lion. Though “slain” he stands to live forever (Revelation 1:18; Hebrews 9:23-28).

“John probably sees the Lamb with His death wound still bleeding, as a lamb slain for sacrifice in the sanctuary service. The word ‘as’ indicates that this is a symbol. John is not saying that a slaughtered lamb really stands before the throne of God in heaven. Rather, he is describing what he sees in symbolic vision. Since this is apparently true of the Lamb, it follows that other features of this vision, the seven lamps (ch 4:5), the four living creatures (ch. 4:6), and the book (ch. 5:1) are also symbolic (see on Eze 1:10; Rev 4:1). The form of the verb translated ‘had been slain’ implies that the act of slaughter had taken place in the past, and that its results remained. Thus, though Christ’s death is historically in the past, its results for mankind are ever fresh and availing.”⁶

“Christ is our Mediator and officiating High Priest in the presence of the Father. He was shown to John as a Lamb that had been slain, as in the very act of pouring out His blood in the sinner’s behalf. When the law of God is set before the sinner, showing him the depth of his sins, he should then be pointed to the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world. He should be taught repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. Thus will the labor of Christ’s representative be in harmony with His work in the heavenly sanctuary.”⁷

The imagery goes deeper and is profound. Jesus, the Lamb slain, is still our advocate: “The infinite sufficiency of Christ is demonstrated by His bearing the sins of the whole world. He occupies the double position of offerer and offering, of priest and of victim.”⁸

“While it is true that a slaughtered lamb obviously connoted sacrifice, the lamb in John’s vision is now standing upright, having ‘seven horns and seven eyes’ – symbols of perfect power and wisdom. The Lamb of Revelation is the ‘Lord of lords, and King of kings,’ who wages a victorious warfare against the beast and his confederates (17:12-14) and before whose wrath the inhabitants of earth call upon the rocks and mountains to fall on them (6:15-17).”⁹

Verse 6 – “having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.”

In a sweeping phrase the messianic Lamb bears the divine qualities of complete power (seven horns – omnipotence), full knowledge (seven eyes – omniscience) and is ever present (seven Spirits acting on His behalf – omnipresence).

At this point we can see the qualities that characterized His worthiness which one of the elders addressed. This imagery places Jesus in His full divine role, ready to begin the first end-time scene with the opening of Seal one. A final phase in the great controversy with sin is about to commence.

Lion Powerful, will destroy his enemies, justice will be given to those who do not accept His justice

Lamb Has spirit of mercy, grace and gentleness toward those who accept His sacrifice

Mortal Wound Sin keeps it always open and bleeding. That blood is still available for the repentant sinner.

“That the Lamb has horns is best explained against the background of the Jewish tradition found in 1 En 90 and Test. Jos. 19 concerning a conquering messianic lamb (though some see the latter text as a Christian interpolation). Yet even these two Jewish texts find their primary inspiration from Daniel. The relation of the horns to ... (‘overcome’) and to the OT allusions to the conquering of the Messiah in v 5 provide a basis for viewing them as a continuation of the ‘messianic conqueror’ idea from v 5 (for ‘horns’ as representing power cf. Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Ps 89:17; Dan 7:7-8:24; 1 En. 90:6-12, 37). That the Lamb has seven horns signifies the fullness of his strength, since ‘seven’ is figurative for fullness elsewhere in the Apocalypse and in biblical literature.

“The slain Lamb thus represents the image of a conqueror who was mortally wounded while defeating an enemy. Christ’s death, the end-time sacrifice of the messianic Lamb, becomes interpreted as a sacrifice that not only redeems but also conquers. The idea of conquering is evoked by Genesis 49, Isaiah 11, and the ‘horns’ of the lamb.

“The consensus is that the last phrase of v 6 (‘having seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God having been sent out into all the earth’) is dependent on Zechariah 3 and 4. In Zech 3:9 the ‘seven eyes’ are bound up with a divine inscription set before Jesus, the high priest, concerning the ‘removal of iniquity of the land in one day.” In Zechariah 4 the symbols of the ‘seven lamps’ (v 2) and the ‘seven eyes’ (v 10) are associated with Yahweh’s omnipotent Spirit. Indeed, in 2 Chron 16:9 the statement ‘the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth’ highlights not only omniscience but especially divine sovereignty, that he may strongly support those whose heart is completely his.’ The preceding mention of ‘seven horns’ underscores further the notion of omnipotence.

“John has interpreted the ‘seven eyes’ of Zechariah as Yahweh’s Spirit and has identified both eyes and spirits as a possession of the lamb ...

“As a result of the death and resurrection, these spirits also become Christ’s agents throughout the world who figuratively represent the Holy Spirit himself. The Spirit carries out the sovereign plan of the Lord.”¹⁰

He has been supremely qualified to judge and to warn of judgment to come. “The exalted Lord Christ now exercises this supreme authority and power on behalf of God’s people, in particular as he uses this power to defend them on earth, as will be revealed in the prophetic message of chapters 6-16. The ‘seven horns’ (5:6) are a comforting reminder to John that the Lord Christ will defend him and his faithful hearers no matter what they experience and suffer, for he is the ‘horn of [their] salvation’ (Ps 18:2-3 [MT 18:3-4]; cf. I Sam 2:1; Lk 1:69).

“Closely connected with the horns are the ‘seven eyes’ (Rev 5:6), by which the exalted Lamb now knows and sees all things. In Zech 4:10 the seven eyes of Yahweh rove over the whole earth, that is, the Lord (by means of the seven eyes) sees and knows everything. In Zechariah’s vision the seven eyes are symbolized by the lampstand with its seven lamps (4:1-3), and together they represent and symbolize Yahweh’s presence by his Spirit (4:4-6). But now this authority to oversee everything by the Holy Spirit has been given by God to the Lamb because of his victory. On behalf of God the Father he now exercises this oversight. John would again be reminded that the Lamb does so on behalf of God’s people for their comfort and faith. This is entailed in Jesus being the ‘light’ of the world (see Jn 1:4; 8:12; 12:35-36, 46). The seven horns and eyes thus demonstrate the close relationship between the triumphant Christ and the Holy Spirit, for in Christ’s exalted status he and the Spirit are inseparable, especially as Christ works with his church on earth through his Word and with the Spirit (Rev 2:1, 7, 11, etc.; cf. Jn 14:17; 20:22; Rev 4:5).”¹¹

This is gracefully portrayed in these thoughts: “The throne of Satan is in this world. But Christ has said, ‘Where stands the throne of Satan shall stand My cross.’ Satan shall be cast out, and I will become the Center of attraction in the redeemed world. I will engage every holy agency in the universe to cooperate with Me in the plan of salvation. I will summon every heavenly power. Angels that excel in strength shall unite with humanity, sanctified to My service to uproot evil. The depravity of man requires all this expenditure of heavenly power, that man may be sanctified through the grace of God. Jesus said, ‘I will redeem My people from the earth. The perishing shall be rescued.’”¹²

There is another deeper meaning to all of God’s children in the Christian dispensation. The metaphor “in the midst” has spiritual implications.

“The Lamb of God is represented before us as ‘in the midst of the throne’ of God. He is the great ordinance by which man and God are united and commune together. Thus men are represented as sitting in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. This is the appointed place of meeting between God and humanity.

“[John 17:19-23 quoted]. Christ brought human nature into a personal relation with His own divinity. Thus He has given a center for the faith of the universe to fasten upon.”¹³

“The Isaiah 53 background highlights the atoning aspect of the lamb’s sacrificial death, as well as applying the metaphors of both ‘root’ (... cf. Isa 52:2 and Rev 5:5) and ‘lamb’ (... LXX) to the sacrificial victim. In fact, ‘root’ occurs also in Isa 11:1, 10, alluded to in Rev 5:5, which may have inspired attraction to the same metaphor in 53:2.”¹⁴

Does this mean we have a simple Passover motif? Impossible. The imagery doesn’t end with the Lamb. That is only a reminder of one function. We have the Lion, the horns and the eyes all wrapped up in this remarkable symbolism of Christ. Together they justify His worthiness to break the Seals and open the scroll.

“All of those elements ... symbolize the necessary qualifications for the Person who would be worthy enough to loose the ‘seals’ and open the ‘book,’ and, in addition, act as both judge (to administer justice like a Lion) and defense attorney (to deal in mercy like a Lamb).”¹⁵