Revelation 22:1 + 3 “…the throne of God and of the Lamb” – One Throne, One Person on it. The Holy Spirit uses this language to emphasise that the Lord Jesus is both the One who died for us and the Eternal God. (vs3 – 4 “… His servants shall serve Him: And they shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads.”)
The Lamb is and always was God; equal with the Person of God who in the Book of Revelation is described as “Him that liveth for ever and ever” [Revelation 5:14, 10:6]. And equal, of course, with God the Holy Spirit.
Only as One equal with God could He function as The Lamb.
It required the sinless Blood of God to achieve man’s Salvation. We are told that “it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins” [Hebrews 10:4] – that is permanently. But take all the righteous men in the world according to God’s Word – Job, Noah, Daniel – could their blood have atoned for anyone’s soul? Not at all. So how could any other human being do that?
Let us consider the Principles of God’s Dealing with Man in his now fallen state –
Jesus Christ is “the Lord from Heaven” [1 Corinthians 15:47]. He came as God; “Emmanuel – God with us” [Matthew 1:23]. He remained God in whatever growing up stage He was in. Men saw Him as a Man, who was God in human form. His behaviour all the way through was that of God. The way He walked, the way He talked, His mannerisms, the way He looked at and reacted with people, were all in the way God did those things.
He was God upon the Cross. He was God in Hell. He was God raised from the dead – “My Lord and my God” exclaimed the believing Thomas! [John 20:28] !
Paul put it like this : “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh…” [1 Timothy 3:16]
Taking on human flesh did not change Him. He didn’t become anything else other than what He always was – God!
It was His own Authority as God that He put aside in order to be The Lamb. He was sent by God in Heaven and the Holy Spirit, as a Servant, to be totally obedient to the Will and the Word of God
Isaiah 48:16b “… and now the Lord GOD, and His Spirit, hath sent Me.”
Also, Christ repeated many times : “He that sent Me…” [John’s Gospel ].
John 18:37 “… To this end was I born…” This terrible end of being bound and dragged from one High Priest to another High Priest, of being beaten all night with rods and spat upon and reviled and pushed and shoved around, of being bound again and dragged away to Pilate the Governor, before whom He stands to tell him this. He still faced His audience with Herod in which He suffered terrible indignity, and the scourging and the crown of thorns and the nailing to the cross, and the suffocating agony of crucifixion… - and the horrible pit of Hell, as well…
And how did He react to all this :
“Let My sentence come forth from Thy Presence; let Thine eyes behold the things that are equal.” [Psalm 17:2].
Can you see that, this prophetic statement from Christ on the Cross? He waited for God’s Judgments upon Him on behalf of all Mankind to be completed. “Let My sentence come forth from Thy Presence”
“let Thine eyes behold the things that are equal.” He proclaimed to God in Heaven that He was willing for His terrible and violent sufferings and the pouring out of His Blood to be the equal Price to be paid for the terrible evil and wickedness of Man’s sin… The violence of His sufferings and Death had to be equal to the violent rebellion in Man against God…
The Lord Jesus Christ alone in the Godhead experienced death… The very Title “The Lamb” speaks of death. The Old Testament was by the death of a clean and innocent animal – the lamb being amongst those whose blood was poured out.
The New Testament is by the Blood of Jesus poured out – the perfect atonement for the sins of the world. The sin of unbelief in men’s hearts is corrupting and stifling; it bars man’s contact with his Creator. Atonement, cleansing for transgressions and our sinful nature is vital if we are to be saved from God’s wrath!
Only by the real Presence of the Holy Ghost within a soul [you], will that soul [you] fully understand the enormity of our sinfulness as a human being !!
He came to be our Lamb for a burnt offering – as Abraham foretold, “My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering.” [Genesis 22:7]. He submitted Himself to the Will of God in Heaven. “Lo”, He said, “I come … I delight to do Thy will, O My God…” [Psalm 40:7 – 8].
He came giving Himself as a Perfect and Complete Sacrifice. The very reason for all those Old Testament laws of shedding blood was to teach us that “without shedding of blood is no re-mission” [Hebrews 9:22] – no sending away of sin; no forgiveness, no pardon from a Holy God. Please dismiss this teaching that says Christ's Death was not in Sacrifice! It is false teaching; false doctrine!
A perfect life, innocent from the crime committed must pay the price if the condemned is to go free. It is the Meeting of Justice and Mercy; the desire for Righteousness to have its Laws satisfied and at the same time for Love to have the sinner restored. Psalm 85:10 expresses all that…
Psalm 85:10 “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.”
Hebrews 9:25-28 “…but now once in the end of the world hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.”
Ephesians 5:2 “Christ … hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.” – If God punished us all as we deserve, He would never have the Family His heart yearns for, would He?!
So we should understand that as The Lamb, the Lord Jesus did NOT come of Himself. He came as One with no power over His own Life or Will.
A lamb is a creature that does not resist at the point of slaughter. It is entirely submissive and compliant. It remains silent; it does not scream or bellow as other animals do. It does not draw back, but gives itself to the inevitable death.
He willingly set Himself to fulfil that Will. He had a body prepared for Him [Hebrews 10:5]. And He gave Himself to God in that Body…
The Lord Jesus Christ as The Lamb means :
He Fulfilled the Scriptures
Mark 14:49 “I was daily with you in the [outer] temple teaching, and ye took Me not: but the scriptures must be fulfilled.”
Through His Death as the Lamb of God, He fulfilled God’s Eternal Plan for both Salvation and Judgment. From Genesis to Revelation God’s Word proclaims Salvation and Eternal Blessing for Obedience to God, and Damnation and Eternal Curses/Punishment for Disobedience to God. In this He revealed the Truth, for God’s Word IS Truth, and Christ is the physical expression of the Truth.
John 18:37 “… and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth… (Every one that is of the truth heareth My voice” – a statement worthy of notice!)
John 17:17 “Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth.”
Christ as The Lamb, giving Himself in total Willing, Loving Obedience has revealed in Himself the Way to achieve Salvation and avoid Eternal Damnation. Salvation is having Christ as your Lamb; Damnation is not having Christ as your Lamb…
He Came For Everyone
Exodus 12:3 “Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house.” – Translate that into New Testament times, our Church Age : “take every man a Lamb; a Lamb for an house”…
Revelation 13:8b “… the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”
Every one of us should have Him as our Life. Jesus Christ is absolutely right for every single human being.
Then the lamb which each household took was to be eaten – “roast with fire” [Exodus 12:8]. It provided a good meal to sustain them for the journey ahead.
Does He keep you going and growing daily, through His Word? Didn’t He say, “Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you” [John 6:53] He is able to fill every life with the Joy, the Peace, the Love, the overflowing Blessings of Heaven…
He Has Broken The Finger of Accusation from Satan
Luke 22:31–32 “And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you [plural – ie. all of them, all of us], that he may sift you as wheat:”
Revelation 12:10–11 “… the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.”
The understanding that Satan’s finger of accusation is broken because of the Blood of The Lamb takes us a step further from the Balance between the Righteousness and the Mercy of God – the need to punish the crime while showing love to the criminal…
It is the Legality of the Substitute Death that has to shut the mouth of the Accuser. His accusing finger is broken! If we believe that God has put away our sin forever by the Blood of The Lamb, then we have the Victory over all the accusations. We overcome Satan by the Blood of the Lamb! The overcomer knows that the Justice of God demands punishment for sin, but he has faith in the Mercy of God which has placed it all upon Christ who gave Himself to that end.
The Lamb delivers us all from the same things as the Israelites were delivered from : the bondage of Satan, the pull of the world, the lusts of the flesh… Egypt represents the world, a Kingdom run by Satan. Egypt is the first “head” of the seven heads on the beast, the man we call the Antichrist, and Satan. None of this is insignificant…
Leviticus 20:26 is just as appropriate for us today in this very slack and fleshly Age...
“And ye shall be holy unto Me: for I have severed you from other people, that ye should be Mine.”
The Book of Revelation shows the Final End of the only Two Choices each one of us must make. We either serve the flesh, or we serve a Holy God by the Holy Spirit through the Poured Out Blood of The Lamb… And The Church of Jesus Christ has been called out exactly as that ancient Nation was called out.
God is Love, but He is Love and Just and True because He is Holy. There is no wrong in Him; no defect in His reason; no malice in His heart against any created being. All His Judgments are Right; no Punishment or Plague poured out will be unjust. In God’s New Order, every human soul and every created spirit will be in their rightful Eternal Place.
Revelation 22:1 + 3 “…the throne of God and of the Lamb”. So when all has been completed and settled, He will be admired and worshipped as both the Eternal God, and the eternally wounded Lamb.
There is a wonderful Future ahead of you. Make your Right Choice daily and you will be There!!
No comments:
Post a Comment