As Jesus is about to begin his ministry, John the Baptist identifies him: "Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." The picture of Jesus as the Lamb occurs over 30 times in the book of Revelation. It seems to be the dominant picture of Jesus in Revelation. While this description of Jesus is a frequent one, how the Lamb is experienced, or how people respond to the Lamb differs greatly.
Christ is identified in Revelation 5 as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, but when John sees Him, he appears as a Lamb as though it had been killed. There we read of great praise being offered to the Lamb of God in chapter 5, because He was killed and with His blood purchased people from every nation and language group. We join our praise with millions for Christ's sacrifice for us. "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain."
Alongside this picture of love and worship appears an the alarming description in chapter 6. There we see the powerful and rich people of the world desperately trying to hide from "the wrath of the Lamb". Who would ever link fear with a lamb? Yet this reminds us of the sobering truth that our great loving Saviour is also righteous and just. He and God the Father have a controlled, righteous wrath against all law breaking, disobedient sinners and will judge those who do not repent and believe.
Following this frightening snapshot, in chapter 7, we confront a warm, contrasting picture of the Lamb. Just as He will bring judgment against rebels, He will be a tender shepherd to those who believe and are his loyal followers. The One who died to bring forgiveness and righteousness will be our eternal Shepherd.
I encourage you to take time to meditate and enlarge your appreciation of the Lamb as He is described especially in these three chapters (5,6,7) of Revelation.
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