January 15, Revelation 5
From the opening lines of Revelation, we know we’re reading a book that is different from almost everything else in the Bible. Revelation is written in a style the scholars call apocalyptic literature. Numbers, colors and symbols have special, code-like significance. The imagery is vivid, the scale is large. The original readers were far more familiar with this type of literature than we are today. But some of the symbolism is clear to us if we have even a general knowledge of the story line of Scripture.
When John saw the Lamb who was worthy to open the scroll, he was completing a thread of imagery that is woven throughout the Bible. In Genesis, Abel’s offering that pleased God marks the beginning of the lamb motif. Also in Genesis, Abraham’s answer to Isaac’s question about the sacrifice is a miniature gospel: “God will provide a lamb.” The Passover lamb in
Exodus and Isaiah’s description of Messiah as a “lamb led to the slaughter” contribute threads to the story line as it passes through the Old Testament.
In the New Testament, when John the Baptist saw Jesus approaching, he identified him as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.” When a traveling Ethiopian treasurer was reading the Isaiah passage about the lamb, Philip began at that very text and told him about
Jesus. Paul called Christ our Passover sacrificed for us. Peter said we were redeemed by the blood of Christ as of a Lamb without blemish. And here, near the end, John sees the Lamb, slain but very much alive, about to take the scroll and unfold the whole story! The hosts of heaven fall down and worship before this Lamb, proclaiming him to be worthy and celebrating their redemption by his blood. It’s a grand crescendo of this Bible-wide theme.
This is more than God’s plan to redeem humanity in general. It is his plan to redeem you. The blood of the Lamb of God was sacrificed for your sins. He wants you to be among the throng before the throne praising his Son for redemption. The gospel invitation is universal, but your response to it is individual. The myriads of heavenly worshippers are composed of a staggering number of individuals, but God knows, loves and gave his Son for you personally so you can be in that number.
From The Abiding Companion: A Friendly Guide for Your Journey Through the New Testament,
Copyright © 2010 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Today in God's Word—January 2024
East Tallassee Church of Christ
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