| The Christian Life | April 1941 |
God often talks to us in picture language to help us understand His thoughts better. The slain-lamb picture is a prominent one in the Bible, and very meaningful.
The Lamb of God
“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.”—Revelation 5:6
ONE of the most interesting and meaningful symbolisms of the Bible is that of the slain lamb. By it God calls attention to the great work of atonement centered in Christ Jesus, an atonement that is based upon the shedding of blood. The statement of our text relative to the slain lamb is but one of a number of such references by which through type and prophecy the divine program of redemption through Christ may be traced. This thread of thought pertaining to the importance of the blood in the redemptive program can first be picked up early in the Book of Genesis.
Soon after the disobedience of our first parents and the pronouncement upon them of the sentence, “Dying, thou shalt die,” God calls our attention in a pictorial way to the fact that an atonement for sin ultimately would be made. He had made a statement to the effect that the seed of the woman would bruise the serpent’s head. This was a vague way of saying that in some manner the result of the tragedy that had just occurred in Eden, would he set aside and that the sentence of death there being imposed upon our first parents would be removed. It was fitting, therefore, that the Lord should begin to indicate the manner in which this was to be accomplished.
He did this in a very unique way, by manifesting His special favor upon an offering that was brought to Him by Abel, which offering was one of the “firstlings of his flock”—an offering which called for the shedding of blood. (Gen. 4:4) In Hebrews 11:4, the apostle tells us that “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous.”
The Bible does not indicate the extent of Abel’s knowledge concerning the significance of the sacrifice which he brought to the Lord, but the apostle’s statement does indicate that he must have had sufficient knowledge to know that the bringing of this firstling of the flock would be specially pleasing to the Creator. Evidently the reason God was so pleased is because the sacrifice of the lamb offered by Abel pointed forward to the coming and sacrifice of the real Lamb of God which in due time, was to take away the sin of the world. By this means God thus indicated that the sentence of death imposed upon our first parents would, through Christ, be set aside.
ISAAC A TYPE
Sometime after the flood God appeared to Abraham and made promise that through his seed all the families of the earth would be blessed. When Isaac was born, Abraham probably thought that he was to constitute the seed of promise; and in fact, Isaac was a type of the coming Christ. God asked Abraham to offer up his beloved son, Isaac, as a sacrifice. Abraham’s faith arose to the occasion; and he actually made every necessary preparation to carry out the divine will, even to the raising of his knife to slay his son. Then the angel of the Lord intervened, and a lamb was substituted for Isaac.—Gen. 22:13
By this means God indicated that before all the families of the earth could be blessed through the seed promised to Abraham, a loving father would need to give up in sacrifice His beloved son. The father who does this in the divine plan is the Heavenly Father Himself, and He sent His own Son, permitting Him to be offered up in sacrifice, that through such sacrifice all who die in Adam may have the opportunity of gaining life through Christ. The lamb that was substituted for Isaac on the altar of sacrifice becomes thereafter a type of the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world.
THE PASSOVER LAMB
When the time came for God to bring about the deliverance of His people from the land of Egypt, picturing in a general way the deliverance of all mankind from the thraldom of sin and death, we find that a lamb—the passover lamb—figured very prominently in the deliverance. Those immediately affected in Israel by the blood of the passover lamb were the firstborns. In the twelfth chapter of Hebrews the apostle speaks of the church of the firstborn. The Scriptures show that through the church of this age, typically foreshadowed by the firstborns of Israel, deliverance from death is to come to all mankind. The apostle also shows that the sacrifice of the passover lamb represents the sacrifice of Christ that makes possible the deliverance of the church now, and the deliverance of the whole world by and by. He says, “Christ our passover is sacrificed for us, therefore let us keep the feast.”—I Cor. 5:7
PROPHETIC DESCRIPTION OF SACRIFICIAL WORK
Not only in the pictures and types of the Bible is the symbolism of the slain lamb thus kept prominently before our minds, but in the prophecies as well, God reminds us of the great sacrifice that would be made by His beloved Son. One example of this is found in the prophecy of Isaiah, chapter 53. The chapter describes the sufferings of the Lamb of God and in the end portrays the glory that follows His sufferings. In verse seven we read, “He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth.”
John the Baptist was the last of the prophets and he enjoyed the blessed privilege of identifying Jesus as the one who had come to fulfill both the pictures and the prophecies of the Old Testament relative to the redemptive work of the slain lamb. John made his identification of God’s Lamb by those well known words, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”—John 1:29
Later the apostles referred back to the redemptive work of Christ and identified His sufferings with the prophecies of the Old Testament. In I Peter 1:19, the apostle speaks of Him as “a Lamb without blemish and without spot.” In verses 23 and 24 of the second chapter of this epistle, Peter again refers to Jesus as a slain Lamb, quoting directly from Isaiah 53. Thus it is that the Lord has given us this abundant array of testimony, assuring us over and over again of His loving plan of redemption that is carried out through His Son. This is a plan whereby not only may the church have a standing before God, but also one in which eventually all mankind will have opportunity of returning to a condition of at-one-meat with their Creator. The poet has truly said:
“How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say, than to you He hath said?
You, who unto Jesus for refuge have fled.”
—Hymns of Dawn
PROMINENCE OF SLAIN LAMB IN BOOK OF REVELATION
Our text (Revelation 5:6) is not the only reference to the symbolism of the slain lamb in the Book of Revelation. Many of the great events mentioned in this closing prophecy of the Bible are shown to be either directly or indirectly associated with “the lamb that was slain.” The Lamb is the One who is found worthy to open the scroll of the divine plan, as symbolized in the progressive opening of the seven seals. Later the Lamb is represented as being at war with the beast, and His victory over the beast is vividly foretold. In Revelation 19:7, the Lamb is represented as being united in marriage with his bride—the “people for His name” mentioned in Acts 15:14.
Finally, when God would emphasize the fact that the ultimate objective in His loving program for the human family is the restoration of mankind to life and happiness, lie reminds us that this glorious consummation is to be brought about through the redemptive work of the slain lamb. We quote, “And He showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”—Rev. 22:1,2
THE LAMB ON MOUNT SION
In Revelation 14:1, we have another very interesting reference to this Lamb of God, which reads, “And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on Mount Sion.” It is said that one of the characteristics of sheep, in contradistinction to that of goats, is the fact that they are inclined to seek the valleys rather than the higher places for their grazing fields. It is said that goats, on the other hand, are inclined to seek the hillsides. If this be true, then it is certainly most remarkable that the “lamb of God” is here shown to be standing on Mount Zion. To John this must have been an odd place to see a lamb.
The reason for this lamb being shown in an exalted position is apparent when we examine the fact in connection with other features of the great plan of human redemption. The Lamb of God is shown on Mount Zion, not because He had exalted Himself to this high position, but because, following the true sheep-like disposition of seeking the low places, Jesus first of all had humbled Himself. We read about this, for example, in Philippians 2:5-12, where Paul in admonishing the followers of the Master to a course of humility says, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery [more properly rendered, ‘not by robbery,’ or ‘usurpation’] to be equal with God: but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name.”
THE GLORY THAT FOLLOWS
This picture of God’s Lamb exalted on Mount Zion is a reminder of the many prophecies and promises of both the Old and New Testaments in which we are told of the glory that follows the sufferings of Christ. In the chapter from which our text is taken the Revelator gives us a symbolic description of the glory that comes to the Lamb following His sacrifice. We quote: “And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.”
This is, indeed, a wonderful description of the glory that follows the sacrificial work of Jesus. In Isaiah 53, the glory as well as the sufferings of Christ are brought to our attention. After describing Jesus as the Lamb that is led to the slaughter, the Heavenly Father says, “Therefore will I divide Him a portion with the great”—with the Creator Himself. (Verse 12) Jesus acknowledged fulfillment of this “exceeding great and precious promise” when, in Revelation 3:21, he says, “Even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne.” From this it is clear that Jesus actually was given “a portion with the great.”
One of the vital lessons to all Christians in the slain lamb picture is the fact that they are invited to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, suffering with Him, inspired with the hope of sharing in His glory. The share which the church has both in the sufferings and the glory of the Christ is brought to our attention in Revelation 14:1, where we are told not only that the Lamb is seen on Mount Zion, but also that there are “with Him an hundred forty and four thousand, having His Father’s name written in their foreheads.”
The Revelator identifies these who are with the Lamb on Mount Zion as those who have followed the Lamb “withersoever He goeth.” This means that each one of them has accepted the Master’s invitation to take up his cross and follow in His footsteps of self-denial, suffering and death. It means that each one of them has been baptized into His death. It means that each one of them, like the Master, has renounced the world and its spirit and has accepted the divine will as the supreme rule of his life, and has been obedient to that will even unto death.
It is worthy of note that those who are shown to be on Mount Zion with the Lamb and who therefore are privileged to reign with Him in the future Kingdom by which all the families of the earth are to be blessed, are not described as those who have followed earthly leadership or who have been subservient to human heads. Rather, they are those who follow the Lamb. Following human leadership, or being members of man-made organizations, does not lead to Mount Zion. The only pathway that leads to exaltation in the Kingdom with the Master is the pathway in which we find the Master’s footsteps, and that pathway is the one the Master Himself described as the narrow way. The way in which the Master walked was one that ended in death—He was led “as a lamb to the slaughter.” Those who follow Him all the way, must also go with Him into death. In discussing the sufferings of Christ, in which the church shares, Paul says, “As it is written, For Thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”—Rom. 8:36
MANY WORSHIP THEY KNOW NOT WHAT
In the great privilege of following the Lamb, we have brought to our attention a fundamental doctrine of the divine plan which distinguishes the true Christian life from that misconception of Christianity which is in name only. Millions of earnest people, devotionally inclined by nature, have prostrated themselves before an imaginary god to whom they have attached the name of Jesus, but without having any true conception of the doctrines of Christ—except, possibly, His moral teachings, which, in many respects, are not unlike the ethics taught by good people of other religions.
Such good people, sincere and wholehearted, have worshiped a god whom they have called Christ, and have supposed that in some inexplicable way he has saved them from a wrath to come—a vengeance which they imagine will be poured out upon the majority of the human race in the form of eternal torture in a literal lake of fire, or some other form of conscious suffering.
But when we see the beauties of the divine plan, we recognize that neither the work of Christ, nor the work of His faithful followers is that of saving people from the fires of hell. Not only is there no such place in God’s arrangement, but furthermore, Christ is not now saving or trying to save, the world at all. This is the time in which the Lord is preparing His agencies through which salvation will come to the world in the next age, and the church, the followers of the Master, are to constitute a part of that agency.
Through the divine plan we have learned that Christ is the Messiah of the Old Testament, and that the purpose and work of the Messiah is that of restoring the condemned world to life in a perfect, earthly paradise during His coming thousand-year reign. We have learned also—O glorious fact!—that the church of Christ is now being called out from the world not merely to he saved, but in order that they may become co-workers with God in accomplishing the Messianic purpose of restitution for mankind.
It is this glorious fact that lifts true Christianity out of the category of a blind superstition and devotion to an abstract god, and makes of it a definite and glorious purpose in life, an actual vocation in which all of our time, talents, strength and means are laid upon the altar of sacrifice beside that of Jesus, that we may be accepted as Christians, co-workers with the God of the universe in carrying out His plan for reconciling a lost race to Himself.—Rom. 12:1; II Cor. 5:16-21; 6:1
WHAT IT MEANS TO FOLLOW THE LAMB
The matter of following the Lamb involves more, yea, much more, than merely living a moral and upright life and acknowledging Christ as our Savior. The Rich Young Ruler who came to Jesus to inquire the terms of discipleship was plainly told that his morality which resulted in an earnest effort to keep God’s law, left him lacking so far as being a Christian was concerned. He was bidden to give up all that he had, and then to follow Jesus in sacrifice, even unto death.
Nor is the matter of following the Lamb a blind submission to trial, although it will result in trial. Nor is it a frenzied activity in serving the Lord, although one cannot truly follow the Lamb without constant enthusiastic activity in the divine service. To truly follow the Lamb means an intelligent obedience to the plan of God as outlined in the Bible, including the sharing of Christ’s sufferings which lead to glory, and being counted with Him as sharing in the great offering that is made whereby the sin-cursed and lost world is to be restored to life and perfection.
While thus following in Jesus’ footsteps the Christian is inspired by the hope of glory with Christ in His Kingdom. Jesus prayed for the same glory to be bestowed upon His church as the Heavenly Father had bestowed upon Him. The apostle says that if we suffer with Him, we shall also reign with Him. The apostle also explains that upon conditions of faithfulness we may hope to appear with Him in glory; also that if we are in Christ and Christ is in us we have a hope of glory.
DIVIDING THE SPOILS WITH THE STRONG
In Isaiah 53, where the prophet foretells the high exaltation of the slain Lamb, he also prophesies the glorification of the church with Him, and thereby helps to identify those who are with the Lamb on Mount Zion. We read, “Therefore will I [Jehovah] divide Him [Jesus] a portion with the great [the God of the universe,] and He [the exalted Jesus] shall divide the spoil with the strong.” (Verse 12) Jesus affirms the fulfillment of this prophecy on His own behalf and reiterates the glorious promise to the church in Revelation 3:21 which we quote in full, a part having been quoted foregoing: “To him that overcometh [‘the strong’ of Isaiah 53:12] will I grant to sit with Me in My throne [‘divide the spoil with the strong’] even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne.”
The strong ones of Isaiah 53:12 are not strong in their own strength but in the strength of the Lord. They do not lean to their own understanding, but looking to the Lord for wisdom to direct their steps in the narrow way of sacrifice and also depending upon Him for strength, they press forward by following in the footsteps of Jesus and continue to do this all the way into death. Thus they are overcomers and upon this condition they will be with Him on Mount Zion.
May the picture of the slain Lamb and the thoughts associated therewith continue to inspire us in our endeavors to walk in His steps. May it help us to understand better what constitutes a Christian and induce us all to be faithful as such. May the hope of being united with the Lamb as a member of His bride who will yet have the privilege of saying to the dying world, Come and partake of the water of life freely, furnish us with renewed confidence and that sacrificial devotion and energy which will assure us of an abundant entrance “into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” “And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God, … and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.”—Rev. 22:17; II Pet. 1:10,11; Rev. 21:4