March 05, 2022
We have finally arrived at the awesome book of Revelation.
I didn’t always love Revelation. Like so many, who have sat through endless Evangelistic Series on Daniel and Revelation, I was afraid and confused by all the imagery ---- the 4-living beings, the scrolls, the seals, the trumpet plagues, the beasts, the 7 last plagues, the Mark of the Beast, the 144,000, The Dragon…… etc., etc., etc.
The mind can literally be boggled by the enormous amount of information and endless interpretations.
But now I love, love, love this book. What changed? I came to understand 2 things:
• Revelation is not as complicated as we make it out to be.
• What Revelation is REALLY about is actually quite amazing.
Which brings us to My Favorite Thing ---- “Behold the LION!”
Have you ever, while watching a nature program, thought to yourself, “what is that?”?
The Aye-Aye
The Water Opossum
The Saiga Antelope
The Quokka
No doubt you have because there are some really weird animals out there.
But I bet you have never asked that question when the camera came to rest on a male lion…
There is no confusion about a male lion.
Only he can produce that earth-shaking roar! Only he has that great shaggy mane.
His strength, power and majesty are unchallenged. He is the King…
One of the most striking and powerful names for Jesus in Scripture is that of the "Lion of Judah", a title rooted in the book of Genesis:
• Genesis 49:8-10 - Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons will bow down to you. 9 You are a lion's cub, O Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness-- who dares to rouse him? 10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.
It is in the book of Revelation that John paints a picture of this great Lion, who chose to die as a Lamb, and who has earned the right to open the scroll to reveal the story of the resolution to the Great Controversy between good and evil.
It is this Lion who will come in the clouds of glory – 1:7
It is this Lion who declared Himself to be “the Alpha and Omega… the Almighty” – 1:8
It is this Lion whom John sees walking amongst His churches – 1:11-20
As the enthronement scene of Revelation 5 unfolded, we find John weeping: "I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside.”
Will the misery of earth’s history never end?
How can it if no one is able open the scroll?
"Do not weep!" the elder commanded. "Behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He IS able to open the scroll!"
• Ellen White {CTr 315} - The Saviour was presented to John under the symbols of the “Lion of the tribe of Juda,” and “a Lamb as it had been slain.” Here the whole work of redemption was expressed. These symbols represent the union of omnipotent power and self-sacrificing love. As the Lion of Judah, Christ will defend His chosen ones and bring them off victorious, because they accepted Him as “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” Christ the slain Lamb—who was despised, rejected, the victim of Satan’s wrath, of human abuse and cruelty—how tender was His sympathy with His people who were in the world! And according to the infinite depths of His humiliation and sacrifice as the Lamb of God will be His power in glory as the Lion of Judah, for the deliverance of His people.
To John were opened the great events of the future that were to shake the thrones of kings and cause all earthly powers to tremble. He beheld the close of all earthly scenes, the ushering in of His reign who is to be King of kings, and whose kingdom shall endure forever. . . . He saw Christ receiving the adoration of all the hosts of heaven and heard the promise that whatever tribulation might come upon God’s people, if they would but patiently endure they should be more than conquerors through Him that loved them. . . . He was now prepared to witness the thrilling scenes in the great conflict between those who keep the commandments of God and those who make void His law.
Worried about what the future holds?
Behold the Lion – He has triumphed!
Worried about the Trumpet Plagues?
Behold the Lion – He has triumphed!
Worried about the Beasts?
Behold the Lion – He has triumphed!
Worried about the 7 Last Plagues or the Mark of the Beast or who exactly the 144,000 are?
Behold the Lion – He has triumphed!
And what about THAT Dragon?
Behold the Lion – He has triumphed!
Behold The LION of JUDAH ---- the Lamb who was slain {Revelation 5:6, 12-14}!
Fix your eyes on Him {Hebrews 12:2}!
He is Faithful and True {Revelation 19:11-16}!
He is The Commander of the Heavenly Armies {Revelation 19:14}!
He is The Hero of the story and the Destroyer of the Villain {Genesis 3:15; John 19:30; Revelation 20:7-9}!
He is mighty to save {Zephaniah 3:17}!
He has redeemed you and forgiven you and He calls you His own {Exodus 15:13; Psalm 111:9; Isaiah 43:1; 49:16; Ephesians 1:7}.
He has never faltered or failed {Isaiah 42:4; 2 Corinthians 1:20}!
He has promised to walk beside you every step of the way {Deuteronomy 31:8; Matthew 28:18-20}!
AND
He roars across the ages: “I AM coming for YOU!”
• Matthew 24:30-31 - At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
• John 14:2-3 - In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
• 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 - For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
• Revelation 1:7 - Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen.
• Revelation 21:1-4 - Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
There are many interpretations of the book of Revelation, but despite all the opinions, one thing is certain….. Jesus WINS!
That’s why The LION OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH is My Favorite Thing About REVELATION.
