Lion or Lamb: Which Do You Need?

Have you ever considered reading the book of Revelation when you needed some encouragement? Most people avoid this book altogether due to the rich but confusing symbols. I confess, the symbolism can be confusing but once understood, Revelation becomes a very practical comfort in the midst of daily life.

One of the reasons John wrote Revelation was to comfort and encourage Christians throughout the ages that were undergoing hardship. Particularly, John had in mind his contemporaries who were experiencing persecution for claiming to be Christians. The book is relevant for all, both corporately and individually. Recently, I had the opportunity to preach on Revelation 4-5. The minister of the congregation matched this quote from Jonathan Edwards to compliment my sermon that morning.

If you…come to Christ, he will appear as a Lion, in his glorious power and dominion, to defend you. All those excellencies of his, in which he appears as a lion, shall be yours, and shall be employed for you in your defense, for your safety, and to promote your glory; he will be as a lion to fight against your enemies. He that touches you, or offends you, will provoke his wrath, as he that stirs up a lion. Unless your enemies can conquer this Lion, they shall not be able to destroy or hurt you. Unless they are stronger than he, they shall not be able to hinder your happiness.

Now this is encouraging! You can locate the image of a Lion in Revelation 4-5. As you begin reading chapter 4, John passes through a door into the very throne room where God is seated. The one sitting on the throne defies description because he is so awesome. You begin to get more detail as you read chapter 5, especially 5:5-7.

5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.

At first, John weeps because there is no one worthy to open the scroll. At this point, one of the elders tells him there is one who is worthy. It is the Lion upon the throne who can open the scroll because he has the moral purity and right to do so. The scroll that John sees represents all of human history. Unless the scroll can be opened, the events of human history will not unfold with God’s plan to send a Savior. Then John’s eyes shift back to the throne, but it is not a lion that he sees.

6 Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne…..7 He came and took the scroll…

So which is it? Is the one on the throne a Lion or a Lamb? Thankfully for us, he is both. The Lion became a Lamb to sacrifice his life for sinners and sufferers so that they might be rescued from themselves and ultimately from every bad thing in the universe.

The Lion is for you, but only if you bow before him as the Lamb of God who takes away your sins. If you admit your need of his saving mercies, you get both Lamb and Lion who love you and protect you even through death.

Present Grace

But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. 2 Peter 1:9

Facing your present sins and lack of growth can be downright unproductive. It doesn't have to be but it certainly can be. I was talking to a friend recently who was struggling in his Christian life. He had grown very depressed and had turned inward. Nothing seemed to help. As we talked, I found him pre-occupied with his present failures and lack of growth in grace. He was stuck because he could only think about his current situation and immediate state of mind.

U2 writes a song about being stuck in a moment and not being able to get out of it. Sadly, it is a song about suicide. You don’t have to be suicidal to feel stuck, though. There are degrees, suicide being the worst. As I reflected on my friend's situation, I was reminded of 2 Peter 1:9. It is a picture of being stuck in the present with no perception of the past or future.

It is a simple verse where the apostle Peter avoids a truncated Gospel. He maintains an appropriate focus on past grace, present grace and future grace. Without this, getting stuck is inevitable. The phrase, “but if anyone does not have them” is referring to the previous verses where Peter highlights various character qualities like goodness, self-control, godliness, brotherly kindness and love. If these character qualities are not evident in your life, albeit imperfectly, Peter says that it is because you have a truncated understanding of your relationship to Christ.

First, you are nearsighted and blind. What could that mean? Someone who is near-sighted can only see things that are up close. A blind person can’t even see that. In other words, neither have the ability to see things in the distance. There is no sense of hope or a future orientation. John says in I John 3:3 that “Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.” You have to see future grace to live in the present.

But Peter also says that this person has forgotten something in the past. He has forgotten that he has been cleansed (past tense) from his sins. You have to see past grace, too, to live in the present. In his commentary on 2 Peter, Martyn Lloyd Jones has this to say, “This is a person who not only cannot see forwards, he cannot see backwards either.”

This simple re-orienting of my friend's gaze helped him get unstuck. As he gazed backwards and saw the reality of the forgiveness of his sins, he was grateful and began to talk to God with gratitude. As he gazed forward to the promised hope of complete deliverance from sin and suffering, he became hopeful. This did not happen overnight nor did it happen without seasons of doubt. Still, real progress was made. What do you look to in your past that brings stability in the present? What do you look to in the future that brings stability in the present? These two orientations will drive how you live right now and how you will relate to God.