Prof. Johan Malan, Mossel Bay, South Africa (August 2012)
The final revelation of the Lamb will occur at His second coming when He will return to earth in power and majesty to judge his enemies in the battle of Armageddon, condemn the Antichrist and false prophet to the lake fire, have the devil bound and incarcerated in a sealed pit, save a remnant of Israel and the nations, and establish His reign of peace on earth. Many of these great eschatological events are described in the book of Revelation, and one would presume that the author of the book would have given preference to royal titles to describe Christ in His exalted position as God and King – but he refers mainly to Him as the Lamb.
The basis for Christ’s victory and supremacy is indeed found in His capacity as the Lamb of God who gave His life to save lost humanity by bearing the death penalty for their sins on the cross, thereby delivering them from the power and claims of the Evil One. In Revelation, He is described 26 times as the Lamb. Other personal and descriptive names are also used, but His position as Lamb dominates in this final book of the Bible.
It is highly significant to consider the way in which the Lamb of God will be revealed at His second coming when He will establish His kingdom on earth. The following statements in the book of Revelation are related to aspects of His coming:
The firstborn from the dead. The message of Revelation comes from “Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever” (Rev. 1:5-6). He is the faithful witness in all things, past, present and future, who washed us in His blood and offers us a great and wonderful future in His kingdom. He is the firstborn from the dead, and because of this we know that we are serving a living Christ who existed before everything else, and who also holds the end of everything in His hands. He wants believers to take notice of the fact that He is “the First and the Last, who was dead and came to life” (Rev. 2:8). He died on behalf of us and came to life again, thereby conquering the last foe, death. All who believe in Him will not suffer loss through the death of the body, but will rise from the dead and live forever in God’s kingdom.
The whole world will see Him coming. “Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him” (Rev. 1:7). During the past two millennia, the disciples of the Lamb were sent out into the entire world to preach the gospel of salvation to all nations. When He comes back in glory as Judge and King of kings, every eye will see Him and all people will be held accountable for their lives – specifically with regard to their relationship with Christ as Saviour. After the terrible judgements of the Day of the Lord, the surviving people from all nations will mourn for Jesus and confess their sins. Among them will also be a godly remnant of Israel, “who will look on Him whom they have pierced, and mourn for Him” (Zech. 12:10). The mourners from all nations will be saved and enter the Millennial kingdom of the Lamb.
He is the Alpha and Omega – God Almighty from all eternity. “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, says the Lord, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty” (Rev. 1:8). Christ is the firstborn over all creation; He is before all things and in Him all things consist (Col. 1:15-17). He will also bring about the end of the present world when He makes all things new. Many centuries before the incarnation of Christ, Isaiah said that the Son who would be born in Israel would be called Mighty God, Prince of Peace, and that He will rule from the throne of David (Isa. 9:6-7).
He will appear in royal and priestly apparel as Judge, King and Priest. His glory will be great, His knowledge perfect, His insight unrestricted, His judgements severe, and His mercy boundless. In his visions on the future, John saw “One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters” (Rev. 1:13-15).
The Lamb is in the midst of His church and knows all their works. Through His disciple John Jesus sent messages to His church on earth: “These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: I know your works” (Rev. 2:1-2). He knows all our actions and even the most hidden thoughts and intents of our hearts, and will judge us accordingly.
His Word is the final authority between right and wrong. “These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword” (Rev. 2:12; cf. Heb. 4:12). Since Christ Himself is the Word that became flesh (John 1:14), He will judge all people. The word which proceeds from His mouth can either bless or judge. He says’ “Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and fight against them [the deceived ones] with the sword of My mouth” (Rev. 2:16; cf. 19:21).
He will cast wilful and unrepentant sinners into the great tribulation. There are many such people, also within corrupt churches, and they will be left behind when the heavenly Bridegroom comes to take His bridal congregation away. Therefore, “let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Cor. 7:1).
Christ is the great Conqueror, and He expects His followers to be overcomers who persevere in the way of righteousness to the end. “Hold fast what you have till I come. And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations; he shall rule them with a rod of iron” (Rev. 2:25-27).
He promises His faithful disciples escape from the coming tribulation, and also rewards in heaven. “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown” (Rev. 3:10-11).
The saints will be called and taken to heaven before the first seal of God’s judgements will be broken. John heard a voice saying to him: “Come up here and I will show you things which must take place after this” (Rev. 4:1). In his heavenly vision, John saw the glorified church around the throne, which confirms the fact of a pretribulation rapture. This revelation was made to John after the review of the church on earth (Rev. 2 and 3) and before the breaking of the first seal of the tribulation period (Rev. 6:1-2).
Christ is on His throne in heaven, ready to resurrect, glorify and reward all the saints and subsequently to judge the sinners. “Blessing and honour and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, for ever and ever!” (Rev. 5:13). John says, “Your wrath has come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, and those who fear Your name, small and great, and should destroy those who destroy the earth” (Rev. 11:18).
The saints will glory in the shed blood of the Lamb through which they were saved and cleansed, and acknowledge that He is worthy to open the scroll of God’s judgements upon the wicked. “Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals ... Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb ... And they sang a new song, saying: You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth” (Rev. 5:5, 8-10). The Lion from the tribe of Judah, Immanuel (God with us) who was incarnated in the royal family of Israel, first appeared on the scene in the form of a lowly servant and Lamb of God to offer Himself as a propitiation for the sins of the world. Only He has a God-given right to judge all people who despised God’s offer of salvation, and will therefore open the scroll to judge the wicked. The power of the kingdom of darkness will be utterly broken. Those who belong to the Lamb will glory in the fact that He has redeemed them with His blood. They will be co-heirs of the kingdom of the Lion of Judah who will reign from David’s throne in the city of the great King. From these facts it is evident that the Lamb who was born in Israel has a worldwide mission and also a worldwide kingdom.
The breaking of the first seal of the Lamb’s judgements will cause the deceived world to be subjected to the authority of a false prince of peace, the Antichrist. “Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals. ... And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer” (Rev. 6:1-2). The Lamb is on the throne in heaven, and an impostor who pretends to be a world messiah is released on earth to deceive and unite humanity by means of an ideology of political, religious and economic globalism (cf. Rev. 13).
The tribulation saints will wash their clothes in the blood of the Lamb (Rev. 7:14). Although they will die as martyrs (Rev. 6:9-11), they will prevail against the Antichrist spiritually by virtue of the power given them by the Lamb: “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death” (Rev. 12:11). Their testimony will lead to their death as martyrs but they will not fear their fate.
Unprecedented judgements will be poured out upon the Antichrist and his wicked followers who have embraced his God-rejecting new world order. When devastating earthquakes and other natural disasters strike the earth, people will know that these are divine judgements because of rejecting the Lamb of God’s offer of salvation: “I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” (Rev. 6:12-17). The wrath of the Lamb awaits all those who hardened their hearts and despised the salvation which He offered to them through His Word and the ministry of His disciples. “How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?” (Heb. 2:3).
The final judgement of the Lamb upon the Antichrist and his multinational following will be devastating, short and decisive as they will come face to face with the One who has all power in heaven and on earth. “And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse [Christ] and against His army. Then the beast [the Antichrist] was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh” (Rev. 19:19-21).
The devil will be bound as he will not be allowed to play any role in the Lamb’s thousand-year reign of peace. “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished” (Rev. 20:1-3).
When the Lamb reveals His kingdom on earth after His second coming His marriage supper will be celebrated here on earth, thereby showing His bride to the world, who will reign with Him. “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, write: Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!” (Rev. 19:7-9). Paul also eagerly looked forward to this day: “When Christ, Who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory” (Col. 3:4).
The bride of the Lamb represents all the saints of all ages, including the martyrs of the tribulation period, and they will reign with Christ during the Millennium. “And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years” (Rev. 20:4-6). The Feast of Tabernacles foreshadows this wonderful dispensation when the full harvest of the kingdom of heaven will have been gathered among all nations. Righteousness, justice and mercy will be characteristics of Christ’s world government. There will be true peace among the nations, with no hostilities or warfare occurring anywhere; they will all recognise the Messiah and regularly send deputations to Jerusalem to be instructed in His ways of holiness (Isa. 2:2-4; Zech. 8:20-23). The Lamb will be universally honoured, and the effects of this commitment will be seen everywhere: “At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of the Lord, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem; they shall walk no more after the stubbornness of their evil heart” (Jer. 3:17). Of course, a complete spiritual transformation of this extent can only happen if the glory of the Lamb is seen and proclaimed everywhere, and the deceiver of the nations (Satan) is incarcerated and barred from spreading his leaven of sin among the peoples of the world.
For true believers, all suffering and pain will come to an end when the Lamb makes all things new, including a new heaven and a new earth; but for the wicked there will be everlasting pain and sorrows. “Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. Then He who sat on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He said to me, Write, for these words are true and faithful. And He said to me, It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (Rev. 21:2-8).
Entrance into the New Jerusalem can only be gained through the Lamb. “And the city was pure gold, like clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones. ... And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass” (Rev. 21:18-21). The city and its streets of the New Jerusalem are built of pure and transparent gold. The foundation stones of the wall are decorated with precious jewels that vary from crystal clear stones to deep red sardius, green chrysolite and sparkling blue sapphire. In the high walls that surround the city are twelve gates made of pearls – each gate is a single pearl. The idea of a tear is conveyed by a pearl, since its formation is associated with pain and suffering. When the oyster is injured, a shiny pearl is formed in the wound. When the feet and hands of the Lamb of God were pierced by rough nails and He gave His life on the cross, the gates of paradise were again opened to fallen humanity. On the merit of His tears and suffering He became a precious pearl to us, which in itself is a gateway to the New Jerusalem. Through Him we can enter into the kingdom of heaven and delight ourselves in the glory of the Lord.
The Lamb will be the light of the world, and also radiate God’s holiness and glory. “But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it, and the Lamb is its light” (Rev. 21:22-23). No temple will be needed in the City of the Great King, since the repetitive sacrifices brought on the altar for burnt offering only foreshadowed the once for all sacrifice of the Lamb of God (John 1:29). The lampstand in the temple refers to the Messiah as the light of the world, and the showbread to Christ as the bread (or sustainer) of life. The Most Holy place and the Ark of the Covenant pointed to God’s throne of grace. A bright light will shine from the throne of God in the New Jerusalem and dispel all darkness. During the first coming of Christ He was also the light of the world, but people were offered the choice of following or rejecting Him. “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19). It will only be after the forces of darkness were obliterated by judging the wicked, condemning the Antichrist and false prophet to the lake of fire and binding the devil that the light of Messiah will shine forth into all the corners of the universe, illuminating the lives of all people.
There will be no more evil in the world. “There shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever” (Rev. 22:3-5). These are the perfect conditions which will prevail on the new earth.
Now, in the closing stage of the church dispensation, as we are awaiting the fulfilment of these wonderful promises, we are living in a time of tremendous spiritual and moral polarisation in the build-up to the great confrontation between the true Christ and the Antichrist. “He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still. And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work” (Rev. 22:11-12). The devil is doing everything in his power to expand his kingdom in preparation for the appearing of the Antichrist, who will be the self-declared God and man of sin (2 Thess. 2:3-4). People who will accept and follow this impostor will be those who have rejected the true Christ by denying His virgin birth, deity, sinless life and the redemptive value of His death, as well as the fact of His resurrection from the dead. By means of these false suppositions He is rendered “another Jesus”, also referred to as the “historic Jesus”, who was allegedly only a prophet and not God incarnate. This postmodern deconstruction of Jesus, as well as the unbiblical attributes assigned to Him, will be used by the Antichrist to offer himself instead of Jesus as the universal messiah of all faiths. He will even declare himself to be God in the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem and also place an image of himself in the Holy of holies (2 Thess. 2:4; Rev. 13:15). As the man of sin he will allow and promote all sorts of blasphemy and immoral behaviour. While these preparations are underway, true Christians should move in the opposite direction by becoming more holy and more committed to our Saviour, knowing that we will soon stand before Him to give account of our lives. There is no place for sin in our lives.
The Son of David who is also Lord and King. “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David” (Rev. 22:16). We should not only see Christ as the biological Son of David – He is also David’s Lord who exists from all eternity. The Root of David confirms His deity – He is the origin and Lord of David! By the Offspring of David his human nature is indicated – He is the Son of David. The Jewish leaders could not comprehend this great truth, therefore, the Lord Jesus asked them: “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He? They said to Him, The Son of David. He said to them, How then does David in the Spirit call Him Lord? ... If David then calls Him Lord, how is He his Son? And no one was able to answer Him a word” (Matt. 22:41-46). Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah who was born in the house of David from the tribe of Judah, the seed of Abraham, through whom all nations would be blessed (Gen. 22:18). But at the same time He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who said to the Jewish leaders: “... before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58). Paul says that, to the flesh, Christ was born from Israel, He “... who is over all, the eternally blessed God” (Rom. 9:4-5). He is perfectly God and perfectly Man, because He is both the Son of God and the Son of David. The angel said to Mary: “You will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David” (Luke 1:31-32). In the end-time, the deity of the Lord Jesus is increasingly questioned.
During dark times of great apostasy and falling away from the truth the Lord Jesus gives us hope for the future. “I am ... the Bright and Morning Star. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come! And let him who hears say, Come!” (Rev. 22:16-17). Christ Himself is the promise of a bright new day that will dawn upon this dark world. Peter adds to this: “We also have the prophetic word made more sure, which you do well to heed as to a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts” (2 Pet. 1:19). The morning star is especially the symbol of hope – the expectation of a new day which will soon dawn. In Jesus Christ we have a hopeful future. We can look beyond the distress of the present life to the rays of a bright new day which will be introduced with the second coming of Christ. Through the signs of the times we can even discern His approaching footsteps in the disruptive circumstances of the present time. Those without a Bible-based future expectation are not able to spiritually interpret world events, and are easily driven to despair by all the bad news and dark prospects. But if the Morning Star is in your heart, you will not become the victim of dark thoughts. You will know for sure what your destination is and purposefully prepare yourself for it. We should, in our spirit, soul and body, endeavour to be found blameless before the Lord Jesus Christ at His second coming (1 Thess. 5:23-24).
The Bible concludes with a final invitation to everyone to get eternal life. “And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely” (Rev. 22:17b). The Lord Jesus is the only water of life to a spiritually dying world, and invites us to partake of this water. He says, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink” (John 7:37). “I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts” (Rev. 21:6). He also said, “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst” (John 4:14). All people should be lead to the Lord Jesus for salvation as there is no possibility for redemption outside of Him (Acts 4:12). The invitation towards salvation should be made very clearly and convincingly, since every person has a free will and can decline the offer if he or she does not clearly understand what it is all about. The Lord forces nobody; neither did He elect only certain people for salvation, and therefore says: “Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.” People who do not make use of this friendly and free offer, are facing a dark future. During the first century, Christ said to the inhabitants of Jerusalem: “I wanted to gather your children together ... but you were not willing” (Matt. 23:37). The continued spiritual deception and ignorance of Israel led to the rejection of the Messiah, which was the final cause of the destruction of Jerusalem and the international dispersion of the Jews (Luke 19:41-44; 21:44). They preferred a spiritual drought above the fountain of living water. It is critically important that this life-giving message be proclaimed to all people on earth. In Revelation 22:17, a call to repentance goes out from the bride. The Holy Spirit speaks through the Bible, and also through the messages, personal conversations and writings of all true believers. We Christians, who are members of the bridal congregation, were commissioned by Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit to proclaim the gospel message to all people on earth (Acts 1:8). The responsibility is on the recipients to react to this message. It is not only in their own spiritual interest, but also to the glory of the Lord, to ensure that they are disciples of Christ and not His enemies.
A warning to all who change the Word of God or deviate from it. The very final and most solemn warning contained in the Bible is against tampering with the Word of God: “If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life” (Rev. 22:18-19). The whole counsel of God to humanity has been recorded in the Bible (cf. Acts 20:27), and Revelation was the last literally inspired message of God directed at all people on earth. We are not allowed to add anything to God’s Word by way of extra-biblical messages, and for that reason it is utterly presumptuous and highly deceptive when people allege that the Lord has given them additional messages through dreams, visions, foreign tongues, audible voices, consultations with deceased people, or discussions with angels. The Lord did in fact use some of these methods of communication before the Bible was fully written (cf. Heb. 1:1), but now that we also have the New Testament revelation of Jesus Christ we are not allowed to add anything to it. Furthermore, we are not allowed to take anything away from the Bible by, for instance, denying certain aspects or doctrines of it, or by allegorising and spiritualising plain statements about literal matters. People who deviate from the truth of the Word in these ways are usually also inclined to deny the literal fulfilment of other end-time prophecies such as the rapture, the full restoration of Israel as a Messianic state, the rise of the Antichrist to a position of world domination, and the outpouring of God’s wrath during the seven years of tribulation. These events have been graphically described in the Book of Revelation and other prophetic books of the Bible, but are not seriously considered by sceptics and agnostics. Only believers who are grounded and rooted in the truth of God’s inerrant Word can have a sound and unshakable faith in Jesus Christ and His promises.
In the light of Revelation’s serious message it is all the more incumbent on us to purposefully study God’s plan of salvation for humanity. His redemption starts with the sacrifice of the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world. “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Eph. 1:7). This gift has to be accepted in faith. Together with the surrendering of ourselves to Him, we should search our lives and then confess and forsake all sin and carnality. Proceeding from there, it must become a way of life to be conformed to the resurrection life of Christ, as He alone can empower us to walk in newness of life. The enduing with power from on high was given on Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out, and is still available to us today.
If we can testify of all these blessings, and have fully surrendered ourselves to walk in the Spirit, we should engage ourselves with the Great Commission of evangelising the world. While doing that, we should always be mindful of the fact that the dispensation of grace is drawing to a close, and soon the trumpet of God will blow and true believers taken to heaven (1 Thess. 4:16-17). On earth, the seven years of the tribulation period will elapse after the rapture, causing untold suffering to millions of people who neglected and despised the Lamb’s offer of salvation.
At the end of the tribulation period the Messiah will return, set His feet upon the Mount of Olives, save the remnant of Israel and the nations and institute His reign of peace on earth. He will be accompanied by His saints who were caught up to heaven before the tribulation period (Zech. 14:5).