Jesus Christ is described as being like a lion and a lamb in Revelation 5.  I am fascinated by this imagery. Lions are fearsome, powerful, and majestic creatures. They rule wherever they roam, and they are never to be trifled with. These felines are befitting symbols for mighty kings, rulers, and warriors. On the other hand, lambs are docile and defenseless creatures. They are merely younglings maturing into sheep. Ancient Hebrews kept herds of sheep for food, clothing, and sacrifices. Lambs symbolize gentleness, innocence, and dependence. The lion and the lamb are polar opposites in character. Nevertheless, what is conveyed through their imagery rightly applies to the Christ.

Revelation 5 tells of the Apostle John seeing God seated upon the throne with a scroll in His right hand. A mighty angel then asks, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” 1 John weeps because no one is found worthy to open the scroll or even to read it. A heavenly elder then offers these comforting words: “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals” (vv. 1-5).

The Lion of Judah title connects Jesus with the messianic ruler foreseen by Old Testament prophets. Craig Keener in The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament indicates that “the ‘lion of Judah’ alludes to Genesis 49:9–10, which predicted the Davidic dynasty and was understood messianically in later Jewish literature (4 Ezra, the rabbis). ‘Root of David’ alludes to Isaiah 11:1 and 10 (Jesse was David’s father), which suggests that the Messiah would come after the Davidic line had seemed cut off. The image is also used messianically in later texts (e.g., Ecclesiasticus), and both these images are combined in the Dead Sea Scrolls.”2

John goes on to tell us that “between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.” It is thus the Lamb who is able to take the scroll from the one seated upon the throne (vv. 6-7).

Christ is the Lamb of God who gave His own life as a sacrifice for sinners. Keener points out that “Lambs were associated with a variety of sacrifices, but in Revelation this figure especially represents the Passover lamb, who delivers God’s people from the plagues of the following chapters (cf. Ex 12:12–13).”3 Like the blood of the sacrificial lamb sprinkled upon the doorposts and lentil kept the Israelite from divine wrath on the Passover, so too the blood of the Lamb of God atones for sin and spares the Christian from the wrath of eternal condemnation.4 Elsewhere, John tells us: “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 Jn. 2:1-2). John truly believes Jesus to be “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn. 1:22). Even though I sin, and dwell in a world immersed in sin, God is merciful, and if I confess my sin, God forgives me. I am made righteous by the blood of Christ.

Even the seven horns and seven eyes upon the Lamb of God are likewise noteworthy. Seven is “used to signify completeness or totality. Underlying all such use of the number seven lies the seven-day week, which, according to Genesis 1:1–2:3 and Exodus 20:11, belongs to the God-given structure of creation. God completed his own work of creation in seven days (Gen 2:2), and seven days constitute a complete cycle of time.”5

Many creatures have horns (e.g., sheep, goats, oxen, deer, etc.), which they use for defense from predators. An animal’s horns are metaphorically “indicative of its power, status and health.” The very growth of a horn represents the “bestowing power, joy, health and prestige (Ps 92:10; 1 Sam 2:1),” whereas the loss or breaking of the horn represents “removal of one’s power or influence (Ps 75:10; Jer 48:25).” The seven horns of the Lamb of God then tell us that His “kingly power is perfect.”6

The eye is the physical organ of sight. Our knowledge and insight of the world around us comes as the result of good eye sight. The seven eyes underscore the Lamb’s perfect knowledge and insight with nothing being hidden from His field of vision. Put it another way: “With complete eye-sight—seven eyes—he is able to observe everything that happens in the universe; nothing escapes his notice. Because of full vision he has perfect knowledge, discernment, and understanding; these are the eyes of the Lord that range throughout the entire world (2 Chron. 16:9; Job 24:23; Prov. 15:3; Jer. 16:17; Zech. 3:9; 4:10).”7

The seven eyes of the Lamb of God are also connected to the “seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth” (v. 6; cf. 1:4; 3:1; 4:5). This can be taken to mean “the sevenfold Spirit of God,” which is a reference to the Holy Spirit as described in Isaiah 11:2.”8 Here God the Holy Spirit is a sevenfold description: 1) “of the LORD,” 2) “wisdom,” 3) “understanding,” 4) “counsel,” 5) “might,” 6) “knowledge,” and 7) “the fear of the LORD” (Isa. 11:2).9 Christ ministers in the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, when Christ ascended into glory, He asked the Father to send the Spirit, from the Father proceeds the Holy Spirit, who illuminates and instructs us in teachings of the Son (Jn. 14:15-17, 26; 15:26-27; 16:7-11).

Once the Lamb of God receives the scroll with the seven seals, something beyond super spectacular happens. All creatures in the heavenly realms begin to worship the Lamb of God. The four creatures and twenty-four elders worship the Lamb (v. 8 and v. 14) and they declare: “Worthy are you to take the scroll | and to open its seals, | for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God | from every tribe and language and people and nation, | and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, |and they shall reign on the earth” (vv. 9-10). The four living creatures, the twenty-four elders, and an uncountable number of angels then proclaim: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, | to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might | and honor and glory and blessing!” (v. 13). All creatures then proclaim: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb | be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” (v. 13).

F.F. Bruce in the New International Bible Commentary notes that “Christ’s victory on the cross, although at the time it seemed to be defeat, guaranteed the accomplishment of God’s purpose in the world,”10 and “Christ’s sacrifice is His victory.”11 Augustine, likewise, writes, “Why the lamb in his passion? Because he underwent death without being guilty of iniquity. Why a lion in his passion? Because in being slain he slew death. Why a lamb in his resurrection? Because his innocence is everlasting. Why a lion in his resurrection? Because everlasting also is his might” (Sermon 375A.I.).12 The contrasting imagery of the lion and the lamb is befitting for Jesus the Messiah for through Him sin is defeated and God plan for redemption is fulfilled.

Jesus is worthy of all glory, honor and praise but it is perplexing to imagine any one objecting to that. Unfortunately, there are those who do. A significant devolution in Jehovah’s Witness doctrine is the present discouragement of attributing the same kind of worship due to God. The Witnesses say, “We do not worship Jesus, as we do not believe that he is Almighty God.”13 Even though founder Charles Taze Russell (d. 1916) and successor J.F. Rutherford (d. 1942) taught the worship of Jesus, even chartered the Watchtower Society for “public Christian worship of Almighty God and Christ Jesus,” the Witnesses changed their doctrine in 1954, they began to prohibit the worship of Jesus, and made efforts to hide references to worshiping Christ mentioned in their charter.14 Prohibiting the worship of Jesus is egregious mistake.

Not to single out the pseudo-Christian cultists, it is certain that there can be those who profess a theologically orthodox Christology yet in thought, word, and deed they are far from anything close to a worshiper of Christ. Although the orthodoxy (right belief) is fine, the orthopraxy (right practice) is off. We are to be living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, which our spiritual worship (Rm. 12:1).

The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders give worship to both the Father seated upon the throne (Rev. 4:1-11), and the Son —the Lion and the Lamb who alone is worthy of opening the seven-sealed scroll in the right hand of the Father (Rev. 5:1-14). The heavenly host offer the same kind of worship to the Father as they do to the Son.

We also know that Christ received worship from His own disciples. After witnessing the Lord walking on water and empowering Peter to do likewise, the disciples “worshiped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God’” (Matt. 14:33). Those who witnessed the resurrected Lord worshipped Him (Matt. 28:9; Lk. 24:52). Even magi were led by the star to Bethlehem, and they worshipped the Child, giving gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh (Matt. 2:1-12). As the Christ hymn puts it: “Every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:10-11).

Christ dies on our behalf so that we can have everlasting life. He brings us out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of light. He makes us into God’s priests. For all that the Lord has done for us, it is well for us to give to worship Jesus with the same kind of worship due to God.

“Crown Him with many crowns, | The Lamb upon His throne; | Hark! how the heav’nly anthem drowns| All music but its own; | Awake my soul, and sing | Of Him who died for thee, | And hail Him as thy matchless King | Thro’ all eternity”

— WGN

  1. All Scripture cited from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), unless noted.
  2. Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 778.
  3. Ibid.
  4. Pharaoh enslaved the Israelites, and waged unrelenting war against Yahweh and the Moses the prophet of the Lord. God sent plague after plague upon Egypt, but Pharaoh refused to repent. God sent the final plague would take the firstborn of Egypt save the Israelites who placed the blood of the sacrificial lamb upon the doorposts and lintel of their homes. This was the Passover that led to Pharaoh’s releasing of the captives and the inevitable end of the war with the decimation of the Egyptian army at the Red Sea. It is the blood of the lamb that spared the Hebrew people from being destroyed by the plague. John sees waves of persecution coming upon the fledgling Church beginning with Nero — the Beast. Jews who rejected the Messiah and persecuted His followers were tantamount committed spiritual harlotry with the Beast. Divine wrath would fall upon all who waged war against Christ and Christianity. But those who come out of the great tribulation wear robes made white through washing in the blood of the Lamb.
  5. Leland Ryken, Jim Wilhoit, et al., Dictionary of Biblical Imagery (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), 774.
  6. Ryken, 400.
  7. Simon J. Kistemaker and William Hendriksen, Exposition of the Book of Revelation, vol. 20, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953–2001), 207.
  8. Seven Gregg, Revelation: Four Views A Parallel Commentary (Nashville: Nelson, 1997), 54.
  9. Isaiah similarly employed the coexistence of predator and prey to describe the peaceful tranquility that comes with the arrival of the branch of Jesse. The branch of Jesse would be endowed with the Spirit of the Lord, he would rule with righteousness and then “the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, | and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, | and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; |and a little child shall lead them (Isa. 11:1-6).  Whereas the wolf and the lamb are employed in Isaiah’s vision of the messianic kingdom, the lamb and the lion are used in John’s vision of the Christ.
  10. F. F. Bruce, New International Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1979), 1606.
  11. Ibid.
  12. As cited in William C. Weinrich, Thomas C. Oden, eds., Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: New Testament: Revelation, vol. XII (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 2005),73.
  13. Jehovah’s Witnesses, “Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Believe in Jesus?” https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/believe-in-jesus/ cf. Jehovah’s Witnesses, “Is It Proper to Worship Jesus?” https://www.jw.org/en/library/magazines/g20000408/Is-It-Proper-to-Worship-Jesus/
  14. Edmond C. Gruss and Jay Hess, “Is It Proper to Worship Jesus? Examining a Jehovah’s Witness Doctrine,” Christian Research Journal, 23, 4 [2001]: https://www.equip.org/article/is-it-proper-to-worship-jesus/
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Published by Warren Nozaki

Hello, my name is Warren Nozaki. I typically blog on topics related to Christian apologetics. Check out what is posted, leave a comment if you like. I work at the Christian Research Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina. I also create sonic landscapes on the electric guitar.

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