By: General James Green – October 17, 2023
Then one of the elders (of the heavenly Sanhedrin) said to me (John), “Stop weeping! See, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root (source) of David, has won-has overcome and conquered!. . .” Rev. 5:5 Amplified Bible
Ah, overcome and conquered! Two strong words indeed!
The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29. Yes, the very “Lamb” that was “oppressed, yet when He was afflicted, He was submissive and opened not His mouth; as a lamb is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before her shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth”. Isaiah 53:7, Amplified Bible. Centuries before Jesus came to earth as the Son of man/God in flesh, He was written about by Isaiah.
Peter said of Jesus: “But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was indeed foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest (revealed) in these last times for you.” 1Peter 1:19, 20, NKJV (see also Acts 20:28).
Isaiah 53 speaks to us about the sufferings of Christ. As He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, He did not complain or try to flee His persecutors. He did not shrink from his destiny nor sink under the weight-to DIE for the sins of the world. He prevailed, overcame, and conquered. It was for US that He endured till the END of the trial of pain.
Jesus could have resisted His painful execution; but thus it was written (in Isaiah 53) He gave Himself to the enemies intentions—to murder the Son of God.
With that said, John wrote Revelation 5:5—the “Lamb” became the “Lion”.
Genesis 49:9 says “Judah is a lion’s whelp; from the prey, My son you have gone up. He bows down (crouches), he lies down and as a lion; who shall rouse him?” The “lion” was the emblem of Judah. John tells us in verse 6 of Revelation 5 “. . .in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain. . .” Christ, so called because He was a sacrificial offering (Greek, apviov). Had not Jesus given His life for the sins of the world, He would have never become the “Lion,” the One who prevailed over all enemies.
“Lion” is used metaphorically here in Rev. 5:5. If we take the Old Testament and the New Testament occurrences the allusions are to the three great features of the lion, 1) its majesty and strength, indicative of royalty, e.g. “A lion which is mighty among beasts and does not turn away from any.” Prov. 30:30;
2) its courage, e.g. “The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.” Prov. 28:1; 3) its cruelty, as in “They gape at Me with their mouths, like a raging and roaring lion.” Psalms 22:13 From humility to glory—this Lamb slain, rose from the grave, thus conquered sin and death, hell and Satan. The Lamb symbolizing submission and obedience to God’s will; the Lion symbolizing authority and power. The Lamb was in the greatest battle of all—defeating the prince of the power of the air (spirit world) and defeating death itself! Now Jesus Christ RULES as a Lion—in time he will lead the end-time battle where Satan is finally defeated in and through His overcoming people. For this, we wait and long for.
