Lion of the tribe of Judah
“Lord of lords and King of kings”
The good news for the tribe of Judah and this world is that the “Lion of the tribe of Judah,” Jesus Christ(Revelation 5:5), will return to establish the Kingdom of God, and the tribe of Judah will finally accept its Redeemer(Romans 11:26).
A Bible search and seek adventure began for me early in the morning about 5:50 AM, after I heard a woman's voice say "Good-Evening", it was loud and clear and I thought it was family waking me, but I didn't know the voice. I set up to see who it was, but there wasn't anyone in the room. I knew what was said meant something important because it was loud. So, guess what I did? I quickly jumped up, went to my desk, got my phone and checked the time. As I wrote down the words and time, it dawned on me that it was morning, not evening and I thought out loud, why did she say "good evening" and it was morning? Then the thought, it would be evening in Jerusalem came to mind. But, I then said, "Lord, was that an Angel"? So, I prayed for guidance from Holy Spirit to give me revelation. I knew the word "evening" meant something, so that was where I began my search.
Researching I found the time for Evening is from 5 PM to 8 PM or around sunset. Thinking that would have to be another country and so I needed to figure out which country was in the evening time zone. Researched for about 3 hours and found India's time zone did match. I thought I had found all I could, I prayed and thanked the Holy Spirit for giving me wisdom and revelation. When done praying, I looked up to the computer and saw a video, called TRUNEWS with the title, "Mark of the Beast which has started in India."
I later talked with my daughter the next day and she told me a friend had told her that in Jerusalem they say "good evening" when it is morning. That was interesting, since I had thought about Jerusalem being the time zone. So back to the drawing board. This is what I found: Evening - the period following sunset with which the Jewish day began ( Genesis 1:5 ; Mark 13:35 ). The Hebrews reckoned two evenings of each day, as appears from Exodus 16:12 : 30:8 ; 12:6 (marg.); Leviticus 23:5 (marg. RSV, "between the two evenings"). The "first evening" was that period when the sun was verging towards setting, and the "second evening" the moment of actual sunset. The word "evenings" in Jeremiah 5:6 should be "deserts" (marg. RSV).
In the Word throughout mention is made of evening, and by it is signified the last time of the church, and also its first time; the last with those among whom the church is ceasing, and the first with those among whom it is beginning. For this reason by evening is primarily signified the coming of the Lord; for then was the end of the former church and the beginning of a new church, the first state of which is also called evening, because the man of the church begins from obscure light, and advances to clear light, which to him is morning.
That the coming of the Lord into the world is signified by evening and morning, is evident in Daniel:--I heard a holy one speaking, How long is this vision, the continual (sacrifice), and the transgression, the trampling on the holy thing, and on the army? And he said unto me, Even unto the evening, the morning, two thousand three hundred; for then shall the holy thing be justified (Daniel 8:13, 14); that here by evening is meant the last time, when the church was completely vastated, and the Lord came into the world; and by morning, the light and the rising of a new church from Him, is evident.
In like manner in Zechariah:--There shall be one day which shall be known to Jehovah; not day, nor night, for about the time of evening there shall be light (Zech. 14:7).
In Zephaniah:--Let there be at last a territory left for the house of Judah; they shall feed thereon; in the houses of Ashkelon they shall have quiet in the evening, when Jehovah their God shall visit them, and bring again their captivity (Zephaniah 2:7);
Evening denotes the first state of the rising church. As evening signified the last state of the old church and the first of the new, it was therefore commanded that Aaron and his sons should make the lamp go up from evening even unto morning before Jehovah (Exod. 27:20, 21).
That evening denotes the last state of the church, when there is dense falsity because there is no faith, and dense evil because there is no charity, is plain in these passages:--
“God will provide himself the lamb”
Actually, a lamb is one of the most prolific, significant biblical symbols. The word first appears in Genesis 22 when Isaac asked his father Abraham, “Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham responds, “God will provide himself the lamb” (22:7-8).
In one sense, providing a lamb is the theme of the whole Bible. The human race needed a substitute sacrifice. We needed a Savior. Every Old Testament sacrifice foreshadowed the need for a vicarious offering. In the New Testament, John the Baptist introduced Jesus as the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world (John 1:29). In the gospels, Jesus never referred to himself as the lamb, but he did say that he had come “to give his life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28).
In the rest of the New Testament—Acts, Romans, and the Epistles—Jesus is only called the Lamb twice. In Acts 8:32, the Ethiopian eunuch was reading Isaiah 53:7 when he invited Philip to come up into his chariot: “He [Jesus] was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” Peter reminded his readers that they were redeemed “with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect” (1 Peter 1:18-19).
And then there’s Revelation: twenty-four references to Jesus as the Lamb. The first reference is in chapter 5. John weeps when “no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll” that was sealed with seven seals (v. 4). But then the Lamb appears. He alone is worthy to open the scroll that recounts God’s story of redemption because he was slain, and with his blood purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation (vv. 6-9).
“The Lion became the Lamb”
That’s the reason Jesus is continually called the Lamb in the Book of Revelation even though he is also the Son of God, the Root of Jesse, the Lion of Judah, and the King of kings. If Jesus had not become the Lamb of God, there wouldn’t be a multitude of saints gathered around the throne singing his praises.
Paul explained it in Philippians:
[Jesus], being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him . . . (2:6-9a).
God exalts the Lamb because the Lamb humbled himself and became a man. Nothing will ever make that statement less astounding: God became man. The king became the servant. The Lion became the Lamb.
Therefore, every created being in heaven will be singing, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, forever and ever” (Revelation 5:13).
Praising the Lamb
But there’s no reason to wait for that day. The privilege of praise is ours now. We can sing of the Lamb of God’s worth every day through our attitudes, words, and actions. How do we do that?
We ask the Holy Spirit to cultivate within us the lamb-like mindset of Jesus Christ (Philippians 2:5). Our attitudes proclaim his worth when we “in humility consider others better than ourselves” (2:3). That motivates us to “do everything without complaining or arguing” because we are more interested in helping others than in gratifying ourselves (2:14-16).
Lamb-like attitudes produce words of edification and praise. Because we’re learning to see others as Jesus sees them, we use our words to build unity in our families, workplaces, and churches. Our words are governed by tenderness and compassion rather than selfishness and conceit (Philippians 2:1-4). And oneness in spirit and purpose exalt Jesus’ worth, allowing his glory to shine through us (2:15).
Lamb-like attitudes also generate works that bring him glory. They flow naturally from a mind that seeks to “act according to his good purpose” (2:13). Like Paul, we’re willing to be “poured out like a drink offering” for others (2:17). In other words, we expect nothing in return. We joyfully volunteer to cook at a local soup kitchen, take a senior citizen to lunch, send an encouraging, handwritten note to the church custodian, or smile at a grouchy cashier and express our thanks. Their response does not concern us because we see even the most mundane action as a sacrifice of praise to the Lamb of God.
The Lamb of God willingly “made himself nothing” for us, becoming a servant so he could redeem us. Are we equally willing to become a sacrifice of praise to him through our attitudes, words and actions?
The central message of the Revelation is that “the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!” (19:6). This theme has been validated in history by the victory of the Lamb who is “Lord of lords and King of kings” (17:14). Yet, those who follow the Lamb are involved in a continuing spiritual conflict, and Revelation thus provides deeper insight into the nature and tactics of the Enemy (Eph. 6:10–12). The Dragon, frustrated by his defeat at the Cross and the consequent restraints placed upon his activity, and desperate to thwart the purposes of God before his inevitable doom, develops a counterfeit trinity “to make war” on the saints (12:17). The first “beast” or monster symbolizes the reality of anti-Christian government and political power (13:1–10, 13); and the second, anti-Christian religion, philosophy, and ideology (13:11–17). Together they produce the ultimately deceptive and seductive anti-Christian secular society, commerce, and culture, the harlot Babylon (chs. 17; 18), composed of those “who dwell on earth.” These thus bear the “mark” of the monster, and their names are not registered in “the Lamb’s Book of Life.” The Dragon continually delegates his restricted power and authority to the monsters and their followers in order to deceive and discourage anyone from God’s creative-redemptive purpose. (Bible Study Notes from NSFB)
~Deborah Perry
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