THE LAMB OF GOD
THE LAMB OF GOD
JAN LILLEBY
Ex. 11:4-6, NASB, let us know what was now about to happen; Egypt was going to be haunted by the Angel of Death, killing all firstborn of man and beast.
“4 Moses said, "Thus says the LORD, 'About midnight * I am going out into the midst of Egypt,
5 and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of the Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the millstones; all the firstborn of the cattle as well.
6 'Moreover, there shall be a great cry in all the land of Egypt, such * as there has not been before and such as shall never be again.”
THE LAMB’S BLOOD TO PROTECT THE HEBREWS
The Angel of Death was instructed by God not to kill anyone in the houses which had the blood of a lamb put on their door posts/frames. The angel would pass such a house by. From which we have the ‘Passover’ expression. The angel passed by all houses which had the blood-sign at the doors. This date is attached to the Moon Calendar of the Jews, as the 14th Nisan – which is designated by the position of a new moon.
When the REAL LAMB OF GOD, Jesus, was crucified on 14th of Nisan, it happened in 28 CE, which was in our calendar a Wednesday 28 April. The Passover came late that year. And Jesus rose from the dead on the third day, which was on the Sabbath Saturday 1 May. (See my separate article in this topic here on the site).
Ex. 12:1-13, NASB, the Lord’s detailed instruction on the using of blood from a lamb,
“1 Now the LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,
2 "This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you.
3 "Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, 'On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers' households, a lamb for each household.
4 'Now if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the number of persons in them; according to what each man should eat, you are to divide the lamb.
5 'Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats.
6 'You shall keep * it until the fourteenth * day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight.
7 'Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.
8 'They shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
9 'Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather * roasted with fire, both its head and its legs along with its entrails.
10 'And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall burn with fire.
11 'Now you shall eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste -it is the LORD'S Passover.
12 'For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments -I am the LORD.
13 The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where * you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.” (My emphasize)
IN THE NEW TESTAMENT THE LAMB APPEARED
TO US WITH A SPECIFIC NAME, JESUS
Only John the Baptist picks up on the Exodus-theme, that of the ‘Lamb of God’ –knowing that this was a foreshadow of He who should come to save Israel.
We cannot find ‘The Lamb’ mentioned by any of the apostles the entire time of Acts 28-62 CE.
It appears at John 1:29, where John the Baptist sees Jesus and exclaims, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."
In the four Gospels we find the ‘Lamb’ mentioned in none of these, except for John’s Gospel.
In the epistles we can see its theme (Passover) pointed to by 1 Pet. 1:19 quote,
“…but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”
And also by Paul in 1 Cor. 5:7….Christ our Passover….
Isa. 53:7 is pointing to the suffering Lamb, as we all know,
“He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth.”
But in the whole period of Acts 28-62 CE, there is no mention of the Lamb as being used in any preaching. Peter, Paul and the others did not use the ‘Lamb’ imagery as they preached to Israel and the Jews.
And when Paul was exhorting his followers he told them to, Pray to God, thanking Him in the name of Jesus. Not in the ‘name of the Lamb’.
THIS ALL CHANGES WHEN THE GREAT TRIBULATION
IS STARTED IN ISRAEL, AS GOD SENDS THE
TWO WITNESSES IN REV. 11
Just to give you a ‘heads up’ on this, - Rev. 15:3, NASB,
“And they sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, " Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations!”
How many times is the lamb mentioned in the Book of Revelation?
In the Bible's final book, he is called - no less than 28 times - the Lamb: "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength, honor and glory and blessing" (Revelation 5:12).
Does the name Jesus appear in Revelation?
For example, when we see Jesus referred to as “Jesus” or “Jesus Christ” in Revelation, it is usually associated with an attribute or characteristic of Jesus, and not as a description of His person. In other words, John uses phrases like the “testimony of Jesus”.
I quoted above Rev. 15:3, seeing that the Messianic believers in the times of the Great Tribulation of Israel, SANG THE SONG OF MOSES, AND THE SONG OF THE LAMB.
But there is a clue noted in Rev. 14:1-5, NASB, giving us the facts of Moses as being one of the two witnesses in Rev. 11, thus the other must be Elijah.
Who among God’s great prophets was the one who dealt with the Passover-sign, the LAMB, before Pharaoh Ramses II? Was it not Moses? Who among the great prophets was the one who dealt with the tribal nation? Moses of course!
And who will be the one to start using the words ‘The Lamb” – and so making this the sure sign of Jesus, He who died as a sacrificial Lamb for Israel in 28 CE? You know the answer: Moses of course.
That is why we find that God allows for His servants Moses and Elijah in the Great Tribulation, to speak of Jesus not by His actual name, but using the ritually known (Passover) ‘Lamb’ – so this will be a stern reminder from God that the Jews once crucified Him, and should get on their knees and repent. Moses and Elijah are warning Israel, telling them of the Lord’s Second Advent to happen very soon.
And they are doing so by prophesying the coming plagues and disasters. They will know what shall come upon them by one day warning. Just like Moses warned the Egyptians one day before it happened. Rev. 14,
1 Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four * thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads.
2 And I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps.
3 And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one could learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four * thousand who had been purchased from the earth.
4 These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever * He goes. These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb.
5 And no lie was found in their mouth; they are blameless.”
Verse 3 say that no one could learn that song, but the 144 000 tribal Jews. Why so?
Because they will have Moses as their leader, assisted by Elijah. It is Moses himself who will teach these Jewish tribal believers his NEW song. I am sure that this is the real way of actions when God is dealing with His NEW ISRAEL, not long before Jesus, THE LAMB, shall come down from heaven in might and glory, ending the tribulation.
Near the end of the tribulation in Israel, people are taking refuge in mountain caves, and they are dead afraid of the WRATH OF THE LAMB! Now who could have taught them that the ‘Lamb of God’ is angry with Israel, if not Moses?
Rev. 6:14-17, NASB, as the sixth seal is opened,
“14 The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
15 Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains;
16 and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb;
17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?"
Here is a list of what Revelation says, as it is pointing to Jesus Christ,
Jesus Christ (Revelation 1:1)
Faithful Witness (Revelation 1:5)
First Begotten Of The Dead (Revelation 1:5)
Prince Of The Kings Of The Earth (Revelation 1:5)
Alpha And Omega (Revelation 1:8-13)
First And Last (Revelation 1:8, 11, 13)
Son Of Man (Revelation 1:13)
He That Liveth And Was Dead (Revelation 1:13, 18)
He That Holdeth The Seven Stars (Revelation 2:1)
He Who Walketh Midst The Golden Candlesticks (Revelation 2:1)
He Who Hath The Sharp Sword With Two Edges (Revelation 2:12)
Son Of God (Revelation 2:18)
He Which Searches The Reins And Hearts (Revelation 2:23)
He That Hath The Seven Spirits Of God (Revelation 3:1)
He That Hath The Seven Stars (Revelation 3:1)
He That Is Holy And True (Revelation 3:7)
He That Hath The Key Of David (Revelation 3:7)
He That Openeth And No Man Shutteth (Revelation 3:7)
He That Shutteth And No Man Openeth (Revelation 3:7)
The Amen (Revelation 3:14)
The Faithful And True Witness (Revelation 3:14)
The Beginning Of The Creation Of God (Revelation 3:14)
Lord (Revelation 4:11)
Lion Of The Tribe Of Judah (Revelation 5:5,9)
The Root Of David (Revelation 5:5,9)
A Lamb As It Had Been Slain (Revelation 5:6-7)
The Lamb (Revelation 5:8-9)
Lord Of Lords (Revelation 17:14)
King Of Kings (Revelation 17:14)
Faithful And True (Revelation 19:11)
Rider Of The White Horse (Revelation 19:11)
The Word Of God (Revelation 19:13)
Christ (Revelation 20:4)
The Lord God Of The Holy Prophets (Revelation 22:6)
Beginning And The End (Revelation 22:13)
The Bright And Morning Star (Revelation 22:16)
THE NEW JERUSALEM REV. 21
As we read of the New Jerusalem, we find that the trend established by Moses in the Great Tribulation, by mentioning Jesus as ‘The Lamb’, will continue so.
From that moment in future as God has renewed (Greek, kainos, new by quality and not by time) the earth, even the solar-system, - and crowned it by sending down a huge cube-like golden city from heaven, it is ‘The Lamb’ that are in the center of it all.
Rev. 21:9-14, NASB,
“9 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, "Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb."
10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
11 having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper.
12 It had a great and high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names were written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel.
13 There were three gates on the east and three gates on the north and three gates on the south and three gates on the west.
14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.”
(My emphasize)
In Rev. 21: 22-27, NASB, it is the LAMB, in the center of it all,
“22 I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
23 And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.
24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.
25 In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed;
26 and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it;
27 and nothing unclean, and no * one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever * come into it, but only * those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.”
Check out my four-part article series on the New Jerusalem.
You will see that we, the Church, the ‘One new Man’ in Christ ARE NOT TO BE FOUND on earth in the millennia, and neither will we be on the new earth with its New Jerusalem – we are forever found in the heavens up above. Thus Revelation points out to us that it is entirely a Jewish enterprise. Even the walls on New Jerusalem have inscribed the names of the twelve apostles. And the gates are inscribed the names on the twelve tribes. It has no affiliation to the Church whatsoever! The using of ‘The Lamb’ concerning Jesus Christ, is a sign that all of these things concerns Israel and its future. They are addressed in a Jewish manner, by calling Jesus ‘The Lamb’. And at the same breath: They are constantly reminded of His sacrifice on the cross forever. Jesus is the sacrificial Lamb of God.
But the Church, has a different hope of salvation: Heaven up above (Greek, epiouranos).
Col. 3:1-4, NASB,
“1 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.
3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”
Eph. 1: 3-9, NASB,
“3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love
5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,
6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace
8 which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight
9 He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him”
The heavenly places in Christ (v. 3) – has nothing to do with the Millennia or the New Earth with its New Jerusalem. Those are earthly things. Things from heaven, - but still earthly since those things are present on earth.
New Jerusalem will be here, on earth, after it first has been re-newed/re-arranged; and changed greatly. The Mediterranean Sea shall be disappearing, among other great happenings, (verse 1).
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