God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow ... And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:9-11

Showing posts with label Lamb is Temple. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lamb is Temple. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Jesus Christ: The Lamb of God


It's very important to note that in the book, - or really letter - of the revelation of Jesus Christ, all throughout the revelation Jesus Christ is referred to as the lamb. This is very important for His being the lamb is what released the effects of what was revealed of Christ, and it wouldn't have happened unless He was the lamb, and lived out being the Lamb of God.

While if we're truly believers in Christ, we all know that Jesus was the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world, and that's the heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as it relates to all men.

But in the revelation of Jesus Christ, it goes beyond simply being the lamb as far as being a door back to fellowship with God, but it reveals part of the very nature of God as revealed in Jesus Christ as the lamb of God.

It gets into the heart of the eternals before creation where we are told he was crucified before the foundation of the world; before creation. That speaks to us of the fact that being a lamb and bearing the cross was part of the nature of God Himself, not only an instrument to make man right with God because He knew man would sin. It was all of that of course, but also much more.

Here are a number of places in the Revelation of Jesus Christ that call Him the Lamb:



Rev 5:6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.

Rev 5:8 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four [and] twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and goldenvials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.

Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.

Rev 5:13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, [be] unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

Rev 6:1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.

Rev 6:16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:

Rev 7:9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

Rev 7:10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.

Rev 7:14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Rev 7:17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

Rev 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

Rev 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Rev 13:11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

Rev 14:1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred 1540 forty [and] four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.

Rev 14:4 These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, [being] the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.

Rev 14:10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:

Rev 15:3 And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous [are] thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true [are] thy ways, thou King of saints.

Rev 17:14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him [are] called, and chosen, and faithful.

Rev 19:9 And he saith unto me , Write, Blessed [are] they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.

Rev 21:9 Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.

Rev 21:14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

Rev 21:22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.

Rev 21:23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb [is] the light thereof.

Rev 21:27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither [whatsoever] worketh abomination, or [maketh] a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.

Rev 22:1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

Rev 22:3 And 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 :


Everything in relationship to God and man in Christ is because He was and is the Lamb of God. To have Christ worked within us as a lamb, or as the cross (obviously not as the Savior, but the characteristics of being lambs before God in Christ) deeply working in us to change us into His image.

We could walk in the depths of what the scriptures reveal to us about the Lord Jesus Christ being the lamb, and we will throughout eternity, but the major thing is to see Him as the lamb, and that He is working in us as the lamb so we can partake in His very nature in that way.

Look at the things attributed to Jesus as the Lamb, and you'll see the very things He's ready to work within those who are willing to be sheep as He is as well.

It's in seeing Jesus Christ as the lamb first, that allows to begin on this type of journey where we are also shaped into lambs through our fellowship with the very Lamb of God Himself. The Lamb is the key to breaking all the seals and setting people free. Those that see Him as the lamb, will begin to have that shaped and formed within Him, and will also participate in the very things He does before the Father.

The difference is He does it as the original, and we as in reponse to who He is being worked within us.

We need to ask the Lord to reveal Himself as the lamb to us, and then allow Him to work Himself within us that way. Only He can do it, and we need to keep our hearts open to Him as He does. It's not an easy path walking as lambs before the chief lamb; just look at His life to see that that is a reality.

Sunday, December 30, 2007

God's Eternal Purpose - 4

No Temple Here 

Revelation 21:22

And I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty and the Lamb, are its temple.

In all of my research and studies I have found that this particular reference in the scriptures is one of the most neglected and misunderstood.

Many wish that it wasn't in there, others, that see many of the things that are talked about on this site, don't believe it has reference to today. 

The great strategy of most that don't understand the spiritual significance of New Jerusalem, is to simply dismiss this as another thing that will happen after all things on the earth have been completed. If there weren't other places in the scriptures that contradict that, there may be some ground to stand on there, but there are many places that blow way of thinking away.

For example when Stephen was about to be martyred, he reveals that God does not dwell in temples made with hands. Does anybody seriously think that he didn't know about this city of God? Did he just come up with an interesting saying? No! He was one of the very few that saw the end of all types and shadows and that the real was now here. 

Another place that speaks of this is when Jesus talks about He being in the Father, Him being in us, and us being in each other etc. This is spiritual temple language and insight. This is talking about dwelling in one another spiritually and in union with Christ, the Father, and each other.

Now having said all of this, let's look at some of the significance of this tremendous revelation of Jesus Christ. No temple! What a challenging statement. 
Not only in the days of the apostles and the early church, but just as much in our own day, this has been something not comprehended by many. 

Today we see something of this and look, for the most part at it from an outward point of view. 

In other words, we begin to see that there was no such things as special buildings that the early believers ever met in, or would even come into their way of thinking. Yet, for the most part the modern-day response is to move from these so-called "churches" to meeting in homes. 

While this is a good step, it misses a lot of the point altogether. Simply transferring where the people of God meet, doesn't begin to deal with what is eternally on the heart of God. Everything that is being done in the buildings, can simply be started again in another physical setting. I am talking about the practices here.

So what is it that God is saying in all of this? What is the mystery? It's really not that hard to understand at all. It goes back to Jesus describing what eternal life is: that we may know Christ and His Father. It goes back to spiritually comprehending the end of all things: that God may be all in all. This is temple-talk from God's point of view.

Now I am not saying that because this is dealing with spiritual realities that we shouldn't leave the religious system, but if we do it without seeing more than simply exchanging physical locations, we miss the point entirely.

We leave because we are looking for a city whose builder and maker is God Almighty Himself. We are looking for a city build from the reality of the person of Jesus Christ, not on systems and logic, or certain traditions.

This temple is not simply one individual either. It is the entire Godhead in communion with one another and us. So it is with us, it is a corporate dwelling that God is building. Again, He created all of mankind to dwell in and be all to - not just a few.

This doesn't mean that we aren't individually dwelling places of God. But together we are being built into a temple for Him. As we embrace and share Christ with one another, we grow into all that He is. That is the significance of there being no temple in the wife of the Lamb. He couldn't care less about bricks and mortar, He is after intimate union with His woman. His bride. There is nothing that He will allow to compete with that.

When we individually enter into union with Christ and one another, something greater than ourselves begins to happen. That is what this aspect of the great eternal purpose of God unveils.