The Lion and the Lamb

Last week I had the joy to spend several days in Calgary at a Retreat Centre, studying that grand manuscript called Revelation. Since then, my mind has continually returned to the many pictures that John paints for us.

One such picture comes from chapter 5. John weeps because no one is found worthy to open the scroll. Listen to the comforting words of the elder. "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."

At that moment, the tears would have slowed and John would have slowly raised his head to see this Lion - a King! The elder said that this King was a descendant from Judah and therefore he must be an ancestor of King David. And yet the elder said he was a Root of David - how could he be both a descendant and an ancestor?

As the questions raced through John's mind his eyes looks through the tears, and sees coming from the "between the throne" not a Lion but a Lamb - a Lamb that was slain, and by His blood we "were ransomed"!

Can you picture this scene? Oh what a King we worship! Yes, a King from David's lineage. Yes, a King that stepped down from Heaven's throne room. Yes, a King that is more than a man - but also God Himself. And yet, a King that became a sacrificial Lamb so that our sins though they were as scarlet could become white as snow!

Lord "Worthy are you to take up the scroll and to open its seals". Thank You!