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Table of Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Introduction
As a teenage Christian, I was fascinated by the book of Revelation.
In fact, I had delusions of “cracking the code,” discovering the meaning
behind the book that no one had ever seen before. Captivated as I
was by the sights and sounds, symbols and images of Revelation, I
never paid much attention to the first few chapters. I wanted to read
of dragons and monsters, of celestial combat between angelic forces
and demonic hosts. I would skip over the first five chapters to get to
the good stuff. But some things happened that led me to take another
look at what I was missing.
As a college student, I had the chance to audit a course on
Revelation taught by Dr. Ian Fair, who was dean of the College of
Biblical Studies at Abilene Christian University at the time. Not only
did he teach me to appreciate the book of Revelation on its own terms,
but he also opened my eyes to the beauty of the letters to the seven
churches of Asia found in Revelation 2 and 3. He let me see the rich
history behind those letters, and the powerful messages contained in
those books.
About the same time, I was fortunate to join the more than one
8 Letters from the Lamb
I have always been convinced that the Bible has lessons that make
a difference in my life, and that has always been what I have most
enjoyed in my personal study. It is how I preach. God’s Word speaks
in very real and practical ways. But I have always been insistent that
the original message must be understood to really find the lessons
that change lives today.
I think that is why I appreciate Tim Archer and the way he works
Introduction 9
to understand what the text meant when it was written. Every time I
hear Tim teach on a passage I find myself thinking: “So that is what
that means!” It is rare to find someone with the scholarly ability to
understand the message in its original context, much less be able to
communicate it in a way that keeps my interest. Tim has that gift. I
have enjoyed reading his material on these letters to seven churches
in Asia Minor two thousand years ago.
I am going to confess that I have had a hard time understanding
everything in the book of Revelation. It is fun to read but not so much
fun to find the message from God for my life. Maybe that is because
the whole book intimidates me. Maybe it is because I thought I had
to understand all of it. But I have always thought these seven letters
were rich in application to my life today. They have seemed as fresh
today as they were two thousand years ago.
As I have continued to work on this material, I have seen even
more applications to my life today. There are lessons to be learned for
my life and yours, and in our churches, that mean just as much today
as they did then. Even writing this material, I have been challenged
anew to see the core message of the Bible and to realize again how it
plays itself out in my life.
Tim and I have designed this book so that you hear two
alternating voices throughout: a Then section written by Tim, and a
Now section written by me. Tim focuses on what each letter meant
in the context in which it was written. I focus on what each letter
means for our lives today. There will be some natural overlap at times
because Tim is also very much a preacher. And part of how I learn
the message for us today is to imagine how the original message was
received and lived out then.
So we invite you into the message and into the life of these seven
churches. It is our hope and prayer that these letters will come alive
for you as they have for us.
beings which had been seen by prophets like Isaiah and Ezekiel, whose
likenesses had been carved on Israel’s ark of the covenant. We hear the
continuing chorus of “Holy, holy, holy” that rises up before God as all
of the heavenly beings proclaim His worth.2 It is a scene of wonder,
a symphony of sight and sound that evokes praise from all who
witness it.
Heady Company
Moses and the elders of Israel had a glimpse of what we are seeing.
They even had the privilege of eating with God.3 Later Moses was
given yet another look at the glory of the Lord.4 The prophet Micaiah
witnessed this scene, but describing God’s throne room did not fit
his purpose at the time.5 Isaiah had a vision of God on His throne
surrounded by His angelic bodyguards.6 Ezekiel, too, saw the Lord
with the living creatures that John describes here.7 Daniel beheld
God on His throne with other thrones around Him and thousands
of celestial beings surrounding Him.8 We are in heady company, a
Who’s Who of prophets allowed to look upon the glory of the Lord.
We stand gazing upon wonder after wonder and try to take it all in.
Lion of the tribe of Judah would be a king, no, the King. Descended
from the mighty warrior king, David, who had been God’s chosen
to push back his enemies. The Lion of Judah is certainly worthy of
taking the scroll and breaking its seals.
Lions are powerful. Awe-inspiring. A lion could tear those seals
off with one sweep of his mighty claws. King of the beasts, lord of
the jungle, the lion is one of the most terrifying animals around. His
roar sets lesser animals to flight, and his appearance strikes terror in
his prey. From culture to culture, for thousands of years the lion has
been the symbol of royalty, a representation of power and bravery.
This Lion is no ordinary lion, no brute animal. He is the Lion of the
tribe of Judah. Descendant of David. Messiah. The Anointed One,
the Chosen One. Behold the powerful creature.
and his readers would have been. We might think of an animal that
had been attacked by a coyote or one that was struck by a vehicle. We
might even picture a slaughterhouse scene, with lambs being killed
to provide meat for humans. But to readers in the first century, the
image of a slain lamb was one of sacrifice. While other animals were
used in sacrifice, the lamb was by far the most common. The image
of a lamb with its throat cut evoked the image of the altar, the image
of men offering sacrifice to their God. The Lion of the tribe of Judah
is the Lamb of God. The triumph of the Lion comes about through
the sacrifice of the Lamb. If we have any doubt about the matter, the
four living creatures and twenty-four elders remove it by singing:
You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals,
because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased
men for God from every tribe and language and people
and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and
priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth
(Revelation 5:9, 10).
Then tens of thousands of angels join the chorus, singing “Worthy
is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom
and strength and honor and glory and praise!” (Revelation 5:12). The
Lamb is worthy not in spite of being slain; He is worthy because He
was slain. The sacrifice of the Lamb is the triumph of the Lamb.
John tells us that this is no ordinary lamb; He has seven eyes
and seven horns. Later on we will see some of the details of the
interpretation; for now let us just say that John is telling us that the
Lamb has perfect power and perfect vision or knowledge. And the
Lamb stands on His feet, although He triumphed by allowing His
own slaughter. The Lamb lives. The Lamb conquered through
His death and the Lamb conquered Death itself. His life is a
promise to all who would follow the sacrificial path to triumph.
All-powerful, al-knowing, the Lamb allowed Himself to be
slaughtered, knowing that through that sacrifice He could bring
to light life and immortality.10 This is the message of the vision that
John saw.
all that was prophesied about the Messiah, all that we understand
about power, all must be filtered through the vision of the Lion that is
a Lamb, through the triumph of sacrifice. In the book of Revelation,
the term most commonly used to describe Jesus is “lamb.” The image
of the one who conquered through sacrifice is what John wants us
to have in the forefront of our minds. As we read the book, we must
remember that God’s people triumph by completely giving up their
lives; and by being faithful to the point of death and beyond. The
Lamb triumphed by being slain. He gave His life. God’s people are
called to do the same. And they can do so knowing that the sacrifice
is temporary, that death is a momentary transition, that the Lamb
has triumphed over the tomb and offers the same victory to all who
would imitate His sacrifice.
This is not just the message of Revelation. It is the great mystery
of Jesus’ coming and Jesus’ sacrifice. John is telling us plainly: When
you read “lion” in Old Testament scripture, insert “lamb.” When you
read of “conquering,” insert “sacrifice.” Those who had studied the
Old Testament were waiting for the Messiah. There was some debate
whether He would be a king or a priest, but there was no doubt about
this: the Messiah would come in power, sweeping His enemies before
Him and restoring the nation of Israel to its former glory. That is why
it was hard for people to understand Jesus when He came. “For even
the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his
life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). The servant Messiah. The
Messiah who gives His life. That is not what people were expecting.
But that is who Jesus was—and is. He calls His disciples to be like
Him: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and
take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will
lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save
it” (Mark 8:34, 35). Lose your life to gain it. Jesus specializes in going
against conventional wisdom. Soren Kierkegaard compared Jesus to
a burglar who enters a store by night. Instead of stealing, He merely
changes all the prices. What was once expensive is now inexpensive;
what was once without value is now costly. That is what Jesus did
with the values of this world. He says that we come to greatness
not through asserting ourselves but by serving others. He declares
that we save our lives by losing them. He calls people to suffering
The Lion and the Lamb 17
Troublesome Times
All of this has special relevance for the first recipients of the book
of Revelation. As members of the Lord’s church in the province of Asia
(located in modern day Turkey), they were about to undergo a time
of persecution at the hands of the Roman government. Specifically,
they were about to be pressured to deny their faith and accept the
worship of the emperor as a divine being. Domitian, who reigned
as Caesar at that time, was a tortured, paranoid man with a deep
sense of inferiority. He sought to overcome this inferiority through
cruelty, called “the replica of Nero’s cruelty” by Tertullian, and by
forcing his subjects to worship him. Emperor worship caught on in
the province of Asia as it did nowhere else in the Roman Empire. It
became a test of loyalty; all citizens would be called upon to honor
the emperor Domitian as Dominus et Deus, Lord and God. For most
Romans, this was no problem, whether or not they really believed the
words. They worshiped a multiplicity of gods; adding one more to the
group was not a problem. But Christians could not do it. They could
in no way deny their Lord. Jesus is Lord; there is none beside Him.
To call Domitian “Lord” would be a betrayal to the true Lord. Many
Christians refused to do their civic duty. They refused to worship this
false god.
Because of their unwillingness to worship the emperor, Christians
in the province of Asia would come under persecution. They would
be threatened with prison and even death. From an earthly point of
view, such times of persecution represent a triumph for the enemies
of God and a defeat for the church. When Christians are imprisoned
and killed, it can seem like Satan is winning. That is why John is
writing: to replace that earthly point of view with a heavenly point
of view. These Christians need to see that the path to triumph is
not through armed uprisings and military resistance. They are to
emulate the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Lion who was willing to
be sacrificed as a lamb. They are to be lambs unto slaughter, faithful
18 Letters from the Lamb
witnesses who will not deny their testimony that Jesus is Lord, even
if it costs them their lives. Just as Jesus triumphed through His death,
their deaths will help bring about the triumph of God’s kingdom:
Now have come the salvation and the power and the
kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the
accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God
day and night, has been hurled down. They overcame him
by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death
(Revelation 12:10, 11).
They will overcome Satan by the blood of the Lamb and by the
word of their testimony. It will be their willing sacrifice that brings
about the downfall of the demonic kingdom.
So John is instructed to write to these Christians, to share with
them not only this vision of the throne room, not only the story of
the Lion who is a Lamb, but to share with them a special revelation
from Jesus, a special message for His embattled saints. That message
begins with seven letters to seven churches, seven communiqués from
the Lamb to His followers. The letters were addressed to churches
in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and
Laodicea. Seven churches which symbolically represented all the
others. Seven letters written specifically to those churches, to those
believers at that point in time, but letters with an eternal message
for all followers of Jesus in every age. A timeless, heavenly message
that still echoes today, almost two thousand years later. Let us take
up those letters and hear the message. Let us pledge ourselves again
to follow in the steps of the Lion, even as they lead us like lambs to
the altar of sacrifice. Let us hear the words the Spirit says to the
churches.
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to
the churches.”
The Lion and
The Lamb:
NOW
And So I Weep
We have all been there. We have done something that we knew
we could not fix. Sometimes something is said that you would give
anything to take back but cannot. Sometimes something is done
that is not repairable. If you ever totaled a vehicle you know what
that means. It is wrecked beyond repair. Sometimes we fail to do
something. No matter how much we regret our actions, no matter
how many times we apologize, some things are beyond our ability
to repair.
That is exactly how I feel seeing the throne room of the holy God.
I have done things I know I should not have done. I have failed to do
things that I know I should have done. A holy God is not going to put
up with the likes of me. Sin and holiness do not go together. And so
I weep. I cry for the things I have done that make me unholy. I cry
because I know that my life does not fit in a holy throne room.
God is holding a scroll that reveals His plan for the reign of His
kingdom. How exciting it must be. Maybe there is even a place for me
The Lion and the Lamb 21
That is how I can live forever in the presence of God. The unholy me
becomes holy; not because of what I have done, but in spite of what I
have done. I am holy because my sin is gone. I am sinless before God
because the blood of the Lamb has purchased me, paid my debt, and
redeemed me. No wonder Revelation 5 bursts into songs of praise. I
was able to sing at least nine songs from this very text. When I read
this chapter, I am reminded that I am part of a kingdom greater than
any kingdom this world has ever seen; a kingdom that transcends
borders. We are not citizens of any earthly kingdom. I remember
what the writer of Hebrews said:
[T]hey admitted that they were aliens and strangers
on earth. People who say such things show that they are
looking for a country of their own. If they had been think-
ing of the country they had left, they would have had op-
portunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a
better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not
ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city
for them (Hebrews 11:13-16).
We see a visual of that city in Revelation. I am a priest. I am a
holy man. So are you. So what do we do? We serve God. We are part
of the reign of God on this earth.
will hate us for it. So we too need this book. We need to hear the mes-
sage of Revelation.
No More Tears
At the end of the book of Revelation, we read where God will
wipe away every tear from our eyes (Revelation 21:4). In many ways,
that is the story of God’s work among us—to wipe away our tears.
It reminds me of the woman who encounters Jesus in Luke 7:36-50.
Jesus is reclining at the dinner table when this woman comes and
stands behind Him. She is crying so hard that her tears begin to wet
24 Letters from the Lamb
His feet.
I think I know why she is crying. She has “lived a sinful life in that
town” (Luke 7:37). What a reputation. You can imagine what people
thought of her. Yet she heard about Jesus, heard where He was and
showed up. Then all she can do is stand there and cry. Why? Maybe
she understands how unworthy she is to be in His presence. Maybe
she cannot believe that forgiveness is possible for someone like her.
Maybe it is emotional overload at the contrast between her life of sin
and the sinless Son of God. Or maybe she gets it. Maybe she realizes
that someone worthy will enable her to come into the presence of
God as a clean, forgiven child.
Then it happens. Jesus forgives her sin, commends her faith, and
sends her out with a blessing of peace. I understand this story because
I am her: a sinner unworthy to be in the presence of God. I under-
stand because I have been forgiven, and I stand in the throne room
of heaven forgiven and pure. God has wiped away my tears. There is
someone worthy to justify my presence among the holy.
Worthy is the Lamb.
Endnotes
1
1 Timothy 6:16
2
This scene follows the description of Revelation 4:1-8.
3
Exodus 24:9-11
4
Exodus 33:18—34:7
5
1 Kings 22:19
6
Isaiah 6:1-3
7
Ezekiel 1:1-28
8
Daniel 7:9, 10
9
From Genesis 49:9
10
2 Timothy 1:10
The Lion and
The Lamb:
?
your answer.
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