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 (Revelation 5: 6.)
There are three references to a "Lamb slain" in the Book of Revelation. In one such reference, He is called the "Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." (Revelation 13: 8) So often, we think of Revelation as referring only and always to the future, but much of it harks back to the time before the creation, before the foundations of this world were laid.
In that pre-existent realm, the Father presented His plan for His children. The plan was both simple and beautiful. His spirit children would come to the earth and gain a physical body. They would be given their agency to choose for themselves. Because of this agency, Heavenly Father knew his children would all make wrong choices on occasion. Because no unclean thing can enter into the kingdom of heaven, a Savior was provided. That Savior was Jesus Christ, the premortal Jehovah. Through His atonement, death, and resurrection, Heavenly Father's children would have the opportunity to repent of their sins and be forgiven. They could never be perfect like Jesus, but through His grace, they could become perfect in Jesus. He was foreordained to be slain before the foundation of the world.
In order to teach this concept to His children, Heavenly Father instituted the Law of Sacrifice. A first born male lamb, perfect and free of blemish was to the ritually slain and sacrificed upon the altar. That Adam knew, practiced, and taught the Law of Sacrifice is shown by Abel's offering of an unblemished lamb. Noah offered sacrifice as did Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Moses taught the Law of Sacrifice to the Children of Israel. It wasn't that God delights in the blood of lambs, but rather so that His people would have a tangible token of the covenant He made with them to provide for them a Savior.
When Jesus was born in the spring of the year, shepherds were in the fields watching their flocks during the lambing. The lambs that would be offered in the temple during Passover were being born at the same time as the Lamb of God. When Jesus died on the cross during Passover 33 years later, lambs were being offered in the temple at the same time. The links are unmistakable. His was the last and greatest sacrifice, fulfilling the law which Moses taught.
In Revelation 5:6, the lamb had 7 eyes and 7 horns. Remembering the symbols of numbers and objects in Jewish tradition helps us realize that the Lamb John saw was not literally Jesus Christ but was symbolic of Jesus Christ and two of His most important characteristics: eyes meant seeing and 7 meant complete, so 7 eyes refers to Jesus' omniscience; horns symbolized power so 7 horns represent Christ's omnipotence. The 7 Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth symbolize to me Jesus' omnipresence.There is no doubt in my mind as to the identity of the Lamb of Revelation: Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Savior of the World.
Text copyright Gebara Education February 2013
Picture of Lamb from www.colindye.com
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