The Overcomers Who Follow the Lamb

 Revelation 4-5

The Heavenly Court Scene of the Triumphant Lamb

Around AD 95, the Christian church, a unique and unconventional religion, was still at its sprouting season in the Roman Empire. The Roman regime and the society as a whole joined effort in persecuting the Church, and they, by all means, sought to destroy this emerging faith. Christians were under cruel persecution, and the Church underwent an unsettled and bleak situation. The book of Revelation was then written against this backdrop.

The book of Revelation recorded that the heaven was open, and God enabled the apostle John to see visions, and John was instructed to write letters to the churches in Asia Minor to tell them about these visions.

On one hand, Revelation displays the person and work of a “victorious Christ.” And on this account, it inspires the faithful saints who suffer for their faith, and though they have to give up their lives, they nevertheless, must keep their faith and follow the Lamb that was slain so as to be the overcomers.

We will reflect upon the victorious Christ as part of the subject of Christology, so as to receive some insights for our today’s context.

First, the victorious Christ is the Lord of the Church (Chapters 1-3）

Revelation 1:13-16 says, “and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.”

The son of Man, Christ, stood “among” the lampstands (v13). The “golden lampstands” were symbol of the glorious testimony of the Church. “Christ Stood Among” talks about Christ’s control over His own Church.

No matter how terrible and miserable the state the Church can fall into, the victorious Christ shall be standing there all the whiles, giving His providence and protection over the Church, because He is the Lord of the Church. His presence is with the Church.

By then the Church was severely persecuted by the Roman regime and its peoples, and it went through times of pain and uncertainties. However, Christ, the Head of the Church, was with the Church, protecting over her.

Revelation 2:1-2 says, “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.”

Christ “walked among” the seven golden lampstands (Rev 2:1). Our Lord not merely stood among the golden lampstands, but He walked among them. “Walked” means that He was inspecting, overseeing, checking, commending, rebuking, reminding, disciplining and protecting, and His purpose was that the Church would fulfil God’s redemptive plan of the world.

Christ held seven stars in His right hand (2:1). “Seven stars” refers to the Church leaders, and they were mastered by Christ. We can see that Christ is fully in charge of the future and destiny of His Church, and the Church shall be victorious because of Him.

Thank God that the Church had indeed, finally overcome her countless days of troubles, and with Christ’s preservation, the Church lasts until this day, and Christianity even grows to be the largest religion in the world. God’s faithfulness and grace are indeed wonderful!

If we come to realize this, we can rest assured by entrusting our whole being unto this faithful and powerful God, and follow the Lamb, serving and loving Him faithfully. By doing so, we shall become the overcomers, and we will not be beaten down by all adversities.

Second, the Victorious Church is the Lord of the Universe (Chapters 4-18）

The phrase “I saw” appeared 4 times from chapter 4 to chapter 5. As a summary, the apostle John saw the vision of Christ, the Lamb who was once slain, but was resurrected. He is the Lord of victory, and moreover, He is the glorious Lord of the universe.

Now the world is still controlled by God. Christ has started His final war with the evil forces since the day He died on the Cross. The God of creation of all things wanted to continue His salvation plan.

The apostle John let us see the heavenly scene first before contrasting it with what was happening on earth, so that we will not be fearful by the bleak hours on earth, and we will not lose hope because of the uncertainties of the days.

Jesus Christ is the Lamb that was slain, and He shed His blood as a ransom for the sin of the world. He is now gathering us, and bringing us into His Kingdom, that we can be the priests, and mediator through whom God blesses His people, and we shall rule and reign with Him in future.  Owing to this, all believers shall praise God and adore Him!

Now we the believers may be despised and ridiculed, and we may suffer all kinds of hardship because of our faith, and we are also vulnerable to pandemic, but we shall rule over the whole earth in future. When we are aware of the future glory that lies before us, we receive strength to face our current hardships.

Moreover, there shall be a day in future where Christ shall pour out His “wrath of the Lamb” (6:16) on this sinful and corrupted world, but His mighty arms shall save His own people.

Revelation 7:17 says, “For the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’

Those who do not revere God, and who are boastful of their unbelief towards God will come to realize their mistakes. On that day, they shall encounter God’s wrath. Those who reject God shall not be able to run away from His wrath!

But those who belong to Christ shall receive their rewards and not punishment. All the disasters, pains and sorrows of the believers shall pass, and they shall not weep over these.

The victory of Christ reaches its climate on Revelation 17:14. “They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.”

Are you following this Lamb of God who was slain and trust Him faithfully? Do you belong to Christ? If you do, you need not be fearful of the end time disasters, for you will surely be victorious!

Third, the Victorious Christ is the Lord of New Heaven and Earth (Chapters 19-22)

God has chosen the Israelites to be His holy people since the Old Testament, and He has built His holy city, Jerusalem, on the Holy Land. God has established there His holy temple, because He desires to meet with His people there.

Sadly, the Israelites were stubborn and rebellious, and hence God’s salvation plan was not fully realized. The holy temple was torn down by the Babylonian army in 586BC, and the people of Judah was taken captive to Babylon. Jews returned to Jerusalem to rebuild their holy temple when Babylon was destroyed by the Persians.

In AD70, came the time of Roman colonization of the Holy Land. Titus, the Roman general cracked down on the Jews’ rebellion in Jerusalem. He led the army to tear down the temple, and since then the Israelites did not have the temple anymore. They were exiled and dispersed all over the world.

After the second world war, in 1947, the Jews restored to their nation in the Holy Land, but they have yet to rebuild their temple until this day.

When Christ was on earth, He prophesized that the temple shall be destroyed again. He emphasized that the real temple is not a building that is visible. Jesus said those who truly worship the Father, will worship Him in the Spirit and in Truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks (John 4:23). Which means, believers in Jesus who would be led by the Holy Spirit, are in fact worshipping God.

Besides, Paul also emphasized that the “body, heart and spirit” of man is the “holy temple” that God dwells through His Holy Spirit (John 4:23; 1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19).

However, God wanting to dwell with his people is his unchanging concern. God has pre-destined his Bride – the Church to enter the “new heaven and new earth”, and that the kingdom of the world will become “the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Messiah” (11:15).

In this respect, we find four “new” things in the Bible, and they all refer to God’s four creation and deliverance: “new man”, “new song”, “new thing”, “new heaven and new earth”. The first three things are prepared for the last.

The Church is God’s “new creation”, who is created and saved in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 2:15, Colossians 3:10), and this “new creation” praises God daily with a “new song” (Psalm 33:3, 96:1; 98:1; Isaiah 42:10; Revelation 5:9), for the Lord has accomplished the “new thing” for us (Isaiah 42:9, 43:19), and He shall lead us personally into His “new heaven and new earth” in future (Isaiah 65:17, 66:22; Revelation 21:1) – It is God’s eternal Kingdom, a greater new Garden of Eden.

There and then, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” (Revelation21: 4-5)

Jesus comforts us with this promise, in John 14:1-4, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.  You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Yes Lord, Jesus. We know the way, that is to follow the Lamb closely, and we wait expectantly for your return!

Conclusion

If we look around the world today, we will see that it is changing constantly. All around us seems to be restless and helpless. If we look at the division in today’s Christian churches, the coldness of our faith, the rise of heresies and liberalism replacing the traditional Christian values, our fears and sorrows will increase.

This feelings of uneasiness and worries are like what the Christians who faced persecution in the Roman Empire felt, and it is something that makes our hearts shudder and tremble too.

However, the victorious Christ will speak across the air, “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done.” （Revelation 22：12）“I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”（Revelation 22:16b）

May the promise of God’s reign not only stabilize our hearts, but strengthen and lift up our hands that are hung down and our legs that lose strength, that we shall wait patiently for His triumphant return, and we shall rejoice over His salvation for all peoples and all nations, and we shall lift up our heads in the presence of the unparallel manifestation. We shall share the eternal blessedness with the victorious Christ!

Jesus promised that, “To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.” (Revelation 3:21）Christ is the victorious Lord, and it is a destined fact. We are destined to be victorious in His victory, for He has told us specifically, “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” （Romans 8:37）We cannot but respond with “Come, Lord Jesus.” （Revelation 22:20）