The Wrath of the Lambkin—Part 3 -Steve Orr

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Understanding the Lamb’s Wrath with Revelation:

(To read part 1 of The Wrath of the Lambkin) (Or read Part 2 of The Wrath of the Lambkin).

In some ways, it is as if John not only received a vision but is also acting as a stenographer by writing down Jesus’ words in the first person:

I am the Alpha and Omega, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty. (Revelation 1:8)

I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. (Revelation 22:16)

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.” (Revelation 21:5)

This theme of old things being made new are consistently echoed in other parts of the Bible:

See, I will create a new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. (Isaiah 65.17)

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you: I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:26)

The Book of Revelation ends by summing up Jesus’ complete, nonviolent victory over evil and delivers a most hopeful message.

To fully understand the wrath of the Lambkin, we need to read the end of the book to see how the Lambkin wins over the hearts of humankind.

How does the Bible end this great drama written with apocalyptic hyperbole come to its climax?

  1. The great whore of Jerusalem is destroyed.
  2. The warrior Jesus defeats the Beast with the figurative sword of His mouth.
  3. His robe is soaked in his own blood, not the blood of others. His name is “The Word of God.”
  4. The Beast and the False Prophet are thrown into the lake of fire, a place of cleansing.
  5. A grand celebration begins with the Wedding Feast of the Lamb.
  6. That old snake, that dragon, the devil Satan, is bound in chains and thrown into the Abyss.
  7. Death, our last enemy is conquered and cast into the lake of fire, the place of ultimate destruction.
  8. Hell is also thrown into the lake of fire. Just as death, our last enemy has been destroyed, so has hell.
  9. The New Jerusalem comes down from heaven and God makes his dwelling place with his children.
  10. No one and no thing unclean is allowed to enter into the city, but her gates will never be shut.
  11. Inside the city is the Tree of Life, which yields a new crop of fruit each month, and its leaves heal the nations.
  12. At the end of ends we see that God dwells with us in the New Jerusalem, and her gates are never shut.
  13. Yet some are still separated from God and remain outside the walls of the city where nothing unclean is allowed in.
  14. The clarion call continuously goes out to those outside to wash their robes, to clean up their act and come into the dwelling place of God.
  15. The Spirit and the bride say,

“Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life. (Revelation 22:17)

Like the parable of the Prodigal Son, the story ends inconclusively with an unanswered question posed to the elder brother, who is an archetype for the religious leaders in Jerusalem—Won’t you come in and join the party?

To this day Our Loving Heavenly Father is sitting on the porch waiting for the return of all His prodigal children.

Will everyone come? Peter writes that the Lord is not willing that any should perish. Shouldn’t our hope be that God gets what God wants?

With all the time in the world and eternity to come—with our healing from blindness that comes with the removal our dark glasses—God can be very persuasive!

My firm hope and conviction that everyone will come. But as it is, we won’t know for certain until we ourselves step into eternity.

Until then, I’ll be hoping and praying that everyone joins the party.

Until then, I’ll be meditating on Matters of the Heart.

Steve Orr writes to us from Montana. After working in the mecca of technology, Steve traded the rat race of Silicon Valley for the adventures of High Tech in Big Sky Country. Steve has an MBA with experience in accounting, finance, technology, and management. He occasionally writes a little software code, but mostly he likes writing about Matters of the Heart.