The Lamp of the Lamb
Introduction
Revelation 6 describes the world’s response to the Lamb of God opening heaven’s scroll releasing war, famine, pestilence and death on the earth, “everyone…hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks… calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”” (Rev 6:15-17 ESV). Such hiding from the presence of God has been humanity’s response since Eden, when Adam and Eve hid from the LORD in the trees of the Garden (Gen 3:8). So with the Ebola outbreak in West Africa and the radiating hub of terror in the Middle East on everyone’s mind we must expect the vast bulk of Australians to be hiding even more intensely than ever behind their possessions, families, their careers, armed forces or their religion to escape the face of God (John 3:38). Revelation testifies that the no matter how traumatised the earth-dwellers[1] of today may be they will not “repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols…nor did they repent of their murders…sorceries…sexual immorality or their thefts.” (Rev 9:20-21 ESV).
Looked at from a totally different angle, through the lens of the cross, the blackness of our hour presents an opportunity for Christians to “shine like the stars” in the midst of a crooked and depraved generation (Phil 2:15) turning people “from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God” (Acts 26:18 ESV). For this to happen however the people of God must gain fresh insight into eternal things, we need to become radiators of the light which at the End will fill heaven and earth. “And the city (New Jerusalem) has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.” (Rev 21:23). Since at the beginning of Revelation that each church is a “lampstand” (1:20) the vocation of the Church in Perth is to illuminate the world with the light of the Lamp of the Lamb. This is something only as miracle can achieve.
With recent abuse scandals having devastated the reputation of Christianity the status of the Church as a beacon of spiritual and moral light has never been lower. The Lamp of the Lamb burns dimly in our land. How is it possible for men and women who accuse God of ultimately being behind the suffering of this world to receive the illumination of his love?
Darkness
Scripture testifies that “God is light and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5 cf. Ps 104:2; Hab 3:3:3-Rom 1:20) and the Genesis story of creation begins with a world bathing in the supernatural light of the glory of God (Gen 1:3)[2]. To understand how spiritual and moral darkness entered a very good creation we must turn to the prophetic symbolism of scripture (Gen 1:31).
Isaiah 14 speaks of a Fall from heaven to the abyss;
“How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn!….
13 You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven;…I will set my throne on high;
….14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’
15 But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.” (Isa 14:12-14)[3]
This passage describes the fall of a glorious light bearing being from heaven to the darkness of the abyss. Since Paul tells us that “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.” (2 Cor 11:13-14) it appears that the being now called the devil was created to radiate the light of God’s glory to the world. His arrogant descent into the depths of darkness is in proportion to the glorious light of intimacy with God he once enjoyed (cf. Job 1:6; 2:1). We may say of this evil spirit whose very being exists in opposition to the true God; “The devil is darkness and in him there is no light at all”. Created to shine with the radiance of God he is now driven by the full weight of his being to impart his own darkness into the world.
When under the influence of the satanic promise to be like God Adam and Eve turned their gaze from the lamp of God’s Word their eyes were “opened” and they felt inwardly enlightened (Gen 2:17; 3:5, 7; Ps 119:105). From that time men and women feeling enlightened by their religious, political and cultural systems cannot see they have been plunged into “great darkness” (Jer 17:9; Matt 6:23; Rom 1:21). Jesus said, ““unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”” (John 3:3). Without the miracle of regeneration, being “born again”, the light of the Lamp of the Lamb can never be seen shining into our dark world? As people who have no natural enlightenment we must turn in utter humility to the words of Jesus about himself.
Christ the Lamp
Christ was uniquely conscious of himself as the one true source of spiritual enlightenment (John 1:1-5); ““I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”” (8:12). The light of his presence polarised Israel; ““For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” When some of Pharisees heard this, “Are we also blind?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.””(John 9:39-41 ESV). Believing they were sufficiently enlightened by their knowledge of the Law the religious leaders of Israel hated the light of Christ (John 3:19-20). In their case the prophetic warning of Isaiah came true; “Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who equip yourselves with burning torches! Walk by the light of your fire, and by the torches that you have kindled! This you have from my hand: you shall lie down in torment.” (Isa 50:11).
On the other hand the tax collectors, prostitutes and sinners who knew their inner darkness flocked to the light of the Lord. These were the ones who knew they needed a totally new beginning.
Christ’s words about spiritual enlightenment in John chapter 3 speak about such a radically new beginning but they have become so familiar and domesticated we hardly understand them anymore, ““Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”” (John 3:3). What does it mean for a regenerated person to see the kingdom of God? The disciples saw a powerful manifestation of the kingdom of God at his transfiguration (Mark 9:1).
“Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John …and led them up a high mountain… And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light….. Moses and Elijah, appeared and began talking with Jesus. 31 They were glorious to see. And they were speaking about his exodus from this world, which was about to be fulfilled in Jerusalem.”” (Matthew 17:1-2; Luke 9:30-31 ESV). The glorious light that covered the holy mountain was a foretaste of the “the lamp of the Lamb” that will fill the whole new creation. The glory of God was radiating from the face of Jesus because he was about to enter Jerusalem as the Lamb of God taking away the sin of the world by dying on the cross (John 1:29; 2 Pet 1:16-18; Rev 21:23 cf. Luke 9:21). Despite having seen such a marvellous manifestation of the lamp of the Lamb the disciples would soon fall away because they did not understand the way of the cross.
The risen Lord spoke to those depressed by the apparent victory of evil at Calvary; ““O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?”” (Luke 24:25-26 ESV). Failure to understand the cross is the one great stumbling block to seeing the kingdom of God (1 Cor 1:23). We must turn again to Jesus’ own experience.
“And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”” (Mark 15:33-34). For Jesus this is the valley of the shadow of death without the rod and staff of God, it is the “outer darkness” beyond the light of the divine presence (Ps 23:4; Matt 8:12), it is “the day of the Lord darkness, and not light, and gloom with no brightness” (Amos 5:20). Jesus’ greatest pain and deepest anguish of Jesus is that no-one at the foot of the cross saw anything other than the final triumph of “the power of darkness” (Luke 22:53). Under God’s wrath upon our sin Jesus is no longer conscious of himself as the light of the world (Rom 3:25; 2 Cor 5:21). Praise God this is not the end.
The other cry from the cross, ““It is finished”” (John 19:30) testifies that Jesus is now aware that in his death all old things are passing away and a new creation is being born again (cf. 2 Cor 5:17). The regeneration of the universe will be manifest on the third day in his resurrection from the dead. The resurrection of the Son of God testifies that God is no angry unpredictable power punishing the innocent by war, famine, pestilence and death so that we must hide our faces from him in fear.
The death and resurrection of the Lamb of God illuminates our consciences to the truth that God is our loving Father. Suffering on behalf of others and for the glory of God releases the light of God into this world (2 Tim 1:10); this is the power of the light of the Lamp of the Lamb who has taken away the sin of the world (John 1:29). The implications of this for the life of the church are total.
Light Bearing
Jesus defines our identity, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16 ESV). The identity of the Church is not a building nor an organisation but a “lampstand” (Rev 1:20). As the lampstand lit by the Lamp of the Lamb we are shine God’s glory into every element of creation; into marriage, family, arts, media, education, law, politics, business, sport and so on (cf. Eph 3:10). This is what it means to “make disciples of nations” (Matt 28:18-20).
The apocalyptic image of the people of God in Revelation 12 speaks directly to the need for the Australian Church to recover her lampstand identity in an increasingly darkened world . “a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.” (v.1). The Church’s power to illuminate the nations is symbolised by her immersion in the light bearers which God created to rule over the darkness of the world (Gen 1:14-18). Assaulted by plagues, persecution and all manner of satanic attack the Church of New Testament times absolutely needed such powerful testimony of her marvellous lampstand identity, and so do we (Rev 12ff.)!
In satellite images of earth’s city lights at night the brightest portions are the east and west coasts of the US, Europe, Japan and so on. When the Lord looks down from heaven the portions of the earth most lit up before him are not the developed nations of the world. The most intense hubs of divine light are found in places like Syria and Iraq and the Ebola zone of West Africa where faithful men and women are lifting up holy hands and praising God whether they live or whether they die! For these believers the glorious images of the New Jerusalem illuminated by the Lamb to the glory of God burn brightly in the midst of engulfing darkness (Isa 61:19-20; Rev 21-22.) Not long ago I was visiting a now deceased Christian friend suffering of cancer. His appeal to me was that for the Church to get real about eternity. Jesus words to the Church in Ephesus speak to us today.
“‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.” (Revelation 2:2-5)
Having abandoned the prophetic witness of their first love the Ephesian Church stood in danger of ceasing to be a lampstand before the Lord (Rev 2:5). The fire within them had become cold. I am sure there are groups of people meeting in buildings all over this city today who, because they carry the light of no prophetic witness before the Lord, have already ceased to be lampstands in his sight, and do not know it.
I was visiting a Baptist pastor recently and he mentioned the principal of a local primary school had asked the church to start a mentoring programme. They are considering putting up building designed to assist their call to bring the light of the Lamb to children in darkness. In what way is the Lamp of the Lamb radiating the saving light of the Lord into your neighbourhood?
The bible is unapologetic in its expectations, “Be aglow with the Spirit.” (Rom 12:11 cf. Ps 34:5; Matt 5:16). Christ is addressing his Church today about its lack of spiritual and fire. These prophetic words by Keith Green remind me of the energy and passion I had in the days after I was born again;
Oh Lord, please light the fire
That once burned bright and clean
Replace the lamp of my first love
That burns with holy fear
His prayer for God to reignite the lamp is correct (2 Tim 1:6), and I would like to share a story about how the Lord would do this:
Some years ago I was on a winter retreat near Bold Park which overlooks the city to the east, with the Darling Range behind. I was out prayer walking before dawn and approaching a summit felt strongly led to wait for sunrise. The wait seemed to go on forever, but finally the sun started to come up over the hills in all its undisputed brilliance. Then from east to west all the city lights started to go out. This scripture was pressed into my mind; “But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings.”(Malachi 4:2 ESV). For the Lamp of the Lamb to shine through the church in Perth all its lesser lights must be extinguished. Self- confidence in our biblical orthodoxy (like the church in Ephesus), our pride in our denominational tradition (Sardis), our assurance of being spiritual (Corinth), our moral uprightness (Galatia), confidence in our affluence (Laodicea), all these lights which testify to us and not to Jesus must be put out if only the life-giving Lamp of the Lamb is to be seen. The light of the Lamp of the Lamb shall be seen amongst us in proportion to our embracing the costly way of the cross.
Conclusion
Peter said to Jesus, ““we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?”” In response Jesus spoke to Peter of sharing his glorious inheritance ““in the regeneration/’born again-ness’ (of all things), when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne”” (Matthew 19:27-29). Those who have been regenerated/born again and left behind the ways of this world have spiritual insight into the future when the light of the Lamp of the Lamb will set the whole new cosmos ablaze with the glory of God.
Those who pray for spiritual enlightenment will see that the Lord is doing a great work in this day of darkness, plague and terror (John 12:28; Eph 1:18). A window has opened to turn once more to Christ as the exclusive light of life (John 8:12). The face of the Lamb is the light which can shine through the lampstand of the Church with the revelation of crucified glory. Christ alone is our confidence in a world which at times seems random, senseless and cruel.
I am praying and believing for the return of the light of the Lamp of the Lamb to the Church in Perth. For this to happen we must lives of costly discipleship bearing suffering for the glory of God. The more we are crucified with Christ and experience his risen power the more his Lamp will shine through us into the lives of others to the glory of God (Gal 2:20; Phil 3:10). Is this what you desire, personally, and as a church?