Behold! the Lamb of God!

Just after sunset, Thursday night, this coming week. And of course, that begins God's annual festival season. And of course, the Passover is the most important observance we have of the entire year. As we wash each other's feet and partake of the bread and wine symbolic of Christ's suffering, and of His death, of His shed blood. I want to just ask this question to start with. Listen to that. Asking questions. As Rich asked a number of questions. Very interesting ones. What book of the Bible would you say focuses more on the Passover than any other book of the Bible by far? And the ideas. What may surprise you? And this is a very positive book, too. It's not thought of as being a positive book by most people, but it's a very, very positive book. The book that focuses on the Passover more than any other book of the Bible is the Book of Revelation, believe it or not. Now, would you think that? Book of Revelation. The Book of Revelation focuses throughout the entire book on the Passover and on Christ's shed blood. That's the major focus of the Book of Revelation. So today, then, as we begin preparing for the Passover to partake of it, we're going to look at the Book of Revelation as it pertains to the Passover and to Christ's shed blood as the Lamb of God. My title is, Behold the Lamb of God. Behold the Lamb of God. First, I want to take a quick review of the Passover in the Old Testament. And just to review it quickly, on the tenth day of the first month, they selected an unblemished male lamb.

They selected it out on the first year. The first year, male lamb, an unblemished, they picked that on the tenth day of the first month. You can read that in Exodus 12, verses 3 and 5. Then they kept that until the fourteenth day of the first month, at which time the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. Exodus 12, verse 6. Now, let's see what happens next for ourselves. Let's go to Exodus 12, verse 7, and see what happens next. After they slew the lamb at twilight. Verse 7, of Exodus 12, and they shall take some of the blood, and they put it on the two doorposts of the... and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. Now, we know that story, but to the Israelites, when they were told to do that, that probably seemed kind of strange. Take the blood and put it on the doorposts of our houses? Why in the world are we going to do that? That may seem kind of strange.

Why were they to do that? Dropping down to verse 12. For I will pass to the land of Egypt on that night, and I'll strike all the first born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And against all the gods of Egypt, I'll execute judgment. I am the Eternal. Verse 13, now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

So it may seem strange to put that blood on their doorposts, but it saved their lives. It saved their lives. It was life-saving blood, if you will. Now, I want to digress, I should say, just for a moment here, because I think this is interesting. What is the life of our flesh, our physical bodies? What is the life of all flesh, as far as that goes? The life of all flesh is in the blood. We're actually told that in Leviticus 17. Just turn there quickly. Leviticus 17, and I'll begin in verse 10, just 10 and 11. But verse 10 of Leviticus 17 says, Whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who eats any blood, who eats or drinks any blood, I will sit in my face against that person who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people.

Why? Verse 11. For the life of the flesh is in the blood. The life of the flesh is in the blood. Now, something that's interesting here that you may not know, as we do realize, number 8 is fairly significant in the Bible in several areas. People who didn't understand the truth, who don't know the truth, who don't have their minds open to the truth at this time, will be resurrected back to physical life on the eighth day, as it's called in the Bible, and have that opportunity then to have their mind open.

That's going to happen on the eighth day, as we know. Circumcision of a male child was to occur on the eighth day, after the birth of that male child, on the eighth day. Of course, the reason for that is, that's when the quaglation of the blood goes above the average. It peaks to above average on the eighth day, so it's the safest time to perform a circumcision on a male child. But there's another eighth day that I don't think probably most of you understand or realize or hear about.

It occurs even before that. Some even believe, or at least speculate, that human life actually begins on the eighth day after conception. I'm going to read some books here. When Does Human Life Begin? Written by John L. Merritt, M.D. and J. Lawrence Merritt, M.D. These are both members of United. They're both doctors. One lives in Florida, the other lives in Seattle. They're a father and son. But they did a lot of research, and they found out something quite interesting. Why would some advocate that life might not begin until the eighth day after conception? Because we just read Leviticus 1711, the life of the flesh is in the blood.

If you don't have any blood, you can't have life. In the case of a human embryo, when does blood enter the flesh of that embryo? When does the mother first impart her life-giving blood into her conceived embryo? Mother imparts life, her life blood, into her embryo. At the time, the embryo attaches itself to the mother's womb. When does that occur? It occurs on the eighth day after conception. It takes eight days for that little fertilized egg to travel up the mother's fallopian tube and get to the uterus.

It attaches itself to the uterus on the eighth day, and that's when the blood of the mother starts entering into that little embryo. Since the life of the flesh is in the blood, there are some that advocate that maybe that's when life begins, when that blood from the mother starts entering the little embryo on the eighth day after the egg is fertilized. A case can be made for that, and that's all documented in the book I just showed you. As we noted from Exodus 12-13, the blood of the slain Passover lamb was a life-saving blood for the Israelites. When he saw that on the doorpost, he passed over those houses, and of the firstborn were killed or died.

In Leviticus 17, verses 10 and 11, it tells us that whoever eats or drinks blood will be cut off from among his people, because the life of the flesh is in the blood.

This thing creates an enigma when it comes to what Christ tells us in John 6, leading up to the New Testament Passover. So this then leads to an enigma regarding blood in the New Testament. Let's go to John 6. We're all familiar with this. We read this every year at the Passover. Most of us do. John 6, verse 53. We just look at a few verses here.

For whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up for the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. And he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him. Now, if it seems strange, back Old Testament days, for the Israelites to be told to take this blood of the Lamb and put it on their doorpost, how strange must this have sounded to the Jews? The time of New Testament coming from the words of Christ. Because they knew, those Jews that Christ was talking to, they knew it was forbidden in the Old Testament to drink blood. They knew that was forbidden. So how strange and even disturbing would it have been for them to now hear Christ tell them that unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. How strange must that have seemed? Verse 60 of John 6. Therefore, many of his disciples, when they heard this, they said, this is a hard saying. Who can understand it? It doesn't make any sense at all. How can this man be the Messiah? Verse 66, from that time, many of his disciples went back and they walked with him no more. So we can't follow this guy. He's saying things that are really off the chart. Of course, Christ wasn't speaking physically. He was speaking spiritually. But what was it these Jews who left, who departed from him, went back no more, what was it they didn't understand? It was something very basic they didn't understand. What they did understand was they did not understand that Jesus was about to fulfill his destiny. He was about to fulfill the very destiny for which he came to the earth in the flesh. They did not understand that he was about to shed his life-giving blood. He was about to become the Lamb of God, if you will, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Let's look at it just briefly here. Christ as the Lamb of God. First reference to Christ as the Lamb of God was made by John the Baptist at the very beginning of Christ's ministry. Let's go there, just back a few pages here, to John 1. John 1, verse 14, And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we baled his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness of him, and cried out, saying, This was he of whom I said, he who comes after me, that John was drawn to John the Baptist. He who comes after me is preferred before me, for he was before me. Dropping down to verse 29 of John 1. The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and he said, Behold the Lamb of God. That's my title. Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. This is the first place where he is called the Lamb of God. The second reference is also right here in John 1. Dropping down to verse 35, again the next day John stood with two of his disciples. In verse 36, looking at Jesus as he walked, he said, Behold the Lamb of God. Now, Christ is not again called the Lamb of God until we get to the book of Revelation.

And in the book of Revelation, Christ is called the Lamb of God no less than 28 times. The entire book of Revelation focuses on Christ as the Lamb of God. However, there are two additional references to Christ as a lamb in the New Testament. Before we get to the book of Revelation, I'll just mention these to you.

The first is in Acts 8.32, where Philip tells the Ethiopian eunuch that Isaiah was referring to Christ when he wrote, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shears is silent, so he opened not his mouth. The other reference to Christ as a lamb prior to the book of Revelation is in 1 Peter 1, verses 18 and 19, where Peter wrote that we were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ as a lamb without blemish and without spot.

This then brings us to Christ as the Lamb of God in the book of Revelation. What does the book of Revelation say in regards to Christ as the Lamb of God? And what is it revealed in regards to Christ's blood? Let's go to Revelation. We'll spend the whole entire rest of the time of the sermon in the book of Revelation and going through the book of Revelation, but from a different perspective than you've probably ever gone through it before.

Most people think of Revelation as a scary book, all kinds of scary images, but it's actually an extremely positive book for the followers of Jesus Christ. Extremely positive. Revelation 1, verse 1 says, Of course, the title of the book of Revelation is actually the Greek word apocalypticis, which means to disclose, to uncover, or to reveal. It's going to reveal something to us, something very positive, something extremely encouraging. In fact, a lot of people thought it was the book of the Apocalypse.

When they think of the Apocalypse, they think of bad things. It has a negative connotation and image that people have in their mind, whereas it should have an extremely positive image in our mind. Instead, it discloses something extremely positive and encouraging. One thing that is revealed in this book is Christ as the Lamb of God. In fact, as one of the primary things the book of Revelation focuses on, throughout the entire book, as we'll see, it focuses on Christ as the Lamb of God 28 times, and that's throughout the entire book.

So the book of Revelation is the disclosure about Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God and what that means and what that pretends for us and for the world. As we know, Revelation is filled with many, many strange and astounding word pictures, word pictures that can stretch our imaginations and maybe even defy our imagination at times. For example, there is God's throne in heaven with four living creatures and with 24 elders. There's a great fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns. There's a beast rising up out of the sea also having seven heads and ten horns.

There's a harlot woman sitting on a scarlet beast, adorned with gold, precious stones and pearls, and drunk with the blood of the saints. How strange is that? And then, of course, at the end of the book of Revelation, there is a great city called the New Jerusalem with gates of solid pearls, with streets of solid gold, which measures 1,500 miles wide, 15 miles deep and 1,500 miles high. A dorm as a bride for her husband, as it says.

So what does it all mean? What does it all pertain to? What does it have to do with Christ as the Lamb of God? And what does it have to do with Christ's blood? What does it have to do with the blood of the Lamb? And what does all this have to do with each and every one of us as we prepare to take the Passover? Because we prepare to partake of Christ's blood.

What does the book of Revelation disclose in regards to Christ as the Lamb of God? First, before we get to that, in the most simplistic terms, let's boil it down to the most simple terms, what is the book of Revelation really all about, just in very simplistic general terms? Well, it's about good versus evil.

It's about the way of God versus the way of Satan. It's about the way of life versus the way of death. It's about the way of Christ versus the way of the world. That's making it down to its most basic terms. And it tells us which side is going to triumph in the end and why, and how that victory is going to be won.

So today, let's concentrate on the main focus of the book of Revelation. Let's focus and concentrate on Christ as the Lamb of God. Now, the very first reference to Christ as the Lamb of God is given in Revelation 5, which is also the main reference of all the 28 times Christ is referred to as the Lamb of God in the book of Revelation.

But to set the stage for that, we need to look at chapter 4 first. Now, if we can get into spaceship, Bible calls God's throne, the first two, Paul referred to it as the third heaven. If we could get into spaceship, it would all be taken into outer space, I'll throw off the universe, wherever the third heaven is, go there to the third heaven before God's throne. What if God actually opened up a door for us, so we could look in there and see God's throne?

How exciting would that be? Would you like to volunteer to go on that spaceship? How would you like to get a glimpse of God's throne in heaven? Revelation 4 takes us there. It takes us there. Let's read it. Let's read a little bit of it. Revelation 4, verse 1, after these things I looked and behold a door, well, first of all, I behold a door standing open in heaven. Now, there he is. He says, behold a door standing open in heaven. And he's now talking about the third heaven, where God's throne is. What did John see through that open door?

Behold, the door standing open in heaven. And the first voice, which I heard, was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, Come up here and I will show you things which must take place after this. Verse 2, Amelia was in the spirit and behold a throne said in heaven, and one said in the throne. So he was actually seeing God's throne, and he's seeing somebody sitting on that throne. And he would sit there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance, and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald. And around the throne were twenty-four thrones. And on each of those thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes, and they had crowns of gold on their heads.

These are obviously spirit beings. And from the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices. In other words, he saw tremendous power and glory emanating from this throne through this door he was given to see. Tremendous power and glory. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. And before the throne, verse 6, there was a sea of glass like crystal in the midst of the throne, around the throne, where four living creatures, full of eyes and front and back. Wow! How strange is that? Can you imagine seeing this? What, John might have thought about it? There's a point to all of this. We'll get to it in a minute. Because these are tremendous images. The first living creature was like a lion, very strong beast, the king of beasts. The second living creature was like a calf, or actually should be like an ox. The third was like the face of a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. And the four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes, round and within. They do not rest day or night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come. Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, then the twenty-four others fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and they worship Him who lives forever and ever. And they cast their crowns before the throne, saying, We don't want to have power and glory. All the power and glory goes to You. You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things. And by Your will they exist and were created. Now, this imagery, which John saw, has described here. I mean, it's hard for us to even imagine what this would look like if we could have seen it for ourselves. If we could put a screen up here and you could see that. It would just almost defy our imagination to figure out what in the world this is.

Now, what stands out as we read this... Think about what we just read in chapter 4. What stands out in this description of God's throne? What stands out more than anything else in this tremendous display of power and glory around God's throne? And all these words, spirit beings, full of eyes, and so on. What stands out more than anything else? Of all these images, which one stands out more than all the others?

After you saw this, which image described here burned into your mind?

Something you'd never forget. Which one stands out above all the others?

Chapter 5 continues with what John saw through this open door to God's throne in heaven. Chapter 5, verse 1, And I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the scroll unto lucid seals? Who's worthy?

And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll to look at it. So I wept much because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll or look at it.

But then, verse 5, The lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals. The lion of the tribe of Judah has prevailed to open the scroll. And you think about that.

Lions are powerful beasts. They're the king of the beast.

They have few of any enemies.

So the imagery of Christ as a lion is a powerful image.

I want to tell you something.

It's not nearly as powerful as the image that John really saw that burned in his mind.

And not as nearly powerful as Christ as revealed in the book of Revelation.

How is Christ revealed in the book of Revelation?

We just saw these images that John saw in chapter 4 and verse 5.

But now John is looking closer.

He's looking at this image of all these creatures.

And he was just told, well, he's the lion of the tribe of Judah. So he's looking in there. He's trying to look at all these creatures. Where's the lion?

Where's the lion? I want to see the lion. He's described as being the lion. He's looking for a lion.

And this lion is of the root of David. He's going to rule on David's throne, to rule over all of Israel and over all the people of the earth. So it's a powerful image, a lion that's going to rule over the entire earth.

But as John looks more closely for this lion, he's looking very closely, and suddenly he's astonished to see something else instead.

Something that stands out about all these creatures described in Revelation 4, that burned an image into his mind he'll never forget.

Revelation 5, verse 6, And I looked, and behold, it says behold. Now I want to focus on the word behold just for a moment, because behold is a powerful word.

It implies much more than just seeing something.

It means to fix your eyes upon, to see with attention, in the sense of stopping you in your tracks.

So what he's going to describe now is something he sees in all this, it stops him in his tracks. It really catches the tension. He just focuses on his weight. How... what is that?

How did that get there?

He sees something that's going to make a permanent impression on his mind that he'll never forget.

What did John behold that fixes the tension and stops him in his tracks from any further searching?

Verse 6, And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne, in the midst of the four living creatures, in the midst of the elders, stood a lamb.

What's a lamb doing there?

See, a lion can readily kill and devour a lamb.

What's a general creature like a lamb doing in this image here?

But this is no ordinary lamb. It's not an image of an ordinary lamb.

In the midst of the throne of the elders, in the midst of the elders, they stood a lamb, not just any lamb, but a lamb as though it had been slain.

Now, as he saw this lamb and describes it as though it had been slain, what did he see in that image that made him state that it looked like it had been slain?

Well, obviously, it doesn't say, but there must have been the appearance of shed blood.

That's the only thing that could make him say it appears as though it had been slain. There had to be shed blood in this lamb.

Then the vision goes on to add something else. A lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

Now, in the Old Testament, a horn is symbolized power, it symbolized rulership.

Eyes portray vision.

Number seven stands for completeness.

So this lamb that appears to have been slain has complete and total power.

Seven horns, seven completeness, had complete power.

This lamb also has complete or total vision of the entire earth.

It tells us there is no place on earth which is not under the eyes of this lamb.

And no place on the earth was not subject to the power of this lamb.

That's what it's telling us, symbolically.

But this vision goes even much deeper than that.

The vision of Christ standing at God's throne as a lamb, as though it had been slain, shows us that victory is achieved and won not by human power, not by human might, not by human armies, but by and through suffering and sacrifice and death.

The lamb here is indeed as powerful as a lion, but the lamb's power is exercised through Christ's sacrifice by how he suffered and died for the sake of others, for the sake of mankind.

In Christ's victories, the lamb of God is achieved through suffering and sacrifice and death and by the shedding of his blood.

And the entire book of Revelation, from this point on, then centers on Christ as the Lamb of God. Let's read for ourselves.

Revelation 5, verse 8.

Now when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the lamb. They fell down before the lamb.

Just the lamb is worthy of all worship, of all praise, both on earth and in heaven.

Verse 12. And they said with a loud voice, Worthy is the lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.

And verse 13.

This is a powerful lamb.

All glory and honor and power belong to this lamb, who appears as if he'd been slain.

Chapter 6, verse 1. And now when I saw the lamb open one of the seals, only the lamb could open the seals. He was the only one worthy. This lamb had been slain. Verse 16.

So this lamb has power to throw out wrath.

For out his wrath.

Revelation 7, beginning in verse 9.

Verse 13. Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, Who are these arrayed in white robes? Where did they come from?

And I said to him, verse 14, Sir, you know. So he said to me, These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation and who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. And see, Christ's physical life was in his blood.

And when the Roman soldier pierced Christ's side with his spear, it says, Immediately blood and water poured out. John 19, verse 34.

But here's the thing. If you read that carefully, read John 19 and 33, 34, 35. Verse 34 reports how this Roman soldier put his spear into Christ's side and blood and water poured out.

But when that took place, it says, according to verse 33, the previous verse, that Christ was already dead. Because it said, They came around, they came to him, and they were breaking, all those who were crucified, they were breaking their feet so they could die more quickly. And they came to Christ, they didn't break any of his bones, said that none of his bones were broken, they didn't break his legs. Because by the time they came to him, they said he was already dead. They didn't need to break his bones. But then it says, After they found out he was already dead, this Roman soldier took his spear and put it into his side, and blood and water came out.

Verse 35, John makes a point, John 16, 35. John makes a point that his testimony is true. Then in verses 36 and 37, he says those things were done, that the Scripture should be fulfilled.

But here's another apparent enigma. Think about it. Why would this Roman soldier fear Christ's side with his spear when he came to him and found out that he was already dead? If he's already dead, why bother to put his spear in his side?

And John fell compelled to record that he saw Christ shed blood for... He recorded that he saw his blood poured out, even though he was already dead. He put the spear in and blood poured out. I think there are three reasons for that, that that happened. Number one, to fulfill Zechariah 12.10, where it prophesied, They will look at me whom they have pierced.

Number two, to prove that Christ was fully human, that he was the Son of man as well as the Son of God, that he was flesh and blood, in other words. And three, to prove he shed his blood.

Because he's already dead. You have to shed his blood. He's already dead. But to prove he shed his blood, so he could forever stand as a lamb, as though it had been slain.

So he could ever be the Passover Lamb of God.

Revelation 7, verse 15, Verse 17, for the Lamb, who is the midst of the throne, will shepherd them. This is the Lamb that's going to become a shepherd. Usually, people shepherd lambs. In this case, the Lamb is going to be the shepherd. For the Lamb, who is in the midst of the throne, will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of water. And this Lamb is going to be able to wipe every tear from their eyes.

What a positive message this book has, in regards to Christ as the Lamb of God, slain from the foundation of the world.

And all the prophecies of the Book of Revelation are going to be the center on the Lamb, who is in the midst of the throne. Behold, the Lamb of God. Revelation 12, verse 10, Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now salvation and strength in the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ have come. For the accuser of our brethren, who accused him before our God day and night, the accuser has been cast down. Of course, that's Satan.

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb. How do we overcome our accusers?

By the blood of the Lamb.

You see, if our sins are cleansed and covered by the blood of the Lamb, as they are by virtue of our partaking of the wine of the Passover, a symbolic of Christ's shed blood, then we have already cast down our accuser. He's gone. Then our accuser...

I mean, you should say all the accusations against us from our accuser, Satan, he accuses us. All those accusations are going to be dismissed. They're going to be null and void.

And they're going to be dismissed, because our lives are under the blood of the Lamb.

He will have no accusations that he can make.

Revelation 13, verse 8, And all who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the book of life, that a Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

How important is that statement?

He says, this Lamb was not only slain.

When he saw before God, so many saw a Lamb as though it had been slain, but not only that, he was slain from the foundation of the world.

In other words, all who have ever lived and died since Adam and Eve will have the opportunity to have their sins placed under the blood of the Lamb, because Christ is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Note also Revelation 14. Revelation 14, verse 1, Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000, having his Father's name written on their foreheads.

Verse 4, These are the ones who are not defiled with women, for spiritually they are virgins, because these are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes.

Verse 10. Verse 9, And the third angel followed them, saying with love, Was if anyone worships a beast in his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, anyone who does that, he himself shall also drink of the wine and the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of his indignation. And he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone, in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb. How does it go to the Battle of Armageddon, where the shedding of blood plays a very major role? Revelation 16. Revelation 16, verse 1, Then I heard a loud voice from thy temple, saying to the seven angels, Go and pour out the bowls of wrath of God on the earth. And the second angel said, And the third angel said, And the third angel said, And the third angel said, Go and pour out the bowls of wrath of God on the earth. So the first went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men, who had the mark of the beast, and who had worshipped his image. Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and he became blood, as of a dead man. And every living creature in the sea died. Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the water, saying, You are righteous, O Lord, the one who is, and who was, and is to be, because you have judged these things. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink, for that is their just due. And Christ gives his followers... Excuse me, going down to verse 12. Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, now the mouth of the beast, now the mouth of the false prophet. For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth, and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of the great God Almighty. The battle of Armageddon. And then Christ gives his followers a warning in verse 15. Behold, I am becoming as the thief, blessed is he who watches and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and see his shame. Now I'll put this into a positive context for all of us. No matter how powerful all the forces that might be mustered against us are, and in the years ahead, don't compromise, don't lose hope, don't give up. Remain faithfully committed to Christ as the Lamb of God. Follow him wherever he goes, wherever he leads us. And remember that victory is not achieved by our power. It's achieved only through Jesus Christ and by following Christ, who sacrificed and laid down his life for each and every one of us.

Keep your garments. In other words, maintain your Christian conduct. Maintain your faith. Retain your commitment to Jesus Christ and to God the Father and to Christ as the Lamb of God. Verse 16, And they gather them together in a place called in Hebrew Armageddon. The word Armageddon is derived from two Hebrew words, har, meaning mountain or hill, and Megiddo, which is the name of a city, in northern Israel, which was located in the Valley of Megiddo, a valley surrounded by mountains, hence Armageddon.

The Valley of Megiddo has a historic past when it comes to battles. It was where King Josiah of Judah was killed by Pharaoh Niko of Egypt. You can read that in 2 Chronicles 35 verses 22 and 23. It's also the place where the Canaanite armies fought against Israel in the very early history of Old Testament Israel, as Israel was being given the Promised Land. And those battles include the King of Megiddo, Joshua 12, 21, and Joshua 17, 11. And then also those battles involved inhabitants and villages of Megiddo, Judges 1 verse 27. But when the final battle of Armageddon is fought, how is victory going to be achieved?

First, let's look at the role of blood plays. Revelation 17 verse 1, Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, Come, and I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters. Verse 6, And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and drunk with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.

Then we have ten kings who want to make war and who want to spill more blood. Revelation 17 verse 12, Then the ten horns which you saw are ten kings who receive no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast.

And these are all of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. Then they're going to make war against the lamb. They've got all this power and all these armies and all these forces, and they're going to go to war against the lamb.

Hey, how hard would that be? How powerful could a lamb be? But this is no ordinary lamb. This is the Lamb of God. Behold, the Lamb of God. And how will victory finally be achieved? Revelation 17 verse 14, These will make war with the lamb, and the lamb will overcome them. For he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with him are called, chosen, and faithful.

Victory is going to be achieved by the Lamb of God. This is no ordinary lamb. He's the Lamb of God. And in this battle, all of us who have been called, and all of us who remain faithful to that calling, will be chosen to be with Christ as he overcomes his enemies in this final victorious battle to eradicate evil.

Revelation 18 then talks about the fall of Babylon. Babylon being symbolic of Rome, and also symbolic of all the world's systems. Symbolic of the ways of the world that lead to war, and death, and deception, and destruction. It's also symbolic of those who control the world through controlling the wealth of the world. That's interesting to note that here in Revelation 18. Revelation 18 verse 2, And he cried in my ear with a loud voice, saying, Babylon, the Great, is following his fallen, this great system that spent existence all the way back to almost Adam and Eve.

And has become a dwelling place of demons, and he prised them for every foul spirit, and he caged for every unclean and hated bird. Verse 3, For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury. Verse 15, The merchants of these things who become rich by her will stand at a distance for her in her torment, weeping and wailing, because they're about to lose all their riches.

Verse 17, For in one hour such great riches come to nothing. Verse 19, They threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and wailing, and saying, Alas, alas! that great city, or that great system in which all who had ships on the sea, became rich by her wealth. For in one hour she is made desolate. Verse 24, And in her was found the blood of the prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth.

What happens next? Revelation 19, verse 1, After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, Hallelujah, salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God. Verse 5, Then a voice came from the throne, saying, Praise our God, all you as servants, for those who fear Him both small and great. And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters, as the sound of mighty thundering, saying, Hallelujah, for the Lord God omnipotent reigns.

Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. This Lamb is going to take a bride. Have you ever heard of such a thing? This Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, this Lamb that had the appearance of a flood, is going to take a bride. And so the bride has made herself ready.

How do we make ourselves ready? Make ourselves ready by becoming like the Lamb. Verse 9, And He said to me, Right and blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. He said to me, These are true sayings of God. Verse 11, As I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse, and you said on him was called Faithful and true, and in righteous he judges and makes war. He makes war against all the remaining forces of evil. Verse 12, And his eyes were like a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns, and he had a name written that no one knew except himself.

Interesting. He had a name that no one knew except himself. Why did he have a name written that no one knew except himself? He doesn't tell us, but we can speculate. I'd say it's because his name was written in his own blood. It is written in the blood of the Lamb. And no one but the Lamb of God has suffered and sacrificed and loved humanity as He has done for us.

No one. No one can claim any of those things. Only the Lamb of God can claim those things. He had a name written that no one knew except himself. No one had done what he had done for mankind. No one had explained that kind of love and that kind of sacrifice.

How was he clothed? And what is the actual name now called? Revelation 19, verse 13. And he was clothed with a robe dipped in blood. And his name is called the Word of God. Let me stop and think about this. He's wearing a robe. He's a king. This is the robe of a king. But not just the robe of any king. He's the robe of the King of Kings, verse 16.

Just a little bit ahead here. And he has on his robe and on his thigh a name written, The King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is the King of all Kings, the Lord of all Lords, the Master of all Masters. But he will forever be wearing a robe dipped in blood. A robe dipped in the blood of the Lamb.

Behold the Lamb of God. And behold the kingly robe of the Lamb of God. A robe dipped in blood. And his name, that no one knew except himself, his name is called the Word of God. And the words of the New Covenant are the words of the Lamb of God. Even as he was first introduced by John the Baptist at the very beginning of his ministry, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, John 1.29.

And the first words from the Word of God are recorded in the Sermon on the Mount. And the final battle begins in the next verse, in Revelation 19. And the armies in heaven, clothed with fine linen and white and clean, Followed him on white horses, that would be all of us who were there with the Lamb. And out of his mouth goes a sharp two-edged sword, That with it he should strike the nations, and he himself will rule them with a rod of iron. And he himself treads the winepress, or the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God. Now I want to know something strange here.

The strange thing is that the Lamb enters the final battle. He's entering this final battle of Armageddon. As he enters this battle, he is wearing a robe dipped in blood. Think of that. He's about to enter into battle, and he has blood on his robe. And the battle hasn't begun yet. But his robe is already dipped in blood. So this is not like a conquering soldier who emerges from a battle of blood on his garments. The Lamb here is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and stained with blood even before the battle begins. What does that tell us? It reminds us that the blood of the Lamb has already been shed for the sake of all of us and for the sake of the entire world. And two, it tells us that the Lamb has already won the victory. The victory is already His. It's already been won.

The outcome of the battle was decided long ago, decided by Christ shed blood as the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world.

Because we all have victory under the blood of the Lamb.

In conclusion, then, Revelation concludes by continuing to focus on Christ as the Lamb of God. Revelation 21, verse 1, Now I saw a new heaven and new earth, for the first heaven and first earth had passed away. There was no more seed. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride, adorned for her husband. Verse 9, Then one of the seven angels, who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plays, came to me and talked to me, saying, Come, and I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife. Is still costarining on Christ as the Lamb of God.

Chapter 21, verse 10, And He carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and He showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. Verse 14, Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

Verse 23, The city had no need of the sun or the moon to shine it, for the glory of God illuminated, and the Lamb is its light. The glory of the Lamb, the Lamb is its light. Again, focusing on Christ as the Lamb, the Passover Lamb, who shed his blood for the entire world. The Lamb is its light. Verse 27, But there should be no means to enter into anything that defiles, or cause an abomination, or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.

Revelation 22, verse 3, And there should be no more curse, but the throne of God, and of the Lamb, shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him.

See, Christ will forever be known and recognized as the Lamb of God. Behold, the Lamb of God. Just to summarize, I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne stood a Lamb as though it had been slain. In the midst of the throne stood a Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. I saw heaven opened, behold, a white horse, and in righteousness He judges and makes war, and He is pulled with a robe dipped in blood. A robe dipped in the blood of the Lamb.

And finally, we now prepare to observe the Passover. Remember again what Christ, as the Lamb of God, told His disciples. He said, Most assuredly I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Because the life of the flesh is in the blood. An eternal life can only be obtained by and through the blood of the Lamb.

And the wine we will drink on the Passover symbolizes the blood of Christ, the blood of the Lamb. Which means we need Christ's life blood in us. We need the life of Christ in us. Christ must be living His life in us, as the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

So as we are about to partake of the wine and Passover, remember that Christ is the Lamb of God. And that we have salvation, that we have the gift of eternal life, by and through the blood of the Lamb. So as you look into that wine, as we all do that, think to ourselves, behold the Lamb of God.

Behold the blood of the Lamb. The blood of the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. Behold the Lamb of God.