We all know the story of the Passover Lamb in the Jewish ritual theology, and the deep meaning of it; the Passover Lamb reminds us that the blood of the Lamb would serve as a sign to God, in order to stay alive while God would kills and destroy the Egyptian. This ancient ritual was given to man, in order to know the meaning of signs and symbols, and understand God's pedagogy in the walk of life. Some ancient signs and rituals are foreshadows of deeper spiritual meaning, that God wants man to understand.
In particular the Passover time is a very important time of the year for the jewish people and the Christian faithful; Jesus celebrated the Passover meal and both people understand the deep spiritual connection of Passover. In the Holy Bible God commandment to celebrate the Passover meal for all generations and to teach them to our children, while remembering the exit from slavery, and our new walk toward freedom. This is the same meaning for Jews and Christians alike.
The Passover Lamb is also connected to the offering of our father Abraham, called by God to give an offering to God, and in this offering to give what man treasures more, his first and only son. In fact also this sign was a foreshadow of the offering of the Land, and exactely the Passover Lamb. God in His wisdom had already planned everything, so in due time, he provided also His Passover Lamb to mankind, in order to give us an offering in atonement of our sin, something that could be done once and not every year. So that all man could have direct access to God Mercy. So God decided to give us an offering, giving His only Son, the Son of God given to take away all the sin of the world.
In order to do this, God like Abraham, gave to man His only begotten Son, an offering given to man once for ever and once for all, so that man could really say that all sins of man, are now forgotten and washed away.
The Passover meal is very important and every jewish family is called to gather together and eat in this very important feast; in the outside door, the blood of the Passover Lamb would mark the door. The door and the blood would carry in the generations a deep spiritual meaning. During Passover we have a door, some blood and the lamb, and this 3 symbols and signs would have also deep spiritual meanings for Christians too.
For Christians the blood of the Lamb of God and the door have special meanings given and explained by the Messiah Himself; to enter the House of God we must go trough a door and Messiah is this door. The door must have a sign of blood taken from a Lamb and just like Isaac, Jesus is the Lamb that God is offering to man that was slaughter, to take away the sins of the world. It's not easy for man sometimes to get hold of God's plan of Salvation.
What in ancient times was a Lamb for Passover, in our days is the Lamb of God offered to all man to eat, in order to have all the sin, taken away from every man and woman of every generation. Man cannot offer anymore to God something, but God Himself is offering to mankind, something that will put the word end, to man sin and trespasses. Christians have taken this jewish theology for themself, and following Jesus the Son of God, have understand that the Lamb of God has now become a Lion, the Lion of Judah.
The New Testament explains this transformation of the Passover Lamb, to a ruling Lion of Judah; the Holy Book of the Revelation unveils and reveals to us how a Passover lamb could be transformed in a Lion of Judah. In Christianity it is revealed that just as Abraham offered to God his son Isaac, in the same way God wanted to offer to us His Only Son, and transform an innocent lamb, that could not really take away any longer the sins of man, and transform Him in a Lion of Judah, after having taken away the sin of man with his own blood, like a innocent Passover lamb.
An animal could not any longer be useful to help man, to take man's sin away, and only another man could Sacrificed Himself in favor of His people; so God gave us the perfect Passover Lamb, that made the perfect atonement for sin, and after having accomplish this very important duty on behalf of man, God give Him the reward of His life; be a Lion for Judah and his brothers.
It is well known in Judaism that the Messiah is a suffering Messiah, and that even if the Messiah is coming to rule the world, first he must go through the suffering times; be a servant and a suffering brother like Josef the patriarch of Israel and be a ruler like King David. This is the perfect combination of the same ONE Person. Who in fact can be a better ruler than a King that knows what it means suffering? Who in fact can make a better King if not someone that went through some suffering in order to understand the suffering of his people? Who can rule a nation if not someone with a big heart for people, a mercifull person that in the same time is also a warrior and a fighter? A perfect King must have both quality; be a man of valor and in the same time a man of heart, that he himself knows, like King David, what it means to be strong, but also meek and compassionate.
King David was betrayed by his own son, by Saul that wanted to kill him, even if he was the warrior of Israel, Saul had a huge amount of hatred for David. He had to flee many times, but never killed Saul even when he could, showing a heart full of compassion for his fellow that wrongly accused him and hated the future King David. The Messiah therefore had to have the same "dual attitude" of King David.
It is not a surprise therefore for a Christian, to compare the Lamb of God to the Lion of Judah, in a "duality of meekness and Royalty", that is the "same duality" of the Passover Lamb and the Lion of Judah; a suffering Messiah and a Ruling Messiah, be son of Josef and son of David. All these "dualities" are talking about the same identical person: the Messiah. He is called the Lamb and the Lion, just has he can be in the same time a son of Josef and a son of David, suffering servant and ruler of the Nation. There is not contradiction for a King, if he is merciful and strong in the same time. Nobody would want a King tyrant, a ruler that is shameful and arrogant; a King must have a "dual undivided heart", to serve His people and to be a warrior in war, to win the war and crash down his enemies. This is the perfect description of the same ONE person.
Christians see this "duality" in Jesus, the Son of God, the Passover Lamb that God sent to take away, once for all, the sin of His people Israel and the sin of man and women of the all world. Jesus became the Lamb Sacrificed on Passover, but that after this Sacrifice, have taken the Royal position next to God in His Throne, becoming a Lion of Judah that rules the world from Heaven.
For decades Christian theology unfortunately, just like the Jewish scholars, have found difficulty to compare this "dual position" in the same ONE person of the Lamb of God. For this reason Jesus Himself have considered very important to give the New Revelation, where he explains that the same Passover Lamb, after all that suffering, is now reigning as a the Lion of Judah, and as such we must now see Him coming. The Lion of Judah and the Promised Messiah is the same ONE person.
The Messiah is coming like a Lion for Judah to reclaim and take for Himself all the Glory due to a King.
This Holy Revelation comes in the Christian Book of Revelation in the chapter 5 where the Messiah himself reveals in advance to His listeners this big Divine Mystery to "the duality" of the promised Messiah. He tells His listeners, that the suffering Messiah and the Lamb of God, are the same ONE person of the Lion of Judah and the reigning Messiah. And that from now on we must think of the Messiah only by the name of the Lion of Judah, the coming Messiah in the Glory of God, Promised to Israel.
The Revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending His Angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the Words of this Prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near. Revelation 1,1
The Book of Revelation for this reason is the Last and most Holy and revered Book in the Bible: it contains the Mystery of God unveiled and revealed to mankind, by the Messiah Himself.
Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty Angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.” Revelation 5,1
The Christian Book of Revelation unveils the truth of the well know theology of the hebrew Holy Scriptures concerning the Messiah; He is a worrior and a King, He is the Lion of Judah and the one ONE that can open the 7 Seals of God's Mystery, conceived since the beginning of the world. It is also remarked that He is the Root of David, giving Him full Royalty as King David was, for the people of Israel.
There is no doubt that this King of Judah mentioned in the Bible is the Son of David, the promised Messiah that was once also a suffering ONE, like a Lamb of God, that could take away the sin of the world, in the same way of Josef did forgetting the wrong done to him by his brothers, for the future nation of Israel.
The Lord will roar from Zion
and thunder from Jerusalem;
the earth and the heavens will tremble.
But the Lord will be a refuge for his people,
a stronghold for the people of Israel. Joel 3,16
The Prophet Joel foretold already that God would roar like a Lion, giving a shadow of the reigning Messiah, the ONE promised and that Israel is still awaiting. The Prophet Amos also started his prophecy telling the Jewish people about this Roaring Lion that he saw in his vision, or better that God for His people from a God of Mercy, will put on the attitude of a roaring lion, the Lion of Judah:
The Lord roars from Zion
and thunders from Jerusalem;
the pastures of the shepherds dry up,
and the top of Carmel withers.” Amos 1,1
The Lamb and the Lion of Judah, the son of Josef and the Son of David, the suffering Messiah and the Glorious Messiah, are the same ONE person, Jesus the Lamb of God the takes away the sin of the world.
He is also the Son of God, in order to justify and reclaim for God not only the people of Israel, but the people of the all world, that have found in the Lion of Judah, the Living God and the Creator of the Universe.
He is roaring and the world will tremble, he is already the stronghold for the people of Israel; He is coming to judge the Nations: He is roaring from Zion and from Jerusalem, he is coming soon like a thunder.
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