Lion and Lamb — Charles Leiter

A book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals? And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it.

I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, Stop weeping. Behold, the lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.

And I saw between the throne with the four living creatures and the elders a lamb standing as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God, sent out into all the earth.

And he came and he took it out of the right hand of him who sat on the throne. And when he had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the lamb, having each one a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

And they sang a new song, saying, Worthy art thou to take the book and to break its seals. For thou wast slain and didst purchase for God with thy blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.

And thou hast made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign upon the earth. And I looked and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders.

And the number of them was myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, that is millions, saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the lamb that was slain, to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing and every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea and all things in them.

I heard saying to him who sits on the throne and to the lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever. And the four living creatures kept saying, Amen. And the elders fell down and worshiped.

This is surely one of the most glorious passages in all the Word of God. It is immediately preceded by an entire chapter describing John's vision of God seated on His heavenly throne. And he talks about in chapter 4, verse 5, that from the throne proceed flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder.

And verse 6, before the throne there was, as it were, a sea of glass like crystal and centered around the throne four living creatures and so on. And these creatures crying out, Holy, Holy, Holy. And everyone falling down and saying, Worthy art Thou, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power, for Thou didst create all things.

And so all of this chapter 4, just giving a vision of God on His throne. And then in chapter 5, though, John's attention is focused on the fact that there's something in the right hand of this One who sits on the throne.

And what's in His right hand is a scroll. And that scroll is sealed with seven seals. You know that the seal is a kind of wax thing that they would put on a document or a letter. A seal would put the king's ring on that.

And that secured it and authenticated it, showed whose it was and that it was for real. And that you didn't break that open unless you had authority. Somebody give you a letter from the king to take to someone else that had his seal on it, you didn't just pop that open and look in there and see what the king had written.

And so here is a scroll sealed with seven seals. And what's inside that scroll is hidden. And so the search begins for someone who's worthy to open it. And there's no one anywhere worthy to open that scroll, that book, or to break its seals.

No one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it. And John begins to weep greatly. He's sobbing, audibly weeping. And it's left to one of the elders in this situation to tell him to stop.

He says, someone has been found, someone has overcome in such a way as to open the book. Now this scroll is the scroll of history future. And that's made clear in the next chapter because the lamb who takes the book begins to break the seals and things begin to happen in history.

In other words, what we see here is that history rests in the hands of God. Aren't you thankful for that? History does not rest in the hands of wicked men. And it does not rest in the hands of chance.

But it rests in God's hands. But even more wonderful and comforting than that, if you're a Christian, is the fact that history now rests in the hands of the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ. The one who became a man and died for our sins and because of that has now been given a name above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and things under the earth.

And so he has been exalted to the right hand of God. He said, all authority has been given to me in heaven and upon earth. So in that exalted position he comes and he takes the scroll and he is now holding the scroll of history and unfolding history.

Isn't that a blessed thought? As a Christian, your life, your future, your history, rests in the hands of the Redeemer, the exalted God-man. He's the one and the only one worthy to take the scroll and to open the scroll up.

And he's holding that scroll right now. Your life and my life and every life, whether you like it or not, is resting in the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one in authority. And how thankful every Christian should be for that.

Well, the verses that I want us to center our attention on though are verses 5 and 6. Notice verse 5. One of the elders said to me, stop weeping. Behold the lion. Stop weeping. Behold the lion. And in verse 6, And I saw between the throne with the four living creatures and the elders a lion.

It doesn't say that, does it? Isn't this amazing? Behold the lion. And he says, I looked and I saw a lamb. Now that's what I want us to look at today. And that is the Lord Jesus Christ, lion and lamb.

And the first question that confronts us is, how could anyone be both a lion and a lamb? That's amazing, isn't it? Behold the lion and he sees a lamb. These seem like total opposites. The lion is the king of beasts, aggressive, fierce, fearless, and fearful to everyone around him.

The lamb is meek, mild, and helpless. Lambs do not usually strike terror into those that are around them. There just seem to be complete opposites. Lions are dangerous. Lambs are harmless. You know, nobody runs in and says, there's a lamb loose outside.

It's not anything to be afraid of. And think of even their voices. The lions roar. One of the loudest sounds made by any animal on the earth. I was in a zoo one time, I think it was in Oklahoma, where there was a female, a lioness, that was not roaring, just sort of grunting.

And I mean, we were probably a quarter of a mile away, and it was terrifying to hear. I don't know what it would be like to hear a lion roar. Has anybody ever heard one roar? I mean, if you ever hear a lion roar, what was it like?

Did it strike fear? It's unbelievable, isn't it? The roar of a lion. Seemingly opposites. Wang Mingdao has a short sermon on this. A Chinese Christian who's now gone to be with the Lord. And it was a great blessing to me.

It really stirred me to begin to think about this. But this is what Wang says. He says, the lion is capable of subduing other beasts, but none of the other beasts can subdue the lion. The lamb is completely different.

Not only is it incapable of subduing other animals, it is itself at their mercy. It has no strength to resist. It is not in its nature to resist, and on no account will it attempt to do so. The lamb can be dragged.

Listen to this. The lamb can be dragged to the place of slaughter without it making the slightest effort to resist. So the question is, if Christ is a lion, how could He be a lamb? Or, turn it around, if He's a lamb, how could He be a lion?

And yet, when we look at His life, we see that He is perfectly both. He is perfectly a lion, and He is perfectly a lamb. So first of all then, let's behold a little bit the lion. Now, we could spend literally weeks on this, but I just want to give a little bit of an overview quickly through Scripture.

You don't need to turn to these passages if you don't want to. But look at the lion-like qualities of the Lord Jesus Christ. In John 2, it says, The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves and the moneychangers seated.

And He made a scourge of cords and drove them all out of the temple with the sheep and the oxen, and He poured out the coins of the moneychangers and overturned their tables. And to those who were selling the doves, He said, Take these things away.

Stop making My Father's house a house of merchandise. His disciples remembered that it was written, Zeal, for thy house will consume Me. The Jews therefore answered and said to Him, What sign do You show us, seeing that You do these things?

Jesus answered and said to them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. You see the lion there? I mean, the temple was a huge thing. And it was not just one oxen. It was oxen and sheep and doves and a lot.

It wasn't one or two men. It was a lot of men. And these weren't just little boys. They were grown men, and they were wicked men. And He came in and overturned the tables of the moneychangers. Can you imagine this money scattered all over the floor?

People don't take kindly to that. But they were terrified of Him. Because they saw the lion of the tribe of Judah. His authority was unquestionable. And when they tried to question it, and said, Well, you know, what are you doing?

He said, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. There's the lion coming through. Another situation. Mark 4. Let me read it to you. Mark 4. Verse 37, There arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat, so much that the boat was already filling up.

A fierce gale of wind. We read these things, you know, just, Well, it must have been a little bit of rain or something. It was a fierce gale of wind. Waves breaking over the boat, so much that the boat was already filling up.

And he himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing and being aroused? He rebuked the wind and said to the sea, Hush, be still.

And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. And he said to them, Why are you so timid? How is it that you have no faith? And they became very much afraid and said to one another, Who then is this that even the wind and the sea obey him?

You see the lion? The lion is asleep in the boat in a fierce gale of wind. And they wake him up and he just says, Hush, be still. They're afraid. They were more afraid after the place became calm than when they were in the gale with the boat filling up.

But it was a different kind of fear, wasn't it? But they were in the presence of the lion, of the tribe of Judah. Mark chapter 8. We won't read this, but you remember that account of the demoniac, the legion.

The legion was normally 6 ,000 soldiers. This guy was cutting himself, running naked in the tombs, cutting himself, able to break chains. And Jesus says to those demons, Go. That's the authority of the lion.

Mark chapter 3. Let me read another one from Mark. There's a man with a withered hand. And they're watching Jesus to see whether He will heal on the Sabbath. And He said to the man with the withered hand, Rise and come forward.

And He said to them, Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to harm, to save a life or to kill? But they kept silent. And after looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man, Stretch out your hand.

And He stretched it out and His hand was restored. And the Pharisees went out and immediately began to take counsel with the Herodians against Him as to how they might destroy Him. You see the lion there?

He stands right up in the midst of those enemies who were looking for an excuse to destroy Him. And He says to that man in the presence of everybody, Stretch out your hand. He's fearless. Absolutely fearless.

John chapter 6. He sent the disciples ahead of Him across the lake. And He went up in the mountain and prayed. You remember He came down and there they are rowing. The wind is contrary. And they're out there exhausted and He comes to them walking on the storm.

There's the lion of the tribe of Judah. John chapter 11. Word comes that Lazarus is about to die. And what does He do? He says, Let's just wait a couple days until He is dead so that I can raise Him from the dead.

And He comes in John chapter 11 verse 39. Jesus said, Remove the stone. Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Him, Lord, by this time there will be a stench for He has been dead four days. Jesus said to her, Did I not say to you, If you believe, you will see the glory of God?

So they removed the stone. I believe that when they rolled that stone back, the stench was overpowering. It wasn't like it was a sanitary situation. It was exactly like Mary thought it would be. And you know, when faith hits that, our faith tends to wilt, doesn't it?

I mean, when the stench of the tomb comes rolling out, the faith just kind of goes like this. It hit them full force. It did not look one bit more hopeful when they rolled that stone back than before.

In fact, it looked worse. And what does He do? He says, Father, I thank You that You've heard me already. I'm just saying this for the sake of those that are around me. Lazarus, come forth! And he that was dead gets up and comes out of there.

There's the lion, you see. Matthew 22, He's dealing with those scribes and Pharisees. They come up and they start asking Him questions to capture Him, and they end up being captured themselves. And you remember what it says?

After that, no one dared to ask Him any more questions. They didn't even dare to ask Him questions because He was a lion. They were afraid of Him. Many times, there was this sense, I mean, those officers went out to take Him and they came away just by listening to Him.

They were too afraid to do anything. They said, nobody's ever talked like this before. No man ever spoke the way this man speaks. They came out to take this lamb and they encountered a lion. And they got scared and left Him alone.

Matthew 23, you see the lion thundering out these, whoa, whoa to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. You bind up these heavy burdens and put them on men's shoulders. You don't touch one of them with your little finger.

See, there's the lion. Even in His death, you see the lion coming through at times. John 10, verse 18, He said, No man takes My life from Me. I lay it down on My own initiative. I have power to lay it down.

I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received from My Father. So He's in complete control. On the way to the cross, He says, Daughters of Jerusalem, don't weep for Me. Weep for yourselves, for your children.

Remember, I'm not an object of pity. John 18, they're in the garden. They come seeking Him and He says, He said, Who do you seek? They said, Jesus of Nazareth. He said, I am. And they lurched backward and fell to the ground.

What happened there? There was a little bit of the glory, the authority of the lion that came through whenever He said, I am. You see the lion even on the cross. Luke 23, He's handing out from the cross places in paradise.

Today you shall be with Me in paradise. That's the lion. Behold the lion. But also, He is the perfect Lamb. The very incarnation itself. Think of this. He who existed in the form of God did not think equality with God a thing to be grasped or held on to, but emptied Himself and came down.

The one who had to humble himself to even look at the things on the earth humbles himself so much that he becomes a helpless baby. Now that's the Lamb. He takes the position. You can see it in the very incarnation itself.

This coming down and becoming a Lamb. Brother Bob referred to that in his prayer. Right there in the incarnation, already He's taking the position of a Lamb. Where does He choose to be born? Well, not Jerusalem, where the religious capital of the world, but this little out-of-the-way place Bethlehem.

And what parents is He going to have? Not learned rabbis. Not Gamaliel or somebody like that. But this unknown carpenter. Under what conditions will he be born? You see, He chose all this ahead of time.

He planned all this out. It wasn't chance. Jesus plans out in connection with the Father. Where will you be born? Well, you'll be born in Bethlehem to a carpenter and his wife. And you'll be born in a stable with a bunch of animals.

That was all chosen. What profession will He have? Well, He'll grow up being a carpenter. Working with His hand. What place? Oh, some nice high society place like Nazareth that everybody hates and tells jokes about.

Can't any good thing come out of Nazareth? It was proverbial. When John the Baptist first lays eyes on Him, that's what he says, Behold the Lamb. Behold the Lamb of God. So then, secondly, let's behold the Lamb a little bit.

Think of His submission to insults. Now, this is a lion. But you come up to Him and start insulting Him. And He takes the position of a lamb. Think of this. Do we not rightly say that you're a Samaritan and have a demon?

You Samaritan. See, that was a hated thing amongst the Jews. What an insult. You're nothing but a Samaritan. And you have a demon. Another place, they said, He has a demon and is insane. Why do you listen to Him?

Do you realize the one who spoke the Sermon on the Mount, they said He was insane? And He put up with that. He was like a lamb allowing them to insult Him. His own family, they came out and they said He's lost His senses.

His own family came out after Him. This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons. He's Satan-possessed. That's the reason he can do all this stuff. We heard that deceiver, when he was alive, that deceiver said that he was going to rise again.

They called him a liar and a deceiver. And he endured all that. He submitted to insults. Not only that, he meekly endured and was so patient with his own disciples. I mean, that even takes more, really, in a way.

More lamb-like qualities to put up with that. He's just got through talking about how he's going to suffer and die. And the mother of two of the disciples comes up and she said, I want you to do something for us.

My two sons. Could they set one on your right hand and one on your left hand when you come into your kingdom? Can you imagine the patience? The lamb-like characteristics of the Lord Jesus Christ. The one that's incredible to me, Luke 22.

They're at the time of the Last Supper. He's ready to go to the Garden of Gethsemane and carry the most awful load that anyone has ever carried. And while they're in the upper room, it says a dispute arose between the disciples as to who would be the greatest.

Incredible. And what's he doing in the meanwhile? Washing the disciples' feet. There's the lamb. His dealings with Peter in Luke 22. Peter says, though all deny you, I won't deny you. I'm ready to go with you even unto death.

And the way Jesus dealt with him with such tenderness, such lamb-like characteristics, He said, Peter, the cock won't crow before you deny Me three times. But he says, I've prayed for you. Satan has desired to sift you like wheat, but I've prayed for you that your faith won't fail.

And when you turn again, you'll be stronger. You'll be able to help the others. Think of the lamb-likeness of his dealings with Peter. He lived as a lamb. He died as a lamb. Let me just read some of it to you.

Behold, the Lamb of God. Now he who was betraying Him gave them a sign saying, Whomever I shall kiss, He's the one who sees Him. Immediately he came to Jesus and said, Hail, Rabbi, and kissed Him. Jesus said to him, Friend, do what you have come for.

Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and seized Him. A little bit further down, then they spat in His face and beat Him with their fist. And others slapped Him and said, Prophesy to us, you Christ. Who is the one who hit you?

And again, a little bit later, then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the praetorium and gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him. And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. And after weaving a crown of thorns, they put it on His head and a reed in His right hand.

And they kneeled down before Him and mocked Him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews. And they spat on Him and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head. And after they had mocked Him, they took His robe off and put His garments on Him and led Him away to crucify Him.

Behold, the Lamb. And when He was on the cross, those who were passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads, and saying, You who destroyed the temple and rebuilt it in three days, save yourself.

If you're the Son of God, come down from the cross. And in the same way, the chief priests along with the scribes and elders were mocking Him. He's the ruler. There are passers-by rulers too. They were mocking Him, saying, He saved others.

He cannot save Himself. He's the King of Israel. Let Him now come down from the cross and we shall believe in Him. He trusts in God. Let Him deliver Him now if He takes pleasure in Him. For He said, I am the Son of God.

And the robbers also who had been crucified with Him were casting the same insult at Him. It was a veritable chorus of people shouting, Save yourself! Save yourself! Come down! Do something now! What's the matter with you?

And you see, all He would have had to have done is roar, and they would have all been dead. That's the truth. He said, Don't you realize I could right now appeal to My Father and He'd give me at once more than twelve legions of angels?

A legion is 6 ,000. Twelve legions, 72 ,000 angels. One angel in the Old Testament would come through and wipe out an army just like that. What would twelve legions of angels have done? You see, absolute lamb-like quality there on the cross, enduring these things, as they're all shouting, Save yourself and come down.

He couldn't save Himself. He didn't save Himself because He had voluntarily taken the position of a lamb. And He was absolutely lamb-like. 1 Peter 2 .23. While being reviled, He did not revile in return.

While suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously. The lamb-like quality of the Lord Jesus Christ. Isaiah 53 .7. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth.

Like a lamb that is led to slaughter and like a sheep that is silent before its shearer, so He did not open His mouth. 1 Peter 1 .19. Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood as of a lamb unblemished and spotless.

The blood of Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ. Both perfect lion and perfect lamb. Fearless, absolutely fearless, and yet meek. Majestic, and yet lowly. Terrifying, yet approachable. The little children even come into it.

Uncompromising, absolutely uncompromising, and unbending, and yet merciful. Ferocious with zeal, yet quiet and steady and self-possessed. Now, as Christians, we ought to be like the Lord Jesus Christ.

In fact, Peter even says that. When it comes to suffering, insults, and slanders, and wrongs, we ought to be like lambs. Let me just read it to you from 1 Peter 2. It says, Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable.

For this finds favor if for the sake of conscience toward God a man bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. For what credit is there if when you sin and are harshly treated you endure it with patience?

But if when you do what is right and suffer for it, you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God. For you have been called for this purpose since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.

Who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth, and while being reviled, He did not revile in return. While suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously.

So we are supposed to be like the Lord Jesus whenever we are insulted and mistreated, slandered and wrong, or to be like lambs. The Lord Himself taught this in the Sermon on the Mount. This is Matthew 5.

Let me read it. You have heard that it was said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, do not resist Him who is evil. Whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.

And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. And whoever shall force you to go one mile, go with him too. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

In other words, be lambs. That's what He's saying. 2 Timothy 2, 24 and 25. The Lord's bondservant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition.

If perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth. Well, we could go on and on. We're to be lambs. On the other hand, when it comes to truth and righteousness and taking a stand for God, and when it comes to not being intimidated by threats or by the possibility of personal loss, we're supposed to be lions, aren't we?

Philippians 1, 28 and 29. In nothing terrified by your adversaries, which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you. And that too from God. For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.

2 Timothy 1, 7 God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and of a sound mind. Do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me, His prisoner. So, we're to be lions in those situations.

Acts 4, 8. Here's an example. Peter. Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, rulers and elders of the people, if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man as to how this man has been made well, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by this name this man stands here before you in good health.

You remember what it says when they saw the boldness, the confidence of Peter and John. They marveled. They took notice of them that they had been with Jesus. Now, lion-like boldness. So, Christians are to be like the Lord in this.

Wang Mingdao has a wonderful observation on this. He says, professing Christians are often like lions and lambs. The problem is they're like lambs during the time when they ought to be lions and they're like lions during the time when they ought to be lambs.

Somebody shuns or insults you or slights you in some way and you react by snarling and showing your teeth. That's being a lion when you ought to be a lamb. Somebody tries to wrong you in some way and you leap to the defensive.

Paul talks about that at Corinth, doesn't he? There were some problems going on and they were brother going against brother before the unbelievers. And he says, why don't you just allow yourself to be wrong?

Why don't you be a lamb in this situation? On the other hand, when truth is on trial or we know we ought to speak up often, aren't we often tempted to be like lambs? Isn't it a rotten feeling when you act like a lamb and you know you should have been a lion?

May the Lord help us. Even in times of temptation, sometimes like a lamb led to the slaughter instead of like a lion roaring against the temptation. Think of Peter denying the Lord there with this servant girl.

He says, weren't you one of them? And he denies it. He turns into a wimp. He's a lamb when he ought to be a lion. Now by the grace of God, a few chapters later, he was a lion by the power of the Holy Spirit.

But what a low hour that was for Peter. May God help us to be lions when we ought to be lions and lambs when we ought to be lambs. So one more thing I want to say in closing. In his first coming, the Lord Jesus basically came as a lamb.

That was His period of humiliation. He came to be a servant. He came to suffer. And He came to die for sins. But He is no longer in a state of humiliation. He is now in a state of exaltation. Did you notice that?

Even in Revelation 5, He says, I saw a lamb standing. A lamb that had been slain standing. He's not lying there dead. You know, this dead, bleeding lamb. He's standing. In other words, He has died, yes, but now He's risen and He's exalted.

And He's standing up. And He's got seven horns and seven eyes. Seven horns. You know, the horn in the Bible represented power and authority. He not only has power, He has fullness of power. He's got omnipotence.

Seven horns and seven eyes representing the manifold fullness of the Spirit of God. Almighty power upon Him. So He is exalted and fully possessing the attributes of deity. So this lamb, even in Revelation, is a lion.

He's a lamb standing. Being slain is a thing of the past for Him now. He's been exalted to the right hand of God. Beloved, the Lord Jesus Christ will never be spat upon again. And He will never be mocked again.

And He will never be rejected again. That's over. That happened the first time in the state of His humiliation. But that's never going to happen again. From now on, He's reigning seated at the right hand of God.

And the next time He comes, He will come as a lion. He says when the Son of Man comes in the glory of His Father and the holy angels with Him, then will He sit on His glorious throne. And all the nations will be gathered before Him.

The entire world. And He'll separate them as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And He'll say to those on His left hand, depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire. You see, that's the lion of the tribe of Judah.

2 Thessalonians 1 .7. The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus.

And these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day and to be marveled at among all who have believed.

What a thing, isn't it? We have the opportunity still to come to Him as our Savior. But there's a day coming when we will face Him as a lion. One more passage that I want to read. I think this is quite an amazing passage.

This is in Revelation 6 when this lamb begins to break the seals. And I looked when He broke the sixth seal and there was a great earthquake and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair. And the whole moon became like blood.

And the stars of the sky fell to the earth as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. And the sky was split apart like a scroll when it's rolled up. And every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

And the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. And they said to the mountains and to the rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb.

For the great day of their wrath has come and who is able to stand? Amazing phrase, isn't it? The wrath of the Lamb. Lambs don't have wrath. But you see, this Lamb is also alive. And it's talking about Him coming as a Lamb.

The one who died for sinners will one day be their judge. And you know, men are not going to have any kind of excuse then. Well, you didn't know what it was like to be rejected. You didn't know what it was like to go through the things that I went through.

Yes, He did. And He knew it 10 ,000 times more than any raw deal you've ever gotten. And He will come and there will be no excuses then for the rotten attitudes and the rebellion and the rejection of what's right and what's good.

Well, let's pray. Oh Lord, we thank You so much that though You are the Lion who could easily destroy us and tear us to pieces, that You freely chose to become Lamb and to suffer and die for those who would put You to death themselves who hated You.