The Wrath Of The Lamb

Then everyone —the kings of the earth, the rulers, the generals, the wealthy, the powerful, and every slave and free person —all hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. And they cried to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one 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 survive?” Revelation 6:15-17

IT WOULD NOT BE a stretch to say that the Bible is the story of a lamb from beginning to end. Throughout the Old Testament, God makes it clear that anyone who wants to be made right with God can do so only on the basis of the Lamb that he has provided.

The Lamb of God will still be at the center of God’s purposes when he brings human history in this world as it is now to a conclusion. When John, on the island of Patmos, was enabled to see into ultimate reality, he saw the Lamb on the throne, “a Lamb that looked as if it had been slaughtered” (5:6), as the center of everything. Before this Lamb are those who have been washed in his blood so that their robes are white. These people have nothing to fear. Then there are those who saw no need to be washed and covered in the blood of the Lamb, and they have everything to fear. There are those who have hidden themselves in the Lamb, and those who try to hide from the Lamb.

Those who persisted in their sin, who saw no need for confession or cleansing, will have no ability to stand before the throne of God and will fall down in terror, hoping the rocks and mountains will fall on top of them. But those who fell on their faces before the Lamb and submitted to his cleansing work will fall down not in terror, hiding from the Lamb, but in adoration, praising the Lamb.

Lord, we long for the day when we will stand before your throne. On that day we will have no need for protection from the Lamb, but will be protected forever by him. The cleansing that began when we first believed will be complete, and we will stand in a purified environment as purified people. But, Lord, we don’t want to stand there alone. We long for ________ to be there with us. Please call ________ to yourself; cover and cleanse ________ with the blood of the Lamb.