What is the Wrath of the Lamb?
Love that Conquers
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There will soon be full vindication of all the evil, oppression, and injustice that has been perpetrated on the earth. The wrath of the Lamb will come, but what does His wrath look like? Join me in reading the full definition and nature of the wrath of the Lamb, the clash of light and darkness, and our future hope! Our understanding will teach us how to walk during difficult days.
The Light/Dark Clash
The language of the sixth seal in Revelation 6:12-17 is first-century, Jewish apocalyptic literature in full, illustrative strength! Let’s read the passage first:
And I [John] looked when He broke the sixth seal,
and there was a great earthquake,
and the sun became as 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 drops its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind.
The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up,
and every mountain and island was removed from its place.
Then the kings of the earth, the eminent people, the commanders, the wealthy, the strong, and every slave and free person hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, and they said to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the sight 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?”
The intense images of the massive earthquake and the sky – the black sun, blood moon, falling stars, sky split like a scroll rolled up, and mountains and islands moved out of place all represent the chaos resulting from the exposure of the kingdom of darkness to the brilliant light of the Slaughtered Lamb.[i]
These images are not astronomical events. They represent the end (the fall) of everyone who has exalted themselves above the Lamb. John draws upon his knowledge of the prophets and the current-day mythology; The falling stars represent the angelic beings and pagan deities falling from their destiny. The prophet Isaiah declares, “The pride of man will be humbled and the loftiness of men will be abased; And the Lord alone will be exalted in that day…” Hallelujah! Please pause to read Isaiah 2:10-22.
Mankind in his haughtiness cannot stand in the presence of the Lamb when He returns. Yeshua’s (Jesus’) suffering death and vindicating resurrection create such an alternate reality for those who rejected Him that there is nothing left but for them to run and hide. In His light, all who have invested in their arrogance have nowhere to go. Everything they staked their claim on is gone, “rolled up like a scroll.” They fall, crumble, and scurry for cover to hide from the wrath of the Lamb like cockroaches in the light.
We can only try to imagine the brilliance of Yeshua’s coming; we will only be able to see it with our new eyes! Just as sunlight reflects and refracts through droplets of water creating a glistening rainbow, His coming will be a million, zillion times more sublime with living, sparkling rays of color leaping off the others! All evil and injustice will disintegrate and disappear in this glass-like, flashing symphony of ecstatic beauty, praise and awe!
The foundational definition of the wrath of the Lamb
Help us, Adonai, Yahweh [the Great I AM, Creator of all] to grasp the enormity of this definition!
The Lamb’s wrath is not anger as we think about anger. It is His intense abhorrence of evil, because it steals, kills, and destroys everything that is beautiful in His creation. Yeshua expressed the Father’s intense emotion against sin when He said to the Jewish rulers, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.” (Matthew 23:37)
And so, how would they (or we) be delivered? Yahweh was so zealous against evil, oppression, and injustice that His own arm had to bring salvation! Isaiah 59:16-17 reads:
And He saw that there was no man,
And was astonished that there was no one to intercede;
Then His own arm brought salvation to Him,
And His righteousness upheld Him.
He put on righteousness like a breastplate,
And a helmet of salvation on His head;
And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing
And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle.
For God so love the world that He gave His only begotten Son. His suffering and death killed the domain of darkness. “He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)
His zeal against evil = His wrath = the offering of His life as a sacrifice for our transgressions.
His weapon was His life; He willingly allowed the iniquity of the world to fall on Himself. (Isaiah 53:6b) And whosoever would believe in Him would not perish but have everlasting life!
You see, the enemy was left with no more ammunition to use against us, because his only weapon was his accusations and lies, and he can no longer hurl them at us. Even if the accusations are true, they are covered in the blood of the Lamb. The enemy has been rendered powerless in the face of GRACE! He squirms and crawls, slipping under the rocks to hide, and is consumed!
Simply put, Yahweh was so desirous of shalom (complete wholeness) for us that He killed the evil, oppression, and injustice with the sacrifice of His willing Servant; He did not unleash His wrath on Yeshua. Rather, He allowed Him to give Himself “for our transgression to whom the stroke was due.” (Isaiah 53:8b) He paid our debt!
Yeshua was not the militant figure the Israelites had hoped for. He conquered by His sacrifice. Some have taught that he will be militant in His return, but His character and purpose have not changed. Although the image of Him in Revelation 19:11-19 is that of a conquering warrior, verse 19:13a tells us,
“He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood…”
The Greek word for dipped is bapto meaning whelmed, immersed, or dyed by dipping. Yeshua’s robe was not drenched in the blood of His enemies; no, He taught us to love our enemies. Rather, His robe was saturated by the blood of His sacrifice.
Yeshua conquered the darkness by laying down His life to redeem the world. This is His wrath.
Although the Jewish rulers, Roman authorities, and the incited mob sought to make a public shame of Him on that execution pole, the Apostle Paul tells us in Colossians 2:14-15 (NLT), “He cancelled the record of charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this same way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by His victory over them on the cross.” And “As many as did receive Him, to them He gave authority to become children of God...” (John 1:12, MJLT)
The battle is over and won. Yeshua’s return in the clouds is simply the cosmos-wide display of His sovereignty. Every last person on earth will know that He is King of the universe, and that He has always been King! They will see His patience in waiting for all to repent of their wicked ways. Those who opposed Him will groan and mourn and be destroyed, not by Yeshua, but by their own doing. Righteousness will be fully restored in the land!
“Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him [those who opposed Him]. So it is to be. Amen.”
(Revelation 1:7)
“Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.”
(Revelation 19:7)
“You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of Yahweh,
and a royal diadem in the hand of your Creator.
It will no longer be said to you, Azubah (Forsaken),
Nor to your land will it be said any longer, Shemamah (Desolate);
But you will be called, Hephzibah (My delight is in her),
And your land, Beulah (Married);
For the Lord delights in you, and to Him your land will be married.”
(Isaiah 62:3-4)
Our Part
As His Faithful Witnesses, we stand and fight with our willingness to lay down our lives by speaking and living truth without fear. As a contrast to the falling stars (the arrogant kingdoms of this world), we who have received Yeshua are stars shining in their place. In the words of the angel Gabriel to Daniel:
“And those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven and those who lead the many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.” (Daniel 12:3) You are a star!
We participate in His glorious Kingdom of Shalom by taking every opportunity to share the good news of Yeshua’s sacrifice for us and to rebuild Creation until He returns and The New Jerusalem is established on earth forever!
Our Prayer
We deeply thank you, Father, for calling us to Yourself through Yeshua, for drawing us, wooing us, revealing Yourself to us, and causing us to be born again in the Spirit with an imperishable seed that will not fade away, and an inheritance reserved in heaven for us and for all those who have longed for Your coming! We lift our hands in praise! We bow down in awe of Your majesty!
For those who don’t know Him but want to
My suggestion is to find the book of John in the Bible. It is located just after the book of Luke. As you read it, ask God to reveal Himself to you. If He shows you something, follow. He will reveal Himself to you if you ask Him. Ask Him for a sincere heart to understand the truth. He is Truth. He will draw you into a beautiful relationship with Himself by the Spirit!
[i] These images echo Isaiah 34:4; Isaiah 2:12-22; Daniel 8:10; Matthew 24:29; and Luke 21:25-26.
Shale Fragments™ - devotionals by Beth Ann Phifer is a division of Flower Girl Greetings, LLC. ©2023, All Rights Reserved.
Blessings and love in Him,
Beth Ann