7 - Foundations for Prophecy | Allusions, Images, Symbols

The basis of prophecy is the Lamb that was slain from the beginning – Christ. He is the promised seed in Genesis 3:15, the sacrifice of Abel, and all temple sacrifices point to him. John the Baptist calls him the Lamb of God. He will feed the Gentiles, crush the empires of the world, and remain forever. As the Lion of Judah and the Root of David, he sits at the right hand of God. In Revelation, he is the Bridegroom, King of kings, and Victor.

What happens when the symbol of the lamb is misunderstood? 1. The details of Scripture become meaningless. 2. Study is fruitless because love – the essence of life – is not recognized. 3. Outward religiosity and keeping commandments are meaningless. Many Christians read the Bible and want to be saved, but do not understand its true meaning.

Let us consider the animals: after the Fall, God divided them into clean and unclean (Genesis 7:2; Leviticus 11). These categories reflect human beings. We are unclean from birth because we sin, since from the moment of conception we unconsciously bind ourselves to people and not to God. God wants to redeem us through the clean animal: the lamb – Christ – represents a clean human being. He was conceived by God and never sinned. Although he bore sinful nature, it did not make him unclean because he did not use it.

Why did Jesus still have to die? What did his death accomplish? And what does his resurrection mean? We consider these questions from a human and divine perspective: How can a person be saved even though he is condemned to death? How can God bring people to practice justice and love when they live in selfishness? For this to be possible, Christ had to fulfill certain conditions (John 1:9). He had to be both God and man – only then could he redeem humanity.

All the conditions for our redemption are fulfilled in Christ. Now each individual must also accept this redemption: Either we die with Jesus on the cross through faith in him and rise to new life and live eternally – or we reject it and await eternal death. All this is discussed in part 7 of our series “Allusions, Images, Symbols.”