The Evangelical Universalist Forum

Why the 'wrath of the Lamb' and not the 'wrath of the Lion' in Revelation 6:16?

Theology Eschatology
#1

Several years ago I was reading Revelation 6, and when I came to verse 16, it frightened me for those people who would face the wrath of the Lamb and their coming eternal conscious torment. I just recently embraced Christian Universalism. Now I am rereading Scripture through the lenses that God, in the end, will restore all people to Himself.
Recently, in speaking with a friend on why God’s rescue of all mankind makes sense, this passage jumped out to me. If Jesus is the Lion and the Lamb, why does Revelation 6:16 speak of the ‘wrath of the Lamb’ instead of the ‘wrath of the Lion’? IF the author of Revelation wanted to terrify his readers of the devouring wrath of the Lion, he would have stated. However, the wrath of the Lamb seems softer than the wrath of the Lion, and therefore, a more hopeful view of God’s restorative justice rather than man’s retributive sense of justice.

Has anyone else thought through this question?

Thank you.

2 Likes
#2

That has never occurred to me but I think it’s a great question.

How much wrath can a lamb have anyway? The lamb was the symbol of sacrifice and reconciliation not of judgment. So perhaps this wrath leads to reconciliation as well?

it frightened me for those people who would face the wrath of the Lamb and their coming eternal conscious torment.

If only more people would be so disturbed. When Christians move beyond compartmentalizing this horror away and actually grapple with reconciling it with the God who calls Himself Love, your same discovery is inevitable.

2 Likes
#3

Well, No one should be disturbed, God is good and totally on our side and in our camp.

#4

Cmon man. ?

#5

The wrath of the LAMB! It’s a great observation Benversalist, thank you.

The lamb is the symbol of the means of atonement as pastorMark has said. These people know they have wickedness still to be dealt with and will hide from the one who will cleanse them (just as a child runs from the one who would remove the splinter).
The wrath from the one whose role is to atone, is aimed at the wickedness that is within them and alienating them from their loving Father.
The text is allied to Malachi 3: 2

Mal 3:2 On the day the Lord comes, he will be like a furnace that purifies silver or like strong soap in a washbasin. No one will be able to stand up to him.

Just my two pennyworth.

1 Like
#6

Lets look at the facts, man as a whole is a fundamentally self serving being. So you can either say that God made them that way and we have to deal with it with the tools we have been given or want to somehow try to stack the deck… So only those who realize we were made imperfect and state so will be rewarded. You are dealing with human ways…

I hope you can see the understanding that we are what we are. God made us the way we are for a reason, I’m not sure I understand it, but believe there is a reason.

#7

I disagree, many have no idea as to your so called wickedness. They are blind. They are simply children of their environment. For those who call themselves Christian, these are the very souls they should be seeking to help. Go forth and gather.

I am sorry, I did not want to sound like an evangelist. NEVER. Do what you need to do.

#8

How about you Chad? Do you believe there is any wickedness in you?

Why not?

#9

Here are some GOOD things that all men seem to have in common:
They are rooted in this:
The command thus given to love God with all the heart, and soul, and mind, and strength, is in harmony with our whole nature. We are made for God; all our affections, sensibilities, faculties, and energies are designed to be directed towards God; the end of our existence is fellowship with God. He could not require us to devote our entire being to Himself if He had not endowed it with powers which fit us for such devotion. Religion then has its germs in our Nature, and its development is entrusted to our own care. Such is the truth that I would now illustrate

-Reason
-Look next at the Conscience; and here we see another natural tendency to religion. What particularly strikes us in this principle of our nature is that it not only enjoins the law of duty, but intimates that there is a Ruler above us, by whom this Law will be sustained and executed. Conscience speaks not as a solitary, independent guide, but as the delegate of a higher Legislator
-the Affections, we shall recognize still more clearly that our nature is formedfor religion. What is the first affection awakened in the human heart? It is filial love, a grateful sense of parental kindness. And is not this the seed and prime principle of religion?

  • There is in all human beings an insatiable desire for Happiness, which can never be appeased in our present existence, which the universe is wholly inadequate to gratify, which becomes only more intense amidst life’s sufferings and disappointments
  • And there is in refined minds a still profounder and more urgent impulse, already indicated, the longing for Perfection, for deliverance from all evil, for perpetual progress, the desire to realize in character that bright Ideal of which all noble souls conceive - WEC.

Those are all good things, which the bible never condemns. It is the wilful distortion of these things that cause all the problems.
To say that, for instance, a pedophile’s unnatural desire for the raping and ruining of small children is a God-given thing is simply ridiculous. The having of a sexual nature IS a good - but evil is the misuse of the good.
The biblical emphasis is that WE are responsible for the evil that men do. In Christ God has forgiven - but that did not change what we are, which is sinners in the hands of a loving Father; and papa desires repentance and works as our true understanding of what He has done.

#10

Yepper, I have many sins on my soul. And your judgement will be to what end? If we understand the fragility of humans, and can in some way understand and in some small way help folks who we meet and are struggling… We are lending a help and that is precious to many folks who are searching. God, let’s just help them. Just shake their hand and buy them a cup of coffee, life is fragile.

So am I wrong? :thinking:

#11

That is a good point. Just speculating, the M.O. of the lion is worldly power, crushing his enemies’ bones to dust in his jaws (this is kind of the messianic dream of Jesus returning in fire to dish out a Davidic whupping to his enemies), but the lamb’s power is in innocence, peace, trust and purity.

Book of Revelation is largely envisaging the removal of various obstacles to the gospel, so that God can be seen as He is, and winning souls at each round, until finally only the remnant of rebels get the lake of fire/ big grace medicine, so that the wolf and lamb might get along.

So the wrath of the Lamb could consist in producing repentance through revelation of the crucified Christ as God’s grace and truth by the spirit of purity and innocence - overcoming the powers and principalities.