8/4/10

A Lion of a different color

What an unusual lion! My first thought was: "how cute"! Then I remembered a taped show from Animal planet about Lions that I saw this evening. Lions are such stately, beautiful creatures that its easy to forget the power they have. This show reminded me of their awesome destructive power. With that in mind, consider these few verses from the book of Revelation.

Revelation 5:1-5 (WEB)
1) I saw, in the right hand of him who sat on the throne, a book written inside and outside, sealed shut with seven seals.
2) I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the book, and to break its seals?”
3) No one in heaven above, or on the earth, or under the earth, was able to open the book, or to look in it.
4) And I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open the book, or to look in it.
5) One of the elders said to me, “Don’t weep. Behold, the Lion who is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome; he who opens the book and its seven seals.”
(Revelation 5:1-5, WEB)

Plain and simple; Jesus has the power. Power to heal, power to forgive and the power to initiate judgment. Don't be deceived; Jesus is not someone to be taken lightly. I believe that if you study carefully, you will see that the Bible shows his powerful side quite clearly; that as Yahweh of Armies, he has been executing judgment since the beginning and will do so at the end. (See Revelation 19:11ff.) Somehow, the Lion in the picture just doesn't seem the same now.