What is the Wrath of the Lamb?

some more thoughts on violence in apocalyptic literature

In my last article, I examined 2 Thessalonians 1 and asked questions about retribution, vengeance, and love. One of the things we pointed out is that situations of oppression, persecution, and despair generate apocalyptic literature.

People with the boot of the empire on their necks sometimes need tales of cosmic destruction, legendary beasts at war, and scenes of triumph to garner some sense of comfort and security.

Here’s the article if you want to read:

Did Jesus Destroy Jerusalem in AD70?

As a followup to this article, I’m going to be writing a few articles to address some other passages suggested by readers.

We’re going to start with Revelation 6:15-17, which says,

Then the kings of the earth and the magnates and the generals and the rich and the powerful and everyone, slave and free, hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one seated 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?” Revelation 6:15–17

First, Let’s Talk Revelation

Revelation’s primary purpose is to “show his servants what must soon take place” (Revelation 1:1). In light of their present persecution, the book was meant to inspire hope and comfort by revealing the Christ.

The book is a revelation of Jesus Christ in that it is a revelation that was given to Christ to deliver to the churches, but it is also a revelation of Jesus Christ in that, within its pages, Jesus is revealed.

The Book of Revelation is hyperbolic, subversive political commentary which unveils who Jesus truly is while also comforting a persecuted people by modeling how to frame contemporary world events in the revelatory Light of this identity.

Instead of approaching Revelation as a codebook in which every sign or symbol has a one to one correlation with a contemporary figure, place, or event, Revelation is best listened to in one sitting with eyes closed and the imagination at work.

It is the imagery, and the emotions which this imagery inspires, that is the true intention of Revelation.

If you want more material on Revelation, I wrote this article a couple of years ago. There’s more on my Substack if you just search “revelation,” but be warned: several different versions of Daniel contributed to the articles here. Please show him grace as I try to as well.

Second, We Need to Define Wrath

Now that we’ve established what kind of literature we’re dealing with, let’s think about how the Bible talks about wrath.

One passage that jumps to the forefront of my mind when thinking of the wrath of God is Romans 1. Romans 1:18 says,

For the wrath of God is [apokalyptō] from heaven against all ungodliness and injustice of those who by their injustice suppress the truth. Romans 1:18

Both Revelation 6 and Romans 1 are about the revelation, the apokalyptō, of God’s wrath.

But how is the wrath of God revealed in Romans 1?

In verses 24, 26, and 28, Paul says that God “gave them over” to a path that led to death, pain, dishonor, wickedness, greed, absence of love, etc.

I think when a lot of people picture the wrath of God, they think of God coming down out of heaven and smiting someone with a lightning bolt or some other disaster, but it is biblical to think of God’s wrath as God allowing someone to go down the path they choose, even if this path leads to their own undoing.

It’s like what Jesus said when he approached Jerusalem:

As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. Indeed, the days will come upon you when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you and hem you in on every side. They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.” Luke 19:41–44

Who would set up ramparts around Jerusalem? Who would hem them in on every side? Who would not leave one stone upon another?

Their enemy, which, historically, was Rome. Not God, not the Spirit, and not Jesus.

Jesus isn’t found in the swords of the Roman empire and in the flames that brought Jerusalem down; the Word is found on the hill, looking over Jerusalem and weeping.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, just a few nights after the above lament, Peter attempted to defend Jesus from the angry mob. Jesus rebuked and warned him,

Put your sword back into its place, for all who take the sword will die by the sword. Matthew 26:52

A few verses later, Jesus turned to the crowd and said,

Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a rebel? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. Matthew 26:55

All who take up the sword will die by the sword.
Have you come out with swords to arrest me?

This is the wrath of the Lamb. The Lamb wept as the people he loved continued to forsake his warning by taking up the sword. Jesus turned them over to the false way of peace, and it brought about so much pain and destruction and misery.

In Revelation, John recorded something similar to what Jesus told Peter, and this statement describes how the wrath of the Lamb is revealed:

If you are to be taken captive, into captivity you go; if you kill with the sword, with the sword you must be killed. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints. Revelation 13:10

The endurance of the saints is to reject the sword; the wrath of the Lamb comes about through rejecting this Word.

Third, Let’s Look at the Context of Revelation 6

While all of the above is helpful to me in my studies, there is actually something within the context of Revelation 6 that perfectly reveals Jesus.

Before that, though, I want to point out why this Revelation 6 passage is important. In the last article, we looked at 2 Thessalonians 1. Well, there happens to be a connection between 2 Thessalonians 1 and Revelation 6 via a passage both texts cite: Isaiah 2.

2 Thessalonians 1 draws from Isaiah 2 by borrowing the phrase “the glory of his power.” Revelation 6 also alludes to Isaiah 2 through the picture of the kings of the earth crying out to the hills and rocks to cover them.

This intertextual connection between 2 Thessalonians 1 and Revelation 6 suggests that Paul and John were thinking similarly when writing their respective letters. They used the same sources, had the same events in mind, and were writing to the same people: persecuted believers in need of comfort and hope.

Now that we’ve seen the broader context of Revelation 6, let’s zero in on the passages leading up to it.

In Revelation 4-5, the passage that begins this section, there is a throne room scene in which John sees a scroll with seven seals. Unfortunately, nobody can be found to open these seals, so John starts to weep.

He is told,

Do not weep. See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals. Revelation 5:5

The Lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered.

This line must have been comforting to the first saints.

We sometimes picture Jesus in this way, don’t we? Paintings depict Jesus as a roaring lion, walking about to see whom he may devour.

But we have to be careful. That is not the picture John wants us to walk away with in Revelation 5; instead, that is the picture of the devil from 1 Peter 5!

When John turns to see the Lion of the tribe of Judah, he doesn’t see a lion at all; he sees the Lamb.

Then I saw between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders a Lamb standing as if it had been slaughtered, with seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Revelation 5:6

The Lamb was slaughtered, but it was alive. It was meek, but it was powerful and all-seeing. But the Lamb’s power didn't come from its muscles or military might; the power came through the Holy Spirit that fills all creation with the good news of Jesus.

Let’s read our passage again:

Then the kings of the earth and the magnates and the generals and the rich and the powerful and everyone, slave and free, hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one seated 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?” Revelation 6:15–17

There are two things the people are hiding from here: the face of God and the wrath of the Lamb.

But how does one see the Father’s face? Jesus said, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.” John 1 says that the Word was face to face with God in the beginning, so only the Word of God can explain God and reveal God.

Seeing God face to face is what Jesus is all about, so why would anyone hide from that?

Because when someone chooses to take up the sword, to walk the path of violence, and to go about to establish their own righteousness, the last thing they actually want to see is the face of God. As Adam and Eve learned in Genesis 3, that path only reveals our own inadequacy and shame.

When Jesus wept over Jerusalem, it was because he knew they would pick their own strength by depending upon the chariot and sword instead of learning the way of peace through self-sacrifice, trusting in the resurrecting strength of God.

Jesus conquered through self-sacrificial love, and those who rejected this good news brought pain and misery upon themselves through pursuing the bad news of peace through might.

The Lamb didn't turn into a lion to seek whom he may devour. The Lion appears as a Lamb to demonstrate the narrow way, the way of true peace. And the Lion who looks like a slaughtered Lamb weeps over those who refuse that way, but Love means allowing people to walk away, reject you, and crucify you.

But as the closing chapters to Revelation reveal, the gates are never shut, and the invitation is there for whoever is willing. They can wash their robes and take of the water of life without cost.

Credits

Special thanks to Corri Johnson and Jordan Winkert for reading and editing what I write and for all of you who pitch in through liking, sharing, and otherwise contributing to the community here.