The Taxonomy of an Unfamiliar Realm:
a Scroll, a Lion, and an Adorable Wounded[1] Septaclopse
(Revelation 5)
Note: This talk started with an exersize where groups were given bins of plastic animals to sort into “mammal” and “reptile” catagories. There were some difficult ones (e.g. ichthyosaurus and basilosaurus) but each kit also included one bird.
So, what was most challenging: The bird. Who sorted it anyway?
You see, one of the stunning findings of recent biology is that birds and crocodiles are more closely related than either of them are to the other reptiles. In other words…birds are functionally reptiles…they are embedded in that category of creation.
Human beings are sorters. We try to put new things in categories we already have. The fewer categories we have the easier the world is to understand. But one of the first things a scientist has to come to terms with is that the categories in our heads are far to tidy to organize the complexity of our world. One of the first things you learn in an introductory Biology class is that ‘species’ is actually difficult to define…and in Biological graduate school as debates rage over whether insects are distinct species or just different versions of the same species. And for a while, it looked like the Polar Bear was going to lose its status as a distinct species.
[2] I mean, that would be like losing Pluto as a planet. But biological sorting isn’t just restricted to enormous nerds. It is also the basic task of the 2 year old. Take, for example, my favorite 2 year old.
Xavier[3] is obsessed with birds.[4] But he only has two categories. Duck and turkey (which, of course, means we live on the north Davis greenbelt – this is our avian biodiversity). So every bird is either a duck or a turkey. Now this is kind of fun to watch – whenever we encounter a new bird…will it be a duck or a turkey? My favorite example of this was when we went to the zoo…and encountered the flamingo.
There was actual suspense. What was it going to be? A duck or a turkey? And so I asked, Xavi, what is that. He squinted his little face, thought for a little while, and then said confidently, “Turkey.”
Revelation 5 presents a kind of awkward sorting problem[5] - A problem of taxonomy. John finds himself overwhelmed with unfamiliar beings. A whole range of previously unencountered biodiversity. And when humans are presented will new biodiversity, we sort. And before we sort into species, phylum, or even kingdom…we have to sort into earthly or cosmic…but there is a taxonomical division even higher than that…Creator or creature…worshiper or object of worship. John was faced with a sorting game that we will call God-not god. (Slide)
And as a good Hebrew monotheist, whose top commandment is that there is only one god…we’d expect his ‘not god’ category to get most of the action.
24 elders…easy…not god…[6]
Crazy 6 winged creature with eye covered wings…that one could be tough…
not god…nailed it
How about the one with the human face…not god
But later in the book things get trickier
Rev 19:9 And the angel said to me…“These are the true words of God.” 10 Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.”
Angel in chapter 19:10…god…ooops…not god
And then it happens again in 22:8 – he encounters an angel and worships it …god…doh …not god (but to be fair, this is a common mistake in the Scriptures – so we need to cut our guide a little slack)[7]
What about the voice[8] from the throne…easy…that one we sort God!
Ok, so far so good…but then we get a being that defies our neatly divide categories.
The Lamb??? What kind of thing is this? How does it sort?
This passage is our introduction to the lamb…and we don’t “meet cute”.
There is too much going on in this text to boil down to a few points. So I’m going to spend the first half of our time doing an old school, verse-by-verse running commentary…and then explain how these details combine to help us understand the nature and character of the central character in this text.
Midrash:[9] But let’s just start by walking through this remarkable text slowly…lingering over its contours and details a little…Starting in verse 1
Revelation 5:1 Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals.
1-We start right after the brilliant passage in chapter 4 that Zach talked about last week…John's been taking in all of these strange and overwhelming sights (a glass sea, 4 creatures covered in eyes, a green rainbow?, lightning, and one who is on the throne and the only thing we are told about the appearance of this being is that he is brilliant “like jasper and carnelian” slide)…but now, in chapter 5, John’s eyes kind of focus to the brilliance and he starts noticing detail…and the one on the throne…has something in his hand…it is a scroll.
Now, this little roll of paper is going to be central to what happens in the rest of the book. And what is actually in the scroll is a little ambiguous. Revelation never comes out and says it. There are actually several theories. But the most compelling one, and the tact that we will be taking is that the scroll is: God’s purposes to assert his sovereignty over rebellious species and restore his purposes for creation.
…the writing spills out of the classic writing surface to cover the back as well…apparently, it is not a brief document…God has a lot in store…this is going to be a long story.
And the scroll has of:
1 – “seven seals”…seven seals?
“A septet of marine mammals”…no wonder it is hard to open…seals are heavy.
No, seven seals…it is fastened shut. Opening the seals will enact God’s redemptive purposes. It will unleash the story of God’s rescue of creation.
But the one who sits on the throne – he does not initiate these purposes himself - he looks for an agent from among the creatures to initiate this redemption - a hero to emerge from the midst of those to be redeemed.
2And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?”
2 –First…I love how revelation is always telling us how loud the voices are…it uses the word ‘loud’ 22 X mostly to describe voices. As a parent my first reaction is that “no one in this place knows how to use their indoor voice.”
But it is a place isn’t the library…it repeatedly resounds…literally. In chapter 1 and 4 we talked a lot about the overwhelming visual stimulus that John encounters…but the sounds here are big too.
But what is going on here? Well as one commentator put it:
2 – This is “a herald angel who challenges all comers to offer themselves for the task of opening the scroll.”[10]
2-3 – the scroll needs to be opened. But it can’t be opened by just anyone. It has to be opened by someone worthy to open the scroll.[11] This is classic throne room imagery where the King is calling for a champion worthy to ride for him.[12] But there is a problem…no qualified champion can be found in all creation…
3And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, 4and I began to weep… …loudly…because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it.
4– This is a really tense dramatic moment…no qualified champion steps forward… will the scroll go unopened? …what’s in it?…Is the one on the throne just going to let it go unopened?
And there is an interesting theological corollary…we are not worthy.[13]
Wright “John, like the other NT writers, had a realistic view of the deep rooted problem of the human race…Nobody deserves to open the scroll.”
One of the first things you need to come to terms with about ‘the one who is on the throne’ is that you are not qualified to approach him. You also need a champion.
It is a desperate situation.
And John senses the full weight of this predicament.
He senses that everything is on the line…all is lost…and in despair he begins to cry.[14] And he doesn’t just sniffle.
We’re not just talking wet eyes at the end of Marley and Me or The Notebook.[15]
He does not try to protect his dignity or some cultural mandate of masculinity…dude begins to wail…he realizes that, somehow, EVERYTHING, not even just for his species, not even just for the earth, but for all of creation (which he suddenly realizes is much bigger than he had thought)…
…it all turns on contents of that scroll that lays there unopened in the hand of one on the throne.[16] And what happens next…verse 5.
5And one of the elders said to me,
5 – Hold on there, just for a minute…the angelic hosts are not robots…not some kind of automatons that exist for repetitive praise. They are responding, empathic beings.
5And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold…the Lion…behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, (he) has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”
A so champion emerges…“Behold the Lion…” says the elder
5 - Bronwyn…re-reading the Narnia chronicles… “I keep waiting for the Lion to show up”… in each of those books, there comes a point where everything seems lost…where evil has won…and then…the Lion shows up. The elder says…
5 – Behold: the Lion of the Tribe of Judah…Root of David…two OT messianic themes…from different OT sources
-Prophetic remainder…John is pulling together as many prophetic types, themse, and predictions as he can – tying them all together – finding their prophetic remainder in Christ – One scholar argued that
“Revelation contains more Old Testament allusions than any other New Testament book, but it does not record a single quotation."
-The Lion (Gen 49:9[17])/the Root – is qualified to open the scroll because why…he has “conquered”
-but notice, the tense “has conquered” – the work of Christ is complete…and we step into it
5- Caird “The LOTTOJ and the root of David[18], has conquered, and has won the right to open the scroll…”
He’s the King’s champion.
But we are not done with OT images…the main one is next:
6And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
Zach covered this but it is worth revisiting, because it is one of the most surprising and important texts in the book
What does the John hear…”Behold the Lion”
What does he see…”I saw a Lamb”
Illustration: Now when I noticed this…I immediately thought…of Monte Python and the Holy Grail. Near the end of the film, the knights of the round table approach a cave protected by a famed beast. They are so scared that one of them literally ‘soils his armor.’
And here’s what happens:
As they puzzle over the visual that doesn’t match the description – it leads to one of the top three lines in this very quotable movie:
“what’s he going to do, nibble me bumb?”
The description does not match the visual reality – it is an inversion. The champion who is coming to stand up to Dominitian to bring God’s just and wise rule into the earth and creation…well it seems like he could be more impressive.
Because it is not just a baby sheep that walks into this throne room full of grand beasts and visual paradoxes and booming voices…it is a baby sheep “as though he has been slain”
In the midst of all this power and glory and transcendence…a lion emerges to victory…one expects a victory of violence as the lion of the tribe finally rides[21] …but what emerges is a Lamb. A wounded lamb. Even in the midst of all the power and glory, God’s victory is still won through self donation
You see there are a couple additional details about the Lamb..what are they?
with seven horns and with seven eyes
6 – The Lamb is a septaclopse…seven eyes complete sight…seven horns complete rule
-seven – total
-4 in all space
-Lamb 28 – 7*4 – this book is not just the vision of an ex-fisherman stranded on an island – it is a careful stunning work of art
7And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne.[22]
7 The Lamb steps forward and says “I got this” – At the pivitol point of the game, the Lamb takes the ball – ‘he put the team on his back’[23]
Trope: Only the Chosen may Wield
7 – sword in the stone – Thor – the only one worthy[24]
The only one worthy to enact the purposes of God is the Lamb who stands among the created beings but does not seem to be one of them…because look what happens next:
8And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
8 – The throne room which was worshiping the one on the throne…bowing before him…they pivot…they turn their adoration, their attention, their artistic offerings of worship to the champion…the wounded Lamb.
But let me notice just a couple things about their worship arts…
You see humans often use the arts as the medium of our worship. Most common is music…and that is on firm grounds…because not only is it supported elsewhere in the scriptures…but music is a cosmic reality. It transcends our biology…but you knew that.
8 – The 4 beasts can probably ‘shred’…they have stringed instruments and 6 limbs
But the worship arts are not limited to music…
8 – have you noticed how sensual these passages are:
-Overwhelming visuals
-Loud shouting, singing and instrumental music
-Smell worship[25] – the artistic medium of worship is sound and smell
-touch – remember the cosmic Christ reaching out and touching John
8 - This is far from a disembodied state…so far we have experienced 4 of the 5 senses…this is a richly realized physical reality
8 – Oh, and by the way, the ‘notes’ of the olfactory art that they offer to the One who sits on the Throne…our prayers. There is a sense transposition, as our prayers are transformed from the groans and cries and joyful sounds they are uttered in and become a rising smell to God.
9And they sang a new song, saying,
“Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
“…bearing marks of slaughter…” the art gets weird here[27] (weird art…weird pictures)
But what picture is John trying to invoke here. You see, The Lion of Judah and the Root of Jesse are both Messianic themes from the Hebrew Scriptures (Genesis, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel) that point to a coming Champion of Yahweh who will bring his just and wise rule to earth…but so is the slain lamb. He is evoking an image from the Hebrew narrative of God’s redemption.
Where is it from? Exodous. The Passover? The Lamb is the one who was sacrificed to save the Hebrews from wrath and to free them from their oppressors.
9 – for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
stark atonement language – the bloody slaughter of Jesus is somehow connected to our salvation…but how…well I will take this up in the fall from 1Peter. But here the word ‘ransom’ is used…another translation says:
Atonement – the mixture of peace and violence in one place…we are purveyors of violence who are at peace with God…the lamb that was slain is the being at the center of that reality.
Innocence placed in the way of violence…that is how God conquered…that is how God’s champion conquered…that is how the first Century Christian’s facing Domonitian’s persecution will conquer…and that is how we conquer.
and by your blood you purchased a people for God
NIV[28] - “You purchased a people for God…” – He’s got the coin to pull it off – he’s got the venture capital to buy a people…but the word ‘ransom’ is a better translation…because it has embedded in it, the implications of buying a particular type of thing…slaves. But buying them not for a new slavery…but for freedom.
Exodous allusion/but also takes on a new sort of vividness in a Roman city[29] where people would be familiar with the slave market.
The Lamb went to the slave market, and said,
“I’ll take them all”
You can kind of see the slaver’s eyes get greedy and wide:
“That’s going to be a lot of gold” he says
And Christ responds…”I’ll be paying in blood.”[30]
What makes the Lamb worthy?
“Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for (BECAUSE)…
In summary it gives 3 answers:
1. His victory over sin and death on the cross
you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
2. His Ransom of a diverse collection of slaves
and by your blood you ransomed a people for God
he implications of buying …slaves. But buying them not for a new slavery…but for freedom.
3. His Project of Fashioning that an absurdly diverse collection of former slaves into a cohesive people…..a purposeful people…a people with with stuff to do.
But look again at what this verse says he redeemed us for:
and by your blood you purchased people for God
He didn’t just purchase us into an individual salvation…he purchased A PEOPLE…he didn’t just buy your salvation…he purchased you to be part of his absurdly diverse people…with a job to do…
I. They are absurdly diverse…this kingdom is not geographic or ethnic
you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
II. They are busy…they’ve got stuff to do…both now and later
10and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.”
It reminds me of a scene early in the movie Gladiator. A group of slaves from all over the world are thrown together to be sent into the Colloseum to be slaughtered by the Roman empire to the glory of a mad king (sound familiar?). Only, secretly imbedded in this hapless collection of slaves, is the greatest general in the history of Rome. And he turns this diverse crew of fisherman, and shepherds and laborers from all over the world…into a cohesive unit that binds together to conquer the fighting force meant to destroy them.
But look again at what this verse says he redeemed us for:
and by your blood you purchased a people for God
He didn’t just purchase us into an individual salvation…he purchased A PEOPLE…he didn’t just buy your salvation…he purchased you to be part of his absurdly diverse people…with a job to do…
Look at verses 9 and 10 again with me…
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
10and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.”
There are two things to notice about this people:
I. They are absurdly diverse…this kingdom is not geographic or ethnic[31]
you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
II. They are busy…they’ve got stuff to do…both now and later
10and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.”
-Those purchased into this people…they have special rights…and jobs…they’ve got stuff to do both now (to be part of his kingdom of priests) and in his future kingdom (to rule the earth)
- American spirituality has largely individualized Christianity…but it has never been a collection of individuals…it has always been ‘a people’ – and a functional people...ransomed for service…priests and sub regents…
10 – Note the tenses…have made into a kingdom of priests (that is what we already are) and they shall reign on the earth[32] (future reality)...for now God’s kingdom does not control governments...but we are a community of people who mediate between God and people
10 – Not even all Hebrews could be priests…it was not only limited ethnically…but limited to a single family. But now all are priests.[33]
11Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12saying with a loud voice,
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!”
13And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,
“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”
14And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.
13 –This passage is written like a musical score…It feels like a live music performance…that just keeps adding voices and instruments.[34] It is a crescendo[35]
Chart the passage as a musical score..hold…
2 Loud solo
3 silence
4 crying from the audience…
8 the music starts again with 4 creatures and elders
11 add angels forte…
the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
Then in verse 13
13And I heard every creature in heaven (add every cosmic being) and on earth (add every terrestrial critter) and under the earth (add the earthworms and soil microbes…voles and groundhogs) and in the sea (add all the fish[36] and diatoms), and all that is in them, saying,
“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”
So that is Revelation 5. Lets wrap up by returning to our opeing question.
So what kind of thing is the Lamb? How do we classify it? What language can we use to talk about it?
When talking about the Trinity it is best to use as few words as possible to avoid heresey.
But this passage requires us to talk in those terms…
The Lamb confronts us with fundamental sorting problem. Is the Lamb creator or creature? Which Bin does he fall into? How does he sort? Well there are 4 clues in Revelation that while the Lamb is the agent of redemption for creation…partially by virtue of the fact that he has taken on flesh and become part of it…he is fundamentally classified as ‘God’. Lets walk through the 4 clues:
First, the Lamb ‘classifies as God’ due to:
1. Their Shared Titles
At the beginning and end of the book, Jhon carfully ascribes similar titles which speak to the temporal nature
God (1:8) Alpha and Omega
Christ (1:17): First and Last
God (21:6): Alpha and Omega, beginning and end
Christ (22:13) Alpha Omega, first and last, beginning and end
You see, some of creation is temporal, some of it, like us, is eternal…but only eternal into the future (we have a temporal beginning)…only the Lamb and he who is on the throne are eternal in ‘both directions.”
Bauckam
“The titles he shares with God indicate that he shared the eternal being of God from before creation.”
The second line of evidence for the Lamb’s status as ‘God’ is:
2. John’s Tortured Grammar
John, concerned with including the Lamb in the worship, but maintaining the monotheistic nature of Christian worship, resorts to awkward grammar…because theology trumps grammar:
God and Christ are listed together and followed by singular verbs and referred to with singular pronouns (e.g. God and Chist is)
Examples
“John, who is very sensitive to the theological implications of language and even prepared to defy grammar for the sake of theology…He never makes them the subjects of a plural verb or uses a plural pronoun to refer to them both. The reason is surely clear: he places Christ on the divine side of the distinction between God and creation, but he wishes to avoid ways of speaking which sound to him polytheistic.”[37]
Bauchman – John would rather torture grammer than make he who is on the throne and the Lamb, too distinct or too combined.
3. The Trinitarian Greeting
Trinitarian greetings are scattered throughout the NT – across different authors, demonstrating the early church’s commitment to the oneness and threeness of God:
1 Peter 1:1-2
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:
May grace and peace be multiplied to you.
Romans 1:1-7[38]
1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus…was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness…Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
And Revelation speaks directly into that tradition.
Revelation 1:4
John to the seven churches that are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.
But the most important clue to how to sort the unfamiliar beings we encounter in this realm of God’s rule is a functional critera. Are they worshipers or are they worshiped.
So the most compelling evidence
4. His Acceptance of Worship
The four worship sets in Revelation 4 and 5 are addressed to very specific recipients:
The Lamb and the Voice from the Throne are worshiped together…they are not rivals. The Lamb accepts worship…and the One on the Throne has no objection. They are distinct, yet the same. Decades later, the early church fathers puzzle over this and articulate the doctrine we call ‘the Trinity’…that the Father, Son and Spirit are one God in three persons…they leverage the language of Greek philosophy…but the tension between oneness and distantness is totally faithful to the picture painted in the scriptures.
Conclusion
You see, Revelation 5 is like a soundtrack to the introduction to the Lamb…and it crescendos to joint adoration of the Lamb and He who is on the Throne:
It would be like going to the Mumford and Son’s concert in the Berkeley Gardens[39]…
That concert could be anything I could imagine.
…and there is a sun shower with a spectacular rainbow and the sky is lighting up with lightning…and from your seat you can see the vast waters of the bay
…and it starts with Marcus Mumford coming out and singing a loud, sad, desperate solo..one of their great songs about the desperation of the human predicament (maybe “Dustbowl Dance” or “Broken Crowns”[40])
…and he gets to the end of the song but instead of applause and the next song…we are all kind of undone by the realization of our desperate situation… he is overcome with the desperation of humanness...and so are we…so much so, that he can’t bring himself to start the next song and we don’t want him to….and there is an extended, heavy silence…we all wait
…and then someone starts to cry…and it isn’t a sniffle…it’s a wail…and it is the only sound…and everyone in the crowd notices, but it seems like the appropriate response in that moment…and member of the band comes down off the stage and into the stage to comfort him
…then something stunning happens
…Jesus emerges from the crowd and walks towards the stage
…and suddenly…instantly…the desperation is replaced with relief and gratitude
…the music starts up again[41]…only the rest of the band emerges and starts to sing…but not just M&S but one by one other great bands come from back stage and join them. And it is a brand new song of relief and praise…
And then one by one each person in the vast audience begins to sing some of them pulls instrument out and starts to play…the volume gradually grows…and a strange but pleasing smell starts to permeate the place…and then, people start to gather outside the stadium and join in…they begin to climb the hill from all over campus to join the song…
Then it gets werider…the birds start to gather…then they sing …and then all the campus squirrels and the lizards…and then the fish in the bay…and the soil microbes and the earthworms…and more and more until every molecule in the vicinity is singing to the glory and worthiness of him who will rescue creation…who has ransomed a people.
Revelation chapter 5 is a crescendo. And it ends not just with angels singing…or people…but everything God made. The Lamb has ransomed a people…but by opening the scroll he will also redeem all of creation: cosmic, human, and biological.
All of creation, carbon based and not…earth bound and cosmic…worship when the champion of the one on the throne steps forward to open the scroll and to he who is on the throne…and reveal the plan of God’s redemption.
[1] Fluffy Bloody Septaclopse?
[2] Who cares? Well, actually, a lot of people. You see a few years back…genetic evidence put the polar bear’s status as a distinct species in question. Some were arguing that they were essentially white grizzlies. I mean, that would be like losing Pluto as a planet. But again, why would anyone care. Because human beings are essentially sorters. We understand the world in categories.
[3] You remember Xavier…my son who underachieves at tantrums…we finally got a picture of one of his adorable silent tantrums…while rock climbing.
[4] Of course he does…they are dinosaurs. Dinosaurs did not go extinct…they became birds. Xkcd comic
[5] This could be associated with a mixer or life builders activity where the tables are asked to sort objects into two categories with one object that defies the categories.
[6] Have a slide with 2 categories and these will populate
[7] Wright: “Even John, even at this moment, can slip up, can lapse into idolatry, into worshiping that which is not God. Perhaps he tells us this in order to encourage those of his readers who are battling with the challenge of idolatry themselves…”
[8] The non-anthropomorphic descriptions of God in Revelation is one of the ways in which John stresses for transcendence even as he is placing the Lamb
[9] There is too much going on in this passage…too many observations to make…to many questions to answer…to distill it into a couple points. So I am going to experiment with some good old fashioned verse-by-verse midrash.
[10] Goliath imagery? Who will be Israel’s champion. Especially given the messianic titles that follow.
But there is also possibly Genesis imagery here: “he looked among the creatures for a suitable partner for Adam and found none.
[11] Caird: There are 4 possible explanations of the scroll: 1) Lamb’s book of life…names filled the scroll and even ran to the outside (Caird rejects this)
[12] Illustration that cuts the wrong way (and is from the wrong source material) – Lady of the Erie looking for a champion to kill the Imp…and the imp calling for a champion in return…but we get Bronn – who is a very interesting character…but not in any way ‘worthy’…as the Imp says “I am more interested in your proficiency for murder.”
[13] “John, like the other NT writers, had a realistic view of the deep rooted problem of the human race…Nobody deserves to open the scroll. But that constitutes a major problem…For God then to say, ‘Well humans have failed, so I’ll have to do it some other way,’ would be to unmake the very structure of his good creation…Someone must be found…God has determined to run the world thought humans, and to rescue the world through Israel. Both have let him down. What will he do now? ” Ad hocery would make it seem like God had blundered. But the true human and the true Israelite…the Messiah (Christ)…he’s qualified on both counts.
[14] Wright points out that though many people point to this as a static picture of ‘heaven’ it is nothing of the sort…
[15] (cultural artifact – I’ve come all this way and can’t open the thing)
[16] (gif – how I feel when no one is found worthy to open the scroll)
4 – My bosses job – no applicants were qualified – the e-mail deflated me a little
[17] Genesis 49:9 Judah is a lion's cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched
as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him?
1 Kings 10 – part of the imagery of the temple
Often used in the Psalms as the enemies of God or the enemies of righteousness…which gets inverted, now the lion is on the side of God and righteousness
Isa 31:4
Hosea 5:14 For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear and go away; I will carry off, and no one shall rescue. (this one is complicated)
[18] Kings, Jeremiah, Daniel
[19] Wright – we err on both sides – lion Christians and lamb Christians – those who try to advance the victory by power and those who are just about rescue not remaking and have given up on the idea that
“God is related to the world not only as the transcendent holy One, but also as the slaughtered Lamb…Christ’s sacrificial death belongs to the way God rules the world.” 65-4
[21] (Like we wanted Aslan to just open a can of whoop ass on the White Which and her armies.)
[22] I feel like there are narratives where people turn into ferocious animals when it is time to do battle…a lion is a good choice…a wounded baby sheep…that is a bad choice.
[23] Bibby would have worked if we won that game.
[24]http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OnlyTheWorthyMayPass
•Only Gryffindors can draw Gryffindor's sword in Harry Potter. Or more precisely, someone with gryffindor 'qualities' such as bravery and valor.
[25] We are not an insense culture…but smells have as much emotional resonance as music…the smell of insense imideatly transports me to 1996 and the streets of Katmandu as easily as “eye of the Tiger” transports me to Junior Varsity Soccer practice in 1989.
[26] My friend Dale and his daughter Courtney used to play a scar game…they would show someone a scar…and invariably it would lead to that person showing them one of their scars…our scars are part of our story.
[27] but in all of the post resurrection narratives – Jesus has a glorified (difficult to recognize) body…but still has the scars that purchased our redemption.
[28] ESV is great for precision…but sometimes NIV just puts it closer to our cultural reality
[29] Gladiator slave market
[30] Cultural artifact where someone doesn’t have money but has something better: “shepherd book buying his way onto Serenity”
[31] (it isn’t lead by a white dude – or some olive skinned dude…or a duide of any hue…but a scarred lamb with 7 eyes and 7 horns)
[32] Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell – the slave who became king…is us
[33] Another GOT connection – the diversity of houses and power brokers – it takes a wise king (or a sham marriage) to hold that together…and only a wise, just, and loved (not to mention, powerful) king to hold it together well
[34] I applied to college as an art major…but I also loved composition.
[35] For you engineers, you might wonder how a a less than symbol functions in a musical score…it has another meaning
[36] …and the sloths and the groundhogs and the breakfast cereals…Monte Python
[37] The NT doesn’t teach Trinity explicitly…but it is the only implication that accounts for the data
[38] Paul, unsurprisingly, is not nearly as parsimonious as Peter or John…but builds the same basic idea into his greeting.
[39] Amanda and I had tickets to one of these shows. In the middle of an almost indescribably busy spring quarter, we set aside a Thursday evening, got a baby sitter and drove down to Berkeley. As we approached the Garden, the atmosphere was electreic. It was an almost perfect evening for an outdoor concert. A great venue. The music of the opening band spilled over the wall as we stood in line. Then, the woman at the gate scanned our tickets. Then she scanned them again. Then she looked at them. Our tickets were for Wednesday. No refunds or exchanges. We drove home.
So, I feel like I can pretty much imagine that concert any freaking way I want to.
[40] I actually have a theory that “Broken Crowns” and “Below my Feet” are actually paired tracks…with the former stating the problem and the latter, resolving it.
[41] F-Bombs optional.
