The Lamb Christology of the Apocalypse of John
An Investigation into Its Origins and Rhetorical Force
by Loren L. Johns
This is a study of the symbolic meaning of arnion (lamb) in the Apocalypse of John as the central feature of the Christology of Revelation. Loren L. Johns argues that arnion did not refer to an aggressive, militant ram in extant Greek literature prior to the Apocalypse, nor did it normally denote the expiatory sacrificial lamb. Rather, it symbolized vulnerability in the extant literature.The author examines the symbolic antecedents of arnion in the Hebrew Bible, while ranging throughout the literary evidence from the ancient Near East and the Greco-Roman era, even touching on the evidence from Homer and Aesop’s Fables traditions. He analyzes closely the evidence that has been offered in support of a militant lamb-redeemer figure in the apocalyptic traditions of Early Judaism and concludes that none of the writings that predate the Apocalypse and that are cited in support of this tradition is free from Christian editorializing. Furthermore, the Christology of the Apocalypse is not militant. The blood on the lamb in Rev. 19 is not from the defeated enemies of God; it is from the slaughter of the lamb.Loren L. Johns concludes that the Lamb Christology of the Apocalypse has an ethical force – that the author develops his Lamb Christology specifically to encourage his audience to the kind of faithful witness that he was convinced would result in their death as innocent lambs in much the same way that Jesus’ witness did.
- By (author) Loren L Johns
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The Shema and The First Commandment in First Corinthians
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Colometric Analysis of Paul’s Letters
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Communal Participation in the Spirit
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Portraits of Paul’s Performance in the Book of Acts
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The Doubt of the Apostles and the Resurrection Faith of the Early Church
The Post-Resurrection Appearance Stories of the Gospels in Ancient Reception and Modern Debate
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Semantik und Ethik des Wortfeldes ‘Ergon’ im Johannesevangelium
Kontexte und Normen neutestamentlicher Ethik / Contexts and Norms of New Testament Ethics, Band VIII
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Der Hohepunkt des Hebraerbriefs
Hebraer 12,18-29 und seine Bedeutung fur die Struktur und die Theologie des Hebraerbriefs
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The Gospel of Peter and Early Christian Apologetics
Rewriting the Story of Jesus' Death, Burial, and Resurrection
Volume 301
Abraham’s Faith in Romans 4
Paul's Concept of Faith in Light of the History of Reception of Genesis 15:6
Makrothymia im Neuen Testament
Semantik und Ethik einer vergessenen ethischen Norm. Kontexte und Normen neutestamentlicher Ethik / Contexts and Norms of New Testament Ethics. Band XV
Intercession of Jesus in Hebrews
The Background and Nature of Jesus' Heavenly Intercession in the Epistle to the Hebrews
Volume 585
Participation, Justification, and Conversion
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Temporal Dimensions of the Apocalypse
Ancient Christian Reception and Contemporary Hermeneutical Reflections
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