"What did ""Lamb"" symbolize in the ancient near Eastern world? What did it convey to the first-century audience of the Revelation? And why did the author use this symbol? Loren J. Johns analyzes the symbolic meaning of apviov in the Apocalypse of John as the Central feature of the Christology of Revelation."

Although the Apostle John endorses "Lamb" twenty-nine times in his Apocalypse and employs a term that is used only one other time in the New Testament to this end, this unique title and its sophisticated christological implications has only received cursory attention both historically and more recently. Even then, incomplete/monochromatic interpretations of the unique verbiage John employs to describe Christ are reached. After identifying this clearing that exists in the christological forest, this book reaches a robust understanding of Revelation's Lamb by means of a contextual-grammatical-canonical-historical hermeneutic. Ultimately, this monograph concludes that the apostle's use of Lamb throughout his Apocalypse promotes a multifaceted christological presentation of John's protagonist that is dependent on the paradoxical theme of glory in humility--a theme that is introduced when the Lamb first emerges in Revelation 5 and is then reiterated every time the title is used thereafter. In so doing, this work offers students and scholars alike a better understanding of who is coming in the end and what this means for the church at present.

Revision of the author's thesis (Ph.D.)--Princeton Theological Seminary, 1998.

That the Apocalypse of John is a “Revelation of Jesus Christ” (Rev 1:1) is a fact too often overlooked by interpreters of this last book of the Bible. As Msgr. A. Robert Nusca’s The Christ of the Apocalypse: Contemplating the Faces of Jesus in the Book of Revelation proposes, beyond predictions of earthquakes and falling stars, St. John articulates from start to finish a multifaceted and compelling portrait of Jesus Christ. Nusca offers an exegetical reading of selected verses of the Book of Revelation, incorporating rich spiritual and pastoral reflections. The Christ of the Apocalypse above all affirms that St. John’s God- and Christ-centered, symbolic universe offers our contemporary world a spiritual place to stand amid the shifting sands of postmodernity. As Cardinal Thomas Collins, Archbishop of Toronto, writes in his Foreword, “Now, as in the first century, Christians face martyrdom, and those who are not called to die for Christ are called to live for Christ in a world which in many ways rejects the Gospel. More than ever, we need the apocalyptic vision, to have our own vision of reality clarified, and to be strengthened in our evangelical witness.”

Matthias Reinhard Hoffmann identifies an angelomorphic portrait of Christ in certain passages of Revelation and provides possible reasons for the inclusion of an angelomorphic Christology: Angelomorphic Christology is not regarded as an isolated christological concept. In turn, the author compares angelomorphic Christology with the prominent Lamb Christology of Revelation. A comparison of these concepts reveals that both Lamb and angelomorphic Christology serve the purpose of contrasting different functions of Christ. The functions correspond with the implied perception of Christ by his followers on the one hand and his opponents on the other. Accordingly, Christ appears to be an eschatological juridical figure (described in angelomorphic patterns) to his opposition, while he is perceived as salvific redeemer (in form of the Lamb) by those who believe in him. Such a christological perspective draws on traditions from the Exodus narrative, namely the features of the Passover Lamb and the Destroying Angel. Further, equality between God and Christ is established despite an angelomorphic portrait of Christ: especially those passages describing Christ as the Lamb put him on par with God. But also within visions with an angelomorphic description of Christ, his status as superior to angels and as an equal to God is displayed.

This book, first published in 1997, examines the influence of angelology on the christology of the Apocalypse of John. In the Apocalypse, Jesus appears in glorious form reminiscent of angels in Jewish and Christian literature in the period between 200 BCE and 200 CE. Dr Carrell asks what significance this has for the christology of the Apocalypse. He concludes that by portraying Jesus in such a way that he has the form and function of an angel, and yet is also divine, the Apocalypse both upholds monotheism and at the same time provides a means for Jesus to be presented in visible, glorious form to his Church.