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“And
I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to
open the scroll and break its seals?’ And no one in heaven or on earth
or under the earth was able to open the scroll. . . And between the throne
and the four living creatures I saw a Lamb, standing, as if it had been
slain.” (REV. 5:2)
The very fact of our Lord’s ascension into Heaven, and
His “sitting at the right hand of the Father,” is the source of great
joy and profound optimism to the faithful believers. What happened when
our Lord returned to Heaven? Revelation gives us some insight.
St. John, the spiritual leader of the churches of Asia Minor had
been taken from his churches and exiled to the tiny island of Patmos,
in the Mediterranean Sea. Sunday morning comes a time when he is normally
preparing himself to celebrate the Holy Eucharist with his faithful gathering.
Closed around by his own gloom, he is startled by a voice as loud as a
trumpet, behind him. It is the Lord Himself, radiant and transformed in
appearance, who takes him to an open door in Heaven for a view of the
Heavenly Court.
After he does his best to adequately describe the scene before
him: the Throne of the Father, the twenty-four presbyters, the four living
creatures and the host of angels, he hears a challenge by a mighty angel:
“Who is worthy to open the seals of the scroll?” (Upon which is written
the prophecy of the destiny of the universe.)
Nobody in Heaven or on earth was worthy to reveal the future, and
John wept, for not even one person had been found worthy. Except, in the
center of the Heavenly court, a Lamb was standing as though it had been
slain.
Jesus is that Lamb of God, “Who takes away the sins of the world.”
The image of the lamb comes from the prophecy of Isaiah:
“He was oppressed and afflicted, and he opened not his mouth. Like
a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is dumb before
its shearers, so he opened not his mouth.” (Isaiah 53: 7)
The Lamb has already been sacrificed. Now He is standing, erect
and triumphant, glowing with life. The place where he stands is carefully
noted; directly in the center of the Heavenly court, in the midst of every
living being, between the Throne of the Father and the living creatures.
This is the position of a priest who is offering a sacrifice.
The ascension of Jesus Christ is the return of the Son of God to
the Father, in the triumph of fulfillment. Before He sits at the right
hand of the Father, he offers for all time a single sacrifice for sins;
“For by a single offering He has perfected for all time those who are
sanctified.” (Heb. 10: 14.)
The Ascension is at once the fulfillment of God’s plan for salvation
of mankind, and the promise of the Gift of the Holy Spirit, who will come
to abide in all who call themselves by the name of Jesus Christ, by Holy
Baptism. The specific work of the Messiah is accomplished; now He will
work in us, dignifying us with the responsibility for bringing the people
of the earth to the Father in His Name, through the Holy Spirit at work
in our members.
With the Ascension, then, all is accomplished.
From Word
Magazine
Publication of the Antiochian Orthodox
Christian Archdiocese of North America
May 1969
p. 8
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