Ruling With The Lion
And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. Revelation 5:5 (KJV)
Christ is pictured here as a lion. It speaks of rulership; a king who rules. The lion is the king of the beasts. Christ is depicted as the One who will rule on the earth. There is no one greater. He prevails and is enthroned to rule. And we rule with Him. Romans 5:17 says we reign in life as kings.
It also points to His royalty. Jesus is the King of kings; King over all kings. The kings it speaks of refers to two things: Christians, since we are kings, and governments of the world, His authority is over all of them. There are both good and bad governments and Christ is King over all. I Peter 5:8 refers to satan AS a lion. it does not say that he IS a lion because Jesus overcame him.
Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Genesis 49:8-10 (KJV)
Judah means praised one or praise. The other tribes would respect Judah because it was where the Messiah, Jesus, the Lion of the tribe of Judah would come from. According to Psalm 22:3, God inhabits or is enthroned in our praises, thus Christ the King comes in and makes us kings. As we praise Him, the Lion of Judah roars in the midst of our praises. His praise is our victory. Christ rules in our praises as the King, the Lion of the tribe of Judah.
The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion. Proverbs 28:1 (KJV)
We, the righteous, are as bold as a lion; we back down from no one for Jesus is on our side. This makes us bold to preach the Gospel.
And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. Acts 4:31 (KJV)
Like lions, we don’t cower, but we move forward- on the prowl to proclaim Christ. As we speak, God’s Word comes forth with boldness. We are bold to believe God for mighty things and to take steps of faith to see God move.
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. I John 4:18 (KJV)
We are fearless, for God’s love has cast fear out. Fear runs, but lions run from no one. A lion is strong, and we are strong in the Lord and the power of His might. We are strong to stand and fight for what belongs to us. (Ephesians 6:10-18).
A lion is fast. He catches what he pursues. Like Elijah, we move quickly by God’s Spirit to reach our destination. We are quick to chase after God. We run hard after the things of God. We run with the finish line in sight. We run to gain the prize; to obtain all God has called us to and to receive our reward in Christ (I Corinthians 9:24-27, Hebrews 12:1-2).
A lion is courageous. We have courage to face any foe and defeat him.
Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper withersoever thou goest. Joshua 1:6-7 (KJV)
A lion stands for royalty and so much more. King Jesus is the King of kings. We are kings and we will reign with Christ for 1,000 years and then forever!
