The Sacrificial Symbolism of the Lamb in the Book of Revelation

Although ‘the Lamb’ is the most important designation for Jesus Christ in the book of Revelation, the full significance of this sacrificial metaphor is still uncertain. In recent years, some scholars have given up looking for specific allusions to the OT sacrificial cult. However, little scholarly attention has been given to OT cultic allusions which surround the Lamb in the liturgical setting of Revelation. It is proposed that a clarification of the cultic symbolism of these liturgical visions would also help to deepen our understanding of the sacrificial metaphor of the Lamb. To this end, we present a comparison of the main liturgical features of Revelation with accounts of the daily liturgical activity in the second temple at Jerusalem, and with the specific liturgical rites on the annual Day of Atonement. By means of this comparison, we find that the heavenly liturgy described in Revelation represents a simplification of the liturgy that was performed in the Jerusalem temple on the annual Day of Atonement, and that the Lamb corresponds to the first sacrifice on that day—the continual holocaust or Tamid sacrifice of the daily morning service.