Journal of the Adventist Theological Society, 28/2 (2017): 34-49.

Article copyright © 2017 by Larry L. Lichtenwalter.

Atonement in Revelation—Part I:
Love, Substitution, Liberation, Doxology

Larry L. Lichtenwalter
Middle East University
Beirut, Lebanon

The Lamb Motif

The death of Jesus Christ plays a pivotal role in John’s Apocalypse.1
It’s vision of “a “Lamb standing, as if slain” (5:6) sits at the book’s
theological/ethical heart2 and introduces the central motif and vehicle for
atonement theology in Revelation3—“the Lamb.”4 There is a far-reaching
theology of atonement (and Christology)5 in the imagery of Jesus as “the

1
See Loren L. Johns, “Atonement and Sacrifice in the Book of Revelation,” in The
Work of Jesus Christ in Anabaptist Perspective: Essays in Honor of J. Denny Weaver (ed.
Alain Epp Weaver and Gerald J. Mast; Telford, PA: Cascadia Publishing House, 2008).
2
Loren L. Johns, “The Origins and Rhetorical Force of the Lamb Christology of the
Apocalypse of John” (Princeton Theological Seminary, 1998) 197, 198; Loren L. Johns, The
Lamb Christology of the Apocalypse of John: An Investigation Into Its Origins & Rhetorical
Force (vol. Reihe 167; Tübingen: Paul Mohr Siebeck, 2003), 159.
3
Charles E. Hill. “Atonement in the Apocalypse of John,” in The Glory of Atonement:
Biblical Historical and Practical Perspectives (ed. Charles E. Hill and Frank A. James;
Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2004), 190.
4
The phrase “the Lamb” (arnion) occurs twenty-nine times in reference to Christ (5:6,
8, 12, 13; 6:1, 16; 7:9, 10, 14, 17; 12:11; 13:8; 14:1, 4(2x), 10; 15:3; 17:14; 19:7, 9; 21:9,
14, 22, 23, 27; 22:1, 3) only in the apocalyptic section of Revelation (Rev 4-22a) although
not in all chapters (i.e., 9-11, 16, 18, 20) or in either the prologue or epilogue. See
discussion Ekkehardt Mueller, “Christological Concepts in the Book of Revelation–Part 1:
Jesus in the Apocalypse,” Journal of the Adventist Theological Society, 21, no. 1-2 (2010):
292, 293.
5
See ibid., 276-305; Ekkehardt Mueller, “Christological Concepts in the Book of
Revelation–Part 2: Christ’s Divinity,” Journal of the Adventist Theological Society, 22, no.
1 (2011): 66-83; Ekkehardt Mueller, “Christological Concepts in the Book of
Revelation–Part 3: The Lamb Christology,” Journal of the Adventist Theological Society,
22, no. 2 (2011): 42-66.

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 LICHTENWALTER: ATONEMENT IN REVELATION
Lamb”: lending to both his title and his work a vicarious and sacrificial
capacity that cannot be successfully denied.6 The designation stresses the
redeeming work of the Lamb, uniting vicarious suffering and victorious
power, sovereign kingship and redemption—and in the process theodicy.7
It underscores the holistic nature, cosmic dimension, historicity, and
universal application of Christ’s death. The sufferings of Christ are
portrayed as an act in time, which has eternal significance.8 His death is
both a historic fact,9 and an eternal fact (13:8). It is permanent: never
needing repeating (5:6; cf., Heb 9:28).10 It is unique, efficacious, a mystery
that challenges our reflection (cf. Heb 2:9; 5:11). Within the book’s cosmic
conflict narrative, it is THE unequivocal turning point of salvation history.11
Because of his death, Christ is not only the Lord of history and human
destiny but also the exalted focus of celebratory worship (5:9-14; 6:1-8:1).
Thus, a remarkable theology of atonement unfolds in
Revelation—expressed in apocalyptic visions, explained in angelic
interpretations, wrapped in a collage of evocative biblical allusions, set
against a tapestry of both cosmic and existential realities, nuanced by Old
Testament sacrificial cultic imagery, sung in praises of heavenly choirs, and
contemplated in John’s own reflections of the revelations he received.12
But what is meant by “atonement”? How does John’s apocalypse
unfold its meaning—theologically, existentially, cosmically? It is argued
that both atonement and sacrifice (or sacrificial) are slippery words that
require careful definition and qualification—especially when examining
themes of atonement and sacrifice in Revelation.13 It is also asserted that
6
H. D. McDonald, The Atonement of the Death of Christ: In Faith, Revelation, and
History (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1985), 73.
7
Ibid., 79.
8
5:9; 12:10; 13:8. Ibid., 80.
9
Jesus was crucified (11:8); pierced (1:7); died (1:18; 2:8); resurrected (1:5, 18; 2:8);
exalted (5:1-14).
10
The Lamb had been “slain,” but, amazingly, it was “standing” (v. 6). Both verbs are
perfect tense forms, suggesting the abiding effects of the actions.
11
5:1-10; 12:10-13; 13:8. Eugene H. Peterson, Reversed Thunder: The Revelation of
John & the Praying Imagination (San Francisco, CA: HarperSanFrancisco, 1988), 153;
David M. May, Revelation: Weaving a Tapestry of Hope (Macon, GA: Smyth & Helwys,
2001), 92. In the centerpoint of the book, between its inclusio “grace markers” (Rev. 1:4;
22:21), a loud voice in heaven announces with triumphant song God’s victory over Satan’s
rule, the inauguration of God’s rule in the world, and Christ’s kingly authority (Rev. 12:10-
12). This is the cross event with substitutionary implications (Rev. 12:11; cf. 5:6-10).
12
Hill, “Atonement in the Apocalypse of John, 190.
13
Johns, “Atonement and Sacrifice in the Book of Revelation,” 124.

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the relationship between sacrifice and atonement in Revelation is “fraught
with terminological challenges.”14 Indeed there are many definitions of
atonement.15 Undoubtedly a theologian/exegete’s own biases or heritage
regarding atonement can unwittingly nuance him or her toward certain
conclusions when exploring Revelation’s meaning. Uncovering the real
meaning of the text is always challenging. Then too, one can make
sacrificial language too monochrome.16 Revelation itself however, makes
obvious the fact that the biblical witness of the atonement is astonishingly
rich, complex, vibrant.
Two broad understandings of what atonement signifies in Revelation
compete for primacy: 1) whether atonement in Revelation “signifies
primarily a sacrificial death that expiates sin and puts humanity right with
God”;17 or 2) whether it refers to “the larger cosmological significance of
Christ’s death as it relates to the overcoming of evil and the working out of
God’s purposes on earth.”18 The former would see atonement as
14
Ibid., 129. Johns states: “While it is certainly true that the slaughter of the lamb is
central to the rhetorical force of the image, it is not true that expiation is. In fact, the logic
and language of slaughter as expiatory sacrifice are quite rare in the Apocalypse, while the
logic and language of slaughter as political resistance and martyrdom are common. Because
‘sacrificial’ language is imprecise and often implies a sacrificial force, such language should
be avoided with reference to the Apocalypse” ibid., 161.
15
i.e., recapitulation, ransom, moral influence, satisfaction, substitution, governmental,
mystical, non-violent, etc. See McDonald, The Atonement of the Death of Christ: In Faith,
Revelation, and History, 115-341; Charles E. Hill ed. The Glory of the Atonement: Biblical,
Historical & Practical Perspectives: Essays in Honor of Roger Nicole (ed.; Downers Grove,
IL: Intervarsity Press, 2004), 209-404 ; Norman R. Gulley, Systematic Theology: Creation,
Christ, Salvation (vol. 3; Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University Press, 2012), 601-654;
Darrin W. Snyder Belousek, Atonement, Justice, and Peace: The Message of the Cross and
the Mission of the Church (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company,
2012); Adonis Vidu, Atonement, Law, and Justice: The Cross in Historical and Cultural
Contexts (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2014); Jeremy R. Treat, The Crucified King:
Atonement and Kingdom in Biblical and Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI:
Zondervan, 2014); Sharon L. Baker, Executing God: Rethinking Everything You’ve Been
Taught about Salvation and the Cross (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press,
2013).
16
Johns, “Atonement and Sacrifice in the Book of Revelation,” 129.
17
Ibid.
18
Ibid. See J. Denny Weaver, The Nonviolent Atonement (Grand Rapids, MI:
Eerdmans, 2001); Sigve K. Tonstad, Saving God’s Reputation: The Theological Function
of Pistis Iesou in the Cosmic Narratives of Revelation (New York, NY: T & T Clark
International, 2006); Sigve K. Tonstad, “The Book of Revelation and Reality,” Ministry
Magazine, (January 2010): 22-24. Johns argues: “At one level the difference lies between
different theories of the atonement—especially between Anselm’s satisfaction theory and

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 LICHTENWALTER: ATONEMENT IN REVELATION
substitutionary19 and thus relating to realities of human sin and the need for
personal redemption. This includes both objective and subjective aspects
of atonement. The latter would be revelatory, relating primarily to
questions of theodicy and the reputation/character of God (including
substitution but not the emphasis or center). The latter also often sees
Christ’s death as exemplary—a model for believers to follow.20 It is tacit
“anti-sacrificial,”21 “anti-substitutionary,” “non-violent.”22
We will explore this tension, suggesting that it is not an either/or, but
rather two aspects of a unified whole in the Book of Revelation and that the
movement is that substitution by the blood of the Lamb vindicates God’s
character. A third aspect of atonement will come into view in the process,
i.e., how that substitution by the blood of the Lamb brings about the
salvation of God’s people including their change of status within God’s
sovereign reign in the Great Controversy. Both theodicy and redemption
are substitutionary based and the latter is part of the movement towards the

the Christus Victor theory. At another level the difference lies between the personal or
individual appropriation of the power of the cross on the one hand, and the broader
cosmological or social significance of the power of the cross on the other. At yet a third
level, the difference is between a unique, once-for-all event and an exemplary event that is
to be emulated by those who follow the Lamb wherever he goes” (Johns, “Atonement and
Sacrifice in the Book of Revelation,” 125).
19
The meaning of substitutionary: “The word substitutionary, properly understood,
applies solely to Christ’s taking out place at the cross, doing for us what we could never do
for ourselves, that is perish in the second death (Rev. 20:6) and yet live again. He paid the
wages of sin (Rom. 6:23), so that we do not have to, and gave us eternal life. In paying the
price for our sins, He alone could be our substitute. He had to be God in order to pa the debt
and live beyond the grave; He had to be human to die our death, so that we can live beyond
the grave . . . This is the most glorious good news—the wondrous exchange: ‘God made him
who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God’
(2 Cor. 5:21).” Gulley, Systematic Theology: Creation, Christ, Salvation, 625.
20
Johns, “Atonement and Sacrifice in the Book of Revelation,” 125. Johns asserts
“Jesus’ death is consistently tied to language of witness and victory in the Apocalypse.
Atonement for sins is not in view,” Johns, The Lamb Christology of the Apocalypse of John:
An Investigation Into Its Origins & Rhetorical Force, 169.
21
Johns, “Atonement and Sacrifice in the Book of Revelation,” 129-133.
22
Non-violent atonement theories press for priority against the apparent assumptions
and accommodation of violence in traditional atonement motifs. There is desire to mitigate
any sense of redemption and reconciliation that is born from divine violence. God did not
want or need the death of Jesus in order to offer grace or forgiveness of sins. Christ’s self-
sacrifice and substitution for sinners is either marginalized or negated. For contemporary
examples see, Weaver, The Nonviolent Atonement; Baker, Executing God: Rethinking
Everything You’ve Been Taught about Salvation and the Cross. For critique see, Gulley,
Systematic Theology: Creation, Christ, Salvation, 648-650.

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former. This will be a three-part discussion accordingly: atonement as
substitution, atonement and salvation, atonement and theodicy.

Beginning At the Beginning

This first article explores the theological significance of Christ’s death
as it relates to these differing perspectives—and in the process, asks: “How
should the themes of sacrifice and atonement be best understood in
Revelation?” As the book’s central motif and vehicle for atonement
theology is the imagery of “the Lamb,”23 key passages in which the term
“Lamb” is found will be examined.24 Because Revelation purposely places
the concept of “blood” in close relationship to the Lamb’s person and
work—it is “the blood of the Lamb” (α͵α τοØ •ρνίου, 7:14; 12:11), “your
blood” (τè α˵ατί σου, 5:9), “his blood” (τè α˵ατι αÛτοØ, 1:5)—we will
measure its rhetorical force in pressing the sacrificial realities and
substitutionary atonement implications of the book’s Lamb motif.
The symbol of blood is clearly important in the book of Revelation as
demonstrated by the number of occurrences (nineteen) and its use
throughout the book in a variety of contexts.25 Revelation’s blood “is not
a ‘static’ or a one-dimensional literary motif. It is a dynamic symbol of life
and death, which draws the reader’s attention to issues of the sacred and
profane, purity and pollution, deliverance and judgment.”26 It is a
focalizing, “dominant ritual symbol.”27 We will ask about its implications
with respect to sin being atoned for.28
Finally, we begin our discussion of the atonement in Revelation where
John begins: with a doxology of praise for liberation from our sins through

23
Hill, “Atonement in the Apocalypse of John,” 190.
24
5:6-14; 7:9-15; 12:10-13; 17:14.
25
1:5; 5:9; 6:10, 12; 7:14; 8:7-8; 11:6; 12:11; 14:20; 16:3-4, 6; 17:6; 18:24; 19:2, 13
26
K. C. Hanson, “Blood and Purity in Leviticus and Revelation,” Listening: Journal
of Religion and Culture, 28, (1993): 215.
27
Victor Turner, The Forest of Symbols: Aspects of Ndembu Ritual (Ithica, NY: Cornell
University Press, 1967), 27-29. According to Hanson, “Blood (in both ancient Israelite and
Christian usage) compresses multiple meanings in one referent, for example: murder,
sacrifice, pollution. Context is everything in determining its significance and emotive power.
It also unifies and focalizes a variety of phenomena, such as menstruation, animal slaughter,
ritual purification, and legal culpability. The polarization of meaning to which Turner refers
is between the principles of social organization and moral values (the ideological pole), and
the natural and physical properties (the sensory pole)” (Hanson, “Blood and Purity in
Leviticus and Revelation,” 215).
28
1:5; 5:9; 7:14; 12:11.

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 LICHTENWALTER: ATONEMENT IN REVELATION
Jesus’ blood (1:5). It is hermeneutically significant that the prevailing
context or framework for the atonement theology of Revelation is
doxology; that is, atonement imagery/themes occur in expressions of praise
to Christ.29 It is significant, too, that “though the central motif and vehicle
for atonement theology in Revelation is the image of the slain Lamb,
atonement language in Revelation precedes the appearance of the Lamb in
the visions.”30 The doxology of Revelation 1:5-6 then, has both an
introductory and a summarizing quality when seen in the light of other
atonement related passages in the rest of the book. For the reader, this
hymn is the first thing he or she encounters of Revelation’s atonement
language. As such it becomes foundational for understanding the atonement
in the rest of the book.31
This observation highlights the hermeneutical importance of both
Revelation’s introduction and conclusion. The book’s introduction (1:1-8)
forms a thematic inclusio with the epilogue (22:6-21). Major themes that
will define the book are introduced and then concluded in the epilogue.32
Introductions give clues and provide understanding for what unfolds.
When confronted with possible nuances of apocalyptic imagery (in this case
the Lamb motif), the introduction has already pointed toward the intended
meanings. One of those meanings obviously relates to our question of
where the focus of Revelation’s atonement imagery might lay: either
towards the personal and substitutionary (being right with God), or towards
the cosmic (theodicy, God’s reputation, the expunging of evil), or perhaps
both. Before the book plunges its readers into apocalyptic visions with their
cosmic narrative, it is the very human and personal existential realities of
that metanarrative that are first highlighted. It is as if the larger narrative
somehow has meaning on the personal level first. Or at the least, that in
some profound way cosmic matters and their solutions would be hollow
without corresponding personal human relevance. At least this is where
Revelation’s atonement theology begins.
Revelation’s geographic sweep comprises the local, regional, global,
and the cosmic (in relation to both heaven and the earth). But there is also

29
1:5; 5:9-10, 12; 7:9-14; 12:10-12; 15:3-4; 16:5-7; 19:1-7
30
Hill, “Atonement in the Apocalypse of John,” 190.
31
Ibid., 191. Johns incorrectly downplays the important role Revelation 1:5 plays in
Revelation’s atonement theology, both by way of its reference to sin and sacrificial
implications (Johns, “Atonement and Sacrifice in the Book of Revelation,” 128).
32
Grant R. Osborne, Revelation (ed. Moisés Silva; Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic,
2002), 50.

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the geography of the human heart.33 The book begins with the personal and
existential34 and then, dynamically moves back and forth from various
aspects of human and cosmic moral/spiritual realities. In the conclusion,
there is return to the personal, individual, existential—focusing again
clearly on matters of sin and atonement.35 This reminds the reader that one’s
personal life in a profound way mirrors and unfolds the cosmic conflict
between Christ and Satan. That somehow our own fortunes are integrally
tied with those of the Lamb. The epic battles unfolding within the book
encompass private heart battlefields of sin, fear, rebellion, and unbelief.
It appears that no matter how large the cosmological significance of
Christ’s death as it relates to the overcoming of evil, the working out of
God’s purposes on earth, or the vindication of the character and reputation
of God, there is reference to individual believer’s sins being atoned by the
blood of Christ.36 Christ’s death is concerned primarily with the once-for-
all sacrifice that puts humanity right with God. The reader intuits this
personal reality. The text leaves us with a feeling that somehow the fortunes
of God are inextricably linked to ours, and that our fortunes are linked with
that of the Lamb, and heaven’s fortunes linked with ours. Here the vicarious
and sacrificial capacity of Christ’s death looms large. It is indeed a mystery
that challenges our reflection.

Threefold Doxology
John’s first doxology praises Jesus for His redeeming work in relation
to His followers: “the language is Johannine” and “is intimately connected
with the primary themes in the book.”37
To the one loving us (1:5)
And has freed us from our sins by his blood (1:5)
And made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and father
(1:6)
—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1:6)

33
2:23; 3:20; 6:16, 17; 22:11, 12.
34
1:3, 5, 7.
35
22:7,11-12,14-15,17,18-19.
36
1:5; 5:9; 7:14; 12:11.
37
Osborne, Revelation, 59.

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 LICHTENWALTER: ATONEMENT IN REVELATION
The threefold doxology38 unfolds important themes within the book’s
aton ement th eology: divin e love, h u ma n s i n , b lood
(sacrificial/substitutionary), liberation from sin’s bondage through the
shedding of blood, a new status in relation to God and the world as a result
of the shed blood, and theodical worship.39 These themes set the stage for
understanding the apocalyptic images, which appear later. In particular
they help prepare the reader for the striking introduction of the image of the
Lamb later in Revelation 5.40
The doxology nuances an understanding of the atonement in two related
directions. The first has to do with God: His love for us—the divine motive
that lies behind our atonement. The second are expressions that affirm
God’s character and sovereign reign over all, and which springs from a
heart of gratitude, wonder, and surrender. These are significant relational
images within the book’s cosmic conflict narrative, questions of theodicy,
and atonement themes. The heart, character and reputation of God are the
clear focus. Love indicates matters of the divine character and motive.
Liberation speaks to the salvific reality of atonement. Blood speaks to
matters of instrument of atonement. Doxology returns to divine character,
being and justice—theodicy.
The present substantival participle (tō agapōnti, the one who loves) is
an all-embracing concept that summarizes Christ’s past love leading to His
sacrificial death,41 His present love, and his future love seen in the defeat of
the forces of evil. It is love that is current, continuous, compelling,
real—and intensely personal. It is love that encompasses our past, our
present, and our every tomorrow. So also does the Lamb’s sacrificial death
as a historical event.42
This love that leads to the Lamb’s atoning death is no abstraction. Nor
is it elusive. It is personal. Real. It is born of love that longs to restore us so
that we can behold with wonder the face of Him who now loves us so

38
Stephen S. Smalley, The Revelation to John: Commentary on the Greek Text of the
Apocalypse (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005), 35; James L. Resseguie, The
Revelation of John: A Narrative Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2009),
67.
39
Doxology and theodicy are organically linked in Revelation. Doxology is the context
or framework in which theodicy issues are voiced, 1:5; 5:9-10, 12; 7:9-14; 12:10-12; 15:3-4;
16:5-7; 19:1-7.
40
Hill, “Atonement in the Apocalypse of John,” 195.
41
5:6, 9, 12; 7:14; 12:11; 13:8; cf. Rom. 8:37; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 5:2, 25.
42
cf. 12:10, 11; 13:8; 20:15; 22:27.

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deeply (Rev 22:4). While Revelation mentions divine love in only two other
places, an atmosphere of divine love permeates the book.43

Liberation from Sin

These doxological themes and images remind us that the matter of
God’s character, actions, and judgment are important themes in
Revelation.44 “John’s Revelation is, above all, a triumphant disclosure of
God’s love, expressed through his judgment.”45 The text however, reminds
us that this divine love was especially demonstrated in the Lamb’s atoning
blood that has freed us from our sins (1:5b). Christ’s work and its effects
are emphasized.46 The verb “loves” is paired with the next verb “freed” in
such a way that the first may be seen as the basis for the second.47 One sees
in the second the display of the first. Love is displayed in the redemptive
release from sin via sacrificial blood: “In the aorist (lysanti, loosed or freed)
the present love of Christ is exemplified in his past sacrificial death.”48
Revelation presents “the shed blood of Christ as the life of Jesus poured out
in substitution” and “understands that sacrifice as providing liberation from
sin and death.”49
Two phrases predominate in Revelation for this redemptive work, “the
slain Lamb”50 and the sacrificial “blood.”51 As noted above, the theme of
blood is a “dominant ritual symbol” in the Apocalypse.52 Here the emphasis
is on the “atoning effects” of Christ’s death, i.e., it “freed us from our sins”

43
Osborne, Revelation, 63, 64. See also Larry L. Lichtenwalter, Revelation’s Great
Love Story: More Than I Ever Imagined (Hagerstown, MD: Review & Herald Publishing
Association, 2008).
44
15:3, 4; 16:5-7; 19:1-6. Osborne, Revelation, 38. See discussion of theodicy in
John’s Apocalypse: Grant R. Osborne, “Theodicy in the Apocalypse,” Trinity Journal, 14,
(1993): 63-77; Tonstad, Saving God’s Reputation: The Theological Function of Pistis Iesou
in the Cosmic Narratives of Revelation.
45
Stephen S. Smalley, Thunder and Love: John’s Revelation and John’s Community
(Milton Keynes: Nelson Word, 1994), 147-149; Smalley, The Revelation to John:
Commentary on the Greek Text of the Apocalypse, 35.
46
Osborne, Revelation, 64.
47
Hill, “Atonement in the Apocalypse of John,” 191.
48
Osborne, Revelation, 64.
49
Paige Patterson, Revelation (ed. E. Ray Clendenen; vol. 39; Nashville, TN:
Broadman & Holman, 2012), 61.
50
5:6, 12; 13:8.
51
1:5; 5:9; 7:14; 12:11. Osborne, Revelation, 64.
52
See Hanson, “Blood and Purity in Leviticus and Revelation,” 215-230.

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(1:5b).53 This is the only place in the NT where lyō has redemptive
connotations.54 In addition, the concept of sin (hamartia) is found only
twice elsewhere in Revelation (18:4, 5) where it appears in relation to the
sins of the harlot Babylon. The implication and awesome wonder is that
“While the sins of the enemies of God continue to pile up in readiness for
divine judgment, the sins of those who have turned to God have already
been ‘loosed’ by the ‘blood’ of Christ.”55
The doxology’s language—“released us”—recalls the Exodus, the first
of several Exodus motif references in Revelation.56 At its core, Egypt
stands as a symbol of oppression, suffering, bondage, sin and the
brokenness of our world. The Exodus is seen as a story repeated in every
soul (and generation) that seeks deliverance from the enmeshing and
enervating influence of the world. Here it is specifically linked to the
reality of human sin. John’s doxology connects the blood/death of Jesus
directly with the severing of the hold of sin over us.57 The phrase “has
made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father” reflect the
eschatological aspect of Christ’s work.58 This is Exodus imagery.59
Revelation’s opening vision of atonement is thus linked to the
fundamental reality of human sin. It begins with the reality of human sin,
not objective or cosmic evil per se. This suggests that any dealing with evil
53
Osborne, Revelation, 64.
54
Karl Kertelge, “Luo,” Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament 2:368. “Luo” is
a cognate of the Greek redemption terms: “lytron”—means of redemption; and
“apolytrōsis”—setting free/release (ibid, 2:365-366, 368).
55
Osborne, Revelation, 64.
56
Resseguie, The Revelation of John: A Narrative Commentary, 67. Of all the New
Testament books, the Apocalypse uses the Exodus motif most thoroughly in its unfolding
theology and ethics. The Exodus symbolism in Revelation is both subtle and pervasive.
Where the Apocalypse’s Old Testament allusions are drawn from Isaiah or the Psalms, the
Exodus forms the moral/spiritual backdrop for the respective imagery, further portraying
Revelation’s underlying Exodus motif. See my discussion Larry L. Lichtenwalter. “Exodus
and Apocalypse: Deliverance Then and Now,” in Christ, Salvation and the Eschaton: Essays
in Honor of Hans K. LaRondelle (ed. Jiří Moskala Daniel Heinz, Peter van Bemmelen;
Berrien Springs, MI: Old Testament Department Seventh-day Adventist Theological
Seminary, Andrews University, 2009).
57
Hill, “Atonement in the Apocalypse of John,” 192.
58
Osborne, Revelation, 64.
59
See Lichtenwalter, “Exodus and Apocalypse: Deliverance Then and Now,” 393-396,
400-401; G. K. Beale, The Book of Revelation: A Commentary on the Greek Text (ed. I.
Howard Marshall and Donald A. Hagner; Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans
Publishing Company, 1999), 192; Resseguie, The Revelation of John: A Narrative
Commentary, 67.

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has the question of sin and its atonement as an integral element. In so doing,
the book “voices an atonement doctrine compatible with that found in
Paul.”60
It is suggested that, because reference to believer’s sins being atoned for
by the blood of Jesus occurs only once in Revelation (1:5b), sin is rarely if
ever seen as a “problem” that separates humanity from God. Rather, it is
suggested, the real problem is the presence of evil and the ongoing battle for
the establishment of God’s reign on earth.61 The text however, demonstrates
that John is quite aware of and accepts the idea that Christ’s death was
unique and efficacious—even vicarious—for the individual, particularly
within the context of the larger cosmic conflict. Appearing as it does in the
book’s introduction, it becomes a conceptual marker that guides the reader’s
understanding as the book unfolds.

Atoning Blood
The blood of Jesus occupies an important place in Revelation (as well
as in NT thought as a whole).62 One cannot read either the Exodus—on
which Revelation’s imagery is built—or the Apocalypse without being
confronted with the idea of “liberating blood.”63 As noted above, blood is
an extremely vivid part of the visual imagery of Revelation. It occurs
nineteen times.64 Sometimes it refers to a blood-red color. In describing the
wrath of God, bloody waters abound. Often, however, blood is a metaphor
for a “violent death.”65 Here it points to the violent death of Jesus on our
behalf.
Furthermore, Jesus is described as the Lamb twenty-seven times in
Revelation. The Lamb motif is the most profound description of Jesus and
first appears in Revelation chap. 5: “And I saw between the throne (with the
four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having
seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out
into all the earth.” (5:6). Revelation 13 refers to Jesus as “the lamb slain
from the foundation of the world” (13:8). Christ’s violent sacrificial death
is well summarized by the phrase “blood of the Lamb” (7:14; 12:11).

60
Patterson, Revelation, 61.
61
Johns, “Atonement and Sacrifice in the Book of Revelation,” 128.
62
Smalley, The Revelation to John: Commentary on the Greek Text of the Apocalypse,
35, 36.
63
Lichtenwalter, “Exodus and Apocalypse: Deliverance Then and Now,” 400.
64
1:5; 5:9; 6:10, 12; 7:14; 8:7, 8; 11:6; 12:11; 14:20; 16:3, 4, 6; 17:6; 18:24; 19:2, 13.
65
Hanson, “Blood and Purity in Leviticus and Revelation,” 215.

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Thus, like Exodus, the Apocalypse sets substitutionary atonement
squarely in the context of the cosmic conflict between Christ and Satan, and
the final exodus (15:1-4). The blood of Lamb, the death of Lamb, and the
saving power of the slain Lamb are recurring themes.66 It is a theme set
against a backdrop of warning trumpets, plagues of wrath, and heavenly
appeal. The Gospel call that celebrates the slain Lamb is the only solution.
One is invited to wash their robes in this liberating blood (7:14; 22:14).
Revelation outlines four realities of Christ’s atoning blood in the
believer’s life. Sin as enslaving bondage (1:5)—the Lamb’s Blood releases.
Sin as incalculable debt (5:9)—the Lamb’s Blood purchases. Sin as
moral/spiritual defilement (7:14)—the Lamb’s Blood cleanses. Sin as legal
guilt, condemnation, and shame (12:11)—the Lamb’s Blood justifies,
acquits, and removes shame so we can behold the face of God. Revelation
does not explain how these realities occur, but it affirms that they
do—through the Lamb’s blood.
In the imagery of John’s Revelation, the horrible effects of sin are more
than bondage or captivity. It is an incalculable debt. It is defilement. It
incurs legal guilt/shame.67 “You were slain, and with your blood purchased
men for God,” we hear the four living creatures and twenty-four elders sing
(5:9; cf. 14:3). The Lamb’s blood (death) “bought” people for God out of
every tribe and tongue and people and nation! Sin incurs a debt against
God’s holiness and justice, which has resulted in our being sold into slavery
or captivity. It’s a debt and bondage to sin that leads ultimately to death (cf.
Rom. 6:20-21, 23). There is no arbitrary cancellation of the debt. A price
is to be paid. The Lamb bought us out of captivity, paid the debt that had
bound us over to sin and death. This He did with the price of His precious
blood (Rev 5:9; cf. 1 Peter 1:18, 19). It is in keeping with what John writes
elsewhere: “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”
(Jn. 1:29).
In Revelation chapter 7 John sees a vision of this very multitude of
purchased people, a group “that no one could count, from every nation,
tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the
Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in
their hands” (7:9). Later these saints clothed in white are described as those
who have “come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their
robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (7:14).

66
1:5; 5:6, 9, 12; 12:11; 13:8.
67
Hill, “Atonement in the Apocalypse of John,” 207.

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Here we meet a paradox—blood that whitens. The redeemed wash their
robes white in the Lamb’s blood. Here we are dealing now with the idea of
sin, not as a debt or bondage, but sin as defilement. Sin renders sinners
impure and unfit for the presence of a holy God. The clothing metaphor
(here “robes”) represents one’s life, their character as reflected in thought,
values, and deeds. It relates to whom one is in his or her inner private
world, and all which one does because of what he or she is—being.68 White
garments symbolize righteous character.69 They symbolize a range of
positive meanings that include both ritual and moral holiness and purity.70
Revelation connects existentially with how sin defiles. How we can
have the inner sense that we are impure? Unfit for the presence of God?
We feel shame and guilt. Dirty. And our conscience accuses. John expresses
this truth of sin as defilement elsewhere when he writes: “if we walk in the
Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another,
and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 Jn. 1:7). In light
of Christ’s love and sacrifice, we are to think “How much more . . . will the
blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished
to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may
serve the living God!” (Heb. 9:14, NIV; cf. Rev. 7:14, 15). Revelation
touches on this phenomenon with the imagery of those who run from the
68
Revelation likewise employs “garments” or “robes” as metaphors for an individual’s
moral and spiritual condition and character (Rev. 3:5, 18; 4:4; 6:11; 7:9, 13, 14; 16:15; 17:4;
19:8; 22:14). Like in Zechariah 3:1-5 where the priest Joshua the high priest is depicted as
wearing dirty clothes while standing before the angel of the Lord. It is a metaphor for the
sins of both the priest and the people. The removal of these dirty clothes explicitly represents
the removal of both guilt and moral impurity as well as one becoming something new both
in character and life. See David E. Aune, Revelation 1-5 (ed. David A. Hubbard and Glenn
W. Barker; vol. 52; Dallas, TX: Word Books, Publisher, 1997), 222. In Joshua’s re-
commissioning, two conditions are laid down. If these conditions are fulfilled the he will
have two specific privileges. Eugene H. Merrill writes: “Having invested Joshua with pure,
clean clothes and a spotless turban, thereby signifying the removal of his ritual impurity,
YHWH reveals to him the meaning and purpose of what He has done. He has prepared him
for a larger role in the covenant community, provided Joshua meets the conditions of
obedience incumbent in that relationship. . . . Joshua has not been cleansed for nothing. He
must now respond to the act of grace by assuming the task to which his reinstatement has
called him. There are, however, two conditions that must be met, one having to do with his
way of life and the other with his specific vocation as a priest.” Eugene H. Merrill, An
Exegetical Commentary: Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1994),
137-139.
69
Beatrice S. Neall, The Concept of Character In The Apocalypse With Implications
For Character Education (Washington, D.C.: University Press of America, Inc, 1983), 121.
70
Aune, Revelation 1-5, 223.

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face of God and those who see his face (Rev. 6:17; 22:4). Revelation’s
garments of white are neither earned or self-made. Rather, they are
graciously given or offered to receptive people by God (Rev. 3:5, 18; 6:11;
19:8)—and predicated on the Lamb’s atoning blood.
Revelation’s imagery of sin incurring legal guilt focuses on accusation
and condemnation. In Revelation chapter 12 John sees a vision where the
great red dragon (Satan) is defeated explicitly in his role as accuser (12:7-
10). Each of the dragon’s names—the Devil and Satan (12:9)—has the
connotation of accuser or adversary. Accusations have to do with guilt, and
thus we are confronted with the idea of sin as legal transgression.71 In verse
11 the accuser—the one who would bring a charge against God’s
people—is decisively defeated. His claims in God’s court have been
stricken down through the blood of the Lamb. Christ’s death has justifying
power on behalf of the sinner. The language of the law court and legal guilt
is evidenced further in Revelation’s prevailing judgment theme where
record books are opened and everyone ultimately is held accountable and
judged by the things written therein.72
The epochal close to Revelation’s post-millennial judgment asserts, “if
anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into
the lake of fire” (20:15). One can easily focus on the negative here and miss
the book’s tacit promise that there had been beforehand (and for the reader,
presently) a way of escape for this profound existential moment at eternity’s
hinge. Only for those whose names are in “the book of life” will the last
judgment mean joyful vindication rather than shameful destruction.
We can only wonder, how the mere appearance of one’s name in “the
book of life” can counterbalance the damning evidence contained in the
book of our deeds (Rev. 20:12).73 It is because this “book of life” belongs
to the Lamb who has been slain in sacrifice for those listed in it (Rev. 13:8).
John later refers to it as the “Lamb’s book of life” (21:27) and links it also
with the cross (13:8).74
Substitutionary atonement and mediation are assumed in the imagery
of the Lamb’s book of life. Ultimately, it is the blood of Jesus that releases
one from this epochal judgment. Defiled, condemned, indebted and sold
into slavery, those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life have,
71
Hill, “Atonement in the Apocalypse of John,” 206.
72
14:7; 20:11-15; cf. 22:11, 12; 17:1-18:24; 19:1-2.
73
Dennis E. Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb: A Commentary on Revelation
(Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 2001), 85.
74
Osborne, Revelation, 180.

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by His blood, been purchased for God and installed by Christ as pure and
holy, acquitted priests in His kingdom (20:2-6; 5:9, 10; 1:5, 6). They are
cleansed from sin. Freed of shame, guilt, and condemnation. They have
become the Lamb’s spotless bride (19:7-8).
Being “released from our sins by his blood” at Revelation’s doxological
opening ultimately brings us to the reality of the “second death” at the
book’s closing.75 The horrible effects of sin as brute bondage, incalculable
debt, shameful defilement, and accusing legal guilt/shame all converge here
in a soul wrenching horror of darkness, dereliction, despair, and death from
which there is absolutely no escape, no resurrection—the “second death.”
The blood of Jesus releases us from it all!
Thus, atonement in Revelation is substitutionary.

Conclusion
For the reader, Revelation’s opening hymn is the first thing he or she
encounters of Revelation’s atonement language. As such it becomes
foundational for understanding the atonement in the rest of the book. The
substitutionary atonement of the Jesus is the most glorious good news—the
wondrous exchange: ‘God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that
in him we might become the righteousness of God’ (2 Cor. 5:21). It evokes
spontaneous doxological praise with implications which ripple throughout
Revelation’s cosmic conflict narrative: “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain
to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and
blessing” (5:12). It is both integrally linked to and foundational to other
nuanced aspects of atonement within the book—salvation and theodicy.
The redeeming substitution by the blood of the Lamb, unites vicarious
suffering and victorious power, sovereign kingship and redemption—and
in the process, enjoins theodicy and redemption.
Rhetorically placed in Revelation’s beginning, the reader is reminded
that one’s personal life in a profound way mirrors and unfolds the cosmic
conflict between Christ and Satan. It suggests that somehow our own
fortunes are integrally tied with those of the Lamb. The epic battles
unfolding within the book encompass private heart battlefields of sin, fear,
rebellion, and unbelief. It appears that no matter how large the cosmological
significance of Christ’s death as it relates to the overcoming of evil, the
working out of God’s purposes on earth, or the vindication of the character

75
See my discussion, Lichtenwalter, Revelation’s Great Love Story: More Than I Ever
Imagined, 28-43.

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and reputation of God, there is reference to individual believer’s sins being
atoned by the blood of Christ. Christ’s death is concerned primarily with
the once-for-all sacrifice that puts humanity right with God. The reader
intuits this personal reality. The text leaves us with a feeling that somehow
the fortunes of God are inextricably linked to ours, and that our fortunes are
linked with that of the Lamb, and heaven’s fortunes linked with ours. Here
the vicarious and sacrificial capacity of Christ’s death looms large. It is
indeed a mystery that challenges our reflection.

Larry L. Lichtenwalter is Dean of Philosophy and Theology and the Director of

the Institute for Islamic and Arabic Studies at Middle East University in Beirut,
Lebanon. He is a preacher, pastor, systematic theologian, author, and holds a Ph.D.
in Christian ethics. [email protected]

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