"The Lamb Slain From The Foundation Of The World"

Revelation 13:8

Don Fortner

Though he did not come until after the world had existed for four thousand years, Christ is described as "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" because he offered himself to God as a sin-atoning sacrifice for his people from the beginning.

In the prophetic scriptures of the Old Testament Christ was presented as one already sacrificed for us. Other prophetic scriptures speak of things to be done in the future. When the prophets spoke of our Savior's incarnation, his exaltation and his second coming, these things were looked upon and spoken of as events to be accomplished in the future. But when the prophets spoke of the sacrificial death of Christ and the atonemet of sin by his blood, it was looked upon and spoken of as a thing already accomplished (Psa. 22; 40:6-13; 69:4-10; 20-21; 85:10; Isa. 43:25; 44:22; 53:1-12). Redemption by Christ was not an after thought of God, something he did because the Jews would not "let" Jesus be their king. Far from it! In the mind and purpose of God our redemption by Christ was accomplished in eternity.

All the Old Testament types bear testimony to Christ as the Lamb that had been slain. Beginning with the sacrifice of Abel, God's saints of old offered the blood of lambs upon the altar by faith. And that faith was based upon the Divine revelation that the only way of acceptance with God is by the blood of "the Lamb slain". Every type was drawn from the picture given by God's direct revelation and foreshadowed the coming of the Lamb to be slain.

When Christ is described as "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" it is to show us that, from all eternity God regarded Christ as the Lamb who had been slain for his elect. There has always been only one way of salvation: The blood of the Lamb! In the Old Testament God forgave sin and imputed righteousness to believers exactly as he does in the New, upon the basis of Christ's sacrifice as "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rom. 3:24-26). God's eye of justice always has been and always shall be upon "the Lamb slain"!