The Revelation of John 5

¹And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.

² And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?

³ And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.

⁴ And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.

⁵ 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.

⁶ And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.

⁷ And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.

⁸ And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.

⁹ And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

¹⁰ And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

¹¹ And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;

¹² Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.

¹³ And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

¹⁴ And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

Who "Slaughtered" the Lamb and why?

1. The Sacrifice of the Lamb: Not Demanded by God, but Desired by the Devil

Revelation 5:9 "For You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood, out of every tribe..."

In Revelation, the Lamb is presented as being "slain," but this act of violence is not described as a necessity imposed by God to pay for humanity’s sins.

• There is no indication in Revelation that God required the Lamb's sacrifice for forgiveness.
  
• On the contrary, the entire book presents the sacrifice as an evil attack from the Devil, who seeks to stop God’s plan.

Revelation 12:4 "The dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, to devour her child as soon as it was born."

Here we clearly see that the Dragon (the Devil) is the one trying to destroy the child from birth. The child, destined to "rule all nations with a rod of iron" (Revelation 12:5), symbolically represents the Lamb of God, that is, Christ. The Devil is the malevolent force that seeks to kill the Lamb from the moment of His coming into the world.

Connection to Jesus’ Words:
John 8:44 "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth..." Jesus clearly tells those plotting to kill Him that they are tools of the Devil, because the Devil is "a murderer from the beginning."

• This shows that the death of Jesus is not a divine requirement, but a criminal intent of evil.
  
• The Devil is the one who pushes evil people to kill Him, and Jesus openly denounces this reality.

2. The Blood of the Lamb: A Weapon of Victory Against Evil, Not Payment for Sin

Revelation 12:11 "They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony..."

In Revelation, the blood of the Lamb is not presented as a legal compensation for sin, as Paul claims.

• Instead, the blood is the symbol of victory over the Devil, who is the accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:10).
  
• It is the spiritual power that empowers believers to overcome evil, not a payment for personal guilt.

3. Cosmic Conflict: Not About Sin, But About Supreme Evil

Revelation 12:7-9 "And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought..." Revelation does not present a conflict with inner sin or human nature, as Paul does.

• The central conflict is between God and the Devil, between the Lamb of God and demonic forces.
  
• Believers are called to fight alongside the Lamb against cosmic evil and to remain loyal in the face of persecution.

4. The Final Victory: Christ's Dominion, Not Just Personal Salvation

Revelation 17:14 "These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings."

The victory of the Lamb does not aim at forgiving individual sins, but at decisively crushing evil and establishing divine rule.

• The Lamb does not become the Savior of souls through atonement for sins, but the eternal King who conquers evil.

5. Revelation Exposes the Lie of Pauline Theology

Paul’s theology has imposed the idea that God required Jesus’ sacrifice to pay for the sins of the world, presenting God as a Judge who demands blood for forgiveness. But Revelation clarifies that it is the Devil who wants Christ dead, because the Devil is the murderer from the beginning.

• The sacrifice is not a divinely planned act, but an attack of evil against the Son of God.
  
• Christ’s victory is not about satisfying divine justice but about crushing the demonic powers that tried to destroy Him.
  
• The blood of the Lamb is not payment for sin, but the power through which believers overcome evil.

The Central Message of Revelation:

Jesus knows exactly who "slaughtered" Him and why—the Devil and his human instruments are the ones who sought to destroy Him. Revelation presents this reality as being at the heart of the cosmic conflict between good and evil.
Revelation is not about paying for sin but about Christ’s ultimate victory against supreme evil, which tried to take His life from the moment of His birth.

Is Jesus’ Sacrifice an Extension of the Temple System?

Imagine a Jew who has sinned. What does he do? He goes to the Temple, brings his sacrifice, the animal’s blood is shed, the priest does his part, and the man leaves the Temple reconciled with God. So far, nothing surprising. But what happens afterward? Life goes on, temptation returns, the man sins again, and the cycle repeats: a new sacrifice, a new forgiveness, but the same struggle between weakness and the call to holiness.

Paul takes this model and applies it to Jesus, but with a radical change: Jesus is the final Sacrifice. There is no longer a need for lambs, bulls, or goats—everything has been completed, once and for all, through His death. In this vision, Jesus becomes the Passover Lamb, the Atonement Sacrifice, the Covenant Sacrifice, and the Burnt Offering—all in one person. It is a logical step, but the question remains: did Paul change the sacrificial system or merely restructure it?

Jesus and Old Testament Sacrifices – Paul’s Parallels

Paul presents the death of Jesus as an event following the familiar patterns of the Levitical system:

1. The Passover Lamb- "For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed" (1 Corinthians 5:7).
   Just as the Passover lamb in Egypt saved the firstborn of the Israelites from the angel of death, Jesus saves believers from divine judgment.

2. The Atonement Sacrifice (Yom Kippur)- "God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of His blood—to be received by faith" (Romans 3:25).
   Like the scapegoat, Jesus takes upon Himself the sin of the world.

3. The Sinai Sacrifice (Covenant)- "He is the mediator of a new covenant" (Hebrews 9:15).
   Just as Moses sealed the covenant with the blood of a bull, Paul says that Jesus does the same, but with His own blood.

4. The Burnt Offering- "Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God" (Ephesians 5:2).
   Here, Jesus is compared to the burnt offerings that were entirely consumed on the altar.

5. The Peace Offering- "Having made peace through the blood of His cross" (Colossians 1:20).
   In the Levitical system, the peace offering was meant for reconciliation between man and God—the same role attributed to Jesus.

All these analogies have a clear purpose: to make Jesus fit into the already existing structure of Levitical sacrifices.
In Paul’s vision, the death of Jesus does not abolish the concept of sacrifice—it simply replaces animals with one supreme Sacrifice.

Salvation – A Legal Justification, but Without Transformative Power

In the Levitical system, after bringing the sacrifice, a person was considered “clean” before God, but remained the same person. They did not become holy. Similarly, in Paul’s teaching, the Christian is “justified by faith,” but sin remains active in his life.

• Romans 5:1- "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

• Romans 3:28- "For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law."

• Ephesians 2:8-9- "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God."

But what happens after that?
The struggle between the “old man” and the “new man” emerges. Paul describes this tension as a constant confrontation between two natures:

• Romans 6:6- "Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with."

• Galatians 2:20- "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me."

• Ephesians 4:22-24- "Put off your old self... and put on the new self."

The problem? The old man is "crucified," but continues to exist. The person is "renewed," but must constantly fight with the old nature. It is unclear when this change becomes real and definitive. What Paul proposes is a model of salvation in which sin remains active, and forgiveness is offered as a legal status, not as a real transformative power within the person.

A Cyclical Mechanism of Sacrifice

It is exactly like the Jewish Levitical system: you bring the sacrifice, you are declared "clean," but you come back again and again for forgiveness.

The entire Levitical system functioned as a repetitive mechanism where sin was not eliminated but only “covered” temporarily, forcing the believer to continually depend on bringing sacrifices. Paul takes this idea and applies it to the sacrifice of Jesus, maintaining the same logic of an act that ensures forgiveness but cannot fundamentally change human nature.

The Contrast with Jesus’ Teachings

This strongly contrasts with the teachings of Jesus, who never preached a system based on sacrifices. His message was not anchored in Temple rituals, but in the realities of daily life: the growing seed, the vine and branches, the hidden treasure, the prodigal son.
When He spoke about the Temple, it was to denounce the corruption and hypocrisy of the priests and scribes, not to validate the Levitical sacrificial system. Jesus did not call people to a new model of rituals but to a profound change of heart and real transformation.

Sacrifice or Murder?

In the Temple system, the Priest and the Sacrifice were always distinct entities. But if Jesus is the Sacrifice, who is the Priest who offers the sacrifice? Paul not only fails to answer this simple question but deliberately creates a paradox. In the Levitical system, the Priest and the Sacrifice were always separate, without exception. This distinction was fundamental to the entire mechanism of forgiveness and purification in the Temple. However, Paul intentionally alters this fundamental teaching and claims that Jesus is both the High Priest and the Sacrifice.

This change does not stem from the traditional understanding of the Temple but rather reflects a philosophical way of thinking that transforms a clear truth into a complex theological construct. The purpose of this reconfiguration is obvious: to divert attention from the responsibility of the Jewish priests and Romans for Jesus' death and to redefine the event as a voluntary act, independent of their involvement. This approach does not come from Jewish tradition but is rather a typical theological artifice of philosophers, who interpret an evident truth into a paradox that makes it appear as something other than what it truly is. The goal is clear: to eliminate the responsibility of the Jewish priests and Romans from the act of condemnation and crucifixion of Jesus.

• Hebrews 4:14- "We have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God."
• Hebrews 9:11-12- "Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come... He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood."

But this paradox has no precedent in the Levitical system. A priest could not be both the offerer and the sacrifice. Paul creates a forced theological rupture, justified by the idea that Jesus sacrificed Himself. The problem is that the disciples did not preach this idea. In the early days of Christianity, the message was clear:

• Acts 2:36- "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah."

• Acts 3:13-15- "The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus. You handed Him over to be killed, and you disowned Him before Pilate, though he had decided to let Him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the Author of life, but God raised Him from the dead. We are witnesses of this."

• Acts 4:10- "Let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole."

• Acts 5:30- "The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging Him on a cross."

• Acts 7:51-52- "You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered Him."

• Acts 10:39-40- "We are witnesses of everything He did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed Him by hanging Him on a cross, but God raised Him from the dead on the third day and caused Him to be seen."

Paul subtly changes this message and says that Jesus "sacrificed Himself," which removes the guilt of the Jewish priests and Romans. Paul does not abandon the sacrificial system but reinterprets it, placing Jesus at its center. But this reinterpretation creates major theological tensions and raises the question: Is this the final reality? Or is it merely a sophisticated extension of the old system?

Why Does Paul Make Believers Fight Against Themselves?

Paul is the one who introduces the idea of a "sinful nature" and inherited sin from Adam. He creates the doctrine of "Adam’s sin" and the "second Adam" (Jesus), a theology that does not appear in Genesis.
In reality, Genesis does not speak of "Adam’s sin" or an inherited "sinful nature." The first to actually sin is Cain, and God clearly tells him that sin is a personal choice:

• Genesis 4:7- "If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it."

God does not tell Cain that he has inherited a sinful nature but that sin is a personal choice. Abel had the same nature as Cain, but he chose to do good, disproving the idea that sin is a genetic or hereditary problem.
However, Paul interprets it differently:

• Romans 5:12- "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned..."

This statement creates a major theological problem: if all people are born sinners, then sin is no longer a choice but an automatic condemnation. In this system, man must struggle not with sin as an action but with his own "sinful nature," leading to the endless inner conflict Paul describes:

• Romans 7:19-20- "For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it."

This is the vision of a person trapped in a spiritual deadlock, constantly struggling with themselves.
But Jesus did not teach about an inherited "sinful nature" but rather about confronting the real forces of evil:

• John 8:44- "You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him."

The struggle is not against an internal "double" but against the external evil that tries to corrupt man. In this sense, Revelation 12provides the key to understanding the real battle of the believer. Jesus is not presented as the "second Adam" but as the Son of Man, the One who came to fulfill the promise made by God to the woman in Genesis.

Revelation 12:9clearly states that the enemy is "the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray."

Jesus does not fight against a "sinful nature" but against this serpent who rules the world through deception.

• Genesis 3:15- "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel."

Jesus is this promised Seed, the One who crushes the serpent's head. Unlike Paul, who focuses on the fight with oneself, Revelation shows that Jesus and the faithful overcome not through internal confrontation with human nature, but through direct opposition to the world system led by Satan. Believers are called to remain faithful to the Lamb and to overcome alongside Him, just as He overcame by remaining the Lamb among wolves.

Victory Through the Presence of the Lamb

Paul describes salvation as a constant struggle between the "old man" and the "new man," between the flesh and the Spirit. It is not an external confrontation but an internal conflict—a battle of the believer with himself. This description turns the struggle into an individual problem, almost schizophrenic, where the person is divided between the desire to do good and the inability to fulfill it.
In contrast, Revelation speaks of the struggle, but in a different context. In the messages to the seven Churches, Jesus repeats a fundamental promise: "To the one who overcomes..."

• Revelation 2:7- "To the one who overcomes, I will grant to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God."

• Revelation 2:26- "To the one who overcomes and keeps My works until the end, I will give authority over the nations."

• Revelation 3:21- "To the one who overcomes, I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne."

The major difference from Paul is that the struggle is not fought alone but together with the Lamb.
Believers do not face themselves in a continuous internal battle but are called to remain loyal to Jesus and overcome through Him.

• Revelation 17:14- "They will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful."

In Paul's theology, the believer must fight against his own nature. But without a clear and active presence of Jesus in this battle, the person remains trapped in an internal conflict, where sin remains active even after being "justified."
In Revelation, however, the battle is not internal but external, against the forces of evil in the world. Victory does not come through fighting oneself but through remaining with the Lamb. Here, believers are not alone but are together with the One who has already conquered.

• Revelation 12:11- "They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death."

Individuality vs. Collective Mysticism

Another important contrast between Paul and Revelation is the way believers are treated in relation to the Kingdom.

Paul introduces the idea of the Body of Christ, where believers are "members" and Christ is the "Head."

• 1 Corinthians 12:27- "Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it."

• Ephesians 5:23- "Christ is the head of the church, His body, of which He is the Savior."

This collectivist analogy suggests that the individual loses their identity in a mystical "body," where Christ is the sole authority, and believers are just subordinate "members."
Revelation preserves the individual identity of each believer and treats them as complete, unique, and responsible persons, not as part of a "collective organism."

• The letters to the seven churches are addressed to each church specifically, without forcing them into a uniform unity.

• Revelation 2:26- "To the one who overcomes and does My will to the end, I will give authority over the nations."

While Paul creates a concept of "mystical unity," where each believer is just a "member," Revelation treats them as individual persons who will reign together with the Lamb.

The Power of Jesus Before Being "Slain"

Revelation does not emphasize sacrifice as atonement for sins in the Levitical sense, but rather the victory over the Devil and death.
The sacrifice of Jesus was not aimed at removing sin through a Levitical priesthood, but was the culmination of the battle against the Serpent, that is, the Devil. Jesus demonstrated during His ministry that He had the power to forgive sins without any sacrifice, clearly showing that His authority came directly from God. There are numerous examples:

• Healing of the Paralytic (Matthew 9:2-6)- where Jesus forgives sins without any sacrifice.

• Raising of Lazarus (John 11:25)- showing that He has power over death.

• Other Resurrections and Healings- proving His direct divine authority.

What Does "Being Slain" Add?

After being slain, His power did not increase regarding sin or death, as He already possessed these attributes. The only new power gained was over the Serpent, that is, the Devil.

• Revelation 12:10-12 clearly shows that by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, believers have overcome the Devil.

• Salvation, power, and the Kingdom of God come as a result of the accuser being cast out of heaven.

• The victory over Satan is what is manifested after the slaying of the Lamb, while the victory over death was already demonstrated before.

Revelation does not claim that Jesus' sacrifice was necessary for the forgiveness of sins, as Jesus already had the power to forgive without sacrifice. His sacrifice was the means by which He definitively defeated the Devil, thus fulfilling the prophecy from Genesis 3:15- crushing the serpent's head.

• The central focus of the sacrifice is victory over the Devil—not atonement for sins, as those were already under Jesus' authority.
  
• That is why Revelation presents Jesus as King and Conqueror, and the blood of the Lamb is seen as the instrument by which the accuser was defeated.

The great victory brought by the "slaying" is not the forgiveness of sins but the defeat of the Devil. Therefore, Revelation does not present Jesus as the High Priest but as the Victorious King, because the emphasis is not on atonement but on victory.
This is the fundamental difference between the vision of Revelation and Paul's Levitical theology.

Theological Conflict Between Paul and Revelation

Paul constructs a theology in which Jesus is the High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek, presenting Him as the fulfillment of the Levitical system. In contrast, Revelation offers a different vision of Jesus:

• Jesus is never presented as a High Priest in Revelation.

• He is the Lion of Judah, the Slain Lamb, yet alive, who receives all glory and power (Revelation 5:5-6).

• Angels are the ones who participate in the ritual of bringing incense to the altar (Revelation 8:3-4), not Jesus.

• Redeemed humans are called priests and kings (Revelation 5:10), emphasizing a paradigm shift from Levitical priesthood.

• Revelation presents a reality where the reign of Jesus is central, not priestly service.

• Jesus’ authority in Revelation derives from victory over death and over the ancient Serpent, according to the original conflict from Genesis, and from glorification in heaven, not from a priestly role.

Jesus Never Presented Himself as a Priest or High Priest

In the Gospels, He identifies Himself as:

• Son of God(John 10:36)

• Son of Man(Matthew 9:6)

• The Good Shepherd(John 10:11)

• The Way, the Truth, and the Life(John 14:6)

• The Light of the World(John 8:12)

• The Resurrection and the Life(John 11:25)

• The Door of the Sheep(John 10:9)

The Anointed of God - A Prophetic and Royal Line, Not a Levitical One

According to Deuteronomy 18:15, Moses prophesied about a Prophet like him, whom the people must listen to.
Jesus fulfills this prophetic promise.

• The Prophetic Line (Moses, David, Elijah) Represents leaders and prophets anointed, chosen directly by God for a specific mission.
• The Levitical Line (Aaron and his descendants) Dedicated to ceremonial service, emphasizing sacrifices and rituals.
• Jesus, as the Anointed of God, comes from the prophetic and royal line, not the Levitical one.
• The representatives of Aaron’s line—the priests of the Temple and the Sanhedrin—were the very ones who condemned Jesus, refusing to accept Him as the Anointed of God.
• The irony is that the priests, instead of recognizing Him as King, treated Him as a sacrificial Lamb, according to their sacerdotal mindset.
• In Revelation, this irony is overturned: the Slain Lamb is glorified as the King of Kings, demonstrating that glory rightfully belongs to Him.
  

Revelation comes as a correction to Paul’s Levitical theology, showing that:

• Jesus does not mediate as a priest but reigns as King.

• The very idea that Jesus would be a High Priest is contradicted by His presentation as the King and Victorious Lamb.

• Revelation emphasizes Jesus’ authority and kingship, in contrast to Paul’s Levitical interpretations.

• Message of Revelation: The message of Revelation is clear: The Anointed One (Messiah) was treated as a sacrificial Lamb by the Levitical priests, but God exalted Him as King and Conqueror.

• Revelation shows that God overturned the plan of the Levitical priests to "sacrifice" Jesus, giving Him instead eternal glory and power.

Why Did Paul Choose to Present Jesus as High Priest and Not as King

Jesus demonstrated from the very beginning of His ministry that He had the power to forgive sins without any connection to the sacrificial system of the Temple. He did this publicly and unequivocally in the case of the paralytic brought by his friends (Matthew 9:2-6). Why then would a sacrifice be necessary if Jesus already had the authority to forgive sins?

1. Paul’s Theological Problem:

Paul needed to construct a theology in which Jesus would be perceived as the fulfillment of the Levitical system because:

• For the Jews of the diaspora and even for some converts, the Temple and sacrifices still held great importance.

• Paul wanted to demonstrate that Jesus fulfilled the Law and, at the same time, surpassed it, to make faith accessible to non-Jews.

• However, this approach led to a theological compromise, where Christ was presented as both the High Priest and the ultimate Sacrifice, precisely to reconcile tradition with the new revelation.

2. But Jesus Never Required Sacrifices for Forgiveness:

• In all situations where He forgave sins, Jesus did not require any ritual or sacrifice.
  
• He did this through His divine authority, showing that the Kingdom of God was already present in His person.
• For example, in the case of the paralytic, He directly says: "Son, your sins are forgiven" (Matthew 9:2). The priests were shocked by this statement.
• Through this act, Jesus proved that His authority was superior to the Levitical one and that it did not depend on the sacrificial system of the Temple.

3. Paul Created a System to Accommodate the Levitical Mentality:

• Instead of affirming that Jesus was greater than the Levitical priesthood and could forgive sins without sacrifice, Paul "packaged" Christ's work within a framework familiar to the Jews.
  
• He created a parallel between Melchizedek and Jesus to show that Jesus’ priesthood was "higher" than Aaron’s, but still based on the same concept of sacrifice for sin.

Paul’s fundamental problem was that he tried to link Christ's work to the sacrificial system to make his message more acceptable to the Jews. However, in reality, Jesus repeatedly demonstrated that He could forgive sins directly, by His divine authority, without any need for sacrifice. Therefore, Paul’s theology is an adaptation meant to reconcile two contradictory systems, which still creates confusion to this day.

What Would Jesus’ Theology Look Like If He Had Not Been "Slain"?

1. Jesus’ Authority: No Need for a Priestly Role

• Jesus presented Himself as the "Son of God" who had full authority to forgive sins, heal the sick, and raise the dead (Matthew 9:6, John 11:25).
  
• He never claimed to be a priest and did not refer to Himself as a High Priest, but as King, Shepherd, Son of Man, and the Anointed One of God.

2. Healing and Forgiveness: A Theology of Restoration

• Jesus did not emphasize a "sinful nature" as fundamental to humanity's problem, but rather spoke of restoration, regeneration, and the Kingdom.
  
• He brought the message of the "Kingdom of God" and demonstrated its power through miraculous deeds.
  
• Jesus’ theology focused on reconciliation through faith and direct restoration with God, without ritual mediation.

3. The Message of the Promised Prophet: Healing and Kingdom

• If Jesus had remained "alive" and continued to serve, He would have remained at the center of a theology of the Kingdom and restoration, without any connection to Levitical rituals.
  
• He would have been recognized as the Anointed One (Messiah), the promised King, the One who brings the Kingdom of God on earth, without being identified with a system of sacrifices and offerings.

Who Holds the Final Authority?

Revelation: The Only Direct Revelation from Jesus

During His life, Jesus did not write any book. All we know about Him comes from the accounts of others.
Revelation is the only text where Jesus speaks to us directly, without an intermediary.
This means that the teaching in Revelation holds absolute priority over any other writing in the New Testament.
If there are discrepancies between Revelation and Paul, then Revelation is the one that must be followed because it is the word of Jesus.

The Influence of Greek Philosophy on the Condemnation of Jesus

At the time when Jesus was judged and condemned, Jewish society was already deeply influenced by Greek thought. This influence was not limited to culture and language but had even extended into the religious system of the Sanhedrin.

In the Old Testament, we see a God who designates His representatives on earth through anointing. However, the Hellenized thinking of the Jews before and during Jesus’ time introduced a different concept: the idea that a human being could not possess the "essence" of God. This idea was the main reason for Jesus' condemnation, because from a traditional Jewish perspective, an anointed king was, by definition, a son of God in the sense of authority, not of divine essence. Yet, with Greek influence, this statement was interpreted as a philosophical blasphemy.

The Judgment of Jesus and the Logic of Greek Philosophy

John 10:33 "We are not stoning you for any good work," they replied, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God."

Here we clearly see a reasoning that does not have its roots in Jewish tradition but in Greek philosophy. In the Old Testament, people could be designated as "sons of God" because of divine anointing (Psalm 2:7, 2 Samuel 7:14). However, in the Hellenistic thought infiltrated into Judaism, this statement was interpreted in philosophical terms of divine essence—which philosophically was considered an impossibility.

The prophet Daniel speaks of a power that rises against God and His holy people, but which will not be defeated by human means. This is a clear reference to Hellenistic culture and its influence on Israel, which led to the condemnation of Jesus. It was not based on the revelations of the Old Testament or the Law of Moses but on a philosophical interpretation foreign to Jewish tradition.

Greek philosophy played a key role in the rejection of Jesus by the religious leaders of His time.

The Slain Lamb Is Alive and Reigns!

We are faced with two opposing perspectives on the death of Jesus. On the one hand, Paul argues that Jesus died as a substitute, paying the price for sins, just as it was done at the Temple in Jerusalem. On the other hand, Revelation shows us a Lamb that, although appearing slain, not only lives but also reigns!

Therefore, this slain Lamb is in no way a ritual sacrifice.

What do we do with this contradiction? Whom do we believe? And most importantly, what impact does it have on our lives?

If Paul’s perspective is correct, then the entire relationship between God and humanity is based on the idea that Jesus was a substitutionary sacrifice, similar to those in the Levitical system. But if Revelation shows us a completely different reality, then we must completely rethink how we understand His death and resurrection.

Two Radically Different Gospels

Paul explains the death of Jesus using the logic of sacrifices from the Jewish Temple. He compares Jesus with the Passover lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7), the Yom Kippur atonement sacrifice (Romans 3:25), the Sinai sacrifice that sealed the covenant (Hebrews 9:15-16), and even the burnt offering (Ephesians 5:2). According to Paul’s theological logic, Jesus is both the Sacrifice and the High Priest who offers it, while also being the Altar through which this sacrifice is fulfilled.

But Revelation presents us with another Gospel. Here, the "slain" Lamb is alive and reigns. He is not a passive victim suffering to fulfill a legal duty, but the King who transforms reality. Revelation does not use the model of juridical substitution and does not describe the death of the Lamb as a mere ritual sacrifice. If what we see in Revelation is the supreme reality, then Paul’s perspective must be completely reevaluated.