"And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain. . ." Revelation 5:6 -"Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing." Revelation 5:12

Heavy-weight George Foreman is thought to be the hardest puncher in boxing history. During his fight with Foreman, Muhammad Ali took a lot of punches while laying back on the ropes. Ali’s initial strategy was to dance and move and fight Foreman at a distance. But Foreman was much quicker and agile than Ali expected and cut off the space necessary to do this. Some experts in the stands later commented that for the first time in his career they saw panic in Ali’s eyes when he realized Foreman was able to cut down the size of the ring. But Ali was very intelligent and went to plan B. Ali retreated to the ropes, covered up and let Big George pound away. Ali’s forearms absorbed the lion’s share of the punishment.

Foreman was a huge man who had won his fights early by knockout. He was not conditioned for a long fight and began to tire. When Ali saw that Foreman was tiring he sprung off the ropes and landed punches at will. Only moments earlier he looked hopelessly beaten yet he was really in control the whole time. Even while on the ropes Ali knew that he would deliver the final blow. Ali called his tactic the "Rope-A-Dope." His plan was to lure the "Dope" to the ropes to pound away his strength as Ali protected himself from any real harm.

When we think of Jesus coming to pour out the wrath of God upon the earth we picture Him as the mighty Lion of the tribe of Judah. It is often said that Jesus first came as a sacrificial Lamb but He comes as a conquering Lion at His advent. To Foreman, Ali must have appeared as a helpless lamb while he was on the ropes but he was mistaken. To Satan, Jesus must have looked like a helpless Lamb while on the cross, but the devil was wrong. Jesus had only lured the devil in and though he didn’t know it yet, the "Dope" was about to receive his fatal blow.

You might be surprised to learn that in the Book of Revelation the conquering Jesus appears as a Lamb at His return in glory and is an exceedingly fearsome sight to behold. "Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, -‘Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?" See how great power there is in being a lamb of God.