Life, wrote Shakespeare, is “a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” Or as Henry Ford said (without the artistry), “History is more or less bunk.”

Not everyone agreed. The so-called Whig interpretation of history argued that history traced a story of ever-increasing freedom and improvement. In the words of Theodore Parker, “The arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

Herbert Spencer, after reading Charles Darwin, argued that “survival of the fittest” was the engine of historical change, while Karl Marx said it was “class struggle.”

Friedrich Nietzsche, like Ford, felt history held no objective meaning, but the Übermensch (“Superman”) would rise above a “slave morality” and live in authenticity and freedom.

The Church holds a very different understanding of history, one that comes to the fore in springtime when we celebrate the great events of the gospel — Atonement, Resurrection, Ascension, Pentecost.

The slain Lamb, not the roaring Lion, opens the sealed scroll in God’s hand.

Revelation 5 is a key passage in that understanding. There, God holds a scroll with the course of history written on it, but it is sealed, with no one worthy to open it. The future is unknown and seemingly unknowable.

Then a voice proclaims, “The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals” (verse 5). “Lion of the tribe of Judah” and “Root of David” are messianic terms, so the proclamation makes sense. Who better to reveal the course of history than God’s anointed, after all?

When John turns to see the Lion, however, he sees instead a Lamb (verse 6). Beginning with that verse, John never mentions the Lion again, only the Lamb. And he repeatedly emphasizes that the Lamb was “slain” (verses 6,9,12) — indeed, “slain from the creation of the world” (Revelation 13:8).

The slain Lamb, not the roaring Lion, opens the sealed scroll in God’s hand (Revelation 6:1,3,5,7,9,12; 8:1).

For Christians, then, the Cross reveals the meaning of history. Through “the Lamb, who was slain” (Revelation 5:12), God reveals the weakness and foolishness of the world (1 Corinthians 1:18–25), disarms powers (Colossians 2:15), and reconciles people to himself and one another (Ephesians 2:14–18).

History is not bunk. Its meaning is not struggle between species or classes. Its hero is not Superman, but the One who came “to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). That is the gospel.

Our task is simply to “follow the Lamb wherever he goes” (Revelation 14:4).

This article appears in the Spring 2025 issue of Influence magazine.