The Lamb is the symbol for the crucified Christ whose victory over death is the beginning of God's final redemption. To make God's redemptive purpose known to the whole world is the task of the church, here represented by twenty-four elders . By scholarly consensus, this chapter is now regarded as an appendix to the Gospel. Jesus' final post-resurrection appearance took place in Galilee where several of the disciples had returned to fishing. The conversion of Saul of Tarsus on his way to Damascus to persecute those who believed in Jesus' resurrection marked the crucial turning point for the Apostolic Church.
Some scholars go so far as to say that it was the beginning of the church.
The only other sect of Judaism to survive were the Pharisees. Over the next two or three centuries, they evolved into what scholars now designate as rabbinic Judaism. As a multilingual, scholarly Jewish rabbi of the Diaspora, he was uniquely equipped to carry the Gospel beyond its Jewish boundaries. He was a Hellenistic Jew born in Tarsus and hence a Roman citizen. More than likely he was named both Saul and Paul from birth.