How is the lion related in Christianity?

Answer 1

There are various ways a Lion is referred to in The Bible, apart from the obvious references to actual Lions, which had not yet become extinct in earlier Bible times. For example, it is referred to in relation to Jesus:

5And 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. In this case, it refers to Jesus' victory over sin and death and His exaltation at the right hand of God, and then His participation in the end-times events. C S Lewis used the character of the Lion in his Narnia Chronicles to represent Jesus as well ,in allegorical fashion

Answer 2

The mental image of Christians being killed by lions for the entertainment of ancient Romans is an evocative one, but there is no true connection between lions and Christianity at all. Ancient Romans killed all kinds of people for amusement, and considered it great fun to involve various wild animals in this entertainment; lions were just part of the equipment, along with other exotic creatures such as other big cats, bears, crocodiles, and so on. A couple of tales in the Christian Bible involve lions, including one of Samson (which also involves his girlfriend and, for some reason, bees) and another, better known, of Daniel, miraculously spared death when thrown into a den of lions. Over the centuries, lions are closely connected with royalty and nobility, and images of them appear in that context in many parts of the world.