REVELATION LESSON 14
Revelation 5:1 "And 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."
We are not told specifically anywhere what this book contains.
This is one of the mysteries that will remain until we are in heaven
with Him and ask Him face to face. We know that the Right Hand of God
is Jesus Christ, so whatever this book is, Jesus is holding it. This
book that is filled to overflowing and has something even on the back,
could mean the fulness of time. Probably on the reverse side would be
"it is finished" or "the end".
"...sealed with seven seals..." just means that it is closed in
completeness. These seals could be opened one at a time, or all at
once. They perhaps, if opened one at a time, could reveal a portion
each time a seal is removed.
Revelation 5:2 "And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud
voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals
thereof?"
I believe the reason a "...strong angel..." is mentioned here is
to show that all the earthly and heavenly strength, aside from God's,
can not open this book or these seals.
The "...loud voice..." is as if the angel is calling out to see
who will come forth to open the book.
Revelation 5:3 "And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under
the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon."
There are some things that man cannot do. This one statement here
shows that Jesus was, and is, no mere man. This says regardless of
where he is located, man does not possess the power to open this book.
There are some things, like judgement, that are reserved for Jesus to
do.
Revelation 5:4 "And I wept much, because no man was found worthy
to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon."
John, began to cry because it seemed that there was no one to open
this book. In fact, these unworthy men were even kept from looking at
the book.
Revelation 5:5 "And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not:
behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath
prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof."
Remember the twenty-four elders were representatives of the
church. It really doesn't matter which one of the twenty-four this is.
The "...Lion of the tribe of Juda..." is Jesus, of course. In
Matthew, we are shown Jesus as the Lion of the tribe of Juda. It is
interesting to note that even though Jesus is descended from David in
the flesh , He is also David's God.
This "...hath prevailed..." just indicates that Jesus won the
battle. He came against Satan and Jesus won. He won in a way that no
one expected when He died on the cross. Jesus is the only one worthy
to open the book. He was victorious over sin and Satan. He alone lived
upon this earth free from sin. He is worthy. Probably these seals
would be removed one at a time.
Revelation 5:6 "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."
This is John looking at the very same scene with more being
revealed to him as he looks. It is almost as if he is astonished when
he says "...lo...".
Where would the Lamb, Jesus, be but in the midst? We saw in a
previous lesson how He was in the midst of the church. Here we see
Him as the perfect Lamb sacrifice. Everything that He is surrounded
by is significant to His church. Jesus is the central figure in all
of this.
Here we see Him at the throne, and very near are the twenty-four
representatives of all Christendom. This is an unusual thing here,
for Jesus is the Right Hand of God. This book is actually held by
Him, and yet, we see Him go to take the book and open it. As in
dreams, many symbolisms are present here.
We know also that Jesus is definitely in the midst of the four
gospels. He is the central theme of all four books.
Many times, thoughts come to us (as we are viewing something) that
are not something we see with the eye. Here we see John realizing the
death of the Lamb, as well as Him resurrected.
The "...seven horns..." indicate that all power belongs to Him.
In Matthew 28:18, we see this verified. "And Jesus came and spake unto
them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth."
This statement is printed in red which means Jesus Himself spoke these
words. This was spoken after His resurrection.
The "...seven eyes..." just means that He possesses all wisdom and
understanding.
The "...seven spirits of God..." just means that all the Spirits
of God dwell in Him. He has all the fullness of the Godhead dwelling
in Him. These seven Spirits of God sent forth into the earth are the
spiritual gifts to help the Christians mentioned in I Corinthians
chapter 12. It begins, "Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I
would not have you ignorant." Then it goes on and lists the gifts that
will be of help to us Christians.
1. Word of Wisdom
2. Knowledge
3. Faith
4. Healing
5. Miracles
6. Prophecy
7. Discernment
8. Tongues
9. Interpretations
There are far more than seven. Seven is just a spiritual number
meaning the completeness, or fulness of the Spirit. If you wanted to,
you could name a hundred more, quickly, such as charity, patience,
etc. As I have said before, the Bible is a spiritual book and is not
necessarily literal.
Revelation 5:7 "And he came and took the book out of the right
hand of him that sat upon the throne."
As I said before, this is Jesus, the Lamb, taking the book from
His own self, because He is the Right Hand of God.
Revelation 5:8 "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."
All of Christendom will bow before the Lamb. We read that every
knee will bow and every tongue confess to God, Romans 14:11. It is a
real comfort to know that every prayer that we ever prayed is stored
in heaven.
Revelation 5:9 "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;" Revelation 5:10 "And hast made
us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth."
This beautiful new song, proclaiming how worthy Jesus is to
receive our adoration, will be a magnificent sound. All voices will
be in accord. This song praising Jesus for redeeming us from sin and
death will b e accompanied by the beautiful music of the harp in the
verse before.
The shed blood of Jesus was, and is, the redeeming factor. I love
the fact that nationality, or color, or sex, or any other separation
that man has will not be a factor here. Salvation is for everyone
who will accept it. Jesus died for each one of us whether we are
Americans, Indians, Africans, Chinese, Russian or otherwise. It is
our choice whether to accept, or reject, the gift of salvation. No
other barrier exists. In V-10, speaking of "...kings and priests..."
could be rendered kingdoms and priests in that kingdom. We will see
later on in Revelation that Christians will reign with Jesus 1000
years on the earth as subordinates to Jesus. Just as there were
priests with a high priest over them, our ruling will be under His
rule.
Revelation 5:11 "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;"
This number is not a literal number and would not be to our
advantage to figure out. It just means a number too large to count.
This is a very large company of ministering spirits, angels. The
voice had to be loud to be such a multitude.
Revelation 5:12 "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."
The interesting thing here is that this huge gathering was all
saying the same thing. It was total adoration and recognition of Jesus
of who and what He was. Not that they could give Jesus anything, but
they realized that it was correct for Him to possess all things.
Revelation 5:13 "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."
Jesus created everything and everyone. This just means that
trees, animals, fish, fowl, and all living beings, such as animals and
people, all cried out blessings to God.
The "...him that sitteth upon the throne..." could be God the
Father and God the Son. Probably the Elohim God, because of the
separation of the blessing afterward unto the Lamb. This praise was
not for a limited time, but was to reach into all of eternity. The
word "...sitteth..." means continuous sitting.
Revelation 5:14 "And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four
[and] twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever
and ever."
These representatives of the Christians are saying, So be it
(amen). Our worship of Him will never cease. Even in heaven, we will
be praising and worshipping Him.
Study 1 Corinthians 12 in addition to those in the lesson.
Memorize Matthew 28:18 and 1 Corinthians 12:28.
REVELATION QUESTIONS 14
1. What was in the hand of Him that sat on the throne?
2. How many seals were on it?
3. Who is the Right Hand?
4. What could be written on the "...backside..." of the book?
5. Who was proclaiming, "...Who is worthy to open the book..."?
6. "...No man in ----------- nor in -------- neither under the
---------- was able to open the book..."
7. Why did John weep?
8. In V-5 what two names was Jesus called?
9. Who were the twenty-four?
10. Who is the Lion of the tribe of Judah?
11. What two was Jesus victorious over?
12. What animal was Jesus shown as?
13. What was this symbolic of?
14. What did the seven horns mean?
15. What did the seven eyes symbolize?
16. Which are the seven -------- of God?
17. Who is the central figure of the four Gospels?
18. In Matthew 28:18, what do we see?
19. What does the seven Spirits mean?
20. In I Cor. chapter 12, what gifts of the Spirit are listed?
21. The four beasts and the twenty-four elders had two things in their
hands, what were they?
22. What are the vials of odours?
23. In the new song, what did it say about Jesus?
24. Jesus redeemed whom by His blood?
25. He had made us what?
26. Who is salvation for?
27. How many is this "...ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands
of thousands..."?
28. What was this great number saying?
29. Who and what (does verse 13 mean) were saying blessing and honour
to Him that sat on the throne?
30. How long will we praise Him?
31. Write Matthew 28:18.
32. Write 1 Corinthians 12:28.
33. What has God called you to do in the body of Christ?
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