02.18. LECTURE No. 18 -- Rev_5:5-14
LECTURE No. 18 -- Revelation 5:5-14 The Seven Sealed Book Continued - In the Beginning Man Was Given Dominion over the Earth - Noah Was a Type of Christ - Nations Have Failed to Lift the Curse - Jesus the Only One Found Worthy to Open the Books - One of the Most Sublime Acts of All History - Christ has a Right to Possess the Earth - This Act of Christ Will Promote Worship in Heaven
I AM more and more impressed with the fact that the material contained in this last Book of the Bible is of timely importance to all Christian people everywhere!
The truth contained in this book should be a blessing and comfort to the believing remnant of God’s children everywhere throughout the world today. The book also carries a distinct message of warning to those who are unsaved, and to professing Christians who are lukewarm and indifferent, concerning their relationship to God, and the work which He has for them to do.
We have progressed in our present study to Revelation 5:5, where our present lesson will begin.
In our last lesson we considered the four living creatures, who were described in Revelation 4:6-8 as being in the midst of the Throne and round about the Throne, which was in Heaven. After considerable research, and by comparing scripture with scripture, we concluded that they represent a class among the redeemed from the earth, who will be associated with the Throne of God, and receive their appointment as executors of the Father’s will in the age to come.
Revelation 4:1-11 closed with a description of worship in Heaven, when the four living creatures and the four and twenty elders fell down before Him that sat on the Throne, and cast their crowns before the Throne, saying, “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power; for thou hast created all things, for thy pleasure they are and were created.”
Revelation 5:1-14 opens with a description of the Seven Sealed Book, which John saw in the right hand of Him that sat on the Throne.
In our last lesson we made rather an exhaustive study to determine the nature of the Book brought to our attention in this passage. By comparing scripture with scripture, and by referring to the ancient customs of the Jews, concerning property rights, we came to the conclusion that the Book which John saw in the hand of Him that sat on the Throne represented the title deed to the earth!
Man’s Original Position The scriptures clearly teach “the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof” and that in the beginning, when God had created man, He placed Him in the Garden of Eden, and exalted him to a place of dominion over the earth!
When man sinned, however, he forfeited his right to rule over the earth, and the title deed reverted back to God: and in the permissive will of God, Satan now governs the earth as a usurper. And he will continue to do so until such a time as someone can be found who will act as man’s kinsman-redeemer, and expel Satan from the earth, and restore to man his original right to rule over the earth and to have dominion.
In Revelation 5:2, John said, “And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof.”
This, my friends, was a very important question. And this question is the theme of our present study. Indeed, WHO is able and WHO is worthy to open the seven seals of the Seven Sealed Book, which stands for man’s forfeited inheritance, and restore unto the human race its lost inheritance?
Indeed, my friends, WHO among men is able to redeem the earth from the curse which was placed upon it when man first sinned, and to lift man above the curse, and usher in the Utopia, which men have hoped for in every successive age since man was driven from the Garden of Eden to till the ground which had been cursed because of sin?
Noah a Type of the Redeemer In Genesis 5:28-29, we have a very interesting comment concerning Noah, who was the Son of Lamech. It says,
“And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years and begat a son; and he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed.”
This is a very interesting passage because it reveals that even at that early period man had grown weary under the necessity of toil which was the result of the curse that had been placed upon the ground because of sin. Already they had begun to long for someone to come who would be able to lift them above the curse, or remove the curse itself, and when Noah was born, his Father Lamech called his name Noah, saying, “This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed.”
In other words he thought that Noah would be the earth’s redeemer, and that he would be the one who under God would redeem the earth and lift man above the curse.
We all know that Noah did fulfill this prediction in a limited sense; for he and his family were the only ones who lived through the flood, and then began life again in the earth which had been renovated by water; but even in the renovated earth traces of the curse still remained, and man still found it necessary to labor on under the conditions of the original Adamic covenant, and from then until now man has been compelled to earn his living by the sweat of his brow, and the women of the earth have continued to suffer pain and sorrow as God predicted in the Adamic covenant.
And therefore even Noah, as great as he was in God’s sight, was not able to redeem the earth, or to lift man above the curse because he himself was a descendant of fallen Adam.
In the preceding chapter we pointed out how in every age certain man and certain nations, such as Egypt, Babylon, Greece, and Rome, and others have, each in their turn, sought for world dominion in order that they might act as the world’s redeemer, and usher in the Utopia, which men in every age have longed for.
Today both Fascism and Communism are struggling for world supremacy, and each one is willing to pay a great price, both in men and in money for the right to act as the world’s redeemer, and to correct all of its present ills. The Coming Antichrist
We know it is prophesied that in due time the Antichrist will come and reign as the world’s last great dictator, which will be during the Tribulation period. He will subdue all of his enemies, and will seek to unify the world politically, religiously and industrially, which he will succeed in doing for a short time. But even the coming worldwide Kingdom of the Antichrist cannot and will not last long, because it will not be based upon divine standards of righteousness.
And so, my friends, we see that every effort on the part of man both past, present and future, to redeem the earth, and lift man above the curse, and to usher in the Utopia, which men have long dreamed of and sought for, has failed and will fail, and the question still remains,
“Who then is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof.”
The answer to this question is given in Revelation 5:5-7 where it says,
“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 loose the seven seals thereof.
“And 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 God sent forth into all the earth,
“And He came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.”
Glad News
It is interesting to note here that after John had wept much because no man was found worthy to read the Book, neither to look thereon, that one of the elders announced to him the glad news that one had been found who was worthy and able to open the Book and to loose the seven seals thereof.
And from the language used in this description we know that the one in question was none other than Jesus Christ, the glorified Son of God.
In this brief passage Jesus is spoken of as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David and as the Lamb of God. Under this threefold title He is declared to be the ONE, and the only ONE in heaven and in earth, or under the earth, who is able to open the book and to loose the seals thereof.
Now let us inquire diligently into the meaning of each one of these three titles given to us here concerning the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lion of the Tribe of Judah reminds us at once of the Kingly character of our Lord. Also in Genesis 49:8-10, there is a very interesting prophecy, which was given by Jacob, when he was blessing his sons, concerning the future history of the Tribes of Israel. Among other things he said,
“Judah is a Lion’s whelp; from the prey, my son, thou art gone up; he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto Him shall the gathering of the people be.”
Jesus Was from the Tribe of Judah The New Testament confirms the fact that Jesus Christ sprang out of Judah. This is very definitely stated in Hebrews 7:14, where it says, “For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah.”
In John 1:3, we are told that all things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. Therefore, we may rightfully judge that He is the heir of all things, and as such He is the only one who is worthy to redeem the earth from the curse, and to rule and reign over it in righteousness. The Root of David The elder announced to John also that the Root of David hath prevailed to open the book and to loose the seven seals thereof.
And what do you suppose is the significance of this title given to our Lord in this passage.
The Apostle John knew that in 2 Samuel 7:7-16, God had promised that Israel’s King was to come through the House of David; for He said, “And thine house and thy Kingdom shall be established forever before thee; thy throne shall be established forever.”
Also in Isaiah 11:1, it says, “There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of His roots.” And in the 2nd verse it says, “And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.”
Jesse, you remember, was David’s Father, and by connecting these two passages of scripture with Revelation 5:5, we are able to see that Jesus was not only the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, but that He was also the Root and offspring of David, and therefore, since He was connected with the Davidic covenant concerning the Throne of Israel, He had the right to take the book and open the seals thereof. The Lamb of God
Now, in Revelation 5:6 text the Apostle John was given to see 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. And He came and took the Book out of the right hand of Him that sat upon the Throne.
We all know that Jesus is described in the Word of God as a Lamb.
In Isaiah 53:1-12, it says prophetically of Christ, “He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.”
You will also recall that when John the Baptist had looked upon the Lord Jesus Christ, he said to those who were about him, “Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.”
Christ as the Lamb, therefore, reminds us at once of Calvary where as the true Pascal Lamb He shed His own blood to make an atonement for the sins of the world, and according to the vision which John saw, that very Lamb which had been slain was seen in the midst of the Throne and in the midst of the four living creatures and the elders.
It is evident therefore that the Lamb which was slain upon the cross had been translated to the Throne in heaven, which is confirmed in Acts 1:9-11, where it says of Christ,
“And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight, And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”
Seven Horns When John saw the Lamb as it had been slain before the Throne in heaven, it had seven horns and seven eyes. The symbolism here is significant. Horns in the scripture are used as symbols of strength, and of aggressive power to subdue one’s enemies. Seven, as we have stated before is the number of perfection or completeness. Therefore, the seven horns as used here would indicate the fullness of strength and power which belonged unto the Lamb.
The Eye, as we know, is a symbol of intelligence, and here again the No. 7 is used, indicating that the Lamb before the Throne possessed the seven fold intelligence of the Holy Spirit, as indicated in Isaiah 11:1-3.
The Seven Spirits of God referred to by Isaiah are none other than the sevenfold plentitude of the Holy Spirit, with which the Christ was anointed. Therefore, in announcing that the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, and the Root of David, and the Lamb before the Throne, as the one who was able to open the book and to loose the seals thereof, the elder in heaven who made this report, announced three grand qualities of our kinsman redeemer, namely,
(1) That He was one who had strength to conquer and to overcome all His enemies.
(2) That He had perfect and universal intelligence to undertake the task that no one else could perform, (3) That He possessed sacrificial virtue, having died upon the cross to make an atonement for the sins of the world.
Indeed, my friends, no other such kinsman redeemer, possessing such qualities as these could be found anywhere in heaven or upon earth to open the seals of this book. A Sublime Act And it says, in verse Revelation 5:7, that He came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. Seiss in his book on the Apocalypse, says, quoting,
“This is the sublimest individual act recorded in the Apocalypse. It is the act which includes all that suffering creation, and the disinherited saints of God have been sighing, and crying, and waiting for, for all these long ages-for six thousand years of grief and sorrow. It is the act which carries with it all else that is written in the succeeding part of this glorious revelation. It is the act of virtue by which the world is subdued, Babylon judged, Antichrist destroyed, the dragon vanquished, death overthrown, the curse expunged, the earth made new, and the reign of everlasting blessedness and peace made to cover its hills and illumine its valleys, and transform it into an unfading paradise of God. It was the lifting of the title-deeds of the alienated inheritance-the legal act of repossession of all that was lost in Adam, and paid for by the blood and tears of the Son of God. Heaven looks on in solemn silence as that act is being performed. The universe is stricken with awe, and grows breathless as it views it. And the living ones, and Elders, and all the hosts of angels, are filled with adoring wonder and joy, as if another fiat had gone forth from God for a new creation.
“And when He took the book” there went a thrill through the universal heart of living things.” The Lamb’s Right
Now, let us consider briefly the right of the Lamb to possess the earth, and to execute the judgments indicated by the opening of the seven seals.
First of all He has the right to do this because He created the earth. This is confirmed in Colossians 1:16-17, where it says,
“For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things were created by him, and for him; and he is before all things, and by him all things consist.”
Therefore, who dare say that Jesus does not have the right as man’s kinsman-redeemer to take the book and to open the seals thereof, and to restore unto fallen man his lost estate, which was forfeited when man sinned and was driven out of the Garden nearly six thousand years ago?
Another Reason
Another reason Christ, as the Lamb of God, has the right to take the book out of the hands of Him that sat upon the Throne, is because He had redeemed the earth through His sacrificial death upon the cross.
Let us remember there were no thorns in the Garden of Eden, there were no thorns until the earth was cursed because of man’s sin. It was then that God said, “Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee-”
But a Saviour had been promised in Genesis 3:15, and after centuries of waiting, in the fullness of time, Christ came and died upon the cross to make an atonement for the sins of the world, and we should not forget that there was upon His head a Crown of Thorns, which was a symbol of the curse. Thus in His suffering and death Jesus bore in His body the marks of the curse. It was apparent, therefore, that He came to make an atonement for sin by the sacrifice of Himself, and to redeem man from under the curse of the Adamic covenant. Therefore, through His death upon the cross He won for Himself the right to take the book out of the hands of Him that sat upon the Throne, and to open the seals thereof.
We know that He has not done this as yet, but that He is now tarrying, as it were, in the heavenlies, waiting for the Church, which is His Bride, to be completed. Meanwhile we are told in Romans 8:19-22, that “the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the Sons of God- because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now . . .” The Desert Shall Blossom From what is stated here we are made to realize that when Christ has opened the Seven Seals of this Book, and has lifted the curse, and has restored unto man his lost inheritance, then the desert shall blossom as the rose, and instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and the earth shall be returned unto its Eden state, and will be beautiful and fruitful beyond compare. No wonder the Apostle Paul said, “O depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!”
Is it any wonder, therefore, that when He, who is here described as the Lion of Judah, and the root of David, and as the Lamb of God came and took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat upon the Throne, those who were in heaven were filled with a spirit of reverence and thanksgiving?
For more than six thousand years men have labored under the curse and all of creation has likewise groaned under the burden, waiting for someone to appear who could redeem man and lift the curse from off the earth; and now, according to the vision which John saw, Christ came and took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the Throne!
Such an act, my friends, was enough to cause all heaven to worship, and all men upon the earth to rejoice because this act on the part of the Son of God symbolizes the beginning of God’s judgments, whereby the lost inheritance shall be restored to those to whom it rightfully belongs.
Worship in Heaven In Revelation 5:8-10 it says,
“And when He had taken the Book, the four beasts or living creatures and the four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full or odours, which are the prayers of saints, 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; And has made us unto our God kings and priests; and we shall reign on the earth.”
But that was not all! The Apostle John not only witnessed this glorious scene of worship! He not only heard the voice of those who sang this new song! But in verses Revelation 5:11-14, he said
“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; 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, 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, And the four beasts said Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped Him that liveth for ever and ever.”
~ end of lecture 18 ~