REVELATION SIMPLIFIED

 

CHAPTER 5.6

Gleanings from the Book of Revelation:

A Weekly Verse-by-Verse Bible Study Series

 

The

REVELATION TO JOHN

(The Apocalypse)

 

Chapter Five

 

 

(Verse 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.

 

In our past studies, John was told by a redeemed Church elder to weep no longer, that the One found worthy to break the seals and open the seven-sealed scroll has stepped forward. 

 

Verse 6 is a continuation of the description of Who John saw in verse 5:

1.  The Lion of the Tribe of Judah

a.  Based on one of the prophecies of God

Genesis 49:10 - The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh (Messiah) come.

 

2.  The Root of David

a.  Based on the ancestry of the Messiah, He also qualifies as the One who will rule the world.

 

3.  The Lamb

a.  Based on the plan and power of God, He is the One able to open the scroll.

                                        i.    He paid the price for everyone's sin

                                     ii.    He conquered Satan by bruising his head

                                   iii.    He won the victory over death

 

3. The Lamb

 

A Lamb

Lo and behold, John sees a figure coming from the Throne of God and out of the middle of the twenty-four redeemed church elders, a Lamb.

Significantly:

1.  The Lamb (the Messiah, Jesus Christ) was standing and not seated

2.  The Lamb looked like it had been slain

3.  The Lamb appeared to have seven horns and eyes [which are the seven Spirits of God (cf. Isaiah 11:2)]

 

In the Greek language two words are used for lamb:

A. Amnos [Strong's G286], pronounced am-nos', meaning a young lamb. John the Baptist first introduced Jesus Christ in this fashion:

John 1:29 - The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

 

B. Arnion [Strong's 721], a diminutive of amnos pronounced ar-nee'-on, meaning lambkin, kid, or ewe, is used in this verse as a little pet lamb. In God's law, using a lamb for the Passover sacrifice is found in Exodus 12:3-6. Jewish families were required to take a male lamb, at least one year old without blemish, from the flock and keep it as a household pet four days before the Passover, which depicts Jesus Christ after His Crucifixion. Arnion is only identified this way in the Book of Revelation.

 

Stood a Lamb as it had been slain

Comparison

1.  In the present Jesus is seated

Hebrews 12:2 - Looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith; Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the Cross, despising the shame, and is set down (seated) at the right hand of the Throne of God.

This verse describes the aspect of His finished work of redemption.

 

2.  In the future, Jesus is standing

Revelation 5:6 - 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.

In this verse, the unfinished aspect of completing His redemptive work as Judge is about to be meted out. He stands as a Lion and a conqueror ready to rule the world as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

 

The phrase, as a slain Lamb standing, also indicates that the marks of His death remain at this juncture:

a.  The holes in His hands and feet

b.  The scourged scars on His back.

c.  The spear marks on His side

d.  The thorn marks on His head

 

Verse 6 then translates itself: The appearance of seven horns representing omnipotence --- the power of God, and the seven eyes representing omniscience --- all-knowing, complete knowledge, are the Seven Spirits of God.

 

Summary

The Two Adams

Both are God's sons - because Christ, the second Adam (the Seed of the woman) won the victory over Satan by His obedience unto death. He was able to take back the title deed to planet Earth. This was the inheritance (dominion over the entire earth) the first Adam (God's created son) lost by his disobedience.

 

Instead of continually sacrificing lambs on the altar for sins, Jesus Christ became the ultimate sacrifice. By dying on the Cross, the Lamb of God paid the price of redemption for our souls with His sacrificial blood. Hence, He can step forward and open the seven-sealed scroll.

 

 

 

(Verse 7)

 

And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him that sat upon the Throne.

 

The Beginning of the End

Verse 7 awards us with one of the greatest verses in the Bible. The action of Jesus here is accomplished with so little effort that it places an embarrassment on all the commotion that transpired in the first six verses. With ease, the slain Lamb-Lion takes the seven-sealed scroll out of the hand of God! Jesus thus executes what is certainly and rightfully His, based on the purpose of God.

 

The same event appears as prophesied over 2,565 years prior in the book of Daniel:

Daniel 7:13-14- I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days (Father God), and they [attendant angels (cf. Rev. 7:11-12)] brought Him near before Him. And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a Kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His (Messianic) Kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

 

 

(Verse 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.

 

And when He had taken the book

The tense in Greek defines a completed action or its fulfillment:

Psalm 24:1-2 - The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For He hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.

 

The four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb

In a proper act of worship, four living creatures or living ones --- created (faithful) angelic beings --- and twenty-four elders indicating the redeemed church, prostrate themselves before Jesus Christ.

 

Having every one of them harps and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints

Each is described as holding two utensils for worship:

a.   A harp

b.   A golden vial

 

Harps

The harps played in biblical times are not the same ones used in modern orchestras. They were generally small curved-shaped, hand-held stringed instruments, varying in degree to their appearance and number of strings, usually eight to ten strings. They were held in one arm and played by plucking the strings with the fingers. A harp, sometimes called a psaltery, lyre, or viol, was always employed as a symbol of worship.

 

Traditionally, the harp accompanied the Psalms when they were sung. For example:

Psalm 33:2 - Praise the LORD with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.

 

Psalm 98:5 - Sing unto the LORD with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm.

 

Psalm 147:7 - Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God.

 

Several other biblical accounts display their singular and orchestral usage:

1.  David played the harp to soothe King Saul in 1 Samuel 16:23

 

2.  At Nebuchadnezzar's banquet in Daniel 3:5, a harp was one of the orchestral instruments performed in merrymaking

 

 

3.  In 1 Chronicles 15:16, harps were one of the instruments appointed by King David for the Levite brethren to lift up their voices with joy

 

 

In the book of Revelation, apart from the trumpet, harps are the only instruments associated with heavenly worship. Here they are pictured:

1.  Revelation 5:8 – The four beasts and four and twenty elders…every one of them harps.

 

2.  Revelation 14:2b – And I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps.

 

 

3.  Revelation 15:2 - And I saw…them that had gotten the victory over the beast…stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.

 

Golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints

Golden vials are translated as broad shallow cups or bowls. These correspond to the incense censers, used by the priests in the Tabernacle and Temple.

 

Incense was taken from the altar of incense, burned, and taken into the Holy of Holies as sweet intercessory prayer offerings to God, before the Ark of the Covenant on the Day of Atonement. Leviticus 16:12-18 and Hebrews 9:4 reference this ritual.

 

Odours

Odours, meaning incense, symbolize the prayers of the saints rising to God's nostrils. Incense was formulated from three perfumes, one being myrrh. They were then mixed by perfumers along with frankincense (cf. Exodus 30:34-37). The odor of incense represented a sweet-savory fragrance of intercessory prayers unto Him.

 

As soon as this transpires, the scene moves to one of transcendent grandeur in the following lesson.

 

 

QUESTIONS:

1. Who emerges from the Throne of God?

2. What is His appearance?

3. What does He do?

4. Explain God's law for animal sacrifice at Passover.

5. Define God's two sons.

6. Describe heavenly worship.

7. What is the significance of incense?

 

 

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REVELATION SIMPLIFIED

 

CHAPTER 5.5

Gleanings from the Book of Revelation:

A Weekly Verse-by-Verse Bible Study Series

 

The

REVELATION TO JOHN

(The Apocalypse)

 

Chapter Five

 

 

The Old Testament Principle of Redemption

For a clear and sound interpretation of redemption, the giving of numerous laws and regulations to the ancient Jews provides its understanding:

In the book of Leviticus, there is a directive in which God provided a way for three entities to be redeemed:

1.  A wife

2.  A slave

3.  A possession

 

1. In the case of a wife: If a woman's husband died before she bore a child, for a man's surname not to vanish from the earth, the dead husband's brother was to take his brother's widow as his own to perpetuate the surname of his lineage.

 

From the biblical history of the four-chapter book of Ruth, (recommended reading) emerges a beautiful story of how a young Moabite woman named Ruth married a man from Bethlehem of Judah and became the ancestor of King David, as recorded in the lineage of Jesus Christ in Matthew Chapter 1, and also Luke Chapter 3. 

 

2. There was also an edict for the redemption of a slave that stated: If a man, because of neglect or misfortune fell into debt and was unable to pay the debt after he was legally proven unable to do so, the debtor would himself become the slave as terms to pay off that debt. Then the man whom the slave was indebted would be addressed as Master.

 

Consequently, God provided an amendment in the law for a term of tenure lasting six years. At the end of the six years, the slave was allowed to be set free. However, God also added a clause that stated:

If a next of kin or a close relative was able to provide cash payment of the debt, he would then be able to redeem his impoverished brother or relative and release him before the six years had ended.

 

3. Thirdly, the Law of Redemption provided a provision for the redemption of a possession (most often a piece of property or land) that was lost by the owner.

Leviticus 25:23-25 - The land shall not be sold for ever (permanently): for the land is Mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners (tenants) with Me. And in all the land of your possession ye shall grant a redemption for the land. If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold.

 

In other words: If a man fell into debt and lost his property, he was first taken before judges and a document was prepared that simply stated that the land had passed from the debtor to the one to whom he had owed the debt. However, this was not a permanent transfer.

 

In the year of the Jubilee (once every 50 years), the land was to be returned to the original owner. But in the meantime, it could be redeemed to him in two ways:

A. Either the man himself would pay the redemption price (unusual and unlikely because he was a servant, however, it was possible).

B. Or, it could be purchased back by a near relative or Kinsman Redeemer known in Hebrew as the Goel.

 

All of this would be recorded on two scrolls:

1.  One scroll was open for the public to read in the outer court of the Temple

2.  The other scroll was rolled and sealed seven times and placed inside the Temple until the time of redemption.

 

As years passed, the practice of using two scrolls became obsolete (most likely because there were too many in the courtyard), and instead of two scrolls, it was combined into one.

 

Now, the terms of the importance and its redemption were written on both sides (within and without):

A. The inside held the confidential recordings

B. The outside displayed stated terms for redemption to the public and also for relatives

 

All the above is transcribed to illustrate what is occurring in Revelation Chapter 5. Thus, three conditions needed to be met to redeem a piece of property:

1.  The person must be a near relative (next of kin) of the one who lost his inheritance

2.  The person must be willing to act as a redeemer

3.  The person must be able to pay the price of the redemption according to its conditions

 

In Retrospect

When Adam fell, he lost everything. Adam forfeited his right of kingship (federal headship or lordship) over the earth and came under what is known as the curse. It was through Adam's sin an ongoing dying curse was placed upon the entire world.

Genesis 2:16-17 - And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

 

When Adam sinned, three things ensued:

1. Physical death passed upon all men

2. The ground and soil of the earth were cursed

3. The human race fell under Adam's sin and every person thereafter became born a sinner.

 

So, by Adam's sin, he forfeited everything including his inheritance. What Adam had lost by selling out to the devil, the second Adam (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:47), Jesus Christ, the perfect and complete Redeemer, came to redeem and bring deliverance to every realm that fell under the curse. But, by a simple act of faith, we automatically become adopted sons and daughters – the New Testament Church, the Bride of Christ -- and co-recipients of the lost inheritance.

 

In the Present

However, when Jesus Christ died on the Cross at Calvary, He did not completely redeem everything. He only redeemed us from part of the curse. He redeemed us from our sins and demonstrated that by His resurrection believers no longer need to worry about spiritual death. For paying the ultimate price, death on the Cross, He gained victory over death. And, in doing so, the inheritance He gained is presently awaiting believers until the appointed time of full redemption.

 

Also, by accepting Jesus as one's Lord and Savior, a person immediately becomes a resident of the promised Kingdom of God - Salvation.

 

Peter preached:

Acts 2:17, 21 - And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh…And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

 

At Jesus' Ascension, He said, "I am coming back to set up the Kingdom and live and reign with you for a thousand years. But right now, I am preparing a place for you."

John 14:1-3 - Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's House are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and welcome you into My presence, so that you may also be where I am.

 

 

(Verse 5)

 

And one of the elders saith unto me (John), 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.

 

The challenge is: Who is worthy to open the scrolls? In the above verses, the most dramatic scene in the drama of redemption, we are introduced to the One found able to open the book.

 

Presumably, one of the twenty-four redeemed church elders approached John and counseled him by saying. "Do not weep. Look! The Lion from the tribe of Judah, the great descendant of King David, is the rightful heir that has prevailed [overcome (the Cross)]. Not only will He open the book, but also loosen all its seals."

 

Weep not

It is also interesting that the elder told John, "Weep not."

This was a comforting expression used by the Lord:

1.  To the widow of Nain mourning her dead son

Luke 7:13 - And when the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.

 

2.  To Jarius and his family when lamenting the loss of their little girl

Luke 8:52 - And all wept, and bewailed her: but He said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth.

 

3.  To the women of Jerusalem on His way to the Cross

Luke 23:28 - But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for Me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.

 

The Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David

The elder, representative of the Church identifies Christ in three distinct ways:

1.  The Lion of the Tribe of Judah

2.  The Root of David

3.  The Lamb

 

The Lion of the tribe of Juda

Jesus' roots are traced back to the tribe of Judah through Joseph and Mary's lineage. In the Old Testament, Judah was known as the Lion Tribe. This title came as a result of Jacob's (Israel's) blessing on his twelve sons.

 

When aged Jacob was on his deathbed, he gathered his sons and gave a prophetic blessing to each of them. To Judah, he prophesied:

Genesis 49:9 - Judah is a lion's whelp (young cub): 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 scepter (ruler's staff or rod) shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh (the right One) come; and unto Him shall the gathering of the people be.

 

What God is saying is, "My rule will remain in the tribe of Judah until the One coming out of this tribe – Who's right it is – to take back control of this world." Hence, the Lion of the tribe of Judah is none other than Jesus Christ. He has prevailed [Greek: nikaō, (Strong's G3528), overcame, conquered, to get the victory, be victorious] to open the book.

 

The Root of David

The Root is a word for the origin, i.e., the Creator of David - Another designation for Jesus Christ and a picture of the coming Messiah.

A. Prophesied:

Isaiah 11-1, 10 - And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: … And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and His rest shall be glorious.

 

B. Realized:

Revelation 22:16 - I Jesus have sent Mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the Bright and Morning Star.

 

The next study will focus on the third title of Jesus – The Lamb, the One worthy of the procurement of the book.

 

 

QUESTIONS:

1.  In what Bible book is the law of redemption given?

2.  Name the three parts of this law?

3.  What does the term Goel mean?

4.  Explain the history of the earth's title deed.

5.  To Whom does the Earth belong?

6.  Who can open the scroll and loosen its seals?

7.  Why is genealogy pertinent to this chapter?

 

 

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