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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