Revelation 5

Revelation 5:1-3

In chap. IV. John has described his vision of the throne of God as seen through the open door of heaven. The object of that scene was not primarily to reveal the glory of him who sat upon the throne, or to describe the living creatures and four and twenty elders, but to record the vision of the sealed book in the hands of the Almighty, and its delivery to the Lamb, in order that it might be opened and its concealed history of the future revealed to man. Chap. V. opens with these words: And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the back side, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with aloud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the hook, neither to look thereon. Let us look with John upon this symbolical picture. The book is in the right hand of God. It is not a printed book, such as we have upon our shelves. There were no printed books then in existence. It is a manuscript, written upon both sides, and rolled together in the form of a scroll, and sealed with seven seals. We learn, from what is recorded in the next chapter, that these seals were so arranged that when they were loosed in succession each one permitted a part of the book to be read. Possibly there were seven leaves to the book, since as each seal was loosed, a leaf of the book was revealed. This sealed book is the book of the future, sealed to human vision, unknown even to the angels of heaven. No one (the word man does not occur in the Greek) was found able to open the book, for no one can penetrate the future. It is held in the strong right hand of Him who sits on the throne, the omnipotent disposer of the future, who controls the destiny of churches, men and nations. Let the reader take distinct note of this book. Revelation had not yet pictured forth the future. The sweep of the panorama, that has pictured forth upon its canvas the destiny of the Church and the world, cannot begin until the seals of this book are opened.

Had no one been found able to open the seals, the closing book of the Bible would never have been written, or certainly would never have been a book of prophecy. Those who find symbols of the future before a single seal of the book that holds the record of human destiny locked in its folds is opened, have studied the meaning of the symbols in vain.

Revelation 5:2-3

2, 3. Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? No man nor angel was found able to open the book. No man nor angel can read the future, and hence could not open the seals of the book that contained the future history of the world.

Revelation 5:4-7

“And,” continues John, “I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and read the book, neither to look thereon.” The exiled apostle is filled with anxiety to penetrate the secrets of futurity, and to know the fortunes of that Church which he loved better than he loved his own life. He was then a prisoner on a rocky isle of the sea. It was a time of persecution. He was separated from the saints who dwelt upon the shores, and among the mountains that he could dimly observe as he gazed to the east; and when he looks upon the sealed book his burdened spirit implores, with flowing tears, that the seals may be broken and that he may behold the results, in the future, of all the struggles, sufferings and blood of a persecuted people. And one of the elders said 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. His anxious heart is cheered by the assurance that the book will be opened and that the Lion of the tribe of Juda, his own dear Saviour, will break the seals and reveal to him the wonderful history. It is an elder who gives him this cheering assurance, and let it be distinctly noted that such a duty as instructing a prophet in heavenly things was never laid upon a human being under either covenant. Such duties mark the elders as belonging to the angelic realm. When John was told that the Lion of the tribe of Juda had prevailed to open the book, he looked– And lo, in the midst of the throne, and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood it 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 or the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. When John looked to behold the Lion of Juda, the root of David, who should open the book, he behold the only being in the universe who could take it from the hand of God. There is none other to whom the future is revealed. He only, to whom all power in heaven and earth has been given, can control the events of earth. He only can hold in his hand the book of destiny, open its leaves, and reveal its record to men. John looked to see this mighty one who was deemed worthy to exercise the prerogative of God. When his eyes rested upon him he saw, instead of the majestic symbol of a Lion, a Lamb, a sacrificial Lamb bearing wounds, the marks of having been slain.

The Lion had become a Lamb. The Lamb became a Lion, a conqueror, and “prevailed,” so as to be able to hold and open the book, or to hold the reins of all power, by submitting unto death. As John beholds the vision he observes seven horns and seven eyes, the symbols of unlimited power and the fullness of the divine spirit. The horn is always an emblem of power, and with the number seven, the number of perfection, indicates power that has no limit.

Revelation 5:5

5. One of the elders said to me. The twenty-four elders are first mentioned in chapter 4:4. They are mentioned in various places in Revelation. I have given at length in The Vision of the Ages reasons for deciding that they were not human beings, but heavenly intelligences. To that work I must refer the reader, for lack of space here. I will note, however, the elder here instructs the prophet, a duty never laid on a human being under either covenant, but always the prerogative of an angel. Such a duty shows that this elder belonged to the angelic realm. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda . . . hath prevailed. The Lion of the tribe of Juda is Christ. It is a figure that presents him as a Conqueror. To him, divine as well as human, it was permitted to see the future, to open the seals of the book, and to disclose its contents to his human brethren. He was, according to the flesh, of the tribe of Judah and the descendant of David.

Revelation 5:6

6. I beheld . . . the four beasts, etc. In chapter 4:4-10, John has described the twenty-four elders and the four beasts that surrounded the throne. I have not space to enter into the discussions of what either of these two classes of intelligences signify. I must refer the reader again to The Vision of the Ages for the reasons, and barely state that a comparison of all that is said of them in Revelation with Ezekiel, chapter 1 and chapter 10, where they are also described, shows that they were cherubim. In Ezekiel I. he describes the same beings as John; in Ezekiel X. he describes the same beings and says, I knew that they were cherubim. The Revision exchanges the word “beasts” for “living creatures,” which is correct. Stood a Lamb as it had been slain. In the midst of the throne, surrounded by the heavenly intelligences, John saw a Lamb, a Lamb bearing wounds, the marks of its having been slain. The Lamb was the Lion of the tribe of Judah. The Lion had conquered by dying as the Lamb, slain for the sins of the world. Seven horns and seven eyes. The horn is the symbol of power; the eye of intelligence; the number seven is the symbol of perfection. The seven horns and eyes, therefore, denote that the Lamb is both Omnipotent and Omniscient.

Revelation 5:7-8

7, 8. When he had taken the book. The action of this chapter is wonderfully dramatic. Now the Lamb takes the sealed book and as soon as this is done the “Four beasts and the four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of the saints (symbols of the prayers of the saints which it is their duty to record),” and then they burst forth in a grand doxology of praise.

Revelation 5:8-14

\1\The evidence for the current view rests solely upon the formerly accepted text of the Doxology (song), in which the living beings and the elders are represented as uniting, (Chapter 5:10, 11.) Criticism has shown that, in this instance, the text of the Recepta is corrupt; it has established the fact that heemas (us) and basileusomen (we will rule) are corruptions of autous (them) and basileusousin (they will rule), and has rendered probable ( certain, in the opinion of Lange, Alford and Tischendorf,) the further fact that the heemas (us) of verse 9 is an interpolation.– Am. Editor of Lange on Revelation, page 152.

Revelation 5:9

9. And they sung a new song. It is new because it celebrates a new triumph of Christ who had been deemed worthy to hold and to open the book; that is, to control and to reveal the future, as the book is the book of the future. The song declares why he was adjudged worthy of this divine honor. It was because “he wast slain and hast redeemed” the human race. Hast redeemed us. Do not the four beasts and the twenty-four elders praise Christ for dying for them? They do in our translation, but according to Lange the proper translation of their song is, “Thou wast slain and has redeemed to God, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation, and hast made them unto God kings and priests; and they shall reign upon the earth.” He declares that criticism has shown that the received Greek text is in this place corrupt. Lange, Alford and Tischendorf are all agreed. These intelligences praise the Lamb, not for their salvation, but for human redemption.

Revelation 5:10

10. We shall reign on the earth. According to the view just presented, this should read, “They shall reign upon the earth,” a prediction that the control of the earth should finally pass into the hands of the saints. Christ also said of the meek: “They shall inherit the earth.”

Revelation 5:11-12

11, 12. And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels. Besides those already described, there was a countless multitude of angels. After the first strophe of the new song was sung the vast company all unite in a chorus of praise, still celebrating the death of the Lamb as the great ground on which his worthiness to receive the book was based, and to receive every other heavenly honor, “power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.”

Revelation 5:13

13. And every creature which is in heaven, etc. Then followed a second chorus. First, the Four Living Creatures and the Twenty-four Elders sung. Then these and all the angelic hosts joined in the first chorus. Next, all the creation join in a song of praise “to Him that sitteth upon the throne, and the Lamb.”

Revelation 5:14

14. And the four beasts said, Amen. This scene, all a wonderful preface, to the opening of the seals by the Lamb, closes with the Amen of the four living creatures and the worship of the elders. AND . 1. It is Christ, not as a Lion, but as a Slain Lamb, who is able to open the book.
15. This vision not only shows us that Christ reveals the future, as he has done in the book of Revelation, but that he controls it.
16. What lover of Christ will not study with deep interest the unrolled leaves of a book which he has opened?
17. The reader should not fail to observe that the fact that Christ became a Slain Lamb, or in other words, the fact that he died for men, is assigned as the reason of that supreme majesty that enabled him to hold the book with the power of God. The scenery of this vision, and the songs sung in heaven, make the death of Christ the great central fact of his being. However earthly theologians may reason, these higher intelligences held the doctrine of the atonement.–Vision of the Ages.5. In teaching this lesson the striking imagery should not be lost sight of. (1) Opened gates of heaven; (2) The Almighty on the throne; (3) The Living Creatures, Elders and Angels around the throne; (4) The Sealed Book; (5) The Lamb who takes the Book; (6) The grand doxology, sung first by the Living Creatures and Elders; then by these and the countless angels, and lastly, by these and every creature of the universe. It is the doxology of the universe.