Revelation Chapter Five Part Four
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HE WAS WILLING TO BE A REDEEMER
The second requirement was the willingness of a Redeemer to act for his
lost brother. The obligation could not be forced upon him. Like Boaz,
Jesus Christ was willing to be a redeemer, 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
at the right hand of the throne of God.”
In the garden Jesus testified in Luke 22:42, “Saying, Father, if thou
be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but
thine, be done.” The answer came after His death and resurrection.
Animal sacrifices were no longer acceptable to God, Hebrews 10:5-
13, “Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and
offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt
offerings and [sacrifices] for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said
I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do
thy will, O God. Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt
offerings and [offering] for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst
pleasure [therein]; which are offered by the law; Then said he, Lo, I
come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may
establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the
offering of the body of Jesus Christ once [for all]. And every priest
standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices,
which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one
sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From
henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.”
Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:18-19, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not
redeemed with corruptible things, [as] silver and gold, from your vain
conversation [received] by tradition from your fathers; But with the
precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without
spot.”
We see Messiah or the Lord Jesus Christ take the sevensealed scroll
containing the terms for the redemption of the world, and the entire
creation from God. One who meets the conditions of the Kinsman Redeemer
must break the seals. Jesus Christ is the only one who can meet these
requirements.
He steps forward, takes the book, and begins to open the seals,
unrolling history as recorded in the remainder of Revelation.
WE NEED TO BE READY TO REIGN
This is so wonderful that the silence is ended and everyone bursts into
spontaneous song, Revelation 5:9-10, “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 hast made us unto our
God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.” This praise
come from the mouth of those chosen to rule. This is John’s vision and
does not have to be located in heaven, because those who sing will rule
on earth. Eternal Life is not a reward because it is freely given to
believers, Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift
of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” The reward is
for those who will reign on earth, some over cities others over
villages and yet others over tens. This was how Israel was ruled in the
wilderness, Exodus 18:21-23, “Moreover thou shalt provide out of all
the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating
covetousness; and place [such] over them, [to be] rulers of thousands,
[and] rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens: And
let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, [that] every
great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they
shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear
[the burden] with thee. If thou shalt do this thing, and God command
thee [so], then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall
also go to their place in peace.”
THE REDEMPTION OF CREATION.
Paul writes in Romans 8:19-22, “For the earnest expectation of the
creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the
creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of
him who hath subjected [the same] in hope, Because the creature itself
also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the
glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole
creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not
only [they], but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits (Gk.
firstfruit) of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves,
waiting for the adoption, [to wit], the redemption of our body.”
YHWH will set up His kingdom after the first resurrection. This will
be after a brief period during which Elijah will come to prepare His
bride, Malachi 4:4-6, “Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I
commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, [with] the statutes and
judgments. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming
of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart
of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their
fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” Rulers and
leaders after the great miracle of the first resurrection will surely
listen to this famous prophet just like Ahab and Jezebel. Unlike them,
the leaders will repent and obey the Word of God.
After Elijah’s translation to Judah, he sent a message to Jehoram. This
is recorded in 2 Chronicles 21:12-15, “And there came a writing to him
from Elijah the prophet, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of David thy
father, Because thou hast not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat thy
father, nor in the ways of Asa king of Judah, But hast walked in the
way of the kings of Israel, and hast made Judah and the inhabitants of
Jerusalem to go a whoring, like to the whoredoms of the house of Ahab,
and also hast slain thy brethren of thy father’s house, [which were]
better than thyself: Behold, with a great plague will the LORD smite
thy people, and thy children, and thy wives, and all thy goods: And
thou [shalt have] great sickness by disease of thy bowels, until thy
bowels fall out by reason of the sickness day by day.” The king refused
to repent and died from the terrible plagues.
Messiah died on Calvary for all creation. When He was crucified on the
Cross or stake, He wore a crown of thorns, which are included in the
curse. All creation is set free from the bondage of corruption. We have
already considered these Scriptures but here is a reminder, Isaiah
35:1 “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and
the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.” See also Isaiah
35:7 “And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land
springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, [shall
be] grass with reeds and rushes.”
God never made a barren desert. He pronounced His creation good, and
Isaiah tells us that He created the earth not to be a void, but to be
inhabited. Deserts are the result of the curse upon the ground, but
when the Redeemer comes, the entire earth will become once more like
the Garden of Eden. So productive will the earth be in that day that
the Prophet Amos describes in Amos 9:13 “Behold, the days come, saith
the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader
of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet
wine, and all the hills shall melt.” The same prophet also describes
the dearth in Christendom, Amos 8:11, “Behold, the days come, saith the
Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread,
nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD.” This
wonderful future is described in Micah 4:4 “But they shall sit every
man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make [them]
afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken [it].”
ISRAEL AND CREATION
The blessing of Israel and rejection of Baal worship is described in
Hosea 2:16 “And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, [that] thou
shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali. For I will take
away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be
remembered by their name. And in that day will I make a covenant for
them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and
[with] the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and
the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie
down safely. And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will
betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in
lovingkindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto me in
faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD. And it shall come to pass
in that day, I will hear, saith the LORD, I will hear the heavens, and
they shall hear the earth.”
THE ANIMAL CREATION
The animal creation shall also share in the deliverance of the Redeemer
who opens the sevensealed book, or scroll, Hosea 2:18, “And in that
day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and
with the fowls of heaven, and [with] the creeping things of the ground:
and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth,
and will make them to lie down safely.”
THE HOUSE OF DAVID
We are very familiar with these verses in Ezekiel 37:24-28, “And David
my servant [shall be] king over them; and they all shall have one
shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my
statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have
given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they
shall dwell therein, [even] they, and their children, and their
children's children for ever: and my servant David [shall be] their
prince for ever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it
shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and
multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for
evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their
God, and they shall be my people. And the heathen shall know that I the
LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of
them for evermore.”
This is confirmed in Ezekiel 34:22-28, “Therefore will I save my flock,
and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and
cattle. And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed
them, [even] my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be
their shepherd. And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David
a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken [it]. And I will make with
them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out
of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep
in the woods. And I will make them and the places round about my hill a
blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there
shall be showers of blessing. And the tree of the field shall yield her
fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe
in their land, and shall know that I [am] the LORD, when I have broken
the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those
that served themselves of them. And they shall no more be a prey to the
heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they
shall dwell safely, and none shall make [them] afraid.”
THE EARTH WITHOUT SATAN
The prophet describes this earth without Satan in Isaiah 65:17-
25, “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former
shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice
for ever [in that] which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a
rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and
joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in
her, nor the voice of crying. There shall be no more thence an infant
of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child
shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner [being] an hundred years
old shall be accursed. And they shall build houses, and inhabit [them];
and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall
not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat:
for as the days of a tree [are] the days of my people, and mine elect
shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labour in
vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they [are] the seed of the
blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them. And it shall come
to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet
speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and
the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust [shall be] the
serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy
mountain, saith the LORD.”
For those who consider all unbelievers to be immortal souls tormented
continually in the Lake of Fire this poses a great problem, especially
this statement, “There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor
an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an
hundred years old; but the sinner [being] an hundred years old shall be
accursed.” No more cot deaths and sinners who die and are cursed. The
answer to this is in one word, resurrection.
This is the key which open up the truth to us, 1 Corinthians 15:20-
28, “But now is Christ risen from the dead, [and] become the
firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man [came] death, by man
[came] also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even
so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order:
Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
Then [cometh] the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to
God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all
authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies
under his feet.
The last enemy [that] shall be destroyed [is] death. he hath put all
things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under [him,
it is] manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under
him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son
also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that
God may be all in all.”
This aspect of redemption is frequently ignored and forgotten by Bible
students. They also limit the work of Christ as though it consisted
only of delivering men and women from hell and destruction. The very
foundation of this theology collapses when we go to the literal Greek.
Messiah died to redeem the earth and the creatures or living beings as
well as Adamic man. When Jesus reigns, this earth will be like Paradise
before the fall. It will not all happen immediately. We will consider
this in Revelation Chapter Six. END OF PART FOUR AND END OF CHAPTER
FIVE.
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