Revelation chapter five part one
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PART ONE
Revelation 5:1-8, “And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the
throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven
seals. AND, I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who is
worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in
heaven, or in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the
book, neither to look thereon. And, I wept much, because no man was
found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. 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
to loose the seven seals thereof. 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. And
he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon
the throne. 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.”
It is very evident that the “book” John saw was in the form of a scroll
or roll, for it was “written within and without.” This scroll contained
the prophecies relating to the redemption of all creation dramatized
before John in his visions. At first, it seemed that there was no one
worthy to break the seals, and he wept much. John knew this scroll
signified redemption of land etc., as did all similar scrolls in
Israel. Redemption of all creation and Israel would not occur until
after all these seals were broken. It appeared that at first that no
one was qualified to break them.
THE SETTING OF THE SCENE
Most of us are familiar with the setting of this chapter. In
Revelation 1, we have the vision of the glorified Christ in the majesty
of His second coming. In chapters 2 and 3 we have a history of
professing Christendom prewritten under the figure of the seven
churches from Ephesus to Laodicea. In vision John is caught away into
heaven and sees, first of all, YHWH on the throne in all His glory and
majesty, followed by heaven’s song of praise and adoration by the
entire hosts of glory, also the elders, who were the twelve Patriarchs
and the twelve Apostles. The four beasts, or living creatures,
represented the angelic hosts. Chapter 5 is a continuation of chapter
4. It begins with the conjunction “and” and, therefore, links it with
the closing verse of Revelation 4.
THE SCENE IN HEAVEN
The scene is in heaven where John was caught up to meet the Lord and
where he saw Messiah on the throne. John is completely overwhelmed by
this marvellous vision of his Lord and his God. But now John notices
something else, of which he had not been aware. He sees another sitting
on the throne and in the hand of this one is a little book. The
word “book” should be “scroll.” It is a roll of parchment sealed with
seven seals. Everything comes to a standstill in heaven while diligent
search is made to find someone who can break the seals and open the
book. Until that man is found there can be no further revelation.
Everything hinges upon the finding of one who is worthy to open the
book. In this little book is contained the revelation and the account
of all that is to follow upon the breaking of the seven seals, the
blowing of the seven trumpets and the pouring out of the seven final
vials, or bowls, of the wrath of God. It is the book of redemption and
will show us that we are now living in end times, Luke 21:28 “And when
these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your
heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.”
THE BOOK OR SCROLL OF REDEMPTION
For the interpretation of the book we need to consider the Pentateuch
and the numerous laws and regulations especially the law which dealt
with the redemption of three things. God provided that a wife, a slave
and a possession might be redeemed. In the case of a wife, if her
husband died before leaving offspring, in order that his name might not
disappear from the earth, the dead husband’s brother was to take the
widow as his wife ( if he were able) and to perpetuate the name of his
departed brother. There was also the law of redemption of a slave. If a
man, because of his neglect or misfortune, fell into debt and was
legally tried and unable to pay, he was to serve his master to whom he
owed this debt as a servant, but the law provided that after seven
years he could again go free, Deut 15:12-15 “And if thy brother, an
Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six
years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee.
And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him go
away empty: Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out
of thy floor, and out of thy winepress: of that wherewith the LORD thy
God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him. And thou shalt remember
that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God
redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing to day.”
During this servitude it was always possible for a close relative or
kinsman to redeem him providing he was able to make the payment. He
could redeem his poor brother and release him at any time before the
six years ended. This marvelous provision is described in Leviticus 25
among the laws of redemption. Provision was also made for a third
redemption: the redemption of land which had been lost by its owner.
This is stated in Leviticus 25:23-25, “The land shall not be sold for
ever: for the land [is] mine; for ye [are] strangers and sojourners
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.” If there was no one
to redeem the land, it would remain with the family who purchased until
the Year of Jubilee which occurred every 49 years in the fiftieth year.
THE METHOD OF REDEMPTION.
When a man had fallen into debt and lost his property or land, he was
taken before the judges and a document was prepared which stated that
the land had passed from the debtor into the possession of the one to
whom he owed the debt. The document or scroll was then sealed with
seven seals. This was not a permanent transfer because the land was
restored to its original owner when the Year of Jubilee began. This was
on the Feast of Trumpets, of the fiftieth year. However during his
servitude it could be redeemed and returned to him at any time by a
kinsman redeemer or Goel. (REDEEMER (Hebrew go’el, the “nearest
kinsman”).
This could be done in two ways. The man himself could pay the
redemption price, but this was was unlikely, because he had become a
servant or slave. Provision was made whereby a relative, an uncle or a
closer kin could pay the redemption price. The papers, therefore, were
written on two scrolls of parchment. On both of these were written the
terms of the redemption of the lost possession. One scroll was left
open in the court of the Temple or Tabernacle for all to read, but the
other was rolled up, sealed with seven seals and placed in the Temple.
Later only one scroll was used written on both sides of the scroll.
The Kinsman Redeemer had to give the required evidence that he was
willing and able to redeem it. He would go to the court of the
Tabernacle, read the terms of redemption as found in the open public
scroll, and then go to the priest or judge and demand that the sealed
document be brought forth and the debtor be freed and his property
returned. If this kinsman, this relative, were able to show that he was
able to pay the redemption price and could meet all the conditions of
the law, the sealed scroll was produced and he publicly tore open the
seals and invalidated the mortgage and the man could return to his
purchased possession.
As time passed the practice of using one scroll instead of two was
adopted. Instead of two scrolls, one public and the other sealed, these
were combined into one. One scroll or parchment was used, and the terms
of the redemption of the mortgage was written on both sides, within and
without. The scroll was then rolled into a tube, and sealed with the
seven seals. The information inside corresponded to the record, and the
outside as well, containing the terms for any kinsman redeemer for
redeeming the lost possession. This is the meaning of the symbolism in
Revelation 5.
We see the judge of all the earth sitting on His throne and in His hand
is this scroll written on the outside and the backside or inside and
sealed with seven seals. It is, therefore, a book of redemption. This
is evident also from Revelation 5:910. “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 has 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.
The song is of redemption is in anticipation of the reign of the
believers over the earth. When the last seal is broken the Great Day of
YHWH is fulfilled, Zephaniah 1:14 “The great day of the LORD [is] near,
[it is] near, and hasteth greatly, [even] the voice of the day of the
LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.” We saw in Revelation
Chapter One that the Lord’s Day was not the Sabbath but was in fact
this Great Day of the Lord. It will be a Year of Jubilee.
This enables us to understand that all creation is redeemed when the
last seal is broken, Romans 8:22-23, “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 of the
Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the
adoption, [to wit], the redemption of our body.”
The Philips translation of Romans 8:18-23 is magnificent and reads, “In
my opinion whatever we may have to go through now is less than nothing
compared with the magnificent future God has planned for us. The whole
creation is on tiptoe to see the wonderful sight of the sons of God
coming into their own. The world of creation cannot as yet see reality,
not because it chooses to be blind, but becauser in God’s purpose it
has been so limited, yet it has been given hope. And the hope is that
in the end the whole of created life will be rescued from the tyranny
of change and decay, and have its share in that magnificent which can
only belong to the children of God! It is plain to anyone with eyes to
see that at the present time all created life groans in a sort of
universal travail. And it is plain, too, that we who have a foretaste
of the Spirit are in a state of painful tension, while we wait for that
redemption of our bodies which will mean that at last we have realised
our full sonship in Him.”
All the earth and the creatures of the earth, both vegetable and
animal, are still under the curse, 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.” The earth itself is still groaning under the
curse of man’s sin. These also must be redeemed, for Christ is a
perfect Redeemer, and every realm which came under the curse of Adam’s
sin must also be delivered by the redemption of the Last Adam.
When Adam fell he did not fall alone, but fell as the head of the
entire terrestrial creation. Through his sin the curse fell upon all
that which had been placed under him. Adam was created to be a king,
and a king is responsible for his subjects. He is the head of the
nation. If, through an act of his, he plunges his nation into war, all
his subjects are plunged into war with him, whether right or wrong.
This was true also of Adam when he fell. He fell as the head and so the
curse of sin fell on all over which he reigned. First, the whole race
fell in Adam, and today, all are born sinners and children of wrath
because of this headship. This is a fact which cannot. be denied.
Through Adam’s sin death passed upon all men including even the
inanimate soil of the earth, for God said in Genesis 3:17-19, “And unto
Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife,
and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou
shalt not eat of it: 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; and thou shalt eat the herb of
the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou
return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou
[art], and unto dust shalt thou return.”
He will redeem the earth including all creation, for the desert shall
blossom like the rose. He will redeem the vegetable creation, and “the
parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of
water.” Isaiah 35:1-10, “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be
glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the
glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and
Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, [and] the excellency of
our God. Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.
Say to them [that are] of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold,
your God will come [with] vengeance, [even] God [with] a recompence; he
will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and
the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame [man] leap
as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness
shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. 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. And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be
called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it
[shall be] for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err
[therein]. No lion shall be there, nor [any] ravenous beast shall go up
thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk
[there]: And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion
with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy
and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”
Adam lost his inheritance, but God has provided for a plan of
redemption whereby that which Adam lost will be redeemed. All this is
contained in the little book in the right hand of Him that sitteth upon
the throne, of whom we read in Revelation 5. The sevensealed book
contains the terms on which Adam’s lost estate may be redeemed by the
Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Lamb with seven horns and seven eyes,
even the last Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
Doth his successive journeys run;
His kingdom reach from shore to shore,
Till moons shall wax and wane no more.
END OF CHAPTER FIVE PART ONE
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