Chapter 5 relates to God's Lamb (Jesus Christ) and his work of _"buying men for God."_ The last two verses of this chapter are the praise of the total Universe, joined together in worship to God and the Lamb.... [ Continue Reading ]
SCROLL. This is symbolic of God's Eternal Plan - his purpose for the total Universe throughout history. [Books in ancient times, were made by gluing together pages to form a sheet many feet in length. These were rolled up for storage.] SEALED. Scrolls were sealed to prevent unauthorized use. These w... [ Continue Reading ]
WHO IS WORTHY? Only someone with authority could break the seals.... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT NO ONE WAS FOUND, No one, man or angel, had the authority to break the seals and execute God's Plan.... [ Continue Reading ]
I CRIED BITTERLY. John, _in the vision,_ feels the dismay of Creation as God's Scroll remains sealed.... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN ONE OF THE ELDERS. Not an angel, but an elder (Revelation 4:4), speaks the good news! LOOK! Jesus Christ has won the victory! He is the "Lion from Judah's tribe" (Genesis 49:9-10); and "the great descendant of David" (Isaiah 11:1-10; Matthew 22:41-45). He won the victory through his death (Luke... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN I SAW A LAMB. Not the Lion, but the Lamb. CENTER OF THE THRONE. This shows both the authority of Jesus, and the authority of his act of sacrifice on the Cross. SEVEN HORNS, Symbolic of his authority. SEVEN eyes. Symbolic of the Holy Spirit (Revelation 1:4; Ephesians 2:22).... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LAMB WENT AND TOOK THE SCROLL. The sovereignty of both heaven and earth is given into his hands! [_See Hebrews 1:2;_ Philippians 2:6-11.] AS HE DID SO. As he takes the scroll and is made King of Creation, there is a great burst of praise from the four living creatures [Creation] and the twenty-f... [ Continue Reading ]
The praise of the created and the Redeemed! BY YOUR DEATH. The bloody death of the Cross is the PRICE of buying men [men and women] for God (Revelation 1:6). A KINGDOM OF PRIESTS. In Christ's kingdom (Colossians 1:13) everyone is a priest. Christ himself is _the_ high priest. Alford (Greek Testament... [ Continue Reading ]
AGAIN I LOOKED. Still a vision. The angels of heaven join the Created and the Redeemed to praise Jesus.... [ Continue Reading ]
AND SANG IN A LOAD VOICE. They sing the praises of Jesus for his _act of death_ which sets men free from the results of sin. Christ demonstrated that he is "worthy" by his heroic sacrifice (Ephesians 3:8-11).... [ Continue Reading ]
AND I HEARD EVERY CREATURE. Every being joins in the chorus of praise to God and the Lamb! It is God's act in Jesus the Lamb, which allows God to give the verdict of "not guilty" in regard to those who were "paid for" by the death of Christ. The total Universe shares in the benefits of this act (Rom... [ Continue Reading ]
AMEN. The four living creatures place their seal of approval on the worship. AND THE ELDERS. They, too, fall down to worship the Triune God, and especially the Lamb. [It was a custom in the ancient world to fall down with the face pressed to the ground as a sign of submission and worship.]... [ Continue Reading ]