Revelation Chapter 5

The Book Sealed with Seven Seals

Verse 1: Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals.

As the vision continued to unfold before him, John saw a book in the right hand of the Almighty God who was sitting on the throne. This book not only contained writings on the inside but also on the back of it showing that the contents were full and complete. This book was the “title deed” to the earth.

The book contains the story. The story is found in the book we call the bible. It is the story of redemption. Hence, the Holy Book can be called the “Book of Redemption” or figuratively, the “Book of Life”. The story of redemption tells of how the creator-God had originally given this good earth to the mankind, Adam. But Adam failed to obey God’s commandment by listening to his wife, who was deceived by the serpent.

Verse 2: And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, "Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?"
Verse 3: But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it.
Verse 4: I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside.

Since the time of the fall of man, there has not been one worthy enough to take the book and open it. None can break the seals or even take a peep at the contents. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Now, the fall of man did not catch God unaware. In fact, God foreknow it and permitted it to happen. Why? So that out of corruption shall come forth perfection and beauty (Psalm 50:2, Lamentation 2:15). The Apostle Paul wrote: 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 (Romans 8:20-21). Amen. But how? Through the seed of God – Jesus Christ Who was virgin born! Why? To bypass the original sin. It was absolutely essential for the Redeemer to have pure, undefiled blood running in His veins.

Verse 5: Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals."
Verse 6: Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

Praise the Lord! Amen! But who is this Lion of the tribe of Judah? He is none other than Jesus Christ Who is not only the King of Israel, but Who is also the King of all born again saints of His spiritual kingdom. Even as a King, He did not have the right to redeem because God demanded a lamb. So He became a Lamb. And He prevailed. Christ if the King and Savior of who believe in Him.

Notice, the lamb had “seven horns and seven eyes. Which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. Remember, what John saw was a vision, a pictorial scene, illustrative of God’s truth.
Now, the seven spirits which stood before the throne of God (Revelation 1) identified themselves so closely with Christ in His work throughout the church ages that they became a part of the Lamb. Here they are described as horns and eyes on the head of the lamb because they worked with the Head of the Church. Horns and eyes signify power and knowledge respectively. Hence the seven horns and seven eyes denote the omnipotence and omniscience of Christ Jesus in His dealing with His saints in His church.

Verse 7: He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne.
Verse 8: And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

Remember that John saw all these in a vision. The one sitting on the throne is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, who had overcome and now sits on the Father’s Throne. He is all of God, the Everlasting Father (Isaiah 9:6). He is the fullness of God (Colossians 2:9). God and Christ are one (John 10:30, 38). But the lamb personifies Jesus Christ in His work as a sacrificial lamb.

The four living creatures and the twenty four elders prostrated themselves before the Lamb and worshipped Him. Each had a harp and a golden vial that was filled with the prayers of the saints. Yes, God loves the adoration of His saints, their praises and prayers.

Verse 9: And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.
Verse 10: You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth."

In Revelation 4:9-11 they sung the song of creation. Here it is the new song of redemption with specific reference to the Lamb’s worthiness to open the scroll because of His work of redemption. Truly Jesus Christ, as a bloody lamb, was worthy to take the Book and to open and loose the seven seals because He willingly gave His life to be slain on the cross. With His blood He has redeemed people, in the great millennial reign of Christ.

Verse 11: Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders.
Verse 12: In a loud voice they sang: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!"

Not only the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders prostrated themselves before the Lamb to worship Him but all the angels in heaven also lifted their voices and worshipped the Lam. Notice that the worship was directed at the Lamb. Why? Because He was slain and had overcome and was therefore worthy to receive all the praises and adoration. Because He had overcome He was worthy to take the sealed scroll and open it. Because He could take the sealed scroll and loose the seals He was worthy to receive the power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory and blessing.

Verse 13: Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!"
Verse 14: The four living creatures said, "Amen," and the elders fell down and worshiped.

Every creature in the whole universe had to worship and glorify the Lamb because He was truly worthy. If He had not accomplished what He was ordained to do then there would be no redemption and creation would continue and end in death. He wants you to get intimate with Him so that He may give you the revelation which He has received Him from the Heavenly Father. He is doing all this through His Five Ascension ready for His coming.

Saints of God, do you see the Lord Jesus Christ in our midst? Do you recognize the true ministry? Therefore let us put on the hearth on the Holy Spirit and get that gold which has been tried in the fire that we may be rich and that we may put on the white raiment at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Revelation Chapter 4

The Throne in Heaven

Having shown John the conditions of the seven churches, God now goes on to show him that will come to pass in the due time. This chapter not only presents John as a type of the bride of Jesus Christ being brought up into heaven as the church closes out but also shows the bride being brought up in the Spirit of revelation.

Verse 1: After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this."

The “first voice” was the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ (Revelation 1:10-11). Like a trumpet that is blown to call one’s attention, the voice had shown John’s attention to an open door in the heaven right after Christ had shown the conditions of the seven churches. Because the bride of Jesus Christ is called out of the apostate system of the church, she is no longer living in the realm of the Laodicean church. So God set an open door for her to enter the heavenly realm.

“After this” or “after these things” denotes the transition from one part of the vision to another – it marks the succession of the visions and not of time. “Things which shall be hereafter” means after “the things which are”, that is, the conditions of the seven churches in Asia Minor shown to John who was asked to write a letter to each of them. See Revelation 1:19. Simply, it means the things which would come to pass from John’s time forward into the future.

Verse 2: At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.

Straightaway John was caught up in the Spirit of Revelation. He was caught up into heaven in a vision and saw the Almighty sitting on a throne. Let me emphasize once again that the spirit of John was not transported into the future, to every century, to witness the events literally as they happened. Unfortunately, this is what some preachers are teaching.

“And one sat on the throne”. This is a self-evident statement: John saw One sat on the Throne because there is only One God. If there is a trinity (of Gods) John would have seen three Gods sitting on three thrones in heaven. If you are a believer of a Holy Trinity, you should now realize that you are being deceived by traditional theology of man.

Verse 3: And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne.

Christ Jesus, Who is sitting on the Throne, is full of the glory of God. He is the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9). He is the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15). Jesus Christ is the visible form of God that man could see. For the Almighty God is an invisible Spirit Whom no one can see (1 Timothy 1:17; 6:16)

Verse 4: Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads.

These twenty-four elders represent the Old Testament and the New Testament Church of God. They characterize the twelve patriarchs or Israel of the Old Testament and the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ of the New Testament. These two groups of twelve speaks of the following: “2” testifies of witness and “12” signifies the perfect government of God.

Verse 5: From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God.

In the Old Testament era, when God met with the people of Israel on Mount Sinai and when He gave the Ten Commandments to Moses, there were lightning, thunders, a thick cloud, the voice of trumpet and earthquake, smoke and fire (Exodus 19:16-18). Such phenomena show the awesome omnipotence of the Almighty God particularly when God is about to pass judgment or show His wrath from His throne.

Notice that John also heard voices coming from the throne. These voices denotes revelations proceeding from the throne. Every true revelation must originate from the Throne of God.

Verse 6: Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back.
Verse 7: The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle.

This “sea of glass like unto crystal” denotes a sea of people who are pure and holy. These are the chosen few who are the redeemed and the over comers of every age. They stand before their Lord and Master and await their rewards (Romans 14:10; 2 Corinthians 5:10). Later, they will sit on thrones set up for them (Revelation 20:4)

There is another “sea glass” in Revelation 15:2 but it is mingled with fire. The “four beasts” should be called the “four living creatures”. They are guardian angels with great intelligence. In the New Testament, we have the Four Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Respectively, these four books reflect the nature and characteristics of Jesus Christ as the lion, which represents His royalty and kingship; the ox represents His patience and sacrifice; the man, which represents His sympathy and humanity and the flying eagle, which represents His glorious majesty and divinity.

Verse 8: Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."

These living creatures were not created and program by God to worship Him day and night, saying “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was and is and is to come” Some preachers, in an effort to ensure that their teachings stick, have literally made a nonsense of certain scriptural doctrines. They teach that the angelic beings were programmed to worship God robotically.

Verse 9: Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever,
Verse 10: The twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:

Verse 11: "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."

What humility! Even with such high positions bestowed upon them, the 24 Elders placed their crowns before the throne, prostrated themselves before the Lord and worshiped Him whenever the four beasts offer glory, honor and thanksgiving to the One sitting on the throne. They offer us an excellent example of humility in respect of our position in the church of God because people tend to get high-minded when they are in certain positions. Some make themselves lords over God’s heritage while others make themselves the chiefest of God’s servants.

Let us really humble and worship the Lord, giving Him all glory, honor and power. Amen.

Revelation Chapter 3 (continuation)

Verse 11: I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.
Verse 12: Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God, and I will also write on him my new name.
Verse 13: He who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

If you are born again child of God, you have a place in the Body of Christ and you also have a crown. So, hold fast to whatever you have received of God, and be an over comer and you will be made a pillar in the church of God. These pillars are strong and could not be moved. These are the ones who shoulder certain responsibilities in the assembly that God uses to strengthen the temple. There are some Christians who move about so much, going in and out, among different assemblies that they could never be pillars. They could not even be a stone in the temple of God because they are busy with their own self-righteous programs that they are doing God a service without God’s directive. God wants us to be living stones that are fitly joined and held together for the temple of God (1 Peter 2:5 and Ephesians 4:16) and not rolling stones that can never stay still long enough to be cemented into proper place in the temple.

A Letter to the Church in Laodicea

Verse 14: To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.

We are living in the Laodicean age which began around the year 1906 and which will end at the coming of Christ for His Bride. Though the name Laodicea means “people rights” it was often used in honor of certain royal ladies. The name so chosen by the Lord is apt for this last age. There are indeed many “royal ladies” with people within them demanding their rights. But the only rights a Christian have are those which God has stated in His word. But the Laodicean Christians do not want that. They may not openly say so, but they will water down the word and will of God to such an extent that they practically dress, talk, and behave just like the world. They curse, swear, cheat and lie. Their womenfolk cut their hair, paint their faces and put on shorts and trousers like men or dress indecently. Some of their men, with long hair, behave like women, almost. These Christians are being seduced by lying spirits (1 Timothy 4:1). This last generation of the Laodicean church is but a sick generation.

Verse 15: I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot, I wish you were either one or the other!
Verse 16: So, because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

When Christians demand their rights, their priority to the Lord and His word will be relegated to the second place as their individual rights preoccupy their minds. They are lukewarm and do not have the right spiritual judgement. They are neither cold not hot. If they are either cold or hot, God will deal with them accordingly. But God is sick of lukewarm Christians and He is going to vomit them out of His mouth. They may have certain achievements in their works for the Lord. But God has no regard for their works.

Verse 17: You say, I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing. But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.

How true it is! As this church gets closer to the return of Christ, the church becomes vainer in their appearance. But the bride, the true elect, is not so. Each of the “royal ladies” would complete for greater attention of the world with their church programs to increase their membership. They have different sorts of social activities to make the people feel good. They would raise large amount of money to buy properties and build large church buildings.

Verse 18: I counsel you to buy from me gold refine in the fire, so you can becomes rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness, and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

Our Lord Jesus Christ is a God of love, grace and mercy. Before He passes judgment He would give a warning and provide a way of escape for those who have an ear to hear what His Spirit is saying to the church. He is counseling the church to buy Him gold tried in the fire. He wants them to have the genuine faith that has withstood the test of fiery trials through the churches of time. However, many Christians just cannot stay still for a while to really hear and receive the message God has prepared for them. So they end up with counterfeit gifts and fool’s gold that are worthless. But Jesus said:

Verse 19: Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.

Yes, there will be a group of people whom Jesus loves. They will repent. They won’t rebel as Jesus corrects them. They will respond to the love of God is Christ. They will hear the voice of God’s seven churches messenger. They will receive and contend for the genuine golden faith that was once delivered to the believers in the days of the apostles (Jude 3).

Verse 20: Here I am I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with Me.

As this church comes to its end we see that Jesus is no longer inside the church. This church started with an outpouring of God’s gifts. The outpouring was supposed to get the church to pay close attention of the word of God. Instead, we see the church wanting more of the gifts of God than the giver Himself. Paul says that God give and distributes Hid gifts as He wills (1 Corinthians 12), but the church is saying that all believers must speak in tongues of have at least one of the gifts. The church today has no true message for the world because Christ is no longer inside the church.

Verse 21: To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me in my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
Verse 22: He who has ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

God will grant to every individual believer, who overcomes the state of lukewarmness, who gets spiritually hot for the Lord Jesus, who lives a holy life and who does the will of God, the right to share in the authority of Christ.

Have you heard? The admonition to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches is the same for all churches ages. There is not only the necessity to hear but also the need to have a spiritual ear to hear correctly the revelation of the Holy Spirit for the churches.

Next is Revelation Chapter 4 and try also visits my other URL: http://jmhe-blogko.blogspot.com for more God explanations.