Revelation Chapter 5
Chapter five is a continuation of the vision that began in chapter four. It is a vision of throne room of God. While chapter four focused on the throne room, chapter five will focus on the Lamb and the book with seven seals.
“The fifth chapter of Revelation needs to be closely studied. It is of great importance to those who shall act a part in the work of God for these last days. There are some who are deceived. They do not realize what is coming on the earth. Those who have permitted their minds to become beclouded in regard to what constitutes sin are fearfully deceived. Unless they make a decided change, they will be found wanting when God pronounces judgment upon the children of men. They have transgressed the law and broken the everlasting covenant, and they will receive according to their works.” Ellen G. White, Testimonies to the Church, volume 9, page 267
We had a peak into the throne room of God previously in Daniel 7:9, 10, 13
“I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. . . . I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
What did we see? We saw the Ancient of Days (the Father), millions of angels, and the Son of man (Jesus Christ).
What was happening? The judgment was set and the books were opened. The Father moved the throne from the Holy Place in the heavenly sanctuary to the Most Holy Place. A cloud of angels, escort Jesus to the Father, and the judgment begins.
In Revelation chapters four and five, we have additional information on the judgment.
Verse 1
“And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written”
According to Revelation 5:7, it seems that it is the Father who sits upon the throne in this heavenly scene. The Lamb, Jesus Christ, take the book from the right hand of Him that sits upon the throne. See Revelation 5:7.
“a book”
The Greek word here is biblion (βιβλίον). There are several different references to books in the Bible.
(a)to denote the Pentateuch, or the Mosaic law, Hebrews 9:19; Hebrews 10:7;
(b)the book of life, Revelation 17:8; Revelation 20:12; Revelation 21:27;
(c)the seven epistles to the seven churches, were also rolled up, Revelation 1:11;
(d) the book of Daniel. Daniel 12:4; Revelation 10:2, 8-10
In reference to the book in the hands of Jesus, we read:
“Thus the Jewish leaders made their choice. Their decision was registered in the book which John saw in the hand of Him that sat upon the throne, the book which no man could open. In all its vindictiveness this decision will appear before them in the day when this book is unsealed by the Lion of the tribe of Judah.” Ellen G. White, Christ Object Lesson, page 294
“sealed with seven seals”
The number seven is the number of completeness. For example, there are seven days in a complete week. There are seven churches representing the complete Christian era. Hence, this book with seven seals is completely sealed, and the only One who could open it is Jesus, the Lion of the tribe of Judah.
Verse 2
“And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice”
This is an angel endowed with great strength. He was appointed for this special declaration. It was a declaration that was to be heard by the whole universe.
“Who is worthy to open the book”
Who is worthy in character to open the book? Who is worthy in rank? Is there anyone in the whole universe worthy of such a task?
Verse 3
“And no man in heaven”
No created being, whether in heaven or earth was worthy?
“Was able to open the book”
It was a task beyond their power.
“Neither to look thereon”
No one had the ability or moral worth to open the seals, nor to have a view of what was written. Once the book was open, Someone had to inspect its content and see what was written there.
Verse 4
“And I wept much, because no man was found worthy”
No man or creature was worthy. This brought a flood of tears to John. He didn’t know what the scroll had contained in it, but he believed that it was important to the salvation of souls. Would people be lost because of this? Will the church suffer a set back?
Verse 5
“And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not.”
One of the elders appears and tells John to stop weeping. There is Someone who can break the seals.
John’s tears were turned to joy. John’s weeping ceased when he saw Jesus. So it is with us. When we behold Jesus, our disappointments become God’s appointments to receive His peace.
“Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah”
This refers to the Lord Jesus.
“The Saviour is presented before John under the symbols of ‘the Lion of the tribe of Judah and of a Lamb as it had been slain.’ Revelation 5:5, 6. These symbols represent the union of omnipotent power and self-sacrificing love. The Lion of Judah, so terrible to the rejectors of His grace, will be the Lamb of God to the obedient and faithful. The pillar of fire that speaks terror and wrath to the transgressor of God's law is a token of light and mercy and deliverance to those who have kept His commandments.” Ellen G. White, Acts of the Apostles, page 589
Lion as a symbol
(a) The lion is the king of beasts, and thus becomes an emblem of one of kingly authority and of power. It is because Christ is all-powerful that He is able to open the seals.
(b) “Lion of the tribe of Judah,” the Messiah was of the tribe of Judah. This would point to Jesus as a Ruler having a great dominion.
“The lion, king of the forest, is a fitting symbol of this tribe, from which came David, the Son of David, Shiloh, the true ‘Lion of the tribe of Judah,’ to whom all powers shall finally bow, and all nations render homage.” Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, page 236
“The Root of David”
This would be another expression of Jesus’ right to rule.
“Hath prevailed”
He has won the conflict with evil. He is victor, conqueror, and overcomer. And He will win in the final battle with evil, when all wickedness is destroyed in the lake of fire.
Verse 6
“And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne. . . a Lamb”
When John was told to behold the Lion, he turned and beheld the Lamb. Christ is worthy to take and open the scroll because of His self-sacrificing love. Complete and perfect love was the credentials for taking the scroll. Does Christ qualify? It was due to His perfect and complete love for us that He came and died for our sins.
Jesus is not only all-loving, but also all-powerful as represented by the “seven horns” and all-knowing as represented by the “seven eyes.” We need a Savior that is all-loving, all-powerful, and all-knowing.
Jesus defeats Satan, not by physical force, but by moral excellence.
“The Lamb of God is represented before us as in the midst of the throne of God. He is the great ordinance by which man and God are united and commune together. Thus men are represented as sitting in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. This is the appointed place of meeting between God and humanity.” Ellen G. White, Manuscript 7, 1898
“As it had been slain”
John sees a Lamb that had been slain in the past, but the results of His self-sacrificing love remains today.
“The uplifted Saviour is to appear in His efficacious work as the Lamb slain, sitting upon the throne, to dispense the priceless covenant blessings, the benefits He died to purchase for every soul who should believe on Him. John could not express that love in words; it was too deep, too broad; he calls upon the human family to behold it. Christ is pleading for the church in the heavenly courts above, pleading for those for whom He paid the redemption price of His own lifeblood. Centuries, ages, can never diminish the efficacy of this atoning sacrifice.” Ellen G. White, Testimonies to Ministers, page 92
“Having seven horns”
A horn is symbol of power and dominion. Compare Deuteronomy 33:17; 1 Kings 22:1; Jeremiah 48:25; Zechariah 1:18; Daniel 7:24.
Jesus has seven horns representing complete and perfect power. Almighty power. But it is the power of love and self-sacrifice.
“And seven eyes”
Eyes are a symbol of intelligence. The number seven here also denotes completeness; and the idea is, that He is able to survey all things, because He knows all things.
“Which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth”
Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus, who knows all, is everywhere present. The Holy Spirit is clearly connected to the work of Jesus. The expression “sent forth into all the earth,” refers to the fact that that Spirit is omnipresent. The Spirit of God is often represented as sent or poured out; and the meaning here is, that his operations are as if He was sent out to survey all things and to operate everywhere. Compare 1 Corinthians 12:6-11.
Verse 7
“And he came and took the book out of the right hand”
Imagine this majestic scene. The Lamb takes the book, representing His victory over evil. Then all heaven rejoices.
Verses 8
The self-sacrificing love of Jesus in dying for the human race produced a new song in heaven. Hitherto, the angels would sing of God’s self-existence and His power to create. Now all creation could sing of His incomprehensible self-sacrificing love.
The time will come when all the redeemed will sing the song of the Lamb before the entire universe. Those who come out of the great time of trouble will sing a new song that only they can sing because of their experience. See Revelation 14:1–5.
“Golden vials”
Gold is the symbol of a Christlike character which is rich in faith and love. The incense or odors that ascend from these vials symbolize “the prayers of the saints.” These prayers are rich in faith and love. They are golden prayers that draw us closer to Christ. In His presence our characters are transformed into His altogether beautiful character. The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders take our prayers and turn them into beautiful songs to God.
Psalm 141:2 "Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense.”
“The incense, ascending with the prayers of Israel, represents the merits and intercession of Christ, His perfect righteousness, which through faith is imputed to His people, and which can alone make the worship of sinful beings acceptable to God. Before the vail of the most holy place, was an altar of perpetual intercession, before the holy, an altar of continual atonement. By blood and incense, God was to be approached,--symbols pointing to the great Mediator, through whom sinners may approach Jehovah, and through whom alone mercy and salvation can be granted to the repentant, believing soul.” Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, page 353
Golden harps
The harp is used in Scripture as a symbol of praise. A golden harp would indicate a form of worship and praise that produces a Christlike character. The only music that exists in heaven is sacred music. There is no rock music in the heavenly courts.
Verse 9
“And they sung a new song”
The new song is based upon the prayers of the saints, who have gained a new experience. They have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus. Never before had the Creator become a man and died for the sins of some sinful race. Therefore, this song had never been sung before. But the Creator had become a man upon planet Earth. It was something new. There was a fallen world that God wanted to redeemed, even at the cost of His own Son. God’s Son would live among the fallen race. He would manifest the true nature of God and His government. He would take upon the Himself the sins of the world and die upon a cross. This was new. A new song now needed to be sung to praise God for His matchless love for the human race.
The four living creatures, the twenty-four elders, the myriad of angels, and the unfallen worlds have praised God for His eternity and His creative power since they were created. But now the universe sees in their Maker a redeeming love that shall be the science of the redeemed and the entire universe.
The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders have heard the prayers of the saints. They have not only witnessed the crucifixion of Christ for the sinful race, but they now hear the prayers of those whose lives have been changed by the blood of Christ. They hear the prayers of the saints that praise God for making them kings and priests. These loving heavenly beings in the throne room of God have seen the transformation of these saints in becoming servants of God. They hear the prayers of the saints that praise Him for the promise of a new heaven and a new earth. The saints know that they shall reign upon the earth with Jesus. The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders believe this too. Based on what they have seen take place in the lives of the saints, and what they hear in the prayers of the saints, they sing this beautiful song based on the prayers of the saints. It comes before God as a very sweet odor.
“The cross of Christ will be the science and the song of the redeemed through all eternity. In Christ glorified they will behold Christ crucified. Never will it be forgotten that He whose power created and upheld the unnumbered worlds through the vast realms of space, the Beloved of God, the Majesty of heaven, He whom cherub and shining seraph delighted to adore—humbled Himself to uplift fallen man; that He bore the guilt and shame of sin, and the hiding of His Father's face, till the woes of a lost world broke His heart and crushed out His life on Calvary's cross. That the Maker of all worlds, the Arbiter of all destinies, should lay aside His glory and humiliate Himself from love to man will ever excite the wonder and adoration of the universe. As the nations of the saved look upon their Redeemer and behold the eternal glory of the Father shining in His countenance; as they behold His throne, which is from everlasting to everlasting, and know that His kingdom is to have no end, they break forth in rapturous song: ‘Worthy, worthy is the Lamb.’” Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, page 651
Jesus is not just our Creator-Redeemer. He was adored by the whole universe. Imagine how the four living creatures, the twenty-four elders, the myriad of angels, and the unfallen worlds felt when their Maker became a man. Jesus was the Majesty of heaven, whom the whole universe worshiped and adorned. In becoming a man, they could see how much God loved us. In dying for man, they could see that God is perfect in love, and that Satan was a murderer from the beginning. In His ascension, imagine the reception Jesus received from all the heavenly hosts. O how they watched His every step upon the earth. O how they listened to every word. They saw it all. In their eyes, Jesus is more than worthy. He is the only One worthy.
Because of this great controversy between good and evil, between Christ and Satan, the loyal angels and the unfallen worlds have that much more love and adoration for God. They too have learned from the rebellion of Satan and God’s response to it.
“Thou art worthy to take the book”
The motivation or grounds for this “new song,” was the self-sacrificing work of Jesus in dying for our sins. He alone could have paid for our sins, and hence, He alone had the right to take the book and to open the seals.
Because of His redeeming love, the redeemed are able to sing a new song, receive a new name, and inhabit the New Jerusalem. All things become new because of the Lamb.
“And hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood ”
Jesus has purchased us with His own blood. He paid the price and we belong to Him not only by creation, but by redemption.
“Out of every kindred”
Literally, out of “of every tribe.” When we think of kindred or tribes, we think of family, a common ancestry. As such, we were made to band together.
“And tongue”
No matter your language or dialect, Jesus is able to save to the uttermost. Men and women from all around the world will be part of the redeemed.
“And people”
No matter your ethnicity, Jesus is able to save. Thousands upon thousands from every “people” group will make up the redeemed.
“And nation”
Thousands upon thousands, perhaps millions, will come from every nation or large population group.
Verse 10
“And hast made us unto our God kings and priests”
As Christians, we have the opportunity to serve others as priests, and to use all of our resources to further the kingdom of God. Our main ministry as kings and priests is to reconcile men back to God. See 2 Corinthians 5:19, 20; Isaiah 61:6; Exodus 19:6; 2 Peter 2:9.
“And we shall reign on the earth”
We were told in the book of Daniel, that the kingdom will be given to the saints. Daniel 7:18, 22, 27. Evil and evil men will no longer rule. In the Earth made new, it will be occupied by the saints of the most High.
“I heard shouts of triumph from the angels and from the redeemed saints, which sounded like ten thousand musical instruments, because they were to be no more annoyed and tempted by Satan and because the inhabitants of other worlds were delivered from his presence and his temptations.
“Then I saw thrones, and Jesus and the redeemed saints sat upon them; and the saints reigned as kings and priests unto God. Christ, in union with His people, judged the wicked dead, comparing their acts with the statute book, the Word of God, and deciding every case according to the deeds done in the body.
Then they meted out to the wicked the portion which they must suffer, according to their works; and it was written against their names in the book of death. Satan also and his angels were judged by Jesus and the saints. Satan's punishment was to be far greater than that of those whom he had deceived. His suffering would so far exceed theirs as to bear no comparison with it. After all those whom he had deceived had perished, Satan was still to live and suffer on much longer.” Ellen G. White, Early Writings, page 290
Verses 11
“And I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders”
Everybody sings in heaven. The four living creatures sing. The twenty-four elders sing. The whole innumerable host of angels sing. When it says that they sing in “a loud voice” it means that they sing together in perfect harmony. There is universal sympathy and harmony in heaven, and that all worlds will unite in ascribing honor to the Lamb of God.
“Holy angels will join in the song of the redeemed. Though they cannot sing from experimental knowledge, ‘He hath washed us in His own blood, and redeemed us unto God,’ yet they understand the great peril from which the people of God have been saved. Were they not sent to lift up for them a standard against the enemy? They can fully sympathize with the glowing ecstasy of those who have overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.” Ellen G. White, Letter 79, 1900
“The Lord gives to every angel his work for this fallen world. Divine help is provided for men and women. They have the opportunity of cooperating with the heavenly intelligences, of being laborers together with God. There is placed before them the possibility of gaining a fitness for the presence of God, of being enabled to see His face. Heavenly angels are working to bring the human family into a close brotherhood, a oneness describe by Christ as like that exiting between the Father and the Son.” Ellen G. White, Review and Herald, July 4, 1899
Verse 12
“Worthy is the Lamb”
Jesus is worthy to receive this sevenfold praise to receive “(1) power, and (2) riches, and (3) wisdom, and (4) strength, and (5) honor, and (6) glory, and (7) blessing.” All praise for Jesus is once again universal, complete, and perfect. There is now no more opposition to Jesus. There is no more rebellion in the universe.
“Never can the cost of our redemption be realized until the redeemed shall stand with the Redeemer before the throne of God. Then as the glories of the eternal home burst upon our enraptured senses, we shall remember that Jesus left all this for us, that He not only became an exile from the heavenly courts, but for us took the risk of failure and eternal loss. Then we shall cast our crowns at His feet, and raise the song, Worthy is the Lamb.” Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, page 131
“What sustained the Son of God during His life of toil and sacrifice? He saw the results of the travail of His soul, and was satisfied. Looking into eternity, He beheld the happiness of those who through His humiliation had received pardon and everlasting life. His ear caught the shout of the redeemed. He heard the ransomed ones singing the song of Moses and the Lamb.” Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, page 601
Verse 13, 14
“And every creature”
This would refer to all created beings.
“Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, forever and ever.”
This shows the equality between the Father and the Son. Both are eternal and self-existent.
Apply It!
Consider the three main reasons for praising God. How can these three qualities in God help me in my daily walk?
He is self-existent
He is the Creator
Jesus died for our sins
I have been particularly impressed by the four living creatures. They praise God continually as well as obey His commands and biddings immediately. It seems to me that these go together. We praise God more when we perform His commands without complaint or hesitation. It is also true that we cannot truly praise God when we do not choose to obey Him.
What things do I need to surrender to God that I may learn to praise Him more?
What are some ways we can express praise unto God?