REVELATION 5 (KJV)

REVELATION 5

WORTHY IS THE LAMB THAT WAS SLAIN

photo courtesy of trackingbibleprophesy.com

   1) 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.

   2) And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?

   3) And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.

   4) And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.

   5) And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not:  behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

   6) 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.

   7) And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him that sat upon the throne.

   8) 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.

   9) And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof:  for Thou was slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

   10) And hast made us unto our God kings and priests:  and we shall reign on the earth.

   11) And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders:  and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;

   12) Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.

   13) And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

   14) And the four beasts said, Amen.  And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshiped Him that liveth for ever and ever.   (King James Version, Public Domain)

COMMENTARY

 photo courtesy of bgfons.com

   1) The "book" written is really probably a scroll similar to the one photo.  The ancient books of Israel were generally sheepskin rolls; and since we are told that this book was sealed with seven seals, we are to understand that the book was rolled up to a certain point, and there a seal was placed on the edge, so that it could not be opened until that seal was broken.  It was then rolled up a little farther and another seal was placed; and so on, until there were six seals on the edge of the book and one seal closing the entire scroll.  After the first seal was broken, a certain portion of the book was exposed to view, and so forth, until all of the seals were broken and the entire book was unrolled.

   2 - 5)  In the days of Jeremiah, his cousin, Hanameel, knew the Hebrews were about to be taken captive.  However, he had a piece of property.  He knew the property would be worthless to him after Israel was conquered, so he offered to sell it to Jeremiah.  You can read about this in Jeremiah 32.  God told Jeremiah to buy it; so he did.  He gave the deed to his lawyer, sealed, to hide away for his posterity in the event he did not return from Babylon, because Jeremiah knew that one day, the Hebrews would be freed.  After they were freed, who owned the property?  That's correct:  the descendants of Jeremiah!  Only they had the authority to come back and unseal the document and claim ownership!

   Thus it is with this world.  God created it for mankind to enjoy.  Adam and Eve sinned, so they forfeited the title.  Satan claimed it for his own, and tries to claim the inhabitants.  However, Jesus paid the price to restore it to it's former, untainted splendor along with His Bride.  So, God has been holding the title for safe keeping until the time Jesus comes and reclaims it.  No one else could.  No man has ever been born who is worthy of unsealing the scroll; only Jesus who is the Son of Man but sinless.

   6) The seven horns speak of power.  Seven is perfection.


The only way to spend eternity in Heaven is with a personal relationship with The Lamb, Who was slain to cleanse you totally from your sins.  Click here to start your journey with Him:   https://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/p/path-to-salvation.html.

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REVELATION, CHAPTER 4 (King James Version)

REVELATION 4

ENTERING HEAVEN

photo courtesy of thebookofrevelationonline.com


   1) After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven:  and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.

   2) And immediately I was in the spirit:  and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and One sat on the throne.

   3) and He that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone:  and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.

   4) And round about the throne were four and twenty seats:  and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.

   5) And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices:  and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

   6) And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal:  and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.

   7) And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.

   8) And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.

   9) And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to Him that sat on the throne, Who liveth forever and ever,

   10) The four and twenty elders fall down before Him that sat on the throne, and worship Him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

   11) Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power:  for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created.   (King James Version, public domain)

COMMENTARY

   When Chapter 3 ends, so ends the age of the church.  The church is raptured between chapter 3 and 4; and chapter 4 begins with the Apostle John being caught up into Heaven.  The scenes in the first few chapters are how events are witnessed from Heaven.  Then we will switch and see how those same events looked on earth.  Come quickly, Lord Jesus!  Keep in mind that the word "Saint" from here on is distinct from the church.  Israel comes into view, along with a great multitude of Gentiles saved through the tribulation; but there is no Holy Spirit left on earth from this point on, no Bride of Christ, there is no church.

  So, if you don't have a relationship with my LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ, click here to learn how to be adopted into His family:  'https://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/p/path-to-salvation.html'

   3) The jasper stone here is probably not the opaque stone that we are familiar with today, but a diamond, as described in 21:11.  The sardine stone was probably a ruby.  These two stones together give the idea of glory and sacrifice.   The ruby red may also represent the wrath about to be poured out.  To the Hebrew, these stones represent the first and last stones in the breastplate of the High Priest.  These stones bore the names of the tribes of Judah.  The first is Rueben (behold a Son); the last Benjamin (Son of my right hand).  So, these stones name Jesus.

   The rainbow is like an emerald (the stone of Judah - Praise). The rainbow symbolizes God's covenant faithfulness, mercy, and grace. (Genesis 9: 13-17)  Even if the red ruby represents His wrath, His wrath never operates at the expense of His faithfulness; His judgments never abrogate His promises.  That is why we don't live in abject terror of His power and holiness.  The take-away of God sitting on His throne is not of someone who is resting, but One who is ruling!  He rules in power and majesty!

   4) There were twelve sons of Israel (Jacob), and twelve Apostles = 24.  These are not the individual sons of Jacob and Apostles, but representatives.  These are representatives of all the Old Covenant and New Covenant believers.  Not all commentaries agree that this is who the twenty four are.  Some say it is 24 angels, which is not substantiated elsewhere in scripture. Others say they represent the tribulation saints.  Still others believe they represent the raptured, glorified, coronated church.


   THE FOUR BEASTS:  Ezekiel tried to describe these "beasts" as has John.  It is difficult to describe those things that we are familiar with, much less, those things we have never encountered!  The best guess is that these "beasts" are cherubim, an exalted order of angels frequently associated in Scripture with God's holy power.  Their eyes in front and back symbolizes their awareness, alertness, and comprehensive knowledge, even though they are not omniscient.  Nothing escapes their scrutiny pertaining to their duties.

  The calf, the eagle, the lion, and the man represent the banners of the twelve tribes of Jacob:  Reuben - man; Dan - eagle; Ephraim - the calf; Judah - a lion.  This description, though, describes the creatures in relation to the created world:  the lion represents wild creatures; the calf represents domestic animals; the eagle - flying creatures, and man - the pinnacle of creation.  Also worthy of note, is that symbolically, the lion represents strength; the calf - service; the man - reason; and the eagle - speed.

   10) Note that these Saints cast down their crowns.  Nobody receives a crown until after the rapture: "Look, I am coming soon!  My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done."  Revelation 22:12 (NIV)


   11) Now, catch this:  God created all things for His pleasure!  That is talking about you and me!  Oh, if only He takes delight in His creation!  How often do I wonder if I make Him smile or if He gets fed up with me.  I praise Him that He is merciful and gracious; slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. Psalm 103:8

    If this ministry is a blessing to you, we encourage you to leave your thoughts in a comment.  We would love to hear from you.

 You are also invited to visit Oma at http://omaspolitics.blogspot.com, http://omaslife.blogspot.com, and http://omashealth.blogspot.com