*Again, recommend the books ‘Heaven’ by Randy Alcorn for when we get to Revelation chapters 21 and 22, and ‘The Woman Rides the Beast’ by Dave Hunt for when we get to Revelation chapters 17 and 18.
Any comments about Revelation up to chapter 5?
As previously discussed, Revelation was written about 95 AD. In the 1900 years since, there have been thousands of commentaries and sermons preached on Revelation 5, so obviously we will only scratch the surface in any one-hour discussion. And most commentators have several hours devoted to this chapter. JVM for instance has 3 to 5 hours for each chapter, though surprisingly only one for chapter 5. Andy Woods has 3 hours.
**Notice that a rapture takes place in Revelation 4:1 ‘Come up here!’ which COULD represent and correspond to the rapture of those in the faithful Church of Philadelphia.
The Tribulation starts in Chapter 6, meaning chapters 4 and 5 could represent a gap period. Please see pages 75 -82 of the notes from the spring. If anyone needs a copy, just email me. It is a very large file (over 200 pages) but I’d recommend you have them.
Revelation chapter five verses 1- 4
5 Then I saw a scroll in the right hand of the one who was sitting on the throne. There was writing on the inside and the outside of the scroll, and it was sealed with seven seals.
[[ to ]] is copied from ‘OnceDelivered.net’…
[[The seven-sealed scroll: Rev. 5:1-4
Previously — The four living creatures: Rev. 4:6-11
The scripture
Rev. 5:1 – Then I saw in the right hand of the One seated on the throne a scroll with writing on the inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. 2I also saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” 3But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or even to look in it. 4And I cried and cried because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or even to look in it (HCSB).
In the opening verses of this chapter we are introduced to a scroll, an ancient means of preserving text prior to the development of the codex, or today what we would call a book. Scrolls typically are made of papyrus or animal skins and, if handled carefully under the proper conditions, may last hundreds of years.
The scroll John sees in heaven is of great interest to all creatures for a number of reasons. First, God the Father is holding the scroll in His right hand as He sits on the throne. Second, there is writing on both sides of the scroll, indicating that it contains a great deal of information. Third, it is sealed with seven seals – normally blots of hardened wax upon which a ruler’s signet ring has created a mark, meaning only the authorized person may break the seal and open the scroll. Fourth, a mighty angel cries out for any person in heaven, on earth, or under the earth to break the seals, as long as he is worthy; no one responds. Fifth, John cries bitterly for a long time because no one is found worthy to open the scroll or even to look in it, a clear indication that God is holding a document of eternal significance.
A scroll with seven seals
The scroll in God’s right hand is unusual because there is writing on both sides. Normally, the uneven texture of animal skins and papyrus makes writing on both sides difficult. Reading a two-sided scroll is challenging as well. Yet John sees writing on the “inside and on the back” (v. 1). The doubly inscribed scroll resembles a Roman will or contract deed, with the details inside and a summary on the outside, then sealed with seven seals. “The scroll John sees could symbolize a will that is to be opened and its contents executed; or it could symbolize God’s covenant with mankind, with the covenant curses that will be poured out due to mankind’s breaking of the contract,” according to the ESV Study Bible. “In a broader sense, the scroll contains God’s purposes for history, but its seven seals prevent the full disclosure and enactment of its contents.”
Several books are mentioned in Revelation. There is the book of life (Rev. 3:5; 17:8; 20:12, 15), which some believe is synonymous with the Lamb’s book of life (compare Rev. 13:8; 21:27) containing the names of the redeemed; others say the two books are separate, with the book of life recording the names of all human beings, and the lost having their names blotted out so that in the end the book of life and the Lamb’s book of life are identical. Next, there is the book of works (Rev. 20:12), in which God records the deeds of all people. But this book – this seven-sealed scroll – is distinct from all the rest.
The Greek indicates that the scroll lies in God’s open hand. He does not withhold the information contained within; He simply waits for one who is worthy to take the scroll and break its seals. No doubt this scroll has been sealed for a long time. Likely, it is the scroll referred to in Isaiah 29:11 and Daniel 12:4, sealed until “the time of the end.” The contents may be seen as the continuation of the Book of Daniel, describing from God’s perspective the judgments necessary to fulfill all that He has foretold. The opening of each seal results in judgment. This is similar to the scroll given Ezekiel: “When He (God) unrolled it before me, it was written on the front and back; [words of] lamentation, mourning, and woe were written on it” (Ezek. 2:10). But there is more to the book than judgment. There is an object, a purpose: the redemption of the forfeited inheritance.
But what, exactly, does this book mean? Commentators offer a number of suggestions. Some argue that it represents the giving to Christ the reins of sovereignty and government on earth. Others say it depicts the eternal counsels and decrees of God. Still others contend that “the time of the end” has come and the purposes of God are about to be executed on the earth. W.A. Criswell offers this view: “[I]t is my understanding that the primary, fundamental, chief reference and significance of this book has to do with the redemption of God’s created universe and everything in it. That book is a book of redemption” (Expository Sermons on Revelation, p. 56).
Criswell comments further. This is a lengthy quote but one that bears reading slowly:
“The book represents a forfeited inheritance. The inheritance is what God created for us, for Adam’s seed. We lost it in sin and transgression. A usurper took it; sin, death, hell, Satan, iniquity, judgment, wrath and the curse took away our inheritance as it is unto this day. According to the law and customs of the ancient Jewish people, the sign of a forfeited inheritance was a sealed book. The fact that it is seven-sealed emphasizes the encumbrances that are upon this inheritance. An interloper, an intruder an alien, an enemy, has taken it, and that book of redemption awaits a goel, a kinsman-redeemer, a worthy, qualified and legal kinsman to buy it back and to restore it to its rightful owners. When that book of redemption is taken by one who is worthy, and those seals are opened, then that interloper, that intruder, that alien, that enemy is to be cast out; and finally the whole purchased possession is to be redeemed, and sin, hell, death, and Satan are to be cast into the lake of fire, forever destroyed. The judgment of God creates for us a new heaven and a new earth, and gives us back the inheritance that we lost in Adam. Such is the meaning of the seven-sealed book that lies upon the hand of God. It is the symbol of a forfeited and lost inheritance” (pp. 66-67).
The seals are placed throughout the scroll so that as each seal is broken, a portion of the hidden text is revealed but the rest remains closed off. The number of seals – seven – is significant. It is the number of completeness and it combines the number often ascribed to the earth (four) with the number of the triune Godhead (three). “Thus, the seven seals, representing all power given to the Lamb; the seven trumpets, by which the world kingdoms are shaken and overthrown, and the Lamb’s kingdom ushered in; and the seven vials, by which the beast’s kingdom is destroyed” (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary).
Matthew Henry adds this thought about the scroll and its seven seals: “This represented the secret purposes of God about to be revealed. The designs and methods of Divine Providence, toward the church and the world, are stated, fixed, and made a matter of record. The counsels of God are altogether hidden from the eye and understanding of the creature. The several parts are not unsealed and opened at once, but after each other, till the whole mystery of God’s counsel and conduct is finished in the world. The creatures cannot open it, nor read it; the Lord only can do so” (Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume, Re 5:1–5).
The sealed book in the hand of God is a sign of the forfeiture of Adam’s inheritance. The world now belongs to someone else. But not for long. “The Lord never created Adam to die,” writes W.A. Criswell. “Death is an enemy…. God never made the earth to groan and to travail in agony and in pain, a place where the animals eat one another, where the earth is blasted with desert and with the burning of the sun and the cold of the winds. God never intended this earth to be bathed in tears and in blood. ‘An enemy hath done this,’ saith the Lord, ‘an interloper.’ The sign of that forfeiture lies in the hand of God. The Book represents the instruments, the mortgages, the bonds, of our lost inheritance. The completeness of that forfeiture and the terrible encumbrance upon it is signified by seven seals – seven of them, Adam’s race has forfeited the inheritance altogether. The breaking of those seven seals represents the restitution of the creation to God and to Adam’s fallen race” (p. 60).
One other view is worthy of mention. Robert Fullerton, in God’s Strategic Plan, writes that this scroll is in fact a “judgment lien.” As Fullerton explained to me in an email, “A judgment lien is a document issued by a court where a debtor (man) is unable to satisfy a debt (caused by our sin) and this document authorizes that the debtor’s assets (our very souls) be forfeit in judgment. A person subject to a judgment lien is subject to lawful judgment and forfeiture and is often forced to declare bankruptcy (seek protection of the court). The scene in Revelation 5 is in fact a court session being called to order by the strong angel before the Righteous Judge, in which the accused man (possibly vicariously represented by the weeping John) is subject to sentence of eternal death. John wept because he knew that man’s fate was sealed in that scroll. Then, steps forward, the only Person worthy to take the scroll of judgment from the right hand of the Righteous Judge: the Lamb who was slain and whose righteous sacrifice paid the debt on behalf of man. According to God’s law, without the shedding of (innocent and worthy) blood, there is no remission or release of judgment for sin. Therefore only the innocent Lamb that was slain was worthy to take the judgment scroll and legally discharge it as a lien on the souls of all men. This was a critical aspect of God’s Strategic Plan.” ]]
Revelation 5:2 ‘ And I saw a strong angel, who shouted with a loud voice: “Who is worthy to break the seals on this scroll and open it?” 3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll and read it.
4 Then I began to weep bitterly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll and read it.’
Why did this cause John to weep bitterly? Because he realized that without a kinsman-redeemer to open the seals on the scroll, things would continue as they had since the Great Fall in the Garden of Eden, with Satan in charge.
Satan is the god of this world…
Glitter – If there are six children in a circle doing crafts and one is using glitter, how many crafts have glitter? All of them. The same is true of sin. EVERYTHING in this world has been touched by, and therefore defiled by, sin.
When I did pregnancy checking at a stockyard, EVERYTHING in that stockyard smelled of manure, it was on everyone’s clothes, especially mine with my OB sleeve that ran up the full length of my left arm that I would use for rectal palpations of cattle to determine their pregnancy state. It was even in the concession stand. It was truly a ‘fecalized environment’. Everything was defiled, but after a few minutes, you no longer smelled it. Just like sin in our world. We have no idea how badly this sinful world really smells of decay and manure to godly or angelic nostrils.
Every corporation has bowed to Satan in the sense that they prefer alienating believers than unbelievers. Why? Because they know our faith prescribes love and forgiveness and not violence or lies.
We’re not going to be like Antifa and firebomb the stores we don’t like. Even though I hate that Target allows men in the girl’s restrooms, I and other offended Christians are not going to toss a Molotov cocktail into their lobby, and they know that. Target would rather be friendly with the perverted than with me.
They know we are not going to lie and engage in prevarication and hyperbole – like unbelievers do when they say that just because we agree with God that drag queen story hour is leading our children to destruction, therefore, we HATE the LGBTQ people. They don’t let themselves believe the truth that we simply strongly disagree with them and want to lead them to repentance and righteousness and prevent them from harming the innocent children. Oh no, they let themselves believe that because we don’t automatically agree with every deviancy they come up with, we are full of HATE and deserve to be burned alive.
The CEO’s of Target, Starbucks, McDonald’s and all these other companies that have favored deviancy over righteousness know that OUR disgust will never rise to the vitriol and vehemence of the godless in their merciless brutality of the righteous, but rather know that we will remain calm and loving though we WILL voice our disagreement and not set foot in their stores or otherwise patronize their businesses and financially support them in their twisted, satanic agendas. They are willing to trade that because they have far greater fear of being denounced by the ruthless godless of society and being regarded as politically incorrect, which is the blasphemy of our time.
They fear men more than they fear God.
You can hardly find a bank or other major corporation that hasn’t paid tribute to Satan even in some small way. Even Chik Filet kowtowed to the godless recently. Hobby Lobby may be the only company left that even tries to stay relatively righteous.
SIN HAS TOUCHED EVERYTHING ON THIS EARTH AND DEFILED IT JUST LIKE SOMEONE WITH AN OB SLEEVE CAN’T TOUCH ANYTHING WITHOUT SMEARING MANURE ON IT. Even just a trace of manure in some places, but it’s still defiled. You don’t want me making you a sandwich. THE WHOLE EARTH BEARS A STENCH OF SIN AND DECAY BUT WE ARE NOSEBLIND!
2 Corinthians 4:4
4 Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. (NLT)
When Jesus was being tempted by Satan in the wilderness in Matthew 4:1-11 and Satan showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and promised them to Jesus if He would only bow down, Jesus did not scoff. Satan had the authority to make that promise.
Matthew 4:8-9
8 Again, the devil *took Him along to a very high mountain and *showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; 9 and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.”
Job 2:1-2
2 Again, there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord. 2 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.”
1 Peter 5:8
8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
The earth is Satan’s territory, because Adam ceded his authority to him when he listened to and followed the creation (serpent) rather than the Creator. But still, God remains the landlord, though Satan is the tenant, with full tenant rights.
*That is why the earth needs a kinsman redeemer to be freed from Satan’s rule. The fist seven seals are Satan’s eviction notice. (note that as Jesus is the only one worthy to open the seals, all of the ‘seal judgements’ are God’s wrath. And the church has been promised to be spared from all of God’s wrath…
1 Thessalonians 5:9…
9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
(this is a counter to the ‘mid-trib’ belief)
Isaiah 2:12 states what awaits those who prefer the way of the world and Satan…
A Day of Reckoning Coming
12 For the Lord of armies will have a day of reckoning
Against everyone who is arrogant and haughty,
And against everyone who is lifted up,
That he may be brought low.
Revelation 5:5
5 But one of the twenty-four elders (Church member proclaiming the Redeemer?) said to me, “Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne, has won the victory. He is worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
Ruth and her go-el, (kinsman Redeemer) patterns what Christ is doing here in Revelation 5.
(And she was a Gentile bride! Prophetic of Christ’s Gentile bride – the Church)
Also, the passage in Jeremiah 32 where he buys land for someone future and seals the title also speaks to this..
For property, the first rights of redemption went to a blood relative of the debtor.
[[From GotQuestions.org Question: “What is a kinsman redeemer?”
Answer: The kinsman-redeemer is a male relative who, according to various laws of the Pentateuch, had the privilege or responsibility to act on behalf of a relative who was in trouble, danger, or need. The Hebrew term (go el) for kinsman-redeemer designates one who delivers or rescues (Genesis 48:16; Exodus 6:6) or redeems property or person (Leviticus 27:9–25, 25:47–55). The kinsman who redeems or vindicates a relative is illustrated most clearly in the book of Ruth, where the kinsman-redeemer is Boaz.
The story of Ruth and Boaz begins when Ruth and her mother-in-law, Naomi, return to Bethlehem from Moab where they had been living. Naomi’s husband and both sons, one the husband of Ruth, had died, leaving the women penniless and without a male protector. Upon arriving in Bethlehem, Naomi sends Ruth to glean in the fields of Boaz, a wealthy relative of Naomi to whom they, through a series of divinely appointed circumstances, appeal as their go el. Boaz acquiesces, willingly takes Ruth as his wife, and together they bear a son named Obed who became the grandfather of David, the forefather of Jesus.
Yahweh is Israel’s Redeemer, the one who promises to defend and vindicate them. He is both Father and Deliverer (Exodus 20:2). There are numerous Old Testament appeals to God as rescuer of the weak and needy (Psalm 82:4; Daniel 6:27; Jeremiah 20:13) and preserver of the sheep of Israel (Ezekiel 34:10–12, 22).
In the New Testament, Christ is often regarded as an example of a kinsman-redeemer because, as our brother (Hebrews 2:11),
11 So now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters. (NLT)
Ruth 3:9
The bride asked the groom to cover her…
9 “Who are you?” he asked.
“I am your servant Ruth,” she replied. “Spread the corner of your covering over me, for you are my family redeemer.”
Jesus Christ is the kinsman of Adam as well as us.
Romans 5:12-15
12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all mankind, because all sinned 13 for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not counted against anyone when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the [c]violation committed by Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.
15 But the gracious gift is not like the offense. For if by the offense of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many. (NASB)
12 When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. 13 Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break. 14 Still, everyone died—from the time of Adam to the time of Moses—even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did. Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come. 15 But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. (NLT)
1 Corinthians 15:21-22
21 For since by a man death came, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. (NASB)
He also redeems us because of our great need, one that only He can satisfy. In Ruth 3:9, we see a beautiful and poignant picture of the needy supplicant, unable to rescue herself, requesting of the kinsman-redeemer that he cover her with his protection, redeem her, and make her his wife. In the same way, the Lord Jesus Christ bought us for Himself, out of the curse, out of our destitution; made us His own beloved bride; and blessed us for all generations. He is the true kinsman-redeemer of all who call on Him in faith.]]
]]
Along with these passages should go 1 Corinthians 15:45-49
45 So also it is written: “The first man, Adam, became a living person.” The last Adam was a life-giving spirit. 46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. 47 The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. 48 As is the earthy one, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly one, so also are those who are heavenly. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, [c]we will also bear the image of the heavenly. (NASB)
45 The Scriptures tell us, “The first man, Adam, became a living person.” But the last Adam—that is, Christ—is a life-giving Spirit. 46 What comes first is the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later. 47 Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven. 48 Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man. 49 Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like the heavenly man. (NLT)
Revelation 5:6
Rev 5:6 Then I saw a Lamb that looked as if it had been slaughtered, but it was now standing between the throne and the four living beings and among the twenty-four elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which represent the sevenfold Spirit of God that is sent out into every part of the earth.
[[Again, a reference to the seven-fold spirit of God, as Sonia pointed out last week. In chapter four it was the seven torches.
Rev 4:5b “And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God;
Rev 1:4b “Grace to you and peace from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before His throne,
**When God looks upon us from His throne, He sees the slain Christ, just like the tabernacle – from the mercy seat, He looks down on the blood as in Exodus 25:17-22. and not on our sin.]]
Revelation 5:7-9
Rev5:7 He stepped forward and took the scroll from the right hand of the one sitting on the throne. 8 And when he took the scroll, the four living beings and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp (electric guitar?), and they held gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. 9 And they sang a new song with these words:
“You are worthy to take the scroll
and break its seals and open it.
For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation.
[[All that is necessary for covering of sin was the spilling of innocent blood, not pain. I pray that all the pain Jesus experienced prior to and on the cross is distributed to all of His believers through the millennia, so that we share in His pain and in so doing, mitigate the pain He felt that day. That, or that God the Father provided supernatural anesthesia for Jesus on that day.
The lambs sacrificed by the Jews were not to suffer cruelly, the only requirement was that their blood be shed and that they die. That said, I don’t think Jesus had supernatural anesthesia. I believe He suffered in great pain.]]
Revelation 5:10
10 And you have caused them to become
a Kingdom of priests for our God.
And they will reign on the earth.”
[[Melchizedek passages (kings and priests)]]
Revelation 5:11-12
11 Then I looked again, and I heard the voices of thousands and millions of angels around the throne and of the living beings and the elders. 12 And they sang in a mighty chorus:
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered—
to receive power and riches
and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and blessing.”
[[(We should go ahead and practice this now, as we will soon be singing it ourselves) Sung in Hebrew? Or a new, pure, heavenly language free of profanities that we will learn? (Song ‘Worthy is the lamb who was slain, worthy is the king who conquered the grave! This is Amazing Grace!…)]]
Revelation 5:13
13 And then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. They sang:
“Blessing and honor and glory and power
belong to the one sitting on the throne
and to the Lamb forever and ever.”
[[Imagine even the earthworms under the earth. Foretaste of the Millennium and possibly a throwback to Genesis when animals could talk – Eve was not startled that the serpent spoke to her. Perhaps all the animals could?
Pets in heaven?
Animals on the ark. ]]
Revelation 5:14
14 And the four living beings said, “Amen!” And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped the Lamb.