“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. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. 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. .” – Rev 5:1-6
Throughout the football season in the US, there is one word that is guaranteed to have stadiums erupt in applause, and bring people in living rooms to their feet – whooping, cheering, hugging and high fiving perfect strangers, dancing madly and spilling their food. It’s “Touchdown!!!” All the training, hard work, long days and nights of work culminate in the team getting the ball to the right player to take over the goal line, and what joy there is when that happens!
Without being irreverent, Revelation Chapter 5 should be called the touchdown chapter – just because of the complete joy we see in Heaven and Earth – in verses 5:11-14 – we see all the Angels, every creature in heaven, every creature on earth, under the earth, everything in the sea, the 24 elders and the 4 beasts, all rejoicing, singing, and joining in worshipping and praising the Lamb. The exceptions are the Seven lamps of fire burning before the throne (Rev 4:5), and the One on the Throne – a clear hint that these refer to the Spirit of God and God the Father respectively. We also see the inter-relationship of the Trinity in that the Lamb has 7 Horns (all power from the Almighty), and the 7 eyes(from the seven-fold nature of the Spirit of God –same term used for the lamps of fire before the throne).
The work of Christ is the single most important event in Heaven. Through Christ, our Father is reconciling and restoring all that was lost to Himself – “For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of His cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.”- Col 1:19, 20. By virtue of this finished work, Christ is able to cast down the accuser who accuses the OT saints (“And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them (see Zec 3:1) before our God day and night.” – Rev 12:10). Satan cannot accuse us anymore, for our Advocate has paid the price! Now there is no more condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus who walk after the Spirit and not the flesh (Rom 8:1), and Sin has no dominion over them. “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. …. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.” Rom 6:14,6:22 – No wonder He was able to cry on the cross… IT IS FINISHED!!!!!! Hallelujah!!!
Revelation 5 can also be called the Kickoff chapter, because of what we see about to happen (opening of the seals).”And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.” – Rev 5:7 No man (Gk.oudeis … which includes feminine and neuter as well – therefore implying – none human) is found to be worthy to do this except our representative – the last Adam! The only question we might have is… timing… when does this happen? There are several clues to this, and we shall examine them one by one…
A. The biggest clue is that it happens once Christ’s work is finished. We see the “Lamb as it had been slain”….the clearest and biggest clue that this happens AFTER Christs work on the cross. The elder says to the apostle John, the Lion –has prevailed – past tense.
B. The second clue is that it happens “hereafter”… (Rev 4:1). It happens after Christ appears to the apostle John, and after His message to the churches then existing in Asia Minor. The book of Revelation is considered to have been written between 80-90 AD (the reign of the emperor Domitian), signifying that the prophecy was given at the beginning of the Church age. We can therefore locate this event sometime in the Church Age or near at its end. Why not after the Church things are done, the rapture has happened, and tribulation is to be signaled? For that we must consider…
C. The Olivet Discourse. The Words of Christ Himself to His disciples recorded in Matthew 24:1-31, Mark 13:1-27, Luke 21:5-36. 4 periods/events are indicated in that speech. “The beginning of sorrows” (Mat 24:8), “the abomination of desolation” predicted by Daniel, followed by “great tribulation” unlike anything that has ever happened before, shortened ‘for the sake of the elect’ that go -through- it, followed by an “astronomical indication” (Mat 24:29) of the coming of Christ, who comes in the clouds of Heaven, and sends His angels with the sound of a trumpet to gather His elect. All three gospel accounts are in perfect harmony with this timeline.
It is our understanding (and we will NOT argue with those who think differently), is that the seals we see opened signal the “beginning of sorrows”. If you compare the seals in Chap 6, they line up with the gospel accounts as follows:
Rev 6:2 - Seal 1: White Horse = False Christs - “For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” (Mat 24:5, Mar 13:6, Luk 21:8)
Rev 6: 3 - Seal 2: Red Horse = War – “And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars” (Mat 24:6, Mar 13:7-8a, Luke 21:9,10) and nation shall rise against nation….
Rev 6:5,7 – Seals 3,4 Black and Pale Horses – Famine and Death – “famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places” Mat 24:7b, Mar 13:8b, Luke 21:11a
Rev 6:9 – Seal 5 - Martyrdom for preaching the Gospel –(souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held) - “Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake”-Mat 24:9-14, Mar 13:9-10, Luke 21:12-19 – “and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.” – Rev 6:11
The Gospel accounts -then- talk about the “Abomination of Desolation” and the beginning of “Great Tribulation before…
Rev 6:12 – Seal 6 – Great sign indicating that the end is approaching. “Immediately –after- the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken”, Mat 24:29,Mar 13:24-25 “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars;” Luke 21:25
We firmly believe that 5 seals have been opened since John first saw this vision. We are in the “beginning of sorrows”, and the age of preaching of the gospel and martyrdom of the saints. The frequency and intensity of wars, famine, disease and death has been increasing at a steady rate, signaling the birth pangs of creation….
But here is comfort! Our QUARTERBACK has already prevailed!!! The ball has gone over the goal line, and we are in the last quarter, with the opposing team not able to win at all!! We predict some difficult times ahead, but we are already victorious!!! Hallelujah!!!