Revelation Chapter 5

We left off in Chapter 4 with a vision that John was having. In this vision we saw that John was seeing the throne of God and in front of this throne were 24 elders and 4 beasts, each having 6 wings and each full of eyes.

Revelation 5 is a chapter that must be first read through in it’s entirety to help gain a proper understanding. There is a need to get a feel for the context of this chapter. Where is the vision taking place? Who are the main characters? What is to be accomplished by the actions? How does it effect us?

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 Juda, 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 wast 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, 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 worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

To gain a complete back ground and understanding of Revelation 5 we would need to read the text revealing all of the seven seals, and all of the last seven trumpets. This would take us well into chapter 11 and beyond. But here we are attempting to take a look at the Spiritual significance of the key words that stand out. Each one has a story all it’s own. When written by the hand of God each word should then lead us to a deeper understanding of the character of God and the encouragement He is revealing to us.

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.

Book

Since chapter 5 begins with a further description of the throne, we must assume that this a continuation of the same vision. A new component is introduced into this scene. A book. This book is described as having writing within and on the backside. Does this indicate that the book is complete? The only other writing what was described as being on both sides, was the 10 commandments. KJV Exodus 32:15 And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written.

This is not to say that this book in the right hand of God is the 10 commandants. I do not think there is actually an explanation given as to what this book actually is. Looking for clues within the Bible we find that the books of the laws of Moses is most often mentioned. KJV Deuteronomy 28:58 If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, The Lord Thy God; KJV Joshua 23:6 Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left;

Following closely in terms of the number of times mentioned we would find that the book of the living is second to the book of the laws. KJV Exodus 32:32 Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin–; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written. KJV Revelation 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Because the Lamb’s book of life is specifically mentioned at a later time in Revelation, I do not think that this book is the book of life. But it may still be. If you follow along through Revelation you will find that these seven seals are opened in chapters six through eight. Chapter eight then begins a sequence of seven trumpets that takes us up to chapter 11 verse 15. After the seventh trumpet is sounded, the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament.

So what is this book held in the right hand of God and opened by the Lamb? Are there other books mention on the Bible? There are of course. There is the books of kings and chronicles mentioned numerous times. There are also books mentioned in the Bible that have been lost to history. KJV Numbers 21:14 Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the Lord, What he did in the Red sea, and in the brooks of Arnon, KJV Joshua 10:13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. KJV 2 Chronicles 20:34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Jehu the son of Hanani, who is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel.

There are also other books mentioned that we are more familiar with and that have been preserved through out the ages. KJV Jeremiah 25:13 And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations. KJV Daniel 12:4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. In fact most of the books of the Bible are referred to as books in one place or another through out the Bible.

The question still remains. Is this book mentioned in Revelation 5 a symbol, or a real book? Is this a book that we are to uncover and read for ourselves? Or is it a book we will not see until we gain entrance to Heaven? The evidence may lie in the seals. There are seven seals upon this book. Once again we see the number seven. Why is it that the Lord is using the number seven over and over again? A close study of the word seven does not reveal much on the surface. It can be said to be a number of preparation. KJV Genesis 7:10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth. Noah had seven days of preparation inside of the ark before the rains came. This was a time of testing. Waiting in an enclosed ark for seven days before the rains began must have been very trying on Noah and his family. Was this a time for them to change their minds? Was it a time set aside to show faith in the word of God? A final trial?

KJV Genesis 8:10 And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark; Here again Noah is waiting seven days in between the flights of the birds to see if they were able to find dry land. Not only was Noah’s faith strong enough to realize that God would pull him and his family through this trial, it had to be strong enough to wait until an appointed time. It would have been completely human to test God every day to see if there was any sign of dry land. But the faith of Noah was more then we could imagine. Noah choose to take the words of God and wait seven days to see if dry land could be found.

Seven

The number seven is mentioned only once as a number of completion. KJV Genesis 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. At other times, the number six is used as a number of completion and the number seven as a symbol of release. KJV Deuteronomy 15:12 And if thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee. Then again there is one more clue as to the significance of this number seven. I do not think that there is ever any mistake in the Bible. There is always a significance to every word arranged by God and given to us. KJV Jude 1:14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, It s interesting to note that Enoch was the first to be translated to Heaven. The first human ever to be taken back up into Heaven. And now here is the book of Jude we see that Enoch is mentioned as the seventh from Adam. Could this number be a sign pointing us to the return to Heaven? The release from slavery and the return of the rest that we so long for deep inside of us. That is to say, that these seven seals would point to a promise from God, to deliver us from the bondage of this life, into life everlasting. The way God had always intended us to live.

There is still one more word to look at and that is the word seal. As we think of it the meaning of the word seal brings to mind a impression of a king or noble made with a ring, in wax. This wax would keep the contents of a letter from the eyes of others until it is delivered to the person it was intended. There must have been harsh penalties enacted upon others that dared to go against the wished of the king. A seal could also be used as a verb, a determination. His fate was sealed.

Seal

Now to look at some of the ways the Bible uses this word seal. KJV Nehemiah 9:38 And because of all this we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, Levites, and priests, seal unto it. KJV Esther 8:10 And he wrote in the king Ahasuerus’ name, and sealed it with the king’s ring, and sent letters by posts on horseback, and riders on mules, camels, and young dromedaries: We see that the Bible does mention the seals of kings and nobles being used to authenticate agreements of commands.

KJV Job 33:16 Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction, KJV John 3:33 He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true. The Bible also used the word seal in the form of a verb. It is possible to be insured or sealed in the faith of God through the knowledge of God.

And then there is the matter of a seal upon a book. There are other mentions of a seal upon a book in other books of the Bible. By looking at each of these we are looking at ways to gain a better understanding of why these seals were placed upon a book in Heaven.

We see our first clue early on the book of KJV Isaiah 8:16 Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. We see that it is the wish of God that His disciples may know the law and the testimony. So our first clue is no big surprise. Even though we understand that Jesus is the only one that may open these seals, who is to understand them is still a question that needs to be answered.

KJV Isaiah 29:11. And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: This is one verse that seems to be directly related to the book in Revelation 5. We see both of these books sealed. But here we add one more bit of significance to the subject. The book, when opened, can be read. But even though this book can be read, the seal is meant to keep the understanding of the book closed.

Now why would God keep a book closed to understanding? Does that make any sense at all? Can we explain why God would waste His time writing out these words, and then make it so that no one could understand them? I would venture to guess that if God had intended to keep the meaning of these words from us, He would also leave an explanation as to why He chose to act in such a manner.

KJV Daniel 12:4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. KJV Daniel 12:9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Twice we are told in the book of Daniel that the words of his book are to be sealed until the end of time. What does this mean, the end of time? In Daniel 12:4 we are given yet another clue. Many will be running here and there and knowledge will be increased. Many understand this message to mean the days we are living in now. We are at our peak of transportation. Also notice that it says knowledge will be increased, it says nothing about wisdom which is the use of knowledge.

Now a days we not only have super computers but we have super computers in our homes. There is a race on at this very moment to create programs for our computers to not only aid us in our searches over the Internet, but also in our searches for information in our own home computers. We live in a time where we have so much information we do not even know what to do with it.

So we can see that God had put a seal upon this book. We understand that Christ is the only one worthy to open the seals of this book. And that these seals will be in place until the end of time. A time most referred to as the last days. We also see that even when these books are read, the understanding will be locked away until the last days.

There is nothing radically new understood in this first line of Revelation 5. Although we did cover a lot of interesting words and had the Bible explain each one, we did find that up until now there is very little new light being shed upon the book of Revelation. Why so? It is because a lot of what we are reading today. A lot of what we are seeing preached today has come from people that have studied this book of Revelation, along with the book of Daniel and others, the same way we are taking a look at it now. The exception being, that now we are returning to the roots of the knowledge. At this point we are not learning anything new about the book of Revelation but rather a deeper understanding of this book.

We see that there are to be seven seals that are opened on this book God is holding. What is the time period between the first seal and the seventh and the seven trumpets? At what time are they to take place? No one has the answers to any of those questions. Much has been studied and taught on the book of Revelation. The fact still remains, Christ has not yet returned. Could it be that there is still so much to be learned? Is there still light that needs to be revealed? The knowledge of the scriptures is like the roots of a tree, they are ever growing to support what is above the surface. Ever going deeper to seek out that life giving supply of water. Has God already revealed all that the scriptures hold? I do not think so. Much of what we are hearing today has been studied more then 100 years ago. Through the test of time we have seen prophesies fulfilled and explained. But there are still holes and gaps in these explanations. And just as the answers have always come from the pages of the Bible and not from the imaginations of men, so to will the last and final words of God come down to mankind.

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.

In verse 3 we see one strange fact. It is stated that no man in Heaven or earth was able to open this book, nor any man under the earth. This brings to mind two questions. What is the true meaning of the word man here. And what is meant by under the earth.

We must first take a look at the literal meanings of the words in question. To go back to the original language that the verse was recorded in. The program I use has the Literal Bible with the Strong numbers. This links the word to a number in the Strong dictionary. Following is verse 3 in the Literal Bible with the strong numbers.

3. |2532| And |3762| no one |1410| was able |1722| in |3772| heaven, |3761| nor |1909| on |3588| the |1093| earth, |3761| nor |5270| underneath |3588| the |1093| earth |0455| to open |3588| the |0975| scroll |3761| or |0991| to see |0846| it.

From the above we see that “no man” is actually translated “no one” and the Strong number is 3762. We can look in a Strong concordance for the Greek word number 3762 to see the full meaning.

Strong’s Ref. # 3762

Romanized oudeis

Pronounced oo-dice’

including feminine oudemia {oo-dem-ee’-ah}; and neuter ouden {oo-den’}; from GSN3761 and GSN1520; not even one (man, woman or thing), i.e. none, nobody, nothing:

So from the original meaning of the Greek word we can see that it is far more reaching then the translation of “no man”. The actual word used could encompass man, woman, angels and even those that have fallen.

Under the Earth

Strangely enough there is not much in the Bible that directly explains what is meant by those under the earth. KJV Exodus 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. In this text we see that people make idols to those things under the earth. KJV Isaiah 14:9 Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. KJV Isaiah 14:14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. 15. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. And here Isaiah makes it clear that Satan dwells under the earth. That would mean that the false idols made at the time of Exodus were images of Satan. This also explains in Revelation that the offer to open the book was taken up by Satan. But he was not found worthy.

5. 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.

Lion

This all does sound pretty elementary. Of course everyone already knows who the Lion and the Root of David is. So it should be easy to prove from the Bible.

There are about 80 verses that use the word lion. Out of them there are very few that associate Christ with a lion. Revelation 5:5 is the one verse that does imply Christ is the Lion of Judah. Here are the other two verse that associate lion with Judah. KJV Genesis 49:9 Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? And in Numbers we do find this blessing that Balaam spoke over Israel. KJV Numbers 24:9 He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee.

It is much easier to find the connection between Christ and the Root of David. Matthew 1:1. The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. So we see and understand that it is only Christ that was found worthy to open the seals of the book.

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.

Lamb

Here is another easy word that everyone already knows the meaning of. The Lamb is Christ. But where does this come from. We all know it is on the Bible but how many have taken the time to look? If we looked we would know that the book of Revelation mentions this Lamb dozens of times. More in the book of Revelation then in any other book of the Bible.

KJV Isaiah 53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. KJV John 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. KJV John 1:36 And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!

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.

Prayers of the saints

Verse 8 explains the meaning of a key word and is more clearly understood when we look at it along with Rev 8:3. And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. 4. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand. We see that the prayers of the saints are represented by the incense before God’s throne. We can also assume that the incense that were used in the earthly tabernacle also pointed to the prayers that are daily brought before God.

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

Blood

Verse 9 contains an additional key word often used and understood by most. The blood of the lamb. Here are a few of the text that explain what this actually means. KJV Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. KJV 1 Peter 1:19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 20. Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, 21. Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. KJV 1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. It is not very hard at all to prove what the Bible means by the blood of the Lamb. This is one symbol that most people know and use with out even thinking, so much so that we tend to even take even this for granted. How many discussions have you been in, where not one person can give a text reference for this, the greatest accomplishment of all the universe. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. We need not memorize the whole of the Bible, or even part of it. We just need to read, to spend some time. 1 Corinthians 2:9. But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

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

Now is this true? Does this mean we are all to be kings and priests of the God of the universe? If it were so, it would be backed up by multiple text. We are not to take one text and let our imaginations run wild. We are to prove the word of God with the word of God. Let us be assured that if the subject is important enough, God will go out of His way to make sure we get the message.

KJV John 1:12. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: KJV Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17. And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. KJV 2 Timothy 4:8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

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;

Now here is one number that has drawn a lot of speculation. 10,000 x 10,000 = 100,000,000 So that is 100 million on it’s own. Not to mention the thousands of thousands. These are the angles in Heaven. Those that have not fallen. Any way that you look at this, it is a very large number of angels that John had viewed. And this would be the 2/3 of the angles left in Heaven after the fall of Satan.

12. Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, 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 worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

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