In chapter four we see the scene in heaven after Christ’s ascension. The throne of God is the center of the scene in chapter four, and God is sitting on the throne ready to execute His universal administration for the fulfillment of His eternal purpose. In chapter five we have the same scene after Christ ascended there. As we shall see in this message, the center of this scene is the worthy Lion-Lamb.
Revelation 5:1 says, “And I saw on the right hand of Him who sits upon the throne a scroll, written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals.” God’s administration is a secret, a mystery. Throughout the centuries, many wise men have earnestly tried to learn what the secret of this universe is. Because they did not have the revelation, they failed. In the book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible, we have an unveiling of God’s economy.
In 5:1 the One sitting on the throne has a scroll in His hand sealed with seven seals. These seven seals are actually the contents of the scroll and the contents of the book of Revelation, for this book is the opening, the unveiling, of the seven seals. The scroll itself must be the new covenant, the grand title deed enacted with the blood of the Lamb. The new covenant is a scroll covering the redemption of the church, Israel, the world, and the universe. The book of Revelation is a record of God’s thought concerning the church, Israel, the world, and the universe. When Christ died on the cross, He tasted death not only for man, but for everything (Heb. 2:9). Here we see the secrecy of God’s administration in the universe. While the New Testament was enacted by the death of Christ, it has been a mystery to mankind. The new covenant is the secret of the universe and the content of the book of Revelation. As we read Revelation, we must realize that in vision after vision we are seeing what is included in this new covenant, what is contained in this secret and sealed scroll.
Now, after Christ’s ascension, there should no longer be a secret, for it has been unsealed by Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension. Before His death, there was a mystery that no man knew anything about. But by His death, resurrection, and ascension, He has fulfilled all of God’s requirements. Thus, as we shall see, He has opened the mystery and revealed it to John, charging him to commit it to writing. Therefore, this book is just the opened secret, or scroll, in God’s hand. It is no longer a secret — it is an open mystery. Now, as we are reading the book of Revelation, we are reading the contents of the scroll that has been unsealed by the ascended Christ. This is a great matter, and few Christians are aware of it. Most Christians have the book of Revelation, but not many have the unsealed scroll, because they do not realize that Revelation is the unsealed scroll.
In Rev. 5:2-4 we see that no one in heaven, on earth, or under the earth was worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. When John first saw the scroll, it was still sealed. If we had been there, we, like John, certainly would have been desirous to see what was contained in that scroll. But John “wept much because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it.” If actually no one worthy was found in the whole universe, we would surely need to weep, for the whole universe would be vanity, with none qualified to unveil its secret. If there were no Christ in this universe, the whole universe would weep. But there is Christ, and we do not need to weep.
While John was weeping, one of the elders said to him, “Do not weep; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome to open the scroll and its seven seals.” This refers to Gen. 49:8-9, where Christ is portrayed as a lion, which is a symbol of Him as a strong fighter against the enemy. We have pointed out that nearly everything in Revelation is a fulfillment of what is mentioned in the Old Testament. Christ is the fighting, victorious, and overcoming Lion. He has won the battle. Hence, His overcoming qualifies Him to open the scroll and its seven seals.
Although the angel told John to behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah, verse 6 says, “I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb standing as having been slain.” The angel recommended Christ as the Lion, but John saw Him as the Lamb. As the Lion, He is the Fighter against the enemy; as the Lamb, He is the Redeemer for us. He has fought to redeem us, and He has won the battle over the enemy and accomplished redemption for us. To the enemy, He is a Lion; to us, He is a Lamb. Although the angels do not need redemption, they need someone to defeat the enemy of God, for one among them became God’s enemy. Thus the angels realize that there is a need for someone to defeat this rebel. To the angels, Christ was the Lion who defeated the rebel, but to us, including the apostle John, Christ is the Lamb, the redeeming One. We need Christ’s redemption. As we have already pointed out, in the universe there are two main problems — Satan and sin. As the Lion, Christ has defeated and destroyed Satan, and as the Lamb, He has taken away our sin. He has won the victory and He has accomplished redemption. Now He is the Lion-Lamb.
Verse 6 reveals that the Lamb is standing in the midst of the throne. As far as redemption is concerned, Christ sat down after His ascension at the right hand of God in heaven (Heb. 1:3; 10:12), whereas, regarding the carrying out of God’s administration, He is still standing in His ascension.
In verse 5 Christ is given the title, “the Root of David.” This title (He is also the root of David’s father Jesse, Isa. 11:1) signifies that Christ is the source of David. Therefore, as His forefather, David called Him “the Lord” (Matt. 22:42-45). He is the root of David. In our concept, Christ was born of David, so He was a descendant of David. But here it says that Christ is the root of David, meaning that David grows out of Christ. The Bible also says that Christ is the branch of David (Jer. 23:5). Hence, He is both the root and the branch. In Isaiah 11:1 and 10 we see that Christ is also a branch and root of Jesse.
We have seen that Christ is both a descendant and the root of David. In the eyes of God, David was the unique person who fought the battle and gained authority, fighting the battle for God and gaining His full authority. That Christ, the Lion-Lamb, is the root of this person means that He is greater than David. This is why He holds the key of David (3:7). Whatever David was, had, and did was altogether out of this root. Therefore, as the root of David, Christ is more powerful and more victorious than David and has more of God’s divine authority.
In verse 6 John said that he saw “a Lamb standing as having been slain.” According to the Greek, “having been slain” indicates that the Lamb has just recently been slain. When John saw Christ as the Lamb, He had been freshly slain. This also indicates that the scene in heaven depicted in this chapter is immediately after Christ’s ascension into heaven.
As the Lion of the tribe of Judah, Christ has overcome Satan, the enemy of God. He has solved this problem for God and has removed the hindrances to the fulfillment of God’s purpose. Hence, He is worthy to open the scroll concerning God’s economy.
God’s purpose needs someone to carry it out who can solve all the problems of God. The problems which God had were the rebellion of Satan and the fall of man. As the Lion, Christ has defeated the rebellious Satan, and as the Lamb, He has taken away the sin of fallen man. Since He has solved these two problems for God, He is worthy to open the scroll of God’s economy.
In verse 6 John says that the Lamb has seven horns. Horns signify strength in fighting (Deut. 33:17). Christ is the redeeming Lamb, yet with fighting horns. He is the fighting Redeemer, and His fighting is complete in God’s move as signified by the number seven.
Verse 6 also says that the Lamb has “seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth.” The Lamb’s eyes are for observing and searching. As the redeeming Lamb, Christ has seven observing and searching eyes for executing God’s judgment upon the universe to fulfill God’s eternal purpose, which will consummate in the building up of the New Jerusalem. Therefore, in Zechariah 3:9 He is prophesied as the stone, which is the topstone (Zech. 4:7, Heb.), with seven eyes for God’s building. These seven eyes are “the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth,” running “to and fro through the whole earth” (Zech. 4:10).
In his Gospel John said that Christ was the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). But here in Revelation 5 John sees the Lamb as having seven eyes. Although John saw the Lamb that had been slain, he did not see blood flowing. Rather, he saw seven eyes which are the seven Spirits of God. These seven eyes are surely not for redemption. The Lamb in the Gospel of John shed His blood and out of His side flowed water. But the Lamb in Revelation has seven flaming eyes that shine out and reach far to touch people. According to the black and white letters, this is for judgment, but actually it is for God’s building. You may wonder what my basis is for saying that the seven searching, enlightening eyes are for God’s building. The Bible tells us clearly that these seven eyes are the seven lamps (Zech. 3:9; 4:2, 10). The seven lamps are first mentioned in Exo. 25. There, the lamps are neither for searching nor for judging but for God’s building. The seven lamps mentioned there are for the building up of the tabernacle, God’s dwelling place among men on earth. Apparently, the seven flaming eyes of the Lamb are for searching and judging. However, this searching and judging is a procedure to attain the consummate goal of building. Eventually, the book of Revelation is not just for judgment but for building. Most expositions of Revelation say that it is a book of judgment. But this judgment is a procedure which will consummate in the New Jerusalem. What appears after the judgment has been executed? The New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem issues out of God’s judgment which is carried out by the seven eyes.
As we have already pointed out, a person’s eyes cannot be separated from him, for a person’s eyes are his expression. Our inner being is mainly expressed through our eyes. In like manner, the seven Spirits are the seven eyes of Christ by which Christ expresses Himself. If anyone says that the Spirit is separate from Christ, then he must lack knowledge and be shortsighted. How can anyone say that a person’s eyes are separate from him? This is ridiculous! Are not the seven Spirits the Holy Spirit, and are not the seven Spirits the eyes of Christ? Then how can anyone say that the Holy Spirit, who is the seven Spirits, is separate from Christ? The Son is the embodiment of the Father, and the Spirit is the expression of the Son. The seven eyes of Christ, the seven Spirits of God, are Christ’s expression in a judging way in God’s move for God’s building. Even now, Christ’s burning eyes are flaming over us to enlighten, search, refine, and judge us, not that we might be condemned, but that we might be purged, transformed, and conformed to His image for God’s building. The Lord’s judgment is motivated by love. Because He loves the church, He comes to search, enlighten, judge, refine, and purify us in order to transform us into precious stones. Eventually, this book consummates in the New Jerusalem which is built with precious materials. Where do these materials come from? They come from the seven eyes of Christ, that is, from the life-giving, transforming Spirit.
In the book of Revelation the Spirit is not called the life-giving Spirit or the transforming Spirit, but the seven Spirits which are the seven burning, searching, judging lamps. For the degraded church, the Spirit who gives life must be the sevenfold burning Spirit. Today, the life-giving Spirit must be the flaming Spirit, and the transforming Spirit must be the searching and judging Spirit. His searching and judging are His purifying and transforming. No one can be transformed into a precious stone without being searched by Him. How I look to the Lord that He would search us all. We are not here for doctrine and teaching; we are here under the enlightening of the pure Word and under the searching of the seven Spirits. We all need to be thoroughly searched, purified, and refined. If we are, we shall never be the same.
In Exodus 25 the seven lamps are for the building of God’s dwelling place on earth, and in Zechariah 3 the seven eyes are the seven eyes of the stone. In Revelation we have the Lion-Lamb, and in Zechariah we have the stone. Because in Revelation the seven eyes are on the Lamb and in Zechariah they are on the stone, we may say that the Lamb is the Lamb-stone. The Lamb-stone is for God’s building. That Christ, the Lamb of God, is the building stone with the seven eyes proves that the seven eyes of Christ are for God’s building. In the Lord’s recovery, everyone is under the searching, judging, and purifying of the Spirit of Christ, and today the Spirit of Christ is the sevenfold flaming Spirit. Although He is the life-giving and transforming Spirit, to the degraded church He is the seven burning Spirits. We are not only preaching the Lamb in John 1, but also ministering the Lamb in Revelation 5. We are ministering this Lamb as the building stone with seven Spirits. Our Savior is such a One, having the seven Spirits to spread Himself, express Himself, and infuse Himself into all His members to transform us into precious material for God’s building.
In verses 8 through 10 we see the worship and praise of the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders to the Lamb. The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders have harps and golden bowls full of incense. In verse 8, the word which refers to bowls, not to incense. The bowls are “the prayers of the saints” brought to God by the angelic elders (cf. 8:3-4), whereas the incense is Christ added to the saints’ prayers. That these worshippers are holding the bowls means that they, as priests, are ministering to God by bringing the saints’ prayers to Him. This reveals that before the Christians become priests in the millennial kingdom, the twenty-four elders are priests today. Eventually, we shall replace them. This is proved by 4:10 where we are told that the twenty-four elders “shall cast their crowns before the throne,” indicating that they will resign from their posts. When the redeemed saints have been perfected and glorified to be the proper priest-kings, the temporary priests, the elderly angels, will resign. At the time of the millennium, the overcoming saints will be the perfected, completed, and proper priests and kings to God. When that time comes, the temporary priests and ruling ones will resign. But here in chapter five they are still priests offering the saints’ prayers with Christ as the incense to God.
In verses 9 and 10 we see the elders singing a new song of praise to the Lamb. Verse 9 says, “And they sing a new song, saying: You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, for You were slain and did purchase to God by Your blood men out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation.” The song here is new because the Lamb whom it praises has been recently slain. This new song praises the worthiness of the Lamb. As we have seen, in the whole universe no one is worthy to open the mystery of God’s economy but Christ, the overcoming Lion and redeeming Lamb. As the overcoming Lion He has defeated Satan for God, and as the redeeming Lamb He has put away sin for us. He is the only One qualified to unveil the mystery of God’s economy and to carry it out.
Speaking of those who have been purchased to God by the Lamb’s blood, the twenty-four elders sing in verse 10, “And made them to our God a kingdom and priests, and they shall reign on the earth.” The word them in this verse proves that the praising elders are not of the church but of the angels. Kingdom is for kingship to exercise God’s authority, and priests are for the priesthood to accomplish the divine ministry.
In verses 11 through 14 we see the universal praise to God and to the Lamb by the angels under the leadership of the twenty-four elders (vv. 11-12) and by all the creatures under the leadership of the four living creatures (vv. 13-14). The many angels, represented by the twenty-four elders, render to the Lamb the angelic praise. Every creature, represented by the four living creatures, follows them to give the Lamb the universal praise of all creatures other than the angels.
God’s economy with His redemption is for the accomplishment of His eternal dwelling place, the New Jerusalem. God’s anointed One, Christ, is the Lion, the Lamb, and the stone. He has destroyed the enemy, has redeemed us, and has become the stone. In Matt. 21:42 the Lord said to the Pharisees who were opposing Him, “Have you never read in the Scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, this has become the cornerstone; this was from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes?” Here the Lord indicated that His redemption was for Him to be the cornerstone. We find the same thought in Acts 4:11-12. Acts 4:12 says that “neither is there another name under heaven given among men in which we must be saved.” That this name is the name of Christ, the cornerstone, is revealed in the previous verse which says that “the stone which was despised” by the builders” has “become the cornerstone.” Thus, the name of the cornerstone is the name by which we are saved. What are we saved for — for going to heaven? No, we are saved to become a stone for God’s building. The concept in Revelation is that of Christ’s being the Lion to defeat and destroy the enemy, the Lamb to redeem us, and the stone to build God’s eternal dwelling place. In what way does Christ build up God’s dwelling place? By the way of the seven Spirits as the seven burning, enlightening, searching, judging, and infusing eyes. By means of the seven Spirits He transforms us into precious stones to be built up into the New Jerusalem.
