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Grace & Peace: Revelation #48

Douglas Wilson on

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11)

“And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer” (Rev. 6:1–2).

We now come to one of the most famous set pieces out of the book of Revelation, which is the introduction of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. And we also come to the point where Christian interpreters shake hands with each other in order to part company, not to be reunited again until the resurrection of the dead in chapter 20.

For example, this first horseman, the one going forth conquering and to conquer, is variously interpreted. Some take him as Christ. Others taken him as Antichrist. Some take him as a series of Roman emperors. Others take him as one Roman emperor, which is to say, Vespasian. When it comes to these varied interpretations, it is not really possible to split the difference. The only true way is to interpret it with a clean conscience before God, and a spirit of charity toward those who differ.

This first aspect of this vision is declared by one of the four living beasts, who says come and see in a voice like thunder. If you take the rider of the white horse to be Christ, as I do, you still have a subsequent decision to make. Some take it as Christ in the form of the preached gospel, Christ in His capacity as savior. Others, among whom I would number myself, see the loosing of the seals as the run-up to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. The Lord was the one who leveled that city, and so it is not out of line for us to see the Lord Christ here in His capacity as judge. He brings war upon the city that rejected Him, and following after Him are the other horsemen that invariably accompany conquest and war.

If the content of the scroll is the reign and rule of Jesus Christ, as we saw earlier, it is fitting that we see Him having a bow and being given a crown with the loosing of the first seal. It is fitting that He goes forth conquering and to conquer. But remember that the scroll is not opened until all the seals are loosed. What is happening is that we are being introduced to the players with the loosing of each seal. The action does not start until the scroll is finally opened.

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Grace & Peace: Revelation #47

Douglas Wilson on

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11)

“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; 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. 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. And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever” (Rev. 5:11–14).

We are building to a great crescendo of praise and adoration. If the Lamb were not God Himself, if Christ were not divine, then the honors rendered to Him here would indeed be blasphemous idolatry.

In this portion of Revelation, we have had different songs of praise. The 24 elders sang first to God, to the one who sits on the throne (Rev. 4:11). In the next song, this one rendered to the Lamb (Rev. 5:9-10), they were joined by the cherubim. Now in this iteration of their song, they are joined by innumerable angels (Rev. 5:12), a choir that has to number in the millions. The words used are myriad and chiliad, meaning ten thousand and thousand respectively. We thus have ten thousands of ten thousands and thousands of thousands, and they were all singing, John says, with a loud voice. I dare say it was loud. After they had praised the worth of the Lamb, the whole created order—in heaven, on earth, and under the earth—all joined in with their praise of the one who sits on the throne and to the Lamb (Rev. 5:13).

The angels say that the Lamb is worthy of what He has received, having been slain, and that is power, wealth, wisdom, might, honor, glory, and blessing. The entire created order say something similar—to God and to the Lamb be blessing, honor, glory, and might, forever and ever.

In response to this great chorus, the cherubim, the living creatures, say amen, and the elders fell down and worshiped.

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Grace & Peace: Revelation #46

Douglas Wilson on

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11)

“And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. 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. 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; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth” (Rev. 5:7–10).

The Lamb who was the Lion then came and took the scroll out of the right hand of the one who sat upon the throne. And when He had done so, the heavenly authorities and the representatives of the entire historic church fell down before Him. All of them had harps, and bowls full of incense. The incense is defined here as symbolic of the prayers of the saints. This is additional confirmation on the identity of the twenty-four elders—the prayers of the saints are, in effect, offered by them. And secondly, this tells us how God receives the prayers of the saints. It tells us what He thinks about our prayers—they are a sweet-smelling odor to Him. It is possible that the particular prayers of the saints that are in view here are the prayers of the saints who are undergoing persecution (Rev. 6:10), and who are praying for deliverance.

The earlier song that was sung (4:11) was a song that emphasized creation. When this song is offered, it is described as a new song, and the theme of it is redemption. The reason the Lamb is worthy to take the scroll, and to open the seven seals of that scroll, is the fact that He was slain. Because He was slain, His blood was used to redeem His people. The elders here say “us,” meaning that they were included in that redemption. Not only were they redeemed, but they were redeemed out of every group of people on earth. All kindreds and tongues, all peoples and nations. Not only were they taken out of all these groups all over the earth, but they have now been established as kings and priests “on the earth.” This means that their reign is not invisible and spiritual in the heavens, and it is not an invisible reign over their own spirits. We are talking about the rise and ascendancy of the Christian faith.

There are three places in the book of Revelation where believers are described as kings and priests. We find that in Rev. 1:6, here in Rev. 5:10, and again in Rev. 20:6. It is a recurring theme. If we are kings and priests on the earth, beware of teaching that says we are no such thing.

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Grace & Peace: Revelation #45

Douglas Wilson on

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11)

“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. 5:5–6)

John had been lamenting that no one was available to open the scroll with seven seals. Indeed, no one was even worthy to look at it.

But one of the twenty-four elders spoke to him to encourage him. Do not weep, he said, but rather behold. John hears these words first, and the words tell him then to look. The real surprise does not come until he looks and sees. John is told that someone from the tribe of Judah had “prevailed.” In other words, this one had overcome, He had conquered, and as a result of this conquest he was able to open the book, and to release the seven seals.

We move with John from words to sight. And what John is commanded to behold is a Lion. And he looks, and he beheld a Lamb. This Lion is from the tribe of Judah. We know from elsewhere that the Lord was descended from David, but here it says rather that David was descended from Him. He is the Root of David, David grew from Him. The Lord Himself made a similar point when He asked how David’s son could at the same time be David’s Lord (Mark 12:37).

From the heavenly vantage point, from what the twenty-four elders knew, this great one was the Lion. But when John looks, he sees a Lamb. But there are mysteries surrounding even this. The Lamb is standing in the midst of the throne, the place of God. The Lamb had been slain, and yet He was standing.

The Lamb is clearly divine. He has seven horns, which represent the perfection of omnipotence. He has seven eyes, which represent the perfection of omniscience. These seven eyes are also identified with the seven spirits of God, which are sent out throughout the entire earth. Given that these spirits are described as the seven spirits of God, both here and earlier (Rev. 4:5), and given that they are identified with the omniscience of the slain but standing Lamb, the conclusion seems necessary that this is the Holy Spirit.

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Grace & Peace: Revelation #44

Douglas Wilson on

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11)

“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.” (Rev. 5:1–4).

Let us first simply state what these verses say. We may then step back for a better view of what they mean. The one who sits on the throne is God Himself, because in v. 7 the Lamb comes and takes the book from Him. So then we have a book that is given by the Father to the Son. The book was held in the Father’s right hand, and the Son is enthroned on the Father’s right hand. The writing in the book was on both sides of the parchment, it was covered with writing both front and back. The scroll was rolled up and was sealed with seven seals. Absolutely no one in Heaven, on earth, or under the earth was able to unseal the book or able even to look at it. And so John wept because there was no one worthy to open the book, read the book, or look at the book.

So what is the meaning of the book? The book is The Book of the Reign of Jesus Christ. We know this from what is said when the Lamb is given the book, and we know it from what happens when the seals of the book are opened in the next chapter. When the Lamb takes the book, the four cherubim and the twenty-four elders all fell down and worshiped Him. They say that He is worthy to unseal the book because He had been slain, and had redeemed a people for Himself out of every tribe and nation. He had done this so that they would be made kings and priests, in order to reign on the earth.

This reign of Jesus is both welcomed and opposed. Those who welcome it worship Him. Those who oppose it are destroyed by Him. So the reign of Jesus Christ has ramifications. Those ramifications are, respectively, worship and destruction. The book is given to the Lamb in Chapter 5, where He is worshiped by those who see what is coming. The book is unsealed in Chapter 6, and all who oppose Him are taken out, one by one.

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