The Adoration of the Lamb
S. Conway Revelation 5:1-14 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.… The theophany of Revelation 4. is continued in this. We are permitted to see more of the high court of heaven, and to witness the purpose of its session, the centre of its adoration, and the transactions in which its members share. We have surveyed the throne and him that sat thereon, the rainbow above the throne, the crystal sea, the burning torches, the elders and the cherubim, and their worship of God. But now the vision is enlarged, and we behold the seven-sealed book, or scroll, held in the right hand of him that sat on the throne; then the coming forth of a mighty angel, who challenges all in that august assembly, and all everywhere, be they who they may, to open the book. Then follows the hush of awful silence, which is the only response the angel's challenge receives; whereat St. John weeps much. Then is heard the voice of one of the elders, bidding him "Weep not," and at once the chief portion and purpose of the whole vision is disclosed. St. John sees, fronting the throne and attended, as was he who sat thereon, by the living ones and the elders, the "Lamb as it had been slain." Strange, incongruous, and almost inconceivable is that figure, with its seven horns and seven eyes. Great painters, as Van Eyck, have tried to portray it, but they have rather lessened than enlarged our conceptions of the truths which the symbol as it stands here in this vision so vividly sets forth. Here, as everywhere in this book, it is the ideas, and not the forms which symbolize them, which are of consequence. And, then, the Lamb is represented as coming and taking the book out of the hand of him that sat upon the throne; whereupon the first adoration of the Lamb takes place. The "living ones" and the elders, each now seen with harp and censer of gold full of odours - they, together, sing the "new song." And, lo, on the outskirts of this heavenly scene, gathering round and enclosing the whole, appear now myriads of angels, and they lift up their voices in like holy adoration of the Lamb. And now a third burst of praise, and from a yet more varied and multitudinous choir, is heard by the enraptured seer. From the heavens above, from the earth beneath, and from the regions of the departed - from those whom the earth covered over in the quiet grave, and those whom the sea had swallowed up, - there arose their anthem of praise to God and to the Lamb. And with the united "Amen" of the four living ones and the elders, as they prostrate themselves in worship, this vision of the adoration of the Lamb ends. Observe Christ as - I. THE CENTRE OF ALL REVELATION. We behold him: 1. In his premundane glory. We cannot know, and yet less comprehend, much of this. Only that he came forth from God, was in the beginning with God; that he dwelt in the bosom of the Father, in glory which he had with the Father before the world was. But what words could make this clear to our minds? We wait to understand. 2. In his Incarnation. We trace him from the manger at Bethlehem, all through his earthly life and ministry, to Gethsemane, Calvary, and the tomb. And we see him rising from the dead and afterwards ascending to the right hand of God. But we are permitted also to see him as - II. THE CENTRE OF HEAVENLY ADORATION. See where he is - "in the midst of the throne," standing on that central space immediately in front of the throne, the Centre of all that holy throng, on whom all eyes rest, to whom every knee bows, and every tongue confesses. And what a circle that is! See its members. But he is the Centre; to him their adoring worship is given. Are we in sympathy with this? Is he the Centre of our heart's worship and love? III. THE REVEALER AND ADMINISTRATOR OF THE PURPOSES OF GOD. 1. God has such purposes. The book held in his right hand is the symbol thereof. It contains his mind, his will, his decrees. Nothing is left to chance. All is ordered and settled. 2. But that book is sealed. Completely, absolutely; this is the meaning of the seven seals. If one seal were removed, which by man it can never be, but a portion of those purposes would be disclosed. "His ways are past finding out." 3. But it is essential that that book should be taken and opened. Hence the angelic challenge, and St. John's tears when none was found to accept that challenge. What would the world be without the revelation of God? We know; for "the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty." Would that we thought more of our own obligation to the revelation of God's will, that we might, as we ought to, be more eager that others should possess it who now have it not! 4. The Lord Jesus Christ comes forward. There can be no manner of doubt that he is meant. Though described as "the Lion of the tribe of Judah," yet he is seen as a Lamb - a little Lamb (ἀρνίον), and with the marks of its slaughter yet upon it, the scars and wounds of his sacrifice yet visible. He advances and takes the book. And so we learn that he is the Trustee, the Depositary, the alone Revealer of the Divine will. All truth is in his keeping. (1) Of prophecy. It was he who opened, and yet opens, the minds of his disciples, that they should understand what was foretold concerning him. (2) Of the gospel. It is he who shines in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But especially is meant here: (3) Of providence - how God would deal with the Church, the world, with individual souls. This book discloses all this; he shows to us what God has done and will do. 5. But he is not only the Revealer, but the Administrator of the Divine purposes. As he opens each seal that which he discloses is at once accomplished. He is seen controlling and ruling all. What joy to think of this! For he is - IV. PERFECTLY QUALIFIED TO BE ALL THIS. Observe in the vision his seven horns. This means: 1. He has fulness of power. The horn is the symbol of strength. Hence "seven horns" mean fulness of strength. Christ is "mighty to save." The gates of hell shall not prevail against him. They will, they do try, as they have long tried, but in vain. For: 2. He has also the fulness of the Spirit. The Lamb was seen with "seven eyes," and these are explained as denoting the same as the seven torches (Revelation 4:5), the seven, that is, the perfect, full, complete power, though diverse in working, of the Spirit of God. For Christ's victory is to be achieved, not over human bodies, but over human spirits, and his power must and does correspond to the opposition he has to meet. And over all the earth his Spirit goes: has not that Spirit come to us, and when he comes the human spirit ceases to resist, and is blessed in yielding? 3. And he has all right. "Thou art worthy:" so sing all the heavenly choirs. (1) The Lamb is seen "as it had been slain." The sacrifice of the Lord Jesus is represented perpetually in Holy Scripture as the righteous ground of our redemption. The forgiveness of man's sin was to be by no mere gracious letting the guilty go free, let what will come of the Law which he has violated. Not so, but in and by the sacrifice of Christ, the Law was magnified and made honourable; by no means "made void," but established. We linger not now to explain this - if, indeed, any one can fully explain it - but we simply assert what Scripture everywhere affirms. Moreover: (2) He is commissioned by God. He receives the book from him. God "sent forth his Son," "gave his only begotten Son." 4. And his is fulness of lore. "For thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us by thy blood" - this is the overwhelming thought which prostrates the souls of all his redeemed ones in an agony of insolvent gratitude; that he, Son of God, who was with God and was God, that he should have been content to come hither to this thorn-strewn earth of ours, and to live here the life of a poor, meek man, and then to die upon the cross for us - "herein is love;" and herein is also his supreme qualification to reveal and administer the will of God. V. THEREFORE IS THE ADORATION OF THE LAMB. Let us join in it. We shall do so if we remember what he has revealed, and that he is the Administrator of all our affairs. - S.C. Parallel Verses KJV: 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. WEB: I saw, in the right hand of him who sat on the throne, a book written inside and outside, sealed shut with seven seals.