The
Throne, the Book, and the Lamb by Bill Britton
A glorious unveiling
of the nature of Jesus Christ is given to us in the 4th and 5th chapters of the
book of Revelation. If you want to make a real Bible study of this marvelous truth,
I suggest you stop here and read these two chapters in your Bible before continuing
with this booklet. But in case that is not possible, I will give a brief review
of the content of these chapters.
In the 4th chapter, John in caught
up in the Spirit and began to see a number of spiritual symbols, rainbow, sardine
stone, throne, elders in white raiment, lamps of fire, four beasts, etc., etc.
We can not take time to examine all these symbols and to discover their true meaning
at this time, but let me say here that they are not to be taken in a natural or
carnal sense, but to be spiritually understood. The proponents of the "escape-rapture"
theory have twisted this chapter to try to make it imply that all the saints were
caught away to heaven before the tribulation. Such a theory needs a strong imagination,
as there is no indication in the scripture that this is so.
Our investigation
today will have to be limited to one point ... the identity of Him that sat upon
the Throne. This is most important. There can be no true understanding of the
nature of Sonship and the w something purpose of God in the Church His Body unless
we know about Him. No son can know the extent of his inheritance, unless he knows
the identity of his Father, and knows something of His position and possessions.
HE THAT SAT UPON THE THRONE
The first and most important thing
that John saw is in verse 2:
"And immediately I was in the Spirit: and,
behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne." As we read on
in the chapter we get a good description of Him that sat on the throne. In verse
4 he speaks of the twenty four elders, and in verse 6 and 7 we see the four beasts
or living creatures. In verse 8 through the rest of the chapter our attention
is turned back to the One who sat on the throne. Let us take note of what it says
about Him: "And they rest not day and night, saying Holy, holy, holy, LORD GOD
ALMIGHTY, WHICH WAS, AND IS, AND IS TO COME. And when those beasts give glory
and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, WHO LIVETH FOR EVER AND EVER.
The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and WORSHIP
HIM THAT LIVETH FOR EVER AND EVER, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying:
Thou art worthy, O LORD, to receive glory and honour and power: FOR THOU HAST
CREATED ALL THINGS, AND FOR THY PLEASURE THEY ARE AND WERE CREATED.
Notice that I have capitalized the words dealing with His description. A basic
principle of correct Bible interpretation is to compare scripture with scripture,
rather than just let our imagination run wild. So let us compare this chapter
with other scriptures to find out who it is that fits this description as the
one ca the throne.
LORD GOD ALMIGHTY
They called him "LORD."
Look at Ephesians 4:5 ... There is "One Lord, one faith, one baptism." Since there
is but one Lord, who is it? Acts 2:36 tells us: "God hath made that same JESUS,
whom ye have crucified, both LORD and Christ." Philippians 2:11 is very emphatic:
"And that every tongue should confess that JESUS CHRIST IS LORD, to the glory
of God the Father." And finally, in the first chapter of Revelation we see Jesus
speaking to John these words: "I am ALPHA and OMEGA, the beginning and the ending,
saith the LORD, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the ALMIGHTY."
Is Jesus the Alpha and Omega? Four times in Revelation He is called
this, and in chapter 22, verses 13 and 16 He is clearly identified by name! "JESUS,"
as being the Alpha and Omega. So Jesus is LORD. It is undeniable. There are many
more scriptures, but this should be enough to establish this one point.
"GOD." Is Jesus God? Is He the Almighty? Look at the Bible We have already quoted
Revelation 1:8 in which Jesus declares Himself as "the Lord ... the Almighty."
Now go to Isaiah 9:6 "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and
the government shall be upon his shoulder: and HIS NAME shall be called Wonderful,
Counsellor, THE MIGHTY GOD, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." It is
clearly evident here that the prophet can be speaking about none other than Jesus
our Lord. He is the MIGHTY GOD!
Turn to Revelation 15:3 and hear them
singing "the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are thy works, LORD
GOD ALMIGHTY; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints." Who is this King
of saints? Jesus, of course. And in Revelation 21:7 we hear the words of Jesus,
the Alpha and Omega, as he says: "He that overcometh shall inherit all things;
and I will be his GOD, and he shall be my son." Who is the God of the overcomer?
Jesus our Lord! Who is the Son? The Overcomer! But Jesus Himself is also the Son
of God, isn't He? Yes! And He also identifies Himself as an Overcomer in Revelation
3 - 21. This is the other part of the mystery concerning the nature and character
and identity of our Lord Jesus. Praise His Name!
Many are the scriptures
that bear out this great truth, but the witness of two or three are all that are
needed to establish it. So we see that the One on the Throne is "LORD GOD ALMIGHTY,"
and we find that this description fits Jesus Christ and Him alone. There is only
one Lord, and there is only one God. Isaiah 43:10 says "Ye are my witnesses saith
the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe me,
and understand that I am he, before me there was no God formed, neither shall
there be after me." Never was, and never will be but one God. And His Name is
Jesus! Hebrews 1:8 calls Him God, and says that he laid the foundation of the
earth in the beginning (verse 10). The prophet called Him God, and He said himself
that He was the Lord, the Almighty, the God of the overcomer.
WHICH
WAS, AND IS, AND IS TO COME
Here is another of the descriptions of Him
that sat upon the throne. Now turn back to Revelation 1:8 and see that Jesus Christ
is speaking. This is plain to see from the context of verses 5 through 7. Jesus
says: "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, WHICH
IS, AND WHICH WAS, AND WHICH IS TO COME, the Almighty." The exact wording of Revelation
4:8 concerning Him that sat on the throne. This same wording is given in Revelation
11:17 concerning our Lord. It is also used in Revelation 1:4 in the introduction
of the book and the greeting from our Lord Jesus!
WHO LIVETH FOR EVER
AND EVER
One of the things said about the One on the throne is that
He lives for ever and ever. In Revelation 1:18 we find Jesus speaking to John
and saying: "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore."
Hebrews 7:25 says that Jesus ever liveth to make intercession for us. Revelation
10:6 says "him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things
that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are ..." In other
words, this One who lives for ever and ever is the one who created all things.
This can be none other than Jesus!
THOU HAST CREATED ALL THINGS
Here is conclusive proof of His identity. Notice the exact wording of their
praise as they cast their crowns before the throne: "Thou hast created all things,
and for thy pleasure they are and were created." Now get that settled: ALL THINGS
WERE CREATED BY HIM AND FOR HIM THAT SAT ON THE THRONE. Who does this description
fit? Look in the Gospel of John, chapter 1:1-14.
In the beginning was
the Word, that Word was God, and that Word was made FLESH and dwelt among us.
Who was made flesh? Who was that Word that dwelt among us? Jesus Christ, of course.
There can be no doubt about this. Verse three tells us that "ALL THINGS WERE MADE
BY HIM, AND WITHOUT HIM WAS NOT ANYTHING MADE THAT WAS MADE." Did Jesus Christ,
that living Word of the Father, really create all things? Turn to Colossians 1:16.
The context tells us that we have redemption through His blood, and that He is
the image of the invisible God. This can only be referring to Jesus our Lord.
Then in verse 16 we read: "For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven,
and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions
or principalities, or powers: ALL THINGS WERE CREATED BY HIM, AND FOR HIM." There
it is, the exact statement of Revelation 4, concerning Him that sat on the throne.
Now, let us get one more witness of this before going on. Turn to Hebrews 2:9-10.
"But we see Jesus . . . crowned with glory and honour ... For it became him, FOR
WHOM ARE ALL THINGS, AND BY WHOM ARE ALL THINGS, in bringing many sons unto glory
. . . "
JESUS CHRIST ON THE THRONE
Now, by all honest rules
of Bible interpretation, there can be no doubt whatsoever that the one who is
sitting on the throne in Revelation 4 is Jesus Christ, the one who shed His blood
on Calvary. There is no other person or identity that fits all the description
given here, not the Holy Ghost, not the Father. Just Jesus. Now if you wonder
why I am making such a strong case of this, let me tell you that we are about
to hit a snag as far as the carnal mind is concerned. For now we turn to chapter
5.
A BOOK IN HIS RIGHT HAND
The first four verses of chapter
5 of Revelation tells of the book in the right hand of Him that sat on the throne
(Jesus Christ). This book must be opened, and the seals loosed. This is imperative
and necessary for the salvation of humanity, for the restoration of Adam's race.
We see Jesus Christ the Lord, in His creative deity and majestic Godhood,
sitting on the throne with the book in his right hand. But the Word indicates
that this book must be opened, not by God, but by man. And they could not find
a man worthy to open the book. And John, representing the human race here, wept
much because there was no one worthy to open the book. But in verse 5 the glad
tidings go forth: "Weep not." They had found someone who prevailed, to open the
book. Good news for the human race! This one who had prevailed, who was worthy,
came and took the book out of the hand of him that sat on the throne. But who
is this man that takes the book from Jesus Christ, the Lord God Almighty, creator
of heaven and
earth?
THE LION OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH
"The
Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book,
and to loose the seven seals thereof." Now who can this be? There is only one
in the Bible who fits this description. Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Turn to Revelation
22:16 . . . "I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in
the churches. I AM THE ROOT AND THE OFFSPRING OF DAVID, and the bright and the
morning star."
John looked for the lion of the tribe of Juda who had
prevailed, and he saw "in the midst of the elders stood a IAMB as it had been
slain." In John 1:29 we hear John the Baptist saying of Jesus: "Behold the LAMB
OF GOD, who taketh away the sin of the world." In Revelation 4:9 they sung a new
song to the Lamb, saying, I '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."
Now for the identity of this Lamb, let us turn
to Colossians 1:14 again where we find that it is Jesus, the Son of God, who redeems
us to God by His blood. This of course would not have to be proved here. Many
scriptures verify this truth. Then in Revelation 1:5-6 we read that "Jesus Christ
... hath made us KINGS AND PRIESTS unto God and His Father." There is absolutely
no one else in heaven or earth who can fulfill this description of the Lamb who
took the book, except Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God. Glory to God!
DOWN FROM HIS GLORY
Now we come to the strange part of this whole story
in these two chapters. We found that the scriptures teach and reveal to us without
doubt that the One who sat on the throne with a book in His right hand is Jesus
Christ. But we also found that according to scripture, the one who came and took
the book out of the right hand of Him that sat on the throne was also Jesus Christ.
How can this possibly be? Is this a mistake ? Is it utter confusion? No! There
is a beautiful and glorious truth hidden here, but only to be revealed by the
Spirit of God to those with ears to hear and hearts to receive.
Here
it is .... We see the picture of Jesus, in His creative deity, sitting on the
throne. All the description of him here represents Deity, Almighty God. He has
the book, and He has the ability. But this book has to be opened by man, so that
man can partake of that which is in the book, the creative life of God. If God,
in His powers of Deity, opened the Book, then man in his low estate would still
not be able to benefit from it. And after much searching, it is evident that there
is no man able to open the book. The race of Adam has utterly failed to produce
a saviour. They have not produced ONE single man that is worthy. God said in Ezekiel
22:30 "I sought for a man ... but I found none."
Since the race of Adam
has failed to open the book, God brings into existence a new creation. And in
Revelation 3:14 we find that Jesus Christ is "the beginning of the creation of
God." A NEW MAN is being created in Christ Jesus, holy and righteous. (Ephesians
4 : 24) . In order to do this, He had to give up His deity estate, be made like
unto us, take on the seed of Abraham, and overcome all that was facing the human
race. Had He failed in just one point, the new creation would have been doomed.
But thanks be to God, He did not fail! The new creation was proved to be worthy
to take the book. In Philippians 2:5-9 we read that Jesus "emptied himself," and
took upon himself the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.
But after his glorious victory on this earth realm, God hath highly exalted him,
and given to this worthy man who had prevailed, that which had before only been
in the hand of Deity.
And in 2 Corinthians 8:9 we read: "For ye know
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, THOUGH HE WAS RICH, yet for your sakes
HE BECAME POOR, that YE through his poverty might be rich." Here we see the emptying
of him that was rich. He that had the likeness of God, taking on the likeness
of man, that through this he might lift man into the likeness of God. Praise His
dear Name! What a price He paid for our redemption. And beloved, it was a very
REAL price. It was not just theoretical. He actually came down from Deity to Humanity.
Yet He came not from Adam's race, nor of the seed of men, but he was born of the
seed of God. That which had become human was, in its basic substance, the very
Word of God.
BOTH LORD AND CHRIST
Acts 2:36 tells us that
this same Jesus is now both LORD and CHRIST! As Lord He sits upon the throne in
His creative Deity, Almighty God, the everlasting Father, the God of the Overcomer.
This shows us His relationship to God the Father. He is One. As Christ (meaning
"the anointed man") we see Him in his relationship to His Body, the Son of man,
the chief cornerstone of the temple, the firstborn of "many brethren." As Lord,
He is bringing many "sons" to glory, and as Christ He is not ashamed to call us
"brethren." (Hebrews 2:10-11). As LORD, He is one with the Father. One God. But
as CHRIST, He is one with us. One Body. Colossians 2:9 says that in Him dwelleth
ALL the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And in Ephesians 1:23 it says that the
Church His Body is the fulness of Him.
When you sum it up, Jesus Christ
our Lord is the hub of all wisdom. He is our wisdom, and righteousness, and redemption.
Now let us go back to Revelation chapter 5 to see what happened in this drama
that took place before those heavenly witnesses. Let me make a little diagram
to show how Jesus fits into this situation:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HE THAT SAT UPON THE THRONE------------- THE ONE WHO WAS WORTHY
---------------------------------------------------------------------------TO
OPEN THE BOOK
Is LORD (Rev 4:8) -----------------------------------Is
LORD (Rev 1:8, Acts 2:36, Phil 2:11)
Is GOD (Rev 4:8) ------------------------------------------Is
GOD ( Isa 9: 6 , Rev 1 5: 3,
---------------------------------------------------------------------Rev
21:7, John 20:28)
Is ALMIGHTY (Rev 4:8)--------------------------------
Is ALMIGHTY (Rev 1:8, Rev 15:3)
Is He "which was, and is, and ---------------------------------Is
HE "Which was, and is, and
is to come" (Rev 4:8) -----------------------------------------------is
to come." (Rev 1:4, 8)
Is He that liveth forever and ever -----------------------------Is
He that liveth forever and ever
(Rev 4:9-10) ---------------------------------------------------(Rev
1:18, Rev 10:6, Heb 7:25)
All things created by Him and for ---------------------------All
things created by Him and for Him
his pleasure (Rev 4:11) --------------------------------------(John
1:1-14, Col 1:16, Heb 2:9-10)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE TRANSFER OF LIFE
Now we see the life of God transferred
from the realm of deity to the realm of humanity. Now we see God's kingdom brought
to earth. And here is the nature and character of God being made available to
those who were once members of Adam's race, but now born anew into a new creation,
into the likeness of Him who is worthy.
All this was done through the
intervention of Him who was willing to step down from His glory and become flesh,
human flesh. All that had once been in the right hand of Almighty God on the throne
now passes into the hands of the man who has passed through death and conquered
all enemies. All authority that once belonged only to the invisible God, now is
available to mankind through the person of the Son of God. So the glory He once
had before the world was, while in the form of God (as Deity) , is now regained
while in the form of man (as humanity). Jesus bridged the gap between God and
man. He brought the very life and nature of God to this earth in a visible human
body. And He took this human flesh, glorified it, and took it back to heaven into
the very presence of Almighty God.
What does this mean to us? It means
that as His Body, we are destined to be with him, in whatever state He is. "As
He is, so are well. No longer is the book of Life, the nature of God, and His
glory available only on a plane of deity where it is unattainable to us. But Jesus
has prevailed to bring it to us! Bless His Name! Thus the blessings of Heaven
and Life are brought to earth through Jesus Christ, and our association with Him.
We are associated with Him IN HIS DEITY, as "SONS OF GOD," into which He can pour
His own divine nature, and through which He can manifest Himself to all the world.
We are associated with Him IN HIS HUMANITY, as "BRETHREN," "joint-heirs with Christ,"
with whom He can have fellowship and share His glorious inheritance.
His humanity was never destroyed, but He has taken that blood, or "life of the
flesh" back to the Father eternally! Just as the blood of the goat on the day
of Atonement was taken beyond the Veil into the Holy of Holies and placed on the
Mercy-seat in the very presence of God, just so the robe of flesh that Jesus wore
on this earth was resurrected and taken into the very presence of Deity. Some
would say that His body no longer exists, and that we shall never see Him again
in that body. But the Bible declares that we shall see Him, and that He shall
make our present bodies like unto the body He now has in glory. Praise His Name!
Let us worship and praise Him who is worthy, who has prevailed to open
the book! Three is the number of Deity (as well as being the complete number),
while seven is the number signifying perfection Notice in Revelation 4:11 they
said "Thou art worthy, O LORD, to receive GLORY and HONOUR and POWER." Three things
ascribed to deity. But in Revelation 5:12 "Worthy is THE LAMB that was slain to
receive POWER, and RICHES, and WISDOM, and STRENGTH, and HONOUR, and GLORY, and
BLESSING." Seven attributes (including the three given to deity) now ascribed
to the perfect Lamb who was worthy. All the blessings of deity (plus four, the
blessings of earth) given now to this new creation.
A new heaven, a
new earth! Yes, a new creation. And Jesus Christ Himself, tho He has been exalted
above every name that is named and is one with the Father, yet He will always
be the federal head of this new creation man. For He is, and always shall be,
one with His Body. And through this Body He shall rule and reign forever and ever.
One thing to remember, humanity will always be in subjection to deity. As I Corinthians
15:27-28 points out, when God in His deity has put ALL things in subjection under
the feet of Christ in His Body, it is manifest that deity is not under the feet
of humanity. So that the Son in his humanity, the entire Body of Christ, shall
always be subject to Jesus Christ the Lord in His deity, that God may be all in
all. Hallelujah! What a mighty God we have! What a glorious plan He has for us!
Eye has not seen, nor ear heard what God hath prepared for them that love Him!
Truly we can say with the Apostle, "Our light affliction, which is but
for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory."
And "I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared
with the glory which shall be revealed in us."
Bill
Britton "Sons of God Awake " 