REVELATION

Chapter 5

"John's First Vision in Heaven [Continued]"

This Bible Study was written by Roger Christopherson, and it's transcription is provided with written permission by https://theseason.org

In chapters two and three we have been instructed as to which two churches, out of the seven, we are to pattern ourselves after. These two churches were Smyrna and Philadelphia; because they could identify the "Kenites", and see through their false doctrine, and avoid the confusion that they bring. These Kenites are the ones who are of "the synagogue of Satan", who claimed to be Jews, when in fact they lie, and are not Jews at all. They are of the actual offspring and of the bloodline of Cain, and came through the beguiling of Eve by Satan. These Kenites exist today, and are infiltrating into the churches, bringing their false doctrine and confusion. Jesus told us to learn of them, but to not follow their false doctrine, nor submit to their confusion.

We then went with John in his spirit, from a vision of the churches on earth, to seeing a door in heaven open. Then John, and not the church on earth, entered through that door. John went through that door and came in the presence and before the throne of God. The time of John's entering through the door is projected ahead in time to "The day of the Lord". While John was there in heaven, and in the Spirit, he observed and wrote the events that were taking place on, and around the "throne of God". Keep in mind, that "The day of the Lord", in other chapters, and the "Lord's Day" in chapter five, are one in the same.

Jesus gave to John a view of some of the inner emotions of God, and why He created all things. We saw that the whole reason of our existence is for God's pleasure, and for us to show our Lord how much we love Him. When we please Him, He blesses us. Have you told our Heavenly Father you love Him lately?

Now to continue.

Revelation 5:1 "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."

We are going to learn about this book, and the seven seals.

Revelation 5:2 "And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?"

This powerful angel spoke with the voice of authority. This is the subject of the entire book of Revelation; The unveiling, and the opening of this book. Who has the authority and can do it? This book that is written both within and without is plum full of things you and I ought to know. It is directed to this generation that you and I are now living in; the last generation.

It is for this fact that it was written for us to understand the events of our day; that knowledge has kept the Christian world confused through many centuries and afraid to interpret the meanings. Down through the years this book of Revelation has been considered to be too big of a puzzle.

This book fulfills the completeness of the Word; it has all of the information that the children of God must to know before we enter into this time of deception, which is well under way today.

The number seven, given of the seals or spirits in Bible prophecy, indicates a spiritual completeness.

Revelation 5:3 "And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon."

Word References: 

"neither" - 3761 oude (oo-deh'); from 3756 and 1161; not however, i.e. neither, nor, not even: KJV-- neither (indeed), never, no (more, nor, not), nor (yet), (also, even, then) not (even, so much as), + nothing, so much as.

"under" - 5270 hupokato (hoop-ok-at'-o); from 5259 and 2736; down under, i.e. beneath: under.

"earth" -
1098 gleukos - the sweet juice pressed from the grape, sweet wine

Some may say; "I didn't know there were men in heaven?" Oh yes. Anytime you have a soul, you have a man. There is no gender to this "man", for in the soul body all are the same. "Under the world"; is in the neither world, or also called the spirit realm.

No being in any realm, human, soul, or spirit could open this book, or even look upon it with understanding. It is no wonder it has been confusing until our generation; for until it is the right time for the right person to open it, and only then is it possible. It needs the perfect man to open the book.

Ever since the creation of mankind over six thousand years ago, there has only been one perfect person on the face of this earth to do this. That person is Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

Revelation 5:4 "And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and read the book, neither to look thereon."

John stood there, and wanted so badly to understand what was in the book, It was impossible for him. Have you ever wanted to understand part of the Bible that was so confusing that you needed help so you could overcome a problem for that time? The key in understanding this is in the "Key of David"; which the churches of Smyrna and Philadelphia did have.

Revelation 5:5 "And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Ju-da, the Root of Da'-vid, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof."

The "Son of David"; The offspring, which is the "root of David" now opens the book. If you don't have that key to understand that you have to be in that root [Jesus Christ], you will never understand this book. You will never have eyes to see; nor ears to hear what is in the book. No matter how many times you read the Bible, without that key, you will not understand.

That key is your being in Christ, and now that you are in Jesus Christ; Who is the "Lion of Judah", and the "root of David"? It is through Him and by the Holy Spirit that these seals can, and will be revealed to you. He was tempted by Satan and withstood the temptation; He conquered death and came out of the tomb, and He lived the perfect life in every way. Jesus Christ, and only Jesus can open your mind to the Book.

The seven spirits will reveal to us the love that God has towards us, as He opens the seals on this book.

Revelation 5:6 "And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts [living creatures], 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."

"beasts" - 2226 zoon (dzo'-on); neuter of a derivative of 2198; a live thing, i.e. an animal: 
KJV-- beast.

Here, around the throne of God stood these four beasts [zoon], all of the elders, and in the middle of them stood our Lord Jesus Christ.

After the Lamb was slain, and then and only then were the Seven Spirits of God sent to all the earth. The Ruach", the Holy Spirit was on the earth prior, but not with the power to overcome spiritual death. After the crucifixion, Jesus Christ went to these prisoners and preached to them, and released many that had died long before. This is recorded in I Peter 3:18, and those prisoners were from all the way back to the time of Noah. In chapter four it stated that Jesus released many. Why? Because the price for sin had been paid.

Jesus preached to them and gave them the privilege to believe upon Him, and they were given salvation, even as it is offered to you and I today. Each of them were in their spiritual bodies when Jesus gave them their freedom. This is real power, and it was done for God's pleasure.

Revelation 5:7 "And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him sat upon the throne."

"He came and took the book", means "He became the Word of God"

Word References: 

"came" - 2064 erchomai (er'-khom-ahee); middle voice of a primary verb (used only in the present and imperfect tenses, the others being supplied by a kindred [middle voice] eleuthomai (el-yoo'-thom-ahee); or [active] eltho (el'-tho); which do not otherwise occur); to come or go (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively): 
KJV-- accompany, appear, bring, come, enter, fall out, go, grow, X light, X next, pass, resort, be set.

"took" - 2983 lambano (lam-ban'-o); a prolonged form of a primary verb, which is use only as an alternate in certain tenses; to take (in very many applications, literally and figuratively [properly objective or active, to get hold of; whereas 1209 is rather subjective or passive, to have offered to one; while 138 is more violent, to seize or remove]): 
KJV-- accept, + be amazed, assay, attain, bring, X when I call, catch, come on (X unto), + forget, have, hold, obtain, receive (X after), take (away, up).

"book" - 975 biblion (bib-lee'-on); a diminutive of 976; a roll: KJV-- bill, book, scroll, writing.

"right" - 1188 dexios (dex-ee-os'); from 1209; the right side or (feminine) hand (as that which usually takes): KJV-- right (hand, side).


Revelation 5:8 "And when he had taken the book, the four beasts [living creatures] and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials [bowls] full of odours [incense], which are the prayers of the saints."

The saints are "ones set aside". They are all those who love God, and want to please Him. All those prayers you pray and think God has not heard you; they are all stored up by God, and God will remember, and act on each one. Maybe not when you think He should, but according to His perfect plan. The result of our doing it God's way, and for His glory and pleasure, we will be rewarded when and where it counts. When we pray, we must ask ourselves, is our prayer one of selfishness, or do we give God pleasure through them.

The time for vengeance is not for you and I to decide, we are His children and when one harms one of God's children, God reserves the right of revenge to Himself. In Romans Chapter 12 we read: 

Romans 12:19, "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourself, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written [Deut. 32:35], vengeance is mine [God's]; I will repay, saith the Lord"

That is what is in those golden vials of your prayers. When you do it God's way, it gives Him the pleasure of carrying out His the vengeance on your behalf.

Revelation 5:9 "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 [did purchase unto] God by the blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;"

Jesus Christ was worthy, and He paid an awesome price. He was our kinsman redeemer who paid the exact price necessary to save us from our sins, when we repent. That salvation is extended even to the "Kenite", if he will believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and repent. Then, even he will become a child of God, and not of Satan.

That song He, and all the rest of the children of God will sing in the Millennium, is recorded in the fifteenth chapter of Revelation, it's called the "song of Moses".

Revelation 5:10 "And hast made us unto our God kings [a kingdom] and priests: and we shall reign on the earth."

If you are one of God's elect, then God is preparing you to be one of His kings or a priest in His kingdom. Remember, this vision was given to John, and not the church. The time of the vision, again, was the "Day of the Lord". This day is the final day of the flesh period, and the first day of the Millennium. This is the day that Jesus Christ returns to set up His kingdom, and that is why each of us in Christ will serve the Lord, "And we shall reign on the earth." Got it? The tribulation will be over, and Satan will be in the pit at this time.

If your of the "ethnos" [in the Greek, not of Israel], you will reign with Christ in the Millennium over your people. This will be discussed in the last four chapters.

Revelation 5:11 "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;"

Word Reference: 

"Ten Thousand" - 3461 murias (moo-ree'-as); from 3463; a ten-thousand; by extension, a "myriad" or indefinite number: KJV-- ten thousand.

The number of all those around the throne is countless. It included the souls of men, angels, the beasts, and so forth. All mankind that ever lived and passed on were there. Remember that the instant in time this is talking about is on the "Day of the Lord", the final day of this earth age of the flesh. John was taken there in the Spirit, as recorded in Revelation 4:1 and all those that had died in the flesh in this earth age are numbered with this vast number of souls standing before the Lord's throne in heaven. The judgment of God has not happened here. Yes, it even includes those souls that rejected Christ on earth. Why do I say this?

Because Ecclesiastes 12:7 tells us that upon death; to be absent from the body [physical body] , that soul goes instantly to be present with the Lord.


Ecclesiastes 12:7-8 "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.[7] Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.[8]

Revelation 5:12 "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."

All these souls present in heaven were happy and shouting praise to Jesus Christ. The Seven Spirits of God are given to our Lord, who is the Lamb of God that was slain.

Here are the Seven Spirits of God: They are:

1. Power
2. Riches
3. Wisdom
4. Strength
5. Honor
6. Glory
7. Blessing

These are the seven powers God gave His Son, Jesus Christ. Christ has these powers and can bestow them on anyone He chooses. What about the spirit of forgiveness? That is a blessing of God also, but not one of these powers. All things are wrapped in those Seven Spirits of God. They are placed in one crown, and that crown is worn by Jesus Christ.

It is Christ who chooses who gets the each individual spirit, or a combination of these spirits placed upon them. Whatever spirit and gift you possess is placed upon you for one purpose, and that is for God's pleasure and glory.

What have you done with what God has given you? Each of those gifts you have been given, you will be held accountable for, and that includes all your gifts. When you stand before Him face to face, will His response be "Well done my faithful servant,  _________, " [place your name there in the blank], will He smile and be pleased with you? Or will Jesus say, "Get away from me, you worker of iniquity."

God sets up governments and all kings and men and women of authority, and He takes them down. He makes some rich, and others poor, and whatever the gifts that you have are all to fit His plan and for God's pleasure. All knowledge and all wisdom is from God.

Revelation 5:13 "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."

On that Day in the near future when all souls will be in their incorruptible bodies, and this flesh age is over; all souls will bow down and glorify our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is worthy to receive all the blessing, honor, glory and power, and He will.

Revelation 5:14 "And the four beasts [living creatures] said A'-men. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever."

God is eternal, just as you are, if you are under the blood of the Lamb that was slain for each of our sins. All sins are covered when we repent and believe on Jesus name, and follow Him as He has instructed us. In Christ and Christ alone, can we have the power and wisdom of God, as well as everything else that is part of God's eternal kingdom

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