<< Revelation 5 >>

  1And 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.  2And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? 3And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. 4And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. 5And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

 6And 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. 7And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. 8And 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.

 9And 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; 10And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. 11And 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;

 12Saying 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. 13And 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. 14And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

That the Lord in the Divine Human will execute judgment from the Word and according to it, because He Himself is the Word; and that this is acknowledged by all in the three heavens.

Spiritual Correspondences

 Verse 1. "And I saw in the right hand of Him that sat on the throne, a book written within and on the back,"
 
The Lord as to His Divine itself from eternity, who is omnipotent and omniscient, and who is the Word. 
 
 "Sealed with seven seals,"
 
 It is altogether hidden from angel and man.
 
 Verse 2. "And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a great voice,"
 
 The Divine truth from the Lord inflowing interiorly with angels and men.
 
 "Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?"
 
 Who has power to know the states of life of all in the heavens and on the earths, and to judge everyone according thereto?
 
 Verse 3. "And no one in heaven, nor on earth neither under the earth, was able,"
 
 No one in the higher heavens or in the lower heavens, was able.
 
 "to open the book,"
 
 To know the states of the life of all, and to judge everyone according to his state.
 
 "Neither to look thereon,"
 
 Not in the least.
 
 Verse 4. "And I wept much because no one was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon,"
 
 Grief of heart, because if no one could do it, all must perish.
 
 Verse 5. "And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not,"
 
  Consolation.
 
 "Behold, the lion which is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David hath prevailed,"
 
 The Lord, who by His own power subjugated the hells and reduced all things to order when He was in the world by the Divine good united to the Divine truth in His Human.
 
  "To open the book and to loose the seven seals thereof,"
 
 Signifies here as before.
 
 Verse 6. "And I saw, and behold, in the midst of the throne, and of the four animals, and in the midst of the elders,"
 
 Fom the inmost and thence in all things of heaven, the Word, and the church.
 
 "A Lamb standing as if slain,"
 
 The Lord as to His Human, not acknowledged in the church to be Divine.
 
 "Having seven horns,"
 
  His omnipotence.
 
  "And seven eyes"
 
 His omniscience and Divine wisdom.
 
 "Which are the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth,"
 
 From the Divine wisdom is derived the Divine truth throughout the whole world, wheresoever there is any religion.
 
 Verse 7. "And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him that sat upon the throne,"
 
 The Lord as to His Divine Human is the Word, and this from His Divine in Himself and that therefore He will execute judgment from His Divine Human.
 
 Verse 8. "And when He had taken the book,"
 
 When the Lord determined to execute the judgment, and thereby to reduce all things in the heavens and upon the earth to order.
 
 "The four animals and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb,"
 
  Humiliation and adoration of the Lord from the higher heavens.
 
 "Having everyone of them harps"
 
 Confession of the Lord's Divine Human from spiritual truths.
 
  "And golden vials full of incense,"
 
 Confession of the Lord's Divine Human from spiritual goods.
 
 "Which are the prayers of the saints,"
 
 Thoughts which are of faith from affections which are of charity with those who worship the Lord from spiritual goods and truths.
 
 Verse 9. "And they sang a new song,"
 
  the acknowledgment and glorification of the Lord, that He alone is the Judge, Redeemer, and Savior, thus the God of heaven and earth.
 
 "Saying, Thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof,"
 
  Signifies here as before.
 
 "Because Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God in Thy blood,"
 
 Deliverance from hell and salvation by conjunction with Him.
 
  "Out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation,"
 
  They in the church, or in any religion, who are in truths as to doctrine, and in goods as to life are redeemed by the Lord.
 
 Verse 10. "And hast made us unto our God kings and priests,"
 
From the Lord they are in wisdom from Divine truths and in love from Divine goods. 
 
 "And we shall reign on the earth,"
 
 And will be in His kingdom, He in them and they in Him
 
 Verse 11. "And I saw, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne, and the animals, and the elders,"
 
 confession and glorification of the Lord by the angels of the lower heavens.
 
 Verse 12. "Saying with a great voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and honor, and glory,"
 
 Confession from the heart, that to the Lord as to His Divine Human is omnipotence, omniscience, Divine good, and Divine truth.
 
 "And blessing,"
 
 All these in Him, and from Him in them.
 
 Verse 13. "And every created thing 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,"
 
 Confession and glorification of the Lord by the angels of the lowest heavens.
 
 "Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ages of ages,"
 
 In the Lord from eternity, and thence in His Divine Human, is the All of heaven and the church, Divine good, and Divine truth, and Divine power, and from Him in them.
 
 Verse 14. "And the four animals said, Amen,"
 
 Divine confirmation from the Word.
 
 "And the twenty-four elders fell down and adored Him that liveth for ages of ages,"
 
 Humiliation before the Lord, and from humiliation, adoration of Him by all in the heavens, from whom and in whom is life eternal
 
 Author: Emanuel Swedenborg (Apocalypse Revealed)

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THE BOOK WRITTEN WITHIN AND ON THE BACK,
IN THE HAND OF HIM WHO SAT ON THE THRONE:
AND WHO IS TO OPEN IT.

.......................................................................

IN the fifth chapter of the book of Revelation, and at the 7th and 8th verses, you will find the Word of the Lord thus written: 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 of the four beasts and the four beasts and the four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of saints.

The marvelous and magnificent scenes that are represented in the chapter before us commence with the description of the throne that was presented to the minds eye of the Apostle John, and One sitting on the throne, and having a book in His right hand, written, it is said, within and without, and sealed with seven seals.

And in this description we have represented to us the workings of Divine Providence for the restoration and regeneration of the human race. These great works are always accomplished by the instrumentality of His Word.

It is not difficult to see that when man fell away from the supreme regard to God, and goodness that is represented by dwelling in the Garden of Eden, and eating of every fruit of the garden, excepting the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he gradually sank into a degradation of his affections.

Selfishness and worldliness took the place of goodness and truth, so that, if there had been no other provision than simply allowing him to remain in that degraded condition, he would for ever have sunk lower and lower into darkness, and into all that causes misery and degradation.

For, if we think for a moment, we shall see that thoughts flowing from affections can only be in harmony with such affections, and if the affections of man have become impure, selfish, vicious, and degraded, every thought of his must be precisely of the same sort. He never could have risen again. The tiger cannot have other than thoughts of cruelty; the fox cannot have other than thoughts of cunning and eagerness of prey; and so every animal, because its whole nature is of a piece, and its affections are the springs of its thoughts. Every animal remains quite incapable of being other than he is. Each race of animals continues precisely to repeat itself, generation after generation, and it cannot be otherwise. If man had not had an extraordinary arrangement from the Providence of God, by which his intellectual part could be loosened from his affections, different from all other animated creatures in the whole universe, he could never have risen again to virtue, but must have continued to love darkness rather than light, because his deeds were evil. Darkness would have covered the earth as the waters cover the sea, and all the dark places of the earth, would have been full of cruelty. The man of tiger heart must have only thought as tigers think, and desired to seize all that he could grasp, and treat it with the utmost possible cruelty. And so in every other case of lust and passion.

But the infinite love of God created every soul to be happy, and when man's necessity required this astonishing thing to be done, infinite wisdom and love performed it. He made a distinction between the intellectual part and the affectionate part of our nature, so that every man can think differently from what he loves. So, God having made this wondrous distinction, it is itself a constant living miracle. The most astonishing thing of all animated being is this remarkable distinction between human nature and that of all other creatures. In man, ever since the time when it was necessary to make this distinction, there has been this wonderful separation. So that man, however bad the affectionate part of his nature is (and the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, as it is said in the Word--it is like a horrible pit full of miry clay), can think differently.

No beast has such horrible appetites as those which are ingrained in the fallen nature of a man. The most cruel beast only kills when he wants to eat; but bad men slay what they cannot eat, crush thousands more than they could eat, destroy for the very sake of destruction, and commit horrible abominations, such as make, where there is an unchecked condition of these villanies, a very hell upon earth.

Now, happily, to provide against this the Lord has first given us a wonderful nature, so that we can learn ten thousand truths which we otherwise could have never known. We can also retain by memory all that which we obtain through our senses, and through our instruction and training in a thousand ways we have the wondrous gift of reasoning, calculating, weighing, measuring, and we can ascertain what is true. We can condemn ourselves, overcome ourselves, and by battling against the appetites of our fallen nature, we can conquer power of the Divine Word. Now it is this truth that is represented, to all through the Word, and which was the necessity for giving a Word of God. This wondrous instrument of Divine Providence is the medium to bring about new and glorious states of the human race.

In His right hand there was a BOOK, the Book Divine, the source of repentance, instruction, wisdom, and new life. By means of the Word of God light comes into the mind; by of the Word of God feelings come into the soul--comforts, refreshings, strenghtenings. By means of the Word of God and its sacred the soul is released from its defilements. Now ye are clean, said the Lord Jesus, through the Word which I have spoken unto you. (John xv. 3.) Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy Word is truth. (John xvii. 17.) By the Word of the Lord we are continually strengthened.       The Word is living spiritual food for us. Thy words were found, said the prophet Jeremiah, and I did eat them. Happy is the soul that takes care to have a good breakfast of Divine truth before going out to his daily labors, to have some portion of the Hallowed Word, and let it act as a sacred governing impulse, a golden thread through all, the engagements of the day. Often will it be found, when other influences; have failed, that some check from the Hallowed Word, some voice, as it were, from behind, a sacred text, will awaken the conscience when a person is about to do what is utterly wrong, and says: How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?

And so the Word prevents the incoming misery. As it is written: Is not my Word like as a fire, saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces. (Jeremiah xxiii. 29). There is no power for mental regulation, restraint, reformation, regeneration, or even for refreshing and progress, that can for a moment be compared with the sacred Word of God. It is a grand river of heavenly water.

You know the suggestion that has often been made by observers, that it is an admirable arrangement that great cities are always to be found by large rivers. They are commonly found together. The reason is that rivers facilitate commerce, and commerce promotes trade. Great trade creates great cities, and brings plenty to the coasts, and scatters prosperity all over a country. Hence great cities rise from rivers. It is just the same with the Divine Wisdom in the Word of God. It brings spiritual prosperity. It elevates and blesses the mind; it refreshes and comforts the soul. It is a grand instrumentality for all progress, and promotes virtue, called by the prophet the trees of life on each side of the river--the river of the water of life. And wherever these sacred waters go, they heal the sorrows of mankind, and make life where death reigned before. This, therefore, is the reason why the Divine Word is presented here: to show us that. all the future conquests, ail the abundant Divine blessings of the good time coming, are associated with the Book before us. They are varied and multiplied in a thousand ways, but they all come from the glorious Word of God.

He had a book in His right hand. The character of this book is represented in a very interesting light, which has unhappily not always been the light in which persons have regarded the Bible. If is said to be written on the back, and also inside. You will readily understand what is meant by its being written on the back, or the outside. It is very difficult indeed to convince a vast number of persons that the Word of God is anything else than that which is written on the outside. We shall understand, however, the representation given us here if we bear in mind that books in ancient times were not bound as we have them now, with two backs, and then perhaps hundreds of leaves between, but were rolls--hence the word volume, or something rolled up; and therefore the idea that is given here is that in the hand of Him that sat on the throne was a great book, as a scroll written on the outside and written also correspondingly on the inside.

This is the real character, and must necessarily be the real character of the Word of God. The outside means the letter of the Bible, and the inside means the spirit of the Bible. This is precisely the very nature of a Divine revelation. It has been an exceedingly imperfect view of things to imagine Gods thoughts to be precisely like our thoughts, and that, therefore, when, He speaks to us He must speak of earthly history, geography, and what concerns the natural man. These things may, indeed, be on the outside, but inside must be things spiritual and Divine. My thoughts, he says in Isaiah lv. 8, are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. Whatever, therefore, is the outward character of the Bible, there must also always be within, the thoughts of Divine Wisdom. If the Bible speaks of an outward paradise, it must be to represent an inward paradise. If the Bible speaks of outward gifts, it must be to represent inward graces. If it speaks of foes, of tribulation, of battles, it must be to represent spiritual powers and conflicts, such as take place in the human soul. God is a Spirit. His wisdom must be spiritual wisdom. His object must be to train man for eternal things, not to satisfy his curiosity about what happened in Palestine any more than about what happened in China. The Lords aim is for ever to be raising man from nature up to natures God, from letter to spirit, and therefore He provides that there should be writing on the back of His Word, but also writing on the inside. That there should be a chain by means of which the Divine Wisdom could have its feet on the earth, just as Jacobs ladder had, but rising up, range after range, until it reaches heaven, like that ladder. The Lord Himself is at the top of it; for the Word, in its sublime essence, is no other than God Himself. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word, in its infinite essence, is the glorious wisdom of the Eternal God brought down to us; it is the simple teaching that children and naturally-minded men can be interested. A drowning man must have one end of a rope in order that he may pass hand over hand and be rescued, and placed upon solid footing. Such is the Word of God. Never forget that it is written on the back, but also written everywhere inside.

Is this the thought that you have had in relation to the Divine Word, when you have read the early chapters of Genesis and seen stage after stage of Creation marked there? Have you said to yourself What does the inside mean?

When you have gone on to the Israelitish history and all the different events unfolded there, have you said to yourself What is the inside? There is a silver lesson under all that you see there. My Word is like silver purified seven times; and, although the outside seems to be occupied with temporary matters and a hundred little particulars, which seems hardly worth while that God should have given a word of Revelation to disclose, this is but the outside--go a little deeper. As the Savior said to Simon, Launch out into the deep.

The Apostle says, in 2 Corinthians iii. 5, 6, Our sufficiency is of God, Who also hath made us able ministers of the New Testament, not of the letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life. Or, as the Lord has worded it, as you will read in John vi. 63, The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. Every word of the Lord contains spirit and life, and the Lord Jesus inspired the Old Testament as well as the New. (1 Peter i. 11.) The Divine words are all the words of the Lord Jesus, from the first to the last. He was Jehovah in the flesh, and every word that He has given, whatever be its appearance on the back, has always beautiful instruction within it--full of spirit and full of life. The law to unfold that wisdom is the law of correspondence. This was very well known in early times. There was a Bible before our Bible. We have intimation of it in the early parts of the sacred volume. There is mention of the book of the wars of the Lord-Jehovah (Numbers xxi. 14) before the time of Moses, and the sayings of those who speak in proverbs--or prophesies (Numbers xxi. 27)

All over the East there are remains of religions in, which it is quite easy to see the broken clown parts of a grand system which prevailed once over the earth--that is, in all its then inhabited parts--and that continues in fragments, even to the present day, in India, China Japan, Babylonia, and Egypt--everywhere. But man became so gross in evil habits that he cared next to nothing for eternal things. He lost the knowledge even of the eternal world until a large part even of the Jews, when our Lord came into the world, were Sadducees. and did not believe in any resurrection, or everlasting existence, of spirit or angel. This became the condition all over the world, and, consequently, any spiritual Divine meaning that was once familiar, as spiritual wisdom, had become entirely lost.

The knowledge of the soul and the facts of the spiritual world were lost, the knowledge of correspondences was lost, and the spiritual sense of the Bible necessarily became lost.

Even to the present day there are vast numbers who have so entirely lost the idea of everlasting things that they are not quite sure whether there is a world in which we live after we leave this; or whether the soul is a he or a she, or has any form; or whether there is such a thing as a soul or not. In such a state of things the whole spiritual sense of the Bible must of necessity be closed. It is fastened down with seven seals, as it is said here that is, its inner sacred wisdom is completely closed.

This is illustrated by what occurred to myself a few weeks ago, when I was going over the Alhambra in the south of Spain. I saw among the beautiful apartments there a very long room full of exquisite foliage, curves and forms most lovely. When Arabic was lost in Spain, they lost the knowledge of what these strokes meant. Now Arabic is again known in those parts of Spain, and they know that this was THE ROOM OF BLESSING. There are these lovely forms repeated again and again, and they mean, God is our refuge and strength, God is a fountain of grace and blessing. But you see that the knowledge of the ancients represented in these things was right. All these forms contained wisdom, though the people had lost the meaning. So with the Word of God, the spirit was lost, because the knowledge of spiritual facts was lost. It can never be gained again until spiritual things become well known again. Therefore it is said here, It was sealed with seven seals. You remember I have explained the number seven to mean that which is perfect, sacred, complete. You will find that it often occurs in this chapter with this signification. It means that which is perfectly complete, and hence it means here that the Word was perfectly closed. Yet it was the a great depository of all heavenly wisdom and knowledge. Only by opening the Word in its spirit, life, and beauty, can the things of a higher state of being be restored in the world, therefore John says, I wept because so man in heaven nor in earth, neither under the earth, could open the book. There could be no heavenly advancement in the world without bringing heavenly wisdom down upon earth. The wisdom come out of the Book is to teach how angels live, and therefore how must live to become angels; how the soul can be brought into heavenly order, how a new creation can be produced in all the affections and thoughts of the human mind. The Book must be opened; but it cannot be opened by those who are in heaven, because they do not, communicate with the earth openly. It cannot be opened by those on earth, because they have lost all knowledge of it.

Not by those under the earth, because they hate it. It can be opened only by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, revealing Himself through some mind prepared for the purpose, and teaching

First, a knowledge of the inner world, a knowledge of the real condition of the inhabitants, a knowledge of the states concerned in mans regeneration, and a knowledge of the law upon which the Word is constructed--the Divine law of correspondences. By bringing this down into the world again, we have the key by which every page, every chapter, every verse can be opened out, so that, as it is beautifully said in the twelfth of Isaiah: With joy we can draw water from the wells of salvation.

Therefore it is written that an angel came and said to John, Weep not, behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. The power of the Lord. Jesus Christ is described by the Lion, His divine love by the root; His innocence and gentleness in His Divine humanity by the lamb. The Lord Jesus could restore this heavenly wisdom to the world, and He would do it.

And John says, first, he beheld the Lord as a Lion, and so He is; because the Lion is the symbol of strength and magnanimity--of divine courage, of power to do all that is requisite. But mark what John further says: I looked, and behold a Lamb.

We have many a time experienced periods in which the Lord has seemed to be very hard to us, rather like a lion in strength and determination, and we could not move him for a time. We did not know what was the reason, but in due time we have been able to see His love. Our Savior appears as a Lamb. He is always very gentle, full of tenderness and loving kindness.

First He is a Lion, and then He is a Lamb.

And He opened the Book. This is the period in which the Divine Book is being unfolded. Now is the Second Coming of the Lord, Who is supremely the Word.

The Word of God in its letter has been amazingly spread. One hundred years ago, there had been produced in all the centuries before only four millions of Bibles. Now there are more than two hundred millions.

The Bible is now familiar in a hundred and sixty languages. These are supplied by the societies in this country. How the Lord is going forth as the Word of God. But, blessed be the Lord, we can now also enjoy the purity and wisdom and power of the Bible in its inner meaning. When the earnest soul asks for explanation, we can now give it. The enquirers who heard, Except ye eat My flesh and drink My blood ye have no life in you, said, How can this Man give us His flesh to eat? The flesh is the Divine Goodness, which is the Body of the Lord. Receive that into your heart, and it will give you a heart of flesh. Eat that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. How can we drink His blood? We can receive into our minds His Wisdom. This flows from Him, and pours new blood into our spiritual nature, and so redeeming us from our evils and errors of every kind. It is written, And when He had taken the Book, that is, when the manifested God, the Divine Savior, is seen to be the center of all which the Hook says, when He takes hold of it, shews how it all relates to Him and to His work and to His kingdom; then the four living ones and the four-and-twenty elders, who are all in the heavens, fall before the Lamb. They all fall down before the Lamb. All worship from their hearts the Divine Man, who is the Being that alone can produce a goodlier and happier state amongst mankind, Who is the center of every blessing. They all fall down to worship the Lamb.

And then they burst out in the celestial anthem: 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.

The adoring angels had every one of them harps, and golden vial full of odors which are the prayers of saints.

The harps represent enraptured minds filled with truths and sounding with grateful praise. The golden vials are doctrines of love engaged in the worship from which arise ail the prayers of the blessed in heaven. The vials full of odors represent such doctrines of love full of all grateful aspirations, of all delightful thanksgiving. Oh, yes! it is a new song, but it is a song that all the good amongst mankind are to learn. The song was, 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. Thou art worthy as the glorified center of all happiness; Thou art worthy as the beginning and ending of all divine works. It was the song of the Lambthe Lord--the God-Man--the First and the Last, Who by His Word would pour out fresh life and love and blessing to mankind--to men and angels. Thou art worthy, oh blessed Lord, Thou art the King of the regenerated ages, the King of Saints; Thou art worthy to take the Book and open the seals thereof. Thou wast slain, rejected of those Thou camest to save; but, Conqueror of death, Thou hast risen again, and redeemed us by Thy blood, by Thy spirit of holiness circulating in the hearts of Thine obedient children and making them heavenly, thus preparing them for heaven. Now Thou art seen to be King of Kings and Lord of lords. Now all heaven can proclaim: The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ and Hethe Divine being Who is Lord and Christshall reign for ever and ever. This He who has opened: the Book; taken off the seals.

In every age the Lord was kind,
And to His Church revealed His mind;
But we receive a wondrous store
Of blessings, never known before.

And He has made us kings, each one ruling his own mind. in perfect order. He has made us priests, each offering up holy adorations and aspirations from the altar of his heart.

We shall reign on the earth, the tabernacle of God shall be with men; the principles that rule heaven shall rule in the world also; and there shall be One King over all the earth; One Lord, and His Name One.

We must constantly bear in mind that we are not beholding the very personages of the Eternal World, but imagery representing them. The Lord Himself does not appear as a lion in His own person, nor as a lamb. He is in His own person a Glorious Divine Man, the Father in the Son (John xiv 10), in Whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Coll. ii. 9, 10).

He Who sat upon the throne represented the invisible, incomprehensible Deity, Whom no man hath seen or can see (John v. 37), Who had given the Word, and governed the Church in Old Testament times. The Lamb represented the visible God, the Savior, the Divine Humanity, the governor of the Church in New Testament times. The transfer was made not in the Lord God Almighty Himself, for He is always the Omnipotent, the only Divine person, the only God.

But when the Church, which had adored the invisible High and Lofty One Who inhabited eternity, saw Him manifestly in the Son, the Divine Man who has all power in Heaven and on Earth, then the Book was received from the hand of Him that sat on the throne, and taken by the Lord, the Lamb, the blessed Jesus, Who is God with us.

This passage is a parallel to one in Daniel vii. 13, 14: I saw in the night visions, and behold one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

Observe the One like the Son of Man, the Divine Man came with the clouds of heaven. His life, His death, His resurrection and glorification, it are plainly set forth in the letter of the Bible, which are the clouds of heaven. He is received as the Son of the Most High God, but not One in person with the Ancient of Days; but the time would come when the Church will more fully behold His real character as One in person, One as the body is one with the soul, One as the Everlasting Father in the Son, to Whom alone they should pray, as He said, Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son (John xix. 13).

They, then, would bring the Son of Man to the Ancient of Days, and to Him, because it was His right, dominion, glory, and a kingdom would be given, and all people, nations and languages would serve Him. He would then show men plainly of the Father (John xvi. 25). He would say, I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright and morning star; and they would say, Our Father, Who art in the Heavens, hallowed be Thy name.

The spiritual blood that redeems is the Spirit of Jesus that flows from Him. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His (Rom. viii. 9). It is the holy influence of the Lord Jesus in the soul. If Christ be in you, the (spiritual) body is dead, because of sin, but the spirit (spiritual mind) is life, because of righteousness (Rom. viii. 19).

Loving truth flows from the Divine Savior, and is called the blood of the New Testament (Matt. xxvi. 28), that washes us from our sins and makes us white (Rev. i. 5).

It is sometimes called living water, for water refreshes and purifies, and so does TRUTH; sometimes wine because wine cheers and strengthens, and so does TRUTH; sometimes times the Word. In all cases it is the Spirit of the Lord using the Truths of His Word, to edify, convince, quicken, elevate the soul, and remove anything unworthy and unholy. It is the blood of Christ, that cleanseth from all sin. The blood that redeems us is like the love that reconciles us, it is the God of Infinite Love acting on the souls of His children, reconciling them to Himself.

He, our Heavenly Father, reconciled us. He needed no reconciling. God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself (2 Cor. v. 19). The great God and our Savior gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity (Tit. Ii. 13, 14).

He reconciled our nature first in Himself, having abolished in His flesh the enmity (Eph. ii. 15); and then from His glorified Person sent His Holy Spirit (John vii. 39), to redeem, sanctify, and regenerate all who trust and love Him.

To Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever.

Author: JONATHAN BAYLEY----- THE MAGNIFICENT SCENES IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION (1878)