Apocalypse Revealed # 256
256. CHAPTER 5
1. And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals.
2. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the book and to loose its seals?"
3. And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book, or to look in it.
4. So I wept much, that no one was found worthy to open and read the book, or to look in it.
5. But one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the book and to loose its seven seals."
6. And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb standing as though slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
7. Then He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.
8. Now when He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a lyre, and a golden bowl full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
9. And they sang a new song, saying, "You are worthy to take the book and to open its seals, because You were slain and have redeemed us to God by Your blood, out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
10. and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth."
11. Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands,
12. saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and... honor and glory and blessing!"
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, I heard saying, "Blessing and honor and glory and strength be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!"
14. Then the four living creatures said, "Amen!" And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.
THE SPIRITUAL MEANING
The Contents of the Whole Chapter
The meaning is that the Lord in His Divine humanity will execute a judgment based on the Word and in accordance with it, because He embodies the Word; and that all in the three heavens acknowledge this.
The Contents of the Individual Verses:
| Verse Contents | Spiritual Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1. And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, | The Lord in respect to His underlying Divinity from eternity, to whom belongs omnipotence and omniscience, and who embodies the Word, |
| sealed with seven seals. | the Word completely hidden from angel and man. |
| 2. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, | Divine truth flowing in from the Lord deeply in angels and people. |
| "Who is worthy to open the book and to loose its seals?" | Who has the power to know the states of life of all in heaven and on earth and to judge each one according to his state? |
| 3. And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able | No one in the higher heavens or in the lower heavens [had the power] |
| to open the book, | to know the states of life of all and to judge each one according to his state. |
| or to look in it. | Not the least power. |
| 4. So I wept much, that no one was found worthy to open and read the book, or to look in it. | Grief of heart, that if no one could do this, all would perish. |
| 5. But one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep. | Consolation. |
| Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed | The Lord, who by His own power conquered the hells and put everything into order when He was in the world, through the Divine goodness united to the Divine truth in His humanity. |
| to open the book and to loose its seven seals." | The same here as before [verses 2, 3]. |
| 6. And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, | From the inmost elements of heaven, the Word, and the church, and so in all their constituents. |
| a Lamb standing as though slain, | The Lord in respect to His humanity not acknowledged in the church as Divine. |
| having seven horns | His omnipotence. |
| and seven eyes, | His omniscience and Divine wisdom, |
| which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. | that from it emanates Divine truth throughout the whole world, wherever religion is found. |
| 7. Then He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. | The Lord in respect to His Divine humanity embodies the Word, and this from His Divinity within Him, and thus He will execute judgment based on His Divine humanity. |
| 8. Now when He had taken the book, | When the Lord prepared to execute judgment, and thereby put back into order everything in heaven and on earth. |
| the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, | A humility and worship of the Lord on the part of the higher heavens. |
| each having a lyre, | A confession of the Lord's Divine humanity springing from spiritual truths. |
| and a golden bowl full of incense, | A confession of the Lord's Divine humanity springing from spiritual goods. |
| which are the prayers of the saints. | Thoughts that are matters of faith springing from affections that are matters of charity in people who worship the Lord in accord with spiritual goods and truths. |
| 9. And they sang a new song, | An acknowledgment and glorification of the Lord as being the only judge, redeemer and savior, thus God of heaven and earth. |
| saying, "You are worthy to take the book and to open its seals, | The same here as before [verses 2, 3]. |
| because You were slain and have redeemed us to God by Your blood, | Deliverance from hell and salvation by conjunction with Him. |
| out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, | The Lord has redeemed those in the church or in any other religion who are impelled by truths in respect to their doctrine and by goods in respect to their life. |
| 10. and have made us kings and priests to our God; | They have from the Lord wisdom from Divine truths and love from Divine goods. |
| and we shall reign on the earth." | And they will dwell in His kingdom, He in them and they in Him. |
| 11. Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; | A confession and glorification of the Lord by angels of the lower heavens, |
| and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, | all possessing truths and goods. |
| 12. saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and... honor and glory | A confession from the heart that to the Lord in His Divine humanity belong omnipotence, omniscience, Divine good and Divine truth - |
| and blessing!" | all these being in Him, and from Him in them. |
| 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, I heard saying, | A confession and glorification of the Lord by angels of the lowest heavens, |
| "Blessing and honor and glory and strength be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!" | that present in the Lord from eternity and so in His Divine humanity is everything of heaven and the church - Divine good and truth, and Divine power - and that these are present in them from Him. |
| 14. Then the four living creatures said, "Amen!" | A Divine confirmation from the Word. |
| And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever. | Humility before the Lord on the part of all in the heavens, and out of humility worship of Him, from whom and in whom is eternal life. |
THE EXPOSITION
And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back. (5:1) This symbolizes the Lord in respect to His underlying Divinity from eternity, to whom belongs omnipotence and omniscience, and who embodies the Word, who also of Himself knows the states of life of all in heaven and on earth, in every particular and in their entirety.
He who sat on the throne means the Lord in respect to His underlying Divinity from which His humanity originates, for the statement follows that the Lamb took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne (verse 7), and the Lamb means the Lord in respect to His humanity. The book written inside and on the back means the Word in every particular and in its entirety - "inside" meaning in every particular, and "on the back," in its entirety. Inside and on the back also mean the inner meaning of the Word, which is spiritual, and its outer meaning, which is natural. The right hand means the Lord in respect to His omnipotence and omniscience, because the subject is the exploration of all in heaven and on earth on whom the Last Judgment would fall, and their separation.
As the embodiment of the Word, the Lord knows of Himself the states of life of all in heaven and on earth, because He is Divine truth itself, and Divine truth itself, of itself, knows everything. This, however, is a secret which we disclosed in Angelic Wisdom Regarding Divine Love and Wisdom.
The fact that the Lord was the Word, that is to say, Divine truth, in respect to His Divinity from eternity is apparent from this statement in John:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)
And the fact that the Lord came to embody the Word even in respect to His humanity, from this statement also in John:
And the Word became flesh... (John 1:14)
It can be seen from this what is meant by the testimony that the book was in right hand of Him who sat on the throne, and that the Lamb took the book from it (verse 7).
[2] Since the Lord embodies the Word, and the Word is the Divine truth which forms heaven and the church in general, and each angel in particular so as to have heaven in him, and each person so as to have the church in him, and because the Word is here meant by the book on the basis of which and according to which all are to be judged, therefore we find references here and there to being written in the book, to being judged on the basis of the book, and to being blotted out from the book, where the subject is someone's state of eternal life, as in the following places:
(The Ancient of Days) sat in judgment, and the books were opened. (Daniel 7:10)
...your people shall be delivered, every one who is found written in the book. (Daniel 12:1)
My frame was not hidden from You... ...on Your book were written all the days..., and not one of them is missing. (Psalms 139:15-16)
(Moses said,) ."..I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written." And Jehovah said..., "He who has sinned against Me, him I will blot out of My book." (Exodus 32:32-33)
Let them be blotted out of the book of life, and not be written with the righteous. (Psalms 69:28)
I saw (that) books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to the things which were written in the Book, according to their works..., and if anyone was not found written in the Book of Life, he was cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:12-15)
There shall not enter into (the New Jerusalem) anything... but those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. (Revelation 21:27)
All... will worship (the beast), whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb... (Revelation 13:8, cf. 17:8)
That the Book means the Word may be seen in the book of Psalms:
In the scroll of the book it is written of me. (Psalms 40:7)
And in Ezekiel:
I looked, and lo, there was a hand stretched out to me, and... in it the scroll of a book... written in front and in back... (Ezekiel 2:9-10)
...the book of the words of Isaiah... (Luke 3:4)
...the Book of Psalms... (Luke 20:42)
Luke 8
1
It happened soon afterwards, that he went about through cities and villages, preaching and bringing the good news of the Kingdom of God. With him were the twelve,
2
and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out;
3
and Joanna, the wife of Chuzas, Herod's steward; Susanna; and many others; who served them from their possessions.
4
When a great multitude came together, and people from every city were coming to him, he spoke by a parable.
5
"The farmer went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some fell along the road, and it was trampled under foot, and the birds of the sky devoured it.
6
Other seed fell on the rock, and as soon as it grew, it withered away, because it had no moisture.
7
Other fell amid the thorns, and the thorns grew with it, and choked it.
8
Other fell into the good ground, and grew, and brought forth fruit one hundred times." As he said these things, he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"
9
Then his disciples asked him, "What does this parable mean?"
10
He said, "To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of God, but to the rest in parables; that 'seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.'
11
Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
12
Those along the road are those who hear, then the devil comes, and takes away the word from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved.
13
Those on the rock are they who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; but these have no root, who believe for a while, then fall away in time of temptation.
14
That which fell among the thorns, these are those who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.
15
That in the good ground, these are such as in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, hold it tightly, and bring forth fruit with patience.
16
"No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a container, or puts it under a bed; but puts it on a stand, that those who enter in may see the light.
17
For nothing is hidden, that will not be revealed; nor anything secret, that will not be known and come to light.
18
Be careful therefore how you hear. For whoever has, to him will be given; and whoever doesn't have, from him will be taken away even that which he thinks he has."
19
His mother and brothers came to him, and they could not come near him for the crowd.
20
It was told him by some saying, "Your mother and your brothers stand outside, desiring to see you."
21
But he answered them, "My mother and my brothers are these who hear the word of God, and do it."
22
Now it happened on one of those days, that he entered into a boat, himself and his disciples, and he said to them, "Let's go over to the other side of the lake." So they launched out.
23
But as they sailed, he fell asleep. A wind storm came down on the lake, and they were taking on dangerous amounts of water.
24
They came to him, and awoke him, saying, "Master, master, we are dying!" He awoke, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water, and they ceased, and it was calm.
25
He said to them, "Where is your faith?" Being afraid they marveled, saying one to another, "Who is this, then, that he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him?"
26
They arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee.
27
When Jesus stepped ashore, a certain man out of the city who had demons for a long time met him. He wore no clothes, and didn't live in a house, but in the tombs.
28
When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, "What do I have to do with you, Jesus, you Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don't torment me!"
29
For Jesus was commanding the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For the unclean spirit had often seized the man. He was kept under guard, and bound with chains and fetters. Breaking the bands apart, he was driven by the demon into the desert.
30
Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" He said, "Legion," for many demons had entered into him.
31
They begged him that he would not command them to go into the abyss.
32
Now there was there a herd of many pigs feeding on the mountain, and they begged him that he would allow them to enter into those. He allowed them.
33
The demons came out from the man, and entered into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake, and were drowned.
34
When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled, and told it in the city and in the country.
35
People went out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus' feet, clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.
36
Those who saw it told them how he who had been possessed by demons was healed.
37
All the people of the surrounding country of the Gadarenes asked him to depart from them, for they were very much afraid. He entered into the boat, and returned.
38
But the man from whom the demons had gone out begged him that he might go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying,
39
"Return to your house, and declare what great things God has done for you." He went his way, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.
40
It happened, when Jesus returned, that the multitude welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him.
41
Behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue. He fell down at Jesus' feet, and begged him to come into his house,
42
for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying. But as he went, the multitudes pressed against him.
43
A woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her living on physicians, and could not be healed by any,
44
came behind him, and touched the fringe of his cloak, and immediately the flow of her blood stopped.
45
Jesus said, "Who touched me?" When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, "Master, the multitudes press and jostle you, and you say, 'Who touched me?'"
46
But Jesus said, "Someone did touch me, for I perceived that power has gone out of me."
47
When the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared to him in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately.
48
He said to her, "Daughter, cheer up. Your faith has made you well. Go in peace."
49
While he still spoke, one from the ruler of the synagogue's house came, saying to him, "Your daughter is dead. Don't trouble the Teacher."
50
But Jesus hearing it, answered him, "Don't be afraid. Only believe, and she will be healed."
51
When he came to the house, he didn't allow anyone to enter in, except Peter, John, James, the father of the child, and her mother.
52
All were weeping and mourning her, but he said, "Don't weep. She isn't dead, but sleeping."
53
They were ridiculing him, knowing that she was dead.
54
But he put them all outside, and taking her by the hand, he called, saying, "Child, arise!"
55
Her spirit returned, and she rose up immediately. He commanded that something be given to her to eat.
56
Her parents were amazed, but he commanded them to tell no one what had been done.
