Revelation 5:6-14
6 And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
Jesus, the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world is now seen by John, and John states that this lamb appears to have been slain. The question is does John know this is Jesus? We are not given any indication of this yet.
We need to keep in mind that back in verse five the person capable of opening the scroll was said to be the Lion of the tribe of Judah so John now sees a lamb that appears to have been slain, scripture does not give us any indication at least at this point that John knew who either was that were talking about. Of course we know.
This lamb besides looking as if it was slain had seven horns which in the Old Testament horns were a symbol of power and this lamb having seven horns showed great power beyond all else. The number seven is most often attributed to something of God or something holy.
The lamb also having seven eyes may not seem so out of place by itself being John has seen many creatures with many eyes by this point. The combination of these things together though is one thing that makes this lamb different than anything else there. At the end of this verse we also see that these seven eyes represent the seven spirits of God or the Holy Spirit that God had sent out into all the earth. The fact that we see for lack of better words the entwining of the Holy Spirit and Jesus is interesting and can be looked at possibly or at least in part as all in one but separate.
7 And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne.
At this point it's possible that John may be thinking that the Lion spoken about and this lamb must be one in the same being the lamb was able take from God the scroll. It hasn't been opened yet but things are starting to come together.
You can see that there is a hierarchy in Heaven here as we see throughout all of scripture. God the Father is at the top of the hierarchy within the Trinity. This is important because there are some today who want to put Christ before God which isn't the case at all. Even though we may be in New Testament times God is still on His thrown and in complete control of everything. The lamb here is taking the scroll from God in order to then open it and carry out what is to happen. Jesus always in His years on earth directed all things to God and for God's will to be done and not his own.
8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
The four creatures and the twenty-four elders being humbled and seeing this awesome event of the power and majesty of this scroll being taken from the hand of God could do nothing other fall down before them in a complete show of respect and amazement for what just happened. They have all been waiting a very long time for this exact moment and God has finally moved the pieces into place.
The bowls of incense which are the prayers of the saints are the prayers of all who have believed in Jesus as Lord and Savior and in the promise. This shows the importance of prayers and how each prayer is harvested in heaven and is a sign of the faith God's people have in Him and how these prayers give constant worship and praise to Him.
9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, 10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”
These two verses are amazing. First it is Jesus and only Jesus who is worthy to take the scroll and open its seals. This has been set since the beginning of time in God's plan for the world. Could anyone else have filled this spot? No, scripture makes it very clear. Once God had designated Jesus as the one who would fulfill this mission nothing could have ever changed this, it was set in stone.
These two verses give more insight for our conclusion that these verses could have only been talking about Jesus though His name is still not outright mentioned. Jesus was slain, hung on a cross for the sins of all those who accept Him as their Lord and Savior. Jesus ransomed those who would believe from the slavery of sin and Satan. Jesus paid the ransom with His body and blood which was the only thing capable of paying such a high ransom. Jesus ransomed people from every corner of the earth no matter if Jew or gentile and of every language. This could only be Jesus.
This last description that all believers in Christ are made a kingdom, the body of Christ, the church and each are priests to God carrying out the command to go out into the world and share the gospel of Jesus.
And all of this, Jesus did for God and every part of this was for God. We were not saved for Jesus but Jesus was a critical part of the process. We were not saved in anyway for ourselves but we were the objects to be saved and gained a great reward for it. We were saved for God and God alone and for His purpose, for His glory and for His delight and no other reason. That is humbling.
11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!” 13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” 14 And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.
Can you imagine being a bystander to this scene of all these giving praise worship and honor to Jesus for whom He is and what His role was, is and will be in the work of God. The rejoicing and praise would be deafening to human ears. It would surely cause any of us to fall to our knees with our head to the ground in tears of joy and awe.
As we read scripture and see all of the things that are so amazing to us we should always understand that we are here for one purpose and that is to serve Jesus to the fullest of our ability for the glory of God
