Revelation 6:7-8

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7 When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth. ~ Revelation 6:7-8

We return today to Revelation 6 to the only one worthy enough to open the seals to the scroll. Today, we come to the fourth seal represented by a pale horse. The Apostle John uses the Greek word "chloros" translated "pale." We get our word "chlorine" from this Greek word. The word "chloros" appears several times in the New Testament in connection with grass or vegetation.

According to v.8, the rider on this pale horse was death. The combination of the two, pale and death, represents decomposition, or a corpse. And fittingly, death is followed by Hades which is just another word for the grave. Death claims the body and Hades claims the soul. 

There are four forms of death that are related to this attack. First, the sword, which here is not war but murder; individual assault upon one another. It is people taking the law into their own hands and murdering other people without regard to justice or law. 

With murder comes famine or widespread starvation. The Lord Jesus spoke of such famines in Matthew 24. There would be on earth, he said, earthquakes, famines and plagues or pestilences which is the third form of death in this verse. These pestilences are endemic diseases. When civilization begins to crumble, the defenses of mankind against diseases are lost, as well. Whole populations are decimated by such pestilences. There may be a reference here to biological warfare, the willful spreading of diseases among people so that they are wiped out en masse. 

The fourth form of death will be by the wild beasts of the earth who will attack people. A "fourth of the earth" will be given over to these four forms of death, and a fourth of the population will die. There are 7.7 billion people on earth today and that would mean that almost 2 billion people will be decimated by these four forms of death. Rats are annually responsible for the loss of billions of dollars of food in America alone, and death all over the world. Rats infested with bubonic plague killed one-third of the population of Europe in the fourteenth century. Rats can carry as many as thirty-five diseases at once. And amazingly, if ninety-five percent of the rat population is exterminated in the given area, it will replace itself in less than a year. It has killed more people than all the wars of history, and it always makes its home where people dwell.

These four seal-judgments are all references to forces that are already at work among us, but they will be carried to an unprecedented extreme in that day. Thus, these four seals confirm God's announced method of making men face up to truth. He will do this by removing His leash from evil, allowing it to have its full expression. Romans 1 declares that He will "give men over" to their own evil, and will allow it unrestricted manifestation. 

These four expressions of death have been predicted by God to be His means of final judgment in a number of Old Testament passages. Jeremiah 14:12, He says, “I’m going to make an end of them by the sword, famine, and pestilence.” In this one verse, three of these four forms of death are mentioned. And then again in Jeremiah 44:13 we read, “I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem with the sword, with the famine, and with pestilence.”  

With war and famine and earthquakes, sanitation goes. No medicine, living conditions descend to a primitive level, and the rats may be the wild beasts that run wild to kill. Awesome, divine judgment. And this is only the beginning, only the beginning; far more to come.

And sadly, it isn’t even until the sixth seal that the people recognize that God is the source of this. The writer of Hebrews asks, “How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?” And the answer is, we won’t. But the Lord Jesus has provided a way of escape. I trust, my friend, that you have trusted solely in the Lord Jesus as your savior. If so, you will escape this awful period of time.

Revelation 6:5-6

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5 When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. 6 Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “Two pounds of wheat for a day’s wages, and six pounds of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!” ~ Revelation 6:5-6

Having considered the first opened seal which produced peace and prosperity on the earth, and the second opened seal which produced war, we return to Revelation 6, and to the third seal opened.

In v.5 we read, "When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand."

The third seal represents widespread food shortage on the earth. The first part of v.5 is a repeat of v.1,3, only differing in the numbers of the seal and the creature. What is different is that the horse is black and the rider holds a pair of scales in his hand. 

In those days, the purpose of a set of scales was to weigh grain and other consumables. This scale was not a scale like we know today. Rather, it was more of a balance where an established weight would be placed on one side of the balance and the item being purchased would be placed on the other side. When both sides of the scale were hanging at the same height, the item being purchased equaled the amount of the weight on the other side. These scales symbolize food being weighed out carefully.

In v.6 we read, "Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “Two pounds of wheat for a day’s wages, and six pounds of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!"

Food will be in such short supply that it must be rationed. Even then no one will get very much because it takes a day's wages to earn a single quart of wheat or, because it is cheaper, three quarts of barley. This would only be enough food for one person for a day. One would have to work all day long and all he would be able to earn, at best, would be enough for his own physical needs. There would be nothing for the family or for anyone else. 

Notice that the luxuries, the oil and the wine, are to not be damaged. Here, God gives a warning to be very careful with the wine and the oil, because it’s so precious. If all you have is raw wheat without any oil to mix with it, without any wine to go with it, it’s very difficult. Bare staples all of a sudden become luxuries. Oil was used for the preparation of bread, for cooking, as was the wine.

Perhaps this is not referring to famine because in the next seal, as we will see, famine is specifically mentioned as part of that judgment. The cause for this shortage will be high prices so that people will not be able to buy adequate amounts of food. This is inflation; economics out of control; panic in the marketplace! Inflation makes money worthless. That, in turn, becomes an excuse for the rigid controls over buying and selling which we find in Revelation 13:17 when, under the reign of Antichrist, the whole world will be subjected to enormously restrictive controls so that "no one can buy or sell without the mark of the beast."

There is an issue on earth today that will make all of this worse, exponentially, and it is over-population. It took from the beginning of recorded history to the year 1850 to produce one billion people on the earth. From 1850 to 1930 the earth's population grew to two billion. 

By 1960, just 30 years later, we were at three billion. By 1975, four billion. By 1987, five billion. By 1999, six billion. Today, the population of this earth right now is 7.7 billion people and growing exponentially. This produces a lot of problems because the more people we have, the more odds of them not getting along together and going to war over lots of issues, and thus the more problem we have for famine to sustain that many people. 

Add to that the fact that all the Christians will have gone up in the Rapture before this seven year period. So, no more Samaritan's Purse, no more World Vision, no more Feed the Children. That paints a very dismal and desperate picture. 

It is increasingly clear, according to the book of the Revelation, that the Antichrist is nothing more than a false, deceptive politician. Whereas, the Lord Jesus Christ is the faithful King of the earth. The Antichrist promises peace, but delivers war. Jesus promises peace, and He will deliver peace. The Antichrist brings shortages of food, and the Lord Jesus says, "I am the bread of life. Whoever follows me and believes in me will never hunger." So the Antichrist will be everything the world says it wants. But the Lord Jesus Christ will be everything we truly need Him to be.

Revelation 6:3-4

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3 When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword. ~ Revelation 6:3-4

Today, we take another trip into the future as we study the book of the Revelation. The focus of today's study is the opening of the second seal. Whereas, the theme of Revelation 4-5 was the worship of God and of the Lamb, Revelation 6 begins the display of the wrath of God upon the rebellious world that has rejected His free gift of salvation. Each seal will increase in intensity as we study them.

According to Revelation 4:1, the church has been raptured or taken up into heaven to be with God until the Tribulation is over. On earth, unsaved man will be the recipients of the wrath of God to its fullest. For the Jews it will be the time of Jacob’s trouble, and for the Gentiles it will be the slaughter of the world.

In Revelation 5 we were introduced to a scroll in God's hand which was taken out of His hand by the Lord Jesus Himself. According to Revelation 6:1, “He begins to break the seals.” As the first seal was broken, the events of God’s wrath begin to unfold.

Now, there are seven seals on this scroll, and, today, we come to the second of the seven seals. The first four seals out of the seven take up the first three and a half years of the period known as the seventieth seven of Daniel 9 or the tribulation. We know it will be a seven year period of time because it is identified as such in Daniel 9. The first half of this seven year period of time is also identified in Revelation as a forty-two month period of time or a three-and-a-half year period of time or a twelve hundred and sixty day period of time. 

Now, the first four seals depict horsemen. That’s where we get the term “the four horsemen of the apocalypse.” The imagery is shocking and frightening, but the first of these horsemen brings a time period of peace and prosperity as we saw that last study. But the following three bring deadly results. 

In v.3-4 we read, "When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!" 4 Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword."

Following the peace from the opening of the first seal, the second seal is opened and a fiery red horse came forth. A careful study of the Old Testament shows us that horses are associated with triumph, power, and might. But, this fiery red horse speaks of war that is most frightening and devastating. We know it’s war, because it says he takes peace from the earth and makes people kill each other. 

In 1 Thessalonians 5:3 we read, "For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.”

This second rider represents war, but not war between great armies. The word for kill is really the word "slaughter." This is a reference to civil war or civil anarchy where mobs of people group together to attack and destroy other peoples whom they do not like. We are seeing a demonstration of this today in what is going on in our country.

The final words of v.4 reads, "To him was given a large sword." The bow of the first horse will be replaced with a sword. This will happen at the command of God. Some say this is not the wrath of God, but it comes out of the throne in the scroll in the hand of God. This is God’s unfolding wrath. It is God who has granted this red horse, the authority and the power, to move and bring war. It was God who allowed the false peace and it is God who starts the wars. The whole earth will lose its peace and violence will break out all over the world  and seems to through the remainder of the tribulation.

We are told that since 3600 BC there have been 14,531 wars and only 292 years of what would be considered peace. This is approximately 2.6 wars per year and one year of peace out of every two decades or 36 hours of peace per month or one minute of peace every four hours. That's as good as it has ever gotten, one minute of peace every four hours. 

Well, during the tribulation period, things will change. And, it will culminate in what we could call the mother of all battles, the Battle of Armageddon. This is why this is so relevant today much more so than it was when John wrote this book. The reason is today we now have the capabilities to destroy the entire planet in one hour. 

According to the Center for Defense Information, the United States alone has an arsenal 35,000 nuclear warheads. Each warhead is equivalent to the capacity which is 35,000 times greater than the bomb that went off at Hiroshima. And that's just the United States. There are now nine nations on earth with nuclear capabilities and these weapons will factor in to the outcomes that are described in Revelation.

Revelation 6:1-2

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1 I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” 2 I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest. ~ Revelation 6:1-2

We come to Revelation 6 which begins to give us the details about the future events of this book. The wrath of God will now be made center stage. The framework for the remainder of the book of the Revelation is given in Daniel 9 where we are given a prophecy covering a period of 70 "sevens" or 490 years. Of this 490 year prophecy, 483 years have been fulfilled.

Jeremiah 30:7 informs us that this last seven is a time of Jacob's trouble. Jacob was Israel's name before he came into a right relationship with God. Jacob is Israel in unbelief, whereas Israel is Jacob in belief. The design of this last seven year period time of Daniel's vision is that Jacob or unbelieving Israel would come to believe in the Lord Jesus as their Messiah.

These seven years are referred to by the Lord Jesus in Matthew 24 as "the end of the age"  which is about Daniel's prophecy that will run its course when Israel will be brought face to face with the Lord Jesus at His Second Coming. This seven year period of time is described in Revelation 6-19. 

In Revelation 4-5 we are given a scene that took place in heaven. In Revelation 4 God was seated on His throne in heaven. In Revelation 5 God has in His hands a little scroll sealed with seven seals. Those seven seals basically were for the purpose of hiding what was in the scroll. It could not be broken without the discovery of someone who had the right and the power to open it. And, it could not be read unless it was broken. It couldn’t be broken legally except by the one who had the right to open it.

That little scroll was the title deed to the universe, and the only one who was worthy and able to open it was the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David as He is described in Revelation 5:5. 

The scene now shifts, and God is about to unleash His judgment upon unbelieving man who is on the earth. Around His throne is lightning and thunder. In the midst of this there is worship of God by the redeemed, raptured church, and by the angels. And in the midst of all of this worship God gets ready to act in judgment.

In v.1 we read, "I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!"

This scroll was sealed seven times, as often ancient documents were, to keep it hidden until the rightful heir opens it. And, with the opening of each seal, we will see the coming judgment as the wrath of God, as He takes back His universe.

Before the first seal will be opened, the Antichrist will be revealed. The unbelieving world will not recognize the Antichrist for who he truly is. In fact, the world will think the he is the answer to all of their problems. When he comes on the scene, world peace will accompany him. At that time, the people of earth will greet his peace with ecstasy. For a certain period of time, a certain degree of prosperity will be enjoyed by everyone on the earth. 

In v.2 we read, "I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest." 

This is the description of the first event, the first feature of the end when the Lord takes back His world. This rider on the white horse bears some resemblance to the appearance of the Lord Jesus who comes on a great white horse in Revelation 19. They both ride a white horse; they both wear crowns; and both are bent on conquest. This rider is someone who is like Christ, but is not Christ. This is doubtless the long predicted Antichrist who is yet to appear in the last days. 

This is the "Man of Sin" mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2:3. He is also referred to as "the Lawless One" in 2 Thessalonians 2:8. This rider comes like Christ, but in his own name. He is given a bow, but no mention is made of arrows. This appears to be a bloodless conquest that he launches. Suggested here is some kind of overpowering of the minds and wills of people, without physical destruction. This will be done by deceit, by misleading and deceiving the people of the world, and thus he will overcome them without the shedding of blood. 

In 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12, we are told, "9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, 10 and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie 12 and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.

In Daniel 9:27 we read, "He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him."

The "he" here in Daniel 9:27 is the prince who is to come of v.26, which reads, "After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed."

The ruler who will come is the Antichrist who will confirm a covenant with the many for one week. But in the middle of the week he will put an end to the sacrifices which will begin after the covenant is made. The Antichrist will orchestrate peace in the world. 

In Revelation 6:2 we read, “he was given a crown.” He will be given power to rule over the people. He will not take his crown, it will be given to him, like he’s been honored by the world and elevated and given prominence. The peace that he will offer, will make him king of the world by the world. His agenda will initially be that everything is subservient to the idea of peace. And, since the architect of peace is the Antichrist, everything will be subservient to him.  

The world will fall into false peace, and they will bow down to this great world ruler who epitomizes it. But, what he offers will be a trap in which the world will be thrust into a snare. The Lord will allow this in order to reveal to the world that the Antichrist is an imposter. Through these events, the Lord will yet again, provide another opportunity for the world to turn to Him. His grace is inexhaustible, but only to those who are willing to believe in the gracious Son of His love.

Revelation 5:11-14

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11 Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12 In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise! 13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” 14 The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped. ~ Revelation 5:11-14

We return to the second vision the Lord Jesus gave of Himself to the Apostle John while John was on the Island of Patmos. In this vision, everyone, not only those in heaven and those left yet upon earth, but those under the earth unite in acknowledging the Lordship of the Lord Jesus Christ. Some will gladly confess it because they have understood and appropriated the death of Christ for themselves. Others will reluctantly acknowledge that He is indeed Lord. This scene has not yet occurred on earth but it will soon!

In this vision a new song from another new redeemed group will be sung. This new song comes from those redeemed during the church age. This is primarily the song of the redeemed represented by the elders, but it’s joined by the angels. The number is beyond calculation. It literally reads “myriads of myriads” or "murion of murions. 

Murions or ten thousands was the largest Greek number that the Greeks had a word for. They didn’t have words for million and so forth, because they didn’t count anything that went that high. And all they had was ten thousand as a word in their vocabulary. So when they wanted to talk about an innumerable number they said ten thousand times ten thousand.

In v.11-12 we read, "11 Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12 In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!"

In this vision a new song from another new redeemed group will be sung. This new song comes from those redeemed during the church age, but it’s joined by the angels. This is the goal of all history. Every historic event for these many centuries is related to and moves toward this final event of history.

In v.12 we notice the Lord Jesus as the Lamb who was slain. This long-prophesied and awaited day has come. And, the Lord Jesus earned this deserved power, wealth, wisdom, and strength. These are kingly attributes which are needed to lead the people into battle. At the cross, the Lord Jesus paid the price to buy the slaves of sin with His own blood, and has set us free. He bought us so that we could choose to serve and worship Him. 

The next three words are responses of praise. Honor and glory and praise. This is what we choose to give this king who had returned as the victor. The redeemed have had a spiritual heart transplant, and once we have His heart inside, we evaluate aright. So, if anyone were to place a stethoscope against the chest of the redeemed, they would hear the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the heart of worship. This is the heart of praise.

The angels join in the background but the ones with the harps and the bowls who sing the song are the redeemed. And, these are those who are the raptured church. And, with this being the case, it strengthens the argument for the pre-tribulational rapture. 

According to v.12, Angels can only echo the song of redemption. They can not initiate it because it is not their song. Angels can glorify God but they can not sing the song of the redeemed. They can not invent it, they can only echo it. 

In v.13 we read, "Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!"

Included in this group is every created thing. There is nothing left out. This includes everything: angels, men, dogs and dolphins. No created thing will be excluded. Endless praise, honor, glory, and power will be rendered to the Lord Jesus Christ. The whole universe chimes in because the curse will be rendered void. There will be no more worry or pain or sorrow.

In v.14 we read, "The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped."

Notice the nature of this praise which is what the redeemed do naturally and spontaneously. This worship comes from deep within after we have experienced His incredible love. This praise is not forced. It is not laborious. It erupts from within us. This praise is natural and organic. And the “Amen” means “let it be and make it happen.”

In Revelation 4, we see God upon His throne. He is praised because He is God and because He created us. God’s first great gift to mankind was creation. At the beginning of Revelation 5, we endured the despair and hopelessness of a world that was broken beyond repair. We have wept due to the pain and suffering in our lives. But, the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ rose up and went forth to conquer sin and death. And now, He is poised to defeat Satan, and in so doing, He will provide for the redeemed the broken penalty of sin, the broken power of sin and the broken presence of sin and Satan. Oh, what a day that will be!

Revelation 5:6-10

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6 Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. 8 And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. 9 And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. 10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” ~ Revelation 5:6-10

A careful study of the Old Testament renders the understanding that Christ had to deal with sin and death before He could take on the adversary, Satan. According to Hebrews 2, Satan held the power of death, which kept all of humanity in bondage. This bondage had to be broken first before the Lord Jesus could render Satan powerless. Through His death and resurrection, the Lord Jesus conquered sin and death. At Calvary's cross, the Lord Jesus overcame that which separated us from a personal relationship with out Creator. 

As we come back to Revelation 5, the Lion who is from the tribe of Judah and the Root of David has overcome as the Lamb. John uses the Greek word nikao translated triumphed to describe the work of the Lord Jesus on the cross. This Greek word nikao is the word from which we get our word Nike.

In v.6 we read, "Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth."

The term “lamb” is used six times throughout Scripture in reference to the Lord Jesus, until we get to the book of the Revelation. In the book of Revelation, alone, it is used twenty-eight times. Lamb is a key title for the Son of God in this book.

Notice that the lamb is standing. He is alive, yet He is standing as if slain. And, He is bearing wounds which are the marks of His death on our behalf. He will have these marks for all of eternity. In these, the Lion and the Lamb, John sees the uniting of two themes that run throughout the Bible. Lions conquer while lambs submit! Lions roar while lambs die! Here is introduced to us the One who conquers by submitting. 

When this scroll begins to unroll God is calling the nation of Israel back to the ultimate fulfillment of the promises that He long promised. The history of earth is now in view, and the key to that history is the nation Israel. The time has now come for the restoration of Israel, and this is what the book of the Revelation is all about.

Notice that the Lamb has seven horns. Horns in Scripture speak of power, and seven is the number of fullness. So the Lamb has fullness of power on the basis of his death.

In v.7 we read, "He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne." 

This monumental act is the thing that has been building since Revelation 4:1, since John was granted this vision. This is the great culminating act of human history. The goal of redemption is about to be reached. Paradise is about to be regained. The Lamb comes and takes the scroll out of the hand of God.

In v.8 we read, "And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people."

Each elder had a harp, and bowls of incense, fragrances, which, are the prayers of the saints. The slain Lamb is the center of all of the worship for He is God. The harp symbolizes the music of inanimate creation. Not only will all creatures of the universe praise God and join in worship before Him for His redemptive love, but creation itself will praise Him. Heaven worships Him not for His teaching or His perfect life of compassion, or even His miracles. Heaven worships Him for the shedding of His blood for sinners of every age. 

In v.9-10 we read, "And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. 10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth."

There were two majestic doxologies in Revelation 4, and now there are three more added here in Revelation 5 to make a total of five great doxologies of praise to God and to the Lamb. The crescendo of praise continues and it rolls on, accumulating momentum, until the song of adoration is in the mouth of every living creature in the universe.

Spontaneous worship erupts because of the end of sin and that the end of Satan is imminent. What happened on the cross in terms of his sentence will now be executed. It is at this point that the four living ones who are the cherubim and the twenty-four elders who are the representatives of the redeemed church fall down before the Lamb.

The extent of the redemption then is given in v.9, “from every tribe and language and people and nation.” The Lord Jesus Christ shed His blood for the whole world. He provided redemption back to God for the willing from every tribe, language, people and nation.

And then v.10 adds the result of such a redemption: "You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth."

Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ will be a kingdom of kings and priests forever. We will reign with the Lord Jesus into the new heaven and the new earth and into eternity. We will enjoy complete access to God’s presence forever because of the determined obedience of only One, the Lord Jesus Christ. No longer will we be incomplete because it is His presence which renders to us the fullness of joy. 

Revelation 5:1-5

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1 Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” 3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. 4 I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. 5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.” ~ Revelation 5:1-5

In Revelation 5 the theme changes from the worship of the Creator, as seen in Revelation 4, to the worship of the Redeemer. It is our privilege to worship the Creator because all that we have is a gift from Him. 

Many have desired to rule this world. Certainly there is Lucifer, now known as Satan and the devil. He desired to rule the world and the universe. Only one individual has the right and the power to take back the universe from sin and the curse and Satan’s usurping attempt at rebellion. That one is the central figure here in Revelation 5. No one other than He is worthy to rule all.

In v.1 we read, "Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals."

The earth and the universe came under captivity in the fall of man. But the document that displays who really owns it, God has had all the time in His possession. And, this scroll is the official document that grants the created universe to the Lord Jesus to be reclaimed from Satan. This scroll is a rolled up parchment with seven seals on the end so that as the seals are broken the scroll is unrolled and the writings upon it can be read. This scroll contains detailed descriptions of God's judgments, wrath, and vengeance. This is what the book of the Revelation is all about.

In v.2 we read, "And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, '"Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?"'

As indicated in Revelation 4, God's wrath being unleashed upon sinful man is a done deal. He is about to ignite the tribulation which pins sinful man to the floor and his painful judgment is near. This is why there is a last ditch effort to find someone to make a difference. The outcome is not just temporarily awful, it is eternally awful.

Then in v.3-4 we read, "3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. 4 I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside."

In these two verses despair is drilled down as far as it could go. Who can throw out Satan? Who can obliterate sin? Who can reverse the curse on all of creation? All hope was lost, producing an uncontrollable mourning that seemed to be an eternal mourning. John wept! He wept because no one could unseal the scroll or even look inside it. 

Then in v.5 we read, "Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals."

At the center of Revelation 5 is the One who leads mankind to redemption. This is the moment that no one in heaven except one of those who wore a white robe and a gold crown could believe. No elder could redeem the universe. No angel could redeem the universe. Only God could do this.

And, we are directed to "the Lion of the tribe of Judah" which is a title for the promised Messiah. It’s taken out of Genesis 49:8-10 which reads, "8 Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons will bow down to you. 9 You are a lion’s cub, Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness—who dares to rouse him? 10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his."

Judah is a lion and he will produce a lion who will rule the nations. The Messiah then became known as the lion that would come from the tribe of Judah. As the Lion of Judah, the Lord Jesus Christ rules the nations. But, when He first came, He didn't come as the Lion of Judah. He came as the Lamb led to the slaughter. He had to come as the Lamb before He could come as the Lion.

And this, in part, is why they killed the Lord Jesus because He was not lion-like in His first coming. As the Lamb, there was nothing devastating, menacing, and threatening about Him. Quite the opposite. He was set on laying down His life so that mankind could be made right with God and avoid His wrath.

The genealogy of the Lord Jesus Christ comes right through the tribe of Judah. The Lord Jesus Christ is that lion, but His lion-like work awaits the moment anticipated here in Revelation 5.

He is also called, in v.5, "the Root of David." This is another messianic title. The Old Testament very clearly indicated that the Messiah would be a Son of David, that He would be an offspring of David.

In Isaiah 11:1-5 we read, “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord — 3 and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; 4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. 5 Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.”

That’s talking about His kingdom. He will come and He will be a shoot out of David. And He will have the Spirit of the Lord on Him. And He will be righteous. And He will be just. And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth.

Every Jew expected that when the Root of David came, He would come in power and with force. He would come with a rod. He would come in destruction and devastation. He would come and He would force the wicked of the earth to succumb to His authority. He would judge sinners. And, He come out of the Davidic line.

And indeed He was. The Lord Jesus Christ came from the line of David, both as to His father and as to His mother. Joseph was in the line of David, and so was Mary. The genealogies of His father in Matthew and of His mother in Mark point out very clearly that the Lord Jesus Christ was born of the lineage of David.

But, at His first coming, He wasn’t like a king, and they killed Him. Because He didn’t act like a lion, they killed Him. But now John sees Him step forward again. The elder says to him, “Look, the lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David.” Now, He’s going to act like a lion, and now, He’s going to act like a king. He’s going to come in furious judgment against the nations of the world, and establish His rightful throne.

The elder says, “He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.” This is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the rightful King from David’s loins, both through Mary and Joseph. He is the fierce lion with the power to destroy, the power to devastate. And, how can He be such? Because He was the Lamb led to the slaughter.

Revelation 4:7-11

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7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: “‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come.” 9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: 11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” ~ Revelation 4:7-11

We return to John's vision of heaven and of God on His throne. All who are present in this scene are worshipping the Lord God Almighty. God's awesomeness creates in the hearts of the humble a response of worship which is preoccupation with God in all of His fullness. Worship causes us to place Him at the center of everything, and it diminishes us. When we see God as He is, we cease existing for self. As a result, worship frames up all things in a way that we recognize how it all serves us to love the Lord more and more.

In v.7-8 we read, "7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: “‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come."

John begins to describe this scene of worship by turning our attention to four created creatures. Ezekiel records the same living beings surrounding God in heaven. Ezekiel identifies them as "cherubim." Isaiah, in Isaiah 6, describes them as "seraphim." The main difference between the types of heavenly beings known as cherubim and seraphim is their appearance. Cherubim have four faces and four wings, while seraphim have six wings. Ezekiel also describes them with the faces of a lion, an ox, a man, and an eagle. 

Some say these four creatures correspond with the four gospels. The Man refers to Christ’s incarnation and humanity. The Lion refers to Christ’s power, courage and victory. The Ox refers to Christ’s sacrifice, And, the Eagle refers to Christ’s divinity and ascension to heaven. These Four Living Creatures before His throne all refer to the Redeeming Work of Christ.

Cherubim appear in several books of the Bible, including Genesis, Ezekiel, Kings and Revelation. Their four faces are ox, lion, man and eagle, although Ezekiel exchanges the ox for the face of a cherub or an angel. 

Seraphim only appear in the book of Isaiah. They use two of their wings for flight. As the cherubim, they are among the highest order of angelic beings.

These four creatures had eyes everywhere and six wings each. Eyes symbolize discernment and knowledge. Wings describe swiftness of movement. The first was like a lion which speaks of power. The second creature was like an ox which speaks of patience. The third had the face of a man which speaks of intelligence. And, the fourth was like a flying eagle which speaks of swiftness. These four living creatures are involved in leading creation to worship its Creator.

And worship is always their priority. They must cover their face, lest they be consumed by seeing the fullness of God’s glory. They must cover their feet, lest they be consumed, because they stand on holy ground. And so they are engaged in worship day and night, nonstop. This is their eternal occupation, joy, and privilege.

At the end of v.8 we read, “Day and night they never stop saying: “‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come."

This crescendo of praise begins with a quartet, and then are added twenty-eight voices, and then are added harps. And then, all the angels; and finally, every living being chimes in on the worship of our gracious God. Whereas Revelation 4 focuses on God as the Almighty God of creation, Revelation 5 focuses on God as the God of redemption.

And the four living creatures recite, unceasingly, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.” Their worship focuses, as all worship should, on the character of God, His attributes, and His nature. And the first thing that causes them to worship is His holiness.

“Holy, holy, holy” is the only attribute of God repeated three times. The Bible never says God is love, love, love. God’s holiness is His utter and complete fullness, accentuating His separation from evil. He is holy or complete and lacking nothing.

Not only do these four creatures accentuate the holiness of God, they also put the spotlight on His power. Notice that these beings identify God in v.8 as the Almighty. This means God is the strongest, and the most powerful being there is and He has no rival. This term, “almighty,” brings the idea of an overpowering strength that cannot be withstood.

At the end of v.8, these four creatures describe the Lord as, “...who was, and is, and is to come.” This phrase speaks of God’s eternality. This means that God is self-sufficient and He is independent of anything outside Himself. As a result, God has no needs. In fact, Psalm 50 teaches us that the worship of the true God is not intended to meet God’s needs, but to acknowledge Him for His sufficiency to meet our needs.

In v.9-10 we read, “Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne.”

The worship of the living creatures influences the twenty-four elders who fall down before Him who sits on the throne. This is the first of six times, in the book of the Revelation, when these elders prostrate themselves before God and the Lamb. (Rev. 5:8,14; Rev. 7:11; Rev.11:16; Rev. 19:4). And their posture is the posture of worship. They fall down prostrate before God.

And then, they cast their crowns before the throne. They have no preoccupation with their justified status before God. They have no concern about their own honor or reward. They are lost in adoration which is preoccupation of God above all else. This is voluntary worship prompted by the God of their redemption.

In v.11 they cry out, "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."

The word “worthy” is axios in the Greek. This word was used when the emperor marched along with a triumphant procession, attributing worthiness to him. The crescendo of praise is prompted by the fact that God created all things. God has the right to judge and redeem His creation. This is the beginning of the momentum of paradise regained.

Revelation 4:4-6

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4 Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. 6 Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back.  ~ Revelation 4:4-6

We return today to the vision the Lord Jesus gave to John the Apostle of heaven and of Himself on the throne in heaven. The Bible refers to heaven about 550 times, and both the Hebrew and the Greek words used, refer to what is lofty or what is high up.

In v.4 we read, "Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads."

From Revelation 4 til the end of the book of Revelation, we are shown the future. Revelation 4-5 sets the stage for the rest of the book. It describes the throne room in heaven, the presence of God and the Lamb, and it sets the scene for the judgment which begins to unfold in Revelation 6.

Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders.

The stage here is being set in order to teach us about real worship. These twenty-four elders are mentioned twenty-four times in the book of the Revelation. In Revelation 20 we read, “I saw thrones and they sat upon them and judgment was given to them.” Clearly, there is a shared rulership in heaven. These are “elders” who have been granted the privilege of ruling with the LORD God.

According to v.4 “They’re clothed in white garments.” These are the garments of righteousness, imputed to them by faith in the Lord Jesus. They have become overcomers by faith in Christ and have been granted His righteousness. And, they had crowns of gold on their heads. The Greek word used for crowns is stephanous, which is the crown of the one who won the victory, the runner’s crown, the laurel wreath that was given to one who competed and won the victory. 

In 2 Timothy 4:8, we read, “There is laid up for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day and not only to me but also to all who have loved His appearing.” 

Paul says there’s a day coming when believers are going to be coronated, enthroned, and crowned, and that glorious day is known as the Rapture. These are those who have been raptured and they represent the masses who entered heaven just before the seventieth seven of Daniel 9 begins.

In v.5 we read, "From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God."

These sights and sounds are reminiscent of the time Moses was given the Law on Mount Sinai. They are symbolic of the judgments of God. Revelation is basically the time when God turns from grace to judgment. All through the Bible He has been gracious, appealing to people to open their hearts, seeking to encourage them stop and listen and adjust to the truth. The book of Revelation is about how God will visit judgment upon all those people on the earth who have rejected His Son.

The symbols here of lightnings, rumblings and peals of thunder, are repeated several times through the book of Revelation. They represent a reference point to which the book returns again and again. When we read of them we will realize that we have come again to the final scenes of God's judgment of man's evil. Each time they appear an additional element of judgment is added. 

In v.6 we read, "Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back."

Here, John saw a great sea of crystal before the throne which speaks of the holiness of God. The sea is the Spirit of God in his purity and unsullied holiness. That is why we call him the Holy Spirit. It is that holiness which He must impart to anyone who dares to stand in the presence of God. "Without holiness," we are told in Hebrews "it is impossible to please God." 

In Revelation 21:1 we read, “I saw a new heaven and a new earth and the first heaven and the first earth passed away and there was no longer any sea.” 

So Revelation 21 says there’s no sea in heaven. What John saw here was crystal glass like a sea. On the throne sits God. His refracting presence coming through, as it were, diamonds and rubies and an emerald rainbow. And then at the very base of the throne is crystal glass, refracting through every imaginable prism that it could possibly contain the light of God’s glory and bouncing it throughout the infinite universe. A huge crystal base stretching out before it, glistening. This is the pavement of crystal on which the throne of God sits.

Heaven is not a world of shadows. It is a world of incredible light, refracting through jewels and crystals beyond anything we could ever describe or even imagine. This scene is of the God of the Bible who in all His glory, is ready to pour out His wrath on rebellious man. And, this sets the scene for worship. Not worship as we have known it in our churches. True and deep and heart-felt worship because we will see it all as it truly is. And, at that point, we will be totally invested in it because we will finally realize the utter magnitude of what the Lord Jesus did for us on the cross.

Without the awe that is created by this scene, we do not get the whole concept of worship. It was A.P. Gibbs who once said, "Prayer is preoccupation with our needs. Praise is preoccupation with our blessings. Worship is preoccupation with GOD Himself."

Revelation 4:1-3

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1 After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. 3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. ~ Revelation 4:1-3

Today, in our study of the book of Revelation we come to the second of John's great visions. The first vision was the revealing of the Lord Jesus Christ living in His church in the great vision of Revelation 1-2. Now we have the second of his visions, a vision of heaven, covered in Revelation 4-5. And John, as in the case of the first vision, was instructed to write it down. 

With John's second vision, we now move to the third division of the book. The thesis of this book is found in Revelation 1:19 where John the Apostle heard the Lord say to him, "Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later." In this one verse is the threefold outline of the book. John was told to "write what you have seen." That covers the vision of the Lord Jesus in Revelation 1. 

Then he was told to write "what is now" which is covered in Revelation 2-3, the letters to the seven churches which is a sweeping prophecy of the present age of the church. Then he was told "write what will take place later." It is to that division we come in Revelation 4, the beginning of what will take place after the church age.

In v.1 we read, "After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, 'Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this."'

Notice, here is the door to heaven and it isn’t closed, it is open. The door on earth was closed to Christ. The door in heaven is open to all who are willing to believe on the Lord Jesus. This door allows entrance into the very throne room of God. It is a door standing open by which John will take us into heaven.

The word "church" is mentioned 19 times in Revelation 1-3. Yet, in Revelation 4-21 the church is not mentioned once. The church is mentioned in Revelation 22 which happens after the Tribulation or the seventieth seven of Daniel 9. It seems that the church has vanished, and it has. John, who represents the church, is now in heaven and he is first allowed to see into heaven. What he sees is a door opened which enables him to look into heaven. 

Then, in today's text, we read that John heard a voice "like a trumpet." 

In 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 we read, "13 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever."

The trumpet mentioned in Revelation 4:1 is the same trumpet mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 4:16. Revelation 4:1 pictures for us the rapture of the church. The rapture takes place to deliver the church from the wrath of God which will be poured out on the earth during the Tribulation or more accurately called the Seventieth seven of Daniel 9:27.

The remainder of Revelation 4:1 reads, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this." Heaven is the viewpoint of John throughout the rest of the book of the Revelation. Heaven is another dimension of existence right here and now. It is a realm of being just slightly beyond our senses today. When John saw a door opened into heaven he was permitted to see into a dimension that is present all the time and which governs the visible affairs of earth. That is the biblical position from beginning to end, from Genesis to Revelation, and especially in Genesis and Revelation. We must learn to think of it that way. What we are given in this book are certain reference points, certain events to which the book returns again and again. 

In v.2 we read, "At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it."

The first thing John sees in heaven is the throne of God. The word "throne" is mentioned 13 times in Revelation 4, indicating it is the main theme in the chapter. There are only five chapters in the book of the Revelation where the word "throne" is not found. It is very important and impressive to remember that despite all that takes place on earth, all the events we read of in the newspapers and see on television, as exciting or saddening as these things are, they all somehow relate to that central throne from which God rules His universe. We must never forget that behind all human events is the government of God. The fact that there is a throne, means there are absolutes which cannot be altered or changed. They are guaranteed by the authority of the throne! Nothing man does, or can do, alters them in the least degree. 

In v.3 we read, "And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne."

John not only sees the throne, but he sees the one sitting on it, and he describes Him. The one on the throne had the appearance of "jasper," which is a diamond, the most beautiful of all gems because it has the ability to capture the light and flash it in brilliant displays of color. The brilliant crystal reflects the dominant attribute of God the Father, His holiness and perfection. 

The second stone is "ruby" which is a glowing, beautiful, blood-red stone. This, of course, immediately suggests the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. His major characteristic is His willingness to shed His blood on the behalf of wretched and hopeless mankind. He is the Lamb of God, slain from before the foundation of the world. 

The third color was the emerald. John saw a great rainbow circling the throne, green as an emerald. Green is the color of nature, of creation. A rainbow was first seen at the end of the flood of Noah. After that terrible event that wiped out the world of that day by a flood, Noah for the first time saw in the sky a rainbow, not a green rainbow, but a rainbow of various colors, just as we see them today during a mist or a rain. The rainbow was the promise of grace expressed in nature. "Never again," God said in Genesis 9, "will I ever visit the earth with a universal flood." That is God's grace shown in the natural world.

This rainbow with various shades of green circling the throne speaks of the Holy Spirit administering the holiness and the redemption of God to all creation. A rainbow is made up of the seven colors of the spectrum. All rainbows are a circle. We usually see only part of it. Where the rainbow touches the ground we see an arc, but if we saw the whole thing it would be a circle. About the only time you can see a rainbow as a circle is when you are flying in an airplane. At the heart of the circle, invariably, is the shadow of the plane you are flying in! It is a promise of grace in the midst of a storm.

Interestingly, according to Exodus 28, the jasper and the ruby were the first and last stones on the breastplate of the high priest. They represent the first and the last of the tribes of Israel; namely, Reuben, the firstborn, represented by the ruby; and Benjamin, the last born, represented by the jasper. These stones represent God's covenant relationship to Israel and even though they will go through this seven year period of God's wrath, they will be saved.

Finally, Reuben, represented by the ruby, means in Hebrew “behold a son.” Benjamin, represented by the jasper, in Hebrew means “son of my right hand.” Those names speak of the greatest Jew ever, the Son of God whom John saw sitting at the right hand of the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ.