The Mystery of Ephraim

John is back in vision, his second vision and presents the majesty of God on His throne. A new incident is introduced: And I saw on the right hand of Him that was sitting on the throne a scroll written on the inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals.

Revelation 5

¹ And I saw in the right hand of Him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. — and this may be truly said to be at the right hand of God, and from thence taken by the Lamb of the tribe of Judah;

— a book written within, and on the backside, sealed with seven seals: this book was very much like Ezekiel’s roll, Ezekiel 2:9; which was written פנים ואחור, “within” and “without”, before and behind, and indeed it was in the form of a roll;

— sealed with seven seals, as seven is a number for perfection, it may mean that the book was so sealed that the seals could neither be counterfeited nor broken; the matter of the book was so obscure and the work it enjoined and the facts it predicted so difficult and stupendous, that they could neither be known nor performed by any human.

² And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the book and to loose the seals thereof?” — who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? suggesting, that if there was any such person, that he is a person of greatness and worth, to take a book out of his right hand, this book of the Revelation;

— and as it was sealed, to unseal it and explain it to others, as it afterwards was in the following scenes and visions, and gave a view of all that is contained in it; and how to accomplish all the prophecies in it; and who can, or is worthy to do all this, but he that sits at the right hand of God? 

³ And no man in heaven, nor on earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. — and no man in heaven; whether angels, or any humans, not any of the twenty-four saints;

— nor in earth: among all the men on earth, even those of the greatest sagacity and penetration, the wise, the prudent.

⁴ And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. — the Ethiopic version reads, “and many wept”, many of those that were about the throne, as well as John.

⁵ And one of the elders said 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.” — weep not; cease sorrowing, do not be cast down; behold the lion of the tribe of Judah; by whom is meant Christ, who, according to the flesh, was to come of the tribe of Judah.

⁶ And I beheld, and lo, in the midst of the throne and the four living beings, 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. — here the seven Spirits of God have some descriptions each, each with an eye and even a horn; nevertheless since the Spirit is inherently holy, there would be seven Holy Spirits;

— and we would add Jesus the Son and God the Father, resulting in nine Personage. Nine in the Godhead; we should have a Polygon or a Nonagon; it might be more realistic to believe in the Polyty or a Nonaty, but certainly wouldn’t be a Trinity; (more at the end);

— the root of David; Christ called the root of Jesse in Isaiah 11:10; and the meaning either is, that he is a branch that springs out of the roots of Jesse and David, is David’s son and offspring, according to his human nature; see Revelation 22:16;

⁷ And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him that sat upon the throne. — and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne; as in Revelation 1:1; and the authority to open it, and make it manifest to others, and to accomplish many events, over several eras of time.

⁸ And when He had taken the book, the four living beings and the four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps and golden vials full of incense, which are the prayers of saints. — here “the prayers of saints” it is hinting who the twenty-four elders are, every one of them with harps and golden vials full of incense; the prayers of the 24 elders are that of saints, not angels.

⁹ And they sang 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, from every kindred and tongue, and people and nation, — these 24 elders are singing, praising God, “for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us”; only humans are redeemed “redeem us”, angels were and are never redeemed.

¹⁰ and hast made us unto our God kings and priests; and we shall reign on the earth.” — a parallel Scripture in Exodus being fulfilled: “And ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel,” Exodus 19:6; some versions have “kings and priests.” ‘And ye shall be unto Me kings and priests and a holy nation.’

¹¹ And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the living beings and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, — and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; an innumerable multitude; and yet these are but a part of the holy angels; afterward, (Revelation 7:11). 

¹² saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength, and honor and glory and blessing!” — worthy is the Lamb that was slain; they address him as the Lamb and their Lord; and speak of him as having been slain, and celebrate the virtue and efficacy of his sufferings and death, and ascribe his worthiness to receive such glory and honour.

¹³ And I heard 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, saying, “Blessing and honor and glory and power be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever!” — the hymn of praise is taken up by a larger circle of angels and saints, in a sacred concert with such magnificent singing around the throne of God: And I saw, and I heard as the voice of many angels round about the throne and the living beings and the elders;

— with eyes and ears that mere held open by the inexpressible wonder of it all John took notice of the countless celestial beings as they circled round the throne and the cherubs and the elders, their voices rising in such anthems of glory as pertain to the realms of eternal joy.

¹⁴ And the four living beings said, “Amen.” And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshiped Him that liveth for ever and ever.

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The seven Spirits of God, having seven horns and seven eyes, which mean each spirit has a horn and an eye, but what does this mean? In Zechariah 3:9; Zechariah 4:10, they mention what is made of the seven eyes of the Lord, which go forth over all the earth.

For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua: upon one stone shall be seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave the engraving thereof,’ saith the Lord of hosts, ‘and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. Zechariah 3:9

For who hath despised the day of small things? For they shall rejoice and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven. They are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth.” Zechariah 4:10

A horn represents power and strength, like bull’s horn, and an eye represents all seeing and all knowing; both the horns and the eyes are the seven Spirits or seven Angels of God sent forth into all the earth; therefore having seven horns and seven eyes represent God’s omnipotence and God’s omniscience that operate everywhere in the universe.

And that through this effectual working of the seven spirit or seven angels of God (there are no capital letters in Hebrew), which goes throughout the whole creation: and both in the natural as well as spiritual world, it demonstrates the magnificence, elegance and augustness of God’s Omnipotence and Omniscience!

Revelation 6

Chapter 6 opens with the vision of the opening six of the seals of the sealed book, by the Lamb, and of the events that follows.

¹ And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard, as it were, the noise of thunder, one of the four living beings saying, “Come and see!” — the preparation to the vision of the first seal; the Lamb opens it, John hears a noise like thunder, and one of the living creatures bids him come and see; upon which he saw a horse, of a white colour, and a rider on it, who is described by a bow and crown given him, and by the victory he obtained;

— one of the living creatures speaking, the first? But what does that mean? (more at the end)

² And I saw, and behold, a white horse, and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him, and he went forth conquering and to conquer. — what is this white horse? It is a symbol, but what is it?

— and this major Church come riding with a bow; but Christ come riding with a sword (Rev 19:14-15), so this subtle difference; and this Church with a bow is the Roman Church, set conquering and to conquer;

— but Christ the Son was the Revelator, and in Matthew 24 Christ revealed very first condition of the times is that of false preachers, misleading and deceiving, not the few, but the many; this was the rise of the Rome Papacy. And this Papacy was proven to be the Great Whore of Babylon of whom many of her doctrines were later adopted by her numerous harlot daughters.

³ And when He had opened the second seal, I heard the second living being say, “Come and see!”

⁴ And there went out another horse that was red; and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, that they should kill one another; and there was given unto him a great sword. — red, the color of blood; and this horseman, as Jesus Himself reveals, is WAR;

— there were wars in those days, but wars have not stopped; they have grown progressively worse and worse, more and more horrible and destructive, until today, we face the question of whether human life can survive the next atomic and hydrogen bomb war!

— one of the living creatures, but this is the second one; what does this mean?

⁵ And when He had opened the third seal, I heard the third living being say, “Come and see!” And I beheld, and lo, a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. — four living creatures, but this is the third.

⁶ And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living beings say, “A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine!” — one of the living creatures, but this is the third.

⁷ And when He had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living being say, “Come and see!” — I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, come and see; this living creature was that which was like an eagle, and was on the north side of the throne, answerable to the standard of Dan, which was on the north of the camp of Israel, and had the figure of an eagle upon it;

— one of the living creatures, but this is the fourth.

⁸ And I looked, and behold, a pale horse, and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over a fourth part of the earth to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. — a pale horse? pestilences, like Covid-19 epidemics of coronal virus which we’re experiencing today;

— famines, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth;

— God’s four judgements, which goes about with the sword, famine, pestilence and destruction by wild beasts.

⁹ And when He had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the Word of God, and for the testimony which they held.

¹⁰ And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?” — and they cried with a loud voice as making an appeal to the injured justice of God. This cry began way back under the first Roman persecution;

— they knew their blood would be avenged, but they cried out “how long and execute judgement?”

¹¹ And white robes were given unto every one of them, and it was said unto them that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants and also their brethren, who were to be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. — white robes were given unto every one of them as a token of their justification, and favourable acceptance with God; of their victory and triumph over death, their joy and glory.

¹² And I beheld when He had opened the sixth seal, and lo, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; — and a great earthquake happened, and the sun became black as sackcloth, and the full moon became like blood, and the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig-tree casts her figs when shaken by a mighty wind. With the opening of the sixth seal by the Lamb the special signs which should usher in the last day were enacted before John. There was a great and terrible earthquake.

¹³ and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs when she is shaken by a mighty wind. — and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth…. all the other inferior deities lost their esteem, worship, and honour; for the idol temples being now opened, the idols and statues were exposed to the common people, and were found to be stuffed with hay and straw, which brought them into great contempt.

¹⁴ And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. — every mountain and island were moved out of their places; by “every mountain” may be meant the places of idolatrous worship, which were usually upon mountains; see Jeremiah 3:6; which were now shut up, or demolished, or used for Christian worship; and “every island” being moved also may show, that Paganism was not only rooted out of the provinces of the empire upon the continent, but out of the islands also.

¹⁵ And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; — and the kings of the earth and the mighty ones and the generals and the wealthy and the strong ones and every slave and freeman hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and the rocks, Fall upon us and hide us from the face of Him that sits upon the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand? Here the terror and despair of the enemies of the Lord, of which He Himself has prophesied.

¹⁶ and they said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb! — and they all, filled with unspeakable dread, will cower in abject terror and fly to the crags and caves of the mountains, vainly hoping to find a spot where the angry glances of God will not strike them, where the wrath of the Lamb will not find them. That is what the breaking of the sixth seal uncovered: the terrors of the godless world on the day of the Judgement of God.

¹⁷ For the great Day of His wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand?” — and who shall be able to stand? against either of them, or in their presence, and so as to bear their wrath and displeasure; all which expresses guilt, shame, fear, and despair. The details of God’s wrath are to be revealed in the next chapter.

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The four living creatures, or four beasts could be the same as what Ezekiel saw of a Cherub in opening chapter of Ezekiel:

“As for the likeness of their faces, all four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion on the right side, and all four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle,” Ezekiel 1:10.

The face of a man could also be that of a cherub. But the question is, are these faces as it appeared in Revelation 6 the same as in Ezekiel?

~ by Joel Huan on October 17, 2021.

Posted in Revelation