LIFE IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION (3)
[p. 319] LIFE IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION (3)
Revelation 5: 6 - 14; Revelation 7:1 - 3; Revelation 7:16, 17; Revelation 11: 11
JT We have considered together the “beasts” of chapter 4. (The true rendering is “living creatures”; the word “beasts” is misleading.) They are viewed as living, the link is with the living creation.
In chapter 4 they are in the midst of the throne and round about it, full of eyes before and behind, and within, the features being that of a lion, calf, man, and flying eagle. Each has six wings respectively, and they say, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come”. They are engaged in the worship of God and the celebration of what God is in His holiness. Then we are told of the form of worship of the twenty-four elders, and that in verse 11, they say, “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created”. We see what is in mind. These living creatures are representative of the whole creation as living and as for God’s glory, for His mind, and for His pleasure.
Chapter 5 is Christ typically, viewed as a Lamb as it had been slain, in the midst of the throne — not on it, but in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures. In chapter 5 the living creatures are mentioned first (verse 8); in chapter 4 the elders are mentioned first. Chapter 5 contemplates a state of things marked by life, and the Lamb is seen symbolically in the midst of the throne, and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders. Although the throne is there, suggestive of authority, the state of things is more mutual, and brings out and makes room for the activity of life now founded on redemption. So that it would apply to ourselves. Under some circumstances the elder brethren, who represent moral authority, are more prominent, and [p. 320] necessarily so; on other occasions it is a question of life, where the saints might be together in fellowship and mutual participation in the things of God. What is to be observed is a living state of things, so that the younger element comes into evidence with the Lamb in the midst. It is His place, the place offered to Him, fully owned as the Redeemer, and worshipped as such. It seems as if this chapter has in view a people being brought into redemption, and yet He is content to be amongst them, the idea of life being more prominent than that of authority. Where life is unhampered authority is scarcely necessary, and this applies to our eternal relations in heaven.
JW Is your thought of life the power to enjoy the relationship in which God has been pleased to set us?
JT We have to take up these words contextually. Wherever the word life occurs, the context indicates what is meant. Life has not the same meaning as eternal life. In the Roman epistle, we have eternal life formally introduced as the end of the kingdom; grace reigning through righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (chapter 5: 21). In chapter 6, our side is taken up and that from the standpoint of baptism. We have our fruit unto holiness, and the end eternal life (verse 22). That is the end of that course in our souls; in both cases it is a question of the order of things. Then we are told that “the wages of sin is death; but the act of favour of God, eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”. In chapter 8 we have the word “life” in the sense in which you mention it. The Spirit is said to be life in view of righteousness, and what is implied is potentiality, that one has power to take up his relationships and in them manifest righteousness, and I have no doubt that the word “living” or “life” throughout the book of Revelation is of that character. It is an enlargement of Romans 8, but it is life actually in persons. Eternal life is an order of things into which we come, but life is power to move and take up our privileges; indeed, to carry out [p. 321] the will of God it is necessary to have it as power in the soul. It is the point of view generally in this book. The word “living” first occurs in Revelation in chapter 1, and it is the Lord’s own word as to Himself, the “living one”. It is an active word. Eternal life is a great general thought, and so is in a sense passive, but the Lord alludes to life here. “I am ... the living one: and I became dead, and behold, I am living to the ages of ages”. “Living creatures” is an active thought, so that the lesson for us is that in our meetings and in our public relations there is to be this element of life, which is, as we said at the outset, preservative. It involves greenness, freshness for the eye of God. The features of these living creatures, God has already in the saints.
FJF What you said about eternal life is very helpful. Before we come into that order of things there should be a state suitable to it.
JT Romans prepares for that. The Spirit is life not only in view of eternal life but in view of our family relationships. Then we have the Spirit of adoption, which is a higher thought.
WW In this chapter redeemed creation is viewed as living in connection with the Lamb, as it had been slain, in the midst of the throne, and there is that which is responsive — the harps, the golden bowls full of incenses, which are the prayers of the saints, then the song, ascribing praise and glory to Him. That is how love would respond.
JT It is aglow with life, and the Lamb is seen in the midst of that, and in the midst of the elders, and all are marked by that which would please Him — the prayers of the saints, for instance. The living creatures and the elders have “each a harp and golden bowls full of incenses, which are the prayers of the saints”. How fragrant that is to Christ, because He is here seen as particularly concerned about the saints and those public conditions which favour the saints — a very important point. These prayers are not seen here as offered, but [p. 322] they are kept in golden bowls, kept in vessels of gold, as if to call attention to their preciousness. How fragrant they must be to the Lord, the knowledge that they are there. It might be applied to a meeting like this. While the Lord is known amongst us in fullest authority, the point is His presence and what those who are in the lead among us do; the services of those marked by life and experience with God. Here it is what the living creatures and the elders have, and then the joining in to worship, not Him that sits on the throne, but Him that is slain.
WW It is response in fruitfulness. There is the music, incense, praise, and singing. The whole scene is really alive with life that He has given to it.
JT It is replete with life, and life expressed in an exalted way. There is great fulness and refinement of quality in the service rendered. The highest suggestion of music is in the harp, and added to this is the new song, involving freshness. They are not repeating old things.
CCE Which saints are these whose prayers are in the golden bowls?
JT It is their character that is in view. In chapter 8 we have them presented. “And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne” (verse 3). The prayers of all the saints are there referred to, but here it is what is characteristic. These prayers are held by the living creatures and the elders. It is to show that they are held by them in a spiritual way, according to God. It is a worship scene. It is to bring out that the Lord is now on our side; it is Christ in both chapters. In chapter 4 He is on the throne; in chapter 5 He is on our side. It is a Lamb standing as slain, showing that it is a suffering scene. The Lord is identified with the saints, but the Spirit is bringing into prominence the living element first, the administrative feature being second, and making manifest a scene [p. 323] entirely replete with life.
FJF Why is He said to be standing?
JT Readiness for operations. Stephen saw Him standing, implying that He was still ready to act for Israel. He is always seen standing amongst the brethren at the endings of the gospels. At Emmaus He is seen “at table”, but this was in view of the breaking of bread, and He vanishes immediately. Standing at the endings of the gospels indicates that the end was not yet reached. In our chapter He is ready to act in full power, having seven horns and seven eyes which are the seven Spirits of God which are sent into all the earth. What is prominent is what the living creatures and the elders and the others do.
So far our remarks refer to verses 6 - 10. In the later verses the whole realm of creation is brought in. “Every creature which is in the heaven and upon the earth ... and those that are upon the sea, and all things in them, heard I saying, To him that sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb, blessing, and honour, and glory, and might, to the ages of ages”. He who sits on the throne is now worshipped as well as the Lamb. Here (verses 9, 10) we are on the ground of the full results of redemption in life. So from the four living creatures and the elders the circle enlarges until every creature is brought into it. This illustrates the great example and lead God finds in the assembly, widening out until the whole realm of creation is reached. What is small and despised will spread out universally. In all our meetings every element should help to bring the Lord before us; thus life being unhampered, our being free from the flesh, our service widens until God becomes all in all. Connecting this with the saints “in assembly”, the Lord is seen as slain, pointing to His love, so that we call upon all that is within us to praise Him. It is what He is that draws it out, so that we have two scenes of worship. In verse 9 it says, “they sing a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open its seals; because thou hast been slain, and hast redeemed to God, by thy blood, out [p. 324] of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, and made them to our God kings and priests; and they shall reign over the earth”. That is one set of worshippers — the higher thought. In verse 11, we read, “I saw, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and their number was ten thousands of ten thousands and thousands of thousands; saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that has been slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in the heaven and upon the earth and under the earth, and those that are upon the sea, and all things in them, heard I saying, To him that sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb, blessing, and honour, and glory, and might, to the ages of ages”. It is a broadening thought, the whole of creation is being brought into this celebration of praise.
TH There is a good deal in the New Testament concerning the suffering Lamb.
JT The allusion in the word goes back to Isaac.
CMO Would you say the first song was the more intelligent?
JT Evidently. In their song the living creatures and the elders give specific reasons for their praise; the great results of redemption — the persons that are secured for God; but the second scene of praise is simply that the angels, with all creatures are celebrating the worthiness of Him who sits on the throne, and of the Lamb.
WW At the end of the chapter the living creatures say, “Amen”.
JT They represent the side of sympathy. And the elders fall down and do homage. Earlier, as we were noting, they together sing a new song. This newness in singing should help in our assembly services. We must avoid current religious customs, in which there is great staleness and sameness; there should be freshness on every occasion. We should have that in mind. One [p. 325] observes that in our services there is a sameness in the use of hymns. The book is not used as intended. It should serve a living state of things. If life is active there would be intelligence; these two sets of saints, as we have seen, are marked by intelligence. The elders always know what to say, they can always give an account of things. Now, if I give out a hymn, I ought to have a good reason for it.
CCE We cannot make use of a hymn if we do not know it. We should read the hymn-book.
JT Yes, you have variety in foliage, in fish, in bird, in animal, and in mankind too. Sameness in this sense is objectionable to God, as it is to a spiritual mind. The hymn-book is intended to be the expression of life. “The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day”, said Hezekiah. As made to live, he had a new song, that is the idea. The whole scene is replete with life.
JEM In verse 9 they “sing”; in verse 12 it is “saying”.
JT Verse 12 is what the angels say. It is not on the same level as verse 9. Verse 9 includes the saints of this dispensation, so we have a more elevated thought in the singing and what they sing. The Lamb has secured persons for the divine testimony and service; the second scene is on lower ground. Then verse 13 brings in every creature saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. They do not go so far as to say anything about the result of the testimony.
CMO Would their praise correspond with Psalm 150?
JT It is on that line. The living creatures say, “Amen”. You love to hear the saints say, “Amen”. It is a dead state of things if you do not hear the Amen resound. The elders go further and fall down and worship.
Ques Should “Amen” be said by the sisters as well as by [p. 326] the brothers?
JT They ought to say it. “Let all the people say; Amen!” There are other scriptures that cover it. You can say things silently. There is Hannah, of whom it is said, “only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard”.
CCE You would not prohibit the sisters from saying “Amen”. They take part in singing, and in a general way they can say “Amen” without being prominent.
JT Well, if any have a difficulty about saying it aloud, there is the case of Hannah.
DG Can you apply redemption to the assembly? Is it intelligent to mention it at the Supper?
JT Scripture says in regard to the assembly, “which he has purchased with the blood of his own”, Acts 20: 28.
WW All is taken up in Christ Jesus. God has changed His man. Therefore all must come out of Christ.
JT The only history the assembly had before is in the counsels of God. Eve is the type of the assembly properly, and she was brought into being before sin came in. The assembly viewed in the counsels of God has no sinful history, but viewed historically it has had a sinful history, that is in its members. “Such were some of you”, 1 Corinthians 6: 11. We have to view it in these two ways.
JW You said in speaking of the types that Eve was the type which went through.
JT Eve is a type of the assembly as in the counsels of God. The others are in connection with what has arisen, through what has come in. We must never let go the primary thought; the primary thought goes through into eternity.
In chapter 6 we have the living creatures active in relation to the opening of the seals. The seals are preliminary, but God’s dealings in them are mixed with grace, because it would seem as if God would indicate that His mind is still gracious. These earlier activities of the throne are mingled with grace, all having regard [p. 327] to the saints being here. While happenings governmentally may be severe in the overthrow of governments and so on, still they are mingled with grace because the saints are here. That is why we have the living creatures in chapter 6. While God has unmitigated judgment for the world, He mingles His ways with grace in all that is happening today and from the time that apostasy set in, having in mind that the saints are here. He is opening the seals in relation to them; He is thinking of the saints. One has often observed that governments make use of certain men at certain times to make public announcements. Each of these men represents something. Each has his own point of view, and if the authorities wish to convey a particular viewpoint, they use the right individual to announce that policy. I am speaking illustratively. God puts forth these living creatures to illustrate what is in His mind at the moment. His judgments are tempered with sympathy. That should mark our prayers in regard to authorities.
FJF The saints are in view in all God’s governmental movements.
JT Undoubtedly. He would call us alongside Himself, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing?” Thus is opportunity given for entreaty for the saints. But the judgment will fall, although while the saints are here judgment is restrained. The living creatures being prominent in this movement represent the mind of God at this particular time.
FJF That is a good thought. We should be sympathetic with God for the security of those who will continue the testimony.
JT Abraham is really on this ground in interceding about Sodom in view of the saints there. “Peradventure there be fifty righteous” and so on. The Lord through intercession has held back the judgment of God in view of the saints. So, too, the dresser answers the owner who ordered the cutting down of the fruitless fig-tree, “Let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it”, Luke 13: 8.
The Lord’s intercession goes on all the time, and that intercession would affect the government of the world. Hence our prayers include those in authority.
CCE Had it not been for that, considering all the vicissitudes, the testimony would never have come through.
TH Would it be right to mention judgment to come in preaching the gospel?
JT If you take Paul as an example, he mentioned judgment to come. The great gospel epistle (Romans) says, “The wrath of God is revealed from heaven”. It is just held back. The intercession of Christ has a great deal to do with that, for the world is held as reconciled in view of the gospel (Romans 11: 15).
FJF And will not the next public action of the Lord be in judgment on this world?
JT Yes, as in 2 Thessalonians 1: 7, 8, “the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ”. That is His next great act. This opening of the seals is not that. He is thinking of the saints in these preliminary movements, which are therefore modified.
It is wonderful how things have been in Europe for the last hundred years. What terrible chaos arose out of Napoleon’s days! The ensuing change has been kept up ever since. The spread of the British dominions, largely the outcome of those wars, has, under God, made a way for the gospel everywhere. So, one might say, all this time there has been liberty to preach the gospel. That is the outcome of the intercession of Christ.
CCE Roman wars were of little account during the time of the Lord Jesus, and during the days of the apostles. “See thou hurt not the oil and the wine”.
JT There is a modification on account of the saints. This ought to bring all the brethren to have regard in their prayers for the state of international affairs, that [p. 329] the highways might be kept open so that the ministry should go on.
In chapter 7 we have God’s mind brought out as to numbers. One hundred and forty-four thousand have the seal of the living God. They are viewed administratively.
God is reverting here to His people on the earth, and all is stamped with life — the seal of the living God. Then there is the multitude, which no man could number, led to “fountains of waters of life”. Chapter 7 is the great chapter for numbers. If any one is concerned about smallness of numbers, let him read chapter 7. It is not the whole world saved, but out of all nations, and kindreds, and peoples, and tongues. God makes his own selection through the gospel, and they are all taken care of, and the Lamb leads them to fountains of living water.
In chapter 11 we have persons set apart for public testimony, who suffer. They are God’s “two witnesses”. The spirit of life from God entered into them and they stood upon their feet. Then they went up to heaven in a cloud — as their Master went up. What an encouragement to be faithful in testimony!