| The Christian Life | July 1941 |
God’s Wonderful Book
THE advantage of using pictures as an aid in conveying thoughts to others is becoming more apparent every day. This is particularly true in the teaching of children, because the mature mind of the adult is naturally on a much higher plane so that he finds it difficult to convey these mature thoughts to the mind of a child. To help in doing this, the use of pictures and illustrations has proved very valuable.
What man has been discovering in these last days has been known to God all along, and for that reason, in teaching His truth, His wonderful Word abounds with pictures and illustrations. His mind is much higher than our minds; even higher by comparison than an adult’s is higher than that of a child’s. In comparison with God we are veritably but babes. The Prophet Isaiah tells us that as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are God’s ways higher than our ways, and His thoughts than our thoughts. (Isa. 15:5) We cannot clearly comprehend what is in the mind of God; and, in order to help us, He has employed many pictures and illustrations of important truths of His Word.
One of the interesting pictures in the Bible is found in Revelation, chapter 5. Beginning with the opening verses of the chapter, we read: “And I saw in the right hand of Him that sat on the throne a book written within, and on the back, close sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a great voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book, or to look thereon. And I wept much because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look thereon: And one of the elders sayeth unto me, Weep not; behold the lion that is of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, hath overcome to open the book and the seals thereof. And I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb standing, although it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth. And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him that sat upon the throne. And when He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having each one a harp, and golden bowls full of incense; which are prayers of the saints. And they sing a new song, saying, Worthy art Thou, to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for Thou was slain and didst purchase us unto God, with Thy blood, out of every tribe, and kingdom, and nation, and madest us to be with our God a kingdom and priests, and they reign upon the earth.” (Revised Version)
Here is a wonderful picture. To begin with, let us note some of the characters therein. The Heavenly Father Himself is represented as seated upon a throne, and He has in His hand a book. This “hook” is specially important to note, because much of the interest centers upon it. As John watched the progress of the picture he noticed that, while this book which the Lord held in His hand contained much important information, no one in heaven or on earth was worthy to open it. To the Revelator, this seemed to be a tragedy. He wept much about it.
One of the elders told him that there was no occasion to weep, for One had been found worthy to open the book and to look thereon. The One found worthy was the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David. As John watched the picture a strange thing happened: the Lion suddenly turned into a freshly slain Lamb. And it was this slain Lamb that came and took the book out of the right hand of Him that sat upon the throne and opened the seals. When this took place a whole host of actors in the picture began to sing and play on their harps; and they sang: “Worthy is the Lamb to take the book and to open the seals thereof.”
THE BOOK
As already noticed one of the points of interest in the picture, the one which causes the weeping and rejoicing, is the “book” that is held in the right hand of Him that is seated upon the throne. The symbolism of this book is very wonderful. All the pictures which are presented in the Bible are intended to illustrate the truth, that is, to make the truth more comprehensible. This last book of the Bible is called The Revelation. Pictures are intended to reveal, not to hide the truth. The pictures, therefore, should enhance our appreciation of the divine plan and help us to value some of its features more highly, as well as appreciate more keenly the part we have in the divine arrangement. If we are footstep followers of the master, we actually become actors in some of these pictures. Our part becomes important through God’s grace.
Let us note briefly the symbology that is attached to the term “book” as used in the Bible. As we know, the term does not refer to a nice cloth or leather bound book with high-class printing such as we enjoy today. The books referred to by God and used symbolically in the Bible, are those which originally were merely clay tablets. A little later these “books” were in the form of parchment scrolls. It is now found that these books were used primarily in ancient times to record family history together with the laws and regulations by which families were governed. For example, we read of the book of the law. That is exactly what the book of the law was, namely, a record of the family of Israel and the laws that were intended to rule in its affairs. This is true with respect to the earliest known “books.” Higher critics tell us that the art of writing was not known in Moses’ day, and therefore Moses could not have written the first five books of the Bible. But we now learn that the art of writing was known before the flood. Thousands of tablets have been excavated showing this, and it is found that they were used very largely for recording family history.
It is evidently this use of the term “book” that gives it its symbolic meanings as used by God in the Bible. God thereby calls our attention to the family history of the largest family known to us—the human family. This family originally was God’s family. In this symbolic book is recorded the varying experiences, the triumphs and defeats of that great family; its failures to keep God’s laws; and its final restoration to divine favor:
In this record of the human family there is also one, of a smaller and far more important family of God—a “new creation” that He brings into being. The book also tells us about the laws that govern this new creation, and how it takes part in rescuing the human family from the result of sin It is all this information that the Father was holding in His hand as He sat on the throne—a record including creation, the fall of man, and his, redemption and restoration through Christ and the church. It was held in the hand of the Heavenly Father and no one was found worthy to open it. No one knew what the outcome of all this was to be. And John wept about it.
A similar use of the Biblical symbolism of a book is found in the 29th chapter of Isaiah. Here, as in Revelation, the book is shown to be sealed. It is given to one who is said to be unlearned with a request that he read it. This unlearned one replies that he cannot read it because of his lack of learning. Then it is given to one who is learned, and his excuse for not being able to read it is, “I cannot because it is sealed.” As we read further on in this remarkable chapter, we are introduced to thoughts associated with the Kingdom reign and its blessings, and of that time it says, “In that day the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and the deaf shall hear the words of the book.”
This coincides with another symbolic picture which is given in the 20th chapter of Revelation, where we are told that during the Kingdom reign, the books are opened. Thus it is brought to our attention that throughout the centuries the plans of God have been like a sealed book so far as the world is concerned. The world in general has not known the will of God, nor have His plans and purposes been as an open book to them.
Thus we have brought to our attention the long period of time during which darkness covers the earth and gross darkness the people. During this time the true knowledge of God and His plans and purposes is not available to the people. To mankind in general, the books containing this information remain sealed. Later, however, the books are opened with the result that then the knowledge of the Lord fills the whole earth as the waters cover the sea.
Within this period of darkness, however, and before the books are open to the world of mankind in general, God takes His special servants into His confidence and to them reveals the knowledge of His plan. It is this which is symbolized by the breaking of the seals of the book which is held in the right hand of Him that sits upon the throne, as recorded in Revelation, chapter 5. In this revealing picture, we are shown that the One who is privileged to take the book from the Heavenly Father and to break the seals and thus to make this information available to those who are worthy, is the Lord Jesus Himself—the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
WORTHY IS THE LAMB
This revealing picture makes it clear that the slain Lamb is privileged to take the book from the Heavenly Father, and to break its seals because of His worthiness. It seems evident that His worthiness is due to His willingness to lay down His life in sacrifice, thus becoming the slain Lamb. In this picture, Jesus is presented in a double role, that is to say, He is shown to be the Lion of the tribe of Judah, as well as the slain Lamb. It was Jacob who made the prophecy concerning the lion that would come from the tribe of Judah. Jacob was in Egypt at the time the prophecy was given, and the Egyptian Pharaohs used a crouched lion as a symbol of their regal authority to rule. Jacob’s use of the term lion, therefore, was the equivalent of saying that from the tribe of Judah would come the one whom the Lord would use as His sovereign King to establish the Kingdom through which He would dispense His promised blessings to all the families of the earth.
The coupling of this symbolism with that of the slain Lamb, therefore reminds us of the twofold nature of the Messianic prophecies throughout the Old Testament; namely, the fact that they not only proclaimed the sufferings of Christ as symbolized by the slain Lamb, but also the glory that follows. The privilege of entering into the glory phase of the fulfillment of these promises is dependent upon the willingness of suffering precedent thereto. It was upon this basis therefore, that the slain Lamb was found worthy.
The account tells us that no one was found worthy to open this book either in heaven, or on earth. Other Scriptures indicate how literally this had been true. The apostle tells us that the angels had desired to look into these things but were not permitted to. We are also told that even the prophets who recorded the prophecies concerning God’s purposes did not understand the things which they wrote. Thus it was true that until Jesus came, the “book” remained sealed, even to the servants of God themselves.
The Scriptures indicate that the writing of this book, had been going on for centuries. The Heavenly Father employed the prophets of the Old Testament to record both the suffering and glory phases of His Messianic purpose. In view of what was thus being done, the angels of heaven would naturally conclude that wonderful things were being put down in the “book” and the prophets themselves would sense also that there were meanings to the things which they wrote which they did not comprehend. We can visualize the realities of the scene as witnessed by John concerning the fact that until Jesus came, no one was permitted to take the scroll, and to break the seals.
JESUS, THE SLAIN LAMB
In most of the pictures of the Bible, the Lord furnishes us with the key to unlock their meaning. It is so with respect to the picture of Revelation 5. In this picture the definite key which unlocks it, is the slain Lamb. There can be no question about who is represented by this part of the picture: We read in John 1:29, concerning Jesus, that He is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. Jesus is also the Lamb foretold in the prophecy in Isaiah 53, where it is said that He would be led to the slaughter. Jesus being this Lamb that is slain, it follows that at some point in His experience there took place that which is represented in the picture by the book being given to the slain Lamb, and who, later, opened its seals.
Jesus was given this high and responsible privilege in the divine arrangement, because he was worthy. There was no time in the experiences of Jesus, either as the Logos before His first advent, or later, when He was not worthy. This beloved Son of God was never unworthy of any of the responsibilities which the Heavenly Father entrusted to Him. The doing of His Father’s will was always the delight of the Logos, even to His coining to earth; and when but a child, He was anxious to be about His Father’s business. However the worthiness of the Logos in his pre-human existence was a worthiness that was not subjected to the test of sacrifice, suffering, and death. Not until His first advent, had Jesus learned obedience by the things which He suffered.
It was Jesus’ zeal for doing the Father’s will that brought Him to Jordan, when He began to be about thirty years of age. It was at this point that the Master presented Himself in consecration to do the Father’s will with respect to His mission on earth. It was at this time that the heart sentiments of Jesus were those expressed by the prophet concerning Him, “Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of Me, I delight to do Thy will, O My God.” (Psa. 40:7,8) The “book” here referred to was the divine will as recorded by the prophets of the Old Testament, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. These prophets not only recorded the divine will with respect to the slain Lamb, but they had also, under the guidance of the Spirit, outlined the purpose of the redemptive work; namely, the restitution of all things. Briefly, we might say the book referred to by the Master would, therefore, be the plan of God as it centered in Him. It is in essence the same as pictorially presented to us in Revelation 5.
This doesn’t mean that Jesus was here given the book, in the sense that the Father turned over to His son the entire responsibility of being the Executor of the divine plan. Perhaps, the best way of expressing what actually occurred at Jordan is to say that it was at this point that Jesus applied for the book—His application being based upon His expressed determination to carry out all of its terms as they pertained to Him.
JESUS ALWAYS WORTHY
Jesus was not given the “book” at Jordan, nor at any time during His earthly ministry, but He was favored with a wonderfully clear insight into many things relating to His Father’s plan, especially those phases of the plan with which He was personally associated. The “heavens”—symbolic of spiritual things—were opened to Him, and by the light of this vision of truth He was guided throughout the years of His earthly ministry, and was given strength to complete that ministry in the sacrifice of His earthly life as the Redeemer.
As Jesus had always been loyal to His Father, so now, when the test of persecution, suffering and death came upon Him, He continued to prove “worthy.” It was thus that He was worthy as the slain Lamb, and it was because of His passing this test successfully that later He was entrusted with the “book” and authorized to break its seals and thus become the executor of the, divine plan revealed there in.
Possession of the book, with permission to break its seals, implies, among other things, a full knowledge of the divine plan; and Jesus did not possess this full knowledge prior to His resurrection from the dead. There are a number of instances in His earthly life which reveal this. For example, when He was questioned by His disciples relative to the time of His second advent He said that this He did not know. This information, Jesus explained, was something which the Heavenly Father was still keeping to Himself. This was an item of truth which, at that time, was sealed up in the book and held in the “right hand of Him that sat upon the throne.”
Jesus’ experience in Gethsemane also indicates a lack of full knowledge of the Father’s will. When He prayed, “If it be possible, let this cup pass from Me, nevertheless, not My will but Thine be done,” He was revealing a lack of full knowledge of the divine will as it applied to the trying experiences then facing Him. The Master knew that it was the Father’s will for Him to die as man’s Redeemer. He had previously made this clear, when He explained that He was to give His flesh for the life of the world. There was no question in His mind about this.
But now the developing circumstances indicated that in addition to dying, He was to become an outcast in the eyes of the people. He saw that the great facts of His divine Sonship and Kingship were to be contradicted; and because of this, He was to die as a traitor to the Roman government and a blasphemer of God. Such an experience was not necessary in order for fallen man to be ransomed from the power of the grave, although it was a part of the divine plan “in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.” Jesus was willing to go through this crucial test, only He wanted to be sure that that it was the divine will, so He prayed, “Not My will, but Thine be done.” Herein is revealed the divine method of dealing with the “heirs of salvation” upon the basis of faith.. Every step of the way was not revealed to Jesus in advance, and likewise those who follow in His steps must need walk by faith, often seeing before them only one step at a time.
THE BOOK DELIVERED
While Jesus, during the three and a half years of His earthly ministry, was given all the knowledge of the divine plan which was necessary to guide Him in His sacrificial work, and enable Him to prepare His disciples for the part they were to play in God’s plan later, yet it was not until after His resurrection that He was entrusted with the divine scroll, and commissioned to break its seals and to carry out its executive purposes. It was then the Master said, “All power is given unto Me in Heaven and in Earth.” Obviously, at the time these words were spoken, the Father had given Jesus the scroll. It was His now, to carry on the divine plan in harmony with the manner in which its various phases were outlined in the book. He had proved His worthiness, so now the Father could fully trust Him.
As Christians our interest in the fulfillment of this beautiful picture of Revelation 5, is not alone centered in the fact that the slain Lamb is found worthy to take the book and to break its seals. While Jesus was proving His worthiness, He outlined to the disciples that they, too, were to be given the Word of God. In fact, Jesus gave them as much of that Word as they could then understand and appreciate, and even more than this.
He promised, moreover, that when He went away, He would send the Holy Spirit to bring to their remembrance the things which He had spoken to them, and to show them things to come. In this promise and in the wonderful way in which it was fulfilled beginning with Pentecost, we have clearly brought to our minds the fact that the faithful followers of the Master—those who are, like Him, “worthy”—are privileged to look upon the scroll with Him, and if they prove themselves worthy even unto death will become co-partners with Him in carrying out its purposes towards the children of men.
The practical lesson of all this for us is, that the great privilege of being taken into the Heavenly Father’s confidence and having His secrets revealed to us, is based upon worthiness. Jesus was given the book because He was worthy. We are now privileged to look upon that book, as He breaks the seals, only if we are endeavoring; by God’s grace, also to be worthy. We will have the privilege of sharing with Him in dispensing the blessings outlined in the book if we continue to prove our faithfulness even unto death, following Him in the laying down of our lives in harmony with the divine arrangement.
In Revelation 14:1 these additional ones who are found worthy and who will look upon the scroll with the slain Lamb, are shown to be those who follow the Lamb withersoever He goeth. Later, in Revelation 17, this same class is pictured as being with the Lamb at the time the forces of Satan are overthrown and God’s Kingdom is established with power and great glory in the earth. Here, also, it is said, that they who are 19 with Him, are “called, and chosen, and faithful.”
In Jeremiah 9:23 the Lord shows that the only thing worthwhile and in which one can properly glory is “that he understandeth and knoweth” the true God as the One who delights to exercise “lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth.” It is through being privileged to look upon the book of the divine plan, the seals of which having been broken by Jesus, thereby permitting its opening, that we learn to know God. There is no other way of properly knowing Him except as He reveals Himself through His wonderful “Book.” As this revelation becomes more and more clear to us, may we, indeed, be inspired with an increasing determination to be worthy, that thus we may share in the glory of the coming Kingdom with slain Lamb—Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.