6 The Lamb, Ch. 5:6-8a
At this point in the vision the divine Redeemer, Jesus Christ, appears in order to open the seals, portrayed as the Lamb of God, the recognized atoner for sin, a symbol of striking power to every one familiar with the Old Testament system of sacrifices. The importance of opening the seals had been already indicated in the vision (ch. 5:2f.) by the appearance of a strong or mighty angel, the sign of high rank and great power, proclaiming with a great voice, “Who is worthy to open the book and to loose the seals thereof?” And when no one was found “in the heaven, or on the earth, or under the earth”, i. e. in the place of the spirits of the dead—a phrase equivalent to saying that no one could be found in all the universe—the prophet wept much, showing his deep interest and bitter disappointment when his expectation seemed [pg 121] about to fail. But one of the elders, a representative of the redeemed church, points out to John him who is able to open the book because he “hath overcome”, indicating the glorified Redeemer as the source of help.[382] He is described by the elder as “the Lion that is of the tribe of Judah” (Gen. 49:9), and “the Root of David” (Isa. 11:1), indicating his kingly[383] and prophetic relations to Israel; but when he appears to John's wondering view it is in sacrificial form as the Lamb of God,[384] the sign of his priestly relation to his people, bearing marks as though he had been slain, but now standing in living power in the midst of the throne, the center of all attention and the glorified object of all worship, alike the agent of redemption and the consummation of sacrifice. The words “in the midst of the throne” may mean in the center of the throne and encircled by it, or between the throne and those surrounding it. Some regard the throne as a semi-circle in the open side of which the Lamb stands, and within which are placed two of the living creatures, with the other two at the back, while the elders surround the throne, and the many angels form the outer circle,[385] a view that is helpful to those who wish detail in such matters, for the chief thought in the symbolism is sufficiently plain. It may also be worth while to note how clearly this symbolism implies that the redeemed church, represented by the elders, stands nearer to the throne of God than even the angels.[386] The seven horns of the Lamb symbolize the fulness of his power, for the horn is the Hebrew emblem of power as seven is of fulness or completeness of quality; and his seven eyes represent the perfection of his vision and knowledge, seeing with the omniscient eyes of the Holy Spirit (Zech. 4:10) who proceedeth alike from the Father [pg 122] and the Son.[387] He takes the book out of the right hand of God as a token of his rightful authority, an act full of meaning, for he alone has prevailed and has power to open the book and to reveal God's purposes because he has redeemed the church and himself directs the path of her history. In this sublime vision of the Lamb in the midst of the throne we may be truly said to have reached “the point of highest dramatic interest in the whole book”.
7 The Heavenly Worship, Ch. 5:8b-14
The taking of the book is followed by an act of profound worship; the four living creatures and the four and twenty elders fall down before the Lamb, having each one a harp, the instrument of praise, and a golden bowl full of incense, representing the prayers of the saints, which they offer before God. Then they voice their thought in a new song, the song of the redeemed (the Redemption Chorus), which is rendered unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, declaring him worthy that hath been slain to take the book and to open the seals, and “to receive the power, and riches, and wisdom, and might, and honor, and glory, and blessing”,—a sevenfold or complete ascription of praise—who hath redeemed his people with his blood out “of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation”,—a fourfold or world-wide redemption for all peoples[388]—“and madest them to be unto our God a kingdom and priests; and they reign upon the earth”, even now in the midst of trials, in a spiritual sense which though imperfect foreshadows and assures their complete spiritual reign in the new world wherein dwelleth righteousness. This song is sung by the four living creatures as the representatives of the whole creation who unitedly rejoice in the work of redemption together with man, and by the four and twenty elders who represent [pg 123] the church of all time, the personal subjects of redemption; and it is chorused by an innumerable company of angels, God's sinless creation, who are described as consisting of “ten thousand times ten thousand”, i. e. the square of a myriad, a hundred millions in number (or, as the words may mean, “myriads of myriads” i. e. hundreds of millions), and in addition “thousand of thousands”, i. e. millions more,—a symbolical expression for a numberless host; and it is echoed by “every created thing which is in the heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea”, i. e. it is re-echoed from every created being throughout the universe. Thus the Chorus of Creation, wonderful as it was, is surpassed by the Chorus of Redemption: and the four living creatures who represent creation said in full accord, “Amen”, while the four and twenty elders “fell down and worshipped” him that liveth forever and ever. The opening of the seals then follows, and because of its widely different bearing from that which precedes, is usually considered as forming a separate vision, though the transition is not otherwise marked than by a change of action and progress of thought.
II The Vision of the Seven Seals (A Vision of Trial). Ch. 6:1-17, and 8:1
The vision of the seven seals is a prophetic delineation of the trials and triumphs of the church of Christ throughout all her history, especially from the days of John to the end of the world, depicted in the symbols of Apocalyptic. These trials fall upon all men in common, and from another point of view are also judgments upon the sinful world, but they are regarded here chiefly as involving the church in suffering, and as preparing the way for the triumph of the kingdom of God, the coming of our Lord, and the final consummation of all things. The opening of the seals by Christ indicates his purpose of revealing the hidden contents of the book which he had taken from the right hand of God (ch. 5:7), and the number of the seals (seven) shows the completeness of the series. The order of the seals is progressive, but they have no definite or categorical time-relation; they regard only the ceaseless swing of the ages ever sweeping on toward the final consummation. The underlying divine purpose of testing men by moral struggle is apparent [pg 124] throughout; the trials set forth are disciplinary to those who believe, but punitive to those who resist. The form of trials in the vision is that of an illustrative symbolism which should not be limited in interpretation to the few particular kinds of trouble that are described, but should be taken as representative of the whole round of sorrows endured by God's people throughout all time, a prophetic forecast which, though receiving an immediate fulfilment in the experience of the early church, has yet had and will have a further and wider fulfilment throughout the course of the ages. The subordinate element of judgment upon the wicked in the vision is implied rather than stated, except under the sixth seal; nevertheless upon further reflection it may be clearly seen, for the advancing conquest of Christ includes the overthrow of the wicked, while the sorrows of war, famine, and death fall upon them without any consolation like the recompense of the righteous, the avenging of the martyrs is foretold as eventually to be visited upon them, and amidst the terrors of the final judgment they find no availing refuge, but cry to the mountains and to the rocks to fall upon them to hide them from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. This bearing of the trials of the seals, revealing judgment upon the world, should not be overlooked in our interpretation, though we should not lay special stress upon it, for it is not the foremost thought in mind.
In entering upon the more obscure portions of the book it may be well to remind the reader that the interpretation will be much simplified, and many of the difficulties will disappear, if we regard all the mysterious action in these visions as in the broadest sense symbolical, and not requiring detailed application. And although an effort may well be made to recover what has been called the “ground-view” of the Apostle, i. e. the natural application of the prophecy that lay in the immediate horizon of history and belonged to the conditions of his time, yet this cannot be regarded as absolutely essential to the correct interpretation for us and for all ages. We should not forget that we are dealing with what is really a great creative poem in prose, containing idealized conceptions of widely pervasive principles, and therefore its true interpretation lies in facts of universal experience rather than in the special circumstances which helped [pg 125] to give it form in the mind of the writer, but beyond which he passed with poetic freedom to grasp the larger ideal—for to deny that John had any such ideal in mind is to do injustice both to his prophetic and poetic insight. And if in our anxiety to reproduce the author's native horizon, we allow the basis of historical fact to become the chief matter of concern, we are sure to lose in literary insight in the interpretation of the book far more than we gain through clearness of local perspective. For it is always to be reckoned “amongst the impediments to the study of literature ... that the personality of the author, and the circumstances of actual life, are forever being allowed to interpose between a creative poem and the mind of the reader”,[389] to the constant hindrance of any free following of the author's constructive idealization. And it is only by avoiding this narrowing influence of realism that we are at all likely to reach the heart of the Apocalypse.