The Lord Jesus in Some of His Circumstances
on Earth and in Heaven
Luke 23 and Revelation 5:1-141And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. 2And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? 3And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. 4And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. 5And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. 6And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, 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. 7And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. 8And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of saints. 9And they sung 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 out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 10And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. 11And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; 12Saying 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. 13And 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, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. 14And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever. (Revelation 5:1‑14)
It is before us at this time to see the Lord Jesus in some of His circumstances on earth, and some of His cireumstances in heaven. The first are past, and those we are about to speak of are future. We shall refer to the scriptures telling of the first, presently, but we shall first read the one speaking of His future status in heaven. Turn to Revelation 5:1-141And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. 2And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? 3And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. 4And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. 5And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. 6And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, 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. 7And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. 8And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of saints. 9And they sung 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 out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 10And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. 11And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; 12Saying 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. 13And 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, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. 14And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever. (Revelation 5:1‑14): "Under the earth" is that which is beyond human.
We will go back for a moment to the gospels, to that night in which the Lord was betrayed and will follow Him in our thoughts as led by the Spirit of God, into Gethsemane, and we shall follow Him out of Gethsemane, and still follow Him, the bound, captive Prisoner into the palace of the high priest. We will watch Him there, see the reception and treatment He receives at the palace: shame, scorn, spitting. We will follow Him from the palace of the high priest to the Judgment Hall of Pilate, and again we will watch and see what the Blessed One receives there: again sorrow, grief and shame. Follow Him from Pilate's Hall to Herod's Hall—the same thing. Follow Him from Herod's Hall back to Pilate's Hall, and it is the same thing. It is good for us to follow Him thus in our thoughts from place to place. Now follow Him from the Judgment Hall of Pilate to the "place called Calvary." And what about the place called Calvary? "There they crucified Him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left." Luke 23:3333And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. (Luke 23:33). Such was the last of the Lord's circumstances in this world. Such was the answer He received for a life of untiring love and service.
Notice, after He leaves the Judgment Hall and before He reaches Calvary, the striking instance of Divine love in its care for others. A number of women follow and bewail Him and well they might. He has forgotten His own circumstances for the moment and turns to them saying, "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for Me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children." What a touching instance of the Saviour's love, looking not on what was before Him, but what was before them, because of their rejection of Him. "For if they do these things in the green tree, what shall be done in the dry?" verse 31. The time had not yet come when Jerusalem would receive governmental retribution for the death of God's Son.
Matthew 27:11When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death: (Matthew 27:1) "When the morning was come"-0 fellow-Christian, think of the night that had preceded that morning. Gather up the circumstances of the blessed Saviour during His last days on earth. Think of what that life of His had been toward God and man—service to man—devotedness to God. It ended at "Calvary, the place of the skull." Such is the answer this poor world has given to God sending His Son, in infinite love, into it. Can we wonder that the end of the world has come?
Luke 20. The parable of the vineyard let forth to husbandmen pictures God saying, What shall I do? I have sent My messengers (vs. 13). All they have received is shame, persecution, death, casting-out. It is a wonderful thing the Lord Jesus picturing God doing that, saying "What shall I do?" There is but one resource—"I will send My Beloved." Did they reverence Him? What does Calvary tell? They gave Him a crown of thorns. Here is God's last resource. He did not have another. Now what shall that blessed God do? There was but one thing and that which He had no pleasure in—draw the sword. Upon whom did the stroke fall? "Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, and against the Man that is My fellow, saith the Lord of hosts" Zechariah 13:77Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones. (Zechariah 13:7). God drew the sword and the stroke of judgment fell on His Son. It is on that basis that mercy is offered now to man. It is well for old and young to remember that there is a suspended sentence over this world, and that suspended sentence is a sentence of judgment. That is the next thing for God in His ways with this world.
We shall now think of the blessed Lord in far different circumstances as we find Him in the 5th chapter of Revelation. Revelation 4 and 5 form one. Chapter 4:1, "After this"—after what? There is a wonderful event to happen on earth and a wonderful event to take place in heaven that will change things on earth and in heaven after an event like this has taken place. A shout is heard; the voice of the archangel and the trump of God has removed all His redeemed from the earth. What has become of them? The shout has changed them all. What an event! And that is the very next thing that clears the way for judgment to fall on the earth. After this, after the church's history is closed, there is a change in God's attitude toward the world. He sits on a different throne. Now His throne is a throne of grace, but in Revelation 4 it is a throne of judgment. His attitude toward the world is no longer as a Saviour-God, the character in which He rejoices. Out of that throne in Revelation 4 proceeded "lightnings, thunders, and voices." When will this change take place? According to the length of time of God's longsuffering and the prolongings of His patient grace toward this world.
When the redeemed are gathered home, heaven has a company which it has never had before, a vast company known as the redeemed. There is that One sitting upon the throne, the throne in the rainbow. Why the rainbow? He is a faithful Judge and remembers His covenant with the earth, when He set the rainbow in the cloud as a sign of mercy. Why is it seen before the throne, and what is the color of the rainbow? "Green like unto an emerald." The freshness of His covenant with the earth is before Him, and all that redemption is founded on—sacrifice. And the bow in the cloud tells us about "God having smelled a sweet savour" Genesis 8:18-2118And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him: 19Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark. 20And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21And the Lord smelled a sweet savor; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. (Genesis 8:18‑21). This is very instructive. What is Abel's sacrifice? Personal acceptance. What is Noah's? Blessing for creation as such. We see the double aspect and bearing of the sacrifice of Christ.
This Sitter upon the throne from which proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices is sitting there in silent majesty while those that wait upon Him cry, "Holy, holy, holy." In Revelation 4 we have God in an atmosphere in which He is not at home. He has no pleasure in judgment. He delights to save, but His nature and His character force Him there. How reluctantly He draws the sword, but when He draws it, He draws it. He has a book in His right hand full, written within and without, chapter 5:2. A strong angel proclaims with a loud voice through the universe. He says, "Who is worthy?" The answer to the challenge was silence. This brings the Lord Jesus more definitely before us as the worthy One. "And I wept much because no man was found worthy." What a strange sight, but what an instructive one, especially if our hearts are warm to Christ. The new nature, the new heart finds its joy in Christ and in Christ exalted.
Verse 5 speaks of the "Lion of the Tribe of Judah." We have seen the "Lion of the Tribe of Judah," not in claiming or asserting His rights. In those circumstances, instead of being as the "Lion of the Tribe of Judah," He is seen as a "Lamb dumb before His shearer." Picture the Lord Jesus, His hands bound, receiving insult after insult and answering when asked if He were the Christ, the Son of God: "Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven" Matthew 26:6464Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. (Matthew 26:64). Nevertheless, in spite of all My circumstances, here I am your captive, as it seems at your mercy, but hereafter ye shall see Me at the right hand of power. The world would have Him stay there "at the right hand of power," but there is a limit to His sitting there. He is coming, coming as the Son of man. That is what the world fears. It will be an awful day for the world when the heavens are opened and the Son of man is revealed.
Here we have "the Lion of the Tribe of Judah" as "a Lamb as it had been slain"—not the Lamb in His atoning character but the Lamb as a Sufferer at the hand of this world, the Lord "reckoned among the transgressors." When His praise is celebrated it is as the One who has accomplished redemption, but here it is the Lamb character—the Man of sorrows and of shame and woe—in heaven.
The sufferings of the cross are divided and distinct in their character and result. They are divided into two three-hour periods. During the first three hours God is allowing man to display what is in his heart towards Him. That class of sufferings the Lord felt intensely, but the sword was not drawn yet. There is no atonement in the sufferings of the Lord Jesus in the first three hours on the cross. Instead it is the manifestation of man's enmity. Had the stroke fallen then for these guilty ones, which it could have done in righteousness, it would have been their everlasting ruin.
In the second three hours the Lord has to do with God. All is changed now. The sword is drawn on that blessed One. "All Thy waves and Thy billows are gone over Me."
Who can measure the cross? It is only when we can enter at all into God's thoughts of it, only there can we learn it. It is only at the cross that we can learn God's thoughts of it, and His love to sinners. Two natures are manifested there: the nature of man toward God, and the nature and attitude of God toward man. The Lord condemned sin in the flesh and found Himself not only suffering at the hands of man but under the heavy weight of God's judgment against sin. At the cross alone is the measure of God's love seen.
Such were the circumstances of the blessed Lord on earth. It will be a wonderful thing to get to heaven and look upon Him, not only as the "Lion of the Tribe of Judah," but as the "Lamb of God," the One who bore the judgment of God. What can ever begin to equal the cross of Christ? The point now before us is not the cross, but the bearing of the cross. It is good for the soul to think of the Lord bound before His persecutors. We see there the heart of the Saviour, and one looks forward to the time when we shall see Him exalted.
Revelation 5:77And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. (Revelation 5:7). From those solemn hands He takes the book, not in personal right, but He takes it as One who has acquired the right to take it. We are apt to overlook the acquired rights and glories of the Lord. In 1 Peter 1:1111Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. (1 Peter 1:11) we should read, "the sufferings of Christ and the glory [glories] that should follow." The word "glory" should be in the plural.
He had prevailed to open the Book. Now where is the silence? From end to end of the creation His worth is celebrated. But first, before we go on, let us notice the Lamb of God has "seven horns and seven eyes which are the seven spirits of God." Contrast this with the Lord in the Judgment Hall of which we have spoken. The seven horns speak of the completeness of power; the seven eyes speak of completeness of discernment, and the seven spirits speak of the Holy Spirit in the completeness of His power and Person. When this power and this discernment are used, it is done in all the completeness of the power of the Holy Spirit. As here on earth, so there in heaven, when the reins of government are in His hands, all will be done in the completeness of the power of the Spirit. What a contrast between heaven and earth! See the place the earth has given Him! Measure all by Christ. God's controversy with the world is the place it gave Christ.
There is no such scene in existence now as we have in our chapter. The great change has to take place when the vast company of the redeemed are gathered to the Lord. It is a future scene and our eyes will behold it. How one anticipates it! What will it be to be one of that innumerable throng? Not a heart will be there that is cold or indifferent towards Him, and not a tongue will be silent in His praise. The saints are there to give. Happy saints! Happy Saviour!
The change on earth and the change in heaven is at hand, verses 8 and 9. Faith and love are challenged, and faith and love say, "What other One could be found?" What a wonderful thing to look forward to when the vast, vast throng of the redeemed will fall down before Him.
Those who are Christ's have no more place in this world than He had in the day they crucified Him. Preach condemnation coming to this world and see what you will get.
Verse 8. They fell down before the Lamb. One's ear anticipates the joy of that. Oh, redeemed one, we will be there. "The four and twenty elders" are in relation to Christ as their Redeemer, and each one of the innumerable throng is one of the "kingdom of priests to God." How great will be His joy when He sees in that day the fruit of the travail of His soul. We shall see that joy.
They fall down before Him, "having everyone of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints." There are no more prayers needed for themselves, but there are others who need their prayers. "They sung a new song...Thou art worthy." Now we get the atonement. He is first introduced to us as the silent Sufferer, but when we bow down before Him, it will be as the One who redeemed us to God "out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation."
Verse 10. "And we shall reign over [not on] the earth." Heaven awaits the transference of power from God Himself to the hands of the Second Man. Notice further on, "And I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne." Here we have redemption again. That Book (verse 8) entitles anyone who will go to take it, to power, riches, wisdom and strength and honour and glory and blessing. Here we pass from the circle of the redeemed—that circle we have from the 8th verse, down to the 11th inclusive—to the praises of the redeemed.
As an illustration, there is a change in the administration of the government of the country. All the ambassadors are called in which were sent out by the other government. Here is a change of government.
God is governing this world providentially, and His providences are administered by angels. They are all called in now, the power is transferred to that Person referred to as the "Lion of the Tribe of Judah" and the former ambassadors rejoice to see that One take the reins of government, though they lost their places, as it were. Hebrews 2:55For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. (Hebrews 2:5). "Unto the angels hath He not put in subjection the world to come." That is what we take to be the meaning of those "ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands" of angels rejoicing here in seeing Christ receiving His earthly rights from God. His receiving those rights is the substance of the whole book of Revelation. First, He gets the title; then He takes possession.
There are three circles of praise here: first, the redeemed, second, the angels, and third, all creation. Verse 13 gives the third circle, the praise of all creation. How beautiful—the Lamb for ever and ever worshipped! All ends in worship. All creation is brought under the effects of His having received His rights on earth.
Oh that we might enjoy more and more, Christ on earth, and Christ in glory, as we follow Him in His sufferings here! Think what the answer will be there.