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Revelation 5:7-10  He Took the Book

[Updated April 9, 2024]

Rev 5:7  And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.
Rev 5:8  And 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 odours, which are the prayers of saints.
Rev 5:9  And 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;
Rev 5:10  And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

Introduction

We have already covered what the spiritual significance is of each of these three symbols in great depth in our earlier studies of Revelation 4 where we went into great detail to demonstrate the Biblical definitions of these symbols as they were described to us in the first and tenth chapters of Ezekiel. We will not repeat all these symbols as they are described in Ezekiel 1 and 10, but we will review what the throne of God is, and what these four beasts and four and twenty elders are. What we will also do is remind ourselves that this book, and all of Christ’s other parables, are “signified” to us by His servants, and we are commanded by God to “keep those things which are written therein.”

Rev 1:1  The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

Rev 1:2  Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.
Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

John also tells us “the time is at hand” to keep these words which are “signified… and written therein.” “Keeping those things which are written therein” is the very meaning of “He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him that sat upon the throne.” Christ did not just take the book and stand there with it. He opened its seven seals. What that means is He is now living and “keeping the things written therein “in my flesh, for His body’s sake, which is the church.” When Christ opens the seals to that book, we find out that because He is living in us, we therefore “fill up what is behind of the afflictions of the Christ.” That is why and how the “Lion” becomes “a Lamb, as it had been slain.”

Rev 1:3  Blessed [is] he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:
Col 1:25  Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
Col 1:26  Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

Paul doesn’t “fulfill the word of God… for you” or me. Paul was given the dispensation of God to reveal to us that “you [and I are to] fulfill the Word of God” by  “filling up the afflictions of the Christ.” That is the meaning of “For you to fulfill the word of God.”

Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man[kind] shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Joh 17:6  I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.

Who is the throne?

Why do I say “who” instead of ‘what? Here is why? Here is what comes “out of the throne” of God:

Rev 4:5  And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

Rev 19:5  And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.

Rev 22:1  And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

We are specifically told by our Lord Himself, who speaks His fiery, lightning-and-thunder words, and it is also Christ Himself who tells us from where this river of  waters of life actually flows?

Jer 5:14  Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.

Mat 10:40  He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.

Luk 10:16  He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.

Joh 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

We are also told where God dwells, and where His throne is and from where He speaks to all men:

Joh 14:20  At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

This vision is taking place in the throne room within the temple of God… “which temple you are.”

Rev 8:3  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.

Where was the golden altar located within the temple of God?

Exo 40:5  And thou shalt set the altar of gold for the incense before the ark of the testimony, and put the hanging of the door to the tabernacle.

Exo 40:21  And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up the vail of the covering, and covered the ark of the testimony; as the LORD commanded Moses.
Exo 40:22  And he put the table in the tent of the congregation, upon the side of the tabernacle northward, without the vail.
Exo 40:23  And he set the bread in order upon it before the LORD; as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Exo 40:24  And he put the candlestick in the tent of the congregation, over against the table, on the side of the tabernacle southward.
Exo 40:25  And he lighted the lamps before the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses.
Exo 40:26  And he put the golden altar in the tent of the congregation before the vail:
Exo 40:27  And he burnt sweet incense thereon; as the LORD commanded Moses.

By whom does God speak to all? As little as it is appreciated, these are the irrefutable words of scripture:

Eph 3:9  And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Eph 3:10  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly [places] might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

Mat 10:40  He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.

Mat 18:5  And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.

Luk 9:48  And said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great.

All men will be made to understand that “what is the fellowship of the mystery” means “the principalities and powers in the heavens” which will be made to know “the manifold wisdom of God by the church.” The church is “the voice” by which God speaks. The church, the body of Christ, is the throne in the temple of God from which the voice of God proceeds, which temple you are. It is out of the throne that the voice of God speaks to make known to “the principalities and powers in the heavens…the manifold wisdom of God.”

God the Father has chosen Christ as the channel through which to reveal Himself to mankind.

Mat 11:27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.

Christ, in turn, uses the church as His mouthpiece, both here and in the heavens; both now and in the coming ages.

Joh 20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus:
Eph 2:7  That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in [his] kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

Christ is the Word of the Old Testament. Christ and His christ is the word of the New Testament. God sent Christ to reveal Himself, and Christ has sent us to reveal Himself to the world. Whether it is the voice from out of the throne, the four beasts, the four and twenty elders or the seven angels, they are one and all spiritual symbols “of your brothers the prophets, and of those who keep the sayings of the prophecy of this book.” They are those who have been “redeemed out of every nation to rule on earth.”

Why do the four beasts and 24 elders have “the prayers of the saints?”

So we are told:

Rev 5:8  And 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 odours, which are the prayers of saints.

“Every one of them” means both the “four beasts and the four and twenty elders.” We do not send our prayers by a heavenly postal system so strange heavenly creatures can deliver them before the throne of God. These creatures are us. We are God’s throne. They symbolize us. That is why they “have every one of them harps and golden vials full of odors which are the prayers of the saints.”

Why are “the prayers of the saints” mentioned at this point? Here is the reason:

Rev 5:7  And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.

Taking the book out of the right hand of Him that sat upon the throne is for the purpose of opening the seven seals and revealing the Christ, and all that is part of the Christ to those to whom it is given to now Him and His father.

Joh 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

The revelation of Jesus Christ and His Father is in “this book”, and the revelation of Jesus Christ is the “keeping of the things written therein.” The “prayers of the saints” are most definitely needed if it is granted to them to be able to “keep the sayings of the prophecy of this book… and endure to the end.”

What is the spiritual significance of “harps and golden vials?”

“Harps and golden vials” are implements and vessels of the temple, to be handled only by the priests of God.

Num 4:15  And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation.

These implements and “vessels of the sanctuary” will be seen again throughout the revelation of Jesus Christ, and once again they are nothing more than types and symbols associated with God’s priests and kings who will rule on earth. Harps and golden vials (bowls) are associated only with God’s elect. Keep that in mind when we come to these verses later in this revelation of Jesus Christ in us.

Rev 14:1  And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.
Rev 14:2  And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:

These 144,000 sound so different from the throne and the four beasts and the four and twenty elders because we are told these 144,000 sing a new song before the throne, the four beasts and the four and twenty elders. We can see plainly that this is just another type of those firstfruits who were “redeemed to God out of every nation on earth.”

Rev 14:3  And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.
Rev 14:4  These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.
Rev 14:5  And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.

Who are the 144,000?

Rev 14:4  These are they which were… redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.

Who are the four beasts and the four and twenty elders before whom the 144,000 sing their new song?

Rev 5:8  And 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 odours, which are the prayers of saints.
Rev 5:9  And 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;
Rev 5:10  And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

Is that not an amazing coincidence? They are both singing the same “new song”, and they are both claiming to be the same “redeemed…firstfruit…rulers with Christ” people of God. There is no such thing as coincidence. These “four beasts and four and twenty elders, and these 144,000 firstfruits u nto God and the Lamb” are the same “firstfruits unto God… redeemed out of every kindred, and tongue, and people and nation.”

Jas 1:18  Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

So much for the “older is better” theory concerning the Sinaiticus manuscript, which changes the word ‘us’ to ‘them’ in Revelation 5:9 and denies that these creatures symbolize God’s cherubims, God’s elect. “The sum of Thy Word” is much more reliable than the fale doctrine of “the old is better.”

Luk 5:39 No [carnal minded] man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.

Psa 119:160 The sum of thy word is truth; And every one of thy righteous ordinances endureth for ever. (ASV)

There is one more verse which references these same “harpers harping with their harps.”

Rev 15:2  And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.

Those who had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark and over the number of his name are “the four beasts and the four and twenty elders, also know as, the 144,000 who are the firstfruits unto God and the Lamb, all who have the harps of God”.

Summary

We have seen that the throne on which God and His Son sit is the throne of our hearts and minds, and it is “out of the throne” that a voice speaks for God and for Christ. We have seen that the four beasts and the four and twenty elders both have the prayers of the saints, simply because they, too, are a symbol of those very saints whom we have seen are used by Christ and His Father to speak for them.

Mat 10:40  He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.

Mat 10:14  And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.
Mat 10:15  Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.

So we see that we speak for God and for His Christ, and yet we have seen that while the cities which do not receive our words will be in worse spiritual condition than Sodom and Gomorrah, yet we are told to “beware of men.”

Mat 10:16  Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
Mat 10:17  But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;
Mat 10:18  And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.

It is obvious that this warning concerns bewaring of carnal-minded men and not those who are sent by Christ to represent Him and His Father.

We have seen that those who “had gotten the victory over the beast, and stand on the sea of glass mingled with fire, having the harps of God” are the same as those “four beasts, and four and twenty elders” and the throne on which our Lord and His Father sit. These four beasts and the four and twenty elders are in turn the same as the 144,000 firstfruits of God “redeemed to God out of every nation.” These 144,000 are the same as the “overcomers, harping with their harps, declaring that they shall reign on earth.”

Rev 5:10  And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

All these different symbols are only a few of the many signs and symbols of God’s elect which we have seen so far. Other titles used to describe Christ and His Christ are “seven angels of the seven churches, seven angels with seven trumpets, seven angels with seven golden vials.” They are also later in this revelation, referred to as “the New Jerusalem, as a bride adorned for her husband, and a river of water of life”, etc., etc. These are all titles and names of each of us, if Christ is indeed living His life of dying daily and being daily revealed within us.

Next week, Lord willing, we will finish chapter 5.

Rev 5:11  And 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;
Rev 5:12  Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.
Rev 5:13  And 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 honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.
Rev 5:14  And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four [and] twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

Once again we are going to see many of the verses in the word of God which place us in the blessed position of partaking with Christ in the “honor and glory and power granted to Christ and those who are “seated with Him” on His throne and the throne of His Father (Eph 2:6).

Eph 2:6 and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus:
Eph 2:7 that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus:

Rom 11:30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.