4. Christ receives the book of the future

4. Christ receives the book of the future (Rev. 4-5)

In these two chapters, the vision is transported to the glorious heaven. In Rev. 4:1,2, the Apostle John describes how when he was in the Spirit he heard a voice say to him, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this."
This experience was similar to the one which Paul had when he received parts of his enlightened revelation. (II Cor. 12:1-7)
Unfortunately, many confuse John's extremely personal spiritual rapture here with the rapture of the Bride during the tribulation on earth. Those later events are in fact first mentioned in Rev. 14,15, and 19 (see our section 12).

John appears to be searching for the words to describe that which he gets to see, and we probably have insufficient ability to understand all that he describes. But one thing is clear, while earthly thrones and governments fall, there still is a kingdom which will endure forever, and we who are Christians belong to this kingdom of God.

Worship before the throne to God and to the Lamb therefore constitutes an ongoing theme in the entire book of Revelation.

Here, we briefly restate some of the themes of worship:

First, God is praised as Creator in chap. 4 with the words: "Lord, you are worthy to receive glory and honor and power, for you have created all things, and by your will they existed and were created." With the praise in chap. 14, John doesn't restate the text, but in chap. 15, he says that they sang the song of Moses and of the Lamb.

In the song of Moses, God is praised as the historical protector and savior of the people of his possession from their captivity in Egypt. (Ex. 15:1-18) There is no hint here that it could have been their own power which saved them. Instead, God is praised as Savior through approximately 40 quotations such as, "You, Lord, and your hand saved us."

Similarly, Jesus Christ is thereafter praised as Savior today for all peoples on earth. In chapter 5, the praise is that "only he is worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals", in order that he is then able to take part in God's secret battle plan for the end times. "For only he has ransomed men by his blood from all peoples on earth."

Jesus Christ is called the Lamb 28 times in the book of Revelation. The main message that John appears to wish to communicate by this is that God's power to triumph can only be revealed in one who himself is willing to become as weak as a lamb.

In this inherent weakness, but clothed with the power of God, the Lamb ultimately triumphs over all human evil and over the Beast himself, which is the origin of all evil.

In chapter 15, the gathered Bride praises Jesus Christ because even they could overcome the Beast in his power.

In chap. 19, John hears a final victory song sounding in heaven, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us (therefore) rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready;"

However, worship will not only resound in heaven:

God's will is that worship through his church will already begin here on earth as a testimony to all the nations. (Is. 61:11)

To this point, Jesus Christ has completed every assignment perfectly which he has received from God. Now he holds the scroll, the book of the future, in his hand. But before he can open it and see the details in God's secret battle plan against the wickedness of the devil, he must first break all 7 of its seals. Additionally, as we saw in section 2, he is also dependent upon us who are his church completing our important role on earth at the end of this age. For we, as members of the body of Christ, are called to be his co-workers on earth. Also, as individuals, we are called to become overcomers, irregardless of what we encounter. In order to live up to this, we certainly need a more certain anchoring within the heavens.

That which characterized earlier co-workers and overcomers in biblical history is:

that they could endure, because they kept the Lord before their eyes, and not their difficult circumstances. (Ps. 18:8; Heb. 11:2; Acts 7:55)
that they praised and worshiped before the throne, even when they had been mistreated and thrown in prison although they were innocent, as happened to Paul and Silas. (Acts 16:25)
that in the midst of all this, they had a deep inner assurance that their lives and future rested safely in God's hands. (Acts 8:35-39)
that they dared to become weak as lambs in order that God's power could carry out their missions. (I Cor. 1:29; II Cor. 12:9-10)

This is the fundamental principle which I believe that above all else the book of Revelation will here teach us.

A double perspective:

Every true Christian consequently lives according to the Bible not only a normal physical life here on earth, but also a hidden spiritual life in the heavenly places with Jesus Christ. (See Eph. 2:6)
We encounter this double outlook also in Rev. 7. There John first sees the Bride's spiritual, hidden ministry before the throne (points 1 and 2 above), which continues right up until the Bride is raptured to heaven, where she finally participates in the song of Moses and of the Lamb. (Rev. 15)