A BIBLE BELIEVER'S COMMENTARY OF REVELATION Chapter 5

(Transcribed from tapes of a class taught by Dr. Peter S. Ruckman at Pensacola
Bible Institute, Pensacola, Florida)

5:1 And 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. 2 And I saw a strong
angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to
loose the seals thereof? 3 And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under
the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. 4 And I wept
much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to
look thereon. 5 And 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.


     "And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne." Now this is,
in the passage, it's God. And He has a hand. "In the right hand of him that
sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven
seals." And the question comes up, What book is it? Well, it can be the Bible;
it can be the Book of Revelation; or it can be some other book that isn't
mentioned. But if I was going to guess, I'd guess the Bible.

     And say, "Written within and on the backside." It's a scroll, and a
scroll has writing inside the scroll and outside the scroll--it's that kind of
a book. And yet, the old King James Bibles were all made with seven seals in
the back. And the old King James Bibles, and some are made this way and some
are not, were made with a little ol' thing right here, with a book right here,
and it had seven seals on the book. Have any of you got that on a Bible from
Oxford? Now, you've got that there. Now, most of them are made like this, with
one, two, three, four, five, six, seven seals around that back. But then the
old ones were made with a frontispiece there--is that it there? No, that
doesn't look like it--it would be a thing there with seven seals hanging off
it. Anybody got one? Let me see what you've got there. Now, they have a number
of different ways of printing these things, but the old ones were printed with
a Bible right in the front part, and seven seals on it. No, you don't have it.

     There you go. Now bring it up here. Let me look at that thing, will you?
You got one too? Yeah, that's it, right there. If you've got those three
crowns, to the left of that thing, you find dash--dot--dash--dot--dash--dot--
dash. Four dashes and three dots. Seven seals, on the left side of that book.
You've got a book with those three crowns there. Those three crowns are the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and there are seven seals on the lefthand
margin of that insignia. There's a dot with a line on it, then a dot, and then
a dot with a line on it, and then a dot, and then a dot with a line on it, and
then a dot. The first seal is there; and then they didn't have room for the
next one, so they put it in here. They put the next one there, the next one
here, the next one there, the next one here, and the next one there. One, two,
three, four, five, six, seven--on that thing. Yeah, there are 4,000 years
before Christ and 3,000 years after Christ, and there are four churches in
Revelation 2 and three in Revelation 4, and there are four petitions in the
Lord's prayer in the first group, and three in the second.

     All right, then, it's a seven-sealed Book. It's probably the Bible. And
you might be able to make it the Book of Revelation. If it's the Book of
Revelation, then the Book of Revelation is laid on...eight...
nine...SEAL...ten...eleven...twelve...SEAL...thirteen...fourteen...
fifteen...SEAL...sixteen...seventeen...eighteen...SEAL...nineteen...
twenty...twenty-one...SEAL...and written on the back side...twenty-two. That
way. Which is a peculiar thing, because that thing there is the center of a
number that's outside the number. It's the center of a number outside the
number. There are ten on this side of it, right? And there are ten on that
side of it, but it's half of a number that isn't in the ten. It's half of
twenty-two. That's right. Three, three, three, and one. Three, three, three,
and one. That's the middle. But the middle is not the middle of that number--
it's the middle of this one. It's outside.

     Now, the reason why that thing there is so strong is, I find that
Revelation chapter 11 is the chapter in the Book of Revelation for opening the
Book of Revelation. For me, the Book of Revelation opened when I got chapter
11 down. When I got chapter 11 down, the whole book just bloomed. When it
bloomed, the whole Old Testament bloomed.

     The key to the Old Testament is Revelation 11. That's the key. Stam talks
about the dispensational thing, and Peter and Paul being the key to the Bible.
That ain't the key to nuthin', man. The key to the Old Testament is the Book
of Revelation. The key to the Book of Revelation is Revelation 11, and when
you get the Old Testament down, you get Acts down. The problem with Acts is
not understanding the Old Testament. And, you don't have the Old Testament
down until you get Revelation down. And you don't get Revelation down until
you get chapter 11. If you get chapter 11 down, it'll go.

     All right, Revelation 5:1. "And I saw in the right hand." You might
notice here, too, something else in this arrangement. The Second Coming of
Christ is found right there. And the Second Coming of Christ is found again
right there. And the Second Coming of Christ is mentioned there, and the
Second Coming of Christ is there. The Second Coming of Christ is mentioned
four times in the Book of Revelation. And so, there are four Gospels of
Christ's first coming, so there are four accounts of His Second Coming. That's
why when one of the brethren asked the question down here, I said that it was
not chronological. I quoted you a passage from Revelation chapter 11, you
know: "And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the
dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy
servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small
and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth." That was in
Revelation 11. That's a picture of your Advent. That's the end of it, there.
So you have the end here, the end here, the end here, and the end here. Now,
those are four different accounts. This account here, we're on right now, 1 to
6, is going to run under seals. And this one that's going to run from here to
here, is going to run under trumpets. And this one that runs from here to here
is going to run under the Antichrist. And this one, from there to there, is
under vials.

     And there are four accounts of the Second Advent of Christ given in the
Book of Revelation. The first one is chapter 1 to 6, the seals. The second is
7 to 11, the trumpets. The third is 12 to 14, the Antichrist. And the fourth
is 15 to 19, the vials. The vials of wrath.

     So, actually, it's four accounts put together like four different Gospel
accounts--like Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

     Now, I know how they give it to you in Larkin and Pember and Scofield and
Lindsey and Kirban and the other 500. They all just copy each other. They've
got the thing right on the seals, but when they get to the seventh seal, they
have the seventh seal opening and then the trumpets all coming out of the
seventh seal. And they have the seventh trumpet go off, and all the vials come
out of the trumpet. It won't work, because when that seventh trumpet goes off,
the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ.
That's the end.

     So, up here in this chart. You'll notice what I've done there. I've fixed
that thing out so your seventh seal and seventh trumpet and seventh vial are
all together at the end. Now, my arrangement may not be quite right. I'm not
too sure about the arrangement of the seals. But when we get to those trumpets
and vials, you'll find they're simultaneous. You can match them up. They'll
match one on one, two on two, three on three, four on four, right on down.
That is, the same thing happens when the first trumpet goes off as the first
vial. And the same thing happens when the second vial dumps that goes off with
the second trumpet. But when you try to put those seals in, they're rough. So,
I stretch the seals out, so I've got one, two, three, four, five, I've got six
of those seals going off before the last two years of the Tribulation. I've
got four of them in the first three years of the Tribulation. I could have
them wrong. Maybe they're all simultaneous. But if they're all simultaneous,
then it's three separate accounts. And it's three separate accounts the way
I've got 'em; I've just got the seals strung out further.

     All right, 5:1: "And 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. And
I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the
book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth,
neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon."
Now, if that's the Bible, that's something, isn't it? No man is able to open
the book, nor to look upon it. It's holy. They call it the "Holy Bible."
Nothing could be any funnier than a guy putting out a New A.S.V. and calling
it a "Bible." Or putting out an R.S.V. and calling it "Holy Bible--Revised
Standard Version." It isn't holy.

     "And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the
book, neither to look thereon." That might have been the Book of Revelation.
And if it was the Book of Revelation, then nobody is able to understand it.
Nobody is able to read it.

     "And one of the elders saith unto me,..." this was one of the twenty four
"...Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda,..." this would be Christ
"...the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David,..." that'll be Christ
"...hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof."
Then the Lord Jesus Christ is the only one who can help you understand the
Book--whether it's the Bible, or it's the Book of Revelation. Interpretation
is with Him.

     "And to loose the seven seals thereof."

6 And 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. 7 And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him
that sat upon the throne. 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.
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; 10 And
hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.


     "And 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." Now, notice the Lamb is
in the midst of the throne, and the Lord is sitting on the throne, 5:1. Boy,
you try to paint that!

     "And in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb, as it had been slain."
Then it's a Lamb standing on four feet with its throat cut. Cut off the head.
Slay 'em, and blood coming out of the neck.

     "Stood a Lamb, as it had been slain, having seven horns." So it's like a
ram with a curled horn, and there are seven horns on that thing. "And seven
eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth." I
don't know where I am! You can't figure that thing out for love nor money. A
Lamb there with seven eyes on it! You try to paint that! What you paint will
look like you've got double vision on a television set, or something!

     "Seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth." Look at chapter 4,
verse 5. I thought the seven lamps were the seven Spirits of God. Now, you
know what the Lord is able to do, evidently? The Lord is able to manifest
Himself in multiple ways, simultaneously. You remember when Christ was born,
the Angel of the Lord spoke to Mary and Joseph? Well, the Angel of the Lord is
Christ. So, the translaters have decided it isn't just the Angel of the Lord,
it's just an angel, because the article wasn't...so forth and so on. Then,
when they got to Acts chapter 27, and Paul said, "There stood by me this night
the Angel of God, whose I am," that had the article, then they really didn't
know what to do. So, it doesn't do you any good to change the article, or not
change the article. But the fact remains the Lord seems to be able to manifest
Himself in a number of ways.

     For example, the Lord up there in Heaven can be God the Father up there
and manifest Himself down on earth as God the Son at the same time, right? And
then have the Holy Spirit appear in the form of a dove at the same time, while
He's got seven lamps burning up there at the throne, that are the seven
Spirits of God. See that kind of thing?

     Now, the Lord seems to be able to manifest Himself in all kinds of ways.
Here He's on the throne, and He's a Lamb, and in a minute this Lamb is going
to get up and come to the throne and take the Book. So the Lord is manifesting
Himself in a number of forms simultaneously. And, while He's doing that,
evidently He can manifest Himself as an angel, and there are thousands of
angels. So the angels of God are all manifestations of God. So God seems to be
able to manifest Himself in multiple ways in the thousands and ten thousands
and hundreds of thousands. I mean, He doesn't seem to have any limit to it.

     He can appear as a Lamb, or as a Lion, or as a man, or as just a light--
at the same time.

     Verse 7: "And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that
sat upon the throne." Now, boy, you try to paint that! You paint a seven-
horned Lamb with seven eyes walking up to a throne and taking a Book. Don't
you know the people at this Walt Disney animated cartoon movies, don't you
know you'd have a horror show to end all horror shows? These folks talk about
"Exorcist" and "Jaws," you know--that's kid's stuff. "Frankenstein," "Dracula"-
-kid's stuff, man! What if you really painted this thing, you know? Open this
Book, and out comes a rider on a white horse with a great sword. You see this
horse coming at you, galloping, with a sword, and then to give him the power
to take life from whatever goes near it. People trampled by the horse, blood
going all over the place, sword cutting off heads, dismembering arms and legs
all over the place. Then angel of the bottomless pit, this demon with wings
down at the bottom of the earth, you know. This spooky music, you know, with
this blue and brown smoke going up. And then he comes up through a funnel,
like that, with that music behind.

     You talk about settin' your hair on end, man! If you ever get that thing
going, there would be people all over America running back home looking
through their Bibles. There would be the greatest Bible search this country
ever had, if you ever get that thing going.

     And there will be heart attacks. There will be heart attacks.

     Boy, they'll try to get a spooky movie going, and put an ambulance
outside, you know: "Don't come, unless you're a..." You know, that kind of
thing.

     Get in the real thing! Get in the real thing, boy! Getting the
Antichrist, you know. Getting assassinated, and going to a coffin, and showing
him on Telstar at the Vatican. I mean, it would get some weird results,
brother!

     And then at night, after everybody's gone to bed, that coffin is sitting
up there in St. Peter's in the Basilica. Boy, about that time you'd see the
lid going ERRRRRRRHHHHHH--like that! This old bony hand comes out like that.
Then out comes this one-eyed African.

     That would turn some people on!

     This country, they act like they want something new and shocking and
different. They just think they do. They just think they do.

     You know what we ought to do that's revolutionary and new and different?
And we're almost gettin' big enough to do it now. If we can just get a van.
And if we can't get a van, maybe we can get a truck, and put on some good
records. And get a truck with a loudspeaker. And we need one of these Mardi
Gras five-flag fiesta parades, and then get you all some white pants and white
shirts. And all the girls in white dresses. And get a big, black Bible. You
know, a dime-store Bible. A big, black one. One like that, see? And then
march. And just give it just a little goose step. Not much, just a little. And
then carry some flags, you know: "No hope in the Pope," you know. You know,
and "To hell with the United Nations," you know, that kind of thing. Something
real subtle, you know. Something that'll influence folks in the right
direction, you know.

     I mean, folks are always talking about something radical and something
new, thrilling, fantastic, "Step this way," nothing like it, brand new--that
would be brand new!

     Verse 7: "And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that
sat upon the throne." I read today in the paper where Jimmy Carter got out of
the U.N. works, something, labor something. Good step, man! Good step, boy.
Just ought to go all the way.

     "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 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." So incense--the
smell of frankincense--is a picture of prayer. And the "golden vials" are from
the golden altar of prayer. And they have "golden vials full of odours, which
are the prayers of saints."

     "And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book,..."
this is Handel's Messiah "...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." And it looks like, then, if that's four and
twenty elders that do that singing there and have those things, then they
represent the saved, and they represent all the saved--"every kindred, and
tongue, and people, and nation."

     "And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on
the earth." Not in Heaven! That's a great verse against postmillennialism. The
reign is going to be on this ground. It's not going to be up in glory. The
Kingdom's not going on now up there someplace. It's going to land on the
ground.

     "And we shall reign on the earth."

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; 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. 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. 14 And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four [and] twenty elders
fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.


     "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." Multiply that out; what does
that come to? Ten thousand times ten thousand--and then a thousand thousand.
Which is a million. What does it come to? A hundred million.

     All right, the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and
thousands of thousands--boy, that's a mess of redeemed! A hundred million!

     "Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive
power..." one "...and riches..." two "...and wisdom..." three "...and
strength..." four "...and honour..." five "...and glory..." six "...and
blessing..." seven. It's a sevenfold doxology.

     "Worthy is the Lamb...to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and
strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing." Now, look at all that in
contrast to what He had. On this earth, did He get power? He was powerless.
Did He get riches? He became poor. Did He get wisdom? Not worldly wisdom. Did
He get strength? He was crucified. Did He get honor? He was spit upon, put to
shame. Did He get glory? Died the death of a criminal. Did He get blessing?
They cursed Him. So He got all the opposite, and He gets all the stuff back.

     "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." "And every creature." Now,
this is animals! This is animals.

     "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." Now, wouldn't that be something to hear a dog or a mule or a cat
praise God? That would be something? You call your cat in the house at night,
and it would say, "MMMMMMMMblessing and honor, meow!"

     One time God opened a donkey's mouth back in Number, and the donkey
preached. So the Lord can do it!

     Wouldn't that be something! A fish, you know. "BBBBBrrrrrlesssing,
honour, ggglory, brrrr...."

     "For we know the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain until
now. Not only they, but ourselves also wait for the redemption"--Second
Coming. Animals have more sense than men do! Animals are waiting for the Lord
to come back! That's Romans 8:22.

     So, I take it to be literal. I take it that when the Lord does this
thing, that all the creation sounds off. Now, if this thing takes place after
the Rapture, it's before the Tribulation has started. And, if it's before the
Tribulation has started, it means that some time after the Rapture, the whole
world is going get a witness from the animals. If they can understand them!
Now, of course, you always get that. I mean, maybe the dog just goes out, and
the unsaved people just hear him go "Rooooooowwww!" And he's really saying,
"Praise the Lord!" see, I mean, you don't really know what they're doing.

     But did you know, right before the Flood, everybody had a witness from
the animals? Right before the Flood, you know what happened? The whole world
saw animals going in pairs across the country going into a big ol' box. That
was a witness. And so it may be that this witness goes here. They'll think
they're losing their mind if it does.

     "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.  And
the four beasts said, Amen. And the four [and] twenty elders fell down and
worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever." All right, now the action
starts!

