«　WEEK 2　DAY 5　»

　　Rev. 5:6 And I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures and in the midst of the elders a Lamb standing as having just been slain, having…seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.

　　22:1 And he showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb in the middle of its street.

　　Hebrews 12:2 says that Christ is now seated at “the right hand of the throne of God.” For Christ to be seated at the right hand of the throne of God does not mean that He is seated next to the throne of God, at God’s right hand. In Revelation we see that there is only one throne of both God and Christ (Rev. 3:21; 22:1, 3), one throne for both God and the Lamb. Christ has been enthroned in His ascension. His ascension was for His enthronement for God’s administration. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 337)

　　In the divine administration Christ, as the Lion-Lamb, the overcoming Redeemer, opens the scroll of God’s economy (Rev. 5:3-7; 6:1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12; 8:1). In Revelation 5:1 the One sitting on the throne has a scroll in His hand sealed with seven seals. These seven seals are the contents of the scroll, and the scroll itself is the new covenant, enacted with the blood of the Lamb. Hence, the new covenant is a scroll covering the redemption of the church, Israel, the world, and the universe.

　　Although the new testament was enacted by the death of Christ, it has been a mystery to mankind. As the One who opens the scroll, Christ is portrayed as the Lion-Lamb, as the overcoming Redeemer. In Revelation 5:5 we have this word: “Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so that He may open the scroll and its seven seals.” Then verse 6 goes on to speak of a "Lamb standing as having just been slain." Christ is both the fighting, victorious, and overcoming Lion and the Redeeming Lamb. As the Lion, He is the Fighter against the enemy, Satan; as the Lamb, He is the Redeemer for us. He has fought to redeem us, and He has won the battle over the enemy and accomplished redemption for us.

　　As the Lion of the tribe of Judah, Christ has overcome the enemy of God. He has solved this problem for God and has removed the hindrances to the fulfillment of God's purpose. God's purpose needs someone to carry it out who can solve all the problems of God. The problems which God had were the rebellion of Satan and the fall of man. As the Lion, Christ has defeated rebellious Satan, and as the Lamb He has taken away the sin of fallen man. Because He has solved these problems for God, He is worthy to open the scroll of God’s economy and its seven seals.

　　Christ opens the first four seals in Revelation 6:1-8. These seals comprise four horses with their riders in a four-horse race. These riders are not real persons but personified things. The rider of the second horse, the red horse, is war (v. 4); the rider of the third horse, the black horse, is famine (vv. 5-6); and the rider of the fourth horse, the pale horse, is death (v. 8). According to historical facts, the rider of the first horse, the white horse, is the preaching of the gospel. White signifies clean, pure, just, and approvable. The white horse with its rider is a symbol of the preaching of the gospel which is clean, pure, just, and approvable both to men and to God. Immediately after Christ’s ascension, these four things—the gospel, war, famine, and death—began to run like riders on four horses and will continue until Christ comes back. The opening of the fifth seal (Rev. 6:9) discloses Christian martyrdom from the first century to the time near the end of this age. As the gospel is being preached, there is always the martyrdom of the faithful saints. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 831-832)

　　Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msgs. 31, 77, 405, 415-416