The Revelation of Jesus Christ - The Herald

of Him who sits upon the throne. . . . To His providential dealings, to His wise and
merciful government, they owe it that they are crowned at all, and they thus acknowledge
it, by placing their crowns at His feet."
It will be seen that while this throne vision of chapters 4 and 5 portrays, in its most
important transaction, Christ being given all knowledge of the Heavenly Father's
purposes, yet in some of its features it spans the whole of the Gospel and Millennial Ages.
We have now reached the close of the Age when the symbolic transaction portrayed by the
elders receiving and casting their crowns before Him who sat on the throne is about to be
realized. We are enabled to look back and note with an appreciative understanding the
significance connected with the various changes that have occurred, unfolding the Divine
purposes, realizing that we are near the time when every foe of the Church is about to be
overthrown and the whole earth shall bow before Him that sitteth upon the throne.
Chapter 13: Rev. 4:9-6:11
The Lamb Opening the Sealed Book
"Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof."--Rev. 5:9.
We now come to what is divinely stated to be the prophetic portion of the Apocalypse. As
we consider in detail the symbolic occurrences seen by St. John in connection with the
breaking of the seals, and their application and fulfillment in the history of the Church, let
the reader bear well in mind what has already been observed concerning the significance
of the sealed scroll, the writing within and on the outside, its opening, etc. Just as the seals
of the scroll were broken in the vision one by one in successive order by the Lamb, so, of
course, the occurrences were seen by St. John one after another. This seems plainly to teach
that the events symbolized by these occurrences begin to meet their fulfillment at the
beginning of the Age and continue in successive order until the end. The breaking of six of
the seals brings the history to the end of the Age. The breaking of the seventh discloses
visions that carry us back to the beginning of the Age again.
As we are now permitted to look back over eighteen centuries since the Revelation was
given to the Apostle--these long centuries disclosing events of tremendous importance to
the Church--we surely should be able to see the fulfillment of the seals more clearly than
those who lived in former times. We conclude, then, that the opening of the seals, the
unfolding of the things contained therein, has progressed during the entire Gospel Age;
that it has required all the present Age and indeed will require all the next Age to
complete the Divine Plan--to fulfill everything symbolized by the sealed scroll; and that
though the Lord Jesus was made aware of important features of the Divine Plan at His
consecration at Jordan, as represented by what was written on the outside of the scroll, yet
that which was symbolized by the writing on the inside was not revealed to Him until
after His resurrection. We are encouraged by the Master's words wherein He assures us
that as the Father revealed these things to Him so He will reveal them unto us, His people.
Realizing, then, that our Heavenly Father has hitherto counted us worthy to understand
certain other features of His Plan, let us continue to be in that attitude of oneness with Him