6 And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. 8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying,
“Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.”
11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honour and glory and blessing!” 13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honour and glory and might for ever and ever!” 14 And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshipped.
Someone has suggested that the picture we have in chapters 4 and 5 of the Throne and all the elders and beasts around is just as if everything was waiting for some event to take place before these sovereign purposes could be fulfilled and carried out. There is almost an atmosphere of expectation as John looks on. There is a hush, so to speak, as if they were wait ing for something, when suddenly, lo! a Lamb in the midst of the Throne, as it had been slain. The suggestion is that what John is seeing in this vision is an enactment, so to speak, of that moment when all heaven waited for the Ascension of the victorious Son of God. We think of the words of the hymn
'Look, ye saints, the sight is glorious,
See the Man of Sorrows now,
From the fight returned victorious,
Every knee to Him shall bow'
and realise that they capture something of the drama of the scene that unfolded before John's eyes. It is, in fact, a vision in terms of the words of Matthew 23:20 and Philippians 2:9ff. Christ says to His disciples immediately prior to the Ascension, 'All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth', and He straightway ascended to take that power and open the seals of the book. And Paul says of Him that because He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, God 'hath highly exalted Him and given Him a Name which is above every name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth'.