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.
This vision, seen by John, is thus the completion of the picture given in chapter 4, and the explanation of it. God is on the throne, and even now controls all history, and this is how He does it, through the atonement and victory of Jesus Christ and His entrance into heaven for us. Christ takes the book with the seals as of right - His victory on the cross earns Him the right to open the seals and to bring into its accomplishment and fulfilment the glorious pur poses of God. This is the force of the word in 5 - 'The Lion of the tribe of Judah hath pre vailed...' - the word in the original is 'hath conquered'. It is an explicit reference to the victory of Jesus Christ over sin and death and hell and Satan and all the powers of darkness. The Son of God has conquered in such a way as to give Him the right to open the book of God, and before John's astonished gaze we see here and in succeeding chapters the unfolding of this book with the purposes of God moving right through to chapters 20-22, where John says, 'And I beheld, and lo, a new heaven and a new earth...'. This is the logical outcome and ful filment of the opening of the book by the Son of God. We may therefore sum up the message of this chapter very fully by saying, 'The cross of Christ is the very heart of all things, and everything in time and in eternity depends on Christ crucified and risen.'