Revelation 5:6 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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.

NIV: Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

NASB: And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slaughtered, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

CSB: Then I saw one like a slaughtered lamb standing in the midst of the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent into all the earth.

NLT: Then I saw a Lamb that looked as if it had been slaughtered, but it was now standing between the throne and the four living beings and among the twenty-four elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which represent the sevenfold Spirit of God that is sent out into every part of the earth.

KJV: 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.

NKJV: And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

In this verse John describes how he saw Jesus as a Lamb, standing between God's throne and the four living creatures (Revelation 4:6–7), and in the midst of the twenty-four elders (Revelation 4:4). The Lamb that appeared to have been slain had seven horns and seven eyes. Horns are a scriptural metaphor for power, and the verse explains that the seven eyes are the seven spirits sent out into all the earth.

The word "slain" is from the Greek root word sphazō, which may also be translated as "slaughtered or butchered." It describes the violent death Jesus endured on the cross to take away our sin. In Old Testament times lambs served as sacrifices for sin, but these only foreshadowed Jesus, God's Lamb, who shed His blood as the perfect, once-for-all sacrifice for sin (Hebrews 9:11–12). When John the Baptist saw Jesus approaching, he told an assembled crowd, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29). In heaven, the Lamb's seven horns represent his perfect power, and the seven eyes represent the Holy's Spirit's perfect vision of all that transpires on earth.

Revelation 5:6–10 shows what happened after John saw a scroll which no one, other than Jesus—''the Lion of the tribute of Judah''—was worthy to open. John' attention was drawn to a vision of a Lamb that had been slain, once again representative of Jesus. This Lamb stood among the elders, between the throne and the four living creatures. The Lamb took the scroll from God's right hand, and when He did so, the four living creatures and twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb and sang a new song. This response praised the Lamb as worthy to take the scroll and to make the ransomed people all over the earth a kingdom of priests that would reign on the earth.

Revelation 5 tells us John saw a scroll in God's right hand. The scroll had writing in it and on its back. Also, the scroll was sealed with seven seals. A search uncovered no one who was worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. However, one of the elders told John that Jesus could open the scroll, as the only one with the legal and moral right to do so. When Jesus accepted the scroll, universal praise in heaven and on earth rose to Jesus. He alone was found worthy to open the scroll because, as God's Lamb, He had shed His blood for all mankind.

Jesus commanded John to write ''the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this.'' The first three chapters of Revelation contained those things which ''were'' and ''are,'' at the time John wrote. Chapters 2 and 3 provided the contents of Jesus' letters to seven churches. Chapter 4 begins the largest and last section of Revelation, regarding events yet to take place when John wrote (Revelation 1:19). John introduced God seated upon His throne, with twenty-four elders and four angelic creatures nearby. Chapter 5 focuses on a scroll containing God's judgments on sin, and a search for someone to open it. Only Jesus is worthy to open it. When Jesus receives the scroll from God, He receives praise from every creature in heaven and on earth.

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''