In last week's letter we began to
take a look at the laws of redemption. Redemption is a very important
aspect of the restoration, because without it restoration would not be
possible.
The scroll in YHVH's hand
(Rev.5:1) is a legal document, which was already written before the foundations
of the world. It is a document specifying the requirements incumbent upon a
redeemer. Only by viewing Yeshua’s life story can we find out what was written
on the side that specified the redeemer’s qualifications. In order for Yeshua
to take that scroll and open it, He had to fulfill all the requirements
inscribed on the scroll. Thus, He had to
be a firstborn and a prince in the family. He had to be obedient to the will of
His Father in all matters pertaining to life and godliness. He also had to be His brothers’ keeper and be
willing to give up His life for them.
Because the laws of redemption required a blood sacrifice in accordance
with the Almighty’s righteousness, the Redeemer had to be perfect, undefiled
and unspotted by sin.
Yeshua faced these legal
requirements head on. He knew that He was a lamb for the sacrifice who was to
be without spot or blemish, and that He had to be obedient in all things
pertaining to His Father's will in order to qualify to be that sacrifice. In
Revelation chapter five we see John falling on his knees and weeping bitterly,
because in that moment he understood what was required for the redemption of
the inheritance. Even King David wrote: "None
can by any means redeem a brother, nor give to YHVH a ransom for him, for the
redemption of their souls is costly" (Ps. 49:7-8). How costly? Look at
the scroll: the shedding of the blood (life) of a firstborn son (the shedding
of blood meant not just a few drops trickling down the face, it was the
complete draining or separating of the blood from the body). However, it was
not just the blood that YHVH was looking at, but also the nature of the life in
the blood that was either acceptable or not. In other words, it had to be a
sacrifice that was not defiled by sin. Yeshua, therefore, met and fulfilled
every requirement of the Supreme Law, both in heart and deed.
Yeshua was not ignorant of the Law;
He knew what was written there. That scroll was not called the "Lamb's
scroll" (or "Book of Life") for nothing! And since our names are inscribed on that
scroll, we also need to know what is written in that legal document. Those requirements are written there for us
as well, but if we do not know or understand the reason for these instructions
we may find ourselves falling short of the calling that is upon our lives
because of ignorance. We are His
inheritance, bought with a price for a purpose.
"Then I saw a strong
angel proclaiming with a loud voice: 'Who is worthy to open the scroll and to
loose its seals?' And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was
able to open the scroll, or to look at it.
So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the
scroll, or to look at it” (Rev.5:2-5).
The strong angel was looking for
someone qualified to open, look at and read what was written on the
scroll. It seems almost inconceivable
that no one in heaven, or on earth, or under the earth could be found. John was so shattered over this, that he fell
on his face and wept. But then one of the elders comforted him and told him not
to weep, because the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has
succeeded in fulfilling all the requirements written on the scroll. Yes, Yeshua
was the one now able to loose the seals and to disclose the text written on the
other side. What was it that was written there? What are the property rights?
Before getting into this, let us
take another moment to listen to, and view the courtroom scene in heaven. The
Father YHVH is sitting on the judgment seat with a scroll in His right hand;
there are angels, four living creatures, twenty- four elders and a myriad of
other angels all around. However, those
are not the only ones present in this courtroom. Suddenly a proclamation about
a Lion from the Tribe of Judah is made. But lo and behold, instead of a lion we
see a lamb, with seven horns and seven eyes, which looks as though it had been
slain! What a grotesque animal! Is there some confusion here? No! As we watch
this slain, sacrificial lamb go up to the Father and take the scroll out of His
right hand, all those around the throne fall down and begin to SING A NEW SONG:
"You are worthy, you have succeeded, you have prevailed, you did it, you
overcame, you qualified [according to all that was written on that legal
document]! You have redeemed us and saved us from the wrathful judgments of
YHVH. But not only that, you are also making all those who are written on that
scroll into a royal priesthood and a holy nation."
Who are those twenty-four elders
sitting on thrones and dressed in white garments with crowns on their
heads? Why were they not qualified to
take the scroll and open the seals? Were they not of import and stature? Even
though they were out of the firstborn in the human family, they too were in
need of redemption and saw themselves as part of the company of the redeemed of
the Lamb. Something great had just taken place; so awesome that they fell down
and cast their crowns before the throne of YHVH and sang a new song! But who else was to be redeemed by this
lamb? Who was the "us" from
every tribe, tongue, people and nation that legally belonged to YHVH’s
inheritance? Who are they and where did they come from?
Remember that there were two
sides to the scroll. On the one side were specified the qualifications of the
redeemer, and on the other side was the description of the inheritance. Whose
inheritance? The scroll was in the Father’s hand. Thus it must have been the
Father's inheritance, which was made up of those who were to be redeemed.
Therefore it was their names, which were written on the scroll (even before the
foundation of the world). These are the ones who are to become kings and
priests unto our Elohim, and they shall reign on the earth. Yes, it is hard to believe that the redeemed
were foreordained and predestined according to the will of the Father and
inscribed on this scroll before the foundation of the earth. We all have this
document in our library. It is called the Holy ("set apart")
Scriptures. However, it is sealed with seven (spiritual) seals, so as to make
it not entirely comprehensible. Not only are there seals, but there are also
veils over our minds, which block our understanding. Only Yeshua can open the
seals and lift the veils, just as He did to the two men on the road to Emmaus,
or to the Ethiopian eunuch. Therefore, as long as we see through a glass darkly
we need to pray: "Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from
Your [legal document the…] (Psa.119:18).
Whose names are written in the
Lamb's Book of Life from before the foundation of the earth? Do the Scriptures
give us any indication as to who they might be?
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