Our Savior is the Lamb as well as the Lion. We have a Lion-Lamb Savior. This One is worthy to open the scroll. Apart from Him, no one in the universe is worthy to open the secret, the mystery, of God’s economy. But the Lion-Lamb is worthy because He has accomplished redemption and has won the victory over Satan. Whenever we Christians have said that Christ was worthy, our thought was that He was worthy of our praises and thanks and worship. When we said, “Lord Jesus, You are worthy,” not many of us realized that He was worthy to open the seals of the secret of God’s economy. We only had the concept that Christ was worthy to receive worship, praise, and thanks from us, His little creatures. But this is an inadequate concept of the Lord’s worthiness. Yet most hymns on the worthiness of Christ express this inadequate concept of His worthiness. Not many hymns praise Christ for being worthy to open the secret of God’s economy. This aspect of the Lord’s worthiness is universal and immeasurable. Of course, Christ is worthy of our praises. He is even worthy of our lives. Nevertheless, we must realize that, according to Revelation 5, Christ’s worthiness is a matter of His being worthy to open the secret of God’s economy. The universe is a mystery which the scientists cannot unravel. They simply do not know the meaning or the purpose of the universe, because it is a secret kept from them. But Christ is worthy to open this secret for He is worthy to open the seals of God’s economy.
Revelation 5:5 says that the Lion is worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals. A scroll is a roll of parchment paper or other material. Because a scroll is rolled up, it is difficult to determine just how long it is. The scroll in Revelation 5 is eternally long. Only Christ is worthy to open this eternally-long scroll. Do not think that you have seen everything contained in this scroll. No, we shall need eternity to see all that is included in it. When we are in the New Jerusalem, we shall still be reading the contents of the scroll. For eternity we shall say, “Now I see something more.” God will give us an eternal surprise. The surprise of the opening of the scroll will last for eternity. When you are in eternity, you may say, “The Lord’s surprise is eternal. Although we are now in eternity, we still cannot see the end.” Christ is worthy to open this scroll of God’s mystery.
Because Christ is so worthy, here in this heavenly scene He is worshipped by the angels and all the other creatures. The angels are represented by the twenty-four elders, and all the other creatures are represented by the four living creatures. The angels have elders, the twenty-four angelic elders who take the lead to worship Christ. Here in this picture we see the twenty-four elders praising and all the angels praising, the four living creatures praising and all the other creatures praising. Together they render universal worship to God and the Lamb. The Christ in whom we believe is such a universal Christ.
Now we come to Christ in His administration. There is an administration in the universe. The universe does not operate in a nonsensical way; it operates according to God’s administration. Although we cannot see this Administrator, He is nonetheless carrying out His divine administration. All earthquakes, such as the earthquake which recently hit North China, come from His administration. Christ is not only the Savior, the Lion, and the Lamb; He is also the Administrator of the whole universe.
Firstly, Christ is administrating God’s purpose among the churches, exercising a priestly care for the churches (1:11-18). In chapter one, Christ is revealed as the Son of Man clothed in the robe of the High Priest. Today, in God’s administration, Christ exercises His priestly care among the churches. Among the churches, He is clad in a priestly robe. Furthermore, He is “girded about at the breasts with a golden girdle” (1:13). It is interesting to note that He is not girded about the loins but about the breasts. This indicates that all His work has been accomplished and that now He is exercising a loving care for His beloved churches. Today, Christ no longer works, but He cares for us. He even rebukes and chastises us in love. He is the loving Priest caring for His churches today.
Revelation clearly shows that, on the one hand, Christ is among the churches and that, on the other hand, He is in the heavens carrying out God’s economy. The strongest proof of this is in 5:7, which, speaking of Christ’s receiving the scroll, says, “And He came and took it out of the right hand of Him who sits upon the throne.” The scroll of God’s economy has been put into Christ’s hands; He now holds God’s economy and carries it out. We do not see this revelation in any other New Testament book. While Christ is in the heavens carrying out God’s economy, which is mainly concerned with God’s judgment of the earth, He takes care of God’s people (7:1-3; 8:3-5). This is fully revealed in chapters seven and eight. God has two peoples—the children of Israel and the redeemed saints. No matter how much this earth is judged by Christ in God’s administration, He will take care of the chosen Israel and of the redeemed church. Hallelujah, we all are under Christ’s care in His administration. I strongly believe that today Christ is caring for the nation of Israel. It does not matter what the other nations say or do, for the nation of Israel is under the care of Christ’s universal administration. The other countries may try certain things, but all will be in vain because of the watchful concern of the universal Administrator. We all must worship Christ as the Administrator, as the One in the heavens administering all things for the fulfillment of God’s economy.