28 Jun 2013
Revelation 5:9
Revelation 5:9: “And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;”
Why was Jesus worthy? Because He was the sinless One who was crucified for our sins and then rose again. No one else did that, so no one else was worthy. It’s worth nothing that only Jesus was worthy; no other candidates were found, even though both Heaven and Earth were searched. There is simply no one else like Jesus.
Notice, also, that the elders say that Jesus “hast redeemed us to God by thy blood”. The blood of Jesus redeemed the elders. Some people have claimed that the word “us” should really be “them”, but that isn’t born out by the manuscript evidence. It really is “us”. This is more evidence that the 24 elders really do represent the Church, since the Church has been redeemed by the blood of Jesus and is composed of people from every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation. Since the 24 elders are symbolic of the whole church, that means that the whole church must be in Heaven when these events take place. Therefore, when Jesus begins opening the book, the Rapture must have already occurred. This supports a pre-Tribulation Rapture.