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Revelation 5:6-7 describes 'a Lamb as though it had been slain' who 'came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.' Is this a picture of two divine beings? Is it two Gods? Is it two Spirits? What exactly are we seeing in this passage?
Clearly the One sitting on the throne is God the Father. But what do we mean when we say that. Is there an actual throne somewhere in the heavenly places where an omnipotent spiritual being called God the Father is sitting. We think not, since the Bible says that 'no one has seen God at any time,' and Jesus said that 'God is a Spirit' (John 1:18; John 4:24). This means that God is an incorporal being without physical attributes of any kind. However, the Bible also says that 'God was manifested in the flesh' and 'seen by angels' (1 Timothy 3:16). What was it the angels saw? They saw the flesh, the humanity, the Man.
In the passage you have asked about, the Lamb is a representation of this humanity. We know this because He is described as having been slain. A Spirit does not have flesh and blood. A Spirit cannot be hanged on a cross. A Spirit cannot be slain, at least not the eternal Spirit of God (Hebrews 9:14). Therefore, what we see in this passage is a portrait of God's humanity receiving revelation (represented by the scroll) from the eternal Spirit. You may recall that when speaking of the days of His coming, Jesus said, 'But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father' (Mark 13:32). Furthermore, the book of Revelation begins by saying, 'The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants--things which must shortly take place' (Revelation 1:1). The passage you have brought to our attention is a portrait of divine revelation passing from the eternal Spirit to the Man, Jesus Christ, who was alive, and was dead, and behold is now alive forevermore, Amen (Revelation 1:18).
Thank you for this great question.
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