he Messiah is the Prophet Like Unto Moses, who came to fulfill and replace the Mosaic Covenant. To understand how this works, it is necessary to understand its relation to Israel. The Mosaic Covenant did not create nation of Israel. Israel came into existence the moment God renamed Jacob Israel. Israel was already a nation when they came down into Egypt, and actually outnumbered Egyptians when God called Moses to liberate them.The Mosaic Covenant was meant to function like a constitution providing for specific forms of government for a nation that already existed. There is a crude analog here with the United States Constitution. The United States came into existence on July 4, 1776 when the Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence. From March 1, 1781-March 4, 1789, the Articles of Confederation served as our first constitution. In 1787 the current United States Constitution was ratified by Constitutional Convention, to come into legal force in 1789.
The Adamic, Noahic, Abrahamc, and Davidic Covenants are all eternal, and in all of these man’s part is completely fulfilled. As such they can never be abrogated. The Mosaic Covenant, however, bears resemblance to Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution. Both the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution has provisions for their replacement. In the case of the abolition of the Articles of Confederation, the Founding Father appealed to the Declaration of Independence, which stated that “whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. ” In the case of United States Constitution, provisions for amendment or abolition were explicitly written (Article V).
The Mosaic Covenant provides for its own abolition in a way similar to the way that the Articles of confederation and the United States Constitution provide for their own abolitionin several ways.
1. The New Testament appeals to the Abrahamic Covenant to justify the New Covenant on several occasions in the same way the Founding Fathers appealed to the Declaration of Independence to justify the constitutional convention that created the current United States Constitution.
2. The Mosaic Covenant, like the United States Constitution, explicitly provides for its own obsolescence.
Appealing to the Abrahamic Covenant.
Paul appeals to the Abrahamic Covenant to justify Justification by Faith. In Romans 4 he appeals to Gen 15 to prove that Abraham was the Father of Faith and that we can become children of Abraham through faith. TheCovenant of the Pieces provided for non-biological descendants to be grafted into the family of Abraham. Romans 11 addresses this grafting in of Gentiles into Israel.
Rom 11:13-17 For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office: (14) If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them. (15) For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead? (16) For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches. (17) And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;
Another appeal to the Abrahamic Covenant is found in appeal to the priesthood of Melchizedek. The fact that this priesthood both predates the Levitical Priesthood and is foundational to it provides for the possibility that God’s People can enter a Covenant with Him that bypasses the Levitical Priesthood and its regulatory scheme. We see reference to this in Genesis 14:18-20. Here Melchizedek offers what seems to be the first communion and he blesses Abraham, who then sends tithes of the spoils to Melchizedek. Abraham present tribute to Melchizedek, and Melchizedek then administers the blessings that was promised.
Gen 14:18-20 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. (19) And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: (20) And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.
Hebrews has some additional things to say about Melchizedek. Hebrews 7 Presents Melchizidek as a Christophany who is not a mere man but lives forever. Hebrews shows the greatness of Melchizedek. He makes a powerful argument that the Levitical priesthood is dependent on the Priesthood of Melchizedek, arguing the Levi paid Melchizedek tithes through Abraham, If the Levitical priesthood depends on Abraham for its authority, and Abraham depended on Melchizedek, then the Levitical priesthood is inferior to that of Melchizedek, while Melchizedek’s priesthood stands independent of the Mosaic Covenant.
Heb 7:1-10 For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; (2) To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; (3) Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually. (4) Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils. (5) And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham: (6) But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises…
Heb 7:1-10…(7) And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better. (8) And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth. (9) And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham. (10) For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him.
The Mosaic Covenant Provides For Its Own Obsolescence
There are provisions in the Mosaic covenant that provided for its own obsolescence and replacement by the New Covenant
The Levitical Priesthood was never God’s first option, He intended for all of his people to be priests. He initially sought to prepare the entire congregation to meet Him in the mount, calling on them to sanctify themselves. They were given the promise that successful faithfulness to the Covenant would result in them being a nations of priests, instead of a nation with a hereditary priestly elite
Exo 19:3-6 And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; (4) Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. (5) Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: (6) And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
Success here required sanctification. They could not come to the mount in an unsanctified state under pain of death. We see a reference to priests, but the Levitical priesthood not not yet been set up. Who are these? These would be people who had potential and disposition to do the sanctification required.
Exo 19:21-25 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the LORD to gaze, and many of them perish. (22) And let the priests also, which come near to the LORD, sanctify themselves, lest the LORD break forth upon them. (23) And Moses said unto the LORD, The people cannot come up to mount Sinai: for thou chargedst us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it. (24) And the LORD said unto him, Away, get thee down, and thou shalt come up, thou, and Aaron with thee: but let not the priests and the people break through to come up unto the LORD, lest he break forth upon them. (25) So Moses went down unto the people, and spake unto them.
When God began to speak the Ten Commandments directly to the people (Exodus 20:1-19), they freaked out in fear. Their carnality drover them away from God. They beggared Moses to stand as an enlightened elite between them and God. They not only failed to sanctify themselves but rejected the offer of priesthood, resulting in the later emergence of the Levitical priesthood.
Exo 20:18-21 And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. (19) And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die. (20) And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not. (21) And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
Compare the response of Israel to distance themselves from he Lord in Exodus to Peter’s response when he saw the same shekinah glory rest on Jesus Christ at the Mount of Transfiguration. Peter was enthusiastic about what he saw, suggesting that they build tabernacles to commemorate this moment. Peter was excited because Jesus Christ was one of only two people in Jewish history up to that moment to basque in shekinah glory on earth, with Moses being the other. The voice from Heaven confirms that Christ is, indeed, the prophet like unto Moses
Mat 17:1-5 And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, (2) And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. (3) And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. (4) Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. (5) While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
While this chapter ended with the Mosaic Covenant and the Levitical Priesthood, this provision of a universal priesthood remained a provision of the covenant, allowing a future prophet who would be like Moses to be a covenant mediator of the New Covenant. In the meantime the Mosaic Covenant would become a covenant of works. This would make it different from the other covenants God has made. In those, the human contribution would be done quickly and completely.In the Mosaic Covenant, the human contribution would only be completed by a lifetime of observing the law, from the moment one draws his first breath to the moment he draws his last. This set up the Mosaic Covenant as a breachable covenant. In Deuteronomy 28 we see blessings and curses lined up, with the prospect that sufficient disobedience would result in breach of covenant that would attend penalties on the offender as well as liberating God of His obligations under the Covenant.
Deu 28:1-2 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: (2) And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God…
Deu 28:15-67 But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:..
Deu 28:15-67…(45) Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee: (46) And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever. (47) Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things… …(63) And it shall come to pass, that as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought;and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it…
Deu 28:15-67…(64)And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone. (65) And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind: (66) And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life: (67) In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.
Notice that God declares the Covenant breached by administering the punishment for breach, which is declared in the text to be removal from the land.This breach does not happen before Jesus Christ fulfills Exodus 19:5-6, becoming the Prophet Like Unto Moses.He completed this by AD 33 at the latest. When Christ inaugurated the New Covenant, this declared the Mosaic Covenant breached – “Heb 8:13 In that He says, “A NEW COVENANT,” He has made the first obsolete.” The enforcement of the declaration of breach happens in AD 135 when the Romans instituted the Jewish diaspora, renaming Israel Palestine and Jerusalem Aolina Capitolina. When Hebrews describes the Mosaic Covenant as “Heb 8:13 obsolete and growing old is ready[and ready]to vanish away,” he is noting that the breach has been declared but that the Mosaic Covenant is still technically in force for a few more years until AD 135.
Becoming the Prophet Like Unto Moses
Jesus Christ is the Prophet Like Unto Moses. What does it mean to be a “prophet like unto Moses?” There were many Old Testament Prophets, so referring to a singular prophet as like Moses emphasized that Moses had a unique prophetic ministry.
Moses’ prophetic ministry is unique in the Old Testament in that he mediated a covenant which sought to constitutionally structure society. Only one other Covenant in the whole Bible sought to do this: The New Covenant.
Hebrews speaks of this in terms of household management.
Heb 3:1-6 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; (2) Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house. (3) For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house. (4) For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God. (5) And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; (6) But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
Hebrews here uses house as a term for covenant people. Moses was a servant in the house God built in the Mosaic Covenant. Jesus Christ is the son over the House God built in the New Covenant. Moses was the mediator of the Mosaic Covenant, while Christ is the mediator of the New Covenant which is built on better promises.
Heb 8:1-13 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; (2) A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. (3) For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. (4) For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law: (5) Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, asMoses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount…
Heb 8:1-13…(6) But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. (7)For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. (8) For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: (9) Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord…
Heb 8:1-13…(10) For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: (11) And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. (12) For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. (13)In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.
Jer 31:31-36 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:…
Jer 31:31-36…(32) Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: (33)But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. (34) And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. (35) Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name: (36) If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.
The analogy in the New Testament liking Jesus to Moses is not the New Testament authors reading Christ into the Old Testament. The Mosaic Covenant anticipates Jesus Christ the Messiah as a mediator of the New Covenant. The Mosaic Covenant does three things: It explicitly provides for another covenant mediating prophet, it provides for the emergence of a Covenant in which all are priests, and it explicitly provides for its own obsolescence.
It Makes Explicit Provision For Another Covenant Mediating Prophet
Deu 18:15-19 The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; (16) According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not….
Deu 18:15-19…(17) And the LORD said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken. (18) I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. (19) And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.
Moses was more than a prophet. He walked and talked with God face to face. We see the same in Jesus Christ in the Transfiguration. The people were told to heed Moses because he talked with God directly and saw His face as a servant in God’s house. It is the same with Jesus Christ, only Christ stands in the House of God as a Son and not merely a servant. Both of these have authority to cut covenant with the household of God as managers of the house.
Num 12:1-8 And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman. (2) And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it. (3) (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.) (4) And the LORD spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out. (5) And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth. (6)And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. (7) My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. (8) With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my SERVANT Moses?
Mat 17:1-5And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, (2) And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. (3) And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. (4) Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. (5)While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved SON, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
Heb 3:1-6 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; (2) Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house. (3) For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house. (4) For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God. (5)And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; (6) But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
In the New Testament Jesus Christ is explicitly identified as the prophet like Moses. Just as those who defied Moses were cut off, those who deny Jesus are similarly cut off. As such Christ can mediate a New Covenant.
Act 3:19-25 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; (20) And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: (21) Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began…
Act 3:19-25…(22)For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. (23) And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people. (24) Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. (25) Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.
We have shown that Christ has authority to make a New Covenant. The Mosaic Covenant provides for the emergence of a New Covenant in which all are priests. in Exodus 19 we have the scene in God offered a Covenant to Israel in which all of them could have been priests. Their response was unlike Peter’s to seeing the shekinah glory of God. They distanced themselves from God and rejected their own priesthood. They beggared Moses to stand between them and God, and God’s response was the Levitical priesthood.This promise, however, was still in the Mosaic Covenant. If there be anyone who completely fulfills the Mosaic Covenant, then God would – indeed – make of Him a royal priesthood and a holy nation. This would result in a New Covenant. That this will surely happen is confirmed by Jeremiah.
Exo 19:3-6 And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; (4) Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. (5)Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: (6) And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
Jer 31:31-34 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD,that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: (32) Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: (33) But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. (34)And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
Jesus Christ completely fulfilled the Mosaic Covenant, from His first breath to His last. He rose from the dead heir to a New Covenant.From Christ would come a nation of Priests and Kings, with Christ being King of Israel and High Priest after the order of Melchizedek. This New Covenant not only allowed for every Israelite to be priest-king, but opened up citizenship in Israel to people of all nations, tribes, and tongues.
1 Pe 2:6-10 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. (7) Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, (8) And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. (9)But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: (10) Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
Rev 1:4-7 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; (5) And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, (6) And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. (7) Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
Rev 5:1-10 And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. (2) And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? (3) And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon…
Rev 5:1-10…(4) And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. (5) And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. (6) 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. (7) And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. (8) And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. (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; (10) And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.