Revelation 5 (Worthy is The Lamb)

Introduction

English Standard Version Chapter 5

The Scroll and the Lamb

5 Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, 4 and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. 5 And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

6 And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. 8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying,

“Worthy are you to take the scroll

and to open its seals,

for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God

from every tribe and language and people and nation,

10  and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,

and they shall reign on the earth.”

11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice,

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,

to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might

and honor and glory and blessing!”

13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,

“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb

be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

14 And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

Last week we looked at Revelation chapter 4 as the Apostle John was called up to heaven by Christ, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you what must soon take place after this.” We’re told that John was in the Spirit and saw a throne standing in heaven, with one seated on the throne, and that the one who sat on the throne had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald, and around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. That from the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunders. And around the throne, on each side, were four living creatures with six wings and full of eyes, crying out, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” It’s undoubtedly, the most complete scene of heavenly worship in all the Bible.

So, in chapter 4 the church’s gaze is lifted to heaven to see beyond its temporal suffering, to see its circumstances in light of God on his throne in heaven. To see their circumstances from a heavenly perspective. That as heaven goes, so go the affairs of men on earth. That the church, from the perspective of heaven, will be shown what must soon take place after this. This scene in heaven is where God rules and reigns, it’s where God is worshipped, and it’s where he sits as Judge over all the earth. His heavenly temple serves as his throne, his sanctuary, and his courtroom.

The scroll handed down

And then chapter 5 serves as a continuation of that heavenly scene, in fact, one could argue that chapter 5 is the climax of the entire Apocalypse, that everything that follows flows from of what we see in chapter 5. The judgments of chapters 6-19, and the pictures of redemption in chapters 19-22 all find their origin in chapter 5, what follows emerges from the throne in heaven.

And so let’s begin there in chapter 5, verse 1, we read,

English Standard Version Chapter 5

5 Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?”

In chapter 5 the scene moves from heavenly worship to the handing down of a scroll, a scroll that is written within and on the back, and sealed with seven seals. This scroll and its contents will control the narrative of the Apocalypse, therefore, the function and content of this scroll is instrumental to the rest of the Book of Revelation.

Identity of the scroll

However, John doesn’t outright identify the scroll, at least not in ways that are immediately clear to us, and so, as you can imagine, speculation abounds among commentators. Examples include, a Title Deed to the Earth, or the New Covenant, or God’s Will & Testament, or the Redemptive Plan of God, or Israel’s Certificate of Divorce, or the Lamb’s Book of Life, or the Book of Future Events, and the list goes on and on.

And many of these speculations have at least some merit, however, all of them are ultimately controlled, or colored, by the interpreter’s eschatological assumptions. Do you believe that this book describes future events? Do believe this book describes ongoing events? Do you believe this book describes events in the past? Or do you believe this book isn’t speaking of any particular events at all? Well, depending upon which interpretive assumption you make, it will influence how you identify the scroll. You’ll discover that those who take a similar approach to John’s Apocalypse tend to arrive at similar conclusions. Futurists tend to identify the scroll in one way, while preterists tend to identify it in another.

And if you were here when I started the Book of Revelation you’ll know that I’m taking a preterist approach to the book. That John’s Apocalypse is not describing events that still remain in our future, but that John’s vision is describing, primarily, events that happened in our past. Therefore, my starting assumptions are coming from a preterist perspective.

However, one of the reasons I still see merit, even in many of the conclusions of other interpretive camps, is because we’re all still exegeting the same texts, therefore you’ll discover common threads between many of the approaches. You’ll find that one approach may emphasize or overemphasize a particular point, and ignore other points altogether due to their interpretive assumptions. In fact, you’ll see this even within a particular interpretive camp.

Therefore, I’ve found multiple commentators helpful at this point. For instance, two of my favorite preterist commentators on the Book of Revelation identify the scroll differently. One identifies the scroll as a Israel’s divorce certificate, while the other identifies it as the new covenant. And when I read their arguments I find them both biblically compelling. Not because the text can mean anything we want it to, but because I think the function and the content of the scroll is twofold. On one hand, John’s Apocalypse does emphasize judgment against Isreal, but on the other hand, while the old covenant curses are brought against Judaism, they give way to a better covenant, the new covenant. In short, we see the scroll serving both ends, the one resulting in the other.

Judgment and future events

That being said, let’s look at several scriptures that anchor and inform our understanding of the scroll. At first, when dealing with imagery like this, we should always look for parallel imagery elsewhere in the Bible. As I’ve pointed out before John’s Apocalypse draws heavily upon OT imagery, it is by far the most Hebraic book of the NT. Which is also why we struggle to understand it.

There are three prominent OT parallels as it relates to a sealed scroll or book. The first is in Daniel 12:4 when the prophet is told to “shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end,” referring to the events described here in John’s Apocalypse when “there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time.” The book that Daniel is instructed to seal up, until the time of the end, refers to future events, judgment, and the very details described here by John in his Apocalypse.

The second is found in Isaiah 29:11-12 when the prophet describes a sealed book in the context of judgment against Jerusalem, mocking the Jews for their blindness.

The third, and probably the most explicit parallel, is found in Ezekiel 2:9-10. The prophet Ezekiel is in Babylon and instructed to give an indictment against the people’s sin, and the content of that indictment is contained on the front and the back of a scroll. Listen to Ezekiel 2:8-10,

English Standard Version Chapter 2

8 “But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.” 9 And when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. 10 And he spread it before me. And it had writing on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe.

Now, I want you to notice the explicit parallels between Ezekiel’s scroll and John’s. We’re told that “a hand was stretched out to” Ezekiel, and that “a scroll of a book was in it.” We’re also told that “it had writing on the front and on the back,” and that “written on it” were “words of lamentation and mourning and woe.” Just like Revelation 5:1, we see a scroll being handed down, written within and on the back.

The two major takeaways from these OT parallels is that scrolls are typically in the context of handing down judgments, and chronicling future events. Therefore, when we see a scroll handed down from the one who sits on the throne in Revelation 5:1, we should expect an oracle of judgment. And what do we see in chapters 6-19 when the scroll is opened and the seals are broken? We see nearly fourteen chapters of judgment.

Cry for vindication

We’ll also see later in chapter 6, when the fifth seal is opened, souls under the alter who had been slain, crying out for vindication. Listen to Revelation 6:9-11,

English Standard Version Chapter 6

9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

In other words, the martyrs in heaven have been crying out for God to judge and avenge their blood on those who dwell on the earth. They’re petitioning heaven for justice.

You may also recall Jesus’ words to the Pharisees in Jerusalem shortly before his crucifixion in Matthew 23:29-36,

English Standard Version Chapter 23

29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, 30 saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. 33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? 34 Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, 35 so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

Notice the expectation of judgment against the Jews for their persecution of the prophets, and that all the righteous blood shed on earth would come down upon their generation. This expectation of judgment coincides with the handing down of this scroll in Revelation 5:1.

Sevenfold judgment

We should also notice that the scroll is sealed with 7 seals, and that after the 7 seals are opened, 7 trumpets and 7 bowls of judgment follow thereafter. Notice, again, the use of the number 7, this is significant. The number 7 signifies fullness or completion. We’re meant to understand that these judgments are final or complete.

Now, don’t forget these judgments are directed primarily at Jerusalem and apostate Israel for their rebellion. You may recall, in the Gospels, Jesus repeatedly described their generation as an evil and adulterous generation. While many of the religious leaders portrayed a righteous exterior, Jesus described them as an evil and adulterous generation. This is why Jesus pronounced judgment upon them, even during his earthly ministry, saying “Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” Telling them even, at one point,

English Standard Version Chapter 23

37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! 38 See, your house is left to you desolate.

Therefore, what we see in John’s Apocalypse when the scroll is handed down is a sevenfold judgment against Jerusalem’s apostasy.

When Yahweh had made a covenant with Israel at Mt Sinai, the covenant carried with it both blessing and curse. They were promised blessing if they obeyed, and curses if they disobeyed. In fact, in Leviticus 26 we’re told repeatedly that they would be punished sevenfold for their sins. For example, listen to Leviticus 26:14-18,

English Standard Version Chapter 26

14 “But if you will not listen to me and will not do all these commandments, 15 if you spurn my statutes, and if your soul abhors my rules, so that you will not do all my commandments, but break my covenant, 16 then I will do this to you: I will visit you with panic, with wasting disease and fever that consume the eyes and make the heart ache. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. 17 I will set my face against you, and you shall be struck down before your enemies. Those who hate you shall rule over you, and you shall flee when none pursues you. 18 And if in spite of this you will not listen to me, then I will discipline you again sevenfold for your sins,

And if you’re at all familiar with OT history, you’ll know that these curses were carried out at various times in Israel’s history, most notably in the Babylonian exile, when king Nebuchadnezzer eventually laid seige against Jerusalem, destroyed Solomon’s Temple, and took the Israelites into captivity for 70 years.

Now, despite their rebellion the Lord would had mercy on them, and he brought them back into the Land to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple, but for hundreds of years the Jews would be dominated by the surrounding empires, after the Babylonians it was the Medo-Persian Empire, after that the Greek Empire, and eventually the Roman Empire.

However, much of Jerusalem’s religious system remained corrupt, despite it’s exterior appearance, therefore when the Messiah came he faced fierce resistance, especially from the religious leaders, who ultimately had him put to death on a cross.

Before his crucifixion, when when Pilate said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” And Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” And the chief priest answered, “We have no king, but Caesar.” And when Pilate saw that a riot was forming he told the crowd, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.” And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and our children!”

End of the old covenant

Therefore, when we read in Revelation 1:7, “Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the tribes of the land will wail on account of him,” and then in Revelation 5:1 of a scroll being handed down, sealed with seven seals, followed by seven trumpets, and seven bowls of judgment, what we’re witnessing is the end of the old covenant.

Beginning of the new covenant

However, the scroll doesn’t only signify judgment. The Book of Revelation is not merely a book about judgment against Jerusalem, and the passing away of the old covenant, but more importantly Revelation is about the establishment of a new covenant. As the old passes away, a new and better covenant takes it’s place. After the judgments of chapters 6-19, we see in chapter 19 the marriage supper of the lamb, in chapter 20 the saints reigning with Christ in heaven, and in chapters 21-22 the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven - the bride of Christ.

The seven seals relate not only to the sevenfold judgment of Jerusalem, but also attests to the kind of document being handed down. The seven seals would have indicated to the first century reader that it was a testament or covenant, that had been sealed in the presence of seven witnesses. And just as we distinguish between the New Testament and the Old Testament, or New Covenant books and the Old Covenant books in our Bibles. This scroll signifies a testament or a covenant, and more specifically, the new covenant.

Who is worthy to open the scroll?

This is why there is only one who is able to open the scroll, or one who is worthy to open the scroll. The new covenant hinges upon the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is why we see John weeping in verses 2-5 when no one, at first, is found worthy to open the scroll. Apart from Christ there is not hope for the church in the face of the Roman Empire. There is no ultimate hope that they’ll overcome or conquer in death.

English Standard Version Chapter 5

2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, 4 and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. 5 And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

6 And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

Jesus is the only one worthy, he is the only one able, to guarantee a better covenant, a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek, not beset with weakness like the priests before him, or having to offer sacrifices for his own sin, but ever living to make intercession on behalf of the saints. While it was impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins, Christ offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins. The mediator of a new covenant, when all other mediators had failed, or proved inadequate, whether Adam, or Moses, or David, or anyone else.

Therefore, by his blood he conquered, and he ransomed a people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, making them a kingdom and priests to God. This is why when John turns he sees a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain. Not merely a slain lamb, but a Lamb standing. The one who had died, but who is alive forevermore, a lamb who had overcome and conquered by his death. You see, because Christ overcame death, so will we, so will the church, we have no need to fear death or persecution. Jesus’ death and resurrection has made his church invincible, for the gates of hades will never prevail against it.

Lion of the tribe of Judah

And like his predecessor David, who was a type of Christ, Jesus “disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them by his cross.” (Col. 2:15) Which is why he is called the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David.

Sadly, though, one commentator observed that the Jews could not see this, for they looked for a mighty lion, but were scandalized to behold, instead, a little lamb. (Milton Terry) How the Messiah’s death result in triumph? They could not see that their need was first, and primarily spiritual, that they didn’t need delivered merely from their earthly foes, but from sin, death, and the devil. They didn’t believe they were slaves to sin, or that their father was the devil. Therefore, they had no category for a suffering servant, no category for one who would bear their iniquities, no category for a lamb who would take away the sins of the world. Yet, this is who Jesus was, this is the one who is able to open the scroll and it’s seven seals. Jesus is the hero of this story.

And his seven horns speak of his omnipotence, his perfect and complete power, the same power that brought down the walls of Jericho as the seven priests bore seven trumpets of rams horns for seven days marching around the city. Jesus is the one worthy to take the scroll and open it’s seals!

English Standard Version Chapter 5

7 And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. 8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying,

“Worthy are you to take the scroll

and to open its seals,

for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God

from every tribe and language and people and nation,

10  and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,

and they shall reign on the earth.”

Given a kingdom

Now, I know that I’ve labored this point before, but I want you to considered again what the prophet Daniel saw in one of his dreams hundreds of years before Christ, a vision of the Ancient of Days seated on his throne, and one like a Son of Man presented before him. I want you to notice the remarkable parallel between it and what we just read here in Revelation 5. We read in Daniel 7:9-14,

English Standard Version Chapter 7

9 “As I looked,

thrones were placed,

and the Ancient of Days took his seat;

his clothing was white as snow,

and the hair of his head like pure wool;

his throne was fiery flames;

its wheels were burning fire.

10  A stream of fire issued

and came out from before him;

a thousand thousands served him,

and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him;

the court sat in judgment,

and the books were opened.

English Standard Version Chapter 7

13 “I saw in the night visions,

and behold, with the clouds of heaven

there came one like a son of man,

and he came to the Ancient of Days

and was presented before him.

14  And to him was given dominion

and glory and a kingdom,

that all peoples, nations, and languages

should serve him;

his dominion is an everlasting dominion,

which shall not pass away,

and his kingdom one

that shall not be destroyed.

The vision that John sees in Revelation 5 is precisely what the prophet Daniel saw in Daniel 7 more than 400 years before. We’re told that the Son of Man is given a kingdom, a kingdom that cannot be destroyed, where all peoples, nations, and languages serve him. This is the kingdom that Jesus preached, and the kingdom that has come. Even now you and I have been made a kingdom and priests to our God, and reign here on the earth.

Conclusion

And the church of the first century needed to be reminded of this. That while the two beasts of Revelation 13 had joined forces, Rome and Jerusalem, against the church, the church needed to see that it was God who was reigning in heaven, not these Satanic beasts. That they were reigning even now, and waging war, but not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places, and that they would overcome by the blood of the Lamb and word of their testimony, just as their Lord had. They needed to see that Christ is reigning now, that He had already wrestled the world from Satan’s grasp. To look not to their earthly circumstances, but to heaven. To remember that they have not been left alone, but that the Lord will vindicate his saints on earth, that Christ has triumphed, and so will his saints. That the prayers of the saints are heard in heaven.

Prayer