Revelation 5:1-14
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.
Revelation chapter five is a continuation of the throne room scene we considered in our last study. The apostle John, who is relating this vision to us, sees a throne upon which God sits. The Holy Spirit, represented by 7 torches of fire, is before the throne. Around the throne are four living creatures which represent all of creation as it breaks forth in praise of its Creator. Then, in an outer circle surrounding all of this, are 24 elders sitting upon thrones, clothed in white and wearing crowns. They represent the people of God throughout history who have overcome in the face of trials and persecutions and who have now entered into the presence of their Maker. Upon seeing God, they fall down in worship, casting their crowns at His feet. There are 24 because that is the number of each order of priests that attended the OT temple which points to the fact that we are a priesthood of believers created to offer praise and worship unto our God.
Now John says that in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne is a scroll, written within and on the back and sealed with seven seals. Some say that this scroll has all the characteristics of a last will and testament meaning that the only one who can open it is the one who will receive the inheritance. That may be the imagery that is intended here. All we really know for sure to this point is that its contents reveal God’s plans for the establishment of His kingdom and that no one was qualified to open the scroll….excepting One.
This leads to, in my mind, one of the most majestic scenes in all of the Scriptures. In times in which I have wanted to catch a glimpse of the glory of Christ, I have turned to this passage time and again. John is confronted with a vision of The Lion of the Tribe of Judah who is, in fact, the Lamb who was slain. The titles “the Lion of the Tribe of Judah” and the “Root of David” are both militaristic images of the Messiah of whom it was prophesied would be the conqueror of the nations. The Lion imagery comes from Gen 49:9–10, where in Jacob’s final blessing on his twelve sons Judah is called a “lion’s cub” and is promised that the scepter shall not depart from him “until he comes to whom it belongs.” This was interpreted by Jews as a promise of a future Messianic rule of one from the tribe of Judah.
The second title is an allusion to Isa 11:1 which says that “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse” and in verse 10 which says that “the root of Jesse will stand as a signal for the peoples – of Him shall the nations inquire- His resting place will be glorious.” Jesse, being the father of King David, the prophet Isaiah was calling the people of Israel to look forward to an ideal king of the line of David who will judge with righteousness and usher in an era of peace. Jesus, of course, is from the tribe of Judah and the lineage of Jesse. So, Paul quotes Isaiah 11:1 in Rom 15:12 as speaking of Jesus saying that Jesus is the hope of the Gentiles, as well as Jews, and this hope is the cause of great joy and peace.
What makes this scene so striking is the contrast between what John hears and what he sees. He is told “Behold the Lion who has conquered,” but when he looks, what he sees is a Lamb. The language “as though it had been slain” is a little unfortunate because we know that Jesus was, indeed, slain. You can do a simple word study and find that it could be, and probably should be, translated simply “as slain” or as the King James puts it “as it had been slain.”
Much of this is very familiar to us. We are familiar with Jesus presented as the “Lamb of God” who dies for our sins. We know the background comes from the OT Passover Lamb, whose blood was shed and then used as paint over the doorposts of God’s people so that death would “pass over” their house, and whose flesh was eaten for strength for the journey ahead as they were freed from their slavery in Egypt and led to the promised land. In the NT, when John the Baptist saw Jesus he declared: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” indicating that Jesus was the Passover Lamb whose blood would spare God’s people from eternal death and would free them from the slavery of sin. And when Jesus gathered His disciples before His crucifixion they partook in a Passover meal affirming the fact that He was its fulfillment as He went to the cross fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah 53:7 which declared that the Messiah would be “led as a sheep to the slaughter.”
The message to the Jews in Egypt was that, apart from the shed blood of the lamb, you will not escape your slavery, in fact you will die. The message to you is the same. If you have not believed upon the Lamb of God and figuratively painted His blood over the door post of your life through faith in Him, you remain as one without hope. We as a church might be able to offer you kindness and hospitality, friendship and service, but the one thing we cannot offer you apart from Christ is hope. There is no hope apart from salvation in Christ. And so, the call to you is believe.
But again, most of us are used to these images of Jesus, but what we are NOT used to seeing is Jesus, the Lamb of God, portrayed as having seven horns and seven eyes.
And this reminds us that this is a vision. These attributes of Christ are not to be taken literally just as Jesus the Lamb of God is not actually a Lamb even if He is portrayed as one here. And this bears mentioning because this is what gets people so confused when approaching the book of Revelation. They have this idea that if you do not take what is written here “literally” then you are compromising the Word of God, you don’t actually believe what the Bible says and, thus, you cannot be a serious Christian, let alone a serious interpreter of what the Bible teaches. That is pure foolishness. For one, we use figurative, metaphorical, pictorial, language all the time and we do not doubt one another’s truthfulness nor our ability to understand it accurately. If I were to say to you that, when I ran track in High School, I was “fast as lightning,” you would have no reason to doubt the truthfulness of what I’ve said despite the fact that you know that no one can possibly run as fast as a lightning bolt. And if someone were to say to you that, because I said I was fast as lightning, not only am I a liar, but that anyone who believes what I say can’t be trusted to understand reality, you would recognize that THEY are the ones that don’t have a grip on reality because you would understand my use of figurative language. With Revelation, we are told that everything revealed to John is a part of a vision and we have OT examples of what visions from God to man look like and we are able to look at scenes like this one here and we know that this is not literally what the throne room in heaven looks like- in other words the Holy Spirit is not 7 torches and Jesus is not an animal. So, to insist, for example, that the two witnesses of Revelation 11 “must” be two actual historic persons is to completely miss the plot. So, let’s keep this in mind as we continue forward.
Here we have Jesus portrayed as a Lamb with seven eyes which, we are told, represent the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. As we have now seen several times, the “seven spirits” refer to the Holy Spirit who is called elsewhere in the NT, the “Spirit of Christ” so it is fitting that the image of the Spirit would be connected to the Lamb. This speaks to the Lord’s omniscience in seeing all that transpires on the earth including the state of His people. It is another way of picturing the point of Christ walking among the lampstands in chapters 2 and 3. He sees, He knows. These 7 eyes see “perfectly” and are supposed to be of comfort to us.
The use of seven horns is a testimony of His power as the conquering Lamb. Jewish tradition imagined the coming Messiah at times as a bull, other times a horned lamb, who comes conquering his foes with the might of his horns which, in the OT, always refer to power and might against one’s enemies. For example, Deut. 33:17 says of Joseph: “He has majesty and his horns are the horns of a wild ox, with them he shall gore the peoples, all of them, to the ends of the earth.” The fact that Jesus is shown with 7, the number of perfection and completeness, says that He is “all powerful” and the “Almighty.” So the image of the Lion, the Root, the Horns, all point to the fact that Jesus is “the Conqueror.”
The fact that He is the Lamb that was slain points to how He brought about the victory. His death upon the cross. He is described as the one who “ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation…” The Old Testament background to the idea of “ransom” is that it relates to the deliverance of slaves or prisoners of war, who are set free from captivity by a payment offered to secure their release. Jesus’ death is therefore said to free us from our slavery and bondage to sin through payment of His own life which He voluntarily laid down for our sins.
But the point of THIS vision is not to look back at what Christ has done but to look forward to what is yet to come. The vision takes for granted that Jesus liberated us from sin and made us the people of God. With the 24 elders seated upon thrones and crowns already upon their heads, our status as “more than conquerors” in the here and now, is assumed. The point is that God’s rule on earth as it is currently experienced by and within the church is not the ultimate goal of Christ’s victory. While there are those who still stand against the church, who are persecuting believers, while sin still runs rampant upon God’s creation and all of creation does not yet praise Him, the victory that is intended is not yet complete. Jesus’ death, yes, ransomed us from our slavery to sin, but it also set the stage for the rule of God over the entire world. Because of Christ’s ransoming work, He is able to implement the ultimate purposes of God for His creation. And that includes for you and me. As those who are united to Christ through faith, we share in His victory. He has conquered and we will too.
And, so, in the new song of verses 9-10, verse 9 looks back to what Christ did but in anticipation of verse 10- “they shall reign on the earth.” We will soon find in the pages of Revelation the truth which is proclaimed in verse 12 that the Lamb that was slain will “receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” And this will be, verse 13, “forever and ever!”
So what are the points we would take from this portion of the vision?
1) Christ alone is worthy. This is #1 isn’t it? If nothing else, we should be in the state of the elders in verse 14 who fell down and worshipped. Jesus is not simply the Man sent from God who modeled service and sacrifice while teaching wisdom to help us live rightly in the here and now but He is the King who will come in answer to the prayer He himself taught us to pray: “Thy Kingdom come Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” It is regarding the Lamb that the Father said in Psalm 1 “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potters vessel.” This is our Lord and Savior! And so application #2…..
2) We should take great joy in thinking of the day in which He will do these things. These words of His victory are given for the encouragement of God’s people. I’ve heard too many Christians say that they have avoided Revelation because the thought of it scares them. This is amazing one of the main points of Revelation is to cast away fear. It is to say to God’s people “Look at the Conquering Lamb and remember whose side you are on!” Certainly, when the writer of Hebrews tells us that it was for the joy set before Him that Jesus endured the cross, the joy he is referring to includes the joy of victory over, not just sin, but over every evil thing.
In the parable of the talents in Matthew 25 Jesus describes the fate of believers that they will hear from the Father, “Well done good and faithful servant….enter into the joy of your master.” What is the joy of our Master if it is not in the expulsion and destruction of all that is evil, the restoration of a creation which is “good” and the praises of His people who are able to enjoy it in His presence?
The fact that the “joy of the Lord is our strength” finds its rock solid foundation here. This is not a temporal joy, a fleeting joy, a joy that will finally give way to defeat, but this is a conquering joy…a joy that is based in the knowledge that the scepter of the King will not leave His hands but will be used to subdue all that stands against Him and His people. The gates of hell will not prevail but the church will, because we belong to Christ. I am not a super emotional guy, but it seems to me that there should be some measure of emotional investment in this in our lives. The scene begins with John uttering a loud cry of despair over the thought that God’s plans would not come to pass and ends with a loud “Amen!” as it becomes apparent that they will. Shouldn’t our lives be marked with the same?
3) And that leads me to a third application. Again, when John first believes that there was none who could open the seals, he responded with a loud cry. Isn’t that interesting? John, who had been saved by the blood of the lamb, a redeemed sinner, one who walked with Christ, who is used to minister to God’s people, to even write out Scripture, cries out upon believing that that is all there is to the Christian life. Here is my question to you: Would you be satisfied if this were all there was? Granted, forgiveness from sins- glorious, the assurance that all things will work together for my good- wonderful, being able to leave the past behind, priceless…but is that enough? The answer of the Scriptures is “no- it is not enough, not by a long shot.” What is in store for the church and that which John longed for was full and complete victory. The culmination of Christ’s work. That which we spoke of in 1 Peter 1. Recall that Peter doesn’t simply say “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy he has caused us to be born again!”
That is where so many of us would stop though. One might ask “What is the hope to which you were called?” and they answer, “That I am born again!” That is great, but that is NOT the whole of our hope. Peter says:
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In THIS you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
Our hope is that, by being born again, we now have the assurance that we will have the joy of standing before Christ in His victorious splendor…to be in the presence of God in a way impossible for us to experience in the here and now. It is to experience what the church has referred to as the “beatific vision.” Though you may not know that phrase, “Beatific” has a familiar ring to it doesn’t it. You might think of the beatitudes.
We think of the Beatitudes as those sayings which begin “blessed are those…” In Latin, Beatitudo (beatitude) means “blessedness” The “Beati” refers to those who are blessed because they are in heaven. And so the “Beatific vision” refers to the state of absolute blessing in being face to face with God. Revelation 22:3-4 will speak of this when it speaks of our eternal state in the new heavens and new earth: “3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.”
NT Scholar Richard Baukham writes “The face expresses who a person is. To see God’s face will be to know who God is in his personal being. This will be the heart of humanity’s eternal joy in their eternal worship of God.” (pg. 142).
This is the hope to which we have been called. Christ alone is worthy. He is in control of the course of history and that truth causes all of heaven to break out in praise. And we will join them in His presence. And it is this vision that is given to John so that he might communicate it to us that we might have confidence in times of trouble and persecution that Christ reigns and we will reign with Him. Our hope is sure. Even so, come Lord Jesus.
Questions for Discussion
1. In 1 Peter Christians are described as “the dispersion” (1:1) and “sojourners and exiles” (2:11), yet so many of us have stickers on our cars with a picture of the state we live in and the simple word “home.” Do you feel like Peter’s descriptive terms describe you? How much “at home” do you feel in this world?
2. Read Romans 8:23-25. What activity does Paul tell us that we are occupied with during our time as “exiles”? Do you find this to be true? Why do you think there is so often a disconnect between how Peter identifies the church, how Paul describes the attitude of the church, and what our actual experience is?
3. In Revelation 5, the apostle John cried when no one was found who could open the scroll that was in God’s right hand. What did the scroll contain? Why did John cry?
4. The question was raised, “Would you be satisfied if this was all that there was?” Would we be distressed if we were to find out that the scroll was to remain unopened? What is your honest response to that question?
5. What are some ways we can encourage one another to become dissatisfied with the way things are and to long for what is yet to come? Come up with some specific admonitions and encouragements- but be careful with how you answer as there is value in taking joy in God’s creation and in His provision. We want to be able to both enjoy that which we have while, at the same time, holding on to it loosely as we recognize that it (whatever it is) can become an idol and lead to sins such as pride, etc., and that it pales in comparison to what is yet to come. Solomon’s words in Ecclesiastes can be very helpful here.
a. Read Ecclesiastes 2:24-25, 3:9-13, 5:18-20; 9:7-10. Sum up what Solomon is saying.
b. Now read Ecclesiastes 2:1-11 and 12:13. How would you work out what Solomon’s ultimate point is? How does it inform the way in which we should live as exiles?
So, again, what are some ways we can encourage one another to enjoy the labor and gifts the Lord has given us, while remaining unsatisfied with temporal, passing, “vain” things?
6. Remind one another that “Christ alone is worthy.” Really, do that. While God’s gifts are wonderful, if our desire for them outshines our desire for Christ, we have a spiritual issue that must be worked through. The place for this work to take place is among brothers and sisters as we encourage one another to look unto Him and to honestly pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Perhaps this would be a good time to pray the Lord’s Prayer together.
