Revelation 5:1-3: And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?" And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it.
The usual books of the ancient people were not like ours today. They were long pieces of parchment or paper rolled upon a stick, as we frequently roll cloth in a shop. In the days of the Romans it was sometimes the custom that a man's will before he died had to be prepared in such a manner, and was closed on the outside with the seals of witnesses.
We are not told the name of this book which John saw. But it contained the revelation of unknown mysteries which John hungered to understand. Could it contain not only the secrets of things to come, but also the destiny of the human race and of the universe itself?
The owner of a piece of land possesses a document known as a title-deed which is his guarantee of the possession of that land forever. When our first parents sinned in the garden of Eden, they transferred their title-deed to Satan. But it was not his by right. By right, it belongs in the hands of the Father Himself, who is seated on the throne.
This mysterious "scroll" contains the destiny of everyone on the earth. For example, the decision of the Jewish leaders to crucify the Son of God "was registered in the book which John saw in the hand of Him that sat upon the throne, the book which no man could open. In all its vindictiveness this decision will appear before them in the day when this book is unsealed by the lion of the tribe of Judah."
Revelation 5:4, 5: So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it. But one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals."
Unless this scroll can be opened, no one will be able to wrest from Satan what Adam and we have lost. The reason John wept much is because he saw that no one appeared on the scene who was strong enough or righteous enough to win back what mankind had lost. Only a good man like John can feel to the depths of his soul an anguish of concern for others besides himself or his loved ones, for the salvation of this lost world. Someone has said, "The Revelation was not written without tears, neither without tears will it be understood." Only a sinner needs to be saved and only a redeemed sinner can weep because the world seems doomed to be lost. John was a sinner redeemed by the grace of God. God gave him the ability to shed those tears! There is no need for us to be afraid of tears. Even "Jesus wept."
Thank God, John is not permitted to weep for long! Someone has been found who can redeem the inheritance, someone who can bring the estranged children back to their possession to recover all that has been lost. And who is this? One who is called a "lion. "Perhaps John expects now to see some mighty conqueror of awe-inspiring might. Imagine his astonishment when he looks again:
Revelation 5:6, 7: And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.
While John looks here and there to find the majestic lion, he is amazed to see instead a torn and bleeding Lamb. Is this the Mighty Conqueror who can do what "no one in heaven, or on the earth or under the earth" was able to do?
How can the Lamb also be a Lion? Because He surrendered Himself to the death of the cross. Cruelty, ambition, force, self-seeking, political or military advantage, can never win everlasting power. Through love, the Lamb has conquered. The way of self-sacrifice became the way of victory.
Where is the honest person who can bring himself to despise or ignore such a sacrifice? Love is found to be the strongest force in the universe. Love conquers even the stubborn heart. Everyone in heaven and earth will some day bow before the Lamb who became the Lion. 'The love of Christ constrains us" (2 Corinthians 5:14).
Sometimes our hearts are lifted with joy and praise so that we cannot restrain from expressing our feelings. The twenty-four elders, the living creatures, and all the angels, burst forth with an unrestrained and glorious song more majestic than any music yet heard on earth:
Revelation 5:8-12: Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying:
"You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; For You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth."
Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice:
"Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!"
The world has sometimes heard lovely music, but none so glorious as that song of praise to the Lamb who had been slain. His love went to the farthest boundary of hell itself to search for human souls that were lost. That love has conquered. The lost has been found.
Not one of the countless multitude who sings this chorus sings from fear; every heart is bursting with wonder and praise, genuine adoration for Him who emptied Himself in a sacrifice so complete that it has unveiled to the gaze of all created intelligences for all eternity the depths of the infinite love of God. We can sense in our hearts that beginning pulse of eternal life if we long to join in that song.
That which inspires this glorious song, we can even today begin to study—the cross of Christ. In Christ glorified, the redeemed will ever behold Christ crucified.
The "seven horns and seven eyes" are symbols of the power and wisdom of Christ. Seven is a number denoting completeness or perfection.
Revelation 5:13, 14: And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying:
"Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, for ever and ever!"
And the four living creatures said, "Amen!" And the twenty-four elders fell down and worship Him who lives for ever and ever.
At last there will be no trace of rebellion or enmity left in God's great universe. Every creature will join in this worship of the Father and of the Lamb. Since Satan and those who serve him will never agree to join in such a song of praise to Christ, it is clear that these verses look forward to the time when sin and those who have stubbornly clung to it will have come to their end in the lake of fire (see Revelation 20:12-15).
Is God worthy of such endless devotion? If all we knew of Him were the evidences of His greatness that we see in His creation, we would gladly say yes. But far beyond His majesty and power evident in the things He has made stands that cross with its amazing disclosure of His self-sacrificing character.
The Book of Revelation surpasses all other earthly books in that it recognizes this ultimate reality—this that no earthly science or philosophy can approach.