Revelation 5: The scroll and the Lamb

Revelation 5:1-7 The seven sealed scroll

“1 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.” Revelation 5:1-7.

Let’s look at the scroll or book. The scroll was sealed with seven seals and there were writings on it within and at the back of the scroll. We read of a similar scroll in Ezekiel and I would like us to compare them so that we can bring out a very important lesson:

The scroll that John saw in Revelation 5 and the scroll given to Ezekiel are not the same but similar because there was writing on the back and front of both. It then follows that immediately John saw the same type of scroll, his mind should have gone to the scroll of Ezekiel 2:9-10. At this time the scroll was sealed and John didn’t know what was written in it. Now we know that opening the seals of John’s scroll showed words of lamentation, mourning and woes! Now if when John saw the sealed scroll in 5:1, he remembered Ezekiel 2, he could and may have realised that the scroll is all about words of lamentation, mourning and woe because that is the extra information Ezekiel supplied to us! The lesson I want to bring out here is that by comparing one passage of scripture with a similar passage of scripture and a pattern with similar patterns, we can find some information that is not revealed elsewhere.

This sealed scroll of John seems to me highly likely to be same as that of Daniel’s apocalypse. Daniel’s Revelation came to an abrupt end and it appears that the Revelation shown to John is the concluding part of Daniel’s. In Daniel 12, we read: “4 But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” And “9 He said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end.”

Daniel wanted to know the detail of the events that will occur from the era of the 4^th Beast till the return of Christ and resurrection of the saints. See Daniel 7:19; 12:4,9. Unfortunately the angel asked him to shut and seal the scroll until the time of the end. The scroll was not to be sealed up forever. Indeed, the book of Revelation is the conclusion of the book of Daniel. It is almost impossible for one to interpret the book of Revelation without a thorough knowledge of the Book of Daniel. The book of Revelation picks up on Daniel’s 4^th beast with ten horns Daniel 7:19,20 cf. Revelation 12:3; 13:1; 17:12, which we know to be a symbol of the Roman empire (Daniel 7:23). But Revelation goes ahead to expand this 4^th Beast of Daniel in all the phases it will exist until Christ comes to destroy it or as Daniel puts it:

“23 “Thus he said: ‘As for the fourth beast, there shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all the kingdoms, and it shall devour the whole earth, and trample it down, and break it to pieces. 24 As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings shall arise, and another shall arise after them; he shall be different from the former ones, and shall put down three kings. 25 He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time. 26 But the court shall sit in judgment, and his dominion shall be taken away, to be consumed and destroyed to the end. 27 And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.’” Daniel 7.

At the time of John’s vision and writing, the first three empires of Daniel which were the Babylonians, the Medo-Persians and the Grecian empire were long gone. The fourth empire which was the Roman Empire was very much active and indeed was fiercely persecuting the saints. Writing about this 4^th ten horned beast and how it will persecute the saints or the Christians, John said: “21 As I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them, 22 until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom.” Daniel 7:21-22.

What this means is that unlike the other empires that were short lived, the dragon-like beast of Rome, will appear on the earth and continue to exist in many forms until Christ comes to destroy it and establish God’s kingdom on earth. The scroll in Revelation is about God’s judgement on this 4^th kingdom and how this Roman beast will continue to metamorphose and adapt throughout the ages till Christ comes. It will even at a certain time appear to be like a lamb or wholly Christian but when it speaks, it will speak as the dragon! Revelation 13:11.

The Lamb and the Lion of Judah

Remember that this book reveals the real Jesus to us. Jesus Christ our Lord, the only one who has conquered and could open the seals of the scroll, is the one depicted as the lamb and as the Lion of the tribe of Judah in Revelation 5:5,6. As a lamb, Christ represents the Passover lamb that shielded those that believed from death Exodus 12:3-13; 1Peter 1:19; or as John the Baptist puts it: “The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29 cf. Isaiah 53:7.

By the Lamb, we are reminded of the sacrifice of Christ to set us free. From this we learn that Jesus earned by salvation by being without sin which gave the grave no power to hold him. This teaches us about grace too since there is none of us without sin, we must look up to the redemptive work of Christ for salvation, for Christ’s righteousness to be imputed on us by faith in him, Revelation 5:5,9,10.

The lion reminds us that Christ roars like a mighty king. This is a reference to Jacob’s prophecy of Christ to Judah: “9 Judah is a lion’s cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him? 10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.” Genesis 49:9,10.

Are the 24 Elders the representatives of the glorified saints in the kingdom age?

In chapter 4, we almost concluded that the 24 Elders here are a depiction of the angels in the heavenly palace and in the kingdom age to come. The alternative solution is that the 24 Elders are the manifestation of the saints now glorified to John, in the heavenly place of the coming kingdom of God. This interpretation seems to hang solely on a popular reading of Revelation 5:8-10:

“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. 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; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.” Revelation 5:8-10 KJV.

In this reading of the cited text, both the Four Living creatures and the Twenty-Four Elders worshipped Jesus because he redeemed them by his blood out of every race and nation on earth, and made them kings and priests to reign in God’s kingdom. Angels and immortal beings in heaven are not redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ because they have no sin nor need for redemption. Hebrew 2:16. It clearly follows that if this reading of the text is correct, then the 24 Elders and even the 4 living creatures are only a depiction and manifestation of the glorified saints to John.

But the problem with this interpretation is that almost every other modern translation of the Bible does not agree with the KJV that the most genuine text says that ‘Christ redeemed us (that is the 4 living creatures and 24 Elders) …” Rather they translate it to say that Christ redeemed people to God…! Here is ESV and NIV on the passage and note the switch to third person pronoun:

“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.” ESV.

“8 And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. 9 And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. 10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” NIV.

It follows that the best authorities favour the third person pronoun rendition hence we see it in almost all the modern translations of the text. I support this translation since the four cherubic living creatures cannot be said to have been redeemed from men by Christ’s blood.

If the 24 elders represent the highest-ranking angels whether literally or symbolically 24 in numbers, then the rest of the verses become even easier to explain because after the Cherubim and 24 Elders raised and led in the song, the rest of the angels, innumerable and also around the throne, then joined the chorus! “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 5:11-14.

This rejoicing of the angels at seeing the crucified and glorified Lord, Jesus Christ, is also demonstrated in the enthusiasm they have always shown to Christ, described by Peter: “Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.” 1 Peter 1:12.

In a bid to harmonise these views, I strongly believe that the 24 elders are the representatives of the highest-ranking angels who sit next to God’s throne of the type we saw in the 24 representatives of the priesthood and perhaps in the 23 members of the Sanhedrin plus the High priest. Also when the kingdom of God is established and Christ sits as Emmanuel on his throne in Jerusalem, we expect to see the highest ranking of the glorified saints seated very close to him and around him, and symbolised as 24, which is befitting as it can refer to the 12 Israeli patriarchs ( or the selected 12 in the Mosaic dispensation) plus the 12 apostles or also the representatives of Jews and Gentiles of the inner circle of Christ’s government just as we saw Peter, James and John’s relationship to Christ in his mortal days. We already know that the final 12 apostles will have a special place in Christ’s government to come: “Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” Mathew 19:28. The reader can draw his own conclusions but we will get to know the truth when by God’s grace we sit with Christ in his kingdom, amen.