Revelation 5:1-5
1 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.
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.
As we enter this fifth chapter of the Revelation our attention is going to be taken up with a startling new unveiling of the Glorified Lord. It will be important that we remember that the Lamb in this passage is the same Glorified Lord that was so strikingly revealed in the first chapter. The difference in this fifth chapter is that He is being put before us in a remarkable duality of roles, as we shall see. But first we must once again set the scene, so to speak.
As John continued to gaze upon ‘him that sat on the throne,’ he noticed in His right hand ‘a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.’ This ‘book’ would be in the form of a lengthy continuous scroll. It was ‘rolled up’ in normal scroll manner, with seven noticeable seals.[1] As we shall see in the following chapter, each of these seals, when broken, opens up only a portion of what was written in the scroll.
But John’s remaining description holds often-overlooked significance. In verse 2 John tells us that a strong angel put forward a powerful question:
Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?
Whatever this ‘book’ contains, it is evident that it is of supreme consequence. First of all, we must remember that it is in the hand of ‘him that sat on the throne.’ We are literally seeing an unveiling of matters issuing from the very throne of God. This fact alone suggests that we ought to approach all of this with solemnity. But when a strong angel of God issues a sort of challenge all across the heaven of heavens, demanding any worthy individual to step forward to receive the scroll from God, we realize even more forcefully that what we are being granted is of the very deepest import.[2]
We are further told that no man, wherever he may be, ‘was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.’ John, himself, was apparently overcome with emotion that this was the case. But his weeping was cut short by one of the elders. This elder told John that ‘the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.’ He includes two prophecies, one from Genesis [the Lion of Judah], and one from Isaiah [the Root of David].[3]
These prophetic references point to the Messiah, so the elder is identifying that the Messiah has prevailed to open the book. But we have yet to connect this One with any specific Person. Taking all that we have seen up to this point in the Revelation, we are expecting to be plainly shone that the Messiah being identified is Jesus of Nazareth. Having this undeniable statement about Messiah by this elder, John is now ‘ready’ to see Him. What will John see when he looks toward the throne he has already been gazing upon? Will it be the man, Jesus of Nazareth? We must continue reading our chapter to find out.