Chapter Introduction
Persecution of Christians in the first century took many forms. Among the seven churches:
- You have to start with John, who had been exiled to Patmos, a barren rock island. Those on the island probably had to work in the mines to be fed.
- The church in Ephesus had been invaded by liars who called themselves apostles. In laboring for His Name’s sake, they forgot the person of Jesus.
- Smyrna suffered persecution and martyrdom, probably by the Jews who didn’t like that Christians were considered a Jewish sect.
- In Pergamos, they had already seen one of their own martyred. They lived in the shadow of Satan’s throne, thought to be a temple monument to Zeus.
- Thyatira had been invaded by the spirit of Jezebel, bringing in her own doctrine that included sacrificing to idols and sexual immorality.
- Sardis was a church of the spiritually dead and didn’t know it. The world had done a number on them.
Rome had no sympathy for Christians. Nero had made Christian persecution acceptable when it became a game for him to come up with creative ways to kill them. Besides the cruel and demonic torture, many had been crucified over time. Rome considered Christians a Jewish sect and lumped them all together. They hated the Jews and destroyed the temple and much of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Not too many years later, the emperor Domitian brought the power of Rome against Christians and killed many in a kind of state-sanctioned persecution. At the same time, the murderous hatred of the Jews toward Jesus' followers repeatedly surfaced. Those worshiping other gods or goddesses hated Christians. Think of Ephesus, where the mob moved to protect the worship of Dianna against Christian principles. The craft guilds had no use for Christians who wouldn’t swear allegiance to their patron deity. Life was difficult for Christians. Worship and beliefs were constantly challenged. In some places, it was difficult for Christians to find work. They were banished from their communities after being born again. Jewish Christians set out of the synagogue and found their life turned upside down. From every direction they seemed to be called to compromise, to let go of their beliefs, to worship other gods or idols. It was difficult to be a Christian in the first century.
It’s difficult to be a Christian today, and it's going to become increasingly challenging. How do you encourage Christians facing such difficult circumstances? Jesus showed John how. He wanted the believers to see the throne and that it was occupied. You can’t breed fear into the heart of a believer who has seen the throne of God. How do you rattle someone who so completely understands that their life is in the Lord’s hands? How do you instill a controlling fear in people who have nothing to fear, who understand that dying is gain? If you persecute the Christians unto death, they will arrive in paradise sooner?
A Christian who has their eyes on the throne becomes fearless! If God is calling all the shots in this life, are we not without concern?
How do you encourage Christians today? The same way as you did the first-century believers:
- Show them that God is on the throne
- Show them Jesus is their Savior
- Show them He is coming soon
Revelation 5:1
The chapter break is not part of the original text. Read through the chapter break to let the narrative flow as John intended. John made it clear that God was on the throne, describing His infinite glory to the best of his ability. Anthropomorphic language is when you ascribe human attributes to God. God is spirit, yet He is described as having hands that hold a scroll. The right hand is the hand of power, or authority and might. In that right hand was a scroll.
What is this scroll? A scroll at that time was an 8x10 piece of Papyrus. These sheets of Papyrus were sown together and rolled up into a scroll. A scroll was bound between two sticks. To read it, you begin to unroll it with one hand while reading the writing in 3" columns. As you read, you’d roll up with the other hand. When a scroll was sealed, it simply had a hand string tied around it, and the string was wax sealed. Scrolls were typically only written on one side. The back side was usually rough. The only scrolls commonly known to have writing on both sides were title deeds. On one side was the deed. Then, on the back were the debts and obligations that became associated with that deed. We might call them a lien. That deed was then sealed with seven seals.
This scroll seems to lay out the remainder of God’s story of redemption, the close of the history of fallen man. It’s not clear how John saw the writing on both sides of the scroll. This scroll was complete, full front and back, and nothing could be changed or added. Besides being held in God’s hand, it was also sealed, making it completely inaccessible to anyone.
A word on seals. Seals were a type of signature, a mold of an emblem identifying the owner. The seal revealed the authority, identity, and approval of the owner. Seals were made as rings or in a shape to be worn around the neck as jewelry. They were closely guarded. The seal would be pressed in wax or clay to authenticate and identify the document.
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By Jewish law, a kinsman redeemer could come along and rescue a property, winning back a deed that had been lost. This was done by claiming that right, assuming that role as the redeemer, and paying all that was owed on behalf of the one who owed the debt. A kinsman redeemer is a relative who, according to God's Old Testament Laws, had the privilege or responsibility to act on behalf of a relative who was in trouble, danger, or in need. You see, Boaz becomes the kinsman redeemer for Ruth.
The theory is that in Genesis, God gave man authority over creation, to rule over and subdue as God’s representative. In a sense, Adan was given the title deed of the earth in the Garden of Eden. Adam, representing all mankind (because all mankind would come from him), rejected God's way, making a conscious decision to part from God's plan and follow another. At that point, a debt was owed. Mankind was indebted to the creator. In sinning and seeking a plan other than God's, Adam gave possession and control of the deed to Satan, who still has it today. Paul called Satan the God of this world in 2 Corinthians. Jesus called Satan the Prince of this world in John 12:31.
However, Satan could not fulfill the obligations of this world. He could not rule it perfectly any better than man. God is the rightful owner. He is sovereign and establishes what is holy, right, or sinful. The Lord established that every debt must be paid. This is consistent with God’s nature to be just and perfect. Satan can't pay. He is not qualified to be the kinsman redeemer. He has no connection or claim to mankind, no relationship. Jesus came as a man. As a man, He is our kinsman and qualified to be our redeemer. The penalty for sin is death. Jesus paid the debt on the cross. But Jesus didn't immediately claim what He had purchased. The redemption was completed and those purchased were sealed by the Holy Spirit. Jesus would take possession at a later date. The Holy Spirit was the down payment of that future, complete redemption.
For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:21-22)
This is theory only. We can’t know exactly what the scroll contains. Since we know the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it. And, that He’s always remained sovereign on the throne, the title deed theory doesn’t appear to weigh out right.
We know that the scroll contains the means and way of the final redemption. It is the final chapter of God’s story of man’s redemption. It’s as if God is calling in all the debts. Satan's reign was ending. Jesus will receive the inheritance from the Father and rule the nations.
The Father has ordained an ending and recorded it. It was shown to be sealed in Daniel. There will be a day when the seals will be broken. Then, the plan, only God can bring about will come to pass.
Read Ezekiel 2:9-10:
Now when I looked, there was a hand stretched out to me; and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. Then He spread it before me; and there was writing on the inside and on the outside, and written on it were lamentations and mourning and woe.
God was sending Ezekiel to the rebellious nation of Israel. God said they were impudent and stubborn. But, nevertheless, Ezekiel was to eat the word. That word was full of lamentation, mourning, and woe. These are the words of a loving Father sending His Word among a rebellious people. He did so with a scroll with writing on both sides. The writing on both sides may show that it is complete, thorough and cannot be added to. Consider this in light of the Revelation scroll. Is it pointing back to the Ezekiel passage, expecting the Bible would be used to understand the bible? If so, this scroll is God's plan, complete and sealed up until the end of days.
When Jesus begins to break the seals, it becomes very clear. This document in God's right hand is the culmination of all history. It happens at God's will, in perfect timing and way. It is sealed seven times. We see these sevens all the way through the book of Revelation. It's the number of perfection and completeness. The culmination of all history is sealed up, waiting for the time determined by the Father, as His plan is played out across time. The seventieth week has been on hold for some time.
Revelation 5:2-3
Is there such a thing as weak angels? In 2 Kings 19:35, we see one angel kill 185,000 Assyrians in one night. It doesn't say he broke a sweat doing it, either. He was not called a strong angel. It’s so thought-provoking that John wanted us to know this was a strong angel, speaking with a loud voice as he asked the question of the ages. Who is worthy? The call went out over the heavens and earth and across time. How worthy must one be to open the scroll? Opening a scroll wouldn’t be hard. Being worthy includes:
- Being of exalted rank. Having the attributes that authorize, enable, and empower Him
- Taking the scroll from the hand of the Father.
- Must have paid the associated debt.
- Must be able to enforce it and claim what is rightfully His.
We can look across history and see many men who wanted to have all power over the earth. There are many who thought they were worthy but failed. Man has proven over and over again that we are utterly incapable of ruling ourselves. Even a man who desires to rule in a godly fashion will fall completely short. Who is worthy? Who can bring about God's plan? Who can work the culmination of all history?
None was found. No one was worthy of breaking the seals, reading God’s plan, or even looking at it.
Revelation 5:4-5
This weeping isn't a soft sob of sadness. It is crying out, lamenting, and weeping in sorrow and grief. John thought this vision had ended, and he wouldn't find out what those seven seals concealed. If no one was worthy, the story was over. Mankind was without hope. This seems odd because John’s life was changed by Jesus, and He was committed to sharing the good news with everyone. But even John didn’t understand all the implications of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection.
If we have hope only in Christ in this life, we are the most pitiable of all men.
(1 Cor 15:19)
John felt the hopelessness of mankind without a savior. While in this life, many people believe many things, before the throne of God, there is but one way.
- Satan Tempted Jesus, offering Him the nations. It appears they were his to give, at least for a time. However, he still remained powerless to open the scroll.
- The many ways of Oprah, with all sincerity, still carry no weight in heaven.
- Smiling Joel Osteen couldn’t pull it off.
- The Pope didn’t step forward as the vicar of Christ to open the scroll.
- There were no angelic powers.
- No men. No leaders, no tyrants, tech giants, billionaires, or any man who dreamed of ruling the world.
- Allah did not show up. Zeus did not show up. No god or goddesses of any kind.
- AI was too “A,” not enough “I,” and lacked a link to humanity.
Note: Elijah told the prophets of Baal to yell louder. Maybe their god was meditating, busy, or on a journey. The word ‘busy’ was a polite substitute for going to the bathroom. Elijah told them to yell louder because he might have been going to the bathroom and couldn’t hear them.
If there was no one to take the scroll, open it, and bring it about, then the rest of the book of Revelation would not come about. If Jesus couldn’t take the scroll, we would be without hope.
- There would be no object of worship.
- We would be unredeemable.
- There would be no one to avenge those martyred.
- The prayers of saints would not be answered.
- God’s plan would not come to pass
- Thy Kingdom would not come.
- The wicked would not be judged.
- Jesus would not come back.
- God would not reign forever & ever, in glory, in the new heavens and earth.
John’s weeping marked the hopeless state of man apart from the work of the cross. The plight of man is well understood now. The problem was identified and fully grasped. The elders silenced John’s weeping, announcing that the Lion of the tribe of Judah had prevailed to open the scroll. The good news is so much sweeter when the bad news is completely understood. He alone is worthy. Jesus didn't step forward right away. He doesn't force himself on any man. He yielded to all of creation but none of creation could respond. There is no answer to the strong angel’s challenge because the creation is completely and utterly incapable of deciding or affecting its own destiny. Someone else, someone over and above the created must determine the course of history. To be the kinsman redeemer, one would have to be both God and man to unfold this plan.
The tribe of Judah was the royal tribe that would bring for the leaders of Israel. Jacob prophesied of Judah in Genesis 49, saying Judah was a lion’s whelp. It is Isaiah’s prophecy (11:1) that the Messiah would come from the root of David.
Revelation 5:6
Right in the midst of the throne, among the four living creatures, among the twenty-four elders and their twenty-four thrones, stood a lamb. The elder had told John that the Lion of the Tribe of Judah was worthy but when John looked, he saw the Lamb as though it were slain. The word is specific to “little lamb.” Jesus appeared bearing the wounds of His previous sacrifice. It's been said these wounds are the only manmade things in heaven. He bears the wounds but He's alive.
David Guzick made the point in His commentary:
When men want symbols of power they conjure up ferocious beasts and birds of prey such as those that represent nations and sports teams. But the representative of the kingdom of heaven is a Lamb, representing humility, gentleness, and sacrificial love.
The language used regarding Jesus here is very present. It's not the lamb that was slain a long time ago as if it is old news barely worth remembering. It is current. Present. The sacrifice is just as valuable now as it was. There is no expiration. The work on the cross is just as valuable today as the day it happened.
This lamb that was sacrificed isn't a weak object of pity. He stands alone as an offer to any person who might repent and trust in Him. He's available to any person who recognizes themselves as a sinner in need of a savior. The call went out to the world. Jesus alone is worthy and able to reach up and take that scroll from God, the Father.
John sees this lamb as having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Once again, we are left to wonder how much is symbolic and what John is really seeing. Remember, John is seeing a vision of what will happen, so what John actually sees and records may still be symbolic. We know Jesus is a man. He was bodily resurrected. We know that John knew Jesus and walked with Him. For Jesus to appear as a slain lamb with seven horns and seven eyes, I think we are safe to explore these things as symbols.
This word used for “horn” in verse 6 is only used one other time outside of Revelation. It's in the book of Luke in Zechariah's song. Zechariah is filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesying Zechariah said of God.
“Blessed is the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited and redeemed His people,
69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of His servant David. (Luke 1:68-69)
There's a consistent pattern through the bible of a horn being the symbol or mark of power. This is a visual representation of the omnipotence of Jesus. This little lamb with seven horns is the Lamb of God, shown perfect in power and majesty. The seven eyes are the eyes of God, revealing His omniscience, He sees all, everywhere, all the time. Nothing escapes His sight. It’s possible this is a link point to the allusion to seven eyes in Zechariah.
8 ‘Hear, O Joshua, the high priest,
You and your companions who sit before you,
For they are a wondrous sign;
For behold, I am bringing forth My Servant the BRANCH.
9 For behold, the stone
That I have laid before Joshua:
Upon the stone are seven eyes.
Behold, I will engrave its inscription,’
Says the Lord of hosts,
‘And I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. (Zechariah 3:8-9)
“The hands of Zerubbabel
Have laid the foundation of this temple;
His hands shall also finish it.
Then you will know
That the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you.
10 For who has despised the day of small things?
For these seven rejoice to see
The plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.
They are the eyes of the Lord,
Which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth.” (Zechariah 4:9-10)
Nothing slips by God's notice. The seven eyes of the Lord see everything.
Revelation 5:7-8
What a moment. This is profound, the event of all time. The Lamb reached out and took the scroll from the right hand of the Father and all of heaven broke out in worship of Him. The living creatures, angels, and elders are all moved to joyous worship. They fall down before Him.
John adds a fascinating detail to the sight of these elders. They each have a harp and golden bowls of incense. The incense are the prayers of the saints.
Let my prayer be set before You as incense,
The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. (Psalm 141:2)
This may be every prayer uttered, "Thy kingdom come," all being answered at the same time. Priests offered insence before the Holy of Holies. These elders represent a kingdom of priests, God’s people offering their prayers before the throne.
Revelation 5:9-10
Inspired, spontaneous psalms created and sang by the temple worship leaders were called new songs. They came forth by the Holy Spirit from worship in spirit and truth. They released in song, the joy and adoration of their heart.
This was a song that could only be sung to the One that could step forward and take the scroll. The song speaks of God's plan for redemption. The song was sung by the elders who praised God for having redeemed them by the blood of Jesus. The elders represent every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. God’s people have been made kings and priests of God. He will gather us into a kingdom. He appoints us to reign with Him on earth when His kingdom comes.
He is our kinsman redeemer cancelling out debt and acting on our behalf.
Imagine what this sounded like to the seven churches. Their simple earthly worship, when done in spirit and in truth, was done in alignment and continuity with heavenly worship. Our worship is no less directed to the throne than that offered in its presence.
Revelation 5:11-12
The churches of that day met in homes, small groups of believers huddled together, sometimes secrety, to worship the Lord. Their worship may not have been loud in those settings, but their praise reached to the trhone of God. As part of a great multitude, their worship was not in any way insignificant. The collective voices of praise across the ages still don’t capture how worthy our God is of all our praise.
At the new song of the elders, the angels and living creatures join the elders in refrain. It’s the countless multitude, joined together in one loud voice. Daniel envisioned this same thing.
A thousand thousands ministered to Him;
Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. (Daniel 7:10)
This power and wisdom and strength and glory and blessing were all ascribed to the Lord God Almighty on the throne in chapter four. Now the song of the redeemed sings the same to the Lamb. There is no doubt that Jesus, the Lamb, is God. He is God the Son standing before the throne of God the Father in the presence of God the Holy Spirit.
Revelation 5:13-14
At the beginning of this chapter, the strong angel had put a call out to all of heaven, all of earth and under the earth. There was no response. No one was worthy. It was silent. Then, when The Lamb took the scroll, the creatures that inhabit all of heaven begin to worship. The worship echoes across all of creation, all of earth, under the earth and even in the sea. All of creation is heard worshipping the Father and the Son.
Then the four Cherubim said, “Amen!” in agreement and acknowledgement. The elders are again show falling down in of Him who lives forever.
The meaning of this Greek word for falling down is "to prostrate” or “to lay before another in complete submission.” These elders went face down before God the Father and God the Son.
David began to assemble materials for Solomon to build the temple. He called to all the people who responded by offering willingly. The people rejoiced because they offered willingly, with a loyal heart. King David then blessed the Lord and all the assembly, singing, in part:
Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever.
Yours, O Lord, is the greatness,
The power and the glory,
The victory and the majesty;
For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours;
Yours is the kingdom, O Lord,
And You are exalted as head over all. (1 Chronicles 29:10b-11)
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Because Jesus is there to take the scroll, our hope is intact. The promises God made in His word will come to pass. We have a sure hope found in Him. There is no cause for weeping, the night will pass, joy comes in the morning.
Those suffering in this life, those who have fear pressing in on them can draw comfort. Those who feel weak in their faith all can be encouraged by the vision John shared. Jesus in in control of our present and future. We can know there is a day coming when the Father releases that scroll to our redeemer. Jesus is in control, He’s coming again. The Lamb sacrificed for us will come as a Lion of the tribe of Judah.
How do you threaten and coerce someone who has seen the throne of God? How do you rattle someone who so completely understands that their life is in the Lord’s hands? How do you instill a controlling fear in people who have nothing to fear, who understand to die is gain? If you persecute them unto death, they will arrive in paradise sooner?
God’s people, who worship before His throne become fearless! If God is calling all the shots in this life, are we not without concern?
©2021 Doug Ford; revised and updated 2024
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