Revelation-Part 14

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THE HEAVENLY THRONE-ROOM, PART 2

With echoes of God’s sovereignty and holiness from Revelation 4 still ringing in our ears, we cross the threshold into Revelation 5. Through the eyes of John the prophet we see an object resting on the right hand of the heavenly Father as He sits on His throne (5:1). It is a lengthy piece of papyrus or processed animal skins—which were materials used for writing in that day—that is rolled into a cylindrical scroll. Visible on and/or within that scroll are seven seals such as were used to keep the scroll from unrolling. The scroll was quite full of writing, so much so that it had writing on its outside as well as on its inside. Writing on the outside of a scroll was uncommon in those times.

Next came a loud question from a strong angel, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” (5:2). Initially the answer to the question was, “No one in the universe is worthy” (5:3). The writer John was so grieved to hear that answer that he started crying (5:4). He probably realized the importance of the scroll’s contents in implementing the purposes of God for the future. He did not want a postponement or even possibly a can­cellation of God’s vindication of His people who hoped for Christ’s return. Then one of the elders from the earlier Throne-Room scene (4:4) told him to stop crying. The elder then volunteered the good news that someone had prevailed and was therefore worthy to open the scroll and its seals (5:5).

The Contents of the Secret Scroll

What did that secret scroll contain? Several theories have emerged to explain the scroll’s contents, but none is more satisfactory than the one that sees the contents as the counsels of God progressively revealed in the visions that begin at Revelation 6 when the seals are broken, one by one. These counsels foresee the judgments that will fall upon the earth during a relatively brief period in the future, judgments that will lead to the coming of Israel’s promised Messiah and His kingdom to this earth. As one has put it, the scroll contains a “history” of the future, giving the successive steps leading to the inauguration of the world-kingdom of Jesus Christ. Because of the severity of the anticipated judgments, one has called the scroll a “book of doom.” In this seven-sealed scroll the almighty and holy God of Revelation 4 discloses the decrees of His will regarding how He will bring His eternal kingdom into existence.

The Lion

The gravity of the scroll’s contents explains why John was saddened upon hearing that no one was worthy to open it, but his sadness disappeared when he heard about “the lion who is from the tribe of Judah, the root of David” (5:5). These titles refer to the Messiah of Israel. The lion from the tribe of Judah is a designation taken from Genesis 49:9. There Jacob describes his son Judah with the words, “He couches, he lies down as a lion, and as a lion, who dares rouse him up?” That was his prediction of the coming of one of Judah’s descendants with kingly might and boldness. The figurative language aptly portrays the strength, majesty, courage, menace, and excellence of the promised deliverer of Israel.

“The root of David” derives from Isaiah 11:1, 10. “Root” is a metaphorical term for“offspring,” a term John finds use for again in Revelation 22:16. This is another Messianic title applied to Jesus, and it anticipates His ultimate headship over the final kingdom prom­ised to David in 2 Samuel 7:12-16. As a human being, Jesus was a descendant of David. By virtue of His membership in David’s family, the elder accurately identifies Him as the greatest of the tribe of Judah and a branch from the root of David.

Verse 5 indicates that He has won the victory that allows Him to open the scroll and its seals. That victory enables Him not only to open the scroll but also to implement God’s purposes during the final stages of human history. He will be the mighty triumphant King who will put in place the kingdom promised to Israel in the Old Testament. Yet it is not His overwhelming power as the future world leader that grants Him the prerogative to open the scroll. That worthiness stems from His role as the slain Lamb of God (Rev. 5:9). This Lamb is part of the next scene that meets John’s eye as he continues his visit in the heav­enly Throne Room.

The Lamb

John saw the Lamb standing in the center of all the angelic creatures who surrounded the Father’s throne (5:6). He was standing as one slain, thus calling to mind the rich back­ground of the sacrificial work of Christ. Under the Levitical sacrificial system, the high priest offered an unblemished lamb to atone for the sins of the people. Isaiah picked up that picture when he prophesied about the Messiah as the suffering servant of Israel: “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth” (Isa. 53:7). The Messiah came to be “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). That is why He is worthy to take the scroll and open its seals (Rev. 5:9). His past work in offering Himself speaks of supreme self-sacrifice, a great contrast to His future work of supreme power in subduing a rebellious world by force. That is the paradox represented in a Person who possesses the meekness and gentleness of a lamb along with the majesty of a lion.

Two further features of the Lamb appear in 5:6. Those are His seven horns and seven eyes. Often in the Old Testament an animal’s horn is a symbol of strength and kingly dignity (for example, Num. 23:22; Deut. 33:17). He has all power even though He is also meek and gentle. The “horn” picture thus returns to the power side of the paradox, that is, a gentle Lamb with kingly power. The seven eyes represent His omniscience, that is, His knowledge of all. The Lamb is both omnipotent and omniscient. A further definition of His eyes in 5:6 tells how He has access to all knowledge. He does so through “the seven spirits of God sent into all the earth.” “The seven spirits of God” are the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Son just as He does from the Father (John 15:26). Through Him Jesus keeps in touch with the affairs of the whole world.

We want to continue our visit in the heavenly Throne Room next month by examining the remainder of John’s prophetic experiences in Revelation 5. In reflecting upon what we have learned from him in 5:1-6, someone may ask how these features of the Throne Room relate to the church. In that heavenly scene we have seen how God has intervened and will intervene in history to redeem His earthly people Israel through the death of the Lamb and the future coming of the son of David. Is the body of Christ involved in God’s dealings with Israel? Not directly. But Jesus extended the redemptive benefits of the Lamb’s sacrifi­cial work to that body (Matt. 26:27-28) when Israel rejected Him at His first coming. Fur­thermore, His coming to establish David’s kingdom in the future will entail His prior coming to remove the church from the scene of God’s future wrath on earth. Those who have by personal choice—that is, faith in the Lamb of God—appropriated the benefits of that sacrifi­cial death can therefore join with national Israel in joyfully anticipating that future day of deliverance.

Note: For more details about the throne-room, the scroll, and the Lion-Lamb, see my discussion in Revelation 1–7 (Moody Press, 1992), pages 373-411. To order this volume, you may contact Grace Books International at (800) GRACE15 or www.gbibooks.com>.

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