1And 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.
The book that John saw was a scroll. There was writing on both sides of the scroll, probably indicating that it was full; nothing was lacking. The scroll was sealed with seven seals. In Rome, wills were sealed with seven sealsa. In the parable of Matthew 21:33-39 Jesus referred to Himself as the heir of the Owner of the vineyard. Hebrews 1:2 says that God has appointed the Son to be heir of all things. Jesus also said that His Father had appointed to Him a kingdom (Luke 22:29-30). In Psalm 2:8, the Father says to the Son, Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
2And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? 3And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.
The angel who asked the question is strong but cannot open the scroll. The issue is not strength; the issue is worthiness. No one was able to open the scroll because no one was worthy.
4And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. 5And 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.
The elder identifies the Lord Jesus as “the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David.” Judah was a son of Jacob, who was a grandson of Abraham. Before Jacob died, he gave a word of prophecy to each of his twelve sons. Concerning his son Judah, Jacob said, Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be (Genesis 49:9-10). This prophecy of Jacob likened his son Judah to a lion and spoke of a future king to come from Judah’s line. Generations later, David, who belonged to the tribe of Judah, became Israel’s king. But David was not the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Many years after David, the prophet Isaiah, when speaking of the future kingdom of the Messiah, said, And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious (Isaiah 11:10). Isaiah said that the awaited Messiah King would be “a root of Jesse.” Jesse was the father of David. So what does it all mean? Jesus is the awaited Lion King from the tribe of Judah. Joseph, Mary’s husband to be, was of the tribe of Judah and the line of David. Jesus was born of Mary, who also belonged to the tribe of Judah and the descendants of David. But because He is the eternal Son of God, Jesus is also before David and before David’s father Jesse. Jesus said in Revelation 22:16, “I am the root and the offspring of David.” The Lord Jesus is both before David and after David. In His humanity, Jesus is the offspring of David. In His Deity, Jesus eternally preceded David and is the source of the authority for David’s throne.
As Jesus anticipated His death, He said, Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out (John 12:31). A short time later, Jesus said to His disciples, In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world (John 16:33). The word “prevailed” that the elder used when he spoke to John concerning the Lion of the tribe of Judah is the word “overcome” that Jesus used with His disciples.
Wherever there is sin, there is death (Romans 6:23). Where there is spiritual death, sin rules (Romans 5:21, Greek: “sin reigned in death”). The personal force behind sin is Satan. When Adam sinned, death spread to all his descendants, and Satan began to reign as a usurper on planet earth. Jesus overcame Satan’s world system when He paid the penalty for the sins of Adam and Adam’s descendants. The usurper Satan will be cast out. Jesus is worthy to open the book and to loose its seals. He is worthy to be given the nations of planet earth as His inheritance.
6And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
John would have expected to see a Lion, but instead he saw a Lamb. The Lion of the tribe of Judah is the One whom John the Baptist called the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29). When John the apostle saw the Lamb in Revelation 5, He had the appearance of a lamb that had been slaughtered, yet He was standing in their midst. In the prophetic word of Psalm 110:1, the Father said to the Messiah, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. After Jesus’ death and resurrection, He sat down at God’s right hand (Hebrews 10:12-13). But in John’s vision, Jesus was not sitting; He was standing, ready to receive the kingdom that He has waited for. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes. As God made the heavens and the earth in six days and rested on the seventh, the number seven in the Scriptures is used to show completeness. The Lamb has complete strength (seven horns; see I Samuel 2:10) and complete knowledge (seven eyes). In His Spirit, Christ can be present everywhere at once. (Concerning “the seven Spirits of God,” see comments at Revelation 1:4-5.) The complete strength and complete knowledge of the Lamb show His Deity. Jesus is called “the Lamb” 28 times in the book of Revelation but is called “the Lion” only once. The book of Revelation is about the exaltation of the “the Lamb.” It is about the exaltation of the Son of God who was born on earth as the Son of Man.
7 And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.
John saw the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, receive the scroll, the document of His inheritance, out of the right hand of His Father. That moment is what all of human history waits for.
8And 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.
The phrase “having every one of them harps, and golden vials” probably refers to the elders and not to the four living creatures; the grammatical gender of the Greek participle “having” agrees with that of the word “elders” and is different from that of the word “beasts” (“living creatures”). The elders have golden vials or bowls that are full of incense. The “odours” or “incenses” symbolize the prayers of the saints. This is not a new symbol. David said, Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice (Psalm 141:2). The symbol stems from the incense that was offered by the priest each morning and evening at the golden altar in the tabernacle in Israel.
Why are the harps and golden vials being mentioned at this point, just as the 24 elders fall down in worship before the Lamb, who has just received the scroll out of the hand of the One seated on the throne? The harps will likely be used in the song of worship that the elders will sing in verse 9. But why the bowls of prayers at that moment? Are these the prayers of God’s people for a better job, a new car, or recovery from an illness? Probably not at that moment in that context. Jesus said that it is right for us to pray, Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10). True believers of all ages have longed for the day when God’s kingdom would come on earth. These prayers, symbolized by the incense, fill the bowls in the elders’ hands. The elders are seeing this hope realized.
Every true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, whether on earth or in heaven, is a “saint” (see, for example, Acts 9:32; Romans 1:7; II Corinthians 13:13; Philippians 4:22). As we will see in verse 9, the elders are themselves believers who are in heaven. The twenty-four elders likely picture believers of all history. They are not intermediaries for us. Even the Lord Jesus said, At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God (John 16:26-27).
The incense pictures the prayers of God’s people throughout history for the day when His will is done on earth as it is in heaven. This desire ought to be at the heart of our prayers now.
9And 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;
The elders sing a new song, declaring the worthiness of the Lamb to receive the scroll of the inheritance and to open its seals. They testify that the Lamb is worthy to do this because He was slain and with His blood has purchased for God the elders themselves, who represent all believers, out of every people group on earth.
What is the connection between Christ’s work of redemption and His worthiness to take the scroll? Isaiah 61:11 says, For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. How would God’s plan for righteousness in this world be fulfilled if there had been no redemption? Were it not for the blood of the Lamb, the inheritance would be forever marred by sin and death. Were it not for the blood of the Lamb, every child of Adam in the world being inherited would face eternal judgment. Because of Christ’s redemption, God’s original plan for men and women and for this world will be fulfilled. Only the Redeemer is worthy to receive the nations of the earth as His inheritance.
The King James Version uses the word “us” in the statement “thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.” Why do some translations leave this word out? The Greek manuscript evidence for the presence of the word “us” is very strong; only Codex Alexandrinus omits “us.” More than one hundred other manuscripts, including Codex Sinaiticus, include the word “us.”b The respected textual scholar Bruce Metzger acknowledges that the evidence for the reading without the word “us” is “slight.”c One reason that some translations choose the reading which does not include the word “us” is the opinion that inclusion of the word “us” does not fit with verse 10. That opinion is not necessarily correct and will be considered below.
10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
In verse 9, there was overwhelming evidence in the Greek manuscripts for including the word “us.” But in verse 10, there is even more evidence (Codex Alexandrinus also concurs) for using “them” and “they” instead of “us” and “we.” What does it mean? When verse 9 says, “And they sung a new song…,” the singers likely include both the 24 elders and the four living creatures. Both are present in verse 8. The words of verse 9 would come from the mouths of the 24 elders, who are themselves redeemed believers. The words of verse 10 would come from the mouths of the four living creatures, who join in choral response (there is another choral response by the four living creatures in verse 14) by declaring, “And you have made them kings and priests to our God, and they will reign upon the earth.” The four living creatures recognize that the elders, who picture the redeemed of the Lord Jesus Christ, will be kings and priests to God and will reign on the earth. When the Lord Jesus receives the inheritance of the kingdom on earth, we will reign with Him.
11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;
The Greek text says, “ten thousands of ten thousands and thousands of thousands.” Ten thousand times ten thousand equals one hundred million. There were hundreds of millions of angels round about the throne and the living creatures and the elders.
12Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.
In verse 9, the 24 elders sang, “Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof.” In verse 12, hundreds of millions of angels declare, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.” The scroll has seven seals to be opened. The seven things named by the angels will be given to Christ with the opening of the seals. But doesn’t Jesus already have power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and blessing? Certainly. They already belonged to Him, the Son of God, before He came as a man. But as the Son of Man, Jesus became the Lamb that was slain. He humbled Himself to the point of dying like a criminal to become our Savior. Colossians 2:3 says that in Christ are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Even His perfect wisdom was despised by those who hated Him. But the Son of Man, who was humbled, will be exalted. The same Jesus who died like a criminal to become our Savior will return with power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and blessing that no one can deny. He will be God’s King on earth.
13And 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, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. 14And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.
Like the scene which John saw, this voice is yet future, when even those who have not believed in Christ will worship God and His Anointed Son. This worship will come when Jesus opens the seals of the scroll and receives the kingdom as His inheritance. Every creature will worship the One sitting on the throne and the Lamb. The Father and the Son are equally worthy of worship.
aGeorge Long, “Testamentum,” A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, William Smith (London:1842), 952.
Maria Nowak, “Wills in the Roman Empire: A Documentary Approach,” The Journal of Juristic Papyrology, Supplement 23, (2015): 27,36,47,50.
Political Dictionary: Forming a Work of Universal Reference, Both Constitutional and Legal II, Charles Knight (London: 1846), 915.
bZane C. Hodges and Arthur L. Farstad, editors, The Greek New Testament According to the Majority Text, Thomas Nelson (Nashville: 1982), xlv-xlvi, 739.
cBruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary On The Greek New Testament, Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft (Stuttgart: 1994), 666-7.
Note: All Scriptures are quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.