Read or listen The Book of Revelation, chapter 5 online (ESV, YouVersion)

The Sealed scroll 5:1-4

John’s gaze is fixed on the scroll in the right hand of the Almighty. Normally, a scroll was written on one side only, but now the scroll is written on both sides. So there is a lot of information in it. However, the scroll is impossible to read because it is sealed with seven seals, and authority is needed to open the seals.

An angel arrives and asks if anyone is worthy enough to open the seals of the scroll. There is none—not among the angels in heaven, not among the people living on earth, not among the dead, and not among the servants of the Devil. The latter are referred to by the words “under the earth” (see Revelation 9:1-2 and their explanation).

John’s gaze is fixed on the scroll in the right hand of the Almighty. Normally, a scroll was written on one side only, but now the scroll is written on both sides. So there is a lot of information in it. However, the scroll is impossible to read because it is sealed with seven seals, and authority is needed to open the seals.

An angel arrives and asks if anyone is worthy enough to open the seals of the scroll. There is none—not among the angels in heaven, not among the people living on earth, not among the dead, and not among the servants of the Devil. The latter are referred to by the words “under the earth” (see Revelation 9:1-2 and their explanation).

Something important is written in the book—otherwise the scroll would not be in the hand of the one seated on the throne. John weeps because no one can be found to open the scroll. Perhaps it is John’s curiosity. Most likely, John’s weeping has a deeper meaning. John understands that the Almighty has a writing in his hand that has something important to say to God’s people. If the scroll is not opened, the message will go unheard by God’s church, and there is cause for weeping.

Seven is a sacred number in the Bible. It represents perfection and that which is related to God. The fact that the scroll is sealed with exactly seven seals speaks of the holiness of the scroll. There is something so divine about the scroll that no one worthy enough to open it can be found in heaven, on earth, or under the earth.

The Lamb who was slain 5:5-14

Neither angels, nor men, nor the servants of the Evil One could open the scroll sealed with seven seals. Only God can do that. One of the elders around the throne of God says that "the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David" can break the seals and open the scroll.

"The Lion of the Tribe of Judah" is a reference to Jacob's deathbed speech (Genesis 49:9-11). What Jacob said was a prophecy about the Son of God whom God had decided to send into the world:

"Judah is a lion’s cub;
from the prey, my son, you have gone up"...
..."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."

"the Root of David" refers again to Isaiah chapter 11. The royal line of David seemed dead like a fallen tree. God promised that once the dead stump would sprout a new shoot - that a new and greater king would arise from the line of David. The New Testament tells us that the Son of God was born as a man into the line of David, and thus Isaiah's prophecy was fulfilled. Jesus is the King of kings, the Lord of heaven and earth. He is more than men and angels and therefore can do what no one else is worthy of.

When John turns his eyes towards the throne, he does not see the mighty Victor, but the slain Lamb. Yet he says that the Lamb has seven horns and seven eyes.

The horn in Revelation represents power and authority. The Lamb, even though he has been slain, therefore has power and authority. The seven eyes are said to be the seven spirits of God. The first chapter of Revelation also spoke of seven spirits (Rev. 1:4), apparently referring to the Spirit of God, who is present in all seven churches and thus in the entire Church of Christ. This is probably the case here as well. Jesus has sent the Holy Spirit into all the world, and therefore the Spirit of God is everywhere where Christ's own are.

There is a profound message in the fact that Jesus is depicted as a mighty King on the one hand and a slain Lamb on the other. Christ has all power and next to him even the mightiest man is insignificant. But Jesus hid his own greatness. He was born as an ordinary man and agreed to walk the road to the cross.

He was slaughtered like a lamb without power. The King of kings agreed to this because he loved us immensely. If he had come into the world in his glory, his holiness would have destroyed humanity. He hid his greatness to save us and agreed to the part of the lamb, according to the prophecy of Isaiah:

..."and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth."
(Isaiah 53:6-7)

Jesus takes the scroll from the hand of the one seated on the throne. When he has done this, worship begins again in heaven. The hosts of heaven bowed down in front of the Lamb, and worshiped him singing.

God has said: “I am the Lord your God"...“You shall have no other gods before me"..."You shall not bow down to them or serve them" (Exodus 20:2-5).

However, the heavenly host bows down and worships Jesus, even though no one else is allowed to worship except God. So Jesus is God. The Bible does not know the word "Trinity", but it knows the doctrine of the Trinity and teaches it. God in the Bible is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This passage from the Book of Revelation is a good example of that.

Verse 8 describes the incense that the heavenly host brings in golden bowls before the Lamb. The incense is said to be the prayers of the saints. The saints do not mean the heavenly host but God’s own who live in this world. Our prayers are therefore heard in heaven. They rise like sacrificial smoke to the throne of God and are even part of the heavenly worship. When the heavenly hosts bow before Jesus, they carry our prayers in golden bowls, and Jesus hears them along with the praise of the heavenly hosts.

In verse 9 the four living creatures and the 24 elders are said to sing a new song. Even in the Old Testament, new songs were composed for great celebrations. That is what is happening now. There is a great celebration when Jesus takes the scroll. A new song has been composed for that, which is sung in honor of the great celebration.

The message of the song, however, is not new, but proclaims the old and enduring gospel. The Lamb of God was slain and so he obtained for God a people who are not limited by nations, kingdoms, tribes or language groups. He died on the cross for everyone. On that basis, we are God's own.

We belong to the people whose King is Christ, and we are priests of God. Because we are priests, we have permission to approach God. In the temple of the old covenant, only priests could approach God. Jesus has obtained this right for all of us.

Verse 10 promises that God’s own will rule over the earth. The earth that God’s own will rule over probably refers to the new earth that God will create (Revelation 21:1). Jesus also promised that those who endure will inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5). By earth, he could hardly have meant this world. Another possibility is that the promise of rule refers to the millennial kingdom, which will be discussed in more detail in chapter 20.

There is a huge number of angels involved in the worship of heaven and the praise of the Lamb. According to our mathematics, there are 101,000,000 of them. However, this is probably a symbolic number. The number tells us that John saw an enormous number of angels. Although John has looked further and further, more angels have been seen. The angels, like the other inhabitants of heaven, give praise to the Lamb, who deserves praise and honor.

The crowd of those praising the Lamb will grow even larger. All creatures in heaven, on earth, under the earth, and in the sea will praise Jesus. This does not mean that all people will now worship Jesus—that did not happen in John’s day or today. Perhaps Paul can help us understand this point. In Romans, he writes that creation awaits the return of Christ because then it will be freed from the evil that the fall into sin has brought upon it (Romans 8:19-23). ​​Creation in the verses of Romans means more or less the same as what we understand by the word nature. If all creation waits for Christ's return, it can also give thanks to him through whom all things were created.

There is another way to understand verse 13: John’s gaze moves far ahead in time and he sees the day when Jesus returns to earth as the King of glory. Then there will be no one who will not acknowledge Jesus as King and give him glory. Paul writes about this in his letter to the Philippians:

..."so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father."
(Philippians 2:10-11)