God holds a book, more specifically a scroll. It is written on both sides, much like the scroll in Ezekiel 2:8-3:4. Notice that John knows this, even though the scroll is currently sealed. To be written on both sides means it is complete. Nothing more can be added to it because there is no room. Since it is scrolls of the past, it would contain vital information, but it can\u2019t be read because it is completely sealed.<\/p>\n
God asks who is worthy to open the seven seals of the scroll. God wants the information known, but only a worthy person can reveal it; yet, no one in creation, not even the angelic host, was worthy to open the scroll. John weeps because he was invited to see, but appears it must remain sealed.<\/p>\n
One of the elders tells John to stop weeping because there is someone worthy of revealing the contents of the scroll. That person is the lion of the tribe of Judah and an offspring of David. Jesus is of the tribe of Judah (Hebrews 7:14). In Jacob\u2019s blessing of his children, Jacob calls Judah a lion (Genesis 49:9-10). A lion is a strong beast \u2013 a king of beasts \u2013 and in that blessing was a prophecy that the kingship would not depart from Judah. David was told that it would be one of his descendants who would establish an eternal kingdom (II Samuel 7:11-14; Romans 15:12). This great person had overcome and so was worthy to open the seals (Hebrews 5:7-9; 12:2-3).<\/p>\n
But when John turns to see who the elder was talking about, he doesn\u2019t see a lion, he sees a lamb that had been slain standing in the middle with God and the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 53:7; John 1:36) \u2013 emphasizing by his location that he is a part of the Godhead. The lamb has seven horns. Horns represent power, such as the power to control people (Deuteronomy 33:17) or the power to bring salvation (Luke 1:69). Seven is the number of perfection. Thus, seven horns represent Jesus\u2019 statement in Matthew 28:18. The lamb that was slain is Jesus, the Christ.<\/p>\n
But Jesus is also described as having seven eyes. We don\u2019t have to guess concerning the meaning of this one, the seven eyes are another symbol of the Holy Spirit. Seven eyes refer to being able to see everything perfectly (II Chronicles 16:9; Zechariah 4:10). Jesus had the Holy Spirit with him (John 1:32-33). Yet, John also mentions that the Spirit was sent into all the earth (John 15:26; 16:13).<\/p>\n
Jesus then takes the book. As we noted earlier, it is similar to the scroll in Ezekiel 2:8-3:4, so it is safe to assume that this is a prophecy of God, but one that has not been made known to the world. Only Jesus is worthy to reveal its content. The gospel itself was God\u2019s purpose, or plan, kept as a secret, or mystery until the fullness of time. It was summed up in Christ. It was through Christ that God accomplished His purpose of saving mankind (Ephesians 3:10-11). And when the Spirit was sent by Christ, the Spirit revealed all truth (John 16:13). Now the lamb of God was prepared to reveal more information about the future.<\/p>\n
When Jesus takes the book he is worshiped. Harps are used, which represent praise (Psalms 33:2; 43:4). In Ephesians 5:19, we sing and our hearts vibrate (make melody) to the Lord. Later we will also see the 144,000 singing with voices like harpers playing (Revelation 14:2-3). Incense is burnt, which we are told represents the prayers of the saints (Psalms 141:2).<\/p>\n
In this worship, a new song is sung. In days past, songs were created to commemorate the deeds of someone; thus, a new song is a song of victory and praise for the victor (Psalms 40:3; 98:1; Isaiah 42:9-10). This is a song about the accomplishments of Christ. He was slain, but in doing so, he purchased people from every nation with his blood (I Corinthians 6:20; I Timothy 2:6; I Peter 1:18-19). These people were formed into a kingdom of priests (I Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:6). And they reign upon the earth (Revelation 1:26; Romans 5:17).<\/p>\n
Notice the use of the past tense. This kingdom has already been purchased and formed. It is a fulfillment of Daniel 7:13-14.<\/p>\n
The angels in heaven then join in the new song, more angels than can be numbered. In the song, Christ is declared to be worthy of receiving seven things \u2013 perfect praise of Jesus.<\/p>\n
The scene is much like Psalms 148:7-10. It further emphasizes that Jesus is God.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPrior Lesson\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Revelation Given to John\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNext Lesson\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Worthy Lamb Revelation 5 God holds a book, more specifically a scroll. It is written on both sides, much like the scroll in Ezekiel 2:8-3:4. Notice that John knows this, even though the scroll is currently sealed. To be written on both sides means it is complete. Nothing more can be added to it…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":3358,"menu_order":12,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3430","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3434,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-revelation-given-to-john\/the-seven-seals\/","url_meta":{"origin":3430,"position":0},"title":"The Seven Seals","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 16, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"The Seven Seals Revelation 6-8:1 Christ has taken the scroll to be opened being the only one worthy to reveal the contents of this book. The book contains some part of God\u2019s message that has been kept secret until this point. But before the contents of the scroll can be\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3358,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-revelation-given-to-john\/","url_meta":{"origin":3430,"position":1},"title":"The Revelation Given to John","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 16, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"The Revelation Given to John by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Three Introductions to Revelation An Introduction to Revelation\u00a0(Revelation 1:1-3) Biblical Numbers The Jesus of Revelation\u00a0(Revelation 1:4-8) The Deity of Jesus\u00a0(Revelation 1:9-20) Seven Letters to the Churches Introduction to the Letters Ephesus\u00a0(Revelation 2:1-7) Smyrna\u00a0(Revelation 2:8-11) Pergamum\u00a0(Revelation 2:12-17) Thyatira\u00a0(Revelation 2:18-29) Sardis\u00a0(Revelation 3:1-6) Philadelphia\u00a0(Revelation\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Book_of_Revelation_Chapter_1-1_Bible_Illustrations_by_Sweet_Media-300x220.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":64679,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/a-study-of-ezekiel\/ezekiels-call-to-preach\/","url_meta":{"origin":3430,"position":2},"title":"Ezekiel\u2019s Call to Preach","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 15, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Ezekiel's Call to Preach Text: Ezekiel 2:1-3:27 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The Spirit enters Ezekiel, causing him to stand before God \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The Spirit carried Ezekiel - Ezekiel 3:12, 14 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is the Spirit of the Lord - Ezekiel 37:1 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Other references \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Spirit of the Lord came upon David - I Samuel 16:13 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a02.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0John\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29786,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-corinthian-letters\/the-lords-supper\/","url_meta":{"origin":3430,"position":3},"title":"The Lord\u2019s Supper (Corinthians)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 8, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The Lord's Supper Factions\u00a0(I Corinthians 11:17-19) Where the prior issue was one Paul found much to praise the Corinthians about in regards to their keeping the traditions delivered, though he emphasized the need to continue following the customs delivered, in this next section were practices he found disappointment in their\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27049,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-trivia-animals-answers\/","url_meta":{"origin":3430,"position":4},"title":"Bible Trivia (Animals) (Answers)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 8, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Bible Trivia (Animals) Answer Key Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Matthew 10:16 And the Lord God said to the woman, \"What is this you have done?\" The woman said, \"The serpent deceived me, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":30575,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-corinthian-letters\/pauls-service-a-life-changing-sacrifice\/","url_meta":{"origin":3430,"position":5},"title":"Paul\u2019s Service: A Life-Changing Sacrifice","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 14, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Paul's Service: A Life-Changing Sacrifice A fragrant sacrifice\u00a0(II Corinthians 2:14-17) Despite all the trials and concerns, Paul has endured, he is thankful to God for leading all Christians to a triumphant celebration through the efforts of Jesus Christ. Victory cannot come without our Redeemer. And Paul is appreciative that God\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3430","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3430"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3430\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}