“The Lamb and the Seven Sealed Scroll”
Revelation 5:1-14
“But one of the elders said to me, ‘Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.’” [Rev 5:5]
The scene is heaven. All eyes are upon the Throne; all attention is upon the One who sits on the Throne. “And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald.” [Rev 4:3] “And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices.” [Rev 4:5]
Also around the Throne are twenty-four lesser thrones with twenty-four elders and “four living creatures.” [Rev 4:6-8] In one accord this heavenly host worships: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!”
Now in Chapter 5, “in the midst of the throne,” we are introduced to Another. “I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes,…” The Lamb is, without a doubt, Jesus. He is “the Lamb of God slain for the sins of the world.” His seven horns affirm His complete power; and “seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God are a reference to the Holy Spirit [see Isa 11:2, Zech 4:1-10]. John’s testimony in Rev 4-5, is the three Persons of the Godhead are “in the midst of the throne”: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. It is the Son, the Lamb, however, who loosens the seals; an important detail to observe.
Identifying the scroll is significant in interpreting the remaining chapters of Revelation. Several Scripture references point to the scroll being the Title Deed to the earth, but the most compelling one is that only the Lamb, “the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.” [Rev 5:5]
When the seals are loosed, judgment is administered upon the earth. Its purpose is to purge the earth of sin in preparation of Christ’s Return with His Bride, the Church, to rule and reign in the Millennium [ref. Rev 20].
The seven seals set the course of judgment from Chapters 6-19, which describes a literal seven year Tribulation.
Where is the Church during this time? They are in heaven at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb [ref. Rev 4, Rev 19:7-9, Luke 12:37-38]: A glorious hope indeed, and one that should motivate us to live more faithful lives for His Kingdom in the here and now.
