Revelation 5
It is the voice of one of the elders (the higher order of angels) which provides the reassuring answer to the angelic cry for one to put into effect the will of God, ‘And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”’ (5:5).
John being familiar with his Old Testament would have immediately known who the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, was. Genesis 49:9 speaks of the tribe of Judah being a ‘lion’s cub’, that is, from this tribe would come God’s appointed ruler. Similarly in Isaiah 11:1 the promise is made that ‘a shoot would spring up’ which would also be from the root of David’ (11:1). This is Messianic language. And this is the one who can take the scroll and put into effect God’s decrees. What qualifies him for this task is that he has triumphed. The Greek word suggests a victorious struggle which qualifies him for this unique role, having done that which the readers of several of the letters have been urged to do, namely, ‘conquer’ (e.g.2:8). Exactly what that struggle was we discover next as John lifts his head to look for this Lion only to see a lamb! ‘And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.’ (5:6)
