Listen

Description

We are in the Throne Room of Heaven in Revelation 4-5, and we have looked at the first part of one of the greatest worship services imaginable. A worship service by all the beings in heaven. The angels, the four living creatures, the twenty-four elders, everything in Heaven is worshiping God the Father for His eternality, His power, authority, and because He is the Creator of all things. Part two of that great worship service we pick up on in Revelation 5, and its more wrapped around the Son than the Father here. 

In Revelation 5:1, it says, “I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals.” So, we see not a book like what we are used to seeing, but more like a scroll. “In the right hand of Him who sat on the throne,” that is the Father so, it is His book, and He is in charge of it. We have this scroll, and it is a very important scroll. As a matter of fact, it is the scroll that outlines the future of humanity and of the earth. The problem is that it is sealed up. There are seven seals on this which had to be opened for the scroll to be read. Somebody worthy of opening those seals had to be found as we will see in a moment. As we look at this section of Scripture, we are going to pick this scroll up again in Revelation 6 as it unfolds, and we read the message going forward of what’s going to happen. There are two different ways of looking at this scroll and its seals. These seals could be on the outside of the scroll. Seven of them, like wax seals, and each is opened independently before the scroll is unraveled all the way. That is a possibility, but the better picture is that these scrolls are progressive. There is one on the outside, when it’s broken, the scroll is opened up to give a certain amount of information. Then there is another seal inside that needs to be broken, and it is rolled out to give more information until all seven seals are broken and all the information given that we are going to find throughout the rest of the book of Revelation. That is probably the more accurate picture of what we have here. 

It says in Revelation 5:2, “And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?” And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it. Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it.” So, a search, so to speak, is made of the universe to find someone worthy to open the seals. In ancient times when a king received or sent documents only those who were authorized and worthy could open those seals. So, that is the picture we have here. The problem is there is no one in the universe worthy. Not the four living creatures. Not the twenty-four elders. Not the angels. No one in all the universe was worthy and that made John very sad, and he began to weep because he realized no one could open that scroll and tell us what the message is. 

But, in Revelation 5:5 that changes, “and one of the elders said to me, “Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.” We find One who is worthy and that One is called, “the Lion from the tribe of Judah and the Root of David.” Who is the One who is worthy? The obvious answer is Jesus Christ. He is worthy to open the seals . . .