Hi Everyone, I felt impressed to focus on Revelation for our next batch of devotional blogs. Since I’ve presented on the Seven Churches in Revelation 1-3 in previous posts and sermons, I’ll start with Revelation 4 and 5. God bless!
Revelation 5:1-5: “And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?” And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it. So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it. But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.”
Revelation 5 opens with a majestic, yet suspenseful throne room scene that immediately follows the heavenly courts scene of Revelation 4. This phase of John’s vision focuses on a scroll with seven seals. This sealed scroll represents the unfolding of God’s plan to rescue His people from sin and the perils of the last days. As the question rings throughout the throne room, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?” John is on the edge of his seat, eagerly awaiting what God will do for His people. But there’s no answer. Tears sting his eyes and then trickle down his cheeks as John the Apostle’s heart sinks. Will there be no redemption for God’s people? John doesn’t cry for long though. He’s told to look at His Redeemer, the Lion of Judah. This is what John sees next: “And 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, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.” (Revelation 5:6, 7)
This precious scene harkens back to what John the Baptist said about Jesus in John 1:29: “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” I can’t help but wonder if John the Disciple, the same John who heard the Baptizer’s saying decades ago, thought of those words when he saw that wounded Lamb in this vision. Sure enough, this is no ordinary Lamb either. He has seven eyes and seven horns. Seven is the symbol of fullness and completion in Scripture and eyes are a symbol of wisdom and horns are a symbol of power. Christ possesses all the fullness of power and wisdom and authority. He’s in charge and yet, He’s willingly laid down His life and meekly submitted to the worst sin can inflict. He has done all this to set us free by taking our penalty.
We can’t fathom how much God has suffered not only at the cross, but also throughout the ages as a result of our sins. Mark Finley says it this way: “From the beginning, He has faced the cross, knowing what sin would cost. Moreover, ever since the cross, He still feels the pain sin causes to His people and to His universe. When we see Jesus hanging on the cross, it is a microcosm of the pain that is resident in the universe due to sin. Jesus longs to come put an end to sin and stop the suffering. It is not only this world that suffers due to sin but also the whole universe.” (Finley, Understanding Daniel and Revelation, 212)
Finley, Mark. Understanding Daniel and Revelation. Nampa, Idaho: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 2020. Print.