Chapter
5 continues the content and scenery of chapter 4 without break. So, we sense that we are in the same “room”
with the same personalities. Against
this backdrop, new things are added—a book with seven seals and the Lamb.
ABREVIATIONS: ESVSB = English Standard Version Study Bible;
NIVSB = New International Version Study Bible; ESV = English Standard Version;
NIV = New International Version
Scripture quotations are from ESV
except when noted otherwise.
Verse 1: John begins by saying that he saw a
“book” or a “scroll.” It most likely was
a scroll, since it had seals on it. This
book was in the right hand (possibly “on the right of” or even “on the hand”)
of the One who is sitting on the throne.
One might ask: Was this scroll
there throughout the events of chapter 4 or has it just now appeared? There is no way of knowing. It seems to be a new development, since it
created somewhat of a crisis in heaven.
I have maintained that the description in chapter 4 is of the ongoing
worship in heaven. This scroll now became
a focus in heaven that needed resolution.
A book or a scroll is not of much value unless it is opened and
read. This book was sealed, so the seals
had to be opened in order for it to be read.
The
scroll had been written on both sides.
This is unusual because the texture on one side of scrolls made writing
difficult (NIVSB). Some wills and
contracts were written on one side and summarized on the other side
(ESVSB).
There
are a number of understandings of the arrangement of the book and the
seals. One possibility, held by a few,
is that this was not a scroll, but was a book with leaves as we know
books. The seals clamped off sections of
the book. Such books were more in use in
the second century than in the first.
Ladd (79) dismisses this view, mainly because it does not conform to his
theory of the seals and the scroll. A
second view (Morris, 94 and Rist, 405-406) is that the scroll has a series of
seals that divide the scroll into sections.
It is difficult to envision this arrangement. Ladd (79) maintains that all seven seals were
on the outside of the scroll along the free edge of the end of the scroll. Physically, this is the simplest
explanation. Ladd believes that the
seven seals had to be broken in order for the contents of the book to be
read. From this he infers that the seals
are preparatory to the actual contents of the book. The book itself will disclose the
consummation of history and the inheritance of the saints. Thus, it is both a last will and testament
bequeathing the Kingdom to the saints and a description of those events that
lead up to that inheritance. The
breaking of the seventh seal will open up all of those events. (Ladd, 79-82)
Ladd’s
theory is attractive, and, I think, helpful.
It conflicts with the Dispensationalist view, which understands the events
that begin at 4:2 to be in the Tribulation period. As I have already mentioned, I believe that
chapter 4 is a depiction of ongoing
worship in heaven. When John experienced
his vision of heaven, he was seeing what was going on in heaven in the late
first century. In chapter 5 and 6, the
future history of the world is laid out before John as the seals are
broken. Contrary to Ladd, I think it is
possible that some of the seals include the Tribulation period.
As
far as the arrangement of the seals and the scroll/book are concerned, our
understanding is not critical. There
could be a book with leaves. There could
be a scroll. Either the book or the
scroll may have had the seals block off sections of the scroll/book, so that,
as the seals are broken, we are able to read a section of the book. Alternatively, the book or the scroll may
have had the seals block off the contents of the entire book, so that, the breaking
of the seals will get us closer to the contents of the book, but, until all the
seals are broken, we cannot read the contents of the book. As we progress through the seals in chapters
6 and 7, we will observe certain events and gain certain information. Those events and that information will be
available to us to analyze no matter how we understand the arrangement of the
scroll/book and the seals. The
arrangement is somewhat helpful in our analysis, but probably it is not
crucial.
Obviously,
I am getting ahead of myself. The first
issue to be settled was to open the seals.
Verse 2: John saw a mighty angel “proclaiming.” This is somewhat an odd choice of words,
because the proclamation is a question:
who is worthy to break the seals so that the scroll may be opened? It is possible that this is a rhetorical
question. It is setting us up to
understand the immense importance of the book and its seals. Not just anyone is going to break those
seals.
Verse 3: The rhetorical question is answered as one
would expect: no one was able to open
the scroll. The verb “was able” is in
the imperfect tense, which designates a continuing state in the past. This situation was the way things were and
had been for some time.
Verse 4: John was weeping (imperfect tense)
because of this situation. Was he
weeping because his curiosity would be denied?
I think that is a trivial understanding.
This scroll is of eternal significance and importance. And yet, all of heaven and earth is bereft of
anyone who is able to open the scroll.
Verse 5: John is encouraged to stop
weeping. A solution has been found. A person has been found who is able to open
the scroll. This person is described as
“the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David.” I used Bible Gateway to search for these
phrases, and I could only find one other use of one of them—“the root and
offspring of David” in Revelation 22:16.
However, there are passages that these phrases “echo.” In Genesis 49:9, Jacob called Judah a
lion. In Isaiah 11:1ff there is the
prediction of a “shoot from the stump” of Jesse and a “branch” from the roots
of Jesse who will be glorious leader. In
the same passage, this same leader is called the “root of Jesse.” Paul quotes Isaiah 11:10 in Romans 15:12 (he
quotes the Septuagint). From the context of Revelation 5, it is obvious that
Jesus is the one who fulfills these roles as the lion of Judah and the root of
David (Jesse’s son). This person has
“conquered.” ESV and NIV word the verse
in a way that implies that two separate actions have taken place: The person has conquered and this has made
Him worthy to open the scroll. However,
the literal translation is: “…[the
person] conquered to open the scroll and its seven seals.” New American Standard Version has a similar
translation: “…has overcome so as to open
the book and its seven seals.” It was
the act of conquering that has broken the seals and opened the book. This will be made more nearly clear in the
remainder of the chapter.
I
should comment on the titles that are given to Jesus in this chapter. Both of these refer to Jesus’ role as Son of
David (who was of the tribe of Judah), the King of Israel. It is important to recognize Jesus’ position
with regard to the Hebrew nation. However,
how that works itself out with respect to the Gentiles and the church is the
subject of great controversy. The
Dispensationalists maintain that we must sharply differentiate Jesus’ role as
King of the Jews from His role as husband to the church (Pentecost, 201,212,
226, 88, 507). That controversy cannot
be resolved within the scope of this article or even by a study of the entire
book of Revelation. The
Dispensationalists would maintain that the use of these titles in this chapter
is proof of their thesis. I do not
agree. I recognize the Jewish references
in these titles, but I do not believe that that is proof that the events in
this chapter and succeeding chapters are relevant only to the Jews and not to
the church. Making that case will have
to be “put on hold” for now.
Verse 6: Although John had just been told
about the Lion of Judah and the Root of David—royal titles—his next observation
is of a Lamb. I shall discuss this Lamb,
but first I have to deal with the location of the Lamb.
There
are two interpretations of the Greek. In
one, which is followed by ESV, the Lamb is pictured between the throne and the four living creatures and also among the
elders. In the other, which followed by
NIV, the Lamb is pictured in the middle
of the throne and the four living creatures and in the middle of the
elders. In 4:6b the four living
creatures are described as being in “the center, around the throne” (NIV) or
“around the throne, on each side of the throne” (ESV). Literally, they are “in the middle of the
throne and around the throne.” That is
not geometrically possible. One
possibility is that the “throne” is the central area and is surrounded by the
thrones of the 24 elders (4:4). In this
central area were (a) the One who was sitting on the throne (4:2), the four
living creatures (4:6b), the seven torches of fire (4:5), and the sea of glass
(4:6a). Thus, I interpret the
description in chapter 4 to mean that the four living creatures were closer to
the throne than the 24 elders. The Lamb
was in the center of the throne and surrounded by the four living creatures,
and, in a wider circle, surrounded by the 24 elders. I do believe that the Lamb was on the
throne. This is in accord with other
passages that state that Jesus sits with the Father (Ephesians 1:20, Hebrews
8:1).
The
Lamb is standing “as though it had been slain.”
This is a peculiar expression. It
probably would be better said: “a lamb
standing, that was like one that had been slain.” In other words, it was not the manner of its
standing that made it look like it has been slain. It just looked like a lamb that had been
slain. Possibly it had a gaping wound in
its neck. Now, note that it was
standing, and as we read further, we do learn that the Lamb, though it had been
slain, was alive. All of this is
obviously a picture of Jesus, who was the Lamb of God (John 1:29, 1:36, Acts
8:32, I Corinthians 5:7, I Peter 1:19, Revelation 7:14, 13:8). His death on the cross was the perfect
sacrifice for sins (Hebrews 9:11-12, 10:1-18).
But, though He died, He rose from the dead. He still bore the marks of the crucifixion in
His body (John 20:19-20), but He was victorious over the grave.
So, the Lion of the tribe
of Judah had indeed conquered (Revelation 5:5).
He had conquered sin and death and, through His victory, He won back the
Kingdom of God. The scroll in the right
hand of the One on the throne can be thought of as the title deed to the
Kingdom, His inheritance and the inheritance of His co-heirs. If we think of the scroll as being the
history of the future, that future ends with the coming of the Kingdom. So, when Jesus died on the cross, he made it
possible to open the seals on the scroll and open up the future for the
saints. Thus, it was not merely that He
was qualified; rather it was that He conquered the barriers that held back
humanity from experiencing God’s full vision for them.
The description of the
Lamb is bizarre—seven horns and seven eyes.
Obviously, this is not a picture that invites us into pastoral
beauty. Yet, the symbolism is strong. The sevens throughout Revelation give us a picture
of fullness, completeness, and perfection.
The horns throughout the Bible connote strength. The eyes are defined for us: they are the “seven spirits of God sent out
into the world.”
This description of the
eyes creates problems for us who have the Trinity in a nice neat set of
categories. The fact that there are
seven is a problem, just as it was in 1:4 and 4:5. The fact that they are part of the body of
the Lamb is a problem as well. My
suggestion begins by recognizing that the word picture of the Lamb is not a
description of a Person, but rather a description of a set of ideas. The central visual picture is of a lamb which
had been slain. This is an obvious symbolic
picture of the crucifixion and resurrection (to be inferred from the fact that
the Lamb is alive). The seven horns is
a picture of power and strength. The
seven eyes represent the capacity to see.
That this organ of sight should represent the Holy Spirit in His
activity in the world is a powerful image.
The sevenfold ability of God to see what is going on in the world is the
particular capacity chosen to represent the Holy Spirit. Obviously the Spirit does a lot of
things. But as He performs His ministry,
He does so with full knowledge of the human condition. In Genesis 16:13-14, Hagar, the concubine of
Abraham, had an encounter with God and chose to call God “the God who sees
me.” God saw Hagar in her plight as she
fled from Sarah, but also saw her in her future as a mother and as a matriarch
of many. The Holy Spirit is fully aware
of who we are and what we can become.
But the Holy Spirit’s ministry is not a separate ministry from what
Christ is doing in the world. The two
are joined together in the project of redemption. So, as John received a vision of the Christ,
he also saw the intimate connection between the Lamb of redemption and the Holy
Spirit who ministers Christ to us. (See
John 14-16.)
Verse 7: The Lamb, who had conquered (5:5),
took the scroll from the right hand of the One on the throne, who we have already
decided in our minds is the Father. This
act of taking the scroll is the beginning of the rest of the book. John was told (1:19) to write the things that
are and the things that will take place.
As the Lamb began to break the seals, the things that will take place
were made visible, and John wrote what he saw, beginning at chapter 6.
However,
before the seals were broken, there was a tremendous time of praise in heaven,
which is recounted in 5:8-14. The fact
that so much praise took place signals to us just what a big deal this scroll
was—and is. I shall indicate our key to
understanding that in the discussion of verses 5:9-10.
Verse 8: When the Lamb took the scroll, the
angelic beings that surround the throne reacted. They “fell down” to worship the Lamb. I have often reflected that, in our
democratic culture, it is very difficult to empathize with the worship that we
read about in the Bible. There have been
a few cases that we have observed in which people are in awe of a person. The girls who screamed and carried on over
Elvis and the Beatles might be a similar situation. In fact, it seems like, in our day, only show
business personalities and big time athletes can evoke the kind of worshipful
reaction that the Bible describes. I
remember reading in Tolstoy’s War and
Peace how a young man in the military reacted when the Czar reviewed the
troops. He was overcome with love and
devotion for his monarch. But for many
of us, it is very difficult to imagine falling down and worshiping
anybody—except ourselves. The song “I
Can Only Imagine” asks the question:
what would I do if I were in the presence of the glorified Jesus? I guess another question to ask is: what would I do if I knew that, in times of
prayer or in times of corporate worship, I am really in the presence of
Jesus?
The
angelic beings each held a harp and a bowl of incense. The implication seems to be that they managed
to keep hold of these when they fell.
The incense is the “prayers of the saints.” That is a magnificent thought. It tells us that our prayers are valued
immensely in heaven, that they are a sweet fragrance that rises up in worship
to the Lord. Prayer is a much-neglected
privilege of the saints. Jesus promised
more than once that the Father gladly hears our prayers. In prayer we express our faith, we wrestle
with our own flesh, we experience the Holy Spirit, and we meet God in the midst
of our own hectic lives. The old song
says it well: “O what peace we often
forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything
to God in prayer.”
Verse 9: The angelic beings sang a new
song. I searched “sang” and “sing” in
the NIV using Bible Gateway. I found
only one direct reference to angels singing other than this verse in all the
Bible! It is Job 38:7. Another verse makes a reference to “heaven”
singing (Isaiah 38:7). Most us of say
the angels sang at Christmas time, but they actually spoke (Luke 2:13-14). This is also possibly the only instance of
angels with harps (Revelation 14:2 is ambiguous as to who are playing the
harps). This illustrates the powerful
influence that Revelation has had on our imaginations. From a few verses, we have an image of angels
singing and playing harps. I am sure
they do that, but it is instructive sometimes to trace the source of our mental
images.
The
song that the angelic creatures sang was a statement of the Lamb’s worthiness
to take the scroll and open the seals on it.
The first reason is that He was slain.
The book of Revelation keeps very close to the cross of Jesus. It talks about the Lamb who was slain and
about the blood that was shed. This book
was written with the understanding that Christians were being persecuted and were
going to be persecuted. It understood
that the price of being a Christian was to go against the flow of an antichrist
culture, to risk one’s livelihood and to be shunned from the mainstream. The book understood that Christians would
face the power of the Roman Empire, the power of worldly power structures that
would come after that empire, and finally the power of the empire of the
Antichrist/Beast. With that
understanding, it was important to remind Christians that their Lord and Savior
had stood against the religious and cultural centers of His day, that He had
faced the Jewish power structure in league with the Roman empire, that He had
been whipped, mocked, spit upon, had a crown of thorns pushed onto His head,
that He had been led outside the city and crucified. He was worthy because He had been slain.
He
was also worthy because He did not just die a martyr’s death. His death was the God-ordained means of
redemption. His blood was the purchase
price of the people who were rescued from the power of sin. He had ransomed them from many different people
groups.
The
King James Version (KJV) differs from those translations that rely on the Greek
text that is currently accepted. The
text reads (as in KJV) “…thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us…[emphasis added].” The text that is now used (believed to be
more reliable) omits “us.” It literally
says: “and redeemed to God by your blood
from every tribe and tongue…” The
prepositional phrase “from every tribe…” modifies an understood substantive
that is to be supplied. For example, a
reading could be “those from every tribe…”
Versions supply “men,” “people,” etc.
This change from the KJV plays a role in the identity of the 24 elders
(Ladd, 74-75).
The
word “ransomed” (ESV) is better “purchased” (NIV). The theme throughout the New Testament is
that Jesus’ death was the price of our salvation. See Matthew 20:28, Titus 2:14, I Peter
1:18-19, Romans 3:24. The following
Scriptures use the same word that is used here: I Corinthians 6:20, II Peter 2:1, Revelation
14:3-4.
Verse 10: The result of the redemption is that
the people who have been bought from their former condition are now empowered
to serve God in a positive way, in a Kingdom and as priests. The verse is an echo of Revelation 1:6 and
Exodus 19:6. The latter was spoken to
Moses as a message to the people of Israel.
God has set them free from slavery in Egypt and now was forming them
into the people of God—“kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” In the same way, those who have been set free
from sin have become a “kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on
the earth.”
We
might reflect that this joyful statement of the victory of Jesus stood in
strong contrast to the experience of first century Christians who observed the
power of the Roman Empire throughout the Mediterranean world. Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “For consider your calling, brothers: not
many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were
powerful, not many were of noble birth.” (I Corinthians 1:26) In the letters to the seven churches, Jesus
observed the poverty of the church at Smyrna (Revelation 2:9), the Satanic
power of the rulers where the church at Pergamum worshiped (2:13), the “little
power” of the church at Philadelphia (3:8).
Yet, they were a Kingdom and they will reign on the earth. Those who live in the last days, when the
Antichrist/Beast boasts of his power and glory, can quietly remember that they
are a Kingdom and priests unto God and they will reign on the earth.
So,
the powerful and exultant praise of the angelic beings was a declaration of the
victory that the Lamb had won at the cross in redeeming people from their sins
and forming them into a Kingdom and a priesthood—a reality now and a future
hope.
Verse 11: John now saw and heard not just the
four living creatures and the 24 elders, but a huge number of angels
surrounding the inner circle of angelic beings.
The word translated “myriad” in ESV is “ten thousand” in NIV. It can probably be understood as an
indeterminate huge number. If we take
the expression literally, it would ten thousand times ten thousand or 100
million. Then, John strangely adds
“thousands of thousands.” Again,
literally this would be millions. To
nitpick at arithmetic is counterproductive (as so often we become when dealing
with images in Revelation). The point is
that there were huge numbers of angels.
Verse 12: The angelic band gives their chorus
of praise: “Worthy is the Lamb.” The Lion of Judah, the Root of Jesse, the
Lamb of God who was slain has conquered.
The victory has been won, and He is worthy. All that He is worthy of He already
possesses, but this declaration is that what He possesses is rightfully,
legitimately His—power, wealth, blessing, etc.
The angels are rational beings who have a heavenly perspective. They understand that Christ is worthy of all
praise and honor. Poor, pathetic earth
sees with blind eyes and is never sure who is a worthy recipient of honor. Is it the movie star who says his lines with
skill but goes through multiple wives?
Is it the singer who pleases our ears but is addicted to drugs? Is it the politician who manipulates us to
vote her into office so she can grab the perquisites of power? Again and again, our idols are made of
tin. At the same time, we ourselves grab
whatever glory and honor we can for ourselves and soon see it turn to
dust. But One is worthy of all “power
and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”
Verse 13: Now the vision gives us a bit of a
twist. John says that “every creature in
heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in
them” was giving praise. At this point
we have to ask ourselves: what is John
talking about? I think of two
possibilities. One is that John’s vision
is without the restraints of ordinary time and sequence, so that he envisioned
a time when this would be true. It was
not true in his day if we include humans among the “creatures.” It is not true today. It will not be true during the Tribulation
period, if the Dispensationalists are correct in understanding this scene to
take place during that time. But, there
will come a day. Paul envisioned such a
day when he wrote the hymn to the incarnate Christ in Philippians:
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on
him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee
should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11)
A second interpretation might be that
all creation is a praise to God by virtue of its very existence. So, it says in Psalm 19:1: “The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” These creatures do not actually speak, but
their presence, their glory, their hugeness—these declare God’s glory. Even sinful humanity is a testament to the
creative power and love of God. Whatever
the meaning, all creation declares praise to both the One on the throne and the
Lamb. The Lamb receives the same worship
that the One on the throne receives. In
the words of theology, He is co-equal with the Father, fully God as well as
fully human.
Verse 14: Our focus reduces back down to the
inner circle at the throne. The four
living creatures say an “Amen” to the praise from all creation, and the 24
elders take the occasion to fall down in worship.
Fiction
writers are admonished to pay heed to “point of view.” If an account is first person narrative, then
one cannot introduce material that the narrator would not know (unless other
logic of the story-telling permits it).
So, we have, of course, a first-person narrative from John in this
book. But we also have a perspective
that has been set for us in chapters 4 and 5.
We have been to heaven with John.
We understand that the narrative that follows will have a heavenly
perspective. We understand that the Lamb
is opening for us the future as he opens the seals of the scroll. And we understand that this narrative is
ultimately about the redemption of people from around the globe through the
cross of Jesus Christ. Those people are
a kingdom and priests unto God. Whether
Rome is an empire or the Antichrist/Beast is all-powerful, the Lamb has conquered
and created the people of God as a Kingdom.
Pilate
had Jesus on trial. He kept coming back
to the Jewish leaders and the mob they had collected. In John 18:39, he asked the Jews if they
wanted him to release the King of the Jews.
In John 19:7-12, Pilate realized that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God
and he tried to release him to the Jews.
But they threw up to him that he would not be a friend to Caesar if he
aided a man claiming to be a king. In
John 19:14, Pilate presented Jesus to the Jews as “your King.” But they shouted to crucify him. Pilate again asked: “Shall I crucify your King?” (John
19:15b) And the Jews said those fateful
words (John 19:15c): “We have no king
but Caesar.” In Revelation, the contrast
is between the Lamb who is worthy and the antichrist powers of the earth. We too must choose. Is Caesar our king? Or is the Lamb worthy to take “power and wealth
and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing”?
REFERENCES:
Crossway Bibles (2009-04-09). ESV
Study Bible. Good News Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Ladd, George Eldon. A Commentary
on the Revelation of John. Grand
Rapids: William B.
Eerdmans
Publ. Co., 1972.
Rist, Martin. “The Revelation of St. John the Divine”
Exegesis. The Interpreter’s Bible. Vol.
XII.
Nolan
B. Harmon, Ed. New York: Abingdon Press, 1957.
Zondervan NIV Study Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publ., 2002
No comments:
Post a Comment