4 So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open [a]and read the scroll, or to look at it. 5 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 [b]to loose its seven seals.”
John has given us a glimpse into the throne room of God and we know that something awesome is about to happen.
Daniel 7
In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel [a]had a dream and visions of his head while on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream, telling [b]the main facts.
2 Daniel spoke, saying, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea. 3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other. 4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.
5 “And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it: ‘Arise, devour much flesh!’
6 “After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it.
7 “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. 8 I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking [c]pompous words.
Vision of the Ancient of Days
9 “I watched till thrones were [d]put in place,
And the Ancient of Days was seated;
His garment was white as snow,
And the hair of His head was like pure wool.
His throne was a fiery flame,
Its wheels a burning fire;
10 A fiery stream issued
And came forth from before Him.
A thousand thousands ministered to Him;
Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him.
The [e]court was seated,
And the books were opened.
11 “I watched then because of the sound of the [f]pompous words which the horn was speaking; I watched till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given to the burning flame. 12 As for the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.
I believe that Daniel was given this same vision as John and they are in actuality seeing the very same occurrences.
Daniel’s vision also helps us understand just how much control our Father has over all things.
We know who the beasts are from the past, even if this also applies to the future.
Daniel’s vision goes on
13 “I was watching in the night visions,
And behold, One like the Son of Man,
Coming with the clouds of heaven!
He came to the Ancient of Days,
And they brought Him near before Him.
14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom,
That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
Which shall not pass away,
And His kingdom the one
Which shall not be destroyed
This is what I believe we with John are witnessing
4 So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open [a]and read the scroll, or to look at it. 5 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 [b]to loose its seven seals.”
John wept because he thought that there was no one in the universe who could open the scroll but one of the elders came to his aid.
5 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 [b]to loose its seven seals.”
Christianity, as far as I know, did not have a name at this time. These assemblies that were written to were not “churches” as we know them today but groups of Messianic Jewish and Gentile believers in Jesus Christ who met mostly in homes.
So you had this group, the Pagans, and the Jewish community in most of these cities in Asia.
John was Jewish so his aim, along with the Spirit, was for this book to have a heavy tie with the Old Testament and to reveal the fact that Jesus Christ was the Messiah.
A couple things to note from verses 1-3
1 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. 2 Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it.
Notice that this “Book” or scroll here but the Greek word is how we got the use of our word “book” and it also means “Big scroll” or “Volumes”
Notice that it is in the Father’s hand implying that His Hand is open and it is resting there.
This signifies that this scroll is open and it is “revelation” or “prophecy” and not secret.
If it were secret I believe that His Hand would be closed around it.
Next notice that we see a strong angel asking this question:
“Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?”
Now this is a rhetorical question stated only for dramatic effect I think.
Wouldn’t a strong angel be able to open just about whatever he wanted?
Isn’t that why John mentions the fact that he is strong?
The answer comes immediately after he asks it.
No one; not just any human on earth, but nothing in any dimension or the known universe
And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it.
This made John weep
Maybe this brought to mind the sad state of his people just as it did Jesus
Luke 19
41 Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, 42 saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, 44 and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”
Jesus had come to Israel and they were about to reject Him and remain exiled just as they had been in Babylon but now they would be exiled in their hearts.
This was around 30 AD and Israel had remained exiled in the current era John was writing this book. Sadly they are still the same about 2,000 years later.
The leaders rejected Jesus then and they are still trying to insure that He is not seen in the Old Testament.
They were, in John’s day, as well as today looking for a human Messiah
No human being was stepping up to take the scroll
The living creatures couldn’t
The 24 elders couldn’t
Jesus Christ is the only One who can open up the Old Testament!!!
John 5
39 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. 40 But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.
Matthew 15
Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, 2 “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”
3 He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ 5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”— 6 then he need not honor his father [a]or mother.’ Thus you have made the [b]commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. 7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:
8 ‘These people [c]draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
9 And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”
Many believe that this reference to “commandments of men” is speaking of the Babylonian Talmud.
There are many sites on the internet that claim that the Talmud blasphemes Jesus, promotes occultism, and justifies horrific acts against those who follow Christ.
Many state that the Talmud is the backbone of the religion of Judaism and not the Torah, although the Talmud is said to be the oral version of the Hebrew Bible
The official definition is that it is a collection of rabbinic teachings and discussions on Jewish law, ethics, customs, and history.
It also discusses mythology, philosophy, and theology
One of its most famous principles is called Gemara, or oral law
It is also a rabbinic commentary on the Torah
Israel has always seemed to be at odds with God, serving Him faithfully but only how they wanted to but don’t we all if we tell the truth
We are all guilty of putting “commandments of men” before God at some point in our lives
Jesus wept for Israel because He knew what it meant to reject Him
John knows what that mean as well
1 John 2
22 Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. 23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
Anyone who rejects Jesus is against God no matter who it is
So the challenge has been given.
Any claimants who could fulfill the qualifications of the Messiah should step up.
Of course they are all just standing there in complete silence because no one is or ever would be qualified to even look at the writing on the scroll
As I have said before, I believe that what is in God’s Hand is the Old Testament, complete, finished, and sealed because nothing else needs to be added
Ezekiel 2-3 and Daniel 12 give us the background of smaller scrolls that are a part of this scroll
God is holding the Old Testament out as a challenge for anyone to take it and claim to be able to fulfill it.
For the one who is a Talmudist
For the one who relies on Christian Denominations
For the one who relies on man’s doctrine
Each of these tries to fit our Father into a man sized hole and it will never work
Who fulfills the Old Testament?
Who can judge all things in terms of the Old Testament?
Who meets the qualifications of the Messiah King in the Old Testament?
Who can teach and explain everything, even the spaces between the words of the Old Testament?
From Daniel 7 we know that this very moment that John is witnessing is the opening of the heavenly courtroom. We are also about to see a covenant lawsuit filed and this sealed document must be opened for it to become official.
Why?
Because the Word gives the Law, court’s jurisdiction, penalties, qualifications, and language of the covenants and lawsuits upon which all men would be judged
God Himself sent His prophet emissaries to deliver the warnings of His covenant lawsuits, but there is about to be a change.
Hebrews 1
1 God, who [a]at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the [b]worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had [c]by Himself [d]purged [e]our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
Judgment has been given to the Son
John 5
22 For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, 23 that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.
24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. 25 Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, 27 and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. 30 I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.
Christ’s life, death, resurrection, and ascension constitute a pivotal moment in history and we, with John and Daniel, are getting front row seats to see His ascension in 30 AD
Daniel 7
13 “I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him. 14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed.
Jesus Christ, the Son of man, is the subject of John’s apologetic.
He and only He perfectly fulfills every Old Testament prophecy
How do we know?
5 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 [b]to loose its seven seals.”
He is The King – A Lion
The Lion of the tribe of Judah
The lion was Judah’s standard as they marched through the wilderness.
Interestingly enough, this is the only place where Jesus is called “The Lion of the tribe of Judah”
Genesis 49
8 “Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise;
Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
Your father’s children shall bow down before you.
9 Judah is a lion’s whelp;
From the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He [c]bows down, he lies down as a lion;
And as a lion, who shall rouse him?
10 The [d]scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
Until Shiloh comes;
And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.
11 Binding his donkey to the vine,
And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,
He washed his garments in wine,
And his clothes in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes are darker than wine,
And his teeth whiter than milk.
He fulfills this passage. It likens the Messiah to a lion
This was a well known Messianic passage in Jewish literature and it gives us at least five things about the coming Messiah
- He would arise out of the tribe of Judah.
- He would wear the title of Shiloh. Some translations term it as a Messianic title that means “He Whose it is” or “Tranquility”
- He would be a lawgiver
- He would be a descendant of kings of Judah
- He would lead all peoples to obey Him
His humanity – From the tribe of Judah
Messiah must be human if he descended from Judah. As we see, even the strongest angel was not qualified
His deity – Root of David
Isaiah 11
11 There shall come forth a [a]Rod from the [b]stem of Jesse,
And a Branch shall [c]grow out of his roots.
2 The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him,
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit of counsel and might,
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
3 His delight is in the fear of the Lord,
And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes,
Nor decide by the hearing of His ears;
4 But with righteousness He shall judge the poor,
And decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.
5 Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins,
And faithfulness the belt of His waist.
6 “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,
The leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
The calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze;
Their young ones shall lie down together;
And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole,
And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den.
9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,
For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
As the waters cover the sea.
10 “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse,
Who shall stand as a banner to the people;
For the Gentiles shall seek Him,
And His resting place shall be glorious.”
John appeals to one puzzling Messianic title – Root of David
This indicates that the future Messiah was the one who produces David
This speaks of his preexistence
John 1
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not [a]comprehend it.
John’s Witness: The True Light
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That[b] was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His [c]own, and His [d]own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the [e]right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
The Word Becomes Flesh
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
15 John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me [f]is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ”
16 [g]And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time. The
only begotten [h]Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
He is a conqueror
Verse 5 goes on to say that the Messiah “has prevailed” to open the scroll and it’s seven seals
This tells us that Jesus already won the victory in every way.
He did everything needed to be able to take this scroll
He is identified with God’s eternal governing of the universe.
He is also identified with man
Again showing His deity and humanity and His relationship to mankind in His dominion over the earth originally given to Adam
Genesis 1
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over [g]all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that [h]moves on the earth.”
Man’s dominion was lost to Satan due to sin
How do we know?
Satan had the authority to offer Jesus all the power and glory of the kingdoms of the world
Luke 4
5 [d]Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”
8 And Jesus answered and said to him, [e]“Get behind Me, Satan! [f]For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”
Notice that Jesus did not deny his claim
Jesus actually called him “the prince of this world”
John 12:31
Paul called him “the god of this age”
2 Corinthians 4:4
Dominion was lost by a man and so must be restored by a man
Not just any man though but the Perfect Man
2 Corinthians 5
21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
He must be a kinsman redeemer, in other words, a relative from the same family or tribe
Jesus filled that role because He is the Redeemer of mankind because He is the God Man.
He is Human and He is deity
Walking by Faith 