Revelation 5:1-14 (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is Revelation 5:1-14. As usual, I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help, then read the GAME sharing below. Let’s go!
Revelation 5:1-4 (NIV)
1 Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals.
2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?”
3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it.
4 I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside.
On verses 1-4: John’s vision of heaven continues as he sees in the right hand of God a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals (v1). At first no one is found worthy to open the scroll or even look inside it (v2-3). This causes John to weep and weep (v4).
Why would John weep so much because no one could open the scroll? Part of the reason I believe is because the scroll represents God’s will. John longed for God’s will to be known and to be done, but until someone was able to open the scroll, God’s will would remain unknown and undone. (It is not clear if at this point John knew anything about what the scroll contained. If John knew that the scroll contained God’s judgment against the earth, then the implication is that John longed for God to do His will of judging the earth, but that until someone could open the scroll, that part of God’s will would remain undone.)
What can we learn from this?
1. The will of God is precious and not easily knowable. Sometimes God conceals His will so that only those who are humble enough and pleasing to Him will be able to find it out, while other less humble people grope around in the dark. It reminds me of Proverbs 25:2 which says, “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.”
2. As human beings broken and marred by sin, we need the help of someone worthy and qualified to open up God’s Word and reveal God’s will to us. Fortunately there is someone worthy and qualified to open up God’s Word and to help us understand God’s will. He appears in the following verses.
Revelation 5:5 (NIV)
5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
On verse 5: While John is weeping over how no one is able to open the scroll, one of the elders tells John not to weep because Someone has triumphed and is able to open the scroll and its seals (v5). It’s Jesus. That elder calls Jesus “the Lion of the tribe of Judah” and the “Root of David”, the latter being a title for the Messiah that likely came from Isaiah 11:1, 10.
What can we learn from this? Whereas we are unable on our own to know God’s will, Jesus is able to open God’s Word (represented by the scroll) and reveal God’s will to us. The only way we can know God’s will is through Jesus. So if you want to know God’s will, look to Jesus. Focus on Him. Spend time with Him.
Revelation 5:6-10 (NIV)
6 Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
7 He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne.
8 And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
9 And they sang a new song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.
10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”
On verses 6-10: Jesus appears as “a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the centre of the throne and surrounded by the four living creatures and the elders” (v6). Jesus the Lamb has seven horns and seven eyes representing “the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth” (v6), likely a reference to the Holy Spirit. Jesus takes the scroll from the right hand of God the Father, at which point the four living creatures and the 24 elders fall down and worship Jesus as the one who is worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, “because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.”
What can we learn from this? There are several lessons we can learn here:
1. Notice that Jesus does not appear as a lion or a root, but as a lamb looking as if it had been slain, standing in the centre of the throne (v6). In heaven, a place where there will be no more sickness or death, the only person with scars is Jesus. Those scars are an eternal reminder that the reason we can be in heaven is because Jesus gave His life for us. The reason we can be healed is because of His wounds. In heaven, Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross take centre stage.
2. Notice that when Jesus takes the scroll from His Father on the throne, Jesus appears as a lamb with seven horns and seven eyes (v6). The seven horns are likely a symbol for perfect power while the seven eyes are a symbol of the “seven spirits”, that is, the Holy Spirit. What can we learn from this? It is by the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus reveals to us the will of the Father.
3. Why is Jesus the only one worthy to open the scroll representing God’s will? It’s because Jesus shed His blood and died to redeem (“purchase”) people for God (v9). Jesus’ worthiness to know and reveal God’s perfect will has everything to do with His perfect sacrifice, something only He could do. Because Jesus alone gave a perfect sacrifice, He alone is worthy and qualified to open the scroll and reveal God’s perfect will. It’s a reminder that God’s standards are perfect. We can never meet God’s perfect standards and save ourselves by our own good works. It is only by the blood of Jesus that we can be saved and can know God’s will.
4. I love how when Jesus decided to redeem people from sin, Jesus didn’t just pick people from one tribe, language, people or nation. God chose people from “every tribe and language and people and nation” (v9). The kingdom of God is the most diverse and most multicultural family that has ever existed and ever will exist.
5. I also love how Jesus rescued us from our sins not just so that we could be God’s children, but so that we can be His royal priests who serve in His kingdom and who reign with Him. As verse 10 says, “you have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” (v10)
6. As awesome as the four living creatures are and as highly honoured as the elders are, they all bow down to Jesus (v8). Jesus is the name above every name, “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth” (Philippians 2:10)
7. According to verse 8, each of the four living creatures and the 24 elders have a harp and a golden bowl of incense which symbolizes the prayers of the church (the “saints”). The fact that the prayers of Christians are symbolized by golden bowls of incense that are held by the worship leaders of heaven near the centre of God’s throne shows that the prayers of God’s people are precious to God. When you pray honestly and humbly from your heart, God holds that prayer near and dear to Himself. Like incense your prayer is an offering of worship unto God. It reminds me of Psalm 141:2 which says, “May my prayer be set before you like incense…”
Revelation 5:11-14 (NIV)
11 Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders.
12 In a loud voice they sang: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!”
13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!”
14 The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.
On verses 11-14: In these verses we see a powerful picture of millions of angels. 10,000 x 10,000, says verse 11, which may be another way of saying that there were so many angels they could not be counted. This multitude of angels are encircling the throne, the living creatures and the elders, and are worshiping God the Father and Jesus the Lamb of God (v11-12). In beautiful four-part harmony, the angels, every creature in the universe (v13), the four living creatures and the 24 elders (v14) join to worship God, each contributing to the worship in their own unique way.
What can we learn from this?
1. The fact that every creature in the universe is worshiping Jesus along with God the Father points to the fact that Jesus is divine and worthy of our worship and praise. Jesus is at the centre of all the worship and praise that takes place in heaven.
2. Notice the important role that music plays in the worship of God in heaven.
3. Just as the angels, the living creatures, the elders and every creature under heaven had a unique part to play in the worship of God the Father and God the Son, so worship is a team sport. Worship is something you were made to do together with the rest of God’s people and God’s creation. Also, you have a unique part to play in the worship of God that cannot be easily replaced or drowned out by someone else’s worship.
Jesus thank You that through Your sacrifice on the cross, we can know the will of the Father. God, thank You for showing us a glimpse of how beautiful is the worship that takes place in heaven. Together with the rest of Your people and the rest of creation, may I do my unique part in giving You worship. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
Copyright © 2021 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.
