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In the following commentary, words in CAPS indicate the biblical text, while wordsin lower case indicate the commentary on that text.Studies in Revelationby Dr. John H. RollerChapter 5Revelation 5:1I SAW, IN THE RIGHT HAND OF HIM (God) WHO SAT ON THE THRONE, A BOOK (actually, ascroll) WRITTEN INSIDE AND OUTSIDE (as was usually done, in the first century, torecord title deeds to property and wills indicating the disposition of propertyafter the owner’s death – unlike most other scrolls, which were written on onlyone side and then rolled up, with the unwritten side out), SEALED SHUT (again, aswas usually done, in the first century, only with such legal documents – unlikemost scrolls, which were simply tied together with string) WITH SEVEN SEALS (whichwere put on, separately, by seven different individuals, who could then serve aswitnesses to the writing and sealing up of the deed and will). What “book” wasthis? I believe that this “book” was the “title deed” to Planet Earth, and the“will” of its rightful Owner, God the Father.Revelation 5:2I SAW A MIGHTY ANGEL PROCLAIMING WITH A LOUD VOICE, “WHO IS WORTHY TO OPEN THEBOOK, AND TO BREAK ITS SEALS?” (Of course, one would have to break the sealsfirst, in order to “open” the “book” – literally, to unroll the scroll. As eachseal was broken, the scroll could be unrolled a little more, and a little more ofwhat was written on it could be read. And who would be “worthy” to do that? Onlythe legitimate owner of the property, and his heir! I believe that the next verse– Revelation 5:3 – will give us the precise moment in history that the ApostleJohn was seeing in this vision; and it wasn’t a moment in our future, or even inJohn’s future – it was a moment in John’s past, a moment that John himself hadexperienced, in real life, but from a different vantage point.)Revelation 5:3NO ONE IN HEAVEN ABOVE, OR ON THE EARTH, OR UNDER THE EARTH, WAS ABLE TO OPEN THEBOOK, OR TO LOOK IN IT. (The one moment in history when Jesus Christ, the Son ofGod – the legitimate heir to God’s property, Planet Earth – was not in Heaven, noton Earth, and not “under the earth” in Hades was the exact moment that we know inhistory as the Ascension, recorded in Acts 1:9. John had been present when Jesusascended; he saw Him leaving the earth and going up into a cloud; now, 66 yearslater, he has a vision of what had happened in Heaven at that same moment.)Revelation 5:4AND I WEPT MUCH, BECAUSE NO ONE WAS FOUND WORTHY TO OPEN THE BOOK, OR TO LOOK INIT. (Of course, John didn’t yet understand what he was seeing; he was disappointedthat it seemed that he wouldn’t be able to find out what was written on thescroll.)Revelation 5:5ONE OF THE ELDERS SAID TO ME, “DON’T WEEP. BEHOLD (‘Look!’), THE LION (Jesus) WHOIS OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH, THE ROOT (descendant) OF DAVID, HAS OVERCOME (Jesushimself said that, back in AD 30, as recorded in John 16:33, which John wrote downjust a year before he wrote Revelation. And when, exactly, did Jesus actually winthis victory? He won the victory over sin by His crucifixion, and He won thevictory over death by His resurrection); HE WHO OPENS THE BOOK AND ITS SEVEN SEALS(because He, alone, is worthy to).”Revelation 5:6
 
I SAW IN THE MIDST OF THE THRONE AND OF THE FOUR LIVING CREATURES, AND IN THEMIDST OF THE ELDERS, (Now, this is strange! The elder had told John, “Look! Alion!” – but what John saw was) A LAMB (seemingly, the exact opposite of a lion;but both of these animals are symbols of Jesus – one portrays Him as the King, theother as the sacrificial victim) STANDING (which shows that “it” was alive), ASTHOUGH IT HAD BEEN SLAIN (there was evidence that “it” had been killed – so whatis “it” doing alive? The only possible answer is that “it” had been resurrected),HAVING SEVEN HORNS (representing total authority, as Jesus himself had said, backin AD 30, as recorded in Matthew 28:18), AND SEVEN EYES (representing totalknowledge), WHICH ARE THE SEVEN SPIRITS (as we saw back in chapter 1, the HolySpirit) OF GOD, SENT OUT INTO ALL THE EARTH.Revelation 5:7THEN HE (the Lamb, Jesus) CAME, AND HE (the Lamb, Jesus) TOOK IT (the scroll) OUTOF THE RIGHT HAND OF HIM (God) WHO SAT ON THE THRONE.Revelation 5:8NOW WHEN HE (the Lamb, Jesus) HAD TAKEN THE BOOK (the scroll), THE FOUR LIVINGCREATURES AND THE TWENTY-FOUR ELDERS (see the Study on Revelation 4) FELL DOWN (inworship) BEFORE THE LAMB (Jesus), EACH ONE HAVING A HARP, AND GOLDEN BOWLS FULL OFINCENSE, WHICH ARE THE PRAYERS OF THE SAINTS (God’s people).Revelation 5:9THEY (the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders) SANG A NEW SONG (onewritten for, and specifically relevant to, this particular vision), SAYING, “YOU(Jesus) ARE WORTHY TO TAKE THE BOOK (the scroll), AND TO OPEN ITS SEALS (and readits contents): FOR YOU (Jesus) WERE KILLED, AND (by Your death) BOUGHT US (God’speople) FOR GOD WITH YOUR BLOOD, OUT OF EVERY TRIBE, LANGUAGE, PEOPLE, AND NATION,Revelation 5:10AND MADE THEM (God’s people) KINGS AND PRIESTS TO OUR GOD, AND THEY (shall) REIGN(rule) ON (some translations say “over” but I think that “on” is correct) EARTH.”Revelation 5:11I SAW, AND I HEARD SOMETHING LIKE A VOICE OF MANY ANGELS AROUND THE THRONE, THELIVING CREATURES, AND THE ELDERS; AND THE NUMBER OF THEM WAS TEN THOUSANDS OF TENTHOUSANDS (hundreds of millions), AND THOUSANDS OF THOUSANDS (millions);Revelation 5:12SAYING WITH A LOUD VOICE, “WORTHY IS THE LAMB (Jesus) WHO HAS BEEN KILLED TORECEIVE THE POWER, WEALTH, WISDOM, STRENGTH, HONOR, GLORY, AND BLESSING (noticethat there are seven things that He is said to be worthy to receive – the number 7is a very important symbol, in this book, of perfection and completion – so thesingers were really saying that Jesus is worthy to receive everything)!”Revelation 5:13I HEARD EVERY CREATED THING WHICH IS IN HEAVEN, ON THE EARTH, UNDER THE EARTH, ONTHE SEA, AND EVERYTHING IN THEM (all living beings in the universe), SAYING, “TOHIM WHO SITS ON THE THRONE (God), AND TO THE LAMB (Jesus), BE THE BLESSING, THEHONOR, THE GLORY, AND THE DOMINION (this time, it’s four things – but 4 is also asymbol of perfection and completion, as in the expression, ‘the four corners ofthe earth,’ which really means, ‘the whole world’), FOREVER AND EVER! AMEN!”Revelation 5:14THE FOUR LIVING CREATURES SAID, “AMEN!” THE ELDERS FELL DOWN AND WORSHIPED.ConclusionWhat we’ve seen in Revelation 5 is a description, not a prediction. It’s a
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