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. He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. 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. 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. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”

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. 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!”

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!” The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped. (Revelation 5:6-14)

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. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside.

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.” (Revelation 5:1-5)


The Sealed Scroll

In Chapter 4 we were introduced to the Father of the Groom, which of course is God himself, or Yahweh. Now in Chapter 5, we’ll meet the Groom, Yeshua. But before we do that, we need to understand what is taking place with the “scroll” that the Father is holding in his hand.  This is essential to our understanding of the Revelation, and even the entire Bible.

In the illustration to the left you can see how this scroll is typically portrayed in commentaries, as though it were a Greek-style scroll with wax signet ring seals. But this couldn’t be farther from the truth. To begin with, if it were a Greek scroll there would be no way to determine if it had writing on both sides, since one side would be concealed. Instead, John was seeing something quite different, and something he was already familiar with. John was seeing a Hebrew scroll, as shown in the illustration to the right.