REVELATION 5:1-7, THE SCROLL OF WOE (FOR THE LOST) AND REDEMPTION (FOR THE SAVED)

In Revelation 4 we see God the Almighty on His throne in the temple.  In various translations it says the throne is “set” or “is standing in heaven” meaning it is established and immovable. This is a picture of absolute power and no one is able to usurp God’s power. At the fall, Satan stole the power from Man and God has allowed Satan to exercise his contingent power for a season and for His purpose. Now it is time to take it back.

“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.”  What is in the scroll? Some say it is a title deed to the earth but others say it shows God’s plan of how He is going to take back what belongs to Him. Maybe it is both. This we know. It is a scroll of doom for all who oppose God and a scroll of hope for all who know Him because our hope of being with our Lord forever in His perfect Kingdom is only a few years away when this event occurs. This is the same scroll that Ezekiel and Daniel saw but did not understand. “Then I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out to me. In it was a scroll, which he unrolled before me. On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe. (Ezekiel 2:9-10;Also see  Daniel 12:4-13)

John MacArthur uses this outline for the next few verses: 1) The search for the worthy One; 2) the selection of the worthy One; 3) the song for the worthy One (which we will study later).

1) The search for the worthy One - "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 (was able to) open the scroll or even look inside it.” Who was worthy and who was able? Who was righteous enough to rightly execute God’s judgment (the soon coming tribulation) and who was powerful enough to throw Satan off his stolen throne?  This mighty angel may be Gabriel whose name means “strength of God” shouting across the universe in search of someone worthy to execute God’s plan of judgment. He looked everywhere and at everyone but no angel, not Gabriel or Michael, nor the mighty cherubim around the throne; no man (even the best of man from Abraham to John himself) was found worthy (and many evil men have tried - from Nebuchadnezzar to Alexander, Napoleon, Lenin,  Hitler; and certainly no demon, though Lucifer tried (Ezek. 28).

 “I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside.” John had unrestrained weeping at the thought that the fall and curse and misery that began with Adam and the pain and suffering for even the best of mankind, and the diabolical evil of Satan seen in the death camps and the disease, death and destruction of even nature itself would go on and on and on and on….  “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? 25But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” (Rom. 8:22-25) “We live in a sighing, sobbing, suffering world. The whole creation groans and suffers pain like that of childbirth. Nature’s music is in the minor key. The earth is racked by cataclysm. The blight of death is on every living thing. 8:23 Believers are not exempt. Although they have the firstfruits of the Spirit, guaranteeing their eventual deliverance, they still groan for that day of glory. The Holy Spirit Himself is the firstfruits. Just as the first handful of ripened grain is a pledge of the entire harvest to follow, so the Holy Spirit is the pledge or guarantee that the full inheritance will be ours. Specifically, He is the guarantee of the coming adoption, the redemption of the body (Eph. 1:14). In one sense we have already been adopted, which means that we have been placed into God’s family as sons. But in a fuller sense our adoption will be complete when we receive our glorified bodies at the time of the Rapture (1 Thess. 4:13–18). 8:24  We were saved in this attitude of hope. We did not receive all the benefits of our salvation at the moment of conversion. From the outset we looked forward to full and final deliverance from sin, suffering, disease, and death. If we had already received these blessings, we wouldn’t be hoping for them. We only hope for what is in the future. 8:25 Our hope for deliverance from the presence of sin and all its baneful results is based on the promise of God, and is therefore as certain as if we had already received it. So we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.” <!-- if !supportFootnotes --> 1 <!-- endif -->MacDonald, William ; Farstad, Arthur: Believer& 39;s Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1995, S. Re 5:1

2) The selection of the worthy One - “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 (and worthy) to open the scroll and its seven seals." These are Messianic titles from the Old Testament (Gen. 49:8-10 and Isaiah 11:1, 10) and speak of a Ruler and King coming to reign over Israel. When Jesus came as a Suffering Servant (a Lamb - Isa. 53:7) to die for our sins instead of as a powerful king, His people rejected Him. But now the Lion has come to rule and reign.

“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.” The Lion is now a Lamb again and yet this Lamb is all-powerful (seven horns) and omniscient (seven eyes) and full of the Holy Spirit.  

"Do not weep!” (Rev. 5:5)  The elder tells John not to weep. Why? As MacArthur points out it is the same words Jesus used to explain why the widowed mother should not weep for her dead son: Do not weep because your son’s death is not permanent, and then Jesus raised the man back to life. (Luke 7:11-15) It is the same words Jesus said to Jairus and his wife and friends: Do not weep because your daughter’s death is not permanent. And He raised her back to life. (Luke 8:49-55)

"Do not weep! (Rev. 5:5)  And when Jesus takes the scroll from the Father, all the years of our weeping are about to end. “He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne.”  This is the beginning of the end; the end of evil; the end of the fall, the curse; the end of Satan; It is the beginning of a new beginning; paradise regained; Eden restored. It is what we have been hoping for and groaning for, for centuries. Don’t weep John because death is not permanent, evil is not permanent; but God’s new heaven and new earth are permanent – it is forever: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."  5He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." (Rev. 21:1-5)

Jesus is the worthy One and the One who is able to execute God’s righteous judgment on all who reject Him. He created us. He died for us when we sinned and bought us back to be His own. He has all power in heaven and earth (Matt. 28:18-19) and He will throw Satan into the lake of fire forever. “And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast (the anti-Christ) and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” (Rev.20:10)

What does this passage and teaching say to you?

What is in the scroll for you? For your lost loved ones?

Have someone read this at your table and listen to it with your eyes closed. Then take time to share the emotions you feel when you think about this wonderful promise of God: "I am making everything new!" "Do not weep! (Rev. 5:5)  And when Jesus takes the scroll from the Father, all the years of our weeping are about to end. “He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne.”  This is the beginning of the end; the end of evil; the end of the fall, the curse; the end of Satan; It is the beginning of a new beginning; paradise regained; Eden restored. It is what we have been hoping for and groaning for, for centuries. Don’t weep John because death is not permanent, evil is not permanent; but God’s new heaven and new earth are permanent – it is forever: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."  5He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." (Rev. 21:1)

Did you fear death before you were saved? How does it feel to know you no longer have to? Scripture memory verse:  "Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”  (Heb. 2:14-15)