All of creation is perpetually measured by the standard of God’s holy righteousness. What is our place? Who is worthy to announce the Father’s just verdict? What hope do we have if we have all sinned and God must judge justly?
Revelation 5:1-10
I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a bbook written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?” And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it. Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it; and one of the elders said to me, “Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.”
And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth. And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.”
No human is worthy (v. 1-4)
I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?” And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it. Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it…
What John is writing has to do with God’s decree (Cf. 4:5) and God’s faithfulness to His own decree (Cf. 4:3). His decree is His Law and promise as given throughout the entire Bible, particularly in the Torah (Law or Pentateuch; Genesis-Deuteronomy). God the Father holds a book in His right hand, which is written on inside and on the back. Since people did not have bound books in John’s time, he is likely referring to a certain type of scroll containing some type of contractual record. The image does not yet reveal the book’s contents. In Ezekiel 2:9-10, which John alludes to here, Ezekiel presented the same image as a pronouncement of God’s judgment. The Law, found in the Torah, is the sign of God’s covenant. It is a contract that only depends on God (Cf. Genesis 15). The Law reveals God’s righteousness and holiness. If God’s righteousness is the holy standard by which the four witnesses testify about the condition of the world, then we can reasonably infer that the book in the Father’s right hand is the Torah.
In John’s image, the book is sealed with seven seals. Seven is the number of completeness, which means the book is completely sealed up. Historically, seals were placed on documents that were only to be opened by the proper authority. Isaiah employed this imagery in Isaiah 8:16 and 29:11-12 concerning God’s Law and just judgment. No one in heaven, on the earth, or under the earth is worthy to break the seals and open the book—a realization that brings John to tears. Out of all the people who have died and gone to heaven (even Enoch and Elijah, whose deaths are never recorded), out of all the people still on the earth, and out of all those who are in the place of the dead, no one can be found worthy to open God’s Law.
Why do you think John goes through the trouble of making sure we know no one in heaven, on the earth, or under the earth, is found worthy to open God’s Law? I can open my Bible and read it. John could, too. Keep in mind the courtroom setting that has been introduced. The four living creatures are witnesses. The Father sits as the just judge. The Father holds out this book to be read—His verdict. We remember the timing references we have seen so far and the perpetual nature of God’s just judgment (Cf. 1:1, 3, 7, 9; 2:9; 3:12; 4:8), and we consider God’s Law:
See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it. But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess it (Deuteronomy 30:15-18).
This is God’s basic verdict according to the Law. The Law is not merely a set of rules. The Law reveals God’s righteousness, which is the standard by which God has been judging the nations since the beginning, but no human is worthy to pronounce this verdict against anyone. We cannot break the seals because we are not worthy. We cannot judge the world or anyone in the world according to God’s Law because we are not worthy. We do not have the authority to declare anyone righteous or unrighteous. John does not yet reveal why no merely human person is worthy. We are not. We do not have the authority to judge the world, even according to God’s Law. Those on trial do not have the ability to sit on the jury.
Why do you think John weeps because no one is found worthy? John yearns to see justice come to the earth (Cf. 1:7) and the people of God reign (Cf. 3:12). Every Christian yearns to see justice in his or her time. We cry out for justice. We understand, though, that we are not the arbiters of justice. Only God is. There is a problem. Everyone has transgressed God’s Law. Therefore, God verdict against all people is damnation according to the Law. What a sobering and fearful prospect. According to God’s Law, we are all guilty. The Law reveals the Father’s righteousness and our unrighteousness. Unjust people cannot rightly judge injustice. Only one who is perfectly just can break the seals and declare the Father’s verdict according to His Law.
Jesus is worthy (v. 5-10)
…and one of the elders said to me, “Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.”
And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth. And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.”
Remember, John’s Revelation is a book of symbols. The Father does not literally have a physical body. Jesus is not literally a lion or a root. Only one person is worthy to break the seals and open the book—the Lion of Judah (Cf. Genesis 49:9) and the Root of David (Cf. Isaiah 11:1-10), the Messiah—Jesus Christ. John sees Jesus, who was described as the Lion of Judah and Root of David, standing in the midst of His angels and His two-fold church (Cf. 1:13). Only, now He is portrayed as a Lamb, the animal upon which guilt was placed in the Mosaic sacrificial system (Cf. Deuteronomy 5:6), the sign by which God’s wrath passes over His chosen people (Cf. Exodus 12:1-13), and the substitutionary sacrifice for Abraham (Cf. Genesis 22:13). Jesus, the sacrificial Lamb, is standing as if slain. How can a slain lamb stand? John’s Revelation is a picture, not a puzzle. Further, John’s Revelation is not a chronological ordering of events—treating it as such will madden a person. Jesus was slain in the crucifixion and raised to life on the third day. He not only died as the substitutionary atonement for His people but rose victorious over sin and death on their behalf. Under the Law, we are all guilty and deserving of everlasting damnation. But, Jesus took the place of His people. That is the Messianic promise in the Law. God would deliver His people despite their treachery (Cf. Deuteronomy 32). No wonder the saints cast their crowns before the Father and prostrate themselves at His feet. Whatever judgment is described in John’s Revelation, it passes over God’s people because they are secure in Christ. The Lamb’s blood covers them and they find their victory in Him. The Father’s just wrath that was due them was revealed against Jesus Christ. God is just and the justifier of those who believe (Cf. Romans 3:26); Our justification is entirely His work, not ours. It turns out, we can only be saved by grace through faith and not by any work or ours according to the Law (Cf. Ephesians 2:8-9). Why? God is the only righteous one, and it is His righteousness alone that is revealed by His Law.
The seven horns and eyes represent the Holy Spirit, who is sent out over the whole earth to accomplish Christ’s work.
Jesus takes the book from the Father; He is worthy to judge justly because He fulfilled all righteousness on behalf of the elect and accepted the verdict due them on their behalf. The angels and two-fold church praise Him with music, and the church offers up her prayers as incense before the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus is worthy to break the book’s seals because He purchased, redeemed, God’s people among the nations. Jesus, by His atoning sacrifice, has made God’s chosen people from among the nations a single kingdom of priests who will reign upon the earth. This work was finished with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection and cannot be construed as some future event. This new song was new because Christ fulfilled all righteousness according to the Law. Since Jesus Christ is the one upon whom the Father’s justice was revealed and through whom the Father’s elect are justified, He alone can announce the Father’s final, lawful verdict—everlasting blessing for those whom atonement has been made in Christ, the Messiah, and everlasting damnation for those whom atonement has not been made in Christ. That’s why John brings atonement imagery into his law-court symbol. The sacrificial system in the Law (Cf. Leviticus 1-7) provided a means of grace through which everyone for whom atonement was made was considered ritually pure even though they transgressed God’s Law. The Messiah is the perfect, eternal means of grace, and like the Old Testament sacrifices, not everyone is covered by the blood of the Lamb—atonement is limited and particular in its extent. Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Has atonement been made for your sins forever? Is your faith in Christ alone for your salvation, or will you be judged according to your works and condemned under God’s holy Law?
andrew paul cannon 
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