Revelation 5:5

“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.'”

My heart goes out to the elder John, now brought to tears by the unwelcome news that no one in heaven or on earth could open the scroll, the heart of God, that lay there closed and sealed before him.

John, the only surviving of the twelve apostles, after seeing so much – the destruction of Jerusalem’s mighty Temple thirty years prior to this, the good times when the churches grew and spread and then the devastating time when the Emperors of the Roman Empire turned against the followers of Jesus because they refused to worship the Emperor or the Roman gods – after seeing all that John had many questions, I suspect. It was a kaleidoscope of ups and downs, of joys and sorrows, of hopes and despair.  No one felt this more acutely than John, the Apostle.

Where is God in all this?  Is there any hope for the future?  Is the defenseless church of Jesus Christ doomed to be destroyed by the mighty power of Rome? What does the future hold?  The answer, John knew, was in that scroll, that book, closed and sealed. It was there before him. He saw it with his own eyes.

It was in that state of despair that John heard one of the elders say, “Do not weep!  See…” Then went on to explain that the “someone” was there all the time, in his risen glory. “He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.” v5

As John looked, he saw.  There, standing in the center of that great throne in heaven was a lamb, of all things, a lamb!  And a wounded one at that, as it had been slain.  Talk about weakness! Why is all heaven’s attention focused on this little lamb?

The answer?  It is simple. He, alone, was able to open the scroll, no one else.

John saw the lamb take the book to break the seals with which it was bound.  At that point all heaven burst into robust singing, “They sang a new song!  You are worthy.”  John breathed freely again.  There is hope!  Again, he may have joined the singing, halting at first then with full volume.

(To be continued.)