A Revelation Invitation

(Babylonian Lion Relief, Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence, Rhode Island)

Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. (Revelation 5:1-4 ESV)

Why does John weep loudly when no one can open the scroll? Was he overreacting? Was he being a bit melodramatic? Why did it matter so much to him that he had to know what was written in that scroll? What was in the scroll that could be so consequential? Or should we instead be asking, “What are we missing about this moment in John’s vision?”

We have witnessed similar reactions in our day. For example, we have seen people weep and wail and riot after especially momentous political outcomes such as the defeat of a favored candidate. Why did these people have such reactions? One possibility is fear of an uncertain future. Or they might have anticipated that their candidate would usher in an era of prosperity, peace and healing. They may have become overwhelmed with hopelessness lamenting a missed opportunity for national reconciliation. They might have anticipated that their quality of life would decline. They could have expected their prospective circumstances to worsen rather than improve. They had become hopeless and fearful. At the time who was to say that their expectations were not justified? Their emotional state depended on what or in whom they had placed their hope.

When John realized that no one was worthy to open the scroll, what did that mean to him? What alarmed him so much that he would weep loudly? Consider the significance of the scroll in John’s vision. It wasn’t information that John thought was being withheld. As a messenger and a shepherd to God’s people, he feared for their future, an uncertain future he believed was concealed in that scroll. God would only hand the scroll to one who could rightfully open it, and more importantly to preside over what it revealed. When no one capable stepped forward, John feared for the fate that awaited them. He feared that God’s people would be victims of that future with no one to rescue them from the chaos, from Rome’s heavy hand of persecution, from the tribulations that they were suffering, all to their demise. He had always believed that God would protect his people. Suddenly, John feared that they might be left on their own to suffer helplessly. For a moment he had lost hope.

Observing John’s mental and emotional state, one of the elders assured him that there was indeed one who was worthy, one whom God recognized as worthy because he was King (the Lion of the tribe of Judah), who had already conquered. What had he conquered? This King was the the Lamb standing as though it had been slain. The Lamb of God had conquered the greatest of enemies: sin and death. If this King had already won that victory, he was certainly capable of dealing with anyone or anything that threatened God’s people, whether in the heavenly realms or on earth.

“And [the Lamb] went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne” (5:7 ESV).The future of God’s people was securely in the hands of the one who was worthy to open the scroll and preside over that future. John realized that if he and the saints put their trust in this King, their future was secure. Not that their circumstances were about to improve—the future would be difficult. But regardless of the course of events, they need not fear. Trusting in the one who had already conquered meant that nothing Rome did to them could rob them of their hope, of their promised future.

Even as God’s dearly loved people we never know what circumstances we will find ourselves in. We don’t know who will be deriding us, or accusing us, or tormenting us. If we are faithful to God, we should expect to be mistreated as Jesus was. No matter what the powers of the air or the principalities of this world heap upon us, we know that the Lion who has overcome now rules, that the Lamb who was slain now stands, and that he holds our future securely in his hand.

You who sit upon the throne, I praise you for your assurances of victory even when I suffer. I am grateful that your Son conquered death. I need not cry out in uncertainty of whether my faithfulness has been in vain. I need not fear death, that greatest weapon of the evil one. My future is in your Son’s hands, and that hope is a glorious one. Amen.