We’re back in our study of Revelation called The KING is Coming, where we’re taking a verse-by-verse approach to see what the book truly reveals—Jesus Christ Himself. As always, I’m joined by Jamie Harrison, and I’m thankful for the opportunity to walk through this study together. Today, we’ll be in a passage that is probably quite familiar if you’re a member or regular-attender of Christ Community Church as we read it in worship fairly often – Revelation 5:
5 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. 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, 4 and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. 5 And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”
6 And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. 8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying,
“Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,for you were slain,
and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.”
11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice,
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!”
13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,
“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”
14 And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.[1]
Keith Harris:
Greetings, sojourners. We have a lot to dive into today, so, Jamie, let’s go ahead and dive in.
Jamie Harrison:
All right, so for real, let’s dive in, man, because this really is like — this is it. This is the big climactic scene in heaven. We mentioned in chapter 4 that the throne room is going to be the setting for the remainder of Revelation, and it’s mentioned over and over and over — the throne room, the throne room. And we know that the One seated on the throne is God the Father. And we know that Jesus is going to come and He’s going to sit at His right hand, and the Holy Spirit is there — we’ll see in just a second. And so it starts with this scroll that’s got writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals there in verse 1. And back in Roman times we know that a will or a title deed would be sealed with seven seals. And basically what they would do is they would roll it, seal it, roll it, seal it, roll it, seal it — and again there would be seven seals. And nobody was able to open that scroll except the appointed heir.
Keith:
Is there a significance to the seven in Roman Empire days, or is that just — you think — significant biblically here?
Jamie:
I would say biblically significant. I know people try to read a lot into a lot of different things, but there’s — obviously there’s seven churches, so people say one seal for each church, right? Those kinds of things. You know what I think is that it’s just biblically significant — the number seven in and of itself. And so no necessary hidden meaning per se, but it’s completely sealed — it’s locked down.
Keith:
Correct. Gotcha. As the number seven being the number of completion..
Jamie:
Amen. So this thing is sealed up. And in verse 2 we see the angel ask, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” And this angel is a mighty angel. And you would think if anybody could, you know, it’d be this really mighty angel — but he’s not worthy to open it. And then in verse 3 it says no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or even to look in it. Now understand, when it says no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth, that’s everybody that has ever been.
Keith:
All the places to be.
Jamie:
Correct, right? So that is covering everybody, and nobody is able to open the scroll.
Keith:
And I think that’s an interesting wording there. The question is “who is worthy,” not “who is able.” So we’re covering strength here, but worthiness is the question. Excuse you.
Jamie:
Thank you.
Keith:
So talk to me — take a sip — the difference with worthiness and ability here is not about strength. You mentioned the mighty angel. You mentioned everybody who is. What’s the deal here?
Jamie:
It kind of goes back to — who was it? Was it King Arthur that pulled Excalibur out of the stone?
Keith:
Allegedly.
Jamie:
Right — yeah, that’s a myth. And so the idea of that story being all these strong guys came up and tried to get it out and couldn’t — only the one who was worthy. And so I want to limit — let’s get to that in a second.
Keith:
All right.
Jamie:
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
Keith:
We’ll put a pin in it.
Jamie:
Yes, put a pin in it — but not too hard, that will hurt. All right, so I’m going to jump over to Hebrews chapter 1, verses 1 through 3 real quick, because this is going to help us as we move forward. I’m going to jump over to Hebrews chapter 1, verses 1 through 3 real quick, because this is going to help us as we move forward.
1 Long ago God spoke to the fathers by the prophets at different times and in different ways. 2 In these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son. God has appointed Him heir of all things and made the universe g through Him. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of His nature, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.[2]
And that’s a really cool Scripture there because it tells us who is the heir — Jesus. Jesus is the heir. And the Son is the radiance of God’s glory, the exact expression of His nature, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After He makes purification for sins — not His sins, for sins — He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. And that’s going to answer your question about who’s worthy, but we’re still not going to jump ahead.
Keith:
Well, and also — who’s able to atone for sins? Not us. Not those on earth or under the earth, for sure.
Jamie:
It’s kind of like Big John says all the time — that if Jesus did 99% of the forgiving and we did the one, all we would brag about is the one.
Keith:
But clearly here we got the none.
Jamie:
That’s correct — definitely the none. Not to be confused with nuns — this is N-O-N-E, none. Okay, so now we can move forward, because nobody is able to open the scroll. And then John begins to weep. It says, “I wept and wept because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or even to look at it.” Can you imagine — like you see this scroll in the right hand of the Father, and I don’t know at that point if John necessarily knew what it was or not. I mean, he doesn’t say he knows what it is. But obviously he was alive during that time, so if it’s sealed with seven seals his mind probably went straight to some type of title deed or a will or something like that as well. And so can you imagine this climactic moment where you see this scroll and then nobody is worthy to open it?
Keith:
I wonder too — just thinking about the vision that he’s seeing there — it kind of puts me… it reminds me of Isaiah 6, the vision that Isaiah got in the year that King Uzziah died. Like thinking about worthiness — you’re sitting there, you can see the throne. And we talked about this back in Revelation 1 — like in my mind, seeing the throne, you’re not looking at it alone. When we say “high and lifted up,” He literally was high and lifted up. I mean, think Ezekiel — the visions he had of the throne. Like he’s looking at the soles of His feet from way down. And when you ask who is worthy — I know when I am confronted with the holiness and worthiness of God, my first thoughts turn to my unworthiness and why I’m unworthy. Like — gotta be feeling some guilt, gotta be feeling overwhelmed in the first place. This disciple whom Jesus loved, outliving all the rest of the apostles — more than likely in his late 80s, early 90s at this point — like he’s feeling some stuff. He’s well acquainted with his unworthiness, and his friend, the worthy One — the Lamb of God — that’s how his gospel describes Him — died. He knows He rose, but still at the same time, that’s a lot to process.
Jamie:
And so he weeps and weeps because nobody is worthy to open the scroll or even to look in it. And then in verse 5 — here we go — one of the elders says to me… which we talked about in chapter 4, you know, what the elders might represent. And it says, “Do not weep. Look.” Now the word’s important — he says, “Look.” “The Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that He can open the scroll and its seven seals.” So the Lion from the tribe of Judah — let’s talk about that for a second. Way back in Genesis chapter 49, verses 8 through 10, these are Jacob’s last words. He gives the scepter over to the tribe of Judah, meaning the kings will come from that tribe, obviously starting with David there. But we know that he also references that Shiloh will come — and that’s an idea that someday the King is going to come and He’s going to take over and He’s going to reign for eternity. That’s talking about Jesus again. And so the Lion from the tribe of Judah is like the King of kings.
Keith:
In the wording of the prophecy all the way back pre-king — hence that — what does it say? The Root of David, correct? And it’s a big deal.
Jamie:
And the Root of David goes back to Isaiah 11. Hey — I’m turning to Isaiah 11… maybe I should have used the digital Bible instead, because these pages—
Keith:
Well, this is where the preacher wants to say, “I still hear pages turning — we’ll wait.”
Jamie:
That’s going to be Isaiah 11 — the eleventh chapter of Isaiah. That’s what preachers do, in case you were wondering — it’s because they’re trying to find it themselves. Isaiah 11, verses 1 through 10:
11 Then a shoot will grow from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch from his roots will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him —
a Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
a Spirit of counsel and strength,
a Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
3 His delight will be in the fear of the Lord.
He will not judge
by what He sees with His eyes,
He will not execute justice
by what He hears with His ears,
4 but He will judge the poor righteously
and execute justice for the oppressed of the land.
He will strike the land
with discipline from His mouth,
and He will kill the wicked
with a command from His lips.
5 Righteousness will be a belt around His loins;
faithfulness will be a belt around His waist.
6 The wolf will live with the lamb,
and the leopard will lie down with the goat.
The calf, the young lion, and the fatling will be together,
and a child will lead them.
7 The cow and the bear will graze,
their young ones will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 An infant will play beside the cobra’s pit,
and a toddler will put his hand into a snake’s den.
9 None will harm or destroy another
on My entire holy mountain,
for the land will be as full
of the knowledge of the Lord
as the sea is filled with water.
10 On that day the root of Jesse
will stand as a banner for the peoples.
The nations will seek Him,
and His resting place will be glorious.
I understand, again — this is a prophecy of Jesus that is going — He’s going to come. At this point this is obviously before He has come. And so this is who the Jews were looking for — this conquering king, okay? Now that’s very important, because they were looking for a conquering king. But when Jesus came, He did not conquer, so to speak, the way they thought He was going to in that moment — thinking He was going to free them from Roman oppression, right? And so here’s where it gets really exciting, because this conquering king — remember, “the Root of David has conquered,” is what it says in Revelation 5. And so when you read this, you’re like, “Okay, I see the Lion from the tribe of Judah. I hear you saying the Root of David, and it says that He’s conquered.” Well, how has He conquered? Because He came and He died, and then He rose again — and the Romans are still in control. They’re still in control. Still in control at this point. Now remember, they told him to turn and look. And when you turn and look, it says “the Lion from the tribe of Judah.” But when he turns and looks — in verse 6 — he sees One like a slaughtered Lamb standing in the midst of the throne. He does not see the Lion from the tribe of Judah, so to speak, like you would think you would turn and literally see some type of very strong, mighty force standing there.
Keith:
Like Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia, right? Kind of a Mufasa — that’s right — big old lion.
Jamie:
Lion, lion — right. And instead he turns and he sees One like a slaughtered Lamb standing in the midst of the throne. Now just picture this for a minute — you’re John. You’ve lived with Jesus, you’ve walked with Jesus, you’ve seen Jesus. And then you turn expecting to see this lion, and instead you see One like a slaughtered Lamb. You see the scars in His hands. You see the scars in His feet. You see the scars in His side. And the idea you get kind of takes us back to the Passover lamb — you know, put the blood on your doorpost and it will cover you, and we’ll spare you from death.
Keith:
So — and I think too — it’s got to draw him back to what the Holy Spirit led him to write down by his own hands. “Behold the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world.” That’s what he wrote down in John 1:29 — the words of John the Baptist. Like, I think this is a huge perspective change, because if anybody should have known the answer to “who is worthy” and not been so bereft that he’s crying, it’d be the disciple whom Jesus loved, right? But here he turns around and — I don’t know — it’s almost liberating. If John can forget, maybe it’s a little more understandable — sometimes not excusable, but at least understandable. If John, standing there in heaven, doesn’t immediately think, “Jesus is worthy,” — remember Him? — yeah, we need that reminder too. But I mean, he’s looking for this archetypal Lion of the tribe of Judah, this conquering leader. Maybe you think some kind of warrior angel is fit to come out and put a whooping on—I mean, he’s having this vision from a prison island in his 90s. He’s needing a little liberation, no doubt. But liberation theology doesn’t match up to the beauty of the Lamb standing as though slain.
Jamie:
And that’s key — what you just said — is that He’s standing. How many slaughtered lambs do you know that are standing?
Keith:
None.
Jamie:
None. That is the whole idea of slaughtering. But Jesus is standing. He isn’t timid, He isn’t laying down, He isn’t dead — He’s alive.
Keith:
And I think, going back to your — and I guess this is probably what you’re getting into — like things that are showing that He’s standing, He’s not propped up. He has seven horns — that fullness of strength. Seven eyes — that fullness of clarity and sight and knowledge and all of that representing the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. That the second person of the Godhead — still fully God, still fully man — fully alive and fully eternal. Because full death did nothing to stop Him.
Jamie:
Correct.
Keith:
That’ll preach — that’s what they say.
Jamie:
I can tell you want to do it, man.
Keith:
I’m trying to hold him back. It’s okay — saving a little bit for Sunday.
Jamie:
He turns — he sees Jesus standing in the midst of the throne, One like a slaughtered Lamb, but He’s standing to receive the scroll. The scroll that nobody has been found worthy to open at this point. But Jesus comes over, and at that moment when He takes that scroll, He identifies Himself as our kinsman-redeemer — the One that is worthy to open the scroll. The Root of David. The Lion of the tribe of Judah. The all-conquering King. The all-prevailing Lord. The King of kings. The Lord of lords. I know you want to go, man. I know you want to go. Take it away.
Keith:
I mean — He’s the answer to the question. And you look at this, and I’m not trying to get ahead, but what’s so beautiful to me in the response of the elders and the myriads standing around the throne and all of the creatures there is their worship. Just like in the Old Testament, going all the way back to that praise song written by Moses — “the horse and the rider were thrown into the sea.” It’s in response to what they see there. Like they literally, spontaneously — Holy Spirit-led — sing a song about Him being worthy to take and open the scroll. And not just take it — to open it. He’s not worthy to hold it — it’s not a baton being passed on in some marathon race of faithfulness. He’s worthy to take it, to open it, because He was slain. And His blood ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. And did what God said all the way back when He’s talking to Abraham, when He’s talking to Moses, when He’s talking to His people throughout the millennia — to make them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth. This is the fulfillment of all these earthly things — and even it points to the ways that evil has tried to fight against the kingdom of God, but it can’t. It literally killed Jesus — God in flesh — and He didn’t stay dead. It didn’t take. Was it Peter who says in Acts chapter 3 that the pangs of death were unable to keep Him? You’ve got the beautiful resurrection chapter in 1 Corinthians 15 where Paul talks about the hope and glory that is in the resurrection. That we are saved by His finished work on the cross, but we’re kept and we get this eternal life through His resurrection. This is a huge deal right here, because nobody else can do that — which is why He alone is worthy. He’s singular. He’s holy. He’s unique. He’s God. And it’s just beautiful — beautiful.
Jamie:
Some of the commentaries I read through say that this is the greatest act in all of human history. And I think it’s fitting to look at it that way — that this is the culmination, this is the completion. And I know — I hate to even have to clarify this almost — but I do know there will be people listening to this that don’t know Christ. And in the next episode, Jesus is going to open the scroll — and when He opens the scroll, bad stuff is going to start happening, right? And so the idea would be, “You’re really excited about this scroll that’s bringing bad stuff about?” You know — what it’s bringing about is our inheritance, because we’re heirs with God and co-heirs with Christ, according to Paul in Romans chapter 8. And so I get where the idea could come from — “Well, you’re excited bad things are going to happen.” No, no, no, no, no. Understand this — throughout all of this, salvation is available. Salvation is available when these seals start breaking. Salvation is available later on in chapter 9, where it’s going to say, in essence, that this huge demonic army kills all these people, and then the people continue to worship the demons that were just killing them. So it’s still a choice. There’s still the opportunity to come to know Christ and repent here. So is it bringing about bad stuff? No. It’s bringing about what we deserve, which is God’s judgment.
Keith:
Kind of along the lines that you’re talking here — it’s not for us to be excited or terrified for what He’s going to bring about. We’re excited that it’s in His hands. That none of this stuff that happens is out of His control, outside the realm of His sovereignty. And it’s kind of like — and we’ve quoted Big John several times today — but his answer when people want to ask about the problem of evil: “Where is this good God in the midst of all this evil?” How can God still be good in the midst of the things we’re going to read about in the next chapter? If it wasn’t for this good God, there would be no goodness at all. It would just be the evil and wickedness that honestly we ourselves are no less capable of than the ones we would deem more wicked or more evil. The difference is what our good God does with it. And that’s the thing — it’s all in His hands now. He’s not playing with sin. He’s not playing with feelings. This is — I mean, when He came the first time, we got the Lamb. This time, we get the Lion. And that’s no light thing. It’s kind of like — y’all know I’m a nerd — in The Chronicles of Narnia, where Aslan is meant to be a picture of Jesus. One of the kids — I think it’s Lucy — asks, “Is he a safe lion?” And I think it’s the beaver who responds, “A safe lion? He’s a lion.” Like — ain’t nothing safe about a lion. Safety came when He came as the Lamb, taking away the sins of the world. Sins of the world have been taken away. He has conquered. Now you get the teeth.
Jamie:
Yep — that’s a good word.
Keith:
Sound effect — onomatopoeia.
Jamie:
Yep, that. So I don’t want to just keep harping on the same point over and over, because we could — I mean definitely this is very exciting. It’s very exciting to know how — not that one day I’ll get to go to heaven and have a big mansion and see streets of gold — but one day I’ll get to see the King of kings and Lord of lords who is worthy to open the scroll. Face to face.
Keith:
There’s no scenery even described in a lot of these places. When you’re in the presence of Jesus, in the presence of the throne, they’re not talking about all the things that sometimes we would sing about. All the rest of it pales in comparison to Him. When the Lamb stands as though slain, the eyes are on Him — not the floor.
Jamie:
And when we get to Revelation 21 we’ll talk a lot more about that. But we know there will be no sun or moon in the New Jerusalem, because the Trinity will be the light. There will be no shadows. There will be no dark corners. There will be no dark anything. They will be the light. We know there’s no temple because they’re there — there’s no need of a temple. And so yeah — it’s like all eyes on Him.
Keith:
Well, and Hebrews says all these things are shadows pointing to Christ — like that’s figurative shadows. But there will be no figurative nor literal shadows, right? Because all is light.
Jamie:
And I think — I almost feel like that’s a good place to stop. You know, we could continue on and talk about some little things here and there. But when you look at the song — that song — and then the second one, what they say — not a song again, it’s a recitation. Is that the right word?
Keith:
Yeah — well, I mean it says, “And they sang a new song, saying…” So it’s not about the musical aspect of it as much as it kind of reminds me of church traditions that’ll get to talking about shouting. Sometimes they’re singing — there’s a melodic thing to it — but it’s more about the substance than the song.
Jamie:
And that’s it. And the substance here is Jesus. You died for us. You were slaughtered. You purchased people by Your blood — not just a certain group of people, but people from every tribe and language and people and nation. And now because of that we can be saved. We can have a relationship with Christ. We can one day spend eternity with Him.
And in the second one — it’s every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea and everything in them — this is like everybody, everything that he’s seeing here. They say, “Blessing and honor and glory and power be to the One seated on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever.” And then they fall down and worship. And I think when we begin to really dive into the book of Revelation and the rest of the Bible, that should be our response — to fall down in worship. And this is something I’m guilty of a lot of times — I’ll read just for the sake of reading, to do my reading for the day. But is there ever a moment during that reading where I stop and I just begin to worship the Lord because of what I read, because of who He is, because of what He did for me — because He’s worthy?
Keith:
And I mean, like Jamie said, this is a good time to segue into a close. That’s why we’re studying the book of Revelation like this. We’re not trying to answer every unanswerable question. We’re not trying to sweep out the nooks and crannies of prophecy. We’re not trying to convince anyone of our own wisdom or knowledge. We’re trying to point people to the Lamb. And so that’s what we close with today.
As we get ready next week to move into Revelation 6 and see what’s in the scroll, right now we leave you in the hands of Him holding the scroll — who’s worthy not only to hold it but able to open it. The Lion of the tribe of Judah. The Lamb of God who has taken away the sins of the world. He is mighty. He’s high and lifted up. But He’s approachable.
I think Hebrews 4:15-16 is a good passage to end on — and again, if you’re listening and you’re part of Christ Community Church or The Foundry, we’ve been in the book of Hebrews for most of this year. I think it’s a good time to look at the approachable nature of our great God and King.
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
When you look at this, we see John moved by the presence of the Lamb in literally the shadow of the throne. He’s approachable. He is available for us.
Jamie talked about how we look at this — that while all this is going on, there’s still opportunity to be saved. It says multiple times in the Bible — I know in Isaiah — “Seek the Lord while He may be found.”
Well, sojourner, we have presented you the Lion, the Lamb, the King — our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
What are you going to do with Him today?
He’s approachable.
He can be found.
Why don’t you seek Him?
[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Re 5:1–14.
[2] When Jamie reads from his Bible, it’s from the CSB (The Holy Bible: Holman Christian Standard Version. (Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2009)).
Just Keith Harris 