Tuesday, November 28, 2023

OPENING THE BOOK WITH SEVEN SEALS

Rev. 5:9a ... "And they sang a new song, saying, 'You are worthy to take the Book, and to open the 
                     seals thereof.'"


      In a vision in exile on the island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea the apostle John was highly privileged to be shown a door opened in heaven. From the region beyond it he then heard a commanding voice say, "Come up hither," (Rev. 4:1). Obeying the voice, John saw God sitting on His throne invested in the beauty of unutterable glory. He also saw four Living Beings flanking the throne and, across a sea of crystalline glass, a group of twenty-four elders. All were worshipping God and lauding His incompar-able excellencies.

      In Rev. 5:1, John then saw in God's hand a book (or scroll) that was sealed with seven seals. A "strong angel" in a loud voice then addressed the entire celestial assembly with the question, "Who is worthy to open the Book, and to loose the seals thereof?" This writer believes that this Book represents God's will for mankind since it is first seen in God's hand and was obviously written and sealed by Him. The significance of its being sealed lies in its divine integrity, i.e., it is God's composition alone and sealed to preserve its divine purity.

      But for His will to accomplish its purpose among men, it had to be opened and revealed. Therefore the momentous question in v.2, "Who is worthy to open the Book, and to loose the seals thereof?" Only someone who was most select, who could meet God's most exacting requirements, would be "worthy" to take God's own Book and reveal its contents to the world. Accordingly, no one was found either on earth or in heaven to take the Book and break its seven seals. This failure seemed to doom God's will for man to the realm of eternal mystery, thus excluding the world from its enormous benefits. Such an apprehension filled John with grief and lamentation until one of the elders announced that the worthy individual had been found. He was "the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David ... a Lamb as [if ] it had been slain," (vs. 5-6). The last phrase indicates that He (Jesus Christ) had lately ascended from earth after His crucifixion and resurrection.

      Advancing to God's throne, Jesus took the Book and prepared to open its seven seals. (This event is described in detail in the next three chapters.) When He took the Book, all heaven erupted in joy and exultation. It is here that we come to the featured text above, for as the twenty-four elders rejoiced, "They sang a new song, saying, 'You are worthy to take the Book, and to open the seals thereof.'" Following them, myriads of angels took up their joyous chorus of praise. Heaven's jubilation was then echoed throughout the entire universe as "every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them ... [cried out], 'Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him who sits upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.'"

      In the succeeding chapters, as Jesus opens the seals so that God's will can be enacted upon earth, we see visions of the ungodly being judged for their unrighteousness, and of the godly being preserved and blessed for their righteousness. The message for us is that God rules over this world, no matter what geopolitical scene might appear in any given generation or century. For example, during the last century we witnessed the rise and fall of Nazi government, a godless and brutal power. For two decades the free world wondered if someday everyone might have to submit to the slavery of this regime. Within a dozen years of its beginning, however, this demonic threat collapsed after a terrific period of war. When men and nations have manifested their strength in wicked rebellion against God and in persecution of those who try to live for Him, God shall always prevail and claim the ultimate victory. This is the fund-amental message presented in Revelation, and it is amplified throughout the remainder of this terminal book of the Bible.