Sunday School Notes: Revelation 5:7-8

⁷ And he came and took [the scroll] from the right [hand] of the one sitting upon the throne. ⁸ And when he took the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp and a golden bowl filled with incense, which are the prayers of the saints.”

We started off with a recap to keep everything in context. In particular we remembered the way the Lamb is presented to us, as the one having been slain. At the beginning of chapter 5, John lamented the fact that no-one anywhere was worthy to take the scroll and open the seals, because that meant that the judgments and promises contained within the scroll would not come about. An elder comforted him saying that there is one who is worthy, and his worthiness is based on the fact that he was slain. Then John sees the Lamb of God, not as some triumphant superhero, but as one who was slain, and still bearing the marks. Bearing in mind the situation of the churches to whom Revelation was initially addressed, where believers were being persecuted and mocked, the idea of the conquering through suffering is very important. That the Lamb presents himself not as the mighty, muscular, bruise-free champion, but as a sacrificed animal, seemingly defeated, bearing the scars given to him by those that scourged him. And we are reminded in the songs that are sung that these scars are what make the Lamb victorious. It was by means of being bruised that he was able to purchase redemption and be the conquering Lord. To be sure we don’t miss the point of who the Lamb truly is, John points out that he has seven horns and seven eyes which represent power, authority, and omniscience.

The fact that John sees the conquering Lamb at this point is very important to the rest of Revelation. Chapters 2 and 3 gave us a picture of the state of the church, and we heard promises from Christ himself to those who overcome, presumably as Christ overcame (i.e., by enduring all that the world could throw at him). In chapters 4 and 5, we see the true state of affairs in the heavenly realms, and the fact that the church isn’t beaten. Indeed, the church falls prostrate at the feet of her Lord and Savior, who goes before all God’s people as the example of victory through suffering. Indeed, it is through his suffering that all God’s people are able to endure the world, knowing that this is not the end, and the victory has already been won, not by our strength, but the power of the one that was slain.

In verse 7, the Lamb takes the scroll from the hand of the one sitting on the throne. This (and the rest of the chapter) echoes strongly the scene we see in Daniel 7, particularly verses 13 and 14, where the Son of Man approaches the Ancient of Days and receives power and authority from him. Remember: John isn’t sitting with a copy of Daniel in front of him drawing all these allusions and comparisons. The same God who gave Daniel his visions also gave John his. The reason for the similarity lies in the fact that John’s visions are an update on Daniel’s visions. What Daniel was able to see only vaguely, John now sees more clearly due to the fact that the Lord has provided more revelation to His people through the coming of the Son. Daniel saw “one like a son of man”; John sees the Lamb that was slain. The person that was unknown to Daniel is known to John and to us. And we need greater clarity than Daniel had because the end is closer for us than it was for him. How close? I don’t think Revelation says. But the message is clear: be ready.

The Lamb simply takes the scroll–he doesn’t even open it–and there’s an immediate reaction from the creatures and the elders. It’s almost like a huge sigh of relief in the form of worship. At last! There is someone worthy. All is not lost! The fact that the Lamb takes the scroll shows that he is worthy not only to take the scroll, but also to break the seals. As we said before, just like with a Roman will, only the person who will execute the contents of the scroll has authority to open it. That means, this Lamb is able to execute the judgments contained within the scroll, and also bring about the fullness of redemption for God’s people.

We noted in chapter 4 the difference in response between the four creatures and the twenty-four elders. The four creatures proclaim “Holy holy holy” and the twenty-four elders fall down, worship, and cast their crowns before the throne. Here we have the four creatures and the twenty-four elders falling down before the Lamb, but the elders have harps, bowls of incense, and they sing a new song. This further draws the distinction between creation’s recognition of Christ’s victory, sovereignty, and power, and God’s people’s love and adoration for their King and Savior. As we’ll note toward the end of chapter five, all of creation will one day bow the knee to the Lamb, and this includes the enemies of God. They too will acknowledge the Lordship of Christ, even though they are destined for the Lake of Fire (see Philippians 2:10-11).

There was a question about whether this is taking place at a particular point in time–specifically, the three days while Jesus was in the tomb. This thought might have been prompted by the fact that the Lamb is presented as having been slain, and not in a risen, glorified state. If this is happening in that interim period, that would also explain why there’s such an emphasis on Christ’s death, and not his resurrection. I think it’s reckless at best to try to say when any of these events are happening in redemptive history. Indeed, in this heavenly throne room scene, there’s a sense in which we see past, present, and future conflated into one point. We see the persecuted church cry out for justice and redemption. We see the Lamb, slain, who is the conqueror worthy to bring about that justice and redemption. And then we see all creation declare the Lamb to be the all-powerful Lord. So I don’t think this is supposed to be any one particular moment in time. John is being given a full-orbed perspective of who Christ is prior to seeing (albeit in symbolic form) the judgment and mercy of God played out. Further, John uses perfect tense forms to describe the Lamb–having stood, having been slain–not aorist forms. This is not a Lamb who was slain at a point in time and now stands. Rather, he has been slain, and he continues to show himself in that state. He stood, and he continues to stand. In other words, this is the Lamb’s perpetual state: he is and always will be the Lamb who was slain. Again, the theological significance of this is the fact that his slaying was not an accident. It wasn’t an unfortunate event that we need to overlook. Rather, it’s his having-been-slain that makes him worthy to open the scroll. The slain Lamb is the symbol of victory.

So, what are the harps? What about the bowls and the incense? And why are the elders singing a new song? What’s wrong with the old songs? We ran out of time to discuss these things this week. Next time, we’ll continue our study of verse 8 and carry on from there.