John is seeing a scroll that is in the hand of God Himself. In this particular case, this scroll was sealed with seven seals. The number “7” symbolized perfection, completeness. Thus, the scroll was completely and thoroughly sealed for its protection, as well as to prohibit anyone, who did not have the right authority, from opening it.

I was thinking about the fact that we don’t do that so much these days—have an official seal on our correspondence. Although, we have forms of it, I suppose. We usually seal a letter that we send through the Post Office. Or, if we get something through FedEx, or something similar, it’s in a package and we have to tear that tab open. But I was also thinking about all of the things that we buy these days that are in packages, which are referred to as “tamper-proof packages.” Virtually all of the food stuffs that we buy, the medications, other things like that—everything comes with some kind of a seal around the top so that when you receive that, when you buy that, you will know whether or not it has been tampered with, whether or not the seal has been broken. That’s the idea with a seal on a scroll.

Verse 2: Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?” John’s attention is directed from this viewing of the scroll that is lying on the hand of “Him Who is on the throne,” to the voice, and, perhaps, the presence of a “strong angel.” Was he strong in the sense that he was powerful? No doubt. But commentators suggest that the strength, the power, that John refers to had more to do with this loud and powerful voice that emanated throughout heaven, throughout the earth, even under the earth. The voice is presented in the sense of a challenge, challenging “Who is worthy…?” In the original language, that literally meant, “Who is of sufficient weight?” “Who has the moral character?” “Who has the ability?” “Who is worthy to open the scroll….?”

You remember that a word became very prominent on the political front during the 2000 Presidential campaign and election process. The word was “gravitas.” You remember that? Most of us have probably never heard of that word before, and we haven’t heard of it since then. But all of the pundits, all of the “talking heads” in the campaign election process challenged and wondered of George Bush (now President George Bush) had the “gravitas” to be the President. The meaning was, did he have the ability to rule, to have all of the international experience, etc., that were required to be the President of the United States. That word literally has to do with the gravity, or the seriousness, of what needs to be done, and also has to do with being able to be held down.

[gravitas \GRAV-uh-tahs\, noun:
High seriousness (as in a person's bearing or in the treatment of a subject).

Gravitas is from the Latin gravitas, "heaviness, seriousness," from gravis, "heavy, serious."

Example: At first sight the tall, stooped figure with the hawk-like features and bloodless cheeks, the look of extreme gravitas, seems forbidding and austere, the abbot of an ascetic order, scion of an imperial family who has foresworn the world.
--John Lehmann, "T.S. Eliot Talks About Himself and the Drive to Create," New York Times, November 9, 1953

Example: And we want to tell our readers about sharp, clever books, utterly lacking in gravitas, that we know will delight them on the beach or the bus.
--Benjamin Schwarz, "(Some of) the best books of 2001," The Atlantic, December 2001]

In the original language, the meaning of the word “worthy” is used in a similar way. “Who is of sufficient weight?” This word “worthy” occurs seven times in Revelation. Six of the seven times, it’s used in a good sense, as it is here, and then, once in a negative sense, Chapter 16, verse 6 [“For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy,” KJV].

Who is worthy to loose the seals, to break the seals, thus, allowing the scroll to be opened, and the contents be made known? Who is the one, then, who has the ability, who has the authority to open the seals that are on this scroll? That’s the challenge of this strong, of this powerful angel.

Verse 3: “And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it.” To open the scroll meant loosing the seals and exposing the content that it contained. To look upon it meant more than just merely viewing it, for John had viewed it, he had seen it there lying on God’s right hand. To open and look thereon meant to comprehend, meant to disclose, meant, even, to execute—to carry out—its contents. A search was made, a search throughout heaven, a search throughout the earth, even a search under the earth in the realm of the dead, Hades, including the living creatures that were described in Chapter 4, the twenty-four elders, the angels of heaven, all the great and mighty ones of the earth and even the spirits in Hades, the unseen realm. None of them were worthy. None of them had sufficient weight, none had the “gravitas,” to open the seals. So, an all-inclusive search was made, looking for someone who would be the recipient of the scroll and be qualified to open these seven seals.

Verse 3 uses the word “able”—“And no one…was ABLE…to open the scroll….” That word “able” comes from a Greek word, which is the same root word that the word “dynamite” comes from. “No one possessed the power, no one possessed the ability, by virtue of his own resources, or through state of mind, to open the book,” one writer said.

Why was that? Because contained in that scroll was a very important Message, a Message from God Himself; a Message having to do with life and death. Unless the seals could be broken and the scroll opened, no one would know the Message that it contained.

Verse 4:“So I wept much….” This is John, of course, weeping “because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it.” Why was John weeping? Was he weeping out of a sense of self-pity, or because his curiosity regarding the scroll’s content would not be satisfied or gratified? No, I don’t think so. Remember that he had been caught up into heaven to see “the things which must come to pass hereafter,” Chapter 4 and verse 1 [“Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.”].

We have a sense, here, that John realized the very important contents of that scroll. If that scroll could not be opened, if the contents could not be revealed and executed, or carried out, then his purpose would not be realized. Therefore, he, along with the saints—those who were alive in the latter part of the 1^st Century when this took place—would be deprived of this knowledge and the purpose of God, not because God did not want to reveal it, or it was not possible to be revealed. But there was no one who was able to open the scroll and reveal the contents.