The One Worthy to Open the Scroll and Loose its Seven Seals (verses 5-7)

⁵But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.”

⁶And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. ⁷Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him Who sat on the throne.

Verse 5: “But one of the elders said to me, ‘Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.’” One of the twenty-four elders spoke to John. Of course, we spoke about those twenty-four elders, what they represented—the two Covenants of God, perhaps, the twelve tribes of Israel under the Old Covenant, and the twelve apostles representing the proclamation of the New Covenant. But these elders, themselves, had been redeemed by the mighty power of Christ. One of these elders urged John to stop weeping. For though the created beings—those in heaven, those on the earth, those who were under the earth—had been contemplated for this task, there was yet another One to be considered. There was One Who was not of the created beings, those who lacked the weight, who lacked the “gravitas”to open the seals. Who was that One?

The elder describes this One as “the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David.” What does that mean? The phrase looks back to the time when Jacob blessed his sons, and said of Judah, “Judah is a lion’s whelp…the scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto Him shall the obedience of the people’s be,” Genesis 49:9-10. This was a Messianic prophecy, looked at that way by the Jews as time went on. We understand very clearly, on this side of the cross, what was being spoken of by this prophecy.

It was custom, or tradition, in the Hebrew families to refer to the oldest, the most prominent of the family—the male, that is—as a “lion.” So, this long-expected descendent of Judah, Who would possess the strength of the lion, and bear the scepter of rule over the peoples and speak peace, or bring rest to men, had now come. The Hebrew writer says in Hebrews 7 and verse 14, “It is evident that our Lord has sprung out of Judah….”

What about the expression, “the Root of David”? This fulfills the promise that God made to David, 2 Samuel 7:11b-14 [“Also the LORD tells you that He will make you a house. ¹²When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, Who will come from your body, and I will establish His kingdom. ¹³He shall build a house for My Name, and I will establish the throne of His kingdom forever. ¹⁴I will be His Father, and He shall be My Son...”]. And, this was a covenant that was confirmed by an oath, which is revealed in Psalm 89 [see verses 3-4: “I have made a covenant with My chosen, I have sworn to My servant David: ‘Your seed I will establish forever, And build up your throne to all generations.’”]. It was kept alive through the prophets; for example Isaiah’s prophecy, Isaiah 11, verses 1 thorough 10 [see Isaiah 11:1-10 below]. And Paul would refer to this in Romans 15, and verse 12 [“And again, Isaiah says: ‘There shall be a root of Jesse; And He Who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, In Him the Gentiles shall hope.’”]—the Root of Jesse, the Seed of David, referring, of course, to Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He has conquered, He has prevailed, He has made Himself worthy, able to loose the seals, to open the scroll, to make known its contents, and, moreover, to execute, to carry out, its contents.

[ Isaiah 11 ¹ There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse,
And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
² The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him,
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit of counsel and might,
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.
³ His delight is in the fear of the LORD,
And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes,
Nor decide by the hearing of His ears;
⁴ But with righteousness He shall judge the poor,
And decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.
⁵ Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins,
And faithfulness the belt of His waist.
⁶ “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,
The leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
The calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little child shall lead them.
⁷ The cow and the bear shall graze;
Their young ones shall lie down together;
And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
⁸ The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole,
And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den.
⁹ They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,
For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD
As the waters cover the sea.
¹⁰ “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse,
Who shall stand as a banner to the people;
For the Gentiles shall seek Him,
And His resting place shall be glorious.”]