Revelationchapter 5
14 verses · BSBRevelation book hub →
Speaks with:Revelation 5×4Revelation 4×3Philippians 2×2Daniel 7×2Revelation 19×2Ezekiel 2×1
Summary
Chapter summary
In the right hand of him on the throne is a book close sealed with seven seals, and a strong angel cries, 'Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?' No one in heaven or on earth was able, and John says he 'wept much.' Then an elder stops him: 'Weep not; behold, the Lion that is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath overcome.' John turns to see the Lion and sees instead 'a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, having seven horns, and seven eyes' (5:6), the book's central substitution, power revealed as sacrifice. The new song follows: 'thou wast slain, and didst purchase unto God with thy blood men of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation.'
Context
Apocalyptic · John — Revelation overview
- A. 1–5 A Sealed Scroll and No One Worthy to Open It
- B. 6–10 A Slain Lamb Takes the Scroll
- C. 11–14 Ten Thousand Times Ten Thousand Sing
The outline
A.A Sealed Scroll and No One Worthy to Open Itvv. 1 to 5
Read vv. 1 to 5 →B.A Slain Lamb Takes the Scrollvv. 6 to 10
Read vv. 6 to 10 →C.Ten Thousand Times Ten Thousand Singvv. 11 to 14
Read vv. 11 to 14 →
The world behind this chapter
Revelation 5The history
A document written inside and on the back and closed with seven seals was a recognizable legal object. Roman wills were sealed with seven seals and could only be opened by the proper authority in front of witnesses. Contracts and deeds were sealed the same way, sometimes with a summary written on the outside so people could see what it was without breaking it open.
So the crisis in this chapter is a legal one. A sealed document exists and nobody has the standing to open it. John weeps — not out of curiosity, but because a sealed inheritance that nobody can claim means nothing changes.
The answer comes with two names that pull in opposite directions. He is announced as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David — royal, conquering, Jewish. What John turns and sees is a Lamb, standing as though it had been slaughtered. The victory was won by dying.
Then the room fills. The living creatures and elders sing a new song about a purchase — redeemed out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation — and the number of angels grows to something beyond counting, and finally every creature in heaven, earth, sea, and under the earth joins in. The Lamb receives the same honor as the one on the throne.
What it meant to them
For small congregations under a hostile system, this settled the question of authority. History was not open to whoever grabbed it. It was a sealed inheritance, and exactly one person had the right to open it.
And the song named them. "Out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation" described the mixed, unimpressive membership of an Asian house church better than it described anything in Rome. They were not incidental to the plan; they were the purchase price's return.
Sources cited
- Colin Hemer, The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia in Their Local Setting
- Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The text of this chapter
This page carries no textual note on Revelation 5. Where this site has examined a place the manuscripts differ, the examination is in the manuscripts room. Every place this site examines →
Connections from this chapter
v. 5 · A picture of Christ · On this thread · How Jewish tradition read this as messianic
Judah's scepter-word lands on the throne room: 'the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed.'
Genesis 49:10→The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his.
public-domain quotation
v. 6 · Same theme
'The Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world' -> 'a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain.' The Lamb-on-the-throne endpoint.
John 1:29→The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
TSK; Johannine Lamb motif
v. 9 · Same theme
'Loosed us... by his blood' -> 'didst purchase unto God with thy blood men of every tribe.' Doxological endpoint.
Revelation 1:5→and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood,
TSK; Apocalypse blood motif
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.