AP

Revelation 5:5-6a  Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep!  See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed.  He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”  Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. 

In this part of the vision the Risen Christ was giving him, the Apostle John ‘wept and wept’ because he saw ‘in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals” and he heard “a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?’ But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it.”  The completely sealed scroll symbolised the whole of human history from Creation to the Day of Judgement, and the fact that there was ‘no one found worthy’ to open it symbolises the fact that human history, and the outworking of the Creator’s Providence in it, must remain a mystery to us until there comes One who can reveal its real meaning.

The vision continued, and the ‘worthy One’ was revealed!  Nearly 17 Centuries earlier, as the Patriarch, Jacob, was dying, he gathered his twelve sons together to bless them and reveal to them what God had shown him about the part each would play in the outworking of Salvation History.  To Judah, the fourth oldest whose name means ‘praised’, he said: “Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons will bow down to you.  You are a lion’s cub, O Judah; you return from the prey, my son.  Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness – who dares to rouse him?  The sceptre will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.” (Genesis 49:8-10)  This is clearly a foreshadowing of the Christ, his descendant who would conquer death and rule for ever over all history at God’s right hand.

The lion is an appropriate symbol for such a King!  He shows God’s power and strength.  At the other end of the animal spectrum is the lamb, weak and helpless, used as a sacrifice in Man’s place in payment for sin.  John the Baptist said of this same mighty Christ, ‘the Lion of Judah’: “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).  It is interesting that when the Prophet Isaiah foresees the coming Kingdom of the Messiah (Christ) he speaks of it as an environment where the lion and the lamb, natural enemies, co-exist as ‘friends’ (Isaiah 11:6; 65:25 – see also 40:10-11).

In the vision given to the Apostle John, Jesus, the Risen Christ, was the only One who could open the seven seals, the only One who could make sense of the sum of all history.  He could do this by reconciling God’s power and justice with his love and mercy – the Lion of Judah and the Lamb that was slain!  There are many times when I really struggle with God’s strange, enigmatic providence, but day by day I find that knowing Jesus as my Saviour and Lord makes all the difference.  After all, he is the One who said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

– Bruce Christian