5:1 – “And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.”

The last to be referred to in the throne scene of Rev. 4:9-11, was Jehovah. The narrative continues: it tells us that in his right hand there was a book or scroll, written within and on the backside, but sealed with seven seals. Just what did this scroll represent?

“He that sits upon the throne is Jehovah. The scroll in his right hand is his plan for human redemption, sealed from all until the one ‘worthy’ to carry out to completion its details should be found and proved ‘worthy’.” (R2156:1)

The Scroll and the Lamb’s Worthiness!

“… the Heavenly Father, the Ancient of Days, is shown seated on the heavenly throne, and in his hand a scroll written inside and outside, sealed with seven seals. That scroll, representing the divine plan, known only to the Father, Jehovah himself, was kept in his own power – in his own hand – until someone should be proven worthy to know it and become its executor as Jehovah’s honored agent and representative. The symbolic picture proceeds to show that up to the time our Lord Jesus suffered for us at Calvary, ‘the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God,’ no one had ever been found (proved) worthy to take up the divine plan and even understand its contents.

“But when our Lord Jesus had proven his loyalty to the heavenly Father by his obedience, not only in humbling himself to take man’s estate for the suffering of death, but also in his obedience ‘even unto death,’ and still further, ‘even unto the (ignominious) death of the cross,’ then and thereby he did prove himself worthy of every confidence and trust. As the Apostle declares, ‘Wherefore him hath God highly exalted and given him a name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, both of things in heaven and things on earth.’ (Phil. 2:9-11) It is at this point that the picture we are considering (Rev. 5:9-13) shows our Lord Jesus as the Lamb that had been slain, before whom obeisance was made, and who was proclaimed, Worthy the Lamb! ‘Thou art worthy to take the scroll and to open the seals thereof, because thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation.’ Thus is pictured to us the high exaltation of the Heavenly Father’s representative, the ‘Messenger (servant) of the Covenant.’ Because of his humility and complete submission and obedience to the Father’s will he is proclaimed thenceforth the sharer of the Father’s throne, and, by the Father’s own arrangement, the proclamation was made throughout the heavenly hosts, ‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and blessing;’ and finally ‘every creature’ shall catch the thought that Jehovah has very highly exalted his Only Begotten Son, even to association with himself in the Kingdom, and shout their approval, saying, ‘The blessing, and the honor, and the glory, and the power be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne (of the universe – Jehovah) and unto the Lamb – for ever and ever!’ No wonder, then that we are instructed that thenceforth all men shall honor the exalted Son even as they honor the Father who thus highly exalted him. (John 5:23)” (E36-38)

The Book (or Scroll)

“A picture that goes back before our Lord came into the world, a picture that shows God’s plan, recorded in figurative language, was shown to St. John on the Isle of Patmos, in which he beheld Jehovah-God sitting upon a throne, and holding in His right hand a scroll, written within and on the back side, sealed with seven seals, … In that symbolical language, the scroll represents all things that God had prepared in His mind before the foundation of the world, respecting what He would do with reference to the church, respecting also the great work for the world in the Millennial age, and respecting the future things that Messiah would do. All these things were represented by the scroll held in His right hand – the hand being symbolical of power.” (Convention Report 1915, p. 88)

5:2-4 – “And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.”

The strong angel of Rev. 5:2 may possibly be the personification of the Law of God, which through the ages past, by way of the types, shadows, pictures, symbols, etc., could find no one able, let alone worthy, to become the executor of God’s divine plan of the ages.

“The inquiry, ‘Who is worthy to open the book [scroll] and to loose the seals thereof?’ had long been made: for four thousand years, from the giving of the promise that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent’s head, it had been the query – Who shall be esteemed, by Jehovah God, to be worthy to perform his gracious purposes, and thus be honored above all others as the Servant (messenger) of the New Covenant of grace?

“When silence prevailed, and none was found worthy either in heaven or on earth (representing the condition of things prior to the first advent), John began to weep, saying to himself: Alas! though God has some gracious and wise plans for the welfare of his creatures, we may never know them, because none is found worthy to know or to execute them. So it was that even our Lord Jesus, prior to the finishing of his sacrifice, as he then declared, did not know all about the Father’s plans, and times, and seasons. (Mark 13:32)” (R2156:1)

5:5 – “And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.”

Jacob’s Prophecy

The “elder” here referred to was Jacob – or rather his testimony, as set forth in his deathbed prophecy concerning Judah and the Kingdom, which was as follows:

Gen. 49:8-10 – “Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.”

“This elder proves to be the old patriarch, Jacob, who made the prophecy on his death-bed when blessing his sons. (Gen. 49:8-12)” (R530:5, W. I. Mann)

“God had given the most honorable One of all the host of heaven the first opportunity to prove his worthiness to loose the scroll of God’s great plan, and to fulfill its provisions. He was given this opportunity because, as the First-born of Jehovah, he had the right to the first privilege of service. And he did not allow the privilege to go by. He accepted it. He was faithful. He humbled himself to the human nature, and thus he became the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, of which tribe he was born as a man. He did not have this title in his position as Logos. It was as the Son of Mary that he was the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root of David.

“Our Lord’s worthiness was not then proven. It was not until he cried with his dying breath, ‘It is finished!’ that the demonstration was complete. All the way down from Adam to Jesus no one had been found worthy to open the great scroll. But Jesus was now found worthy.” (R5943:4, 5)

The Scroll

“Excepting the bare promise (written on the outside of the scroll – vs. 1) of salvation through the Seed of the woman, nothing could be known of the wonderful scheme for human restitution until the Son of God, having left the glory of the spiritual nature, took our nature and by the sacrifice of himself redeemed us from death. Then having his righteousness imputed to us by faith, we are counted worthy to look upon the scroll as he opens the seals one after another.” (R3103:2)

The Scroll! When Was it Put into Jesus’ Hands?

Seemingly, Bro. Russell must have changed his mind somewhere between August 15, 1912, and August 15, 1916, as the following will show:

“After our Lord had entered upon his consecration he was the newly slain Lamb. Then the Father gave into his hand the scroll of the great divine plan of the ages – the scroll written on both inside and outside. The outside he was already able to read. But the inside, which contained information on spiritual things, remained sealed.

“As soon as our Lord came up out of the water after his baptism, he was begotten of the Holy Spirit and began to understand spiritual things. ‘The heavens (higher things) were opened unto him.’ The time when he began to be considered the slain Lamb, the time when the scroll was delivered to him, was the time of his consecration.” (R5080:6)

“Our Lord Jesus received the anointing of the Holy Spirit when he came up out of the water at his baptism. Then the heavens were opened unto him. The higher things which he had not previously understood became clear …

“Our Lord’s worthiness was not then proven. It was not until he cried with his dying breath, ‘It is finished!’ that the demonstration was complete.” (R5943:3, 5)

“Jesus had not proven himself worthy of this great honor when he made his consecration, but when he had finished his course in death, he was then worthy to receive glory, honor and power. After his resurrection and ascension the scroll was given into his hands to be opened. This means that the divine plan as a whole was here made known to him – for he already had knowledge of much of this – but all things were given him to unloose. There had been some things that our Lord did not know. He had said, ‘Of that day and hour (of his second coming) knoweth no man; no, not the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but my Father only.’ (Mark 13:32) A part of the plan was written on the outside of the scroll, and a part was written on the inside. The things that were sealed were not proper to be understood by our Redeemer until he had received the all-power, after his resurrection. The execution of God’s plan was then given into his hands.

“The opening of the seals has progressed during all the Gospel age. The whole plan of God is represented in this book – the scroll. It has required all of the present age and will require all of the next age to complete the plan. The plan of God includes the ‘restitution of all things spoken.’ We are now able to see these wonderful things and to tell about them, because each of the seals as it has been opened has made the plan a little clearer. We may suppose that the Lord Jesus was made aware of all its features after his ascension to the presence of Jehovah. We who are God’s people are seeking to know these things more and more fully. The Master declared that as the Father revealed them unto him, so would he reveal them unto us; but this revelation has been gradual, as the successive seals have been broken.

“Brethren, beloved of Christ, realizing that our God has hitherto counted us worthy to look upon the wondrous scroll of his great plan, which has been unsealed for us by Jesus our Lord, let us continue to prove ourselves worthy to look therein and to comprehend the glorious things of his Word, by faithfulness, obedience and loyalty to this plan in everything! Let our appreciation continually increase for our wondrous privilege in being permitted to share this blessed ministry of bearing divine truth to other hungry hearts, that they also may rejoice in the Lord and in the power of his might!” (R5943:5, 6)

The Scroll – To Whom Revealed

“The Lion of the Tribe of Judah was our Lord Jesus, to whom the Book was delivered. It is not due for any believers to understand any of the deep things written in that Book until they have come to the place of consecration. But God does not reveal them to us by his Spirit in the same manner as he revealed them to the Lord Jesus. John said that this is the ‘Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John.’ ‘All things are of the Father, and all things are by the Son, and we by him.’ (Rev. 1:1; 1 Cor. 8:6)” (R5055:1)

The Root of David –the Resurrected Messiah

“It was … not the prehuman Logos, nor yet the man Jesus that was David’s Lord and David’s Root; but the resurrected Messiah. When David in spirit (i.e., speaking under the prophetic spirit of influence) called Jesus, Lord, saying, ‘Jehovah said unto my Lord (Jesus), sit thou on my right hand,’ etc., the reference was not to the sacrificing one, ‘the man Christ Jesus,’ who had not yet finished his sacrifice, but to the victor Jesus, the Lord of life and glory, ‘the first born from the dead, the prince of the kings of the earth.’ (Rev. 1:5)” (E136)

5:6 – “And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.”

John beheld next in his vision, in the midst of the throne and of the four “living ones,” (i.e., in the bosom of the Father – John 1:18; and now the express image of the Father’s Justice, Wisdom, Love and Power); and in the midst of the elders (i.e., the central theme of all their prophecies) a lamb (so designated in John’s Gospel – John 1:29, 36) as it had been slain! In other words, John was now beholding him – the one who had humbled himself, even to the dying of an ignominious death on the cross, but whom God had exalted (Phil. 2:7-11), now ready to take the Book from the Father’s hand. The “seven horns” bespeak the perfect power committed to him by the Father (Matt. 28:18); the “seven eyes” the perfect treasures of wisdom and knowledge with which the Father had endowed him (Col. 2:3) and which are here identified with the “seven spirits of God” – the Holy Spirit, sent forth into all the earth in Jesus’ name, for the comfort and encouragement and enlightenment of his saints. (John 14:16-18, 26, 27)

“John now sees ‘in the midst of the throne’ and of the living ones and the elders ‘a lamb standing, as though it had been slain.’ We recognize at once the One whom John the Baptist introduced to the Jews as ‘The Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world.’ He comes and receives the scroll out of the right hand of the One sitting on the throne. Not until he had passed the last test, had endured ‘to the end,’ had risen in victory a spiritual body, had been caught away in glory, did he receive the wonderful scroll which ‘the angels desired to look into’.” (R530:6, W. I. Mann)

When Did Jesus Become the Slain Lamb and Receive the Scroll?

“Jesus was the slain lamb from the very moment he consecrated himself, and that was where he received the scroll. And that is what is meant, you see, by the heavens being opened. The higher things were opened unto him – not that he could read, as yet, all that was in the scroll: he could read many of the things in it; that is to say, the scroll was written on the outside and on the inside both, and sealed with seven seals. These seals could not be broken until he should have finished his work; but he had the scroll and was permitted to read all the outside things. They were for his encouragement and strength, and showed him how he was to be the lamb slain, and how he was to be the antitypical bullock and the anti-typical priest, and all the work he was to do in the acceptance of the Father’s will, and if he would be faithful unto death, then the seals would be opened unto him – everything in the scroll.

“Jesus did not before his death know all that was written in the book.… He knew the outside of the scroll, but he did not know everything that was on the inside of it – the times and the seasons were still on the inside, under seal. But after his resurrection beyond the vail, he then said, ‘All power in heaven and on earth is given to me.’ He was then on the plane of glory and had full knowledge of all the features of the divine plan.” – (Convention Report, 1910, p. 111)

The Scroll – Its Contents

“That sealed scroll represents the divine plan which God purposed in himself from before the foundation of the world, but which he had revealed to no one, no, not to the angels, neither to the Son. (Matt. 24:36) In a word, all that had occurred since creation – the permission of sin, the fall, the Covenant with Abraham, the Law Covenant with Israel, the coming of Jesus, the Pentecostal blessing, the gathering of members of the Church – all these things were foreknown to the Father and provided for. Additionally, that scroll contains a record of all that is happening now, and all that will occur throughout the Millennial age, down to its very close – down to the time when every creature in heaven and in earth … shall ascribe praise, honor, glory and dominion to him that sitteth upon the throne and to the Lamb forever. (Rev. 5:13)” (R4451:1)

5:7-10 – “And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of saints. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof; for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed [us – oldest MS. omits this word] to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue and people, and nation; And hast made them unto our God kings and priests: and they shall reign on the earth.”

“Symbolically our Lord shows that it was not possible for him to know the completeness of the divine plan until after he had demonstrated his worthiness to be the heir of all things, and until that worthiness was proven by his obedience unto death, even the death of the cross. In the symbols of Revelation he points out to us, showing how the divine plan had long been in the Father’s hand a sealed scroll, and how that no one in heaven or earth had been found worthy to open that book or scroll or to understand the particulars of the divine program until he, as the antitypical Lamb of God, had been slain, and by his sacrifice had demonstrated his worthiness to receive wisdom, honor, dominion and might. Then to him was the scroll or book of the divine plan entrusted in its every detail, that in due time all the wonderful provisions of the divine plan might be fully executed in the glorification of the church and the blessing of all the families of the earth.” (R3716:3)

Upon the Lamb’s taking the Book, the “living ones,” and the “four and twenty elders,” fell down before him. This suggests that God himself (represented by the “living ones,”) and the prophetic testimonies (represented by the “four and twenty elders,”) found in the faithfulness of the Lamb, a glorious fulfillment of the divine plan as it had originally been conceived and purposed in the mind of God, in the One to be known as Christ Jesus. (Eph. 3:11)

But this was not all that the Spirit of God had foretold through the prophecies of old; for the plan involved also a very small group of those redeemed from among men (Rom. 8:29), who were to be privileged to become Sons of God (John 1:12), and by identification with Christ Jesus, to suffer with him, so that in due time they might also reign with him. (2 Tim. 2:12)

The “harps” here mentioned, might represent the gratitude, blessings and praises (Psa. 103:1-22) which these prophetic testimonies had put into the mouth of this “little flock” of the redeemed. The “vials [bowls; spoons, or even censers] full of odors,” we are told, represent the acceptable prayers of these saints! (Rev. 5:8; Psa. 141:1, 2)

“The Prophet David … pictures the Christian in his distress coming to God in his appointed way: ‘0 Lord, I cry unto thee: make haste unto me: give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee. Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense.’ (Psa. 141:1, 2) This is the same thought elsewhere expressed in the Bible – that the prayers of God’s people rise before him as a sweet perfume. (Rev. 5:8) And, by the way, we remember that the incense of old, which typified the prayers of the saints, was composed of a rare mixture of spices, giving forth a peculiarly sweet odor; and that nobody was allowed to make that incense except the priests who were to offer it. (Exod. 30:34-38; 37:29) Thus again the Lord shows us that the privilege of prayer, of approaching him in an acceptable manner, is confined to the antitypical priests, called by St. Peter the royal priesthood. (1 Pet. 2:9)” (R5692:5)

“And they,” that is these personifications of the prophetic testimonies, “sung” as it were, “a new song.” It was different from what they had sung before, for the One concerning whom they had prophesied had come, and had proved himself worthy to execute the plan of God! Note how this is the very tenor of the new song: “Thou art worthy to take the Book and to open the seals thereof, for thou wast slain and hast redeemed [‘us’ does not appear in the most ancient MSS.] to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.” While it is true that Jesus’ death was “a ransom for all” (Matt. 20:28; 1 Tim. 2:6), here, evidently, reference is to that “little flock” of saints, already mentioned, for the song continues, “and hast made them (Marshall’s Translation) unto our God, a kingdom and priests (Marshall’s Translation) and they shall reign on the earth.” (Rev. 1:6; 20:4, 6; see also Exod. 19:6; 1 Pet. 2:9; Rev. 5:10)

5:11-14 – “And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.”

“Worthy The Lamb That Was Slain”

“Speaking in vision of the three and a half years during which our Lord is represented as slain, John the Revelator says, ‘I beheld and lo, a freshly slain Lamb!’ And the voices of myriads of angels were heard proclaiming, ‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.’ (Rev. 5:12)” (R5943:5)

Homage Unto The Lamb

“And now the symbolical panorama proceeds, and shows us the Lamb approaching Jehovah and receiving from him ‘the mystery of his will,’ the great plan of the ages, as mapped out in the divine purpose from before the foundation of the world. As soon as the ‘mystery of God’ was committed to ‘the Lamb of God,’ who had already fulfilled an important part of that plan by redeeming the world with his own precious blood, he receives homage, as it is written: ‘Him hath God highly exalted, and given him a name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven and things on earth,’ and ‘that all men should honor the Son even as they honor the Father’.” (R2208:6)

This acclamation of the Lamb, which began when the Father exalted him, and conferred upon him the divine nature, for his faithfulness unto death, will never cease; for it is to continue for ever and ever. It had a beginning; but it will never have an end! True, not all of God’s creatures have as yet become aware of the Lamb’s greatness, his glory and honor; but eventually, all will. Even the world of mankind will voluntarily join this grand and glorious Hallelujah chorus, singing their praises not merely unto Jehovah God, the Father, but also to his blessed Son, our Lord.

“No wonder that the Revelator, prophesying of that glorious time, says ‘Every creature in Heaven [the Church, the Great Company, the angels, the cherubim and seraphim], and on earth, and under the earth [those now in the tomb], heard I saying, Blessing, glory, honor and power be unto Him that sitteth upon the Throne, and unto the Lamb, forever and ever!’ (Rev. 5:13)” (SM231)

“So glorious will be the condition of humanity at the close of Messiah’s Kingdom that nothing ever dreamed will compare with it. But the great work of God will not be perfected until every human being will have reached perfection, or will have been destroyed in the Second Death, because of refusal to come into harmony with the laws of righteousness. Then every creature in Heaven and on earth will be heard saying, ‘Blessing and honor and glory and power be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne and to the Lamb, for ever and ever.’ (Rev. 5:13)” (Overland Monthly, p. 271)

The most ancient MSS., including the Sinaitic (X) and the Alexandrine (A), render (Rev. 5:14, like this: “And the four living ones said: Amen, and the elders fell and worshipped.” (See also Marshall’s Translation) The plan as it will ultimately be carried out by the Lamb, will be in the fullest accord with the heavenly Father’s character, thus, the “Amen” on the part of the “living ones”; and as divine inspiration had indicated through the prophetic testimonies, thus do the “elders” fall down and “worship.”