Worthy Are You…For You Were Slain
“And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood, you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.’”
On four occasions the word “worthy” is found in Revelation 5 (vv. 2, 4, 9, 12). In verse 2, a mighty angel asks the question: “who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” The response to this question is in verse 4: “…no one was found worthy to open the scroll or look into it.” Revelation 5 concerns the opening of the seven-sealed scroll which was in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne (vs. 1). It is God the Father who is seated on the throne. Previously, in Revelation 4, God the Father was described as having the appearance of jasper and carnelian and around his throne, a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald (Rev. 4:3). And now on his throne, God the Father holds the seven-sealed scroll.
The probing question of Revelation 5:2 reveals that there was no one “in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it…” The expectation was that perhaps an angel would step forward or perhaps one of the twenty–four elders. John certainly would have thought that Jesus, whom he knew as Savior, would be worthy. But no one was looking for a “lamb as though it had been slain” to open the scroll (vs. 6). Lambs are weak and defenseless, not strong and mighty or able to conquer. But the lamb in Revelation 5 is not introduced by the angel as a lamb. In response to “who is worthy?” one of the elders in verse 5 says to John, as he contemplates this apparent disaster: “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”
The lamb is entitled to open the scroll because he was slain. This is explained in verse 5 as conquering. He is also described as a lion, which is a fitting description of a conqueror. He stands at the head of the kingly tribe—Judah—and as such he is descended from David, yet described as the root of David. All that is kingly belongs to him and is in him. The lamb as slain speaks of a conqueror (lion) who was fatally wounded while defeating the enemy. The lamb is the lion. The redemption that the lamb provides is also victorious. He conquers and saves.
It was the inability to find someone worthy to open the scroll that caused John to weep (vs. 4). But what is so important about the scroll? If no one can open it or no one has seen the contents of it, what’s all the fuss or bother about? John weeping in heaven seems out of place (in heaven at least). The scroll is sealed with seven seals. The request to open the scroll, by the angel, before breaking the seals should not be seen as a mistake by the angel. Rather, his question (vs. 2) is about who has the authority to take the scroll from the hand of God on the throne and break the seals. The authority needed is found in asking who was worthy.
In Daniel 7:10 we are told that “books were opened…” in that great judgment scene where God is on his throne. Daniel says that in his night visions he saw someone like a son of man (human in appearance) coming with the clouds of heaven and approaching the throne where the “Ancient of Days”—God—sat. Daniel 7:14 tells us that to this son of man “was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.” Daniel asks one of the angelic attendants to help him understand all that he was seeing (Dan. 7:16). The dominion of the son of man was set in the context of four great beasts that represented the dominions and kingdoms of the world—Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. For Nebuchadnezzar, it was a decree of judgment and restoration that the angelic messenger told Daniel. For John, it was a decree of judgment and redemption within the universe that the angelic messenger pronounced in Revelation 5.
Sealing and opening books or scrolls is an Old Testament phenomenon found only in Daniel 7 and 12. It has an end–times connection. Daniel 12:8, 9 speaks of a future opening or unsealing of a book containing certain events. In Revelation 5, the seven-sealed scroll has been viewed as the “lamb’s book of life” containing all the names of the saints written from before the foundation of the world (see Rev. 3:5; 13:8; 20:12, 15; 21:27). This is unlikely because the content of the scroll has to do predominantly with judgment. Daniel 7 and 12 (also Ezekiel 2 and 3) portray judgment first and then salvation. Some have understood the scroll as the Old Testament Scriptures since only Christ can truly interpret the Old Testament. But again, the events of judgment are specific to only Daniel and Ezekiel in context (i.e., the scroll), and not the entire Old Testament (although the Old Testament does speak elsewhere of judgment). Others see the seven-sealed scroll as depicting events belonging to a so-called future seven-year tribulation. There is, however, no mention anywhere that the seven seals are seven years chronologically connected to what Revelation 6 depicts when the seals are broken. If they are chronological, then the seven trumpets (Rev. 8, 9) and the seven bowls (Rev. 16) must also be factored in and this presents quite a dilemma (if the seven years apply to all chronologically). Rather, this scroll is a book containing God’s purpose concerning judgment and salvation. Judgment and salvation have begun with the death and resurrection of Jesus, but God’s plan is not over yet. The angel in Revelation 5:2 asks who is worthy in all of the created order to have authority over this plan and purpose of God.
The lamb is worthy because he was slain and has ransomed people for God (Rev. 5:9). In verse 12, the voices of many angels proclaim: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” The lamb is the only one who has the authority to judge and save. Those whom he saves he has “made them a kingdom and priests to our God” (Rev. 5:10), and now as a result, in verse 12, he has received all power and sovereignty. This is the fruit of the new covenant work undertaken and accomplished by our Lord Jesus Christ. He inherits his people and the authority to judge the world.
Revelation 5 portrays the lamb standing among the four living creatures and among the twenty–four elders, and then approaching the throne to take the scroll. Jesus is said to sit at the right hand of God as a consequence of his resurrection (Acts 2:29–36), and also sitting on his Father’s throne (Rev. 3:21; 22:1). It would appear that here the lamb is approaching the throne to receive his enthronement (as in Daniel 7). He will receive the scroll because he has authority—he is worthy. To be worthy implies having some worth or value to do something. In this sense, Jesus alone is worthy to die in our place as our Redeemer. He is the lamb led to the slaughter (Isa. 53:7). He is the Passover lamb slain for us (1 Cor. 5:7). And now because he has been crowned with glory and honor, he alone can execute judgment and dominion. He overcomes because he lives. He was slain but is alive. This is the death of death. He now represents his people who live in him. We can overcome all persecutions and sufferings in the lamb because he has conquered. We truly are more than conquerors through him who loved us (Rom. 8:37). We cannot be condemned because Jesus was slain for us and rose for us, and now intercedes for us. He alone is worthy.