Lesson 15: The Scroll and the Lamb, part 2

Revelation 5:5-12
5 And one of the elders said to me, “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.”
6 And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
7 And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne.
8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
9 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,
10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”
11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands,
12 saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”
13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”
14 And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.


The heir has been found! He is described as a Lion and a Lamb. The “Lion of the Tribe of Judah” was first prophesied in Genesis 49:8-10 when Jacob blessed his son Judah with these words. Later, this promise was given to King David in 2 Samuel 7 as being David’s descendant, but later (see Isaiah 11:10) He was called the “Root of Jesse - Jesse being David’s father. How can a “descendant” be a “root” for someone? This is only possible if the “descendant” is God.

Verse 6 calls this one who was found worthy to open the deed a Lamb - a Lamb that had been killed but was now alive. From the beginning of man’s choice to sin God had demanded death as the punishment for sin - but He had introduced the availability of a “substitute” for that punishment as being a lamb (Genesis 3:20-21, and 22:7). Whenever we study pictures of Jesus in the Bible, called “types,” we need to look at the first time something is mentioned. The first mention of “lamb” in the Bible is in Genesis 22:7 where Abraham prepared to offer his son, Isaac, on the altar as God had asked of him. The very fact that Isaac asked where the “lamb” was shows that the lamb was the common offering for sin. The picture of the father offering his son was prophetic in how God would offer His Son, Jesus, as the “Lamb of God” (John 1:29).

The songs of praise to this Lamb of God, and the worship of Him in the verses above shows us that only Jesus is the worthy heir of all of creation.