God held in his hand a scroll. It was written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. Who on earth could take it and open it? No-one.
“Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?” proclaimed a strong angel in a loud voice. Heaven was silent. All that could be heard was the weeping of a man.
John wept much, because no one was found worthy to open the scroll. “Do not weep,” said one of the elders as Jesus stepped forward.
John dried his tears.
Standing at the centre of the throne, in the midst of the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders, was the dual natured Lamb of God, His body bearing the marks of the crucifixion.
Approaching the throne, the Lamb took the scroll as the Lion of God.
A new song resounded from Heaven all the way to Earth, when, falling down before Jesus, the Cherubim and Twenty-four Elders sang:
“You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for you were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood. Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth.” Revelation 5:9-10
Planet earth’s redemption was about to begin.
Angels numbering thousands upon thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand joined in, encircling the throne, the Cherubim and the elders, singing;
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honour and glory and blessing!” Revelation 5:12
Hearing it, all the creatures in heaven and on earth joined the thunderous praise;
“Blessing and honour and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!” Rev 5:13
“Amen,” said the four living creatures, and the elders fell down and worshipped.
The Scroll
The scroll in Jesus’ hands is a title deed. The Cherubim and the Twenty-four elders also mention a purchase when they said in Revelation 5:9 that Jesus purchased the earth with His blood.
According to Jeremiah the purchase deed was both open and sealed according to the law and custom. The details are written on the inside of the scroll and the summary of the document is written on the outside.
There’s an example in Jeremiah 32:6-15 where the prophet Jeremiah bought a field from his nearest relative for seventeen shekels of silver;
“So I bought the field from Hanamel, the son of my uncle who was in Anathoth, and weighed out to him the money—seventeen shekels of silver. And I signed the deed and sealed it, took witnesses, and weighed the money on the scales. So I took the purchase deed, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open…”
This property law is like a lease.
In Leviticus 25:23-28 the land returned into the owner’s possession in the year of Jubilee, the fiftieth year: The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with Me. And in all the land of your possession you shall grant redemption of the land. If one of your brethren becomes poor, and has sold some of his possession, and if his redeeming relative comes to redeem it, then he may redeem what his brother sold…
God intended the nation of Israel to understand that the Promised Land was His property, and if the land goes out of a family, the closest male relative can redeem the land. So in God’s eyes, Jesus must be Israel’s closest male relative.
The gift of the use of the land was established by the Covenant of Abraham. The land granted to the various tribes was intended to remain under their stewardship, so genealogies were essential for maintaining their property rights.
But it has a much wider application than Israel. Jesus has purchased the whole earth as ‘the Son of Man.’
And Jesus is about to open the sealed deed!
The seals must be broken to set in motion the events that must take place and the conditions that must be met in order for Jesus to reclaim the earth.
The Lion and the Lamb
The gentle lamb and fierce lion represent Jesus’ dual nature. His role as high priest dealing with us is going to change to that of an avenger dealing with Satan.
There’s going to be a war. And when Jesus returns to earth, it will be as King.
From the prey, my son, you have gone up.
From Jacob’s blessing to Judah – “the lion’s whelp.”
He bows down, he lies down as a lion;
And as a lion, who shall rouse him?
Genesis 49:8-12
Related post
Through the Word: the Twelve tribes and Jacob’s blessing
The Gate
There is a gate in the old walls of Jerusalem that is known as the Lion Gate, also known as the Sheep Gate. It is one of seven gates located in the Old City Walls of Jerusalem.
Five hundred years ago a Moslem ruler named Selim 1 captured Jerusalem and all of Israel. He had plans to level the city of Jerusalem but changed his mind after dreaming of lions coming to devour him. To be spared he promised to protect Jerusalem by building a wall around the city.
The return of the King, part 2
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