In this blog post, we will look at some passages in the book of Revelation to see the person at the center of all and through whom everything exists. The One through whom everything was made, and everything started. He is the one through whom everything will finish as well. He is Jesus. He is Alpha and Omega. Today, we have the chance to accept Him as our Savior; however, one day, He could also be our judge if we do not embrace Him as our Lord and Savior.
1 And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. 2 Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it.
4 So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it. 5 But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.”
6 And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.
8 Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying:
“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,
10 And have made us kings and priests to our God;
And we shall reign on the earth.” (Revelation 5:1-10)
In this passage of Revelation, we see that John, who received the revelation, wept much because there wasn’t anyone worthy to open the scroll—none in heaven or on the earth, or under the earth. Now, we know that there were many extraordinary men in the Bible who gave us examples of their constancy, faith, and life, but none of them were found worthy to open the scroll in heaven. Besides one—the Lamb of God, that is, Jesus Christ. The same one is represented as a Lion in verse 5. We can say that this is His real aspect—as a Lion. He came as a lamb to die for the sins of humanity, but He is actually a Lion; He is a King.
In the Scripture, we see the enemy (the devil) represented as a lion (1 Peter 5:8), but this is just for the context of that passage, to express how the devil is in the circumstances of this life, and also because he usually likes to imitate God in His attributes. The Lion is Jesus. And in the following chapters of Revelation, we see that each opened seal represents a judgment on the earth. Here, we see that Jesus is actually involved in the final judgment. Not only is He involved, but we can also see that everything will be judged through Him. He is the Alpha and Omega: the beginning and the end. Everything started through Him and is going to be finished through Him. John 5:22 says: “For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son,”
Acts 10:42 tells us, “And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead.”
We see that God has appointed Jesus to be the Judge of everything. But why is He worthy to open these seals and to judge? Revelation 5:4 states that no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look at it. We see throughout the whole chapter of Revelation 5 that more than once, He is mentioned as a Lamb, and it is mentioned a few times that He is worthy (Revelation 5:9-12).
“saying with a loud voice:
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
To receive power and riches and wisdom,
And strength and honor and glory and blessing!” (Revelation 5:12)
As a Lion, He is mentioned once, but the reason He is worthy of all the praise and to open the scroll with the seals is because He was the Lamb that was slain. His sacrifice made Him worthy and above everything. So, He is adequate and, above all, worthy to save but also to judge on the final day. Obviously, He was worthy also before that and has always been, but this sacrifice accomplished God’s righteousness regarding our situation, and God needs to accomplish everything in the right way.
He can judge because, through His sacrifice, He gave people an opportunity to be saved. He doesn’t want to judge before giving us an opportunity. He could, but He is so just that He wants to give us a chance first. He wants to give it to everyone. This is His desire. No one will have an excuse. No mouth will open on that final day after seeing the greatness of His sacrifice. In front of this greatness, no one could say, as we often say today, that something is unfair or unjust. That’s why He is mentioned more than once as a Lamb in this chapter. And as a Lamb, He opens the seals that represent the judgment. Because of what He did for us on the cross, He is worthy. That’s why the Father wants everyone to hear the good news so that everyone can have an opportunity. He could also judge us in the condition in which we are, but in His justice and love, He decided to look upon us and give us a possibility.
“For by Him all things were created that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominations or principalities or powers. All things were through Him and for Him“ (Colossians 1:13).
We can clearly see from this scripture and many others that Jesus is at the center of all. Everything started through Him, and it will finish through Him. It is interesting to notice something in the parable of the barren fig tree in Luke 13:7:
“Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’”
We know from this parable that the vineyard's owner is the Father, and the keeper is Jesus. And the tree could be any one of us. We see that the owner of the vineyard (the Father) commanded the keeper (the Son) to cut the tree. It means that He will be the one performing that action—cutting the tree, which means the judgment. And He was the one showing mercy and giving another opportunity to the tree to bear its fruit, an opportunity all of us have been given through His sacrifice. Special treatment for our lives to be able to bear fruit. His sacrifice and His blood are that kind of treatment. That’s why He was considered worthy to open the seals. Because He gave us an opportunity. We won’t have an excuse in light of that, and no one will dare to open their mouth one day in front of this truth. Everyone will come to an acknowledgment of what His sacrifice really represents. Better for us is to acknowledge it now and not at the end, when we will be in front of His throne.
God is patient with us; that’s why the end of everything hasn’t come yet. It is through His sacrifice that He continues to offer us an opportunity. However, both His patience and the opportunities can eventually run out. Everyone will have to face judgment in one way or another because we all will finish life one day.
“But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men“ (2 Peter 3:7). In this passage, we see Peter prophesying and speaking about the judgment and in 2 Peter 3:9 he states that the Lord is longsuffering toward us. Still, there is a reason why. It is because of Jesus. The verse above states that the heavens and the earth are preserved by the same word, the one through which everything was created. That word is Jesus. This means He is the one who withholds and prevents judgment from occurring, as well as the one who will ultimately release it. How many times, at least in my case, has He withheld it in our lives? How many times did we deserve something else, but He gave us another chance instead?
He is a Lion and a Lamb. He came as a Lamb to suffer and didn’t retaliate; He remained humble all the way through. But one day, He will come back as a Lion. Coming as a Lamb made Him worthy and accomplished God’s justice. Obviously, He was already worthy, and He has always been, but coming as a Lamb helped us personally to understand that He is worthy because this was the way He reached us and saved us. Through His sacrifice, heaven’s gates were opened for us. Something like dying on a cross, considered so low and weak by man, became the center of everything and our salvation. He was already worthy, but dying on the cross was what reached us, opened our eyes to see His glory, and helped us to acknowledge Him.
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