A Monday Meditation on Revelation 5
Most of us know the Ascension from the ground. Luke gives us the hillside outside Bethany: Jesus lifted up, a cloud receiving him out of their sight, and eleven men staring at the sky until two angels ask why they are still looking up (Acts 1:9–11). It is the view from earth, and it ends with a departure.
Revelation 5 gives us the same event from the other side. John has been invited through the open door of chapter 4, and now he watches what happens when the one who left the hillside arrives at the throne. The Ascension from earth looks like a goodbye. From heaven, it looks like a coronation.
The Scroll and the Weeping
The scene opens with a problem. In the right hand of the one seated on the throne lies a scroll, written on both sides and sealed with seven seals. It is the decree of God's purposes for history, the covenant plan and its outcome. Daniel was once told to seal up such a scroll "until the time of the end" (Daniel 12:4). A strong angel now asks the question that hangs over the whole universe: "Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?"
No one answers. Not in heaven, not on earth, not under the earth. John, who has been given the greatest vision any human has seen, begins to weep, and weeps loudly. The tears are not sentimental. If no one can open the scroll, the story of creation has no ending, and evil and death have the last word.
The Lion Who Is the Lamb
Then an elder speaks: "Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll" (5:5). The Lion of Genesis 49, the Root of Isaiah 11, the Son greater than David.
John turns to look for a lion. "And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain" (5:6). He hears a Lion and sees a Lamb. That is the whole gospel in one reversal: the Lion conquers by being the Lamb. The scars are still there. He stands at the very center of the throne room and of the universe, with seven horns for complete power, seven eyes for complete knowledge, and the sevenfold Spirit sent out into all the earth. He is perfect in strength and perfect in sacrifice.
An old Hebrew word lies behind the sacrificial picture. The burnt offering, the olah, means "that which goes up." The Lamb who was slain is also the offering that ascends, and it is accepted.
The Coronation
Then comes the verse at the center of the whole vision: "And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne" (5:7).
This is Daniel 7 in motion. Daniel saw "one like a son of man" come with the clouds of heaven to the Ancient of Days, and "to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him" (7:13–14). Now John watches it happen. The Lamb steps forward, receives the scroll, and the kingdom with it. The one who left the Mount of Olives has been seated at the right hand, and heaven is ready to say so.
It is also not the first time Jesus has taken up a scroll. In the synagogue at Nazareth he unrolled Isaiah, read of good news to the poor, and said, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing" (Luke 4:21). That is how his earthly ministry began. This is how his heavenly rule begins. And this should settle something about the world we woke up to this morning. His kingdom does not rise or fall with an election cycle. It is humble, perfect, and faithful, and it has already been given.
The King with the scroll in his hand has ascended to the throne. All before him offer their worship, adoration, and obedience. He is worthy!
His authority is as absolute as it is humble, as omnipotent as it is loving and sacrificial. Here is the King we can trust; how thankful we can be today that “the government is upon his shoulders” (Isaiah 9). In every election cycle, Christians (in the US!) have to remember that it is not a donkey or an elephant, but a Lamb who is at the center of the throne, of the universe, of history, and of our lives.
What the Ransom Did
Heaven's response is a new song: "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" (5:9). The song says why he is worthy. The cross is not an unfortunate detour on the way to the throne. It is the reason he is there.
The word in the Greek is "purchased," bought at a price. And what the price bought is astonishing: people for God from every tribe and language and nation. Our Elder Brother, as Hebrews 2 calls him, has paid for his family and brought them home.
Notice the word "new." It runs all through the New Testament, in new covenant, new creation, new birth, and the whole new heaven and new earth. The song is new because the thing it celebrates has never happened before and will never need to happen again.
A Kingdom and Priests
And then comes the part that is easy to read past: "and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth" (5:10).
We are not simply rescued. We are redeemed for something. God's old aim at Sinai, "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Exodus 19:6), is finally being fulfilled in a people drawn from every nation. Peter says the same to ordinary believers scattered through Asia: "You are a royal priesthood" (1 Peter 2:9).
What do priests do? They offer. And the New Testament tells us exactly what we may bring.
Our whole lives, as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1).
Our prayers, which rise like incense (Psalm 141:2), and which, in this very chapter, are the golden bowls the elders hold before the Lamb (5:8).
Our finances, given for gospel mission, which Paul calls "a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God" (Philippians 4:18).
Our worship and thanksgiving, "the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name" (Hebrews 13:15).
Our care for the needy, because "such sacrifices are pleasing to God" (Hebrews 13:16).
Nothing on that list is small. Your Monday morning prayers are in a golden bowl in heaven. The check you write for mission, the meal you carry to a neighbor, and the work you do as an act of service are priestly offerings accepted by the Lamb who stands at the center. And you do this knowing that you are also being made to reign. The same people who offer are the ones who will one day govern with him.
The Song That Keeps Growing
The scene ends with circles widening. First the living creatures and elders sing. Then John hears "the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands." Finally every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea joins: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!" (5:13). The living creatures say "Amen," and the elders fall down in worship.
The same creation that had no one worthy to open the scroll now has everyone worshiping the one who is.
Carrying This Into the Week
Heaven must be in you before you are in heaven. If you want your week to run on the logic of the throne room, start where Revelation 5 starts: with the one who is worthy. Then bring what you have, which is your work, your prayers, your giving, your gratitude, and your kindness to the needy, and offer it as a priest to a King who is already seated.
The Lion is the Lamb. He took the scroll, and he has taken us.