The Scroll And Seven Seals Series

NOTE: This Bible study on the end times comes from the perspective of a pre-tribulation Rapture.

Tonight, we will begin studying the Seven Seals of the book of Revelation. The Seven Seals provide us much to consider; for they are a preview and a warning of the many spectacular events that are coming upon the world at some time in the near future. We will begin our study this evening by first looking at the scroll on which the seals have been placed; and as we discuss both the Scroll and the Seven Seals, please be filling out the related handout.

(Refer to Handout: “The Seven Seals”)

The Scroll

Turn with me in your Bibles, and let’s read Revelation 5:1-7:

1And 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.

What we have here is courtroom imagery, and this passage speaks about redemption. The Scroll is a title, deed, or contract to the world. In the beginning, in the Garden of Eden, mankind had the contract to the world, but he forfeited it when he entered into sin; and therefore, the inheritance was lost through death, which is the wages of sin (Romans 6:23). When something needs to be redeemed, it means that the title or ownership has been given up at some prior point in time.

In the Old Testament an inheritance, or title, was passed on through the next of kin, called the “kinsman redeemer.” Even in ancient Rome a person had to be a legal heir in order to take and open the contract or scroll. God’s criterion for redemption says that whoever steps up must be a relative, and secondly the individual must be willing to exercise his right as the kinsman redeemer.

• In verse 5, we see the one who is able to redeem the title to the world, and He is called “the Lion of the Tribe of Judah” and “the Root of David.” To whom is this referring?

The answer is Jesus Christ.

Jesus is our “kinsman” because He was born into this world in human form. He is called the Son of Man, emphasizing His humanity. The author of Revelation tells us in John 1:14 that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory as of the only begotten of the Father.” Jesus became a man, and thus He became our kinsman.

When we read, “And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll,” the word “able” speaks of someone who is competent to undo what Adam did and not be like Adam as a sinner. In Hebrews 4:15, we read that Jesus was “tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Jesus is our kinsman because He became a man; however, He did not sin as we do. Therefore, He is the one who is both “able” and “worthy” to open the scroll, because of His sinless nature.

In case you are curious about the “Seven Spirits of God” mentioned in verse 6, they are presumed to be seven manifestations of the Holy Spirit, as mentioned in Isaiah 11:2. The Seven Spirits of God are: 1.) The Spirit of the Lord, 2.) The Spirit of Wisdom, 3.) The Spirit of Understanding, 4.) The Spirit of Counsel, 5.) The Spirit of Might, 6.) The Spirit of Knowledge, and 7.) The Spirit of the Fear of the Lord.

Keep in mind that the Scroll is the “contract or deed to the world,” and the one who is able and worthy to open it is Jesus Christ.

Worship of the Lamb

Turn with me in your Bibles, and let’s read Revelation 5:8-14: