Revelation — Chapter 5

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1Then I saw a scroll in the right hand of the One seated on the throne. It had writing on both sides and was sealed with seven seals.

2And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?”

3But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or look inside it.

4And I began to weep bitterly, because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or look inside it.

5Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

6Then I saw a Lamb who appeared to have been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which represent the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

7And He came and took the scroll from the right hand of the One seated on the throne.

8When He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

9And they sang a new song: “Worthy are You to take the scroll and open its seals, because You were slain, and by Your blood You purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.

10You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign upon the earth.”

11Then I looked, and I heard the voices of many angels encircling the throne, and the living creatures and the elders. And their number was myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands.

12In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing!”

13And 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 praise and honor and glory and power forever and ever!”

14And the four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

1And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.

2And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?

3And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.

4And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.

5And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

6And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.

7And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.

8And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.

9And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

10And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

11And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;

12Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.

13And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

14And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

1And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the back, close sealed with seven seals.

2And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a great voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?

3And no one in the heaven, or on the earth, or under the earth, was able to open the book, or to look thereon.

4And I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open the book, or to look thereon:

5and one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not; behold, the Lion that is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath overcome to open the book and the seven seals thereof.

6And I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, having seven horns, and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth.

7And he came, and he taketh [it] out of the right hand of him that sat on the throne.

8And when he had taken the book, the four living creatures and the four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having each one a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

9And they sing a new song, saying, Worthy art thou to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou was slain, and didst purchase unto God with thy blood [men] of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation,

10and madest them [to be] unto our God a kingdom and priests; and they reign upon earth.

11And I saw, and I heard a voice of many angels round about the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;

12saying with a great voice, Worthy is the Lamb that hath been slain to receive the power, and riches, and wisdom, and might and honor, and glory, and blessing.

13And every created thing which is in the heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and on the sea, and all things are in them, heard I saying, Unto him that sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb, [be] the blessing, and the honor, and the glory, and the dominion, for ever and ever.

14And the four living creatures said, Amen. And the elders fell down and worshipped.

1Then I saw in the right hand of the one who was seated on the throne a scroll written on the front and back and sealed with seven seals.

2And I saw a powerful angel proclaiming in a loud voice: “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to break its seals?”

3But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or look into it.

4So I began weeping bitterly because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or to look into it.

5Then one of the elders said to me, “Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered; thus he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

6Then I saw standing in the middle of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the middle of the elders, a Lamb that appeared to have been killed. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

7Then he came and took the scroll from the right hand of the one who was seated on the throne,

8and when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders threw themselves to the ground before the Lamb. Each of them had a harp and golden bowls full of incense (which are the prayers of the saints).

9They were singing a new song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals because you were killed, and at the cost of your own blood you have purchased for God persons from every tribe, language, people, and nation.

10You have appointed them as a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”

11Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels in a circle around the throne, as well as the living creatures and the elders. Their number was ten thousand times ten thousand—thousands times thousands—

12all of whom were singing in a loud voice: “Worthy is the lamb who was killed to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and praise!”

13Then I heard every creature—in heaven, on earth, under the earth, in the sea, and all that is in them—singing: “To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb be praise, honor, glory, and ruling power forever and ever!”

14And the four living creatures were saying “Amen,” and the elders threw themselves to the ground and worshiped.

1I saw, in the right hand of him who sat on the throne, a book written inside and outside, sealed shut with seven seals.

2I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the book, and to break its seals?”

3No one in heaven above, or on the earth, or under the earth, was able to open the book, or to look in it.

4And I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open the book, or to look in it.

5One of the elders said to me, “Don’t weep. Behold, the Lion who is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome; he who opens the book and its seven seals.”

6I saw in the middle of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the middle of the elders, a Lamb standing, 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.

7Then he came, and he took it out of the right hand of him who sat on the throne.

8Now when he had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

9They sang a new song, saying, “You are worthy to take the book, and to open its seals: for you were killed, and bought us for God with your blood, out of every tribe, language, people, and nation,

10and made us kings and priests to our God, and we will reign on the earth.”

11I saw, and I heard something like a voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousands of ten thousands, and thousands of thousands;

12saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who has been killed to receive the power, wealth, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and blessing!”

13I heard every created thing which is in heaven, on the earth, under the earth, on the sea, and everything in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb be the blessing, the honor, the glory, and the dominion, forever and ever! Amen!”

14The four living creatures said, “Amen!” Then the elders fell down and worshiped.

Summary
Authorship & Background
Commentary
Videos
Articles
Reflection

Summary

John sees a scroll sealed with seven seals in the right hand of the one on the throne, and a mighty angel calls out asking who is worthy to open it, but no one in heaven, on earth, or under the earth can do so, leaving John in tears (vv. 1-4). One of the elders comforts him, announcing that the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed and is worthy to open the scroll (v. 5). John then sees not a lion but a Lamb, bearing the marks of slaughter yet standing, who takes the scroll; the four living creatures and twenty-four elders fall down before him with harps and golden bowls of incense representing the prayers of the saints, and sing a new song declaring him worthy because his blood purchased people from every tribe, language, people, and nation and made them a kingdom of priests (vv. 6-10). An innumerable host of angels around the throne then proclaims the Lamb worthy to receive power, wealth, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and praise, and every creature in heaven, earth, sea, and under the earth joins in blessing both the one on the throne and the Lamb forever, as the elders fall down in worship (vv. 11-14).

Authorship & Background

Author: The Apostle John (see Chapter 1 notes for full details).
Historical Context: Chapter 5 continues the throne room scene from chapter 4. The focus shifts from God the Creator (ch.4) to Christ the Redeemer (ch.5). A sealed scroll appears — representing God's plan for history/judgment — and no one is worthy to open it. John weeps until the Lion of Judah (who is also the slain Lamb) steps forward. This chapter contains some of the most magnificent worship in all of Scripture.
Classification: Apocalyptic Prophecy — The Sealed Scroll and the Lamb
Key Themes: a sealed scroll in God's right hand that no one in heaven, earth or under the earth is found worthy to open, John's weeping answered by an elder's announcement of a Lion that, when John actually looks, turns out to be a Lamb as it had been slain, seven horns and seven eyes standing for complete power and complete knowledge on a creature defined by its wounds rather than its strength, a new song crediting redemption to blood drawn from every kindred, tongue, people and nation, and worship that spreads outward from the throne to angels beyond counting to every creature in all creation
The Sealed Scroll (vv.1-4): A scroll sealed with seven seals in God's right hand (v.1). A strong angel asks: "Who is worthy to open the book?" (v.2). No one in heaven, earth, or under the earth is found worthy (v.3). John weeps greatly (v.4).
The Lion Who Is a Lamb (vv.5-7): An elder says: "The Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed" (v.5). But when John looks, he sees not a lion but "a Lamb as it had been slain" (v.6) — with seven horns (complete power) and seven eyes (complete knowledge/Spirit). The Lamb takes the scroll (v.7).
The New Song (vv.8-10): The creatures and elders fall before the Lamb (v.8). Golden vials of incense = the prayers of saints (v.8). They sing: "Thou art worthy... for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation" (v.9).
Universal Worship (vv.11-14): Myriads of angels join: "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing" (v.12). Every creature in all creation worships (v.13). The elders fall down (v.14).

Commentary

  • Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik covers the sealed scroll, the Lion/Lamb paradox, the new song, and the expanding circles of worship.
  • Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
  • Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.

Videos

Revelation 4-5 | The Lamb on the Throne | Bible Study
Spoken Gospel

Articles

  • GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of the book of Revelation -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.

Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.

Reflection

  • No One Worthy (vv.3-4) — John weeps because no one in all creation is found worthy to open the scroll containing God's plan. Have you tried to be your own solution to problems only Christ can solve?
  • The Lion Who Is a Lamb (vv.5-6) — John hears about a conquering Lion but turns to see a slain Lamb — Christ's power is revealed through sacrifice, not force. How does this reshape what you think strength and victory look like?
  • Prayers as Incense (v.8) — The prayers of God's people are pictured as precious offerings held before the throne. Does knowing your prayers matter to God change how consistently you bring them to Him?
  • Redeemed From Every Nation (v.9) — The new song celebrates people purchased by Christ's blood from every tribe, language, and nation. Does your life and church reflect the diversity of the people He's redeeming?
  • Worthy Is the Lamb (v.12) — All heaven declares the Lamb worthy to receive power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and blessing. Are you giving Christ that same complete devotion, or holding parts of your life back from Him?