The Sealed Book Revelation 5:1-8  CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

The Sealed book with seven seals is probably the Revelation, because you see the seals opening beginning in Revelation 6.  But whether the book is the Revelation or the whole Bible, the fact that it is sealed shows that no man is worthy to open the book [v.3].  Men who are not worthy have tried various means to open the book.  They have tried scholarship, language study, retranslation, private interpretation and deceit but all they did was corrupt it in the end [2 Corinthians 2:17].

The Lord is the only one who can open his book [Psalms 119:18, Luke 24:32, 45, 2 Timothy 3:16, Job 32:8].  And for him to open it to you requires you to have a humble mind and a believing heart [Luke 24:25-27, 1 Thessalonians 2:13].  You don’t need a college education to get this book.  You need God Almighty to reveal it to you [Luke 10:21].

A janitor at Dallas Theological Seminary was reading his Bible in the gym while waiting for some of the students to finish up a basketball game.  The ball bounced up into the stands where the janitor was seated.  One of the students went to retrieve it and saw the janitor reading his Bible.  He said, “What’s ya reading?” The old man said, “The Bible.”  The student inquired, “Which one.”  He replied, “King James.”  The student inquired further, “Where ya reading?” The janitor replied, “The Book of Revelation.”  The student, with a sort of astonished and inquisitive look on his face, pressed further still, “Do you understand what your reading?” “Sure,” the janitor responded without hesitation.  So, the student asked one last question as he prepared to return to the court with the ball he had retrieved, “What do you understand about that book?”  The old janitor gleamed a big toothy smile and shot back his reply, “Jesus gonna win!!”  Now that’s an open book, brother!!!  Do you realize to how many millions of people in this world that truth is still sealed?

The one who is worthy to open the sealed book is Jesus.  Here he is:

• The Lion of the tribe of Judah v.5 – Genesis 49:9-10, prophesied 600 years before David, a descendent of Judah, ever sat on the throne
• The Root of David v.5 – Isaiah 11:10
• Note how the devil counterfeits everything possible about Jesus Christ.  The devil is a lion [1 Peter 5:8] and he is a root [Isaiah 14:29].
• The Lamb as it had been slain v.6 – so there is a physical representation of Jesus Christ in heaven as the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world [John 1:29].  He is preceded in his earthly ministry by many lambs who typify the Lamb of God [Genesis 4:4 the respected lamb; Genesis 22:13 the substitution lamb; Exodus 12:3-7 the Passover lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7), and Isaiah 53:7 the suffering lamb]

When he takes the book, the elders fall down before him with vials full of odors which are the prayers of the saints v.8 – those prayers come before God’s throne as incense and provide a sweet smelling savor before the Lord [Psalms 141:2, Revelation 8:3-4, Luke 1:9-10].  Just imagine, every time you pray to the Lord, your prayer comes before him as incense.   He delights in the prayers of his saints.