“I saw.” This is how the following vision is introduced, or, rather, how the previous vision is continued in a deeper way, for the person referred to as “Him who sat on the throne” has something in His right hand. The Lord’s right hand reigns.
This is now the big question! Who can redeem the world? Who can liberate it? Who can set mankind free? Who is able to bring the earth and humanity back to their rightful owner? Who can take up in his hands the history of the world in such a way as to ensure a happy ending?
A great disappointment follows. No one in Heaven is worthy—neither the cherubim, nor the seraphim, nor the ‘zoo-a’, the living creatures, nor the twenty-four leaders of the angels, nor the millions of angels themselves, nor even the seven Spirits of God, the Holy Spirit.
Do not weep! Dry your tears, John! There is still hope. There is Someone who is worthy. The mighty angel who, with the call of a herald, challenges the whole of Heaven, the earth and the underworld to demonstrate its worthiness and to take the scroll from God’s hand
How can the elder, the angelic leader, say that the root of David, the shoot from the roots of Jesse, a shoot from his stump,1 has already conquered? John was aware of the suffering of the church of Christ in the persecutions.
The Lion of the tribe of Judah! The root of David! Look carefully, John! Over there – someone at the centre of the throne! John has seen the Eternal One there, The One, the Person of the Almighty. When he now looks carefully he sees Someone else
The great moment has arrived! The moment that creation and suffering humanity have been waiting for centuries, is about to happen. The Lamb comes and takes the scroll from the right hand of the Father on the throne: the revelation of Jesus Christ
Heaven falls down before the Lamb in total worship when this great moment finally happened: He has taken the book/scroll! Living creatures and angelic elders bring praise together; there is no difference in the manner in which they do so.
This is once again a picture of redemption: the Lord Jesus has purchased people from every tribe and tongue. Payment has been made with blood. “You are not your own; you were bought at a price”— with the precious blood of Jesus.
This is a sevenfold song of praise, offered by myriads of myriads—ten thousand times ten thousand times thousands times thousands—100,000,000,000,000 (a hundred thousand billion).
This fourfold worship (“blessing and honour and glory and dominion”) of the created beings (four, you may recall, is the number of the earth/Creation) and the agreement of the four living beings who represent Creation is now following the sevenfold worship
