"Who Is Worthy to Open the Scroll?" - The Worthy One

The Worthy One

Yes, there is someone able to open scroll!  John relates:  "But one of the elders says to me:  'Stop weeping.  Look! The Lion that is of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered so as to open the scroll and its seven seals.' "  (Revelation 5:5 )  So John, dry those tears!  The John class and their loyal companions today have also endured the decades of severed trials while waiting patiently for enlightenment.  What a comforting reward we now have in understanding  the  vision, and what a privilege to share in its fulfillment  by proclaiming its message to others! 

Ah, "the Lion that is of the tribe of Judah"! John is familiar with the prophecy that Jacob, ancestor of the Jewish race, pronounced concerning his fourth son, Judah: "A lion cub Judah is. From the prey, my son, you will certainly to up. He bowed down, he stretched himself out like a lion and, like a lion, who dares rouse him?  The scepter will not turn aside from Judah, neither the commander's staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to him the obedience of the peoples will belong."  (Genesis  49:9, 10)  The royal line of God's people stemmed from Judah.  Starting with David, all the kings who ruled in Jerusalem until the Babylonians destroyed that city were Judah's descendants.  But not one of them was the Shiloh prophesied by Jacob.  Shiloh means "He Whose [Right] It Is."  Prophetically, this name pointed to Jesus, the one to whom the Davidic Kingdom now permanently belongs. -Ezekiel 21:25-27; Luke 1:32, 33; Revelation 19:16.

John quickly recognizes the reference to "the root of David."  The promised Messiah is prophetically called both "a twig out of the stump of Jesse [father  of King David] . . .a sprout" and "the root of Jesse that will be standing up as a signal for the peoples."  (Isaiah 11:1, 10)  Jesus was a twig of Jesse, being born into the royal line of David, son of Jesse.  Further, as root of Jesse, he was the One that caused the Davidic dynasty to sprout again, giving it life and sustenance forever. -2 Samuel 7:16.

Next time: "Who Is Worthy to Open the Scroll" - Conclusion of The Worthy One

From the Book of Revelation