(5) And one of the elders . . .--Better, And one from among the elders saith unto me, Weep not; behold, the Lion, which is of the tribe of Judah, the Boot of David, conquered (so as) to open the roll, and the seven seals thereof. The position of the word "conquered" is emphatic, and should receive greater prominence. The verse has been translated, "Behold, one conquered, (even) the Lion . . ." The right to open the roll is thus made to turn, as we noticed before, not merely on the divine Sonship of our Lord, but upon His victory: He conquered, and so opens the secret purposes of God to His Church. The thought is exactly parallel with other scriptures which give emphasis to the work of redemption. It is "for the suffering of death" that Christ is clothed "with glory and honour" (Hebrews 2:9). Similarly St. Paul traces the exaltation of Christ as the outcome of His humiliation, "wherefore (i.e., in consequence of His humiliation) God also hath highly exalted Him" (Philippians 2:9). Thus Christ, who in conquest is seen to be the power of God, in revealing the true philosophy of history is seen to be the wisdom of God.
The Lion of the tribe of Juda--The lion was the ancient symbol of the tribe of Judah. Jacob described his son as "a lion's whelp" (Genesis 49:9); the standard of Judah in the Israelitish encampment is said to have been a lion. It was the symbol of strength, courage, and sovereignty.
The Root of David.--The Lion is also the representative of the royal house of David. "Christ cometh of the seed of David" (comp. Mark 12:35 with John 8:42); the prophets have described Him as the Branch, which would spring from the ancient stock (Isaiah 11:1; Zechariah 6:12). But there seems also a reference to the deeper thought that He who is the Branch is also the Root (comp. Isaiah 11:10); He is the one who was David's Lord (Matthew 22:41-45), and "the true source and ground of all power" to David and David's tribe, and of all who looked to Him, and not to themselves, for strength.
Verse 5. - And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not. One of the elders, as representing the Church (see on Revelation 4:4), bids St. John to take heed to him who was about to disclose to some extent the future of that Church. There is, of course, no indication that any particular individual is signified, though some have striven to identify the elder. Thus De Lyra mentions St. Peter, who was already martyred; others, referred to by De Lyra, say St. Matthew, who, in his Gospel, declares Christ's power (Matthew 28:18). Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda. The title is accorded to Christ, in illustration of the following act. The Representative of the royal and victorious tribe of Judah was he who had prevailed to open the book, where others had failed (cf. Genesis 40:9, "Judah is a lion's whelp;" Hebrews 7:14, "For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah"). The Root of David. The Root of David is a synonym for Stem or Branch (cf. Isaiah 11:1, "There shall come forth a Rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots;" and Romans 15:12, "Esaias saith, There shall be a Root of Jesse"). Further, Christ may be said to have been the Root of David, by virtue of his pre-existence and his creative power. It is one of the paradoxes of the Incarnation, that he who is the Root of David should also be a Branch. Hath prevailed to open the book; hath conquered (ἐνίκησεν). Not, as the Authorized Version appears to read, that the act of victory consisted in the opening of the book, but the ability to open was a consequence of a former act of victory, viz. the redemption. So in ver. 9 the ascription of praise runs, "Thou art worthy because thou wast slain" (on the infinitive epexegetic, see Winer). Some see a reference here to Revelation 3:7, "He that openeth, and no man shutteth." And to loose the seven seals thereof;and the seven seals thereof (Revised Version). Omit "to loose?"
5:1-7 The apostle saw in the hand of Him that sat upon the throne, a roll of parchments in the form usual in those times, and sealed with seven seals. This represented the secret purposes of God about to be revealed. The designs and methods of Divine Providence, toward the church and the world, are stated, fixed, and made a matter of record. The counsels of God are altogether hidden from the eye and understanding of the creature. The several parts are not unsealed and opened at once, but after each other, till the whole mystery of God's counsel and conduct is finished in the world. The creatures cannot open it, nor read it; the Lord only can do so. Those who see most of God, are most desirous to see more; and those who have seen his glory, desire to know his will. But even good men may be too eager and hasty to look into the mysteries of the Divine conduct. Such desires, if not soon answered, turn to grief and sorrow. If John wept much because he could not look into the book of God's decrees, what reason have many to shed floods of tears for their ignorance of the gospel of Christ! of that on which everlasting salvation depends! We need not weep that we cannot foresee future events respecting ourselves in this world; the eager expectation of future prospects, or the foresight of future calamities, would alike unfit us for present duties and conflicts, or render our prosperous days distressing. Yet we may desire to learn, from the promises and prophecies of Scripture, what will be the final event to believers and to the church; and the Incarnate Son has prevailed, that we should learn all that we need to know. Christ stands as Mediator between God and both ministers and people. He is called a Lion, but he appears as a Lamb slain. He appears with the marks of his sufferings, to show that he pleads for us in heaven, in virtue of his satisfaction. He appears as a Lamb, having seven horns and seven eyes; perfect power to execute all the will of God, and perfect wisdom to understand it, and to do it in the most effectual manner. The Father put the book of his eternal counsels into the hand of Christ, and Christ readily and gladly took it into his hand; for he delights to make known the will of his Father; and the Holy Spirit is given by him to reveal the truth and will of God.
And one of the elders said unto me,.... The Ethiopic version reads, "one of these elders"; that is, one of the four and twenty elders that were round about the throne; not the first of the four and twenty books of the Old Testament; nor the patriarch Jacob, because of the prophecy concerning Shiloh, Judah's son, which stands in Genesis 49:10, nor Moses, who spoke of the Messiah as the great prophet of the church; nor John the Baptist, who pointed out the Lamb of God; these are all fancies and conjectures. It was one of the members of the Christian church, who was near the throne of God, had communion with him, and knowledge of his will, who in this visionary way is represented as comforting John under his sorrow and concern, and giving him information: and sometimes persons of superior abilities may receive instruction from meaner persons, as did Apollos from Aquila and Priscilla: the same said unto John,
weep not; cease sorrowing, do not be cast down, nor despair;
behold the lion of the tribe of Judah; by whom is meant Christ, who, according to the flesh, was to come of the tribe of Judah; and certain it is, that our Lord sprang from thence: and he is said to be the lion of that tribe, in allusion to the prophecy concerning Judah in Genesis 49:9, where he is said to be a lion, an old lion stooping down and couching, and on whose standard was the figure of a lion. Christ may be compared to one, because of his great strength, he being the mighty God, the able Saviour, and strong Redeemer, and protector of his church and people, and the avenger of their enemies; and because of his courage and intrepidity when he engaged with Satan, and his principalities and powers, when he bore the sins of his people, sustained his Father's wrath, and the terrors of death set themselves in array against him; and because of the fierceness of his wrath, and fury against the wicked, and for his generosity and lenity towards those that stoop unto him, and obey him. So the Jews say (f), that
"of Messiah, the son of David, who comes forth from Judah, is it said, Genesis 49:9, "Judah is a lion's whelp";''
and a little after, Messiah, the son of David, who is "a lion", shall be on his right hand, and Messiah, the son of Joseph, who is an ox, on his left hand; so the word of the Lord frequently, in the Chaldee paraphrase, is said to be a lion (g).
The root of David; in like manner is Christ called the root of Jesse in Isaiah 11:10; and the meaning either is, that he is a branch that springs out of the roots of Jesse and David, is David's son and offspring, according to his human nature; see Revelation 22:16; or that he is David's Lord, according to his divine nature: and the metaphor of a root well agrees with him as Mediator, he being hidden out of sight, and unknown to a natural man; and may denote his meanness in his state of humiliation, when he was as a root out of a dry ground; and because he is the root from whence all the elect of God spring, in whom they have their being, and by whom they are bore and supported, and from whom are derived to them all the blessings of grace, all their spiritual life, holiness, fruitfulness, and perseverance. Now this illustrious Person, so described,
hath prevailed; or overcome all difficulties, being one of worth and value, of great authority and ability:
to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof; and deliver out all the prophecies in it, and fulfil them; and this through the merits of his blood, and in consequence of his sufferings and death: hence, in the next verse, he is represented as a lamb as it had been slain; and the four living creatures, and the four and twenty elders, put his worthiness to take the book, and open it, upon his having been slain, and having redeemed them by his blood, Revelation 5:9. And as he, upon his resurrection from the dead, had all power in heaven and in earth given him, as Mediator, for the protection of his church, so he was deserving; and it was fit and necessary that he, as the great prophet of the church, should have and deliver out the prophecies concerning the state and condition of his redeemed ones in all ages.
(f) Raya Mehimna in Zohar in Exod. fol. 49. 3, 4. (g) Targum in Hos. v. 14. & xi. 10. & xiii. 7.
The Lion of the tribe of Juda--The lion was the ancient symbol of the tribe of Judah. Jacob described his son as "a lion's whelp" (Genesis 49:9); the standard of Judah in the Israelitish encampment is said to have been a lion. It was the symbol of strength, courage, and sovereignty.
The Root of David.--The Lion is also the representative of the royal house of David. "Christ cometh of the seed of David" (comp. Mark 12:35 with John 8:42); the prophets have described Him as the Branch, which would spring from the ancient stock (Isaiah 11:1; Zechariah 6:12). But there seems also a reference to the deeper thought that He who is the Branch is also the Root (comp. Isaiah 11:10); He is the one who was David's Lord (Matthew 22:41-45), and "the true source and ground of all power" to David and David's tribe, and of all who looked to Him, and not to themselves, for strength.
weep not; cease sorrowing, do not be cast down, nor despair;
behold the lion of the tribe of Judah; by whom is meant Christ, who, according to the flesh, was to come of the tribe of Judah; and certain it is, that our Lord sprang from thence: and he is said to be the lion of that tribe, in allusion to the prophecy concerning Judah in Genesis 49:9, where he is said to be a lion, an old lion stooping down and couching, and on whose standard was the figure of a lion. Christ may be compared to one, because of his great strength, he being the mighty God, the able Saviour, and strong Redeemer, and protector of his church and people, and the avenger of their enemies; and because of his courage and intrepidity when he engaged with Satan, and his principalities and powers, when he bore the sins of his people, sustained his Father's wrath, and the terrors of death set themselves in array against him; and because of the fierceness of his wrath, and fury against the wicked, and for his generosity and lenity towards those that stoop unto him, and obey him. So the Jews say (f), that
"of Messiah, the son of David, who comes forth from Judah, is it said, Genesis 49:9, "Judah is a lion's whelp";''
and a little after, Messiah, the son of David, who is "a lion", shall be on his right hand, and Messiah, the son of Joseph, who is an ox, on his left hand; so the word of the Lord frequently, in the Chaldee paraphrase, is said to be a lion (g).
The root of David; in like manner is Christ called the root of Jesse in Isaiah 11:10; and the meaning either is, that he is a branch that springs out of the roots of Jesse and David, is David's son and offspring, according to his human nature; see Revelation 22:16; or that he is David's Lord, according to his divine nature: and the metaphor of a root well agrees with him as Mediator, he being hidden out of sight, and unknown to a natural man; and may denote his meanness in his state of humiliation, when he was as a root out of a dry ground; and because he is the root from whence all the elect of God spring, in whom they have their being, and by whom they are bore and supported, and from whom are derived to them all the blessings of grace, all their spiritual life, holiness, fruitfulness, and perseverance. Now this illustrious Person, so described,
hath prevailed; or overcome all difficulties, being one of worth and value, of great authority and ability:
to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof; and deliver out all the prophecies in it, and fulfil them; and this through the merits of his blood, and in consequence of his sufferings and death: hence, in the next verse, he is represented as a lamb as it had been slain; and the four living creatures, and the four and twenty elders, put his worthiness to take the book, and open it, upon his having been slain, and having redeemed them by his blood, Revelation 5:9. And as he, upon his resurrection from the dead, had all power in heaven and in earth given him, as Mediator, for the protection of his church, so he was deserving; and it was fit and necessary that he, as the great prophet of the church, should have and deliver out the prophecies concerning the state and condition of his redeemed ones in all ages.
(f) Raya Mehimna in Zohar in Exod. fol. 49. 3, 4. (g) Targum in Hos. v. 14. & xi. 10. & xiii. 7.