The book with the seven seals
Have you ever heard of something that is hard to understand being called a book with seven seals? And that comes from the Bible. Yes, it comes from the Bible, but it has a very different meaning.
The book with the seven seals
In the place of perfect worship, a scroll with seven seals appears and attracts all attention. But what is a seven-sealed scroll/book?
In ancient times, certain documents were written by an official and sealed by seven witnesses. A summary was written on the outside to ensure that the scroll would not be opened accidentally. Because opening the scroll means that it’s contents become valid. The contents of a scroll could be a will or a new law.
So when the voice said who is able to open it, the reference was to who is able to implement the contents of that scroll. You could call it the prophets, or the Old Testament, or just God’s plan, which also means to rule the world. Since no one was able to open it, John was obviously in deep trouble.
But only one could open it: The Lion of Judah. This is what John hears, but what he sees is the slaughtered lamb. They are two aspects of the same reality: The apparently helpless lamb is the victorious, invincible lion: The mystery of a hero. This is a challenging image, because all apocalyptic hopes present a strong ruler who overthrows the forces of evil with power.
Another aspect that is surprising is the worship of the Lamb.
In the previous chapter we saw that everything revolved around the throne. Now everything is centered around Jesus, He is the center of everything, and He is worshiped. And God let this happen. This shows that Jesus is really God, because only God is allowed to be worshiped.
The seven seals
When Jesus opened the seals, He made sure that the devil was exposed. He wants to rule the world, but the first four seals show for what purpose he would bring the earth.
Since the saints are not excluded, we will see why during the trumpets, they suffer and ask when this will end. Their request is granted (to receive white linen) and becomes a common theme throughout the book: The vindication of the saints and the answer to their prayers.
The main reaction is Jesus’ great judgment. This is truly the Day of the Lord, where everyone is accountable and cannot hide, as in the Last Judgment.
After the interruption of the 144,000, the seventh seal is opened. This shows a half hour of silence. Silence has its own meaning in the Bible, but in Jewish literature there is a strong connection between the time of silence in heaven and the time when God hears the prayers of the saints. This continues the idea of the fifth seal, where the prayers of the saints come into focus. Even though the prayer of the saints is only mentioned twice, it connects the seals and the trumpets and plays a central role there.