Who Is Worthy to Open The Scroll?

very person desires at least some respect and honor. Most of us are respected and honored by our co-workers, families or friends. Each person desires to be considered worthy of something significant, but some of us want more. Simon Tournay is one example of a man who wanted too much. History says that after completing his studies at Oxford, he moved to Paris, France where he became a very prominent person and eventually the chief doctor of the Sorbonne (a university in France). He was so proud that he said that Aristotle was greater than Moses and Jesus Christ, and that he (Tournay) was greater than Aristotle. He wanted respect and honor. He felt that he was worthy of such honor; but at the end of his life, he became senile. He could not remember one letter in any book, or one thing that he had ever done. God humbled the man. Tournay was not worthy of the honor that he gave himself.

The Scroll. In our last study in Revelation 4, the Apostle John was taken to heaven in a vision and there he saw God the Father sitting on the throne with the Holy Spirit and four living creatures before Him on a sea of glass like crystal. God was also surrounded by twenty-four elders. The chapter ended with the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders giving praise and honor to God. What a great vision! What an honor for the Apostle John.

And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals. (NASB) Rev. 5:1

The English word for “book” misses the fact that in Jesus’ day books did not have pages or bindings. The English word should be scroll, because the actual Greek word is BIBLION which means “scroll.”

Scrolls were made from the skins of sheep or goats or from the vellum of calves. The skins were washed, the hair removed and then rubbed with pumice and dressed with chalk. Finally the skins were cut into sheets (7.5 inches by 10 inches or 19 cm by 25 cm) and up to twenty sheets were glued together (less than 35 ft or 10.7 m). The scrolls were unrolled from left to right and were written in columns 2 to 3 inches wide (5-8 cm). Is this the type of scroll that God the Father had in His hand? We do not know, but the use of seven seals was something that would have been familiar to the apostle.

This type of scroll was common for ancient legal documents (Jer. 32:10-12). The seals were apparently attached to the document as it was written. So the first seal would have been attached on the inside; the next seal would have been attached later after more words were written. This process would have continued until the legal document was completed. This scroll had seven seals. So the first seal on the end of the scroll would have been broken and the words would have been read. Then the next seal would have been broken so that more words could have been read. This process would continue until the document was completely read. This was an important legal scroll, since it had so many seals. It must have been important also since God the Father was holding the scroll.

And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?” And no one in heaven, or on the earth, or under the earth, was able to open the book, or to look into it. And I began to weep greatly, because no one was found worthy to open the book, or to look into it . . . (NASB) Rev. 5:2-4