The Scroll

The Scroll

“And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written on the inside and on the back [on the outside], sealed with seven seals. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?’ And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it. So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it. But one of the elders said to me, ‘Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.’” Vs. 1-5.

“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them . . . .” Heb. 10:16.

Previously the law was written on tablets of stone. The commandment hedged the people in so that the law brought about wrath. Rom. 4:15. We can say that they looked at the law from the outside and served in the oldness of the letter; but they did not apprehend the spirit in the law and see the marvelous things in God’s law. They could not serve in the newness of the Spirit. Rom. 7:6.

The scroll was written on the inside and on the outside. They could read what was written on the outside. They were acquainted with the commandment on the tablets of stone and they were punished as soon as they did something that was wrong. This is where many of them labored and were heavy laden in order to keep the law. However, they realized that they were not in the right relationship to God so that they could rejoice in the law. They wanted to look into the spirit of the law so they could have it written on their hearts. Instead of the law being a tutor, they wanted it as an inner strength that constrained them. That is where they met the seven seals, and many of the old saints wept; nevertheless, they prophesied about the sufferings of Christ and the glory that would follow. 1 Pet. 1:10-12.

“For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Rom. 8:3-4.

It was the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, who prevailed. The flesh had to be defeated so that the law could be fulfilled. For the spirit of the law was not just to keep the people in bondage so that they would not do what they wanted to do, but it was to set them at liberty from sin; nevertheless, the law was weak because of the flesh. Therefore God had to send His Son so that the Son, in like manner as the children, could share in the same flesh and blood. Heb. 2:14. In this state He gained an eternal redemption and broke through the veil, which until then had closed the door to this salvation. Now sin was not only judged after it had been manifested by the body, but it was condemned in the flesh—before the desire was conceived and resulted in sin. Jas. 1:15. This is how the requirement of the law can be fulfilled in us. Therefore Jesus, God’s Son, had to become the Root of David in order to open the seals.

John saw in the midst of the thrones and the four living creatures and the elders a Lamb standing as though it had been slain. Rev. 5:6. He got to see the death of Christ. For as many as are baptized into Christ are baptized into His death, so we can walk in the newness of life. Rom. 6:3-4. If we want to look into the scroll, we have to enter into the death of Christ, but only the few want to go on this way. For the majority, Christianity is only a matter of law upon law—heavy burdens and toil. People realize that this has to be wrong—that there has to be something they haven’t seen yet, something which they sense is as if it were sealed with seven seals—and they weep. May the message of the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, reach them. May they hear about the death of Christ so they can always bear it in their bodies. Then the life of Christ will also be revealed in them. 2 Cor. 4:10-11. Then Jesus can write His commandments in their hearts and minds. They will receive them, not as a burden under which they have to toil, but as strength that bears them. Most people view the law from the outside as a tutor; for example, you shall not covet. But if they are willing to let covetousness go into the death of Christ, they will be able to look into the spirit of the law. Then they will experience the glory of the law by fulfilling the commandment. The commandment will have become one with their heart and mind.

When the Lamb took the scroll, there was singing and rejoicing in heaven. By the same token, Simeon and Anna rejoiced when they saw that Jesus had come. They knew that now He would deal with the things that generation after generation had toiled with and had not been able to do. Philip said enthusiastically to Nathanael: “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” John 1:45. We also notice that same enthusiasm today from upright souls who hear the message about Him who loosed the seals.