Christ Revealed: The Lion, The Lamb, and the Scroll

September 20, 2026 | Revelation 5:1–10

The Scripture

This morning we turn to Revelation chapter 5, verse 1 through 10.

Then I saw in the right hand of Him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it. And I began to weep loudly, because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that He can open the scroll and its seven seals.” And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders, I saw a lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and seven eyes, which are the Spirit of God sent out into all the earth. And He went and took the scroll from the right hand of Him who was seated on the throne. And when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the lamb, each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, …

A Word on Application

Before we dive into the text, I want to give you some thoughts on how we approach this book. Now, this third section of our journey through Revelation is the most difficult of the parts we have covered together, so bear with me.

There are two kinds of application. One is personal and private—things that we say to you that you must put into practice in your own life. The other is application intended to help others.

Last week, I gave you three applications to deepen our understanding of God’s sovereignty through meditation. Commit to deepening your devotional life. Meditate on the meaning of repentance. When you read passages about people not repenting, ask yourself: How am I to repent? Or how am I not repenting in my own life? That is a personal, private application.

An application intended to help others might look like this: we should discourage people from viewing the book of Revelation as a crystal ball or a horoscope. If you know someone who is always going off on a tangent about end-times speculation, you might simply try to caution them. That is not what the book of Revelation is for. We could also be encouraged to be sober and alert, watching what is happening in the world. As Peter says, be ready, because you never know when the Lord is going to come.

I can suggest the principle, but only you can put that principle into practice. I cannot come into your life and give you all kinds of little tidbits. I give you a basic principle, and you must figure out what that looks like in your own circumstances.

For example, in the story of the Good Samaritan—you know the story—a man is jumped by robbers, beaten, and left by the roadside. A priest comes by and keeps going. A Levite comes by. Finally, a Samaritan comes along. Now, you have to know your history: there was major racial tension between Jews and Samaritans. They did not merely dislike each other; they hated each other. And even today, there are Samaritans in the land of Israel, and they do not get along with the Jews. So there was deep, entrenched hatred.

Jesus tells the story of how the Samaritan is the one who helps the beaten and robbed man. Then, at the end of the story, he asks the man who had posed the original question, “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” The man says, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus says to him, “Go and do likewise.”

There is the application. But the application is acts of mercy. You have to decide what acts of mercy you can and cannot do in your day-to-day life. This is where application can only be very general. We should be people who act mercifully toward others. But how that looks in each situation, for every person, is different—because of the different challenges we face, the different opportunities we have, and the different abilities we possess. So we take the principle and we apply it. We engage in acts of mercy, but the specifics are up to you.

Another example comes from our text. Next week, we will spend a message on the idea of prayer in the book of Revelation. Because notice verse 8, the end of verse 8: the creatures fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. Now, what does that tell us? There are these bowls in the presence of God—symbolism, no doubt. The symbolic bowls of prayers in the presence of God. What does that say? Our prayers are important. And therefore, the application is: we should be people who spend time in prayer. And that was part of what we dealt with last week.

So those are the examples. And they are not always easy. And by the way, when you are dealing with a book like Revelation, do not go looking for mystical applications. Look for practical applications. And with Revelation especially, that is not always easy to do.

Our Champion

Now we come back to the concept that we have been dealing with throughout this journey. I wanted to take today and focus on our champion. We spent about three weeks talking about the tribulations—the things we can endure and expect to go through as Christians. Today, I want to talk about the champion who gives us the power to endure all of that, and the guarantee that we will come through on the other side.

This is so very important for us to see. Christ is revealed. The Old Testament is explored. And the truth is applied. We are going to focus now on the two areas of Christ being revealed.

Grant Osborne, speaking of this section of Revelation chapter 5, says that this section is one of the most magnificent Christological pictures in all of Scripture. In addition to the images of Christ’s redemptive work, which we are going to look at, we have things that demonstrate that Jesus is, in fact, God—one with the Father and the Son.

How do we see that? If you notice, in chapter 4, which we dealt with a few weeks ago, the four living creatures and the elders fall down and worship God. And what do you see in chapter 5? The same creatures falling down in the same way to worship Jesus. What does that tell us? Jesus and God are one in the sense of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—one God eternally existing in three persons. We do not fully understand the mystery of the Trinity, but it is the truth of Scripture. And Jesus and the Father are both worshiped here in the exact same fashion.

Then notice something else about the description and the symbolism of the number seven. I do not make a lot of the numbers in the Bible, but seven is one of those numbers that has great symbolism. It is typically thought to be the number of perfection or completion. And notice what it says in our text: the Lamb, as though slain, with seven horns.

The horn is a symbol of power and strength in the Bible, and in ancient times specifically. Seven is the number of completion, which means there is a fullness of power and a perfection of power in Christ. And note this, please: what does that say about Jesus? That He is omnipotent. As God, one with the Father, He is all-powerful.

Then you have the seven eyes. Even though the text says the seven eyes are the seven spirits of God, I want you to make a distinct connection with each. Seven eyes. And if you know the Old Testament pictures, these creatures have eyes all over them. It is meant to convey God’s all-seeing nature. He is all-knowing. He is omniscient.

And then the seven spirits sent out into the world. Christ is omnipresent as God, one with the Father and the Spirit.

So we have Christ who is omnipotent, Christ who is omniscient, and Christ who is omnipresent. And these are the things we see about Christ as we open this book and begin to read. Sometimes, I know you may be weary of hearing this, but many times people just buzz through and try to get all these mystical applications, and they miss the message, which is: Christ is glorified and magnified in this book.

Christ Revealed as Redeemer

We see then, Christ revealed as Redeemer in four ways in this text that we have read. I am going to mix up the order slightly and insert one that is perhaps not as clear to you.

1. The Root of David

Notice he says, “The Root of David has conquered.” The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered.

Now, this phrase, “the Root of David,” is drawn from the Old Testament. Here is one of those passages where you cannot know the book of Revelation without exploring the Old Testament.

Listen to what Isaiah 11:1 and 10 say:

“There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.”

Seven spirits. Seven characteristics of the Spirit enumerated there. And this is what we saw in Revelation. The Root of Jesse.

Let me read further. Isaiah 11:10: “In that day, the Root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.”

Here it is talking about Christ. And this is the Root of David. He is conquering. And by the way, this means what? That Christ is a prophetic fulfillment of God’s promises to David. If you know the Davidic covenant that God made with David: there will never lack a man of your family to sit on the throne. And this is Christ being fulfilled. This is what we see of Jesus—Him being glorified as God’s fulfillment of His promises to David.

2. The Son of Man

The second image is not as well known and not as clear. It comes from verses 1 through 3, but it is drawn from Daniel chapter 7.

All the way back in the Old Testament, in the book of Daniel, Daniel says:

“I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man. And he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”

Why does it say like a son of man? Because He is a man and yet He is more than a man. If He had simply said, “I saw a man coming,” it would not convey that connotation. Like the son of man. And by the way, you know this: “the Son of Man” was Jesus’ favorite self-designation. Whenever He refers to Himself in the Gospels, He refers to Himself as the Son of Man.

Now, it is not clear, unless you know your Scriptures, that this is what is happening here in chapter 5. The Son of Man—Jesus—comes to the throne and has been given dominion. That is what is in the scroll. Remember, we touched on this last week: the scroll contains God’s plan for the universe, His fulfillment of all His purposes and desires. And this is what is happening.

Christ comes to the throne. In the Old Testament, Daniel sees this vision of the Son of Man coming to the throne. And in Revelation, John sees Jesus come to the throne and receive the scroll that contains the destiny of all humankind.

And then, further, a glorification and revelation of Christ. Listen to Revelation 11:15: “The seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying, ‘The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.'”

The whole purpose of the book of Revelation is this revealing of God’s purposes and plans. Christ is the King. Christ is the Ruler. And this is what you see in Revelation as well as here in the book of Daniel.

3. The Lion of the Tribe of Judah

Thirdly, the third title and designation of Christ that we sang about in our worship: He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

Now, again, these terms are meaningless unless you know your Old Testament. And so we have this great passage of Scripture to read, and I call upon you to notice the overlap and the connections.

All the way back in Genesis chapter 49, Jacob is blessing his sons. He is going down the list, saying, “You are going to be this, you are going to be that, you are going to do this, you are going to do that.” And he comes to Judah:

“Your brothers shall praise you; your hands shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion’s cub; he crouches as a lion and as a lioness. Who shall rouse him? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.”

What is the connotation there? It is speaking of you and me, because we are the brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ. We are heirs of God. We are children of God. He is the natural Son, and we are the adopted children, but we worship that Son. We worship Him. And this is what we see in the book of Genesis, all the way back in the very beginning of the Bible.

Now notice the next verse, because it has connections to the New Testament and to Christ’s death:

“Binding his foal to the vine, and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine; he has washed his garments in wine, and his robe in the blood of grapes.”

Now, where is that? That is the Triumphal Entry, is it not? When He sends the disciples to get the donkey and they bring it to Him, and He rides into town on it. That is the Triumphal Entry. And when is that? That is the first day of the last week of His life, in which, at the end of the week, He dies sacrificially for His people. And we see it all there.

So this Lion of the tribe of Judah, all the way back in Genesis, is Christ as He becomes our Ruler, our King, our Brother in spirit, and we are triumphant in Him.

Now notice this. Because there is His sacrificial death, and it has His garments in the blood of grapes as symbolism connected to His death and His coming. Listen to Revelation 19:13: as John sees heaven open and a rider on a white horse followed by the armies of heaven, and as he describes this rider, he says He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which He is called is The Word of God.

Here we see the blood symbolizes, children, very importantly, redemptive sacrifice and retributive judgment. “Vengeance is mine, says the Lord; I will repay.” And both are symbolized in this. You and I—as I know it is difficult in our culture and at this time—have got to bring out both of those. It is not just all syrupy love. God loves, yes, but it is also true that God will judge sin, because He must judge sin. He must punish sin to be consistent with His character.

All of this is connected to another passage from Isaiah that fits with the message of Revelation. The Lion of the tribe of Judah is undoing the scroll. He is breaking the seals, and each time He does, more judgment comes upon a world in rebellion against God. And this is the message. But notice this from the book of Isaiah, and that twin thought: redemption and judgment. Because that is what is happening in the book of Revelation. Redemption and judgment.

Listen to this from Isaiah chapter 63:

“Who is this who comes from Edom, with crimson garments from Bozrah? He who is splendid in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength?”

Now let me explain something here. It is difficult to read the prophets sometimes, because it is not always clear where the dialogue begins. Sometimes the prophet is speaking, and sometimes God is speaking. And this is what makes the prophets difficult. So here I will try to give you a little commentary. The prophet is asking: “Who is this who comes from Edom in crimson garments from Bozrah?” And then the Lord says, “It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.” And then the prophet asks, “Why is your apparel red, and your garments like one who treads in the winepress?” And God replies:

“I have trodden the winepress alone; and from the peoples no one was with me. For I trod them in my anger and trampled them in my wrath; their lifeblood splattered on my garments and stained all my apparel. For the day of my vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my redemption had come.”

Please notice that, because what do we read in our chapter 5? There was no one worthy to open the scroll. There was no one worthy to break the seals. Only God can do this. Only God can bring these things about. And it is so very important. He says, “I did this alone. I trod the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with me.”

Boy, that is graphic, is it not? And we should not necessarily read it as absolutely literal. God’s blood flying everywhere like some kind of horror movie. But it is God’s seriousness about sin and the fact that He is going to judge sin someday. And the only way to escape that judgment is to be in Christ and to run to Him.

Do you see it? Salvation and judgment. Redemption and retributive judgment. Now He goes on and says, “I looked, but there was no one to help.” Now, we need to understand: when God says “He looked,” He is using human language, but it means He looked. He did not overlook anything. There is no other answer. That is why you read this in our passage, and John is weeping, and this loud angel says, “Nobody was found in heaven or on earth or under the earth. Nobody.” And this is God’s same connotation: “I looked, and I was appalled that there was no one to help. So my own arm brought me salvation, and my wrath upheld me.”

Do you see the balance of judgment and salvation? Redemption and wrath? In this text? “I trampled down the peoples in my anger. I made them drunk in my wrath and poured out their lifeblood on the earth.”

Now, it is certainly true that this is not the kind of Scripture that the world is going to like, especially in this cultural moment. But, children, if that is what the Bible says, we have got to recognize it. We do not have to go and say, “Okay, this is definitely going to happen; blood is going to be going all over the place.” For example, later in the book of Revelation, it says the blood will flow to the bridle of the horses. That is a metaphor. It is symbolism. It does not really mean there is going to be blood above the head of the average human. It is a metaphor for the awfulness of God’s judgment.

And it is in the Bible so that people will turn from their sins and run to God, because it is too late otherwise. This is why it is in there, and this is why we must be careful not to diminish even these complex passages.

Let me give you one more passage about the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Another Old Testament book connecting Christ in this imagery. And by the way, in our song today—”Christ the Lion to awake”—if you go to the Old Testament, you will see lots of passages that talk about God as a lion. And the metaphor again is: there is a sense of fear and awesomeness about God that we should be moved by.

But notice this. One more passage from the Old Testament that we hear every year. Every Christmas season we read this verse, but it is another one that connects the Lion of the tribe of Judah to our Savior. Look at Micah chapter 5, verses 1 and 2:

“With a rod they strike the judge of Israel on the cheek. But you, O Bethlehem-Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”

“With a rod they strike the judge of Israel on the cheek.” That is what happened at His trial, was it not? It is right there in His trial. And the next verse jumps to His birth. This is the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and His redemptive work. And it is so great a work of redemption that everyone should rush to Him.

4. The Lamb That Was Slain

And now we come to the fourth image in that passage of Revelation: the Lamb that was slain.

So we see the Root of David. We see the Son of Man coming to the Ancient of Days. We see the Lion of the tribe of Judah. And then it caps off with the Lamb that was slain.

These images are drawn from two passages: Exodus chapter 12 and Isaiah chapter 53. Exodus chapter 12, just as a reminder, is where the Passover is instituted. And God said, “Take a lamb, kill it, take the blood, put it on the lintel and the doorpost, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you.” The judgment that fell upon the Egyptians did not fall upon the people of God because they applied the blood.

The other place is, of course, Isaiah 53, where it says, “He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon him.” These two passages are drawn together with the Lamb who was slain.

But I want you to notice something here, and I am going to come back to that verse in a moment. We have to pause and ask: Why was the Lamb slain? To atone for human sin. But the Lamb’s value is diminished greatly in a culture where nobody thinks anything is wrong. Nobody thinks they are guilty of anything. And I have warned you before: the whole idea of “I’m basically good”—if everybody is basically good, why does Christ need to die in such a horrible way? The Lamb was slain because we are sinners, and we need forgiveness and cleansing. And this is the concept, and you see it again and again.

Now notice, if I can bring it out: Isaiah is sometimes called the Fifth Gospel, because there are so many messianic passages in Isaiah. But this passage in Revelation—the Root of David—is linked to the Messiah figure in Isaiah again in this way. Verse 2 of chapter 53:

“He grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.”

The Root of David is a root growing out of dry ground, and nobody really takes Him seriously.

Now, most commentators note the irony of this passage when you come to, “I saw a Lamb that was slain.” They note the irony. Now get this, please: John is weeping, and he hears this elder say, “The Lion has conquered.” And John looks, and he does not see a lion. He sees a lamb that has been slaughtered. Note the contrast. The Lion of the tribe of Judah has triumphed, and John looks and he sees a Lamb, as though it had been slain.

And that is ironic. So many of the commentators point this out. Bruce Metzger says, “What follows this announcement that the Lion of Judah has triumphed is altogether unexpected. John looked to see the lion, the king of beasts, and instead he sees a lamb, the marks of slaughter upon it. He looked to see power and force by which the enemies of his faith would be destroyed, and he sees sacrificial love. Not what he expected to see. He was wanting and needing to see vindication on earth, and he sees a lamb.”

Matthew Henry, the great commentator who died in 1714, says, “Jesus is a lion to conquer Satan and a lamb to satisfy the justice of God.”

Leon Morris says it this way: “It is striking and unexpected to have such an animal chosen to symbolize Christ. None but an inspired composer of heavenly visions would have ever thought of it. When earthbound men want symbols of power, they conjure up mighty beasts and birds of prey.” If you know the book of Daniel, you have read that: in Daniel’s vision, one of the kingdoms is represented by a leopard, another by a bear, another by a goat with three horns on its head. Symbols of power. And yet when we come to Christ, He is portrayed as a slaughtered lamb.

Leon Morris goes on to say, “It is only the kingdom of heaven that would dare to use as its symbol of might not the lion for which John was looking, but a slain lamb.”

What did Paul say over there in 1 Corinthians? God chose the foolish things to confound the wise, and the weak things to confound the mighty. And He uses the very imagery that no one would connect to God.

Contrast this image with this one from the book of Revelation. Then another sign appeared in heaven, and there was a great fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. His tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth. Get the image, if you could, of this gigantic red dragon with seven heads—completion—and ten horns of power. And set before that monstrous, frightening image: a lamb. What are the odds of victory?

This is exactly the message of Revelation, especially for those Christians who were being crushed—if that is the right word. Remember that in the first century, they did not have any political power. There was no court system like ours. There was no bill of rights, no constitution, no way to go to court and seek redress for oppressions. They were overwhelmed by the largest empire in the history of the world to that point. They had absolutely no power. How do they stand against it? God gives them this picture of a lamb. What is that saying? Little is much when God is in it.

And this is the message for the people who are being oppressed by the world system and crushed by the political powers. The Lamb, the triumphant Lion, is seen as a Lamb.

Now note again the correlation between Isaiah chapter 53, verse 2—a root out of dry ground—and a slain Lamb. No one would suspect the dried root would produce anything. And no one would expect a helpless lamb to accomplish anything. But this is exactly how God works.

Application

Children, we need to hear this. I could not get the specific list of applications I wanted to, but here is one I will throw at you: We need to rely on God. We need to rely on God. And far too often we are relying on earthly solutions. Only God can do what needs doing. And we need to cry out to Him, and we need to confess: we cannot do it, Lord. Whether it be personally, corporately, nationally—we have no power. Oh God, be merciful and move in our hearts and our lives.

Joel Beeke says it this way: “Christ has conquered, but He has done so by allowing Himself to be led as a lamb to the slaughter.” That is the gospel. Nobody could have thought that up. No one could have come up with that. God’s Messiah being crucified as a criminal. Nobody would have thought of that as a way of reaching and saving humankind, except God.

Check it out. Check all the other religions of the world, and you will not find such a paradoxical answer to the problems of the human race. No one could have come up with that as the answer to the problems of the universe. But that is God’s answer: the Lamb that was slain.

Now notice this, very important: in the rest of Revelation, after we see this picture of His victory, He is still referred to as the Lamb all the way through—except for one time when He comes back from heaven. Again and again, you read, and Christ is referred to as the Lamb. Again and again and again. And by the way, even after the end of Revelation, when we are out on the new heaven and the new earth: “I saw a new heaven and a new earth. Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb, through the middle of the city.” And again and again, it is the Lamb, the Lamb, the Lamb throughout Revelation.

The other titles, though important, pale in numerical comparison. The message is: your victory, your security, your eternal well-being is connected to the Lamb that was slain. And that is what we must celebrate. That must be our theme, our worship, our songs, and our prayers.

Grant Osborne says this, and I will leave you with it: “Victory was not achieved through the powerful claws of the lion, but through the passive surrender of the slaughtered lamb.”

I cannot do it. You cannot do it. But God has done it in Christ.

Amen?

Father, thank You.