ACC ~ Revelation 5 v1 - 5

OVERVIEW:

Although the Old Testament was a messenger and a veil of the New Testament, it remained obscure and closed until through his humanity Christ opened and unsealed the Scriptures (APRINGIUS, PRIMASIUS). Through his passion and resurrection, Christ makes clear a plenitude of mysteries (CAESARIUS OF ARLES) and makes it possible to interpret the whole of Scripture according to its literal and its spiritual meanings (ORIGEN, ANDREW OF CAESAREA). Also, as though all of humankind were registered in a book, God remembers all persons, both those from Israel who followed the law and those from the Gentiles who had been idolaters (OECUMENIUS, ANDREW OF CAESAREA). Moreover, God can perceive the inmost parts of a person even as he knows a person’s outward deeds (APRINGIUS).

However, only Christ through the dispensation of his flesh could unseal and open the book. He alone was prophesied by the law as the one who was to die and who was to become God’s heir so that he might inherit the human race as his own (VICTORINUS). For such a purpose no angelic creature had either power or right. For such a purpose no one on earth had either power or the needed perfection. For such a purpose no one under the earth, not even one of the departed saints, was worthy (PRIMASIUS, GREGORY THE GREAT). None of these could contemplate the splendor of the New Testament, even as the sons of Israel were not able to look upon the face of Moses (BEDE).

Yet, although no angel, no righteous person, no saint among the dead could open the book, the weeping of the church for her sins and her longing for redemption is not in vain (TYCONIUS, PRIMASIUS). The Lion of Judah was foretold by all the prophets, and their promise gives consolation to the church (TYCONIUS). Christ is the Lion of Judah, and through his death and resurrection he proves himself to be not only a lion but also a lamb. Although he accepted death in innocence, he killed death by power (TYCONIUS, AUGUSTINE). He conquered the devil, who is fierce as a lion. Yet he is a lamb toward the world. He is gentle, lovable and innocent, yet also strong, terrifying and mighty (AUGUSTINE). Although the antichrist will seek to deceive by imitating this Lion of Judah (HIPPOLYTUS), this lion is not only human but also is the Root of David, true God, the Source of all things visible and invisible (OECUMENIUS).

5:1 | A Scroll Sealed with Seven Seals

CHRIST REVEALS THE MEANING OF THE SCRIPTURES. ORIGEN: And what book does John see, which has writing on the front and back and is sealed? Which book could no one read and loose its seals, except the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David who has the key of David, and who opens and no one will close, and closes and no one will open? For the whole Scripture is what is revealed by the book that has writing on the front because its interpretation is easy, and on the back because it is hidden and spiritual. COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 5.6.

THE SEVEN STAGES OF CHRIST’S LIFE. APRINGIUS OF BEJA: This scroll, which is said to be written on the inside and on the outside, is all of the present world which is a creature [of God]. God perceives the inner [thoughts of every creature] and he knows their outer deeds. For, by the virtue of his power he surpasses this world which is contained [by him] and by the clarity of his majesty he searches into the inmost parts. The book is said to be sealed by seven seals, so that the decree and limit of the present seven days, in which the world was made, might be manifested. Another interpretation: This book signifies the teaching of the Old Testament, which was given into the hands of our Lord, who accepted the judgment from the Father. The seven seals are these: First, incarnation; second, birth; third, passion; fourth, death; fifth, resurrection; sixth, glory; seventh, kingdom. These seals, therefore, are Christ. Since he completed all things through his humanity, he opened and unsealed everything which had been closed and sealed in the Scriptures. TRACTATE ON THE APOCALYPSE 5.1.

THE OLD TESTAMENT VEILS THE NEW AND THE NEW REVEALS THE OLD. PRIMASIUS: The book is in the right hand because it is in Christ, for he is the arm of God, he is the right hand of the Father, or it means that it was in the highest blessedness. The book written on the inside and the outside is both Testaments, the Old Testament on the outside because it was visible, and the New Testament on the inside because it lay hidden within the Old. The apostle speaks to the Hebrews of this: “For you have not come to what may be touched, a fire, a storm, and gloom, and a tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice with words whose hearers entreated that no further word be given to them, for they could not bear what was said,” and the following. However, now “comparing spiritual things with spiritual things, we do not contemplate what is seen but what is not seen, for the things that are seen are temporal, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” And therefore one book is mentioned, since the New Testament cannot be without the Old, nor the Old without the New. For the Old Testament is the messenger and the veil of the New, while the New is the fulfillment and revelation of the Old. And because the Old Testament was on the outside, it neither disclosed everything nor did it conceal everything. Or, to express this more clearly, every dispensation of the Savior that is either promised or enacted in either Testament is collected here in this book. COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 5.1.

GOD REMEMBERS ALL OF HUMANKIND AS IN A BOOK. OECUMENIUS: The holy Scriptures depict for us a certain book, in which all of humankind is registered, perhaps calling God’s memory of us a “book,” except that the prophet calls it a “scroll,” saying, “Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and in your scroll shall they all be written.” And the most wise Moses, making propitiation for sinful Israel, weeps and cries out to God, “But now, if you will forgive their sin, forgive, but if not, blot me out of your book which you have written.” The holy Evangelist saw this book written within and without. That written “within” may be those from Israel who are registered as pious through the guidance of the law, while that “without” would be those from the Gentiles who by a worse fate had been idolaters before they believed in Christ. The scroll was in the right hand of God. This is, as I certainly think, the ways of the saints who walked uprightly in the old covenant. The scroll was rolled up and sealed with seven seals. As a perfect number, the seven shows how exceedingly securely the scroll is closed and sealed up. COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 5.1-7.

THE DEATH OF CHRIST REVEALS EVERY MYSTERY. CAESARIUS OF ARLES: “Sealed,” it says, “by seven seals.” This means that the book was obscured by the plenitude of all mysteries, since until the passion and resurrection of Christ it had remained sealed. For in no way is anything called a “testament,” unless those who are about to die make it, and it is sealed until the death of the testator, and after his death, it is opened. And so, after the death of Christ every mystery was revealed. EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE 5.1, HOMILY 4.

THE WISDOM OF GOD. ANDREW OF CAESAREA: We recognize the book to be the most wise memory of God in which, according to David, all people are recorded, as well as the depths of the divine judgments. Those things written on the outside through the letter are more easily comprehended. Those things written on the inside through the Spirit are more difficult to decipher. The “seven seals” signify either the obscurity of the book which is known to no one or the economies of him “who searches the depths of the Spirit of God.” No created being is able to open these seals. The “book” also is understood to be the prophecy that Christ himself said to be fulfilled in the Gospel, but the rest of [the prophecy] will be fulfilled in the last days. COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 5.1.

5:2 | “Who is Worthy to Open the Scroll?”

IN HIS DEATH CHRIST INHERITS THE HUMAN RACE. VICTORINUS OF PETOVIUM: “In the hand of him who is seated on the tribunal there is a book written within, sealed by seven seals.” This signifies the Old Testament which was given into the hand of our Lord, who received the judgment from the Father. “A herald cried out,” he says, “whether there was anyone worthy to open the book and to loose its seals, and no one was found worthy, neither in heaven, nor on earth, nor under the earth.” However, to open the testament is to suffer and to conquer death for humanity. No one was found worthy to do this, neither among the angels in heaven, nor among men on the earth, nor among the souls of the saints who are at rest; only Christ, the Son of God, whom he says that he saw as though a lamb slain, having seven horns. What had been prophesied of him, whatever the law had mediated of him through oblations and sacrifices, it was necessary that he fulfill. And because he himself was the testator who had conquered death, it was just that he himself be appointed God’s heir, so that he might possess the property of the one who was dying, that is, the human race. COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 5.1.

5:3 | No One Was Able to Open the Scroll

THE INCARNATE SON OF GOD ALONE CAN FULFILL ALL THINGS. PRIMASIUS: When it says that no one in heaven was found worthy, it indicates that [opening the scroll] exceeded the capacities of the angels. This was not because they were ignorant of the future mystery of the Lord’s incarnation and work but because this was not to be completed through an angelic creature. For the Son of God, who through the assumption of true humanity was going to redeem humanity, wishes to fulfill all things through himself. Therefore Isaiah said, “Neither an angel nor a messenger but the Lord himself saved them.” When it says that no one on the earth was worthy, it means that no one of the just remains perfect in this life, for in order to be re-created man requires the assistance of him who alone is Creator. And that no one could be found under the earth means that no one among the saints who had died was found worthy to open the scroll or even to see it. Here “to see” means “to comprehend,” and therefore Paul says that he preaches the unsearchable riches of Christ to the Gentiles of which the Lord spoke, that is, the glory of the New Testament that was hidden in the law and that Christ reserved for his own presence. And so, no one was able to see this with an adequate sight, so that he might be able to effect it, since Christ had the power to fulfill it by his own dispensation. For [this glory] could only be foreseen by them, but it could not be effected. COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 5.3.

WHY HELL IS UNDER THE EARTH. GREGORY THE GREAT: But it occurs to me that if we call an object “infernal” because it lies in a lower position, then hell ought to be “infernal” to the earth just as the earth is to the sky. This is perhaps what the psalmist had in mind when he said, “You have freed my soul from the lower infernal regions.” The earth then is the “upper infernal,” and lying below this is the “lower infernal.” The words of John, too, are in keeping with this concept. He says he saw a book sealed with seven seals, and, because no one was found worthy to open the seals, either in heaven or on earth or under the earth, he “was all in tears.” Yet, later, he says that the Lion of the tribe of Judah opened the book. This book can refer only to sacred Scriptures, for no one opened it but Christ our Redeemer, who became man, and by his death, resurrection and ascension opened the way to all the mysteries it contained. No one in heaven opened it, because no angel could. No one on earth opened it, because no one living in the flesh had the power of doing so. No one under the earth was found worthy to open it, because souls separated from their bodies do not have such powers. No one but our Lord could open up the hidden meanings of the sacred word. Since, then, no one under the earth was found worthy to unseal the book, I see no reason why we should not believe that hell is under the earth. DIALOGUES 4.44.

THE SPLENDOR OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. BEDE: This vision shows to us the mysteries of the holy Scriptures, which were revealed through the incarnation of the Lord. Its harmonious unity contains, as it were, the Old Testament without and the New Testament within. … Neither an angel nor anyone of the righteous who are already freed from the flesh was able to reveal or to search out the mysteries of the divine law or to look into the book, that is, to contemplate the splendor of the grace of the New Testament. Similarly, the sons of Israel had not been able to look upon the face of the giver of the law of the Old Testament, which contains the New. EXPLANATION OF THE APOCALYPSE 5.1-3.

5:4 | I Wept Much

THE CHURCH WEEPS AND BESEECHES. PRIMASIUS: It was the church that wept in John’s weeping, for she is weighed down with the burden of sins and beseeches her own redemption, which was shown to exist in the opening of this book. COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 5.4.

5:5 | The Lion of Judah Has Conquered

THE ANTICHRIST DECEIVES BY IMITATING THE SON OF GOD. HIPPOLYTUS: Now, as our Lord Jesus Christ, who is also God, was prophesied under the figure of a lion, because of his royalty and glory, in the same way have the Scriptures also previously spoken of antichrist as a lion, because of his tyranny and violence. For the deceiver seeks to liken himself in all things to the Son of God. Christ is a lion, so antichrist is also a lion. Christ is a king, so antichrist is also a king. The Savior was manifested as a lamb; so he too, similarly, will appear as a lamb, though within he is a wolf. The Savior came into the world in the circumcision, and he too will come in the same way. The Lord sent apostles among all the nations, and he similarly will send false apostles. The Savior gathered together the sheep that were scattered abroad, and he too will bring together a people that is scattered abroad. The Lord gave a seal to those who believed on him, and he too will give one in like manner. The Savior appeared in the form of man, and he too will come in the form of a man. The Savior raised up and showed his holy flesh like a temple, and he too will raise a temple of stone in Jerusalem. ON THE ANTICHRIST 6.

THE LION OF JUDAH IS THE CONSOLATION OF THE CHURCH. TYCONIUS: In this one elder we recognize the whole body of the prophets, for their prophecies consoled the church as they foretold that Christ would come from the tribe of Judah and would redeem the world by his own blood. Of him it was foretold: “Judah is a lion’s whelp. For prey, my son, you have gone up. You lie in wait as a lion and as a lioness. Who will rouse him up?” Moreover, the same one is taught to be a lamb as well as a lion, for he assumed death with a devout innocence, even as he killed with power the death he had assumed. To death he had long ago truly issued threats, saying through Hosea, “I will be your death, O death, I will be your sting, O hades.” And through Isaiah, “Behold, the root of Jesse will rise for the salvation of the people. The nations will entreat him, and his sepulcher will be glorious.” For when anyone of the faithful individually and earnestly weeps for his or her own sins and recalls the promises of redemption “through the consolation of the Scriptures,” [that person] will recognize that he or she has the hope of eternal salvation. As I say, by one of the elders this is confirmed with a similar response. For this reason, he mentions what is past while he is also promising the future, because in the things of the past the Spirit shows future things by way of subtle hints. COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 5.5.

TOWARD THE DEVIL CHRIST IS A LION, TOWARD THE WORLD A LAMB. AUGUSTINE: So the true victory of our Lord Jesus Christ was achieved when he rose again and ascended into heaven. Then was fulfilled what you heard when the Apocalypse was read, “The lion from the tribe of Judah has conquered.” It is he that is called a lion, he that is called a lamb. He is called a lion for courage, a lamb for innocence. A lion because unconquered, a lamb because gentle. And when this lamb was slain, he conquered by his death the lion “who prowls around seeking whom he may devour.” The devil, you see, is called a lion for his ferocity, not for any virtue. Thus the apostle Peter says we must be on the watch against temptations, “because your adversary the devil is prowling around seeking whom he may devour”; but he did say how he prowls around: “Like a roaring lion he is prowling around, seeking whom he may devour.” Who could avoid encountering the teeth of this lion, if the lion from the tribe of Judah had not conquered? Against the lion fights a lion, against the world a lamb. The devil was exultant when Christ died, and by that very death of Christ was the devil conquered. It’s as though he took the bait in a mousetrap. He was delighted at the death, as being the commander of death. What he delighted in, that’s where the trap was set for him. The mousetrap for the devil was the cross of the Lord. The bait he would be caught by, the death of the Lord. And our Lord Jesus Christ rose again. SERMON 263.2.

IN HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION CHRIST IS LAMB AND LION. AUGUSTINE: “Like a sheep he was led to be slaughtered, and like a lamb in the presence of his shearer he was without voice, thus he did not open his mouth.” Who is this? Obviously the one about whom he goes on to say, “In humility his judgment was taken away. His generation, who shall relate?” I can see this model of such humility in a king of such power and authority. Because this one, who is like a lamb not opening its mouth in the presence of the shearer, is himself “the lion from the tribe of Judah.” Who is this, both lamb and lion? He endured death as a lamb; he devoured it as a lion. Who is this, both lamb and lion? Gentle and strong, lovable and terrifying, innocent and mighty, silent when he was being judged, roaring when he comes to judge. Or perhaps both in his passion lamb and lion, and also in his resurrection lamb and lion. Let us see him as a lamb in his passion. It was stated a moment ago: “Like a lamb in the presence of his shearer he was without voice, thus he did not open his mouth.” Let us see him as a lion in his passion; Jacob said, “You have gone up, lying down you have slept like a lion.” Let us see him as a lamb in his resurrection. The book of Revelation, when it was talking about the eternal glory of virgins, “They follow the lamb, it is said, wherever he goes.” The same book of Revelation says, what I mentioned just now, “The lion from the tribe of Judah has conquered, to open the book.” Why a lamb in his passion? Because he underwent death without being guilty of any iniquity. Why a lion in his passion? Because in being slain he slew death. Why a lamb in his resurrection? Because his innocence is everlasting. Why a lion in his resurrection? Because everlasting also is his might. SERMON 375A.1.

THE INCARNATE LORD IS THE ROOT OF DAVID. OECUMENIUS: For he said to me, “Behold, the Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open its seven seals.” He who has conquered our conqueror, the devil, it says, that is the one who has opened the scroll and its seals. And who was this “Lion from the tribe of Judah”? Obviously, the Christ, concerning whom the patriarch Jacob spoke: “He lay down and couched as a lion and as a lion’s whelp. Who will arouse him?” For the holy apostle is witness that the Lord was from Judah according to the flesh: “It is evident that our Lord Jesus Christ was descended from Judah.” Someone might wonder why he was not called “a rod from the root of Jesse” or “flower coming out of the root,” as Isaiah said, but rather the “root of David.” He says this to show that although according to his humanity he was a rod coming forth from the root of Jesse and David, according to his deity he was the root not only of David but of every visible and invisible creature, since he was the source of them all. COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 5.1-7.