John saw a Lamb. The scene is still in the throne room of heaven. A completed scroll is resting on the open palm of God the Father as He sits on the throne. The scroll is full of writing on both sides, bulging with divine content, but it cannot be read because it is sealed up. This document, detailing God's plans for the future and the inheritance of the saints, is so sacred that only a person as holy as Father God could be authorised to open it. Nobody was found except a Person described as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David. Only He was morally worthy to break the seven seals and open the scroll (Revelation 5:1-5).

Now John sees the Lion as being a Lamb. Apocalyptic poetic writing is able to bring together contrasting qualities and present them as facets of the same person: a Lamb in His first coming and a Lion in His second. This Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ, is extraordinary because He is described as looking as though it had been ritually slaughtered for sacrifice, and yet He is standing victoriously (Revelation 5:5). He is surrounded by worshippers. The four living creatures, representing God's work in creation (Revelation 4:6-8) were seraphim or cherubim whose work was to lead the twenty-four elders, representing God's people, in worship of the Lamb. If the Lamb was not divine then their worship would have been blasphemous.

Their focus, and ours, is now upon the Lamb. He is seen as having seven horns and seven eyes. The horns represent the strength of a ruler (Daniel 7:24) and the eyes are the seven-fold spirit of God, present everywhere and seeing everything (Zechariah 4:10). This picture of the Lord Jesus transports us from the self-imposed weakness of the Son of Man to the majestic power of the Son of God (Philippians 2:5-11). God the Father allowed Him to take the scroll, for the Son is as worthy as the Father to announce the future. As the scroll was transferred from Father to Son, so the seraphs led God's people in worship of the Son.

The drama of these verses should be inescapable. Only Jesus meets the requirements to fully represent God, to take what is most precious to Him and reveal it to us. He only has sovereign power and knows everything. The Lamb who redeemed His people, is also the Lion who will bring judgement on all who are not His people. So, it is of great importance how we regard Christ. To be in His hand is peace and joy, but to be opposed to Him is terror and dread (Revelation 1:7). Although there are many voices who boast that God is on their side, it is only those who worship Jesus as God who are on God's side. Our testimony of Christ and His blood shed for us are the defining weapons in our struggle with Satan (Revelation 12:11). That should strengthen our walk with Him and spur our active witness so that our friends and colleagues might also put their trust in Him.