While John was weeping, one of the elders said to him, “Do not weep; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome to open the scroll and its seven seals.” This refers to Genesis 49:8-9, where Christ is portrayed as a lion, which is a symbol of Him as a strong fighter against the enemy. We have pointed out that nearly everything in Revelation is a fulfillment of what is mentioned in the Old Testament. Christ is the fighting, victorious, and overcoming Lion. He has won the battle. Hence, His overcoming qualifies Him to open the scroll and its seven seals.
Although the angel told John to behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah, verse 6 says, “I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb standing as having been slain.” The angel recommended Christ as the Lion, but John saw Him as the Lamb. As the Lion, He is the Fighter against the enemy; as the Lamb, He is the Redeemer for us. He has fought to redeem us, and He has won the battle over the enemy and accomplished redemption for us. To the enemy, He is a Lion; to us, He is a Lamb. Although the angels do not need redemption, they need someone to defeat the enemy of God, for one among them became God’s enemy. Thus the angels realize that there is a need for someone to defeat this rebel. To the angels, Christ was the Lion who defeated the rebel, but to us, including the apostle John, Christ is the Lamb, the redeeming One. We need Christ’s redemption. As we have already pointed out, in the universe there are two main problems—Satan and sin. As the Lion, Christ has defeated and destroyed Satan, and as the Lamb, He has taken away our sin. He has won the victory and He has accomplished redemption. Now He is the Lion-Lamb.
Verse 6 reveals that the Lamb is standing in the midst of the throne. As far as redemption is concerned, Christ sat down after His ascension at the right hand of God in heaven (Heb. 1:3; 10:12), whereas, regarding the carrying out of God’s administration, He is still standing in His ascension.
In verse 5 Christ is given the title, “the Root of David.” This title (He is also the root of David’s father Jesse, Isa. 11:1) signifies that Christ is the source of David. Therefore, as His forefather, David called Him “the Lord” (Matt. 22:42-45). He is the root of David. In our concept, Christ was born of David, so He was a descendant of David. But here it says that Christ is the root of David, meaning that David grows out of Christ. The Bible also says that Christ is the branch of David (Jer. 23:5). Hence, He is both the root and the branch. In Isaiah 11:1 and 10 we see that Christ is also a branch and root of Jesse.
We have seen that Christ is both a descendant and the root of David. In the eyes of God, David was the unique person who fought the battle and gained authority, fighting the battle for God and gaining His full authority. That Christ, the Lion-Lamb, is the root of this person means that He is greater than David. This is why He holds the key of David (3:7). Whatever David was, had, and did was altogether out of this root. Therefore, as the root of David, Christ is more powerful and more victorious than David and has more of God’s divine authority.
In verse 6 John said that he saw “a Lamb standing as having been slain.” According to the Greek, “having been slain” indicates that the Lamb has just recently been slain. When John saw Christ as the Lamb, He had been freshly slain. This also indicates that the scene in heaven depicted in this chapter is immediately after Christ’s ascension into heaven.
As the Lion of the tribe of Judah, Christ has overcome Satan, the enemy of God. He has solved this problem for God and has removed the hindrances to the fulfillment of God’s purpose. Hence, He is worthy to open the scroll concerning God’s economy.
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