Worthy to Take the Book (Revelation 5:9, KJV)

Brethren, picture the scene. Heaven stands silent. Angels pause mid-flight. The apostle John weeps because no man in heaven or in earth is found worthy to open the book or to look thereon. But then – look! – the silence breaks as the Lion of the tribe of Judah steps forward as a Lamb that had been slain.

A song erupts: “Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood.” Oh, what a declaration! Not one word of heaven’s song is wasted. Every syllable exalts the Lamb who conquered by His cross.

The Sealed Vision and the Son of Man

Daniel saw it long before John. He beheld “one like the Son of man coming with the clouds of heaven” (Daniel 7:13–14). Dominion and glory were given unto Him – an everlasting kingdom that shall not pass away. Yet Daniel was also told to “shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end” (Daniel 12:4, 9).

What Daniel was told to seal, the Lamb now opens! Friends, the scroll in Revelation is not a mystery beyond hope – it is the fulfillment of every sealed promise. The Son of Man in Daniel is the Lamb of God in Revelation. The same Jesus who stood before Caiaphas saying, “Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power” (Matthew 26:64), now stands revealed as King of kings and Lord of lords.

Authority Given to the Son

Hear the Lord’s own words: “The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son” (John 5:22). Why? Because He is the Son of man. Authority is His not only by divine right, but by redemptive victory. He who was despised and rejected of men (Isaiah 53:3) is now exalted and entrusted with judgment.

He earned that worthiness through obedience, humility, and the shedding of His blood. The sinless One became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). How then could any other be worthy to take the book?

Crowned with Glory and Honor

Hebrews reminds us, “We see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour” (Hebrews 2:9). O my soul, this is the reversal of Eden! Adam fell and lost dominion; Christ rose and reclaimed it. Every crown forfeited by man is restored through the Lamb.

The thorns of His suffering have become the diadem of His majesty. He is worthy to open the book because He has conquered every page of it through obedience and love.

Exalted for His Obedience

Paul says, “He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him” (Philippians 2:8–9). Do you see it, brethren? His humiliation purchased His exaltation.

The throne was not seized; it was earned. His scars are His credentials. His wounds are His coronation robes. And when heaven sings, every knee bows, every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Preeminent in All Things

Colossians declares Him “the image of the invisible God… by Him were all things created” (Colossians 1:15–16). Yet that same Creator hung upon a cross. The Maker became the Mediator.

The One who spoke galaxies into existence shed His blood to reconcile creation to the Father. Can there be any question of His worthiness? The book of destiny belongs to Him because He wrote its first line, sealed its middle chapters, and fulfills its final word.

The Sealed Book and the Open Scroll

Isaiah spoke of “a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed” (Isaiah 29:11–12). Humanity stands helpless before the mysteries of God. Religion cannot read it. Wisdom cannot interpret it. Only the Lamb can unseal it, for only He fulfilled the Law and the Prophets. What men could not open, Christ opens by right of perfect righteousness.

The Day He Opened the Book

Do you remember Nazareth? “He found the place where it was written… The Spirit of the Lord is upon me” (Luke 4:17–18). Then He said, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears” (Luke 4:21).

That moment was a preview of Revelation 5. The same hand that opened Isaiah’s scroll in the synagogue now opens heaven’s scroll before all creation. The same voice that proclaimed liberty to the captives now declares the unfolding of the end.

The Mystery Revealed in Christ

Paul wrote that God “made known unto us the mystery of His will… that in the dispensation of the fulness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ” (Ephesians 1:9–10).

Friends, the sealed book represents this mystery – the grand plan of redemption, the secret of the ages – now revealed through the Lamb who sits far above all principality and power (Ephesians 1:20–22).

The Anointed King on Zion’s Hill

The Father says, “Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee… Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance” (Psalm 2:7–8). The raging nations and plotting kings of the earth are no match for the decree of heaven: “Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion” (Psalm 2:6).

The Lamb now reigns where men once rebelled. He has every right to open the book, for He authored the judgments, purchased the mercy, and secured the kingdom.

The Final Word

And so, beloved, we return to that trembling moment in heaven. The elders fall down. The angels cry out. The redeemed sing a new song. The book is no longer sealed. The purposes of God are no longer hidden. The weeping of John is turned into worship. Why? Because the Lamb has prevailed. What Daniel saw sealed, what Isaiah lamented as unreadable, what John wept over, the Lamb opens in triumph.

O my soul, if He is worthy to take the book, is He not worthy to take your heart? If heaven bows before Him, will you not bow too? Behold, the Lamb that was slain. Behold, the only One worthy to open the book. Behold, the Lord of glory – Jesus Christ.