When did the Lion of the tribe of Judah take the book from the One sitting on the throne?

Revelation 5 is Christ's enthronement after He ascended to heaven.

In recent centuries, the Dispensational interpretation has become dominant among conservative Christians. In that interpretation, Revelation 4:1 is the rapture and everything after 4:1 happens during the seven years preceding Christ’s return. I will reflect on the traditional understanding before Dispensationalism became dominant.

As discussed in the article on Revelation 4, that chapter does not describe a point in time but provides a timeless description of heavenly worship.

Revelation 5, on the other hand, describes one specific event when all the billions of angels gather in God’s throne room (Rev 5:11) to witness the Son of God receive the book that is sealed with seven seals (Rev 5:7).

He does not open the book immediately. In Revelation 6, He breaks the seals one by one, resulting in catastrophes on earth. Therefore, to know WHEN these things happen, it is critical to know WHEN the Lamb receives the book.

This article shows that Revelation 5:7-14 describes what happens when Jesus arrives in heaven after He ascended. This will be argued in three ways:

Firstly, the events described in verses 7-14 fits exactly with what the New Testament elsewhere says happened when Jesus arrived in heaven after He ascended.

Secondly, Revelation 3:21 provides an outline of the vision of the seven seals (4:1-8:1) and, in that outline, 5:7-14 aligns with the statement, "I (Jesus) also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”

Thirdly, a comparison with the Synoptic Apocalypse (e.g., Matthew 24) identifies the first four seals (Rev 6:1-8) as the entire church age. Since Revelation 5 precedes the first four seals, it must describe an event right at the beginning of the Christian era.

In conclusion, since Revelation 5 describes what happened in heaven after He ascended, Jesus received the sealed book and began breaking its seals 2000 years ago.

(A) FITS THE NEW TESTAMENT DESCRIPTION

This section shows that what we see in Revelation 5 fits exactly with what the New Testament elsewhere says happened after His ascension.

A common theme in the New Testament is that, after Jesus died, was resurrected, and ascended to heaven, He was exalted at His Father’s right hand (e.g., Eph 1:20-22; Rom 8:34; Acts 2:31-36).

Furthermore, Jesus was exalted at his Father’s right hand BEFORE the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2) (e.g., John 7:39; Acts 2:32-33).

This is also what we see in Revelation 5:

Firstly, it emphasizes His death:

Jesus appears as a SLAIN LAMB and is said to be “worthy” because He “purchased for God with Your BLOOD men” (Rev 5:6, 9-10, 12).

Secondly, Revelation 5 describes Him as exalted with God:

The book was ON the right hand (or side) of God (5:1) and Jesus took it FROM the RIGHT SIDE OR HAND of God (5:7). Since the Bible often states that Jesus was exalted AT the right hand of God (e.g. Eph 1:20-22), it is proposed that when He took the book (Rev 5:7), He also sat down at His Father’s right hand.

This is supported a few verses later when Jesus, TOGETHER WITH THE FATHER, is praised by “every created thing” (Rev 5:13). This implies that They are now BOTH on the throne.

This is further confirmed when Jesus is described as “in the CENTER of the throne” (Rev 7:17).

Thirdly, Revelation 5 describes the Holy Spirit as sent out:

Before Jesus appeared, “the seven Spirits of God” were “before the throne” (Rev 4:5) but after He appeared as a slain lamb, God's Spirit is said to be “sent out into all the earth” (Rev 5:6). This corresponds with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.

Revelation 5, therefore, says that (1) after Jesus died, (2) He arrived in heaven, (3) and was immediately exalted at the right hand of God while (4) the Holy Spirit was “sent out.” This fits the Bible’s description of His exaltation after His ascension quite precisely.

(B) REVELATION 3:21

Revelation 3:21 is the climax of the promises given to the overcomers in the seven churches. But, similar to other such verses, it is also an outline of the vision of the sealed book (4:1 to 8:1). It reads:

• (a) To him who overcomes,
• (b) I will give the right to sit with me on my throne,
• (c) just as I overcame
• (d) and sat down with my Father on his throne (NIV).

(a) To him who overcomes

This is in the present tense, meaning that God’s people are NOW overcoming. This is what breaking the seals is all about. As concluded, Revelation 6 describes the gospel going forth into the world, its acceptance and rejection, and the experience of the people of God on earth, throughout the church age, struggling to overcome much opposition and many trials.

(b) I will give the right to sit with me on my throne

This is in the future tense and is fulfilled in Revelation 7 where the overcomers are described as an innumerable multitude who are able to stand before God when Jesus returns (Rev 7:9; cf. 6:17; 7:15, 17).

(c) Just as I overcame

One of the elders similarly said that Jesus "has overcome so as to open the book" (Rev 5:5). Since 5:5 announces an end to John's weeping because Jesus “has overcome” (Rev 5:4-5), the time of sorrow in heaven, as described in Revelation 5:1-4, describes the time BEFORE He overcame through His life and death. In other words, He overcame somewhere between verses 4 and 5.

(d) and sat down with my Father on his throne

Since 3:21(a) and (b) are an outline of Revelation 6 and 7, and since 3:21(c) fits in 5:4-5, the phrase "sat down with my Father on his throne" (3:21(d)), by implication, summarizes the remainder of Revelation 5. In other words, 5:7-14 describes Jesus sitting down on His Father’s throne after His ascension.

CONCLUSION ON 3:21

Based on 3:21, the entire vision of the sealed book (4:1-8:1) may be summarized as follows:

Revelation 6 and 7 describes the struggle of God's people to overcome and the promise that they will "sit down with Me (Jesus) on My throne."

But, before that, Revelation 5 describes the statement that the Lamb "overcame and sat down with ... (His) Father on His throne."

(C) SYNOPTIC APOCALYPSE

In His sermon in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 (See - The Little Apocalypse), Jesus divided history into three great eras:

• General realities of the entire Christian age;
• A great persecution toward the end of that era; and
• His return.

This fits the seven seals:

• The first four seals (Rev 6:1-8) are similar to the general realities of the church age,
• The fifth seal (Rev 6:9-11), read together with the sealing (Rev 7:1-3), describes a great end-time persecution.
• The sixth seal is His return (Rev 6:12-14).

In conclusion:

The book is still fully sealed in Revelation 5 and the seals are broken one by one in Revelation 6. Revelation 5, therefore, precedes the first four seals.

Since the parallels with the Synoptic Apocalypse identify the first four seals as the church age, Revelation 5 must describe an event right at the beginning of the Christian era. This supports the view that Revelation 5 is Christ’s ascension and enthronement.

CONCLUSIONS

In Revelation 5, Jesus overcame (Rev 5:5), appears as a slain lamb (Rev 5:6), accepts the sealed book at His Father’s right hand (Rev 5:7), and, while the Holy Spirit is sent out into all the world (Rev 5:6), He is glorified by the entire universe (Rev 5:13). This fits exactly with His exaltation at His Father's right hand after His ascension, as described elsewhere in the New Testament - somewhere between AD 30 to 33, based on astronomical calculations. Therefore, since He also received the book when He was exalted at His Father's right hand, He received the book also somewhere between AD 30 to 33.

At that time, the book was still sealed. In Revelation 6, the Lamb breaks the seals one by one. Each time that He breaks a seal in heaven, something happens on earth. The sixth seal begins with the signs of Christ's return (Rev 6:12-14; Matt 24:29) and ends with Judgment Day (Rev 6:15-17). A further conclusion, therefore, is that the first five seals symbolize the present-tense overcoming of God’s people over the church age.

Thus far, we discussed what Revelation 5 symbolizes. The remainder of this article discusses certain alternative interpretations.

THE RAPTURE

In Dispensationalism, Revelation 4:1 is regarded as the rapture. However, since Revelation 5 describes what happens in heaven when Jesus arrives after His ascension, and since 4:1 precedes Revelation 5, 4:1 cannot be the rapture. John is not called to come up in 4:1 to rescue the church from tribulation but to receive knowledge of future events (Rev 4:1). See below for further considerations.

THE DANIEL 7-JUDGMENT.

The strongest parallel to Revelation 5 is probably in Daniel 7:9-14. In both:

• God is on the throne (Dan 7:9; Rev 5:1),
• Books are mentioned (Dan 7:10; Rev 5:1),
• The Son of man appears (Dan 7:13; Rev 5:6),
• But only AFTER God is already introduced, and
• Authority is bestowed on the Son (Dan 7:14; Rev 5:12).

Daniel 7 seems to be a judgment scene shortly before the return of Christ and many understand Revelation 5 as also describing that end-time judgment. However, Revelation 5 is different. In it, no books are opened and we find no typical judgment language, such as judge or avenge.

Since the times of the two meetings are very different, these are two DIFFERENT meetings in God’s throne room. However, the strong parallels between them imply that THEY ARE RELATED. Since the Revelation 5 meeting is about the sealed book, which, at that time is still fully sealed, it implies that the Daniel 7 meeting IS ABOUT THE SAME BOOK - perhaps when it is fully open or perhaps when it is time to break the final seal.

Revelation 5 is also not the anti-type of the great Old Testament Day of Atonement. This is confirmed by the absence of (1) the ark of the covenant, (2) judgment language, (3) the Most Holy Place, and (4) a male goat. See Day of Atonement for a further discussion.

For a more detailed discussion, see here.