1 And I
saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and
on the backside, sealed with seven seals.
2 And I
saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the
book, and to loose the seals thereof?
3 And no
man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the
book, neither to look thereon.
4 And I
wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book,
neither to look thereon.
5 And one
of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda,
the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven
seals thereof.
6 And I
beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the
midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and
seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
7 And he
came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.
8 And
when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell
down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of
odours, which are the prayers of saints.
9 And
they sung a new song, saying, 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
out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
10 And
hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
(Revelation 5:1-10)
I love what Gerald
Lund had to say about this block of verses in his chapter “Insights from
the JST into the Book of Revelation” from the book The Joseph Smith Translation: The Restoration of Plain and PreciousThings.
It doesn’t take a lot of
study of the book of Revelation to come to the conclusion that the imagery of
chapter 5 is pivotal to the whole structure of the book. John saw in the right
had [sic] of the father a book (most likely a scroll) which was sealed with
seven seals (see 5:1). He also saw that no one in heaven or earth was able or
worthy to open the book, except for the Savior (vv. 2–14). Since the rest of
the vision describes what John sees as each of the seven seals is opened by the
Lamb, an understanding of the sealed book is critical to our whole
understanding of the book of Revelation.
And here it is that the
Prophet Joseph Smith made his greatest contribution to our ability to unveil
the veiled, to reveal the revelation. He answered two significant questions:
What is the meaning of the book and what is the meaning of the seals? Certainly
more than any other single thing, his answers to those questions (see D&C
77:6–7) become the key to gaining
access to the “house” of Revelation. From what as revealed in those two verses
we then can derive the following:
1. The book in the right
hand of the Father represents the history and destiny of the world. It is in
his right hand to suggest he controls everything in and about our world. No one
except the Savior was worthy to open the book because the atoning sacrifice was
what made the whole of world history possible and meaningful.
That the atoning sacrifice was what made the whole of world
history possible and meaningful is a very profound statement. And we can see it in the imagery if we
know where to look. Books convey
meaning. If no one can open the
book, then the meaning is out of reach of anyone. But Jesus could open it, so He brought meaning to all of
history. The meaning we can get is
that no pain or suffering will be unhealed or wasted. Justice still exists in the universe and will be upheld by
Christ, whether sooner or later. Through
the atonement, every other circumstantial pain can profit us eventually and
refine us. Mercy is
attainable.
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