This is an article in the series on the vision of the book with the seven seals (Rev 4:1-8:1).
Summary
The Sealed Book
In His right hand, God had a book that is sealed up with seven seals (Rev 5:1). A sealed book symbolizes things that are not understood.
A search is made everywhere in creation but no one is found “worthy” to break the seals and open the book (Rev 5:3). In other words, nobody in heaven is able to explain this mystery.
This causes John to weep greatly (Rev 5:4). This symbolizes the sorrow of the beings in heaven because they do not understand these things.
But then, Christ’s victory on earth turns the sorrow in heaven into joy for He “has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals” (Rev 5:5). Revelation 5:1-4, therefore, describes the time before Christ’s victory on earth. And Jesus “overcame” between verses 4 and 5.
Jesus takes the book (Rev 5:7) but He does not open the book immediately. In Revelation 6, He begins to break the seven seals one by one, causing catastrophes on earth. The sixth seal begins with the signs of Christ’s return (Rev 6:12-14) and ends in Judgment Day (Rev 6:15-17). In other words, the contents of the book will only be fully understood when or after Christ returns.
The Book of Life
Revelation mentions the “book of life” 6 times. This book identifies the people who will inherit eternal life (e.g., Rev 21:2, 27; 20:14-15). The main purpose of this article is to show that the sealed book is the book of life. This is justified as follows:
1) Both books are written by God:
The sealed book is in God’s hand (Rev 5:1; cf. 4:11), implying that He wrote it. Since the book of life contains the names of the redeemed and since God is the judge, He also writes that book.
2) The slain Lamb receives both books:
The full title of the “book of life” is “the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain” (Rev 13:8; 21:27). Since Jesus receives the sealed book when He appears as “a Lamb … as if slain” (Rev 5:6-7), the two books must be the same.
3) Both books are required for redemption:
Jesus died to save people but since He also died to open the sealed book (Rev 5:5, 9), opening this book is also required for the redemption of God’s people. The same applies to the book of life, for it identifies God’s elect.
4) Both are opened AFTER Christ’s return:
Since the sixth seal begins with the signs of Christ’s return (Rev 6:12-14), the sealed book will only be fully open at or after His return. The book of life, similarly, will be opened in the final judgment (Rev 20:12).
5) Both separate the living from the dead.
The sixth seal divides the people of the world between God’s people, standing before His throne (Rev 7:9), and those hiding in the mountains (Rev 6:15-17), soon to be put to death by Christ (Rev 19:21). “The book of life,” similarly, determines who will live and who will die (Rev 20:15).
These similarities identify the sealed book as the book of life.
Revelation 12 explains the Sealed Book.
This section shows that the “war in heaven” in Revelation 12 also identifies the sealed book as the book of life. In brief, this section shows that:
(1) Both Revelation 5 and 12 describe a crisis in heaven and, in both chapters, the crisis is caused by things that are NOT UNDERSTOOD.
(2) In both chapters, Christ’s death resolved the crisis in heaven BUT NOT ON EARTH.
For these reasons, it is concluded that these two chapters describe THE SAME CRISIS. And by identifying the nature of the crisis in Revelation 12, this section finds additional support for the conclusion that the sealed book of Revelation 5 is the book of life.
The identification above of the sealed book as the book of life does not explain why nobody is able to open the book, what the seals are, or what breaking the seals means. But Revelation 12 does explain all of these things.
Another article series discusses Revelation 12 in much detail. The following is a very brief overview:
Overview of Revelation 12
Christ
Revelation 12:5 describes Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and ascension in a single verse. The dragon attempted to devour Him (Rev 12:4) but Christ escaped and was “caught up to God” (Rev 12:5).
War in Heaven
Revelation 12:7-12 describes a WAR IN HEAVEN between Michael and his angels and the dragon and his angels. “The dragon” is identified as “Satan” (Rev 12:9).
The most important point from Revelation 12 is that the nature of the “war in heaven” is indicated by the identification of Satan as “the accuser of our brethren” (Rev 12:10). In other words, he specifically accuses only God’s people, showing that they are sinners and deserve to die.
We see evidence of this nature of the crisis in the universe already in the book of Job – probably the oldest book of the Bible. In that book, “the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them” (Job 1:6). In their presence, God described the man Job as “blameless and upright” (Job 1:8) but Satan accused Job, saying “touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face” (Job 1:11). For a discussion of Job, see – Why Satan thought he could win against God.
Another example is where Satan accused Joshua the high priest before the angel of the LORD (Zech 3:1).
Similarly, in Romans 3:25-26, Paul explains that Jesus died as a public demonstration of God’s “righteousness because … He passed over the sins previously committed.” In other words, Christ’s death was necessary because God forgave sins. How this works we attempt to explain in the article: In the book of Revelation, why did Jesus have to die?
The war in heaven, therefore, is CAUSED BY SATAN ACCUSING GOD’S PEOPLE.
It is not directly stated, but we can assume that Satan’s goal is to save himself. God condemned Satan (cf. Ezek 28:19). Satan responds by showing that God’s elect are sinners and by arguing that, if he needs to die, then God’s elect must also die (cf. Rom 6:23; Matt 10:28; Hell). In other words, he argues that God judges unfairly when He forgives some sinners but condemns others. If it can be shown that God’s judgments are faulty, even to the slightest degree, then Satan and his angels would have grounds for their claim that they have been judged unfairly.
Since, in this war in heaven, “Michael and his angels” (Rev 12:7) oppose Satan, they defend God’s judgments and protect God’s people (cf. Dan 12:1). The “war in heaven,” therefore, is a dispute between the angels of heaven OVER GOD’S JUDGMENTS.
If we remember that many of the mighty angels have accepted Satan’s arguments (Rev 12:4, 7; cf. Isa 9:15), we must realize that his arguments are very convincing. Consequently, not even God’s loyal angels are certain that God’s judgments are ALWAYS perfect.
Christ’s Death
But Satan and his angels were defeated, driven out of heaven, and “thrown down to the earth” (Rev 12:9-10). “There was no longer a place found for them in heaven” (Rev 12:8).
The series of articles on Revelation 12 shows that Satan was driven out of heaven as THE DIRECT CONSEQUENCE OF and, therefore, immediately after Christ’s victory on earth (cf. Rev 12:13). This means that Jesus died to make an end to this war in heaven and that, without His death, it would not have been possible to refute Satan’s objections to God’s judgments. (See – This is also explained in the article – In the book of Revelation, why did Jesus have to die?)
War continues on earth.
However, His death did NOT make an end to the war on earth (Rev 12:12).
A single error by God or even the slightest doubt about the perfection of His judgments will limit the perfect happiness of the whole universe for all eternity. If doubt remains with respect to only one person, who is condemned to hell, whether that person should have been saved, some sorrow will always remain. Therefore, for as long as even one of Satan’s accusations remains unrefuted, and until all understand that His judgments are always perfect, God delays Christ’s return and, therefore, the implementation of His judgments.
The war in heaven is seldomly mentioned from pulpits. The Bible is mostly concerned with things on earth and does not mention the bigger context of the war in heaven much. Consequently, many Christians are not even aware of the war in heaven (cf. Col 1:20; 2:15; Eph 1:10). Nevertheless, it should be clear that evil developed in heaven and was brought to this world (Gen 3:1-5). Since an appreciation of the nature of the war in heaven is critical for the interpretation of the sealed book, the reader is advised to read some of the articles in the series – The Origin of Evil; particularly the article – Why Satan thought he could win against God. The series of articles on Revelation 12 is also important.
See the series on Revelation 12 for a further discussion.
The Same Crisis
Based on this explanation, it can be shown as follows that Revelation 5 and 12 describe the same crisis:
1) Both chapters describe Christ’s death:
In both chapters, (a) the first four verses describe the time BEFORE Christ, (b) the fifth refers to His death, and (c) the rest of both chapters describe the time AFTER His death.
2) Both chapters describe a crisis in heaven because of an inability to understand:
Revelation 5 symbolizes the crisis as a book that nobody is able to open, causing John to weep greatly (Rev 5:1-4).
Revelation 12 describes the crisis as a “war” between the angels of heaven, namely a dispute over God’s judgments and an inability to refute Satan’s accusations and to conclusively show that God’s judgments are always perfect.
3) In both chapters, Christ’s death solved the crisis in heaven BUT NOT ON EARTH:
In Revelation 5, Jesus “has overcome so as to open the book,” turning the sorrow in heaven into joy (Rev 5:4-5) but the war continued on earth, as evidenced by the seals (e.g., Rev 6:9-10).
In Revelation 12, after Christ’s death, Satan and his angels were driven out of heaven (Rev 12:8-9), bringing the war in heaven to an end but the war continued on earth (Rev 12:12-13).
4) In both chapters, the crisis will only finally be resolved through God’s people.
In Revelation 12, to “overcame” Satan, required BOTH “the blood of the Lamb” and the “testimony” of God’s people, “even when faced with death” is required (Rev 12:10-11). Similarly, in the vision of the sealed book:
Christ, firstly, became “worthy” to open the book because He “purchased” people for God with His blood (Rev 5:9).
Secondly, He breaks the seals. The fifth seal shows God’s people under the altar crying to God to avenge their “blood” (Rev 6:9-10). By implication, it was their blood that was spilled in the previous seals. Since the book is opened by breaking the seals, it means that the testimony (and consequential deaths) of God’s people are required for that purpose.
For a further discussion, see – Why has Christ not yet returned? What is God waiting for?
The Sealed Book is the Book of Life.
For these reasons, the sealed book and the “war in heaven” describe the same crisis. Consequently, the war in Revelation 12 helps us to understand the nature of the concealed information in Revelation 5.
In both Revelation 5 and 12, the crisis is caused by a lack of understanding. What Revelation 12 adds is that that lack of understanding relates to God’s judgments. The sealed book in Revelation 5, therefore, symbolizes a dispute about God’s judgments. And since His judgments are contained in the book of life (Rev 21:27; 20:15; Rom 8:13), the sealed book is the book of life.
Further Conclusions
The conclusion that the two chapters describe the same crisis also allows us to interpret other aspects of the symbolism of the book with the seven seals:
1) The seven seals – the barriers to understanding God’s judgments – are Satan’s brilliantly presented and informed accusations against the people whom God elected to eternal life.
2) That the book is sealed does not mean that God’s judgments were unknown or not explained but that nobody was able to fully refute Satan and show conclusively that God’s judgments are always perfect.
3) John’s tears (Rev 5:4) represent the sorrow in heaven in the time BEFORE Christ’s victory for, at that time, it seemed as if God would NEVER be able to execute His judgments, that Satan and evil would have to exist for all eternity, and that God’s people will never be resurrected.
4) That Jesus breaks the seals means that He directs events on earth to obtain evidence that Satan’s objections are false.
5) To open and read the book does not mean to learn WHO is saved, but to understand WHY they and only they are saved.
6) God is unable to open the book Himself in the sense that He created intelligent beings who are truly free and HE WANTS His creatures to understand His judgments (cf. John 15:15)! He will not force them to accept His judgments.
7) Until all understand that His judgments are perfect, God delays Christ’s return and the implementation of His judgments.
– End of Summary –
This is the end of the summary. If you would like to skip the detailed discussion below, the next article in this series is – Why Jesus had to die to open this book. Alternatively, see the list of the articles in the series on the sealed book.
The Sealed Book
John saw a sealed book—sealed up with seven seals—in the right hand of “Him who sat on the throne” (Rev 5:1; cf. 4:11). The One on the throne is called, “the Lord God, the Almighty” (Rev 4:8-9).
This is not a literal book. A book symbolizes knowledge and a sealed book symbolizes concealed knowledge or things that are not understood.
A search is made everywhere in creation but no one is found “worthy” to break the seals and open the book (Rev 5:3).
To break the seals means to remove the barriers to understanding. To open the book means to explain this mystery.
“Our Lord and our God” (the Father) is “worthy” because He created all things (Rev 4:11) but not even He was “worthy” to open the book.
John “weeps greatly” because nobody is able to open the book (Rev 5:4).
Since John is now in heaven (Rev 4:1), his weeping symbolizes the sorrow of the beings in heaven because they do not understand these things. That John weeps “greatly” indicates that understanding these things is vital for the happiness of the universe. Should no-one be found to open the book, the consequences would be severe. This is a crisis in heaven.
In verse 5, the sorrow turns into joy, for “the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah … has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals” (Rev 5:5).
This refers to Jesus Christ and His victory on earth (cf. Rev 3:21). Revelation 5:1-4, therefore, describes the time before Christ’s victory on earth. And Jesus overcame between verses 4 and 5. A previous article has concluded that the remainder of Revelation 5 describes what happens in heaven after Jesus ascended.
Jesus takes the book (Rev 5:7) but He does not open the book immediately. In other words, for the time being, the mystery remains unsolved.
In Revelation 6, Jesus begins to break the seven seals one by one, causing catastrophes on earth. In other words, He opens the book THROUGH catastrophes on earth.
The sixth seal begins with the signs of Christ’s return (Rev 6:12-14) and ushers in Judgment Day (Rev 6:15-17). In other words, the contents of the book will only be fully understood when or after Christ returns.
Purpose
The main purpose of this article is to show that the sealed book is the book of life. This is an extremely important concept that will impact greatly on our interpretation of the seven seals.
Unless otherwise indicated, all quotes are from the NASB.
The Book of Life
Revelation mentions the “book of life” 6 times. It is one of several books that will be opened in the last judgment; 1000 years after the return of Christ (Rev 20:12; cf. 19:11; 20:7). As its name indicates, this book identifies those who will inherit eternal life. For example:
“No one who practices abomination and lying,
shall ever come into it (the new Jerusalem),
but only those whose names are written
in the Lamb’s book of life” (Rev 21:2, 27).
“If anyone’s name was not found written
in the book of life,
he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Rev 20:15)
“This is the second death, the lake of fire” (Rev 20:14; cf. Psa 69:28; Phil 4:3; Rev 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:15; 21:27).
The parallels between the two books, as listed below, imply that the sealed book is the same as the book of life:
1) Both books are written by God:
The sealed book is in God’s hand (Rev 5:1; cf. 4:11), implying that He wrote it. Since the book of life contains the names of the redeemed and since God is the judge, He also writes that book.
2) The slain Lamb receives both books:
The “book of life” is “the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain” (Rev 13:8; 21:27). Since Jesus receives the sealed book when He appears as “a Lamb … as if slain” (Rev 5:6-7), this seems like a clear indication that the sealed book is the book of life. If this was the only available evidence for that, perhaps this point would have been sufficient.
3) Both books are necessary for redemption:
Jesus died to “purchase” people for God (e.g., Rev 5:9) but since He also died to be able to open the sealed book (Rev 5:5, 9), opening this book is required for the redemption of God’s people. That description also fits the book of life, for it identifies God’s elect. It is one of the books that will be opened in the last judgment (Rev 20:12, 15).
4) Both are opened AFTER Christ’s return:
In Revelation 6, Jesus breaks the seals of the sealed book one by one, causing catastrophes on earth. The sixth seal contains the signs of Christ’s return (Rev 16:12-14; cf. Matt 24:29-30). The sealed book, therefore, will only be open at or after His return.
The book of life, similarly, will be opened in the final great judgment (Rev 20:12)—1000 years after the return of Christ (Rev 19:11, 20:7).
5) Both separate the living from the dead.
The sixth seal describes both the inhabitants of the world, hiding in the mountains (Rev 6:15-17), and God’s people, standing before the throne and before the Lamb (Rev 7:9). The seventh seal is interpreted as the destruction of the lost multitude that previously hid in the mountains. The last two seals, therefore, separate the people of the world into two groups.
“The book of life,” similarly, will separate those who will be “thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev 20:15) from those who will enter the New Jerusalem (Rev 21:27).
These parallels indicate that the sealed book is the same as the book of life.
Revelation 12
This section shows that:
Both Revelation 5 and 12 describe a crisis in heaven, namely, because certain things are not understood.
In both chapters, Christ’s death resolved the crisis in heaven but not on earth.
Consequently, these two chapters describe THE SAME CRISIS. By identifying the nature of the crisis in Revelation 12, this section then finds additional support for the conclusion that the sealed book of Revelation 5 is the book of life.
Another article series discusses Revelation 12. Very briefly:
Before Christ
The chapter begins by describing a pure woman who is expecting the Son (Rev 12:1). She represents God’s people before His birth (Rev 12:1-4), waiting for the Messiah. During that time, the dragon (symbolizing Satan – Rev 12:9) stood ready to devour Christ as soon as He is born (Rev 12:4).
Christ
Revelation 12:5 describes Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and ascension in a single verse. It describes His life and death as a victory: The dragon attempted to devour Him (Rev 12:4) but Christ was “caught up to God and to His throne” (Rev 12:5). The remainder of the chapter describes events following His ascension. Those events are at two levels; in heaven and on earth:
War in Heaven
Revelation 12:7-12 describes the war in heaven between Michael and his angels and the dragon and his angels. But Satan and his angels were defeated and driven out of heaven (Rev 12:8-9).
Since Satan brought rebellion from heaven when he deceived Eve, that “war in heaven” (Rev 12:7) began before humankind was created. For the following reasons, Satan was driven out of heaven because of and immediately after Christ’s victory on earth:
1) Satan’s expulsion from heaven (Rev 12:8-9) is mentioned after Christ ascension (Rev 12:5).
2) “They (Michael and his angels) overcame him (the accuser, namely, Satan) because of the blood of the Lamb” (Rev 12:11).
3) Revelation 12:13 explains the time sequence. It indicates that Satan was defeated in the war in heaven AFTER Christ’s death but BEFORE the woman’s wilderness experience described in Revelation 12:6 and 14.
For a further discussion, see – When did the war begin and when was Satan thrown out of heaven?
War continues on earth.
Revelation 12:6 describes how the dragon (Satan – Rev 12:9) persecuted the woman on earth AFTER Jesus was “caught up to God and to His throne” (Rev 12:5). She now represents God’s people AFTER Christ. After the description of the war in heaven (Rev 12:7-12), Revelation 12:14 repeats the wilderness-war of verse 6. The rest of the chapter continues to describe events on earth after that wilderness-war.
Nature of the War
The most important point is that the nature of the “war in heaven” is indicated by the identification of Satan as “the accuser of our brethren” (Rev 12:10).
Who are “our brethren?” In the context of the war in heaven, they might be Michael’s angels, but Revelation 12:11 continues by saying that “they did not love their life even when faced with death.” In this context, “they” refer to “our brethren” (Rev 12:10). Since they are able to die, “our brethren” are God’s people on earth and not Michael’s angels.
The war in heaven, therefore, is caused by Satan accusing God’s people “day and night” (Rev 12:10). He does not accuse his own followers but specifically God’s people, giving reasons why they should not be saved.
This is an extremely important point. This is the nature of the crisis behind the crisis that we experience on earth today. To support this conclusion, the following are other instances where we see Satan accusing God’s people:
(a) When God said that Job is “a blameless and upright man” (Job 1:8), Satan accused Job, saying to God, “put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face” (Job 1:11).
(b) When Joshua the high priest stood before the angel of the LORD, Satan stood “at his right hand to accuse him” (Zech 3:1).
(c) God “disarmed” the “rulers and authorities” by canceling out the “certificate of debt” (Col 2:14-15), which is the record of our sins. This implies that Satan and his angels (“the rulers and authorities”) are the ones who keep record of our sins.
(d) God’s righteousness was questioned because “He passed over the sins previously committed” (Rom 3:25-26).
What is Satan’s purpose?
The suffering and anguish which we see on earth today are the results of God’s intelligent creatures departing from God’s principle of self-sacrificing love. God does not force His intelligent creatures to obey. However, eventually, “the wages of sin is death” (Rev 6:23). God condemned Satan and his followers: “you will cease to be forever” (Ezek 28:19; cf. 28:13, 15-16), but God will destroy sinners only when His creatures understand that His judgments are perfect.
Therefore, by meticulously listing all the sins committed by the people whom God elected to eternal life, showing that they also deserve to die, Satan and his angels accuse God of unfair judgment. Satan shows that the people who God elected are also sinners and argues that, if he and his angels deserve to be “thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev 20:10), then the elect deserves the same fate. But if some sinners are granted mercy, all sinners should be forgiven, including Satan and his angels. In other words, Satan argues that God acts unfairly when He forgives some sinners but condemns others.
The War is over God’s judgments.
Michael is “the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people” (Dan 12:1). He and his angels protect God’s people and defend God’s judgments. Michael is perhaps the same as the Old Testament Angel of the Lord. For example, while Satan accused “Joshua the high priest,” “the angel of the LORD” defended Joshua (Zech 3:1-2).
This “war in heaven,” therefore, is not decided by who has the most physical power. It is a dispute between the angels over God’s judgments. (For a related discussion, see Why Satan thought he could win.)
The angels do not understand.
If we remember that many of the mighty angels have been convinced by Satan’s arguments (Rev 12:4, 7; cf. Isa 9:15), we must realize that his arguments are very convincing. For every word that Michael and his angels spoke in defense of God’s people, Satan and his angels had many valid sounding counterarguments. Consequently, Michael and his angels were unable to show conclusively that God’s judgments are always perfect and that not even God’s loyal angels are certain whether God’s judgments are ALWAYS perfect.
Christ’s Death
Christ’s victory made an end to the war in heaven (Rev 12:9) but His death did NOT make an end to the war on earth:
“Rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them.
Woe to the earth and the sea,
because the devil has come down to you,
having great wrath,
knowing that he has only a short time” (Rev 12:12).
God delays Christ’s return.
The big question is whether God’s judgments, as to who is condemned to “the lake of fire” (Rev 20:14) and who “will awake … to everlasting life” (Dan 12:2), are always perfect. A single error by God or even the slightest doubt about His judgments will limit the perfect happiness of the whole universe for all eternity.
Therefore, for as long as even one of Satan’s accusations remains unrefuted, and until all understand that His judgments are PERFECT in ALL instances, God delays Christ’s return and the implementation of His judgments, including the resurrection of His people and the destruction of the condemned. To ensure the perfect happiness of the whole universe, God wants all to understand that His judgments are perfect.
This conclusion explains why evil continues to exist in the world today. It also promises a wonderful future (cf. Rev 7:17).
The Same Crisis
As this discussion of Revelation 12 shows, for the following reasons, Revelation 5 and 12 describe the same crisis and the same events:
(a) Both chapters refer to Christ’s death:
Coincidentally, the fifth verse of both chapters refers to His death. In Revelation 5, John is told to stop weeping because Jesus “has overcome” to break the seven seals (Rev 5:5). Then Jesus appears in the form of a slain lamb (Rev 6:6), indicating that He ‘overcame’ by dying like a lamb.
Similarly, Revelation 12:5 describes His life, death, resurrection, and ascension.
(b) Both chapters describe the time before Christ:
Coincidentally, the first four verses of both chapters, describe the time before Christ:
Revelation 5:1-4 describes the time before Christ as a time of great sorrow when nobody was able to break the seals or open the book. It seemed as if this crisis would never be resolved.
Revelation 12:1-4 describes the time before Christ as a time when the dragon stood before the woman who was “in pain to give birth,” ready to “devour her child” as soon as He is born (Rev 12:4).
(c) Both chapters describe a crisis in heaven because of an inability to understand:
Revelation 5 symbolizes the crisis as a book that nobody is able to open (Rev 5:1-3). John’s weeping symbolizes the distress because “no one in heaven … was able to open the book or to look into it” (Rev 5:3). The words, “in heaven” indicate that this is not a lack of knowledge on earth but symbolizes something which the heavenly beings did not understand.
Revelation 12:7 describes the crisis as a “war” between the angels of heaven. Revelation 5 does not mention an enemy but Revelation 12 identifies the enemy as “the dragon and his angels.” The dragon is Satan (Rev 12:9). The crisis is a dispute about God’s judgments; an inability to conclusively show that God’s judgments are always perfect.
(d) In both chapters, Christ’s death solved the crisis in heaven but not on earth:
In Revelation 5, Jesus “has overcome so as to open the book,” turning the sorrow in heaven into joy (Rev 5:4-5) but He did not open the book immediately, meaning that the uncertainty continued. On earth, the war continued, as evidenced by the seals. For example, “the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God” cry out for revenge (Rev 6:9-10).
Before Christ’s victory, there was no way to bring this crisis to an end. What Christ’s death achieved was that to provide a MEANS by which the crisis can be brought to an end. See – Why Jesus had to die to open the book.
In Revelation 12, as argued above, as a direct result of Christ’s victory, Satan and his angels were expelled from heaven (Rev 12:8-9). Their expulsion brought an end to the war in heaven but the war continued on earth:
“Rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them.
Woe to the earth and the sea,
because the devil has come down to you,
having great wrath” (Rev 12:12).
The Sealed Book
is the Book of Life.
For these reasons, the two chapters describe the same crisis. Consequently, the war in Revelation 12 explains the nature of the concealed information in Revelation 5. The inability to understand in Revelation 5, symbolizes by a sealed book, therefore, is a dispute about God’s judgments.
Furthermore, since God’s judgments are contained in the book of life (Rev 21:27; 20:15; Rom 8:13), this confirms the previous conclusion that the sealed book is the book of life.
Further Implications
The conclusion that the two chapters describe the same crisis also allows us to interpret other aspects of the symbol of the sealed book:
The Seven Seals
The seals symbolize the things that conceal the contents of the book. They are barriers to understanding. The seven seals, therefore, are Satan’s brilliantly presented and informed accusations against the people whom God elected to eternal life.
Known, but not Understood
God’s judgments are known and explained but, due to Satan’s accusations and objections to God’s elective grace for the people identified in the book of life, the heavenly beings were unable to show irrefutably that God’s judgments are always perfect.
To judge between people, who are all sinners, and to decide who should receive eternal life and who will be destroyed (e.g., Matt 7:13-14; Rom 6:23; Phil 3:19; 2 Thess 1:8-9) is highly complex.
The sealed book, therefore, symbolizes things that are not understood, rather than things that are unknown. This is similar to Daniel’s prophecies that were known but sealed up in the sense that they would only be understood in the time of the end (Dan 12:4, 9; cf. Ezekiel 2-3).
It is, therefore, not exactly correct to say that not even God was able to open the book. He certainly does explain but created beings, without His infinite knowledge and understanding, and in the context of Satan’s accusations, are unable to understand. Furthermore, God does not want us simply to accept His word! He created intelligent beings who are truly free and He wants His creatures to understand (cf. John 15:15)!
Cosmic Conflict?
Jon Paulien agrees that interpreting the sealed book as the book of life is very appealing, but he argues as follows:
The nature of the cosmic conflict addressed in chapter twelve and hinted at in chapter five suggests that the book of life has a more narrow focus than the universal crisis described so dramatically in Revelation 5.
My question to Jon would be, what can be of greater significance than if the intelligent beings of God’s creation are unsure about the perfect accuracy of God’s judgments, with the result that sin continues and that the resurrection of God’s people is indefinitely postponed?
It is not the book in Revelation 10.
One of the possibilities which Jon Paulien lists for the sealed book is that it is related to the book of Revelation 10. My main argument against this proposal is that the sixth seal contains the signs of Christ’s return (Rev 6:12-14). This means that the seventh seal will only be broken at or after Christ’s return (Rev 6:17). Therefore, while the book in Revelation 5 is sealed until AFTER the return of Christ, the book in Revelation 10 is open when it comes down, is eaten (understood) by John, and becomes the basis for his preaching (Rev 10:10-11), which must happen BEFORE the return of Christ.
Furthermore, as Jon mentions, a different word for book is used (Greek: Rev 5 biblion, Rev 10 biblaridion).
Final Conclusions
Symbolism Interpreted
-
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- To understand the catastrophes caused by breaking the seals, we need to understand what the sealed book is.
- The sealed book is the book of life, meaning that a level of doubt exists concerning the perfect accuracy of God’s judgments.
- The seven seals are Satan’s accusations against the people whom God elected to eternal life.
- To break the seals means to refute Satan’s accusations.
- To open the book does not mean to learn WHO is listed in the book, but to understand WHY they and only they are saved.
Explanation
In the time before Christ, there was a crisis in heaven. The loyal angels were unable to fully refute Satan’s allegations that God judges unfairly and there seemed no way to bring the crisis to an end.
Christ died to bring an end to this crisis. If Jesus did not “overcome” (Rev 5:5), evil would have had to exist for all eternity.
His death did not provide the answers but provided the MEANS by which answers could be obtained.
These concepts are discussed further in other articles. See, for example:
Other Articles