Introduction
The Vision explains why Christ had to Die
Over the centuries, many different theories have been proposed for why Jesus had to die. Each explains the problem solved by Christ’s death differently. (Read Article) Some of those Atonement Theories distort fundamental Biblical principles. For example, in one of them, the Father was angry, and Christ’s suffering pacified His Father’s wrath. [Show More]
Although it may be hidden in symbols, the vision of the Sealed Book in Revelation 5 explains why Jesus had to die:
Elsewhere, the New Testament says that we are saved because Jesus died.
But in the vision of the Sealed Book, through His death, the Son became “worthy” to break the seals and open the book (Rev 5:5). [Show More]
These may seem like two different consequences of His death, but this article will argue that they are the same.
No other part of the Bible addresses the question of why Jesus had to die so directly.
Purpose of this Article
In my view, the vision of the sealed book provides the best answer, but to my knowledge, this article is unique in its attempt to use this vision to explain why Jesus had to die.
Since the vision says that He died to become able to open the sealed book, we must understand what the book is and what the seals are that prevent understanding. This article explains why He was not worthy before He died and how His death made Him worthy.
We are saved because Jesus overcame.
Revelation 5:5, 9-10 gives three reasons why Jesus was declared worthy to break the seals and open the book:
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- He “overcame,” meaning He remained faithful to God despite temptations (e.g., Rev 2:7, 11, 17; 3:21),
- He was “slain,” and
- He purchased people with His “blood.”
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Based on the New Testament in general, we can explain how these three reasons relate:
Firstly, we are not saved by His literal blood but by His death. There is no magical power in His literal blood. His blood is simply a symbol of His death.
Secondly, we are not saved merely because Jesus died but because He died without sin. If He sinned anywhere during His life, His death would NOT have had any saving power. In other words, we are saved because He overcame (Rev 5:5; 3:21). [Show More]
Thirdly, His death does not refer merely to the moment of death or to the fact that He died but to His final hours. Those hours were Jesus’ final and greatest best temptation. [Show More]
Lastly, the moment of His death was significant because it was the end of the test. Until He died, the angels watched the battle between Christ and Satan with bated breath to see whether He would sin. Since He died without disobeying God, His death was the moment of His final victory.
Previous Conclusions
Revelation 5 is Christ’s Ascension.
An important foundational principle is that Revelation 5 describes what happened in heaven when Jesus arrived after His ascension. At that time, He was declared worthy to open the Sealed Book and received it. That was also when He sat down at the right hand of God. (Read Article)
The Book is the Book of Life.
A previous article identified the Sealed Book as the Book of Life, containing the names of the people whom God elected to eternal life (Rev 20:15; 21:27). For example, the Book of Life is more fully called “the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.” Since Jesus receives the Sealed Book when He appears as “a Lamb … as if slain” (Rev 5:6-7), this is strong evidence that the Sealed Book is the Book of Life. This conclusion is supported by the facts, as that article shows, that both books:
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- Are necessary for redemption,
- Will be opened only after Christ’s return, and
- Distinguish the living from the dead. (Read Article)
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The Seals are Satan’s Accusations.
The seven seals of the book, which prevent the book from being read, have been identified by that same article as Satan’s accusations against God’s elect, namely, the people identified in the Book of Life. By listing their sins, Satan effectively accuses God of unfair judgment.
Satan’s purpose is to defend himself against God’s condemnation. By implication, he argues that if he is condemned, God’s people must also be condemned. And if God’s elect can be saved despite their sins, he can also be saved. For that reason, he meticulously lists the sins of the people in the Book of Life.
The book is symbolically sealed, meaning nobody could refute Satan’s accusations entirely. Nobody, not even the Son before His death, was able to show that God’s judgments are perfect in all instances, namely that God should grant eternal life only to the sinners listed in the Book and to none of the other sinners.
Breaking the seals means refuting Satan’s accusations to show that God’s judgments are perfect.
Why the Son was Not Worthy.
According to the vision of the Sealed Book, the Son, before His death, was not regarded as worthy to break the seals, meaning that He was not worthy to refute Satan before He died. This may seem strange, but it is explained as follows:
Crisis in Heaven
The Sealed Book in Heaven (Rev 5) and the War in Heaven (Rev 12) describe the same crisis:
In both chapters, there is a crisis in heaven, symbolized by the sealed book in Rev 5, and a war in heaven in Rev 12.
In both chapters, Christ’s death ended the crisis in heaven, but it continues on earth and will only be finally resolved through God’s people.
In both chapters, the crisis is caused by things not understood. In Rev 5, the Sealed Book symbolizes the things not understood. In Rev 12, Satan accuses God’s people. Since this caused a war in heaven, the angels disagreed about God’s people, which also means things not understood. (These points are discussed in more detail in the Article that identifies the Sealed Book.)
Accuser of our Brethren
Revelation 12 explains the cause and nature of that crisis when it describes Satan as the accuser of our brethren (Rev 12:10). As mentioned, his goal is to show that “our brethren,” namely God’s elect, as identified in the Book of Life, do not deserve eternal life. Effectively, he accuses God of unfair and arbitrary judgment.
Defender of our Brethren
Since the Son is the One who breaks the seals of the book in Revelation 6, meaning to refute Satan’s accusations against God’s elect, we may assume that that was also His role BEFORE He became a human being. In other words, He opposed the accuser before His incarnation.
Accused the Son
At that time, since Satan’s nature is to accuse (cf. Gen 3:3-5; Job 1:11; Zech 3:1; Rev 12:10), we can assume that he also accused the Son. Since, after His victory on earth, the heavenly beings declared the Son to be “worthy” because He overcame (Rev 5:5, 9), meaning that He never sinned, we may assume that Satan accused the Son that He would also sin, given the right circumstances. Since the Son defended God’s elective mercy, we can assume that Satan argued that, since the Son is potentially also a sinner, He cannot be trusted to defend God’s elective mercy objectively.
The Son not Worthy
Since the War in Heaven could not end before the Son was declared worthy, we know that Satan was able, given his enormous talents, to create doubt in the minds of many angels, even some of God’s loyal angels, about whether the Son could be trusted to defend God’s selective mercy objectively, just as Satan was able to create doubt in the minds of the created universe about the perfection of God’s judgments. In that sense, the Son was not “worthy” before His victory on earth.
Why Death Made Him Worthy
How did overcoming make Him “worthy” to break the seals and open the book?
To be trusted to defend God’s selective mercy objectively, the Son had to refute Satan’s accusations against Him and show that He would never sin, even under the maximum possible temptations. For that reason, while this war of accusations was still raging in heaven, He subjected Himself to a test by becoming a human being. [Show More]
God allowed Satan to tempt and test the Son in all possible ways. Satan wished that the Son would sin by using His supernatural power to exalt Himself and escape the torment. His entire life was a test, and He overcame throughout His life.
His highest test was the hours before He died. His death made Him worthy in the sense that His death (understood as His final hours) reflected how He overcame His entire life.
The moment of His death was significant because it was the end of the test. While He was still alive, the possibility remained that He could sin. Since He died without disobeying God, His death was the moment of His final victory. [Show More]
However, despite what Hebrews says (e.g., Heb 5:8), his sinless life did not somehow improve the Son. His life was a demonstration of His eternal character. Now, the universe is fully convinced that Jesus is “the faithful and true Witness” (Rev 3:14).
Conclusions
Why the book remained Sealed.
Even after the Son became regarded as worthy to open the book, it remains sealed. This is understood as follows:
Satan brought accusations against God’s elect. Since the Son of God defended God’s elect, Satan also accused the Son. Christ’s victory over sin refuted Satan’s accusations against the Son.
However, while Jesus never sinned, God’s elect are sinners. Christ’s victory, therefore, did not refute Satan’s accusation against God’s elect. Since it remained unclear why they, and only they, should receive God’s mercy, the book remained symbolically sealed.
The sixth seal is Judgment Day (Read Article). This means that the book will only be open when Christ returns. God delays Christ’s return and the implementation of His judgments until all understand His judgments are perfect. For a further discussion, see – Why did Christ not yet return?
Overview of the Conclusions above
God grants mercy selectively to some sinners. The Son defends God’s decisions. But Satan created doubt about whether the Son could be trusted to defend God’s decisions objectively because He would also sin, given the right circumstances.
Therefore, the Son had to be tested. He became a human being and was tested in every possible way, even unto death. If He sinned anywhere during His life, His mission would have failed. The moment of His death was the end of the test, and the heavens erupted in jubilation because He had passed the test.
God wants His creature to Understand.
The Son’s life on earth was a test, but not for God’s benefit. God knew that His unique Son would remain faithful. The test was a demonstration for the benefit of the created beings. (E.g., Rom 3:25-26; Col 2:15). In other words, the argument in this article is based on the assumption that God wants His intelligent creatures to understand. For them to feel safe in eternity, He would not force them to accept His judgment. [Show More]
The Son of God Suffered.
In the traditional Trinity doctrine, the Son of God is impassible, meaning He cannot suffer or die. Therefore, in this theory, the Son became incarnate as a human being with a human mind, known as Jesus Christ. It was this human being, not the eternal Son of God, who suffered, died, was resurrected, ascended to heaven, and now sits at the right hand of God.
In contrast, this article assumes that the eternal Son of God suffered and died. In other words, when the Son became a human being, He remained the same ‘Person’ as before. Therefore, when the man Jesus was tested, the character of the eternal Son of God was tested. Relevant articles include:
Other Articles
The Seven Seals
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- Next: Why has Christ not yet returned? What is God waiting for?
- All articles on the sealed book (Rev 4:1-8:1)
- People’s deeds will refute Satan’s criticism.
This article pulls together several main concepts in these articles.
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Other
- I recommend Jon Paulien’s commentary on Revelation for further reading. For general theological discussions, I recommend Graham Maxwell, who you will find on the Pineknoll website.
Revelation 12:7-10 describes the victory that Michael and his angels gained over Satan and his angels in the war in heaven. But then Revelation 12:11 continues: