No doubt the Apocalypse is the most symbolic book in the Bible. Therefore, our understanding of its symbols would be paramount to understanding the book itself. Thus, it is particularly important to consider each word, perhaps more closely than in other books of the New Covenant Scriptures, which may be written using clearer language. As I concluded in a previous study,[1] Paul referred to John’s vision in 2Corinthians 12:1-4, saying John was caught up to the third heaven “and heard things too sacred to be put into words” (NET), “which are not possible for man to utter” (Geneva, Diaglott), hence, the difficulty in understanding this book. In other words, what John saw was extremely difficult to put into human language.
John saw what he describes as a strong angel, who spoke out with a loud voice (Revelation 5:2), and this angel asked: “Who is worthy to open the book and remove its seals?” That is, he asked who was able to reveal the contents of the scroll. The Greek word for open is anoigo (G455) and means literally to open something, but it can be used metaphorically to open one’s understanding, as it is used in Acts 26:18, where Paul reiterates for the gentiles what the Lord sent him to do in his vision just outside of Damascus over 20 years prior.
The point in bringing this up is, if anyone opens the scroll, the seals would already have to have been broken. One may break the seals to open a book, but, in order for one to open the book, the seals must already be broken. In any event, the angel puts the opening of the book, before the removing of the seals. Therefore, it must mean the same thing, and Revelation 5:9 seems to testify that they are. In opening the book, one removes the seals. So, the angel was saying: “Who is worthy to open the book EVEN remove its seals. The conjunction and (kai – G2532) should be translated as even (as it is 108 other times in the KJV), showing that both actions are actually one action. To open the book is to remove its sealed contents.
Why should I make this point? It is because the scroll does not necessarily have to have seven literal seals on it. It could be written in a language that no one understands but God. The number seven is a perfect number. As I claimed in a previous study, Jesus wrote letters to seven churches, but really there is only one church of Christ. Jesus has the seven Spirits of God, but really there is only one Spirit of God, the point is, Jesus has the whole Spirit of God, so Jesus is what God is.
Therefore, in this context, it may be that the scroll was laid out before John, as the scroll was laid out before Ezekiel (Ezekiel 2:9-10). Yet, even with it spread out before him, the book would have remained sealed, unless someone revealed its mysteries (cf. Isaiah 29:10-12). The point of its being sealed is not having seven literal seals, but the fact that no one was able to understand the scroll’s contents. So, even if the scroll had been physically laid out before John, so he could have the opportunity to read its contents, it would have been to no avail, because neither John, nor anyone else in heaven or in earth was able to understand the writing.
Someone had to be found with the keys to the mysteries locked up therein, who would then disclose its contents to others. Consider this. When each seal was broken in chapter 6, Jesus doesn’t read anything to John or anyone else standing by. Rather, he gave John a vision of what was on the scroll. The language was understood only by Jesus, and he gave John its meaning in picture form.
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