Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”
And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying,
“Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.”REVELATION 5:1-10 (ESV)
In Scripture, the pinnacle of God’s power and wisdom comes in the most offensive and scandalous display of foolishness and weakness to the world: the cross of Christ. It is the ultimate paradox. The wisdom and power of God are an inversion of what the world views as wise and powerful.
I think something similar is present here in Revelation 5:1-10. So first, the apostle John is distraught because there is none who is found worthy to open the scroll. But how is he comforted? One of the elders tells him that the Lion of Judah who has conquered is worthy. Now what comes to your mind when you think of a conquering lion? Probably something strong, mighty, and unstoppable. And this is exactly who the One who is worthy is: he is described as having seven horns and seven eyes—he is perfect in power and knowledge; he is all powerful and all knowing. It is clear that nothing can oppose him and succeed.
But in this passage, the power of the Son of God is not simply displayed as brute strength. Notice that though John is told the Lion of Judah can open the seals, what does he see? A lamb. And not simply a lamb, a lamb standing as though it had been slain. And then notice what it is that makes him worthy to open the scroll. The elders and the four living creatures proclaim that the Lamb is worthy to open the scroll because he was slain. In other words, what Revelation is saying made the Lamb of God a conqueror, worthy to open the scroll, and worthy of all blessing and
honor and glory was that he was crucified. And if you recall from the passage we opened with in Philippians 2, Paul says something very similar: the exaltation of Christ is due to his humiliation. The glory and rule of Christ do not come apart from the sacrifice of Christ.
What does this have to do with the church in the midst of a strange new world? The book of Revelation and passages like Philippians 2 and 1 Corinthians 1 help give us a biblical perspective on what true victory looks like. To conquer, to receive honor, and to be victorious in the New Testament does not look like a strong man physically pummeling his enemies. It looks like a cross. It looks like humbling oneself, as not counting oneself more important than others, of not seeking to be served, but to serve.
So this understanding from Scripture should redefine for us what it ultimately means for the church to be victorious in this present world. To have true victory is not for us to have Christians elected into office, to have our values widely accepted by society, or to attain cultural influence. The church as the body of the crucified Lamb of God conquers insofar as she shares in the sufferings of her Savior—in being obedient to him no matter the cost, in being conformed into his likeness, in dying to self to live to righteousness. 1 Peter 4 tells us to “rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.” Glory for us does not look like conquering the world and subduing it to the church, it looks like sharing in Christ’s sufferings.
This of course does not mean that we are called to escapism. We should desire that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven, and so this gives us the moral obligation to pursue justice in the world. The gospel story is about how God unites all things in heaven and on earth in Christ; it is about how he brings in a new creation. If we believe that there is not one square inch of the universe that is not made new, then to live gospel lives is to not simply live according to our own personal salvation, but to apply the fulness of the gospel to the entirety of our lives: in the home, at work, and in culture and society. It should be our desire and the focus of our labors to see every corner of human life and activity reflecting the character of God. So we should indeed seek the welfare of the city, as Jeremiah says, and engage in the culture and society with the aim of making it more good, more just, and more like heaven.
But we must also remember that while we are living in the period of the “already,” we are also living in the period of the “not yet.” This means that while we seek that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven, we also recognize that heaven will not be realized here until Christ comes back. So in the meantime we groan along with creation, striving as its salt and light and striving to see God’s glory reflected in all areas of life. But we do this with the knowledge that we still do live in “the present evil age” and that victory for us in this age will not look like world domination, but by conforming more and more into Christ’s cruciform image. Richard Gaffin says, “Only in the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings will the church avoid the extremes of a quasi-theocratic utopianism, on the one hand, and a millenial escapism and narrowing of the gospel, on the other. For this reason, too, [so] that we [might] stay free of these extremes with their inevitable tendency to various forms of ideological and even practical bondage, it has been given to us, ‘not only to believe in Christ, but also to suffer for him’ (Phil. 1:29).”[1]
So, while there is much to lament about the crookedness of this generation, while we can never celebrate the rebellion of the world as such, and while we do not actively seek persecution, we should not be surprised by it nor threatened by it. The attitude of the New Testament is that the true church would always be strange to the unbelieving world—and if we look more closely at history, this has always been the case in one way or another. So in light of the sometimes bleak outlook for the church in the West, we might be tempted toward despair or anger. But in light of what true victory and true glory for the church looks like before the return of Christ, it should be a call to consider afresh the suffering of Christ. There is no doubt much to say about what the church should do in light of this, but for now, my challenge is for us to first and foremost behold the Lamb of God who was slain and who redeemed for himself a people whom he has united to himself in his death and resurrection. And reflecting on this truth, along with the truth that we are called to share in his sufferings, should compel us toward a more faithful engagement with our strange new world.
[1] Richard B. Gaffin Jr., “The Usefulness of the Cross,” The Westminster Theological Journal 41, no. 2 (1979), 246. Much of these reflections, specifically the idea that victory for the church during this present age looks like sharing in his sufferings are influenced by this work.
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