Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Revelation 5:3

"And no one in the heaven, or on the earth, or under the earth, was able to open the book, or to look thereon." — Revelation 5:3 (ASV)

The second horseman is war and bloodshed. He rides on a “fiery red steed,” whose color symbolizes slaughter (2 Kings 3:22–23). Therefore, he is given the “large sword” because the number of those he kills is so great (cf. 13:10, 14).

John might have thought of Nero’s slaughter of Christians, the martyrdom of Antipas (2:13), or perhaps those slain under Domitian’s persecutions (cf. Matthew 10:34; 24:9).

The “four angels” at “the four corners of the earth” hold “the four winds of the earth” from blowing on the earth until the servants of God are sealed on their foreheads. The expression “the four corners of the earth” was used in antiquity among the Near-Eastern nations much as we use “the four points of the compass.” Since nowhere in Revelation do we read of the four winds actually blowing, they may be taken as representing the earthly catastrophes that occur under the trumpets and bowls.

Another angel comes from the “east” (possibly from Jerusalem, to emphasize its mission of salvation?) and calls to the four others not to release their destruction until the servants of God have a “seal” (GK 5382) on their foreheads.

Such a seal indicates ownership by God and the Lamb (14:1). It also offers protection or security for the bearers (cf. 9:4, where the demonic forces are told to harm “only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads”).

We can better understand the “seal” if we examine what John sees regarding the “mark” (GK 5916) of the beast (13:16–17). Those who have the mark are not only identified as beast worshipers but they have become the objects of God’s irreversible wrath (14:9, 11). This implies, by contrast, that those who have “the seal of God” are God worshipers and are the objects of his abiding grace. In 16:2, the bowl of God’s wrath seems directed exclusively toward those who have the mark of the beast, thus excluding those with the seal of God (cf. 16:6). Furthermore, those having the mark of the beast are deluded by the beast (19:20), whereas the sealed of God are apparently not deceived. Finally, a martyred group is seen just prior to their resurrection and thousand-year reign with Christ and are described as not having the mark of the beast or worshiping him (20:4).

In the light of these passages, we may say that the “sealed” are the people of God and that their sealing must be related to their salvation (cf. Paul’s use of “sealed” in 2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13; Ephesians 4:30). Elsewhere, the sealed are described as those “who had been redeemed from the earth” (14:3–4; cf. Romans 8:23; James 1:18). In fact, “baptism” was considered a “seal” of salvation in the early church. While the seal may not protect the sealed against harm inflicted by human agency (13:7; 20:4), they are protected from the divine plagues (16:2). As for OT background, Ezekiel 9:4–7 seems primary. In this passage, a divine messenger with stylus in hand was to go through the apostate Jerusalem of Ezekiel’s day and put a mark upon the foreheads of those who deplored the faithless idolatry of the Israelites. Those so marked were the faithful and true servants of God; they would be spared the divine slaughtering of the rebellious inhabitants of the city.

The sealing language would have the effect of assuring God’s people of his special concern and plan for them. Even when facing persecution and martyrdom at the hand of the beast, they can be certain that no plague from God will touch them but that they will be in his presence forever because they are his very own possession (cf. 3:10). Therefore, the seal on the forehead is a divine mark of ownership, the presence of the Holy Spirit (cf. 2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13; Ephesians 4:30). Consequently, those thus sealed must be Christians and not unconverted Jews or Gentiles.

A mighty angel shouts out a challenge for anyone to come forth who is “worthy” (GK 545) to open the great scroll and its seals. All creation in heaven and earth and under the earth stood motionless and speechless. No one had the authority and virtue for such a task. If the scroll contains both the revelation and the carrying out of the final drama of history, then John’s despair can be appreciated. In this vision, the execution of events on earth is ascribed to the Lamb. As the seals are broken and the roll opened, salvation history unfolds until history culminates in the kingdom reign of the Messiah over the whole earth. History, then, has its center in Jesus Christ and its goal in his triumphant reign over all the powers of the world.