Book of Common Prayer

Who Is Worthy To Open The Scroll? A Lamb Takes It From The One On The Throne

5 And I saw upon the right hand of the One sitting on the throne a scroll having been written inside and on-the-back, having been sealed-down with seven seals. ² And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to break its seals?” ³ And no one in heaven nor on earth nor under the earth was able to open the scroll, nor to look-at ^[a] it. ⁴ And I was weeping greatly because no one worthy was found to open the scroll, nor to look-at it. ⁵ And one of the elders says to me, “Do not be weeping. Behold— the Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, overcame so as to open the scroll and its seven seals”. ⁶ And I saw in the midst of the throne and the four living-creatures, and in the midst of the elders, there was a Lamb as-if ^[b] having been slain, standing, having seven horns, and seven eyes (which are the seven Spirits^[c] of God having been sent-forth into all the earth). ⁷ And He came, and He has taken it out of the right hand of the One sitting on the throne.

Then The One On The Throne And The Lamb Are Worshiped By All Creation

⁸ And when He took the scroll, the four living-creatures and the twenty four elders fell before the Lamb— each one holding a harp and golden bowls being full of incense (which are the prayers of the saints). ⁹ And they are singing a new song, saying “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because You were slain, and You bought^[d] for God with Your blood some from every tribe and tongue and people and nation, ¹⁰ and You made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign upon^[e] the earth”.

Jesus Tells His Disciples He Uses Parables To Both Hide And Reveal The Truth

¹⁰ And having come to Him, the disciples said to Him, “For what reason are You speaking to them in parables?” ¹¹ And the One, having responded, said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know^[a] the mysteries^[b] of the kingdom of the heavens. But it has not been given to those ones. ¹² For whoever has— it will be given to him, and he will be caused to abound. But whoever does not have— even what he has will be taken-away from him. ¹³ For this reason I am speaking to them in parables— because while seeing, they are not seeing; and while hearing, they are not hearing, nor understanding. ¹⁴ And the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled in them, the one^[c] saying [in Isa 6:9-10]: ‘In hearing, you will hear and by no means understand. And while seeing, you will see and by no means perceive. ¹⁵ For the heart of this people became dull^[d], and they hardly^[e] heard with their ears, and they closed their eyes that^[f] they might not ever see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand in their heart and turn-back, and I shall heal^[g] them’. ¹⁶ But blessed^[h] are your eyes because they are seeing, and your ears, because they are hearing. ¹⁷ For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous ones desired to experience^[i] the things which you are seeing, and they did not experience them, and to hear the things which you are hearing, and they did not hear them.