<p>5:5 <i>And one of the elders said to me: Do not weep. Behold, the Lion that is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered; he can open the scroll and the seven seals of it</i>-Why this unusual title for the Lord in this context? Surely because the events are happening at the time when He is fulfilling His role as the lion rather than the lamb. That time for active and aggressive manifestation of Jesus against others- not least against the other beasts of the latter days- is at His return. The allusion is obviously to Gen. 49:9 which speaks of Judah&rsquo;s lion as aggressively triumphing over his prey- the work of the Lord Jesus <i>in the last days at His return</i>. In Rev. 5:5, the lion of Judah &lsquo;prevails&rsquo;, the language of struggle, in order to open the scroll. The loosing of the seals therefore speaks of the Lord&rsquo;s activity at the time of His coming in triumphant judgment upon the other beasts of the field.</p><p>The Lord &quot;conquered&quot; or 'prevailed' / 'overcame' in order to open the scroll. This is the language of the Lord's overcoming on the cross (s.w. Lk. 11:22; Jn. 16:33). As the Lord urged us to be of good cheer because He has overcome / conquered (Jn. 16:33), so the Angel urges John. And the word is frequently used of how all the faithful 'overcome' their world (Rev. 2:7,11,17,26; 1 Jn. 2:14; 4:4; 5:4 etc). But the Lamb alone has &quot;overcome&quot; yet we in Him are finally counted as having achieved His victory. Just as He alone is worthy, but we are counted worthy (3:4). This concept of being &quot;in Christ&quot; is so common in Paul, and John too is expressing the same wondrous idea but in different ways. This great truth lifts us up above all feelings of personal inadequacy and failure to achieve. For we are part of One so much greater than us, and His Name and victory are ours.</p><p>The concept of conditional prophecy opens up a significant window into the tension facing the Lord Jesus as He approached the cross- indeed, throughout His ministry. So much depended upon Him. If He had failed, so much would simply not have come true as God intended. Rev. 5:5 stresses how the Lamb alone, through His sacrificial death hence the figure of a lamb was able to open the seals, and thus enable history as God intended to unfold. Indeed, the sealed scroll can also be understood as the book of life, whose opening was only made possible by the Lord&rsquo;s death. This had as it&rsquo;s basis the language of Dan. 12:4, where Daniel sealed the book. Rudolf Rijkeboer comments: &ldquo;Daniel&rsquo;s prophecy of the seventy year-weeks takes us to the time of the Messiah, but not really beyond. How things would continue would depend on the Saviour, if He was victorious. That he would be victorious was&hellip; by no means a foregone conclusion. It depended totally on the Saviour&rsquo;s own free will&hellip; while the scroll remains sealed&hellip; that particular future is not going to happen at all&rdquo;. In this sense we understand that through the cross, the pleasure or &lsquo;intention&rsquo; of God would be furthered by Messiah&rsquo;s &lsquo;hand&rsquo; through His crucifixion (Is. 53:10).</p>