[Revelation 5:1, 4-5] “Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written on the inside and on the outside, sealed with seven seals. 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.'”
In the Bible, the number seven represents completeness. In ancient Israel, deeds of ownership were written on a scroll, rolled up, and sealed. The seals would only be broken on a specified date, at which point the inheritance could be officially claimed (Jeremiah 32:10-14). Only when all seven seals are opened can the contents of the scroll be fully accomplished and God’s will be completely executed. At the time, legal documents were sealed with wax on the knots of the scroll, and the most important documents required seven witnesses to seal them, a practice similar to the form of this scroll. While scrolls at that time were usually only written on one side, this scroll was “written on the inside and on the outside,” indicating that its contents were immense.
In Revelation 6:1-8:1, the visions appear as the Lamb opens the seven seals. Each time the Lamb breaks a seal, a new vision unfolds. The first four seals are a group, and the final three seals form another group. At this point, the seven seals are only being opened, but the scroll itself has not yet been unrolled. Therefore, the events of the first six seals represent only the “beginning of birth pains” that Jesus foretold (Mark 13:8; Matthew 24:8). The seven trumpets that emerge from the seventh seal (Revelation 8:1-2) represent the true calamities recorded in the scroll.
In ancient times, a seal was an easily recognizable mark made by an owner with a stamp or a ring on their possessions. To have God’s seal on a person means that this person belongs to God.