“…Do not weep!  See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah…has triumphed.”

God has a way of humbling superpowers.  He’s done it in the past.  He’s done it in my lifetime too.  In the days of the Cold War, the two superpowers were the USSR and the US.  Most of the rest of mankind lived in the Third World.  Then the USSR collapsed, largely because they could not compete with the West, which left the US as the only superpower and other countries divided among Developed and Developing.  As I write this it seems the Lord is at it again: humbling the only remaining superpower.  Depending on when you read this will tell how correct I am in estimating what’s happening to our country.

At one time Egypt was Earth’s only superpower.  Being the “big boy” on the block can be pretty heady stuff.  If pride isn’t present at the outset, it’s tough to keep out.  In a power encounter with Pharaoh, Moses told him, “The thunder will stop and there will be no more hail, so you may know that the earth is the Lord’s” (Exodus 9:29).  Psalm 24:1 says the same thing, ending on the note that since he owns the earth “and everything in it”, he is thus called “the King of glory” (v. 10).  In essence, there is only one power source, period: God!  And Egypt’s power was never equaled again.  ‘Nough said.

We see what may be the most dramatic moment approaching the culmination of God redeeming the planet and its occupants in Revelation 5.  God sits on his throne holding a scroll with seven seals keeping it tightly wrapped.  For reasons to be explained in a minute, the scroll represents the title deed of the earth.  And it must be opened.  But who will?  Who can?  “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?  No one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it” (vs. 2-3).  This caused the Apostle John to weep.  No one in all of heaven, earth or below was qualified.  Imagine that: not a single person in all of earth history, or any angel with all their power.  Why not?

The qualification to open the scroll needed to be “worthy” (vs. 2, 4).  This word means “weighty and valuable.”  He also needed the ability to do so.  In other words, he needed to have the authority and the power.  A strong angel — possibly Gabriel, whose name means “strength of God — said to John, “Do not weep!  See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has triumphed.  He is able to open the scroll and it seven seals” (v. 5).  This is the only place in all of Scripture that calls Jesus the Lion of the tribe of Judah.  Why here?  Why now?

First, it gets back to God confirming what Jacob said to his son Judah: “You are a lion’s cub…you return from the prey, my son.  Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?” (vs. 9-10).  This and the words to follow indicate that the Messiah would descend from Judah, described as a lion.  “The Root of David”, pointing only to Jesus, further clarifies the lineage.

So the weightiness and value of Jesus speaks of who he is: God’s Son, Judah’s Lion, and the Messiah predicted from eternity past (Rev. 13:8).  But his ability to open the scroll came from his triumph (v. 5).  Every young person recognizes this Greek word: Nike, overcomer, winner, he who triumphs.  The Lion became a Lamb (v. 6) and submitted himself to the Father’s will to pay for all the evil and perversion of the world by his death, opening heaven’s doors to all who would trust him as the only requirement.

The Lamb became the Lion, the “king of the jungle” that the earth had become through sin.  He vanquished the superpower of sin, the prince of the power of the air, Satan, through his resurrection.  And the result was a redeemed heavenly choir singing, “You [Christ] are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.  You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they shall reign on the earth” (v. 9).  The scroll is the earth’s title dead because it includes every nation.

Thus, the ultimate superpower is broken, soon to be completely destroyed.  The scroll represents the ownership document of the planet, and Jesus, the Lion of Judah’s tribe, is victorious.  “We are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken” (Hebrews 12:28).  Judah’s Lion has won!  The last chapter of history is already written.  Ultimately you will be either with or without the Lion.  Are you with him today?