English · KJV

Revelation 5:7

“The Lion of Judah Appears as the Lamb”Revelation 5:5–7
King James Version
And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

KJV (with Strong's)
And G2532 he came G2064 and G2532 took G2983 the book G975 out of G1537 the right hand G1188 of him that sat G2521 upon G1909 the throne G2362.

Bible text: King James Version with Strong's numbers · Public domain

Berean Standard Bible
And He came and took the scroll from the right hand of the One seated on the throne.

Bible text: Berean Standard Bible · Public domain

American Standard Version
And he came, and he taketh it out of the right hand of him that sat on the throne.

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

World English Bible Messianic
Then he came, and he took it out of the right hand of him who sat on the throne.

Bible text: World English Bible, Messianic edition · Public domain

Geneva Bible (1599)
And hee came, and tooke the Booke out of the right hand of him that sate vpon the throne.

Bible text: Geneva Bible (1599) · Public domain

Young's Literal Translation
and he came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who is sitting upon the throne.

Bible text: Young's Literal Translation · Public domain

King James Version — Interlinear
14 Greek words
  1. καὶkaiAndG2532CONJConjunction
  2. ἦλθενēlthenHe cameG2064V-2AAI-3SVerb 2nd Aorist Active Indicative 3rd Singular
  3. καὶkaiandG2532CONJConjunction
  4. εἴληφενeilēphenHe has takenG2983V-2RAI-3SVerb 2nd Perfect Active Indicative 3rd Singular
  5. τὸto[the]G3588T-ASNDefinite article Accusative Singular Neuter
  6. βιβλίονbiblionscrollG975N-ASNNoun Accusative Singular Neuter
  7. ἐκekout ofG1537PREPPreposition
  8. τῆςtēstheG3588T-GSFDefinite article Genitive Singular Feminine
  9. δεξιᾶςdexiasright handG1188A-GSFAdjective Genitive Singular Feminine
  10. τοῦtouof the [One]G3588T-GSMDefinite article Genitive Singular Masculine
  11. καθημένουkathēmenousittingG2521V-PNP-GSMVerb Present Middle Or Passive Deponent Participle Genitive Singular Masculine
  12. ἐπὶepionG1909PREPPreposition
  13. τοῦtoutheG3588T-GSMDefinite article Genitive Singular Masculine
  14. θρόνουthronouthroneG2362N-GSMNoun Genitive Singular Masculine
English is a literal word-by-word gloss of the Greek, not the KJV's wording. Why?

This is the original text the KJV's translators worked from — each Greek word with its own literal English meaning in this verse, prepared by scholars at Tyndale House, Cambridge. The KJV translates whole sentences, not word by word, so its wording differs: one Greek word can become several English words, and the KJV may choose “charity” where the gloss reads “love”. Both are faithful — they answer different questions. For the KJV's own rendering, switch to the KJV text.

Words in [ ] are added by the English.

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This verse

The Lamb comes to the one seated on the throne and takes the sealed book from his right hand, so that God’s plan for history passes into the hands of Christ.

“And he came”

The Lamb of verse 6 goes (érchomai) to the throne, the one figure in heaven able to do so for this task.

“and took the book”

Lambánō, to take or receive. The central act of the scene: God’s plan for history passes into the hands of the Lamb.

“out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.”

The book comes from the right hand (dexiós) of God the Father on the throne (thrónos), so the authority the Lamb receives is given by God himself.

The Lion of Judah Appears as the Lamb

Revelation 5:5–7

Summary

John has been weeping because no one in heaven, on earth or under the earth is worthy to open the sealed book in God’s right hand. One of the elders tells him to weep no more, because the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, has prevailed to open it. John looks, and he sees a Lamb standing at the centre of the throne, bearing the marks of slaughter, with seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God. The Lamb comes and takes the book from the right hand of the one who sits on the throne. In three verses we learn that the King promised to Judah and to David is Jesus, that he won his victory by being slain, and that God’s whole plan for history now rests in his hands.

Who is the Lion of the tribe of Juda?

These verses answer a crisis. In Revelation 5:1–4 John sees a book in the right hand of the one on the throne, sealed with seven seals. A strong angel cries, “Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?” Heaven, earth and the world under the earth are searched, and no one is found worthy even to look on it, so John weeps much. Into that grief one of the elders speaks: “Weep not.” He then points John to the one who can do what no one else could, beginning with “behold”, idoú, a word that calls John to look at something of great weight.

The elders sit around the throne in this vision. Believers differ on who they are. Some hold that they stand for the redeemed people of God, the church, and others hold that they are heavenly beings. On either reading, this elder acts as John’s guide and interpreter, and his words turn the whole vision from despair to hope.

The elder names the worthy one with two titles from the Old Testament. The first takes us back to Jacob’s blessing of his sons, where Judah is a lion’s whelp and “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah ... until Shiloh come” (Genesis 49:9–10). The Greek léōn is the ordinary word for a lion, and in that setting it speaks of strength, majesty and kingship. God promised long ago that a ruler would come from Judah, and that promise was understood to point to the house of David and finally to the Messiah. The New Testament opens by calling Jesus “the son of David” (Matthew 1:1), and Paul says he came from David’s line according to the flesh (Romans 1:3). He is the rightful heir to David’s throne.

The Root of David

The second title uses rhíza, a root, in the literal or the figurative sense, and so a source or foundation. Isaiah promised a rod from the stem of Jesse, David’s father, a Branch from his roots on whom the Spirit of the LORD would rest (Isaiah 11:1–2), and he spoke of a root of Jesse who would stand as a banner for the nations (Isaiah 11:10). That ruler would bring justice and peace. To call Jesus the Root of David is to say that David’s royal line springs from him as well as leading to him. He is its source and its sustainer, the foundation of God’s covenant with David and the one in whom it is fulfilled. Jesus says it of himself at the end of this book: “I am the root and the offspring of David” (Revelation 22:16).

Together the two titles tell John that the worthy one is the long-awaited Messiah, a King of royal authority and of divine origin, able to keep every one of God’s covenant promises and to carry out his plan.

How the Lion prevailed

“Prevailed” is nikáō, a verb built on níkē, victory. It means to subdue, conquer, overcome, or get the victory. Christ has won a complete and decisive victory over sin, death and the powers of darkness, and that victory is what makes him worthy to open the book and loose its seals. He won it through his death and his resurrection. Paul says that at the cross Christ triumphed over principalities and powers (Colossians 2:14–15), and Hebrews says that through death he destroyed the power of the one who held the power of death (Hebrews 2:14–15). The elder speaks of the victory as already won, before a single seal is broken.

Why does John hear of a Lion and see a Lamb?

John hears of a Lion, and when he turns to look he sees a Lamb as it had been slain. The two pictures belong to one person, and they agree. The Lion speaks of Christ’s kingly power and his fulfilment of the prophecy to Judah. The Lamb speaks of sacrifice. It recalls the Passover lamb of Exodus 12, whose blood protected Israel from the angel of death, and the Servant of Isaiah 53, who “is brought as a lamb to the slaughter” (Isaiah 53:7). John the Baptist pointed to Jesus as “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

So the elder’s word tells us who Christ is, and John’s sight tells us how he won. The Lion of Judah conquered by being slain. His power rests on his sacrifice of himself in love, and his victory over death came through death. This sets him apart from the empires of the earth and their violent shows of strength.

The word for Lamb is arníon, a diminutive of the ordinary word for a lamb, meaning “a lambkin” or “a little lamb”. “Slain” is spházō, to butcher or slaughter, used especially of an animal killed in sacrifice, and it can also mean to maim violently. Its form here is a perfect passive participle, which speaks of a completed act whose effects remain. The Lamb’s death was a single, violent event, and its power to redeem goes on for ever.

Yet the slain Lamb stands. He bears the marks of death and he is alive, and his standing speaks of his resurrection and his lasting victory. The gospel Paul received and handed on is exactly this, that Christ died for our sins and rose again the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3–4).

The Lamb in the midst of the throne

“And I beheld” uses eídō, properly to see, whether with the eyes or with the mind. John looks where the elder pointed and sees what God shows him. The Lamb stands “in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders”. The throne is God’s seat of rule, the four beasts lead the worship of creation, and the elders sit around them. At the centre of all of it is the Lamb. He is the focus of heaven’s worship and of God’s government, sharing the throne as the Father’s equal and ruling over all creation and history. Daniel saw one like the Son of man receive dominion, a Messiah who would reign for ever (Daniel 7:13–14), and here John sees that reign.

Seven horns and seven eyes

Horns in Scripture stand for power, strength and authority, often a king’s, as when Hannah prayed that the LORD would “exalt the horn of his anointed”. Seven stands for completeness and perfection, as in the seven days of creation and the seven-branched lampstand. Seven horns, then, mean that the Lamb’s power is complete and reaches over all creation. Eyes stand for knowledge and understanding, so seven eyes mean that he sees and knows all things. The one who opens God’s plan has every power he needs to carry it out and knows everything it touches.

John tells us what the eyes are: “the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.” Revelation has already spoken of the seven Spirits before God’s throne (Revelation 1:4) and of seven lamps of fire burning there, which are the seven Spirits of God (Revelation 4:5). This is the Holy Spirit in his fullness and in all his many works. The words echo the seven eyes of the LORD in Zechariah 4:10, and here they belong to the Lamb. “Sent forth into all the earth” means that the Spirit is present everywhere, at work in the whole world to carry out God’s purposes of redemption and judgment. Jesus promised his disciples that the Spirit would come to them and continue his mission (John 14:16–17). In this one verse the Father on the throne, the Lamb at its centre and the Spirit sent into all the earth are seen working as one.

The Lamb takes the book

“And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.” The Lamb of verse 6 comes to the one seated on the throne and takes the book from his hand. This is the act the whole chapter has been waiting for. “Came” is érchomai, the ordinary verb to come or go. “Took” is lambánō, which can mean to take hold of something or to receive it from a giver. Here the book passes from the Father’s hand to the Son’s, and since it comes from the very hand that holds it, the handing over is God’s own will.

“Right hand” is dexiós, the right side or the right hand. In Scripture the right hand is often the place of honour and strength, and here what the hand holds gives the picture its weight: God’s purposes for all creation, held securely by the Almighty. The throne, thrónos, is the seat of sovereign rule and judgment, and the one who sits on it is God the Father. When the Lamb receives the book from that hand, he receives the authority to reveal God’s plan and to carry it out.

This act also sets the rest of the book in motion. The breaking of the seals follows, and with it the judgments and events that lead to the return of Christ and the consummation of God’s kingdom.

What is the sealed book?

Biblíon, “book”, is a diminutive of biblos and means a scroll or roll. In John’s day a document of this kind was rolled up and often sealed to mark its importance, its privacy or its legal force, as with a will, a title deed or a decree, and the seals (sphragís, a seal or signet) were broken in turn to reveal what it said. The book in God’s hand holds his sovereign plan for history: his decrees, his judgments, his work of redemption, and the destiny of creation. It has been likened to a title deed to the earth, to a will, and to a blueprint of the last days. Its seals keep God’s purposes hidden until the proper time, and only the one who is truly worthy can open them.

Why was no one else found worthy?

Only the sinless Lamb of God, who offered himself as the perfect sacrifice, had the righteousness and the redemptive merit to come to God and open his purposes. Every creature in heaven and on earth apart from Christ is touched by sin or lacks that qualification, and so neither people nor angels were found worthy. Christ’s worthiness rests on his divine nature, his perfect obedience as a man, and his atoning death and resurrection, which conquered sin and death. The song that follows gives the reason in heaven’s own words: “for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood” (Revelation 5:9). Hebrews says that he “put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Hebrews 9:26).

The crucified Christ holds all authority

What John sees in heaven is what the Gospels and letters say of the risen Christ. After his resurrection Jesus said, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:18). His ascension set him at God’s right hand (Ephesians 1:20–22). Paul says that because he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, “God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name” (Philippians 2:8–11). The Lamb taking the book is that exaltation seen in a picture. His authority is the fruit of his atoning death as the Lamb who was slain, and his worthiness to unveil the future comes from his triumph over sin and death. The future of the universe, its judgment and its redemption, are in the hands of the crucified and risen Christ, fully God and fully man, our Redeemer and our King, who will come again as King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:11–16).

The Lamb who holds the book

John’s tears were answered with a victory that had already been won. These verses give the same answer when the world is full of confusion and evil has its way for a while. God’s plan for history lies in his own right hand, and he has placed it in the hands of a Saviour who was slain, who knows suffering, who sees all things and holds all power. His Spirit is at work in all the earth. God’s purposes of judgment and of redemption will be done, and they will be done by the Lamb.

The Lion who conquers is the same Lord whom Scripture calls the good shepherd who gives his life for the sheep (John 10:11) and the Bishop of our souls (1 Peter 2:25). He is the bread of life (John 6:35) and the fountain of living waters (Jeremiah 17:13), the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6), and the Wonderful Counsellor (Isaiah 9:6). He is the bright and morning star (Revelation 22:16) and the dayspring from on high, who gives light to those who sit in darkness and guides our feet into the way of peace (Luke 1:78–79). He is the chief corner stone (Ephesians 2:20) and the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). Our hope rests on him and on his finished work. When you weep as John wept, the elder’s word still stands: “Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed.”

Last revised

Public-domain commentary

Matthew Henry

From his Commentary on the Whole Bible. Henry wrote on whole passages, and this entry covers Revelation 5:6–14. He set out his notes in a four-level outline, kept here as he numbered it.

1662–1714 · 9 verses
Passage under commentRevelation 5:6–14
I. II. Main points1. 2. Sub-points(1.) (2.) Details[1.] [2.] Fine details

Here, I. The apostle beholds this book taken into the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ, in order to its being unsealed and opened by him. Here Christ is described, 1. By his place and station: In the midst of the throne, and of the four beasts, and of the elders. He was on the same throne with the Father; he was nearer to him than either the elders or ministers of the churches. Christ, as man and Mediator, is subordinate to God the Father, but is nearer to him than all the creatures; for in him all the fulness of the Godhead dwells bodily. The ministers stand between God and the people. Christ stands as the Mediator between God and both ministers and people. 2. The form in which he appeared. Before he is called a lion; here he appears as a lamb slain. He is a lion to conquer Satan, a lamb to satisfy the justice of God. He appears with the marks of his sufferings upon him, to show that he interceded in heaven in the virtue of his satisfaction. He appears as a lamb, having seven horns and seven eyes, perfect power to execute all the will of God and perfect wisdom to understand it all and to do it in the most effectual manner; for he hath the seven Spirits of God, he has received the Holy Spirit without measure, in all perfection of light, and life, and power, by which he is able to teach and rule all parts of the earth. 3. He is described by his act and deed: He came, and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat on the throne (Revelation 5:7), not by violence, nor by fraud, but he prevailed to do it (as Revelation 5:5), he prevailed by his merit and worthiness, he did it by authority and by the Father's appointment. God very willingly and justly put the book of his eternal counsels into the hand of Christ, and Christ as readily and gladly took it into his hand; for he delights to reveal and to do the will of his Father.

II.The apostle observes the universal joy and thanksgiving that filled heaven and earth upon this transaction.

No sooner had Christ received this book out of the Father's hand than he received the applauses and adorations of angels and men, yea, of every creature. And, indeed, it is just matter of joy to all the world to see that God does not deal with men in a way of absolute power and strict justice, but in a way of grace and mercy through the Redeemer. He governs the world, not merely as a Creator and Lawgiver, but as our God and Saviour. All the world has reason to rejoice in this. The song of praise that was offered up to the Lamb on this occasion consists of three parts, one part sung by the church, another by the church and the angels, the third by every creature.

1.The church begins the doxology, as being more immediately concerned in it (Revelation 5:8), the four living creatures, and the four-and-twenty elders, the Christian people, under their minister, lead up the chorus. Here observe,

(1.)The object of their worship - the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ; it is the declared will of God that all men should honour the Son as they honour the Father; for he has the same nature.

(2.)Their posture: They fell down before him, gave him not an inferior sort of worship, but the most profound adoration.

(3.)The instruments used in their adorations - harps and vials; the harps were the instruments of praise, the vials were full of odours or incense, which signify the prayers of the saints: prayer and praise should always go together.

(4.)The matter of their song: it was suited to the new state of the church, the gospel-state introduced by the Son of God. In this new song,

[1.]They acknowledge the infinite fitness and worthiness of the Lord Jesus for this great work of opening and executing the counsel and purposes of God (Revelation 5:9): Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof, every way sufficient for the work and deserving the honour.

[2.]They mention the grounds and reasons of this worthiness; and though they do not exclude the dignity of his person as God, without which he had not been sufficient for it, yet they chiefly insist upon the merit of his sufferings, which he had endured for them; these more sensibly struck their souls with thankfulness and joy. Here, First, They mention his suffering: "Thou wast slain, slain as a sacrifice, thy blood was shed." Secondly, The fruits of his sufferings. 1. Redemption to God; Christ has redeemed his people from the bondage of sin, guilt, and Satan, redeemed them to God, set them at liberty to serve him and to enjoy him. 2. High exaltation: Thou hast made us to our God kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth, Revelation 5:10. Every ransomed slave is not immediately preferred to honour; he thinks it a great favour to be restored to liberty. But when the elect of God were made slaves by sin and Satan, in every nation of the world, Christ not only purchased their liberty for them, but the highest honour and preferment, made them kings and priests - kings, to rule over their own spirits, and to overcome the world, and the evil one; and he has made them priests, given them access to himself, and liberty to offer up spiritual sacrifices, and they shall reign on the earth; they shall with him judge the world at the great day.

2.The doxology, thus begun by the church, is carried on by the angels; they take the second part, in conjunction with the church, Revelation 5:11. They are said to be innumerable, and to be the attendants on the throne of God and guardians to the church; though they did not need a Saviour themselves, yet they rejoice in the redemption and salvation of sinners, and they agree with the church in acknowledging the infinite merits of the Lord Jesus as dying for sinners, that he is worthy to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.

(1.)He is worthy of that office and that authority which require the greatest power and wisdom, the greatest fund, all excellency, to discharge them aright; and,

(2.)He is worthy of all honour, and glory, and blessing, because he is sufficient for the office and faithful in it.

3.This doxology, thus begun by the church, and carried on by the angels, is resounded and echoed by the whole creation, Revelation 5:13. Heaven and earth ring with the high praises of the Redeemer. The whole creation fares the better for Christ. By him all things consist; and all the creatures, had they sense and language, would adore that great Redeemer who delivers the creature from that bondage under which it groans, through the corruption of men, and the just curse denounced by the great God upon the fall; that part which (by a prosopopoeia) is made for the whole creation is a song of blessing, and honour, and glory, and power,

(1.)To him that sits on the throne, to God as God, or to God the Father, as the first person in the Trinity and the first in the economy of our salvation; and,

(2.)To the Lamb, as the second person in the Godhead and the Mediator of the new covenant. Not that the worship paid to the Lamb is of another nature, an inferior worship, for the very same honour and glory are in the same words ascribed to the Lamb and to him that sits on the throne, their essence being the same; but, their parts in the work of our salvation being distinct they are distinctly adored. We worship and glorify one and the same God for our creation and for our redemption.

We see how the church that began the heavenly anthem, finding heaven and earth join in the concert, closes all with their Amen, and end as they began, with a low prostration before the eternal and everlasting God. Thus we have seen this sealed book passing with great solemnity from the hand of the Creator into the hand of the Redeemer.

Historical interpretation

Six Centuries of Reception

7 surviving comments on this verse. Each one is dated, so this reads as a timeline rather than a list.

7 quotes · AD 202–804
Ante-NicenePost-NiceneEarly Medieval
200300400500600700800

Select a marker to jump to its quote. Markers stagger vertically where authors wrote within a few decades of each other.

d. AD 202IrenaeusAnte-NiceneSourceAGAINST HERESIES 4.20.2
The Lord says, “All things are delivered to me by the Father.” … But in the “all things” [it is implied that] nothing has been kept back [from him], and for this reason the same person is the Judge of the living and the dead; “having the key of David: he shall open, and no man shall shut: he shall shut, and no man shall open.” For no one was able, either in heaven or in earth, or under the earth, to open the book of the Father, or to behold him, with the exception of the Lamb who was slain and who redeemed us with his own blood, receiving power over all things from the same God who made all things by the Word, and adorned them by [his] Wisdom, when “the Word was made flesh”; that even as the Word of God had the sovereignty in the heavens, so also might he have the sovereignty in earth, inasmuch as [he was] a righteous man, "who did not sin, neither was there found guile in his mouth"; and that he might have the preeminence over those things that are under the earth, he himself being made “the first-begotten of the dead”; and that all things, as I have already said, might behold their King; and that the paternal light might meet with and rest upon the flesh of our Lord, and come to us from his resplendent flesh, and that thus humanity might attain to immortality, having been invested with the paternal light.
d. AD 304Victorinus of PettauAnte-NiceneSourceCommentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John
"Lo, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, hath prevailed." We read in Genesis that this lion of the tribe of Judah hath conquered, when the patriarch Jacob says, "Judah, thy brethren shall praise thee; thou hast lain down and slept, and hast risen up again as a lion, and as a lion's whelp." For He is called a lion for the overcoming of death; but for the suffering for men He was led as a lamb to the slaughter. But because He overcame death, and anticipated the duty of the executioner, He was called as it were slain. He therefore opens and seals again the testament, which He Himself had sealed. The legislator Moses intimating this, that it behoved Him to be sealed and concealed, even to the advent of His passion, veiled his face, and so spoke to the people; showing that the words of his announcement were veiled even to the advent of His time. For he himself, when he had read to the people, having taken the wool purpled with the blood of the calf, with water sprinkled the whole people, saying, "This is the blood of His testament who hath purified you." It should therefore be observed that the Man is accurately announced, and that all things combine into one. For it is not sufficient that that law is spoken of, but it is named as a testament. For no law is called a testament, nor is any thing else called a testament, save what persons make who are about to die. And whatever is within the testament is sealed, even to the day of the testator's death. Therefore it is with reason that it is only sealed by the Lamb slain, who, as it were a lion, has broken death in pieces, and has fulfilled what had been foretold; and has delivered man, that is, the flesh, from death, and has received as a possession the substance of the dying person, that is, of the human members; that as by one body all men had fallen under the obligation of its death, also by one body all believers should be born again unto life, and rise again. Reasonably, therefore, His face is opened and unveiled to Moses; and therefore He is called Apocalypse, Revelation. For now His book is unsealed-now the offered victims are perceived-now the fabrication of the priestly chrism; moreover the testimonies are openly understood.
d. AD 550OecumeniusPost-NiceneSourceCommentary on Revelation
And He came and took, that is the little scroll, from the right hand of the One seated on the throne. Therefore, when all those in heaven and on earth, and under the earth, wondered to open the little scroll or to look into it as it had been seen before, only Christ, the Son of God, who for us and through us became and remains what He was, took the little scroll.
d. AD 560Primasius of HadrumetumPost-NiceneSourceCOMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 5:7
The Son of man is said to have received the book from the right hand of God as both the dispensation from the Father and an arrangement from himself, for each reigns upon the throne with the Holy Spirit. And also here we ought understand the right hand to represent the blessedness of the victory. Nor ought it be understood in a fleshly manner as though he received the book from another hand of the Father, since the self-same is Son of the Father and the self-same the right hand [of God]. But since he who said, “Rejoice, for I have overcome the world,” always conquers in those who belong to him, he also makes his own church to exist as a conqueror, and it is declared of her that she receives the book.
d. AD 600Apringius of BejaPost-NiceneSourceTRACTATE ON THE APOCALYPSE 5:7
To be sure, the Lamb is the assumed man who for our salvation willingly offered himself over to death. Worthily he received the scroll, that is, the power of all the works of God, and from the right hand of him who is seated on the throne, that is, he received all things from God the Father, as he himself said: “All which the Father has is mine.” Then did he receive this scroll, when rising from the dead he showed the mystery of the Trinity, which had been hidden from the ages, and revealed it to the world.
d. AD 735BedeEarly MedievalSourceCommentary on Revelation
And he came and took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. The book from the right hand of God, the dispensation itself of the Incarnation, is said to have been received by the Son of Man from the Father and from Himself, according to what He is as God, because both, along with the Holy Spirit, dwell on the throne. For Christ, who is the Lamb in humanity, is Himself the right hand of the Father in Deity.
d. AD 804Alcuin of YorkEarly MedievalSourceCOMMENTARY ON REVELATION
And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat on the throne. The right hand of him that sits on the throne is the same as the Lamb as it were slain in the midst of the throne, because the Son of God through whom the world was created and the Son of man through whom man was redeemed are not two, but one Christ. Therefore the Lamb, that is the Son of man, took the book, that is the plan for the salvation of man, to which every page of the Scriptures bears witness, from himself, that is from his divinity.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.

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