Bible Strands
Revelation 5:2
And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator observes a mighty angel addressing an unspecified audience in heaven while a seven-sealed scroll rests in the right hand of the One on the throne. The proclamation occurs immediately after the scroll’s introduction and before any creature is found capable of opening it.
The words — ἄγγελον ἰσχυρὸν (angelon ischuron) translates literally as “strong angel,” emphasizing the messenger’s authority. κηρύσσοντα (kērussonta) means “proclaiming,” indicating a public declaration rather than a private message.
The thread — The sealed scroll motif echoes Isaiah 29:11, where a sealed scroll symbolizes inaccessible divine vision. The question of worthiness is resolved in Revelation 5:5, where an elder identifies the Lion of Judah as the only one qualified to break the seals.
Why it lands — The verse demands an assessment of divine qualification for handling God’s revealed plan. It forces the reader to recognize that authority to execute judgment and redemption rests solely on God’s sovereign choice, not human capability.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?
Cross-references
- Isaiah 29:11 And the entire vision will be to you like the words sealed in a scroll. If it is handed to someone to read, he will say, “I cannot, because it is sealed.”
- Revelation 5:5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
- Revelation 10:1 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head. His face was like the sun, and his legs were like pillars of fire.
- Psalms 103:20 Bless the LORD, all His angels mighty in strength who carry out His word, who hearken to the voice of His command.
- Isaiah 41:22 “Let them come and tell us what will happen. Tell the former things, so that we may reflect on them and know the outcome. Or announce to us what is coming.
- Revelation 18:21 Then a mighty angel picked up a stone the size of a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying: “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be cast down, never to be seen again.