The lion represents Mark: Jesus Christ victorious, conquering like a lion. The calf signifies Luke: Jesus Christ sacrificed. The man denotes Matthew: Jesus Christ human; Matthew starts with the human genealogy of our Lord. The eagle is Saint John, presenting the divinity of our Lord. These qualities of Christ—human, divine, victorious, and sacrificed—must also become the qualities of the Christian. This is the vision of the throne of God, the 24 ancients, and the four living creatures.

The wings are virtues lifting the soul above the present world. The six wings represent six steps to lift the soul towards the peace of God, or the six steps up which to climb: the senses, the imagination, the reason, the intellect, the intelligence, and the summit of the mind. The distinction between intellect and intelligence is not a scholastic distinction. It might be understood as the intuitive grasp of natural things (intellect) and the intuitive grasp of supernatural things (intelligence), though this is a personal reflection.

The text says, „and the four living creatures had, each of them, six wings.‟ Each Gospel contains its own ascent to God, its climb towards God.

„Round about and within, they are full of eyes.‟ This means the saints watch over their actions (around) and their thoughts (within). These living creatures represent not only the four evangelists but also every Christian. The saints keep watch within and around themselves: Vigilate et orate—watch and pray.

The cry „Holy, holy, holy‟ echoes Isaiah 6:2, the famous vision of Isaiah: „In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and elevated: and his train filled the temple. Upon it stood the seraphim: the one had six wings, and the other had six wings: with two they covered his face, and with two they covered his feet, and with two they flew. And they cried one to another, and said: Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God of hosts, all the earth is full of his glory.‟ This, of course, we have in the Mass.

Verse ten: „The four and twenty ancients fell down before him that sitteth on the throne, and adored him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: Thou art worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory, and honour, and power: because thou hast created all things; and for thy will they were, and have been created.‟

The crowns represent the merits of their works, which they lay or cast at the feet of God.

From presbuteros you get Priester in German, prêtre in French, and „priest‟ in English. In Latin, Italian, and Spanish, they use sacerdos. But in many languages, the term for priest comes from presbuteros originally. So, it originally meant an elder, and then it took on the technical meaning of somebody ordained.

Are there any other questions?

Chapters 6 and 7 will cover the opening of the seals. Chapter 5 begins: „’And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne, a book written within and without, sealed with seven seals.’‟

Verse two: „And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice: Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?‟ Verse three: „And no man was able, neither in heaven, nor on earth, nor under the earth, to open the book, nor to look on it.‟ Verse four: „And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open the book, nor to see it.‟

These mysteries are sealed to all eyes except those of faith. A disbeliever cannot understand how the life of our Lord is the key to creation or the meaning of life. These seven seals are closed to all except the eyes of faith.

Allegorically, the book represents the humanity of Christ, „in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge‟ (likely referring to Colossians 2:3). This humanity, like the book „written without and within,‟ has an obvious outer sense and a deep inner sense. The obvious sense is love; anyone can see He must have loved to die for us. The deep sense is the full knowledge of the Sacred Heart, the profound depth of that love, which is contained within. Saint Thomas Aquinas said he learned more by contemplating the cross than from all the learned books he read. Thus, allegorically, the book is Christ’s humanity, with its obvious and deep senses, the latter closed to disbelieving eyes.

They effectively cried out, „Who can fulfill these promises? Who is worthy to open the book and break its seals? Who is worthy to offer the sacrifice?‟ (referencing prophecies like Malachi’s regarding sacrifice). John sees this great angel symbolizing the patient, wise, but as-yet unenlightened Doctors of the Old Testament.

They ask, „Who is worthy to open the book? Who will reveal these Old Testament secrets? Who will offer the foreseen sacrifice?‟ Christ would first open and fulfill these mysteries. He would reveal them by fulfilling them, and then He would unseal their meaning.

It’s noteworthy that the text says „open the book and to loose the seals thereof.‟ One might expect the seals to be loosed before the book is opened. However, this order reflects Christ’s actions: He first lived (fulfilled) the mysteries, and then He opened up (unsealed) their meaning.

Verse three: „And no man was able, neither in Heaven, nor on Earth, nor under the Earth, to open the book, nor to look on it.‟ For the duration of the Old Testament, it was a closed book. No one, not even the Blessed Virgin Mary, could fully grasp the mystery. For example, when she found Jesus in the Temple, she asked, „Son, why hast thou done so to us? Behold thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.‟ And the Gospel says, „And they understood not the word that he spoke unto them,‟ when He replied, „Did you not know, that I must be about my father’s business?‟ (Luke 2:48-50). So, even she did not fully understand at that time.

Verse four: „And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open the book, nor to see it.‟ John weeps for the unhappiness of the world awaiting the Messiah. As Our Lord said (Luke 10:24): „For I say to you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see the things that you see, and have not seen them; and to hear the things that you hear, and have not heard them.‟ John’s tears reflect this longing.

This verse can signify the Messiah coming to snatch mankind from the devil, unafraid and unshakeable. The elder assures John that the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered and will open the book and its seven seals.

Verse six: „And I saw: and behold in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the ancients, a Lamb standing as it were slain, having seven horns and seven eyes: which are the seven Spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth.‟ So, John is told a lion will come, but he sees a lamb. The conquering lion arrives and turns out to be a lamb, a bleeding lamb. Jesus Christ conquers by His gentleness, like the lamb before its shearers described by Isaiah. The lamb is „standing as it were slain‟—a striking image.

The lamb is „standing,‟ signifying activity; He is not passive. „As it were slain‟ means He conquers by His death; His death was His most active deed. He is standing as though slain because Christ remained the master of death. He entered into death by His own choice and raised Himself from it. As He said in John 10:18, „No man taketh it away from me: but I lay it down of myself.‟ Christ was never overpowered by His enemies in a way He could not have prevented.

The Lamb has „seven horns and seven eyes.‟ A horn always symbolizes strength (like a bull’s horns). The seven horns are protectors of the soul against the seven capital vices. The „seven eyes… which are the seven Spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth‟ are the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost. These gifts were earned for the world by the death of the Lamb. They protect the soul against vices (acting as horns) and, as eyes, discern for the soul the path to the seven virtues. Thus, they are defensive as horns and discerning (or „offensive‟ in guiding action) as eyes. It would require a true artist to depict a Lamb standing as though slain, with seven horns and seven eyes, without it appearing bizarre.

The Pharisees, however, remained blind, seeing only a Nazarene carpenter. But those with faith, like the man born blind in John Chapter 9, can see. When Jesus cured him and asked, „Dost thou believe in the Son of God?‟ the man replied, „Who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him?‟ Jesus said, „Thou hast both seen him; and it is he that talketh with thee.‟ And he said: „I believe, Lord. And falling down, he adored him.‟ Jesus then said, „For judgment I am come into this world; that they who see not, may see; and they who see, may become blind.‟ When the Pharisees asked if they too were blind, Jesus told them, „If you were blind, you should not have sin: but now you say: We see. Your sin remaineth‟ (John 9:35-41). This illustrates how Our Lord Himself revealed and opened these mysteries, seen by the formerly blind and unseen by those who claimed to see.

The Lamb took the book from the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. „And when he had opened the book, the four living creatures, and the four and twenty ancients fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints‟ (Revelation 5:8). Incense often symbolizes prayer ascending to the Lord. Just as gold can represent charity, incense often represents prayer.

The harp symbolizes mortification. Its strings, when stretched taut and struck, produce harmonious sound. Similarly, the soul stretched taut by mortification and struck by penance gives forth spiritual music, unlike the slack, lazy soul.

The „golden vials full of odours‟ represent hearts full of charity (gold) pouring forth the perfume of prayer (odors/incense). St. John himself explains this: „which are the prayers of saints.‟ When St. John explains one detail like this, or earlier when he identified the candlesticks as churches and stars as bishops, it implies that all other details in his visions also have specific meanings that we must seek to understand.

„And they sang a new canticle, saying: Worthy art thou, O Lord, to take the book, and to open the seals thereof; because thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God, in thy blood, out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation. And hast made us to our God a kingdom and priests; and we shall reign on the earth‟ (Revelation 5:9-10).

These singers are the just from both the Old Testament (redeemed by anticipation of Christ’s merits) and the New Testament (redeemed by explicit faith in Christ).

They sang a „new canticle,‟ a song of the world’s renovation by the Gospel. While great kings and prophets of the Old Testament desired to see and hear these things, the full revelation was closed to them. Now, the mysteries of Christ, once concealed from figures like King David and King Solomon, are revealed even to the common person. The redemption truly was something new, thus inspiring a „new song.‟

The Lamb is „worthy… to take the book‟ because of His extraordinary innocence, His total sinlessness. He was „slain, and hast redeemed us to God, in thy blood, out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation.‟

Verse 10 continues: „And hast made us to our God a kingdom…‟ This refers to a kingdom of grace and glory. The Kingdom of God can mean the soul in grace, the Catholic Church, or Heaven—wherever God is king. Christ is the king of this spiritual, not earthly, kingdom.

The verse also says, „and priests.‟ This refers not to the ministerial priesthood but to the priesthood of the faithful, the priesthood of the laity. In this sense, the laity are priests as offerers of internal sacrifices from their hearts. It is the internal priesthood of the heart, as opposed to the external, anointed priesthood. So, „Thou hast made us to our God a kingdom and internal priests.‟

„And we shall reign on the earth‟ means we shall dominate the world, the flesh, and the devil. This is absolutely true in Heaven and, for the Catholic Church, true on earth in its spiritual battle.