Revelation 5:3

3 No one in heaven, on earth, or under the earth could open the scroll or look inside it.

Revelation 5:3 Meaning and Commentary

Revelation 5:3

And no man in heaven
Or "no one in heaven", whether angels, or the souls of departed saints; neither the one nor the other know anything of what is to come, until it is revealed unto them:

nor in earth:
among all the men on earth, even those of the greatest sagacity and penetration, the wise, the prudent, the scribe, the disputer of this world, such who are most conversant with books, and have the greatest reach into the things of nature, or of grace:

neither under the earth;
the dead buried there, good or bad; which may be said agreeably to the notions of the ancient Jews, who believed the immortality of souls, and that they were rewarded or punished, (upo cyonov) , "under the earth", according to their virtue or vice in life ^F4: or the devils in hell; or whoever on the earth are influenced by them, as magicians, sorcerers, soothsayers, and necromancers:

was able to open the book, neither to look thereon;
or in it, so as to read it, understand it, and show to John what was in it; for the sense is, there was no creature in heaven, earth, or hell, who were masters of the deepest knowledge, and made pretensions to any, that were able to foresee and foretell things to come; or to exhibit the prophecies in this book, and represent them to John in the manner they afterwards were, and much less to accomplish them.

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FOOTNOTES:

F4 Joseph. Antiqu. l. 18. c. 1. sect 3.

Revelation 5:3 In-Context

1 I saw a scroll in the right hand of the one who sits on the throne. It had writing both on the inside and on the outside. It was sealed with seven seals.

2 I saw a powerful angel calling out in a loud voice, "Who deserves to open the scroll and break the seals on it?"

3 No one in heaven, on earth, or under the earth could open the scroll or look inside it.

4 I cried bitterly because no one was found who deserved to open the scroll or look inside it.

5 Then one of the leaders said to me, "Stop crying! The Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has won the victory. He can open the scroll and the seven seals on it."