loose the seals and open the book. No created intelligence of earth or
heaven dared to step forward and declare himself able to accomplish the
result required, and because of this John wept much.

The form of books in use when the Revelation was given was unlike those
used now. They consisted of strips of parchment or other material,
longer or shorter, rolled up. The book in the symbolic vision before us
consisted of a roll containing seven pieces each one rolled and sealed
separately, so that the outer seal could be broken and the contents of
its strip read without disturbing the remaining ones. Had the seals all
been on the outside, nothing could have been read until they were all
broken; whereas the loosing of each seal was followed by some discovery
of the contents of the roll.

This book in the hand of God is symbolical of something. Most of the
commentators think it represents the book of Revelation, in which case,
of course, it would not include the present description of the book
itself, but only of its contents as applied to subsequent chapters. But
this view, of itself, is unsatisfactory for many reasons. The rules
governing the use and the interpretation of symbolic language would
forbid the thought of one book's symbolizing another book; for the main
idea conveyed by the term _symbol_ is, that the symbolic object stands
as the representative, not of itself, but of something analagous.
Reasoning by analogy, what would the contents of a sealed book in the
hand of God symbolize? Evidently, the infinite counsels and purposes
known only to Jehovah. Its being written within and on the backside
would indicate that those purposes were full and complete, being all
written out and understood by him who "knoweth the end from the
beginning" and "worketh all things after the counsel of his own will."
Its being sealed denotes that the contents were unrevealed, while its