Why is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah also called the Root of David, and how did He prevail to open the book?

He has many Names! (He is also The Lamb of God.)

Hello brother,

Praise the Lord.. He is both the Root of David and the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

Genesis 49:8-9

8 Judah, your brothers will praise you; Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; Your father's sons will bow down before you.

9 Judah is a young lion; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He couches, he stretches out like a lion, And like a lioness; who will rouse him up?

The lion is a symbol of Christ, portraying Him as a strong fighter against the enemy, as prophesied in Gen. 49:8-9. Christ's overcoming qualifies Him to open the scroll and its seven seals.

As the Lion of the tribe of Judah, Christ overcame and defeated the rebellious Satan, the enemy of God, and as the redeeming Lamb, He took away the sin of fallen man. By so doing, He removed the hindrances to the fulfillment of God's purpose. Therefore, He is worthy to open the scroll concerning God's purpose and plan.

Isaiah 11:1

Then a sprout will come forth from the stump of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.

The title Root of David (He is also the Root of David's father, Jesse — Isa. 11:1) signifies that Christ is the source of David. Therefore, David, His forefather, called Him "Lord"

Romans 15:12

And again, Isaiah says, "There shall be the root of Jesse, even He who rises to rule the Gentiles; on Him will the Gentiles hope.''

In His divinity, Christ is the Root, the source, of David; in His humanity, Christ is the Offspring, the issue, of David. Hence, He is the Lord as the Root of David, and He is also the son, the shoot, of David as the Offspring of David.

Will try to touch the other points later.

What an awesome question brother seth.

Really drives us to seek the Lord in His Word to us.

Without the Truth (our Lord Jesus) and David's Love and understanding of. Our Father's beloved would not have been such a great man and King for which despite his (our) affliction of "flesh" had such a Love for his (our) Father. Without root a tree cannot grow and bear fruit, similarly without the vine a branch cannot survive.

"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye [are] the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." (John 15:4-5)

He prevailed as David did some time ago, without weapon and then came the sword ;-)

"So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but [there was] no sword in the hand of David. Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled." (1 Samuel 17:50-51)

"When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost." (John 19:30) or basically overcame the world with a pebble ;-)

"And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule

them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on [his] vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." (Revelation 19:15-16) Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is,

and is to come! Blessed be brother and Grace be with you always! Love - D

colossians 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; 16 because by means of him all [other] things were created in the heavens and upon the earth, the things visible and the things invisible, no matter whether they are thrones or lordships or governments or authorities. All [other] things have been created through him and for him. 17 Also, he is before all [other] things and by means of him all [other] things were made to exist, 18 and he is the head of the body, the congregation. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that he might become the one who is first in all things; 19 because [God] saw good for all fullness to dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile again to himself all [other] things by making peace through the blood [he shed] on the torture stake, no matter whether they are the things upon the earth or the things in the heavens. He was the first spirit person ever made and it says he sits at the right hand of God. So how can he sit at the right hand of God if he is God? Doesn't make any sense. Acts 7:55 But he, being full of holy spirit, gazed into heaven and caught sight of God’s glory and of Jesus standing at God’s right hand,

I believe he is called the Root of David because, not only was he a descendant of David but, It was David that took over the kingdom of Saul. Saul was (to Me) the wicked one. As God made a covenant of circumcision with the living, Saul made the covenant of circumcision with the dead. He is also the one who tried to be both king and priest taking the position to rule everyone as God ruled over everyone. But, David took the thrown not by force but, by suffering as Christ did. And this is how Christ was able to open the book, by his blood.

He was the promised one born in the line of David as promised & He won the right on the cross

Wouldn't a being capable of creating an entire universe use something a little more advanced than "a book"? I mean, seriously...

Revelation 5:5 is a verse that speaks of good news. A child of God does not have to weep in their sins, the LORD Jesus Christ has paid for their sins. He is worthy to open the seals of the book. He is the Savior of His people, His elect.

The reference to Christ being the Lion of the tribe of Judah goes back to the prophecy of Genesis 49. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=genesi... In verse 8 of Genesis 49 we read:

"Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee."

* Christ came from the tribe of Judah

* "thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies" shows He will would conquer the enemy

and

* "thy father's children shall bow down before thee" all believers will worship Him.

Now going to the next verse, verse 9 in Genesis 49:

"Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?"

This is speaking about Christ being a "lion" able to get His prey, the lion who vanishes satan and leads the ultimate victory of good over evil, spoken of in Revelation 19:11ff.

Hence, Revelation 5:5 teaches the prophecy about Christ in Genesis 49 has been fulfilled.

The next phrase in Revelation 5:5 shows that Christ indeed fulfilled another Messianic prophecy in the Old Testament. This one is recorded in Isaiah 11

Isaiah 11 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=isaiah...

1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:

2 And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;"

You see, Jesse was the father of David so his root would also be the root of David; David was a spiritual picture or type of Christ, we see this in Ezekiel 34:24 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ezekie... (David was already dead at this time); likewise in Isaiah 11, going down to verse 10 we read

"And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious." http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=isaiah...

This speaks of the LORD Jesus Christ, of course.

All this speaks of Christ and His work alone in redemption, like Isaiah 53 these are all prophecies fulfilled in Christ

Isaiah 53 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=isaiah...

Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?

2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

so many questions to answer...

My thoughts are... that this is great news!!

The rest of your questions are hard.