Why was no one able to open the seven-sealed scroll in Revelation 5?
No one was able to open the seven-sealed scroll because it pictured a mortgage requiring a qualified next of kin: someone with the right kinship, the wherewithal or wealth, and the willingness to pay off the mortgage. Since no one in heaven, earth, or under the earth met those conditions, no one was found worthy, and John wept.
Les teaches that the scroll is pictured as a mortgage, and in ancient Israel a next of kin could pay off family property only if he had the wherewithal, was willing, and could pay off the mortgage so the inheritance stayed in the family. The scroll’s inside and outside writing reflected this practice. Because no man in heaven, earth, or under the earth possessed that next-of-kinship, wealth, and willingness, no one was able or worthy to open it. John therefore wept much.