Well, I appreciate you being here tonight. It's encouraging to realize that we probably have more people involved on Sunday night currently than we've had in the past. You say, well, they're not in the auditorium, and that's true. We have been trying some new things on Sunday night to see what we can do to use this time the most wisely.
And we've decided that in addition to having a service, which we are tailoring more and more to be a Bible study, that we're going to try to do occasional electives to allow people to choose to come for four weeks or six weeks or eight weeks, whatever, for a specific purpose or study. And right now, downstairs, we have over 100 people who are involved in the study of how to communicate more effectively. Roger and Carol Lutz are leading that.
In addition, we have an elective that I don't think is meeting tonight, but it's helping to equip teachers to do a better job. And beyond that, there are the build classes that have been meeting now for several weeks. So Sunday night is sort of in flux, and some of you have sensed that, and it makes some of us uneasy to sense, well, why isn't everybody in the auditorium? Well, times are changing, and we need to find the most effective way to use this period of our Sunday afternoons.
So you bear with us as we do a little bit of experimenting and trying this and trying that so that we might know the mind of the Lord on that important question. Well, I invite you to open to the book of the Revelation with me to the fifth chapter. And you will notice that the chapter begins with the word and. There's a reason for that. It is a continuation of the last scene from chapter four, which we studied a couple of weeks ago.
We see in chapter five the real reason for this majestic vision that John has of heaven. You remember he is on the Isle of Patmos and he hears a voice say to him, come up here. And he saw this door open in heaven and he was taken through that door. And he describes to us in these two chapters what he experienced there. And as we come to chapter five, we see a continuation of that heavenly vision and the sights and sounds around God's throne.
This chapter we see introduced to us the center reason for these chapters being included in the book. And it is found in verse one, and I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll. You may want to mark that word because this scroll is really what this vision is all about. It's the reason for these chapters being in the book. And it lays out for us the whole rest of the book of the Revelation.
And the man who sat on the throne had a scroll written inside and on the back sealed with seven seals. Now the events that take place in chapters four and five are in preparation for a period of time on the earth that we usually call the tribulation period.
As we understand Bible prophecy, there is a seven year period that will close out this age in which we are living during which God will pour upon the earth the judgment which the earth dwellers, a term that we'll see here in the book of the Revelation, referring to people who have rejected God, who have no mind or use for heaven, they're called the earth dwellers. This book tells us about the judgment coming upon the earth dwellers during the tribulation period.
It is a judgment that we will see is well deserved. In chapter four, we understand the scene to be in heaven. We see worship in chapter four which continues into chapter five. And there is an ominous sight and sound in chapter four. We see it in verse five and we didn't talk much about it last time but just notice again with me what it says there, from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. John does not tell us what these voices were saying.
We may have a hint in what we study tonight and then again in a couple of more weeks. But from this awesome throne that John describes to us, which is out there in this sea of glass as he describes it, come lightnings and thunderings and voices which seem to suggest that they are portending terrible judgment that will come from that throne to those who dwell upon the earth. In chapter four, the throne itself is central but in chapter five, it is Jesus who is central to the vision.
I don't think we can help but be impressed with the task that John had as he sought to communicate what he saw to you and to me. Think of the awe and the wonder that must have filled his heart in the first place and then the difficulty that he must have had in seeking to record what he saw. You say, well the Holy Spirit filled him and enabled him to write by the miracle of inspiration, that's true.
And yet whenever God did that, he always used the personality and the vocabulary of the human author. And so undoubtedly John was grasping for metaphors and for words to try to describe this scene that is totally out of this world. When we read these words, however, we want to read them literally and understand them that way but understand also that John is describing to us a vision that is highly symbolic. And we'll see that tonight in the way Jesus is described.
Well the first thing that calls our attention to it in chapter five is the scroll in verse one. We've read the verse. King James' version uses the word book here but actually the word is biblion which means scroll. When it talks about a book, it's not talking about a book like this which is a codex type of book. It's talking about a scroll, pieces of parchment that were sewed together one after the other and then rolled up.
In this case, the writer wrote what he did and rolled it up and sealed the scroll with seven seals. Jesus seems to describe the typical seal of that day which were blobs of wax dropped on the book, the scroll, and then impressed with a particular seal. This procedure assured the authenticity of the scroll and it also assured that it would not be tampered with until it was the right time. You see, what is going to be unveiled now to us is concealed up to this point.
It's sealed up in this scroll but everything now that takes place through the end of the book comes out of that scroll and so the seals will be broken. The big question that comes to the mind of Bible students is what does this scroll represent? There are those who say it represents the new covenant that God has established in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. There are others who say it's the book of history that's going to be unfolded in the future.
There are others who say it is a book of judgment. Well it certainly is based upon the new covenant and it is history that's going to be unfolded and there are judgments connected with it but I think that there may yet be a better explanation of what the scroll actually represents. This background information may help. It is said that when a family in the ancient world lost its property through some kind of misfortune, that property could not be permanently seized.
The loss which the family sustained was written on a scroll and the conditions for the redemption or the buying back of that property were written on the outside of the scroll so that when a qualified redeemer came to rescue those who had lost everything, meeting the conditions on the scroll, what they had lost could then be returned to the original owners.
With that background information in mind, perhaps you can understand that what this scroll likely represents is what I call the title deed to the earth. The title deed to the earth. This scroll seems to represent the ownership of the earth and the right to rule over the world. Let me ask you a question. To whom was this scroll, this right to rule let's say, originally given by God? To whom was it? I see some of you mouthing words but I can't hear it.
But let me assume that someone is out there saying Adam because that would be an appropriate answer. In Genesis chapter 1, God granted to Adam the right to rule over the earth. The earth was Adam's kingdom. He was the sovereign of the world. But alas, something happened. Much more than misfortune, there was a fall into sin. Tragedy came to the human race when Adam and Eve fell into sin and disobedience from God.
Satan was the perpetrator of that and it is Satan then who got the scroll, the right to rule. You say then, what is it doing in the hand of God at this point? Well it seems as though even though he got the right of rule by usurpation, he usurped it. God did not allow him to keep the scroll as though he were the final judge and king of the earth. He retains a certain authority to rule and thus he is called even by our Lord the prince of this world in the Gospel of John.
And yet God did not grant to him the right to hang on to that scroll because in this vision it is God himself sitting on the throne who has the scroll in his possession. And so this scroll represents what was lost to humanity. The possessions as it were were written on the inside of it and on the outside of it the conditions for the kinsman redeemer to meet so that what was lost might be regained. It is the breaking of the seals upon the scroll that brings forth the judgments of God.
We will begin looking at those next week and then take a bit of a break for the Christmas events that Paul talked about earlier. You will notice that as the seals on this scroll on the outside of it are opened, judgment begins to come upon the earth.
And as I understand the seals, when the seventh seal is opened it leads to the next series of judgments which are called seven trumpets which then lead on to the final series of seven judgments called the seven bowls of judgment that are poured out from heaven upon the earth. And so if you look at it that way, that seventh seal really is the source of all of the rest of the book of the revelation until Jesus Christ comes again to reclaim the earth.
Let's move ahead to the next point in our message tonight, the search. Because in verse 2 we read, I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals? And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look at it. So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll or to look at it.
And so we have this scroll which is the title deed to the earth on which is represented all that man lost due to the fall. Who has the authority to take the scroll and to reclaim the earth for God and for humanity? That person has to be qualified. There has to be someone who is worthy to take that scroll on behalf of God and man and to reclaim what was lost in the fall. The question is who is worthy? And a search is made, a search is made of heaven and of earth.
It says the search was made in heaven, the abode of God. A search was made in the earth, the abode of the living and under the earth, which suggests to us the abode of those who are lost. And nowhere is there found someone who is worthy to open the scroll. Someone says, well what about Abraham? The great progenitor of the race of Israel, the one who was given the promise of the seed.
Well the fact is that Abraham, as great as he was in faith and though he was called the friend of God, was a sinner and is therefore unworthy to stand before God's throne and to take the scroll. Then someone says, what about Moses, surely Moses who went to the mountaintop and received from God the Ten Commandments, surely Moses could take the scroll? The answer is that Moses himself was a law breaker. He received the law but he transgressed the very law that he received from God.
He is not worthy. Well someone says, what about a great king, perhaps David, the greatest of Israel's kings, perhaps David could come before God and receive the right to rule, but not so. David was a man with blood on his hands, he is a man unworthy. Well someone says, if there is no human being who is worthy, perhaps there is some person in heaven like Gabriel or Michael, the archangels, who could perhaps take that scroll from God and give man the right to rule again on the earth.
Of course Gabriel and Michael are not kinsmen, redeemers, they are not human beings, they are angelic creatures, they are not related to us in that sense and therefore are not qualified to serve as the redeemer of what man has lost. Whoever this is must himself be man. John's response of this search is uncontrollable weeping. It's a very strong term, John just burst into tears that he cannot stop. Is there no future for the earth? Is there no future for God's creation?
What about the promises that God has made to Israel, are all of those for naught? Dr. W.A. Criswell, the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas for many years, wrote these words. John's tears represent the tears of all God's people through all the centuries. They are the tears of Adam and Eve as they view the still form of their dead son Abel and sense the awful consequences of their disbelief and disobedience.
They are the tears of the children of Israel in bondage as they cried to God for deliverance from their affliction and slavery. They are the sobs and tears wrung from the heart and soul of God's people as they have stood beside the graves of loved ones and experienced the indescribable heartaches and disappointments of life. Such is the curse that sin has laid upon God's beautiful creation. No wonder John wept so fervently.
If no redeemer could be found to remove the curse, it meant that God's creation was forever consigned to remain in the hands of Satan. That brings us to the third point in the outline, the Savior. Because it says in verse 5, one of the elders said to me, do not weep. Now let's remind ourselves that around this throne there are 24 elders.
You acknowledged last week that there are probably a dozen different explanations of who these elders are, but it seems to me the best explanation is that they represent the church in its raptured, glorified priesthood. And it says that one of these elders said to John, do not weep any longer. Stop crying John, behold the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.
And I looked and behold in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures and in the midst of the elders stood a lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Then he came and took the scroll out of the right hand of him who sat on the throne. And so there is found one who is worthy, one who is said to have prevailed.
That's a great word because it's the same word used in chapters 2 and 3 that we studied, overcome. The overcomers, what it says here is that there is one who has overcome, one who has prevailed, one who has overcome sin, one who has overcome death, one who has overcome the grave, one who has overcome Satan and all of the powers of darkness. There is one who has prevailed. And he is identified first with the name the lion of the tribe of Judah.
A lion is a fierce and ferocious beast, but a lion is acknowledged in most cultures as being the king. Beyond that, in the apocalyptic literature of that day, that is in other non-scriptural prophetic kinds of books that people were writing, the figure of a lion was used for the Messiah. They described the Messiah coming as a lion who would destroy Rome and free the Jewish nation from its bondage to Rome.
And so when the readers of that day would hear this name, the lion of the tribe of Judah, even from their own contemporary literature, they would immediately understand that it's the Messiah who is in view. A lion is the king, the royal animal. And here the lion is from the tribe of Judah, making it very clear that this one who stands there before the throne is a descendant of that tribe of Israel. And then he is called, secondly, the root of David. The root of David.
David, by the way, was from what tribe? Judah. The Lord Jesus Christ, it clearly states in Matthew chapter 1 is the heir of David and therefore has the right to reign as king. Messiah is called the root of David in Isaiah 11.1. And Jesus himself uses this term in Revelation 22 verse 16 when he says, I am the root and offspring of David. So as we think about the identity of this one who takes the scroll, we see it very clearly portrayed that this is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ.
But that brings us now to the vision of this one who stands there before the throne. We've seen so far titles. He's called a lion and a root. But now he is seen as a lamb. He says, behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures and in the midst of the elders representing you and me there before the throne of God after we've been glorified and were with Christ. He says, there in the midst of all of this stood a lamb.
This word for lamb is a special Greek word that means a pet lamb, a loved lamb, a small lamb. How many of you have ever had a lamb for a pet? They're wonderful little creatures most of the time. And they are easy to love. John says, I saw a lamb there, a pet lamb. That is one who gave the appearance of being greatly beloved. This particular word is used 29 times in the New Testament. And 28 of them are in the book of the Revelation.
So you can see immediately that this is a special name that's being introduced to us. And all of the times it's used in Revelation except once it's used in Jesus. It is used once, however, of the antithesis of Jesus. And that is the Antichrist. For in chapter 13 when he comes out of the sea with his, his personage is described as like a lamb. Now indeed he is not a well-beloved pet lamb. He is a fierce beast as his actions and character further show.
But he first gives the appearance of being like the Messiah, like a lamb well-beloved. But this lamb is no ordinary lamb. You notice that the lamb stands there as though it had been slain. This probably means that it bears marks on it, marks of sacrifice. The word slain means to be sacrificed with violence. Literally it means with its throat cut. And of course that's how lambs were slain on the altar of Israel. Their blood was shed as an atonement for the sins of the people.
And now we see a lamb as it were standing before the throne of God with marks of violent death still upon it. Literally the marks refer to the marks in the hands and the feet which the Lord Jesus apparently will bear throughout all of eternity. The glorified body with which he was raised from the dead had those marks. Thomas was invited to feel them. And when he saw those marks he fell down before Jesus and cried out, my Lord and my God.
Those marks will apparently be visible for all of eternity as a perpetual and eternal reminder to you and to me of the sacrifice of this lamb that we might be there with him in that place of glory. Now it's interesting that he sees the lamb standing before the throne. Jesus is often pictured in the New Testament as seated at the right hand of God. A picture showing that his work is finished seated. He is seated there in the place of power.
His work having been accomplished upon the earth but now he is standing before the throne. Why is that? Well he is standing to work again. He is standing to resume work that is yet unfinished, not the work of redemption, that's finished. But now the work of judgment must be undertaken. And so he stands before the throne of God with respect to this unfinished aspect of his ministry. That is the work of judgment. Now he is seen with seven horns and seven eyes.
This presents to our minds a rather weird picture of him. But remember now John is seeing things symbolically. He's telling us literally what he saw but this is symbolic in its meaning. So what do these seven horns stand for? Well the horn stands for strength and seven horns for perfect strength. Though he has been slain, he stands there with absolute omnipotence. He is not weak. He has all power given to him. All authority is his to save and to judge.
Seven eyes, which John says are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth, which is similar language to what we saw earlier in the book, which seems to represent to us the perfect understanding, the perfect knowledge of this lamb that was slain. That he has absolute awareness of everything because of the perfect filling of the Holy Spirit that he enjoys.
He stands there in his omnipotence and his omniscience to bring righteous judgment and to reclaim for humanity what was lost in the fall of Adam and Eve and to bring God's judgment upon sin. And so he takes the scroll in his hand and he holds it. This is a dramatic moment. There is silence in all of heaven as John stops his weeping.
And all of the eyes of heaven are focused upon this lamb who stands there and he reaches to the throne of God in one dramatic moment and he takes that scroll in his own hand. He is worthy to do that. He is now going to exercise his judgment. No longer will he serve as the gracious intercessor for the people of the earth. No longer may they look upon him as the friend, but they must now realize that he takes this scroll to bring judgment upon sinners.
Well the action will continue as we go on to chapter 6, but notice that there now erupts in heaven tremendous sounds described as a song. Indeed there are three songs that are here. It says, now when he had taken the scroll the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the lamb. So here is the first action now.
Thus the lamb has taken the scroll in his hand, those nearest to him, these four living creatures that are around the throne of God described to us in the fourth chapter. Along with the twenty-four elders, and again I say representing us before the throne of God. We all fall down before the lamb, each of us having a harp, a lyre, a simple stringed instrument, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints it says.
Here we have redeemed man, the twenty-four elders, and God's creation in the four living creatures joining together in praising the lamb. And they sing what is said to be a new song. It does not mean that it's new in time, but it means it's new in kind. Here's a new kind of song. It is a song that is one of redemption. The old song given to us in chapter four is about creation. Notice that. It says in verse eleven, you are worthy to receive glory, honor, and power for you created all things.
That is one wonderful theme. And we still sing about that today, but now there is a new kind of song that is sung in heaven and it deals with redemption, not creation. You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals. For you were slain and have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation and have made us kings and priests to our God. And we shall reign on the earth.
All classes and groups of people are the recipients of the blessings of redemption. Out of every tribe and tongue and nation and people, there have been those redeemed and brought to the scene before the throne of God. And they worship and praise the lamb who has won the victory through his cross. They give worship to Jesus who is entitled to take the scroll, to open its seals, and to execute judgment upon the earth, and to unfold history's consummation in his returning to the earth terrain.
These people say, you are worthy. He is deserving. You were slain. The tense of the verb there means in one dramatic act you were slain, obviously referring to the cross. Let's never get tired of singing of the cross, of the blood of Christ, of his sacrifice for us. That is going to be the song of heaven for all of eternity. We will look back to that moment on the hill of Calvary when the lamb was slain.
They say you have redeemed us with your blood, the price of redemption, the price that the kinsman redeemer had to pay in order to take that scroll on behalf of humanity. Here we see the church acting as a priesthood. That's going to be our blessed privilege for all of eternity. There's worship of Christ, but there is also in some sense intercession here. Because there are golden bowls full of incense said to be the prayers of the saints. Now, whose prayers are these?
What are these prayers and who prayed them? Who are the saints? Well, like most other passages in Revelation, you're not going to find one answer to these questions. But it seems to me that the prayers of the saints mentioned here are the prayers of those people still living on the earth, those who are saved after the church has been raptured. And we'll talk about them in another chapter or two. That these saints upon the earth are praying to God. And what are they praying?
Lord, your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as in heaven. They are praying out and we shall see this. Lord, bring judgment upon our persecutors and our killers. And there is some sense in which those gathered around the throne bring these prayers of the saints still upon the earth before the throne. And so the first song that we see is by the four living creatures and the 24 elders. And then we see in verses 11 and 12 another song. It's by the angels this time.
John says, I looked and heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures and the elders. And the number of them was 10,000 times 10,000 and thousands of thousands sang with a loud voice. By the way, you will see many times in the book of Revelation a loud voice. Whether it's angels or people singing or whatever, there's a lot of noise in the book of Revelation. And here the noise, the beautiful speaking of all of these creatures, redeemed creatures and angelic creatures.
And with a loud voice together this large mass says, worthy is the lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing. Notice the sevenfold praise given to the lamb. Those of us who enjoy Handel's Messiah recognize that he received part of his text from this verse.
And every creature says, which is in heaven and on earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea and all that are in them, I heard saying, blessing and honor and glory and power be to him who sits on the throne and to the lamb forever and ever. And so we come to the third of the songs. There is this mass choir. If you've ever enjoyed the Billy Graham Choir, you just wait until you hear this.
You wait until you hear the angels of heaven that cannot even be numbered join with the redeemed around the throne of God and sing the praises of the lamb. Every living creature in the universe ultimately joins in the chorus. And blessing and honor and glory and power is spoken to God. This is probably seen in anticipation. It may not occur chronologically right at this moment, but ultimately the point is all of creation sharing in the work of Christ's redemption will join in the praise.
The one exception will be those who are lost and outside of Christ. They will be excluded from all of this and consigned to a fate that is called a second death. There is a final amen given in verse 14. The four living creatures said, amen. And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped him who lives forever and forever. And so as we come to the close now of this scene in heaven, the stage is set. Heaven is ready. The drama is about to unfold.
Events are going to come upon the earth which will consummate in the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, this lamb, to claim his right to rule and the right of redeemed humanity to rule the earth as was God's intention from the beginning. We can only wonder, at least for now, the glory and the wonder of the scene in heaven. But one day we will have the joy of participating in it and experiencing what John is describing here.
For you see, if you're saved tonight, if you're one of God's children, I believe that we're here in this scene represented by these twenty-four elders and the words that we see and the actions that take place, we, by the grace of God, will participate in. So when we sing, oh that will be glory for me. It's not just going to be glory when we get to heaven after death. I mean, that's going to be wonderful in itself.
But the real glory comes when we are caught up to be with Christ and return to the throne of God with him and the events begin to unfold that we see in these two chapters and the chapters following. Well there is, again, a chorus in our hymnal that is based upon these words that we have studied tonight. It's number 180 and here it says, worthy is the lamb that was slain.