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I’m going to invite you to Revelation chapter five is where we’re at together. As we dive further into the book of Revelation, there’s really this this shift that happens in the book of Revelation, where the first three chapters are fairly easy to understand. You don’t have to necessarily have a whole lot of biblical understanding to get through the first three chapters. It certainly helps, but not necessarily a lot of biblical understanding to get through the first three chapters. And then chapter four and five is kind of this transition to when the crazy breaks out, starting in chapter six and beyond. And so but, but here’s, here’s one of the things I love about studying Revelation for us together. This is this is an incredible book rich in Jewish imagery. And if you ever come to the Bible and you find the Bible a little bit challenging and understanding, Revelation is a great place to take the time to understand what the author, John, is communicating to us. Because John not only will enrich your understanding of the book of Revelation and things that are to unfold. But he also enriches your understanding of all of the Bible, because the Book of Revelation is really the the culmination story of God’s redemptive history made known for us. And what I mean by that is John is writing Revelation telling us how the story ends, but in so doing is showing to us God’s faithful hand through throughout the pages of the Bible.
He’s really showing the overarching grand theme of all of the Bible, God’s redemptive story for your heart and mine. And so, so Revelation culminates all of that incredible book you start to learn about Hebrew imagery. You know, I’ve I’ve encouraged you that the the place we often make a mistake when we get to difficult passages of the Bible, especially moving forward in the book of Revelation, people read this book and immediately jump to the 21st century for understanding. And if you really want to understand the book of Revelation, rather than jump to the 21st century, it becomes important that you go back to the first century and understand how the Jewish mind would have would have perceived the images that John is drawing upon. And so the book of Revelation, we take the time to do that enriches us in all of our understanding in Scripture. It’s an incredible book. But one thing that I really wanted us to to be reminded of is, as we’ve looked at this book, is chapter one. John lays out for you this this beautiful identity of who Christ is. And then he lets us know how this book is going to unfold and sort of its sequence. And in chapter one, verse 19, he says to you, he gives us an outline for understanding the book. Right? He says, write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place.
So he’s saying to you that the the way to think about this book is, first, he’s going to write to you what is. And then he’s going to write to you what is to come. And the first three chapters of Revelation, he’s writing for us what is. And then in chapter four, he begins to make this, this switch into what is to come, all things looking forward. What what do we do in light of who God is, right? And then when you get to chapter four, he now tells you this is where the transition takes place. The first three chapters, he dealt with what is in chapter four. He then says to you at the very beginning, I will show you what must take place after this. And then he begins to describe for us what what’s going to unfold. Now chapter four and five, as he starts to write for us, what’s going to unfold sort of becomes this, this parenthesis, this parenthetical statement to the rest of the book. And what I mean by that is, you know, we look at chapters one through three and we see that the world is kind of messed up, right? It’s, uh, you’re going to discover in Revelation it’s it’s characterized as this fallen Babylon, this broken place, and in this broken place. We’ve got to ask ourselves the question, how do we how do we respond in light of that? What should it be? Our posture as as people of God as we move forward? Uh, should we despair at the destruction of life? You know, the things just aren’t working out the way that we think that they should.
Things just seem difficult and complicated, and if they’re not now, they they will be at some point. We’re going to face adversity in life. How should we respond in light of that? Well, I told you that our posture should really be determined by God’s posture. And so in Revelation chapter four and five, what John does is he’s he pulls back the curtain of heaven and the light of the brokenness of this world. He helps us understand who God is in the midst of those circumstances. And in chapter four, he deals with God as creator, and in chapter five he deals with God as recreator. And what I mean is, when you look at the beauty and power of God and all that he created and and it is impressive. But as you walk in this world, you realize something is still wrong. And so while you might see the impressiveness of God in his creation, we might look at creation in its in its destruction and the path of of death that awaits all of us, right? As soon as you’re born, you begin to die. And we might ask the question, well, how in the world can God be good in light of that? And can is God not really all that powerful that he can’t control it? Why? Why are things the way they are? And then when you get to chapter five, you see God as as recreator.
That this isn’t the world that God intended for us to be in. But but God’s not going to just throw it away that he desires to restore it, beginning with you and and me. And so in chapter four and chapter five, you pull back the curtain of of heaven and you start to see the posture of God. And, and I’ve encouraged you to think of it in light of this as, as you see the way God reacts, that should help you understand how you should, should react. What I mean is, if John, in chapter four and five pulls back the curtain of heaven and God is in disarray. He’s he’s in he’s in panic, something takes him by surprise, then that’s a good indicator that you should panic too, right? I mean, that’s if God doesn’t have it figured out. If God’s not in control, then we’ve got some problems. But as as John describes for us the the state of heaven in the the focal point of heaven being God and and seeing how God has composed himself in light of a broken world. We see from from this story that as Creator and Creator, God is controlling all things in his hands, that there is no reason to to panic because who he is determines who we are and how we should respond in light of that.
And this is important for all of us, because we all face adversity in life and we all face challenges. And I can think as a as a pastor, you know, there’s times in my life and hopefully few and far between, but where I have opportunity to spend final moments with individuals in those final moments, one thing that we want to be confident of is that our our future is secure. And as John’s writing the book of Revelation, this this is the purpose of the book. And many people will pick up this book and think this is a a panic book about the inevitable, and everyone needs to build a bunker and hide. And this book’s only intended to give you a timeline of when you should panic most about how close it is to the very end. But but the truth is, that’s not the purpose of this book at all. This book is a worship hope filled book that reminds God’s people you are victorious no matter what happens, and understanding the picture of God in light of a broken world helps us begin to shape that. And today, as we look at chapter five, we’re going to talk about that, but we’re going to talk about it in terms of dealing with disappointment. And maybe if we ask the question, what do you do when things aren’t working out the way that you had hoped? And this is exactly how chapter five starts.
And John’s learning chapter four about the beauty of God as creator. But now he’s learning how to respond in the midst of that, knowing that the world is still a broken place. It’s a fallen Babylon. And in verses 1 to 4, let me give you a point. Number one in your notes. It’s this we want to start off this way. Acknowledge adversity. You can acknowledge adversity. I love that about us as Christians. We don’t have to pretend. God’s big enough and he’s more than enough. And and you can bring to God the challenges that you’re facing in life, that we can acknowledge adversity. In fact, I would say you as a believer more than anybody. In fact, I couldn’t even imagine how we’re to to respond in situations without knowing the Lord. If you weren’t to to believe in a and a God who’s holding all things in his hands through the power of his sovereignty, what ultimate hope do you have? You’re just you become really the victim to circumstance and whatever you experience, that’s just it. But when it comes to God’s people, we should find a more than than just the adversity in life. But we all get to begin with this, this place of acknowledging it. And, you know, I discover, um, when we walk this, this earth, that people respond to challenges and all sorts of different ways.
Um, some sometimes we like to pretend like it doesn’t exist and and sort of just pretend like the glass is half full. And then other times, people acknowledge that it exists, so much so that they get stuck in the circumstance, and that circumstance really dictates who they are. But but for God’s people, there is far more than that. And so John begins this story by by recognizing the adversity that he’s going through. And in chapter, chapter five, verse 1 to 4, it says, then I saw in the right hand of him whom was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals? And no one in heaven, or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it. And I began to weep loudly, because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. Now, I’m going to be honest, when I just read the first few verses without without putting any study into it. And when I when I read everything that John has gone through, especially the images that he’s seen in heaven in chapter four. And then I get to the first four verses of chapter five, and I read John’s crying. I just read that and think immediately, what a baby, right? Like, I just why in the world you got to cry because you can’t read a little bit of literature.
John, you’re in the throne room of God here. You’ve seen some incredible things. Oh, boo hoo, you can’t read it. You can’t read a letter. Like, what is the big deal with that? And why should we even care? Right? I mean, when I think about, you know, my, my own life and, and whether or not I’ve cried, I can just tell you whether if I’ve cried recently or not, I’m not going to admit to anyone, okay? That’s just between me and my own private life. Right? And John’s here on these pages, and he’s saying to you, and here I am before the great throne of God. And I couldn’t read a little letter. And and so I cried like a baby. That’s what he’s saying. And he’s when it says he’s weeping loudly, that’s what it’s entailing for us. This is a a deep grieving within his soul. That’s that’s the response John John has in these first four verses. Now the question we should ask is why is John a baby? Does he just need to get over himself and move on? Right? Or is there something more to this? And obviously the answer is there’s there better be something more to this, right? Um, John, John’s weeping in this story because of what the scroll represents. And when you take the time to understand the purpose and how monumental this moment is, you begin to realize what what led John to respond the way that he did in first century paper was not something that was easy to come by.
It was an expensive commodity. And so for someone that takes time to write it down speaks to the importance of what’s being written. But but not only that, the fact that it’s sealed seven times talks about the importance of the document. This this document should be viewed much like a legal document that someone took the opportunity to to not only write it, but also to protect its contents by by being willing not to seal it just once, but seven seals, this this idea of seven is a number of completeness. And so this is a a legal document declaring something that is complete. Right. And it tells you that this scroll is not just written on one side, which was customary in the day. It was rare to have a scroll written on both sides. But this this scroll is filled on on both sides and understanding where John is transitioning the story it told you in chapter four, verse one, that he’s about to discover what’s going to take place. Theologians. Historians reading this will say that this this legal document should be viewed much like a final will and testament of an individual. And so what John has before him is literally a the scroll that’s going to tell the end of the story.
This is how God is going to culminate all of his grand story. In fact, the only other time that you find in the Bible where there’s a scroll like this that’s sealed, that’s written on front and back, as in Ezekiel chapter two, specifically verse nine and ten. In Ezekiel chapter two, verses nine and ten, God tells Ezekiel to take this scroll and declare this scroll to the world, and this scroll is a scroll of judgment. But, but, but, but not just judgment. It’s also a scroll of deliverance for those who heed to the words that are written. And so judgment doesn’t always have to be a bad thing. It’s really a matter of what side of the judgment that you fall on. And for those that find themselves in the Lord, it should be a judgment that brings us peace, that brings us hope, that brings us security. If we could grab hold of the word and what it says and heed it. And so the reason that that John is, is crying at this particular point is he realizes that the story of God can’t conclude. It can’t be told that there’s no one to open up this this legal document, this seal to discover its content and for God’s story to come to a culmination. And so what John is inevitably saying to us is that God’s Word? God can’t fulfill what he has promised to his people.
And because of that, John finds himself broken and hopeless. Truly, it’s what is declaring is that God is either incapable or not powerful of fulfilling what he said, or to the to the to the full extent that God himself really isn’t even real. That here it is. You’ve got this letter. It’s going to bring to conclusion all that God has promised his people, and now he can’t deliver. Deliver. And you can imagine for for John, what this disappointment might bring. Certainly his reaction to this moment is helping us see the weight that’s on his own heart. But even experientially, when you know what John has gone through in life, you recognize very quickly that that John has put all of his hope in who this God is. I mean, he gave up everything to follow Jesus. He watched his own friends suffer a death of martyrdom. He’s writing to a church in the Book of Revelation, trying to encourage them in the midst of the persecution that they are experiencing, to the point that they’re facing their own death. And he knows if God’s story can’t be completed, if God can’t be, can’t be, can’t fulfill what he has promised, and he is not to be followed. And we as people are, are hopeless. Not only does does John think of this in light of himself, in light of his friends, in light of the church? But but for all of us, what are the results of God’s people when we set in this disappointment, what hope do we ultimately have? I can think of my own life, um, gone through different circumstances where you put your hope in something and, and all of a sudden you discover that that what you thought something was.
It isn’t. As a as a young man, I remember I grew up, um, a single mom, West Virginia. My mom had me at a very young age, SH and raises a poor kid in West Virginia. And and there weren’t a lot of great male influences in my life. But I remember there there came into my life one individual that I revered. And I won’t get into all the reasons why. But finally I felt like in my life I had found a male role model influence and and one day I remember I was sitting at home after school and I hear a crash outside of my house and I go outside my front door thinking someone would have a need. After hearing the the sound inside, and I realized and seeing the wreck, it was a pretty significant wreck. And so I run across the street to help this individual. And I was just a I was in grade school at the time and, and out from, from the vehicle popped this person and I began to recognize who it was. It was this male that I had seen as this role model in my life.
And and I realized as he stepped out of the car, he was inebriated. And in his vehicle. There were some people there that he was rather close with that were not his family and it was not his wife. And I remember looking at that situation and I just froze. And I was so devastated by that moment that rather than get in and help, which they needed, I actually just lowered my head and walked back inside. And, you know, it wasn’t until I sat back down that I realized, oh, I didn’t even bother to help these people, but I was so taken back by what I saw. And it sort of it sent me spiraling in that moment. We thought something here was an opportunity where you just wanted some some strong, good, solid male influence in your life. And and it wasn’t there. And more than that, I know we go through different things in life that can, can, can disappoint us. Maybe there was a belief that you held to that you found out was a lie, or maybe some relationships that didn’t pan out the way that you wanted. And here in this story, for John, the weightiness of this moment is, is a far greater degree. This is everything he has staked his life on, and now he’s faced with the challenge of is it true? Is God really going to deliver? And sometimes, depending on the circumstances we go through in life, we we can think about eternity with that sort of weight.
What happens to me when I, when I die, if I really follow Jesus and forsake some of my other friendships to do it? Can can Christ truly hold me? Is he who he says he is? John. He acknowledges the adversity because I think that’s helpful for all of us this morning. When you think about what it means to follow Jesus, the challenges that might hold you back. To be honest with those challenges, to find out if if he is truly the one that you can rest your hope in and if not, where. Which brings me to point number two find a greater hope. It’s not until we’re honest with the things that might disappoint us, that we we truly discover something that can sustain us. And so, in the midst of adversity, we don’t want to just simply stay in a problem, right? We want to find a solution. And a greater hope provides that that place for us. And in verse five and verse six, John gives through an elder that’s going to speak, he gives to us two markers that helps us understand what kind of foundation Jesus can provide for us. And so in verse five, he goes on and says this. And one of the elders said to me, John, stop crying, you big baby. Not really, but weep no more. Behold, the lamb of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered, so that we can open the scroll and its seven seals.
So the elder comes to John in heaven, and he says, look, there’s no reason to weep, because what you thought was untrue is actually not. The this this one is able to open the scrolls. And here’s what he tells us is the first marker that we can use to determine is is Jesus really going to hold me? Is he is who he is, he who he says he is. And what the elder is referencing here is prophecy. The elder is saying, look, go back to the Old Testament, and I want you to see how God has been faithful for you. And the the way that he does it is he goes back and first he quotes Genesis chapter 49, verse nine and ten. Then he quotes Isaiah chapter 11 and verse ten. The way that you know, he quotes Isaiah, he says, or excuse me in Genesis he says, he is the behold the lion of the tribe of Judah. At the very end of Genesis, the way Genesis concludes, the author of Genesis, Moses tells us that that the the Messiah will come through specifically through the tribe of Judah, and not just through the tribe of Judah. He will be a ruler. That’s the image of a king. And so this, this Messiah will come through the tribe of Judah. He will rule. And then it goes on further from that, and it says, he is the root of David and the literally the son of Jesse, the root of David.
And this comes to us, Isaiah 1110 and second Samuel chapter seven. This is who the Messiah would be, that he would be more than just from from Judah, but he would also come from Jesse and through David to create that, that that royal line. And so what what the author is saying to us is, look, you’ve seen God’s faithful hand, and here’s how you’ve seen it. He’s declared to you what he was going to do before he did it. You know, in the up until the 1940s and the 1950s, one of the accusations or charges against Christianity is a Christian could come and say, look, there’s all sorts of prophecies about Jesus. I mean, it’s incredible. Hundreds of prophecies of what Jesus fulfilled. Some some of my favorites. Um, Zechariah chapter 11, where Jesus is betrayed, sold for 30 pieces of silver. Um. And Micah chapter five. Jesus will be specifically born in Bethlehem, and Psalm or Psalm 22 or Isaiah 53. Both of them deal with the details around the crucifixion of Christ or Second Samuel seven, which we just I just mentioned, where Jesus is promised to come through the line of David as royalty and his his throne will endure forever. That’s what it specifically says in in second Samuel seven. Um or um Daniel chapter seven and Daniel chapter nine deals with the identity of the Messiah.
Again, Daniel seven is he will rule on the throne forever. So you have all these prophetic fulfillments of Jesus. And so up until the 1940s and 50s, when Christians would claim prophecy of Jesus, what the response would be by skeptics were, well, the reason those prophecies are so specific is because all those prophecies were actually altered in doctrine after Jesus. And so they were able to get those details so accurate because, well, obviously, after Jesus came along, they just tweaked those babies a little bit just to make it sound more particular to Christ. And there really wasn’t a a proof that Christians could point to other than up until that point, there was manuscripts, evidence that there was a a continuation of manuscripts that that that stayed true, meaning they weren’t altered, but but in the 1940s and 50s, they finally discovered what we call to refer to today as the Dead Sea Scrolls. And the Dead Sea Scrolls gave us manuscripts hundreds of years older than Jesus. And so the arguments about doctrine and or altering the content of manuscripts to make it look more specific to Jesus could no longer hold water, because now you have manuscripts hundreds of years older than Jesus. And what makes it incredible is like passages like Isaiah 53, which talk about the crucifixion of Christ, were written before the crucifixion even existed. And so you have these incredible prophecies of Christ.
And, and here’s, here’s what the author is saying to us is one of the ways that you can find your hope secured. One of the ways, in the midst of it, of adversity that you discover this greater hope is to understand how Jesus has been faithful to fulfill what he’s promised, and if he’s been consistent. Now, why would you ever think that he would disappoint you? That the whole reason Jesus has done this is for you and for me. And then he goes on and in verse six and he says, he says, and between the throne and the four living creatures, and among the elders, I saw a lamb standing as though it had been slain, with seven horns, and with seven eyes, and with seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. What John sees here is, is it’s an incredible, almost this dichotomy of images. Right? Because when you look at what it says about Jesus in verse five, and when you look at what it says about Jesus in verse six, these, these two images almost can’t, can’t work together until you understand the way that it’s described to John. Because in verse five he says, the elder says to him, here comes the lion of the tribe of Judah, right? He here’s the elder, say, the lion of the tribe of Judah. But when he turns and looks, what does he say or what does he see? A lamb who was slain.
This. This happens a few times in Revelation. This is worth noting that there are times when when John hears something declared from heaven, but when John actually turns and sees it’s something different. And this is the author’s way of saying, look, there’s there’s two different things at play here. And both of these things are true. And it adds to the rich imagery of who God is. The elder declares he is the lion of the tribe of Judah. But when John turns and sees, what he sees is the lion, the lamb who was slain. This lamb who has been bloodied for you and for me. But rather than simply being dead, the lamb has been resurrected and is ruling and reigning. And so what the author is saying is, when you want to discover this hope in the midst of a broken world to two places that become foundational for us to rest ourselves is one the fulfillment of all that God has promised and to the validity of the resurrection. This lamb has been victorious. And so this lamb now becomes the focal point of heaven that all of heaven is, is going to be pointed to him. And the reason this lamb was slain, get this is for you and for me, so that our hope and our future is secure. You know, part of the reason that John is weeping is not just because, well, the world is broken and and God doesn’t seem to have power to fix it.
But he was also weeping because he knew he was still dead in his sin, that if there is no sacrifice for his life, then there is no future for him. Because. Because he is still a sinner. But now that he’s seen the victory of this lamb and the validity of the resurrection, it’s given John this hope that God has fulfilled everything that he has promised. And the same is true for you and for me. Second, look at you today and very easily say God has an incredible plan for your future and not feel like I’m just blowing smoke. Not feeling like I’m just giving you an optimistic statement. Just to give you an optimistic statement to fill your life with hope that can’t deliver. But I can look at you and say, God has an incredible plan for your for your future. Because of the price Jesus paid it. God paid way too high of a price for that statement not to be true. And his his resurrection is the demonstration that he will fulfill it. I mean that that death was accomplished on your behalf so that you can find freedom in Jesus. In fact, when you think about John weeping in these moments that when we talk about Jesus being our Savior and you think of the state of our soul apart from from God, we don’t call Jesus Savior just because it’s a nice title for him.
It’s worth considering. What is he saving me from? It’s the destruction of my own soul. And so the reason that this this resurrection for for John changes everything is because this becomes the validation that his own life is secure in the Lord. And so the resurrection of Christ becomes paramount for, for for believers to embrace because of what Jesus has done for us. And when you think about the resurrection, Paul, Paul even tells you in first Corinthians 15, everything depends on it. If the resurrection of Christ didn’t happen, that we are to be pitied more than anybody. And when you actually go back and investigate the resurrection, the historical reliability of it, it is incredibly powerful. How much evidence is there related to what Jesus accomplished for you and for me, and not just biblically? I mean biblically. When you go through the New Testament, you discover, for example, the Gospel of Luke. Luke tells us in the beginning that he was sent on this journey that was funded by this man named Theophilus for the purpose of going around in the first century to to question and investigate and hear the stories of those that claimed to have seen the resurrected Jesus and all that Jesus has is done. And so Luke writes those accounts for us, John and or excuse me, Paul, in first Corinthians 15, he says to us at the very beginning of first Corinthians 15, how many people Jesus appeared to in his resurrected state? Paul even says that Jesus appeared to so many people.
He appeared to a group of 500 people at one time. And then Paul says this if you don’t believe me, go ask him, because many of them are still awake and awake is saying they’re still alive. Paul is saying, you don’t have to take my word for it. Just ask people. There are so many people walking around that have seen the resurrected, resurrected Christ. Even John, when he writes his letters in the in the Epistle of First John. John begins it like this things that we have seen, things that we have heard, things that we have touched with our own hands. That’s what I’m writing to you first hand account. And so in the New Testament, that’s what you get is these this first hand account. But then when you go through church history you discover, man, there are the disciples made disciples in the early church, continued to write people like Clement or Polycarp, or Ignatius or Irenaeus, writing to us about the resurrection of Jesus. Even people that didn’t believe in Jesus first century second century historians wrote about the resurrection of Jesus. People like Josephus or or Suetonius or or Thallus or Tacitus, those are all Greek Roman Jewish historians talking about the resurrection of Christ. What’s also incredible is when you read the New Testament, you discover there are early creeds written in the Bible that the church would cite to one another before the time that the apostle Paul became a believer.
If you read about the life of the Apostle Paul, you discover in the New Testament Paul became a Christian very, very early after the death of Jesus. And there are creedal statements written in your New Testament dealing with the identity of who Christ is, that that the church would recite to one another within the first couple of years after Jesus’s crucifixion and resurrection. Those passages are First Corinthians chapter 15. The first eight verses. Philippians chapter two, verse 3 to 8. Colossians chapter one, verses 15 to 17, all dealing with the identity of Jesus and what he accomplished for us. The resurrection of Christ is powerfully attested to in history. And here in this story John is saying to us, man, the the elder is proclaiming the greatness of who Christ is. That in my soul, when I might despair and hopelessness, I know I have a greater hope to help me endure any circumstance in life through the the faithfulness of God to fulfill His Word, and through the the power of his resurrection here as this lamb. And he describes this lamb, this lamb. When you think about a lamb, you typically wouldn’t think, oh, here we go, here comes, here comes the big guns now, right? We’re converting from a lion to a lamb. And now, now you’re done for it. We wouldn’t typically look at a lamb that way as the as as the, the powerhouse animal of the animal kingdom to represent the image of conquering.
But this is what he’s saying to us in the story is this this lamb has been victorious. And the way that he helps us see that though it was slain in this resurrection, he describes him as having seven horns and seven eyes and seven spirits of God. And in apocalyptic literature, the idea of a horn is a representation of power, and having seven horns is a number of completeness. This is saying he has complete power. This is the omnipotence of God. And then with the seven eyes, the idea of seven eyes is saying that he sees everything right. This is the omniscience of God. He knows everything. He sees everything. And then the idea of the seven spirits is the presence of God wherever he goes. So the omnipotence, the omniscience, and the omnipresence of God are recited about this lamb. This is the lamb is capable of doing what he promises to do. Because sometimes as people will look at what God says and we might think to ourselves, but what about me? I feel like the outlier, like God’s promises are good for everyone else. But what? What how do I fall here? Because I feel like. Like the one that’s in the peripheral. But. But what he’s saying about the Lord here is God sees it all. God’s in control of it all.
God has it all. And so there’s this, this, this greater hope for us and who Jesus is. And and probably I can think of two greater images that that John displays the richness of this Messiah and what he does for us. Then the two images of a lion and a lamb. You think about what you typically consider in terms of a lion and a lamb, that when you read Revelation, what you’ll discover is that when Jesus is actually described, when he’s physically seen, he’s he’s pictured over and over again as, as a, as a lamb. But he’s only described here audibly as John hears as a lion. And there’s no other point where Jesus is said in heaven. He is described as a as a as a lion. In Revelation, he’s only ever described as a lamb, which I think is a very encouraging thought for followers of Jesus and maybe mimicking Christ in this world, this idea of what it means to be a lion and a lamb in his throne room in heaven. He is a he is a lamb to the people that belong to him, because he is one who is there to comfort, to nurture, to care, to protect. He is this lamb. But when he steps on his throne, off his throne, and he goes into this world to conquer, he is a lion. When he faces broken and fallen Babylon, he is a lion. And I find in our life that often times we as people get it wrong.
When we act like a lamb in a place that we should be a lion and a lion in a place that we should be a lamb. And what I mean is sometimes I’ll come across guys, I’ll just pick on you for a minute. Guys, when it comes to your home, you’ll act like a lion in your home and a lamb in this world, rather than a lamb in your home and a lion in this world. We end up hurting the people that we are called to protect and protecting the people that God has called us to stand against. Now, I don’t want you to go out and fight people. I’m not telling you that. Right. But what I’m saying is, there are things in this world that you should stand up for because it’s bringing destruction, and God has put you in a place to do something about it. But when it comes to your home, this is a place where people should feel safe, protected, loved, cared for. And Jesus in heaven. This is how he’s described that he is a lamb with his people in eternity, to comfort, to provide, to protect. But he is a lion towards the darkness of this world that he came to to conquer and defeat. There is this, this, this greater hope that we acknowledge our adversity, we find our greater hope. And he goes on and in verse seven he says, and he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne.
So here it is now. Jesus is the centerpiece of heaven. What John thought. How things were going to pan out. Turns out that the lion was capable to. To meet his need. As he became this lamb. To sacrifice his life. And now the imagery through the rest of of Revelation is focused upon this lamb who is seated on his throne as he receives worship. So let me give you. Point number three join in the song of the redeemed. Join in the song of the redeemed. It’s one thing to know where hope is, but you also have to take the step to find your identity in it. I mean, you might just be knowledgeable of it, but there also becomes an important place to allow this to shape you. And worship is the way that takes place. Joining the song of the redeemed is another way of saying and make sure you worship. Make sure this becomes your your identity where you find yourself secure. And as you look at these, these next few verses, this is what you see is the response and light of the fulfillment of all that Jesus has done. It says, and when he had taken the scrolls, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the lamb, each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
And they sang a new song, saying, worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals. For you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people. For, for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. And you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth. Let me just explain this. This will be the last verse I dive into, because we’re going to run out of time. But the rest of this passage is just continuing in that worship. It’s continuing that worship and allowing that worship to shape who they are because of what Jesus has done. It’s finding themselves secure. And so when, when, when John is writing in this passage, he says a few things here that I think are important. One, he talks about these golden bowls full of incense. And and this is important because it’s really describing for us heaven, much like the Jewish temple. If you know the Jewish temple, the Jewish temple only had two rooms. And the first room, the priests were the only people that could enter it. And the second room, only the high priest could enter that room, and he could only enter it one time a year. I compare it like this often. I’ll say it’s like going to church, and we all just have to sit in the parking lot and only one person can walk inside, right? That’s that’s how the Jewish temple operated.
It wasn’t it wasn’t a very big room. It was probably much like this size that the the temple inner inner rooms were. And in the inner room, the first center room, there was this golden incense that would burn. And that incense was represented a representation of the prayer of God’s people, that incense would lift up before God. And they would pray before the incense representing the priesthood, representing the people of God. And here you see in heaven God holding this bowl. And again, it’s representative of all of God’s people, saying to you, God cares about what you’re going through. The fact that this bowl is full is saying that God is collecting all of your prayers and is coming before his presence. So God’s God’s caring for you. And you see how how that care plays out to the point that it says to us that that they’re singing a new song. And the reason they’re singing the new song is because they’ve got a new identity. And this is this is where you realize in your life there’s more to life than just country music, right? This is like a country. There’s a place for country music. Don’t get me wrong. If you like country music, but. But you know, when it comes to country music, you can only talk so much about your girlfriend leaving you and your dog dying, or your car breaking down, and whatever.
You. You no longer have your job or whatever. That’s country music song, right? Only so many times you can sing songs like that. You need a new song in your soul. And and this is what it’s saying God does. He gives us this new song for our soul because God has changed our outlook. He’s given us a new hope and a new future which inspires us and in this new way of worship before our King, because he alone is worthy. And this is exactly what they’re doing now. I, I will say there’s something to take serious in this verse for me. Or sometimes I read things in verses where I’m like, I don’t understand this, and I’m too afraid to discover what it means. And the reason for that is because it says in this passage that these people are playing harps, and I don’t know about you, but for you harp lovers, I’m glad you get a harp, but I am not interested in playing a harp unless I can plug it in and I can play it, like slash down by my side. That’s the only. That is the only way I think I’m going to take this on. Right. But at least it says in this verse there’s only 28 people playing a harp. It doesn’t say everyone is playing harp, so if you like a harp, we’ll, we’ll, we’ll vouch for you to get a harp.
And then the rest of us, we could take other instruments. Right. But but they’re singing this new song and he’s really painting a picture of is. Their hope has changed, and God’s given him a new place to praise. And. And here’s when they’re praising the Lord. Here’s what they’re doing. They’re they’re praising him because of who he is, what he’s done and what that means for them. And you see that how that works itself out in verse nine, it’s because of who he is, what he’s done and what that means for us in light of him. He says, worthy are you. Who he is. He is worthy. Worthy are you. And what he’s done. He’s he’s. It goes on and says he is, um. He is ransomed by your blood. You have ransomed people for God. And what that means for us. Look what it means for for these people, for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. And you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth. So because of who he is and what he has done, it helps me determine who I am and how to live in light of that. And for us, we get this new identity of people that have a place to belong, a nation to him, of every tribe and tongue. God is an incredibly diverse God. And. And not only then does this passage become a declaration for me to understand who I am in light of who he is, but it also gives me a mission for this world that God’s heart is for everyone.
Now, now notice it doesn’t say that God is ransomed for for people, every person, but rather it’s saying to us that God has ransomed from every tribe that God’s heart is for all people groups in this world. So it’s telling you, look, not not everyone belongs to this Jesus. And maybe it’s worth asking the question, do you belong to this Jesus? I think in my own life, when I when I came to that place of realizing I had some adversity, there was some brokenness. And then I started to investigate the truthfulness of Jesus. I was left with the question of, what am I going to do with about it? How am I going to respond to it? Am I going to be a man of integrity and embrace what I’m saying is seeing as true, or am I going to continue to live life selfishly. I remember very clearly there was this point in my life where, when I began to investigate the truthfulness of Jesus and the resurrection, and I discovered its reliability. I stood before the Lord in the middle of the night. I was in Kentucky, which that’s how you know you’re really lost when you’re in the middle of the night in Kentucky. But I remember arguing with God and coming to the place of recognizing I’m either going to be a person of integrity and follow him, or I’m going to deny what I’ve seen and continue to live for myself.
And the reason I was reluctant to embrace him wasn’t because I didn’t think Jesus was true. It’s because in order to embrace him and realize I had to die to me. And the question became, did I really trust what he had for me was better than anything I was going to do with my own life. And in those moments, I turned my life over to the Lord. It’s one thing to know he’s a greater hope, but it’s something different to embrace him with your worship. And when we get to that place in life where we gravitate towards Christ and we we grab hold of him. The Bible tells us that he gives us this, this new song because of what he has done on our path, on our behalf. And God has a wonderful plan for our life. And the reason we know that is because he paid far too high a price for us. And not only that, in that identity, it gives us a purpose in this world, knowing that the same concern God has for me, he has for every tribe, tongue and language in this world and and embracing that we discover in the midst of challenges. We as God’s people always have a greater hope. And there’s a story by the name of of James Gilkey, who was a pastor in Portland, Oregon, and he was diagnosed with a terminal illness.
And his doctor told him the inevitable is going to happen. And when he got that diagnosis, he left the the doctor’s office and he decided he was just going to walk home. But because of his hope in the Lord, he he went on to write this. He said. I walked out of my home or excuse me, out of my home, five miles from the center of the city. There I looked at the river and the mountains, which I love. And then as the twilight deepened and the stars glimmering in the sky, then I said to them, I may not see you many times more, but, River, I shall be alive. When you have ceased running to the sea. Mountain I shall be alive when you have sunk down into the plains and stars. I shall be alive when you have fallen in the ultimate disintegration of the universe. What John is saying, what James is saying is because of Jesus, no matter what you go through, it doesn’t lead us to this place of ultimate despair. Yes, we face adversity, but as God’s people, we always have a greater hope because of what Jesus has done.