E Plurbus Unum Out of many one

The great seal of the United States of America. You have seen it before, perhaps so many times you take for granted the symbolism and that is imbedded in the great American motto, “E Pluribus Unum” out of the many one. The significance being that America was one nation birthed out of the first 13 colonies. In fact on the seal itself is imbedded the 13 arrows clenched in the talons of the eagle, the 13 leaves and olives on the branch in the opposite talon, and the 13 stripes of red and white which we see on the flag, and the 13 stars at the top of the seal all representing the 13 colonies.

Out of the One came many that He might make the many one.

Many people view history as cyclical that is it just goes around and around and keeps repeating itself in the circle of life. We see this embodied in a lot of the eastern ideas of reincarnation, or karma. But the reality is that history literally HIS STORY that God’s story of the creation, fall, and restoration of mankind. But it is linear it makes a straight line, there is a purpose and a destination which all of history is advancing towards.

Revelation 5:9–10 (ESV)

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 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.”

We know that God is a God that does not change. His purpose and plans from eternity past do not and have not changed. From creation to the cross to consumation. It has always from before the dawn of time been His purpose to ransom for Himself a people out of many nations.

To understand we must begin at creation. From the beginning God determined that out of Adam and Eve, should come the human race, and God gave us what we call the ...

Out of one man, many

The Creation Mandate

After God had created the first male and the first female, He told them...

Genesis 1:28 ESV

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

He repeats this mandate many times throughout the book of Genesis. In 9:1 He repeats the same command to Noah and his children after the flood. The mandate extends even to the animal kingdom, to the birds and the fish and land animals. God desires that His glory fill all the earth.

Habakkuk 2:14 (ESV)

For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

Genesis records in chapter 11 the story of the tower of Babel. in which the nations that had descended from Noah instead of spreading throughout the earth to fill and subdue it, gathered in one place and spoke one language. The problem is that these men in rebellion began to build a tower for their own glory rather than the Glory of God.

Genesis 11:4 ESV

Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”

In the bible there are constant references to creation and even de-creation language. The the serpent in the garden, great flood and the tower of Babel are examples of de-creation where man rebels against his creator and is judged for it. God dispersed the nations so that they would scatter throughout the world and fulfill the creation mandate.

Out of those nations, God calls one man Abraham the he might make a covenant and through His offspring the nation of Israel He might bless the entire world.

Out of one nation many are blessed

The Abrahamic Covenant

Genesis 12:1–3 ESV

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Genesis 17:4–6 ESV

“Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you.

Perhaps you sang the song as a child, Father Abraham.

We are inheritors of all the promises and the blessing that were given to Abraham.

Galatians 3:7 ESV

Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.

Out of the many nations , one nation

Here in Revelation 5 we have re-creation language where God restores people who were once scattered among the nations and bring them together to become one nation. The difference this time however is that sin has been dealt with these are a ransomed people who glory not in themselves but in the God who redeemed them out of sin and death.

1 Peter 2:9–10 (ESV)

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

TRANSITION TO SONG

Exodus 15:1–3 ESV

Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying, “I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. The Lord is a man of war; the Lord is his name.

The church is the new Israel we have been brought out of a new exodus and into the promises of God given to Abraham.

Revelation 15:3–5 ESV

And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.” After this I looked, and the sanctuary of the tent of witness in heaven was opened,

My kids have picked up from me some of my love of music. At any moment in our house there is probably someone somewhere singing something. And all is well and good when we are all singing the same song. But occasionally we have all been in our own little concert halls singing different songs at the same time. It drives my wife bonkers. She will get on on us and say if you are going to sing at least sing the same song.

But such will not the be the case in heavenly kingdom for we shall all be singing the same theme, the same song. Each of us in our own native tongues will be like finely tuned instruments each singing their note in perfect harmony with one another.

This is recreation this is Acts 2 but in the heavens.

Notice here that the song that we shall sing, it is not focused on the things that divide us on this earth, the focus is not on the color of your skin, or the geographical location that your were born in, or or even the language that you sing, for though we sing in many different tongues we sing as one. For though we are many nations we are one nation, for though we come from different tribes we are one tribe, many people yet a people who are ransomed in Christ, for this is our theme, this is our banner, our emblem our theme and song that we will never tire of singing.

There is one thing that unites us.

“the Sacrifice of Christ is the greatest “emancipation proclamation” the world has ever known.

Not a culture in itself, but something that radically changes cultures, as people are transformed.

Sacraelism - persecution in early church

Not American, African, Indian, German, French, Scottish, ...

We fight tribal wars your people don’t look like my people. Though we do not all look the same, we do not all speak the same language, wear the same clothes or eat the same food, we do all proclaim one Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and that is mroe than enough to unite us.