Is He Worthy?

Introduction

What a beautiful song! Thank you worship team members for singing that. This song, Is He Worthy? is going to become a regular in our worship sets, and after the sermon, we are all going to have the opportunity to sing it together.

That song, Is He Worthy? is based off a passage in Revelation, a passage that we are going to read and study in a few moments. In fact, let’s go ahead and read this passage together. Follow with me, if you will, to Revelation chapters 4 and 5. As you turn there, and if you do not have your Bible with you, then the verses we will be reading will appear on the screen behind me so that you can see them, but as you find your place there, let me tell you the story of how the book of Revelation came to be written.

Revelation is the last book of the Bible; it was written by John the Baptist who, as we will see in just a bit, was told by God to write down everything that he saw and heard as God revealed things to him. The word revelation simply means unveiling. It means to uncover, to make manifest. In this book, the Holy Spirit pulls back the curtain to give us the privilege of seeing Jesus Christ glorified and fulfilling His sovereign purposes in the world. Though this book is often thought of as the revelation of future events of what we often call “the end times,” it is primarily a revelation of Jesus Christ.

The book of Revelation was written by the Apostle John around the year AD 95. At this time, John had been exiled because of his faith to the island of Patmos. There, God gives John revelation of things to come,, but of Jesus Christ, the fulfiller of all these prophecies. John is given these revelations by and angel, by visions, and various other means. And one of the first things God gives John is a message to 7 different churches. we can read these in the first 3 chapters of Revelation. And through these messages, God commends and warns the churches about certain things, things we can learn from even today.

Heaven’s Throne Room

But in chapter 4, John has a most spectacular experience - John gets to be in the presence of the throne room of God. So let’s go to Revelation 4 now and read what it is that John got to see.

Revelation 4 KJV 1900

1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. 2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. 3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. 4 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold. 5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. 6 And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. 7 And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. 8 And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. 9 And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, 10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

This is a powerful and meaningful vision that John is allowed to see and that we have the privilege of reading. Let’s break it down a little.

A door is opened up in the heavens and John is called by a voice that sounds out like a trumpet. John finds himself “in the spirit,” and he is in heaven’s throne room. There, he is eyes are immediately drawn to the throne and to the person sitting on it. There are no words to describe what that would look like, so I believe that John did the best he could by using examples. And honestly, I can’t say I can even accurately begin to picture what the Lord looks like or what the different creatures look like based on his examples. He describes the Lord, sitting on the throne, as having the appearance of a jasper and sardius (sardine) stones. Jasper is a clear gemstone, and sardius is a red colored stone.

He makes other observations: there is a rainbow that encircles the throne, and out of the throne there are loud noises and flashes coming out, like thunder and lightning and voices.

John then describes four beasts, four living creatures, that are near the throne. Their appearance is odd, but like the rainbow that encircles the throne that reminds us of God’s covenant, His promise to Noah that He would never destroy the earth again with a flood, these beasts’ descriptions parallel the statement that God makes to Noah concerning that promise: with man, with cattle, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of the air. These are represented by the four creatures in this throne room that look different from each other: one having the face of a man, the other of a calf (symbolizing cattle), another the face of a lion (speaking of the beasts of the field), and the last the face of an eagle (symbolizing the birds of the air).

These creatures are also covered in eyes, symbolizing the wisdom of God. They cry out and extol God’s holiness. They cry out, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.” And they do this continually. Day in and day out.

Around the throne, John also notes that there are 24 other thrones. Upon these thrones sit elders that are clothed in white and have upon their heads golden crowns. These elders are not angels, for angels in the Bible are never represented as having rewards or wearing crowns, nor are they ever given reigning authority, represented by the thrones. These elders are later distinguished as different to the angels later in the book.

No, these elders most likely represent the people of God in heaven, Christians, that are enthroned (reigning with him) and rewarded (crowns). The Bible tells us that Christians are made kings and priests unto God.

When the elders that surround the throne hear the cry of the 4 creatures, they also begin to worship God. They do so by casting their crowns at His feet and declaring loudly what we read in the last verse: Revelation 4:11

Revelation 4:11 KJV 1900

11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

What an amazing sight to behold! And one day, every Christian will see this and participate in the worship that happens in the throne room. This is an event that every Christian longs for, the day when we can gather at God’s throne and worship Him as creator and redeemer!

But John’s vision does not end there. The vision continues in Revelation 5

Revelation 5:1 KJV 1900

1 And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.

The Sealed Scroll

There is meaning to this sealed scroll or book.

Throughout history, there have been countless people that have tried to conquer and sit on the throne that would rule the entire world. Nebuchadnezzar, Darius, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar and the emperors of Rome, Genghis Khan, Napoleon, Lenin, Stalin, Hitler and a host of others who have had the dream but never even a portion of the success that the afore mentioned have had.

All of these men failed. No one was able to conquer all the world. No one was able to sit on a throne as sovereign over all nations and people. But more importantly, no one has ever even had the right to do so. This scroll, though some translations have it as “book,” the word scroll is a more correct translation for the Greek work biblion. This would have been a scroll that was made either out of a long sheet of papyrus or animal skin and was rolled together from both ends to meet in the middle. Scrolls like this were common in the Roman empire, and scrolls like these often were used in the writings of contracts. The full contract would be written on the inside, while on the outside of the scroll, the side visible before it was unrolled, was written a brief description of the contract.

So John writes that he can see this scroll that has writing on the inside and on the backside of it. But not only that, the scroll is sealed with seven seals. Scrolls like these were used in contracts, wills, and title deeds for property. This scroll is the title deed of earth itself. But this is not the title deed of the earth only, it is the information of how the final redemption of mankind. This scroll is the title deed to the earth and to those in the Kingdom of God.

And as per the law, the only one that could break those seals was the one who inherited that deed, a search is begun attempting to find someone worthy, someone that was able, someone that had the right to inherit the earth.

Revelation 5:2–3 KJV 1900

2 And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? 3 And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.

The search starts in heaven. There is not a believer or angel present that is worthy, that has the right to open that scroll. So the search is expanded to the earth and even to “under the earth,” that is to say those that have died without Christ. No man, dead or alive has the qualifications to open this scroll. Nobody.

If you are John, what is your reaction? Listen. That question might not mean much to you right now, but let’s look at who John is. John is a man who from the time of being a young adult willingly followed a man named Jesus. Jesus, of course, was not just a man, but the Son of God, the promised Messiah, the prophesied savior of the world, God in the flesh, Emmanuel, God with us. John followed him. He developed a deep relationship with Jesus, becoming one of Jesus’ inner circle of friends. John had witnessed Jesus’ death on the cross, and then a few days later had seen his Lord resurrected from the dead. John knew Jesus and wrote about Him as the “Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.”

John had then witnessed Jesus ascend into heaven, and was expecting His return. Jesus had promised to return, had promised to set up his kingdom, and had promised to finish the sanctification job on all those that believed. John lived in the reality of those promises with a hope to see them fulfilled one day. And now, John is shown this heavenly throne room where the Father is holding out the scroll, the title deed to the earth and the Kingdom of God, and no one is found that can open it. What John has lived for, what John has suffered for, what John’s brother and fellow disciples have died for, and what John himself has been exiled for all of a sudden looks like it is not going to come to pass after all.

If you are John in this situation, what is your reaction? Let’s read about John’s reaction. Revelation 5:4

Revelation 5:4 KJV 1900

4 And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.

John wept, and he wept much. He cried and cried and cried because after all the searching, no one is able to inherit the earth, no one is able to set up this kingdom and redeem the world from sin. No one. So in John’s experience, his whole life has been dedicated to something that isn’t going to come to pass after all? If that was the case, why had his brother been executed? Why had his friends been killed? Why had he been boiled in oil? Why was he suffering this exile on this island, the Isle of Patmos? Had it all been for nothing? If no one was worthy of opening that scroll, the earth would continue under the curse of sin forever. W.A. Criswell explained it this way: “John wept audibly, for the failure to find a Redeemer meant that this earth and its curse is consigned forever to death. It meant death, sin, damnation and hell should forever reign, and the sovereignty of God’s earth should remain forever in the hands of Satan.”

The hope of the disciples of Jesus, the hope of the nation of Israel, the hope of Abraham, the hope of Noah, and the hope of Adam and Eve was that one day there would be a Redeemer that would come and redeem the earth, pay for it, buy it back from the curse of sin. But no one is found, so John weeps as his hopes are seemingly dashed to bits.

But look at what happens next.

Revelation 5:5 KJV 1900

5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

The Lion of Judah

One of these saints, one of these elders, walks over to John and says, “Don’t cry. It’s all going to be alright. We’ve looked in heaven, we’ve looked on earth, and we’ve looked under the earth, and sure, no man was found that was able to open the scroll and read it and take it, but look, the Lion of Judah. He is not simply a man. He is able, and has prevailed to take the scroll and open the book and break those seven seals!”

That Lion of Judah is none other than Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He is able to open the scroll and take possession of the earth and redeem it, buy it back, because he meets all the qualifications. In the law given by God to Israel, those that would redeem, buy back a piece of property that was meant to be in the family, had to be close family. These were called “kinsman redeemers.” To qualify as a kinsman redeemer, you had to be close family, and you had to be willing and able to pay the price for the land.

Jesus, the Lion of Judah, met those qualifications to redeem the earth. He became flesh, took upon himself the form of a creature, the form of a man, so He is our Kinsman. He loved us, and was willing to pay the price that would satisfy the debt. But not only was he wiling, He was able to do so.

The wages of sin is death. The curse of sin deserves God’s wrath. To be able to pay for sin, Jesus had to shed His blood (Hebrews 9:22 “22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”), but it couldn’t be just anybody’s blood, it had to be perfect, sinless blood, and Jesus is the only one that met that qualification. So He willingly died on the cross and shed his blood.

Jesus took upon Himself the wrath of God that we deserved. He drank the cup of God’s wrath to the dregs, and when it was done, He cried out with a loud voice, “It is finished!” and hung his head and died. The payment was complete. The price had been paid for the sins of mankind. Those who believe in Him and receive Him are forgiven of sins and adopted into God’s family. But the earth was still under sins curse, and will remain so until Jesus takes what the Father has give Him- Hebrews 1:1-2 tells us that Jesus has been made, has been appointed as the “heir of all things.”

Hebrews 1:1–2 KJV 1900

1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

This scroll, the title deed to the earth, was promised to Jesus because of his sacrifice on the cross. Jesus made the payment, he then is the rightful inheritor of the earth.

So John is comforted as he is told to lift his eyes and look, the Lion of Judah was worthy of taking the scroll and opening it. Why? because he had overcome. Revelation 5:5

Revelation 5:5 KJV 1900

5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

That’s what that word prevailed means. It means that Jesus had prevailed, overcome, was victorious. Over what? Over sin and over death. His payment was sufficient.

So John looks up, and what does He see? He doesn’t see a lion. Look at what the next verse says. Revelation 5:6

Revelation 5:6 KJV 1900

6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.

The Lamb

John looks and sees, not a lion, but a Lamb! Since the first Passover feast in Egypt, the Israelites had celebrated this day by sacrificing a lamb. On the first passover night in Egypt, it was the blood of the perfect, spotless lamb on the doorposts of the Israelites’ houses that let the angel of death know to pass over that house. The Egyptians, having been stubborn about not letting the Israelites go, did not prepare sacrifices that day and did not paint the door posts of their homes. That night, the firstborn child of every Egyptian died. This was the final straw for them, and the next day, the Egyptians not only released the Israelites, but even gave them provisions for their journey.

This Passover, as the day became known, was full of significance. Each house that wanted to be saved from being touched by death that night needed to sacrifice a lamb. It was only the blood of the lamb that would protect the house and those therein. This sacrificial lamb was a symbol of Jesus, and afterward, every sacrificed lamb was a symbol of Jesus and His coming death. It could only be the blood of Jesus that could forgive sins. It was only the death and blood of Jesus that could stop death.

The Lamb that John sees is the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. Jesus died, sacrificing His life to pay for our sins. And when John sees him in the throne room, he sees this sacrificial lamb. A lamb that is alive, but still bears the scars of the sacrificial killing. Jesus, after he died, resurrected on the third day, on a passover morning nearly 2,000 years ago. When He arose, one of the disciples didn’t believe that he had, and wanted to see the scars and touch the marks on Jesus’ hand, feet, and side.

So when Jesus appeared to the disciples a second time, Jesus said to Thomas, “Come and see. Touch my wounds. Put your fingers in the nail scars on my hands. Thrust your hand through the hole in my side where they pierced it with a spear.” Jesus had those scars, and this Lamb, who is Jesus, shows the scars on its body as well.

This Lamb also had seven eyes and seven horns and the seven Spirits of God. This symbolizes perfect wisdom and perfect power and perfect presence. This Lamb is Jesus, the Son of God!

And what does the Lamb do? He takes the scroll from God the Father. How? Because He is worthy to do so. He is the only one that is worthy to, that is able to take that scroll, open up the seals, roll it out and read the words of the scroll.

And look at heavens reaction to this event: Revelation 5:8-12

Revelation 5:8–12 KJV 1900

8 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. 9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. 11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; 12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.

He Is Worthy!

Sound familiar? The song that the worship choir sang, Is He Worthy?, was written based off Revelation chapter 5. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain! He is worthy to receive all power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing!

Note what it is that he does for us. Revelation 5:9

Revelation 5:9 KJV 1900

9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

He has redeemed us. Every nation and people is represented in heaven because he extends salvation to all mankind. But look - Revelation 5:10

Revelation 5:10 KJV 1900

10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

God has made us kings and priests, that is why the elders are seen sitting on thrones and wearing crowns.

But the reason we worship, the reason the Lamb of God, the Lion of Judah is victorious, the way he conquered death and sin was by offering himself as a sacrifice.

Once again, look at Revelation 5:9

Revelation 5:9 KJV 1900

9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

That is the reason he is able to take that title deed scroll and open its seals. Because He started the work of redemption on the cross, and now He is about to take possession of the earth and redeem it to Himself completely.

Listen, if you are here and do not know Jesus as your savior, today is the day that you can. He died to forgive your sin, and He is the only one that can wash them away. But He didn’t just die. he rose again from the third day. That is what Easter celebration is all about - It is about jesus rising from the dead. Yes, he conquered sin ain when he died on the cross. He finished that payment as He died, but he proved that he had done it all , He proved that He was who He said he was by rising again from the dead.

This is resurrection Sunday. This is why John saw a lamb that had been slain, but was still alive. That Lamb is Jesus, he died and rose again to redeem the earth. And He is worthy of all glory and honor and praise.

I can’t think of a better way to end this part of the service than by singing this song altogether. I am going to ask the worship choir to come up one more time, and as they make their way up, I’ll ask you to all stand with me as we sing this song Is He Worthy together.

As we sing this song, you will notice some words in a red color and others in white. The choir will sing the parts in white, and what I would like the rest of the church to do is to join us on the RED parts. Tahsha will be directing the song, so pay attention to her as you get your timing in.

Jesus is worthy, so let’s worship Him one more time together!