Worthy is the Lamb

Revelation 1:1–20 HCSB

1 The revelation of Jesus Christ that God gave Him to show His slaves what must quickly take place. He sent it and signified it through His angel to His slave John, 2 who testified to God’s word and to the testimony about Jesus Christ, in all he saw. 3 The one who reads this is blessed, and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep what is written in it are blessed, because the time is near! 4 John: To the seven churches in Asia. Grace and peace to you from the One who is, who was, and who is coming; from the seven spirits before His throne; 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has set us free from our sins by His blood, 6 and made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—the glory and dominion are His forever and ever. Amen. 7 Look! He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, including those who pierced Him. And all the families of the earth will mourn over Him. This is certain. Amen. 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “the One who is, who was, and who is coming, the Almighty.” 9 I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation, kingdom, and endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of God’s word and the testimony about Jesus. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard a loud voice behind me like a trumpet 11 saying, “Write on a scrollwhat you see and send it to the seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.” 12 I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me. When I turned I saw seven gold lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was One like the Son of Man, dressed in a long robe and with a gold sash wrapped around His chest. 14 His head and hair were white like wool—white as snow —and His eyes like a fiery flame. 15 His feet were like fine bronze as it is fired in a furnace, and His voice like the sound of cascading waters. 16 He had seven stars in His right hand; a sharp double-edged sword came from His mouth, and His face was shining like the sun at midday. 17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. He laid His right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last, 18 and the Living One. I was dead, but look—I am alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and Hades. 19 Therefore write what you have seen, what is, and what will take place after this. 20 The secret of the seven stars you saw in My right hand and of the seven gold lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Revelation 1:1–8 HCSB

1 The revelation of Jesus Christ that God gave Him to show His slaves what must quickly take place. He sent it and signified it through His angel to His slave John, 2 who testified to God’s word and to the testimony about Jesus Christ, in all he saw. 3 The one who reads this is blessed, and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep what is written in it are blessed, because the time is near! 4 John: To the seven churches in Asia. Grace and peace to you from the One who is, who was, and who is coming; from the seven spirits before His throne; 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has set us free from our sins by His blood, 6 and made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—the glory and dominion are His forever and ever. Amen. 7 Look! He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, including those who pierced Him. And all the families of the earth will mourn over Him. This is certain. Amen. 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “the One who is, who was, and who is coming, the Almighty.”

Revelation 1:4–8 HCSB

4 John: To the seven churches in Asia. Grace and peace to you from the One who is, who was, and who is coming; from the seven spirits before His throne; 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has set us free from our sins by His blood, 6 and made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—the glory and dominion are His forever and ever. Amen. 7 Look! He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, including those who pierced Him. And all the families of the earth will mourn over Him. This is certain. Amen. 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “the One who is, who was, and who is coming, the Almighty.”

Worthy is the Lamb

It’s interesting. Surveys were conducted on the book that members in churches would mostly want taught and the book that preachers would least like to teach. The same book tops each list — the book of Revelation. It’s the book people want taught. And let me add, it’s the book that needs to be taught.

It’s interesting. Surveys were conducted on the book that members in churches would mostly want taught and the book that preachers would least like to teach. The same book tops each list — the book of Revelation. It’s the book people want taught. And let me add, it’s the book that needs to be taught.

God controls history and will bring it to its consummation in Christ.

Let’s begin in chapter 5.

Revelation 5:12 HCSB

12 They said with a loud voice: The Lamb who was slaughtered is worthy to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing!

Revelation 5:1–14 HCSB

1 Then I saw in the right hand of the One seated on the throne a scroll with writing on the inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. 2 I also saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” 3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or even to look in it. 4 And I cried and cried because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or even to look in it. 5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Stop crying. Look! The Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has been victorious so that He may open the scroll and its seven seals.” 6 Then I saw One like a slaughtered lamb standing between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent into all the earth. 7 He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of the One seated on the throne. 8 When He took the scroll, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song: You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because You were slaughtered, and You redeemed people for God by Your blood from every tribe and language and people and nation. 10 You made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign on the earth. 11 Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels around the throne, and also of the living creatures and of the elders. Their number was countless thousands, plus thousands of thousands. 12 They said with a loud voice: The Lamb who was slaughtered is worthy to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing! 13 I heard every creature in heaven, on earth, under the earth, on the sea, and everything in them say: Blessing and honor and glory and dominion to the One seated on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever! 14 The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

Revelation 5:1-

Revelation 5:12

That is the theme of the book of Revelation — Worthy is the Lamb.

Can you understand the Book of Revelation?

Can you understand the Book of Revelation? I ask this question because of the attitudes that some people toward the book of Revelation:

I ask this question because of the attitudes that some people toward the book of Revelation:

Some people tend to fear the book and why not - with a Dragon, and a beast, and creatures, and blood and violence and judgment. But you don’t have to fear this book. In fact, you should embrace this book simply because it is the Word of God!

Other people marginalize the book - Martin Luther claimed the book as “Unedifying for the ordinary believer.”

I disagree. This book is absolutely edifying to the ordinary believer. We need the book of Revelation.

I disagree. This book is absolutely edifying to the ordinary believer. We need the book of Revelation.

Some sensationalize the book — They do this by looking at the book of Revelation as a puzzle book instead of a picture book. They attempt to identify every minute detail of the book treating it as so mysterious. To do this actually leads us away from the main purpose of the book.

Why is it difficult?

It’s difficult because it’s apocalyptic literature. It’s the only book in the NT that is apocalyptic. The OT has apocalyptic literature, but we’re not as comfortable in the OT as we are in the NT, right? But we need the OT. We need the OT to understand the NT. For instance, to really get a clear understanding of the book of Hebrews, you need to understand the book of Leviticus. More on that in a second.

Can you understand the Book of Revelation?

Absolutely, IF - If you read it with the understanding that the main point to the book is that God rules human history and is bringing it to His desired end in Christ! But — we must understand that it is a picture book and not puzzle book. It was really meant to be read in one sitting. Because it’s a picture book be careful NOT to get caught up in all the minute details, but seek to understand the book in view of this main point and you will profit spiritually from it.

I want us to carefully observe that this is God’s Revelation and not John’s and that Revelation is Jesus Christ. That is why we should be careful to say it properly. It's not Revelations with an “s.” It's not plural. It is singular. It is “Revelation” because it is the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

Let’s review the book by recognizing Three Important Aspects about the book that are found in these first 3 verses.

I. God gave the Revelation.

Verse 1 ~ “The revelation of Jesus Christ that God gave Him to show His slaves what must quickly take place.”

God gave the Revelation. This shows us the glory and sovereignty of the Triune God. We’ll talk about this more in a moment, but I want you to first see that the glory and sovereignty of the Triune God is revealed in Jesus Christ. This word “Revelation” is the transliterated word Apocalypse.

To see this should help us to understand the genre of the literature of the Book of Revelation. It is Apocalyptic literature. And this is where we tend to fear, marginalize, or sensationalize the book and it’s because we tend to think of it in terms of secrecy and mysterious codes. And while that is partly the case, it misses the point from the very first statement of verse 1. “The revelation of Jesus Christ that God gave Him to show…” This word Ἀποκάλυψις that is translated Revelation means to “to unveil, to uncover, to make fully known.”

Interpretative Key — Understand that because it is Apocalyptic in nature, we must interpret what we are not told straightforwardly by going to the OT. Here’s why: of the 404 verses of the book of Revelation, there are more than 500 allusions to nearly every OT book - most of which come from Exodus, Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and Zechariah. Most in number come from Isaiah, most proportionately to the size of the book is from Daniel. The point is we need to know the OT. What Bible do you think the early Christians knew? The OT, why, because that was the only Bible they had. So, they would have readily understood the imagery and symbolism of the book of Revelation. Why don’t we? Because we don’t understand the OT.

The principle purpose of the book of Revelation is to make fully known Jesus Christ. And so we find throughout all the book of Revelation a “making known” Jesus Christ. In other words, the book is primarily about Jesus.

And we see this throughout the entire book — this focus on the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus — the Son of Man, the First and the Last, the Living One, the One who holds the seven stars, the One who was dead and came to life, the One who has the sharp, two-edged sword, the Son of God, the One whose eyes are like fine bronze, the One who has the seven spirits of God, the Holy One, the True One, the One who has the key of David, who opens and no one will close and closes and no one opens, The Amen, the faithful and True Witness, the Originator of God’s creation, the Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, the Lamb who was slaughtered and is Worthy - That’s! who this book is about and reveals.

Interpretative Key — Do not miss the main point for all the details. It's a mistake to go running through the book of Revelation for clues to how things are going to end. We should read the book to see Christ and to see Him enthroned and lifted up not only in Heaven but also lifted up on the thrones of our own hearts. In all of the visions, symbols, and stories contained within the pages of this book, don't get so distracted in trying to piece together like a puzzle the detail events of the last days that you lose sight of Christ. It is when we begin to discover Christ more fully that the greatest treasure of the book will become more and more revealed to us. Because God revealed His glory and sovereign rule over history in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

God gave the Revelation, AND God made the Revelation known.

II. God made the Revelation known.

Verse 1 ~ “He sent it and signified it through His angel to His slave John, who testified to God's word and to the testimony about Jesus Christ, in all he saw.”

Or — “He sent and communicated it” (NASB) Or — “He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John” (ESV).

God made the Revelation known by “Signifying” it. This word "Signified" means to give a sign. Now, before we fall into the trap that this is some kind of decoding mechanism. It’s not. Don't forget this is an unveiling! It doesn’t make things secretive, but clears things up. God gave the revelation to "Show His slaves" (that’s plural) and He did it through symbols. So, these symbols are important. But before we get overwhelmed by all the symbols, keep in mind these are things known for the most part from the OT, which we’ll see as we go along.Symbols like Colors. Just here in the first chapter we have gold lamp stands, Christ has white hair and fiery eyes and bronze feet. There are animals and creatures - creatures like a lion, a calf, one like a flying eagle, and a creature who has a face like a human. There is a dragon, a beast, and a white, a fiery red, a black, and a pale green horse. Wow! What do you do with these?

What about all the numbers?

Number 7 - just in chapter one #7, verses 4, 11, 12, 16, and in verse 20 - 7 is used 6 times. And throughout the book - there are

7 churches, 7 spirits, 7 lamp stands, 7 stars, 7 seals, 7 horns, 7 eyes, 7 angels, 7 trumpets, 7 thunders, 7 crowns, 7 heads, 7 plagues, 7 bowls, 7 hills, 7 kings, 7,000 killed, and 7 beatitudes. What is all this about the #7? 7 is a number of completion and so it's very important. This is about complete judgment, complete victory, complete glory, and complete praise.

the number 3 - even more important than # 7 is the # 3 because it refers to the Triune God. You even see this in chapter 1. Verse 1 “The revelation of Jesus Christ that God gave Him.” Then drop down to verse 4 and you have a blessing of Grace and Peace from “the One who is, who was, and who is coming; from the seven spirits.” In fact, there are 12 instances of this 3 in chapter one alone. 3 is just referenced again, and again, and again. There is also this reference to the number 3 as a counterfeit to the Triune God in the Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet.Then there is the number 4 representing the earth, or God’s creation: 4 corners, 4 winds, 4 angels, and 4 living creatures.

Chapter 5 - in verse 9, they sang a new song of praise to God and in verse 13 there are 4: Heaven, earth, under the earth, and on the sea - 4

6:8 - sword, famine, plague, and wild animals - 4

8:5 - thunders, rumblings, lightenings, and an earthquake - 4

9:21 - murders, sorceries, sexual immorality, and their thefts - 4

10: 11 - peoples, nations, languages, and kings - 4

18:22 - there are harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters - 4

The number 12 - Another number of completeness, this time dealing with the completeness of the people of God

So, we have 12 tribes, 12 Apostles, 24 Elders (12 and 12)

There are 12 stars above the woman’s head

New Jerusalem has 12 foundations

In 22:2 there is the Tree of Life that has 12 kinds of fruit.

144,000 - (12x12x1000) - Is there really a literal number? Here’s why: We are really overloaded with numbers. How much is 1 Trillion? The point here with 144,000 is this is a huge number. 12 is a number of completion. So, here is completeness times completeness time 1000! Do you get the point? It’s not a literal number. What’s being said is that this is a massive number. We’ll see more of this later and really all the symbolism as we go through the book of Revelation.

But for the moment, What's the point of all this Symbolism? This gives us another Interpretive Key.

Interpretative Key - Because of the symbolic nature of this book, we should not look for a literal meaning when emblematic language is used. These visions are not literal happenings, but rather exaggerated dramas that depict spiritual realities.

So, when you see symbolic language, here are a couple of things to help understanding that we are not free to create our own meaning. But:

Stay with the overall context of the book and realize that the obvious symbols have precedence over the more obscure. If the symbol is not explained in Revelation, then the OT can usually give much help. No symbolism in the book of Revelation introduces new doctrine contrary to the doctrine of the rest of the NT.

Here’s one thing to understand about the book. It’s a recapitulation of events. The further you go through, the more you learn about the story. It’s the same story told again and again from different perspective and vantage points. The recurring theme is God’s people under duress and Christ, the victorious King coming to deal with and do away with sin, to vindicate His name, to save His people, and to establish and consummate His everlasting kingdom. Don’t tease out the minutest details, but engross yourself in the story — Christ the Lord is the Worthy Lamb! It’s a message of Hope! That’s what God has made known.

1-3 — Introduction and Letters to 7 churches that is in the form of a circle. Like an ordinary epistle.

4-5 — This is a view from heaven where there is the throne of heaven, the throne of the universe, it’s theocentric. Christ is Sovereign and worthy to open the scroll.

6-7 — Here are the 7 seals and judgment as the Lion/Lamb opens the seals. And there are issues and circumstances common to every age. There are no particulars or details of specific wars or rulers. It’s symbolic and timeless.

8-11 — Here are the Sounding of the Trumpets, the last which announces the coming of the kingdom and Christ.

12-14 — The scene changes completely. There is no obvious continuity from 11 to 12. There is a change in vantage point that the story is now told. There’s the male child pursued by a dragon, the devil. There is a great antithesis between the City of God and this world. The Devil enlists two beast, but the elect are saved and Babylon falls. Christ conquers God’s enemies.

15-16 — 7 Angels appear with 7 bowls that contain judgments. And notice Babylon is destroyed. But Babylon was already destroyed. See the pattern of the story from a completely different vantage point is being told again.

17-19 — The destruction of Babylon, the Beast and the False Prophet.

20-22 — God’s dealing with the Dragon and the final judgment. There is the New Jerusalem, the new heavens and the new earth where eternal fellowship with God is enjoyed.

God gave the Revelation and made it known and finally:

III. God blessed those who received the Revelation.

Verse 3 ~ “Blessed is the one who reads and blessed are those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep what is written in it, because the time is near!”

This is really the purpose of the book of Revelation to provide its readers, who seek to obey its instructions, a promised blessing. I want you to notice carefully what verse 3 says and the way it is worded:

“Blessed is the one who READS and blessed are those who HEAR the words…” The book was meant to be read aloud. Blessing is given on both the reader and the hearer. Is there any other book that has such a blessing on it? I would encourage you to do this - read the book aloud. Read it with the passion and power in which it is written. You know why? Because this is a book about the Lamb who is worthy! It is the Revelation of Jesus Christ, given by God. It’s His story. It's the story of Jesus Christ, the Victorious King coming to deal with sin and to save His people. This is not a puzzle book in which John is trying to trick you. This is not a book that you need a newspaper, globe, history book, and calculator to figure out. It’s a book about the plan and purpose of the Sovereign God of the universe who through His Son Jesus Christ who will vindicate His name, who will vindicate His people, and who will consummate His kingdom. Can’t you see how someone is blessed by the reading and hearing of it?

But a third blessing comes and that is with those who also “KEEP what is written in” this book. Why? "because the time is near.” There are several things we should take from the book of Revelation: (I’m indebted to Voddie Baucham for these).

1. — The Glory of the Triune God - We’ll see time and time and time again the glory of the Father, the glory of the Son, and the glory of the Holy Spirit.

2. — The Relevance and Reliability of the whole of Scripture - We’ll see the continuity between the OT and the NT, between the Covenants. We don’t need to be afraid of the book of Revelation. It’s probably the most beautify and glorious book of the entire Bible giving us a wonderful picture of Jesus Christ and the plan and purpose of our Sovereign Lord.

3. — The Sovereignty of God - Think about this. We read how “God gave” this book. The book tells how human history ends, how justice and judgment are truly and ultimately made. How does He give the book? Because He is the Sovereign God of the Universe. And aren't you glad He’s in control.

4. — The Reality of Suffering - One reason we fear the book of Revelation is because of the reality of suffering. Take the church at Smyrna where Jesus encourages them to endure the suffering and “Be faithful unto death.” Suffering is real and no one suffers more than Christians since the ultimate enemy of god hates God and hates God’s people and his hatred is real. And look - we don't get raptured out of it. Imagine how well that message would work for our Christian brothers in China right now. It just doesn’t make sense. I mean can you imagine telling them, “Oh, don’t worry, before it really gets bad, God’s going to rapture you out of this suffering.” And think about it, what kind of message was this to the Christians to whom John is writing?

5. — The Inevitability and Severity of God’s Judgment - Go home and read . You know why? Because that’s the real Jesus. We’re use to the Jesus with flowing hair, eyes of blue, European like, soft delicate hands, with a lamb draped over His shoulders. That’s not the Jesus of . The real Jesus Christ is returning and He is bringing judgment and He will punish the wicked and unrepentant. Don’t get caught in that.

6. — The Certainty of Christ’s Return - This is really important in light of the reality of suffering, isn't it? No wonder the church cries, “How long? How long?”

7. — Finally, The Consummation of Redemptive History - goes back to the Garden, to . makes the promise - “I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will strike your head, and you will strike His heel.” This is the woman’s Seed who the Dragon sought to devour, but cannot. But we see Jesus, the woman's Seed crush the serpent and we are ushered right back to a river, the Tree of Life and a restoration of all things.

This is not a book about events that were to occur thousands of years into the future, but things that had begun to transpire in John’s own day. Look at it again in verse 1, “what must quickly take place” and then in verse 4, “because the time is near!” Of course there are things that are yet to occur, Christ’s Second Coming, the final judgment, the eternal state. These are things yet to come on this world. Here’s the thing to know and understand. This is a book of encouragement, a book that gives hope, that comforts the people of God who are suffering, who are persecuted and wonder what’s going on? When will it end? Well, here’s the hope - Read the book, hear it, keep what is written in it and you will be blessed, because the time is near! Stay faithful until even death because Christ has won the victory. Ultimate justice will be served. God is in the midst of vindicating you and His glory. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain! Let’s pray.

Father in heaven, we thank You for this beautiful book of encouragement and the unveiling of Christ in all of His glory. We thank You that You have made known the consummation of all things. Your revelation is perfect. We were lost in sin, our souls were corrupt. We lived in rebellion against Your law. Our minds were hostile to Your truth and our lives an offense to Your holiness. We were utterly hopeless until You gave us an eternal hope and saved us by Your grace. You sent Your Son to be our Savior and to rescue us from sin’s power. You took our guilt away. Your wrath against sin was perfectly satisfied, You justice fully vindicated, Your grace brilliantly magnified. What a joy to know that it will all be brought to an end and justice and holiness and righteousness and hope are ultimate. Reveal to us true understanding of this book and Jesus Christ our Lord in whose name we pray. Amen.