041406 Conclusion Chapter 4
THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST
Nothing Can Separate Us From the Love of God (in Christ Jesus)
Conclusion, Chapter 4
Jesus is Worthy of Glory and Honor and Power
The Throne in Heaven
4 After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me flike a trumpet, said, g “Come up here, and hI will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once iI was in the Spirit, and behold, ja throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. 3 And he who sat there had the appearance of kjasper and carnelian, and around the throne was la rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. 4 Around the throne were mtwenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, nclothed in white garments, with ogolden crowns on their heads. 5 From the throne came pflashes of lightning, and rumblings1 and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning qseven torches of fire, rwhich are the seven spirits of God, 6 and before the throne there was sas it were a sea of glass, like crystal.
And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are tfour living creatures, ufull of eyes in front and behind: 7 vthe first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. 8 And the four living creatures, weach of them with six wings, are xfull of eyes all around and within, and yday and night they never cease to say,
z “ Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
a who was and is and is to come!”
9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, bwho lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders cfall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast dtheir crowns before the throne, saying,
11 e “ Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for fyou created all things,
and gby your will they existed and were created.”
Revelation 5 (ESV)
5 Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne ha scroll written within and on the back, isealed with seven seals. 2 And jI saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, 4 and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. 5 And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, kthe Lion lof the tribe of Judah, mthe Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”
6 And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw na Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with oseven eyes, which are pthe seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. 8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders qfell down before the Lamb, reach holding a harp, and sgolden bowls full of incense, twhich are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang ua new song, saying,
“ Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for vyou were slain, and by your blood wyou ransomed people for God
from xevery tribe and language and people and nation,
10 and you have made them ya kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.”
11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering zmyriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice, a “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” 13 And I heard bevery creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” 14 And the four living creatures csaid, “Amen!” and the elders dfell down and worshiped.
We have read His words, heard His voice, felt His wrath, and experienced His salvation. These things, having their proper effect in the hearts and minds of the saints of the living God, evoke awe at the nature of our God. We are left with the desire to be among those who overcome sin, death, and the devil—things that permeate our life here on Earth. Our desire for something better, something more stable, something more complete, fills us with hope in Jesus Christ, just as I am sure it did among those called to faith in the seven churches of the apocalypse. This hope in Jesus will never be disappointed! Yet, how easy it is for that hope to be strained and tested and damaged, among us, just as it was among those called in the seven churches. But one major question remains: How then, shall we overcome pitfalls like the ones they faced?
Chapters four and five of the book of Revelation make victory very clear as it gives us a glimpse of heavenly glory. It would be so easy to get caught up in the minutia of visionary things that exemplify this glory. But our goal and purpose today—the day we remember the crucifixion of Jesus—is to bring to conclusion what we started at the beginning of Lent. Our journey took us to seven cities where Christian Churches existed—Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. We have seen a variety of struggles common to Christ’s Church on Earth. We have all been able to relate our own life and situation to these seven churches in one way or another. In each of them, we looked vicariously for the victory that each one needed. We felt their pain and wanted to make it go away—but we could not! Something, someone, stronger than ourselves is needed to make the victory complete and sure.
From the experience of these seven churches, we take to ourselves feelings of frustration and joy: frustration seeing the way God’s people are so easily deceived and overcome by evil; but joy in the ever-present assurance of Jesus Christ. How good it is for us, if we have come to the end of this journey with the conclusion that victory over all evil belongs to just one. That One makes all the difference on earth and in heaven for us children of men. How did He overcome the pitfalls and end up victorious? He did it by His perfect obedience, and by His suffering and death on Calvary’s grisly cross.
At the risk of revealing the mystery of the Resurrection too soon, we leap ahead to reveal the victorious glory of the ascended Jesus Christ. Here, in the fourth chapter of Revelation we SEE HIS GLORY, SEE HIS HONOR, SEE HIS POWER, and KNOW THAT HE IS GOD!
SEE HIS GLORY
The words are clear to John and to us. John is going to be given a glimpse of what must happen after the events of the seven churches. It is more certain in other words, than any of the ills and evils, the Christian church on earth will ever face. It must happen—all praise be to God. He sits on the throne of glory in glory forever and ever, Amen! This throne is surrounded by, not 12, but 24 thrones and elders. These all posses the golden crown of victory. These are the prophets and apostles upon which the heavenly city—New Jerusalem is built. All who come into this awesome picture of glory have trusted their words and believed Him who gave them the work of building up the Church—the Heavenly City.
SEE HIS HONOR
The sea, that tumultuous body that once overcame the saints, has been stilled. It is reminiscent of that day when Jesus calmed the wind and the sea for a frightened entourage of disciples. The sin that once worked to snare God’s people and handicap them with fear is gone. The sea is clear and soon to be gone forever. What a precious sight to see. Glory is incomparable to anything we have seen on earth. John struggles to give it all a proper description.
The sevenfold spirit of the living God is there.
The 4 living creatures once revealed to Ezekiel and Isaiah are indescribable—having many facets of features known to the children of men.
The roar of their thunder is overwhelming: “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”
At their sound, all living beings are moved to reverence the only God of Heaven and Earth. They deserve nothing of what they now have, so they honor the one who is worthy of everything. Casting their crowns before His throne they, with one voice proclaim. 11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, The immediate reason for His worthiness is given, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” We see his glory and his honor, but where, how, is His power made known?
SEE HIS POWER
For that, we must look with John back to that awesome throne where we see in the right hand of God’s power a scroll having seven seals. And we come face-to-face with the reality of the cross. There is none in heaven or on earth who is worthy and powerful enough to open the seven seals of the scroll. The one we had hoped would do it, now hangs dead on the cross. Our emotions are stirred, our heart grieved, and tears flood our eyes. Then we see it—amongst the elders is a lamb bearing the marks of the cross. But He is alive, and He has the seven horns of God’s absolute creative power, the seven all-seeing eyes of God’s omniscience, the seven spirits of the living God who give life to all the world. As He takes the scroll all heaven erupts in praise with a new song: “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.”" (Revelation 5:9-10, ESV)
With such insight into glory, our hearts leap for joy. This is the One who has overcome. This is the One opens the seals to reveal God’s purpose and plan of salvation. This is the One who died, but is alive in His earthly body in heaven. This is Jesus the Christ of God. This is God Almighty!
AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD!
The vision reveals what we had hoped for all along, ever since we heard the word of God’s truth, the gospel of our salvation and believed. From that time on, we have been connected to the Eternal, through Jesus Christ. God’s Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are the children of God—the Heavenly Jerusalem.
No wonder everything in heaven and earth erupts in praise to this ONE God! John sees the glory and honor and power of God in Jesus Christ:
"Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped." (Revelation 5:11-14, ESV)
Now, seeing the fullness of His glory, we with all the Church now say, Come Lord Jesus, Come! Amen!
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f ch. 1:10; [Ex. 19:19, 20]
g ch. 11:12
h ch. 1:1, 19; 22:6
i See ch. 1:10
j Ps. 11:4; 103:19; Isai. 66:1; Matt. 5:34; 23:22; See 1 Kin. 22:19
k ch. 21:11
l Ezek. 1:28; [ch. 10:1; Gen. 9:13-17]
m ch. 11:16
n See ch. 3:4
o ver. 10; See James 1:12
p ch. 8:5; 11:19; 16:18; [Ex. 19:16]
1 Or voices, or sounds
q [Zech. 4:2]
r See ch. 1:4
s ch. 15:2; [ch. 21:18, 21; Ps. 77:19]
t Ezek. 1:5
u Ezek. 10:12
v [Ezek. 1:10; 10:14]
w Isai. 6:2
x ver. 6
y ch. 14:11
z Isai. 6:3
a See ch. 1:4
b ch. 1:18; 5:13; 15:7; Dan. 4:34; 12:7
c ch. 5:8, 14; 7:11; 11:16; 19:4
d ver. 4
e ch. 5:12
f ch. 10:6; 14:7; Gen. 1:1; Acts 14:15
g Ps. 33:9-11; [Eph. 1:11]
h Ezek. 2:9, 10
i Isai. 29:11; Dan. 12:4
j [ch. 10:1; 18:21]
k Gen. 49:9
l Heb. 7:14
m ch. 22:16; Isai. 11:1, 10; Rom. 15:12
n ver. 9, 12; ch. 13:8; Isai. 53:7; John 1:29, 36; 1 Pet. 1:19
o Zech. 3:9; 4:10
p See ch. 1:4
q See ch. 4:10
r ch. 14:2; 15:2
s [ch. 15:7]
t ch. 8:3, 4; Ps. 141:2
u ch. 14:3; See Ps. 33:3
v ver. 6
w ch. 14:3, 4; See 2 Pet. 2:1
x ch. 7:9; 11:9; 14:6; See Dan. 3:4
y See ch. 1:6
z Dan. 7:10; [Heb. 12:22]
a ch. 4:11
b Ps. 145:21; 150:6
c ch. 7:12; 19:4
d ver. 8; See ch. 4:10