Worthy is the Lamb!

Introduction

Have you ever stopped and asked the question, “What if God had a different plan? What would things be like if Jesu had never have come?” Those are some striking and scary questions when you stop and think about it, are they not? After all, John 14:6 tells us that Jesus says of himself, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me” (KJV). Also, in 1 John 2:2 we’re told that Jesus is the “propitiation for our sins …” [That word propitiation is just a fancy word meaning atoning sacrifice.] The simple truth is this, without Christ and what he accomplished we would be left completely to ourselves. He lived the life and died the death that you and I are not capable of, and because of that the Father has declared that through him (that is Jesus) all things will be reconciled (Col. 1:20). When Jesus ascended back into Heaven, he said of himself to his disciples, and by extension us as well that, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me” (Mt. 28:18b). So, I believe that we would be safe in saying that Jesus was, is, and will be in complete control of all that happens, and I think that’s what John is endeavoring to tell us in Revelation 5:1-14. In this chapter, we’re given a series of visions, four in number, each beginning with the phrase, And/Then I Saw. Each of these visions build upon one another in order to show us one simple but VERY profound truth, Jesus is the Lion who is the Lamb who is worthy to be worshiped. And that’s an awesome reality to take hold of at a time like this! Let’s read the text.

Read Rev. 5:1-14 NASB77

Prayer

The Introductory Vision

Revelation 5:1 ESV

1 Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals.

Let’s start out by taking a look at v.1 because it’s here that John gives us a brief introduction to what he’s going to be discussing in chapter five. Here John tells us that he saw “in the right hand of the Him who seated on the throne a book [lit. scroll] written inside and on the back …” Then he informs us that this scroll was “sealed up with seven seals”. Now, there’s a whole slew of different interpretations as to what this “scroll” is, or better, what it represents. Some say it is a will or testament concerning Jesus’ inheritance of the kingdom. Others point to it being a document containing a description of the woes and laments to characterize the last few years of human history. Still, others have claimed that the material contained within the scroll is descriptive of events that characterize all of human history between the ascension and return of Jesus. Truth be told, there’s much to commend each of these interpretations and I tend to think that there’s at least something correct about each one of them. Certainly, it would be difficult to argue that what’s described in the seals doesn’t present us with a picture of what’s been happening for the last 2000 years, but God’s Word does seem to teach that times will get tougher as we get closer to the return of Jesus. The fact that the scroll has writing on both sides, front and back, is rather interesting. In the ancient world scrolls of this type were known as an “opisthographs”. These “opisthographs” were most often for private viewing only, for the eyes only of those to whom they were addressed. They were also meant to be something the owner or recipient would hold on to, which also meant they weren’t to be sold to the public. Also, the fact that John describes what he sees as a “scroll” [“scroll” is the better translation] instead of a codex seems to be of importance as well. A codex is similar to what we think of when we think of a modern book that’s bound together at the edge. This may point to the seals as being opened progressively, in other words, one seal is opened and then the scroll is unrolled a little, then another seal, etc. On the other hand, however, the fact that there are seven seals may also simply point to the symbolic nature of the number seven which stands for perfection, i.e. God’s perfect plan for culminating human history. This is why there’s so much disagreement among godly Bible interpreters as to exactly what these “seals” are descriptive of. I think, at most, we can say that the seals, being seven in number, point to God’s sovereignty over what’s described within them, and that in and of itself should give you and I a great measure of comfort because it lets us know without doubt that God has a plan.

Who is Worthy to Open the Scroll?

Let’s turn now to vv.2-5. Have you ever been asked to do something simply because you were the only person capable of doing it?

(Illustration) I’ve often read and heard that one of the most terrifying jobs during the Vietnam War was that of a “Tunnel Rat”. During the war the Vietnamize dug elaborate systems of tunnels in order to move men and supplies from place to place under a cloak of secrecy. These tunnels were so elaborate, in fact, that there were even underground hospitals and training facilities connected to them. Now, theses tunnel systems were often a thorn in the side for American, English, and Australian troops as they would watch the enemy for days before attempting a raid, only to find that when they struck, the enemy had vanished underground. In order to combat this, men known as “tunnel rats” were enlisted to crawl inside these small dark spaces in order to either take out or locate the enemy. The tunnel rats were capable of doing what needed to be done because of their small stature and agile abilities. You see, because of how they were made, these men the only solders capable of doing what needed to be done. They were chosen to do a job that only they were capable of.

In vv. 2-5 John has a vision that’s centered on the important question of “Who is worthy to open the scroll?” In other words, who is capable of doing this extremely important job? That said, notice that as verse two begins John sees a “strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to open the book [scroll] and break its seals?” Now, that’s quite a question isn’t it, especially when you consider all that John has seen up to this point in Revelation! Check out what John says next in v.3, he looks everywhere, “in heaven, … on earth, and even under the earth” and finds no one who’s capable of doing this important job! When this happens, do you know what John does? Verse four tells us that he “began to weep greatly”. The Greek word that used there for “cry/weep” is the word κλαίω (klaiō) and it’s actually the strongest word in Greek for the act of mourning. Think of here, if you will, people mourning for a loved one they’ve lost at a funeral. The point is not that John is just crying, no, he’s weeping and wailing because he knows that if no one is found who’s capable of opening this scroll, then God’s plan for human history is in danger. Then, just as John thinks the story has come to a bitter end, there’s a glimmer of light, a ray of hope. John says that “one of the elders said to him, ‘Stop weeping; behold the Lion that is from the Tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has been overcome/conquered so as to open the book [scroll] and its seven seals.” Can you imagine what John thought when he heard that? He had spent a little over three years of his life with Jesus, and it’s highly likely that he’d also heard of and watched many of the other men who were with him during that time give their own lives for the cause of the gospel. It’s easy to understand why John would be so distraught here because if no one was found who was capable of opening that scroll then everything John had believed in, taught, and lived for would have been pointless. But, oh, can’t you just feel that glimmer of hope and the excitement in that statement, “The Lion of the Tribe of Judah … has overcome”.

(Appeal) Friend, if you’re here today and you can feel worry and fear beginning to sink their claws into you, take heart because what John saw in this vision is just as true today as it was nearly two-thousand years ago, “The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David has overcome”, and he is mighty to save! And he, my friend, can save you! All you have to do is believe on him! Won’t you do that today?

How the Lion Conquers

Now, if you’ve been paying close attention to all that’s been going on in this portion of Revelation, I hope you’ve notice that at this point John “heard” that the Lion of the Tribe of Judah conquered because in v.5 one of the elders came to John and told him so, John listened as the elder told him. You see, up to this point, John has witnessed an amazing and breathtaking scene in heaven, but he’s only been told of the conquering hero, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. In vv.6-10 John actually sees how the Lion conquers and it’s probably not what he expected. How many of you have been told something, then what you actually see isn’t what you expected?

Illustration: When we were living at the seminary our kids would go up on a big hill near our apartment to play in a small grove of pin oaks. Some of the trees, although they were really old, hadn’t grown that tall and so their branches were quite low to the ground. This made for an excellent place where all of the seminary kids would build forts to play in. One evening our two older kids came in for supper and they were really excited to tell us about the fort they’d built with their friends. So, before bed that night I asked them to tell me about it, with the assurance that I would go with them to see their handiwork in the morning. Now, to hear my kids describe their fort, you would have thought it was some kind of medieval castle complete with a drawbridge and moat, but the next morning when I actually saw it the fort wasn’t anything like what they’d explained the night before. Sometimes actually seeing something helps you get the real picture.

In vv.6-10, John actually sees what he’s heard about in the previous verses, and it almost sounds like a paradox because although he was told that the Lion of the Tribe of Judah had conquered, in v.6 he says that he saw “between the throne (and the four living creatures) and the elders a lamb standing, as if slain …”. Not really what you’d expect to see when you’ve just been told about a victorious Lion right? The point, however, is that the message is actually found in the paradox itself. The Lion is, in fact, the Lamb who conquers. You see, John is hearing and then seeing the same reality, it’s just that each is from a slightly different perspective. Throughout the OT you’re constantly told about roaring Lion that’s going to come from the Tribe of Judah, and he will devour his foes, and then when Jesus shows up in the scene, although he is that Lion, he has the temperament of the lowly Lamb because it is he that goes to the slaughter. What John says here in these verses is pregnant with symbolism! In the second part of V.6 John says that this Lamb had “seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent into all the earth.” The number “seven” is symbol laden and representative of perfection as this scene hearkens back to the fourth Gospel, also written by John, where the Spirit is sent forth to convict the world of sin (Jn. 14:26; 15:26; and 16:6-15). Now, after seeing the Lamb in v.6, John watched in vv.7-10 as the Lamb acted and worship ensued. In v.7 John says that he watched as the Lamb “took the scroll out of the right hand of the One seated on the throne (HCSB)”. It’s almost as if when this happened all of the energy in the universe that had been penned up since the fall in Eden was released and worship breaks out in heaven. The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures throw themselves to the ground before the Lamb, and as they do they begin singing a “new song …, ‘Worthy art Thou to take the book [scroll] and to break its seals; for Thou wast slain and didst purchase for God with Thy blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. 10And Thou hast made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth ”

(Appeal) Friend, if you’re here today and you’ve placed your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then what’s said here in these verses applies to you. There will come a day when you will reign with Jesus on this earth, that is guaranteed to happen. What that will look like, I can’t even begin to imagine! Suffice it to say that Paul put it this way, “… Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” (1 Cor. 2:9, KJV). Now, that’s an amazing promise, but there’s a catch, in order to get it, you have to place your faith in Christ. Have you done so?

Worship, the Big Picture!

Let’s look at the last portion of this passage, vv.11-14. I don’t know about you, but when I read vv.6-10 it’s hard for me to see how it could get any better, but in vv.7-14 it actually does! Verse 11 begins with that phrase, “And I looked”, literally, “And I saw …”, which means that this is another vision, but the question one might ask here is, “Why? What’s the point? Have not all the necessary details concerning worship been filled in with the preceding verses?” What more can be added here? I will tell you that I’ve thought about and puzzled over these last few verses of Revelation 5 for a long time, and what they mean. While I won’t be dogmatic about it, here’s what I think is going on in these verses. In order to get the full effect of what he’s just been shown in vv.1-10, it’s as if John is taken to the most far flung point in outer space that you can imagine, and then God says, “John, I’m going to show you how big I am; I’m going to give you just a little taste of the vastness of the God you serve, and those who worship him”, and then he opens John’s eyes and ears to see and hear it all.

Illustration: Have you ever been out on the ocean past the point at which you can no longer see land? If you have, you’ll know that as far as you can see there’s the vast watery depths of what seems like an endless ocean, and that boat you’re on, no matter how big or little it is, is nothing more than a tiny dot! That’s the best way I think I might describe how I think John might have felt when he witnessed what you read here in vv.11-14.

My point is this, it seems to me that in vv.11-14 John is given the big screen view, if you will, of everything he was shown in vv. 1-10. Did you notice that in v.11 John says, “And I looked and I heard …”? It’s almost as if everything in John’s visionary scene that began back at Revelation 4:1 comes together and culminates here in vv.11-14. In these verses you get to really see how amazing and worthy of worship the Lion who is the Lamb really is because every atom and molecule in the universe bows down to worship him!

Conclusion

Now, in conclusion I’m going to be very frank and tell you that it is quite difficult for me to close a message like this because I really don’t know what else I could say. I mean, really, how can I top what you read here at the end of Revelation 5? I think the best thing I could possibly say to you is this, if you want to be part of what John has just described then there’s only one way to do it, and that is through placing your faith in the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, who is worthy of worship!

Invitation

Prayer