Revelation Study 5 The Throne Room of God cont'd
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The Throne Room of God, cont’d
The Throne Room of God, cont’d
Chapter 4 was the setting, the stage scene if you will, now we get to the drama, the action. Let’s read chapter 5 verses 1-5 to get it started
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. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”
This is the continuation of the vision of John or the experience of John either bodily of in the Spirit, again this is not a dream, but at the least a vision given to John by Jesus.
Let’s look again at verse 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 remember that John is communicating what he sees, what God and Jesus are allowing him to see. The command initially was to write what John sees, then it is write what you have seen, now he is being allowed to "see" more.
The word see, or seen, or saw all come from the same root word which is “oida” in the Greek which means to know and possess knowledge about. By seeing John knows and possesses knowledge and information about and is being asked to pass it along.
Right hand—significance? The hand of power, or execution that gets things done.
Him who was seated on the throne—Him is God, seated means finished, accomplished, on the one and only throne, King and power of all.
A scroll—this is how information was recorded, on a scroll. In regards to a king, it often contained pronouncements and lists of all his accomplishments, to be passed and read aloud.
There is a photo of a statue of Domitian standing and holding a scroll in his right hand, supposedly of all his accomplishments.
This scroll has writing within it and on the back, both sides are written the accomplishments of God.
The imagery here is that the greatness of this king, God, his accomplishments so great that you couldn’t fit them all inside, it took up both sides.
And when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. And he spread it before me. And it had writing on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe.
God opens the scroll with writing on the front and back here and it contained lamentation, mourning, and woe.
Possibly the O.T. laws and commands, the covenants between God and man, the broken covenants, the punishments, and the final judgements on man and the world for breaking the agreements and rejecting Jesus.
Scrolls was the means of having written information but what else could it be?
And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Sealed with 7 seals—a king would put his personal seal on a scroll and it was only to be opened by the one to whom it was addressed or the one who was deemed worthy to open it. If anyone else opened it they would be put to death.
This scroll is sealed with 7 seals—7 is a number of completion and this is Gods seal, only He who is worthy can open. This is the full and complete plan of God, the end will be known.
And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it.
Found in Sardis, was a synagogue, the Moses seat and the closet that would’ve contained all the scrolls of the O.T., like the one above that Jesus read. Also found in the closet was a plaque that read, “only He who is worthy, take, open, read”
At first glance it seems as if nobody is worthy, nobody will be able to open, John will not be able to “see” what is written in it, to know its contents. Nobody in all of creation is worthy, nobody in heaven, angelic beings, on earth, all of natural creation, or under the earth, the underworld/demonic fallen angel world, satan, no one is worthy or can open, so..
John weeps loudly, all is lost, the unfolding plan of God will remain a secret, the world will continue to seemingly spin out of control with all this evil, how will this end?
The pain, grief and anguish of John are communicated in his weeping, all is lost and he feels hopeless, and we too feel this way, I hope. That we are living in a broken, out of control world, one that is not supposed to be this way, confused and concerned. How will this end? What will happen? These are our questions, as they were John’s. But we are not hopeless and neither was John.
Apocalyptic literature is meant to give hope, and our hope is in Jesus.
In light of the cross, we are to weep no more, God intervened then for His people and He will again. Jesus death brings peace and also anticipation.
Even today in our world, Jesus is presented as a beaten man, not God, not a Savior, not a King, but He is. His death purchased this, the cross was His victory, the world may not see it or know it, but we do.
The call to us if we feel defeated, hopeless, broken, enticed, tempted, whatever, is “behold, Jesus”.
Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”
But, one of the elders, one of the 24, who was seated on a throne, says “weep no more, behold Jesus”, there is good news, one is worthy
the Lion of the tribe of Judah—this goes all the way back to?? To the blessing given by Jacob or Israel on his son Judah before his death
“Judah, your brothers shall praise you;
your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
your father’s sons shall bow down before you.
Judah is a lion’s cub;
from the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He stooped down; he crouched as a lion
and as a lioness; who dares rouse him?
The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until tribute comes to him;
and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
Binding his foal to the vine
and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,
he has washed his garments in wine
and his vesture in the blood of grapes.
His eyes are darker than wine,
and his teeth whiter than milk.
Prophecy—the declaration that God’s ultimate King will come from the tribe of Judah.
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king.
And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.
the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David,
the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,
The Root of David
“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.
The verses above that Jesus read from the scroll lie between these two verses from Isaiah.
He has conquered—past tense, it’s finished, He is the overcomer and the victor.
Now we’ve talked about what conquering looks like in Revelation, two options?
Martyrdom for Jesus
Persevere until the end, which could also be death
So what makes Jesus worthy to open the scroll? His death and the fact that no one but God Himself is worthy
And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
But when John looks what does he see? A Lamb, as though it had been slain
He’s called the Lion, the mighty beast a king, like Domitian, would choose, Jesus is the ultimate lion, but He’s pictured as a lamb, a meek, powerless, and defeated animal, looking slain but standing and not looking like a mighty, powerful, and victorious general or Caesar.
What is the first reference to a slain lamb in our Bible? Exodus
Remember back in chapter 4, the thunder, lightening and burning torches or fire and smoke or cloud, what is this reminiscent of? Exodus, Moses on the mountain of God.
Why is Exodus significant? The first freeing from bondage, of captivity and suppression of the people of God from a foreign power, first Egypt, then Babylon, the Assyria, now Rome.
But even in that, bondage and slavery in Egypt was also symbolic to our bondage and slavery to sin and death, Moses liberates through the slaying of an unblemished lamb, the lamb who was slain, but Jesus’ death frees us from ultimate bondage, to sin and death, the ultimate unblemished lamb.
back to what the lamb looks like
7 horns—symbolic of power and strength, 7 horns, complete or total power and strength, Rome has power and strength, but not all power.
7 eyes—the 7 or complete Spirit of God that He has sent out into the world, into His followers, but also all knowledge and awareness, He sees all and knows all. Jesus standing amongst the lampstands.
Political power and political activism offer the belief that we can change the world, steer it in the right direction, but how often does the “right” thing lead to the wrong outcome?
Why is that? Because we can only see things from the perspective we have, do things from the belief system we have or agree with, but we must acknowledge we only see things partially. No one has all the info, nor does anyone know the outcomes, well, that is, no one but Jesus. The 7 eyes represent all seeing, all knowing, He has the complete picture, and He sees it from Heavens perspective.
The world may be confusing to us, but not to Him.
Remember back to chapter 4 again, V3, the rainbow around the throne, the rainbow was the symbol of what in the O.T.? God’s covenant to never again judge the world, but with a flood.
The tension comes in chapter 4:8, with the idea of coming again in judgement, who was and is and is to come,
The, “is to come” is like Matthew 25: 31, the final judgement,
So how is the tension resolved for some? the slain lamb,
V’s 5&6 are the transition point, from the intro to what’s to come. The lamb can open the scroll, break the seals, judgement is coming, chap’s 6-20.
This is the turning point in human history, the cross has sealed the deal, He was victorious, Armageddon is not the final battle, it’s the culmination of the victory already won by Jesus by His death, burial, resurrection and ascension.
Now let’s fast forward to verses 9-10, the praise song of he 24 elders and the 4 living creatures.
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.”
How is He worthy? He was slain, shed His blood
What else did He do? Ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.
Why? Made the people to be a kingdom and priests to our God and so we shall reign with Him.
Let’s look at the verses we skipped, 7-8
And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
Jesus, the slain lamb takes the scroll, for the purpose of opening it, but before He can...
The 4 living creatures and the 24 elders fall face down, in worship before the Lamb
In chapter 4 verses 8-11, God was worshipped by the elders and the creatures, now in chapter 5 verses 9-14 Jesus is worshipped, God.
They were each holding a harp, an instrument of worship, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints, a fragrant and pleasing aroma to God.
Now let’s look at verses 11-14
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.
What must this worship scene looked like? How emotional do you think this was, how powerful??
All of creation is worshipping, one day every knee will bow, every tongue confess, Jesus is Lord. All will know one day, for some they will be saying that from an eternal jail cell, for others it will be in the presence of God.
God and Jesus are worshipped together, they will carry out the judgement of the world together, and they will reign and be worshipped for all of eternity together.
This chapter is the lead in to chapters 6-20, God’s judgement of the world.
He is worthy, He sees all, knows all, He is good and just, and this judgement is deserving.
The question is not how can a good, and holy and just God send some people to hell, the question is how can a good and holy and just God save some people for heaven.