Revelation 4&5

Revelation 4&5

What Makes a Person Worthy?

Intro: Change of leadership is an important part of any kingdom or government. The Stone of Scone, also known as the Stone of Destiny, is seen as of huge significance to Scotland's nationhood. It was the seat on which generations of Kings of Scotland, and Kings of Dalriada before them, were crowned.

Until 1296 it was housed at Scone Abbey, where the coronations of Kings of Scotland took place: the last being of John Balliol. But Edward I of England stripped Scotland of all emblems of nationhood in 1296, and took the Stone of Destiny to a new home in Westminster Abbey. For the next 700 years it was to be housed in a specially-built coronation chair, on which Kings and Queens of England, then of Britain, were crowned.

The throne and the ceremonies that install the kings and queens are visible events.

Even if it is a ceremonial or traditional position, People know who the king or queen are and they know when they change.

They change because we do not live forever and no one person should be in charge forever. Empires and rulers come and go, We see that In the book of Daniel with two empires, the Babylonians, the Medo-Persians rising in a span of about a 100 years or so and the Greek and Roman empires are foretold as well.

But as we see in the Old Testament, God is the kingmaker. He is the one that is never moved or removed from His Throne.

Chapters 4 and 5 shift the story from Earth to Heaven. And it’s not a picture of fields and angels floating on clouds, but John takes us right to the Throne room of God to see this fantastical scene of the Almighty God and where the Plan unfolds before John’s eyes for the next 19 Chapters.

Read Verses: 4:1-11. Vivid Imagery

Main Point: Jesus was the Only being worthy of becoming the sacrifice for God’s people (the Church)

I. God is Worthy of our Praise (4:8&11)

John is in the spirit as he went through a door to stand in the throne room of heaven and gaze at God.

It is unclear if in the spirit meant he had an out of body experience or if he was in a trance “though without question what follows has much in common with Paul’s experience recorded by the apostle in 2 Cor 12:1–6. Paul confessed that he was unable to delineate his exact state, in or out of the body. John’s situation seems similar.”

Perhaps it is a bit like traveling to Narnia, through the wardrobe door into the forest, able to explore the lands for years and then return to our world, where only. Minutes have passed.

At any rate, John is brought to the throne room and the first person he sees is God, but he does not describe him as a tall man with dark hair, a beard and round eyes, and a large purple robe.

He describes him in verse 3 The one seated there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian stone. A rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald surrounded the throne. The floor it sits on looks like pure crystal, so it seems like a sea of glass.

Around the main throne there are 24 others and 4 creatures are hovering or standing around the throne. The four Irving beings seems to be angels and the 24 elders are most likely people and they have been given different meanings throughout Christianity. They may represent the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles, they may be he 24 Books of the Old Testament, as they divided them up.

With all of the imagery John Gives us, the four living creatures, the description of which can be seen in Ezekiel chapter 1 and 10, constantly singing Holy Holy Holy in verse 8 is what draws my attention.

Holy Holy Holy. This thrice repeated word comes from or is also seen in Isaiah 6.

“Holiness as the central attribute of God has no need for triple expression, since distinction of God from all the created order is endemic to the term. Consequently, the repetition of the term three times must have seemed to John to have been the same as saying, “Holy is the Father, Holy is the Son, and Holy is the Spirit.” This is followed by the emphasis on the unity of the Godhead, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.” Further, the eternity of God is expressed in the words, “who was, and is, and is to come.” Once again, such lofty expressions of theology are not characteristic of most apocalyptic literature and separate John’s Apocalypse and make it distinct. The apostle’s understanding of the triunity of the Godhead is thus clearly restated in the shouts of the angels.”

The Trinitarian theology runs through John’s writings so it would stand to reason that he is extending its idea or really drawing it from the well so to speak.

In verse 11, the Elders begin their song,

11 Our Lord and God,

you are worthy to receive

glory and honor and power,

because you have created all things,

and by your will

they exist and were created.

God is Holy and He is worthy of our worship. His Being is what sets Him apart. He is different, He is Holy, He is perfect. He is not fickle, he is steadfast and not angered easily and he is patient.

Of all the things or people you consider worthy of your time and effort, God is the one that should receive it first and the most.

Clearly the worship of heaven is focused not on the created order but on the uncreated and eternal God; and worship is spontaneous, moving, exciting, and literally rung from the hearts of the participating entities out of their gratitude to God for creation, providence, and redemption. And what is done on earth is Done as it is in heaven.

But God is Holy and we are not, so unless. We get an invitation like John, how do we get into God so we can enjoy his presence?

This is where the lamb of God comes onto the scene.

II. The Lamb is a Worthy Sacrifice (5:9-10)

We shift focus a little bit, to seeing the whole view of God sitting on the throne and John draws our attention to what God is holding in his hand. It is a scroll, with multiple seals on it and a lot of writing . And a mighty angel says or more accurately proclaims, like a town crier, who is worthy to open the scroll?

And no one on earth or in heaven is able to open it. It’s not clear how long they are standing there waiting for someone to say something. It could be minutes or hours. Imagine waiting as people are sent out to search for the one person that could do the job. But as time went on, the chances of finding someone grew slimmer and slimmer. There is no hope and the idea that no one could open and fulfill God’s plan brought John to tears. He says he wept and wept. And this is not only crying. But he was possibly crying out and wailing. This is profound sadness. Quite probably because John understood on some level that the scroll meant God’s plan and if it could not be opened, then it could not be read and fulfilled. Perhaps we would be stuck in limbo or allow evil to reign in the world forever.

But then the Elder says, Look, or behold, He is drawing John’s attention to someone “the Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered so that he is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.” the Lion, King of the beasts, wise, strong, courageous and intelligent.

The root of David comes from Isaiah 11:1 Then a shoot will grow from the stump of Jesse,

and a branch from his roots will bear fruit.

2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—

a Spirit of wisdom and understanding,

a Spirit of counsel and strength,

a Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.

3 His delight will be in the fear of the Lord.

He will not judge

by what he sees with his eyes,

he will not execute justice

by what he hears with his ears,

4 but he will judge the poor righteously

and execute justice for the oppressed of the land.

He will strike the land

with a scepter[a] from his mouth,

and he will kill the wicked

with a command[b] from his lips.

5 Righteousness will be a belt around his hips;

faithfulness will be a belt around his waist.

10 On that day the root of Jesse

will stand as a banner for the peoples.

The nations will look to him for guidance,

and his resting place will be glorious.

“Messiah is at once the root from which David himself arises, and he is the offspring of David through his incarnation. That he is both the Root and the offspring of David is possible because of the Lord’s preexistence. And, as the offspring of David, he, in his incarnation, was born into the Davidic line. He has triumphed and here the word is once again nikaō, the very same word used for overcomers in the letters to the seven churches in chaps. 2 and 3. The reference is surely to the atonement and resurrection; and because of those accomplishments he has, been deemed entirely able and worthy to loose the seven seals.

It has been possibly about 60 years since John had seen Jesus on Earth. Maybe he didn't recognize the Glorified Lord. But also There in the Middle of the Throne was The lamb that had been slaughtered. But yet the young lamb is alive. It is not laying on the floor, instead he is standing there, with wounds as evidence that it was sacrificed. He had triumphed over the death.

but still the reader has to be struck by the strangeness of this lamb, So why does this lamb have seven eyes and seven horns. The seven eyes are specifically said to reference the sending of the Spirit into all the earth. Previously in chap. 1 the “seven spirits” was almost certainly a reference to the Holy Spirit given without measure to each of the seven churches. Therefore, without surprise, here is a similar reference; and a unity exists between the arnion and the seven eyes, which are the seven spirits sent forth throughout all the earth. By the same token, the horns, which speak of power and authority, almost certainly relate the Lamb to the central figure, sitting on the throne, from whose hand he will shortly retrieve the scroll. Still another trinitarian allusion occurs as well as an indication of the fact that the work of the Holy Spirit throughout the earth relates specifically, and above all else, to the Lamb.

The Lamb walks over to the throne and picks up the scroll

And the creatures and people in the throne room are lovingly adoring Him and singing a new song to the second person of the trinity.

The “new song” sung in heaven after Christ is declared worthy to open the scroll has to do with His redemptive work on the cross (v. 9). Its target group is the same as the Great Commission, which is for all the nations (Mt 28:19).

5:11–14 Worship of the Lord will eventually characterize all of creation (v. 13; Php 2:10–11), even as it already does heaven (vv. 11–12, 14).

Application:

III. The Triune God is Worthy of Your Worship (5:13-14)

We have seen the Father on the Throne and we have seen The Son, the root of David and the Lion of Judah open the Scroll, but where is the Holy Spirit? Well, you have to refer back to Chapter 4:5 when John says He sees, “Seven fiery torches were burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. We have the Trinity in the throne room. The fire make sense from the standpoint of Acts two as well, when, on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit arrived with tongues like fire.

The God is the Ruler

This is the centrality of the throne and it goes through the rest of Revelation. The nations, the Devil and his people and the entire natural world are subject to God’s commands.

The way John describes God is one of majesty. He has fantastic creatures at his call, he has 24 Elders or rulers also worshipping him. He is the High King, where everyone else is just in charge of their house or nation.

1) God Keeps His Covenant

God is faithful and Just. This is what the complete Rainbow illustrates. The judgment that will occur in the book and eventually in the world, will be according to his true and righteous Judgment. Since he created the world, he is the only one who is allowed to pass judgment on his world. Politicians rarely keep their promises, for a myriad of reasons, But God does.

And in God’s Justice there is Mercy.

2) God is the Savior

In the second person of the trinity we see the work of salvation on the cross and witness the conquer over death and sin. Jesus was the one who was worthy. God is the only one to satisfy God and Take God’s wrath.

Jesus' sacrifice was absolutely necessary. As John points out, He was the only one worthy to do the work.

Louis Berkhof says that Jesus’ sacrificial work on earth calls for his service in the heavenly sanctuary. This is what you see John recounting. This is why I do not think this is after the rapture, as the dispensationalists think, but this is a rolling tape of certain things that happened and what will happen.

Jesus’ atonement is the Good pleasure of God. The father sent the Son to act. And these actions are in complete keeping of their will and nature. Each are due equal parts glory and honor.

The Love of God that provided a way of escape for lost sinners. John 3:16, but God must also be just and fulfill the law. So he pays for the penalty Himself.

Romans 3:22-26 The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction. 23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; 24 they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. 25 God presented him as the mercy seat by his blood, through faith, to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his restraint God passed over the sins previously committed. 26 God presented him to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so that he would be just and justify the one who has faith in Jesus.

Conclusion

We have rulers on earth and we have systems of government, but they change. How important are throne and the Stone of Scone to the Scots?

On Christmas Eve 1950, a group of four Scottish nationalist students reclaimed the stone for Scotland by breaking into Westminster Abbey and stealing it. In doing so, however, they cracked the stone in two.

It reasoned that the stone belonged to Scotland and that by “removing the Stone of Destiny they were restoring to the people of Scotland the most ancient and most honourable part of the Scottish regalia.”

That throne meant everything to them and presumably to Scotland. The throne is where the King would sit. But no one can steal God’s throne. Satan tried that and got thrown out of Heaven as we will see later in chapter 12.

But God is always on his throne no matter what is happening. Even when we see or think we see the world is burning or spinning out of control.

Why does He just take control of it with His hands and act now, and that question comes up in the next chapter. Why? Because it is in His time. We have to be patient and do our part and remember we serve the King Most High. We are his children and his subjects. And we know he is just and loving to those who believe.