December 20, 2024 • 27 mins
Revelation chapter 5, highlighting the significance of the scroll sealed with seven seals that only the Lamb, representing Jesus Christ, can open. We explore themes of worthiness, redemption, and the profound response of worship from all of creation, culminating in a call for listeners to reflect on their personal worship and recognize the transformative power of Christ’s sacrifice.
• Examination of the scroll: its importance and symbolism of redemption
• The challenge of worthiness: who can open the scroll?
• John’s emotional response: weeping for the lack of a worthy figure
• The revelation of Jesus as the Lion and the Lamb: a divine paradox
• Worship in heaven: the significance of communal praise
• A universal call to recognize and respond to Christ's worthiness
Intro music - Toby Mac
Outro music - I AM THEY
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Well, thank you for joining me as we continue our
study of the book of Revelation.
I'm Randy Duncan and in thisepisode we're going to be
tackling Revelation, chapter 5.
Now, in the last chapter, wediscussed John's descriptions of
God's glory, the four livingcreatures and the 24 elders
casting their crowns,emphasizing their worship of
God's glory, the four livingcreatures and the 24 elders
casting their crowns,emphasizing their worship of
God's holiness and sovereignty,and we ended by reflecting on
(00:33):
the importance of recognizingGod's greatness and then
translating that understandinginto a heartfelt and genuine
worship.
But as we now begin chapter 5,our focus is going to shift to
Jesus Christ, and to understandexactly why, let's just dive in,
beginning with the first fiveverses, which read Then I saw in
(00:53):
the right hand of him, who wasseated on the throne, a scroll
written within and on the back,sealed with seven seals, and I
saw a mighty angel proclaimingwith a loud voice who is worthy
to open the scroll and break itsseals.
And no one in heaven or onearth or under the earth was
able to open the scroll or tolook into it.
(01:14):
And I began to weep loudlybecause no one was found worthy
to open the scroll or to lookinto it, and one of the elders
said to me Weep no more into it.
And one of the elders said tome Weep no more.
Behold the lion of the tribe ofJudah, the root of David has
conquered so that he can openthe scroll and its seven seals.
So, after the climatic scenethat we discussed in the last
(01:35):
chapter, john now sees a scrollin the right hand of the one
who's seated on the throne, andit had writing on both sides and
was sealed with seven seals.
Now, first, the scroll beingheld in the right hand is no
surprise, as the right handdenotes strength and power in
several places in scripture, butit says that it had writing on
(01:55):
both sides.
Now, most ancient people wroteonly on one side of a scroll.
The front of the scrolls hadfibers that lay horizontally,
which made writing on thescrolls easier, and they would
generally use the back only ifthey ran out of room on the
front, and so this is anindication that this scroll has
a lot to say, and, as we'llbegin to see in the next chapter
(02:16):
, when we start with the fourhorsemen of the apocalypse, it
also emphasizes the greatquantity of suffering and
judgment that this scrollrecords.
But when ancients finishedwriting on the scroll, they
would roll it up and tie it witha thread to keep it closed, or,
in the case of legal documents,they would use several threads,
and this was done to preventtampering with the document.
(02:39):
Now, these legal documentsended by listing the witnesses,
which would normally be aroundsix.
Then the documents would besealed shut, with hot wax being
poured over the threads thattied the scroll closed.
The witnesses would then presstheir personal seals into the
(02:59):
hot wax, usually with a signetring, and it would make an
impression that matched theirunique and distinctive seal, and
it attested that they were thewitnesses.
Now, this was similar to theway kings impressed their seal
with their rings on messages inorder to authenticate that the
message was from the king, butby doing this, nobody could open
the scroll without breaking thehard and wax seals that held
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the threads in place, and ifthey did, they couldn't replace
the seals without the signetring of the witnesses, and so
nobody could tamper with theselegal documents until it was
time to publicly open them,because the seals reserved the
contents of the document for itsrightful recipient, and so what
we see here is that the sevenseals indicate that this scroll
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is secure, that nobody couldgain access to what was written
inside of it.
Notice also that this scroll issecured by seven seals, seven
being the number of perfection,indicating that it is perfectly
and completely sealed andsecured.
Its contents are completelyhidden.
One interesting note here isthat the prophet Daniel was
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given a scroll by God regardingthe end days, but he was told to
seal up what was written.
His words were to be sealed upand hidden until the end days
had arrived and, as we'llcontinue to see throughout
Revelation, it's clear that theend days have now arrived and
the time for unsealing thescroll has arrived.
What was concealed will now berevealed.
(04:29):
Now a couple of other notesregarding the scroll.
There are differing opinions onwhat this scroll actually is.
Some people believe that it'sthe book of life, or that it at
least contains the names writtenin the book of life.
When we get to Revelation,chapter 20, we're going to read
that then death and Hades werethrown into the lake of fire.
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This is the second death, thelake of fire, and if anyone's
name was not found written inthe book of life, he was thrown
into the lake of fire, and sosome people believe that this
scroll contains the names of thepeople who will be saved, but
most interpreters would arguethat, even if this book contains
(05:12):
those names, it's toorestrictive to say that that's
all the scroll contains, because, as we'll see, this scroll
contains both salvation andjudgment.
It symbolizes God's sovereigntyand divine plan, and so they
would argue that this scroll washeld in God's right hand and
indicates that history unfoldsaccording to his command and his
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will.
And just so you're aware, thereare also those who believe that
this scroll was typical ofvarious types of legal contracts
in ancient days, includingthings like marriage contracts
and wills, lease agreements anddeeds.
In short, they argue that thisscroll is actually a title deed
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to the earth.
Roman law required that a willbe sealed seven times, as we see
in the wills of the Romanemperors, augustus and Vespasian
, and so they believe that thesejudgments that are coming are
part of God's reclaiming theearth for himself after control
of it was forfeited to Satanafter the fall of Adam and Eve.
(06:14):
Now, I know I elaborated a biton the scroll itself, but I feel
like it's an important detail.
But John continued, remember,by saying and I saw a mighty
angel proclaiming with a loudvoice who is worthy to open the
scroll and break its seals.
And no one in heaven or onearth or under the earth was
(06:34):
able to open the scroll or tolook into it.
So John sees a mighty angelstep up and ask a question, or
issue a challenge, if you willwho is worthy to open the scroll
?
Now, for reasons we won't getinto here, some people believe
that this angel is the ArchangelMichael, but regardless, his
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question echoes across all ofhuman history Is anyone worthy?
And not only does the questionecho across human history, it
may be the most importantquestion in human history Is
anyone worthy?
And what does John say next?
And no one in heaven or onearth or under the earth was
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able to open the scroll.
And I began to weep loudly.
Because no one was found worthyto open the scroll.
John understood the situation or, better yet, he understood the
hopelessness of the situation noone was found worthy to open
the scroll.
Not only that, but no creatureanywhere was able to open it.
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Because, he says, and no one inheaven or on earth or under the
earth was able to open thescroll, or on earth or under the
earth was able to open thescroll.
In other words, no matter whatsphere we're talking about,
nobody was found worthy anywhereno angelic beings in heaven, no
human being on earth, not anycreature in the sea, nobody in
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the realm of the dead and no oneunder the earth, which is most
likely a reference to demonicpowers.
John understands the implication.
He realizes that this meansthere's no solution to the human
condition, there's no remedy toour separation from God.
Look anywhere you want, in anysphere you want, anywhere in the
universe.
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The answer will not come fromany created being and it won't
come from anything that you'vedone.
And what does John do when herealizes this?
He weeps.
He says I began to weep loudlybecause no one was found worthy
to open the scroll.
John understood that God'spurposes and his kingdom will
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not come to pass if the scrollisn't open.
Nobody's found worthy to openthe scroll and carry out God's
plan for human history.
And so he's in despair.
Because when he says that Ibegan to weep loudly, the Greek
word used for weep here is theword kleio, which is a term used
for the most dramatic form ofmourning.
(09:03):
It means to sob or to wail outloud like you would mourn for
someone dead.
It's the same word used inMatthew 26, 75, where Peter's
just denied Jesus for the thirdtime.
And it says and Peterremembered the words of Jesus
which said unto him Before thecock crow, you will deny me
(09:24):
three times.
And he went out.
And Clio, he wept bitterly.
But as John is weeping, histears are interrupted by one of
the elders who says to him inverse 5, weep no more.
Behold the lion of the tribe ofJudah, the root of David, has
conquered so that he can openthe scroll and its seven seals.
(09:45):
Now this might be one of themost important verses in the
chapter and even the book ofRevelation.
In fact, this may be one of themost significant verses in all
of scripture.
The lion of the tribe of Judahhas conquered, he has overcome,
triumphed, and this is, course,an allusion to Jesus Christ, who
is called the Lion of the tribeof Judah and the Root of David.
(10:08):
The Root of David is theMessiah, who would come from the
house of David.
The hope of Israel and for therest of the world has been
achieved through the one promiseto David long ago, and without
the Messiah conquering, we wouldbe without hope for a restored
relationship with God.
But when John turns to look atwhat the elders just explained,
(10:30):
that the lion of the tribe ofJudah has conquered.
What does he see?
Verses 6-8 tell us and betweenthe throne and the four living
creatures, and among the elders,I saw a lamb standing as though
it had been slain, with sevenhorns and with seven eyes, which
(11:00):
are the seven spirits of God.
So John turns to see what?
The lamb, each holding a harpand golden bowls full of incense
, which are the prayers of thesaints.
So John turns to see what theelder is pointing out Behold,
the lion of the tribe of Judahhas conquered.
And I'm sure John turnsexpecting to see a lion, the
symbol of strength and majesty.
(11:21):
But that's not what he sees.
He sees a lamb, as though ithad been slain.
I mean, could there be a moreopposite image of what John was
expecting to see, the contrastof the mightiest of predators
with the absolutely weak andhelpless lamb?
I mean it had to be shockingwhat John is experiencing.
(11:42):
But here we have one of thecentral paradoxes in
Christianity that Jesusconquered not by force but
through sacrificial love.
He didn't conquer by squashinghis enemies, but by giving up
his own life in suffering love.
In other words, jesus didn'tcome the first time as a lion,
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but as a lamb.
And this makes sense of what weread in the Gospel of John.
Now, most people are familiarwith John 3.16, maybe the most
memorized verse in all ofScripture.
But how many people have thenext verse memorized, john 3.17.
Jesus didn't come the first timeas a lion to conquer and judge
and overthrow the shackles ofRoman oppression through
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strength, like the Jews thoughtthe Messiah would do.
John 3, 17 tells us.
For God did not send his soninto the world to condemn the
world, but in order that theworld might be saved through him
.
And it's only through his deathand suffering on the cross that
you and I might be saved.
Remember the words of John theBaptist when he sees Jesus
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approaching to be baptized.
What did he say?
Behold the mighty lion of thetribe of Judah.
No, he said behold the Lamb ofGod who takes away the sin of
the world.
And I want to remind you ofsomething Think back to the
Garden of Eden, right after Adamand Eve have sinned.
They realize it, they're afraidand they're ashamed, and so
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they sew fig leaves together tocover their shame.
Some people say that this wasthe first act of religion man
trying to cover himself.
But what did God do with theirfig leaves?
Their attempt to coverthemselves?
He dismisses it and instead Godmakes them coats of skin,
teaching them that it would onlybe through the shedding of
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innocent blood that their sinswould be covered.
And every act of animalsacrifice since then was a
temporary act, pointing to andanticipating, foreshadowing the
one true sacrifice that wouldone day come.
And that sacrifice was thecrucifixion and death of Jesus
Christ, the Lamb of God.
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And when he did come and youthink about this the creator of
the universe did not enterJerusalem presenting himself as
the Messiah on some majesticwhite stallion warhorse, wearing
battle armor.
No, he entered Jerusalem inhumility, just as he entered his
creation in humility, as a baby.
(14:15):
He entered not on a warhorsebut riding a donkey, a symbol of
peace and humility.
Symbol of peace and humilityand this is what John sees a
lamb, as though it had beenslain, still bearing the wounds
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and scars, but standing andalive.
You know, some people say thatthe only man-made things that'll
be in heaven are the scars onJesus, but John sees the lamb
standing because he's no longerslain.
Death didn't have the last word.
This is the risen lamb whoconquered death, and he's able
to open the scroll because hestands as the risen and
triumphant king.
(14:58):
But remember, john alsodescribes the lamb as having
seven horns, with seven eyes,which are the seven spirits of
God sent out into all the earth.
And so we see once again thenumber seven in Revelation.
Now we've already discussed thenumber seven being the number
of completion and perfection,but it's now associated with the
seven horns and seven eyes.
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But we don't have to speculateas to what the seven eyes
represent, because the texttells us they're the seven
spirits of God sent out into allthe earth, signifying that he
sees and knows all things,although, as we mentioned back
in chapter one, the sevenspirits of God could also
represent the Holy Spirit andthus the perfection and fullness
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of the Spirit.
Now, horns were a symbol ofstrength, and so the seven horns
represent the fact that theLamb, jesus Christ, has complete
and perfect strength.
The Lamb has complete power,and we read in verse 7 that the
Lamb went and took the scrollfrom the right hand of him, who
was seated on the throne.
In other words, jesus is aboutto disclose what the scroll
(16:03):
contains, he's about to beginbreaking the seals, and when he
does, as we'll see in the nextchapter, it ushers in the events
that people think of when theythink of Revelation a virtual
hell on earth, the apocalypse.
But John says that when he hadtaken the scroll, the four
living creatures and the 24elders fell down before the lamb
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, each holding a harp and goldenbowls full of incense, which
are the prayers of the saints.
Now we discussed the potentialidentity of the four creatures
and the 24 elders in the lastepisode, but when Jesus takes
the scroll, they all fall downbefore him.
They're holding harps, whichare obviously for singing
praises, and golden bowls ofincense which represent the
(16:49):
prayers of the saints or thebelievers.
And this incense representingprayers harkens back to the Old
Testament, where the priestskept the incense in the temple
burning, rising up, and where inPsalm 141 we read let my prayer
be counted as incense beforeyou.
But John continues in verses 9and 10 saying and they sang a
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new song saying Worthy are youto take the scroll and to open
its seals, for you were slainand by your blood you ransomed
people from God, from everytribe and language and people
and nation, and you have madethem a kingdom and priest to the
Lamb, who the Lamb is.
This should remove them, as thefour living creatures and the
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24 elders cry out For you wereslain and by your blood you
ransomed people for God, and byyour blood you ransomed people
for God.
The lamb was slain but is nowalive, and by his blood people
are saved for God.
He was slain but he's now aliveand people have been saved by
his blood.
Does that remind you of anyoneyou've heard of before?
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The lamb is Jesus Christ, andthe content of this verse makes
it clear that he's redeemed somepeople from every people group
in the world, and that comes asa bit of a shock to some people.
Sometimes we in the West, andespecially here in America, we
forget that there are otherChristians out there in the
world, many of which, even now,in 2024, face persecution and
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even death for their beliefs.
You know it's easy for us inAmerica to believe that the West
has always been the epicenterof Christianity, but nothing
could be further from the truth.
Remember Christianity did notoriginate in America.
It originated in the MiddleEast and spread throughout the
world, and it continues tospread even today.
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And spread throughout the world.
And it continues to spread eventoday, as one example Africa
has experienced a remarkabletransformation, going from
having less than 10 millionChristians at the turn of the
20th century to now being hometo 700 million Christians.
In 25 years, africa isprojected to have more
Christians than Asia and LatinAmerica combined.
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And if that current trendcontinues, four out of every ten
Christians in the world willlive in sub-Saharan Africa.
Another modern day exampleSoutheast Asia is the fastest
growing Christian area in theworld.
Indonesia is the most populatedMuslim country in the world and
today it's now 25% Christian.
(19:26):
Now I've been to Los Angeles ahandful of times over the past
few years.
One of those trips wasspecifically to attend some
training with an organizationcalled Ratio Christi, which is
Latin for the reason of Christ,but the training was conducted
at a Korean megachurch in LA.
But I bet you didn't know thatthere are over 100 Korean
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churches in Los Angeles alone.
And I mention these thingsbecause, you see, jesus didn't
come to redeem any particulargroup of people.
He came to redeem all people.
1 Timothy 2 tells us that thisis good and it's pleasing in the
sight of God, our Savior, whodesires all people to be saved
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and to come to the knowledge ofthe truth.
And you might ask.
But what is truth?
It's a good question and itreminds me of the conversation
Jesus had with Pilate before hewas crucified.
In John 18, 37, we read.
Then Pilate said to him so youare a king?
And Jesus answered you say thatI'm a king.
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For this purpose I was born andfor this purpose I have come
into the world to bear witnessto the truth.
Everyone who is of the truthlistens to my voice.
And Pilate said to him what istruth?
It's the same question that somany people struggle with today.
And so what is truth?
Jesus told us in John 14, 6, Iam the way and the truth and the
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life.
No one comes to the Fatherexcept through me.
And so here we are readingJohn's description in Revelation
of the Lamb, who was slain butwas now alive and through his
sacrifice has redeemed manypeople from all over the world
for God people from every tribeand language, and people and
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nation.
An interesting observation it'sbeen noted that these four
terms every tribe, language,people and nation occur seven
times in Revelation.
Four is the number of the world, seven the number of
completeness.
But we continue with verses 11and 12, which read Then I looked
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and I heard around the throne,the living creatures and the
elders, the voice of many angelsnumbering myriads of myriads
and thousands of thousands,saying with a loud voice Worthy
is.
And so, as we see this scenenearing its end, john describes,
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along with the four livingcreatures and the 24 elders
angels that surrounded thethrone.
John says that there weremyriads of myriads and thousands
of thousands.
So how many angels are wetalking about here?
Well, the largest number thathad a specific term in the Greek
language, particularly inancient Greek, is the Greek word
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mureos, the myriad, which means10,000.
For numbers beyond this,ancient Greeks, like the
mathematician Archimedes,developed systems to express
very large numbers, but toverbally describe numbers larger
than 10,000, they used the termmyriad, myriads, which is what
John has done here when he saysthat the angels numbered myriads
(22:44):
of myriads and thousands ofthousands.
Now, if you want to multiplythat out, 10,000 times 10,000,
times 1,000 times 1,000, I cantell you it equals 100 trillion.
Now, some would argue that theGreek implies a mathematical
answer of 100 million plus 1million.
But either way, the bottom lineis that this is probably just a
(23:05):
way for John to communicate tous that the number of angels
surrounding the throne wasinnumerable.
And what are they all doing?
All saying with a loud voiceworthy is the lamb who was slain
to receive power and wealth andwisdom and might and honor and
glory and blessing.
I mean, can you imagine thisscene?
They begin by saying worthy isthe lamb who was slain.
(23:30):
Because they realize the fullextent of exactly what that
means.
Jesus is worthy to open thescroll.
Jesus alone is worthy, and theyrealize that without his
sacrifice there would be no pathto God for those separated from
him by sin.
That includes you and I.
And it's no accident that theirpraise is sevenfold, the number
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of perfection and completeness.
Listen again and count.
Worthy is the lamb who wasslain to receive what Power and
wealth and wisdom and might andhonor and glory and blessing
Seven perfection.
But we finish this chapter withthe final two verses, 13 and 14,
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which read and I heard everycreature in heaven and on earth,
and under the earth and in thesea, and all that is in them
saying To him who sits on thethrone and to the Lamb, be
blessing and honor and glory andmight forever, and the throne
with the four living creaturesand the 24 elders.
They're now also joined by allof creation.
(24:44):
John says and I heard everycreature in heaven and on earth,
and under the earth and in thesea, and all that is in them.
John is speaking universallyhere, just as he did earlier
when all of creation wassearched for one who was worthy
to open the scroll, and so againhe specifies those in heaven
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and on the earth, under theearth and in the sea, all of
creation.
It's interesting that Paul usesvery similar language when he
says in 2nd Philippians that Godhas highly exalted him and
bestowed on him the name that isabove every name, so that at
the name of Jesus every kneeshould bow, where In heaven and
(25:26):
on earth and under the earth,and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord.
Paul is also speakinguniversally here, but it tells
us that the four livingcreatures said amen and the
elders fell down in worship.
Now there are various words tocommunicate worship, but the
worship giving here in thisscene never ends.
(25:48):
And so we find ourselves hereat this heavenly crescendo where
every creature declares inunison to him who sits on the
throne and to the Lamb beblessing and honor and glory and
might forever and ever.
Jesus Christ, the Lion and andthe Lamb, is the only one worthy
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, worthy to open the scroll,worthy of our lives, our
allegiance and our worship.
And there you have it, all ofcreation singing in harmony.
Worthy is the Lamb.
And as we close this chapter, Iwant to leave you with this
thought If all of creation canjoin in this chorus of adoration
(26:31):
and praise, worship andgratitude, what about you?
I pray that your life would bea testament to Jesus Christ, the
Lamb that was slain to redeemyou.
Will you add your voice to thateternal praise and worship,
expressing your love andgratitude?
Cause all that I have is ahallelujah, hallelujah.
(27:11):
I know it's not much, but I'mnothing else fit for a king,
except for a heart singingHallelujah, hallelujah, except
for our hearts singinghallelujah, hallelujah.
Well, thank you for joining me as we continue our
study of the book of Revelation.
I'm Randy Duncan and in thisepisode we're going to be
tackling Revelation, chapter 5.
Now, in the last chapter, wediscussed John's descriptions of
God's glory, the four livingcreatures and the 24 elders
casting their crowns,emphasizing their worship of
God's glory, the four livingcreatures and the 24 elders
casting their crowns,emphasizing their worship of
God's holiness and sovereignty,and we ended by reflecting on
(00:33):
the importance of recognizingGod's greatness and then
translating that understandinginto a heartfelt and genuine
worship.
But as we now begin chapter 5,our focus is going to shift to
Jesus Christ, and to understandexactly why, let's just dive in,
beginning with the first fiveverses, which read Then I saw in
(00:53):
the right hand of him, who wasseated on the throne, a scroll
written within and on the back,sealed with seven seals, and I
saw a mighty angel proclaimingwith a loud voice who is worthy
to open the scroll and break itsseals.
And no one in heaven or onearth or under the earth was
able to open the scroll or tolook into it.
(01:14):
And I began to weep loudlybecause no one was found worthy
to open the scroll or to lookinto it, and one of the elders
said to me Weep no more into it.
And one of the elders said tome Weep no more.
Behold the lion of the tribe ofJudah, the root of David has
conquered so that he can openthe scroll and its seven seals.
So, after the climatic scenethat we discussed in the last
(01:35):
chapter, john now sees a scrollin the right hand of the one
who's seated on the throne, andit had writing on both sides and
was sealed with seven seals.
Now, first, the scroll beingheld in the right hand is no
surprise, as the right handdenotes strength and power in
several places in scripture, butit says that it had writing on
(01:55):
both sides.
Now, most ancient people wroteonly on one side of a scroll.
The front of the scrolls hadfibers that lay horizontally,
which made writing on thescrolls easier, and they would
generally use the back only ifthey ran out of room on the
front, and so this is anindication that this scroll has
a lot to say, and, as we'llbegin to see in the next chapter
(02:16):
, when we start with the fourhorsemen of the apocalypse, it
also emphasizes the greatquantity of suffering and
judgment that this scrollrecords.
But when ancients finishedwriting on the scroll, they
would roll it up and tie it witha thread to keep it closed, or,
in the case of legal documents,they would use several threads,
and this was done to preventtampering with the document.
(02:39):
Now, these legal documentsended by listing the witnesses,
which would normally be aroundsix.
Then the documents would besealed shut, with hot wax being
poured over the threads thattied the scroll closed.
The witnesses would then presstheir personal seals into the
(02:59):
hot wax, usually with a signetring, and it would make an
impression that matched theirunique and distinctive seal, and
it attested that they were thewitnesses.
Now, this was similar to theway kings impressed their seal
with their rings on messages inorder to authenticate that the
message was from the king, butby doing this, nobody could open
the scroll without breaking thehard and wax seals that held
(03:20):
the threads in place, and ifthey did, they couldn't replace
the seals without the signetring of the witnesses, and so
nobody could tamper with theselegal documents until it was
time to publicly open them,because the seals reserved the
contents of the document for itsrightful recipient, and so what
we see here is that the sevenseals indicate that this scroll
(03:44):
is secure, that nobody couldgain access to what was written
inside of it.
Notice also that this scroll issecured by seven seals, seven
being the number of perfection,indicating that it is perfectly
and completely sealed andsecured.
Its contents are completelyhidden.
One interesting note here isthat the prophet Daniel was
(04:06):
given a scroll by God regardingthe end days, but he was told to
seal up what was written.
His words were to be sealed upand hidden until the end days
had arrived and, as we'llcontinue to see throughout
Revelation, it's clear that theend days have now arrived and
the time for unsealing thescroll has arrived.
What was concealed will now berevealed.
(04:29):
Now a couple of other notesregarding the scroll.
There are differing opinions onwhat this scroll actually is.
Some people believe that it'sthe book of life, or that it at
least contains the names writtenin the book of life.
When we get to Revelation,chapter 20, we're going to read
that then death and Hades werethrown into the lake of fire.
(04:51):
This is the second death, thelake of fire, and if anyone's
name was not found written inthe book of life, he was thrown
into the lake of fire, and sosome people believe that this
scroll contains the names of thepeople who will be saved, but
most interpreters would arguethat, even if this book contains
(05:12):
those names, it's toorestrictive to say that that's
all the scroll contains, because, as we'll see, this scroll
contains both salvation andjudgment.
It symbolizes God's sovereigntyand divine plan, and so they
would argue that this scroll washeld in God's right hand and
indicates that history unfoldsaccording to his command and his
(05:34):
will.
And just so you're aware, thereare also those who believe that
this scroll was typical ofvarious types of legal contracts
in ancient days, includingthings like marriage contracts
and wills, lease agreements anddeeds.
In short, they argue that thisscroll is actually a title deed
(05:54):
to the earth.
Roman law required that a willbe sealed seven times, as we see
in the wills of the Romanemperors, augustus and Vespasian
, and so they believe that thesejudgments that are coming are
part of God's reclaiming theearth for himself after control
of it was forfeited to Satanafter the fall of Adam and Eve.
(06:14):
Now, I know I elaborated a biton the scroll itself, but I feel
like it's an important detail.
But John continued, remember,by saying and I saw a mighty
angel proclaiming with a loudvoice who is worthy to open the
scroll and break its seals.
And no one in heaven or onearth or under the earth was
(06:34):
able to open the scroll or tolook into it.
So John sees a mighty angelstep up and ask a question, or
issue a challenge, if you willwho is worthy to open the scroll
?
Now, for reasons we won't getinto here, some people believe
that this angel is the ArchangelMichael, but regardless, his
(06:55):
question echoes across all ofhuman history Is anyone worthy?
And not only does the questionecho across human history, it
may be the most importantquestion in human history Is
anyone worthy?
And what does John say next?
And no one in heaven or onearth or under the earth was
(07:16):
able to open the scroll.
And I began to weep loudly.
Because no one was found worthyto open the scroll.
John understood the situation or, better yet, he understood the
hopelessness of the situation noone was found worthy to open
the scroll.
Not only that, but no creatureanywhere was able to open it.
(07:37):
Because, he says, and no one inheaven or on earth or under the
earth was able to open thescroll, or on earth or under the
earth was able to open thescroll.
In other words, no matter whatsphere we're talking about,
nobody was found worthy anywhereno angelic beings in heaven, no
human being on earth, not anycreature in the sea, nobody in
(08:00):
the realm of the dead and no oneunder the earth, which is most
likely a reference to demonicpowers.
John understands the implication.
He realizes that this meansthere's no solution to the human
condition, there's no remedy toour separation from God.
Look anywhere you want, in anysphere you want, anywhere in the
universe.
(08:20):
The answer will not come fromany created being and it won't
come from anything that you'vedone.
And what does John do when herealizes this?
He weeps.
He says I began to weep loudlybecause no one was found worthy
to open the scroll.
John understood that God'spurposes and his kingdom will
(08:42):
not come to pass if the scrollisn't open.
Nobody's found worthy to openthe scroll and carry out God's
plan for human history.
And so he's in despair.
Because when he says that Ibegan to weep loudly, the Greek
word used for weep here is theword kleio, which is a term used
for the most dramatic form ofmourning.
(09:03):
It means to sob or to wail outloud like you would mourn for
someone dead.
It's the same word used inMatthew 26, 75, where Peter's
just denied Jesus for the thirdtime.
And it says and Peterremembered the words of Jesus
which said unto him Before thecock crow, you will deny me
(09:24):
three times.
And he went out.
And Clio, he wept bitterly.
But as John is weeping, histears are interrupted by one of
the elders who says to him inverse 5, weep no more.
Behold the lion of the tribe ofJudah, the root of David, has
conquered so that he can openthe scroll and its seven seals.
(09:45):
Now this might be one of themost important verses in the
chapter and even the book ofRevelation.
In fact, this may be one of themost significant verses in all
of scripture.
The lion of the tribe of Judahhas conquered, he has overcome,
triumphed, and this is, course,an allusion to Jesus Christ, who
is called the Lion of the tribeof Judah and the Root of David.
(10:08):
The Root of David is theMessiah, who would come from the
house of David.
The hope of Israel and for therest of the world has been
achieved through the one promiseto David long ago, and without
the Messiah conquering, we wouldbe without hope for a restored
relationship with God.
But when John turns to look atwhat the elders just explained,
(10:30):
that the lion of the tribe ofJudah has conquered.
What does he see?
Verses 6-8 tell us and betweenthe throne and the four living
creatures, and among the elders,I saw a lamb standing as though
it had been slain, with sevenhorns and with seven eyes, which
(11:00):
are the seven spirits of God.
So John turns to see what?
The lamb, each holding a harpand golden bowls full of incense
, which are the prayers of thesaints.
So John turns to see what theelder is pointing out Behold,
the lion of the tribe of Judahhas conquered.
And I'm sure John turnsexpecting to see a lion, the
symbol of strength and majesty.
(11:21):
But that's not what he sees.
He sees a lamb, as though ithad been slain.
I mean, could there be a moreopposite image of what John was
expecting to see, the contrastof the mightiest of predators
with the absolutely weak andhelpless lamb?
I mean it had to be shockingwhat John is experiencing.
(11:42):
But here we have one of thecentral paradoxes in
Christianity that Jesusconquered not by force but
through sacrificial love.
He didn't conquer by squashinghis enemies, but by giving up
his own life in suffering love.
In other words, jesus didn'tcome the first time as a lion,
(12:03):
but as a lamb.
And this makes sense of what weread in the Gospel of John.
Now, most people are familiarwith John 3.16, maybe the most
memorized verse in all ofScripture.
But how many people have thenext verse memorized, john 3.17.
Jesus didn't come the first timeas a lion to conquer and judge
and overthrow the shackles ofRoman oppression through
(12:26):
strength, like the Jews thoughtthe Messiah would do.
John 3, 17 tells us.
For God did not send his soninto the world to condemn the
world, but in order that theworld might be saved through him
.
And it's only through his deathand suffering on the cross that
you and I might be saved.
Remember the words of John theBaptist when he sees Jesus
(12:48):
approaching to be baptized.
What did he say?
Behold the mighty lion of thetribe of Judah.
No, he said behold the Lamb ofGod who takes away the sin of
the world.
And I want to remind you ofsomething Think back to the
Garden of Eden, right after Adamand Eve have sinned.
They realize it, they're afraidand they're ashamed, and so
(13:11):
they sew fig leaves together tocover their shame.
Some people say that this wasthe first act of religion man
trying to cover himself.
But what did God do with theirfig leaves?
Their attempt to coverthemselves?
He dismisses it and instead Godmakes them coats of skin,
teaching them that it would onlybe through the shedding of
(13:33):
innocent blood that their sinswould be covered.
And every act of animalsacrifice since then was a
temporary act, pointing to andanticipating, foreshadowing the
one true sacrifice that wouldone day come.
And that sacrifice was thecrucifixion and death of Jesus
Christ, the Lamb of God.
(13:54):
And when he did come and youthink about this the creator of
the universe did not enterJerusalem presenting himself as
the Messiah on some majesticwhite stallion warhorse, wearing
battle armor.
No, he entered Jerusalem inhumility, just as he entered his
creation in humility, as a baby.
(14:15):
He entered not on a warhorsebut riding a donkey, a symbol of
peace and humility.
Symbol of peace and humilityand this is what John sees a
lamb, as though it had beenslain, still bearing the wounds
(14:37):
and scars, but standing andalive.
You know, some people say thatthe only man-made things that'll
be in heaven are the scars onJesus, but John sees the lamb
standing because he's no longerslain.
Death didn't have the last word.
This is the risen lamb whoconquered death, and he's able
to open the scroll because hestands as the risen and
triumphant king.
(14:58):
But remember, john alsodescribes the lamb as having
seven horns, with seven eyes,which are the seven spirits of
God sent out into all the earth.
And so we see once again thenumber seven in Revelation.
Now we've already discussed thenumber seven being the number
of completion and perfection,but it's now associated with the
seven horns and seven eyes.
(15:19):
But we don't have to speculateas to what the seven eyes
represent, because the texttells us they're the seven
spirits of God sent out into allthe earth, signifying that he
sees and knows all things,although, as we mentioned back
in chapter one, the sevenspirits of God could also
represent the Holy Spirit andthus the perfection and fullness
(15:41):
of the Spirit.
Now, horns were a symbol ofstrength, and so the seven horns
represent the fact that theLamb, jesus Christ, has complete
and perfect strength.
The Lamb has complete power,and we read in verse 7 that the
Lamb went and took the scrollfrom the right hand of him, who
was seated on the throne.
In other words, jesus is aboutto disclose what the scroll
(16:03):
contains, he's about to beginbreaking the seals, and when he
does, as we'll see in the nextchapter, it ushers in the events
that people think of when theythink of Revelation a virtual
hell on earth, the apocalypse.
But John says that when he hadtaken the scroll, the four
living creatures and the 24elders fell down before the lamb
(16:26):
, each holding a harp and goldenbowls full of incense, which
are the prayers of the saints.
Now we discussed the potentialidentity of the four creatures
and the 24 elders in the lastepisode, but when Jesus takes
the scroll, they all fall downbefore him.
They're holding harps, whichare obviously for singing
praises, and golden bowls ofincense which represent the
(16:49):
prayers of the saints or thebelievers.
And this incense representingprayers harkens back to the Old
Testament, where the priestskept the incense in the temple
burning, rising up, and where inPsalm 141 we read let my prayer
be counted as incense beforeyou.
But John continues in verses 9and 10 saying and they sang a
(17:10):
new song saying Worthy are youto take the scroll and to open
its seals, for you were slainand by your blood you ransomed
people from God, from everytribe and language and people
and nation, and you have madethem a kingdom and priest to the
Lamb, who the Lamb is.
This should remove them, as thefour living creatures and the
(17:37):
24 elders cry out For you wereslain and by your blood you
ransomed people for God, and byyour blood you ransomed people
for God.
The lamb was slain but is nowalive, and by his blood people
are saved for God.
He was slain but he's now aliveand people have been saved by
his blood.
Does that remind you of anyoneyou've heard of before?
(17:59):
The lamb is Jesus Christ, andthe content of this verse makes
it clear that he's redeemed somepeople from every people group
in the world, and that comes asa bit of a shock to some people.
Sometimes we in the West, andespecially here in America, we
forget that there are otherChristians out there in the
world, many of which, even now,in 2024, face persecution and
(18:24):
even death for their beliefs.
You know it's easy for us inAmerica to believe that the West
has always been the epicenterof Christianity, but nothing
could be further from the truth.
Remember Christianity did notoriginate in America.
It originated in the MiddleEast and spread throughout the
world, and it continues tospread even today.
(18:44):
And spread throughout the world.
And it continues to spread eventoday, as one example Africa
has experienced a remarkabletransformation, going from
having less than 10 millionChristians at the turn of the
20th century to now being hometo 700 million Christians.
In 25 years, africa isprojected to have more
Christians than Asia and LatinAmerica combined.
(19:05):
And if that current trendcontinues, four out of every ten
Christians in the world willlive in sub-Saharan Africa.
Another modern day exampleSoutheast Asia is the fastest
growing Christian area in theworld.
Indonesia is the most populatedMuslim country in the world and
today it's now 25% Christian.
(19:26):
Now I've been to Los Angeles ahandful of times over the past
few years.
One of those trips wasspecifically to attend some
training with an organizationcalled Ratio Christi, which is
Latin for the reason of Christ,but the training was conducted
at a Korean megachurch in LA.
But I bet you didn't know thatthere are over 100 Korean
(19:47):
churches in Los Angeles alone.
And I mention these thingsbecause, you see, jesus didn't
come to redeem any particulargroup of people.
He came to redeem all people.
1 Timothy 2 tells us that thisis good and it's pleasing in the
sight of God, our Savior, whodesires all people to be saved
(20:08):
and to come to the knowledge ofthe truth.
And you might ask.
But what is truth?
It's a good question and itreminds me of the conversation
Jesus had with Pilate before hewas crucified.
In John 18, 37, we read.
Then Pilate said to him so youare a king?
And Jesus answered you say thatI'm a king.
(20:29):
For this purpose I was born andfor this purpose I have come
into the world to bear witnessto the truth.
Everyone who is of the truthlistens to my voice.
And Pilate said to him what istruth?
It's the same question that somany people struggle with today.
And so what is truth?
Jesus told us in John 14, 6, Iam the way and the truth and the
(20:55):
life.
No one comes to the Fatherexcept through me.
And so here we are readingJohn's description in Revelation
of the Lamb, who was slain butwas now alive and through his
sacrifice has redeemed manypeople from all over the world
for God people from every tribeand language, and people and
(21:15):
nation.
An interesting observation it'sbeen noted that these four
terms every tribe, language,people and nation occur seven
times in Revelation.
Four is the number of the world, seven the number of
completeness.
But we continue with verses 11and 12, which read Then I looked
(21:36):
and I heard around the throne,the living creatures and the
elders, the voice of many angelsnumbering myriads of myriads
and thousands of thousands,saying with a loud voice Worthy
is.
And so, as we see this scenenearing its end, john describes,
(22:00):
along with the four livingcreatures and the 24 elders
angels that surrounded thethrone.
John says that there weremyriads of myriads and thousands
of thousands.
So how many angels are wetalking about here?
Well, the largest number thathad a specific term in the Greek
language, particularly inancient Greek, is the Greek word
(22:21):
mureos, the myriad, which means10,000.
For numbers beyond this,ancient Greeks, like the
mathematician Archimedes,developed systems to express
very large numbers, but toverbally describe numbers larger
than 10,000, they used the termmyriad, myriads, which is what
John has done here when he saysthat the angels numbered myriads
(22:44):
of myriads and thousands ofthousands.
Now, if you want to multiplythat out, 10,000 times 10,000,
times 1,000 times 1,000, I cantell you it equals 100 trillion.
Now, some would argue that theGreek implies a mathematical
answer of 100 million plus 1million.
But either way, the bottom lineis that this is probably just a
(23:05):
way for John to communicate tous that the number of angels
surrounding the throne wasinnumerable.
And what are they all doing?
All saying with a loud voiceworthy is the lamb who was slain
to receive power and wealth andwisdom and might and honor and
glory and blessing.
I mean, can you imagine thisscene?
They begin by saying worthy isthe lamb who was slain.
(23:30):
Because they realize the fullextent of exactly what that
means.
Jesus is worthy to open thescroll.
Jesus alone is worthy, and theyrealize that without his
sacrifice there would be no pathto God for those separated from
him by sin.
That includes you and I.
And it's no accident that theirpraise is sevenfold, the number
(23:51):
of perfection and completeness.
Listen again and count.
Worthy is the lamb who wasslain to receive what Power and
wealth and wisdom and might andhonor and glory and blessing
Seven perfection.
But we finish this chapter withthe final two verses, 13 and 14,
(24:13):
which read and I heard everycreature in heaven and on earth,
and under the earth and in thesea, and all that is in them
saying To him who sits on thethrone and to the Lamb, be
blessing and honor and glory andmight forever, and the throne
with the four living creaturesand the 24 elders.
They're now also joined by allof creation.
(24:44):
John says and I heard everycreature in heaven and on earth,
and under the earth and in thesea, and all that is in them.
John is speaking universallyhere, just as he did earlier
when all of creation wassearched for one who was worthy
to open the scroll, and so againhe specifies those in heaven
(25:05):
and on the earth, under theearth and in the sea, all of
creation.
It's interesting that Paul usesvery similar language when he
says in 2nd Philippians that Godhas highly exalted him and
bestowed on him the name that isabove every name, so that at
the name of Jesus every kneeshould bow, where In heaven and
(25:26):
on earth and under the earth,and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord.
Paul is also speakinguniversally here, but it tells
us that the four livingcreatures said amen and the
elders fell down in worship.
Now there are various words tocommunicate worship, but the
worship giving here in thisscene never ends.
(25:48):
And so we find ourselves hereat this heavenly crescendo where
every creature declares inunison to him who sits on the
throne and to the Lamb beblessing and honor and glory and
might forever and ever.
Jesus Christ, the Lion and andthe Lamb, is the only one worthy
(26:09):
, worthy to open the scroll,worthy of our lives, our
allegiance and our worship.
And there you have it, all ofcreation singing in harmony.
Worthy is the Lamb.
And as we close this chapter, Iwant to leave you with this
thought If all of creation canjoin in this chorus of adoration
(26:31):
and praise, worship andgratitude, what about you?
I pray that your life would bea testament to Jesus Christ, the
Lamb that was slain to redeemyou.
Will you add your voice to thateternal praise and worship,
expressing your love andgratitude?
Cause all that I have is ahallelujah, hallelujah.
(27:11):
I know it's not much, but I'mnothing else fit for a king,
except for a heart singingHallelujah, hallelujah, except
for our hearts singinghallelujah, hallelujah.
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