Saturday, November 18, 2006
Revelation 5:1-6 ~ Jeff Ludington
Revelation 5
“The Lamb on the Throne”
RECAP:
· Last week we looked at Chapter 4 – “the Throne”
o 60 mentions of a throne in NT
o 44 mentions in Revelation alone
§ approximately 75% of all NT references are in Revelation
§ That is why I believe it is the theme of the book
§ Rather than talk about end times positions
§ Revelation pushes us towards WORSHIP at the THRONE!!!
o Chapter 4 mentions God’s throne 11 times
§ Before the throne
§ Around the throne
§ Coming from the throne
§ Laying our crowns at the throne
Remember what our focus is: WORSHIP
· Why is that important?
· Because we believe this book to be more about blessings than arguments
Revelation 1:1-3
The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw — that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
NOTICE:
Revelation:
· Revelation comes from God
o Through an angel/messenger
o To John
o To us
· Notice the flow from the throne all the way down to us
Worship is the opposite:
· Worship starts like we saw last week
o From the 24 Elders – representing the fullness of the church
o Through the 4 Living Creatures – focusing us on Jesus
o To the Throne – where Jesus sits
· Notice the flow back to the Throne
This week we get more about the throne, and He Who sits on it!!!
Put up two websites overhead:
· www.emergehb.org
· www.emergehb.blogspot.com
Last week we left off, bowing before the throne of God:
· That is where we pick up this week
PRAY:
Vs. 1
Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals.
Remember when we asked last week about why so many descriptions?
· Description is more important than we realize
· Solomon didn’t tell Abishag that she had lips
· He wrote a description when he spoke of her lips
Song of Solomon 4:3
Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon; your mouth is lovely.
Song of Solomon 4:11
Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride; milk and honey are under your tongue.
Description is powerful!
· Here in Revelation John spends more time on description
· Than on straight forward/simple facts
· These are to tell us more about the person/thing
Here we have: “the right hand of him who sat on the throne”
· Throughout the OT we see the “right hand” is a symbol
· It is symbolic of power and authority
· Power and authority are going to be a recurring theme tonight
The One who holds this scroll is showing His power and authority over whatever it is by holding it in his right hand.
· Again, description is more important to the author
· He wants to convey a deeper meaning than he has words for
John wishes to romance us with the things of God!
“Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals.”
What is this Scroll?
· The complete truth is that we don’t know
· IT DOESN’T SAY!!!
· So, when it doesn’t say, I don’t normally give you people’s opinions
· I am going to make an exception tonight
One View:
· It is the Lamb’s Book of Life
· Containing all Believer’s names in it from all ages past, present, and future
Another View:
· The Hebrew Bible or Old Testament
· Containing all of the prophecies that the Messiah would fulfill
Third View:
· Impending Judgment on Earth
· All of the “Tribulation” type ideas
Fourth View:
· The plan of redemption of Humanity
· The sacred writing of how the Messiah would purchase back Creation
Why do I tell you these things, when we don’t know the answer?
· Because they all have one thing in common
o They are all God’s Word
· Not in a canonical, or biblical sense
o But in a solely divine inspiration way
· These are all the very words of God
So, the very Word of God, not necessarily the Bible, but the very words of God Himself, written down.
· This is signified by the description referring to power and authority
· Held by God on the throne
· Completely written on both sides, showing it is final
o No more can be added to it
· Sealed with 7 seals
o Showing just how important it was
o Some Roman legal documents had this
o Needing more than one seal
This is the weight you need to feel about this scroll:
· We don’t need to define it completely
· We do need to know it is of amazing value and importance
· That is why we have description, rather than simple facts
Vs. 2-4
And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, "Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?" But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside.
· This is the reason I wanted to spend time on the gravity of the Scroll
· No one was found to be worthy to open it…
If it is the Redemption of Humanity:
· No one is flawless or sinless enough
If it is the Lamb’s Book of Life:
· No one is righteous and pure enough
If it is the Hebrew Prophecies fulfilled:
· No one is holy or sacred enough
NO ONE is able:
· And John is brought to tears
· He is saddened by the condition of the world he is a part of
MAYBE: John finally sees how depraved the situation is.
· Maybe for the first time John realizes how grateful he is for salvation
· Maybe this is a realization of how in need of a Savior he is
Vs. 5
Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals."
· One of the elders approaches John
· He tells the Beloved Apostle not to cry
· There is One who is able
· There is One who has triumphed!
Revelation gives us two very symbolic names
· Notice the capitalization in your Bibles:
· Lion, and Root or Branch are not normally proper nouns
· But here, they signify something great
REMEMBER:
· Description is as important to the author as the plain facts are!
· Who is this Lion of Judah?
· Who is this Root/Branch of David?
· It is Jesus, and He is able to open the scroll
The Lion of the Tribe of Judah; A prophecy about Jesus from:
Genesis 49:8-12
Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons will bow down to you. You are a lion's cub, O Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness — who dares to rouse him? The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his. He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk.
· Do you hear the prophecy about Jesus in this?
· Do you see the authority and power spoken of here?
LION: used to show us great power
· Knowing that Judah would be a ruling line of the tribes
· Their symbol became the Lion
· Notice Judah is called a “Lion’s Cub”
· Signifying that one greater Lion will come later
Scepter: to show us authority
“The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.”
· The scepter is obviously tied to a royal line
· The staff is another reference to the same thing
· It says from this tribe, one will come who will rule the nations
What does this image conjure up in the minds of the Apostle?
What about when YOU, when you hear:
“He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.”
· Do you hear Jesus in this desription?
· Can you see pictures of the Easter story?
· References of a donkey, wine, blood, and a vine.
o Jesus rode in on the colt of a donkey to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday
o He had just told His disciples at Passover this is the new covenant in my blood
o He said this as He committed to not drink wine again until it was with them in Heaven
o John 15:5 I am the Vine, you are the branches…
Do you see why the description is so beautiful?
· Do you see why it would be lost just to say “Jesus is here”
· Jesus can open the scroll!!!
The Root/Branch of David, a prophecy about Jesus from:
Isaiah 11:1-5
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him — the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. With righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
· Again, this is deep with meaning
· To the Jewish mind, this would be so fulfilling
The Jesse mentioned here is the Father of David:
· The Branch here is capitalized
· And became known to the Jewish mind as the Branch/Root of David
Power and Authority:
· Root is the foundational strength of a plant
· From the foundation of strength a branch appears bearing fruit
· Spirit of counsel and power
· Spirit of knowledge
· Judge
· Righteousness
· Justice
All these words are romancing our minds toward an understanding of this ONE who is able to open the scroll.
· The elder tells John, don’t cry
· The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David is here
· Jesus is the one with the power and authority to open the scroll!
Vs. 6
Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders.
· Again, rather than just saying “Jesus is on the throne”
· John describes the one greatest attribute of He who sits on the throne
Far more impossible than:
· The hundreds upon hundreds of prophecies to fulfill
· All the imagery to live out
· Is the fact that dying and coming back to life
John, our author here, sees a lamb:
· Standing in the center of the throne:
o Standing is showing it is alive
o Not dead
· Yet, it is “as if it had been slain”
o You can see that it had been put to death
o But is now alive
· I don’t care how difficult anything Jesus had to do while He was on Earth
o It is difficult to heal the blind and deaf
o It is difficult walk on water
o It is difficult to live a life of perfection
BUT: it is impossible to be put to death, and raise yourself back to life!
· The author here knows this
· And, knows how important that this is to the power and authority of Jesus Christ!
· Jesus is the Lamb!
When Jesus went to be baptized, John the Baptist said:
“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world”
How does the power and authority of Jesus relate to you?
· Maybe your needs are great, and you need a powerful Jesus
· Maybe you need guidance, and need an authority like Jesus
Gospel:
Do you know tonight that Jesus loves you?
Do you understand the worth of Him who sits on the throne?
“The Lamb on the Throne”
RECAP:
· Last week we looked at Chapter 4 – “the Throne”
o 60 mentions of a throne in NT
o 44 mentions in Revelation alone
§ approximately 75% of all NT references are in Revelation
§ That is why I believe it is the theme of the book
§ Rather than talk about end times positions
§ Revelation pushes us towards WORSHIP at the THRONE!!!
o Chapter 4 mentions God’s throne 11 times
§ Before the throne
§ Around the throne
§ Coming from the throne
§ Laying our crowns at the throne
Remember what our focus is: WORSHIP
· Why is that important?
· Because we believe this book to be more about blessings than arguments
Revelation 1:1-3
The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw — that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
NOTICE:
Revelation:
· Revelation comes from God
o Through an angel/messenger
o To John
o To us
· Notice the flow from the throne all the way down to us
Worship is the opposite:
· Worship starts like we saw last week
o From the 24 Elders – representing the fullness of the church
o Through the 4 Living Creatures – focusing us on Jesus
o To the Throne – where Jesus sits
· Notice the flow back to the Throne
This week we get more about the throne, and He Who sits on it!!!
Put up two websites overhead:
· www.emergehb.org
· www.emergehb.blogspot.com
Last week we left off, bowing before the throne of God:
· That is where we pick up this week
PRAY:
Vs. 1
Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals.
Remember when we asked last week about why so many descriptions?
· Description is more important than we realize
· Solomon didn’t tell Abishag that she had lips
· He wrote a description when he spoke of her lips
Song of Solomon 4:3
Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon; your mouth is lovely.
Song of Solomon 4:11
Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride; milk and honey are under your tongue.
Description is powerful!
· Here in Revelation John spends more time on description
· Than on straight forward/simple facts
· These are to tell us more about the person/thing
Here we have: “the right hand of him who sat on the throne”
· Throughout the OT we see the “right hand” is a symbol
· It is symbolic of power and authority
· Power and authority are going to be a recurring theme tonight
The One who holds this scroll is showing His power and authority over whatever it is by holding it in his right hand.
· Again, description is more important to the author
· He wants to convey a deeper meaning than he has words for
John wishes to romance us with the things of God!
“Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals.”
What is this Scroll?
· The complete truth is that we don’t know
· IT DOESN’T SAY!!!
· So, when it doesn’t say, I don’t normally give you people’s opinions
· I am going to make an exception tonight
One View:
· It is the Lamb’s Book of Life
· Containing all Believer’s names in it from all ages past, present, and future
Another View:
· The Hebrew Bible or Old Testament
· Containing all of the prophecies that the Messiah would fulfill
Third View:
· Impending Judgment on Earth
· All of the “Tribulation” type ideas
Fourth View:
· The plan of redemption of Humanity
· The sacred writing of how the Messiah would purchase back Creation
Why do I tell you these things, when we don’t know the answer?
· Because they all have one thing in common
o They are all God’s Word
· Not in a canonical, or biblical sense
o But in a solely divine inspiration way
· These are all the very words of God
So, the very Word of God, not necessarily the Bible, but the very words of God Himself, written down.
· This is signified by the description referring to power and authority
· Held by God on the throne
· Completely written on both sides, showing it is final
o No more can be added to it
· Sealed with 7 seals
o Showing just how important it was
o Some Roman legal documents had this
o Needing more than one seal
This is the weight you need to feel about this scroll:
· We don’t need to define it completely
· We do need to know it is of amazing value and importance
· That is why we have description, rather than simple facts
Vs. 2-4
And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, "Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?" But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside.
· This is the reason I wanted to spend time on the gravity of the Scroll
· No one was found to be worthy to open it…
If it is the Redemption of Humanity:
· No one is flawless or sinless enough
If it is the Lamb’s Book of Life:
· No one is righteous and pure enough
If it is the Hebrew Prophecies fulfilled:
· No one is holy or sacred enough
NO ONE is able:
· And John is brought to tears
· He is saddened by the condition of the world he is a part of
MAYBE: John finally sees how depraved the situation is.
· Maybe for the first time John realizes how grateful he is for salvation
· Maybe this is a realization of how in need of a Savior he is
Vs. 5
Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals."
· One of the elders approaches John
· He tells the Beloved Apostle not to cry
· There is One who is able
· There is One who has triumphed!
Revelation gives us two very symbolic names
· Notice the capitalization in your Bibles:
· Lion, and Root or Branch are not normally proper nouns
· But here, they signify something great
REMEMBER:
· Description is as important to the author as the plain facts are!
· Who is this Lion of Judah?
· Who is this Root/Branch of David?
· It is Jesus, and He is able to open the scroll
The Lion of the Tribe of Judah; A prophecy about Jesus from:
Genesis 49:8-12
Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons will bow down to you. You are a lion's cub, O Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness — who dares to rouse him? The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his. He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk.
· Do you hear the prophecy about Jesus in this?
· Do you see the authority and power spoken of here?
LION: used to show us great power
· Knowing that Judah would be a ruling line of the tribes
· Their symbol became the Lion
· Notice Judah is called a “Lion’s Cub”
· Signifying that one greater Lion will come later
Scepter: to show us authority
“The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.”
· The scepter is obviously tied to a royal line
· The staff is another reference to the same thing
· It says from this tribe, one will come who will rule the nations
What does this image conjure up in the minds of the Apostle?
What about when YOU, when you hear:
“He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.”
· Do you hear Jesus in this desription?
· Can you see pictures of the Easter story?
· References of a donkey, wine, blood, and a vine.
o Jesus rode in on the colt of a donkey to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday
o He had just told His disciples at Passover this is the new covenant in my blood
o He said this as He committed to not drink wine again until it was with them in Heaven
o John 15:5 I am the Vine, you are the branches…
Do you see why the description is so beautiful?
· Do you see why it would be lost just to say “Jesus is here”
· Jesus can open the scroll!!!
The Root/Branch of David, a prophecy about Jesus from:
Isaiah 11:1-5
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him — the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. With righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
· Again, this is deep with meaning
· To the Jewish mind, this would be so fulfilling
The Jesse mentioned here is the Father of David:
· The Branch here is capitalized
· And became known to the Jewish mind as the Branch/Root of David
Power and Authority:
· Root is the foundational strength of a plant
· From the foundation of strength a branch appears bearing fruit
· Spirit of counsel and power
· Spirit of knowledge
· Judge
· Righteousness
· Justice
All these words are romancing our minds toward an understanding of this ONE who is able to open the scroll.
· The elder tells John, don’t cry
· The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David is here
· Jesus is the one with the power and authority to open the scroll!
Vs. 6
Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders.
· Again, rather than just saying “Jesus is on the throne”
· John describes the one greatest attribute of He who sits on the throne
Far more impossible than:
· The hundreds upon hundreds of prophecies to fulfill
· All the imagery to live out
· Is the fact that dying and coming back to life
John, our author here, sees a lamb:
· Standing in the center of the throne:
o Standing is showing it is alive
o Not dead
· Yet, it is “as if it had been slain”
o You can see that it had been put to death
o But is now alive
· I don’t care how difficult anything Jesus had to do while He was on Earth
o It is difficult to heal the blind and deaf
o It is difficult walk on water
o It is difficult to live a life of perfection
BUT: it is impossible to be put to death, and raise yourself back to life!
· The author here knows this
· And, knows how important that this is to the power and authority of Jesus Christ!
· Jesus is the Lamb!
When Jesus went to be baptized, John the Baptist said:
“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world”
How does the power and authority of Jesus relate to you?
· Maybe your needs are great, and you need a powerful Jesus
· Maybe you need guidance, and need an authority like Jesus
Gospel:
Do you know tonight that Jesus loves you?
Do you understand the worth of Him who sits on the throne?
