Over the past couple weeks, we've been reflecting on the truth from God's Word that He is worthy of praise, worthy of our worship.
And that's really the reason why we've started services up again, even with the restrictions that we have.
Because our God is worthy. He deserves our praise and our worship.
And we've looked at a number of different reasons over the past couple weeks.
And this morning, we're going to bring this series to a close and look at one final reason.
And we're going back to Revelation. We're going to see it through the eyes of John in his spectacular vision that the Lord Jesus gave him when he was on the island of Patmos.
So if you have your Bible, we're going to just kind of work through it bit by bit.
And so you can follow along there. And I'll try to...we've got some technical difficulties here, but we'll try to manage.
We've got some stuff on the screen too.
And...
This is where we are in this moment. And this is, of course, an artist's rendition of what John saw in his vision.
We talked about this two weeks. He was called up into heaven in the Spirit, in this vision.
And there he saw something like this.
He saw one seated on the throne who was radiant and beautiful.
Four living creatures and 24 elders, kings with crowns.
And there was worship going on in heaven.
And we're going to continue on a little bit with this vision and just see what John saw in his vision next.
In chapter 5, verse 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.
So all of a sudden, this worship moment, something happens.
John notices that there's a scroll in the hand of the one who is seated on the throne.
And not just any scroll, but a scroll with writing on both sides.
A scroll with seven seals.
This is another artist's depiction of maybe something like what he saw.
And of course, John is probably wondering, just as we are, well, what is the scroll?
What's written on it?
What's the meaning of this?
Why are there these seals on it?
Well, we're going to get to that in a moment.
But let's keep going and hear what John saw.
Verse 2.
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.
So as John is watching, a mighty angel comes in a loud voice, not just once,
but the sense here is that continuously he is proclaiming,
Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?
It's time to open the scroll.
And the sense we get is that this call, this invitation to open the scroll,
goes out not just in heaven, but to the whole universe, to the ends of the universe.
No one in heaven or on earth or under the earth, in all of creation,
was found who is able to open the scroll, to read its contents.
And so this moment of worship and praise all of a sudden takes a turn of sadness.
And John, he says, I wept.
I was weeping.
Not just crying, but weeping because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll.
But his sadness is interrupted in verse 5 as one of the elders turns to him and speaks to him and says this,
Do not weep.
See or behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has triumphed.
He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.
Don't weep, John.
There is someone who is worthy to open the scroll.
And he gives two titles of the one who is worthy, the one who is able to do it.
One of them harkens back to a prophecy given long ago by Jacob to his son Judah.
Judah.
Jacob said this, Judah, your brothers will praise you.
Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies.
Your father's son will bow down to you.
You are a lion's cub, Judah.
You return from the prey, my son.
Like a lion, he crouches and lies down.
Like a lioness, who dares to rouse him?
And then these words, wonderful words.
The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet,
until he to whom it belongs shall come, and the obedience of the nations shall be his.
This promise of a great king made long ago, a lion descended from Judah.
He also refers to the root of David.
David, these words harken back to the prophecy of Isaiah.
In Isaiah chapter 11.
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse.
From his roots, a branch will bear fruit.
And it goes on to describe how the spirit of the Lord will be upon him,
and how he will judge and bring righteousness and peace to the earth.
Another wonderful promise.
This is the one.
And of course, we know who he is talking about.
He's talking about Jesus.
This is the one that the angel proclaimed would be born to Mary.
Well, the vision goes on.
In Revelation chapter 5.
The elder says,
Behold the lion, or see the lion, the root of David.
He has triumphed.
He's able to open the scroll.
And it's seven seals.
And you almost get the sense that he's gesturing.
Behold, look.
In that moment, John looks.
And this is what he sees.
Verse 6.
Then I saw a lamb looking as if it had been slain,
standing at the center of the throne,
encircled by the four living creatures and the elders.
The lamb had seven horns and seven eyes,
which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
This is one artist's rendition of it.
It's not really in the throne scene,
but you kind of get the idea.
Seven horns and seven eyes.
A very strange vision,
looking as if it had been slain.
There's another artist's rendition of it.
In this one, the lamb is standing,
wearing the crown of thorns there.
So, even as we hear John say this,
I mean, we should be thinking,
this is not an ordinary lamb.
This is a vision.
This is almost like a dream,
like some of the visions that were given long ago to Daniel and Ezekiel,
to Pharaoh,
that Joseph interpreted for him.
So, there's this lamb,
and there's details about it
that he highlights,
looking as if it had been slain.
It's not dead anymore, though,
because it's standing.
And it's got seven horns and seven eyes.
And he explains a little bit about that.
From there, the vision goes on.
John says,
And when he had taken it,
the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the lamb.
Each one had a harp,
and they were holding golden bowls full of incense,
which are the prayers of God's people.
And they sang a new song,
saying,
You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were slain.
And with your blood,
you purchased for God
persons from every tribe
and language
and people
and nation.
You have made them to be a kingdom
and priests
to serve our God,
and they will reign on the earth.
So, even at the taking of this scroll
by this lamb,
heaven bursts into worship.
The 24 elders,
the four living creatures,
they begin to sing this song of praise
to the lamb.
From there, the worship service seems to grow
in size.
Verse 11,
Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels,
numbering thousands upon thousands
and ten thousand times ten thousand.
They encircled the throne
and the living creatures and the elders.
In a loud voice,
they were saying,
Worthy is the lamb
who was slain
to receive power
and wealth
and wisdom
and strength
and honor
and glory
and praise.
You can just imagine
what this might have
seemed like to John.
What this would have looked like.
I imagine it's something like
maybe stepping out
into a stadium
full of a hundred thousand people,
except more.
There were myriads
of myriads of angels
all over the place.
Can you imagine the sound of them
singing these words?
What a moment that must have been.
But it doesn't stop there.
The worship service gets even bigger.
Verse 13,
Then I heard every creature
in heaven and on earth
and under the earth
and on the sea
and all that is in them
saying,
To him who sits on the throne
and to the lamb
be praise
and honor
and glory
and power
forever and ever.
The four living creatures said,
Amen.
And the elders
fell down
and worshipped.
What a moment.
What a sight.
What a sound.
I wish that I could have seen
with my own eyes
what John saw
in this vision.
A spectacular
worship service
in heaven.
Now what does this vision
mean?
Here's the big question.
And of course,
this is the book of Revelation.
This is one of the most debated,
discussed
pieces of the Bible
that there is.
And there's all kinds
of different ideas
and opinions
and interpretations.
And if you
come to a different one
than me
in your reading
or your study of it,
I bless you.
I would rather
that you read this book
and love it
and treasure these words of God
and interpret it
a different way
than not read them at all
and just agree
with whatever I say.
But what does this vision mean?
What's going on here?
What are we to take from this?
Well,
let's look at the first element
of this vision,
the scroll.
What does the scroll
represent?
I thought I had a picture
of it there.
Maybe not.
Thanks, David.
So there's this scroll.
We want to know
what is this scroll
all about?
What does it mean?
And
even at the outset here,
I think we can cross off
a few things.
In Revelation 4,
verse 1,
we read
about how
John was first invited
to come up to heaven
to witness
this vision.
Come up here
and I will show you
what must take place
after this.
So the sense we get
is that this is not
a vision of what's happening
in heaven right now.
This is not the present.
This is what's going
to come later
or after
that John sees.
And from there,
we can also probably
rule out
this is not really
a depiction
of what things
in heaven
actually look like.
And we kind of get
that sense
all throughout this book,
but especially here
in this passage,
we see some elements
of it that,
okay,
this is strange.
John kind of gives us
the clue
that this is a vision.
This is almost
like a dream
and there are various
elements to this dream
and details
that have meaning.
They represent something.
And he actually
interprets some of those
for us.
He kind of gives us
the meaning.
Like in verse 6,
the Lamb had
seven horns
and seven eyes
and those seven eyes,
he tells us,
represent
the seven spirits
of God
sent out
into all the earth.
And we kind of know
that this vision
is full of
representative things
and not necessarily
actual depictions.
We know
that the Lamb
is Jesus,
the Son of God,
the God-man.
And he doesn't
look like this.
It's in the vision.
that he looks like this.
And those details
of how he appears
to John
are significant.
They correspond
to reality,
but they're not
the actual depictions.
Again,
we see this
in verse 8
where the kings,
the 24 elders,
are holding golden bowls
full of incense.
And John tells us
that those bowls,
they represent
the prayers
of God's people.
So,
I think
those are kind of
the guiding things
that can kind of
lead us towards
how we're to
read this.
It's not as though
we're seeing
a video clip
of what will happen
actually in the future.
It's more of a vision
or a dream
that God has given
in which all of the details
correspond to realities
that we will see
come about
in the future.
And so,
let's look at,
let's consider
the scroll.
Back to the scroll.
what does the scroll
represent?
Well,
if we continue
reading in
this vision,
we see that the scroll
represents,
in a moment,
the Lamb,
in verse,
chapter 6 and 7,
we're not going to read it,
but He will come
and actually open
the seals
and open the scroll
and we assume
read it.
And as He opens
each seal,
some kind of event
is triggered
or something
is unleashed
either on earth
or in heaven
or something
that relates
to both.
And so,
we might,
it seems like
the scroll
represents God's
decree,
God's written
kind of
ahead of time
account of the
final chapter
of human history,
of how things
are going to
unfold,
especially as it
pertains to the
final judgment
and to the
final salvation
of God's people.
And we kind of
get this sense
as we come to
the opening of
the sixth seal
at the end
of chapter 6.
The people there
are calling out
to the mountains,
fall on us
and hide us
from the face
of Him who sits
on the throne
and from the wrath
of the Lamb
for the great day
of their wrath
has come
and who can
withstand it?
So the opening
of these seals
seems to be
the triggering
of events,
the setting
in motion
of what God
has ordained
from long ago
to bring forth
the final judgment,
the wrath
of God.
These seals
seem to trigger
the events
that either
themselves are
part of the
day of the Lord
or lead up
to the day
of the Lord
depending on
how you want
to see it.
But it's not
all judgment
and punishment.
Chapter 7
goes on
as the seventh
seal is opened
and we get
descriptions
of salvation.
We get
descriptions
of how some
of God's
people are
sealed
to protect
them from
the judgment
that is about
to be poured
out.
And we
see a snapshot
of a multitude
in heaven
singing
about the
salvation of
God,
the great
deliverance
of God
in the
midst
of all
of this.
And so
that's kind
of how I
would take
the scroll.
It seems
as though
it is
kind of
the last
chapter
of the
story.
It's sealed
up.
It's already
planned.
And there
is only one
who is
worthy
to initiate
the unfolding
of that
chapter
and the
reading of
it
into human
history.
And one
who is
worthy to
carry forward
the events
that are
there.
The final
judgment
and the
final salvation
of God's
people.
Well,
there's the
scroll,
and then
the next
most,
and the
most important
detail of
this vision
is not the
scroll,
but the
lamb.
The lamb,
when he
comes into
this vision,
just takes
the whole
spotlight,
and it's
almost as if
after he
takes the
scroll,
the scroll
just kind
of fades
into the
background.
We've got
to put that
on hold
for a
moment,
we've got
to have
a worship
service
here,
because this
one is
worthy.
And it's
a worship
service,
as we
looked at,
that starts
in heaven,
and it
just grows
from there
until the
whole universe
in John's
vision is
praising
this lamb,
this one.
Why are they
praising him?
What are they
saying?
they're saying,
you are
worthy.
Verse 9,
you are
worthy to
take the
scroll and
to open
its seals.
Verse 12,
worthy is
the lamb.
Verse 13,
to the lamb
be praise
and honor
and glory
and power
forever and
ever.
You deserve
it.
It belongs
to you.
It's only
right that we
praise you
and worship
you.
Why?
We've looked
at a number
of reasons
already in
this series,
but what's
the reason
that they
give here
in this
heavenly
worship service
that John
sees?
Verse 9,
you are
worthy to
take the
scroll and
to open
its seals.
Why?
Because you
were slain
and with
your blood
you purchased
for God
persons from
every tribe
and language
and people
and nation.
you have
made them
to be a
kingdom
and priests
to serve
our God
and they
will reign
on the
earth.
So there
are many
reasons that
he is
worthy,
but the
one that
shines bright
right at
the beginning
of this
is the
reason
that he
was
slain,
the reason
that he
died,
that through
his death
and the
shedding of
his blood,
he purchased,
he bought,
he paid
the ransom
to set
a people
free,
a people
from every
tribe and
nation and
tongue.
He paid
the price
that was
required so
that a
great people
from all
over the
earth could
be set free
from the
debt that
they owed
God
from their
guilt for
their sins.
Not only
were they
ransomed or
purchased,
set free
from,
but they
were purchased
to.
Do you see
that word?
Some translations
say purchased
for.
With your
blood you
purchased
for God
persons from
every tribe
and language
and tongue.
It's not just
to set them
free from the
negative consequence,
but it's to
buy them
and bring
them back
into
relationship
with God
to be a
people for
him,
who live
with him
and enjoy
him.
And he is
their God
and they are
his people.
And it goes
on from
there.
Not only
that,
but verse
10,
you have
made them
to be
a kingdom
and priests
to serve
our God.
This is a
picture of
John,
what John
saw at the
beginning of
this vision
because Jesus
is not
still dead.
He is
alive.
This is not
a song of
his sacrifice
and death
and that's
the end.
This is a
song of
his triumph
of what he
has accomplished
through his
death.
and his
resurrection.
Verse 10,
you made
them to be
a kingdom
and priests
to our
God.
We often
think of
that word
kingdom in
terms of
a location,
a place
with boundaries.
God.
But as we
read these
words,
it seems
that what
they are
saying is
that the
kingdom is
primarily,
first and
foremost,
a people.
It's a
people whom
Jesus,
the Lamb,
has won
for God
and to
God.
We almost
get the
sense here
that Jesus
is offering
a gift
to God.
I have
gone out,
I have
gone into
the world
and I
have won
for you.
I have
established,
I have
brought back
into order
your kingdom
in this
world which
has rebelled.
I have
made them
priests who
will worship
you appropriately.
And this
kingdom,
these people,
these priests
are people
from every
tribe and
language and
people and
nation.
It's not
just a
kingdom up
in heaven,
it is the
kingdom established
from heaven.
But look at
the last
verse of
the song
in verse
10,
they will
reign,
on the
earth.
A kingdom
on earth.
All of
this reasons
why the
lamb is
worthy and
why heaven
explodes in
praise and
after that
the angelic
host joins
in and
then the
universe joins
in.
Look at
what he
has done.
And he
didn't do
it with
a sword.
Convert
or die.
No.
He did
it by
lovingly
laying down
his life,
by taking
the bullet
for this
people,
by jumping
on the
grenade to
save this
people.
He is
worthy
because he
has saved
us by
his blood.
God,
this is the
ultimate
reason why
we worship.
This will
be the
reason for
all eternity
that one
of the
big ones
at the
heart of
our
worship
forever,
this one,
our great
king,
laid down
his life
for us
so that
we could
become a
part of
this great
kingdom
that we
will enjoy
forever.
He is
worthy of
our
worship.
He is
worthy of
our
praise.
Sunday
after Sunday
and forever,
day after
day,
not just
here at
church when
we sing,
but in
each of
our lives
as we go
about the
various parts
of our
day,
he is
worthy of
our praise.
So I
want to
invite the
worship team
to come
forward again
and we're
going to
sing one
final song
to the
lamb,
to our
God.
Amen.