Have you ever been going through a
really rough time and had God use a sermon, a song, or a word from a friend to
completely lift your spirits? I want to
start out by reminding you today that the function
of Revelation 4-5 is to do just that.
These chapters are meant to give God’s people everything they need to
endure in the face of anything, whether that be temptation or persecution. They are, as Greg Beale put it, the theological heart of the book of
Revelation. That is because the truths
found here are meant to stir up the people of God to face anything for the
glory of their King.
Last
time, we saw three ultimate realities that were meant to encourage believers to
persevere: the beauty, sovereignty, and worth of God. Today, we are going to see one more: the
ultimate reality of the Lamb’s victory.
Just as the fall in Genesis 3 had
universal ramifications, so did the
life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In Revelation
5:1-14, John pulled the curtain back to reveal the ramifications of the
Lamb’s victory, giving believers another ultimate reality to help them endure
anything. We too must saturate our
hearts and minds with these ramifications of Christ’s victory if we are going
to endure temptation and persecution. My
prayer today is that God would stir up our hearts with these truths so that we
may endure anything for the glory of our King!
[5:1] Then I saw in the right hand of
him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back,
sealed with seven seals. [2] And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a
loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?”
[3] And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open
the scroll or to look into it, [4] and I began to weep loudly because no
one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. [5] And one of
the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah,
the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven
seals.”
[6] And between
the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb
standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes,
which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. [7] And he
went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the
throne. [8] And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures
and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and
golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. [9] And
they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open
its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation, [10] and you have made
them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”
[11] Then I
looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders
the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of
thousands, [12] saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was
slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and
blessing!”
[13] And I heard
every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and
all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be
blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” [14] And the
four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped. (Revelation 5:1-11 ESV) What are these ramifications of
Christ’s victory that help us to face anything?
I.
The Lamb will Finish His Story (5:1-7)
Let
me first give you a summary of this point and then try to show you how I
arrived at it in the passage. What I
mean by the Lamb finishing His story is that Jesus, by virtue of His victory on the cross, has earned the right to
finish history. Chapter 5 begins
with the search for one worthy to open
the scroll (1-5). Continuing the
vision that began in chapter 4, John now sees in the right hand of the One
seated on heaven’s throne “a scroll”
with writing on both sides. What is this
scroll? Robert Mounce, in his commentary
on Revelation, calls it “the scroll of
destiny.”[1] Remember that when John was called up to
heaven in Revelation 4:1, what was
stated was that he was going to be shown “what
must take place after this.” As the
seals on this scroll are opened, we see epic, historic events begin to
transpire on earth and once opened, we see God’s swift judgment as He brings
history to its end and ushers in His eternal kingdom (Revelation 6-22). So
calling this scroll “the scroll of
desity” is a fitting title because it looks like it contains what God has
determined will be the destiny of the world.
This is also an allusion to Ezekiel
2:9-10, where Ezekiel is given a scroll with writing on both sides. There the scroll is said to contain, “words of lamentation and mourning and woe.” In other words, it is a message of judgment,
which is precisely what we see in the Book of Revelation: judgment upon Satan
and the world as God brings History to a close.
The point of the scroll is that God has a good and sovereign plan for
history, because history is ultimately His-story.
This
explains a lot that we see here. As this
scroll is opened, its contents are executed. So the question of who can open it is not
only a question of availability, but
of power, authority, and ultimately of worth. Who is
worthy to end history? The answer
given by this passage is that no one in creation is “worthy to open the scroll or to look into it” (3-4). This also explains why John reacts the way He
does. When no one steps forward, John
begins to “weep loudly” (4). He’s not weeping because he is
extraordinarily curious. There is
something tragic about this document not being opened. If this is the scroll of destiny, then if it
is not opened, God’s plan for the universe will be thwarted. His kingdom will
never come. The world will never be made
right. So John’s weeping reveals a heart
that bleeds for God’s kingdom to come and for God’s will to be done on earth as
it is in heaven. What about you?
At
the height of this chapter’s tension, John is told to “weep no more” (5)! There is
One Worthy to open the scroll (6-7). Who is He?
In short, He is Jesus Christ, but He has three important descriptions in
this chapter. First, He is “the Lion of tribe of Judah” (5a). This alludes to Genesis 49:8-12, which is a messianic passage concerning God’s
coming Messiah and the kingdom that He will bring: “[9] Judah is a lion's cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone
up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse
him? [10] The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff
from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the
obedience of the peoples.” It was a
promise that not only would the kingly line come from Judah in Israel’s
history, but that one day a “lion”
would arise from Judah’s line who would be both the King and the bringer of
God’s kingdom.
He
is also called the “Root of David” (5b). This alludes to another messianic passage in Isaiah 11:1-10, where the Messiah is
described as both “a shoot from the stump
of Jesse” (He will come from David’s line) and “root of Jesse.” This is
also a promise about God’s coming kingdom to this world and the King who will
bring it. [10] In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal
for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall
be glorious. (Isaiah 11:10 ESV)
Finally, He is described as “a Lamb” who “had been slain,” but is now “standing”
(6). It becomes pretty clear that
this is a reference to Jesus, who in Revelation
1:18 was said to be the “living One”
who had “died,” but is not “alive forevermore.” Do you remember what John the Baptist said
when he laid eyes on Jesus? He said, “Behold, the LAMB OF GOD, who takes away the
sin of the world!” (John 1:29).
The way this Lamb is described is
very important. We first see that He has
been mortally wounded. He has “been
slain.” This alludes to both the
Passover Lamb of Exodus 12, where a
lamb was to be slaughtered in place of the first born son in order to avoid
God’s judgment (which event marked their deliverance from the Egyptians), and
the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53:4-7, Who “like
a lamb” was “led to the slaughter”
for His people. This Lamb was not only
mortally wounded though. He was also powerfully resurrected! He is now “standing”! He also has “seven horns” and “seven
eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth” (6). This is a picture of perfect power (omnipotent) and perfect knowledge (omniscience). He has the power to end history and the
knowledge and wisdom to do so in such a way that no decision could be called
into question. Do you believe this?
But
here is the best part. Why can the Lamb
open the scroll and bring history to its end?
He can do so because He “has
conquered.” If Revelation 4-5 is the
theological heart of the book, then this passage is the theological heart of
these chapters! Notice the past tense:
this conquering has already happened. How has He conquered? Verse 9-10 describes this victory: He
conquered by being slain. Now that sounds a lot like a paradox: Jesus conquered being slaughtered. But this is the
beauty of the cross. If God is going to
have His story (a kingdom of worshippers) in a fallen world full of rebels,
something had to be done to redeem them and the world they live in. Something would have to be done to destroy
the sin and Satan forever. Without the
finished work of the Lamb, “the scroll of
destiny” cannot be executed. We
would have to be executed instead.
Notice
one more thing before we close. In verse
7, Jesus takes this scroll. We’ll see
what all happens when He does next week, but for now, notice what does not
happen. The One on the throne (God the
Father) doesn’t object. His silence and
handing over of the scroll implies the He is pleased with the finish work of
His Son and is glad to have Him finish history.
Like a parent whose heart is filled with joy at their child’s recital,
God the Father is overjoyed and wants to showcase the accomplishments of His
Son.
So
here it is again: Jesus by virtue of His finished work on the cross, has earned
the right to end history. The Lamb will
have His story. I’d like to close with a
few applications from what we’ve seen today.
First, is your heart and life anchored in the sovereign rule of
God? History
has been written by its King and you are a part of it. That means that God brought you here today to
hear about the victory of His Son and become a part of this kingdom that is to
come. If you are a part of it, this
should radically change the way you view the trials that you face. Every trial and temptation you will face has
been God approved and none of them are meaningless. They are part of God’s story for you, meant
to conform you more and more into the image of His Son.
Second,
notice that God doesn’t define victory and heroism in all the ways that we
do. Jesus conquered by dying. The heroic, kingly Lion became a Lamb and in
doing so, won the greatest victory in history.
When we read the Bible, it becomes clear that the way to victory that
Jesus chose is the same way to victory we are to choose. We too conquer by dying. We save our life by losing it. We conquer this world by becoming crucified
to it. Have you learned to die daily in
order to live victoriously? The reason
that many people struggle so poorly with sin is because they have not learned
to die.
Finally,
where is your heart rooted? Are you in
love with this world and the things in it or are you so in love with God and
the world to come that you would weep as John does at the prospect of its
delay? I’ve shared with you the story of
David Livingstone before, whose heart was cut out and buried in Africa when he
died before his body was shipped home for burial. It was a picture of where his heart was. Where would we bury your heart today? Does your heart bleed for God’s kingdom to
come and for His will do be done on earth as it is in heaven? I pray that it does. I also pray that if it doesn’t come today, that
you will ask God to show His kingdom and His will to this world through your
own life. That can only happen in the
life of a person who has been ransomed by the Lamb and made a part of the
kingdom. Will you come to Him
today?
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