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Revelation 5 New International Version (NIV)The Scroll and the Lamb5?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. 2?And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” 3?But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. 4?I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. 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.”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[a] of God sent out into all the earth. 7?He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. 8?And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four 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. 9?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.10?You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,????and they will reign[b] on the earth.”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. 12?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!”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,for ever and ever!”14?The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.IntroductionSlide - 1I know that some people were here last time…and I had hoped to record the sermon for the benefit of those who were away but…unfortunately…due to my own inaptitude…i.e.…in forgetting to switch on the microphone....that did not work…Hopefully it will this week but the sermon notes from last week are available on the DBC web-site and through Facebook…However…this week we are looking at Revelation chapter 5…we started at chapter 4 last week…as we had studied the message to the seven churches…in a previous study…So…after John addresses the churches the last of those churches in Laodicea…and the invitation is extended to anyone who will receive it from Christ…who stands at the door and knocks…to open the door…and He will come and fellowship with them…Almost immediately after that then…John is shown an open door…into Heaven…And this is the second part of that vision of the Heavenly throne room……and I said last week…my preferred approach is:Slide - 2Crack the Code (Context)If it Was That Then – What Now? (Contextualise)Communally Discern – (Conversation)Crack the Code (Context)Slide - 3Verses 1-7…describes the state of affairs in which no-one is worthy to break the seal and open the scroll…which would unfold God’s plan for the redemption of all of creation…for the defeat of Satan…and for the making of a whole new world…Heaven entwined with earth…In the right hand of the one sitting on the throne was a scroll…Scrolls in the ancient world were made for papyrus…and the reeds were packed together horizontally in a manner that one side…inside…was used to write on and the other…outer side…would be plain and the scroll would be tied up or sealed with wax…depending on what it contained…This scroll is unusual…because it has writing on both sides…(verse 1)…it is very full…reminiscent of the scroll shown to Ezekiel…in his vision…Slide – 3, 2nd clickThen I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out to me. In it was a scroll, which he unrolled before me. On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe... (Ezekiel 2:9-10) and…if what I suspect is true…this scroll would contain such words also…The wax seals were of the type used to seal legal documents…and…that meant the document could only be opened by the person authorised to do so…seven…is a number which represents perfection…There were tears in Heaven…Slide - 4I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside… (Revelation 5:4)Because…no-one was worthy to look inside…That is…until one of the elders pointed out …Look…and he sees the Lion of the tribe of Judah…that strong emblem of a warrior type leader…And yet…as Tom Wright explains…Jesus is the fulfilment of what Israel was meant to do…as part of God’s redemption plan…They failed…but Jesus triumphed…as the true Lion of Judah……verse 5 saysSlide – 4, 2nd click“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.”… (Revelation 5:5)We need to note the distinction between what John is invited to…’see’…and what he …in the next verse…actually saw…’a lamb’…This is important…in fact it is what Wright…describes as…’one of the most decisive moments in scripture’…John heard…the pronouncement of the Lion…but he saw the lamb…All Israel would have been familiar with pronouncements about the Lion of Judah…this is strong imagery…which would make their chests puff up with pride…However…it is the Lamb…who looking as if it had been slain…who takes the scroll…and it is the Lamb…who…as we shall see next time…who opens the scroll…And Israel…would have to wrestle with the fact…as Christians still seem to do today…that it is the Lamb… a weak sacrificial creature…and not the most likely of candidates to lead the fight against evil…who would prevail…And yet…Slide - 5…moving on to verses…7-14…The Lamb had seven horns…and seven spirits…again…the number seven is the number of perfection in Revelation…(as the number 4 is the number of the earth)…Therefore…although the Lamb was slain…the symbols of the horn mean strength…and the seven spirits were all seeing…in a manner suggesting God’s omnipotence…What a paradox…but one way to look at it is this…Slide – 2nd clickThe Lion is the Lamb……the living creatures and the 24 elders…each had a harp…and were holding bowls full of incense…(prayers of God’s people)…sometimes the meaning is given to us…which is helpful…And the elders and living creatures sang…The lamb was worthy…because…he was slain…and he has purchased people of every tribe and language and people and nation…Note this…not because as the Lion…he defeated the armies of Rome…militarily…and her Empire while on earth…but…because he purchased them with His own blood…sacrificially…This is very important to keep hold of as we move through Revelation…and it’s very important that we apply this consistently…because…I believe that many in their interpretation…leave this fact behind in the excitement of getting to a blood bath Armageddon…However…we will get to those chapters eventually…The ransomed people then…are to reign with the Lamb…verse 10…therefore…they must be like Him…in order to reign on earth…The timing of this reign is something that causes controversy…some say that it is now…and others that it will happen after the return of Christ…I would argue that there is a time of perfection coming…which Revelation is trying to portray…at the same time as interpreting present time…and history…in the same vision…Therefore…those who overcome…will reign with Christ…but…as He currently reigns from Heaven…he has established a kingdom of priests and kings who reign with Him now…that is exercising His Heavenly rule here on earth…That however…is only perfect on His part…but suffers from our human failings and from the effects of sin at times…The spiritual battle…depicted in Revelation…deals with the drawing to the end of the age in which Satan has influence…He is already defeated by the victory of the Lamb over death…He is continually being overcome…and will continue to be…by…Christ’s faithful followers here on earth…That is…in the same manner as the Lamb…by living sacrifices…Slide - 6We explained last time…how the four creatures…and twenty-four elders seemed to be representative of all aspects of nature…including humanity…and angelic beings……on this occasion…each one has a harp and are holding bowls of incense……the harps are used for worship…and incense…is representative of the prayers of God’s people…Note then…how they are precious as they are presented before God...in golden bowls…The chapter ends in yet another song in which the many angels…living creatures and elders…and every creature in Heaven and on earth…and in the sea…declare and sing all praise and glory and power…to the Lamb…If it Was That Then – What Now? (Contextualise)Slide - 7Therefore…If…Jesus was worthy then…he is worthy now…and He…in His time…exercises all of the things said of Him…here in Revelation…Last time we spoke of the worship that we caught up with…on earth as in Heaven…and that applies here also…the creatures and elders…bowed down and worshipped and we said that…although they in themselves were a mystery...there was no doubt about their function…Slide – 7 2nd clickBy Craig S. Keener says…John is not only the implied author but functions as a model for the ideal reader as well. Thus his weeping at the despair of the world without a heavenly advocate (5:4) implies the tone with which we are expected to approach this devastating potential situation. (Craig S. Keener, N.I.V. Application Commentary)We can weep…and we can bring our prayers…Slide - 8Here…Before God’s Throne…we can imagine…perhaps every prayer that has been lifted up to God in the name of injustice and seeking God’s righteous judgement…the prayers that we presume…have not been answered…The voice of the oppressed…those trampled underfoot…and given no voice…Slide – 8, 2nd clickThe voice of the slaves…of previous generations…and of today…The voice of the dispossessed…of their land and property…unjustly…I was reading in a prayer book the other day of how…on January 24th1848…James Marshall…discovered gold…which sparked the Californian gold rush...It also sparked a genocide as…prior to the gold rush…150,000 native Americans lived in California…however…in 1851…the government endorsed the extermination of native people…offering 5 dollars a head for a dead native…therefore…by 1970…there were only an estimated 31,000 Californian natives left…This is but one example of injustices through the ages where people were robbed of their land…their identity and their voice…I don’t know if you have been watching the BBC’s series of programmes on the world’s greatest icons…that is iconic people…I have only seen bits…but it has been interesting to see that among those selected…There has not only been the usual celebrities and political leaders…there have been those who stood up for…and often lost their lives…for their oppressed people…The likes of Martin Luther King…and Gandhi…to name just a couple…Now…I know that it says here…the prayers of…God’s people…and I am not trying to put a universal salvation slant on this…but surely…Of all of the groups of people who have been oppressed throughout history…there have been…and continues to be…believers……as there are…modern day Christians in Pakistan…the middle east or wherever……those of every tribe and language and people and nation…These must be…represented in this chapter…for it says so here in verse 9…Here are their prayers…here are your prayers…the prayers from your heart…the prayers you shed in tears…because…a bit like John…in thinking that no-one was able to come to your help…you wept…But…look at this…their prayers and your prayers are being poured out before God from gold bowls and are as pleasing to His nostrils as incense…Slide - 9Therefore sing…Sing the new song of the one who is worthy to open the seals which guarantees justice for throughout all of history…He…is worthy…because…He was slain…and yet…He…the slain lamb sits on the throne in Heaven…and is all powerful and wise and strong……and…in this heavenly scene…every creature…in heaven and earth…praises him…mingled with the prayers of God’s people…Interestingly…we come to the communion table this morning…and we come in remembrance of the one who was slain…like a sacrificial lamb……and we often say that we come to this table looking forward…for Jesus to return…well…here it is form Heaven’s view…or angle…and you know what……despite all of the mystery…in terms of timing and symbolism…it still looks the same…The Lion…is the Lamb…He…is the one to whom we can bring our prayers…and our prayers for the nations…and our praise and adoration…Communally Discern – (Conversation)Slide - 10…so…time is shorter today but…over to you… ................
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