Kingship of Christ in Revelation 5

Introduction: The Kingship of Christ in Revelation

0:02 It has been our great delight for many Lord's Day mornings past to contemplate some aspects of the glory of the person and work of our Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ.

0:18 For many months we have been contemplating something of his glory, as that glory is seen in his threefold office as the prophet, the priest, and the king of his church. And I trust it has brought no little measure of strength to our faith to realize and to remind ourselves again and again that he is prophet, priest, and king in pursuit of the salvation of his people. As our meditations on the kingship of Christ are drawing to a conclusion, we find ourselves contemplating that kingship in the last book of the Bible, the book of the Revelation.

1:03 And particularly for the sake of visitors among us, let me briefly review what we've already done in this part of our study. Having traced out the kingship of Christ in some of the major portions of the Old Testament, which I've called the period of preparation, we then examined the kingship of Christ in the Gospels or the period of manifestation. Then we saw something of the tremendous emphasis upon this. We saw something of this kingship in the period of proclamation, that is, the book of the Acts.

1:38 Something of the emphasis on this kingship in the section of explanation and confirmation, that is, the epistles. And now we are looking at several of the key passages in that last book of the Bible, which is filled with the conflict and conquest of the church, even to the consummation of the age. And in attempting to understand.

2:04 Some of these vivid pictures and assertions of the kingship of Christ in the book of the Revelation, I first of all laid out some basic principles by which we are to interpret and understand the book of the Revelation and perhaps the most fundamental principle of all interpreting of the book of the Revelation is to remember that this book was sent as a book or a lengthy letter. To comfort the sufferer. church at the end of the first century, and any principles of interpretation which move

2:40 us far from that great purpose cannot be the proper principles of interpretation. And so we have come back to that again and again in the course of contemplating the kingship of Christ. We looked at the emphasis upon his kingship in the opening greeting in chapter 1, verses 4 and 5, and the emphasis upon his regal majesty in the opening vision of chapter 1, verses 10 through 18, and now we are contemplating the kingship of Christ in this second vision found in chapters 4 and 5. As you know, chapters 2 and 3 are not visionary

The Setting of the Vision: The Throne of God

3:22 in that sense. John's ear is the active organ of receiving revelation, and as the Lord has said, the ear is the active organ of receiving revelation. And as the Lord has said, the ear is the active organ of receiving revelation. And as the Lord dictates these messages to the seven churches, John writes them, but then beginning again in chapter 4, his eye comes into play after these things I saw, and behold, a door opened in heaven. I suggested last week that we ought never to contemplate chapters 4 and

3:52 5 as separate entities. They constitute one vision, the vision of the throne in heaven, the throne which is described in the second last verse of chapter 5 as the throne of God and of the Lamb. Now, last Lord's Day, we tried to feel something of the setting of this vision. John has sent or has recorded these letters to the seven churches. Christ

4:21 in regal majesty and in priestly compassion is walking in the midst of the lampstands. He is caring for his people. He is caring for his people. He is caring for his people. He is

4:29 caring for his church. In his perfect knowledge, in his infinite compassion, he comforts, he rebukes, he exhorts, he gives promises both of blessing and of judgment, and it's as though the people of God can come to some point of rest saying, all is well with the church, with such a majestic Lord in the midst caring for that church. But then the question is raised. The church does not carry out its life and mission in a sea isolated from the rest of humanity and from the movements of governments and men. And so there is to be this word of comfort that all is well with

5:13 the church no matter what comes to her from these other directions. And so in chapter 4, the Lord says that John is to see and to know something of the things which must come to pass here. John is to see and to know something of the things which must come to pass. And he tells John to take a strong sense of his own spirit. He is to see and to know something of the

5:35 things which he can see. Now, John says, if you can see, if you can hear, you can see, and if you know, you can see. John, the last commandment of John is to see that everything that is going on in the world is in the world of God. He is to see that everything that is going on is in the world of others, not in the world of himself, not in the world of himself, but within himself. And John does this. He says in chapter 4, so that the world of God is not divided

5:57 in any point between us, or any other place, but rather in the world of him. He says, see me now and please, come and see me by the Spirit. See the living creatures, and the four and in human history. It comes from the throne of the one who is holy, the one who is almighty, the one who is eternal. All that transpires comes from the one who created all things

6:15 and who sustains and orders all things by his mighty power. And the church, no matter what her circumstances may be, must come back again and again and again to this point of emphasis in this part of the vision. A throne is set in heaven, and all that transpires transpires because of the will of the one who sits upon that throne, resplendent in holiness, almightiness, and glorious in his eternity. He is the one who has created and sustains all that he has brought into being.

The Problem of the Sealed Scroll (Revelation 5:1-4)

7:00 Well, so much for that very brief review. We come now to consider this morning the second part of the vision found in chapter 5. I need not go over the matter of the setting of the vision. I've already done that. Whatever unfolds before the eye of John in chapter 5 has already

7:22 been brought into being. It is the one who has created and sustains all that he has brought into being. He is the one who has created and sustains all that he has brought into being. It is the one who has created and sustains all that he has brought into being. It is the

7:24 by the reading and brief comments upon the contents of chapter 4. But now consider with me the substance of the vision in chapter 5. And there are three main divisions to the substance of this vision. And I underscore not to be humorous but to make this point which often needs to be made. There are three main divisions, not because as a preacher I've

7:52 imposed the point of creating parts of the vision, but because I've imposed the point three upon the passage. But three because John records three main units of thought or main units of sight that passed before his eye when he was caught up in the Spirit. And first of all, there is what we could call in verses one through four the problem of the sealed book or scroll. Notice please as I read these verses. And I saw in or literally upon the right hand of him that sat on

8:30 the throne a book written within and on the back, close sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a great voice, Who is worthy to open the book and to loose the seals thereof. And no one in the heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the the book or to look thereon. And I wept much because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look thereon. This is the first element that forms the substance of this part

9:06 of the vision. This that I have called the problem of the sealed scroll. Verse 1 tells us that John sees a scroll or a book upon the right hand of the one seated upon the throne. And the strange thing about this book or scroll is that it is completely covered with writing, both on the back side and on the inside. It's as though you were to see my notes,

9:36 and every bit of the paper was filled in on this side and on that side, and there was not just one-tenth of a square. inch upon which anything more could be written. John sees at the right hand of this majestic being upon the throne this unusual book or scroll, so much writing upon it that there is room for nothing more, but it is sealed so that none can open it and unfold or disclose what is written thereon. Verse 2, John sees a strong angel. Now, how he knew a strong

10:20 angel from an ordinary angel, I do not know. All I know is John says, I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a great voice, who is worthy to open the book and to loose the seals thereof. In other words, this mighty angel with a loud voice throws out a challenge to the entire universe. Now, you children remember the story of David and Goliath, don't you? Remember when that big

10:52 old giant would come down near the people of God? He would stand and throw out the challenge, give me a man to fight with me. Well, there is a sense in which there is something of this spirit here with this angel. He is hurling out a challenge to the entire moral universe.

11:10 Where is there found anyone who is worthy to break the seals of this book and to open it? Well, as the challenge reaches the entire universe, verse 3, not one in the heaven or on the Earth or under the Earth. That's why I say the challenge goes out to the entire moral created universe. Heaven, earth, and heaven. And it is in the universe. We cannot

11:41 Under the earth, this mighty voice penetrates the entire universe of God with the challenge, where is one worthy to open this book?

11:54 And there is deathly silence. None comes forward saying, I am worthy, I am competent, I am able. None is found worthy to open the book or to look thereon. And now verse 4, John records his reaction to this.

12:13 And I wept much, literally I wept bitterly. John breaks into a fit of intense weeping because none was found worthy to open this book or to look upon it. And that bitter weeping was not the frustration of idle curiosity. It was not that John conceived this scroll to be some kind, of a crystal ball that would give him some super insight to world history and therefore make him one of the brilliant ones of the earth.

12:52 No, John understood as we shall see the significance of this scroll, that it had to do with the church and its destiny in the world. It had to do with the purposes of God for his elect people. It had to do with the designs of the Almighty for the preservation, of his people. And when John finds no one able to open that scroll, he breaks into this uncontrollable weeping.

The Answer: The Lamb Who Was Slain (Revelation 5:5-7)

13:23 He weeps much. And so the first segment of the vision is this problem of the sealed scroll. But then the second segment of the vision is what I have called the answer to the problem of the seven sealed scroll. Verse 5.

13:44 One of the elders saith unto me, Stop weeping. There is no cause to weep, John. Stop your crying. Again, you kids, ever hear mom and dad say that to you?

13:59 You're crying about something and you're all upset. And mommy or daddy puts an arm on your shoulder and says, now just quiet right down. Everything's going to be all right. Well, one of the elders says, John, cease from your crying.

14:13 Everything will be well. And he gives the reason. Notice. Weep not.

14:19 Behold, the lion that is of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, hath overcome to open the book and the seven seals thereof. John, the challenge is gone out from the mighty angel. It has gone unanswered. But John, that's not the end of the story.

14:38 There is an answer to the problem of this seven sealed scroll. And the answer lies in this one who has overcome and conquered in order to be worthy to open the book. Now, verse six, John's eye comes into play again. He hears the voice of the elders saying, Do not weep.

15:02 The lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, he hath prevailed. He hath overcome. Verse six. And I saw in the midst of the throne.

15:13 and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, a lamb standing. In the very scene before described in chapter 4, remember now the ingredients of the vision of chapter 4, he saw a throne, this bright being upon the throne, the rainbow above the throne, these four living creatures around the throne, four and twenty thrones around that throne, and upon it these four and twenty elders. Now notice the description. He says, I saw everything that was previously before my eye in the vision of chapter 4,

15:56 the throne, the four living creatures, the elders, but now he said a new thing is introduced to that vision. He said, He said, I saw a lamb standing, but it was as though it had been slain. It was not a dead lamb upon an altar. It was a living lamb in the midst of a throne, but it bore the unmistakable marks of having been slain.

16:28 What those marks were, John does not tell us. It's none of our business. All we need to know is that it was a lamb standing, standing as though it had been slain, and then it was a strange lamb in that it had seven horns and seven eyes. And then verse 7 says, That very lamb came and took the book or the scroll out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.

The Response of Heaven and Earth to the Lamb (Revelation 5:8-14)

17:03 So there is the second major ingredient of the vision. Verses 1 to 4, the problem of the sealed book. Now, in verses 5 through 7, the answer to the problem of the seven sealed book in the person of the lamb. And then the third segment of the vision, beginning with verse 8 going down to verse 14, is the response of heaven and earth to the activity of the lamb.

17:33 Look at the language. And when, and the word when is an adjective, an adverb of time at the point at which the lamb takes the book, all of the created order is set into this tremendous motion of praise. When he had taken the book, what happens? The four living creatures and the four and twenty elders fell down before the lamb.

18:01 The creatures that he saw in the original vision, the elders and the four living creatures, they fall before the lamb, having each one a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sing a new song, saying, Worthy art thou to take the book and to open the seals for thou were slain and its purchase unto God with thy blood, men of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and madest them to be unto God a kingdom and priest, and they reign upon the earth. These are the very ones who were found prostrate before the throne of God,

18:44 the Creator at the end of chapter four. It was these four and twenty elders who were saying, Worthy art thou for because of thy will, all things are and were created. And now we find them blessing and praising the lamb. He is worthy to open the book because he was slain and accomplished a mighty redemption, which makes all of his redeemed ones, both kings and priests who reign upon earth.

19:23 Then the second part of that great chorus of praise brings in the angels. Verse eleven. And I saw and heard a voice of many angels. They are not the direct objects of redemption.

19:36 They are not those for whom the blood of the Redeemer was shed as guilty sinners. Yet the scriptures teach that angels have a great interest in redemption. Paul says unto principalities and powers in the heavenlies is now made known through the church, the manifold wisdom of God. They are ministering spirits sent forth to the heirs of salvation.

20:02 And now this multitude and John just piles up language and let us know it is an innumerable company of these angels. These ones, the number of whom was ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands say with a great voice. And as I meditated upon that word, great voice, what must it have been? I've heard a choir of 300 sing handles.

20:32 Worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive blessing and glory and honor and power. What must it have been? When to John's ear came the sound of this innumerable company of angels ascribing worth to the lamb. And then it's as though the chorus is still not complete.

20:56 Those creatures nearest the throne, the four living creatures, the four and 20 elders, they ascribe worth to the lamb who is overcome. Then the angels that are near the throne to carry out the bidding of the one who sits upon the throne. They join the chorus. Then we read in verse 13 and every created thing which is in the heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea and all things that are in them.

21:25 It's as though John says, if I missed anything, I'll put something else in. In vision, John saw the entire creation now ringing out with this tremendous song of praise unto him that sitteth on the throne and unto the lamb. Be the blessing and the honor and the glory and the dominion forever and ever. And the four living creatures said, Amen.

21:53 We assert with unreserved enthusiasm all of this worship that has been rendered to him who sits upon the throne and to the lamb and the elders fall down. And they worship. Well, do you see something of the vision? And all I've done without or with very little interpretive comment.

22:15 I've simply tried to give you the substance of what John saw. And may I remind you, John is simply recording what he saw. This is not like the epistles in which the writers sat down and thought through an issue just as surely as chapters two and three are pure dictation. The head of the church.

22:36 It says, write these things. And John writes, John now does not interpret. John simply writes what past is it were before the eye of his mind as he was taken up in the spirit and given these visions of God. So much then for the substance of the vision.

The Significance of the Vision: The Scroll and the Lamb

22:57 What is the significance now of this vision? And may I suggest that the whole significance is bound up in properly identifying the two main ingredients, the scroll and the one worthy to open it and break its seals. The significance of this vision is bound up in the identity of the scroll and in the identity of the one worthy to open the scroll and loose the seals. What then is the identity of the scroll, the scroll written on both sides?

23:37 And sealed is a visual representation of the completeness of the divine councils and purposes relative to the church throughout its age long struggle until the consummation. And how do we know that? We need not speculate. All we need to do is begin reading in chapter six and see what happens when the land begins to break the seals.

24:10 We read in chapter six, verse one. And I saw when the lamb opened one of the seven seals. What happens? John is not then drawing near and beckon to come near and read.

24:23 But when the seal is broken, he's given another vision. And what is given in vision? First of all, the triumphs of Christ in the gospel. I saw and behold a white horse and he that sat there on had a bow.

24:37 And there was given unto him a crown and he came for conquering and to conquer. And when he opened the second seal, I heard a second living creature. And as you go through the opening of the seals, you find war, pestilence, death of the conquering of the gospel. What then is this seven sealed book which when sealed and none was found worthy to open cause John as the representative of the church to weep?

25:10 Why, it is nothing less than that total accumulation of all the decrees and purposes of the living God for his church and for the world within which the church will accomplish its history. One of the finest commentaries I've ever seen on the book of the Revelation. And it's been such a help to me has an excellent word concerning this scroll. And I would.

25:38 Ask you to bear with me as I read the words of Ramsey. This scroll can represent nothing else than the gracious purposes of God in reference to his church or the kingdom of grace. It is the divine plan of the administration of the kingdom in conformity with that covenant. The symbol of which in circles is thrown.

26:01 It is written and sealed up, indicating the fixed, unchangeable nature of these divine purposes. You remember it was written within and without. Nothing can be added, nothing altered, nothing taken away. The whole course of future events, the whole arrangement of the ages to come are all definitely determined.

26:25 This wisdom is infinite. His knowledge admits of no addition. His foreordained arrangements, therefore, must be perfect, incapable of improvement. God never needs to pick up his eraser.

26:38 And change something because something came into view concerning, which he had not anticipated its result or its influence. No, no. His knowledge is perfect. His power is limitless.

26:52 He is the almighty who can carry out all of his purposes. This role is therefore represented as written within and on the backside on both sides. It is unlike most roles which were written only on one side. Every part of it was written on and there was nowhere in it any empty space.

27:14 So in the prearranged providence of God there are no empty spaces to be filled up by chance or by some other independent agency or instrumentality not included in those purposes. Its being sealed not only denotes its fixedness but the secrecy of these purposes. They are hidden from created eyes. Until the seals are broken and the role unfolded by him who alone has power to do this.

27:44 And he does it not by the mere prophetic declaration of these purposes, but by their development in history. God's plans can only be known and understood as they are accomplished. Do you get that? They can be known and understood only as they are accomplished.

28:03 Therefore, when the lamb breaks the seals, each stage of the process is marked not by enabling the apostle to read the book, but by the acting out before his eyes of the scenes which he describes, the symbols of the actual fulfillment of the contents of this book. This indicates that the course of events included in these purposes of God extend over the whole administration of this kingdom and the entire progress until the final consummation. And you see that right in these chapters. When one of the seals is opened we are brought right down to the day of judgment

28:45 when men cry for the rocks and for the hills to fall upon them. Now you see it's important if we're to understand the message of comfort to the suffering church properly to identify that seven-sealed scroll. It is nothing less than a visual representation of the completeness of the divine counsels and purposes relative to the church from that point on to the consummation. Well then, the identity of the one worthy to open the book.

The Identity of the Worthy One: Lion and Lamb

29:20 Now look again at the chapter. And this identity comes from two directions and it's an amazing and wonderfully edifying thing. I know this has been rather heavy, but you've got to get your facts before you can get your blessing or you won't know if your blessings on solid feet. So hang in there and I hope the blessing will come after we've established our facts.

29:43 What is the identity of this one worthy to open the scroll? Well, he's identified first of all by the word of an elder verse five and then he's identified by the eye of John. And there is a tremendous disparity on the surface of this identity. Look at verse five.

30:05 One of the elders said unto me, stop weeping. Behold, the lion that is of the tribe of Judah, the root of David hath overcome to open the book and the seven seals thereof. Now, when the elder identifies the one who is worthy, he uses two references from the Old Testament. He identifies him as the lion that is of the tribe of Judah.

30:35 Now, that passage ought to be familiar to you. For many weeks ago when we were considering the kingship of Christ in the Old Testament, we looked at Genesis 49 verses 9 and 10. I read those verses. Judah is a lion's whelp.

30:54 From the prey, my son, thou art gone up. He stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as a lioness, who shall rouse him up? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, for the ruler's staff from between his feet until Shiloh come, and unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be. Here was the prophecy that Messiah would come of the tribe of Judah, and he would come functioning in his leadership as a lion, king of the beast, king of the jungle, ruling by might and power over all the other animals in the jungle.

31:32 Well, this elder says, John, stop weeping. The one who was mentioned in that ancient prophecy, the lion of the tribe of Judah, he has overcome and prevailed. He has conducted himself as a mighty one. He is the lion who has triumphed over his enemies.

31:55 Then he says, he is the root of David. And that word root should really be translated, he is the root dash shoot of David. In other words, this harks back to Isaiah chapter 11, a wonderful messianic prophecy in which the prophet Isaiah says, there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots shall bear fruit. And then the prophecy goes on to describe Messiah, and that this prophecy is fulfilled in the gospel age,

32:36 which is established by several portions in the New Testament, not the least of which is Romans 15, 12, in which Paul directly quotes verse 10 of Isaiah 11 as fulfilled in the present gathering out of the Gentiles through the gospel. Now, this is an amazing concept. It speaks of a root. All that is left to this once mighty tree is a root.

33:06 But then that root sends out a shoot, and that shoot then rises to rule over the Gentiles. For centuries, no king sat upon David's throne, and yet the promise had been given that David would not fail to have someone to sit upon his throne forever. Then after those years, there comes this root out of the dry ground. The one who was announced, it is very conception, as the one who would sit upon the throne of David.

33:43 And as we saw in our study of those passages, those are gospel promises fulfilled in the gospel ministry of the Son of God. But the thought that dominates is kingly rule. Now get the picture. John is convulsing in his tears.

34:01 The voice of the elder reaches his ear. Don't weep. Someone has prevailed. The challenge of that mighty angel will not go unanswered, John.

34:12 There is a lion, a mighty one, who has conquered. There is the root shoot of David, one who has come to a throne of power and has prevailed to open. Now, in the light of that announcement of the identity of the worthy one, what would you expect to see? Well, John turns, and what does he see?

34:37 He does not see the figure of a mighty lion, nor does he see some princely regal figure upon a throne, as he saw in chapter one in that representation of Christ in all his regal and majestic power. But his identity, according to verse six, is what? And I saw, John says, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures and in the midst of the elders, a lamb. Why, the incongruity.

35:10 Don't weep, John. The lion has prevailed. A king of David's seed, David's Lord, David's son as well as David's Lord. And he turns, and he sees a lamb as it had been slain.

35:29 But it was a lamb with seven horns, seven the symbol of perfection, the horns the representation of power, seven eyes, which are interpreted for us, the seven spirits or the sevenfold Spirit of God sent forth into all the earth. It is this lamb in the midst of the throne who is overcome, who rules and governs by the Spirit from the throne. And so the identity of this one by John is not the lion, not a regal personage, but it is the lamb in the midst of the throne. And now this one approaches to the center of the throne

36:13 and takes the seven-sealed scroll. And the moment he does, the entire creation breaks into the praise that we examined beginning verse 8 and down through verse 14. And from this point on, the throne in heaven is the throne of God and of the Lamb. It is judgment that comes from that throne, chapter 6 and verse 16.

Abiding Message 1: Consolation for the Suffering Church

36:46 It is blessing that comes from that throne, chapter 22 and verse 1, the river of life flowing out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. Well now, if you followed, and I hope you have, and dear people, I can only assure you that I have literally labored hour upon hour upon hour seeking to reduce what I've given you now to its simplest irreducible minimum. Now, what's the abiding message of this vision? There you are at Ephesus, and you've just heard the lector read, I have somewhat against thee.

37:22 Thou hast left thy first love. The threat that the Lord may come and remove the candlestick. Diana worship is still abounding. Sin and wickedness without, and evil teachers trying to rise up within the church.

37:38 It comes to Pergamum. It comes to the other places. And in the midst of the opposition, in one of the letters he says, you're going to be cast into prison. What is the comfort and consolation of this vision of chapter 5?

37:53 Well, let me say that the abiding message of the vision is first of all and primarily a word of consolation. Think of the people of God in their suffering. Some of them like John in a state of banishment. Others about to go to death.

38:08 What do they need to know? Above all else, they need to know that the Lamb is in the midst of the throne administering with honoring and unfailing power everything that is in the seven-sealed scroll. The Lamb is in the midst of the throne breaking the seals, ordering and governing all that transpires in the world and as it impinges upon the church to the end, that He may do what? That He may bring His people safely home at last and then in the new heavens and in the new earth,

38:50 all who've been redeemed out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, they shall reign with Him upon the earth. That's what they need to know. There's the consolation. Wherever you are, O people of God, the head of the church is saying, in the midst of your agony, the midst of your suffering, by the eye of faith, penetrate beyond the fire coming from the nostrils of the beast.

39:21 See beyond the rumblings and the stirrings of the iron fist of godless men and godless governments. Oh, God says, behold the Lamb in the midst of the throne. Everything that comes to this earth comes from the administration of King Jesus. In the midst of all of this, He is the one who comes forth conquering and to conquer.

39:53 He rides upon His white charger and by the power of the gospel, He brings sinners in His train as He subdues them to His grace. But He's also active in famine. He breaks the seals that brings famine. He breaks the seals that bring war.

40:10 He breaks the seals that allow persecution and opposition, even martyrdom. Isn't this just a pictorial statement of Matthew 28, 18? All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth. Going therefore, make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe whatsoever, I have commanded you.

40:44 Lo, I am with you always, even to the consummation of the age. Or in the language of Ephesians 1, God has made Him head over all things to the church, which is His fullness, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all. Oh, child of God, don't read this vision driven back by some of the, what we would say, almost grotesque details. What could it be like to see a lamb standing as though it had been slaying seven horns, seven eyes?

41:19 Turn away from so-called Christian art that has tried to give a visual conceptualization of this. Get the message of the passage. It's the lamb in the midst of the throne who is overcome to be the administrator of all the purposes of God down to the final judgment. Well, what a word of consolation.

Abiding Message 2: Instruction on Christ's Kingdom

41:44 But then in the second place, it's a word of instruction. You see, the lion conquered by becoming the slain lamb. See the paradox? The lion hath prevailed.

41:59 I saw a lamb as it had been slain. How does David's royal seed ascend to his throne? Not upon golden steps, but by a bloody cross. The lion conquers by becoming the slain lamb.

42:22 The royal one steps to his throne by a cross and by a tomb. You see, in his kingdom, might is in meekness. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Oh, do you see what this would say to suffering saints?

42:50 What shall we do? Here's Domitian in the hordes of Rome, opposing us, seeking to blot out the church. Shall we organize? Shall we form cadres of commandos?

43:01 Shall we gather our weapons? Shall we seek to defend the church? Shall we? No, no, no, no.

43:09 The prevailing one in the midst of the throne, the lion of the tribe of Judah, David's son and David's lord, he conquers in meekness. Meekness is the path. To blessedness. Isn't that the teaching of Philippians?

43:34 Have this mind in you which was in Christ, who being in the form of God, and then you have that step down, down, down, becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore, God hath highly exalted him. You say, what's that say to me? What does it say to you?

43:50 Listen to the language of Romans 8. If we suffer with him, we shall also be glorified together. If we suffer with him, we shall reign with him. Is that a message of comfort to the suffering saints in Ephesus, in Pergamum, in Thyatira, in Laodicea?

44:14 Oh, what consolation to know that though he was crucified through weakness, the Scripture says, yet he liveth by the power of God. And when the people of God are willing to be treated lamb-like before their enemies, the world looks upon them and mistakes their meekness for weakness. But this passage says, Thou art worthy to take the book, because in your meekness and weakness, in dying you've prevailed, and all of your people will prevail and reign with you, and they shall reign upon the earth.

Abiding Message 3: A Pattern for True Worship

44:57 Oh, dear child of God, this is not only a word of consolation, but a word of instruction. But then thirdly, it forms a pattern for our imitation. It forms a pattern for our imitation. What produced this amazing symphony of worship and adoration?

45:19 One commentator has said, and I would not want to debate him, that this is probably the most astounding, the most profound record of worship to be found anywhere in the Word of God. When you have everything from the living creatures and the representation of the glorified church of the old and the new covenants nearest the throne to every created thing upon earth and above earth and in heaven and beneath it, the whole business, with this great symphony of worship and adoration, what produced it? A sight of the worthiness of the Lamb. That was it.

46:02 When they saw the Lamb take the book, then everything broke loose in heaven.

46:10 When they understood the worthiness of the Lamb, worship and adoration poured out in a mighty torrent that filled the universe.

46:25 And oh, what a pattern for our imitation. What produces true worship amongst the people of God? Is it the deep-throated tones of a majestic organ? Is it the soft, muted colors of stained glass windows?

46:45 Is it the persuasive or energetic effort of a super-personality whipping up enthusiasm? Let us all...

46:54 Rubbish!

47:05 Here's the pattern for imitation. It is the eye of faith penetrating through the veil of sight and sense and beholding in faith the realities that stand behind these things represented in the vision of Revelation chapter 5. It is faith penetrating the veil and coming to a certain conviction. There is a throne set in heaven and the Lamb has conquered and He is breaking the seals

47:47 and administering all of the purposes of God. Until when the last of those purposes is accomplished, He Himself will come and take us to be with Him. My friend, you want to worship, you ask God by the Holy Ghost to help you with the eye of faith to penetrate beyond the veil of sight and sense and spiritually to comprehend those realities. We have visitors amongst us this morning.

48:24 Perhaps you've wondered, well, you know, they have an awful simple service here. When's the special music coming? When's somebody going to lead us and get us all going? And when are we going to...

48:33 My friends, you'll never find that here so long as some of us have breath and sanity.

48:40 Why? Because that's nothing but a carnal imitation of what worship is. There will be true worship in this place only so long as there are men and women, boys and girls seated in this place who see what John saw. Not in the sense that you were caught up in the spirit of direct revelation, but in the sense that by meditation upon these great realities your mind and spirit are taken up with the wonder and the glory of it.

49:11 Here I come out of the matrix of my own little mixed up world with all of the seeming confusion of things that don't fit, pieces that don't mesh, and circumstances that seem to have no rhyme nor reason to them. The world within my own heart, my own home, my job, my neighborhood, nothing seems to fit. There seems to be no rationale. There seems to be no justice.

49:40 Oh, my friend, pause and remember the Lamb is in the midst of the throne breaking the seals and executing all of the purposes of the Almighty. And every little detail in your little world and mine is written on that seven-sealed scroll. And a time is coming when we know, even as we are known, and we will marvel that there was not one little preposition that could have been changed without marring God's glory or our good. But faith takes hold of that now.

50:19 We walk by faith, not by sight. We do not just suspend the worship due to the worthy Lamb until we can see and know as we are known. We are in faith to render that worship now. This is the pattern for our imitation.

Abiding Message 4: A Frightening Warning

50:38 And then finally, the abiding message of this vision is a frightening warning. You see, the last act of the administration of the Lamb in the midst of the throne is recorded for us in the end of chapter 6. Look at it. And I saw, verse 12, when he opened the sixth seal and there was a great earthquake and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair and the whole moon became his blood and the stars of the heaven fell unto the earth as a tree casteth her unripe figs when she is shaken of a great wind.

51:15 Remember now again, you see, John is seeing this in vision. This is not a prediction that stars are actually going to fall from the heavens and hit the earth. You know and I know that any star is bigger than our earth. He sees this in vision.

51:30 This is a representation of cataclysmic upheavals. And the heaven was removed as a scroll when it is rolled up. And every mountain and island were moved out of their places. This is what John sees in vision.

51:45 And the kings of the earth and the princes and the chief captains and the rich and the strong and every bondman and freeman hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains. And they say to the mountains and to the rocks, Fall on us. Hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of their wrath is come and who is able to stand.

52:15 My friend, the wrath of the Lamb is coming. In the breaking open of those seals, in the administration of the counsels and purposes of God for His church and for the world, the Lamb will open the seal which will call forth the judgments of the Almighty upon everyone who refused. The overtures of the mercy of the Lamb. It is either refuge in the mercy of the Lamb or to be crushed by the wrath of the Lamb.

52:55 Can you see again what a word of warning this would be to little children and young people sitting in the churches at Ephesus, at Smyrna, at Pergamum, when the lector would read and they would come to this point where the Lamb whose name had been preached, the Lamb whose gospel had been proclaimed by the pastors and elders in those churches and yet some of them, like some of you, despised and were indifferent to all those overtures. What a frightening thing to know that the Lamb would yet administer the judgments of the Almighty. My friend, there are times when I wonder if some of you have become deaf

53:38 to the thunders and to the pleadings and to the tears and entreaties of this pulpit. And I said, Lord, maybe I ought to go for three months and not once, not once, plead with sinners, let people go to hell.

53:57 But I can't bring myself to do it. But my friend, each time there's a plea and each time there's an admonition and an entreaty and a command and each time there is resistance, the probability of your salvation grows less and less. Because the Scripture says today, if you hear His voice hard and not your heart, be warned, child of God, child of the devil. Be encouraged, child of God.

Prayer

54:33 Be instructed. May God write upon our hearts this glorious vision of the kingship of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb in the midst of the throne. Let us pray. Our Father, how we bless you for that which you have given to us in your word.

55:08 We thank you that one is worthy to open the book and to loose the seals thereof. We thank you for the Lion who triumphed by becoming the Lamb. We thank you, Lord Jesus. What can we say but blessing and glory and honor and power be unto you forever and forever.

55:38 And oh, Lord Jesus, in the midst of the varied pressures and trials and disappointments that come to us and in the light of those trials that may yet come to us with more intensity and ferocity in days ahead, may we never lose sight of this glorious vision of these chapters. May we ever see that door opened and the throne set and the Lamb in the midst of the throne. Oh, God, we forget so quickly. We're so fickle.

56:16 We pray by the Holy Spirit, fasten our hearts upon these truths and help us by the discipline of meditation and prayerful assimilation to derive profit from them again and again. Have mercy upon the impenitent. Lord, if we could, we would physically, forcefully drag them to the feet of the Lamb. But, oh, Lord, you must do that work, we pray.

56:47 In mercy, in mercy, do that work, we pray. Seal to our hearts this, your word, and dismiss us with your blessing and benediction upon us. Oh, Holy Father, blessed Son, and ever-present Spirit, amen.