Revelation 4 & 5 -- "Worthy Is the Lamb"
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Worthy Is the Lamb
Revelation 4 & 5
Larry R Evans, SS Class Teacher
Introduction
A few years ago, I was sitting in a seminar and I heard a fellow Christian, though not of my faith, explain that many Christians today only tell half of “God’s story.” He got my attention. He went on to say that often the bookends of God’s story are left out of the story! I was listening. Then he went further, “Many Christians only tell about “sin and the cross.” I wondered where he was going and then he explained, “The first bookend that is left off is ‘Creation’ and the second is ‘Restoration’.” What Gabe Lyons said should make every Adventist sit up and together say, “Amen!” How easy it is for all of us to tell only part of God’s story and then feel satisfied that we have told the story.
Our study this week, Revelation 4 and 5, tells the whole story and as Jesus said, after speaking of each of the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3, “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
A Brief Recap—What We Have Learned So Far in Our Study of Revelation
Before His ascension, Jesus made two promises: (1) He will always be with us (Matt. 28:20), and (2) He will come again (John 14:1-3). The book of Revelation picks up these promises in its amazing unveiling of who Jesus is and reveals what He is doing now. Clearly, we have not been abandoned! To miss this insight is to miss a major contribution of what some feel is a book so mysterious and frightening that it need not be read.
The Apostle John introduces us to Jesus by placing him in the sanctuary where He is serving as the High Priest. The Old Testament sanctuary service serves as a visual means for describing the ministry of Jesus during His work after the ascension. The seven major divisions of Revelation reflect the daily and annual services of the earthly sanctuary scene. Each one reveals something about Jesus. In our previous study, we’ve seen Jesus walking among the 7 lampstands which the Bible interprets symbolically as churches (Rev. 1:20)—and we’ve seen in last week’s study the churches being symbolic of the historical periods from Jesus day until His coming. As seen in the graphic portrayal of Jesus in chapter 1-3, He ministers by trimming the lampstands that the light of the lamps not only keep burning but that they might burn even brighter.
As we study Revelation, we will see that Jesus is taking us progressively through the sanctuary’s holy and most holy places. In each of the 7 major parts of the book an unveiling or revelation of Jesus is seen. But there is more. We see Jesus in conflict with Satan who is seeking to destroy God’s people (the lampstands) through deception and brutal force (Revelation 12). We see, along with men like Gabe Lyons, why understanding God as our Creator is important, why our fallen nature is in desperate need of a Redeemer. Revelation reveals how God, through intense conflict with Satan, will bring His people to a new earth that has been restored for those who “follow the Lamb wherever He goes” (Rev. 14:4). Those who overcome are able to do so only
“by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
as to shrink from death” (Rev. 12:11)
Such a perspective will help keep us focused on Jesus and His two promises: He will always be with us and He is coming again! He is our foundation. To lose sight of Him is to distort or misunderstand the beasts of Daniel and Revelation. He is the reason we have hope in a world that is breaking apart. The call of the book of Revelation is for each of us to be faithful to God and His Word despite encountering the compromising and threatening voices all around us.
Our Quiz for Today’s Study
1. The ministry of Jesus was completed at the cross. True or False?
2. Seals in John’s time were not durable and, as a precaution, scrolls were sealed seven times. True or False.
3. When John says, “Come up here” (Rev. 4:1) he is referring to the secret rapture. True or False?
4. John describes “God” using the analogy of beasts. True or False?
5. John is afraid of what might be found in the seven-sealed scroll should I be opened. True or False?
6. Satan recognizes that he is and will be defeated and has, therefore, surrendered. True or False?
Our Study Today: Rev. 4 & 5
The Throne Room & the 7-Sealed Scroll
In vision, John sees an open door and hears a voice inviting him to enter (Rev. 4:1). Why? The voice explains that it is for him to be shown “what must take place after this”. Our attention is moved from that which is on earth (Rev. 2 and 3) to that which is in heaven. There we are taken to the throne-room of God (Rev. 4). Why? The throne-room is the symbol of royal authority.
The word for “throne” appears 14 times in the Greek and represents full royal power and authority. You can’t read this without recognizing that there must be some reason to establish God’s power and authority. Why is this necessary? You get the idea that something will be told to us later. We can expect that this revelation of God is vital. It will prove to be an important and central point, even critical a critical poin as we progress through Revelation.
As we enter the throne-room, we find God being described not as animals like used in other portions of the book, but rather descriptions of God’s radiant glory!
He is described in terms of dazzling precious stones, with the brilliance of a rainbow, and from the throne of God came flashes of lightning and thunder! Scary? Frightening? It could be, if we don’t remember that this occurred on Mt. Sinai when God established himself as His people’s covenant God – a God who promised His presence, His guidance and His deliverance to a people wandering in a wilderness! There on Sinai he called His people, “my treasured possession” (Ex. 19:5), and they were inaugurated as a “kingdom or priests and a holy nation” (Ex. 19:6). Then, soon after the 10 Commandments were given (Ex. 20:18), there was lightning and thunder. The holiness, the awesome power and authority of God was firmly established in Israel but now in John’s vision of the throne-room it is emphasized again. However, it doesn’t stop with this description. There is more!
The Testimony of Heaven
In the throne-room, John sees twenty-four elders and four living creatures. It is likely that the twenty-four elders who sit on thrones represent the overcomers who receive the promise to sit with Jesus on His throne (Rev. 3:21). The twenty-four elders likely represent the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles of the New Testament. The four living creatures with faces of a lion, a calf, a man and an eagle are also symbolic. Dr. Stefanovic suggests they represent the entire order of creation. Also assembled in the throne-room according to Rev. 5:11 is a “heavenly host” which consists of thousands upon thousands of angels! Whatever the interpretation, one dominant theme does emerge and that is God’s holiness, authority and might or power. This becomes critical in the chapters to follow. (Rev. 4:8)
Gathered in the throne-room for a very special event is every conceivable representative of God’s vast kingdom. . . but why! Something of vast importance is happening or about to happen. The drama of the situation is unfolded in chapter 5. John’s vision directs our attention to a scroll with seven seals and to a Lamb. The dilemma is stated by a “mighty angel”, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” (5:2).
What could be contained in the scroll that is so important that would cause John to weep and exclaim, “no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside?” (5:4).
What we discover is that in Rev. 4:1-8:1 depicts a court scene in which a will or testament is to be opened. In the context of Revelation, it is a title-deed, as it were, to man’s lost inheritance—an inheritance which has been repurchased by Christ, the Lamb. Thus, the scroll is a book of destiny. The opening of it means inheritance in God’s kingdom; its remaining closed means forfeiture. No wonder that John wept when he thought no one could open the scroll!” (Kenneth A. Strand in The Open Gates of Heaven, p.50)
The Lamb does not triumph because he is a glorious king but because he was a slain lamb. The term “worthy” is key for our understanding. “Only someone who has stood God’s test is “worthy” for that honor—it was the Messiah from the house of David who stood that test by His moral victory! . . . He has ransomed slaves from all nations and has made them, even Gentiles, to be the holy people of God, priests and kings—once the prerogative of ancient Israel alone (see Exod. 19:5,6).” (Hans K. LaRondelle in Light for the Last Days, p.39.)
It is only the slain Lamb who can open the scroll. Seal by seal the scroll is opened. With the breaking of each seal progression is made toward the ultimate inheritance, the eternal inheritance, of God’s people. It is no wonder that there is such interest and even excitement throughout all of Heaven! However, no seal is broken without Satan’s intense opposition. “The symbolic taking of the scroll by Christ the Lamb signified the transference of authority from Satan to Christ. . . . ‘The problem facing the heavenly council is the rebellion of Satan which is paralleled by rebellion on earth.’” (LaRondelle, Ibid., p.47). By receiving the scroll, Christ takes the destiny of all humanity into. His hands. His ability to break the seals and open the scroll entitles Him to carry the plan of salvation to its ultimate realization.” (LaRondelle, Ibid., 48) Each seal broken is a step closer to the breaking of seventh seal—the Second Coming of Christ!
The message of the scroll is the assurance that His two promises prior to ascension are being and will be fulfilled: that He is with us now and that He is coming again to take us home to be with Him! That’s the story, God’s story in full, albeit condensed to two chapters in the book of Revelation. It is truly an unveiling, a revelation, of the continuing ministry of Jesus.
Conclusion
God’s story is not confined to the throne-room of Heaven. What takes place in Heaven has a corresponding impact on what happens on Planet Earth.
God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,
“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.”’
“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
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