Message

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We thank and praise God for richly blessing 2018 ISBC, with the theme “His Kingdom.” Coming back from the conference, we want to review particularly Revelation chapter 5 and chapter 21 so that we may keep his grace in our hearts through his words. Revelation chapter 4 is glorious: it reveals God’s throne in heaven with his appearance of jasper and Carnelian, encircled by a rainbow resembling emerald. The four living creatures praise God day and night for his perfect holiness, and the twenty-four elders representing the redeemed people of the church praise God for his wonderful creation. They lay down their crowns of gold before the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. This is truly a glorious scene. However, in chapter 5 there is a deep sorrow of man, and then with the appearing of the Lamb there is the praise of the living creatures, the elders, numerous angels, and the whole of creation to God and the Lamb. This is a stunning transition from the deep sorrow to wondrous praise and glory. It is due to the Lamb who was slain. In Revelation chapter 5 we see a progressed picture of heavenly worship in God’s heavenly Kingdom. All the redeemed mankind and myriads of angels and all creatures including all the redeemed mankind do one thing, that is, worship. They worship one who sits on the heavenly throne and the lamb. May we more think of the worthiness of the Lamb, Christ Jesus, and why he is worthy of our worship and our wholehearted serving. First, “Who is worthy to open the scroll?” (1-5). Look at 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.” “A scroll”, in Greek, biblion, is also rendered “a book” (Rev 1:11; 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:12, 15; 21:27; 22:7, 9-10, 18-19). A scroll written on both sides is typical of various kinds of contracts in the ancient world, including deeds, marriage contracts, rental and lease agreements, and wills. The inside of the scroll contained all the details of the contract, and the outside—or back—contained a summary of the document. In this case it almost certainly is the title deed to the earth. We will see this. Here a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals, meaning complete sealing, was in the right hand of him who sat on the throne. So this scroll was not only completely sealed but also completely kept in the right hand of the Lord God Almighty. Then in verse 2 John wrote, “And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?’” A mighty angel shouts out a challenge for anyone to come forth who is ‘worthy’ to open the great scroll and its seals. Then verse 3 says, “But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it.” All creation in heaven and earth and under the earth stood motionless and speechless…no one had the authority and virtue for such a task. It seemed that as the echoes of his cry receded there was only silence. The powerful archangels Michael and Gabriel did not answer. Uncounted thousands of other angels remained silent. All the righteous dead of all ages, including Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Job, Moses, David, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Peter and the rest of the apostles, Paul, and all the others from the church age, said nothing. Look at verse 4. “I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside.” John, involved in this tremendously important event, showed his emotional response. Why did John weep and weep? For what did he weep? Yes, he wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Then why was not being able to open the scroll a great sorrow to him? What does opening the scroll mean? Opening the scroll not only means to read the words, the secret in the scroll, and let the mystery of God be known to his people, but also the accomplishment of it (Rev. 10:7). In Revelation chapters 6 through 18, when each seal is opened, dreadful judgment comes upon the earth, and the seventh seal contains the seven-trumpets- and seven-bowls-judgments. So, opening the scroll means to carry out God’s judgement upon the earth so that the kingdom of this world ruled by Satan will be completely restored to the original state as written in Revelation 11:15, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.” Not being able to open the scroll means Satan’s continuous rule. John, who was in the Spirit, must have known this. So, he wept and wept. While on earth Jesus taught his disciple to pray with this prayer topic: “…Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Mt 6:10; Lk 11:12). According to Romans 8:22, this is the groaning of the whole creation: to be liberated from Satan’s rule and bondage to decay, into the glorious freedom along with the children of God. When God created the world, he made male and female, and blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground” (Ge 1:28). In this blessing God appointed men as the rulers of the world. God gave them the right to rule the world. But when Adam failed, sinning against God by disobeying God’s command, he lost the right and authority to rule. And so did all Adam’s race. Adam must have wept and wept in great bitterness and helplessness and misery. Actually this is related to the weeping and crying of all mankind, as Apostle Paul confessed, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (Ro 7:24). And this weeping of John is also related to Jesus’ weeping. Jesus wept when he saw his beloved ones, Mary and Martha crying under the power of Satan and death in front of the graveyards of their dead brother, although Jesus who is the resurrection and the life was there (Jn 11:35). Jesus wept also when he entered Jerusalem, because the peace and salvation Jesus was bringing were hidden from their eyes and as a result they would face the impending judgment of God (Lk 19:41). Then who is worthy to open the scroll? What are the qualifications for this? The one who can open the scroll is to be a kinsman of human beings, for because of man’s sin the world became the kingdom of Satan. So, all the angles are dropped from the qualification. Next, the one who is able to open the scroll is to be sinless to take the scroll from the hand of the holy God. And the one is to be the person who has paid the price for the legal right of transaction to regain the kingdom from Satan; the price was holy blood without contamination of sin. So all human beings also dropped from qualification. While John wept and wept, one of the elders who must have been redeemed by the blood of Christ Jesus said, “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.” At this the whole atmosphere of heaven must have changed from unbearable grief to unspeakable joy. Here what one of the elders said needs our attention: “The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed.” It is because Jesus was from the tribe of Judah, whom Jacob had blessed in his prophetic vision as the lion to rule the nations with the scepter (Ge 49:9-10). And it is because not only Jesus as to his human nature was a descendant of David in the line of Judah, but also God promised David that his kingdom would endure forever and his throne would be established forever through his off spring (2 Sam 7:13-16). Jesus the promised Messiah indeed had triumphed over sin and Satan through his death and resurrection, establishing the eternal kingdom and overthrowing Satan’s kingdom according God’s Davidic promise. In this triumph Christ Jesus would be able to open the scroll and its seven seals, which is retaking that which he purchased at Calvary. Through the victory he won at Calvary, Christ will evict Satan and his forces and take permanent possession of the earth. This victory and triumph of Jesus Christ is for you and for me and for all of his people. Second, “you are worthy because you were slain” (6-14). Look at verse 6. “Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain…” One of the elders said to John, “See/behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah…” But John did not see a Lion roaring and victorious, but a Lamb. According S. Steve Seballe’s message, the national animal for America is the Bald Eagle; for Ukraine, it is the Bear; for the UK, it is the Lion; and for Korea, it is the Siberian Tiger. But for God’s Kingdom it is a Lamb. Not just a lamb, but a lamb terribly wounded. What is the relation of Lion and Lamb regarding Christ Jesus? This stresses that victory came through his sacrifice. And it is notable that John did not write, “I saw a Lamb who was slain”, but “I saw a lamb, looking as if it had been slain.” It was most probably because after hearing of the Lion, the appearing of a Lamb was quite sudden and unexpected to him, such that at first he could not associate the lamb as the Lamb of God who was killed on the cross. Then, soon after seeing the Lamb looking as it had been slain, John could remember Jesus who was crucified on the cross, and particularly whose side was pierced by a spear—as John himself testified in the gospel of John. Also in his gospel, John described that even the risen Jesus had nail marks in his hands and had his side pierced (Jn 20:25-27). And here furthermore, although Jesus was ascended and glorified in heaven, his wound marks remain there and are never to be erased as the eternal marks of his sacrifice and redemptive love for us sinners. The Lamb was standing in the centre of the throne encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. This shows that the time for Christ to sit on the right hand of God and intercede for his people (Ro 8:34) will be over. This is in accordance with what Jesus said to the people while on earth, to show who he really is, quoting the words of Psalm 110:1, the Psalm of David, “The Lord said to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet’” (Mt 22:46; Lk 20:42-43). The Lamb who was standing in the centre of the throne had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Lambs are defenseless with no horn to protect themselves. But here the Lamb had seven horns. The horn is a biblical symbol denoting power or government (1 Sa 2:10; 2 Sa 22:3; Ps 132:13-17). So seven horns stand for complete power and authority (omnipotence), and the seven eyes which are the seven spirits of God for complete wisdom or perfect intelligence (omniscience) from the indwelling Spirit of God in all its fullness, and the seven spirits of God (the Holy Spirit) sent out into all the earth for ever-presence (omnipresence). He is all powerful and all wise and all present. No one can challenge his power, his wisdom and his presence. So his dominion is an everlasting dominion and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed (Da 7:14). Then what did he do? Look at verse 7. “He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne.” As we had thought of until now, he had all right to take the scroll from the right hand of the Lord God Almighty. As he took the scroll, what a significant moment! Now he had the authority in his hand to execute the judgment upon the earth. Since he took the scroll from the right hand of God, the events of opening the seals one by one would follow consequently. So when he had taken the scroll, the living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, surely in deep adoration. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which the prayers of the saints. Notably, at this time of anticipation of the opening of the seals, the golden bowls were full of incense. All our prayers related to “your kingdom come” will never fall to the ground, but go up to heaven like incense to be gathered in the golden bowls to be filled for God to act. Our prayers are fragrant incense to God. We remember what Jesus said in Luke 18:7, “Will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night?” Then after falling down before the Lamb, the four living creatures and the twenty four elders sang a new song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God 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.” In this song the words are directly spoken to the Lamb, who was standing there. We can think of three things in this song. The first thing, “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals because you were slain”, we have been thinking of all along. Then at this moment, the elders in particular were reminded of the wonderful grace of the Lamb, saying, “and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priest to serve our God.” In KJV, this song is written in the first person plural noun “us”, not third person noun “men”, and to God. Then the song is, “with your blood you purchased us to God…You have made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God.” This can be our song and we can say, “with your blood you purchased us to God.” This is truly a new song no one ever sang. Angels cannot sing such a song. The Greek word for “purchased” can also be translated into “ransomed” or “redeemed.” According to 1 Peter 1:19, he redeemed us not with perishable things such as silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” All the wealth of this world would be not be enough to purchase us. But he purchased us with his blood. We can think of three kinds of blood. In the Old Testament so many animals were sacrificed and their blood was shed for men’s sins so that they might be ceremonially clean. After the flood judgment, God established capital punishment so that people might respect other human beings. He said, “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man” (Ge 9:6). The life of human beings though sinful was to be respected, for the image of God was still there in each man. According to Colossians 1:15, “He is the image of the invisible God.” And Hebrews 1:2 says, “The Son is the exact representation of his being.” Yet God let him be killed, brutally butchered and slaughtered, and shed his sinless holy blood so that sinful human beings like us might be purchased to be his own through forgiveness of sins. As we studied in Hebrews 9:22b, “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” Revelation 1:5b says, “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood…” By his blood he purchased us and freed us from our sin and from Satan and made us his own, his own children, who call God “Abba, Father.” By his precious blood we were purchased and have become God’s dearly loved children. We know that when we purchase something, particularly if it costs a lot of money, the thing we purchased becomes so precious to us. Who am I that he purchased me with his blood? The truth is that he purchased me with his blood and I have become his own, his treasured possession. We know that Abigail is a treasured possession to Ian and Jemmie. It is much more true to God that each one of his people whom the Lamb purchased with his blood is God’s treasure possession. And in verse 10, “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God.” In KJV, “You have made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God.” This is also written in 1:6-7, “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father...” We are made a kingdom because now God’s rule is in our hearts, where once Satan’s rule was. God’s people are also collectively made his kingdom, whereas once we were all under Satan’s kingdom. Indeed, the Lamb has made us a kingdom and also priests to serve our God. In the Old Testament, only Aaron’s descendants would be priests. But the Lamb made us priests. The priests come to God on behalf of the people of the world and speak the words of God to them so that they may also become the members of God’s kingdom. “He has made us a kingdom and priests to serve our God”: this is our identity and our clear purpose of life in this world. We are reminded of Luke 1:74 in the song of Zechariah, “to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.” We thank God for the privilege to serve our God as priests! And then it says, ‘They will reign on the earth”, in KJV, “We shall reign on the earth.” The victory in the battle against Satan’s kingdom is guaranteed to his people as the Lamb took the scroll from the right hand of God sitting on the throne. We shall reign on the earth along with him. We should hold on to this promise of God. Then there is praise of numerous angels and of every creature. In verses 11 and 12, “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 sang: ‘Worthy is the lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and praise!’” And in verse 13 and 14, “Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: ‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honour and glory and power, for ever and ever!’” At this the four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped. The worship that began with four living creatures and 24 elders was now joined by the myriads of angels and now finally by every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea and all that is in them! Here, we can see the final celebration and the grand ending to the story of scripture when God finally restores all things. After the church age has run its course, Christ fully restores everything. Christ is worthy because he restores the original hope that God had for mankind in the Garden of Eden. All these myriads of angels and all creation worship because Jesus has delivered this whole world from bondage and restored it to its original state and purpose. This is truly a magnificent and grandiose worship. We worship here on earth in a much smaller scale and lower dimension. But the essence is same. Then who can join in the glorious heavenly worship in God’s heavenly King? They are those who find the right object of worship in this world. We member the Magi who came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” When they found their right object of worship in the baby Jesus, they worshipped him with all their being and with all they had and in true satisfaction they returned to their country. In this passage the word “worthy” is written three times, “Who is worthy…?” “You are worthy…because you were slain” and “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain.” Many people today, instead of worshipping Christ Jesus, they have idolized other unworthy things like wealth, careers or whatever else they think is worthy of worship. We need to be assured of the worthiness of Christ Jesus, the only one who is worthy of our worship and our whole life dedication. We are reminded of Romans 12:1, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.” We thank and praise God for the Lamb who was slain and so by his blood purchased us to God and made us to be a kingdom and priests. May we worship and serve him with all whole life dedication for his kingdom in the anticipation of the glorious, grandiose heavenly worship of all creation in God’s heavenly kingdom.

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