He Alone Is Worthy

Series on Revelation

II The Viewpoint

A Cycle One, The Sovereign, Scroll, and Seven Seals

2 The Savior

Text: 5:1-14

Introduction

Chapter 4 of Revelation was about Creation, but chapter 5 is about redemption and Jesus, the Son of God, is the focus. The Bible is an historical book. Biblical Theology is the study of redemptive history. The Triune God is the subject of this book. Though many modern Christians seem to have the opinion that the main focus of the Bible is on man and his sin and salvation, actually it is not. The Bible is about who God is, and what He does. It is as some have observed His-story. Since one member of the Trinity has entered that history, He is naturally the person who is at the center of the story. Thus the Bible becomes the story of Jesus, the Son of God. The Old testament is the preparation for Him, The New Testament is the explanation of Him and the anticipation of His ultimate victory. This chapter of Revelation is therefore a microcosm of what the Bible is about. In verse 6 John says, Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb, slain, is at the center of the Bible, the center of the throne and the center of the created universe. One will look in vain for a better picture of who God is. Today we are privileged along with the apostle John to look upon the scene that dominates holy history and there we see three important things, the scroll, the savior and the song.

I The Scroll

The scroll is described in verses 1-5, 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. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. 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.” Many have speculated about the contents of the scroll, but it is fairly obvious from the text that follows in chapter 6. As the Lamb opens the seals the result is very similar to what Jesus describes to His disciples in Matthew 24: 6-9, But ye will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that ye be not disturbed; for all must take place, but it is not yet the end. For nation shall rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places. But all these beginning of throes. Then shall they deliver you up to tribulation, and shall kill you; and ye will be hated of all the nations for my name’s sake. Wars, persecution, and natural disasters will characterize the gospel age in which we live. It is a time of tribulation. Thus, what is in the scroll is the decree of God unfolding the holy history prior to the last judgment and the end. The seals on the scroll must be placed so that it can be opened gradually for that is what follows in chapter 6. As the seals are opened the events in the vision occur. What is most important is the declaration of the angel in a loud voice bringing to our attention the considerable concern over the opening of the scroll. The consternation increases because no one can be found and brings the apostle to tears. The focal point of these verses is the search for someone to open the scroll and the search is successful because one of the elders reveals that, The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals. What is the meaning of this? The clue is in the book of Jeremiah 32: 6-14, Jeremiah said, “The word of the LORD came to me: Hanamel son of Shallum your uncle is going to come to you and say, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth, because as nearest relative it is your right and duty to buy it.’ “Then, just as the LORD had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and said, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. Since it is your right to redeem it and possess it, buy it for yourself.’ “I knew that this was the word of the LORD; so I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel and weighed out for him seventeen shekels[b] of silver. I signed and sealed the deed, had it witnessed, and weighed out the silver on the scales. I took the deed of purchase—the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions, as well as the unsealed copy—and I gave this deed to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and of the witnesses who had signed the deed and of all the Jews sitting in the courtyard of the guard. “In their presence I gave Baruch these instructions: ‘This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Take these documents, both the sealed and unsealed copies of the deed of purchase, and put them in a clay jar so they will last a long time. It was the custom of the Hebrew people in the exchange of real estate and in taking possession of property to which one is entitled that the deed to the new owner was made out in duplicate, an open copy and a sealed copy. The open copy was clearly for public information, open to all. The sealed copy as clearly belonged only to the owner of the property as his evidence of ownership. So it identified him as the one named in the open copy. When the heir came to take possession of an estate, the claimant who was adjudged the rightful heir or owner would be given the possession of the sealed document or deed. And as so attested by the judge or court, he alone would be properly qualified to “take” the sealed roll, break its seals, read its contents, and so formally take possession of the estate, or property. Here Jesus is taking possession of His property. The first Adam lost it through sin, the second and last Adam regained it through his suffering for sin. This is the Lamb slain and victorious over sin and death, as our text points out, for He is the only one who can open the scroll as Lord of history and Lord of all. No one was found worthy, but then we read, 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.”

II The Savior

Next the focus moves from the scroll to the Savior in verses 6-10, Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. 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 the saints. And they 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.” The Lamb has wounds as He did in His resurrection appearances in the gospels because he suffered. The Lamb has horns because he has all power in heaven and earth. The Lamb has eyes representing seven spirits which are collectively the Holy Spirit. He is thus portrayed because He sends the Holy Spirit by virtue of his victory over sin and death in order to complete His saving work. He says to His disciples, “Go in to all the world” and “Lo I am with you even unto the end of the age.” We are also told that the Lamb is in the midst of throne. John says he is in the center of the throne in Revelation 7:17 and in the letter to Laodicea in chapter 3 Jesus says in verse 21, To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. Actually here the literal translation is “between the throne and the elders and the living creatures. Nevertheless He is in the position of power and authority. And then those around the throne sing a new song, new, because they are celebrating the long awaited victory. They are also holding bowls of incense that John tells us are the prayers of the saints. These are the saints on earth that are crying out for justice and deliverance and the vision says their prayers are being heard because the victory of the Lamb has ushered in the last days and the time of the end. The song which is sung to the praise of the Lamb tells us why He is worthy of praise, 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. When we speak of love we must realize that love is a word used in many different contexts and is easily misunderstood. Our basic problem as sinful people has to do with love. You might say we all have a terrible love life: we love the wrong things for the wrong reasons and in the wrong ways. Even our love for good things can often go wrong. Love is the first and foremost gift of the Spirit because as we read in I John 4:10. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. The Lamb is God and God is the Lamb and the essence of that love is giving, offering, providing, suffering, sacrificing, and surrendering. At the center of God’s throne is a sacrifice. This is the truest and most unexpected revelation of His nature. He is holy, just and good, omnipotent and omnipresent, but through it all He is the One who sacrifices for His people.

III The Song

We have heard one song sung in praise of the Lamb who was slain. Now there comes a universal anthem. in verses 11-14 the song passes from those who are near the throne to the whole of creation, 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 honor and glory and praise!” 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 honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped. Do you remember God saying to Abraham in Genesis 13:16, I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted, and again in 15:5 and 6, And he led him out, and said, Look now toward the heavens, and number the stars, if thou be able to number them. And he said to him, So shall thy seed be! And he believed Jehovah; and he reckoned it to him as righteousness. In this vision of the great song, the unending song, you are looking at Abraham’s seed, and every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them. In Calvin Miller’s, “The Singer Trilogy,” Jesus is the Singer, the Troubadour who recaptures the world from the enemy and restores it. As He comes in victory the liberated prisoner’s sing, “The Golden Age has dawned upon the grave of time, And we are free! We lay aside the chains of our humanity. The Singer comes to save the remnant of the age. The Gates fling wide! The banner waves above the Troubadour of Life Astride a steed of light.” And later they sing, “Raise the praise in gilded flame Till fiery letters etch the name Of love across the waking universe. Singer, Prince of Planets, Troubadour of Life. And the spectacle of life began.” All of this is anticipated in the song being sung in Revelation 5, To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever! And we join the living creatures and say “amen.”