SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Summit Church Tennessee.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for joining us as we share weekly sermons and teachings from Summit Church in Vision Forge, Tennessee.
SPEAKER_00: Our prayer is that today's message encourages your faith and helps you grow in your relationship with Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Check out our website at summitchurchtn.com.
SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening, and we pray this message encourages you today.
SPEAKER_03: First of all, let me just say it is so good to see Miss Anita here tonight.
SPEAKER_03: We have missed you.
SPEAKER_03: And so know that even in being missed, we're still praying as well on that.
SPEAKER_03: But we're in chapter five tonight.
SPEAKER_03: And uh I do have two slides, but I didn't print them out for you, and I'm I failed to get that, and I just sent it to Zach, so hopefully that'll get it.
SPEAKER_03: If not, I'll do something else.
SPEAKER_03: But nevertheless, that was on my fault on that.
SPEAKER_03: Again, I want to reiterate what we're doing with the book of Revelation.
SPEAKER_03: So many people they've been told not to have anything to do with it, and don't read it, be afraid of it, all this type of stuff.
SPEAKER_03: And the the society and the culture that we live in, there's been a lot of things that get a bad rap from time to time.
SPEAKER_03: And people just love to throw stuff out.
SPEAKER_03: We were kind of joking earlier tonight that um you you know the question would be who's the antichrist and why is it Donald Trump?
SPEAKER_03: You know, and and I laugh at that because every president that's ever been president has been called the Antichrist, it feels like.
SPEAKER_03: And we get stuff like that, and I want to reiterate the importance that we keep our focus on Jesus.
SPEAKER_03: It is called the revelation of Jesus Christ, and that's what it's about.
SPEAKER_03: So as we move forward to Revelation chapter five, the overall theme is now we are seeing uh the throne of God, and we're gonna see the Lamb who is worthy before the throne.
SPEAKER_03: Where chapter four emphasized God's sovereignty, his holiness, authority as creator.
SPEAKER_03: Chapter five is now going to shift us to God's redemptive plan, the worthiness of Jesus Christ, the authority of the slain lamb, and heaven's response to redemption.
SPEAKER_03: This chapter that we're in right now, chapter five, is one of the most important Christ-centered passages in the entire book.
SPEAKER_03: The central question is who is worthy to open the scroll and unfold the purposes of God?
SPEAKER_03: The answer is not an angel.
SPEAKER_03: It's not a prophet, it's not a king, it's not an apostle, an evangelist, a pastor, a deacon, an elder.
SPEAKER_03: It's not a created being.
SPEAKER_03: It is Jesus Christ alone.
SPEAKER_03: Jesus is worthy to execute the purposes of God because he conquered through sacrifice, redemption, and victory.
SPEAKER_03: In this chapter, we're going to see that scroll in the hand of God.
SPEAKER_03: We're going to see the search for the one who is worthy to open it, the revelation of the lion and the lamb, and the lamb taking that scroll, and the worship of heaven that is centered around that.
SPEAKER_03: So let's begin with verse one.
SPEAKER_03: And I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside, and on the back sealed up with seven seals.
SPEAKER_03: Now, as you get into this, this literally is what John is describing.
SPEAKER_03: He's seeing, and when we see scroll, even New American will use the term book as well, but it's one of those things that it really gives us the understanding of something that is scrolled and it is uh rolled up.
SPEAKER_03: And the seals that we're going to see here in a little bit, we get the idea of how they used to uh back in you know King Arthur days.
SPEAKER_03: They sent carriers with the and you put the wax and the seal and so on and so forth.
SPEAKER_03: So kind of get that vision a little bit in this.
SPEAKER_03: So here's the throne, here's this that is happening.
SPEAKER_03: But what's interesting is the scroll is completely filled.
SPEAKER_03: It says it's written on the inside and out.
SPEAKER_03: It's fully written and yet it's perfectly sealed.
SPEAKER_03: Normally, when scrolls were written on, they if we just got a piece of paper and we wrote on the piece of paper and wrote it up, that's how you would write on the scroll.
SPEAKER_03: But this is inside and out.
SPEAKER_03: Some of the interpretations have been proposed that what is the scroll?
SPEAKER_03: What is this?
SPEAKER_03: Some people will say it's the Old Testament, some people will say that it's prophecies.
SPEAKER_03: Some will say the title deed to earth.
SPEAKER_03: That sounds very theological.
SPEAKER_03: I didn't know earth needed a title deed, but nevertheless.
SPEAKER_03: And then there are those that say it's judgment upon the wicked.
SPEAKER_03: However, the strongest understanding of the scroll and what it represents is the unfolding of God's redemption.
SPEAKER_03: His plan to have those redeemed.
SPEAKER_03: I can't say this enough.
SPEAKER_03: We serve a God who is not angry, not mad, gonna strike you down with a lightning bolt.
SPEAKER_03: There are things that he will correct, yes.
SPEAKER_03: There are things, obviously, Scripture says the wages of sin are death, but his plan always has redemption attached to it.
SPEAKER_03: There's always hope.
SPEAKER_03: There's always a way out.
SPEAKER_03: God is not looking to schmite the old whatever one.
SPEAKER_03: It's not that way.
SPEAKER_03: Now, also the scroll could be possibly the consummation of history and what we're going to see in the concerning judgment, the redemption of the kingdom, and so on and so forth.
SPEAKER_03: So, what the scroll really, if we can get this in our understanding, is the scroll does help us understand that everything before this, everything that has happened before this in the on the chronological order of time really tells us that nothing has been random.
SPEAKER_03: You know, we we love to say things like, it was just a coincidence.
SPEAKER_03: You know, I just happened to be at the right place at the right time.
SPEAKER_03: And the truth is there are things that may feel that way, but history is not something that just randomly happened.
SPEAKER_03: You know, sometimes when we get that feeling I was at the right place at the right time, 15 years look back and we realize I was right where I was supposed to be at that time.
SPEAKER_03: Either I met somebody or I had a conversation or I was able to do something to help somebody else, whatever the case may be.
SPEAKER_03: It also gives us this peace that the future is not uncontrolled.
SPEAKER_03: If history is not random, it also means that going forward, it's not gonna be just total chaos and nobody's gonna know what's happening.
SPEAKER_03: And it's not it's not one of these scenes where we say, uh, we seek God, we see Jesus, and we get this understanding possibly that are like, oh no, look what's happening on the earth, what's happening?
SPEAKER_03: No.
SPEAKER_03: There is this knowledge that there that the things that are happening is because of a purpose.
SPEAKER_03: So the future of creation is securely in the hand.
SPEAKER_03: Then we see these seven seals that's on the scroll right out of the gate, right?
SPEAKER_03: These seals in the ancient world, seals represented an authority, security, ownership, and legal authenticity.
SPEAKER_03: And again, let's think about it this way.
SPEAKER_03: If you've ever seen some of the older movies or you've seen somebody do it, you think literally the wax melting on the folded up thing, and they put a stamp.
SPEAKER_03: That stamp, that press, that identified who that belonged to.
SPEAKER_03: That that mark was there.
SPEAKER_03: If that seal was broken, they knew that it was open.
SPEAKER_03: So those seven seals are going to reveal perfectly secured purposes.
SPEAKER_03: They're going to reveal divine authority and complete sovereignty over history.
SPEAKER_03: And the question right out of the gate, what do they contain?
SPEAKER_03: We're still just in verse one.
SPEAKER_03: The seals are not there to simply hide information.
SPEAKER_03: In other words, the scroll's not being shown to John, and John's looking at it and sees the seals and goes, Oh, I saw writing inside and out, and woe is me, I don't get to be able to have that.
SPEAKER_03: We're gonna see what's gonna take place.
SPEAKER_03: It's not about hiding something.
SPEAKER_03: There is a restrain and a holding back because we're gonna see that someone has to be able to open the seals.
SPEAKER_03: When this begins, it will bring judgment.
SPEAKER_03: Now, let me say this.
SPEAKER_03: I know that our culture, and and and hear me when I say this, yes, God is Father, and he loves us.
SPEAKER_03: The scripture says he loved us before we ever loved him.
SPEAKER_03: But there's this common thought process in our modern culture, our modern society, at least in this nation, to where we feel like that when we take our last breath, that we're gonna see God as just a father who's waiting with his arms wide open and he's looking to embrace us.
SPEAKER_03: Well, here's the thing: you will see him as father, but you'll also see him as judge.
SPEAKER_03: One of the first things that we see in the scripture is one of two things.
SPEAKER_03: Well done, good and faithful servant, or depart from me, I never knew you.
SPEAKER_03: That's a judgment.
SPEAKER_03: So when we talk about these judgments, this is where people start to panic a lot of times in the book of Revelation.
SPEAKER_03: Because they see this and they see the judgments and they think, oh no, this is going to be a horrific time.
SPEAKER_03: Will there be things that will affect people?
SPEAKER_03: Sure.
SPEAKER_03: But when you are secure in Christ, you're not under the judgments that are going to be of that.
SPEAKER_03: You'll face a judgment, but not these types of judgments.
SPEAKER_03: It will eventually ignite what's known as the tribulation period.
SPEAKER_03: There will be war.
SPEAKER_03: There will be economic collapse.
SPEAKER_03: There will be death.
SPEAKER_03: There will be a cosmic disturbance.
SPEAKER_03: And the unfolding of the rest of it.
SPEAKER_03: The seals function as the beginning.
SPEAKER_03: To really kind of get things, for lack of better word, launched off and going.
SPEAKER_03: They are going to decre they are going to contain God's decrees.
SPEAKER_03: They're going to contain his judgments, his redemptive plan, and even the history.
SPEAKER_03: Who is worthy?
SPEAKER_03: No one else could open them.
SPEAKER_03: The twenty-four elders, couldn't open them.
SPEAKER_03: The four living creatures, couldn't open them.
SPEAKER_03: The angels couldn't open them.
SPEAKER_03: John, even being there, couldn't open them.
SPEAKER_03: It had to be absolute holiness, absolute authority.
SPEAKER_03: But it also had to be the one who actually had the right to judge creation.
SPEAKER_03: One who truly knew victory over sin and death.
SPEAKER_03: We know according to scripture that Jesus is the only one who defeated sin.
SPEAKER_03: He conquered death.
SPEAKER_03: And he fulfilled redemption.
SPEAKER_03: That would mean that he has the rightful ability to possess all authority.
SPEAKER_03: Right?
SPEAKER_03: Verses 2 through 4.
SPEAKER_03: And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?
SPEAKER_03: And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it.
SPEAKER_03: And I began to weep greatly, because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look in it.
SPEAKER_03: Who is worthy?
SPEAKER_03: John actually describes that no one, this is this is the wild thing about this scripture and understanding that John literally says, no one in heaven, no one on the earth, and no one under the earth.
SPEAKER_03: That's an interesting concept there.
SPEAKER_03: It literally means every created being that God ever established, no one.
SPEAKER_03: If we're going under the earth, what are we detailing here?
SPEAKER_03: What are we talking about here?
SPEAKER_03: Right.
SPEAKER_03: We're going into the depths of caverns of fallen angels or uh Lucifer, who is Satan in this aspect of it, of course, we would all say they're not worthy.
SPEAKER_03: We would all do that.
SPEAKER_03: But it's important to understand why it is here because it's not just John saying, we looked in heaven, we looked on the earth, we couldn't find anything.
SPEAKER_03: What John is literally saying is everything that God has ever created.
SPEAKER_03: Everything.
SPEAKER_03: Everything throughout the history of time, not one single person is able to open the scroll except the one who will be deemed worthy.
SPEAKER_03: And that's why he begins to weep.
SPEAKER_03: Think about that.
SPEAKER_03: And I tried to I tried to imagine this for my own, you know, in my own little world.
SPEAKER_03: Imagine that you needed an answer to something.
SPEAKER_03: Let's just say something medical.
SPEAKER_03: And you looked everywhere and you couldn't find it, you couldn't find it, you couldn't find it.
SPEAKER_03: And all of a sudden, there's one person that has that answer to that medical need.
SPEAKER_03: Before you found that, you might be frustrated, you might be angry, you might be exhausted, you might be weeping.
SPEAKER_03: Where's the answer?
SPEAKER_03: What am I going to find?
SPEAKER_03: And we try to compute that into that.
SPEAKER_03: And this is why I want to give us that understanding because it's not like John was just kind of shedding a tear like, oh wow, there's no one here.
SPEAKER_03: He wept over the reality.
SPEAKER_03: It's one thing to say that humanity can't open it, it's another thing to say that angels can't open it.
SPEAKER_03: I mean, let's think about angels just for a second.
SPEAKER_03: We have archangels.
SPEAKER_03: Archangels are the ones in Daniel that was able to get and and release the prayer of Daniel and the Prince of Persia.
SPEAKER_03: So if the archangel and the prince of Persia could go toe to toe and the archangel win, couldn't they be the one?
SPEAKER_03: And no.
SPEAKER_03: No angels, no creation.
SPEAKER_03: It's going to sound strange.
SPEAKER_03: But at this point in time, John knows that the scroll needs to be opened.
SPEAKER_03: And he's weeping that there's not one, but he's also weeping because he realizes if there isn't one, it will never be opened.
SPEAKER_03: Imagine seeing something if you were in John's case.
SPEAKER_03: Imagine seeing this and knowing that this is something that you know.
SPEAKER_03: I need to see this, I need to know what this is, but you don't have the key.
SPEAKER_03: You're not able to open it.
SPEAKER_03: But you have this longing to know that this thing needs to be opened.
SPEAKER_03: So it's not just looking, although it's very, very important, who is worthy.
SPEAKER_03: It's also John recognizing, because of what I'm seeing, what I'm seeing now in heaven, this is something that has to be open.
SPEAKER_03: Now, granted, did John know what was going to be on it?
SPEAKER_03: No.
SPEAKER_03: You know, we have this tendency a lot of times.
SPEAKER_03: We we would say, I want to say yes to God, I want to do these things, and I want to I want to obey and I want to do this, but I need to see what it's going to cost me.
SPEAKER_03: Because if I lose friends, if I lose family, if I lose a job, if I lose this, that, I'm not willing to go through all that.
SPEAKER_03: We kind of live that way from time to time.
SPEAKER_03: But here's John not knowing what's going to be on this scroll, and just simply knowing it's got to be opened.
SPEAKER_03: Verses five and six.
SPEAKER_03: And one of the elders said to me, Stop weeping.
SPEAKER_03: Behold, the lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.
SPEAKER_03: And I saw between the throne with the four living creatures and the elders, a lamb standing as if it had seven horns, as if it was slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
SPEAKER_03: These are some gnarly verses right here.
SPEAKER_03: And it's really hard to imagine, and I tried to create this.
SPEAKER_03: Zach, if I can get the first image with no words.
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
SPEAKER_03: This is kind of what we're talking about here.
SPEAKER_03: Is it perfect?
SPEAKER_03: No, it's not going to be perfect, but just bear with me just for a second.
SPEAKER_03: We understand that the four living creatures are around the throne of God.
SPEAKER_03: Remember, we discussed this last week.
SPEAKER_03: We also understand the 24 elders.
SPEAKER_03: They're around.
SPEAKER_03: And then all of a sudden, John describes this lamb.
SPEAKER_03: But before he describes it, one of the elders speaks to John and tells him, quit crying.
SPEAKER_03: I like that elder.
SPEAKER_03: You know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER_03: Dry it up, John.
SPEAKER_03: Look.
SPEAKER_03: It's the Lamb of God.
SPEAKER_03: Look at this.
SPEAKER_03: It's the one who overcame.
SPEAKER_03: But it's not registering yet.
SPEAKER_03: And then John describes seeing this lamb that was slain.
SPEAKER_03: And it had seven horns and seven eyes.
SPEAKER_03: Now, here's the thing.
SPEAKER_03: Again, when we talk about the four living creatures, those things are some strange looking creatures.
SPEAKER_03: Right?
SPEAKER_03: We understand that the scripture says that they had eyes in and all around their wings, which kind of gives you the understanding possibly that their wings was nothing but eyes.
SPEAKER_03: And that's strange in and of itself.
SPEAKER_03: But to see a lamb with seven eyes and seven horns, that's a whole other thing.
SPEAKER_03: You know, I think you can still go to Ripley's Believe It or Not and see the lamb with two heads.
SPEAKER_03: But to see one with seven horns and seven eyes, what are we talking about here?
SPEAKER_03: And the question has to be asked: did John actually just see a lamb?
SPEAKER_03: Or is John using language that we would understand?
SPEAKER_03: And whereas other people that would not understand it would think he's describing a lamb.
SPEAKER_03: But John's actually using language here.
SPEAKER_03: So even though we get this, we get this understanding of what John is possibly seeing, in my honest opinion.
SPEAKER_03: This is my opinion.
SPEAKER_03: I can't validate this, I can't prove this, so don't take it to the bank.
SPEAKER_03: I personally don't believe that John saw an actual lamb with seven eyes and seven horns.
SPEAKER_03: I believe what John saw was Jesus.
SPEAKER_03: And out of Jesus he saw the Lamb of God in Jesus.
SPEAKER_03: He saw that because what did the scripture say that he saw the lamb as slain?
SPEAKER_03: So we would know that to be what?
SPEAKER_03: The nail-scarred hands, right?
SPEAKER_03: That's still there according to scripture.
SPEAKER_03: That's still there.
SPEAKER_03: So even though we're seeing this language here, my honest opinion, and I can be wrong, so I'm open to that, is he is using this as an illustration to describe something that the world wouldn't understand, but those in Christ wouldn't understand.
SPEAKER_03: And that language is always found.
SPEAKER_03: Again, we got scripture throughout where Jesus is referenced as the Lamb of God.
SPEAKER_03: He's also referenced as the Lion of the tribe of Judah.
SPEAKER_03: Catch the language here.
SPEAKER_03: Now, I'm saying that to also say, could it have been an actual lamb with seven horns and seven eyes?
SPEAKER_03: Yes.
SPEAKER_03: It very well could be.
SPEAKER_03: I don't want to take away from that because I don't know.
SPEAKER_03: We don't know a hundred percent sure what this actually was.
SPEAKER_03: And so I'm open to it.
SPEAKER_03: It could possibly be a lamb with seven horns and seven eyes.
SPEAKER_03: It goes back to like one thing I left off last week I want to bring back in remembrance is these 24 elders.
SPEAKER_03: We talked about how a lot of theologians and historians believe that it's you know made up of the 12 tribes of Israel and possibly the 12 apostles and so on and so forth.
SPEAKER_03: And those are all great to debate and try to figure out.
SPEAKER_03: But there's one other category that I failed to bring up, and I remembered, and I want to bring it up now.
SPEAKER_03: It could be that the 24 elders are just 24 elders, and we don't know them other than being an elder.
SPEAKER_03: You understand what I'm saying?
SPEAKER_03: So as we go forward, we're gonna see a lot of language that John is gonna use that it he's painting a picture, but it doesn't necessarily mean that it is exactly what it is in that natural.
SPEAKER_03: Now, again, this that could have been there, but I genuinely believe, again, it's my opinion, that he saw Jesus, what he saw radiating that looked like horns, what looked like eyes, remember is the seven spirits.
SPEAKER_03: Remember, we saw that we discussed all this last week on all that, and we saw we saw this in great detail if we remember.
SPEAKER_03: So, John is uh told in the beginning that this is the lion of the tribe of Judah, and he is from the root of David who has overcome.
SPEAKER_03: What a powerful illustration.
SPEAKER_03: We remember, we'll get to the root of David eventually, but eventually he now sees, or potentially John turns around, maybe to see.
SPEAKER_03: Don't know 100%, but maybe turns around to see a lion and he sees this lamb.
SPEAKER_03: A lamb as though it had been slain.
SPEAKER_03: The lamb bears the mark of sacrifice, which is the evidence of crucifixion, which is so important to you and I because it reminds us that the cross remains central in eternity.
SPEAKER_03: His sacrifice is eternally significant.
SPEAKER_03: That's what it's all about that.
SPEAKER_03: The world will often celebrate military powers.
SPEAKER_03: You got Kim Jong-un, and he's doing his military, and China does their military, and Vladimir does his military.
SPEAKER_03: We do our military.
SPEAKER_03: The world has political dominance.
SPEAKER_03: We think we're the greatest nation on the face of the earth.
SPEAKER_03: If you don't think that, ask the president.
SPEAKER_03: He'll assuredly tell you.
SPEAKER_03: And we also have a tendency to think that we did this.
SPEAKER_03: This is we we look what I did.
SPEAKER_03: But here's what heaven is celebrating: the sacrifice.
SPEAKER_03: Heaven is celebrating redemption, humility and obedience.
SPEAKER_03: Now, again, well, not again, because we haven't discussed in this.
SPEAKER_03: We did this in the school of revival.
SPEAKER_03: A lot of times you'll hear people say that, oh, if you don't get your ac together, God's going to humble you.
SPEAKER_03: Well, the truth is that that's not scripturally correct.
SPEAKER_03: There is no scripture that says God's going to humble you.
SPEAKER_03: What the scripture actually says is you have to be willing to humble yourself before the Lord.
SPEAKER_03: What he hates is pride.
SPEAKER_03: But you have to humble yourself.
SPEAKER_03: So this aspect of really making sure that we are in humility in that.
SPEAKER_03: And that's a decision that we have to make.
SPEAKER_03: I know that when people say, well, God's going to humble you, that's one of those fear tactics again.
SPEAKER_03: And it is that the fear tactics is what's keeping people out of the revelation of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_03: And we're overriding that to understand it's about the lamb and the lion, of course.
SPEAKER_03: The seven horns, again, and the seven eyes.
SPEAKER_03: We went over this last week, so I'm not going to reiterate that.
SPEAKER_03: But we know what this is, and you have your notes and you have your image as well.
SPEAKER_03: We get what each of the spirits are.
SPEAKER_03: We understand what they are.
SPEAKER_03: They're not seven different types of spirit.
SPEAKER_03: They're in a nutshell characteristics of function of the spirit in that truth.
SPEAKER_03: So Jesus is worthy to rule because he was the one who was slain.
SPEAKER_03: Revelation 5, I believe, destroys the idea that Jesus is this weak, passive, perilous, hippie loving Jesus.
SPEAKER_03: It portrays him to be the conqueror, the lion, the lamb, the one who overtook death, hell, and the grave.
SPEAKER_03: I know we love our little blonde-haired, blue-eyed Jesus, but he's not blonde-haired and blue-eyed.
SPEAKER_03: And unfortunately, he's a lot darker than a lot of us.
SPEAKER_03: And I look around the room, Robert, you're the darkest out of all of us, so he's even darker than you.
SPEAKER_03: The Lamb who died is now fully exalted.
SPEAKER_03: He's reigning.
SPEAKER_03: He's authoritative, and he's aware.
SPEAKER_03: Sometimes we have this mentality.
SPEAKER_03: What's a couple years ago, uh the children's church here, they they had the baby lambs.
SPEAKER_03: Y'all remember that?
SPEAKER_03: And the children's church took the pictures and everything.
SPEAKER_03: I heard more, oh everybody saw those, aw, look at that, uh.
SPEAKER_03: Sometimes that's the way we look at lambs.
SPEAKER_03: Aww, look how cute.
SPEAKER_03: This is not a weak little aw lamb.
SPEAKER_03: This is almighty.
SPEAKER_03: This is not helpless.
SPEAKER_03: Is he gentle?
SPEAKER_03: Yes.
SPEAKER_03: But he's not vulnerable.
SPEAKER_03: Did he sacrifice his life?
SPEAKER_03: Yes.
SPEAKER_03: But he did it by his choice.
SPEAKER_03: Because he was able to do for man what man could not do for themselves.
SPEAKER_03: The same Jesus who died on the cross, submitted himself, took on the sins of the world, went to the tomb, but was physically raised on the third day.
SPEAKER_03: Now, here in this understanding, he is supreme.
SPEAKER_03: He is absolute rule, he is unlimited power.
SPEAKER_03: The cross was never weakness, it was victory through surrender and obedience.
SPEAKER_03: Verse 7.
SPEAKER_03: And he came and he took it out of the right hand of him who sat on a throne.
SPEAKER_03: Who's the he?
SPEAKER_03: Now, again, this is me playing a little bit right here.
SPEAKER_03: If it really was a lamb, how's he gonna take anything out of a see those little hooves down there?
SPEAKER_03: That's not gonna get a hold of anything.
SPEAKER_03: It'll work good in the mountains, but ain't gonna get a hold of anything.
SPEAKER_03: See that hand right there?
SPEAKER_03: That'll get a hold of something.
SPEAKER_03: To help us kind of understand that a little bit.
SPEAKER_03: This is truly a monumental moment in Revelation.
SPEAKER_03: The Lamb alone approaches the throne and he takes the scroll from the Father's hand.
SPEAKER_03: No one resist.
SPEAKER_03: No one tried to stop.
SPEAKER_03: No one said, No, no, no, no, you can't touch it, you can't have it.
SPEAKER_03: No, they understood that he was the one who was going to be worthy.
SPEAKER_03: Verse 8, 8 through 10.
SPEAKER_03: And when he had taken the book, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the lamb, having each one a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints, and they sang a new song saying, Worthy art thou, take the book and to break its seals, for thou wast slain, and didst purchase for God with thy blood, men from every tribe and every tongue and people and nation, and thou hast made them to be a kingdom and priest to our God, and they will reign upon the earth.
SPEAKER_03: Now, what immediately happens?
SPEAKER_03: The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fall before the Lamb in worship.
SPEAKER_03: That one action right there reveals to us the deity of who He is.
SPEAKER_03: It notes they had harps which would represent worship, praise, and celebration.
SPEAKER_03: Now, let me go ahead and ruin somebody's day.
SPEAKER_03: There's no one in this room, it's probably somebody listening on the podcast.
SPEAKER_03: If you don't like worship, you're gonna be really frustrated.
SPEAKER_03: Because this scene is not quiet, it's probably gonna be turned up way too loud.
SPEAKER_03: I'm hoping it'll be a good 72 degrees.
SPEAKER_03: That just seems like the perfect temperature.
SPEAKER_03: I don't know.
SPEAKER_03: Maybe a cool, crisp wind blowing across.
SPEAKER_03: But worship is going to happen.
SPEAKER_03: Heaven's filled with it.
SPEAKER_03: And then John mentions the bowls.
SPEAKER_03: Being the prayers of the saints.
SPEAKER_03: This ought to be an encouragement to you and I.
SPEAKER_03: What does this tell us?
SPEAKER_03: It tells us that God remembers the prayers of his people.
SPEAKER_03: It also tells us how important prayer is to God.
SPEAKER_03: How prayer rises before the throne as incense, a sweet aroma.
SPEAKER_03: And again, I know that there are different denominations that think that you have to pray a certain way and this and that, and so on and so forth.
SPEAKER_03: And I'm not condemning anybody, but I want to just leave you with something when we talk about prayer.
SPEAKER_03: The way you talk to people is the way you can talk to him.
SPEAKER_03: It's that simple.
SPEAKER_03: Um, you know, sometimes we can feel better if we're kneeling or whatever.
SPEAKER_03: Hey, I kneel, that's great.
SPEAKER_03: But what I want to remind us all is we don't have to wait till Sunday till we get to an altar.
SPEAKER_03: Or wait till Sunday till we get to a pastor, or wait till Sunday till we get to a teacher or whatever.
SPEAKER_03: The prayers symbolize that worship, that prayer in that, and we see the prayers of the saints.
SPEAKER_03: No faithful prayer is forgotten.
SPEAKER_03: It also would tell us that no cry of the righteous is ignored.
SPEAKER_03: Now, have we felt like we've been forgotten?
SPEAKER_03: Yep.
SPEAKER_03: Have we felt like we've been ignored?
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
SPEAKER_03: But we know here and we can put our trust in the reality that God treasures the prayers of his people.
SPEAKER_03: The problem?
SPEAKER_03: Typically, they're not answered the way that we would prefer them to be answered.
SPEAKER_03: Then there's a new song that is declared.
SPEAKER_03: You are worthy.
SPEAKER_03: It literally says in the scripture they sang a new song.
SPEAKER_03: You are worthy.
SPEAKER_03: Why is he worthy?
SPEAKER_03: Well, by this point, we should know.
SPEAKER_03: We've talked about it.
SPEAKER_03: The sacrifice, the blood, the redemption, the uh overcoming death, all those things.
SPEAKER_03: And this song, when they declare that he's worthy, they're celebrating the price of redemption.
SPEAKER_03: They're celebrating the power of redemption.
SPEAKER_03: And the scope of redemption.
SPEAKER_03: How massive it is.
SPEAKER_03: Then it tells us in the scripture that Jesus redeemed people from every tribe, every tongue, every people, every nation.
SPEAKER_03: Did we leave anything out?
SPEAKER_03: I know that sometimes people want to say, well, I've done so wrong that God He would never accept me because I've done all these things so wrong.
SPEAKER_03: The scripture clearly says that it is the will of God that none should perish, but all come to the salvation of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_03: So it's not that God created you and destined you to hell.
SPEAKER_03: It's not that God created you and forgot you and abandoned you and all these things.
SPEAKER_03: It is reminding that no matter where you're from, no matter what color you are, no matter what sex you are, no matter what your history is, every tribe, every nation, every tongue, every race, there is a redemptive plan.
SPEAKER_03: And then the believers here are made kings and priests.
SPEAKER_03: Which means we're going to share in Christ's kingdom.
SPEAKER_03: And we're going to have direct access to God through Christ.
SPEAKER_03: And we're going to reign with Him.
SPEAKER_03: The cross of Jesus does not merely forgive our sins, it restores us into relationship, authority, and worship before God.
SPEAKER_03: To receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.
SPEAKER_03: Worthy is the Lamb who was slain.
SPEAKER_03: The Lamb is declared to receive power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, blessing.
SPEAKER_03: These are all listed here.
SPEAKER_03: All of heaven is recognizing the ah of who he is.
SPEAKER_03: And every created thing which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and on the sea, and all the things in them, I heard saying to him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.
SPEAKER_03: And the four living creatures kept saying, Amen.
SPEAKER_03: And the elders fell down and worshipped.
SPEAKER_03: Now, here's something that I want us to see in this.
SPEAKER_03: Verse 13 incorporates all of heaven.
SPEAKER_03: It goes beyond the central location of the throne.
SPEAKER_03: Every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth, it expands.
SPEAKER_03: And we see that worship is beyond this one location.
SPEAKER_03: John hears every creature in heaven.
SPEAKER_03: On earth, under the earth, and in the sea.
SPEAKER_03: That's got them all.
SPEAKER_03: And they're declaring that worship to the Father and to the Lamb.
SPEAKER_03: Now, we know in this that the Lamb is seated on the throne.
SPEAKER_03: Right?
SPEAKER_03: And we know by now that this is Jesus.
SPEAKER_03: But we gotta understand that it's clearly Jesus in the fullness of who he is upon the throne.
SPEAKER_03: He is the one seated on the throne.
SPEAKER_03: It is one of the clearest understandings of a passage of scripture that you could possibly find in Revelation.
SPEAKER_03: Who is the one who is worthy?
SPEAKER_03: The one on the throne.
SPEAKER_03: It's interesting now that we also see these things.
SPEAKER_03: The four living creatures say, Amen.
SPEAKER_03: I thought that's what we did when we ended a prayer.
SPEAKER_03: That's such a strange concept, isn't it?
SPEAKER_03: First of all, let's say again, even though we went through the four creatures just quickly, one like a lion, one like an eagle, one like that face of a man, and one like an ox, right?
SPEAKER_03: Now, probably they weren't actual animals with wings.
SPEAKER_03: Again, John is using some kind of image to describe something.
SPEAKER_03: How would we know this?
SPEAKER_03: Well, if these three things say amen, that means that all animals were probably going to talk at some point.
SPEAKER_03: And that's going to be strange.
SPEAKER_03: Now, here's the thing.
SPEAKER_03: Somebody's thinking back right now and saying, Well, didn't Balaam's donkey talk?
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, but that wasn't a good thing.
SPEAKER_03: Didn't the serpent talk?
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, but that wasn't a good thing.
SPEAKER_03: So again, these four living creatures, they're creatures, right?
SPEAKER_03: Okay, angels, archangels, they can speak.
SPEAKER_03: Angels can speak.
SPEAKER_03: These creatures can speak.
SPEAKER_03: They have some kind of aspect that they're, even though they're very, very different, they have some kind of aspect of language that we all understand.
SPEAKER_03: Right?
SPEAKER_03: So now John hears Amen.
SPEAKER_03: So does John hear in the, does he hear this and just go, okay, does that mean it's over and we're done?
SPEAKER_03: Because amen.
SPEAKER_03: That means to end it, right?
SPEAKER_03: Lord God bless this food and light to be nourishment to our body.
SPEAKER_03: Change the molecular structure of this Twinkie and make it that of a broccoli.
SPEAKER_03: In the name of Jesus, amen.
SPEAKER_03: And that ended it, right?
SPEAKER_03: What does amen mean?
SPEAKER_03: Monica said it.
SPEAKER_03: So be it.
SPEAKER_03: What John heard the four elders literally saying is this one who came and took the scroll and sat down on the throne and they worshiped, they called him worthy, they called him holy, they called him all these things and said this.
SPEAKER_03: Then the four living creatures said, So be it.
SPEAKER_03: That really is a powerful decoration and something that we need to get in our understanding.
SPEAKER_03: And it's not just that.
SPEAKER_03: Well, that's the end.
SPEAKER_03: Or as one congressman said a few years ago, amen and a woman.
SPEAKER_03: It's definitely not neither of those.
SPEAKER_03: I saw a pastor look on that one.
SPEAKER_03: There was a congressman that got up.
SPEAKER_03: If y'all don't know, there was a congressman that got up, said a prayer, and then said, Amen and a woman.
SPEAKER_03: Like totally oblivious to the fact.
SPEAKER_03: I'm sorry, I said a congressman.
SPEAKER_03: I'm so sorry.
SPEAKER_03: A chaplain before Congress said it.
SPEAKER_03: I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_03: I realized what I said.
SPEAKER_03: A chaplain led prayer before Congress, which that happens every day, believe it or not.
SPEAKER_03: It happens every single day.
SPEAKER_03: It doesn't feel like it a lot of times, but it happens.
SPEAKER_03: Chaplain comes in and says a prayer.
SPEAKER_03: This chaplain, one day, when he ended his prayer, he said, Amen and a woman.
SPEAKER_03: Anyhow, then the 24 elders, again, they fall down in worship.
SPEAKER_03: All creation is going to worship him.
SPEAKER_03: Which validates too.
SPEAKER_03: Remember this?
SPEAKER_03: Every tongue shall confess, every knee shall bow.
SPEAKER_03: That's going to happen.
SPEAKER_03: So here's something, if I can get the next picture, if you don't care, Zach, I want us to understand again.
SPEAKER_03: Revelation chapter 5.
SPEAKER_03: It is about the scroll.
SPEAKER_03: I don't want to take away from that.
SPEAKER_03: It is about the scroll.
SPEAKER_03: Because in chapter 6, we're going to see what is fixing to be opened in each of these seals.
SPEAKER_03: And it's going to set things in order.
SPEAKER_03: But we have to remember that the Lamb is the one who is worthy to open the scroll.
SPEAKER_03: I don't want to negate the scroll, but I also don't want you to miss the point of it all.
SPEAKER_03: The point is the Lamb of God.
SPEAKER_03: That's the point.
SPEAKER_03: Because you were slain.
SPEAKER_03: You bore the images, the scars.
SPEAKER_03: We understand that he was slain.
SPEAKER_03: He is worthy above all.
SPEAKER_03: He redeemed us.
SPEAKER_03: Every tribe, every nation, every tongue, every race.
SPEAKER_03: Praise and glory to the one who sits on the throne.
SPEAKER_03: Here's what Revelation 5 reveals.
SPEAKER_03: History is not controlled by governments.
SPEAKER_03: It's not controlled by nations.
SPEAKER_03: Even though at times it may feel like it, it's not controlled by Satan.
SPEAKER_03: And it's not controlled by darkness.
SPEAKER_03: The one who holds history in his hands and our future is the Lamb that was slain.
SPEAKER_03: He conquered through sacrifice.
SPEAKER_03: He shed his blood.
SPEAKER_03: He rose from the dead, and he is absolute, absolute authority.
SPEAKER_03: And all of heaven responds with worship.
SPEAKER_03: And a new song.
SPEAKER_03: Any questions?
SPEAKER_03: Wow.
SPEAKER_03: This is oh, okay.
SPEAKER_03: I was going to say this is the first week.
SPEAKER_03: Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_03: We'll get you, Jeff.
SPEAKER_02: So would you say that the role of the of the scroll in this chapter, not going forward, but in this chapter, is to validate the uniqueness of the Lamb to be worshipped, right?
SPEAKER_02: That that that's the role in this chapter.
SPEAKER_03: A hundred percent.
SPEAKER_03: Remember the scripture says, and John recognizes it.
SPEAKER_03: Let's go back.
SPEAKER_03: John recognizes, John says, no one was found to be worthy to open the scroll.
SPEAKER_03: Where?
SPEAKER_03: No one in heaven, no one in earth, no one under the earth.
SPEAKER_03: And John begins to weep.
SPEAKER_03: So that's exactly.
SPEAKER_03: I love the way you worded that too.
SPEAKER_01: I'm struggling with the verse 13, that every creature which is in heaven, on the earth, and under the earth, and such as in the sea.
SPEAKER_01: Earlier on, when this came up earlier in a chapter about under the earth, possibly meaning everybody, including Satan that goes on to heard I heard saying blessing and honor and glory and power to be an image.
SPEAKER_01: Would that not say that Satan is now in alignment with very good question?
SPEAKER_03: I like this question.
SPEAKER_03: Alright, so first of all, let's go back and let's look at what the scripture says.
SPEAKER_03: And I saw before the throne.
SPEAKER_03: Um, well, I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_03: Uh sorry.
SPEAKER_03: There, verse three.
SPEAKER_03: And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it.
SPEAKER_03: All right, so what's the three things?
SPEAKER_03: In heaven, on the earth, and under the earth.
SPEAKER_03: Then we get to verse 13.
SPEAKER_03: And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth, those are the three same things that we found right there.
SPEAKER_03: But then also we get on the sea on the sea and all things in them.
SPEAKER_03: Now, we get added context here.
SPEAKER_03: We get added context in the understanding of like sea creatures, right?
SPEAKER_03: Fish, whales, whatever, octopus.
SPEAKER_03: All right.
SPEAKER_03: And we get this understanding that even potentially, even though it doesn't say fowls, because it says on the earth, we would include fowls, birds of the air, right?
SPEAKER_03: Where we would see this actually goes back to Genesis.
SPEAKER_03: When Genesis is talking about when God created the earth, he created every living creature.
SPEAKER_03: He created the animals, the hoofs, he created the fowls, and he created the fish, right?
SPEAKER_03: So everything God created, that's what the scripture says.
SPEAKER_03: In verse 13, when it says under the earth, it is not talking about Satan here.
SPEAKER_03: It is not talking about the fallen angels here.
SPEAKER_03: It is actually talking about the created things that go all the way back to creation.
SPEAKER_03: That everything that God created.
SPEAKER_03: There's also, we have to remember the scripture in Romans when it says the earth is groaning for the sons of God to be revealed.
SPEAKER_03: There are aspects in the scripture where we understand that even the things that God creates, the trees, the rocks, the dirt, all those things, even though they're, you know, the trees are not talking, but they're living, right?
SPEAKER_03: We see those things, those things release a sound that is under heaven.
SPEAKER_03: So when this scripture is talking about the worship that is happening, it's talking about everything that God has ever created that is going to worship him, is going to worship him.
SPEAKER_03: Whether it's in heaven, on the earth, under the earth, in the sea, or wherever out, everything that he created that will worship and has been in that redemptive plan is going to be worshiping.
SPEAKER_03: Now the question may come: how is this even the earth in this?
SPEAKER_03: Let's remember God's not going to destroy the earth.
SPEAKER_03: Earth even has a redemptive plan.
SPEAKER_03: Right?
SPEAKER_03: Earth has a redemptive plan.
SPEAKER_03: But this is talking about everything.
SPEAKER_03: So it is one of these things where science now's proven that like if you you can put there's this technological technological things.
SPEAKER_03: They can actually, if they can put it in certain streams, and every time water runs over a rock, it releases a note into the atmosphere.
SPEAKER_03: And so when the when it goes down the stream, that water is actually playing a harmony.
SPEAKER_03: It's actually playing a sound.
SPEAKER_03: Rocks, same thing, are moving.
SPEAKER_03: And you can see all this.
SPEAKER_03: This is fascinating stuff.
SPEAKER_03: And you can hear the sounds that it's making.
SPEAKER_03: Now, why are these created things making sounds?
SPEAKER_03: Well, the scripture says the groaning, but the scripture also says if you don't praise him, the rocks will cry out.
SPEAKER_03: Can I tell you what that means?
SPEAKER_03: That does not mean that you get quiet, they get loud.
SPEAKER_03: It means that if you don't praise him, the created thing outworships the created ones.
SPEAKER_03: That's a big deal.
SPEAKER_03: But at this moment in time, all of it is in unison together.
SPEAKER_03: Of course, Satan and the fallen angels, right?
SPEAKER_03: And some wicked people that we're going to get into, and so on and so forth.
SPEAKER_03: There is that because of the way that it's set up.
SPEAKER_03: Does that help a little bit?
SPEAKER_03: Any other questions?
SPEAKER_03: It's a really good question there.
SPEAKER_03: Everybody's good.
SPEAKER_03: Okay, next week we're going to pick up with Revelation chapter 6, and we're actually going to be breaking into the seals.
SPEAKER_03: So we're going to be breaking that open, and those seals are going to be broke open.
SPEAKER_03: We'll see what those are and how that begins progress.
SPEAKER_03: For the record, just out of curiosity, I want to ask you this question.
SPEAKER_03: We talked about in Revelation chapter 4, how many people believe at that moment in Revelation chapter 4, that is Revelation 4.1, potentially, possibly the rapture, pre-trib rapture, right?
SPEAKER_03: So that's where that possibly is.
SPEAKER_03: So if that is the pre-trib rapture, does it mean that chapter 5, tribulation has begun?
SPEAKER_03: Or did tribulation begin in chapter 4?
SPEAKER_03: Or does tribulation begin in chapter 6?
SPEAKER_03: Think about that.
SPEAKER_03: Because it's just, it'll give us a timeline to be able to understand some things going forward about where we are in all that.
SPEAKER_03: Does that make sense?