Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Let us pray.
Almighty God, in you are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Open our eyes that we may see the wonders of your word and give us grace that we may clearly understand and freely choose the way of your wisdom through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
The Scripture this morning.
My portion is from Revelations, chapter 4, verses 1 through 6A.
After this I looked, and there in heaven a door stood open.
And the first voice which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, come up here and I will show you what must take place after this.
At once I was in the spirit. And there in heaven stood a throne with one seated on the throne.
And the one seated there looks like Jasper and carnelian. And around the throne is a rainbow that looks like an emerald.
Around the throne are 24 thrones. And seated on the thrones are 24 elders dressed in white robes with golden crowns on their heads.
Coming from the throne are flashes of lightning and rumblings and peals of thunder.
And in front of the throne burn seven flaming torches, which are the seven spirits of God.
And in front of the throne there is something like a sea of glass, like crystal.
[00:02:03] Speaker B: Around the throne and on each side of the throne are four living creatures full of eyes in front and back. The first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with a face like a human, and the fourth living creature like a flying eagle. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and inside, day and night, without ceasing, they sing, holy, holy, holy. The Lord God, the Almighty, who was and is and is to come, and whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to the one who is seated on the throne who lives forever and ever. The 24 elders fall before the one who is seated on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, singing, you are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.
Then I saw in the right hand of the one seated on the throne a scroll written on the inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals.
And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it. And I began to weep bitterly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it.
[00:03:48] Speaker C: Then one of the elders said to me, do not weep. See the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.
Then I saw between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders a lamb standing as if it had been slaughtered with seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. He went and took the scroll from the right hand of the one who was seated on the throne. When he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell before the lamb, each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. They sing a new song.
You are worthy to take the scroll and to break its seals, for you were slaughtered and by your blood you ransomed for God saints from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them a kingdom and priests serving our God, and they will reign on earth.
Then I looked and I heard the voice of many angels surrounding the throne and the living creatures and the elders, the numbered myriads of maerids and thousands of thousands singing with a full voice. Worthy is the lamb that was slaughtered to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.
Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea and all that is in them singing to the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever. And the four living creatures said amen. And the elders fell down and worshiped. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
[00:05:57] Speaker D: I just want to pause a moment and let those words of scripture sink in.
I was pretty honored that Pastor Matt would trust me to preach on this first Sunday after it was a very emotionally charged election for many of us.
I was also honored that he didn't take it back really quick when I told him I wanted to preach from Revelation.
Revelation has become one of my favorite books of the Bible. And I know when other people tell me they love revelation, it makes me want to turn the other way and run.
You know, there's a lot of. A lot of people who love revelation for some kind of misplaced conspiracy theories or. Or even some kind of sick desire to see their enemies judged.
But I don't think that's what Revelation is about at all. I think this book is widely misunderstood, and the point which is so crucial for us as followers of Jesus is often missed entirely.
I'm very aware of the range of emotions in the room Today, sadness and heartbreak, fear and anxiety, anger.
Maybe some of us are even just confused or even indifferent. I don't know. Wherever you are, I think there is a message here in Revelation chapters four and five that can maybe hopefully center us, realign us, open our eyes and offer us a path forward.
So let's zoom in together here and try to unpack what in the world is going on in this dramatic piece of text.
The Book of Revelation was written by a man called John who was imprisoned by the Roman Empire on an island called Patmos. This is probably about 60 years after Jesus. Now the church is facing persecution. The Roman Empire is a very dangerous place to be a Christian. But John gets swept up by the Spirit in this vision. And the Book of Revelation opens with these words, the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
We read the Book of Revelation, if for no other reason, because this is going to reveal to us what Jesus is like.
So in chapter four, as we just heard, John suddenly finds himself in this heavenly throne room. The imagery here is crazy. You just heard it, and it's easy to get lost in it. But in order to fully appreciate chapter five, I think there are a few things we need to notice in chapter four. So, number one, God is on the throne. God is shining. God is brilliant. God is hard to even put into words or describe outside of this imagery.
Number two, all around the throne are 24 smaller thrones with 24 elders. Now, numbers are super important in apocalyptic literature, which is what Revelation is. And you can imagine these 24 elders might represent 12 and 12, the 12 tribes of Israel, the 12 disciples, which in turn represent all of the saints and followers of God. Okay, and number three, a little closer to the throne, Inside of the elders are four.
A lion, an ox, a human, and an eagle. They're almost, if you think about it, like, representing all of creation. The wild animals and the domesticated animals of the earth, humanity and the birds of the air. But each of these creatures are covered in wings and covered in eyes. And I feel you pulling away. I know it's bizarre, it's kind of creepy, but stay with me, okay? These images just point to their transcendence and power. And the eyes point to their vision. They are fully aware, fully seeing, fully understanding. And with their understanding, what do they do? They praise God day and night. It says they never stop saying, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come.
And every time the creatures Praise God, the 24 elders also fall down out of their thrones. They lay down their crowns and they worship God, saying, you are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power. Okay, so if you imagine this, clearly the elders aren't spending very much time in their thrones or with their crowns. If they're bowing down whenever the living creatures worship, which is day and night, never stopping, it's almost like they are given authority and power so that they can give it away in worship of the one on the throne.
So what can we take away from chapter four that all of creation represented by these four creatures and all the saints declared that God is worthy of praise and worship. God alone.
Let's move on to chapter five.
In chapter five, John sees in the right hand of the one on the throne a scroll. It's sealed with seven seals, the number of completion, perfectly, completely sealed by God. And an angel asks, who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?
There's that word worthy again. God was worthy of worship. But who is worthy to open the scroll that God sealed?
This scroll represents the future. Who holds the future? Who is worthy of opening the scroll and bringing about the future? Without this future, these promises of God, there's no hope. We are doomed to continue repeating our own history of death and war and pain and sickness, without justice, without peace, without redemption for the cosmos.
But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth, no one in all of creation, including the four creatures or the 24 elders, was able to open the scroll. Literally. No one had the power to open it.
No one is worthy. And John weeps bitterly.
In some ways, I can't imagine what John is feeling in this moment of this vision and in other ways. Gosh, I think we all can.
That helplessness, hopelessness as you sit and listen to the doctor's diagnosis.
That feeling when you read about another bomb going off overseas, when you watch news coverage of another mass shooting, when you lay a loved one down in their grave too soon.
It's this hollowness, this emptiness, as the last traces of hope threaten to leave your body.
How are we going to get past this? How are we going to go forward from here? Who can possibly offer us hope?
But then John hears something, and he sees something.
First. He hears one of the elders say, do not weep. See, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David has conquered so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals. Here we see a few messianic symbols come together. References to the books of Genesis and Isaiah, the lion of Judah, the root of David, who God has promised an eternal kingdom to. Now, earlier in The Book of Revelation. If we rewind, when John first sees a vision of Jesus, it describes Jesus like in the midst of the lampstands, I saw one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe and a golden sash across his chest. His head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace. And his voice was like the sound of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars. And from his mouth came a sharp two edged sword. And his face was like the sun, shining with full force.
This might be what we expect the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, to look like. Shining, burning, powerful, holding the cosmos in his hand. And this is true.
But when John looks, that's not what he sees this time.
The elder says, see the lion of the tribe of Judah. But John turns and he sees a lamb, looking as if it had been slain.
Our thoughts as readers of the Bible should immediately go to the Passover lamb from Exodus should immediately go to John the Baptist, calling out, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. In John 1:29. This is Jesus the Christ, the Messiah slain on the cross.
But before we start thinking for a moment that the slain lamb is helpless or pathetic, we see that it's standing, not laying down slain, but alive. And it's standing in the center of the throne, closer than the elders or even the four creatures, right in the middle of the throne itself.
And it's described as having seven horns. Remember, seven is the number of completion and horns would represent power. The Lamb has complete and total power, and it has seven eyes. The Lamb has complete and total vision and understanding. It says the seven eyes are the seven spirits of God. The Lamb possesses the fullness, the completeness of the Holy Spirit. And the Lamb takes the scroll and the creatures and the elders in the room burst into this spontaneous worship. And then angels appear, thousands upon thousands of angels singing, worthy is the Lamb who was slain. And then it says, every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea and all that's in them start sin singing. And Church, don't miss this.
To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever.
Do you see what's happening, Church? The Lamb is receiving the same worship as the one on the throne.
Chapter four told us that only God was worthy of worship. And chapter five tells us the Lamb is worshiped just like God this is either utter blasphemy or the Lamb is God. The Lamb is showing us God.
Is Jesus the lion or is Jesus the Lamb?
The answer is yes.
The Lamb doesn't stop being the lion, but the Lamb helps us to understand the lion. The lion of Judah, the root of David would have been strong, militaristic, nationalistic images of the Messiah for Israel. It would have represented their hope that God would come and defeat their enemies and bring them to power once again.
But in his book Reading Revelation Responsibly, Michael Gorman says this. This image is reinterpreted by what John sees, the Lamb, whose sacrificial death has redeemed people from all nations.
By juxtaposing the two contrasting images, John has forged a new symbol of conquest by sacrificial death.
What makes the Lamb worthy to open the scroll and offer us a future?
The creatures and the elders tell us. They say you are worthy to take the scroll and to break its seal because you were slain and by your blood. You ransomed for God saints from every tribe and language and people and nation.
This is what the power of God looks like. This is true power.
You see, the cross was not some speed bump along the way to power. It wasn't an unfortunate side note that thankfully, Jesus had the resurrection as plan B to take power.
No, the cross is Jesus showing us the full power of God, a power that would lay down its life in love.
Jesus has been telling us this from the beginning.
Take up your cross and follow me.
Whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. The last will be first and the first will be last.
Greater love has no one than this to lay down one's life for one's friends.
This is not the trick to getting power. This is a redefinition of power itself, a revelation of what power looks like in reality, in a deeper and truer reality than the one we think we see all around us.
The slain lamb reveals God to us, and the slain lamb reveals what it looks like to follow God.
Sometimes we make the mistake of thinking the book of revelation was written 2000 years ago for the future, for people coming after us at some point who will finally live through a time when they can connect all the dots. And maybe there's some truth to that. But Revelation was also written for those Christians 2000 years ago who were suffering persecution, who were wondering when Jesus was going to come back, if Jesus was going to come back at all, who were trying to figure out what it looked like to follow Jesus in an empire that looked so Unlike the kingdom of God.
And I think Revelation can speak to us today as well.
Let's look at the end of chapter 5 one last time. Revelation 5:13 goes out of its way to tell us that every creature is giving praise in heaven, on earth, under the earth, in the sea. This is all creatures, all creation, everything and everyone worships him who sits on the throne and the Lamb. There's echoes here of Philippians 2:10, where it says, at the name given to Jesus, every knee should bend in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Living. In a time that feels so divided, this almost seems too good to be true, doesn't it? But this isn't just some feel good Kumbaya moment. No, this is a promise that all powers and authorities will eventually bow down to the true power and authority. This is a promise that those who have fought their way to the top by stepping on the backs of innocence will one day find themselves face down in submission to the loving, merciful hand of God that transforms hearts and redeems brokenness.
It's a promise that God's reality of power as sacrificial love will win out.
God will not be on the throne one day.
God is on the throne now.
And I know. Gosh, I know. Sometimes when I hear people say that in difficult moments, it can feel trite, if I'm being honest. It can feel like a bad excuse to just disengage from our emotions or disconnect with the world in apathy. Or it feels like somehow we're saying God is endorsing or orchestrating what we see going on in the world.
When I say God is on the throne, what I mean is there is a deeper, more authoritative power already at work that compels us to act towards justice and mercy, forgiveness and love. Today, in this world, regardless of whose president or king or emperor, when we say God is on the throne, we better pay attention to what God looks like on that throne.
We see Jesus as the Lamb who was slain, laying down his life for those that were with him and those that were against him.
When we say God is on the throne, it's a rallying cry for servants of the Lord to start walking in the footsteps of the Lamb.
Those that know the book of Revelation know that when the scroll is opened, all sorts of violence and death and destruction and sickness and disaster come spilling out.
In other words, a typical day in the history of planet Earth in many ways.
But can we trust that the Lamb, with his seven horns of complete power, will guide us through whatever we're going through. He is worthy. He is powerful enough.
Can we trust that? There is a beautiful story of worship and wholeness and redemption that is playing out a story that is leading to a world where there will be no more death or tears or pain, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are among us.
Let's pray together.
Dear Lord God, holy Lamb, you are worthy.
God, I pray that you would teach us to follow in the footsteps of the Lamb, to serve the one on the throne, whatever things look like here on earth.
Holy, holy, holy. Are you, Lord? Amen.
