In Chapter 4 of Revelation, John the Apostle was caught up into the presence of God in heaven. There he saw the throne of God and the court of heaven. The scene in chapter 5 is still heaven, yet the theme changes from the worship of the Creator to the worship of the Redeemer.
Revelation 5
1 And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals.
This is typical of various kinds of contracts in the ancient world, including deeds, marriage contracts, rental and lease agreements, and wills. What is unusual about this scroll is that it is written on both sides. Usually scrolls in this day were only written on one side because the other side was too rough to write on. Things like Hebrew title deeds required a minimum of 3 witnesses and 3 separate seals, with more important transactions requiring more witnesses and seals. The reason for the seals was to prevent anyone from seeing the contents before the seals were opened.
This is kind of reminiscent of something we read in the book of Daniel. Daniel made known the fact of the great Tribulation to us, but the particulars and circumstances of that day, were not to be made known.
Daniel 12:4 "But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase."
Daniel 12:9 And he said, "Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.
The time has come for those things to be unsealed.
2 Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?"
The strong angel is not named here, because the focus of this book is not this strong angel, but the Son of God.
The question has gone forth… “Who is worthy to take the book, and to open it?” The only one who could open the seals was the one who had the authority and possessed the attributes that made them worthy to do so.
3 And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it.
No one was worthy in heaven, on earth, or in the realm of the dead.
4 So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it.
John was greatly disappointed that there was no one found worthy…anywhere! No one is worthy to approach the Father and to take the scroll out of His hand. John was literally weeping with many tears.
5 But one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals."
One of the 24 elders told John not to weep, and he introduced Jesus by two titles.
The Lion of the tribe of Judah
Listen to the prophecy of Jacob.
Genesis 49:
9 Judah is a lion's whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him?
10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.
There was also a prophetic word that was spoken by Balaam.
Numbers 24:9 “'He bows down, he lies down as a lion; and as a lion, who shall rouse him?' "Blessed is he who blesses you, and cursed is he who curses you.”
The second title was
The Root of David
Listen to the words of Isaiah.
Isaiah 11
1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
2 The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.
3 His delight is in the fear of the LORD, And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears;
4 But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.
5 Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, and faithfulness the belt of His waist.
Jesus now enters:
6 And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
Let me point out these two symbols, the Lion of Judah and the Lamb that was slain, John sees the uniting of two themes that run throughout the Bible, Old Testament and New Testament alike. Lions are a symbol of majesty, power, rule and authority. The lions conquers and the lamb submits! Lions roar and lambs die!
Jesus does not appear here the way we anticipate, we would expect Jesus to appear the same way He looked when He ascended into heaven. Instead Jesus appears this way:
a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes,
Once again we are introduced to a symbol.
The symbol is the lamb…you will recall that both Isaiah and John referred to Jesus as a lamb.
Isaiah 53:7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth.
John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
This Lamb has seven horns. Horns in Scripture speak of power, and seven is the number of fullness. So the Lamb has fullness of power on the basis of his death. Remember how Hebrews puts it:
Hebrews 7:25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
Jesus himself declared after his resurrection,
Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”
The seven eyes speak of full intelligence and discernment by the Holy Spirit. These seven eyes are the seven spirits of God which, as we have already seen, is a symbol of the Holy Spirit.
Being all-powerful, all-knowing, all-discerning, having become flesh and blood and reconciled mankind to God, Jesus stands as the only one worthy to approach the throne, take the scroll, and open its seals.
7 Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.
Notice, there is no question of His worthiness!
8 Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
The 24 elders bow down to worship, each of them having a harp and a bowl full of incense.
Psalms 141:2 Let my prayer be set before You as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
Incense symbolic of prayer, but what these elders had were more than symbolic, they were the prayers of the saints being brought before the throne. There is a “present-tense” to prayer. Look at Luke 1.
Luke 1
10 And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense.
11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
13 But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.
15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.
Your prayer “is” heard, not it “was” heard. These prayers that saints have prayed thorough the years asking God’s kingdom to come, asking God to bring justice to planet earth. As this worship begins in heaven, it moves into worship in song. Notice, this is a new song.
9 And they sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
10 And have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth."
Worship of the 24 elders:
· You are worthy
2 Samuel 22:4 “I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies.”
· You were slain
Romans 5:6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
· You have redeemed us
1 Peter 1:18-19 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
· You have made us kings and priests
Revelation 1:5-6 To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father
After the worship of the 24 elders, we now hear a voice of worship that we will be involved in.
11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands,
12 saying with a loud voice: "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!"
The worship of the multitude:
· Worthy is the Lamb
· Worthy to receive power
· Worthy to receive riches
· Worthy to receive wisdom
· Worthy to receive strength
· Worthy to receive honor
· Worthy to receive glory
· Worthy to receive blessing
That is some amazing worship. Let’s practice that worship one time today:
"Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!"
Look at the reaction to the heavenly worship:
13 And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: "Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!"
14 Then the four living creatures said, "Amen!" And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.
Everyone in this room will be involved in this worship, but the question is, “Will you be in this group?” Will you stand with those who gladly confess the Lordship of Jesus, or will you be with those who reluctantly acknowledge that He is right and they are wrong? Only you can answer that question!