From the series: Following Jesus in a Hostile World
As we reflected on the seven churches of Revelation, we found our confidence being dismantled. Jesus had some very challenging things to say about the church and about us at RFC. I don’t know how you felt, but I was wrecked by the experience. However, I needed the false supports I depend on, my spiritual pride and achievements, to be kicked out, to fall down, so that God can pick me up again.
Psalm 11:3 asks the question, “When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?” And the answer comes swiftly after it, “The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD is on his heavenly throne. He observes the sons of men; his eyes examine them.”
When your life is falling apart and everything you counted on to remain steady fails you, where do you look? Even when the church that promises to help you hurts you instead and fails to live up to its calling, where then is your help? As you struggle to be a good Christian but fall short, where is your hope?
The psalmist points to the throne in heaven. Isaiah saw the throne (Isaiah 6:1) and was wrecked by it too. But he was also healed in that experience. In Revelation 4-5, John’s vision now points us to the throne of God after the searching words of Jesus to the churches and says, “Look here!” Because this is where your healing begins.
Let’s see what John saw…
1. The Throne: Who is He who Reigns? (4:1-11)
Jesus’ last words to the church at Laodicea were a promise. He said that the one who overcomes or conquers, “I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne,” (3:21).
It is the voice of Jesus that John hears in ch. 4 inviting him to come and see that throne. John says it was the first voice he heard speaking like a trumpet (1:10), so we know it is Jesus. “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this,” (4:1b). This is not a reference to the “order of things” in history, but simply an invitation to see the next vision.
What Jesus reveals to John is the throne room of heaven and him who sits on the throne. We could get lost in the details trying to unpack the meaning of the colors, the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures. But we totally miss the big picture.
We do wonder at these things. For instance, the 24 elders are a mystery. David appointed 24 companies of priests in the OT. But there were also 12 tribes of Israel and 12 apostles in the NT, thus representing the entirety of God’s people. We just don’t know. The four living creatures are some kind of angelic being that seem to represent all living creatures on the earth. But we don’t know.
The focus is the throne. John mentions the throne 19 times in these two chapters, and 9 times in the first six verses. All the other details ponts to the central figure: God. The imagery we observe is a collage of OT images coming from Moses’ burning bush scene, the giving of the Law at Mt. Sinai, Isaiah’s throne vision, and more. What we ought to come away with is the overwhelming glory of God.
And what do you do with that? Worship Him! Countless people have said that heaven seems unappealing because singing songs forever sounds boring. Are these creatures and elders in a trance chanting their worship? On the contrary, I liken this worship experience to gazing at a sunset over the Grand Canyon. You can’t help but stare and wonder what’s going to happen next. That’s what is happening here.
And why do they worship God? Why do we? Because he is the Creator of all things and all things are in his hand. “Worthy are you, 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,” (11). God created all things for himself and for his glory. He deserves our worship.
2. The Scroll: What could it be? (5:1)
The chapter break is deceiving. There is no break as we move into the next description. John sees in God’s right hand a scroll with writing inside and out and sealed with seven seals. It looks very important. It’s in God’s right hand. It has these “locks” on it, as it were. But what is it?
Scholars have debated what it is for centuries. It is understood by some to be a scroll of judgment. Others say it is the Lamb’s book of life with the names of the redeemed. It could be the OT, or it could be the future tribulations of the world given what happens in the next chapters. Again, it is difficult to say with certainty what it is because John does not explain the scroll.
Although we cannot identify every detail of the scroll, the wider vision of Revelation suggests it contains God’s plan of redemption and judgment. And it includes God’s plan for all of history from the beginning and its conclusion from the cross to the new creation. As the seals are opened, we begin to see this.
But that raises a crucial question. If this scroll contains God’s purposes for his creation, who is worthy to open it?
3. The Search: Who is Worthy to open the Scroll? (5:2-7)
Among the 24 elders and the four living creatures and the myriads of angels surrounding the throne, no one was worthy to open the scroll. No one in all creation could open it. And as the question is asked, “Who is worthy?” silence! Except for the weeping of John.
John is so distraught that no one could open the scroll. It’s possible he understands that if no one opens the scroll, God’s purposes for creation will not be fulfilled. He longs to see how God will do this, and no one seems able to do it.
Then one of the elders tells him to stop crying. Back in chapter one we talked about John’s way of writing, “I heard…I saw.” He hears one thing but sees another. The elder says, “…behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals,” (5).
What do you hear? A strong military man. The Son of David who conquers his enemies. We are accustomed to the “hero” narratives of Hollywood, the white knight on a fiery steed coming with the morning light. You hear “lion” and think power and strength and might.
But in perhaps the most mind-wrenching “rebirth of images” in the history of literature, the vision John receives is not what anyone would expect. It is not a ferocious lion John sees, but a slaughtered Lamb. “The shock of this reversal,” writes Richard Hays, “discloses the central mystery of the Apocalypse: God overcomes the world not through a show of force but through the suffering and death of Jesus, the faithful witness.” Everything in Revelation flows from this image.
This is not a Mennonite or pacifist reading. This is a biblical reading. And the nature of power is revolutionized in this image. The power of the Lamb is in his death and resurrection. It is exactly opposite of how Babylon (the world) operates its power. Babylon forces, oppresses, and persecutes to achieve its goals. The world uses violence; Jesus absorbed the violence of the world on the cross. The world threw everything at him and he died. Paul declared, “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them,” (Col. 2:15). And Jesus said to Paul that his power was made perfect in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9).
A Lamb standing as though it had been slain in the midst of the throne changes everything. Richard Bauckham said, “When the slaughtered Lamb is seen ‘in the midst of’ the divine throne in heaven, the meaning is that Christ’s sacrificial death belongs to the way God rules the world.” This is the true face of God.
The One who is worthy to open the scroll is the One who conquered through sacrificial death. Jesus conquers through the cross, not the sword. King Jesus does not win converts by killing his enemies, but by dying for them.
4. The Worship: Who will join the Chorus? (5:8-14)
It is through Jesus Christ that we understand the OT. Adam and Eve sinned; God called Abraham to form a people; Israel failed its mission to be the people of God; it all seems chaotic on its own. But with Christ as our lens, we have the key to understanding the Bible from beginning to end. He reveals God’s purposes to us so clearly. His death and resurrection are so central to the history of our world. He is worthy!
This is not future. This has happened. Jesus conquered through his death and sat down with the Father in heaven.
As we read on, we see concentric circles of worship for this great victory over sin and death. The four living creatures and the 24 elders sing a new song:
“Worthy are you to take the scroll and open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” (9-10).
Worthy are you, Jesus. Why? Because you were slain! Just like the Passover Lamb’s blood freed a people from the bondage of slavery and birthed a nation, the blood of the Lamb has created a new people, a new nation, from every race!
Another song breaks out. This time, a little further out from the throne, millions upon millions of angels begin to sing:
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” (12).
The first song declares why the Lamb is worthy. This song describes the seven honors the Lamb deserves because he is worthy. Why? Because he was slain!
And the third circle erupts in praise. But wait! John heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea joining the chorus. This is the destiny towards which the story of creation is moving: the universal acknowledgement of the glory and reign of God and the Lamb. “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” (13). Who is worthy? Jesus is. Who will join the chorus and acknowledge the worthiness of the Lamb?
This text echoes what Paul wrote to the Philippians about the future of creation… “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father,” (Phil. 2:10-11). Not everyone will be saved, but everyone will acknowledge that Jesus is Lord!
Long ago, I read an amazing story about Queen Victoria. As a young monarch, she was expected to remain seated during Handel’s Messiah. But when the chorus sang, “King of Kings and Lord of Lords,” she could not help herself and stood in honor of Jesus, her Savior. I wept over that testimony.
This week, I discovered it was not true. I was disappointed. I’m getting tired of discovering that some of our most inspiring Christian stories aren’t true.
We live in a skeptical age. People are re-examining the church, questioning the Bible, and sometimes even trying to deconstruct Jesus.
But here is the good news: the story of Lamb as sung in Handel’s Messiah is not a legend or an embellishment. The Lamb was slain; He really conquered death. And Revelation declares God’s narrative of world history and reframes it in the truth of the risen Lamb.
The slain Lamb is the center of our worship. It is through him that we can understand the OT and the plans God has for us. Worthy is the Lamb!
When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do? They can be at peace, take hope, and worship the Lamb, because “The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD is on his heavenly throne. He rules the kings of the earth, and his bringing Creation to its joyful conclusion.” When we wonder whether evil will have the final word, we look to the Lamb. When we ask who is worthy of our worship, we know the answer. Worthy is the Lamb!
AMEN
No comments:
Post a Comment