The Apocalypse - Revelation 5 — Steve Gallagher

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The Transfer of Authority to the Son

Okay, we'll get into chapter 5 this week. Last week the focus was on God the Father on His glorious throne as He was being recognized as the Creator of all things. Now the scene has been set for a special meeting amongst the Holy Council of God.

We're going to witness a scene of monumental importance in this chapter, and I cannot overstate that, monumental importance. The transference of authority from God the Father to God the Son. And as part of that unfolding scene, we're going to be given a profound look at Jesus Christ.

Let me read what Grant Osborne said about this chapter. Some of the most magnificent Christology in the New Testament can be found in this chapter. Jesus is portrayed as the Lion, who is the conquering Lamb, who is the slain Lamb, who is at the center of the throne and is God Himself.

The rapid development of these images is incredible. The reader is overwhelmed by the sheer power of the picture of Christ as it unfolds. All right, let's open with a word of prayer. Lord, I just am so grateful for the way you are opening up this book to us.

That it's not just a breeze through, it's not just a superficial glancing at the things that are written in there or just looking at it for curiosity's sake and trying to fit it in with end time movies and so on.

This is the rich Word of God, and it is a series of visions that you gave to John to paint for us today. And I thank you for it, Lord. I thank you for this glorious throne room scene that is found in chapters 4 and 5.

Thank you, Lord, thank you. When I think about if we would have just went from 3 to 6, if you never would have included this and shown what occurred in this throne room and all of that, what a loss there would be in our understanding of end times and of our understanding of you and the way things work in this universe.

I just thank you for it, Lord. I pray that you'll breathe life into this talk today. I pray that you will open it up to our hearts, God, that we would be able to grasp the significance of this story that's being told here, that it wouldn't just be one more reading or little study or something, but that it would really impact our lives.

I thank you for it, Lord, in Jesus' name, amen. All right, let's start here with the first verse. I saw, you know, before I even read anything else, let me just say something here. I saw, these words are used in four different occasions here in this chapter, and each of them is revealing something new and fresh to John.

There's something very significant in these words. Now, what I mean by that is that, and this will come out as we go through. In chapter four, John has been given a sight into the throne room of God, and he sees the creator in all his magnificence and glory and majesty on the throne, and he sees these four living beings, and he sees these 24 elders, and they're all worshiping him as the creator.

That's what he has been seeing. All right, now, there isn't a weak gap between chapter four and chapter five. This is a continuance of this tremendous vision, but something happens. I don't believe that what happens is all of a sudden things completely change or something.

I think what happens is God has shielded from his eyes certain aspects, certain persons, and so on in chapter four, and then in chapter five, he opens John's eyes to see something that he didn't see before but was there the whole time.

Does that make sense? That was invisible to him. For God's own purposes, God wanted him to only see what he saw in chapter four, and those words, I saw that only happened once. So in chapter four, he steps through that door, he sees this magnificent scene, and he just kind of describes it.

Chapter five, something else is shown, and as we'll see, he'll get a couple more sights of things as this chapter unfolds. Okay, so those words are kind of significant in that sense. So let's continue reading here.

The Scroll and the Worthy One

I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a book. I wish the New American Standard used the word scroll. It's Biblio is the word, but back then it was a scroll, and most translations, I think, use the word scroll.

I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals. All right, now, you know what? I'm just going to use the word scroll. I don't like the word book because it isn't a book.

The books didn't come out until the next, you know, 20, 30, 50 years later or something. But anyway, this is a rolled up parchment. It's a scroll, and it's written on the front and the back. Okay, and it's got these seven seals on it.

Now, I want to tell you right now that I'm not going to talk about the scroll, and the reason is is because it plays a very prominent role in this unfolding scene, but there's something bigger that's happening, and I don't want to take away from it.

I don't want to distract from it. The next chapter, chapter six, we start getting into the opening of this scroll. So at the beginning of chapter six, I'm going to talk about the scroll. You know, it's fascinating.

I'll tell you right now, it's fascinating. I could probably easily just spend one whole session just talking about it, but I won't do that, but I will talk about it the next time, and I don't want to just do a quickie cheap version this week.

I'm just going to continue on with the story here. Verse two, and I saw, here it is again, I saw. So now, he's already seen God on the throne. Now God has a scroll in his hand. He didn't have that in his hand in chapter four.

Suddenly, it's like if you were using Photoshop or something, and you put another layer, and you just add another image to the picture. All of a sudden, there's something there that wasn't there. Everything else is exactly the same.

So that happened, and now he sees a strong angel. I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals. All right, now, whoever this strong angel is, and there's conjecture that it's one of the seven archangels, could be Gabriel, it could be Michael, or one of the others.

Some of the apocryphal books describe a couple of other archangels. I don't know if those are true or not. It's all conjecture, but anyway, it's a strong angel. It's not just an angel. It's a strong angel, and he makes a loud proclamation.

And we'll see this angel twice more as the book unfolds. We're going to see him in chapter 10, and there also, he makes a loud proclamation and initiates something to do with the scroll again. The scroll basically disappears.

You never see the word scroll from chapter 5 until chapter 10. We talk about the seals, but the word scroll is never used, and it's implied there, of course, but the scroll resurfaces again in chapter 10, and we'll get into that, obviously, later.

So he shows up again when the scroll shows up, and then in chapter 18, he is the angel who announces the judgment on Babylon. So he's obviously an angel of significant importance in the kingdom of God, whoever he is.

Now, there's two adjectives and one verb that are worth touching on here. The word strong here denotes active energy or power, and in Revelation, the angels are always using it to fulfill God's purposes.

The word loud, believe it or not, is used 75 times in the book of Revelation. That's amazing to me, 75 times. Wow. You know, whatever's happening up there is loud, apparently, and this word proclaimed using that rather than what's often used stated or said or something like that, that's also significant.

Apparently, it means that this is such an important message that it must be heard. Apparently, it's like it thunders throughout all of creation, this question that he announces. So this strong angel is operating in the capacity of a royal herald, and he uses a loud voice to ask a question in the form of an important proclamation.

I like what Johnson says here. He says, all creation in heaven and earth and under the earth stood motionless and speechless. There was dead silence as far as a reaction was concerned. Verse 3, and no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it.

Now, Thomas points out that the imperfect tense of the Greek term for was able shows that all creation's inability and unworthiness to open the scroll was a chronic and ongoing condition. And he went on to say that as each region declines the challenge of producing someone able to open the scroll, eventually, the possibilities are exhausted.

Now, that I'll just say that is very poetic, and it's really a fascinating thought to think about that there are angels going to this universe or this galaxy or this part of the world or this part of heaven or whatever, you know, going and looking everywhere for someone.

You know, that sounds really neat, but reality, it isn't like that. You know, it just wasn't. It's unstated, but it's obvious that there is no one worthy to open the scroll. I do want to mention also under the earth, that is almost certainly a reference to the Jewish concept of the underworld, which is Sheol in the Hebrew, you know, and that was the place of departed spirits, good or bad.

But it means more than that. It also probably refers to the abyss where the demons are held that we will see later on in chapter nine and so on. Grant Osborne says this, when we think of the power of God's mighty angels, the deeds of the heroes of the Old Testament and the spiritual accomplishments of the kings, prophets and apostles of scripture, this is an incredible statement.

However, the purpose is to demonstrate the only achievement that could be worthy, the sacrificial death of Christ as the true conquest of evil. All else has been merely preparatory to the final defeat of Satan at the cross.

John's Weeping and the Lion of Judah

Praise the Lord. Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it. The pope of commentary said, I burst into tears and continued weeping. And that really is the sense of it.

In fact, Thomas says this weeping was unrestrained emotion by one who was in an ecstatic state. The most plausible reason for his sobbing is his fear that the events contained in the revelatory scroll would remain unfulfilled, thus thwarting the purposes of God.

Now, I just want to stop for a second and take us back to chapter one. Do you remember I was actually in the introductory talk when I talked about Revelation 119 and I referred to things which you have seen and the things which are and the things which will take place after these things.

And that pushes your mind to the future. You know what was, what is and what's coming. That sentence is meant to create a forward motion in our thinking so that we are looking into the future. And then, of course, the opening verse in chapter four, when Jesus said, come up here and I will show you what must take place after these things.

Again, it's that same forward motion. So my point is that by this time, John has already seen some amazing things, hasn't he? He has seen Jesus in his transfigured, glorified self. And he has seen Jesus amongst the churches.

And he has described these messages to all these churches. And then the glorious throne room in chapter four. So he's already seen this. He's already in the midst of this forward motion himself with all this anticipation that is mounting.

It's like all of a sudden, wait a minute, this thing may not unfold after all. And that seems to be kind of what's behind this fear, this concern that's caused him to begin weeping. All right. Verse five.

And one of the elders said to me, stop weeping. Behold, the lion that is from the tribe of Judah. That is a reference to Jacob's blessing on Judah. It's found in Genesis 49. You can look it up. But anyway, that is a reference to the coming Messiah.

Behold, the lion that is from the tribe of Judah. The root of David, which is just another way of saying an ancestor of David, has overcome. There's that word again. So as to open the book and its seven seals.

And I saw, there it is again. And I saw between the throne, all of a sudden his eyes open up again. Between the throne with the four living creatures and the elders, a lamb standing. As if slain. And actually, that word slain is really slaughtered.

It's the term that the Septuagint used to describe slaughtering lambs or sheep back in the Old Testament times as a sacrifice. You know, so slaughtered is actually the more accurate term. As if slaughtered, having seven horns.

So in other words, a picture of perfect, complete power. And seven eyes, which represents complete omniscience and knowledge. Which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And he came and took the book, the scroll, out of the right hand of him who sat on the throne.

Daniel's Vision and Christ's Co-Regency

All right, now this takes us back to Daniel 7. Because Daniel saw a similar event happen. I'm just going to read this because he's saying it in a different way. And perhaps what he was shown was a little bit different.

The transaction that occurred. So Daniel saw it some 600 years before. And I'll start with verse 9 and I'm going to skip ahead at one point. I kept looking until thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days took his seat.

His vesture was like white snow and the hair of his head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames, its wheels were a burning fire. A river of fire was flowing and coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands were attending him, and myriads upon myriads were standing before him.

The court sat and the books were opened. All right, and then it goes into this thing of this hideous Antichrist. And then it comes back. I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven, one like a son of man was coming.

And he came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion, glory, and a kingdom that all the peoples, nations, and men of every language might serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which will not pass away.

And his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed. All right, so somehow this transaction is the same as the other one. There are two different kind of looks at the same thing that occurred. You know, there it says the books were opened.

Here it says the book was handed to him, the scroll was handed to him. But anyway, by giving the lamb the scroll, God the Father is investing him with the authority to execute his divine plan for mankind.

Or it could be said that Jesus will act in the role of co-regency with his father. So, you know, you remember how Uzziah was struck down with leprosy by the Lord, but he continued to live for some number of years.

And Jotham, his son, actually reigned as king. But the two of them were in a co-regency relationship. And probably, you know, what was happening is Uzziah would get together with Jotham and, you know, give him advice and tell him how to do things.

And Jotham would be the one to go and execute it and so on. So it's very similar to that same kind of relationship there that's occurring here. Okay, verse 8. And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the lamb.

Worship of the Lamb and the Prayers of the Saints

Each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. You see the reaction in heaven to what just happened. Think about, and I stand guilty of this as well, okay?

So I'm not pointing the finger at anyone. But think about times in the past when you've read through this chapter and how you just kind of glance over that, what just happened. You know, why? Because we haven't dug deep enough to come into a comprehension of what is being described here.

The enormity of it, the magnitude of it, the importance of it, and what it means. I mean, really, you know, I am kind of hinting around of the contents of the scroll, which we'll get into next time. And so I don't want to say too much.

But there is something very tremendous that has just occurred. And it's so tremendous, you can see the reaction in heaven. That the four living creatures and the 24 elders, they fall on their faces. And all they can do is worship the lamb because of what's just happened.

But how do we react when we hear about it? Now, the incense, of course, is a metaphor for prayers. And we will be getting into this more in later chapters. But I'll just mention to you that in the fifth seal, when it's broken open and the martyrs are praying and saying, how long, O Lord, and so on.

There is a prayer there that is going to be answered later. And in chapter 8, verses 3 and 4, it says that an angel came with a golden censer and much incense was given to him so that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne.

And the smoke of the incense with the prayers of the saints went up before God out of the angel's hand. And then you know what happened? The trumpets and all the terrible judgments begin as an answer to these prayers that are coming up before God as incense to him.

You know, your prayers, my prayers. This isn't just theoretical stuff. You know, it's not just some vague concept. This morning, you had a prayer time, right? You had a time where you were speaking to the Lord.

You were petitioning him, especially you counselors. You were petitioning the Lord on behalf of souls. Probably all of us were one way or another. That's all being bottled up, you know, into this tremendous thing that will be released one day to come up into and just fill the throne room of God with the fragrance that is beautiful to the Lord, that is so important to him, that means everything to him.

And of course, in the meantime, he is answering our prayers also. All right, so let's see what happens here. They throw themselves down at the site of this whole thing unfolding, and they sang a new song.

Now, you know, this term new song is found a few times in the book of Psalms and also in Isaiah 42. This is the description of a song that is new in nature, different from the usual, impressive, better than the old and superior in value, says Robert Thomas.

Worthy are you to take the book and to break its seals, for you were slain and purchased for God with your blood, men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign upon the earth.

Wow, this is angelic beings singing this. You know what I mean? This isn't saints. This isn't a bunch of Christians up there, you know, saying praise the Lord for what he's done for us. No, this is, these are angels, angelic beings of a very high order who are worshiping the Lord because of what he has accomplished for mankind.

And that word worthy that begins this song, not only captures the theme of the song, it captures the theme of the chapter, but really it captures the theme of the entire book. Worthy is the lamb. Worthy is the lamb.

Man, it's awesome. And of course, here again, we come across these concepts of kingdom and priests. And, you know, the whole story that's being unfolded here is what? It's God ushering in his kingdom.

What we just heard from Daniel 7, right? That's exactly what it is. His kingdom, the way he said it in Daniel 7 was, and to him was given dominion, glory, and a kingdom. And talks a little more. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, etc.

You know, and his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed. That is what is being established in the book of Revelation. The story that's being told through these visions. So part of that kingdom is that we, you and me, are going to share the reign with Christ in the governing of this kingdom.

Now, I don't know what that means. You know, if we're going to be kings and priests, what does that mean? Who are we kings over? I don't know. I don't understand it. It's not made very clear. Maybe it's angels.

I don't know. And we will also function in the role as priests. All right, let's continue on. Verse 11. Then I looked and I heard the voice of many angels. Okay, here we are again. He changed the word, but it's the same thing.

All of a sudden, now there's many angels. All right, where were they before? Well, they probably were there. I don't know. But all of a sudden, I looked and I heard. Now, I don't get that, but whatever.

I looked and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders. And the number of them was myriads of myriads and thousands upon thousands. There's no exact number being given here.

It's just describing an innumerable host here. And again, we heard the same language in Daniel 7, didn't we? Myriads upon myriads. Isn't that the way he said it there? But anyway, all of a sudden, you know, you've got to get down right to the center.

You've got God the Father on his throne. And it doesn't show Jesus on the throne right here, but he's right there with the Father at his right hand. And then the four living beings, then the 24 elders.

There's a rainbow in the background. And now we see this host of angels worshiping the Lord. Now, they have their own song saying with a loud voice, Worthy, there it is again. Worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.

Robert Thomas says he is worthy to receive recognition for a complex of qualities composed of seven parts. The repetition of the word and between each member of the series gives a kind of solemn dignity to each word, even though the group is viewed as a single complex expression.

That's good writing there. That is just very well stated. You know, you get it. It's both. It's parts and each individual part is very important. And yet it's a complex of all those parts. And also, Osborne brings out the fact that there's really two groupings here.

The first four celebrate the attributes of Christ, and then the last three are celebrating the worship to him as a result. You know, so you've got power, which is referring to his omnipotence. And probably is it also a referral to his victory over Satan at the cross?

Riches. The only other place this word is used in the book of Revelation is chapter 18. You remember when all the people of the world are wailing? Why? Because the riches of Babylon are falling away. Kathy and I were watching this documentary on 9 -11 last night.

What a perfect description it is. It's like a microcosm, a mini version of what happens in Revelation 18. You know, when these people, these New Yorkers are describing how terrible it was, and it was terrible, and don't get me wrong, but their description of it means more than the loss of life.

You know, it's right that we feel bad about that. But it was more than that. It was how it affected their beloved city, you know, because that's what comes out of this series Rick Burns did on the city of New York.

It really is a very fascinating documentary. But these people, these different experts that are from different fields who are talking about aspects of New York throughout this documentary, and they're all just lamenting how much this hurt our city.

Well, anyway, I'm off track now, but that's going to come up later. And here it's talking about the Lord, though, and that's talking about true riches, isn't it? Robert Thomas says this word plowton riches includes not just spiritual wealth, but also unconditional wealth in all realms as befitting an all sufficient God.

Wow. The riches of Christ, man. You know, and it's also a reminder that we should be seeking treasures in heaven and not on earth, right? Wisdom, Christ is called the wisdom of God in 1 Corinthians 1 and Colossians 2, 3 says all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in him.

But it's also probably referring to God's plan that's being unfolded here, about to be. And finally, might, which is kind of like a bookend with power, you know, it's describing a different kind of power than the word dunamis.

But it's emphasizing his active energy to accomplish his purposes. And then we have this trilogy. Is that the right word? Honor and glory and blessing. And we could say that they're all adjectives, descriptive terms of Jesus.

He is honorable, he is glorious, and he is the blessed one. But really, more likely, it's just simply the angels response to his awesome being. You know, they're just saying, Jesus, you deserve all of the honor and all of the glory and all of the blessings.

And then in verse 13, something else and every created thing. He doesn't say I saw this time. I don't know why, but I think that he did. And every created thing, which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea and all 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.

Universal Praise and the Lamb's Centrality

You know, and when you look at the pattern through this chapter of these different songs, think of Psalm 103, for instance, where David says, Bless the Lord, you, his angels, mighty in strength who perform his word, obeying the voice of his word.

Bless the Lord, all you, his hosts, you who serve him doing his will. So we've got two groups there of angels. Bless the Lord, all you works of his. In other words, all everything that's part of creation.

Bless the Lord in all places of his dominion. Bless the Lord. Oh, my soul. So you see that same pattern repeated here in chapter five, where it starts with the angelic beings right around the throne, expands out and then expands to everything that is alive.

But it's also reminiscent of Paul's outburst and Philippians two. He's been contemplating Jesus, this humble servant who came and took the form of a man, a bond servant and so on. And then in verse nine, he says,.

For this reason, also, God highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow. That's a literal statement. That's literal. Every knee will bow whether they want to or not.

They will bow at some point of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth. See. And that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God, the father. That's awesome.

It's so awesome to me. And finally, verse 14. And the four living creatures kept saying, Amen. I love that. They just kept saying it. It's like they just said it over and over. Someone suggested that maybe after every attribute, they would repeat it again.

You know, power. Amen. Riches. Amen. You know, that kind of thing. And, of course, that Amen that they say here is not just closing out that particular song. It's really closing out the whole worship scene that we have experienced in chapters 4 and 5.

It's a fitting conclusion. All right. Now, let me just take a minute to touch on a couple of things about the Lamb, because the Lamb is the main subject of this chapter. It's not the scroll. The scroll is something that He utilizes, but He is the focus of this chapter.

And I'm just going to touch on three things real briefly. Number one, He is the Paschal Lamb of the Passover. Way back in Exodus 11 and 12, when the story unfolded, the Hebrew children are in Egypt, and they put the blood on the doorpost and all that stuff, and they have to slaughter the Lamb and all of that.

That is a type, and it's looking forward to Jesus being sacrificed for our sins on the cross 1 ,200, 1 ,100 years later. And it's also brought up again in Isaiah 53. He was oppressed. He was afflicted.

Yet He did not open His mouth like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth. Praise the Lord. And you also think of John the Baptist.

Twice he said this, behold the Lamb. Now, if you've ever seen that movie, Jesus of Nazareth, I love the way they depicted that scene. They got it. Man, they hit a home run on that one. You know, it's all of a sudden Jesus shows up.

This is the first time, and John looks up, and he's just, he sees it, and he says, behold the Lamb. And I mean, you just, it captured the tremendous import of that revelation he received that day. Grant Osborne said, it is the cross that is the heart of all spiritual power over evil.

Here lies the great paradox of Christianity. Victory comes from apparent defeat. Evil is conquered through the terrible sacrificial suffering of the cross. When Satan placed Christ on the cross, it was his greatest tactical error, for he took part in his own defeat.

And that is the truth. And secondly, as a lamb, he was meek and lowly. You know, just like I just referred to out of Isaiah 53. Jesus conquers not by the force that we see unfolding through the book of Revelation with the Antichrist, all his armies, and his systematic campaign of terror against Christians.

He doesn't conquer through that kind of force. No, he conquers through enduring hostility with a meek spirit. And you know, it really extends out to us as well, as his followers, Christians, followers of Christ.

He doesn't look for the mighty, the great talents of this earth, or whatever. No, he looks for the base things, the weak things. You know, people who are needy and who will turn to him and let him be all in all.

Those are the ones that God uses in his kingdom. All right, and finally, he is the center. He's the center of this chapter, the scene that's unfolding here. He is the center of the book of Revelation.

He is the center of man's history. He's the center of everything. To wrap up, I'm going to read the biblical expositor. It's kind of lengthy, but it's very good and will be a perfect conclusion to this study today.

Christ as the Center of Creation and Redemption

One thing more has to be noticed, that this lamb is the central figure of the scene before us, quote, in the midst of the throne and of the living creatures and of the elders. To him, all the works of God, both in creation and redemption, turn.

To him, the old covenant led. And the prophets who were raised up under it searched, quote, what time or what manner of time the spirit of Christ, which was in them, did point unto when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that should follow them.

That comes from first Peter one. From him, the new covenant flowed. And those who under it are called to the knowledge of the truth recognize in him their all in all. The lamb slaughtered, raised from the grave, ascended, being the impersonation of that divine love, which is the essence of the divine nature, is the visible center of the universe.

He is, and this is a quote from Colossians one, the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For in him were all things created in the heavens and upon the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.

All things have been created through him and unto him. And he is before all things and in him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence for it was the good pleasure of the father that in him should all the fullness dwell and through him to reconcile all things unto himself, having made peace through the blood of his cross.

Through him I say, whether things upon the earth or things in the heavens. Amen. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. He is the center of all. All right. God bless you. We'll see you next time.