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[0:00] Do you believe what he says of you? Yes.

[0:11] I have to. It's more tempting to believe what I think or what I feel. But he says, I'm his.

[0:23] He says, I'm forgiven. He says, it is all good. He says, I will never leave you or forsake you. That is what we trust.

[0:38] Take out your Bibles with me and turn to Revelation chapter 5. The book of Revelation chapter 5. We are in the midst of a vision.

[0:54] That began in chapter 4. Chapter 4. Chapter 4. Remember that John hears a voice like the first voice he heard in chapter 1.

[1:06] Like a trumpet that tells him to come up to heaven. And to see what things must soon take place. And then he sees this vision that we looked at last week that was centered on a throne.

[1:21] In fact, everything was described in relation to the throne. Obviously, the throne is the essential focus. Because everything else is described as either before the throne or around the throne or from the throne.

[1:37] And it's the one who's sitting on the throne that is worthy of worship. In fact, we're told he is thrice holy. Holy, holy, holy.

[1:48] He has a triple title. Lord, God, the Almighty. And he has a triple existence. Who was, who is, who is to come.

[1:59] He is eternal. And then we're told that he's worthy because he is a creator. Because we exist by his very will.

[2:11] And so that is the scene that opens in heaven that we looked at last week. This chapter 5 just picks it up from there. It's really, as John wrote it, it's not, okay, pause now, act 2.

[2:25] It just goes on. It's as if there's no chapter 5. It just simply goes on. So it's the same vision and it's expanding now. In fact, it's clarified.

[2:37] And what we find is quite both mysterious and surprising. What we see. What we're told and then what we see.

[2:48] And of course, Revelation is always going to give us a surprise. We're going to hear one thing. We're going to see something else. And then what we see and hear is going to be, oh, okay.

[3:02] So he's unveiling. He's uncovering truth for us to understand what's truly real. So let's read Revelation chapter 5. Well, I will read Revelation chapter 5.

[3:14] And if you're able and would like to please stand as I read. Revelation chapter 5, verses 1 through 14. Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals.

[3:43] And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the scroll and to break its seals.

[3:56] And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it.

[4:06] And one of the elders said to me, weep no more.

[4:23] Behold, remember? Look, look, look, look. The lion of Judah, the root of David, has conquered so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.

[4:39] And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders, I saw a lamb standing as having been slain with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent into all the earth.

[5:06] And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the lamb.

[5:28] Each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

[5:42] And they sang a new song saying, worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals. For you were slain.

[5:55] And by your blood, you ransomed people for God. From every tribe and language and people and nation. And you made them a kingdom and priests to our God.

[6:13] And they shall reign on the earth. Then I looked and heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders, the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands and thousands, saying with a loud voice, worthy is the lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.

[6:43] And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea and all that is in them saying, to him who sits on the throne and to the lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever.

[7:06] And the four living creatures said, amen. Amen. And the elders fell down and worshiped. That's what they did.

[7:17] They fall down and worshiped. So it reads the word. Let us pray. Father, grant us your eyes to see, grant us ears, Lord, and especially give to us hearts that are soft and tender and teachable.

[7:31] help us not only to see and hear what's going on, but help us to understand why it's here.

[7:45] Help us especially to understand it in the context of the whole scripture and of what worship is. Help us to grasp the significance of what is revealed to us here in this fifth chapter of your revelation.

[8:03] Lift up Jesus before our eyes. Help us to see him in a way. Father, perhaps we haven't seen in a long time or perhaps have never seen him.

[8:15] Help us to see him in glory, as worthy. This we pray in Christ's name. Amen. Please be seated.

[8:34] So have you ever seen a lion? I don't mean, you know, you know, a lion king or something like that. I don't mean animated. I mean a real lion.

[8:44] And not just a picture. Have you ever seen one in person? You ever got up and petted one? No, I doubt it. I don't think so. A lion is one impressive animal.

[8:59] Created in a very unique way. To picture for us something God would want us to see that relates to Jesus.

[9:14] I mean, consider it's, there are a lot of big cats. There are a lot of big, you know, there's tigers. My favorite is the tiger because it's athletically more impressive than a lion, but never, never mind.

[9:30] And a tiger is unique in its own way, but a lion is particularly unique. A male lion is especially known for its magnificent mane, right?

[9:44] It goes around like a crown, a glory, something distinctive, right? Lions can be between six and seven feet long, not counting the three foot tail.

[9:57] They weigh between 400 and 500 pounds. Okay, not a kitty. Not something you want in your lap. They are large, powerful, and extremely intimidating.

[10:17] You ever seen that movie, We Bought a Zoo? There's that scene where the zookeeper has to go in and change the lock inside of the lion's cage, you know, the girl's trying to distract the lion.

[10:30] I forget, I think his name was Solomon. He was a big, impressive looking lion. And, and, and, and, you know, it's like, oh, the lion's coming, and it's, you know, you get a little, ooh, wouldn't want to be that guy.

[10:43] Very intimidating. Their distinctive roar proclaims their territory every morning and time for the hunt every evening.

[10:56] I like C.S. Lewis's description of Aslan the lion, who is a picture of Jesus. Interesting that Lewis chose a lion.

[11:09] So, the kids come into Narnia, right, and they're sitting in the house of Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, right, they're kind of being told what's next, right? And so, they bring up Aslan.

[11:23] And so, one of the children says, oh, yes, tell us about Aslan. And once again, they had that strange feeling like the first signs of spring, like good news had come over them.

[11:39] who is Aslan, said Susan. Aslan, said Mr. Beaver, why don't you know he's the king? He's the lord of the whole wood.

[11:50] But not often here, you understand, never in my time or my father's time. But the word has reached us that he has come back. He is in Narnia at this moment.

[12:01] He'll settle the white queen, all right. It is he, not you, that will save Mr. Tumnus, Tumnus, sorry. So, she won't turn him to stone also, will he, asked Edmund.

[12:17] Lord, love you, son of Adam. What a simple thing to say, said Mr. Beaver with a great laugh. Turn him into stone. If she can stand on her two feet and look him in the face, it'll be the most she can do.

[12:31] And more than I expect of her. No, no. He'll put all to right as it says in the old rhyme in these parts, wrong will be right when Aslan comes in sight.

[12:43] At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be made no more. When he bears his teeth, winter meets its death. And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.

[12:55] You'll understand when you see him. But shall we see him, asked Susan. Why, daughter of Eve, that's what I brought you here for. I'm to lead you where you shall meet him.

[13:08] Is he a man, asked Lucy. Aslan a man? Certainly not. I tell you, he is the king of the wood and the son of the great emperor beyond the sea.

[13:22] Don't you know who is the king of beasts? Aslan is a lion. The lion. The great lion. Ooh, said Susan.

[13:35] I thought he was a man. Is he quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion. That you will, dearie, and no mistake, said Mrs. Beaver.

[13:51] If there's anyone who can appear before lion without their knees knocking, they're either braver than most or else just silly. Then he isn't safe, said Lucy.

[14:04] Safe, said Mr. Beaver. Don't you hear anything that Mrs. Beaver is telling you? Who said anything about safe? Of course he isn't safe, but he's good.

[14:19] He's the king, I tell you. I like that. Is he safe? Oh no, he's not safe, but he's good.

[14:35] The lion of Judah is one of Jesus' titles. Yet in Revelation 5, we're told of the lion, and yet it's not as a lion, but as a lamb that he has worshipped.

[14:57] He is a lion that has become a lamb. That is our picture of Jesus. In chapter 1, we have the picture of Jesus as one who was quite terrifying with blazing eyes and a voice like thunder, a sword coming out of his mouth, one quite terrifying.

[15:28] Yet as John bowed before him as a dead man, he came and gave him comfort. Now we see another vision of this same Jesus who is not quite so terrifying, but confusing.

[15:48] A slain lamb. A lamb. Not a lion. Not even a ram. A lamb who had been slain.

[16:00] This is what is revealed to us about the one who holds in his hands the destiny of the world. Because as he will break the scroll, as he will break the seven seals and open the scroll, it is he and he alone that holds the destiny of the world in his hands.

[16:22] It is he and he alone who inaugurates judgment after judgment after judgment. It is he who the, what is the, he likes to call them the earth dwellers fear.

[16:36] Not the wrath of God, but they fear the wrath of the lamb. This is no ordinary lamb. It is as a lamb, not a lion.

[16:51] Isn't that God's way? You know, I want the lion, I want an oppressive lion. And he comes as a lamb. Hard to make an adventure or movie about a lamb, isn't it?

[17:06] Kind of like, I don't know, the lion would be more impressive. Watch, now somebody will come out with a lamb showing a horn.

[17:17] All right, so. So, Revelation 5, we see a new development in this heavenly scene. As I said, chapter 4 and 5 are a scene of worship in heaven.

[17:28] And here now in chapter 5 it becomes distinctly Christian. Chapter 4 was distinctly biblical in the sense that we see God who is holy, holy, holy.

[17:40] We see him as the creator. We see him as deserving, worthy worship. Nothing mentioned of Christ. Chapter 4. But now we come to chapter 5 and we have a new development.

[17:53] And worship makes progress. Worship becomes fuller. Worship becomes more specific. Just as the father is called worthy as a creator, so Jesus is called worthy as a redeemer.

[18:15] That's our picture in chapters 4 and 5. We saw principles last time as we looked at chapter 4. Since it's worship, we're learning about worship as well as learning about God.

[18:29] We saw first of all that God alone is the essential focus of all worship. We see the throne is the center of everything. Everything's described in relation to the throne.

[18:40] And then in the second part of chapter 4, we saw the song that came out. As they explain what was seen, they talk about a God who is holy, holy, holy.

[18:53] And then the elders fall down and worship and they proclaim that God as creator is worthy. And he is worthy of our worship simply because he is creator.

[19:04] And because it is by his will we exist. Apart from his desire for us to live, we would not. And for that basis alone, he deserves our worship.

[19:21] And he has made that known. Romans chapter 1 makes that absolutely clear, that he has displayed himself. He has made himself known. And it is people who take that truth and suppress it who say, no, no, I don't believe in God.

[19:34] But they are seeing the truth and suppressing it. evidence is overwhelming. Especially I've been watching some videos on astrophysicists looking at the stars and the stars and the evidence in the universe outside of the earth is overwhelmingly proclaiming the glory of God.

[20:01] And it's not a very old universe, it's very, very young. I also learned that mathematicians are not atheists, right?

[20:14] They're not evolutionary because they can't be because math has always existed, it's never evolved. It's like, how do you explain that? Sorry, got off. So what are we saying?

[20:26] God alone is worship and why he is worthy is the true heart of worship. He is worthy because he's our creator. So now we're going to see worship that has become distinctly Christian now in chapter 5.

[20:37] Chapter 4, the focus was the one seated on the throne. Now that focus changes from the one on the throne to this lion of Judah who is shown to be actually the lamb who was slain, who takes the scroll and will be the one in control of history.

[20:55] The one with the authority and the right and the entitlement to open to us what is next and what is the end.

[21:10] A dramatic scene unfolds as we see the worship of Jesus the worthy lamb. We continue to learn about worship here. I'm going to try to hang our thoughts on what's revealed here on these continuing principles of worship.

[21:25] So God alone is the focus. Why he's worthy is the heart of our worship. Two more principles we see in chapter 5 verses 1 to 7.

[21:37] Now Christ becomes the focus. The lamb becomes the focus. Whereas the father on the throne was the focus. Now the focus becomes the lamb. And again in the second half of the chapter the songs that are sung.

[21:56] The worship that is stated explains the meaning of the lamb. Why is he worshipped? Why is he worthy? He is worthy because he is a redeemer.

[22:10] He is uniquely worthy of our worship because he has done something unique. He was. He lays down his life and with his life buys ransoms, redeems people from everywhere to God.

[22:35] And so for that reason he is uniquely worthy. Interesting. He is the only one. This chapter highlights there's no one else in heaven, on earth, under the earth, anywhere that's worthy.

[22:52] he alone in heaven is worthy. Isn't that interesting? Not more worthy than the father in terms of character or perfection, but more, I gotta be careful, he's worthy in a unique way that the father is not.

[23:12] Because he, as the second person of the trinity, has left his throne and laid down his life to pay for our redemption.

[23:24] That makes him uniquely worthy. That's what this chapter is saying. It's quite surprising. He's not above the father. Please don't hear, I'm not saying that at all, but he is uniquely worthy.

[23:40] Uniquely. He is, yeah. So let's look at this. Yeah. Yeah. So principle number three, Jesus, like the father, becomes the focus in worship.

[23:56] Just as the father was the focus as the one sitting on the throne in chapter four, now the lamb becomes the focus of the worship. He is described as the lion who is the lamb.

[24:09] Here's what we see in the beginning, but then he will be the one who is then bowed down to and proclaimed as worthy. So Jesus, like the father, becomes the focus.

[24:24] So we would say, and I talked about this last time, as we worship every week, there is an intentional design that we employ. We first sing a song of our hymn, usually, that declares the glory of God, that declares God the father, the glory of God.

[24:46] Then our second hymn, and it's usually almost always a hymn because there are very few praise songs that seem to do this adequately. There are some more lately, but the second one is then to the son.

[24:58] The second hymn sets us apart as distinctly Christian. So we worship trinitarian, father, son, and then we sing spirit songs. Then we can respond.

[25:09] But we declare God as the one holy, holy, holy, the one who is worthy his creator. Then we declare the son who is the redeemer. The worthiness of his redemption.

[25:22] So every week, that's what we will do. You'll see that if you look for it. It's father, son. And then we respond. Then we can, I feel like I need to be prepped to worship.

[25:35] Right? Don't you? That's why we do a call to worship. Even if I do my best on Saturday night to get ready for Sunday, you know, something will happen Sunday morning, won't it?

[25:48] I'll stub my toe coming out of the shower or something like whatever, I don't know. And set my mind. Or somebody will call, who knows? This is life. And so I, when I come, I want to worship.

[26:02] And to worship right, I need reminding. And so we say, it's good to be in the Lord's house with the Lord's people on the Lord's day.

[26:13] Why? Because it's, it's Him. It's not me. It's not us. It's not the song. It's Him.

[26:25] It's all about Him. And I need that reminder. We know that. But I need the reminder. And then I need to sing about Him. And I sing to Jesus. And then my spirit's more free to, okay, yeah, I got the trick.

[26:40] Yeah. Now I can express more. Now I can respond more. That's what we do. I hope it's helpful to you. That's what we see here.

[26:54] That's what worship is like in heaven. It's focusing on the Father. Then comes forth the Son. And the response to the Lamb.

[27:04] So, first we're told about a scroll in the first four verses. The scroll that, now it is actually possible there were books back in the first century, by the end of the first century, but it was rare.

[27:21] Not a book like we think of. It was, they called them codexes, and they were piles of sheets that were sewn together, like, you know, like a binding kind of thing. But that was rare.

[27:33] The most convenient form was a papyrus that was, if it got longer and longer, you sewed them together and, you know, and then you'd have to roll them up. And so that's what we think of as a scroll. This scroll, we're told, was sealed with seven seals.

[27:51] Again, here's seven again, so it's fully protected. It's fully, to seal the document means that no one can get in, no one can see it, it's protected.

[28:03] In the first century, the Romans did wills. They did a last will and testament, they would put it on a scroll, and they would actually have seven witnesses who each would put their seal on it.

[28:13] So it had seven sealed things, like, okay, can't just break that one. Seven's a little harder. So it protects the document, what's written inside. There's lots of theories, it doesn't really matter how it was sealed, was it rolled up and then seven seals across the outside, or was it progressive?

[28:34] Was there a seal, one seal on the outside, as he broke the first one, then something happens, right? He breaks the first seal, something happens. Maybe he's revealed, oh, and then there's another seal, then there's another seal.

[28:45] Is it like that, or is it, we don't know? We don't know. I kind of like the progressive thing, but it's, can't prove it. It's just interesting, I don't know, we're not told.

[28:59] You say, well, he says there's seven seals, he didn't see if it was the other way, well, yeah, but he would have known, and by the time he wrote it down, he would have known there were seven seals. Anyway. So this document is really, really important.

[29:15] Then we have a mighty angel. I don't know if he's mighty because he's huge, or because he's got a loud mouth. Maybe it's Gabriel. Maybe it's Michael, like, you know, I don't know what makes him mighty, but he's a mighty angel who proclaims who's worthy.

[29:34] So the drama is set up. Who's worthy? In other words, this is a unique thing. This is an important document. it contains basically from chapter six of Revelation on, it seems, it contains all of that future revelation.

[29:54] Who is worthy to open it? Who is entitled? Who is authorized? Who is deserving? Qualified? However you want to say worthy.

[30:06] Who's worthy? And then we find in verse three, no one. And that leads John to weep in verse four. Because I was told to come up here and to see what's next.

[30:22] And now I can't see. Now we will never know. Nobody's worthy. The father is the one on the throne. He's holding it, but someone else must open it. Someone with distinct qualifications.

[30:35] Someone who is uniquely qualified. And there's nobody in heaven or on earth or under the earth that has those qualifications. Save one. We're told in verse five.

[30:47] Now as John is weeping, one of the elders, one of those 24 elders, speaks to him and says, weep no more. Weep no more.

[31:00] Behold. Remember, that's our word. Look, look, look, this is special. This is really unique. Look, look, look. The lion, of the tribe of Judah.

[31:11] Yes. The root of David. Yes. He has conquered. Yeah, but that was bloody. You know, it was bloody, but not like you think.

[31:25] I mean, a lion can just rip somebody apart. David, we know, was a mighty warrior. here. So he's told about this lion.

[31:36] In Genesis 49, Judah, the tribe of Judah, was likened to a lion, to a lioness, to one who crouches like a lion, and who dares rouse him?

[31:49] He's very intimidating. And then we're told in Genesis 49, as Jacob is talking about his 12 tribes, his 12 sons, he says the scepter will not depart from Judah.

[32:02] The ruler's staff will not depart from his, between his feet. In other words, it's the fourth son of Jacob that will be the Messiah's one.

[32:15] The promise comes through the fourth son. Not, not, not, not, not, not, hello, Reuben, Simeon, not Levi, but Judah. By the way, you read Genesis, Judah doesn't start out well.

[32:30] I had a whole thing with Tamar, but then by the end, he does something very Christ-like. He laid down his life for his brother.

[32:42] He said to Joseph, take me, let Benjamin go free. And that's what broke Joseph. So he does something Christ-like.

[32:53] So even, even though Judah wasn't, you know, real Christ-like in his life, he had a Christ-like moment. Appropriate that his descendant would be the one ultimately who would lay down his life.

[33:07] And then he says, he's also the root of David. So he not only comes from Abraham, through Isaac, through Jacob, through Judah, but then that seed will come now through David.

[33:19] He's the root of David. What's that mean? Isaiah 11 talks about how there will be a shoot from the stump of David. So David once was a mighty tree, but after Solomon and after all the kings failed, that tree was cut down, now it's just a stump.

[33:37] But from that stump, a shoot will come. You have trees in your yard where there's like growth coming out of the, it's like, I just wanted one tree, now I got aspens everywhere.

[33:48] So there's a shoot coming out, a branch, in Hebrew, a natsar, as in natsarin, he shall be called a natsar, a branch, a root, a shoot, from David.

[34:04] He's a natsar. He's a shoot. So here comes this little, okay, that can't be much, can it? This is a little shoot coming out of the stump. Can't be monat, not look like a lot of hope.

[34:17] I'll try English later. And of course, that leads to Jesus. So he's told about this, this one that has been prophesied, this one from all the way back in Genesis, all the way through the kings, this one from David who will be the answer.

[34:38] And so that's what he hears, right? Verse five, it's the lion. And he turns to look, verse six, and what does he see? I expect this impressive mane, I expect this powerful looking.

[34:54] And what does he see? Verse six, and between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders, somewhere in there, in the throne, between the, how do you get between the throne?

[35:08] There's one throne. How do you get between the throne? I don't know, he's in the middle of the throne? Is he around the throne? Where is he? You can read the commentaries for pages on that one. That's real fun.

[35:20] I saw, what did I see? A lamb. Not a lion, I saw a lamb. As though slain. Now, the words, though it had been slain, is not in the text.

[35:34] It's simply as having been slain. It's not as if he were slain, as if that was a possibility. It's, no, he had been slain. This is a lamb who clearly had been killed.

[35:48] He's got scars and blood to prove it. So, it was bloody, yeah, it was bloody, but he was bloody. So, I see a lamb standing.

[35:59] So, he had been slain, but now he's standing. So, in other words, he raised. He's not lying dead, he's standing. and he has seven horns with seven eyes.

[36:14] Okay, we're used to that, right? We're used to sevens. Seven horns. Now, okay, lambs don't have horns, right? Normally. Rams have horns, lambs don't, right?

[36:27] So, and rams have two horns, right? They're little curly guys, right? Technical language. But not seven.

[36:39] He has seven. So, again, seven, we know, is the picture of fullness, of completeness, right? So, the seven churches are representative of all the church, right? So, seven eyes is a picture of perfect vision, perfect sight, fullness of sight.

[36:57] So, seven horns. What's a horn? So, again, it's a vision. It's a symbol. We're not going to see Jesus and all of a sudden we see all these horns or all these eyes. It's a picture.

[37:08] It's a symbol. So, horn, what is horn? Well, God is the horn of my salvation, Psalms proclaims.

[37:20] He's the horn of my salvation. What's that? He's the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Oh, something about strength and power. The horn is about power.

[37:31] power. What's the power of the rhinoceros? You know, that big, right there, that's his power. You don't want that coming at you.

[37:43] What's the power of the ram? Yeah, same thing. Even a buck, a little buck. Do you want to go play with his horns?

[37:54] Right? Because that's his power. power. Okay? Daniel 8 also talks about a vision with horns and it describes the horn as the power.

[38:04] Right? The king, the power. So he's got full power. But how does this lamb conquer?

[38:16] And by the way, not one picture of Jesus is enough to explain him. It's like God. God doesn't have one description of himself. There's no one image we're given.

[38:26] We're given multiple images of God. And same with Jesus. He's not just a lion. He's also a lamb. He's not just a shepherd. He's also a king.

[38:38] He's not just the water. He's also the bread. He's not just the vine. He's also the light. He's not just the way.

[38:48] He's also the truth. No one term will capture who Jesus is. Just as no one term captures how great God is. So he's a lion and he's a lamb.

[39:02] And as a lamb, he conquers. We're told the lion conquered, but now we see a lamb. How does the lamb conquer? He conquers by dying. Jesus conquered by overcoming temptation.

[39:18] He conquered by enduring the hostility against himself. He conquered by enduring suffering. By laying down his own life.

[39:28] That's how he conquered. In his death, he conquers what? What did he conquer when he died? What was the purpose of laying down his life and being nailed to a tree?

[39:46] What had to be conquered? conquered? What enemy was there? Our own sin. The wages of sin is death.

[39:57] Our own impending death. Our own impending hell. Also the enemy. Right?

[40:09] Genesis 3 talks about how that enemy will trip up the seat of the woman, but the seat of the woman will crush the head of the serpent by his death.

[40:23] Not by a great paw, but by laying down his life as a lamb. Where is this slain lamb talked about in the Old Testament?

[40:37] We have Genesis 49 talking about the lion. We have Isaiah 11 talking about the root of David. We have lots of scriptures in the Old Testament pointing forward to a king that will come. Where does it talk about a lamb?

[40:53] Isaiah. Isaiah tells us of a lamb, not a lion. He tells us in Isaiah, guess where? 53. He says, he was pierced for our transgressions.

[41:10] He was crushed for our iniquities. Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace. With his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray.

[41:23] We have turned every one of us to our own way. But the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us. Our rebellion goes on him.

[41:35] He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth like a lamb. Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter.

[41:48] A lamb that is slain. Like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away.

[41:59] And as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living? Who ever thought that the Messiah would be cut off and killed out of the land of the living?

[42:10] Stricken for the transgression of his own people. Laying down his life for the sins of others. So here's the promised lion. The ruler, the Messiah, who came not like a lion, but like a lamb.

[42:27] He was slain for us, for our rebellious sins, for our iniquity. He carried our sin. And his death is what particularly makes him worthy, deserving, entitled to take the scroll.

[42:42] There's no one like him in heaven. In heaven he's not just the focus of worship. Now he becomes worthy of the same worship that the father receives.

[42:58] That's our second principle, our fourth principle. Versus as we come to verse 8 and following where the worship now begins to happen, the response to the lamb, the worship, and then the praise comes to him.

[43:10] We see that Jesus is worthy of the same worship as the father. He receives the same praise, the same glory, the same declarations of worthiness as the father.

[43:24] This is unheard of. He receives the same worship as the father particularly because he's the redeemer.

[43:40] Because he lays down his life for sinners. So notice verse 8, who is worship? Verse 8, and when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the 24 elders do what?

[43:51] They fall down where? Not before the throne, but before the lamb. Just like they fell down before the throne in chapter 4, now they fall down before the lamb.

[44:04] The same kind of worship as the father. Each holding a harp, golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

[44:16] So here we go. So we get some unveiling here in this vision. Right? So what's the incense? Well, we're told that incense is a picture of the prayers of the saints. Okay?

[44:27] And what's interesting is the prayers of the saints are brought by these elders or creatures in a bowl, picture of a golden bowl of incense.

[44:40] Where do we have incense in the Old Testament? Is incense important? Tabernacle, right? Tabernacle. Where was it? In the tabernacle. Whenever you go into the holy place, there's a veil.

[44:50] The ark's behind the veil. The presence of God is behind the veil. Before the curtain is what? On one side is the table with the showbread. Right? The twelve loaves.

[45:02] On the other side is the lampstand, the seven branch lampstand. And there, right in front of the curtain, is the altar of incense.

[45:15] Incense that was continually to be, that's part of the priest's job. Make sure the bread's fresh, make sure the lights are on, and make sure the incense is continually burning because it's a picture of our prayers ascending before the presence of God.

[45:31] And so, Revelation Vision picks that same thing up. Our prayers are still like incense. They still ascend before God. But who are the prayers brought to here in verse eight?

[45:43] Jesus. Jesus. They're brought to Jesus. Remember, Jesus said, ask in my name.

[46:01] You've prayed otherwise before, but now you shall pray in my name. I'm the mediator. Come through me.

[46:14] How do we get into God's presence? We come in the name of Jesus. We come because of Jesus. We say in our prayers, in Jesus' name. It's not a tagline for the end.

[46:25] We should actually say it at the beginning. We should say we come in Jesus' name. I don't come in my name. I'm not worthy. I come in Jesus' name because that gives me access to the Father. It's not a tagline like good luck.

[46:38] It's no. That's why I can come. His name. He made the way. Did we forget one? Oh, the seven eyes.

[46:52] We forgot to mention that. Seven eyes. But it's interpreted for you. He says the seven eyes are what? They're the seven spirits. So there you go. Got that one. That was free. Right?

[47:04] That's good. We've seen the seven spirits before. They're the same as the lights on the, you have the seven candles, holders, candle.

[47:16] Thank you. I'm working on English today. This is my second language. Third. So the lights, those are the, the vision we saw in the first one, the lights are the spirit.

[47:30] We're just the stand, right? The spirit provides the light. God is light. Now we see that the seven eyes on Christ are also the seven spirits.

[47:44] The seven meaning perfect fullness, the fullness of the spirit, the full representation of the spirit. So the seven spirits of God are the Holy Spirit.

[47:55] Holy Spirit is in each one of the churches. He is related to Jesus. Okay? Seven eyes are seven. It's perfect vision.

[48:05] Seven fullness of vision, fullness of knowledge, the omniscience of Christ. But it's also the Holy Spirit. Now who Jesus said, when I go away, I will send you another helper.

[48:19] who's just like me. And so when he goes to a seven, he goes to heaven, he then sends the spirit upon the church. And so we're told the seven eyes are the seven spirits of God sent where?

[48:35] Into all the earth. It's the Holy Spirit who is sent. Remember Pentecost, the coming of the spirit now is sent. That's why Jesus can say, I will never leave you or forsake you. Cause I give you my spirit. He will be with you always.

[48:46] He will be with you always. He will be with you. He is your power. He is your light. Okay? So why is he worthy?

[49:02] Verse eight, they bow down before him. And now verse nine, they sing a new song saying, worthy are you to take the scroll to open his seals. Why? What makes him worthy? What is it about his death that makes him worthy?

[49:16] For you were slain. And what kind of death was that? And by your blood, you ransomed people for God. His death ransomed. Notice who is ransomed, ransomed people for God.

[49:29] Where did they come from? From every tribe and every language and every people in every nation. It's international. It's interracial. It has nothing to do with where you're from. He takes people from everywhere.

[49:41] It's no longer one tribe. Excuse me, one nation. Now it's all nations. And of course, that was part of the promise to Abraham. All the families of the earth will be blessed. All the families.

[49:52] It was always God's intention. And of course, remember, there's always Gentiles coming in. There's always, here comes Rahab. Here comes Tamar. Here comes, oh, Bastraba. Okay.

[50:03] Okay. Ruth. Oh yeah, we like Ruth. Ruth. Ruth can come. So, it's always, always been drawn.

[50:14] But he's, so he's ransomed from every. Doesn't say he ransomed all. If he ransomed all, all would be saved.

[50:25] If all were bought, all would be, everyone's debt would be paid. Right? Did he die for everybody? He died for all kinds of people.

[50:38] He died for people from every single nation, every single tongue, every single language. It's universal. It's widespread.

[50:53] And we know he didn't die for everyone because the scripture tells us not everyone, all are called. Few are chosen.

[51:06] Few come. Few come. He's worthy because he ransomed people, which means that he freed them from the wages of their sin.

[51:18] And then verse 10 adds another reason, not only because he ransomed people, but verse 10, he's also made them a kingdom and priest to our God. He's made them king priests, priestly kings, royal kings, kingdom priests who reign on earth.

[51:35] So he not only has redeemed them, but he's made a new creation. He's created a new people who are kingdom priests to God. Not just one tribe of priests, but a whole international people who are priests and kings to God who will reign on the earth, which we're told at the end of this book, chapter 20, verse 6, that all these who are part of the first resurrection, who have been saved, will reign with Christ on the earth for a thousand years or so.

[52:08] Whatever the thousand years means. And I got a while before I have to figure that one out. So who are the worst?

[52:20] Then we see in verses 11 to 14 that this worship expands. Not only is Jesus now specified out to be worshiped, and he's proclaimed to be worthy of that worship, but now who worships him expands.

[52:40] Verse 11. Then I looked and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders. So in other words, this myriad of angels are around the throne, around the creatures, around the elders.

[52:53] So we've got the throne, and then we've got the four living creatures and the elders there around the throne. And then around them, we have another huge circle of angels numbering myriads of myriads and thousands and thousands.

[53:10] So if you multiply myriads of myriads, which is 10,000 times 10,000, I think you get some kind of high number. Sorry. In Greek, actually, myriad is actually the highest number they can write down in Greek.

[53:26] So he's just saying it's to infinity and beyond. Right? It's myriads and myriads. It's millions and millions. It's uncountable how many angels are there.

[53:36] So there's myriads and myriads, thousands and thousands, saying with a loud voice, worthy is the lamb who was slain. What's he worthy of? Now he gives a sevenfold description of his worth.

[53:49] He is worthy of power, and wealth, and wisdom, and might, and honor, and glory, and blessing.

[54:00] The same qualities for which the creator is honored in chapter four. Chapter four, 11, worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory, and honor, and power.

[54:18] And now the lamb receives glory, and honor, and power, as well as blessing, and et cetera. Then, verse 13, it expands even more.

[54:34] So not only all the creatures, and the elders, and the angels are worshiping Jesus, but verse 13, and then I heard every creature in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and in the sea, and all that's in the earth, and heaven, and sea.

[54:52] saying, to him who sits on the throne, and to the lamb, equal, to the father, and the son, be blessing, and honor, and glory, and might, forever and ever.

[55:08] Not just temporarily, not just for now, but forever and ever. Deserved worship, worthiness for eternity. So Jesus isn't just to come in and get glory for a short term, and then we're done.

[55:23] It's forever and ever. The throne, the lamb, worship. And the four living creatures, they're into it, man. Amen. Right?

[55:34] And the elders fall down to worship, because that's what they do. I mean, you go through the whole book, and they just keep falling down. Are they, they can't walk? No, they're worshiping God. I think I already mentioned, you know, we're going to see worship pop up again, and again, and again in this book.

[55:49] It's not just about bad judgment. It's not just about plagues that come upon the earth, but there are moments of, of glory be to God for what he's doing.

[56:02] He is bringing justice that we've waited, and waited, and waited for. Justice that he's put off. Evil that he has not punished because he is a merciful God waiting, and waiting for people to come to him.

[56:21] But there will be a day, and Jesus is the one leading it when he opens that scroll and begins. So, how does Jesus fulfill God's plan from long ago?

[56:38] Here is a, here is a vision we're seeing in chapter five that's not new. And the plan of God is not new. It's actually been told before. It just hasn't been told in these explicit, these explicit words.

[56:51] God's purpose has always been the same. So we find, and we will find this over and over again in the book of Revelation that, that much of the language, much of the symbols, much of the, the, the revelation, they're back in Daniel.

[57:08] They're back in Isaiah. They're back in Ezekiel. They're back in Micah. They're back in all over the, they're, they're, they're in the Old Testament. And now, it's coming to be clarified.

[57:20] So, in essence, what we have in John's revelation is a revelation that in part came to Daniel, in Daniel chapter seven. Listen to all the familiar terms.

[57:32] Daniel chapter seven says, I, as I looked, so there's that vision language. I looked, and thrones were placed. That's thrones plural. He doesn't say just one throne.

[57:42] He says, there's thrones. Oh, they were there back then. He doesn't say 24, but he says thrones. Thrones were placed, and the ancient of days took his seat. His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head was pure wool.

[57:55] His throne, so there's thrones, and the throne was fiery flames. Its wheels were burning fire. A stream of fire issued and came from before him, and thousands, thousands served him, and 10,000, or myriads of myriads stood before him.

[58:16] So there's the angels are there too. The court sat in judgment, and the books were open. See, I don't know if it's a book or a scroll. It's books are open. I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man.

[58:34] Remember how Jesus said the son of man will come with the clouds? This is where the language comes. One coming with the clouds. Is he coming down, or is he coming up?

[58:46] With the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came where? To the ancient of days, so he's coming up. This is Jesus' ascension. Jesus ascends and comes to the Father.

[58:57] He ascends to the ancient of days, and was presented before him, and to him, to this son of man, was given dominion and glory and kingdom.

[59:10] All authority. So that all peoples and nations and languages, there's those terms again. He ransomed peoples and nations and languages.

[59:21] And here they are back in Daniel. People's nations and languages. Not just one nation, but all kinds of people, all kinds of nations, all kinds of languages will serve him. And his dominion was an everlasting dominion which will not pass away.

[59:36] His kingdom is one that will not be destroyed. And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints. Wait a minute.

[59:47] In other words, all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to who? To the people of the saints. So it's already talking about the saints will reign.

[60:00] It's using a different language, but it's already talking about the saints who are from every nation and from every tribe and every language will reign over all the other kingdoms.

[60:13] Wow. That's already there. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom and all dominions, all dominions shall serve and obey him.

[60:27] The line of Judah, the root of David. See, what Revelation 5 is explaining for us is this prophecy of Daniel 7. We see the son coming to the father.

[60:39] We see the son receiving a kingdom. And here we have John's vision and Daniel's visions matching. There are thrones and a throne. There's myriads of angels. There's a kingdom of all nations.

[60:51] There are the saints who are ruling. All the same kind of things are there. But what Revelation 5 tells us is it clarifies who is this son of man? Is he the lion?

[61:04] No, he's the lamb. He was, yeah, what? Yeah, he's the lion. But the lion came as a lamb. He came not to destroy.

[61:15] He came not to condemn. He came not to judge. He came to save. He came to offer himself. He came to give mercy. He came to befriend sinners. To sit with them and eat with them and love them and care for them and tell them the truth.

[61:32] But with love. He came as a lamb. Who ransoms himself for every nation.

[61:44] And he is the only one in all heaven and earth and under the earth who is worthy and deserving to open the scroll to rule over our future.

[62:00] It's an amazing revelation. It's an amazing revelation. Do we see how great Jesus is? I mean, it's an amazing picture.

[62:15] We have the picture of him in chapter one. Glorious, glorious picture. Then we have now a picture in chapter five. Which Jesus is it? Well, it's both. He is glorious and awe-inspiring and he's, whoa, he's humble and he's slain.

[62:35] He's giving. He's both. Both. And more. Let's pray. Our Father, we thank you for unveiling for us and Lord, we know we can't catch it all.

[62:52] But we thank you for this tremendous vision of Jesus. We desire our worship to be like that in heaven. Lord, the inexhaustible energy, the loudness of praise, the humility of worship, all of it's pictured there.

[63:18] The sevenfold and fourfold praise of Jesus. We're just getting a glimpse of what he deserves. And so Father, we have to say, first of all, forgive us because we don't give Jesus what he deserves.

[63:36] We desire to because you've changed our heart. You've put the desire in us to do that. But oh Father, we fall short so often. And Father, we, I think, need a bigger vision of Jesus.

[63:52] And I think you've given that to us here. He's not just a shepherd. He's also a king. He's a lion and a lamb.

[64:07] He is my bread of life and he is my water of life. So Father, fill out our vision of him because the better we see him, I think the more we will give him the worthy honor he deserves.

[64:29] This we pray in Christ's name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you.