Worthy is the Lamb
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Revelation comes from the revelation Jesus gives to John while exiled on the island of Patmos, a small island in the Aegean Sea, about 40 miles east of Turkey. The whole book is a revelation of the things to come. You will recall that several months ago we started a series through the letters to the seven churches in Revelation chapter 2 and 3. What we will be looking into this morning is what comes after. If you have a copy of God’s Word, find your way over to Revelation 4 and follow along as I read.
After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.”
Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne.
And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance.
Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads.
So John has this vision of being in haven and he is in the heavenly throne room. You and I can only imagine what this will be like. Here John is getting a glimpse of its beauty and majesty. God is sitting on his throne and his appearance is like that of fine jewels. The jasper and the sardius are both commonly red, but not in every case. We do not know what color John is seeing here. Rather than being fixated on color, I think the emphasis is on light and its brilliance. He says there is also a rainbow around the throne and that it is like an emerald in appearance. When we think of emeralds we think of green, but these too can come in other colors. Rainbows are not just green either. So the emphasis here may be on the brilliance of its appearance and the light that reflects off of it.
John has a way of using light and darkness as types in his writing, where light is good and darkness is bad. Light is purity and holiness, where darkness is sin and corruption. The emphasis on light and the brilliant appearance of fine gems may be a description of the awesomeness and perfection of the undefiled heavenly places.
Has anyone ever been to London? In London, there is the tower of London. It is a literal fortress. You can go and tour the tower and they will tell you all about how the structure was used over the years. In one section of the fortress, you are instructed to put all cameras or recording devices away. As you walk in, you step onto a moving sidewalk and you pass by the crown jewels of England. Let me tell you that no pictures can do it justice. The absolute beauty of these jewels are near indescribable. You can go on YouTube now and get a glimpse of them, but seeing them in person is wonderful. They are in glass cases with these special lights positioned just right so that when the light hits them, it reflects off of them and the shininess of it all is just breathtaking. That experience pales in comparison to what John is seeing in this chapter.
Around the throne are 24 thrones, which are seated 24 elders. There is much speculation as to the identity of the 24 elders. Unfortunately, we do not have the time to explore this in detail this morning. While there are a variety of theories, what remains clear is that they are human, they are in a position of some authority, and they are worshippers of God. Some have suggested they are angels. Some have suggested they are representatives of Israel, and some have suggested half of them are the heads of the tribes of Israel and the other half are the apostles. The only problem I have is that one of the apostles is the witness, so would he not see himself on a throne? It gets tricky, but let’s stick with what we do know for now.
Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God;
and before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind.
The first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle.
And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say,
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.”
And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever,
the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
“Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”
The thunder and lightning is reminiscent of the presence of God at Mt. Sinai.
So it came about on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud upon the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.
The seven spirits of God are not to be interpreted as seven Holy Spirits, for there is only one and this is not the only place the spirits of God are mentioned. We see them compared to other things in Revelation. In a previous sermon, I told you that the spirits of Go are not seven distinct spirits, but the seven-fold ministry of the Holy Spirit that can be found in Isaiah 11:2.
Then we see these four creatures who are described in different ways who have six wings, who I believe to be Seraphim, as they are the only creatures in the Bible described with six wings. Wesee that in Isaiah’s vision of the heavenly throne room in Isaiah 6:1-3. In fact, verse 8 is a quote from Isaiah 6:3.
These four creatures and the 24 elders come together to worship God through the first of three worthy statements found in these two chapters: Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things and because of Your will they existed and were created.
God is worthy of our worship because it is by Him that anything exists at all.
God is worthy of our worship because it is by Him that anything exists at all.
The very first verse of the Bible tells us that God created the heavens and the earth. He is the creator of all things, the sustainer of all things, an the Lord of all things. Everything in the physical realm, every atom, every blade of grass, every planet, every star, every living thing was created by God. The air you breathe was made by him. The astonishing reality is that those who deny him have to use the breath he gave them to do so. If God does not exist, nothing would come into existence. For this reason, he is worthy of worship.
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.
And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?”
And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it.
Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it;
and one of the elders said to me, “Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.”
And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth.
And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.
When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
And they sang a new song, saying,
“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.”
When we read the word book in this passage, we need to remember that it was most likely a scroll. Books like you and I are used to did not exist yet. The seals on the scroll represent the authority of the one who sealed it and indicates who the proper recipient to break the seals is. An angel asks who is worthy to open the scroll and no one is found. You feel the tension begin to rise. John begins weeping and the crisis comes to a head. The question arises, then, what is on that scroll that is so important that it brings John to tears?
Some argue that the scroll is the title deed to all of creation, lost by Adam when he sinned against God, but reclaimed by Christ through his redemptive work. Some suggest this is the scroll from Daniel 12. There are good arguments made for both, but it is difficult to tell which is the right interpretation. Whatever the scroll says, we can be sure that it is crucial and has something to do with redemption. How do we know? Look who comes onto the scene.
One of the elders tells John not to weep because the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David has overcome! And he is worthy to open the seals. So John looks up, dries his eyes, and out walks the Lamb who was slain, having seven horns and seven eyes. The seven horns are emblems of power and the eyes are the seven spirits of God like we discussed moments ago. And he takes the scroll from the hand of God and the elders and the four creatures bow before him in worship. And verse 9 says they sang a new song saying, Worthy are you to take the book and break its seals. Why? 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 a kingdom of priests to our God and they will reign upon the earth.
Jesus is worthy of worship because of the price he paid for our freedom.
Jesus is worthy of worship because of the price he paid for our freedom.
In the eternal state, when the church is gathered from across generations, it will be the greatest multicultural worship experience anyone has ever seen! People from every tribe, every nation, regardless of skin color, language, or geographical location will be together to ascribe worth to our king because he has redeemed us all!
Through that redemption, we are a kingdom of priests, who by both privilege and duty, continually offer ourselves up to God in worship. We are given both the right and responsibility to rule the earth as intended by God in the beginning. The imaging of God included that we reflect him to all of creation by exercising dominion over it, not by our own authority, but his.
Then 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 of thousands,
saying with a loud voice,
“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.”
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.”
And the four living creatures kept saying, “Amen.” And the elders fell down and worshiped.
The heavenly throne room erupts with countless voices all praising God saying Worthy is the Lamb! All of creation has now joined in the activity. All of creation cries out to the awesomeness of God and the awesomeness of Christ who has redeemed us. Because of this great work, he is worthy of all honor, power, riches, wisdom, might, glory, and blessing. What mankind had ruined, he has reclaimed. There is victory in Jesus and freedom from sin. Hallelujah! What a Savior! Prioritize the worship of your God and king in every day of your life for the good news has set us free!
God is worthy of worship for redemption has come!
God is worthy of worship for redemption has come!