Good evening. I invite your attention to the
revelation of Jesus Christ, chapter four. The revelation of Jesus Christ,
chapter four. A little earlier this evening,
We sang the sands of time are sinking, the dawn of heaven breaks. If there is a funeral service
for me when I die, that is one of the three songs I won't sung. Glory, glory dwelleth in Emmanuel's
land. This book of The revelation of
Jesus Christ was given to comfort saints at about the end of the first
century. This book was written about 96
AD by John, the beloved apostle in exile on the island of Patmos
for preaching the gospel. The Lord's churches at that time
were going through very severe trials, tribulation, persecution. Many were being martyred and
killed for their faith. And undoubtedly, there were many
Christians staggering at what was going on and why they should
be undergoing this for following Christ. God had a revelation for them,
letting them know that the battle that was being fought against
them had deeper undertones than even they knew. It was a battle
against Satan, against his son, of Satan, against the Son of
God. And the Lord wanted to encourage His churches, the Christians.
And so He gave this revelation of what was going on. and of
what would happen in the end. He gave the revelation to Jesus
Christ, and Jesus Christ gave it to his angel. The angel delivered
it to John, and John wrote it and sent it to the seven churches
of Asia Minor, and also to Todd's Road Grace Church in Lexington,
Kentucky, and the Sovereign Grace Baptist Church in St. Croix,
Virgin Islands, and to the Lord's churches in wherever place they
are in this day until he returns. This book is supposed to encourage
us, and it does. If you understand the revelation,
it encourages us. John portrays Jesus Christ in
chapter one as walking in the midst of his churches with his
pastors in his right hand. And then he gives epistles to
the seven churches in chapters two and three, tells them their
shortcomings and where they need to make amends, and promises
hope for those who overcome. And I hope and I pray that all
of us are among those who are the overcomers. This book of
the Revelation is divided into seven visions. The first vision
is chapters one, two, and three. And in chapter four, we come
to the second vision, and it commences with these words. After
these things, that were the things regarding the seven churches
in Asia Minor, John says, I looked and behold, a door standing open
in heaven. We read that heaven has windows
because God opens windows to give blessings to his people.
Here is a door. A door is for entrance. I hope that if you are ever blessed
to see the door of heaven, that it is not shut. The door was
open. John saw it, a door standing
open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard
was like a trumpet. Now that'll get your attention.
A voice like a trumpet speaking with me saying, come up here. And I will show you things which
must take place after this. John had seen the present situation
with the seven churches in Asia Minor, and now he's going to
see what will happen immediately afterward. Come up here! Well,
that raises a question. How do you get up there? John,
come up here! He hears a voice in that open
door. How do I get there? Well, if
God wants you to go, he'll make it so that you go. John says,
immediately I was in the spirit. He is now in an ecstatic state,
in a trance. And behold, a throne sat in heaven,
and one sat on the throne. John is ushered into heaven. Now let me clarify something
about what he is here about to say. John will not here describe
a scene of heaven. By that I mean that you should
you be blessed this night to leave this earthly life and enter
into heaven's glory do not expect to see what is here described. Elements, yes, and you may from
time to time see what is here described, at least parts of
it. But John is not here describing a scene of heaven. It may be
called a scene in heaven, but even more than that, what John
is here about to see is the entire universe from heaven's perspective
And there is a throne in the center of it, and one sitting
on the throne. Wonder who that is? No, there's
no doubt about that. That throne in the center of
the universe, that throne in heaven, is the throne of God
the Father. And he who sat there was like
a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance. Not really sure
what all that means except it's precious and it's glorious and
I do not know that we should go further than that. And there
was a rainbow around the throne because God has still remembered
his covenant that he made with Noah. And in appearance like
an emerald, the most beautiful rainbow you have ever seen. Around the throne were 24 thrones.
evidently in a circle around it. So that there is a throne
here in the center of the universe and around the throne, 24 thrones
all the way around in a circle around. These 24 thrones are
occupied by elders. For John says, I saw on the thrones
24 elders sitting. Why does anyone sit on a throne? because he's ruling and he's
reigning. And there is one on the throne
in the center of the universe ruling and reigning over all.
And around his throne are 24 thrones and there are others
ruling with him. 24 of them. They represent the
entire Church of Christ in its aggregate. Old Testament saints
the 12 tribes of Israel, and from the New Testament, the followers
of the 12 apostles of the Lamb. The entire Church of Christ sits
on thrones around God's throne. And they're clothed in white
robes, the righteousness of Jesus Christ, their King and their
Redeemer. They had crowns of gold on their
heads, for He had promised them that they would rule and reign
with Him, and they do. They do, and from the throne
proceeded lightenings, thunderings, and voices, because God is glorious,
and he's just letting you know something about it. What an awesome sight. I hear thunder, I hear lightening,
and I hear voices, because it's God's throne. And something awesome is about
to happen. And there were seven lamps of
fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of
God. That is the Holy Spirit. He is there. Seven is a number
of completion and perfection and deity. And this is the Holy
Spirit right before God's throne. There He is! Before the throne there was a
sea of glass like crystal. Perhaps that sea of glass in
which these elders have washed their garments and made them
white in the blood of the Lamb. A sea of glass, like crystal,
and in the midst of the throne and around the throne were four
living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. This is
God's throne. God is on His throne. Four living
creatures. What are they doing? Are they
guarding the throne? Do you really think God's throne needs to be
guarded? No, they're there. These are a very high order of
angelic beings. They are there to do whatever
God says. They wait for his bid and call. These are among the four of the
highest of the order of the angels. They are four in number, that's
the number of the earth. The four winds of the earth,
the four corners of the earth, these are his servants ready
to go in whatever part of the earth he sends them. They're
full of eyes in front and in back. They see all. The first living creature was
like a lion. That symbolizes strength. The
second living creature like a calf. symbolizes service. The third
living creature had a face like a man. That symbolizes intelligence. And the fourth living creature
was like a flying eagle. And that symbolizes swiftness. And these are there around God's
throne ready to do His will and His bidding. And they're capable
of doing so. He has made them able to do so. by the things you have just read
concerning them. And the four living creatures,
each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within, and
they do not rest day or night, saying, holy, holy, holy, Lord
God Almighty, who was and is and is to come. And that's all
they do on this occasion. They stand there, holy, holy,
holy, Lord God Almighty, before his throne, incessantly. They hear, praise God for his
holiness, his omnipotence, his eternity, and his immutability,
the one who was and is and is to come. And whenever the living
creatures give glory, and honor and thanks to Him who sits on
the throne, who lives forever and ever. The 24 elders, the
Church of Christ, all the saints, Old and New Testament eras, they
fall down before Him, God the Father, who sits on the throne,
and they worship Him who lives forever and ever. And they cast
their crowns before the throne, saying, You are worthy, O Lord. to receive glory and honor and
power, for you created all things, and by your will they exist and
were created. These four living creatures praise
him because of his holiness and omnipotence, eternity and immutability, and the elders praising for his
great and glorious work of creation. And I saw in the right hand of
him who sat on the throne, hand of authority, the right hand,
a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. I saw the scroll. Notice, it is written on the inside and
the back, People did not write on the back of a scroll. You
wrote on the inside and rolled it up. Why does this one have
writing on both the front and the back? Because there was too
much to put on the inside. It would not all fit. So God
had something to write, and he wrote it up, filled up the inside
of it, and then turned it over and started writing on the backside
and then rolled it up. Whatever it is, It was too voluminous
to fit on the one side. Seven seals. It is unrevealed. It is unexecuted. I'll tell you right now that
this scroll is God's eternal decree for His people, particularly
in this day and age. John saw it still sealed. It's not been opened. What is
about to happen? I'm going to show you things
which must shortly take place. How am I supposed to know? The
scroll is all rolled up. It's all sealed. How are we supposed
to know? And I saw a strong angel proclaim
with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose
its seals? And no one in heaven or on the
earth, notice on the earth, John sees not only heaven, but he
sees on the earth or under the earth, was able to open the scroll
or to look at it. No one. Samson, you're the strongest
man we know. Go open that scroll. Oh, if human
strength could open that scroll, Samson can do it. And Samson
says, no, human strength will not open it. And besides, I'm
not worthy. Solomon, you're the wisest man
we know. Oh, surely wisdom might open
that scroll. Go up there and open that scroll
with your wisdom. And Solomon would say, no, Wisdom
will not open that scroll, and besides, I am not worthy. David, you have regal authority. Like no other king that we know,
take your regal authority and open that scroll. And David says,
regal authority will not open that scroll, and besides, I am
not worthy. Joshua, You're a military genius. Go up there and with your military
genius, open that scroll, and Joshua would say, military genius
will not open that scroll, and besides, I am not worthy. Moses, you're the greatest legal
mind we know. Take your legal expertise up
to God's throne, and with your legal expertise, open that scroll,
and Moses would say, Legal knowledge will not open that scroll, and
besides, I'm not worthy. Well, is there no one here? Can
you open it? Can you? Is there no one here? John looks around, and no one
can open it, and he says, I wept, verse four. I wept much, because
no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll. No one could
even look at it. No one can execute God's purpose. God's got a purpose and God's
got a decree and no one can bring it to pass. But one of the elders said to
me, one of the redeemed, do not weep. John, John, John, do not
weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe
of Judah. Do you know who he is? Yes, I
know who he is. prophesying in Genesis chapter
14, the scepter shall not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver between
his feet till Shiloh come. Yeah, I know about the line of
the tribe of Judah. I know about Judah, the tribe
of the kings of David and Solomon and all the kings of Israel and
Judah. I know about the line of the
tribe of Judah that would be the foremost ruler among God's people. He's also
the root of David. The branch of David and also
David's root. Indicating both his humanity
and his deity. And he has prevailed. Not that he will. He has prevailed. One of the elders says, and therefore
he will open the scroll and to loose its seven seals. You mean,
He has already prevailed? Yes, that's what I said. He has
prevailed. Well, when did the line of Judah
prevail? Well, John, you were there. When? Where? Calvary! Did you not hear him in his glorious
death exclaiming victory? It is finished! Yes, I heard
that. Well, that's when he prevailed.
That's when he prevailed. He conquered. God sent him on
a mission to this earth. And there on Calvary, he says,
all my enemies have gathered around me. And I have prevailed. And it
is finished. The line of the tribe of Judah.
And John, here told that he has prevailed to open the scroll.
He will loose its seven seals. And John looks for him. Where
is he? Where is the lion of the tribe of Judah? And John looks
and he does not see the lion of the tribe of Judah. Where
is he? And I looked, and behold, While
John is looking for the line of the tribe of Judah, he says
that in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures
and in the midst of the elders, in the middle of God's congregation
stood a lamb as though it had been slain. And by the way, that
English word slain does not do justice to the word. The Greek
word means slaughtered. Slaughtered. Not merely killed. Slaughtered. I saw a lamb. The lion is a lamb. The lion
rules. And the lamb has been slaughtered.
And it's all the same person. I saw a lamb as though it had
been slain. Slaughtered. Having seven hordes. That's all the authority he needs. He has seven eyes. He's got omniscience,
which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. He's filled with God's Holy Spirit,
the seven spirits of God. And then he came and took the
scroll out of the right hand of him who sat on the throne. It was a bit more involved than
that. He's in. He's in the middle of
the congregation. Among the elders. Which means
God's on His throne with the scroll in His right hand. This
means that He's got to go up to God's throne. It just so happens
there are four living creatures around the throne. He approaches
the throne. The four living creatures give
way. Stand back. And he walks up to God's throne.
And he did it in his ascension into glory. He prevailed on Calvary. And there in God's throne room,
he ascends to the throne of God on high. And he says, Father,
give me that scroll. Give me that scroll. And the
father handed the scroll to him. He came and took the scroll out
of the right hand of him who sat on the throne. Now, when
he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the
24 elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, an
instrument of joyful music. They have golden bowls, precious
bowls, full of incense. And the incense are the prayers
of the saints. The saints say, may my prayer
be set before you like incense. Often times in scripture, prayers
are compared to incense. Why? Well, why do you burn incense? It smells good. When we pray to God, sniffs the prayers of his people,
and they smell so good. There was an altar of incense
there in that tabernacle. There was one in the temple. There is an altar of incense
in heaven. And what's the purpose? Prayers
going forth. These elders have golden bowls
full of incense, and they're offering their prayers there
before God. as they played their harps and
with their crowns on their head and they sang a new song, a new
song. The old song was that of God
is creator but now they sing a new song saying, you are worthy
to take the scroll and to open its seals for you were slaughtered. That's what made him worthy.
His worthiness is what happened on Calvary. You have redeemed
us to God by your blood. This is a song that only the
redeemed can sing. You have redeemed us to God by
your blood out of every tribe. That's every ethnic group. Every tongue. that's every linguistic
group. Every people, that's every political
group. Every nation, that's every social
group. Out of, that's particular redemption. Out of! You did not redeem every
tribe and tongue and people and nation, but you redeemed the
people out of every one of the groups. and you made us kings. Yo, we're now on the 24 thrones. You made us kings and priests. We are a kingdom of priests and
a priesthood of kings. And we shall reign on the earth
and we do it through our prayers. Do you realize that you and I
right now are ruling and reigning on this earth and we do it by
our prayers, our prayers. God executes his will by the
prayers of his people. And then I looked and I heard
the voice of many angels around the throne. Many angels. A while
ago we heard about only the four living creatures. They are an
angelic order of beings. But now there are many angels.
And they're around the throne and around the living creatures
and the elders. So now you see, Observe, we have
a throne. We have four living creatures
around the throne. We have the Holy Spirit before
the throne. The lion of the tribe of Judah
and the slaughtered lamb has come out of that congregation.
But beyond the 24 elders are these angels. around the elders. And the number
of them was 10,000 times 10,000 and thousands and thousands and
just too many to count. It's just thousands and thousands
and a few more thousands and multiply that by 10 and then
a few more, you know. How many angels does God have?
All he wants. All he wants. How many is that? All he wants. He didn't tell
us how many. It's his business how many there
are. But they're there. And they have something to say.
Worthy is the lamb who was slain. Watch this now. Seven things. Worthy is the lamb who was slain
to receive power. and riches, and wisdom, and strength,
and honor, and glory, and blessing. Would you like to know the difference
between all those seven things? I would too, because I do not
know. I just know. It just suffices me to know that he is worthy of every form
of praise we can give to Him. He's worthy of it! Sevenfold! He's worthy of it! All the... We would give it to Him. He's worthy. Why do we keep it
from Him? Why do we not praise Him like
we should? Why do we not... Why are we so
worldly minded when he is so worthy of our praise and honor
and adoration? Why? Why? Yeah, he'll get it
there. He receives it in glory. And
every creature, I told you folks, this is a scene of the universe
from heaven's perspective. and it was seen in heaven on
the day of the ascension of Jesus Christ. Every creature which is in heaven,
and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the
sea, buried therein, and all that are in them I heard saying, Included in this number is old
Satan. Satan's got a song to sing at
the coronation of King Jesus and here it is. Satan sings blessing
and honor and glory and power be to him who sits on the throne
and to the Lamb forever and ever. For every knee shall bow and
every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Jehovah to the
glory of God the Father. Even the devil and his demons
were going to bow there before him. Blessing and honor and glory
and power be to him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb.
What does that mean? There's only one throne and there's
only one on it. And he said to the son, here
son, come sit with me on my right hand. Now the son's on his throne,
on his father's throne, which is his own throne. And the devil's
got to admit, Jesus what? He's in flow. Ascended into glory. Walked up the steps to God's
throne, took the decree out of his hand, and he's about to reveal
it all. We don't have time to get into
that tonight. That'll be the next chapter.
Just suffice it to know that every creature in this universe
will praise Jesus Christ. and give him the glory and the
honor he deserves. And I'm going to do it now. I
want to do it now. He will never suffer a coup because
he sits on the throne forever and ever. Their mortar cannot reach his
throne room. The wildest imagination of Star
Wars with all its weaponry comes nowhere close to reaching his
throne. They can't find it in the first place. Forever, forever. Then the four
living creatures said amen. And the 24 elders fell down and
worshiped him who lives forever. Well, you will one of these days. I hope you already have. I want to bow my unworthy knees
right now. I have. I will continue to do
so. And I pray you will. I look forward to one of these
days to joining that heavenly host, praising Jesus Christ on
his throne. And I hope that when I do, you'll
be there with me.