Turn with me again to the book
of the Revelation. What we'll plan to do is just
start right where we left off. John has said, I've wept much
because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book,
neither to look thereon in one of the elders saith unto me,
Weep not. Behold, the line of the tribe
of Judah, the root of David, hath prevailed to open the book,
and to loose the seven seals thereof." Now, the Scripture
sets forth here that it was one of the elders that said to John,
Now, we're not told anymore who this elder was. I've read some
speculation. It's said that, of course, you
know the 24 elders are representative of the 12 patriarchs of the Old
Testament, the 12 apostles. I showed you that back in the
latter part of Revelation. So therefore, we know that the
24 elders are representative. of all of the redeemed of the
Lord. But remembering that John is
seeing in the throne, in heaven, at this time, he's seeing things
as they are according to God's concern. So everyone is there. And so we see that the redeemed,
all of the redeemed, one of the elders, that's all it says. Some
writers said it was Jacob. Some of them said, we're not
told that. It just says one of the elders.
But we do know that all of God's redeemed, they're in the place,
in the view of the throne. They have a knowledge, a perfect
knowledge according to the righteousness of Christ that has been imputed
to them, a perfect knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. And
here this elder does what all the people of God need. John
began to weep much. And this elder comforts John. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,
saith the Lord, and cry unto her. Her warfare is accomplished,
and her iniquity is pardoned. Remember, John is in this earth,
and he's seeing in a vision. Weep not, the elder says, There
is no occasion for tears whatsoever. The elders, all of God's redeemed,
see by sight, perfect sight, what you and I that believe only
know by faith. I say only know, and I say that
in light of seeing perfectly in heaven. And He says, Behold,
look upon the line of the tribe of Judah, the Lion. Here, the Lord Jesus Christ is
set forth as the King, the Terah of the forest, actually. The King who is, according to
Genesis 49, 9, crouched, not running rampant, but resting
in His power without having to prove it to anyone. Behold the
lion." Remember, the lion was one of the faces of one of the
cherubim. When John saw, he said, I saw
the four beasts here, the four living creatures in Ezekiel,
the seraphim in Isaiah, the cherubim back in the Garden of Eden, back
in Genesis, the creatures, the living, the imaginary things
according to the description. But the lion was one of the faces
of the cherubim, the type or the picture of the Godhead in
unity with the Lord Jesus Christ. The champion, the lion, behold
the lion of the tribe of Judah who has undertaken the work to
deliver His people from the bondage of sin is able and worthy. Who is worthy? Who is worthy? No man. No creature. Nothing
created. Nobody. No one. That's what that
word means. No man. Nothing. No one. No creature. No created thing.
Was found worthy. But here, the Lion of the tribe
of Judah stands up, able and worthy. He has succeeded. He is the Lion of the tribe of
Judah. In Hebrews chapter 7, we've looked
at this before, but one verse, Hebrews 7.14 says, For it is
evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah, of which tribe
Moses spake nothing concerning the priesthood. That's what the
writer to Hebrews says. Now here is the lion of the tribe
of Judah. What's the significance of that?
We have now understanding of the revelation of the Lord Jesus
Christ when He is the sin offering in the book of Leviticus. And
Lord willing, we will get back into the book of Leviticus on
Sunday night. But He was crucified. The sin offering was always sacrificed
outside the camp. Outside the camp. Why is that? the Levites. The tribe of Levi
was the Levitical priesthood. That was according to the law,
the tribe of Levi. The Lord Jesus Christ was not
of the tribe of Levi. The sin offering was sacrificed
outside the camp of the Levites. Therefore, we see that the Lord
Jesus Christ being of the tribe of Judah was outside the camp
concerning salvation by the law. Salvation came not by the law. But when we see the Lion of the
tribe of Judah outside of law, the law came by Moses, but grace
and truth came by Jesus Christ. So when John sees And here's
the elders say to him, we've not. The Lion of the tribe of
Judah. What he says is, salvation is
by grace. That's what he's saying. He is
the root of David. Here we see his humanity. The root of David. Now remember,
one of the faces on the cherubim was the face of a man. In Isaiah
11-1 it says, And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem
of Jesse, a branch shall grow up out of his roots." Zechariah
6.12 says, Behold the man who is the branch. He shall grow
out of his place and he shall build the temple of the Lord. So when the elder told John,
Behold the line of the tribe of Judah, the root of David,
what he was saying is, Behold Emmanuel. God with us. God in human flesh. The Word that was made flesh. The Man. Christ Jesus. And what has He done that John
should weep not? Well, the elder told him, he
says, the line of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, hath
prevailed. He hath conquered and gotten
the victory. He has borne the work of God's
will in obedience to the law, having borne the wrath of God's
judgment as the elect's substitute." Here again, we see when it says,
"...he hath prevailed." We see the face of the calf. The ox
in Ezekiel 1, the face of strength. Ezekiel describes the cherubim
having the face of an ox. Here it's the face of But here
is that emblematic cherubim, a cherubim that set forth in
type. Here he is, the strength, the
calf, the substitute, the one that died. The strength of it
was his blood, the substitutionary death. of the Lord Jesus Christ. So don't weep. Don't weep. Don't
weep. The Lion of the tribe of Judah,
the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book and to loose
the seven seals thereof. And he says, And I beheld. And
lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, in the
midst of the elders, stood a Lamb, as it had been slain, having
seven horns, seven eyes which are the seven spirits of God
sent forth into all the world, in the midst of the throne and
the four beasts, in the place that is only suited for God Himself
and God alone. Here is a prevailing victor and
a fit mediator between God and man." Now that I've told you
that here is the mediator between God and man, Let's look at verse
6 that I just read. Let's read it again. And behold,
and lo, in the midst of the throne and the four beasts, there it
is, God Almighty and the symbols, the emblems, the setting forth,
the types, the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself
in the four beasts and the midst of the elders, here is everyone
standing around. Here is God Almighty in the midst
of the elders. And who's standing there in the
midst of them? A Lamb. The Substitute. The Lord Jesus
Christ Himself standing as the Advocate. The Daysman as we read
in the book of Psalms. The Umpire. That's what that
means. The One who can place His hands
on both of them. The Intercessor who touches both. Who is worthy to open the book? I'll tell you who it is. The
One stood up. He stood up. Who is worthy? That strong angel. Who is worthy?
No man. No creature. No created one.
None. Not in heaven. Not in earth.
Not under the earth. No man. John says, I wept. I wept because no man. Don't
weep. Don't weep. The line of the tribe
of Judah. The root of David hath prevailed to open the book. And
the One that was worthy? He stood up. And He stood establishing
the truth of His worthiness. And there stood a Lamb, the Risen
One, the Alive One. This word Lamb here is a word
that actually means a little lamb. A lambkin is actually what
the word is. It's a little lamb. It is a title
that draws attention and affection for. Now, I don't want to take
away from the seriousness of this, but this is the implication. It is a lamb, meaning like a
tender thing, one that you would look upon with tenderness and
affection. It's a little lamb is what the
word actually means. But it does not, you know that,
under any circumstances, relieve the glory. It's the sacrificial
lamb, the precious lamb. John 1.29 says, Behold the Lamb
of God, the sacrifice Himself that taketh away the sin of the
world. A lamb as an emblem of meekness,
patience, and innocence. Scott read over in 1 Peter. He who knew no vile was found
in his mouth. Here John sees the Lord Jesus
Christ as our hope. The Lion, the King, the Root,
who was made flesh, who is the Lamb, our substitute. And He was, as He stood, a Lamb
as it had been slain. That is, Butchered. What the word means is butchered. Violently slaughtered is what
it is. The Lord Jesus Christ, of Him
it was said that His visage, the way He looked, was marred
more than any man. Beaten. Thomas knew the Lord
by the marks of the crucifixion in his hands and side. Thomas
had said, I'm not going to believe unless I put my finger in his
side. Unless I see the marks, I'm not
going to believe. John says, I looked and there
was one stood, a lamb, as it had been slain. John beholds
the marks of our redemption, the sweet assurance of His sacrifice
as the substitute of His people. Here is the revelation of Him
who loved us and gave Himself for us. And John says this one,
this Lamb that stood as it had been slain, He had seven horns
and seven eyes. The horn like the horn of an
animal, a horn. It's a symbol of power. And coupled
with the number seven, it means perfect power. He has all power. So John saw this lamb as he had
been slain, and this lamb had seven horns. There's the power. All power. And he had seven eyes. He had perfect knowledge. Perfect seeing. omniscient, possesses
perfect power to bear up and strengthen his people against
all enemies and perfect knowledge to provide for them. And the
Scripture says in verse 7, And he came and he took the book
out of the right hand of him that sat on the throne. Surely
great joy Joy that you and I, even as we sit at this moment,
sadly to say, but if we're all honest about it, joy that we
cannot, because of the frailty of our flesh, enter into. Joy, great joy and comfort is
found as we behold the Lamb, able, worthy, and willing to
take the book of God's decrees of providence out of the hand
of Him who sits on the throne. Who is worthy? Take this book. Who is worthy to look on it?
Who is worthy to open the seals? The marks of His substitutionary
work exhibit the worthiness of Almighty God to release the book
for its unveiling and its accomplishment into the hands of the Lamb. And the Scripture says in verse
8, when He had taken the book, The four beasts and four and
twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of
them hearts and golden vials full of odors, which are the
prayers of the saints. When the one who is worthy to
open the book and to loose the seals thereof stands up and takes
the book out of the hand of Him that sat on the throne, Adoration
and worship immediately takes place. It says that the four
beasts and the four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb. Now, there's two things, there's
two thoughts that we might consider here, and I'm going to tell you
both of them that I have thought about, considered here. One of
them, is the thought, when the, back look in verse 10, I'm sorry,
look at verse 9 of chapter 4 in Revelation, look at verse 9.
And when those beasts give glory and honor and thanks to him that
sat on the throne who liveth forever and ever, the four and
twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne and
worship him that liveth forever and ever, and cast their crowns
before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy." Look toward the
end of chapter 5, verse 14. We'll just look at this. I'll
say something about it now, and then we'll just not go over it
in a few moments again. But it says in verse 14 of chapter
5, And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty
elders fell down and worshipped Him that liveth forever and ever. Now, the first line of thinking
is this. I can see in verse 9 and 10 of
chapter 4 where the four beasts, and I know, having established
that these are heavenly types, symbols. I'll say just a thing
about that again in a minute. But here they are. They declare
the glory of God Almighty, the triune God, and the four and
twenty elders fall down before Him. They say it again in verse
14 of chapter 5, ìThe four beasts said, ìAmen,î and the four and
twenty elders fell down and worshipped Him.î Therefore, the first line
of thinking is this, that in the verse that weíre just looking
at, verse 8, it says, ìAnd when they had taken the book, the
four beasts and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb.î It
could be in the writing of the book, of this Scripture right
here, that it means the same thing that we already looked
at in those other verses. But the other line of thinking
is this, and this is where I tend to think that this Scripture
is actually going. When it says that the four beasts
and the four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, and
knowing what we know concerning the cherubim, The first thing
I know is this, it's not hard for me to perceive that the 24
elders fall down in worship because they represent all of the redeemed
of this world. That's not hard for me to understand.
But how is it that the four beasts can be said to fall down also? Remember this. The four beasts,
the cherubim, the living creatures are symbols of the triune God
and they are not God Himself. I said this morning, the ark
that Noah got into, I can see a picture of Christ whenever
Noah wife and sons and daughters and all those animals got in
there, I can see Christ the surety, Christ the substitute, Christ
the wrath. The rain fell on the ark. You
can say then the rain being a picture of God's wrath fell on all of
those that were in the ark. But the ark took the blow. The ark protected them. They
were safe. as long as they were in the ark.
So therefore, I see a picture there. The ark was not Christ. The ark was a piece of wood. The rock that followed the nation
of Israel in the desert. The people of Israel were thirsty. And God told Moses the first
time, He said, I want you to strike the rock. And Moses took
a staff and struck the rock, and water came forth out of the
rock. The next time the people were
thirsty, God told Moses, Speak to the rock. And Moses struck
the rock again. And the Lord told Moses, You
will not enter the promised land. The Lord Jesus Christ was struck
one time by one sacrifice. He hath perfected forever. I
can see that rock right there is a picture, is a type of the
Lord Jesus Christ. But it is not Christ. What is
it? It is a rock. But it is. The mercy seat, the
candlestick, the table of showbread, the golden altar, they are pictures. They are types. and shadows that
are actually viewed in this world, and we see Christ in them. The cherubim, as I said this
morning, are heavenly emblems of the Godhead that glorify God
Almighty, but they themselves are not to be worshipped. They are not to be worshipped.
I want you to look at something. Turn with me to Numbers 21. Numbers 21, verse 49. Numbers chapter 21, beginning
in verse 4. They journeyed from Manhar by
the way of the Red Sea to compass the land of Edom, and the soul
of the people was much discouraged because of the way. And the people
spake against God and against Moses, Wherefore have you brought
us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no bread,
neither is there any water, and our soul loatheth this light
bread, the manna that was fallen. And the Lord sent fiery serpents
among the people, and they bit the people. And much people of
Israel died. Therefore the people came to
Moses and said, We have sinned. We have spoken against the Lord,
against thee. Pray unto the Lord that he take
away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.
And the Lord said unto Moses, Take thee a fiery serpent, set
it upon a pole. It shall come to pass that every
one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses
made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came
to pass that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld
the serpent of brass, he lived." Now, let me ask you something. That serpent, it was a brazen
serpent. The snakes, the serpents were
a picture of sin. The serpents were biting the
people. Sin has bitten, as you will,
all men. and they're dying. The only salvation,
the only way that anyone that was going to live, if they were
bitten, was to look at this brazen serpent that was set up on a
pole. The brazen serpent was a picture
of the Lord Jesus Christ who was made to be what was biting
them. The snakes were a picture of
sin. The brazen serpent, the serpent of brass was a picture
of Christ who was made sin. Scripture says if anybody was
bitten, if they looked, you mean all they had to do was look?
That's right. All they had to do was look.
I'll tell you this, all a man does now, by the grace of God,
is look by faith. You say, I don't think that's
such a big deal. Well, if you consider we're blind, that is
a big deal. if a man can look to Christ and
be saved. That brazen serpent, was it an
emblem that set forth the Lord Jesus Christ? Was it? Yes, it
was. How do I know that? Because the
Lord Jesus Christ Himself said it was. In John 3, verses 14
and 15, He said, And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness, Even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that
whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting
life." So the emblem of the serpent gave honor unto the Son, but
the emblem itself was not worthy of worship. In 2 Kings chapter
18, 2 Kings 18, verse 1-5. It says, 2 Kings 18, 1-5, it
came to pass in the third year of Hosea, the son of Elah, king
of Israel, that Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began
to reign. Twenty and five years old was
he when he began to reign. And he reigned twenty-nine years
in Jerusalem. His mother's name? also was Abi,
the daughter of Zechariah, and he did that which was right in
the sight of the Lord according to all that David his father
did. He removed the high places, and
broke the images, and cut down the groves, and broke in pieces
the brazen serpent that Moses had made. For unto those days
the children of Israel did burn incense to it, and he called
it And he hushed him. Now what happened was, there
was a brazen serpent. That thing was made by Moses. Moses made that thing. And that
thing was the very brazen serpent that Moses lifted up. And all
the people that looked on it were healed. They lived when
they looked on that serpent. And according to the Scriptures
there, the people began to worship it. the brazen serpent that was
a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, the cherubim, you must remember,
they are emblems, they are types, they are pictures in heaven that
give glory unto the Lord by setting forth His character, glory, His
attributes, His quality. Therefore, back in Revelation
chapter 5, In verse 8, it says, when he had taken the book, the
four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb.
Here, the twenty-four elders and the four beasts fall down
and we see that the Lord Jesus Christ alone is to be worshipped. When we look at that brazen serpent,
when we look at the ark, I mean, Noah went into that ark, not
the ark of the tabernacle, but the ark. The ark itself gave
honor. The ark itself, it could be said,
gave honor and worship unto Him because it was a picture of Christ. You say, that was just a piece
of wood. That was just a piece of brass.
That was just a rock. But it honored Him. It honored.
And here, the four beasts. fall down. They honor the Lamb
who stood in the midst of the throne. And then it said also,
and when he had taken the book, the four beasts and twenty-four
elders fell down before the Lamb. And when it picks up and it says,
having every one of them harps and golden vials full of odors,
which are the prayers of the saints, that is speaking especially
of the 24 elders, and I'll show you that in verse... if you just
read ahead and read verse 9 and 10 right now, you would understand
that it's the 24 elders that are speaking. The cherubim are
not redeemed. They've not been bought by the
blood of the Lamb. They're symbols, they're type
of the 24 elders, it is said. But we'll look at that in a minute.
But it says, they having every one of them harps, Harps. Do not forget, as we go through
the book of the Revelation, we are looking symbolically at some
things. Having every one of them harps,
and I know the little pictures that we've all looked at of the
angels and they're sitting on a cloud and they've got a harp
in their hand, you know. Psalm 33, verse 1 and 2 says,
Rejoice in the Lord. O ye righteous, for praise is
comely or beautiful for the upright. Praise the Lord with harp. Sing unto Him with the psaltery
and an instrument of ten strings." I do not doubt for one second
that in the services back when David was king or when David
himself, Scripture says, he played. I don't doubt that harps were
actually used in worship. But remember, this is a vision
of the throne, symbols, and what is actually being set forth. Here is that the stringed instrument
of our soul is the only harp from which a true melody of praise
can be offered unto the Lord. The Lord sees the heart. A man can sit here and he can
play and take an instrument and strum a harp. And he says, I'm
worshiping the Lord. Because the Scripture says, I
worship the Lord when I play the harp. So what? So what? Every one of these 24
elders, They had harps. Ephesians 5.19 says, speaking
to yourself in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing
and making melody in your heart to the Lord. Look over in Revelation
14, 1 and 2. Revelation 14, 1 and 2, And I
looked, and lo, a Lamb stood on the Mount Sion, and with Him
144,000 having His Father's name written in their foreheads. And
I heard a voice..." Now listen to this. "...a voice from heaven,
as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder,
and I heard the voice of harpers." harping with their harps." Notice
the harpers had a voice. That is to say, one voice. They were all in agreement. All
the strings of their heart, of the heart's melody, synchronized
in praise and adoration. John says, The four beasts and
the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, having every
one of them harps and golden vials full of odors, which are
the prayers of the saints." Now, the golden vials, we're referring
to the censers. That's the type that we were
looking at. When we saw it back in the book
of Leviticus, the censers, those golden censers or these vials
that were full of odors, the prayers of the saints are referred
to, are praise of the saints, are referred to as odors, are
incense. Psalm 141-2 says, Let my prayer
be set forth before thee as incense. They are a sweet smell to God
Almighty as they are put forth in Christ Jesus our Lord, because
the redeemed have been bought by the blood of Christ, therefore
are accepted in Him. And when they praise unto the
mighty God, the Scripture says, John says, I saw the four and
twenty elders, all of the redeemed, everyone, fell down before Him. All of them had hearts. All of
them, their hearts were perfectly synchronized in praise. And he
said they had vows and their odors unto the Lord's sweet-smelling
fragrance unto Him. And the Scripture says, and they
sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book and
to open the seals thereof, for Thou wast slain and hast redeemed
us to God. by thy blood out of every kindred,
every tongue, people, and nation." This is a song. It's a new song
referred to. A new song. It's a song of redemption that
is only known, only sung by those who are taught by the Spirit
of God. So it's a particular song for
a particular people or a peculiar people, Scripture says for us.
It's new in the sense that no mortal man could possibly pen
it. No man could write that. No man
could sing that. No deliverance had ever been
accomplished before like this accomplishment. It's a song that
gives worthiness to the Lamb to reveal the decrees of God
to a redeemed people. And the verses of that song Go
like this. I think this is wonderful. This
is a new song we just sang. Brother Gary just got up and
we sang a new song. I'd never sung that song before.
That's a new song. I had to look at the words of
that song. See, like, if you sing, you know, some songs, I
know the words, you know, and I kind of go from memory a little
bit. This was a brand new song. Glad
you sang it. Gary, I liked it. Brand new song. I had to look at the words. Look
here. Here's a brand new song. new song is set forth here, and
here's the words to this new song. Thou art worthy to take
the book, and to open the seals thereof. Here's the words. Here's
the song right here. For thou wast slain, and hast
redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue,
and people, and nation, and hast made us unto our God. kings and priests, and we shall
reign on the earth." Man, what a song! What a song! A song that is so. A song that is real. This is a song of election. This song right here. He says,
"...you have redeemed us by your blood out of every kindred, in
tongue, in people, in nation. That's a song that speaks of
God Almighty sovereignly electing and choosing this one. It's a song of substitution. Thou was slain. It's a song of
redemption. You've redeemed us. And it's
a song of our reign with Him on the earth, the new earth. He said, You made us kings and
priests, and we'll reign with Him on the earth. What is the fullness of that?
I don't know. But I can tell you this, we'll
reign with Him on the earth. You made us kings and priests
unto our God. And John said in the last few
verses, 11 through the end of the chapter, And I beheld, and
the voice of many angels round about the throne, and the beast,
and the elders, and the number of them was ten thousand times
ten thousand, and thousands and thousands, saying with a loud
voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, riches,
wisdom, strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing in every
creature that is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth,
And such are in the sea, and all that are in them heard I
saying, Blessing and honor and glory and power be unto him that
sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb forever and ever." Now
we are made to behold in these last few verses a great company
apart from the cherubim and the twenty-four elders. And they
joined together in the singing and praising of the Lamb. It's the angels themselves, the
elect angels, who never fell, but were kept by God's power
and grace. The Scripture says that a third
of the angels fell, but none that God kept. Though they are
not redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, still they are as being
created by Him, they worship Him. Look at verse 12 one more
time. It says, Worthy is the Lamb that
was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength
and honor, glory and blessing. A blessing. Verse 13, it says
that every knee is going to bow and every tongue is going to
confess that Jesus is Lord. Every creature which is in heaven,
on the earth, under the earth, and such are in the sea, and
all that are in them, heard I say, in blessing, honor, glory, power
be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne and under the Lamb
forever and ever. And the four beasts said, Amen. So be it. And the four and twenty
elders fell down and worshipped Him that liveth forever and ever. This chapter ends with the glorious
emblems, types, pictures of Christ setting forth His glory. Beginning,
Lord willing, in chapter 6, we will see as the Lamb Himself
the Lord Jesus Christ begins to open the seals and to reveal
the decrees of Almighty God. John has seen what only could
be revealed by God Himself. How would we know heaven? How would we know the throne?
How would we know the glorious Mercy and grace of Almighty God,
unless the Lord Jesus Christ revealed it. I told someone the
other day, these cherubim that we're speaking of that set forth,
I can perceive. I mean, in my little mind, I
can perceive, as I talked about these earthly pictures, the ark,
the rock, I see those earthly things. But then when John says,
I looked into heaven, he was set forth also. Set forth as
cherubim. Setting forth. And you will find
as we go through these chapters that follow, when he opens up
the first seal, it's one of the four beasts that says to him,
come and see. I'll show you. The beast said,
I'll show you. What did the Scripture say? How
many times did we read this? But it bears repeating one more
time before Gary comes. No man has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son hath declared
Him. And that cherubim says, Come
and see. I'll show you. All right, Gary.