Turn back to the book of Revelation.
We're going to look at Revelation 5. Brother Doug read for us,
and he set the scene of what John saw here. John was called
up into the third heaven, and he saw things. And if you go
back to Revelation chapter 1, Men say, oh, this book of Revelation
is too mysterious, it's too deep and it's too profound for men
to understand. If you read the first two or
three verses of Revelation chapter 1, it will open this whole book
up to you. The Revelation, one single revelation,
give throughout all eternity. This is the revelation of Jesus
Christ, which God, God the Father gave this revelation to make
known unto his people and to show unto his servants things
that must surely come to pass. And he sent and signified it
by his servant. Servant. Blessed. Blessed is he that readeth
and they that hear the word of this prophecy and keep those
things which are written therein. for the time is at hand." Now
in Revelation chapter 5, John said, I saw in the right
hand of him that sat on the throne, as brother Doug read to you in
chapter 4, a book. And this book was written within
and on the backside. Sealed with seven seals. If you
notice in the book of Revelation, this number seven is used many
times. It simply means completeness,
fullness. It's complete. This book was
complete and it was sealed. It was sealed because nothing
was to be added to it and nothing be taken from it. It was sealed. And this one that sat on the
throne is God himself, God the Father. Oftentimes we must have
mistakes or make mistakes when we try to separate. Now this
is God the Father, this is God the Son, this is God the Holy
Spirit. The scripture says, for there are three that bear record
in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these
three are one. They have three different, I
hate to use the word offices, they have three different personalities. But they're one in purpose. They're
one in purpose. They're one in power. And this
is what John saw. He said, I saw God the Father
setting on His throne. And in His right hand, He had
a book. Now, what is this book? This is the book of God's providence.
God's providence and God's promises to His people. A book written within and on
the backside filled with seven seals. Written page after page
after page. It represents God's eternal plan. God's eternal purpose. God's
eternal decree. His purpose and predestination. His purpose in election, His
purpose in love, His purpose in keeping His people, His purpose
in everything that He has promised to His people was written in
this book. His purpose was written in this
book. And our Lord said in Psalms chapter 40, Verse 7, it says,
Then said I, Lo, I come, in the volume of a book, it's written
of me, to do thy will, O God. There's that book. There's that
book. The book of God's purpose. This book symbolizes God's purpose
with respect to the entire universe throughout all history, concerning
all creations, in all ages, in all eternities. This number seven
again represents fullness and completeness. This book is sealed
with seven seals. This book is complete. God's
not going to add anything to it, neither is he going to take
anything out of it. Men use this thing of backsliding.
I talked to a man just a few days ago and he was talking about
this thing of backsliding. Oh, I was a believer one time
and then I fell away. Did God erase? Are there any
erase marks in this book? You know, when we was in school,
we'd take the pencil and we'd write something, then we'd have
to take the eraser and erase it out. That's not God. There's
nothing added to this book. This book is complete. This book
is sealed. It cannot be opened. It cannot
be altered. It's sealed. In verse 2 it says,
And I saw a strong angel proclaim with a loud voice, Who is worthy
to open the book and to loose the seals? John saw this strong
angel. This angel proclaimed with a
loud voice. His voice went out to all the world and all heaven
to hear His voice. Who is worthy to open the book
and to loose the seals? This book of God, is anyone worthy? Is anyone worthy? to take this
book and to open this book and to manifest and make known this
book unto all humanity, all of God's sheep. Is anyone worthy
to open this book and to loose the seals thereof? Look at verse
3. No man in heaven, nor in the
earth, nor under the earth was able to open the book neither
to lose or to look thereon. None of the angels in heaven,
none of the angels in heaven was worthy, nor any man upon
the earth. John looked and he saw all mankind
upon the earth, great men, kings, princes, leaders, rulers. Is
there any worthy to open the book? Then he looked. into the very
depths under the earth. These old men that had died in
faith. These men like Moses. Surely
Moses is worthy. You look what Moses was. He was
a prince in Egypt and then he left Egypt and followed the Lord
and the Lord sent him back to deliver his people. Surely this
one Moses is worthy. Neither under the earth. What
about Abraham? Oh, the Jews looked at Abraham
and said, we be Abraham's seed. Abraham is our father. Surely
he is worthy to open the seals and to take the book. Oh, no. But what about these Matthew,
Mark, Luke, and John, these great men of the New Testament? What
about Paul? This man that wrote the majority
of the New Testament? Surely he's able to take this
book. Surely he's able to open the
seal. Surely he's worthy. to open the book and to look
thereon. And there was none. There was none who replied to
the angel's question. There was none who replied to
the angel's proclamation. There was none found to approach
God and to take the book. And look at verse 4. And I wept
much. I wept much, John said, because
no man was found worthy to open the book and to read the book,
neither to look thereon, Oh, John thought that the purpose
of God was shut up. The purpose of God in election
could not be brought forth because there was none worthy to take
the book. There was none worthy to reveal
and open these things unto his people. And John said, I wept
much. It caused him great pain. I wept
much because no man was found worthy to open the book, neither
to look thereon. John knew that there was no hope
for mankind. The purpose of God's grace was
shut up in this book. If this book was not fulfilled
and opened and made manifest unto God's people, John knew
that the purpose of God would be thwarted. The grace of God
would be frustrating. And the plan of God would go
unfulfilled. And he said, I wept much. And
God himself would lose his glory. And this caused John great agony
and pain and he wept much. There's no hope. There's no hope. Oh, but look at verse 5. Here's
the good news. And one of the elders said unto
me, weep not. Weep not. Why are you weeping,
John? John said, I looked and there
was no help for mankind. There was none that could open
this book and to loose the seals thereof. The angel said, behold,
stand in amazement. Stand and behold the line of
the tribe of Judah. The root of David had prevailed
to open the book and to loose the seals thereof. There's one
worthy. Oh, and no doubt John's tears turned to laughter. John's
tears turned this crying of, oh, my soul, my soul is lost. And now he says, see, I see this
one who is worthy. He is the lion of the tribe of
Judah. He is the root of David. He's worthy. He's worthy to open
this book. He's worthy to come. Take the
book from the hand of the Father. Open it up and make it manifest
unto His people. He has prevailed over all of
His enemies. He has won the victory by the
shedding of His blood, by His death upon the cross. The Lion
of Judah, the Root of David has prevailed. He has removed the
sin of His people. He has satisfied the law of God
and He has satisfied the justice of God on behalf of His people.
Behold, He is worthy. He is worthy to take the book
and to open the seals. He has crushed the serpent's
head and He has conquered death by the virtue of His sacrifice.
Christ has earned the right. He has earned the right to open
the book and to rule over all the universe, over all of God's
creation in accordance with God's eternal purpose and grace. God
has given the Son all power, both in heaven and earth, to
give eternal life to all of God's elect. Verse 6 says, I beheld
and lo, in the midst, right in the midst of it. Where's Christ
at? Where's Christ at? He's right
in the midst of His people. He's there helping us, leading
us, guiding us, and directing us. He don't leave us alone.
We're not out here on an isle in some forest alone. Christ
is in the midst of us. Right in the midst of us. And I beheld, and lo, in the
midst of the thrones, and of the four beasts, and in the midst
of the elders, stood a lamb, as it had been slain, having
seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God,
sent forth into all the earth. As I read through this, I have
a tendency to try to picture. Try to picture. Be there and
look into what John saw. To be there and to enter in what
John saw. Now, don't misunderstand me.
We're not to put faces on God. We're not to say God's an old
man with a gray beard and long hair and this and that. That's
foolishness. No man has seen God at any time.
But Christ has revealed Him unto our hearts. And we have somewhat
of an understanding of who he is. We don't picture him in our
mind and say this is God or that's God. We picture him in our heart. He's ruler, he's king, he's mighty,
he's lord, he's the conqueror, he's God of God. This lamb, oh
this lamb, now we can picture. Most of us have seen lambs. Most
of us have been to where we've seen sheep. and these little
lambs. Now this lamb is in the midst
of the people and it is there as it has been slain. And this
lamb had seven horns. That's not common for lambs.
That's not common for a lamb to have a horn. It had seven
eyes. That's not common. What these
are representing is the power and the authority of God. A horn
is authority, the power of God. and the all-seeing eye of God.
God is everywhere, in all places, at all times. And John said, in the midst of
the throne of the four beasts, in the midst of the elders, right
among them, these that worshipped at the throne of God, these that
worshipped the God that sat upon the throne. He said, I saw a
lamb that had been slain. having seven horns and seven
eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent forth from the all
the earth. When we read of a lamb, throughout the scripture, Old
Testament scripture, when we read and see this word lamb,
it's always referring to a sacrifice. It's always referring to one
being sacrificed. And John saw this lamb in the
midst of the four living creatures, the four and twenty elders, and
he saw it as it had been slain. Blood covered the lamb. Blood covered all that was around
the lamb. This lamb had been slaughtered.
His blood had been shed. This means that by the virtue
and merits of the blood of the lamb, the blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ, There's abides an everlasting sacrifice. Everlasting sacrifice. John saw a lamb as it had been
slain, having seven horns. This lamb symbolized by the seven
horns. Horns are, again, as power and
authority. Christ is the horn of our salvation.
He's the power of our salvation. He's the privilege and the right
and the purpose of our salvation. And he has plenty as power. He
has plenty of power to save all that come unto God by Him. He
ever liveth to make intercession for us, wherefore He is able,
Paul said in Hebrews 7, verse 25, wherefore He is able to save
them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever
liveth to make intercession for them. He has power to keep them
in His grace. My sheep, we said this earlier,
my sheep, hear my voice. And I know them and I give unto
them eternal life. I give it to them. They don't
earn it. It's a free gift of God. Faith
is not something we work for. We are given faith. Faith is
not something we got to conjure up within ourselves. Faith is
the gift of God. And so is this thing of eternal
life. We are given life in Christ. and they shall never perish.
Never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. Who's going to take one out of
God's hand? There was none in heaven, none
under the earth, and none on the earth that could take the
book out of God's hand. Surely there's none that can
take a soul of God, one of God's souls out of his hand. Surely
there's not one able to take a child of God out of the hand
of God. If we can't take a book from
Him, we sure can't take one of His beloved. And He has power. Oh, this Lamb. He has power to
do for His own as He wills. He has power to give them life,
and not only life, but everlasting life. These eyes represent the gifts
and power and the wisdom of the spirit which are dispensed to
God's elect. These are the seven spirits of
God sent forth. He gives unto us life and life
eternal. He gives unto us grace and mercy
and truth. He gives unto us this thing of
love and satisfaction He gives unto us this thing of justification.
He gives unto us this thing of sanctification. These are all
given to us. Not that we earn them, He freely
gives them to us by the virtue of His death. by
the virtue of his resurrection and by the virtue of his exaltation
to the right hand of God. Our substitute stands there now
in the very presence of God, interceding for his people before
the throne of God. Verse 7. He came. This lamb, the whole line of
the tribe of Judah, the root of David, the lamb, he came and
took the book out of the right hand of Him that sat upon the
throne. John who was once weeping, oh,
he once had weeping eyes. Now those same eyes behold the
Lamb approaching the throne of God and taking the book. Coming
and receiving that book out of the hand of God. And I'm sure
the Father freely gave it to him. because of who He is and
what He's done for His people. He freely gave Him that book.
And our Lord freely took that book, and He opened that book,
and He loosed the seal, and He made known unto His people what
great things the Lord has done for them. As a mediator, Mr. Trapp said,
He took the book. And as God, He gave the book.
He gave it to His son. The Lamb took the book, meaning
that been given power over all things. Our Mediator received
authority to rule the universe according to the will and power
of God through this anointing sacrifice that He offered unto
God. As Father rewarded the Son for His accomplishment, He said,
My justice is satisfied. My wrath is appeased. and there
is therefore now no condemnation. What was the book of Isaiah said?
Surely he has borne our grief and carried our sorrows. We have
seen him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. He was wounded
for our transgression. He was bruised for our iniquity,
and by his stripes were healed. This is what it is. This is what
he makes known unto us through the preaching of the gospel.
This is what he gives unto us so freely and tells us so often. Look to Christ. Come unto me,
all you that labor and heavy laden. I'll give you rest. Come,
come unto me, for I am meek and lowly in heart. And as the father
gives the book unto the hand of the son, Christ receives it. Christ receives this book. And
then he comes and opens this book. shows unto us through the
Spirit of God what great things. Look. Look what God has done
for His sheep. Look what God has done for His
people. Look in verse 8 now. We'll read down through verse
12, I believe. And when He had taken the book,
four beasts and the four and twenty 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." Do you see how the book not only tells us, but it opens
up to us, what's happening here? These vials, these golden vials
full of odors are the prayers of the saints. given unto the
Father, that the Father may receive them. This sweet-smelling odor
that raises up out of our worship service is a sweet-smelling Savior
unto the Father, but it's only in and through Christ. Our prayers,
our meditation of the preaching of the gospel is a sweet-smelling
odor unto God. It magnifies Him. It tells men
who He is. and it exalts the name of the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and it's a sweet-smelling
sacrifice unto God. Verse 9 said, And they sung a
new song, saying, Thou art worthy. This is our song. This is our
song now, and this is our song in eternity. Thou art worthy
to take the book, and to open the seal of the earth, for thou
was slain, and has redeemed us thy God out of every kindred,
tongue, people, and nation, and has made us, he has made us unto
our God, kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth.
And I beheld and heard the voice of many angels round about the
throne, and the beasts and the elders, and the number of them
was ten thousand times ten thousands and thousands and thousands,
a number which no man can number. A number which no man is able
to put a number on. Only God himself knows each and
every one of these. Saying with a loud voice, this
is what every one of us will say then. And this is what every
one of us desires to say now. Saying with a loud voice, worthy
is the lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and
wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing. This
is our song here on earth. But, oh, can you imagine the
song when we get there? Can you imagine the song that
will sing out when all the sheep of God are gathered into one
place? All the elders, all the four
and twenty beasts, all the angels of heaven and every child of
God that looks to Christ by faith comes in into one place, and there they
began to sing this song. Oh, what a scene John was beholding. A song of praise broke out in
heaven, right in the midst of the throne of God. The song began
with the church, the redeemed ones, and now taken up by the
heavenly angels. A song of praise and honor, a
song of celebration. Worthy is the Lamb, for thou
was slain and has redeemed us. by thy blood. This is the only
way that you and I can be redeemed. This is the only way that sin
can be dealt with, is in and through the blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Men say, well, I'm going to work
out my own salvation. When everything gets right, I'm
going to join the church. That's foolishness. Christ said,
come unto me. Brother Henry preached years
ago. He came to Dingus, we were still
in this thing of free will baptism. He came up and preached for us.
And he told us then, he said, come to Christ. Right where you
sit, without moving a muscle, come to Christ. How do you do
that? You come here with the heart, not with these old legs.
We don't walk aisles and run aisles and say we're coming to
Christ. We don't come to a piece of wood that's in front of the
church pew. We come to Christ in heart and
in spirit, led by the Spirit of God, instructed by the Spirit
of God, and taught by the Spirit of God, that we may look to Christ
by faith. That's the only way that God
will accept anyone, is coming unto Him through the Son, through
the Mediator, through this Lamb's Lamb. And a song of praise and
honor, a song of celebration, Christ the Lamb's worthiness
to rule the universe according to the will of God. And we will
sing with the old redeemed, the old prophets of old that were
under the earth that John saw, that have already died in faith. They will be raised and we will
join them in this thing of thanksgiving and praise and honor unto our
God. Look at verse 13 and 14. Every
creature every creature which is in heaven, and on earth, under
the earth, and as such are in the sea, and all that is in them,
heard I say, and blessed, and honored, and glory, and power,
be unto him that sat upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for
ever and ever. And the four beasts said, Amen.
So shall it be. So shall it be. and the four
and twenty elders fell down. This is our place. We fall down
before God. That don't mean posture wise.
We bow our hearts. We bow our hearts unto God. We fall before Him, prostrate
and cry out, have mercy upon me the sinner. We can only do
this led by the Spirit of God. We hear men and women around
us in our community talk about what things they experienced
when they went to the altar. What things they experienced
when God took up a boat in their hearts. But it's always I. I
done this. I done that. The theme of the
church, the theme of God's people is look to Christ. Look to Him. Behold the Lamb
of God. Nowhere in scripture do you find
The prophets of God, the apostles of God, the servants of God. Nowhere in Scripture do you find
them ever saying, I. Paul says, Paul, an apostle by
the will of God. I am what I am by the grace of
God. Paul, an apostle to the Gentiles.
He has made me fit, Paul says, to preach the gospel. Who was
a blasphemer, an injurious man, but God by His mercy, God by
His grace, chose out one like unto me, Paul said, and called
me to fall on my face on the road to Damascus and cry out,
Lord, what would you have me to do? And that's the tendency. Everyone who God speaks to, they
fall before Him. just as the four and twenty elders
fell down here, and they fall before Him in worship, in admiration,
and cry out, worthy is the Lamb. Not unto us, not unto us, but
unto Thy name give glory and honor, power and dominion. It's God's ultimate purpose that
everything and everyone in His creation should bow before the
Son. Every knee shall bow. and every
tongue shall confess that he is Lord to the glory of God the
Father. For he is the head of the body of the church, who is
the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things,
all things, he might have thee preeminent, that Christ may be
first in all things. He who made all things, he who
sustains all things, he who rules all things, will ultimately have
the honor and the praise and the glory of all things. O depths
of the riches, both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God, how
unsearchable, how unsearchable is his judgment and his ways
past finding out. For he hath made known the mind
of God." Who has made known the mind of God? Or who has been
his counselor? For who hath first given to him,
and it shall be recompensed to him again. For in him, here it
is, for in him, and through him, and to him are all things. To Christ, in Christ, through
Christ, and to Christ are all things. To him be glory forever
and ever. Amen. These are the things John
saw when he was in the Spirit. He saw the entire universe is
governed by the throne of God. We often times watch the news
and this country's at this disturbance and there's an uproar here and
there's an uproar there. This is the hand of God. I don't
try to explain it, but by the grace of God I try to believe
it. That our God's in control. He's in control. He brings everything
through this world for my good and for His glory." He said,
well, I see sicknesses and this and that of my family, surely
that can't be for my good. It may not be for our good right
now, but it's for our eternal good. It's for our eternal good. Some are weak, some are sick,
some are afflicted. He said, well, how can that be
God's will for them to be sick? It's for their eternal good and
it's for His glory. I don't explain it. I try not
to. get into these things that often sometimes we touch on.
I don't see these things. As Paul said, we see through
a glass dimly or darkly. But we know, if the book of God
is true, we must understand that all things, and that's all things. You can't take one thing and
leave out something else. All things work together for
the good to them that love God, to them that are called according
to his purpose. and he doeth in the armies of
the heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth and none can stay
his hand or say unto him what you do. He does it according
to his own good pleasure. And there's one scripture. He
will perfect that which concerns me. He will see in the end of
all of this. He will see that I am standing
there in the presence of God robed in the righteousness of
the Lord Jesus Christ, singing the song, Worthy is the Lamb. That's our hope. That's our joy.
And that's our end. That's our end. That is our end. Thank you. I pray that this will
help.