that song. Their songs always have such
good words, good message. All right, let's go to Revelation
chapter 5, Revelation chapter 5. This morning we began looking
at this second vision that the Son of God gave to John. It began by saying, Behold, John
said, Behold, a door was opened. It was opened in heaven, literally
It was standing open. Ever since our Lord Jesus gave
His life's blood for His people, that door has stood open. I said this morning it was virtually
open in the covenant of grace. For our Savior is indeed the
Lamb who was wounded, bruised, crucified, slain in the the everlasting
purpose of God. That door was actually opened
when he died, when he gave his life's blood
to redeem us. That's what secured our salvation. Make no mistake about it, everything
God demanded Everything that his justice required was satisfied
by the Lord Jesus on the cursed tree. That's where redemption took
place. That's where we were reconciled
to God. That's where our sins were removed,
and that's where righteousness was brought in. Now, it is at
our regeneration that we're made aware of these things. We become
knowledgeable of what God has done for us in Christ Jesus.
But this door was actually opened at the cross. Virtually opened
in the covenant of grace. Actually opened at the cross. Effectually, it was revealed
to us by the Spirit of God. There's nothing that delights
the souls of God's people more than to be always reminded of
this. The work is done. The work is
finished. God doesn't look to you for anything
regarding salvation. That one that God the Father
looks to is the Lord Jesus and He's the one we look to. So we could say God the Father
and poor sinners, we look to the same source. We look to our
Lord Jesus, the cross of our Lord Jesus. John saw a door open
into heaven. A voice said, come up hither. The first thing that arrested
his attention was the very throne of God. He said, I saw a throne
set in heaven. Then he said the one who was
sitting upon the throne, he was like a jasper. That's all the
perfections of God, transparency. He was like a sardine stone. The justice of God. He saw the glorious rainbow,
and that always reminds us of the covenant of grace. You ought to revisit in your
heart quite frequently that blessed covenant. David, as he was on
his deathbed, He revisited this covenant. He said, it's all my
hope. It's all my salvation. It's all
I desire. What God purposed to do. Not what God set in motion and
will have to finish, but what God himself absolutely determined
to be done, and as soon as he determined it, it was done. There is no changing it. This is an everlasting decree
of God. You know, for our sakes, we put
things kind of in chronological order, and we say, you know,
there was the election, the election took place. Actually, it's always
been. That's beyond our comprehension.
We've always been God's people. There really wasn't a time when
God said, OK, I'm going to choose a people. We've always been His
people. And we can't comprehend that.
And so the Scriptures speak of it sort of in a kind of a chronological
way, before the foundation of the world. But He's loved us. What did He say to Jeremiah?
I've loved you with a... What kind of love? Everlasting. That's a love that never had
a beginning. Somebody says to you, how long have you been a
child of God? You say, forever. Forever. And in the mind and will and
purpose of God, that's how long we've been reconciled. because
Christ Jesus was the Lamb slain before the foundation of the
world. So I love to think about the Covenant. Every child of
God loves to think about the Covenant. It's amazing until
I got a grasp of the Gospel, or I should say, until the Gospel
got a grasp on me, until the Gospel was revealed to me, I
never even heard of the Covenant. I didn't know anything about
the Covenant. And now it's so joyful to me. David rejoiced in that covenant.
I say to Brother David, who's up in glory and who's been there
hundreds and hundreds of years, I say, Brother David, I know
exactly how you felt there. On your deathbed, I'm not going
to think about anything that I've done, anything that I've
labored in. I find all my peace, all my hope,
all my joy in what my God has determined to do. That's my salvation. And then John said, I saw around
the throne of God 24 seats. These are all of the elect of
God. And I tried to set this out before you this morning,
and I want to emphasize it again tonight. The number 12 represents
all the elect of God. the elective purpose of the Lord. Twelve, I said this morning,
the twelve patriarchs are the twelve sons of Jacob and the
twelve apostles. These twelve and twelve making
twenty-four. Here's all the elect of God.
And you notice that there in verse four, he said, I saw them
upon the seats and They're sitting there. They're sitting there. And remember this is a vision.
Don't try to visualize this, because this is full of great
symbolism. You see, when John is taken in
his spirit, Up to heaven, he sees things as God sees things. And you know how God sees things? We're all safe and secure in
Christ Jesus. You say, but we're not seated
there. You say these 24 elders, they
represent all the people of God. We aren't seated there in glory. I'll have to take issue with
you on that. Look at Ephesians chapter 2. Yep. I'll have to
take issue with you on that, for yes, we are seated in glory. Look at Ephesians the second
chapter, verse 4. Because I don't have time to
read all of this, but God who is rich in mercy for his great
love, wherewith he loved us even when we were dead in sins, hath
quickened us together with Christ Jesus." Sometime I'm going to
preach on this passage of scripture. You see, this really isn't talking
about regeneration. This is talking about us being
raised in Christ Jesus when He was raised from the dead. See,
He has quickened us together with Christ Jesus. When our Lord
Jesus came out of the grave, we came out of the grave too. By grace He is saved, look at
verse 6, and hath raised us up together and made us sit together
in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. And over here in Revelation
chapter 4, this is what John sees. Here's all of the elect. God's people from the Old Testament,
God's people from the New Testament, John goes up in his spirit into
heaven and he sees things as God sees things. Or he sees things
from God's viewpoint. And the way God sees things,
that's the way they really are. We're safe in Christ Jesus forever. We're one with Him. We're bound
to Him by everlasting union. And John sees us sitting there. He sees God's throne. He hears
thunderings and lightnings that fills us with awe and makes us
to worship the Lord. And then he sees these beasts. And as we shall see tonight,
these are redeemed beasts. These are preachers of the gospel
who lead the saints of God to worship the Lord. And now we get to chapter 5. John said, and I saw Revelation
5-1, and I saw in the right hand of Him that sat on the throne. And I said to you this morning,
if you remember in chapters 4 and 5, this word throne is mentioned
17 times. This is the very key to understanding
this vision. God sits on the throne. Listen, a God without a throne
is no God at all. He's no God at all. A God who
doesn't rule? A God who doesn't reign? A God
who doesn't have all authority over all creatures in heaven,
earth, and under the earth? Such a God is not worthy to be
even recognized as a God. He's just a figment of somebody's
imagination. But our God is in the heavens.
He's done whatsoever He's pleased. And He's seated upon His throne. Oh, the throne of God. Who's
on the throne? God Almighty. And John says,
he had in his right hand. What's right hand? Here's another
symbolic thing. What is the right hand symbolic
of? Prestige, honor, that which is very valuable. The Father said to the Son of
God, sit here at my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy
footstool. At the judgment, when the Great
Shepherd gathers all nations before Him, all people before
Him, He will separate them as a shepherd separates the sheep
from the goats. The goats on the left hand, that's
not the position of honor. Sheep on the right hand, that's
the position of honor. When you men escort your ladies, you escort them on your right
side. Why? That's the position of honor.
That's the position of excellence. That's the position of prestige.
That's a position that says, I value this one. I value this
one. When Nancy and I go walking,
walk in a store or something, that's usually the way we go. She's on the right. She's on
my right hand. Why? Because I esteem her so
highly. She means so much to me. And
John sees in this vision, he sees this is God. God is not
described because God is indescribable. And these words like back in
chapter 4, like a jasper, like a sardine stone with a rainbow
around the throne in sight like an emerald. These are just symbolic
words to make us to understand the greatness and the glory of
all the perfections of our God. Our God is indescribable. You
can't set Him forth in any human words. There are no words enough
to describe Him. In fact, we don't even know how
great He is. His Spirit. God is Spirit. This Spirit is not sitting on
a man-made chair, a throne like this. These 24 elders, that's a representative
number. You've got to change your thinking
when you get to the book of the Revelation and think in terms
of what does this Symbolize. What does this say? There's a
message to us in this. In Revelation chapter 1 and verse
1, He used the word signified. You know what that means? Literally, it means sign language. And you'll understand the book
of Revelation, the revelation of Jesus Christ, it's the unveiling
of the Lord Jesus Christ if you understand that it's written
in sign language. And that's not unusual in the
Bible, is it? Because isn't the Old Testament
sign language? Isn't the Old Testament symbolism? What did those sacrifices symbolize? Christ Jesus the Lord. So we're
used to thinking like that. So we bring that same thinking
into the book of the Revelation. John sees in the right, does
God have a right hand? The Lord, He uses this language. Is my hand not shortened that
it can't save? Does God have a hand? God's everywhere! But that's the only thing we
can understand, right? That's the language that we can
grasp. We can lay hold of that. You know, the Lord made this
accusation to Israel. He said, you thought I was just
like you. You thought I was such in one as thyself. God said,
I'm not like you. Two things this religious but
lost generation is guilty of. Bringing God down so we can understand
Him, and lifting man up from his rottenness, and making him
more than he is. Making God to be less than he
is, and man to be more than he is. That's a two-fold problem
in this religious generation. God is so great and glorious,
you can't even describe Him. Like back in chapter 1 when John
saw the exalted Christ Jesus, the glorified Christ Jesus, feet
of brass, eyes of fire. He fell down as a dead man before
Him. You see, these visions are given
to us in such unusual language to make us realize how little
we are before this great and glorious God. It's like old Martin
Luther said to his friend Erasmus, your thoughts of God are far
too low. You've got little thoughts of
God. That's this religious generation. They've got little thoughts of
God. That's the reason their God can't do anything. But our God does His will. Ask Nebuchadnezzar about that.
Ask him if he does his will. He said, he does his will in
the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth
and nobody can stay his hand or say unto him, what doest thou? This is our God. And John gets
a sight of God. God in His glory. He's got something
in His right hand. And John looks, it's a book.
He's got a book. It's written on the inside. It's
written on the backside. In other words, this book is
full. It's like cover to cover it's
written. But it's closed. It's sealed. With seven seals. Seven is a
symbolic number for perfection. He sees it in the right hand
of God. Now, what is this book? Believe it or not, some commentators
say it's the Word of God. Well, I know the Word of God
is sealed to the natural man, but there are some people the
Lord opens up His Word to. Isn't that right? He opens up
His Word to them. What about those disciples on
the road to Emmaus? He said, oh, foolish and slow
of heart to believe all that the prophets have said. Ought
not Christ to have suffered these things and then to enter into
His glory? Then opened He their understanding. And then the book was opened
and then they realized, ah, now I see. And then He met with His disciples.
And the Scripture says the same thing. He opened to them their
understanding. He opens the Word of God. He
makes hidden things to be known, to be seen. In other words, He
reveals the truth to whom He will. That's what He says. So
this is not the Word of God because this book is sealed with seven
seals. It's not the Word of God. And it's not the book of the
actions of all men as that book in Revelation chapter 20, the
books that will be opened up at the judgment. It's not one
of those books. And it's not the Lamb's book
of life, though that's a real book. in symbolic language. You know God doesn't need books.
I was in there in my library looking for a book a while ago
that Marty was asking about. I'm looking through books because
authors write what's on their heart in a book. So I was looking for a book. He's given us this book, His
Word, but that's not for His benefit. This is for our benefit,
right? This is for us. He doesn't need
books. We do. This is to present to us this
vital truth that God understands, comprehends, knows everything. So here's this book. What is
this book? What does it represent? Well,
it represents God's eternal purpose. God's eternal purpose. It says
it's written within and on the back side and sealed with seven
seals. In other words, it's absolutely
full. There's nothing lacking. This
book in God's right hand is His eternal purpose of predestination. And in that book is everything
that ever shall be. It's already written in the book.
I'll tell you this, if it's not in the book, it's not going to
happen. If it's in the book, it's going
to happen. This is God's book. It's in God's
right hand. This is the same book that speaks
of or that record or within it is recorded the substitutionary
death of the Lord Jesus. Lo, I come in the volume of the
book it is written of me. I delight to do thy will, O God."
That's written in Psalms 47 and 8, Hebrews 10, 5-10. This book
then symbolizes God's eternal purpose with respect to everything
in our universe throughout our history concerning all creatures
in all ages of all time. You see, God reigns over all.
He reigns with His everlasting purpose. And God's eternal purpose
is the glory of His name and the salvation of His people.
In the election, God chose the people that He would save. It's
in the book. In old eternity, He ordained
that His Son would come and give His life a ransom for His people. His Son did come because it's
in the book. God ordained when and where you
would hear the gospel, who would deliver the gospel to you, all
of the details of it, what the preacher would say, what the
text would be. God ordained when your ears would
be open, when He would give you a new heart. to receive the truth. It's in the book. It's all in
the book. You see, our God reigns over
all. He reigns according to His will and according to His purpose.
This book is indeed full. It is complete. And it is sealed. It is unknown. And it is kept
secret. In other words, John sees this
book and all of the purposes, all of the decrees of God are
in the book and John sees them as though they were unfulfilled, not executed. If the book stays closed, then God's purpose won't be worked
out. And then verse 2, John says,
and I saw a strong angel. I don't know who this angel is. But John said, I saw him proclaiming
with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the book? and to loose
the seals thereof." Who can loose these seals to bring to pass,
to execute God's eternal purpose? Who can do that? Here's God's
everlasting purpose. Here's all of the things He's
predestinated for all time and John sees it sealed and the angel
said, now who's worthy? Who is worthy to open the seven
seals and execute that which God is determined to do? And
verse 3 says, no man, no man in heaven, no man in earth, no
man under the earth was able to open the book, neither to
look thereon. I mean, He doesn't even say no
man is able to execute. He said no man is even able to
open the book, much less bring anything to pass. Because we're
just weak, feeble creatures. And John, as he thinks about
God's eternal purpose going unfulfilled, that which God has willed to
do not being executed, he just broke out crying. He just started weeping. Verse
4, And I wept much. Because no man, some say that word man there
should have been translated representative. There was no representative for
men who was found worthy, fit, qualified to open the book and
to read the book Even to look on it. And then John said, one of the
elders. Now, who are the elders? The
redeemed of God. So John says, one of the redeemed
sinners. One of those who sits around
the throne of the Lord. One of those robed in white garments,
the righteousness of the Lord Jesus. One of those who has a
crown on his head, were kings and priests unto God through
Christ Jesus. One of the elders said to John,
weep not. Don't you worry about the purpose
of God. It will be fulfilled. Now that's a given. Behold! I told you this morning,
two beholds in chapter 4. Now here's the behold in chapter
5. Behold! A lion of the tribe of
Judah. The root of David. Who is this? Christ Jesus who came through
the tribe of Judah. As we studied in our Bible class
this morning, Son of David, Son of Abraham. He's the root of
David, the offshoot of David. He hath prevailed to open the
book and to loose the seven seals thereof. You see, here's what
I would liken this to. To me, this is like the coronation
of our Lord Jesus when He went back to glory. You know, He has
been rewarded with all authority, all dominion over all things. Why is that? Because He's prevailed! You know what the word prevailed
means? He has conquered. He has conquered. He has gotten
the victory. And I've said to you, and I hope
you're catching on to this, that the whole book of the Revelation
is about the victory of the Lamb and His followers. over the devil,
over the dragon and his followers. Who has prevailed? Christ Jesus
has prevailed. And that word prevailed is kind
of a compound word. It means He's won the victory,
He has conquered, and it also means He maintains the cause
of God. And I love that. He maintains
the cause of God. Don't be fearful about the cause
of God in truth, because our Lord Jesus rules over all things. He is executing God's will today,
because He has prevailed. He maintains the cause. Is the
cause of God safe? You betcha. One of the books in my library
is by John Gill. I have several books by John
Gill, but one of them is called The Cause of God and Truth. Ever read any of that? It's a
great book. The Cause of God and Truth. Is
the cause safe? Is there any possibility the
cause will fail or the cause of God will be overcome? Oh,
you can rest easy. Because the Son of God, the Son
of God, He's conquered every enemy. He maintains the cause. This gospel will continue to
go forth until the last of God's elect are brought into the fold
of salvation. He can't fail. He can't fail. He didn't fail when He redeemed
us, when He reconciled us to God, and now He is executing
the cause of God. He shall not fail to bring everything
that God has purposed to pass. And that is brought out here.
He has prevailed to do what? Open the book. To loose the seven seals thereof. And then John said, and I beheld.
I'm watching. John's watching. And lo, in the
midst of the throne, and of the four beasts, and in the midst
of the elders, there stood the Lamb. There He stood. And you'll notice so often, especially
in this chapter, He's the Lamb as it had been slain. In each of these visions, we're
always taken back to the fact He's the Lamb, wounded, bruised,
crucified for His people. We're always taken back to the
cross. He's the Lamb who was slain. Verse 6, the Lamb slain. Look in verse 9, the middle of
the verse. For thou wast slain and hast
redeemed us to God. Look at verse 12. Saying with
a loud voice, worthy is the Lamb that was slain. We're always
directed to His death. We're directed to His blood.
We're directed to His substitutionary offering. Our representative. He's the Lamb slain. How long
has He been the Lamb slain? since before the foundation of
the world. In other words, our very first
glimpse of the Lamb, in your mind and in your heart, go all
the way back if you can to the dateless eternity. There's the
Lamb of God and guess what? He's slain. It's always His death that is
held before us. You see, everything in eternity
past, everything in eternity future focuses back on the Lamb
slain. The Lamb who redeemed us to God
by His blood. And you know what the religious
world tries to do still? Take our eyes off the fact that
He's the Lamb slain. Jesus is a good example. Follow
His life. He's the Lamb slain. He's the one that you need to
emulate. He's the one that you need to
follow in His footsteps. He's the Lamb slain. That's what
the Bible says. And the moment we get away from
that, we get away from the gospel of God's grace. He is always the lamb slain,
as though still bearing the wounds of Calvary. The lamb slain. He says He has seven horns. Who
ever heard of a lamb with seven horns? Ah, symbolism now. That's absolute perfect power.
That's what that is, the perfection of power, omnipotence, seven
eyes, perfect knowledge, which are the seven spirits of God
sent forth into all the earth. The spirit of God takes this
gospel and goes forth into all the earth. The message goes forth
through the four beasts. The preachers, and I said this
morning, four beasts? Yeah, because there's a people
from the north, south, east and west. A people from every nation,
kindred, tribe and tongue at four. Four beasts. No greater calling on this earth
other than being called to be a child of God. than it is to
be called to be a preacher of the Gospel. Isn't that right,
brother? Be a preacher of the Gospel. What a privilege, what
an honor. And we go forth with this commission,
going to all the world and preach the Gospel. Well, what is our
encouragement? The Lamb has prevailed. That's our encouragement. The
Lamb has prevailed. We don't go out here and put
pressure on people. We don't press you. We just preach
Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And this Lamb who is breaking
open the seals of this book of God's predestination, He'll make
application of it. He'll make it effectual to the
hearts of those to whom they will. So we just preach the Word. Preach the Gospel. We say, hey,
you want everlasting life. You want forgiveness of sins.
You need the grace of God. You need righteousness. Do you
want the Lord? Do you want to be free from this
mess of iniquity and transgression? Oh, come to Jesus Christ! And
this Lamb who has prevailed, He's got the power to make that
message effectual to you and you'll say, oh yes, this is just
the Savior I need. I hear people bickering and fussing
over various things. I'll just stick to the Gospel
of Jesus Christ, thank you. I'll just stick to the Gospel
of substitution and satisfaction, thank you. And I'll leave it
to you all, to others or whoever to settle all the little minor
issues. This is the issue right here
though. This is the issue. Look at verse 7. Oh, this is
thrilling. And He came and took the book
out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. He
just took that book. He didn't ask, may I have that
book? He took it! You know why He took
it? Because He has a right to take
it. Well, why do you say that? Because He's prevailed. He's
earned the right! We read of the exaltation of
our Lord Jesus Christ as a result of humbling Himself and being
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. God has exalted
Him. Exalted Him to do what? Execute
all of His decrees. There is a man in glory. The
glory man. And He's bringing to pass everything
that Almighty God is ever determined to do. That helps my poor heart. And I'll bring you back to the time
in which this was written. Remember, this is a letter written
to those people in Asia Minor, those churches. They're in great
tribulation. troubles, many of them martyred
for the cause of Jesus Christ. And people in every age of God's
church, redeemed people, God's people always have trials. But
in the midst of your trials, remember the throne of God and
remember all these things that happen. He predestinated them
and remembering Him who is bringing them all to pass, your Savior,
your Friend, your Elder Brother, the Son of God. He is the one
who took the book. He took the book. He took it
right out of the hand of Him that sat upon the throne and
when He took the book, Something happened. Something happened. And I'll just read it. It's so
glorious. Verse 8, when He had taken the
book, the four beasts, all the preachers, the four and twenty
elders, all of the elect, these redeemed ones, these regenerated
ones, they all fell down before the Lamb, having every one of
them hearts. golden vials full of odors, which
are the prayers of the saints. Children of God, your prayers
aren't forgotten. God answers your prayers according
to His will. They're precious to Him. And
these beasts and elders, they sang a new song. A new song. It isn't a song that
they've never sung before, but it's a song that's always new.
Thou art worthy to take the book. And He is, isn't He? He is worthy
to take the book and open the seals thereof, for Thou was slain
and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred
and tongue and people and nation. Now, He didn't redeem everybody
out of every kindred tongue and people and nation, but He's redeemed
a great many people out of all these kindred tongues, people
and nation. And has made us unto our God
kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth. And then
John said, I beheld, it's like this vision just keeps getting
more glorious. And John says, and I heard the
voice of many angels. Now the angels backed them up.
Now the angels, they can't sing praise for redemption that thou
hast redeemed us because they haven't been redeemed. There
was no provision made for the angels that failed. And the angels
that did not fail, God preserved them. They're called the elect
angels. But then the voice of many angels
round about the throne, and the beasts, and the elders, and the
numbers of them were ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands
of thousands 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. And then every creature, John
said, it just keeps on getting bigger. Start off with 24 elders. Now it's every creature which
is in heaven, on the earth, under the earth, such as are in the
sea, and all that are in them, I heard them saying, blessing
and honor and glory and power be unto him that sitteth upon
the throne and unto the Lamb forever and ever. They're all
praising the Lord. And you know what the four beasts
say? Amen. That's what we want. What is
it that I desire from you but to praise and worship and honor
the King? That's what I want you to do. And the four beasts said amen
and the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped Him
that liveth forever and ever. What a glorious sight John saw. He's the Lamb slain. Which leads
me to direct your attention to hymn number 125.