The Lion Hath Prevailed

Q: What does the Bible say about the Lion of the Tribe of Judah?

The Bible declares that the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, referring to Christ, has prevailed to open the book of God's purpose (Revelation 5:5). In Revelation 5:5, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah is portrayed as the only one worthy to open the sealed book, symbolizing God's divine purpose and redemptive plan for humanity. This title emphasizes Christ's authority, power, and victory over sin and death. As the Lion, He triumphs not only as a warrior but also embodies strength and kingship, affirming His role as the long-awaited Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament. Without His intervention, the unfolding of God's purpose remains sealed, underscoring the necessity of Christ's redemptive work for the salvation of His people.

Q: How do we know that Jesus is the worthy one to open the book?

Jesus is considered worthy to open the book because He was slain and redeemed His people by His blood (Revelation 5:9). The worthiness of Jesus to open the book in Revelation 5 is rooted in His sacrificial death. As stated in Revelation 5:9, He was slain and redeemed a people for God by His blood out of every nation. This sacrificial act demonstrates His obedience to the Father, fulfilling the covenant of grace and showcasing the depth of God's love for His chosen people. The apostle Paul also highlights this truth by affirming that Jesus’ atoning death was integral to God's redemptive plan, confirming that He alone holds the keys to understanding and unfolding divine purpose. Therefore, His ability to open the book signifies not just authority but His unique role as savior.

Q: Why is the opening of the book important for Christians?

The opening of the book is vital as it reveals God's sovereign purpose for redemption and glorification of His people (Revelation 5:10). For Christians, the opening of the book in Revelation 5 signifies the unveiling of God's sovereign plan for humanity and His redeeming love. It assures believers that God's purpose is fulfilled through Christ, who overcomes sin and assures eternal life. This revelation of divine purpose brings hope and clarity amidst the struggles of life, encouraging believers to trust in God’s ultimate plan. Additionally, as noted in Revelation 5:10, Christians are made kings and priests, highlighting their identity in Christ and their role in glorifying God. The opening of this book, therefore, is not merely a historical event but a demonstration of God's faithfulness to His promises, inspiring worship and obedience among His people.

Q: What does it mean that no man was found worthy to open the book?

The statement that no man was found worthy emphasizes human inability to understand or fulfill God’s purpose without Christ (Revelation 5:3). The proclamation that no man was found worthy to open the book in Revelation 5:3 reflects the biblical teaching of human depravity and inadequacy. It signifies the reality that no human being possesses the capability or authority to grasp or execute God’s divine purposes apart from Christ. This stark reality is foundational in Reformed theology, underscoring that salvation and understanding of God’s plan are entirely dependent on Christ's redemptive work. It further brings to light the glory of God's grace, showing that believers should humbly rely on Jesus as the only mediator between God and man who can reveal and effectuate salvation. This truth humbles human pride and directs all glory back to God.

Q: Why should Christians worship the Lamb who was slain?

Christians should worship the Lamb who was slain because He provided redemption and reconciled them to God through His sacrifice (Revelation 5:9). Worshiping the Lamb who was slain is foundational to Christian faith because it recognizes the sacrificial atonement of Jesus for sinfully lost humanity. Revelation 5:9 highlights how by His blood, believers are redeemed from every tribe, language, and nation, warranting worship that acknowledges His grace and love. This act of worship is a response of gratitude for the salvation He has secured, as well as an affirmation of His lordship and sovereignty. Furthermore, praising the Lamb acknowledges the fulfillment of God's promises and His divine justice satisfied in Christ's sacrifice, positioning believers to live in a manner that glorifies God in all aspects of life.

We're gonna be looking again at the book of Revelation. Revelation chapter five. I think I'll read the chapter again. Can't ever read these things too many times. And each time that you read these things, if God is pleased to bless you, and as you look at it, you'll see things that you didn't see the first time. So may the Lord give us a mind and heart here to look to Him.

And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the book and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and read the book, neither to look thereon. And one of the elders saith unto me, weep not.

Behold, 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 I beheld, and lo, in the midst of the throne, 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. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. And when he had taken the book, the 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.

And they sung a new song saying, thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof for thou was slain and has redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation and has made us unto our God kings and priests and we shall reign on the earth. And I beheld and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders and the number of them was 10,000 times 10,000 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 every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as 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.

And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and 20 elders fell down and worshiped him that liveth forever and ever. And we read throughout the scripture in numerous places that every eye shall see him, every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess. The praises of the Lord Jesus Christ will be uttered by all creation, even those that are to be destroyed. they shall praise him. And he is that one who lives forever and ever.

Now I notice, of course we've gone over these things, and looking at him that sat on the throne with a book in his hand written within and on the backside, it was complete. There was nothing else that could be written on it. Of course, what he's speaking about here is a scroll, as they would have understood a book. It's got two sides. Now, we think of a book, it's got a front and a back and the inside and all of that. But what he's talking about is a scroll that's rolled up and it's written on the back side and it's written on the front side. There's not any place else for anything to be written. And nobody else could put anything there.

And that book represents, I believe, the purpose of God. And he has that book in his hand. And it's given, set forth. You know, isn't it amazing that we have this book. This is not the book it's talking about here, by the way. He's not talking about the Bible. but he's talking about the unfolding, the purpose of God. And God has seen fit to let us know what that is.

Now, no man could have ever discovered that. We'd have never had the ability. When the Lord created Adam, he didn't give him, he didn't tell him everything he was gonna do. He told him one thing. And Adam didn't do that. One thing, and he wouldn't do that. Of course, the Lord was not surprised because you see, that was in the purpose of God. He created Adam for a purpose. And that purpose was to bring glory to his name. And the scripture says that he created Adam in his image.

Now, there's been a lot of speculation down through time over what that means. A lot of people say, well, there's a God-shaped blank in every man. Every man's got a little bit of God in him and all that kind of foolishness. Well, I don't believe that's what it means at all. But I do believe that in the purpose of God, he created man as the crown of his creation and his purpose in creating man is that he might demonstrate the glory of his grace in redeeming a people out of that mass of humanity according to the good pleasure of his will. Men get angry when You say to them that they don't control their life. That's an humbling thought.

Now God has given to men a will. You can do anything that you can do. You're free to do anything you can do. Some people would call that a free will. I don't have a problem with it, as long as a man understands that he's free to do what he can do. But see, God alone is that one who has a free will. He can do anything that he desires to do, anything that he determines to do.

We're bounded by his will. And we can't break out of it. Now, the man who's brought down to worship at the feet of the Lord, he acquiesces under that will. And he says, even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight. But the man who remains a rebel against God said, well, I don't like that. And I'm not gonna believe it. And I don't care. You know, I'm gonna go on my way.

And that's basically what Adam said, was it not? The Lord said, don't eat this. Well, what'd he tell Adam? He said, now, Adam, don't eat it, but in the day that you eat it, you're gonna die. He didn't say, Adam, if you eat it, you're gonna die. He said, Adam, in the day you eat it, you're gonna die. Because you see, the Lord determined all things according to the good pleasure of his will. And he made Adam for the purpose of bringing glory to his name. And the manner in which he made men to bring glory to his name was in their redemption. Because as we see here, It says, who's worthy to open the book?

Now, he didn't say this. See, the angels have never been given. the privilege to look into this book. Isaac Watts wrote a hymn and in that it says, nor dare the favored angel pry beneath those folded leaves. The angels have not been given the privilege to look into the purpose of God. Not been given to them. The angels serve God, they do his bidding, but they don't have any understanding of the picture of what God has set out to do.

They're in wonder and amazement at this. The scripture says angels desire to look into the things that have been given unto men to know in the gospel of Jesus Christ. They can't know these things. They rejoice. They've been given the ability to praise God night and day. They go and they do his will according to his purpose.

And those who he purposed, according to what the scripture says, I believe a third of those angels that he created, he ordained them unto destruction. Now was that a mistake? No, it was according to the good plans of his will. He did it because that's the way he wanted to do it.

And so what a privilege it is as we see here that This, the unfolding of the purpose of God, is not given to the angels. It's given unto men. Because here it says, and no man in heaven or earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book. But the Lord, he made man in his image. You see, he gave man dominion over the earth. Now, that's a limited dominion.

We're not absolute. See, God's absolute. Men can't ever be absolute. We're always created beings. We're creatures of time. God's not bounded by time. Time means nothing. A day with the Lord's as 1,000 years, 1,000 years as a day. Now, that's not true with you. Not true with me. See, when the scripture describes our existence, even though it is said to be an eternal life, yet it's described as the ages to come. I don't think we'll ever be without a concept of the passing of time. Because you can't fathom what eternity is.

God alone is eternal. He alone hath immortality. He dwells in the light to which no man can approach. He's immortal and invisible. And so he's beyond the realm of man's comprehension. But man is made exactly as God would have him to be. And he gave him dominion over the earth. And he gave him the privilege of being those who were the objects of his love and mercy. See, none of the angels are the objects of his love and mercy.

But men, sinful men, according to the good pleasure of his will, And no man in heaven nor on earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. Well, why didn't some of the angels come up and say, well, I'll do it? They couldn't do it. They had no ability to do it. But it was given to men, but yet men couldn't open it.

And John said, I wept much because you see, as the Lord gave him this vision, he understood the weakness and inability of men. And that's the place God must bring men in order for them to see his glory, is to come to the place where they say to themselves, oh, woe is me. There is nothing that I can do to rescue myself. And John said, I wept much because there was nobody.

See, there was, you look around me, there's not one of your neighbors that can help you with what you need help for. Now they can give you something out of their garden. They can come over when you're sick and they can cook a meal for you. There's lots of things we can do for one another, which we should do as we love one another.

But you see, we can't help a man who knows he's dead in trespasses and sin. Not a thing in the world anybody can do for a man like that. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and read the book, neither to look thereon. But 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. Now this is a glorious picture, I believe, of the proclamation of the gospel. Because you see, the elders, those 24 elders that surround the throne, I believe, are a picture of the elect nation of God. who've all been made, as he says over here, we've been made kings and priests in the earth. That's what these elders are. All of God's people are kings and priests before God.

And he could have sent an angel, could he not? To have told men the gospel. But he didn't do that. He sent men just like us, each one of us. There's not a thing in the world different from a man who's been given the privilege and the calling to declare the gospel of the glory of God in Jesus Christ. There's nothing that sets him apart from anybody else. He's just an ignorant and unlearned man whom the Lord has seen fit to give a declaration that he could have never made. He could have never came up with it. You could have never devised a gospel, neither could I. But there's John weeping before the throne of God. And the Lord sent one to him.

And he said, don't weep. Don't weep. You see, when a man knows himself to be a sinner in need of a savior, the gospel comes to him and he says, weep not. Don't weep. Don't weep. the lion of the tribe of Judah. He's prevailed to open the book. He has triumphed. He has come forth. He has determined to save his people from their sins, and he will lose none. He said, all that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I'll in no wise cast out. He said, I know my sheep. And he said, I call them by name. And he said, they hear the call and they come. What a glorious truth. Weep not, the line of the tribe of Judah.

He has prevailed to open the book. He's triumphed, he's mighty to save. Who is this that cometh from Edom with thine garments from Basra? He that's mighty to save. You see, he that has salvation in his hand, he that has dyed his garments with the blood, his own blood and the blood of his enemies, he who has shed his blood for sinners, he's mighty to save. See, there's not a sinner, there's not a weeping man who knows himself to be undone and in need of a savior. There's not one who he is not mighty to save. Not one of his sheep shall ever perish.

He is that one, he is as that shepherd who left the ninety and nine who were in the fold and he went out. And he searched upon the mountain and the brambles and the briars. And it mattered a lot, the price he had to pay to bring his sheep home. And he will draw and call and bring his people to himself. He's prevailed to open the book. And I beheld in low in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts and in the midst of the elders stood a lamb as it had been slain. See, Christ is that lamb that was slain. When was he slain? He was slain before the foundation of the world.

See, the purpose of God, the Lord, a lot of people look at it as though, well, here the Lord created Adam and he had everything going good, and he, Adam messed it all up. And then the Lord said, what am I gonna do now? And then he had to figure out something to do. And he came up with a good plan.

No, you see, before Adam ever sinned, before Adam ever drew breath, Jesus Christ was the Savior from everlasting and to everlasting. No end to His salvation. Oh, glory to God. A lamb as it has been slain, having seven horns, all the authority, all the power, of the government. That's what Scripture said. Isn't that what Isaiah said? The government shall be upon each other. He has all power. He said, all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. All power.

Not a little bit. You know, Our president, he boasts about how powerful our military is. We can do all this and that and all, and I don't doubt that we got all kinds of stuff that none of us even know about and all of that. But I'm telling you, that's a drop in the bucket. It's nothing. Because the Lord can bring our armies down to nothing in a moment. if it sees fit to do so, because all power's in his hand.

And he came and he took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. Now who could have done that? If you have an almighty God who holds a book in his hand, who could possibly take that book out of his hand? Nobody. Nobody could have took that book out of his hand except he who is the right hand of God. He took the book because he is God. He thought it not robbery to what? Be equal with God.

But he made himself of no reputation. You see, he laid aside the glory that surrounds him and he came and he dwelt among us as the Savior. And he didn't come with a bunch of fanfare. He didn't even really leave with a bunch of fanfare because there was just the few that were his followers that saw him as sin. I mean, most people didn't see him as sin in heaven.

There was only a particular number, about 500, I think it said, the scripture says, that saw him as sinned into heaven. Everybody else, you know, back in Jerusalem, if they come back and say, man, we just saw him go up there, they said, you crazy. It's like people say, well, where's the promise of his coming? Yeah, these things have been going on. Yeah, don't be worried about all that.

And he came, took the book out of the right hand of him because he is God. Because only God. can unfold the purpose of God. But the glorious thing is, he is the man who, as a man, has manifested the purpose of God in earth. He came as a man, made in the likeness of sinful flesh. You know, that's an amazing...

I often have contemplated, you know, why do we not know anything about the Lord really from his birth until one incident when he was about 12 years old in the temple? And then we don't hear anything else about him until 33 years, until he's about 30 years old.

And why is that? I think, in my own mind, I think about it, and I think that it is that men, you remember what John said, he said that if all the things that he did were written down in a book, that the world wouldn't be able to contain them. Well, why don't we have all these things? Because men would clamor to know all these things. And there's only one thing needful. The Lord Jesus Christ, though He healed the sick, He raised the dead, and He did all these things, yet He came into the world for one purpose.

And that's the only thing that, I mean, we talk about the things that He's done, glorious, all of the turning water into wine and all of these miracles and things that astound men, but that's not what we come to think about. He came to do one thing and He told us to do one thing in remembrance of Him. What did He tell us to remember? He didn't tell us to remember His birth.

That was a glorious thing. And you know, you can gather up a crowd to remember his birth. I mean, buddy, when Christmas time comes, everybody gets religious, you know. I mean, or not everybody, but you know what I mean. I mean, it's a big thing, you know. We're gonna have this big celebration of the birth of Christ. And then Easter comes along, we're gonna celebrate that and all this. But the rest of the time, people kind of, well, it's going about their business. But see, the Lord never told us to remember His birth. He actually never specifically told us to remember His resurrection. But He told us this. He said, remember my death until I come again.

And there were other, that's the one purpose for which He came into the world, to die for sinners. Why'd he die for sinners? He died for sinners in order to save his people. Why did he save his people? That he might have glory. That he might have glory. And you see, whenever we preach the gospel, whenever we think on our salvation, we think on the fact that it's for his glory. Lord, we want you to be glorified. We don't want to be lifted up in any manner, but let him be lifted up. Christ alone worshiped and praised.

The Lion Hath Prevailed

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about the Lion of the Tribe of Judah?

How do we know that Jesus is the worthy one to open the book?

Why is the opening of the book important for Christians?

What does it mean that no man was found worthy to open the book?

Why should Christians worship the Lamb who was slain?

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The Lion Hath Prevailed

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about the Lion of the Tribe of Judah?

How do we know that Jesus is the worthy one to open the book?

Why is the opening of the book important for Christians?

What does it mean that no man was found worthy to open the book?

Why should Christians worship the Lamb who was slain?

Sermon Transcript

About Mike McInnis

Comments

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