Let's turn in our Bibles this
morning to Revelation chapter 4. Revelation
chapter 4. It's been quite a while since
we've preached from this last book of the Bible, the book of
Revelation. I think it's probably the most
abused book in the Bible. I'll make a strong statement
right from the start. And I'll say this not to be mean,
but to get your attention. I want to get your attention.
So here's the statement. All that some of you have ever
heard about the book of revelation. You'd be better off never to
have heard it. So if you'll stay with me, my
prayer is you'll stay with us a few minutes this morning with
open Bibles, and we'll consider this revelation chapter four.
And the title of my message is Christ wins. Christ wins. Verse one. After this, I looked. And behold, a door was opened
in heaven. And the first voice which I heard
was as it were of a trumpet talking with me, which said, come up
hither, and I will show you things which must be hereafter. You understand the setting of
this book. The Apostle John is exiled on the Isle of Patmos.
He tells in chapter one, And, uh, verse nine, he's there as
a prisoner, not because he's committed a crime or robbed a
bank or shot anybody. He's there for his testimony
of Jesus Christ and the preaching of the gospel of Christ. And
as we've read here in chapter four and verse one, uh, this
is a personal experience, a real experience. that John had. He is caught up, not in body,
but in the spirit. And he has shown some things
the natural eye cannot see. Come up hither was a command
that would happen. He's caught up. It is a contrary to dispensational
teaching. There is nothing said here about
a rapture of the church. This is a preview given to John,
a glimpse of who wins, who wins the message of revelation in
its entirety is just that Christ wins. Chapter 1 verse 1 tells us that
this is what the book is all about. It's the revelation, which
means the unveiling, the revealing of Jesus Christ. Who is he? They ask when he walked
the earth. Who is this man? And the answer
is, it is he who lived, died, is risen, ascended. It is he who hath conquered death,
hell, and the grave. It is he who holds the keys of
death and hell. It is him who liveth and was
dead, and behold, he's alive forevermore. It is he who is
worthy of all glory and praise. We're told that many times over
in this book. And it is he who reigns forever
and ever. Come up hither, I will show thee
things which must be hereafter. That word hereafter at the end
of verse one does not mean the end of time. People speak of
the hereafter in that sense, but it's simply future. from
the time it's spoken here. In chapter 1 verse 19, John is
told, write the things which thou hast seen, and the things
which are, and the things which shall be hereafter, beginning
right then. So that's the sense, things past,
present, future. It's concerning the struggles
and spiritual warfare of God's children in this present world
in every generation. We're not supposed to take this
that John was shown and say, well, we can cash this in at
the end of time. That's when it's going to come
into effect. No, no, no. John is writing this for the
suffering saints, the persecuted saints being slaughtered while
he lived. And it's good not only for his
generation, but for ours, for encouragement. What is the message
of encouragement? Christ wins. That's the message. So it's concerning all the struggles
and the spiritual warfare of God's children in every generation.
As he writes this initially, and as it was addressed initially,
to the saints of his day, living under the cruelty of the Roman
empire, Roman persecution. What comfort would it have been
to him, to them, for him to be telling them about something
that's not going to happen for at least 2000 years future. Oh,
no. It's not futuristic. It's timely,
timely. It's been 2000 years already.
And the message is simply that Christ wins. He has won. He is winning. He shall win. Verse two says, and immediately
I was in the spirit and behold, a throne was set in heaven and
one sat on the throne. The word throne was in that verse
twice. In the next two chapters, revelation
four and five, There is a strong emphasis on the throne, 17 times
in these two chapters, 12 times in chapter four, five times in
chapter five, 17 times in all the word throne in these two
chapters. That is the emphasis. So I want
to give us a few things about the throne, about 10 things actually,
as we find it in these chapters. First, there is the sovereignty
the throne. There is a throne in heaven that
rules in all and over all. Some people claim, especially
in our day, there is no throne. There is no God. That everything
exists without a creator. And nobody really is in control
of everything. And of course, you know, all
the theories, there was a big bang. It all just happened. And then there was this evolutionary
process. We, and, and, and we've, we've
arrived at where we are today. No, there is a throne in heaven. Other people say, well, there
is a creator. We believe there is a God, but he created way
back yonder and just backed away and watched to see what had happened. In other words, the history of
the world is like a clock wound up and just left to run itself
down far as it'll run. No, no, no, no. There is a throne
in heaven. John saw this. And it is not vacant. It is occupied. Look what he said here. A throne
was set in heaven and one sat on the throne. This one on the
throne rules sovereignly over all and in all. A lot of people
think that God's so small Things have gotten in the shape they're
in nowadays against his will. I contend that God is so big. Things have gotten in the shape
they're in nowadays by his will. He is right on schedule. This
world system is moving swiftly toward the judgment it deserves. If God was merciful to everybody
all the time, nobody would have a problem for eternity. But hey,
this thing's moving, moving swiftly toward judgment and toward the
end. And God's in control of it. He's on the throne. Now I've lost control in a lot
of things. He never has. Not just the sovereignty
of the throne, but the second thing, number two, we read here
about a secret of the throne. Verse three, and he that sat
was to look upon like a Jasper and a Sardine stone. Now this one on the throne is
God, the father, God, the son will enter into the picture in
chapter five. And this is not really a description of the father
because God is a spirit. There's no explaining him. And the secret here in verse
three is rather about the character of God. Jasper is a stone. Translucent clear. Sardine is red. The clear Jasper. speaks of the holiness, the purity,
the sinlessness of Him that's on the throne. He can't do wrong. He's just and holy. The red sardine
speaks of the judgments from the throne. Blood, war, suffering,
death. Nothing in the history of the
world is accidental with God. He rules over all and in all. And people say, well, how could
a good God let all these things happen that happen in our world? First of all, it's not your world.
And secondly, He's such a good God that you're not already in
hell. Does that answer the question? So He's holy in character and
righteous in His judgment. Remember Isaiah's vision, chapter
six of Isaiah, the Seraphim, angels were crying, holy, holy,
holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his
glory. What did he mean by that? Is everybody and everything audibly
looking up, praising God? No, no, no. The whole earth is
full of his glory in the sense that he hath his way in the whirlwind
and in the storm. The possum I run over, he's in
it. The buzzard that stops to eat
it, he's in it. All the way, all the way down
the line, everything, everything. The whole earth is full of his
glory. That don't appear so to most folks. But what I'm saying
is that man is a secondary cause in all things. The almighty dwelling
in his glory. He's really running things. He
controls the weather. He controls politics. He controls
the economy. He controls. the price of a gallon
of gasoline. I don't know why he let it be
cheaper in South Carolina, but he does. He controls the price
of a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread. He controls the White
House, the schoolhouse, the churchhouse, and your house. He controls whether the refrigerator
breaks down or whether the furnace runs.
Or the car breaks down? He is not just sovereign and
in control of all. He is holy and righteous in it
all. Nothing we call bad is going
to happen to us that we don't deserve. Whatever happens to anything
or anyone, God is absolutely holy and just and absolutely
right in it. And anyone of us here would be
an absolute fool to contend that we deserve it any better than
we have it in this world. We don't. He rules. Isaiah 46.10 says he declared
the end from the beginning. He decreed and declared the outcome
of all things and people. So this is the secret that the
Lord's people know and love. is that he's on the throne and
he is holy and he can't miss. He don't miss. He can't fail. He never failed. And however,
anything goes and a lot of things don't go the way I want to, I
promise you. But however, anything goes, we
rest in this. It went his way. and it's for the ultimate good
of his children. Somewhere down the road. Thirdly,
the serenity of the throne. There's no turmoil, strife in
the throne. Verse three continues, there
was a rainbow round about the throne in sight like unto an
emerald. You know what the rainbow says?
The rainbow says the storm's over. Not for the world, but for God's
people. You remember the first rainbow
back in Genesis? It was just after the flood.
God put it in the sky and promised Noah the storm's over. in the mind and purpose of God
from eternity. The storm is over before it began. Because He knew who would come
out on top. He would go through. There was a rainbow round about
the throne from eternity in the mind and purpose of God. The
storm was over before it began. He would start it and he would
stop it. He did. This rainbow is round about the
throne all the way around. He's got the full picture. He's
got the whole world in his hands and he's got the whole rainbow
round about the throne. You and I only ever see about
half of a rainbow. Notice it's round about the throne. And then, like under emerald,
emerald is green. Green speaks of life and fruitfulness. There's not deadness around the
throne. The picture is simply this, that
all is well with the throne. All is well with the throne.
John needed to see this. All is well with the throne. His suffering brothers and sisters
in Christ needed to see it. All is well with the throne. You and I need to see it. All
is well with the throne. Verse 6 says, and before the
throne There was a sea of glass like unto crystal. Remember now, this is a vision
in symbols. A sea of glass. What would that
mean? Not a sea made of glass, but a sea smooth as glass. Only a couple of times in my
life, and I've never been to the ocean that much, Never went
at all till I was grown. Only a couple of times have I
seen the water smooth as glass. There's always waves and turmoil
and storms out there somewhere and wind. But John sees that
before the throne, it's as a sea, smooth as glass, clear as crystal. Serenity no storm Number four the storms proceeding
from the throne Verse five and out of the throne Proceeded lightnings
and thunderings and voices out of meaning ordered by Commissioned
by While there's no storm in the
throne, the throne issues forth storms, thunderings, lightnings, and
voices. God does act. God in his holiness
cannot look at man's defiance of him with no response whatsoever. That would violate his holiness.
So in Providence, God sends and controls storms, both natural and personal in our lives. He brings about for reasons known
only to him, the thundering and the lightning and the darkness
and the fear. not just on the outside when
it comes to stone, but in our hearts, in our lives, in our
families. He does this through circumstances, very unpleasant things he could
spare us from, but in Providence, he sins it. Now today's so-called prophets that tell us our lives are supposed
to be trouble-free, they're false prophets, false preachers. There is serenity
round about the throne. There's the rainbow, but sin prevents very much serenity
around our houses, doesn't it? Troubles, fears, heartaches,
pain. The fifth thing, the seats around
the throne. Look at verse four. And round
about the throne were four and 20 seats. I realize that a lot of people
read a lot of things into these, these different descriptive terms
here. But 20 and four seats, 24 seats. Other places, as in the end of
Revelation and all through the Old Testament
and the New Testament. There were 12 tribes of Israel
in the Old Testament and 12 apostles in the New Testament. 24. The New Testament teaches us
that the middle wall of partition was broken down between Jew and
Gentile. And there is one body, the body
of Christ, made up of Jew and Gentile. Galatians 2.16, and
that he might reconcile both unto God, Jew and Gentile, in
one body by the cross. So John here sees not 12 and
12, 12 over here and 12 over, but he
sees 24. He don't see Jews as God's favorite
and Gentiles as God's stepchildren. He sees one body. 24. Number six, the sphere of the
throne, the outreach of it, the influence of it, how far and
in what direction. Verse six, middle of the verse,
and in the midst of the throne and round about the throne were
four beasts full of eyes before and behind. Now these beasts
are not to be visualized as something wild and evil and, uh, All that. No, the meaning is simply they're
living creatures. They're moving beings. Appears
like beasts and all that to us, but not to God. They represent
His providential rule from the throne. Living ones, moving ones. Note
first, they're in the midst of the throne. They exist, originate,
and issue out from the throne. It's the divine mind and will. And their number is four. Reaching
to the four corners of the earth. Executing the sovereign will
of the Almighty. Verse 7 describes them, not literally,
but representatively, as a lion, as a calf, as a man, and as an
eagle. The same four were seen by the
Ezekiel the prophet in Ezekiel chapter one. The lion is royalty. The calf is service. The man
is earthly and the eagle is heavenly. The throne rules in all in every
direction. These four things. Also, these
representations, they come out clearly. in the, in the nature
of the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. And we
look at that another time. So the sphere of providence is
unending. There is no place on earth in
any direction and not this earth, but space reaching forever in
every direction in time and eternity. God providentially. rules. The throne rules. There is a
throne in heaven. And one sat on the throne. Number
seven, the submission to the throne. This universal influence of providence,
the four beasts. Verse eight says, they rest not
day and night saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which
was and is and is to come. You always have been, you are,
and you always shall be. They rest not day and night.
This don't mean they're bowed before the throne doing nothing
but crying, holy, holy, holy all the time. It means that every
day Every moment of every day, everywhere, the providential
will of God is being done constantly in all things and in all people. And this, this in these, in this
symbol of beasts, this providential influence and power cries out
unceasingly. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty. You look this direction. Oh, it went your way, Lord. Look this direction. What happened
over? Well, wouldn't you know it? It
went his way again. You look back here. And all the
trouble. And all the defiance. And how
does it turn out? Well, lo and behold, God had
his way again. Holy, holy, holy Lord God almighty. When your
loved one dies, when you get cancer, when you lose your job, when your child gets on dope, like it or not. It is all issuing
and proceeding from the throne for the eternal and everlasting
good of God's children and the just judgment on the
rest of Adam's race. Verse 10, the four and 20 elders
fall down before him that sat on the throne. Jew and Gentile, all the people
of God. And worship Him that liveth forever
and ever. And cast their crowns before
the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory
and honor and power. For Thou hast created all things,
and for Thy pleasure they are and were created. A lot of people
need to underline those two words, Thy pleasure Thou has created all things and
for thy pleasure, they are and were created for God to have his way. Submission to the throne. John is seeing that in the purpose
of God and he's seeing that the people of God prevail and live
forever. No matter how dark and how lonely
it is on the Isle of Patmos that day, no matter how dangerous
and fearful it is on the streets of Rome that day, and no matter
how confused and troubled is your heart in this day, the throne prevails. and God's
people prevail. The vision is God telling John
and the saints then, and the saints now, Christ wins. Now moving into
chapter five, number eight, we find a scene of sadness before
the throne. 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 or 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 to read the book, neither to
look thereon. John is in the spirit. He is
so overwhelmed, so anxious to see through all this, to understand
it clearly and to see the book opened. The why and the how of
it all. And he says, I wept much. I really
wanted to. I really wanted to get ahold
of all this. I wept much because this was as far as I
could go far as I could see. There was no man in heaven or
on earth or under the earth able to open the book. Neither to
look down, but then the sadness is not for long. Number nine. The sun. God's son. The lamb. In the midst of the
throne, verse 5 and one of the elders sayeth unto me. Weep not. 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. The lamb. As it had been slain. Behold, I beheld and low in the
midst of the throne and the four beasts and the midst of the elders
stood a lamb. As it had been slain. This is the lamb slain in the
mind and purpose of God from the foundation of the world.
It happened 2000 years ago in time. But this slain lamb in
the mind and purpose of God has been in the midst of the throne
forever. In verse seven, he steps forth. And he came and took the book
out of the right hand of Him that sat on the throne. The New Testament teaches us
that the Father hath committed all judgment, all things, to
the Son. This is not literal, but this
is a vision. John sees it. It's the Father placing all authority
in the hands of His Son. The message is to tell all the
saints in all generations, Christ rules and Christ wins. The lamb hath prevailed to open
the book. And when he had taken the book,
the four beasts and four and 20 elders fell down before the
lamb. Capital L, Christ. having every
one of them harps and golden vials full of odors, which are
the prayers of the saints. And now number 10, the new song
around the throne. Let me back up to verse eight.
And when he had taken the book, when it was clear, John says,
that the same one I walked with for three and a half years when
he was here. And I leaned on his breast at
the supper table. He's now in charge of everything. He has taken the book. The four beast. Four and 20 elders
fell down before the lamb. Having every one of them harps
and gold vows full of odors, which are the prayers of saints.
And they sung a new song. What's new about it? It's a song about just one. It's a song that honors just
one. It's the song about the worthiness
of just one. It's a song that praises just
one. And it's a song that all present
sing. to just one. They sung a new song saying thou
art worthy to take the book and 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. John sees the picture and tells
us Christ wins. He was slain. He's redeemed us
to God. He's conquered. He saved sinners. Everyone he came to save by his
own blood. Where from? Out of every kindred
and tongue and people and nation. and hath made us unto our God
kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth." How has
he made us kings? Kings of what? Where do we reign? How do we reign? Well, we just had this in the
lesson, Romans 5, 17, as by one man's offense, death reigns. Because of Adam's sin, death
reigns in us. Not physical death, that still
reigns in us. We're still going to die, physically.
But spiritual and eternal death reigned in us because of one
man's offense. Much more, the gift of righteousness
shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. We are reigning in life. We're
eternally saved now. This is what our lesson was about
this morning, about reckoning, about getting a hold of what
Christ has done for us and who we are in him. We are saved eternally. We cannot perish. We are reigning
in life. Most of us are moping around
whining instead of being on this throne as a king. We're made kings and priests.
Well, priest. In other words, we don't need
as they did in the old Testament. Someone to represent us. And
in our day and time, we don't need another man with his collar
turned backwards. To talk to God for us. No, we're
made Kings and priest. We, we, we can approach God for
our sale in Christ. The lamb we're given access to enter into the holiest. How? By the blood of Jesus. Enter
in boldly, Hebrews said. We're reigning in life by virtue
of Christ's righteousness. We're priests by virtue of his
rending the veil and opening up the way. And this is our song. This is
the new song. It's not the old song of fallen
humanity praising self It's not the old song of. Mother nature and father time.
Worship and creation. There's a lot of folks do. It's not the old song of religion,
praising religious folks for their religious works. No, no. It's a new song. It's a new song
of salvation. Praising the lamb. who is worthy
of all praise for what he has done for us. What's the message, Brother John?
What is it you're trying to tell us from that deserted island? John says simply this, get this
and find rest in it. Christ wins. Christ wins. That's the message. It was the
message for John's day. It's the message for our day.
Christ wins. But my world is caving in. There's
guns aimed at me on every side. Christ wins. That's the message.