ethe Scroll in the Right Hand of God Revelation 5 Message 19 1 And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. 2 Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals? 3 And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it. 4 So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it. 5 But one of the elders said to me, Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals. 6 And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. 8 When He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying, "You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation." 10 And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth." 11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, 12 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. 13 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, I heard saying: Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!" 14 Then the four living creatures said, Amen! And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever. 1
AN OUTLINE OF REVELATION I. The things Which You Have Seen The introduction and description of the resurrected Christ (chapter 1) II. The Things Which Are The outline of church history (chapters 2-3) III. The Things Which Shall Take Place After This A. The rapture of the Church and a scene into Heaven (chapter 4-5) B. The seven-year Tribulation; Seven seal judgments, Seven trumpet judgments, and Seven bowl judgments; the short reign of Antichrist; and the destruction of Babylon (chapters 6-18) C. The glorious appearing of Christ (chapter 19) D. The binding of Satan, the Millennial Kingdom of Christ, and the final judgment (chapter 20) E. Life after the 1,000 year reign of Christ on the earth (chapters 21-22) Throughout history there have been many pretenders to earth s throne who have sought to conquer the rule the world. 1. Satan After his rebellion against God was crushed, he and his angelic followers were thrown out of heaven and he became the god of this earth. Luke 10:18 And Jesus said to them, I saw Satan fall, as lightning, out of heaven. Revelation 12:3-4 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth; and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. 2 Corinthians 4:4 In whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of them which do not believe, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. 2. Humans - Satan has inspired a host of humans to try their hand at conquest Nebuchadnezzar, Darius, Alexander the Great, the Emperor of Rome, Attila the Hun, Genghis Khan, Napoleon, Lenin, Stalin, and Adolph Hitler. 2
3. The final Antichrist - In the future will come the most powerful Satan-possessed human conqueror of all, the final Antichrist. Now all of these men and many others, as well, have one thing in common. They all failed. The scene in chapter 5, as in chapter 4, is the throne of God in heaven. Present are the: 1. Four Cherubim 2. Twenty Four elders (representing all the saved throughout history) 3. The Holy Spirit (as seen in His seven-fold glory) 4. God the Father on His Throne 5. Jesus Christ the Son represented as the Lamb Revelation 5:1 1 And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. This was not a book as we think of a book today. It was actually a seven page document. Each document was rolled up and sealed. Page seven would be the inner most page followed by page 6 and so on up to page number 1. So the first page you would open would be the first seal or the first page. This kind of contract was known all over the Middle East in ancient times and was used by Romans from the time of Nero on. The contract would be written on the inner page while the title of that page would be on the outside. Thus we see in the right hand of God a scroll written on the inside and on the back. All kinds of contracts would be written this way including last will and testaments, marriage contracts, rental and lease agreements, release of slaves, contract bills, and bonds. The document that most resembled what John describes here was a title-deed requiring at least three witnesses. Jeremiah 32 provides a good illustration of the use of such a document. In the waning days of the southern kingdom, shortly before the fall of Jerusalem, Jeremiah s cousin Hanamel approached him. Hanamel was desperate to sell a field he owned in Jeremiah s hometown of Anathoth, not far from Jerusalem. Now when a foreign enemy is about to conquer your land, it is not a good time to try and sell or buy a piece of property. Jeremiah initially refused but God told him to buy the land. God said it was a good deal. God told Jeremiah that Babylon would conquer the land, but it would only last for 70 years and then you will get the land back. When the conquest is over you will have the title deed to the property and will reclaim what is yours. 3
Babylon represents Satan and all that is evil, conquering that which is good. In the same manner Satan who now is the prince and power of the air and the god of this world will be forced to relinquish the property when the right person shows up with the earth s deed of contract. The scroll that John sees in the right hand of God the Father is none other than the title deed to earth. The scroll does not record the descriptive detail of what Christ will inherit, but rather how He will regain His rightful inheritance. He will do so by means of the divine judgments about to be poured out on the earth beginning in chapter 6:1ff. While the scroll is a scroll of doom and judgment, it is also a scroll of redemption. It tells how Christ will redeem the world from Satan and redeem a multitude of people unto Himself. Thus the 7 year period of tribulation will be the greatest and most profound revival that this world has ever seen with millions of people receiving Christ as Lord and Savior. Revelation 5:2-4 2 Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals? 3 And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it. 4 So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it. Now I don t know how much this angel could bench press but the Bible says he was a strong angel. While some identify him as Michael and some as Gabriel, he remains anonymous. The angel spoke with a loud voice so that his voice could be heard not only in heaven but to every corner of the universe. The angel sought someone both worthy and able to open the book and to break its seals. Who, he asked, has the innate, virtuous worthiness of character and the divine right to break the seals and defeat the power of Satan and his demon hosts. Who has the power to wipe out sin and its effects and to reverse the curse on all of creation? But as the strong angels words echo all over the universe there is only silence. The powerful archangels Michael and Gabriel do not answer. Uncounted thousands and thousands of other angels remain silent. 4
All the righteous dead of all the ages, including Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Job, Moses, David, Solomon, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Peter, Paul, all the other apostles and countless millions from the church age including preachers such as Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, D.L. Moody, Billy Graham, W.A. Criswell, Adrian Rogers, Jerry Falwell, Jack Graham, Ed Young, David Jeremiah say nothing. There is absolute silence! Overwhelmed with grief and dismay at this turn of events, John begins to weep bitterly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it. No one was found worthy enough or strong enough to defeat Satan. The word weep here is the same word used to describe Peter s bitter weeping after he betrayed the Lord on the night of his arrest and trial. It was strong, unrestrained emotion. Now to understand why John cried bitterly you have to understand what John was going through. While we can look at all of church history and have the completed book of Revelation, all he had at the time was chapter 1 through 4. This was all happening as he looked. God allowed him through a vision to see what is going to happen in the future and He unrolled it to him a piece at a time. In John s day he had witnessed the murder of his brother James with a sword run through him. He had seen Peter crucified upside down. Paul had been beheaded. All the apostles were now dead and he alone was the only one left that had walked with Christ on this earth. The city of Jerusalem and been completely destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70 and Christians were scattered everywhere and trying to hold on. Of the seven letters to the seven churches, John had observed that there were only two churches that Christ did not have something negative to say about them. Was Satan going to win? Would Christ ever come back? Was this world going to be in the hands of Satan forever, for all eternity? Things looked very bleak to John and he began to cry bitterly. He began to wail. His entire heart was broken at the very thought. John wanted to see Israel saved and Christ exalted. Would no one step forward to change this? Was no one going to unroll the scroll and redeem God s creation? 5
Revelation 5:5-7 5 But one of the elders said to me, Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals. 6 And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. It was one of the elders, the saved in Heaven, who told John to stop weeping. The elder said to him that the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David had prevailed to open the scroll. So John looked and what did he see? A Lamb was standing up! The Lamb looked as though it had been slain. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes. Then the Lamb came and took the scroll out of the right hand of God the Father who sat on the throne. Instead of the mighty Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root of David, that the elder had told John about - he saw a Lamb. The Lord Jesus could not be the Lion of Judgment, or the King of Glory, unless He was first the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The Lamb here in the Greek is Arnion and refers not to just any lamb but to a little pet lamb. The imagery derives from the Passover, when Jewish families were required to keep the sacrificial lamb as a household pet for four days before sacrificing it (Exodus 12:3-6). While every lamb sacrificed under the Old Covenant pointed toward Christ; He is only referred to as a lamb once in the Old Testament. Isaiah 53:7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth. In the New Testament, outside of Revelation, He is only called a lamb four times (John 1:29, 36; Acts 8:32; 1 Peter 1:19). But in Revelation He appears as the Lamb thirtyone times. 6
This was no ordinary lamb. 1. He was standing 2. He was alive and on His feet 3. He looked as if He had been slain. 4. The scars from the deadly wound this Lamb received were clearly visible; yet He was alive. 5. Though an anointed cherubim, Lucifer, Satan himself, had conspired against this Lamb and killed Him. 6. This Lamb rose from the grave though and defeated His enemies. At first glance it seems a disastrous mismatch to pit a lamb against a dragon and all the hellish forces that follow the dragon. But this Lamb is more than just a willing sacrificial offering for sin; He is also a Lion and the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords! He has already defeated Satan at the cross and is about to consummate that victory. Another feature about the Lamb that John noted was that it had seven horns. Horns in scripture symbolize strength and power. Seven, the number of perfection, symbolizes the Lamb s complete, absolute power! This Lamb also had seven eyes, denoting perfect omniscience and complete understanding and knowledge. These seven eyes are the seven Spirits of God, the Holy Spirit, sent out into all the earth. The Lamb came and He took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. Revelation 5:8-12 8 When He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying, "You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation." 10 And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth." 11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, 12 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. 7
Notice here what Christ is worthy to receive from us. 1. Power Over my life, over our church, over the world and the universe 2. Riches All of my silver and all of my gold 3. Wisdom The finest of my intellectual powers 4. Strength My physical strength for His service 5. Honor A single, pure desire to magnify Him in all my ways 6. Glory My entire life devoted to Him 7. Blessing All my powers of praise for Him Revelation 5:13-14 13 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, I heard saying: Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!" 14 Then the four living creatures said, Amen! And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever. Soon, this mighty host will march out of heaven to execute judgment, to gather a great soul harvest, to return with Christ when He sets up His earthly kingdom. The stage is set. But the question Where are we on the time line? Could the rapture of the church be near? What major cataclysmic event must take place before, or shortly after, the rapture? Answer: The Battle of Gog and Magog How close are we? 8