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Please have your Bibles open
and stand with me for the reading of God's Word. Our passage this
morning is in the book of Revelation, chapter 5. We're making good
progress through the book of Revelation, and this morning
we're going to be looking at the first five verses and the
sermon that I've entitled, Worthy Are You, O Lord? This is the part one of that
sermon title that we will be going through chapter 5. And this is the reading of God's
Word. Revelation 5 verse 1. Then I saw in the right hand
of him who sits on the throne a scroll written inside and on
the back, sealed up with seven seals. Then I saw a strong angel
proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the scroll
and break its seals? And no one in heaven or on the
earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to
look into it. Then I was crying greatly because
no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to
me, stop crying. Behold, the lion that is from
the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has overcome so as
to open the scroll and its seven seals. Amen and amen. Please be seated. Chapter four, we study the throne
room of the worship. of the heavenly hosts, the 24
elders, and the four living creatures. Fantastic vision of the one who
sits on the throne. The throne was the key word in
chapter 4. In this chapter, chapter 5, the
word scroll, that word that appears seven times just in this chapter
alone, will be the central word and the central theme. The scrolls
were usually made from papyrus reeds. Scrolls that were important
were of an expensive product of animal skins. And not only
important letters were written on these scrolls, but all sorts
of official documents were written on them in the first century
biblical context, such as marriage contracts, rental and lease agreements,
purchase and releasing of slaves, contract bills, and bonds, etc.,
etc. We still value these documents,
documents of great importance, of lesser importance, common
letters. All these things were written
down in either cheap and readily available papyrus, flattened
reeds that were woven into a thin layer that you could write with
ink or, as I said, more expensive animal skins for more important
documents, some things that you wanted to preserve for a long
time. Well, that's a general term that's used here, Biblion,
scroll. But this scroll is in the right
hand of the one who is sitting on the throne. It had seven seals
on its scroll. And the verbs break the seal
and open the scrolls. Those two verbs indicate that
you could see that there's writing on them, but you can't decipher
what's in the writing unless you open it, which means it's
closed. Information on that scroll is
closed. This is what John saw. Now we saw this term scroll commanded
by the Lord Jesus to John in Revelation 1.11. Here is given
as a command saying write in a scroll there's the Biblion
what you see and send it to the seven churches. There was the
command to write in a scroll so John had a roll of papyrus
ready and this is what he wrote. He could write because he was
shown the scroll that contained the information. Now what exactly
is in that scroll? That's one of the questions that
we will be asking. We have to ask good questions
in order to find the answers that's embedded into this text.
So first question we're going to ask is what exactly is it
written? What is written on that scroll?
Then we're going to ask two more questions. Why is no one worthy
to open the scroll? I mean, there was a big question
by a strong angel. Who is worthy? Dead silence. Why is there no one? And finally,
we're going to ask the third question. Who alone is worthy
to open the scroll? Those three questions will help
us to discover the message of this passage. And the message
is very clear. Jesus Christ, our Lord, He is
worthy. And we're going to see why He's
worthy, how He's worthy, and it's going to help you to worship
Him in a better way, as I pray that that would be the end product
of our study of this passage this morning. So let's ask the
first question. What exactly is written on this
scroll? Verse 1, Notice John says, then
I saw, kai adon in the Greek. This phrase is repeated after
each scene introducing a new vision. So there's four scenes
that's woven together. And I saw, and I saw. It's translated
then I saw, but it's a simple Greek conjunction, kai and adon,
I saw. In the right hand of Him who
sits on the throne. Now we've already identified
Him who sits on the throne, that's God. And God the Father, specifically. The right hand is the hand of
power, of might. It's the favored hand. It's the
righteous, decisive hand. In the ancient Near Eastern context,
everybody understands this is the important hand. And on that
hand is a scroll. He is sitting on the throne,
points to the command-control center, his sovereign. There's
a scroll in his right hand. Already the scene is very important
and intriguing. It is attention-grabbing. It
points to the divine origin and sovereign possession. So if God
originated this scroll, then he must be the writer only he
understands and knows the content. If he is sovereign and he's possession
in this scroll in his hand, who's going to take it from him? Already these questions are circling
in the minds of the reader and the hearer and it should be in
ours. A particular feature is mentioned
about the scroll. This is a scroll written inside
and on the back. In other words, A scroll has
front side and back side, only two sides. But there's writing
on both sides. And we find this peculiar feature
in Yehezkel. So let's go there in chapter
2 and read verses 9 and 10. This is not the first time that
a double-sided writing on a scroll was shown to man. in both cases to a prophet, God's
chosen instrument of revelation. Yerushalayim 2, verse 9, it says,
Then I looked, and behold, a hand was sent forth to me, and behold,
a scroll was in it. Then he spread it out before
me, and it was written on the front and back, and written on
it were lamentations, sighing, and woe. In Yehezkel the contents
of the scroll were unveiled and explained but here it's closed
up and sealed. Commentators note that in the
first century Roman contracts were written on both sides. Insides
were in all the details of the contract while the outside contained
a summary of the document. And multiple theories are offered
up as to what the scroll is all about and what it contains, including
the New Covenant. Some say it's the content of
the New Covenant. Another option is inheritance
reserved for the saints. This is our future inheritance,
inheritance rights. Another option is Lamb's Book
of Life. This is the Lamb's Book of Life. Another option is God's
redemptive plan. And the fifth option is Christ's
title deed or contract for the world. This fifth option is what
John MacArthur believes that the scroll in Revelation 5 refers
to, the title deed to the earth which he will give to Christ.
MacArthur and others get this information from the fact that
the Roman wills, the will and testament, were sealed with seven
seals. So there's a cultural connection
to this. Another commentator, Stauffer,
observes that the wills left by Augustus and Vespasian for
their successors were sealed with seven seals in the history
of Romans. However, John Walvard, a theologian
from Dallas Seminary, believes that the scroll to be a book
which contains the prophecy of impending events, since that's
what's revealed when the seals were broken and opened. This
is the view that Robert Thomas also takes, as he explains that
the scrolls contain the judgments that will fall upon the earth
during a relatively brief period, eventually at their conclusion,
issuing in the coming of the promised Messiah and his kingdom. It is a history of the future
that gives us successive steps leading to the inauguration of
the world kingdom of Christ. That's what Thomas writes. So
taking all that into account, the fact that the scroll is written
on both sides is not to summarize its content like a will or a
testament, but to demonstrate the comprehensiveness of the
information that's contained in it. There's a lot written
in it. Not only on one side, but on
the other side, it's comprehensive. We take this view because Yehezkel
was shown a scroll with writings on both sides, with the content
of God's judgment. That seems to fit in better with
the content that we see in this scroll. because it is a scroll
that has seven seals, but when the seventh seal is open, there's
a telescoping view now of the blowing of the seven trumpets.
No longer is the scroll active, now the trumpet sound is blown. And when the seventh trumpet's
blown, there's another telescoping event that opens up the seven
bowls of God's judgment. So when we look at Revelation,
it serves a partial purpose, but not the complete purpose.
It does have the seventh seal that opens up to the telescoping
event. So the scroll could contain all the other things that we
see in the book of Revelation. So it is comprehensive, but it
also has a limitation of opening up to these other features of
the prophecy. Therefore, I think what John
Wolvard and Robert Thomas says makes greater sense in light
of what Yehoshua was shown in chapter 2 of Ezekiel and with
what John was shown. Both are prophets, both are instruments
of the revelation of God. Since this is what was revealed
and since John was commanded by the Lord Jesus to write what
he saw in a scroll, that's the view that we will take. Now notice
this scroll was sealed up with seven seals. Of course the prophetic
number seven is the number of perfection and completion, so
this represents the perfect and complete purposes of God and
His eternal counsel for the end times. But it's currently sealed
up and closed up. MacArthur comments, 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 the usurper Satan and those men and demons who
have collaborated with him. This is why MacArthur believes
this is the deed of the earth and the kingdoms given to Christ,
but it is not there in a passive way. but that Christ has to win
this deed, cause the deed to come into fruition. So we conclude
that the scroll contains God's comprehensive will and counsel
of its purposes for the judgment of the earth and the history
of the world, culminating in the glorious kingdom of Christ
and the eternal age. In other words, this is God's
will for the future. Now that we've answered the question,
what is written? God's will and his purposes for
the future. Let's proceed to ask the second
question. Why is no one worthy to open it then? Verse two, then I saw, we saw
that familiar phrase, Kai Adon here, another prophetic scene
is introduced with this familiar phrase, a strong angel, a strong
angel, nondescript, we don't know his name. Only two angels
are named in the entire, Bible, one is Gabriel and the other
is Michael. And since Michael is mentioned
in Revelation chapter 12 verse 7, he could have easily been
introduced here, but he's not. So the nondescript strong angel
points to the fact that he is among several mighty and strong
angels. How do we know this? Well, in
Revelation 10, verse one says, then I saw another strong angel
coming down out of heaven. So the strong angel that's introduced
in chapter five is not the only one. There's another strong angel
in chapter 10. And so in Revelation 10, Revelation
five, the combination of angels' strength, and the proclamation
of his loud voice, because notice what it says, he didn't just
say, the verb Lego is not used, but Caruso is proclaiming. with a loud voice. Proclaiming
has to do with an amplification for the purpose for a large crowd
to hear. So this is what we call a herald.
A town herald was the one with a loud voice reading the edict
of the king to the masses. This is a public proclamation.
So that's the verb that is used. And then the loud voice adds
to the fact that this is very important. It has far-reaching
ramifications. This is not just a dictation
of a soft voice or a regular voice. This is a strong angel,
a mighty angel, proclaiming with a loud voice. And what's the
proclamation? Here's the quotation of the proclamation.
Who is worthy to open the scroll? That's the first phrase. Who
is worthy to open the scroll? This is almost a challenge and
almost an invitation. It is a question that evokes
in the mind of the hearer, yeah, who is worthy? To ask that question
again and again. Who really is worthy? The term
worthy or worthiness has the connotation of inner moral competency
or ethical attainment in the first century world. When somebody
says he is worthy, you're saying somebody who has a very noble
character, whose inner moral character matches up with his
ethical and outer speech and actions. So worthiness had a very strong
moral connotation in the first century Greek. But there's more. Who is worthy to open the scroll
and then here's the synonym and to break its seals? Well obviously
you have to break the seals first to open the scroll. It is two
of the same kind of an action. You have to break the seal to
open the scrolls. But here, open the scrolls is mentioned first
and breaking the seals is mentioned. Why is this important? Because
as we will see in chapter 6, the seal is broken one at a time. So in your mind, put an equal
sign between breaking the seals and then opening the scroll.
It's the same action. It's the same thing. But the
fact that it is portrayed here in a matter points to the fact
that, well, this is an important action. This is a powerful action.
Somebody has to be powerful and worthy enough of inner character.
and have the ability to do this, first you have to take it from
the one who is holding it, that's Almighty God, and then it's sealed
up with seven seals, this is God's perfect sealing, who can
do this? All these questions would be
circling in the minds of the hearer, and as it should be in
ours. It's to reveal the extreme unlikelihood
of someone who can actually do this. So the question and the
challenge almost seems impossible. Who can do this? And many people
in that generation ask these questions. Who can forgive sins
but God alone? There's no way they could fathom
even anyone on earth who will be able to do this. And yet Jesus
says what? Son, your sins are forgiven you. They say, what? Who can forgive sins but God
alone? It made no sense to them. But John intuitively knows that
the scroll contains the most important information regarding
the counsels of God. It is in his right hand. But
more importantly, the prophecies they must contain. John intuitively
knows this. Why? Because he knows Ezekiel.
It was another scroll, but it was open for the prophet. It
was written on both sides. John sees this. And of course
that was in heaven, a flying scroll. So it was heavenly, it
was a heavenly origin. John understands this. And then look at verse three,
and no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able. Now notice the verb of ability
there, able. No one was able. That's in the
imperfect tense in the Greek, implying that all creation's
inability and unworthiness to open the scroll was a chronic
and ongoing condition, one that describes the unaltered and complete
impotence of created beings to perform the function, writes
Thomas. An excellent way of saying it.
Total impotence of created beings to perform the function. The
deadly silence in heaven and on earth and under the earth
indicates that there was no one with the qualification who is
worthy to break the seals and open the scroll. Not even Gabriel,
not even Michael stepped forward and saying, I can or I will. The English simply uses the negative
particle no one with the conjunction or for brevity and idiomatic
flow. No one in heaven or on earth
or under the earth was able. But that's not how the Greek
is written. The Greek is very redundant giving
three separate negative particles emphasizing no one, none, none. We see this regional triplet
pattern in Exodus chapter 20. Let's go there. Exodus 20 verse
4 and see its importance. This triplet pattern has a familiar
ring to it. Exodus 20 verse 4 and notice
the negative command. You shall not make for yourself
an idol or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on earth
beneath or in the water under the earth. heaven above, earth beneath,
or water under the earth. In each case, there is a negative
command. No one, none, none. And the Apostle
Paul also uses this triplet pattern in Philippians 2, verse 10. Philippians 2, verse 10. And
I call this the regional triplet because it's heaven, earth, under
the earth. These are regions. These are
spheres of existence. Philippians 2.10 says this, so
that the name of Jesus, every knee will bow, where? Of those
who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth. So notice
this regional sphere of existence, heaven, earth, under the earth,
is a triplet pattern in the mind of biblical writers. This is
a Hebrew idea that comes in the Torah, and so Apostle Paul uses
it, and we see it here. in the strong angels challenge
to the whole creation, all of creation. So that links the worthiness
with the idea of ability, since the word ability is used here,
who is able, the opposite of ability is inability. The silence
means they're unable. So the one who is worthy, who
is able, the one who is able is the worthy one. Now we have
understood the definition of worthy. You have to have an inner
moral perfection of holiness, and you need to have the power
and the ability, right? But not only authority, but also
the ability to do this act. The three negative particles
all add to the idea that there were absolutely no one who was
worthy in heaven or earth or under the earth. The New Testament
commentator and scholar Leon Morris writes, the possibility
is reduced to a vanishing point after a search produces no one
in region after region. There's no one to open the scroll
or to look into it. Not even to look into it, not
even take a glimpse into it. The act of opening is the same
as act of breaking as we saw in verse 2. since the angel's
question equivocates them. Since no one can open or break
the seals, it follows that no created being, neither of the
angelic realm or the human realm or the creative world, can look
and read the scroll's contents. So we've just answered the question,
why is no one worthy? Because it is because no one
is mighty enough. No one is godly and holy enough. No one is authoritative enough,
no one can fulfill God's qualifications to read the scroll and its contents
to fulfill the prophecies of the will of God. Why? They're all creatures. This is
beyond the ability of any creatures. No one. What does that make Jesus? Well there is one who is worthy.
Now that we asked two questions, what is written in the scroll
and why is no one worthy to open the scroll, let's proceed to
third and final question. Who then can open the scroll? Is God teasing humanity? Is God teasing John? Is God saying,
here is my divine and sovereign prophetic will for the universe. that is completely sealed up
but there's no one who can understand its contents except of course
me because I caused it to be. Well this leaves John in a state
of great emotional turmoil. He knows how important that is
and all of his hopes and dreams and desires are tied in with
the content of the scroll as we shall soon see by his reaction. So as we ask this third and final
question, who then can open, we find great hope here and great
joy. Verse four, then I was crying
greatly. It says, literally, I was weeping
much. And this kind of weeping is a
weeping that is not quiet, silent, whimpering. This is a loud cry.
This is a kind of weeping where you make a sound. This is a cry. So this is a good translation. crying greatly, crying much,
literally, that's what it says. So John was emotionally overwhelmed
with deep sorrows that was just bursting out in cries, loud cries
of painful, tearful sorrow. So why is John crying like this? Well, the most plausible reason
for such great emotional trauma was John's fears his mind at this point were being
realized. The events contained in the revelatory
scroll would remain not only unknown but also unfulfilled
and unaccomplished. It's just God's will for the
world and it's sealed up. No one can know it but it's sealed
up which means it's not going to be accomplished. Why is that
a very important topic for John, and why did it cause such an
emotional trauma that he would just burst out in loud cries? Well, here is the explanation. Because, there's the explanation.
Because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or look into
it. None of the angels were found worthy. None of the saints on
earth or godly people that John looked up to, respected, honored,
were worthy. You know, think of the people
that we can think of. John must have thought, our father
Abraham, who was the friend of God, he was unworthy. The godly
prophets, they were unworthy. King David, he was unworthy. What does this mean? It means that indefinite postponement
of God's prophetic agenda in the mind of John. They're hoping for the deliverance
of Israel. They're hoping for the messianic
kingdom. Does it mean that God's vindication of Israel is indefinitely,
indefinitely delayed? Does this mean that the messianic
hope is indefinitely quenched? What was his hope he lived this
entire life for? His labor for the gospel, for
the Lord. The trauma for John is too great. as are the tears
and the pain and the suffering and the trauma of all those who
hope for the fulfillment of the Word of God and yet under great
persecution, suffering, pain, confiscation of property, and
death. Could you imagine if your understanding
of God's will for the future is forever closed and you don't
know what's going to happen and you're facing all these problems?
You would be sad, too. You would be hopeless, too. You
would be crying, too. So in many ways, John is weeping
for all of us because if we can't know the sovereign will of God,
not only understanding, but the fulfillment of His promises,
and it's indefinitely delayed, that would be very painful. For
people who are suffering in the world for their faith, that would
be incredibly painful. As Israel was suffering. This
is post AD 70 in our understanding of the book of Revelation. Millions
of Israelites were put to death. Millions were taken in as slaves. The temple is destroyed. No hope
for Israel. And the scroll is closed. This
is devastating. But, verse 5, and one of the
elders said to me, stop crying. One of the 24 elders now take
up the position of a guide and gives John a mild rebuke and
the command to stop crying. The command was necessary because
from John's perspective, there was no hope. All seemed lost. like the widow of Nain who had
lost her only son in Luke 7, 13, right? I mean, could you
imagine anyone being more sad than a widow who had no husband,
her only son whom she had placed all her hope in, in this world,
he's dead before her? Who's more sorrowful? Who's more
broken? Who has lost all hope than this woman? But Scripture
says, He felt compassion for her and said to her, Do not cry. How can anyone offer solace and
comfort like this unless you have the power to wipe away those
tears and turn them into joy? But that's our Lord. That's our
Lord. And Jairus' family over the death
of his daughter in Luke 8.52, Now they were all crying and
lamenting for her, but he said, Stop crying, for she has not
died but asleep. Who can say this? Only the one
who has power over death can turn death into sleep. And he
can wake up the dead just as anybody can wake up those who
are sleeping. He has this awesome power. Only the one who can comfort,
who can reverse the curse, who can bring solution to an insolvable,
unsolvable problem for man. So this elder sees what John
doesn't see. He knows what John doesn't know.
That the one who raises the dead and gives hope to the hopeless,
he is worthy and he is near. That's why. And here's the attention-grabbing
word. Behold. Hinen, Hebrew, edu here in Greek.
Behold. And here's the, after that, in
the typical Greek grammar, you have the verb first, overcame,
overcame. Here's the nike verb, nikao verb,
he overcame. Who is the one who overcame?
The lion that is from the tribe of Judah. And then another title,
the root of David. The Lion of the tribe of Judah
and the Root of David are familiar Old Testament messianic titles.
Every Jew knew them. But they're linked together only
here in the New Testament. Beautifully so. First, the conquering
king of the prophetic messianic tribe of Judah, Yehudah. Even though Yehudah was the fourth
tribe, it was the most prominent tribe. It was the kingly tribe.
It was the tribe that produced David, the Messiah of the Old
Testament, who would bring forth one of his descendants, through
whom God made a Davidic covenant in 2 Samuel chapter 7, that one
of his descendants will sit on his throne forever. And here's the prophecy. Let's
go to Genesis chapter 49. Genesis 49. As you understand
the context, this is before Yaakov, whose name was changed to Israel.
This is the ancestor of the Israelites. Before he died, he issued a prophetic
proclamation. for the 12 tribes, and this is
what Yaakov said in verse 9 regarding Yehudah. He said, Yehudah is
a lion's whelp. There's a young lion. From the
prey, my son, you have gone up. He crouches, he lies down as
a lion. He would be a very regal animal,
noble animal, but very strong, ferocious predator. and as a
lioness who dares to rouse him up. He will be unmatched in power.
And that's true. Yehudah would be the most powerful
tribe. It would produce many kings. But the particular king would
be David, and through David, the Messiah, the King of kings
and the Lord of lords. Proverbs 28.1 says, The wicked
flee when there is no one pursuing, but the righteous are secure
as a lion. The righteous are secure as a
lion. A lion is just left alone. No other animal dare to come
and bother a lion in the wild. This is the king of the animals.
So noble, regal, and boldness, plus power and strength is the
imagery of the lion. All Jewish people knew that.
That was the symbol and the title for the Messiah. The second title,
the Root of David, is a Hebrew metaphor for offspring. root. We would think of a root, it's
not like ancestry. No, but this is different and
here's why. Let's take a look first at Isaiah,
Yeshayahu chapter 11, Isaiah 11 verse 1. Because of this term shoresh,
a shoot, a tzemach, which is very interesting. Now we learned
this firsthand when we traveled to Israel on a study trip that
the olive tree is really interesting that while the roots grow into
the ground, from the root come shoots. Not from the trunk, not
from the branches, but from the root come new shoots in the olive
tree. It's a pretty interesting sight.
And we saw them. And that's what's being mentioned
here. Not from a already fully grown, from a branch way up there,
but no, from the very root, there are new shoots that's popping
up. Take a look at Isaiah 11, 1. Then a shoot will spring from
the stem of Ishai, Jesse. That's exactly what happens with
an olive tree. And a branch from his roots will
bear fruit. Look at verse 10 of Isaiah 11. Then it will be in that day that
the nations will seek the root of Jesse. who will stand as a
standard for the peoples and his resting place will be glorious. And now take a look at Jeremiah.
Jeremiah, Yirmeyahu, chapter 33, verse 15. Jeremiah 33, verse
15, says this, In those days, and at that time, I will cause
a righteous branch of David, righteous branch of David, to
branch forth and he shall do justice and righteousness on
the earth. That's the messianic prophecy
of the language of the root of David. This is what the Apostle Paul
quotes in Romans 15 verse 12 and again he quotes Isaiah. Isaiah
says, there shall come the root of Jesse and he who arises to
rule over the Gentiles in him shall the Gentiles hope. So this rude of David has overcome. This lion of Judah has conquered. He is the victorious one. And
so the Nikao verb here, overcoming, refers to the reality of Christ's
victory over sin, death, and through the cross, as already
mentioned in Revelation 3 verse 21, where he said, He who overcomes,
this is after the church of Laodicea, he addresses them, he says, I
will grant to him to sit down with me on my throne as I also
overcame and sat down with my father on his throne. And the writer of Hebrews says
in Hebrews chapter 2 verse 14, Therefore, since the children
share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise also partook
of the same, that through death he might render powerless of
him. How? Through death. Render powerless.
That's conquering. That's might. Powerless to him
who had power of death, that is the devil, and might free
those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their
lives. Look at all the things that people
do and are afraid to do because of death. Look at all the time and the
energy and emotions, money wasted because of death and the fear
of death. Satan controls this. If you do
X, Y, and Z, you'll die. But if you trust in me, I will
let you live long healthy and wealthy. It's the temptation
of the lies of the enemy. He uses death to bring fear into
people, to motivate them to go against the will of God, to control
them, to slave of sin all their lives. This is the spiritual
bondage of the plight of mankind and yet God sent forth his son
and his great love that he might render powerless of him who had
the power of death and might free those through fear of death
or subject to slavery Colossians chapter 2 verse 15 Apostle Paul
writes having disarmed the rulers and authorities they're powerless
because they have no power of death they're powerless having
disarmed the rulers and authorities he made a public display a public
spectacle of them having triumph over them in him He triumphed
over death because He triumphed over sin. There's no enemy that
can withstand the one who overcame all these things. How did Christ
overcome? He overcame through the cross,
through the obedience to the point of death on the cross. And because He overcame, He is
qualified. Why? Because he was so infinitely
pure and holy that his holiness and his perfect life of righteousness
and obedience basically defeated sin and Satan and death and the
power of death. It is ultimately worthy and qualified. That's why it says, so as to
open the scrolls and its seven seals. this is a well-translated
purpose clause not with the use of the Hina in the Greek but
the usage of the infinitive as the intermediate Greek students
will know how infinitives are used in this way so here's the
infinitive open open open this verb is used quite a few times
in this chapter but as to open the purpose well this is amazing
purpose What does this mean? Listen to what one commentator
named R.H. Charles writes. The reason he
won the victory was to enable him to open the scroll of destiny
and its seals and implement God's purposes throughout the final
stages of human history. That's monumental stuff. Why? Christ conquering sin and death
made Him worthy. How do we know? Because He was
justified. He was declared righteous through
His resurrection. When God looked at Christ's work
on the cross, He says, that is perfect sacrifice. That's the
remedy for sin and all that's in the world, a curse through
sin. I will raise him from the dead.
I will fulfill my promise to him. Because the son trusted
in the father, he entrusted his own life and soul to the father.
He became obedient to the point of death. The father says, your
sacrifice is complete. It is righteous. I accept it.
Here's the proof. Resurrection from the dead. He overcame all the obstacles,
our greatest enemy, and that was to enable him to open the
scroll of destiny. Now he is worthy, he is powerful,
he is right, he has authority, his might, he's both God and
perfect man. Now he is enabled to implement
God's purposes. for the rest of God's plan. He alone is worthy. In God's
prophetic history, the purposes and plans of God's sovereign
agenda had been revealed. And it was revealed to his prophets
first. But the meaning and the significance
would be closed up and sealed up. This was the great frustration
of prophecy. Take a look at Daniel chapter
12 with me. Daniel 12 verse 4. After all the 11 chapters of
incredible detailed prophecy, God says to Daniel at the end,
the last chapter, chapter 12 verse 4, He says this, but as
for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until
the time of the end. Many will go to and fro and knowledge
will increase. They will go to and fro and knowledge
will increase. Etc, etc. But God said, conceal
these words and seal up the book until the time of the end. Was
the book of Daniel supposed to be understood in its fullness
by every generation of believers in its full content? Not according
to this passage. Well, why is it that we can gain
a great understanding? Because it was fulfilled. And
is being fulfilled. Well, how can we understand this?
When great godly saints of the Old Testament times did not understand
it is because Christ was worthy to send his Holy Spirit after
he had finished the work of redemption he sent his Holy Spirit to illuminate
the church so that the church would have an unveiled understanding
of God's purposes for the end times that's how in Christ through
the finished work of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. God is
revealing the final details of his cosmic agenda for the world
and calling all souls to repent and believe in the good news
of the coming kingdom of Christ. So you see, beloved, having the
right understanding of the end times is a rich blessing. That's
why the book of Revelation begins with the blessing. You're blessed. You're blessed for your assurance
as well as your confidence. When you preach the gospel of
God's salvation, you know the end as well as the beginning.
You know that it is accomplished and there's nothing that we can
add or subtract to it. The confidence comes because
you know and it's been shown to you and you understand because
someone opened these mysterious things to you. You have assurance. You have confidence. You are
motivated. And now you know there's much
at stake. So the gospel of salvation from
the coming wrath of God, you know what's in store in your
near future. You know what's in the store
for your loved ones, your family, for the people of the world.
You know because He has told you. the entrance into the blessed
kingdom of the eternal world, also the opportunity, the immense
opportunity for us to be welcomed into His eternal kingdom. That's
amazing. Do you know what for 2,000 years
God's people have done because of this knowledge? Do you know for 2,000 years what
religious people who couldn't care less of God's plan have
done? Yeah, I think you know. you can just clearly set them
apart. For 2,000 years, those who heard the Word of God, those
who came and were richly blessed, were assured, were comforted,
they continued to be faithful. Despite the hardship, despite
the persecution, despite death, they did it. Because they know.
They were assured. They were comforted. And they
were waiting for all these things to come to pass. They're still
praying, how long, O Lord, O holy and true? And even during the
tribulation period, they will be praying, how long, O Lord? But they know that the worthy
one, the Lion of Judah, the Root of David, he's worthy, and he
will unveil what is to come. So blow by blow, step by step,
year by year, you will know because God has shown what's going to
happen in the world. And right now, our current events,
we're being set up for what is to come. And it will make so
much more sense to you. Why? Because we're that close
to the end times. What did God say to Daniel? Seal
up the vision. What did God say to John? Blessed
are those who read and understand and obey the Word
of God. We're living in exciting biblical
times of rich blessings because we have the final and last opportunity
to serve God in these days while the stage being set for what
is to come. The hour of testing that will
be coming upon the whole world So read carefully, pray sincerely,
be watchful with full alertness. Do not be sidestepped from what
God is doing. Make sure that you join in God's
program. and make sure that you go against
the deceptions of the enemy of the world that appeals to and
panders to your pride and your foolishness to want to do your
own thing apart from God's agenda. As God's people, we all know
that we're all committed to God's purposes, so he uses weak creatures
like us for this purpose so that our joy will be full and manifest
when all these things come to pass. What a blessing for us
to be living in these exciting prophetic times. Let's give thanks
to the Lord and to the one who is infinitely worthy. Father,
we come into your presence with joy and gratitude in our hearts
that we serve the one who is truly worthy, the one through
his perfect overcoming victorious work on the cross who has earned
the right and who alone is worthy to reveal to your people your
perfect and sovereign divine will for these end times. Or when you look at the things
in the world, we know that there's so much evil and that you will
punish evil. As you have done so in the past,
so you will do in this coming world system. But we await for
the glorious age of the Messianic kingdom when the Lord Jesus returns
with His heavenly hosts to establish His millennial kingdom and the
eternal state that is to come afterwards. We look at these
things and we are so assured, we're so comforted that as you
have caused John from weeping to joy, from sorrow and hopelessness
to awe and wonder, Lord, would you lift up our hearts so that
we might be better worshipers of you and better people of obedience
and faithfulness to your commands. In Jesus' precious name we pray,
amen.
Worthy Are You, O Lord 1
Series Revelation
| Sermon ID | 1110241958492622 |
| Duration | 52:25 |
| Date | |
| Category | Sunday Service |
| Bible Text | Revelation 5:1-5 |
| Language | English |
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