Please turn on your Bibles to the book of Revelation. Revelation chapter one, we will read the selected. Parts of chapters one through five, this is a fairly lengthy reading of the word, but in this case, I think it's important to read quite a bit. So I beg your patience here. We'll read first from chapter 1, verses 1 through 8, and then 12 through 16. Let us hear God's word. The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants things which must shortly take place, and he sent and signified it by his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written in it, for the time is near. John, to the seven churches which are in Asia, grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To him who loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood and has made us kings and priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming with clouds, And every eye will see him, even they who pierced him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of him. Even so, amen. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, says the Lord, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. And verses 12 through 16, part of Jesus' self-revelation to John, 12 through 16, John says, Then I turned. To see the voice that spoke with me, and having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands one like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, and as white as snow, and his eyes like a flame of fire. His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and his voice as the sound of many waters. He had in his right hand seven stars. Out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and his countenance was like the sun shining in its strength." And the vision of Jesus continues from there. We'll pick up now chapter 3, verse 18. This is in the middle of the last of the seven letters that we looked at about a month ago, a letter to Laodicea. We'll start at verse 18 with Jesus' counsel to the church of Laodicea and read right on through the first four verses of chapter four. Jesus says to the Laodiceans, I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire that you may be rich and white garments that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed. and anoint your eyes with eyesalve that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore, be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and dine with him and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will grant to sit with me on my throne, as I also overcame and sat down with my father on his throne. He who is an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. After these things, I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I heard like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this. Immediately I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. And he who sat There was like a jasper, and a sardius stone in appearance, and there was a rainbow around the throne in appearance like an emerald. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes, and they had crowns of gold on their heads." Then finally from chapter 5 verses 1 through 10, this is the continuance of the same vision of chapter 4, and John continues. Chapter 5, verse 1. And I saw, he says, in the right hand of him who sat on the throne, a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals? And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look at it. So I wept much because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll or to look at it. But one of the elders said to me, do not weep because behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has overcome so as to open the scroll and to lose its seven seals. And I looked and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, 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. Then he came and took the scroll out of the right hand of him who sat on the throne. Now, when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty four elders fell down before the lamb, each having a heart and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 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 that have made us kings and priests to our God. And we shall reign on the earth. We'll stop reading here. Here ends the reading of God's word. We have been looking at the letters to the seven churches in chapters 2 and 3 of the Book of Revelation. Seven messages from Jesus Christ in glory in heaven to seven particular churches in the southwestern part of Asia Minor, what is today Turkey. Last time, as we noted, we looked at the last of the letters, the letter to the church in Laodicea. The letters form a distinct section of the Book of Revelation. But they're also intimately tied up with the rest of the book in a number of ways. And so I'd like to finish up the series today with a look at one way in which the seven letters relate to the rest of the book. Specifically, I'd like us to look at how the letters in chapters two and three lead us, the readers, into chapters four and five, where we have the great throne scene, the first of the great visions, which make up the main part of the book. I'd like us to look at how the letters enhance our understanding of this marvellous scene. It's one of the most marvellous scenes in the whole book. This sermon will then conclude the series. I don't intend to go any further because Pastor Stephen Michaud has been doing a marvellous job of opening up the great visions. I'm glad he's doing it, not me, because they're a lot harder than the first letters in seven churches. I hope that what we look at today will stimulate further the desire of all of us to understand the rest of the book more fully as Pastor Michel continues to preach in it. What we'll be doing today will be a bit different from what we've been doing. I'd like to do the following. First and briefly, I'd like to look back at chapter one of the book because it sets the scene for the whole book, for both the seven letters and the great visions. Then, skipping over chapters two and three where the letters are, I'd like us to take note of the high points of chapters four and five, which contain the great throne scene and see how that scene unfolds with specific reference to the seven letters. Then finally, there'll be a couple of brief points of application. So again, we'll be looking at chapter one briefly to set the scene, then chapters four and five, identifying the high points with specific reference back to the seven letters, which would be the main focus, and then a couple of points of application. Please keep your Bibles available and open. We'll be looking at different parts of all five of the first chapters. And so it'll be important to keep your Bibles open. OK, so now chapter one briefly. Revelation is a book known for its fantastic visions. Everybody, even in America, seems to have heard of some of the visions. The dragon, the beast, the false prophet, the number 666. We hear more about that than we should. The number of the beast, the great harlot Babylon, and so on. On the other hand, there are wonderful visions of heaven, living creatures, magnificent living creatures, full of eyes, with six wings, elders in white robes, multitudes of angels, 10,000 times 10,000, it says. All these beings and visions are part and parcel of the book of Revelation. But strange as it may seem, they are not primarily what the book is about. The book of Revelation is a book that is primarily about a person, a very active person, about Jesus Christ. Chapter one, verse one, the revelation of Jesus Christ. which God gave him to show to his bondservants. And not about Jesus as he was on earth, as people tend to think of him. No, Revelation is about Jesus as he is today. From beginning to end, it's a book about Jesus, King in heaven, ruling and directing events in both heaven and earth. Verse 5, note, he's called the ruler of the kings of the earth. And in particular, Revelation shows Jesus caring for and overseeing his church on earth and intimately involved with it. We've seen that in the seven letters. That's what they're all about. And all the while and above all, the book of Revelation shows Jesus Christ sovereignly directing and moving human history to its culmination in the last great day, the day of his return, when he will judge all evil. and usher in the eternal kingdom. Revelation is, as it were, a drama in which Jesus Christ is the lead character, though not always on stage. But not only the lead character, also the script writer, the producer, and the director, fully in control of all that takes place, purposefully and steadily moving the drama to its great conclusion. A few more things from chapter one. Note first from verse four that the whole book is written as a letter to the seven churches. You can miss that quite easily. I missed it for years. It's written. It starts off rather like the Apostle Paul's letters or the Apostle Peter's letters with the pronouncement, an apostolic pronouncement from John of grace and peace upon the church. And interestingly, it's the only New Testament book where the pronouncement of grace and peace comes from all three persons of the Trinity. Look at verses four and five. It also ends that apostolic benediction in chapter 22, verse 21. These are expressions of love and care for the church. We tend to pass over them quickly, but we shouldn't. But these we should lay hold on these blessings. They're real. This is God's goodness to the church, even as Christ begins the book. But then immediately after that, The book becomes fully Christ centred. The middle of verse five, John gives an ascription of glory specifically to Jesus. Let's see where it goes from here. He says, verse five, to him who loves us and released us from our sins by his blood and has made us to be a kingdom priest to his God and father, to him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. That's specifically Jesus Christ. And the next statement underlines the focus on Jesus even more. Behold, he is coming with the clouds and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him. All the tribes of the earth will mourn over him. Even so, amen, says John, underlining it with an amen. This is what all of history is moving towards. And then if we had any remaining doubts about the book being centered on Jesus, the remainder of this opening chapter, the whole rest of it, is designed to take them away. For immediately there comes the great vision of Jesus in glory. Verses 9 through 20. We looked at this way back when we began the series. It's the most complete description of Jesus as he now is in the whole Bible. And in that vision, Jesus speaks to John, verse 11, and tells him to write in a book what he sees. That's the remainder of the book for us. That's that's what ends up as the book of Revelation. So this is how chapter one, as it were, sets the scene for what is to come. The book comes from Jesus and declares an unmistakable language, his sovereign control of human history and in particular of the eternal welfare of every single human being. If you have any doubts about his particular interest in the welfare, the spiritual, eternal welfare of every human being, take note of verses 17 and 18. Think about them. Well, passing on now to chapters four and five, which is the main focus. We'll go through the high points with specific reference back to the seven letters. The seven letters are related to the great visions in a variety of ways. Commentators know the variety of ways. I'd like today to draw it just one way. This has been noted also by Gregory Beal in his commentary. This is probably the one of the most respected reformed commentators today. I was relieved to find it there because I didn't want to stand up and give my own views without a bit more backing. Revelation is a book that it's good to read in chunks. We did that today. Specifically, if you read the seven letters in chapters two and three, then keep on reading right into chapter four and five, right to the end of chapter five. If you take that chunk, chapter 2 through 5, and read it several times, some patterns may start to appear to you. That's actually the way the book of Revelation is intended to be read. It's not the kind of book you can get one time through. You keep reading, keep reading, keep reading, and of course studying beyond that if you can. Patterns do start to emerge, in particular here in chapters 2 through 5. You may notice that some concepts, some terms appear in chapters two and three and the seven letters, and then also in the throne scene and with unexpected frequency. And you start thinking, hmm, there's something here. Jesus is conveying something to the church here. We better pay attention. Let me give one example and then we'll go on from there. Chapter four, verse one. the beginning of the throne scenes. John says, I looked and behold a door standing open in heaven. This is a very important door because this is for John, the door of entrance to all the visions that follow the remainder of the book. An open door. It's an evocative term, isn't it? It gives you the sense of something, possibilities as not yet realized, something you can't quite see. There's something out there. An open door. If you've been reading through the seven letters, does that ring a bell with you? Do you recall anything about an open door anywhere in the seven letters? Well, yes, in letter six to Philadelphia, Jesus says to the Philadelphians, chapter three, verse eight, I've set before you an open door. Which no one can shut, and then in letter seven, just three verses before this, Chapter three, verse 20, when Jesus stands in the door and knocks and speaks to the faithful believer of Laodicea, who has repented, he says the faithful believer opens the door to Jesus. Now, these two open doors in letter six and letter seven are not the same as the open door of chapter four, verse one, which is the door of entrance to the visions. But you see the use of the term and it starts you start to wonder, is this significant or accidental? Did this just happen to be there? If this was the only reference like that, you'd say, yeah, it probably was accidental. But what I'd like to do now is go through chapters 4 and 5 quickly, picking out the key points, concepts and terms, and I think we'll see that what we're seeing here is not accidental, that actually all of the most important points in this introductory scene, this throne scene, which is foundational for all the scenes that come in the rest of the book, All these are intimated ahead of time in the seven letters intentionally to point out to us the key points of this scene. So we get a full sense of the significance of it. OK, chapter four, verse two. John says, behold, a throne set in heaven and one sat on it. This is the throne of God. This is the central feature of the scene, the whole central feature of chapters four and five. Have we seen any references to the throne of God or the throne at all in the seven letters? Well, indeed, we have two verses earlier, chapter three, verse 21, to Laodicea. Jesus says to him who overcomes, I'll grant to sit with me on my throne. As I also overcame and sat down with my father on his throne. Not just a mention of the word throne, by the way, a specific mention of the throne of God, it takes you immediately to the throne scene. Chapter four, verse four, the attendants are on the throne, 24 elders clothed in white robes, white robes, garments of holiness. Have we seen that before? Yes, at least twice. Letter five, to start us, Jesus says, chapter three, verses four and five, he who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments. And in letter seven, chapter three, verse 18, which we read, Jesus consoles the Laodiceans to buy from me white garments that you may be clothed. The garments of the attendants are important symbolically in the throne scene because they convey the holiness of the scene. Not only the attendants wearing white robes, but it says again in chapter four that they have the elders have crowns of gold on their heads. Crowns indicate that the elders were themselves rulers. They're important as we come later to the worship of the scene, but are they mentioned in the seven letters? Yes, again, you start to look for these things and they're there. Letter six, chapter three, verse 11 to Philadelphia. Jesus says, hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. So we have the open door, the door that opens up all the scenes. We have the throne of God, the central feature of the scene. We have the attendants in garments of holiness with crowns on their heads. And we have also not only God the Father seated upon the throne, but verse five, we have God the Holy Spirit present before the throne. Verse five, seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. The term seven spirits of God is unique to the book of Revelation. It's the term by which the Holy Spirit is described throughout the book of Revelation. It doesn't mean that there are seven Holy Spirits. It's a symbolic term. Seven is a number of completion. It's just a way of saying the Holy Spirit is there in fullness, completion. Do we see the Holy Spirit, the seven spirits of God in the letters? Yes, we do. Again, letter five, chapter three, verse one. Jesus says to Sardis, These things says he who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. So far, we've got quite a few points, but they're all related. They're all key points. They're not trivial points. They're all key points of the scene. Then chapter four, verses eight through ten, we have the chief activity of the throne room of God, and that is the attendance offering ceaseless worship. This is what heaven is all about at its center. Obviously, it's a key concept. Ceaseless worship. Chapter 4, verse 8. The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around within. They do not rest day or night saying, holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come. Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the 24 elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him. who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne. Worship is the chief activity of the throne room of heaven and the elders, we've already seen their crowns being mentioned. Their crowns are mentioned partly to show that they cast them before the throne because their rulership is subordinate to God and for them to cast their crowns is part of their worship. The word worship itself is not unsurprisingly present in the seven letters. Again, letter six. Chapter 3, verse 9, Jesus says to the Philadelphian Christians who are faithful, Indeed, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say they are Jews and are not, but lie. Indeed, I will make them come and worship before your feet. It's very unusual. That word worship there in the Philadelphia letter is said is used about worship of man. It means it's literally the same word that's used in the worship of God here in chapter four. It's the only reference to it in the Bible that's positive. That's that's not worship of God. Jesus had dropped it in here to letter six to draw our attention to the worship of chapter four. to which is central. The glorious heaven is ceaseless worship day and night. And finally, in chapter four, and we'll step back here at the end of chapter four and look at this. Why do they worship? Verse 11. They worship because God is worthy of ceaseless worship. You are worthy, O Lord, say the attendants. To receive glory and honor and power for you created all things and by your will they exist and were created. Here, God is deemed worthy of worship because he created all things and worthiness is a key concept of worship. Only one who is worthy should receive worship. Since this is important, might it have been mentioned in the seven letters? Yes, again, letter five. Chapter 3, verse 4. To Sardis, Jesus says, you have a few names, even in Sardis, who have not defiled their garments. They shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy. And as we'll see when we move into Chapter 5, the concept of worthiness is absolutely key to everything that happens in Chapter 5, even more so than in Chapter 4. So let's step back at this point and see what's here. See if we've seen anything significant. We have the open door. For John, the door of entrance to heaven and to all the visions that follow. We have the throne of God, the central feature of the opening vision of the court of heaven. We have the seven spirits, the Holy Spirit before the throne, the attendants, the elders clothed in white robes signifying holiness with gold crowns signifying rulership, which they cast in worship. before the throne, worship the constant, ceaseless joy, privilege and obligation of the attendance of the court of heaven and the reason for their worship, because God, as creator of all things, is supremely worthy of worship. Now, these could just have been dropped in accidentally, but did you notice where these references all came from? I cited them all from the last three letters, letters five, six and seven in chapter three. They're not in the first four letters, chapter two, except the word crown, which occurs in letter six. And I think somewhat accidentally in chapter two, all the terms appear in letters five, six and seven, chapter three immediately before the throne scene and not in the chapter two. And this says. To me, and more importantly to many commentators, this is intentional on Jesus' part. What he's doing is drawing our attention just by the use of terms in the chapter 3 to what we're going to read in chapter 4, so that when we read it in chapter 4, the key points stick out to us and we really sit up and pay attention. We have to say at this point that this is not the way you exegete typically passages of the Bible and or even that you primarily the way that you look at the Book of Revelation. The whole Bible, including the Book of Revelation, is conveyed to us in words and sentences, what we call propositions, including the visions here that described to us in words and sentences, propositions that we can understand. The words are faithful and true and infallible, but they come from God. But in this kind of literature, apocalyptic literature, words can also be used secondarily to convey individual mental images. In this case, the open door being an example. It's an evocative term. It sticks in your mind. So when these terms are repeated, we notice and we realize that Jesus is conveying something that's particularly significant. And we sit up and pay attention. Chapter four, as we noted, Is it describes unceasing worship in heaven? It's not an incident. It's what goes on all the time, says night and day. They do this. And whenever the living creatures make it state their worship, the elders, it says, fall down. Chapter four is a snapshot of what goes on continuously in heaven, unceasing worship, just a snapshot of it. Chapter five is continuous with chapter four. But as we move into it, it's different. There's something particular happens that has great significance in this chapter. And John also draws our attention to this through the use of words from the seven letters. Chapter five starts off with John noticing something that appears to demand attention. Verse one, John says, 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. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the scroll and loose its seals? And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look at it. So I wept much because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll or to look at it. The scroll here is a very important feature of this scene. It's central. Has it been mentioned of a scroll in the seven letters? Yes. And again, we don't have to go back before earlier than chapter, than letter five. Letter five to Sardis, Jesus says, he who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments and I will not bar his name from the book of life. The word again is scroll. It's the exact same word is used here. in chapter 5. The scroll is a key feature of the scene in heaven. It's mentioned beforehand in letter 5. Notice also, and in particular here, and through the remainder of the chapter, the importance of worthiness. And we'll see this as we get into the praise at the end. Only one who is worthy can take the scroll and open it. The angel in verse 2 proclaims with a loud voice, who is worthy? And the answer in verse 3 is no one. And John says wept, verse four, because no one was found worthy. Worthiness is desperately important and no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth is found worthy. So we've got a point here in the scene. Something has to happen, there's a problem that has to be solved, but we're not quite sure why it's such a big deal yet, but it clearly has to be solved. And also someone whom we've been expecting to see. It's missing. Chapter four is in some ways quite strange, is it not? God, the father is on the throne. God, the Holy Spirit is before the throne, the living creatures and the elders are offering ceaseless worship, holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come. And God, the son. Is missing. At least he's not there yet. And this is all the more strange when you go back to chapter one, because the whole book we already know is about God the Son. Chapter one, the great vision of Jesus we saw. Chapter two and three, we've been looking at those. These are Jesus' personal messages, his own words to all the churches of Asia and all the churches in all the earth. And it's very clear that the book is from Jesus. And then in chapter four, in the worship of the court of heaven, he's totally absent. This is marvelous drama, is it not? The tension is growing. The author is building the suspense. Where is the lead character? We haven't seen him yet. All of heaven waits for someone, capital S, one who is worthy, if such there be, to take the scroll out of the right hand of God. In dramatic terms, this is known as the delayed entrance of the lead character. This is used by many playwrights. In our era, several generations ago, Eugene O'Neill used this quite a bit in his plays. He'd wait until the second act or later to introduce the lead character. And parenthetically, there's also another dangling question here. What is in that scroll? Why does it need to be opened? I'm sorry to say that we won't get the answer to that in this chapter. You'd have to read on into chapters 6 and 7 to find that out. And if you need to help, please go to Stephen B. Shoe. I'm stopping at this point. Well, coming back to the problem we have here, we're at a key point in the whole scene. who can open the scroll. We're not kept waiting any longer, because one of the elders identifies the one who is worthy. Verse 5, he says to John, do not weep. Behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has prevailed. The word is overcome. It's the same word overcome that's used always through revelation. Has overcome so as to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals. And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne under the four living creatures, in the midst of the elders stood a lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which had the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And of course, this is Jesus Christ. The elder says he has overcome so as to open the scroll. So in terms of the drama, the chief character has now appeared and he is able to solve the problem. And what is it that makes Jesus worthy? Verse five, he has overcome. It's a key term, he has overcome, so as to open the scroll. Overcome. That's what makes Jesus worthy to take the scroll. It's clearly a key concept. Has this been intimated in the seven letters? Yes, indeed. And it's such a key concept, a key concept of the whole book of Revelation. It's not just mentioned once or twice, somewhere in the last three letters. This term alone is in all seven letters. All seven end with a promise to him that overcomes. Letter one, the emphasis, chapter two, verse seven. Jesus says to him who overcomes, I will give to eat from the tree of life. I'll not read the rest of them, but I'll draw your attention particularly to letter seven, chapter three, verse twenty one, one of the last phrases of the letters before you go into the throne scene. Jesus says to him who overcomes. I will grant to sit with me on my throne as I also overcame and sat down with my father on his throne. The overcoming the victory of Jesus is so important. It's mentioned twice. It's mentioned in all seven letters. Letter seven is mentioned twice. And one of the mentions is Jesus explicitly declaring his overcoming his victory himself as I also overcame and sat down with my father on his throne is a very direct reference. forward to the throne scene of chapter 4 and 5. Now we've come to the pivot point of the whole scene. What all of heaven has been waiting for. The one who is worthy has been identified. The one who has overcome has been identified. It is the Lamb. Verse 7. Then he, the Lamb, came and took the scroll out of the right hand of him who sat on the throne. This is the decisive point of the whole scene. This is the pivot. For see what happens immediately. Praise breaks out. Praise that fills the rest of the chapter. Praise such as you and I have never seen or heard. Praise that fills heaven and earth. It begins right around God's throne. First, the attendants right around the throne. The living creatures and the elders, it says, fall down before the Lamb, each having a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which it says are the prayers of the saints. There's lots of symbolism here. Singing a new song. And why? Worthy. There's that word again. Worthy are you to take the scroll. The first reason why they give praise is because he is worthy. The worthy one, the only worthy one in heaven or earth, under the earth has been found. And that's where the praise begins. And from the words of their praise, we can see immediately what the overcoming was all about. Listen to the living creatures and the elders. Worthy are you to take the scroll. Why? For you were slain. And I've redeemed us to God by your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation. It's the victory of Jesus Christ on the cross over sin and death and the devil, redeeming his people by his blood. That is the overcoming that has made the Lamb worthy. His victory has brought redemption. He has overcome, conquered sin, death and the devil. Because he has overcome, he is worthy to take the scroll. Then the praise swells. to include all the hosts of heaven. Verse 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, saying with a loud voice, Worthy. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing. Makes you think dozens of times of Messiah. But this is far beyond Hamel's Messiah. Can you imagine the sound? 10,000 times 10,000 of angels saying with a loud voice. It's almost beyond imagination. And then, as if the praise of the angelic hosts were not enough, for indeed it could not be enough, the praise swells yet again to include every created being, The crescendo beyond all conceiving. Verse 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. Then the four living creatures said, amen, and the elders fell down and worshiped The sound and the sight are almost beyond our imagination, aren't they? Let's pause for a moment here and step back. This is powerful stuff. But what is really going on here? Why is this taking of the scroll so significant, so important, that it elicits the praise of every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and in the sea, and so on. And we could also ask, why all the symbolic terms? Why is Jesus described as the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, the lamb standing as if it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes? Well, briefly to answer the last question first, sometimes it's good to set aside a question in Revelation. Don't worry about all the symbolic language. We could get distracted at this point. It is Jesus who is being described. No commentators doubt this. And there are reasons why he's being described in such symbolic language. Let's just set that aside. Don't worry about it. It is Jesus. What is more important is the answer to the first two questions. What is going on here? Why is this taking of the scroll so significant that it elicits the praise of every creature in heaven and earth and under the earth? Well, what is being described here? Again, Reformed commentators don't disagree at all about this. What is being described here is a description in symbolic language of the enthronement of Jesus in heaven upon his ascension, having completed his work on the cross. Because of his perfect completion of redemption and his defeat of sin and death in the devil, Jesus has been granted all authority in heaven and earth. There's many places in the New Testament and even in the old that describe that. That's why it's such a big deal. This is what is called the mediatorial kingship of Christ because he completed his work as mediator perfectly. God gave him the name that is above every name and rulership over all things in heaven. And also it's called the mediatorial kingship because he's still our mediator in heaven and he rules as our mediator. There are a couple of places where this is described in non-symbolic language. To clarify it a bit, I'd like to read first from Daniel chapter 7, which is again prophetic, but it's very clear. It's non-symbolic language. It's a description of the ascension of Jesus and his enthronement. Daniel 7, verses 13 and 14. Daniel says, I was watching in the night visions. And behold, one like the son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He came to the ancient of days and they brought him near before him. Then to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away and his kingdom, the one which will not be destroyed. Perhaps even more clearly are the Apostle Paul's words in Philippians, chapter two, verse eight. Paul shows that the enthronement of Jesus, his glorification, was because he had perfectly completed his work of humiliation on the cross. Philippians 2, verse 8, speaking of Jesus, Paul wrote, being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore, therefore, God also has highly exalted him and given him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow. Think about Revelation 5, that every knee should bow, those in heaven and those on earth and those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. What is described here in symbolic language in Revelation 5 is the enthronement of Jesus. And that enthronement is such a significant event that it calls for the praise of every created being. And as we've noted, the scene is almost beyond our imagination as we consider the praise, but not beyond anticipation. Remember, David. David, actually, a thousand years before, anticipated the victory of Jesus Christ. Earlier, we read Psalm 103. I invite you to turn your Bibles to that last few verses of Psalm 103 again. It's page 587. I want to read verses 20 through 22. This is the ending that is different than what we would have expected for Psalm 103. David says in verse 20, Bless the Lord, you his angels who excel in strength, who do his word, heeding the voice of his word. Bless the Lord, all you his hosts, you ministers of his who do his pleasure. Bless the Lord, all his works in all places of his dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul. David calls for the praise. He calls for the praise of you, his angels, then all you, his hosts, then all his works and all places of his dominion, swelling praise, a magnificent crescendo to encompass all created beings. And why does David call for the praise? Look at verse 19. The Lord has established his throne in heaven. And his kingdom rules over all. Now, of course, because God is God, he rules over all. He always has. He is by nature sovereign. This statement could simply be a statement of the truth of God being God. He always has been. And he always will be. The New Testament tells us that there's more than more than that. The apostle Peter, The Great Day of Pentecost showed that there was more to it than that. Please turn your Bible to Acts chapter 2. Page 1071. Peter has quite a bit to say about David and the resurrection, but I'd like to point out something that's in here that's clear, that's not so much noticed. According to the apostle Peter, David was a prophet. Pay attention to that. He saw something to come. A prophet who saw certain important events involving Jesus. And according to Peter, David, as a prophet, saw both the resurrection and the enthronement of Jesus. Addressing the crowded Pentecost, I'm going to read selected phrases out of verses 30 through 33. Peter noted that David was a prophet and knew that God had promised that he would place the Christ on his throne, or in some of the translations, one of his descendants on his throne. It doesn't matter. It's very clear who he's referring to. That he would place one of his descendants on his throne. And then he says, seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ. And then he speaks of Jesus being exalted to the right hand of God. So David as a prophet says he saw that God would place one of his descendants on his throne. I think that's a more common translation. But the one in our Bible says that he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne. So what is going on here is that David as a prophet saw as it were the enthronement of Jesus from afar off. Says it specifically here in Acts 2. And he called upon all of heaven and earth to give praise. Bless the Lord, he says. Psalm 103 is the imperative. Bless the Lord. Revelation 5 is the indicative. It happened. The enthronement happens in Revelation 5 and all of heaven and earth heeds the call of the prophet and gives praise. In the light of Revelation 5 and Acts 2, we can understand Psalm 103 more fully. The end of Revelation 5 is the glorious fulfillment of the end of Psalm 103. There are many important events in the life of Jesus that are intimated ahead of time in the Old Testament to show us the importance of them. That's the way God has written the book, the Bible. The enthronement of Jesus Christ is a very important event. It's foreshadowed, described ahead of time, in veiled language in Psalm 103 by David, and then it's intimated a chapter beforehand. All the key elements of the scene in chapter three of Revelation are set forth for us to underline for us the great significance of it. Thousand years before David speaks of it, right before it happens in chapter three in the seven letters, Jesus calls attention to it. This may seem strange to us, but Jesus himself, it's not just Peter saying things here by the Spirit, Jesus himself talked this way. But he was when he was dealing with the Jews in John, chapter eight, he talked to them about Abraham. Abraham was two thousand years before Jesus. But Jesus says to the Jews, your father, Abraham, rejoiced to see my day and he saw it. and was glad. Exactly what he saw, we don't know. But he saw it. And David saw it here. David saw the enthronement. It's marvellous stuff. It shows us the relationship of the Testaments, doesn't it? There's a lot in the Old Testament that becomes clear only in the New. Look at Isaiah 53. Look at Psalm 22, Psalm 2, Psalm 110 and so on. Those passages all become clear and pointed to Christ in the New. Augustine, probably the one who said it the best, in the old is the new concealed. In the new is the old revealed. It's marvelous stuff, isn't it? For applications, it's hardly possible even to get decent applications out of this marvelous passage. It's too glorious. But let me point out a couple of things and ask for you to think about them. First, on the centrality of worship. As you consider Revelation four and five, why do you come to church? We all come, I imagine, for a combination of things. We come for fellowship. We come for teaching. We come to encourage one another and to be encouraged. If you're a kid, perhaps you came because your parents told you. That's all right. Perhaps you've been invited by a friend. The church is, above all, a worshipping community. And the glimpses that we get of heaven, that's what we see the most of. It's not to say that's all there is to heaven, but worship is the centre of heaven and we'd better, as Christians, get used to it. Worship needs to be at the centre of our lives, our homes and the church. And why do we worship? Because, primarily, we have been redeemed. Look at the worship of the living creatures and the elders. Chapter 5, Revelation verse 9. They say, worthy are you to take the book because you were slain. And it redeemed us to God by your blood out of every tribe, tongue, people and nation. Because of Christ's sacrifice, we are forgiven. We worship to thank him, to praise him. He is worthy of all the worship we could bring and much, much more. And when we mention forgiveness of sins, I don't know if everybody here knows for sure, everyone who's here today, do you know that your sins are forgiven? Because of our sins, every one of us deserves God's anger, righteous anger, and he sees all of our sins. There's no way to escape his anger except through Jesus Christ. If you don't know that your sins are forgiven, pray to God, confess your sins to him, hiding none. It doesn't be any good to hide them. He sees them anyway. Ask him to forgive you and he will. And you will then be forever at peace with him. 1 John 1, verse 9. John says, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And finally, for all of us, on the reality of Jesus' victory. Do you ever get anxious, worried, worn out with troubles? I think all of us do at various times. That's what Jesus was getting at. when he addressed his disciples on the night of his betrayal. Let me read again, John 16, 33, where we began the service. Jesus gives them this wonderful discourse, and he ends with this. These things I have spoken to you that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. This was said at the hardest possible time for Jesus. He was going to the cross that night. He doesn't sugarcoat trouble. Trouble, financial trouble, health, bereavement, disappointment in relationships. In some cases, for some Christians, persecution. Trouble is real. It won't go away. One good thing that Job's friend Eliphaz said, he didn't do much good to say, but one thing he said that was good is, man is born to trouble if the sparks fly upward. Trouble is real. Jesus doesn't sugarcoat it, but what does he say? Be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. The remarkable thing is that this was said before Jesus actually defeated Christ, the devil on the cross, it was right before him, but he was so confident he knew that he would defeat it. For the sake of his disciples, he could say, I have done it. It's as good as done. And now he's on the throne in heaven. And the whole book of Revelation tells us about it. Revelation is written for our comfort. I'm the world's worst person to tell you this, because I'm a constant worrier, brothers and sisters. But Jesus is on the throne in heaven. He's caring for his people. Nothing can separate us from his love. He is sovereign in our lives. He knows what he's doing. He has overcome the world. On final note, I think it's quite remarkable. David, in Psalm 103, from afar, a thousand years before, saw the enthronement of Jesus. Peter tells us that in Acts 2. And he called upon heaven and earth to praise when the enthronement occurred. Where was David when it happened? He was there. He had the unique privilege of seeing it from afar off and then being present when it occurred. David was surely present, part of the great choir of those who gave praise that day. God's word is marvelous, isn't it? Things planned out from the beginning to the end. Listen to Paul reflect on it in Romans 11. He said, oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his judgments, how inscrutable his ways. For who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor, who has given a gift to him that it might be repaid for from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. Let's pray. Lord God, your plans set before the foundation of the world are wonderful. Your ways are indeed past finding out. Lord, we we wonder why things happen in our lives. But Lord, you're working all things together for good to those who love you. You're building an eternal kingdom. You're gathering in your saints. Lord, we've seen some of their praise even now in Revelation five. And we offer praise with them and will offer praise with them eternally in your presence forever. We thank you, Lord, for this great event of the enthronement of Jesus in heaven. We thank you for how you made it clear to David a thousand years before, and then even right before the previous chapter, you drew our attention to it so that we would notice it and sit up and pay attention. Thank you for this. Lord, forgive our lack of faith, our lack of trust, our lack of boldness. Increase our love. Cause us, Lord, daily to cast our cares upon you and to know that you care for us. We pray this all in the name of Jesus. Amen.