2003-09-05
Good Morning Fellow Believers,
It is my hope that you are making the discovery of how amazing and detailed is the description of heaven that our Lord has given us. How hard it is for the believer to patiently await God’s time to bring us home! But wait, we must, because we are called upon to put our trust in God’s wisdom in selecting the right time. I am led this morning to write about REV 5 which gives us, through John’s vision, a look at the extraordinarily crucial position of our Lord Jesus Christ in achieving God’s objective of wresting dominion over the earth back into His hands from those of the devil. The question of why should we worship Jesus Christ is also answered in remarkable fashion in this chapter.
REV 5: 1-3, “I saw a scroll in the right hand of the One Who sits on the throne; it was covered with writing on both sides and was sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel, who announced in a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?’” From what we saw in REV 4, the One Who sits on the throne refers to God, the Father. But just what is this scroll, and why is it important to us? For the answer to those questions, we must review, IS 14: 11-15, which is what happened to the “King of Babylon” [Lucifer, who became Satan]. “You used to be honored with the music of harps; but now here you are in the world of the dead. You lie on a bed of maggots and are covered with a blanket of worms. King of Babylon, bright morning star, you have fallen from heaven! In the past you conquered nations, but now you have been thrown to the ground. You were determined to climb up to heaven and to place your throne above the highest stars. You thought you would sit like a king on that mountain in the north where the gods assemble You said you would climb to the tops of the clouds and be like the Almighty. But instead, you have been brought down to the deepest part of the world of the dead.” The key phrases that really outline Lucifer’s problem are “you thought you would sit like a king” and “be like the Almighty.” If there is one thing our Sovereign Deity will not tolerate is an effort to usurp His supreme authority. That fact that this was done by His beloved chief angel in charge of worship, described as “an example of perfection, wise and handsome, who lived in Eden and wore gems of every kind made for you” [EZK 28: 12-13a] and “whose conduct was perfect from the day you were created until you began to do evil” [EZK 28: 15] made Lucifer’s fall even more egregious to the Father. Satan’s dirtiest deed was accomplished in GN 3: 1-6, which is the story of Satan’s deception of Adam and Eve and the original sin. At that moment in the Garden of Eden, Satan has evilly wrested control over Earth from the Father’s hands. God knew this was going to happen and was ready with His plan of salvation for mankind even before the earth had been created. That is why 1 PET 1: 20-21 and COL 1: 19-20 tell us that Christ was chosen before the Creation to bring mankind back to God through His Atonement. The scroll with writing on both sides referred to in REV 5: 1 is the mortgage on earth, the symbol of dominion over this planet. The seven seals are God’s perfect number of judgments that will come down upon those who dwell in unbelief, the sin that God detests most.
REV 5: 4-5, “I [John] cried bitterly because no one could be found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside it. Then one of the elders said to me, ‘Do not cry. Look! The lion from Judah’s tribe, the great Descendant of David, has won the victory, and He can break the seven seals and open the scroll.’” Dear Ones, this is huge! Because of His great example of obedience to God, His willingness to endure scourging, abuse, pain and death on the cross at the hand of unbelievers, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the Lion of Judah, the great Descendant of David has won the victory. He alone can open the seven seals, i.e. deliver dominion over earth, by means of God-commanded judgments, back into the hands of the Father. When we have enduring faith in Christ, we also share in that victory and gain eternal joy and fellowship with the Father in the Kingdom of Heaven. Now, that, in my humble opinion, is ample reason to not only want to go to heaven for eternity to live with the Father, but also to believe in Jesus Christ.
PRAYER: O Heavenly Father, how easy it is for us to take You and Your Son for granted. But that is human folly and has nothing to do with wisdom. Each day that we spend taking time to delve into Your word, You have something more to teach us. You possess a tremendous and infinite wisdom combined with exquisite compassion for Your undeserving creation. PS 145: 8-9, “You are merciful, Lord! You are kind and patient and always loving. You are good to everyone, and you take care of all Your creation.” Your attributes and Your actions are unparalleled in their righteousness and goodness. You gave us Jesus Christ, our Messiah, as an example of how You want us to be. Our imperfections and sinfulness often get in the way of that, but we are eager to stretch toward Christ’s wonderful example. Lord, You allow Satan and his evil angels to hurl fiery darts at us, which arrive in the form of pain, suffer, loss, and disappointment. But in Your remarkable compassion, You are always in control. That is why You commanded Paul to write 1 COR 10: 13, “Every test that you have experienced is the kind that normally comes to people. But God keeps His promise, and He will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test, He will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out.” Your disappointment with Your favored angel of worship, Lucifer, didn’t embitter You. It didn’t make You refuse to extend Your most excellent grace to mankind. We stand before You to confess that we are sinners and wholly undeserving of Your kindness. We acknowledge that we are utterly dependant on You and on our faith in Christ. We understand and believe in JN 14: 6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one goes to the Father except by Me.” When we study the greatest accomplishment of Your Son, that of bringing back mankind to You by virtue of His victory over Satan by His Atonement, we are brought to life-giving faith in Him. We are made to see how critical that faith is to our gaining everlasting life and bliss in heaven with You. So, Dearest Abba, we dedicate ourselves to that faith and to serving You on earth as joint-heirs to Your Kingdom with Christ [RO 8: 17]. You are to be thanked and praised for eternity. PS 104: 1-2, “O Lord my God, You are very great; You are clothed with honor and majesty. You cover Yourself with light, as with a garment, and stretch out the heavens like a curtain.” Our pledge today is found in PS 9: 1-2, “I will thank You, Lord with all my heart. I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done. I will be filled with joy because of You. I will sing praises to Your name, O Most High.” Today, we come before Your throne to ask that You continue to give us the strength of faith and courage to endure against Satan’s evil. You have our trust, loyalty, diligence, obedience, glory, honor, worship, and adoration. We thank You and offer You heartfelt praise. In Christ’s name. Amen.
The description of heaven from REV 5 continues in next week’s message. As a person who is in a minority of believers in my own family, I am faced with tremendous opposition to my faith in Jesus Christ. I’m often accused of having turned my back on my Jewish heritage. However, those who have true faith understand that instead, the Lord has added to my heritage by lifting the veil from me and allowing me to know for a surety that Christ is my Messiah and King. There are many Messianic Jews in this country, but we are still a small part of the whole of North American Jewry. And yet, the Father has told us in IS 49: 6 that we are to be “a light to the nations.” Therein lies the responsibility that balances the privilege of being a Messianic Jew. However, we are not alone in sharing this responsibility. The moment that the “wild olive branch” was “in-grafted to the cultured olive tree,” my Gentile siblings in Christ agreed to take on that responsibility [RO 11: 17]. Christ made it clear that we were to share our faith with others who might listen to our witnessing in MT 28: 19-20, the Great Commission. This idea was furthered in Paul’s writings too. So, Dear Ones, we can revel in God’s love, count in His blessings for our endurance in faith, and share together in witnessing to our faith in the hope that others will be brought to salvation by the Holy Spirit. Hallelujah!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn