2003-09-12
Good Morning Dear Ones,
This morning, I am led to continue discussing the remarkable view of heaven that we are given in REV 4 & 5. Last week, we covered REV 5: 1-5. Today, we pick up at REV 5: 6 right after one of the elders assured John that the “Lion from Judah’s tribe, the great Descendant of David” was worthy to open the scroll with the seven seals. Remember that this scroll represents the mortgage to dominion over the earth, which Satan had stolen from God (albeit temporarily) in the Garden of Eden [GN 3: 1-6]. The seven seals represent the judgments that God will bring down upon the earth in the end times. REV 5: 5, “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.” The victory referred to here is Christ’s work done on the cross, which signaled Satan’s ultimate defeat. Satan knows this which is why he is so angry now; he has only a limited time left [REV 12: 12].
Now, let’s look at REV 5: 6-8. “Then I saw a Lamb standing in the center of the throne , surrounded by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb appeared to have been killed. It had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God that have been sent through the whole earth. The Lamb went and took the scroll from the right hand of the One Who sits on the throne. As He did so, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each and a harp and gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.” The seven horns that the Lamb had represent omnipotence, and the seven eyes omniscience. The “seven Spirits of God” reminds us that the Lord Jesus was endued with the full measure of the Holy Spirit. Remember that seven in God’s number representing completion. JN 32: 34, “The One Whom God sent speaks God’s words, because God gives Him the fullness of His Spirit.” When one says, “Christ is fully God and fully man,” he is telling the truth. The seven Spirits “sent out through the whole earth” suggests omnipresence. Very likely the prayers of God’s people here include prayers of martyrs mentioned in REV 6: 10 crying out for God to avenge their blood.
REV 5: 9-10 is the song all of them sang, which is about redemption and the Lamb’s worthiness. “You are worthy to take the scroll and to break open its seals. For You were killed, and by Your death You bought for God people from every tribe, language, nation, and race. You have made a kingdom of priests to serve our God, and they shall rule on earth.” The message of this song is huge for every believer. It lays out the reasons why we should endure in our faith despite the pain, sorrow, suffering, and loss that Satan brings us. It also consummates a prophecy that was made long ago in EX 19: 5-6, “Now, if you will obey Me and keep My covenant, you will be My own people. The whole earth is Mine, but you will be My chosen people, a nation of priests.” Think about it. While this promise was made to the believing Jewish people-in light of the “in-grafting” of the wild olive branches [Gentile believers] to the cultured olive tree [believing Jews] mentioned in RO 11: 16-24-it applies to all believers! RO 8: 17 promises us that we will be joint-heirs with Christ to the Kingdom, which after the end times events will be the new Jerusalem [heaven and earth]. What greater reason could practical-minded, obediently faithful believers have for wanting the Glorious Appearing to come soon, to cry out, “Manana tha!?” That Aramaic word means “Our Lord, come!” and is found in 1 COR 16: 22.
The worship described so far involves the heavenly denizens of heaven, but doesn’t give us a feel for just how many of them there are. Now look at REV 5: 11-14 to gain a view of it’s extent. “Again I looked and I heard angels, thousands and millions of them! They stood around the throne, the four living creatures, the elders, and sang in a loud voice: ‘The Lamb Who was slain is worthy to receive power, wealthy, wisdom, and strength, honor glory, and praise!’ And I heard every creature in heaven, on earth, in the world below, and in the sea-all living being in the universe-and they were singing: ‘To Him Who sits on the throne and to the Lamb, be praise and honor, glory and might, forever and ever!’ The four living creatures answered, ‘Amen!’ And the elders fell down and worshipped.” The two songs encased in this passage are called “The Sevenfold Doxology” and “The Fourfold Doxology” respectively. Their words sing the truth to the entire universe regarding what our Lord deserves. We are told that our chief career in heaven will be the worship of God, our God and His Son Who deserve nothing less from us. I don’t know about you, but I have no greater goal than to be with each of you in heaven joining in this remarkable and blessed worship of our loving Abba.
PRAYER: O Lord, the picture of heaven that You give us blesses our lives with purpose and encourages us to stand up to Satan’s buffeting no matter what the evil one sends our way. The purpose You give us is an extension of the faith You give us. When we have enduring faith, we will understand that Your greatest purpose is to bring us back to You from our lives of sinfulness, so that we can dwell with You in the Kingdom of Heaven. JN 6: 39-40, “And it is the will of Him Who sent Me that I should not lose any of all those He has given Me, but that I should raise them all to life on the last Day. For What My Father wants is that all who see the Son and believe in Him should have eternal life. And I will raise them to life on the last Day.” Those words spoken by Your Son help focus our sights on “running straight toward the goal in order to win the prize,” as PHIL 3: 14 puts it. Dearest Lord, we accept the challenge that is before us and place our confession of sins on Your throne. We acknowledge Your supreme sovereignty over our lives and yield our desires to control to You. You have called us in HE 5: 13-14 to mature in our faith. “Anyone who has to drink milk is still a child, without any experience in the matter of right and wrong. Solid food, on the other hand, is for adults, who through practice are able to distinguish between good and evil.” We understand what You mean by “practice” is daily time in Your word, willingness to listen for the direction of the Holy Spirit, frequent prayer where we allow You to speak first, keeping our eyes on Your perspective on the circumstances of our lives, obeying Christ’s directive to “love one another, as He loves us,” having strength and courage of faith to stand up against Satan’s fiery arrows, sharing our faith and service with other believers, and witnessing to the truth of Your word so as to bring others to the place where the Holy Spirit can grant them faith and salvation. Your love, compassion, patience, goodness, and kindness toward mankind is always evident if we look for it, particularly in the sacrifice of Your only begotten Son on the cross. His obedience to You models for us what we should do. No ordinary human can fully express the thanks You deserve for this and for the granting of the gift of the Holy Spirit to dwell in the hearts and souls of every believer. Your grace, unmerited favor, is unparalleled. Our only supplication, Dear Father, is to that we pray You should help us keep our faith strong and vibrant, our relationship with You loving and dynamic, and our courage in the face of trials consistent and more powerful than anything the enemy can produce. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.
In next week’s message, we take a closer look at cherubim and seraphim from the words of the Scriptures. They too are involved in the picture of the Kingdom of Heaven that we are given. Truthfully, this is a subject which has had me confused in the past. But the place to untangle any confusion is in the word of God. Why does this matter so much to us? I have to guess that God wanted us to see how very orderly worship in heaven is, how very carefully planned is the task of each heavenly being. The more we learn about heaven, the more a believer eagerly awaits the Day when we will receive our resurrection bodies and have that meeting with Christ in the air [1 THESS 4: 13-17]. When we obey God, we experience His blessed presence and the knowledge that we are doing our covenant part to work toward His purpose (stated in JN 6: 39-40). My greatest joy would be to be sharing the life our Father and His Son have prepared for us with each of you in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn