The Throne, The Lamb, and The Scroll

Revelation 4 & 5
The Throne, The Lamb, and The Scroll

Basic Outline
• Intro Revelation Again- Talk about the formula for understanding revelation from chapter 1.
• Talk about the transition point at the beginning of chapter 4.
• Read chapter 4
• Discuss in detail chapter 4
• Read chapter 5
• Discuss in detail chapter 5
• Conclude with an application

Would you open your bible to Revelation chapter 4?
• In November and December, we went through the seven letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3. In three weeks, we discussed Jesus’ letters to these ancient churches, and I received so much positive feedback regarding that series.
• Many of you asked me when we were going to continue a study in Revelation, and I didn’t know when I would get the chance to speak again on Sunday.
• Well, the Lord made a way for me shortly after that, and I will be teaching on two different occasions in the next couple of weeks. So I thought… let’s keep going. Let’s study Revelation together.
• Tonight, we will focus on chapters 4 & 5, and the title of my message is “The Throne, The Lamb, and The Scroll.”

Prayer

Intro to Revelation

So the book of Revelation is the revealing of Jesus.
• Revelation comes from the word is “Apocalypso,” meaning “unveiling or revealing.”
• In this apocalyptic book, Jesus reveals to John his heart for his people. We read that so clearly in his heart for His church in the seven churches of Revelation.
• The church is the central focus of Jesus’ revelation in the first couple of chapters.
• The word for church in the Greek “Eklesia” is mentioned in the first three chapters of Revelation 17 times.
• In the remaining chapters of Revelation, the term ekklesia is mentioned only one more time, in chapter 22.
• The church does make its appearance again until chapter 18 of Revelation as the bride of Christ participates in the marriage supper of the Lamb, returning with Christ to the earth to judge it, and ruling with Christ in millenial kingdom.
• So why is this important!!
• Revelation 4 marks a transition point in the book that follows the outline Jesus set out for John in the first chapter of this book:

• Revelation 1:19— Therefore write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things.

So Jesus tell John write down three things:
1. The revealing of his glorious power in Revelation 1 that John has just witnessed in that first chapter.
2. Things that are— meaning the letters that Jesus had for the churches of John’s day that we read in Revelation 2 & 3.
3. Things that will take place after these things— These are things that are happening chronologically after John’s day, and speaking of future events.

You might ask: How do we know when John is speaking about the future events and not just to his day? He helps us by writing the same phrase from Revelation 1:19 at the beginning of chapter 4.

Chapter 4 opens with “after these things,” just as Revelation 1:19 finishes with Jesus instructing John to write of what will take place “after these things.”

Let us now examine this important transition point in Jesus’ Revelation, as John has this powerful vision of the throneroom of God.

Revelation 4:1-11—After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.” 2 Immediately, I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. 3 And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads. 5 Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God; 6 and before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. 7 The first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. 8 And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.” 9 And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 11 “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”
What a powerful passage! A glimpse into the very throne room of God!
This is heaven. There is so much to unpack here.
1. There is an open door, a trumpet sounding, and a voice calling.
• After these things…
• It is as if the camera suddenly zooms out and is no longer focused on the seven ancient churches; it is now heavenly-focused. John will spend the remainder of his writing observing all this happening from a heavenly view.
• Jesus in Revelation 3 said, “See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it.” Jesus has made a way for all to enter into heaven and have access to a relationship to the Almighty God.
• John sees a door open and trumpet sounds. This is a direct connection to 1 Thessalonians. Paul was writing to the church about how those who are dead in Christ will rise to be with him.
1 Thessalonians 4:16—The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.

• Where is the church in this future vision? With the Lord. John’s vision almost acts this out as he hears the trumpet and then is suddenly in the manifest glorious throneroom of God.
• These passages are what give us the basis for what we call the rapture.
• We get the term rapture from this passage in Thessalonians where it says believers will be “caught up.” The greek word is “harpazo,” and means “to seize, snatch, to carry away suddenly.”
• Some say: If the rapture isn’t in the Bible, then why do we believe? Well, that depends on what language you read the Bible in, because if you were read this passage in Latin, then the word for “caught up” in Latin is the word “raptus,” which is where we get the English word “rapture.”
• Just because a word isn’t in the Bible doesn’t mean that the principles behind that word are not present. A couple other words that are in the Bible are “trinity, incarnation, monotheism, and… bible.”
• Just because those words are in the Bible doesn’t mean that the concepts and ideas don’t exist.
• This first chapter gives us a picture of where the church is going: We are going to heaven. And more than that… we are going to God’s presence forever.
• Just like John hears the voice calling to him to come and see… you and I will one day hear the voice of our Savior calling us home and from that point on we will always be with him.
• At the rapture, Jesus comes for His church— unexpectedly, without notice. At the second coming, He comes with the church, and the whole world, every eye, will see it happen.
• This is crucial to understand about the remainder of the book of Revelation.

2. The Thrones, The One Upon It, and the Twenty Four Elders

• So John is caught up. And what is the first thing he sees in the Spirit.
• He sees the throne of God and the One who sits upon it.
• The word throne is a key term in this chapter as it is repeated over a dozen different times (” throne ” is repeated thirty times in the book of Revelation).
• The Throne itself is not what draws his attention more than the one who sits upon it.
• John tries to picture God by describing him with three kinds of brillant stones.
• He mentions Jasper, a clear, diamond-like gem with exceptional brilliance.
• He mentions Sardius stone, a gem that is like a ruby and has a reddish hue.
• John says he saw a rainbow in appearance like a emerald.
• The rainbow, from the Old Testament, was a symbol to Noah and the following generations that God’s judgment of the earth was over, in that he would not judge them with rain again.
• Amazing that the manifest presence of God truly reflects and iminents his character: God keeps his promises. God has made peace with those who are his. No longer holding their sins against them because of the death and resurrection of Christ.
• The next thing John sees is the twenty-four elders on 24 thrones.

• Who are the 24 elders?
• There is a ton of speculation from theologians regard these 24 elders. Some say it could be 24 angels.
• Others say it could represent the complete covenant family of God, with 24 being a combination of the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles. So half could be Old Testament saints and the other could represent the new covenant. This is truly just an attempt to make the number 24 work together with the context.
• One of the theories I would say is closest to explain the reason for 24 elders would be in the Old Testament when the priests were divided into 24 groups. These groups made up of thousands of priests would take turns serving within the temple. The priest represents the presence of God’s people in the hot spot of God’s presence on earth, the temple.
• Who is that representative in the throne room of God… His church.

3. The 24 elders are a glorified church in the presence of God.
• Never in the Old or New Testament do we have angels or Old Testament saints referred to as elders. This is a title specifically given to overseers within the church.
• And beyond just the title, their appearance clearly points to believers in their glorified state.
• Verse 4 describes them as wearing gold crowns and white robes.
• Word used: στέφανος (stephanos)
• Means: a victor’s wreath or reward crown
• Used in athletic victories or military honor
• Not a royal ruling crown (diadēma)

These crowns are the victor crowns that Paul spoke about when writing Timothy in his last letter we have in scripture

2 Timothy 4:7-8— I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

• The elders received these crowns as a reward for their faithfulness to God, and this is what is promised to each of us throughout scripture as we seek to keep the faith.
• In the same way, the white robes are another sign of Christ’s followers.
• Jesus had promised this to the church in his letter Sardis
• Revelation 3:4-5—He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments, and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.”
• So if your image is of 24 angels in white robes… There are no bible verses in the entirety of scripture that describe angels in white robes.
• These white robes and crowns are for Jesus’ church, who have been washed in His blood and are now victorious with Him forever.
• Can’t emphasize the importance of the church no longer being present on the earth in this passage, as it shows us that those who are redeemed remain with Christ through all that happens in the remainder of this book.
• So if angelic beings don’t show up in white robes how do they show up in our passage: As these living creatures known as cherubim.

4. Living Creatures and the Song of Heaven
• We could do an entire study just on these living creatures.
• Their significance throughout the story of the Bible goes from guarding Eden after the fall, to Ezekiel’s vision of the chariot of the Lord, to Isaiah’s vision and commission, and at different points in the book of Revelation.
• Are these symbolic or real? Great question, because later in the book, we are going to see things that are symbolic.
• We talked about how in apocalyptic literature, like the book of Revelation, signs and symbols are sometimes used.
• I believe that because of the vast history in scripture of these living creatures being present in multiple heavenly visions, we can conclude that they are real heavenly beings with a role to play in the presence of God.
• What is that role? They are the liturgical worship leaders of heaven.
• They are declaring in the presence of God day and night:
• “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.”
• In Greek and Hebrew writings, when something is repeated three times in a row, it is not just for emphasis but is defined as an “absolute.”
• In the Bible, the only attribute of God we see described this way is his holiness. This means that our greatest understanding of God should be that he is Holy, Holy, Holy.
• Its interested that it is not Love Love Love or Power Power Power or Mercy Mercy Mercy.
• God’s holiness reminds us of our place. Holy means “set apart or other.” This means that God is totally other than us.
• God is distinct from creation, morally flaseless, completely in control, eternally existent, and alone deserving of worship and honor.

The response of the elders shows the heartbeat of every true follower of Jesus
• The living creatures lead the chorus of worship, and the elders fall down before the throne of God and worship him forever. They lay down their crowns before the throne.
• They declare God worhty to receive glory and honor and power for he created all thigns and by your will they are created and have their being.

Why are we casting down our crowns?
• Are you deserving of a reward? Is that reward from you alone?
• This is the ultimate picture of what worship should be.
• This is how we should actually live!
• “Whatever reward the saints have, they are quick to recognize that it really belongs to God, so they cast their crowns before the throne.”
• “The essence of worship is to return to God that which is His own.”

We are not worthy. Only God is worthy. And that becomes so clear this chapter 5 as John realizes the song of heaven is about to take on a new meaning in sight of the great scroll.

Revelation 5:1-14— I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals. 2 And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it. 4 Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it;
• We know the scroll is valuable because it is in the right hand of God.
• What is this scroll, though?
1. The Scroll is the deed to the earth.
• For modern readers, this scroll seems odd.
• But anyone in the early church reading John’s writing of this scroll would immediately recognize its signficance and the message.
• The scroll is written on inside and out.
• Normally a scroll was sealed in sections with wax, either on the very edges of the scroll or on the inside. When a scribe had completed one section, he’d roll it up to conceal the writing, seal it, and then continue on to the next section.
• By this process he would assure that whoever read the scroll would do so in the predetermined order and that the only person who would read the document was someone who had the authority to break the seals.
• Ancient readings readers would instantly recognize this scroll as a real estate transaction scroll. Title deeds to a piece of property were often written on a scroll and sealed with seven seals.
• In the Old Testament days, real estate deeds had a redemption clause that allowed a former owner to buy back his land; the land could never be sold permanently. So if someone had lost a piece of land but later could fufill the requirements to buy it back, he had the authority to take the scroll, break its seals, and read the words inside.
• It then became his property. If he could not fulfill the conditions, a close relative could “redeem” the property instead. The Bible calls him the ga’al or the king’s redeemer.
• You may recall the story of the kingsmen redeemer in the book of Ruth.
• So the kingsmen redeemer had to meet three requiments
1. They had to be related to the original owner
2. Had to be able to fufill the requirements for purchasing the property.
3. Had to be willing to buy back the property.
In heaven, there is a dilemma, and John begins to weep.
There is no one worthy to open the scroll.
What does this have to do with us?
• The scroll is the deed for the earth.
• God had given dominion of the earth to Adam and he failed.
• His sin cursed the ground and cursed mankind with sin.
• As it says in Romans 8. The whole creation went into chaos and is groaning for redemption. And John sees the significance of this moment and the need for a redeemer:
John’s tears represent the tears of human history without Christ.
• Adam and Eve crying over the lifeless body of their son Abel.
• The tears of the children in Israel living in slavery and affliction
• They are the sobs and tears wrung from the heart and soul of God’s people as they’ve stood beside graves of loved ones and experienced the indescribable heartache and disappointment of life.
• They are sobs of the mistreated, the abused, the sick, the poor, and the broken.
• If no redeemer could be found the earth would forever be cosigned to death, despair and the powers of evil.
But John is spoken to:

Revelation 5:5-14— and one of the elders said to me, “Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.” 6 And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth. 7 And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. 8 When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. 10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.” 11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.” 13 And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.” 14 And the four living creatures kept saying, “Amen.” And the elders fell down and worshiped.
The greatest worship service of history! What a celebration!
• John sees a Lamb. We know this is Jesus.
• This lamb is slain. He bears the markings of the cross.
• He has seven horns, which symbolize authority. Seven eyes that point to his endless presence, wisdom, and power.
• There is one who is worthy to buy back God’s people.
• There is one who can fix everything.
What a powerful reminder to us tonight.
• He has abandoned you. And he isn’t going to start now
• He is working all things out. He can and will redeem.
Now the worship songs of heaven are songs that we need to not simply sing or memorize… but are called to live.
• Jesus has made a way for us to be a royal priesthood and to rule and reign with Him.
• So we are need to live in such a way that worships him and declares him holy.
• Will you willing cast down your crown? Recognize all you have his
• Will you willing surrender every blessing, all honor, and all praise to Him? Not seeking more for yourself or turning your heart to idols
• Will you glorify Him and point all to Him? Will you make him known in every area of your life to everyone so that that worship service will be full of people from your life, who heard you repeating the words of the elders “Don’t weep… God has made a way!”
PRAYER