0902 WHO IS WORTHY?

SEPTEMBER 2 = REVELATION 5

WHO IS WORTHY?

The scene is still the throne room in heaven, where John has seen God in indescribable glory, surrounded by worship and full of wisdom and power. But remember, John was invited up to see “what must happen after this.” In this chapter, he is going to be introduced to how it all will unfold.

The central item is now introduced:

“Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals.”

Notice that this scroll is in the right hand—the hand of power and authority—of God himself. Perhaps God has written this scroll. In any case, it is not explained as to what this scroll is. But here is my understanding of it. 

Clearly, this scroll is going to be seen as the single most important thing, if you want to know “what must happen after this.” You might say that it is the scroll of the future history of the world, God’s will for how the end will unfold. It has writing on both sides, so it is packed with information. But then the scroll turns out to be unreadable, because it is rolled up and sealed with seven seals. 

“And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it.”

The deal is, for God’s will to be carried out, this scroll must be read. Until the seals are broken and the scroll read, human history is stuck in an unsolved mystery, frozen in time with evil winning and churches suffering and believers in persecution, lost souls caught in the trap of Satan with no one to tell them of a way out, and all history caught in a grand pause of silence from heaven over the unresolved hold of Satan on the earth.

And so the call goes out to find someone who is able to restart the final chapter of history. The one who will do so must take the scroll from the right hand of the One on the Throne, and must become the turning point for all of human history on earth. That requires someone to be worthy of doing so. 

Who could possibly be worthy of being the building block of history, the fixer of the relationship of heaven and earth? So the cry goes out. They look in heaven. Angels. Archangels, including Michael the Warrior and Gabriel the Announcer. The four beings, the 24 elders on thrones. No. No one is worthy in heaven.

They look on earth. Church leaders. Caesar and kings of the earth. Prophets. Apostles. Wise elders and world leaders, prolific writers and deep thinkers, brave leaders and mighty warriors, holy men and women. No one on earth is worthy.

They even look under the earth. Let’s say they are looking at the saints who have gone before. And still no one under the earth is worthy. Not Moses or Aaron or the prophets. Not Deborah or Gideon or the mighty men of valor and strength. Not King David or Solomon. No animal sacrifice, no priest, no offering. Not Mother Teresa or Billy Graham. No one in heaven or on earth or under the earth.

Do you realize what that means? It means there is no hope, no forward movement of history, no resolution, no justice. It means that evil wins and all are lost in sin and judgment. And that is why John says this:

“I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside.”

But there is hope. For there is one. One in the universe who is worthy.

“Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.””

To be sure, he is a Lion. A fearless conqueror. In fact, he is THE Lion. He is able, for he has triumphed.

“Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. 

Something shifted suddenly. The symbols have changed. The fearsome Lion is replaced by a Lamb who has been slain.

The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.”

And, sure enough, this Lamb is, in fact, the Almighty God. It seems that God conquered sin and death by bearing sin and dying. And by becoming the victim, the Lamb became the Lion.

“He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne.”

And so begins the end of all things, as the Lamb takes the scroll. It is a moment in heaven that will soon take effect in the history of the earth. The moment is worthy of celebration, but in this moment, it is the Lamb himself who deserves honor, for nothing could happen here without him.

“And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. 

And we see these divine characters whom we met before now giving the Lamb the worship they had given to the one who was on the Throne. Because, after all, they are one and the same.

Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.”

Notice that the highest ranking heavenly beings—the four living creatures and the 24 elders—each is holding a harp. I can only assume that they were all playing those harps as they sang. We’re about to see what they sang, but it seems to be accompanied, and everyone seems to know the music.

Notice also that somehow they also are holding golden bowls full of incense. Incense, just like God had Moses put into the Holy Place in the tabernacle. And as the smoke rises up, John realizes that it is the prayers of the saints. Soon we will see what kinds of prayers the saints are offering, but suffice it to say that they all rise up before God and are heard.

And here is what they sang:

“And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.””

It’s nice to know that even in heaven new songs are being written as the surroundings change. And this song must be truly good news to those churches that were receiving John’s letter. Because the churches on earth were in the midst of such severe persecution, living in a city where Satan lives, being thrown into prison for ten days, and so forth. But in this song they hear that heaven promises “they will reign on the earth!”

It’s true, isn’t it? Don’t we reign on the earth? We have the spiritual authority that Jesus had, and which he gave to his followers before he left. In Jesus’ name, they are able to cast out demons and heal diseases. They can resist the devil and he flees from them. Wherever they go, they establish kingdom outposts in that neighborhood, in that city. They are more than conquerors. So already, we are encouraged to hold on, for we will have authority over kingdoms and nations in Jesus’ name.

“Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!””

And now we see that the praise that started among the inner circle of beings around the throne has spread to the vast multitude of angels in heaven. And still, their focus and wonder is to honor and worship the Lamb. And notice that they sing with a LOUD voice. It doesn’t say they turn up the amps to blast out the harp music, but that they used their voices to make a loud noise in honor of the Lamb.

And, just when you think the praise has become as big a festival as you can imagine, it gets even bigger!

“Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!””

Remember how Jesus said that if the little children don’t praise him, the very rocks and stones will cry out in praise? This is that kind of moment. Every creature. Not just every human. Humans can rebel and choose not to praise. But the rest of creation joins in, just by its existence. The trees clap their hands. The mountains bow down. The rocks cry out. And every creature in heaven, including the sparrows and eagles joins in. And every creature on earth, including lions and tigers and bears, oh my, joins in. And every creature under the earth, including groundhogs and earthworms, joins in. And even every creature on the sea, including dolphins and sharks, joins in. And they recognize him on the throne and the Lamb, because even for those creatures of very little brains know instinctively who their creator is.

And then the worship circles back to the central group around the throne, and the four living creatures and the 24 elders put a bow on it and complete the circle.

“The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.”

That is a lot of material in two chapters of Revelation. It is written for our comfort. May you and I know the comfort that comes through the Lamb today and for eternity. Amen.