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Revelation Chapter 5.
And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written with them, and on the backside, sealed with 7 seals, I saw a strong Angel proclaiming with a loud voice who was worthy to open the boat and reduce the seals thereof. And no man in heaven nor on earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the boat, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereof.
And one of the elders sayeth unto me, We've not behold the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and loose the seven seals thereof. And I beheld low in the midst of the throne, and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders of the Lamb as it had been slain, having 7 horns, and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him, and sat upon the throne.
And when he had taken the book, 4 beats, and four and 20 elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps and golden vials, full of odors, which are the prayers of Saints. And they sang a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof. For thou was slain, and has redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred and tongue, and people and nation, and has made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth.
And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts, and the elders. And a number of them was 10,000 * 10,000, and thousands of thousands, saying, with a loud voice, worthy as the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing, and every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth as such as are in the sea. And all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing and honor and glory and power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne.
And under the lamb forever and ever. And the four beasts said Amen, The four and 20 elders fell down and worshiped him that liveth forever and ever.
Well, as we mentioned the thing, it bears repeating. As we embark on this chapter, we find in the 4th chapter that it's his right and title and his worthiness because he's creator. Just notice the last verse of chapter 4. Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power. For thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
But now, as we take up this chapter, it goes beyond his worthiness and right, entitled Justice, Creator. But here it's on the basis of redemption. And it might be helpful, just to remind our hearts, brethren, that every blessing for man, whether it's the heavenly company, whether it's the earthly company in a future day, every blessing for man, is based on redemption when man sinned in the Garden of Eden.
God immediately announced the news that the woman's seed would bruise the head of the serpent, and an innocent victim had to die so that coats of skin could be provided for Adam and Eve. Abel brought a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, because there was the shedding of blood, and without the shedding of blood is no remission. All those sacrifices, ordained under the Levitical order of things in the Old Testament, only pointed forward in the heart and mind of God.
To that supreme sacrifice, the Lamb of God, who would give himself at Calvary's cross. And so whether it's our blessing, we're the recipients of redemption now, we enjoy it. We look forward to the day of glory, or whether it's the blessing of this, the the earthly people, God's earthly people, Israel, or the blessing of the nations in the coming day, all is based on redemption. And so as we go down these verses, we'll notice that this is clearly brought out.
So again, we've had in the 4th chapter his worthiness in connection with his being creator. Now it's his worthiness in connection with redemption.
Verse five speaks of a lamb as it had been slain. Verse 9 Thou was slain, and hast redeemed this to God by thy blood. There it shows very clearly.
God had every right over creation because he made it in the 1St place, but everything was corrupted by sin.
And God came through the death of his Son.
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Bought it back. Redeemed. He paid the price of redemption so that everything could be brought back into conformity with God's thoughts.
Creation is beautiful and wonderful. And then that last verse of the 4th chapter, we have the Three glories there.
But when we come to salvation and redemption, we get 7 glories.
And so.
The Him we often sing the center of two eternities, which looked with rapid, adoring eyes. Onward and back to the what a, what a scene that was.
Not only was God's glory.
Completely satisfied, but it far exceeded the glory that ever existed in creation, and that's what we have in the 5th chapter.
In creation, God could speak and it was done.
Redemption. It was the very God who created it all, who came and gave his life, that we might be brought back to God. Incredible, incredible, the glory of redemption.
Far, far exceeds the glory of creation.
It's the greatest power that's ever been exercised. You get that in the first chapter of Ephesians.
Let's just read that verse and the first chapter defeated.
Well, a few verses.
Starting with the 18th verse, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened.
That he may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the Saints, and what most attributes that are used, what is the exceeding greatness of his power to usford who believe.
According to the working of his mighty power, which he brought in Christ when he raised him from the dead.
And shut him.
At his own right hand.
Thought kept raising him, not always for the dead, but up his right hand in the heavenly places far above well, Mr. Potter said.
With God, the cross is recent to the Lamb as it had been slain. God never forgets that you and I need to be reminded of it.
Oh, and to think of that, that God shunned, died. He knows what death is. We had earned that He took that place in order to give us His place. Beautiful thing. Redemption.
Redemption goes beyond just buying or purchasing. Just go back to Ephesians one for a moment and you'll see he brings the two together in Ephesians 1.
And verse 14. Speaking of the spirit of promise, Here he says, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession under the praise of his glory. Here he speaks of the two things, because he has made the purchase now. But redeeming is more than just buying. We often speak of redemption as buying back, and that's true. It is to buy back, But it's more than that. It's to buy back, to set free.
And the, shall I say, the deal has been made, the price has been paid. He has purchased it with his own blood, but he hasn't set it free yet. Now we have not only been purchased, but we have been redeemed. Because we have been set free. We've been set free from the power of sin. We not only belong to him, but we're redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. But brethren, as far as this world, which is the inheritance he speaks of here.
It has not been set free yet. The whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain. This world is still feeling the ******* and the effects of sin, but there's a day coming rather than when he's going to take it back and set it free, he's going to redeem it.
We're waiting. He's waiting for the redemption of the purchased possession. It's purchased but not redeemed in the tremendous. To think rather than that there's a day coming when this planet is not going to feel the effects of sin the way it feels it now. Every level of creation is going to come under the blessing of that redemption in the coming day, and His rights, as we said yesterday, are going to be asserted in this world.
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And we, I suppose we little realize what a day it's going to be. But I think it is helpful when we go through the scriptures to see that redemption is more than just purchasing or buying back. It's buying back to set free. No hospitals in the Millennium, no pharmacies, no doctors, no preacher, no preacher. Everybody will know it.
In Romans 8, we're told that the creature.
Thrown us and travail us now, but it's going to be set free too, as you say. The whole earth, the whole creation is going to be given that total liberty which Romans 8 tells us about. It'll be the fulfillment of what John the Baptist said when he saw the Lord walking here. He said, behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Now, brethren, he's taken away our sin, But sin hasn't been removed from this world yet.
This world, as we say, isn't set free. We see it on every hand. Even the plants are blighted. We had a beautiful Poplar tree outside our kitchen window, and one summer it got a blight and every leaf on that tree was blighted by by that, that disease. And so, but there's a day coming, as you say, when every level of creation is going to feel the effects of redemption. But it hasn't happened yet. He's taken away our sin.
But it will be the fulfillment of what John the Baptist said in John One.
In connection with your thoughts on redemption.
A couple of verses, one in the book of Colossians, Chapter one.
Verse 20.
And having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself by him, I say, whether they be things in earth or things in heaven. And so everything, as you say, has been bought through the work of the cross. Every blade of grass, everything in heaven and earth, has been reconciled back to God. But there is a difference between redemption and God, and when we come to the second Epistle of Peter in chapter 2.
And verse one.
But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privilege shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that not redeem them, but bought them.
The lost though they have been bought because everything has been bought through the victory of Calvary. They're not called redeemed plus, but not redeemed.
To be set free. That's Steve. That's exactly what we have in the 5th chapter of Revelation.
He bought the world, He bought everybody in it. 5th chapter Revelation has two things. The redeemed, yes, all indeed it is. But also the power and the glory that he has gained by his death and resurrection to judge this world. And that's what we get from the next chapter, chapter 6. But in the 5th chapter it's his right and privilege to judge because he paid the price for this world. That verse you mentioned, Jim the.
Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
Unless this is part of the fulfillment of that it really the full fulfillment of it is the eternal day is goes right out into that eternal day when there will be absolutely no trace of sin left at all. I think that's very important to realize, because even in the Millennium it will not be a perfect state of things. I sometimes put it this way. And I realize, brethren, that the test for man in this world was over at the cross. I realized that.
But the Millennium will show to man beyond the shadow of a doubt, that not only is he a Sinner in himself, because man will still sin in the Millennium, not because the devil tempts him that satans bound for 1000 years, but he will sin because he has a rotten fallen nature. And it will show too, that creation is tainted with the effects of sin. The serpent will still eat dust. It will not be a perfect state of things.
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And so, having shown for 1000 years with the Lord Jesus reigning in righteousness over the world and the effects of the curse to a great degree reverse, it will show that this earth is this creation, is tainted with sin. And that's why at the end of it all then you find in Second Peter that the elements melt with fervent heat and everything that has been tainted by sin is going to be completely dissolved and done away with.
And then there's going to be a new heaven and a new earth wherein not reigns righteousness like the Millennium, but wherein dwelleth righteousness. And it will be a sphere where sin will never enter. Sin entered the first creation, sin spoiled the first creation, But there's a new creation where sin will never enter again. Sin will never penetrate it. And I suppose that's really what the hymn writer was thinking of when he penned those words. It's #58 in the little flock, all change of sin.
Shall be removed. That's not the Millennium. All change of sin shall be removed, all evil done away, and we shall dwell with God's beloved through God's eternal day. That's the eternal state, as Brother Bob has said.
Question in the chapter is who is worthy?
To open the book. It's a book of judgment.
We've spoken quite a bit of redemption in the sense of blessing and the blessing that it brings to us individually as we have it in Ephesians.
And it's already been mentioned, but it's the right to take the world that has been purchased back into God's hands. But what is it that you might say took it out of his hands in the 1St place? It was sin.
And I just a little illustration of, I think part of the point that God is bringing before us here is this is the vindication of the glory of God through redemption. And that's important because God is vindicated through redemption. Whether or not anybody was ever saved, thank God, there's been blessing to our souls through the work. But God was dishonored when sin came into his creation.
And when the Lord Jesus met the woman, are they brought to him the woman taken in adultery?
His comment to them, as he wrote on the ground, was.
A him that is without sin among you.
Let him cast the first stone who was worthy to carry out the judgment to vindicate God's glory with respect to what the woman had done. Not one. They all fade away because none were found worthy, if you will, the Lord Jesus was worthy.
But he says to the woman, go and sin no more. Neither do I condemn. They go and sin no more. Why could he say that to her? Why didn't he carry out the righteousness of the law with respect to her? Because he was going to the cross. He was going to do the work of redemption. And by the work of redemption she could be redeemed. And so he did it, and she was redeemed. And so are we.
But here when it's a question of the worthiness, it says of him he have prevailed in the King James or in Mr. Darby translation overcome. And so the Lord Jesus was the one man who came into a world of sin and overcame everyone else, failed in that place of responsibility before God. And so when God's glory needs to be vindicated in judgment, there's not a single worthy one who has overcome.
Who had the right to open the box?
And carry out that which would glorify God with respect to his creation and to that which had been taken away by sin. That is man's attempt to rob God of his his glory. People say today they say, well, why does God allow sin? Well, there's even the question now that sin has come in how does God maintain his honor in the face of what he created? And here we have it in the person of the Lord Jesus.
And it's important for us, you might say, to see first before our blessing side of it, to see the side that God's own honor is at stake here, and the Book of Revelation is that which brings.
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Judgment particularly, and here is one who is worthy to carry out that judgment as overcomer. And first of all, it gives us the picture of a company of those redeemed or spared, those who have been taken out of the place of judgment into the place of favoring.
Blessing. Very interesting.
That a sixth verse immediately, as you've been saying, Don the sixth verse immediately followed the field the 5th is.
One of the elders said, Weep not. Behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, hath prevailed.
To open the book and to loose the seals thereof. And the next 6 words is how he prevailed.
And so it's true that he bought the world at Calvary. That's when he bought the field. And we have Matthew. And now that he owns the field, here we have the Book of Judgment being opened. It hasn't opened yet, but will be. And who is worthy? The one that bought it, the one that bought the world is worthy. And how do you do it? By his life? Amazing. It is really amazing. It's interesting that in the second verse they the question is raised who is worthy?
In the third verse, no one was able. And so immediately then he's presented in two ways. He's the lion and the lamb. He's the lion of the tribe of Judah. He's able as the lion, as the lamb. He's worthy. There was someone that was not only worthy, but there was someone that was able. You know, someone might be worthy of some title or to carry out some function. And when it comes right down to it, maybe they're not able.
You take the President of the United States today, there he is in that position and we say he's been put in a position where he has the administration of the country at his disposal, but now this disaster happens on the golf course. Is he really able for it? Well, he's come under a lot of criticism and I'll be the last one to criticize him. But I'm just saying come under a lot of criticism and many people say he's in the position, but he's not able to do it. Isn't it tremendous prevent to think there's one who's worthy?
And there's one who's able. But what is remarkable is that in the Book of Revelation, only once is he referred to as the Lion here in our chapter, and 28 times in this book he's referred to as the Lamb. Oh brethren, he's not only able, but how worthy he is.
That word, Brother Jim Lamb, is used in a different way in Revelation than anywhere else in scripture. John uses it twice. It's been referred to.
In the first chapter of John, behold the Lamb of God.
It's repeated again in Acts chapter 8IN connection with the Ethiopian eunuch, where the 53rd of Isaiah is quoted and Peter uses it or redeemed with the Precious Blood of Christ as of the lamb without blemish and without spot. But when it comes to Revelation, the word for lamb is a different word, and it's in what's called the diminutive form. It means lamb kenned, a real little lamb.
Small one. And really, the thought is not quite so much the Passover lamb.
Or God's Lamb, as it is a little lamb, in contrast with a ravenous beast of the earth, and so it's pictured as slain, not so much the thought of bearing our sins in his own body on the tree, but slaying by the responsible beasts of this earth.
And that one whose back they plowed deep there, made long their furrows, and that one who they took and nailed to Calvary cross and spit in his face. And the last this world saw him was dead on that cross. And they said away with this man, that little lamb slain on this earth, and guilty man responsible for that slang is now going to come back.
And he's going to face the beasts of this earth, and he's going to sweep this responsible earth clean of everything that offends and that does iniquity. And that's really, I believe, the thought and revelation. It's the little lamb in contrast with the beast of the earth. And in that sense too, before we get to the verses a little later in the chapter, there's something else that perhaps not very well understood.
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In this chapter.
When they sing, when the elders sing the song of redemption, the sea, I believe in Mr. Garveys translation, that little word fuss is left out.
The really singing about the tribulation Saints as to their own selves.
And their own redemption and their own position. It's a settled thing with them. And that's really brought out in Chapter 4. The sea that's before the throne is like glass. It's a sea, as in the sea that Solomon made. That was before the temple in the wilderness, in the Tabernacle. There was a labor before the Tabernacle that the priest washed to be cleaned in. But when?
Solomon made labor for the temple. It was so tremendous.
Calls it a seat.
That labor speaks of the washing of the water, of the word, and it reminds me of what the Spirit of God brought before us, that we're in a changing scene now, and we need the washing of the water of the word now. And we need the reassurance now, the place that we have in Christ and the redemption that we have. But when we're in glory, all those things are in our thoughts and in our hearts are going to be eternally settled. There's going, we're not going to be up there thinking.
And the least about ourselves.
And it's going to be a fixed, settled state. No more washing of the water board. That sea is like glass clear as crystal. And so when we come to Chapter 5, the elders are saying not so much about themselves, but they're really singing about the tribulation Saints and the prayers mentioned there, there. They don't need to pray in heaven. Prayer speaks of asking for something. They have nothing to ask for In that way. Everything's settled within. They have everything.
The prayers that are the prayers of the tribulation Saints. And Mr. Garvey's translation, I think turns about a little better. Thou has redeemed to God a Kingdom.
It's what the work of Christ has done for God in connection with the tribulation Saints and the coming Kingdom that is really what they're singing about.
I wouldn't, wouldn't limit it to that. I agree that that's included, wouldn't you, Steve? It certainly includes every one of us who have blessing through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. We're there, we're included and it certainly includes us as well. I'd like to hear some comments on the book. It's mentioned almost every verse.
Down through verse 9. The book. What is the book? It's a title deed to this earth.
That is beautiful to think, isn't it? Only one is worthy.
And able to take the tightly to the earth. And until he does, there seems to be a void. There's this strong Angel proclaiming who is worthy, and there doesn't seem to be anybody in earth, neither under the earth or in heaven.
Able or worthy. It's interesting how it almost seems to leave a void.
Especially for John, who is not evidently in the full intelligence of the scene until.
An elder comes up to him to tell him, Don't we? Behold the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
He's going to take it back.
And he's going to take it back. For God, this is redemption.
In Power, Redemption by the price of redemption has been paid by His Precious Blood.
But redemption and power is still future.
Often been said.
And Scripture bears it out that every single mercy and blessing that this world has known or will know, or all the blessings that heaven knows and will know, and all the blessing that we'll ever know is all predicated on that one act, the act of Calvary. That's where God was given the authority and the privilege to bless man.
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Romans of three and verse 25.
Tells us that all the Old Testament things.
All the sins that were covered in the Old Testament were paid for. They weren't paid for them, but they were paid for at Calvary's trust. And so the blessing of all the Old Testament Saints, the blessing of all the New Testament Saints, all predicated on the work of Calvary, what we're going to read, what we're reading now, and what the rest of the Book of Revelation has to do with, is also all predicated on that same finished work.
God's glory was totally vindicated when the Lord Jesus said it is.
Is beautiful in verse six brethren to see a little detail that sometimes we read over it but twice it mentions in the midst.
And I beheld, and lo, in the midst of the throne and of the 40s, and in the midst of the elders stood a Lamb as it had been slain.
I've enjoyed the thought that the first time.
In the midst.
In the sense that the Lord Jesus is God.
The Son of God, the eternal Son of God, the center of all God's thoughts and purposes. The second in the next is the Lord Jesus as man in the midst of the elders. And so he is gloriously.
In every sense of the word God.
And he is, in every sense of the word man, and in either sphere either sense it is the Lord Jesus that occupies the central position.
Many times when man carries out his judgments, even in responsibility to God, he makes mistakes because of the lack of knowledge and lack of understanding or perhaps even a lack of capacity to discriminate when he's bringing down judgment. And so we say, sometimes we hear the expression innocent bystanders or innocent civilians or something like that suffer when such work goes on. But we're told right in the beginning and even in this sixth verse.
Having 7 horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God going forth into all the earth.
When God is about to do a work, it's always perfect in his understanding. He knows everything about the earth and every individual on it. And even in what's carried out here in the Revelation and what's described to us in Matthew and so on, there's a discrimination between those who are going to come under his hand in rebellion against himself and those who are going to be spared and enter into, in this case, the millennial period of God's blessing on earth.
And so it is good with us to always remember, even in a present application, that God's ways with us individually in our lives are all knowing.
He never fails us because of a lack of understanding, because he doesn't see something that applies to us. But his ways with us are imperfection according to his all, knowing in every detail and properly weighing what he knows as well.
He not only sees, but he properly evaluates it.
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You have something that corresponds to that dawn in Isaiah Chapter 11. Be nice maybe to read that.
Because sometimes people ask what are the seven spirits of God says there is one spirit, and in a sense that's true. And yet these are the seven spirits, completeness and intelligence.
In Chapter 11 of Isaiah there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse.
That's the root of David.
And a branch shall grow out of his roots, and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him. There's the Spirit of the Lord.
The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and might.
The spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. There it is 7 spirits, And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord. And he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears, But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth.
And he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reigns.
How different today? So often judgments are passed. Sometimes you hear the.
Court system here in the United States, lauded as it is a good system.
They make mistakes and sometimes they make bad mistakes.
Here is the only righteous judgment, completely righteous. And so it will be wonderful in that day, Brent not going to judge after the sight of his eyes, even the sight of our eyes sometimes deceives. He's going to judge with equity what's right.
Someone had the wisdom to judge with the sight of his eyes, but he but the proposition between those two harlots about whose baby it was, He had to prove it out by the side of his eyes. But he had the wisdom to do that. The Lord has wisdom. Without that he doesn't have to see it. He already sees it.
Even now it says his eyelids try the children of men. What does that mean? Well, I want to speak carefully, but even if God shut his eyes, he still can try. The children of men knows the very thoughts and intents of our hearts and if this is true, in connection with what we've been saying in the coming day.
How much more brethren today do we need to live uprightly before God? We don't get away with anything. We don't hide anything. Some of you know, I've had some experiences that have made me realize that we need to live uprightly before God, because things may be some brought publicly, things may be squashed in the press. And are we living uprightly before God? Do we realize we can't hide from him? Sometimes we think as young people, as children.
We can hide things from our parents. We say our parents don't know about it. We do this or we do that, and nobody knows. Sometimes, perhaps even those of us who are older, we think we can hide things from our brethren. We did things and didn't seem like anybody found out about it, but rather his eyelids tried the children of men. He knows the very thoughts and intenses of our hearts. He looks into the very recesses and crevices of our hearts. And so, just as in a coming day, everything will be brought to light in His presence.
And everything will be set right according to his standard. And what he sees is equity and righteousness. So he deals with us in our lives like that now.
It's interesting and beautiful to see to Bob was talking about in the midst and what is the focus of heaven, brethren, and what is the focus of that coming day of glory. It's the one who's in the midst. He's not going to be just with us there. He's going to be the focal point. If you have something in the midst, it's the focal point. If we brought a wagon wheel here this morning, that hub of the wagon wheel is the focal point and all the spokes point in and are held together.
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By that wagon wheel and brother, when we get there in that day, he's going to be the one that is the object. He's going to be in the midst. And as the as a result of that, the whole mind of heaven is going to be one. We're going to see things through his eyes according to his his counsels and his thoughts. And I suppose that's why we have the redeemed here in these chapters brought before us as elders. Elders speak of full maturity.
Now we know in part, and we prophecy in part. We take up the Book of Revelation and there's some. Some of us feel one way and some of us feel another about little things and symbolism. If we were to go to some of the written ministry, we would find the brethren of a past age. Often they have a little different view of things.
That day, it's the elders. It's those who have preached full maturity. Nothing. No shadow or shade, nothing we don't fully enter into or understand. But I say the focus there in that day is going to be the one who's in the midst. And brethren, what is it that's going to make heaven? What is it that's going to make glory? It's the presence of that one in the midst. We've often said four walls and fine furniture. Don't make a home.
The presence of those who dwell there. When I turn my vehicle or get on a plane headed back home, why am I? Why am I looking forward to being home? Because I have a comfortable house in Smith Falls. Thank God I have a comfortable house in Smiths Falls, but that house would just be a house apart from the presence of those that dwell there, I hope to be home in just over and just about a week. And why do am I looking forward to being home?
Because I know when I enter that home there, I'm in the presence of those that I love and who love me and brethren, when we get to glory and we get one look at this lamb in the midst, we get one look at his lovely face. I think it's going to eclipse everything else. We're all eternity. You know, it's interesting, Jim, in that connection. When the Lord Jesus was transfigured on the Mount of Transfiguration, that's a preview of the Kingdom, the Lord Jesus.
Supreme His face shown as the sun, and his garments were white as the light. And there were the two that appeared with him in glory to heavenly beings, Moses and Elias. And there were three earthly ones, the three disciples that were there. So there will be in the future Kingdom those that are heavenly and those that are earthly.
But it's interesting to think about that those two heavenly ones, there is no indication that they even saw the three earthly ones. 3 earthly ones saw the two heavenly ones and they became too occupied with them. But what were those two heavenly ones talking about?
They were so occupied with that glory and the glory of redemption.
His decease that he should accomplish at Jerusalem, that there seems to be no recognition on their part of the three disciples there.
Oh brother. And I really believe that it'll be when you see something that is so magnificent you forget about your surroundings.
Oh, and he was caught up to the 3rd heaven, he says. Whether in the body or out of the body, I cannot tell God knowing he was so enraptured with what he saw and heard. Did I have my body on? I don't remember. I don't think he didn't even think about that. And you know, that's the way it's going to be. We get into his presence, oh, the glory of it.
Glory of that person.
The glory of what he has done in the Christ.
The weaker of heaven to that Matthew 1820, and he's in the midst.
Yes, that's another place where he's in the next.
Brother Wiggum had a beautiful statement. Brother Bob, in connection of what you're saying, it really struck me and is believe it might be his book of cleanings.
And Speaking of being in glory and so occupied with Christ, he says when it comes that time when he'll confess our names before the Father and we hear our name confess, and I'm paraphrasing him, he said we'll be surprised that such a person ever existed. And another comment that I really enjoyed of Mr. Ballots. It's just in the preface of that little book, The Open Heavens.
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He said. Some have, and again, I'm paraphrasing, Disregard is a book of Hebrews because it's not about the Church, it's not about us, he said. That's right. It's not about us. It's about Christ.
I think it's nice to see too that.
The Saints do here in this heavenly glory see the Lord Jesus as we've had him so supremely brought before our souls and he is the focal point and it brings them to worship. But it's to me also a wonderful thing to look forward to that we are so delivered from ourselves and self occupation and self-interest to be totally occupied with himself And then I want to add and all that he is occupied with.
In other words, he saw the focal point, his person, but also that which he is occupied with. We are freed from self to have that same interest. And so here they they bring this incense and and the prayers of the Saints, the really the earthly ones that and what is taking place on earth. They're they're mature and aware of, but it's all in connection with himself and it's a joy to our hearts to know that we're to be brought into that practically that.
Self can be taken completely out of the equation and that.
We enter into the love of God.
In his love for his Son and in God's love for others that we enter into them and their and their relationship with our God as well. I think that's so important done in our the day we live in. We often speak of the fact that we live in a humanistic culture, and I think it is important to realize that we are affected.
By the culture we're passing through and so often we are so self-centered.
I have to confess it, brethren, I'm as guilty as anybody, But what is the remedy?
It's not turning in on ourselves and and being occupied with our problem that's going to deliver us from it, but it is occupation with him, says in Second Corinthians chapter three. We all, with unveiled face beholding the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even by the Spirit of the Lord.
So it's being occupied with Christ and it says we all. It's not just for a certain group of brethren. This is proper Christian activity. We all with unveiled face. What is characteristic of Judaism is that Moses had to put a veil on his face. They couldn't look at it when the glory was reflected from his face. But now in Christianity we have the veil taken away.
And we look into the face of the Lord Jesus at face.
We're all the glory of God shakes.
It's our privilege to look straight into that face.
And it will have a transforming effect.
What a marvelous thing the apostle John tells us that when we see him.
We shall be like.
No longer will we have this old character of what we are now. We will be.
Like him? Or we shall see him as he is. What a transformation.
Will be like him. You can't see him and remain the same brother.
Not we'll see him as he was, but as he is, as he was was the man of sorrows walking in this world as he was with the last glimpse this world got of him in his shame, crowned with a crown of thorns on a Roman cross. But rather, when we see him, we're going to see him as he is. We're going to see him a glorified man, there on the on the throne. And we have the privilege now of looking up and being occupied, as Bob has said.
With that glorified man at the right hand of God, the one who sits at death, who has sat down on His Father's throne, the one that has been mentioned, Hebrews presents to us. Hebrews opens the heavens so we can look up and be occupied with that blessed one now where He is. And so we're not going to see Him as He was, but we're going to see Him as He is. However, there is going to be in His body the marks of atonement, There's going to be the marks of His His passion.
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It says here a Lamb, not as it had been slain, but Mr. Darby just says there stood a Lamb slain. There's that blessed one. Someone has said, the thrust of this is a Lamb freshly slain. You know, it's interesting when the remnants see him in a coming day, they're not going to say what are these scars. They're going to say what are these wounds? Not interesting, not scars. Scars are something that heal. A wound is something that is fresh.
And brethren, when we view him, we're going to view a lamb freshly slain, because the work of Calvary is going to be fresh to our souls for all eternity. It's going to be fresh to the heart of God. It is fresh to the heart of God. Do you realize that the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus on Calvary's cross is as fresh to the heart of God this this morning as it was when it took place so long ago? And it's going to be fresh to the heart of God for all eternity?
And brethren, that's what the way we're going to view it. It's going to be fresh to our souls for eternity.
And as a result, it's going to bring forth then fresh bursts of praise from our hearts and from our lips.
Jim It takes blood to make scarves. There was no blood left in the Lord Jesus to form scars for those wounds in his hand and feet inside.
That were enslaved is important too. If someone falls ill and about a sickness, they die. You don't call them slain.
Slain as the thought that somebody is guilty.
Going back where we learn about Corinthians a minute ago, that's the Christian rest we read up in Hebrews when we cease from our own works, when we realize that we're changed. Not by trying to do things, not by spiritual exercise, but we're simply changed by knowing the person. A glorified person that's arrested, speaks up in Hebrews that the Christians are told to labor to enter into.
To fight the good fight of faith.
In order to rest.
And depending on God to do everything for me.
Well, we find their singing here, isn't there. It's interesting to trace the history of singing through the word of God. You go through the book of Genesis, You have the patriarchs, those sober minded men. They were deep thinkers, but you never read of them singing. And you never have singing until you come to the banks of the Red Sea where you finally have a redeemed people redeemed by the blood of the Passover lamb. They look back and they have been redeemed. They've been fully delivered by the power of God.
Brought out of Egypt its ******* and it's the authority of Pharaoh. And now as a redeemed people, they sing on the banks of the Red Sea. And I believe you'll find in Scripture that is only the redeemed that truly sing. And so here we find it culminated as the redeemed or gathered around the Lord Jesus. And while it's true they're singing of others, yet it's true of themselves as well. They are a redeemed people.
And so they sing the song of redemption. So I say it's really only the redeem that sing in Scripture. And in contrast to that, it's interesting that with the angels there are three things that you never read of angels. Angels are never numbered. The redeemed are numbered Here 4 and 20 elders. I know the numbers figurative. Angels are never numbered. Angels are never crowned. The redeemed have crowns. As we noticed in the previous chapter, angels are never crowned.
And angels never sing. Now angels give glory, they praise and they give glory. But when the angels join in, it's always saying, if we were to go back to the book of Luke when the Lord Jesus came in incarnation and was born as a babe in Bethlehem Manger, the angels give glory as they look on and they see their creator for the first time. But if you notice carefully again it's saying.
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Because angels have never been the recipients of redemption. When the angels fell and Satan and his hosts fell, there was number redemption offered to them. They hell was prepared for the devil and his angels. When man fought, fell man, God brought in the glorious principle of redemption. As we've been saying, those coats of skin were provided at the beginning, and it culminates here in Revelation 5.
And so the angels are never the, never the subject of redemption. And so this song here, I say it culminates here with the song of the Redeemed. They're going to sing, yes, all creation gives glory. Yes, the angels give glory. But it's always saying when it's the redeemed, it's singing.
He took not on him the form of angels.
Philippians 2 He took on him the form of a servant. Amazing.
That tells us who we are and being found in fashion as a woman, so that's really all we were serving.
But think of it, King of Glory, the Lord of Heaven, the Creator taking on the form of lymphance to of a service.
Angels really don't need redemption.
They haven't sinned. They're preserved the good angels.
They're called the Elect Angels.
They're by God, preserved in sinless perfection.
It's good for us to learn to sing now, isn't it, Brother Buchanan?
Well, we sometimes sing that hymn. No heart but of the spirit taught makes melody to thee. And I realized that, as you say, some of us can carry a tune better than others. I'm not a singer in that way myself. But I do believe, brethren, as we're going to sing for all eternity, and there'll be no silent lips there.
And I realized we're going to be in There's going to be perfection. No discord, no. But how good it is for us to learn to sing now. Because we have the privilege of beginning that new song on earth. We sometimes sing a hymn that expresses it on earth. The song begins in heaven, more sweet and loud. And David said, thou has put a new song in my mouth, even praise to our God. We have the privilege as it says in the end of Hebrews.
Of offering the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.
You know, I'm saddened and the reason I raised this is because I believe that there's a generation of the redeemed who are not the singers that the Saints of God once were. You know, when I was growing up, I'll be very practical for a moment. When I was growing up, used to, my father used to take us out to visit various of the brethren around the area and you drop in and you know you never left someone's house without standing around the piano and singing a few hymns.
Often we'd sing at the table and so on. And I just say to those of us who are parents, I believe it's a good exercise to teach our children and young people to sing. Why is it so often we look around the meeting room when some of these good Christ exalting hymns are are given out that bring before us in a very real way, the person and work of Christ. And we look around and we see some of our children and young people not singing.
Well, perhaps it's because rather than we haven't, and I only speak to my own heart. Perhaps we haven't been as diligent as we should have been in teaching our children and young people to sing at home. I want to encourage you. I know, I know sometimes that we don't aren't able to carry a tune or we we feel we're inadequate to do it. But you know, when you have your family reading around the table in the evening, get off the hymn books.
Singing Him or two, Look, teach our children and young people to open our mouths and praise and Thanksgiving and worship. Because, again with the redeemed, it has always been in Scripture the medium by which the redeemed have expressed their appreciation of the person and work of Christ and their joy in the Lord. And it's interesting that when the truth was revived in the 1800s, God raised up hymn writers.
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To express the truth, the appreciation for the truth that the Saints of God were beginning to be brought into the knowledge and light of. Because there needed to be a way that these things could be expressed in song and in praise. And God raised up many hymn writers and brethren. We have not just a little flock, but some other hymn books that are preserved to us this precious heritage of good scriptural hymns. Well, let's learn now. We're not going to be silent there. Every tongue is going to be loosed.
Every all lips are going to praise him for eternity. But let's learn to do that now. May I suggest that?
That you in in your home.
Turn one page a day in the hymn book and you'll sing through twice a year. My wife and I for several years have turned 2 pages a day in singing through the hymn book, and every three months we sing the hymn book.
Well, it says here that.
Verse 10 has made us unto our God kings and priests or a Kingdom of priests.
Women are priests as much as men.
And even though the woman is to be silent as to speaking in the assembly, when it comes to praise, they praise too. That's a priestly activity and it is what we are brought into. And it's important that we understand that he has chosen us for this brother, and so that praise should flow continually.
Says several times in the Old Testament. None shall appear before me empty.
Oh what a dishonor it is to come and sit in the presence of the Lord Jesus and leave our mouths shut. How can that be? When the Lord Jesus was entering Jerusalem and the children were crying out Hosanna and it displays the Pharisees they said rebuke them and the Lord Jesus said if they should hold their peace.
The Stones would immediately cry out. God is going to have his son praised.
And if we don't do it, the Lord will raise up somebody else, right? Let's be exercised in praising Him. We have a, like you say, a hymn book full of beautiful scriptural hymns. I like to encourage 1 facet more is that many hymns are not criticizing at all, but speak of our blessings and our experiences through the wilderness.
But take time to address something directly to him.
That's what a Kim is. A him is something that is directed to God. There are spiritual songs. There are what are called psalms too, But him is what is directed to God. We have those in the hymn book 2 #8, for example. Oh Lord, we adore thee. He's he's listening. Is there some acknowledgement of him? Is there some acknowledgement of what he's done from day-to-day?
Or do we pass a whole week without ever looking at to speak his praises, to sing his praises? Oh brethren, we do need to be exercised. Let's look at the first time singing is mentioned in the Bible in Exodus 15. I think you mentioned that while ago. It's a short piece, but it teaches us a lot.
Exodus 15 The first verse then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song under the Lord as fake, saying, I will sing unto the Lord.
To him, for he has triumph gloriously the horse and his writer, as he thrown into the sea. That Lord is my strength and song and so on. But notice that just to complete it, the.
14th Verse Thou in thy mercy?
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Exodus, 1514131314.
Right, Yeah, 1530 Thy mercy has LED forth the people which thou hast redeemed, and thou hast graded them.
In thy strength, where under thy holy habitation, we're talking about the habitation of God right now. Heaven, heaven, that's that's where we're going.
It depends. Complete in this song there.
Well, it's going to be complete one of these days. I think we sang 16 times in that one song. Lord Jesus come. I know that's an invitation we we could give out all we want to. Lord Jesus come, he's going to take us there.
Rather interesting, isn't it, that after the Lord had instituted the memorial, it says they sung in him.
That's amazing. And went out. And where'd they go gardening, Gethsemane.
But they sung at him first.
Music is soulish.
And that's important to understand that music affects our soul.
As well as songs and hymns being spiritual.
And so in Colossians chapter 3, verse 16.
Says, Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another, in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
Brethren that went before us, that God was pleased and sovereign grace to use to recover the truth of God to the church, carefully went through the hymns and our hymn book, and you'll find some of those same hymns and hymnals and church cues and the denominations of men. And you'll finally read somewhat differently than they are in our Himbo. It's because those brethren went very carefully through those hymns.
To make sure they were scripturally correct. And the reason is is because we're taught by those hints.
But music is soulish. And so I can become in a soulish way, attached to a tomb or a song. And if it's not scripturally correct, and it may even be pointed out to me that what I'm singing is not scripturally correct because I'm soulishly attached to it, I said I'm not going to give it up. But nonetheless, it teaches me, but it teaches me what's wrong, what's not scriptural, and so the importance.
Of having what we think be scripturally correct is all I can say is very important because we're going to be taught by what we say.
And we will become attached to it in a way other than just spiritually, just like people in the world become very attached to worldly sanctions, a solar state. That's the way we've been made. We're spirit, soul and body. And so we need to be very careful that what we think is scripturally correct or the time will come when we will give up what is truth in preference to what we have come to love to sing.
I think it's very important as we conclude this chapter that the 12Th, 13th and 14th 1St, which just precedes the judgment that unfolds in the next portion, is all praise, honor, worship, and glory to the person, and not just to the Lord Jesus, but to God the Father as well, the whole.
Character just before judgment was poured out on this world.
In praise and honor and worship to that person. And I think that's so important this 5th chapter.
Ends, as it were, and then starts the judgment because from 6th chapter on, it's pure, unadulterated judgment. And so we think of this in the day in which we live. You know, we're almost to the end.
The Lord could come momentarily and then once he comes, this scene that we're going to see after this is going to unfold but praise and worship and what is in our hearts is it. This kind of thing is a praise and worship and honor to him just before the scene closes with judgment.
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I find it really quite amazing that it speaks of singing in this chapter and as you mentioned, the praise and honor of what's going to happen because.
Singing in the Word of God is connected with joy.
When the children of Israel were on the banks of the Red Sea and they sang for the first time in Scripture, it was the joy of deliverance that produced the song in their hearts. When they were taken captive later on, they their captor said sing, use your hearts. And they said sing in this condition. It's not possible. We all Can't Sing right now. And it is. It's been brought out. It's a soulish thing, but to me sometimes is somebody heavy hearted.
Are they taught to sing and they have with a heavy heart? No, they're not in the word of God. In fact, sometimes in the Proverbs, it's sort of like don't tell somebody to sing when they're when their hearts are heavy. I've I've known souls who have lost a life mate and afterwards haven't been able to sing for a period of months that perhaps before some comes back to them. And here in this chapter we have people singing in the face of this tremendous solemn judgments of these seals about to be opened.
And as you mentioned, Brother Dave, the the giving of praise. And to me brethren, it it's something that only God can teach us. But.
My soul, if brought into fellowship with God, no matter what the circumstances are, is going to have a rest and a peace and an uninterrupted sense of communion joy with my God that I can sing in any circumstance. And I think when we go to a funeral of a believer.
There is within us a place where we can sing even in the face of that sorrow, and we can sing with the joy that looks beyond that moment, and see where it is in the presence of God. And so for us, there is a place in which we can always, within fellowship with God, be brought into a state, a solid-state that will produce with himself a common joy.
To me, when you mentioned Brother Day, they sung A hymn and they went out to the Mount of Olives. It's an amazing thing that they were able to sing in those circumstances. I recognized that they didn't understand. They really didn't enter into what was going to happen that night and the next day, but nonetheless they were in fellowship with the Lord. And even the Lord himself can sing on that occasion.
Because he could go forward in the peace and the joy of fellowship with the Father. May the Lord give us hearts like that, that we would always be able to raise a song.
There's three circles around the throne. I think it is kind of beautiful to see just. I know we're quite well familiar with this. The 1St circle, the closest is the 24 elders, the redeemed company around the throne, and they're the ones that sing. The next circle in verse 11 is the Angelic hosts.
And says the number of them was 10,000 * 10,000. It really is myriads of angels. We don't see angels generally, but it'll be a glorious thing to see those angelic hosts as well around the throne. And then the 3rd circle is verse 13.
Every creature which is in heaven and on earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, in all that are in them, every created being is reverberating with the praise of the land. So it starts. I'd like to think of it. It starts in the inner circle and it just comes wider and wider until the whole.
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Creation throbs and or reverberates maybe is a better word with the praise of the land. Isn't it going to be wonderful brethren in that coming day? In the millennial day, this whole creation is going to praise him. I often think of that verse in Isaiah 55 where it says the trees of the field will clap their hands.
Even it will be even in the.
The plant Kingdom.
It's going to be such joy at being released from the ******* of corruption.
Joy is going to reverberate through the whole creation and before beasts say Amen.
Not wonderful to think. We mentioned yesterday that these four beasts represent God's governmental ways in the earth. And here you have has been said all creation, not just the redeemed, but all creation is giving glory to this blessed One. And the four beasts said Amen. It's just as if they say we see it all now. Everything was working out for a purpose. There's no question as to His right and title, no question as to His worthiness.
No question now as to his ability, No question as to his counsels and purposes. No question about what is going to follow in the chapters that that are start with chapter 6 here and go on as to the judgments. No, they say the four beasts said Amen and brethren. It takes faith to count on that. But can't we in a sense even say that in our lives Now? We said, I don't understand what God is doing in my life. I don't understand things always. Things aren't clear.
But just to say Amen, knowing there's a day when it's all going to be revealed and everything is going to give glory. And as I say, no question as to his right and title. And then we find in the in the end of the chapter here that the four and 20 elders fell down. And I want you to notice this.
And worship. Now we might say in the ninth verse they praise, but here worship is even deeper than praise.
It's often been put this way. We praise Him for what He has done, and they praise the Lamb slain. They think of that work that is the basis of redemption, and they see that Lamb freshly slain. They praise him, but we worship him for who He is.
And so as they're occupied not only with the work of redemption, the basis of it all, oh, they're also occupied with the person, and they worship. Brethren, we ought to learn to do both now, to be so occupied with the person of Christ that our hearts go out to him in worship, and to realize his work and what he has done and what he is doing and what he will do, that will then produce praise, too. And so you have these two things and fell down.
And worshiped him that liveth forever and ever. What a conclusion to this scene that's brought before us. Let's sing 100 and 95195.
Worthy of homage and a praise worthy by all to be adored, exhaust the theme of heavenly lays thou thou art worthy Jesus, Lord.
One day.