Revelation Chapter 5
Vs. 8 - 14: WORSHIP
Rev. Bruc A. Shields
First Baptist Church
Tawas City Michigan
www.tawasbaptist.org
Key Verse; Revelation 1:19
“Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.”
Revelation Chapter 1: Things you have seen,
Revelation Chapter 2 & 3: The things which are,
Revelation Chapters 4 – 22: The things which shall be hereafter.
Chapter 2 & 3 – The Things that Are.
Chapter 1 – We see the Lord Jesus as the Glorified One.
Chapter 2&3 – We see the Lord Jesus as the Head over the Church.
Chapter 4-22 – We see the Lord Jesus as the Triumphant One.
We will see the Lords striking message to the seven churches of Asia.
They are applicable to the churches of today.
Before the vision of the Father in Heaven in Revelation Chapter 4, we have the vision and words of the Son, Jesus Christ in Chapters 1 – 3.
We must know the Son before we can know the Father. He is the only way to God.
WORSHIP
8a – And when He had taken the Book, the four Beasts and twenty four Elders fell down before the lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
“When He”– Refers to the Lord Jesus.
“The Book” – is the Book with the Seven Seals which no one in heaven, on earth or beneath earth was worthy to open.
“The Four Beasts” – The number 4 symbolizes the Earth, or what is terrestrial, the totality of created and revealed, according to the Bible.
God chose four men to write about the life of Jesus, corresponding to these four creatures.
Matthew sees Jesus as the lion or king. (The lion is associated with the royal tribe of Judah to which King David and his descendants belonged.) Accordingly Matthew begins his gospel with the words ’A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham’, and continues by tracing his lineage all the way down. What could be more fitting for a king?
Mark sees Jesus as the exact opposite, an ox or servant. There is no genealogy, nor even any kind of birth story. It wouldn’t be appropriate for a servant. Neither is there much teaching recorded. Mark is all about action. Jesus is serving his father. Appropriately his gospel is the shortest.
Luke sees Jesus as the man. He gives us all the details about his birth, and then traces his ancestry right the way back up to Adam (whose name means man). It is Luke who gives us the more personal details of Jesus’ life. Only he tells us how Jesus was thrown out of his own city of Nazareth and sweated droops of blood in Gethsemane.
John sees Jesus as the flying eagle that soars up in the heavenly realms. This represents God. In John the birth story is very different from what Matthew and Luke give. Simply, ’In the beginning was the Word’. We are seeing not man, but God. John is the gospel of ’I am’. I am the bread of life, the light of the world, the door, the good shepherd, the resurrection, and the life, the way, the truth and the life, the true vine. Who but God can say such things?
“Twenty-four Elders” – They are representatives of the Old and New Covenant Church.
“Fell down before the Lamb” – this proclaims the deity of Christ.
“Every one of them had harps and golden vials full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints” – In the Greek, this refers to the 24 Elders only. All the prayers that have ever come up before God for things to be rectified are about to be answered in the opening of the Book.
“And they sang a new song” – A NEW song refers to being made new. The Elders represent the Old and New covenant churches, and they have been made NEW through covenant with God. This is a redemption song that only the redeemed can sing.
“Saying, ‘You are worthy to take the Book, and to open the Seals thereof’” – This proclaims that by Jesus’ Death He has acquired a right to approach where no one else could approach, and to do what no one else could do.
“For you were slain” – Here the song tells us exactly WHY Jesus is worthy, because of the Cross which made this possible.
“And have redeemed us to God by Your Blood” – This proclaims the manner in which Redemption was purchased.
“Out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation” – This verse proclaims to us the fact that Salvation secured by the Death of Christ universally applies to ALL classes and peoples of the Earth.
“And have made us unto our God kings and priests” – The scriptures tells us again and again of this fact, that whatever Jesus is because of the Cross, that’s what we are also!
“And we shall reign on the earth” – This refers to the 1000 year reign which is to take place after the Second Coming of Christ, but before the Judgment Day, where we will reign with Jesus on earth for 1000 years without evil or demonic influence.
“And I (John) beheld, and I heard the voice of many Angels round about the Throne and the Beasts and the Elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands” – “ten thousand” is the greatest number expressed by the Greek vocabulary, and in itself may denote an unlimited number; but here we have a quadruple plural – ten thousands of ten thousands, and thousands of thousands – which in the Greek actually says “myriads of myriads,” or “an innumerable host”
“Saying in a loud voice” – if they were all speaking at the same time, it would be an unimaginable sound!
“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing” – Through and by the Cross, the sevenfold Blessing is given to Christ, not because He needs it, but because of the Cross, whatever Christ receives, we also receive!
“And every creature in Heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I (John) heard saying” – The Death of Christ as Atonement is the foundation of the restoration of all things.
Isaiah 65:17
“Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.”
“Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power be unto Him who sits upon the Throne” – God the Father is sitting upon the Throne.
“And unto the Lamb forever and ever” – What Jesus did at the Cross has totally defeated Satan and all his minions of darkness, which will ultimately cleanse Heaven and Earth in totality forever.
“And the four beasts said, Amen. And the Twenty four Elders fell down and worshipped Him who lives forever and ever” – This records the fact that not only is God eternal, but what Jesus did at the Cross will have eternal results as well.
