The Book Of Destiny Is Sealed But Then Opened - Part 2 Series

And now comes the supreme moment, John gets the first sight of Jesus Christ in heaven. READ 6 & 7. John had seen Christ in his first vision but He was standing in the midst of the seven churches. Now he gets his first glimpse of the glorified Son of God in heaven.

He is described as the sacrificial lamb who has been slain. He is the Lamb of God symbolized in the Passover. He was sacrificed so that the judgment of God could pass over the people.

Isaiah had said that the Messiah was to bear our sins by being led like a lamb to the slaughter. John the Baptist declared Jesus to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Peter had said that persons are redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

Greek scholars will tell you that the Greek word for lamb used throughout the New Testament is not the same word that John uses 29 times to describe the crucified Christ. This difference in the words is this: the word chosen by John stresses the slaughter, suffering, pain, agony, and humiliation of Christ.

The point is this: Jesus Christ is the perfect sacrifice for our sins. He lived a sinless life when He was on earth. He was the Ideal and Perfect Man. When Christ died for our sins, He died as the ideal and perfect sacrifice. His sacrifice for our sins was perfectly acceptable to God. So that means that His sacrifice stands of us. It covers us. The word we use is “atonement” meaning to cover our sins. That is what makes us acceptable to God. God cannot look upon us as unrighteous as we are. But God sees us THROUGH Jesus Christ.

So what happens is this. When we believe in Jesus Christ, God takes our faith and counts it as the sacrifice of Christ. God counts the sacrifice of Christ for us. That is what makes us free from sin. We are cleansed from sin by the sacrifice of Christ. We are MADE perfectly righteous by Christ’s sacrifice.

This is why Jesus stands in the center stage of heaven. What do you think the seven horns symbolize? Remember that the number seven in the Bible means completeness, fullness, and perfection. Jesus is seen with seven horns which symbolizes complete and perfect strength and power. He stands in heaven as the supreme power and force of the universe.

What do you think the seven eyes symbolize? The seven eyes symbolize complete and perfect knowledge, intelligence, and wisdom. We say that He is omniscient. He knows all and sees all. Absolutely nothing escapes His sight and knowledge.

Note that this is a symbol of the seven spirits of God which is the Holy Spirit in His fullness. So Jesus Christ is everywhere, seeing and knowing all.

The next scene shows us that Jesus Christ is sovereign. He alone walks over and takes the Book of Destiny out of the hand of God. He alone is worthy to execute and carry out the events of the end time. This is simply a graphic way of saying what is said in the very first verse of Revelation. READ.

READ 8-10. The moment Christ takes the scroll, He is worshipped. The four creatures and the 24 elders, and all heaven and earth break loose in a song of praise. There are three waves of praise.

1. There is the praise of the 4 creatures and the elders who surround the throne.

2. There is the wave of praise from the numberless host of angels.

3. There is the praise of all creatures in both heaven and earth and under the earth in the graves and in the seas. All creation breaks forth in a chorus of praise to the Lord Jesus Christ.

The four creatures and the elders fall down to worship. They play harps. The harp was the usual instrument used to sing praise to our Lord. They offer up golden bowls of incense to the Lord which is the symbol of the prayers of believers.

They sing a new song focused on the worthiness of Christ. They praise Christ for three things.

1. They praise Him because He was slain for man and has redeemed us—because He died for our sins.

2. They praise Him because of His universal salvation. No person is beyond His reach. He will save people from every tribe and language and race and nation. There is no prejudice or discrimination with Christ, no favorites and no partiality.

3. They praise Him because He has given believers the great gift of royalty. He makes them a kingdom and priests.

READ 11-12. This is the majestic worship of the angels. They are the center circle of the praise chorus. Their number is astounding. Their song includes seven points.