Every tribe and tongue
Revelation 5:6-14
The individual letters to churches have been written. In Revelation 4 we look in on a vision that John related for all the churches. Besides the personal messages, this message is intended for all.
In chapter 4 we get a vision of the throne room of God. We know this because the image described has so much in common with the Hebrew prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel. John is taking his place among the greatest prophetic voices in history as a man who has seen the throne of God and lived to tell the tale.
There are some important similarities:
• The throne itself
• God’s glory
• The creatures surrounding the throne
• The song the creatures sing: Holy, Holy, Holy
There are also some new things observed by John that were not reported by the others
• The seven lamps as John saw in Chapter 1
• The sea of crystal, clear as glass
• The 24 elders and their crowns
John is witnessing not just His own audience with God, but the worship of a specified symbolic group of 24 people:
• The twelve tribes of Israel, probably the forefathers of those tribes
• The twelve apostles
This shows the great continuity of the people of God through the ages. Probably, if John looked closely, he would see himself there before the throne. Other than that, nothing John has seen is terribly unexpected.
John has read the prophets’ accounts of the throne room of God and, although the full reality of the experience must have been staggering, the elements of it were, for the most part, confirmation of things he had read.
Let us not minimize the experience though. It is not surprising, but it is still awe inspiring. Imagine the image of God on the throne. John said it reminded him of carnelian and jasper or jade. The comparison of God to gemstones speaks of His beauty, His purity and His clarity. The value and rarity continues in the emerald rainbow that surrounds the throne and the sea that extends from it like quartz crystal. Arranged around the throne (which Ezekiel describes as being like sapphire) are 24 thrones, each elder holding a golden incense bowl and wearing a golden crown.
Then there is the light. The lamps he sees are not mere candles. He describes them as blazing before the throne. We get the impression they are more like torches than like the small oil lamps we see and use. Also, lightning is flashing all around the scene. This is the Glory of God. Imagine the light of the blazing torches and the bolts of lightning reflecting off the gems, the gold and the crystal clear water. The scene must have been blinding.
Not only is the scene a thing to stagger the eyes, it staggers the ears. Imagine the sounds of thunder clapping with every flash of lightning. Above the thunder you can hear the singing of the beasts
Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come.
Every time the beasts sing their song, the Elders fall on their faces before God and sing a song of their own. They praise God’s worthiness and His power.
The light and the music must have been more than any natural man could stand. John is showing us what Jesus called "things to come." Revelation 4 is a vision into the very presence of the creator and ruler of the Universe at the end of time as we know it.
And then something changes
Chapter 5 begins with a dilemma. God holds a scroll ... a book that is sealed with 7 seals. In ancient Rome, during the time that John was writing, there was only one document that would have been written and sealed with 7 seals: a Last Will and Testament. It would have been witnessed by 7 witnesses and sealed by each one. It would only be opened when the will was to be executed.
When a person writes a will, he or she chooses a person who will execute the will. The person is responsible to see that the wishes of the testator are carried out to the exact letter. The only person who can execute the will is a person with both the power to do what the will demands under the law and the trust of the person who wrote the will.
God is holding in His hand His last will for the world at its demise. It is sealed by 7 witnesses, and John is writing to the messengers of 7 churches. God is saying that the will is to be witnessed by all the churches to whom John writes. The terms of the will require great universal power to execute. But more than the power to execute the will is the issue of worthiness. Who can God trust to do everything that He wants done?
Only one person
The lion of the tribe of Judah. Oddly enough, He approaches the throne as a lion, and accepts the will of God as a lamb.
6Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. 8And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9And they sang a new song:
“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased men for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation.
10You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign on the earth.”
11Then 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. 12In a loud voice they sang:
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!”
13Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing:
“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!”
14The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped. Rev 5:6-14 (NIV)
How worthy is the Lamb to take the scroll:
• He takes God’s throne
• The creatures who give praise to God now gather around Him
• The same 7-fold Spirit that blazes before God’s throne shines in His eyes
• The same elders who worshiped God in Chapter 4 now worship the Lamb in Chapter 5
• Innumerable angels surround the throne and give praise
• All of creation gives praise
To him who sites on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!
So who is this person who is worthy of the throne and praise of God?
Let’s find the hints:
• He is the lion of the tribe of Judah
• He is a lamb who had been slain and was alive again
• His blood was the purchase price of all humanity
• He had the power to anoint priests and kings
As a lion of the tribe of Judah He is identified as one who is from the house of David. He is a rightful king of the nation of Judah.
As a lamb, He was gentle and helpless before the shearers and the butchers
As one who shed His blood, He was a spotless sacrifice making atonement for sinners and freeing them for fellowship with God
In the Bible, the leader of the people anointed the priest and the priest anointed the king. Only a person who was both priest and king could anoint others to be both.
So this person is the most
• powerful
• gentle
• forgiving
• majestic
man of all time and eternity. The most telling of the descriptions in this passage is this:
with your blood you purchased men for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation.
There is no one this can be other than Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, sacrifice for all of humanity. He has the same power and worthiness as God Himself and He alone can take the scroll and execute to its fullest the Holy and righteous will of God.
John witnesses this statement made by the elders, and likely remembered what Jesus said:
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24:14 (NIV)
John knew that Jesus came as a light to the world and that his vision for salvation was global. It is no accident that this savior who came to save the whole world in the end has representatives from every corner of the globe:
• (tribe) that covers ethnic groups
• (nation) geographic political groups
• (tongue) linguistic groups
This covers everything.
• The people in this room know of Christ through their nation and their language.
• However, all of your ethnic groups have not been reached in the same way.
• Some of those ethnicities are in this nation, but do not speak the same language.
• Others share your ethnicity and your language, but not your nation
By clarifying that every nation tribe and tongue would be represented, John is saying that only after the whole world has an opportunity will Jesus come again.
This should speak to us of responsibility
We are fond of noting that every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, but I wonder if we often remind ourselves of the magnificence of that proclamation. I believe that the risen of all time fall down and worship Christ, not because they necessarily want to at that point, but because they cannot help themselves. I’m sure their hearts are fully in their activities and songs, but that makes them no less overwhelmed. Or thankful that they were reached.
We cannot say "even so Lord Jesus, come quickly," if we are not willing to do all we can to see people from every tribe nation and tongue reached.
Again and again, Jesus declared that His mission was to the entire world, but when He rose and went back to the Father, He commanded His followers to go into all the world and spread the Gospel. Clearly, His vision was global, but His method required His followers to have a hand.
That is why we support missionaries. We all go where we can, but it is our responsibility to send people where we ourselves cannot go. People of God dedicate themselves to doing what is difficult in the name of Jesus for the furtherance of His kingdom and to see this vision fulfilled. When you give to our offerings, about a dime of every dollar goes to reach people beyond your grasp:
• Students in Lithuania
• Working class people in Central Asia
• Churches in Philadelphia
• Mothers in need
• Addicts reaching toward freedom
Specialists and courageous people, willing to risk everything for the Gospel have obeyed the call and are working hard to see this vision fulfilled.
Give generously as a part of your desire to see this magnificent vision fulfilled. The magnificence of the throne room of God is incomplete without the adoration of every conceivable participant. Give as your way of saying:
Even so Lord Jesus, come quickly
Not only is it why we send missionaries
It is one reason we live holy lives that speak to others of the character of Jesus. You never know who will be drawn through an act of grace that grows out of your renewed self in Christ. You may be the one to reach a person of a previously unreached group. It is more possible than you think. Live to personally participate in the fulfillment of Jesus’ magnificent vision.
It is also why every so often, you will hear me bring the good news of Jesus in messages.
Central to the qualification of Jesus to be worshiped as God is His purchase of humanity with His blood.
Jesus died, not just as a political dissident or as a religious activist. He chose to die as a sacrifice to buy back fallen people from the clutches of Satan.
He died to purchase your freedom
Every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord
Nobody will have a choice
Most of us get tongue tied talking to a person we are impressed with for no good reason. How can we expect to confront the ultimate power in the universe and not be overwhelmed?
The vast difference will be in whether or not your heart can rejoice at that moment, or whether you will bow in despair.
This passage shows us many who willingly bow. A later passage shows many who bow for the first time and do not experience the joy and wonder of this moment.
Which are you?
The vision of Christ is overwhelming. But it can bring either overwhelming sorrow and despair, because you did not believe His claim and His call
Or it can bring overwhelming joy, because you are His and He is yours
Which will it be?
