Jan 17
29
Pre-Introduction
Brothers and sisters, today we are going to consider all of Revelation chapters four and five. We are going to take a step back from the text to consider it broadly, asking, what message does this whole section of the book of Revelation communicate? What is the main point of it? Next Sunday we will come back to 4:1 and begin to walk through the section slowly, giving attention to the details of the text.
If you remember, I took the same approach with Revelation chapters two and three and the letters to the seven churches. On November 6th I preached a sermon on all of Revelation chapters two and three. On November 13th we went back to 2:1 and devoted one sermon to each of the letters (with the exception of the letter to Laodicea – two sermons were devoted to that).
I hope you can understand why. The book of Revelation is clearly divided into sections. The letters to the seven churches hang together in chapters two and three. Chapters four and five hang together, as we will clearly see. As we progress through Revelation we will encounter seven seals, followed by seven trumpets, followed by seven bowls, and so on. Each of these sections are packed with important details that must be considered carefully. That takes time. And we only have 45-50 minutes together each week. We must walk through these sections slowly, then, devoting many sermons to each section. But it must also be remembered that these sections are sections that hang together. They each have a particular message to communicate. Just as it would be unwise to move too fast through each of these sections, so too there is a danger in moving to slow. If we move too slow – if we get too caught up with the details of the text – we run the risk of missing the main point. The old adage rings true: it is possible to miss the forest for the trees.
In fact, I would argue that many interpreters of the book of Revelation get hung up on this very thing. They fixate so intensely on the details of the text of Revelation that they loose sight of the big picture. And I would argue that it is the big picture thats is most clear. It is the big picture which serves to frame the pieces of the puzzle of Revelation so that we might know how to properly interpret the details of the text.
And so this will be my approach throughout our study of the book of Revelation. I will devote one sermon to the introduction of each large section, asking, what is the main thought? And then we will return to the beginning of that section to move through it slowly. Hopefully this approach will help us to step back from the details of the text from time to time in order to regain and maintain perspective.
I want to pose a question before I read Revelation chapters four and five to you. The question is this: what is the relationship between the letters to the seven churches, which we have been considering over the past coupe of months, and chapters four and five, which we are about to read? This is such an important question to consider. I will deal with this question from the text in a much more detailed way in the weeks to come, but for now I want to ask the question generally and conceptually: What is the relationship between the letters to the seven churches and chapters four and five? To put the question another way, what did the original recipients of this book think when they read the letters to the seven churches in chapters two and three and then began to read chapters four and five? The two sections are obviously different. There is clearly a transition at 4:1. But how do the two sections relate to one another? To put it yet another way, the original 90 A.D. audience certainly understood that chapters two and three of Revelation were for them, for they were directly addressed in those letters. But did they also read chapters four and five and say, “this is for us!” Or did chapters four and five seem confusing and foreign to them as if they were speaking of things mysterious and a long way off.
I think you know what I am getting at here. The futurist interpretation of Revelation which is so common today drives a wedge and inserts gap between the end of Revelation three and the beginning of Revelation four insisting that the two sections describe things that are separated by thousands of years. Revelation two and three, they claim, described how things were back then when those churches existed. Revelation four and on, they think, describes that which will happen in our future. According to this view the answer to the question, what is the relationship between the letters to the seven churches and chapters four and five? would be, not a whole lot.
I will address this problem much more carefully in the weeks to come as we move more methodically through text. For now I simply want to you recognize the obvious conceptual connection that exists between the two sections. By “conceptual” I mean that the concepts communicated in the letters to the seven churches, and concepts communicated in chapters four and five fit together like puzzle pieces. They go hand in glove. They go together like peanut butter and jelly so that they when the original 90 A.D. readers moved from chapter three into chapter four they did not say, “what is this?”, but rather, “Oh, how good this is! Oh, how this feeds my soul!” Chapters four and onward of the book of Revelation are intimately related to all that was said in the letters to the seven churches in chapters two and three.
Friends, it is important for us to remember the concept that was communicated in the first few chapters of Revelation. Jesus Christ was seen walking in the midst of his churches, inspecting them. And he spoke to them both words of encouragement and words of warning. The consistent plea of Christ to the churches was that they would remain true to him in this world. They were to witnesses to the world concerning him. They were to worship him. They were to live in this world in obedience to Christ, denying the lusts of the flesh, refusing false teaching, and bearing up under persecution, even to the point of death. Christians are called to suffer for the sake of Christ. The Christians were called to endure, to bear up under the trouble, and to conquer – that is, to win the victory, or to overcome.
I want for you to really think about this. These were real people facing real temptations.
Imagine the Christian businessman living in Ephesus. He’s both a husband and father. And he is tempted to compromise in the faith for the sake of gain. If he would only offer up a pinch of incense on the alter and say, “Cesar is Lord” – if he would only go to the festivals of trade guilds and bend the knee to their gods – he would prosper. He could buy the bigger house, and feed and clothe his wife and children. But to refuse to compromise would mean poverty for he and his family. If he remained true to Christ – if he made the worship of Christ his leading concern – he would not be able to buy nice clothes for his wife. His family might dwell in a very small home. They might even go hungry. Christ was calling him to endure, to overcome, to resist the temptation to compromise.
Think of the young Christian woman living in Smyrna. She has her whole life in front of her. She hopes to marry someday and to have children, but she is being threatened with imprisonment, and even death, on account of her faith in Christ. The only thing she needs to do is to deny Christ. If she would just say the words, “I recant” – if she would simply drop the whole Christianity thing – she would be free to pursue her dreams. But Christ says to her, “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10, ESV).
Think of the young man in Thyatira. He is tempted by the teaching of Jezebel, for she does not say, “deny the flesh”, but rather, “indulge!” The young man is conflicted in his mind and heart. Christ says, “Put to death… what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming” (Colossians 3:5–6, ESV). But Jezebel says, “what you do in the flesh does not really matter. Christ has forgiven all your sins. This world and the things of this world will pass away. Indulge, then! If you have an appetite for something, then feed it!”
These were real people being tempted in really significant ways. Christ, in the letters to the churches, says “endure; conquer; overcome.”
The question on each of their minds was certainly this: is it worth it? Is it worth it to follow hard after Christ and to suffer in this world? Is it worth it obey Christ but to watch my family go without? Is it worth it to worship Christ and to suffer in prison, even to the point of death? Is it worth it to constantly fight against the sinful appetites of my flesh and to obey Christ? Is it worth it?
Friends, you may not even realize it but you don’t do anything in this life without asking yourself the question, “is it worth it?” I’m sure that this happens on the subconscious level more often than not. And there are some things that we do out of habit having settled the question, “Is it worth it?” a long time ago. But we do what we do, and we refuse to do what we refuse to do, because, at some point, and at some level, we have wrestled with the question, “is it worth it?”
I might crave a cup of coffee. But I will only purchase a cup of coffee, or take the time to brew a cup of coffee, if I decide that it is worth it? Someone might offer me a slice of cake and in that moment I have to decide, is it worth it? Does the enjoyment of eating that cake outweigh what it costs me? I understand that this decision making process often happens very quickly and naturally so that we hardly even recognize it, but it is there. The wise person recognizes that every decision we make has ramifications. Every word that we speak, and every word that choose not to speak – every thought that we think, and every thought that we choose not to think – every thing that we do, and every thing that we decide not to do – has an impact upon our life and the lives of others – it costs something. We are to count the cost, aren’t we? The one who is wise asks, is intentional in asking the question, “is it worth it?”
But I’m sure that you can see that different people will answer the question, “is it worth it?” differently. One man when tempted with sexual immorality decides, “it is worth it!”, and runs with reckless abandon into the sin. But another man faced with the same temptation, says, “by no means would the temporary pleasure be worth it; it will cost far too much”, and so he refrains.
And what is it that differentiates the one from the other? Friends, it has everything to do with the mind and heart of the man. What does the man really think is true? What does he believe about God, and man, and the world in which we live? Does he fear the Lord? Does he love others or himself? Does he live for the glory of God or for his own pleasure. It is what he thinks in his mind and believes in his heart that will determine whether the man runs into sin or away from it.
The man who decides to run full speed into sexual immorality shows by his actions what is truly in his mind and heart. He sins because he thinks the sin to be worth it. He does not truly believe that it will cost him much, if anything at all. The momentary pleasure, in his estimation, is worth it. This man does not fear the Lord.
The man who decides to refrain from sexual immorality shows by his actions what is truly in his mind and heart. He refrains because he does not think the sin to be worth it. It will cost him too much. The momentary pleasure, in his estimation, is not worth it. Something, or someone, else is worthy of his obedience. This one has the fear of the Lord.
This is how human behavior works. I understand that most of our decisions feel more impulsive. But truth be told, we do what we do because our hearts and minds are bent in a particular direction.
We are not animals, friends. We do not act upon simple impulse or instinct. We have the ability to freely chose. And we chose what we chose from the mind and heart. We think, say, and do that which our view of the world leads us to think, say, and do. We are constantly asking the question, is it worth it? And we answer that question one way or the other based upon what we think about reality.
This is why the scriptures place so much importance upon the transformation of the mind in the process of sanctification. Our behavior changes only as our minds change. Paul say, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind…” (Romans 12:2, ESV). Our behaviors are changed when our minds change. The things that we think, say, and do flow from the mind and the heart. What we believe about reality – who God is, who we are, what this world is all about, and where all things are headed – will determine how it is that we live in this world. I heard it said by someone, “you are what you think.” This is true! We live according to what we think in the mind and believe in the heart.
I can’t remember why, but I was doing a word study on the word “repent” last week. Here is how the Greek lexicon Louw-Nida defines the Greek word, μετάνοια, which we translate as “repent”. To repent is “to change one’s way of life as the result of a complete change of thought and attitude with regard to sin and righteousness.” If we are to change our behavior to bring it into conformity to God’s will we must experience a metamorphosis of mind and heart.
An illustration came to mind as I was thinking about all of this. My wife is very disciplined with her diet, as some of you know. She impresses me very much. She is very careful and consistent to eat certain things and to not eat other things. The reason, though, is because she is thoroughly convinced that certain foods do damage to her body. She has a number of autoimmune problems. And through study and also experience she has grown convinced that her body reacts very badly to certain kinds of food. She exhibits tremendous self control. She used to eat everything that I eat. She used to enjoy certain foods. But today she is disciplined to abstain even if the cravings are strong. Why? Because her mind has changed. She believes what she believes deeply. And her behavior proves it.
So what does all of this have to do with Revelation four and five?
Here is the point. These two chapters show us how things really are. God’s will is that we might see things as they truly are and believe it so deeply that we would live according to that reality. Revelation four and five (and the rest of Revelation, for that matter) peal back the curtains, as it were, to show us the heavenly reality. They show us how things really are with God and with Christ and with their plans and purposes in the world. The visions that are described here are meant, not to cause us to speculate about the future (when will Christ come and what exactly will it be like), but to renew our minds so that we would no longer conform to the world, but be transformed into the likeness of Christ. This is how the two sections – that is, the letters to the seven churches, and the visions of chapters four and five – relate to one another. The letters say, “worship Christ! Obey him! Do not compromise!” The visions of chapters four and five say, “and here is why it is worth it.”
As I read Revelation four and five I would ask that you pay special attention to what John hears in this vision. He sees many things. And what he sees is indeed very important. We will consider very carefully John’s description of all that he saw in the weeks to come. Today I want you to focus in upon John’s description of what he heard. Various figures in the vision speak. And what they have to say is very important. So listen to their words. And listen with the question that we have already posed in mind. Is it worth it to worship God and Christ in this world, though it may cost us everything? If we were to ask the question another way we might ask, who is it that is worthy of our worth-ship? I’m hoping that you notice the similarity between the words “worth”, “worthy”, and “worship”.
Let us give ourselves now to the reading of God’s holy, inspired, inerrant, and authoritative word.
New Testament Reading: Revelation 4-5
“After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said,
‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.’
At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,
‘Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!’
And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
‘Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.’
Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice,
‘Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?’
And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me,
‘Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.’
And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying,
‘Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.’
Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice,
‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!’
And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,
‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!’
And the four living creatures said, ‘Amen!’ and the elders fell down and worshiped” (Revelation 4–5, ESV).
Introduction
I understand that as we read this text many questions arise. What are we to make of the description of God? Who do the twenty-four elders represent? What do the four strange creatures represent? What is God said to have seven Spirits? And what is the significance of the scroll found in God’s right hand? We will answer these questions in the weeks to come.
For now I want you to recognize the two obvious and unmistakable things being communicated in this text: One, God is worthy to be worshiped for he is our creator. And two, Christ is worthy to be worshiped for he is our redeemer.
This is the thing that the Christians in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea needed to hear! They wondered, is it worth it follow Christ in this world? Is it worth it to suffer for his name? And here they have their answer: Yes it is worth it! For God and his Christ are worthy of worth-ship! For God is our creator and Christ is our redeemer. Friends, this is what you and I need to hear. We need to view our lives in the light of the glory of our Creator God and in light of Christ our redeemer, who has conquered for you and for me. We are to live our lives – we are to think, say, and do all that we think, say, and do – being ever mindful of our God and of our Savior.
God Is Worthy To Be Worshiped For He Is Our Creator
Friends, God is worthy to be worshiped because he is our creator? The Christian is one who says, “it is worth it to give God worship – to obey him, to serve him, to praise his name, witnessing to his goodness – even if it cost us everything in this world, for he is our Creator.”
Where did John see God seated? On a throne! For he is the sovereign King. Nothing is outside of his control.
And do you see that he is radiant in glory? We will consider the description of God more carefully i the weeks to come, but surly you can see that he is radiant in glory. He is holy, all powerful and worthy of all praise.
And what do the four living creatures say to him? “Day and night they never cease to say, ‘Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come” (Revelation 4:8, ESV).
And what do the twenty-four elders say? They “fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, ‘Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created” (Revelation 4:10–11, ESV).
We will say so much more about all of this in the weeks to come. For now notice the obvious thing: Christians are encouraged to think, say, and do, that which they were exhorted to think, say, and do in chapters two and three of Revelation because of what they see and hear in chapter four.
It is worth it to live a life completely sold out for God because God sits enthroned in heaven, he is radiant in glory, he is holy, he is unchanging, he is your creator. You were made by him and for him. From him you came and to him you will return. If this is true then why would you think to live for anyone else, or for any other pleasure other than the pleasure of knowing and pleasing him? A proper view of God has a way a straightening out our lives, friends.
Christ Is Worthy To Be Worshiped For He Is Our Redeemer
And do you see secondly that Christ is worthy to be worshiped for he is our redeemer?
Chapter five opens with a predicament. God has a scroll in his right hand, but no one is worthy to open it. The scroll, as we will see, will reveal God’s plan of judgment and redemption. But here no one is found worthy to open it. John began to weep. But one of the elders spoke to John saying, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals” (Revelation 5:5, ESV). Jesus has conquered through his life, death, and resurrection.
When the lamb stepped forward to receive the scroll what did the twenty-four elders say? “They sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9, ESV).
And what did the four living creatures say? “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” (Revelation 5:12, ESV).
After this John “heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, ‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!’ And the four living creatures said, ‘Amen!’ and the elders fell down and worshiped” (Revelation 5:13–14, ESV).
Friends, Christ is worthy to be worshiped because he is our redeemer. The Christian is one who says, “it is worth it to give Christ worship – to obey him, to serve him, to praise his name, witnessing to his goodness – even if it cost us everything in this world, for he is our redeemer.”
Conclusion
So I wonder, have you paused to ask the question, “is it worth it?” to live the way that you are living? Have you looked to God’s word with that question in mind? Have you examined your life in the light of God’s revelation of himself to us? Are you living your life to the glory of God, or for your own glory? Are you storing up treasures on earth or in heaven? Are you living for the fleeting pleasures of this world or are you pursuing the everlasting and all satisfying pleasure of knowing God and Christ?
Another way to ask the same question is to ask, “who is worthy of my worship?” We are made to worship, friends. We cannot help but worship. We worship every moment of every day. All of our thoughts, words, and deeds are an act of worship. They honor the person or the thing that we have deemed to be worthy . The question is not will we worship?, for it is inevitable that we will. The question is who will we worship? Who will we honor – who will we glorify – who will we serve in this life. Will we worship God and Christ, or self? Will we live for him, or the pleasures of this world. that is the question we must answer – who is worthy of our worship?
The answer is that God is worthy of our worship, for he is creator. And Christ is worthy of our worship, for he is our redeemer. Certainly it is worth it to follow him all the days of our life even if it should cost us dearly in regard to the pleasures of this life.
