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You may turn in your Bibles to 
Revelation chapter 4. Revelation chapter 4. I just want to read chapters 
4 and 5 and then make some observations on this particular section of 
Scripture and seek to bring some specific application with reference 
to the Lord's Supper. Revelation chapter 4. I'll begin 
reading in verse 1. After these things, I looked 
and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice 
which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, Come 
up here, and I will show you things which must take place 
after this. Immediately I was in the spirit, and behold, a 
throne sat in heaven, and one sat on the throne. And he who 
sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance. And there was a rainbow around 
the throne, in appearance like an emerald. Around the throne 
were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four 
elders sitting, clothed in white robes, and they had crowns of 
gold on their heads. And from the throne proceeded 
lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were 
burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. 
Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal, and in 
the midst of the throne and around the throne were four living creatures. full of eyes in front and in 
back. The first living creature was like a lion. The second living 
creature like a calf. The third living creature had 
a face like a man. And the fourth living creature 
was like a flying eagle. The four living creatures, each 
having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they 
do not rest day or night saying, holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty. who was and is and is to come. Whenever the living creatures 
give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, 
who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down 
before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever 
and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, You 
are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for 
You created all things And by your will, they exist and were 
created. I saw in the right hand of him 
who sat on the throne, a scroll written inside and on the back 
sealed with seven seals. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming 
with a loud voice who is worthy to open the scroll and the lucid 
seals. And no one in heaven or on the 
earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to 
look at it. So I wept much. because no one 
was found worthy to open and read the scroll or to look at 
it. But one of the elders said to 
me, Do not weep. Behold, the lion of the tribe 
of Judah, the root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll 
and to lose its seven seals. And I looked and behold, in the 
midst of the throne and of the four living creatures and in 
the midst of the elders stood a lamb as though it had been 
slain. having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven 
spirits of God, sent out into all the earth. Then he came and 
took the scroll out of the right hand of him who sat on the throne. 
Now, when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and 
the twenty four elders fell down before the lamb, each having 
a heart and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers 
of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, 
You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals. For you 
were slain and have redeemed us to God by your blood out of 
every tribe and tongue and people and nation and have made us kings 
and priests to our God. And we shall reign on the earth. 
Then I looked and I heard the voice of many angels around the 
throne, the living creatures and the elders. and the number 
of them was ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of 
thousands saying with a loud voice worthy is the lamb who 
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 and such as are in 
the sea and all that are in them I heard saying Blessing and honor 
and glory and power be to him who sits on the throne and to 
the lamb forever and ever. Then the four living creatures 
said, Amen, and the 24 elders fell down and worshiped him who 
lives forever and ever. Well, let us pray. Father, what 
an awesome scene we have in these two chapters, and we pray tonight 
that Your Spirit would guide us in our understanding that 
we would see something, a glimpse of the glory that is here displayed, 
and that we would have a fresh appreciation for the redemptive 
work of our Lord Jesus Christ. It's so much the focal point 
in chapter 5. I pray that we would be encouraged 
and edified and that, Father, our thoughts would indeed be 
tied up with the the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, who died 
and rose again for sinners. And we pray in His most blessed 
name. Amen. I thought it would be good for 
us to continue in chapters four and five tonight by way of our 
meditation for the Lord's Supper. What we have essentially in these 
two chapters is God's response to what goes on in the world. 
Revelation chapters two and three, we see the church tried. We see 
the church suffering. We see the church even persecuted 
unto death. We see lots of issues and problems 
and dilemmas in chapters two and three. This is the church 
on earth, and we might be tempted to think What is God going to 
do about all of this? Well, that's why the scene shifts. 
John moves from chapters two and three back to chapters four 
and five in order to get us to focus upon the throne room. This is heaven's response to 
how God's people suffer or are tried or have difficulties in 
the world. The scene shifts from the mutiny 
of man on earth So, what we find here is the calm dignity of God's 
throne room that is a statement by Walter Chantry in specific 
application to Psalm 2. I think that if you follow the 
trajectory of Psalm 2, it's very similar to what we find here. 
The nation's rage, the people's plot, vain things. They are against 
the Lord and against His Christ in Psalm 2. That's how it begins 
with the mutiny of man. But then the scene shifts dramatically 
to the calm dignity of God's throne room. He who sits in the 
heavens shall laugh. He will hold them in derision. 
He will set his king on his holy hill of Zion. That is precisely 
the flow of the passage here. Chapters 2 and 3 give us a glimpse 
of life on earth for the church of Jesus Christ. Chapters four 
and five remind us that God is in control. The Lord God is on 
his throne and that our responsibility remains the same to worship him 
and to praise him. In chapters 2 and 3, there are 
lying apostles in Ephesus. There is tribulation, poverty, 
imprisonment, death in Smyrna. They are dwelling near Satan's 
throne, and there's martyrdom in Pergamos, and there's trial 
in Philadelphia. It's enough to cause any saint 
of Christ to have some concern, to ask the question. When there 
is a tragedy, we want to know what the leadership is going 
to do about it. If there was an attack upon Ottawa, 
we want to know how the leadership is going to respond. Well, chapters 
four and five display for us how God does respond. Vern Poitras 
says when God's people are beset by temptation or persecution, 
a revelation of God's character and glory is the best remedy. Get this, brethren, because this 
is John's point. When God's people are beset by 
temptation or persecution, a revelation of God's character and glory 
is the best remedy. He goes on to say that his power 
guarantees the final victory. His justice guarantees vindication 
of the right, and his goodness and magnificence guarantee blessing 
and comfort. The blood of the Lamb demonstrates 
that solid redemption has already been accomplished. Even in the 
midst of trials and persecution, God is still the ruler. He controls 
everything. J. Adams reminds us that widespread 
persecution was breaking out everywhere. Greater still was 
yet in the offing. Lest there be doubt in any Christian's 
mind, the Savior graciously draws back the curtain of heaven, or 
to use the exact figure of the text, opens the door and gives 
John a reassuring glimpse of the divine control and care. That's what's going on in chapters 
4 and 5. Notice in verse 1. After these 
things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, 
and the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with 
me, saying, We compare this to Revelation 1, 10. I believe we're 
in the immediate presence of Jesus. He is the mediator. He 
is the one that brings John into the presence of the very throne 
room of God Most High. He says, come up here and I will 
show you things which must take place after this. He then describes 
the throne. It is majestic. It is beautiful. It is glorious. I would suggest 
that you take chapters four and five in your Bible reading. And 
compare it with the early chapters of the prophet Ezekiel, specifically 
Ezekiel one to three. You'll see many similarities, 
many of the same sorts of things going on. But this is a glorious 
throne. Verse two. Immediately I was 
in the spirit and behold, the throne sat in heaven and one 
sat on the throne. And he who sat there was like 
a Jasper and a Sardius stone in appearance. And there was 
a rainbow around the throne in appearance like an emerald. So 
he's describing this scene of the majestic God sitting upon 
his throne. And you'll notice that he, as 
does Ezekiel, says, likeness and appearance, likeness and 
appearance. The closer men get to the glory 
of God, The more they have to sort of give us an analogy, because 
it's something that we have not seen before. It's not something 
that we can connect to. And so he has to describe it 
in such a way, pulling from the created realm and saying it's 
like this. Its appearance is like this, 
but it's not really that. It is just to highlight and display 
how majestic this is. The attendants surround his throne. He is enthroned in splendor and 
majesty. He is surrounded by worshipers, 
these 24 elders. These four living creatures, 
all of this designed to promote in us a reverence and an awe. To see God attended like this 
ought to cause us to stand amazed. He has created specific beings 
whose sole purpose is to attend His throne and to sing, holy, 
holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. He has a created order of beings 
to attend to him in that particular way. So, he is attended in glory. We see the majesty, or the terror 
and the power, rather, reflected in verse 5. And from the throne 
proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire 
were burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of 
God. Hopefully, the image of Sinai fills your mind. It was 
Sinai where God spoke to his people, and there was thunder, 
and there was lightning. It was majesty, it was glory, 
it was awful, it was awesome, it was terrifying to behold, 
and yet the worshipper would have that mingled with a joy 
and a reverence and a delight to come into the presence of 
God. So you see what goes on in chapters 2 and 3, what happens 
in this lower world. does not shake God. It does not 
remove him from his throne. It's not as if he's caught unawares. 
It's not as if he's getting word now that you better fix this 
situation on earth. This is designed to show us that 
in the midst of trial, God does not change. God is in control. God is glorious. And then notice 
in chapter four, we'll spend a bit more time in chapter five. 
But in chapter four, the focus or the primary reason for their 
worship of the living and true God is connected to creation. Notice in verse six, I'm sorry, 
in verse eight, when it says, holy, holy, holy, you might have 
a note in your margin there that says M has holy nine times. M is another body of manuscripts 
that has holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy. Probably most of us don't want 
to read nine holies, so they put the three in there and then 
put a marginal reading in the notes there. So that's a lot 
of holies. When Isaiah 6, the angels don't 
stop saying, holy, holy, holy. You do that all day long. Some 
of you kids with too much time on your hands in the summertime, 
start off early in the morning and just say holy, holy, holy 
all day and think about God. You might start to scratch the 
surface of how the Lord Most High is attended to by his angels. Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty, 
who was and is and is to come whenever the living creatures 
give glory and honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne, 
who lives forever and ever. The twenty-four elders fall down 
before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives forever 
and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, You 
are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power. For 
you, notice, created all things, and by your will they exist and 
were created. A recent edition of Christianity 
Today has sort of an eight-man-looking fellow on the cover, the search 
for the historical Adam. Was Adam a real person? Was Adam 
like the Bible says? A growing number of scholars 
and academicians, or whatever you call them, are denying the 
historicity of Adam. When we deny the historicity 
of Adam, what follows? Well, that's already followed. 
They deny the historicity of the creation account. Well, if 
we rip the creation account out of the Bible, at least according 
to Revelation 4, we don't have a reason to worship God. That's 
what they are praising him for. You are worthy, O Lord, to receive 
glory and honor and power, for you created all things. Yes, 
to dazzle us. Yes, to amaze us. Yes, so that 
we'll wake up on a morning like this and say, God is amazing. Look at this world, as well as 
a means to draw us back to the Creator, as a means of praise 
and worship and glory and honor given unto Him. That's the focus 
of worship in Revelation 4. But the text continues in Revelation 
5, and redemption seems to be the focal point here. Now, basically, 
what we have in this chapter, and I want to just give you a 
brief overview, is this seven sealed scroll. When you get to 
chapter six, there's a brief interlude in chapter seven and 
then chapter eight, verse one. You'll see the opening of these 
seven seals. This is a scroll of judgment. 
This is God's response. This is how God will deal with 
the enemies who persecute his church. He will bring judgment. He will bring terror. He will 
bring justice to bear upon those who would molest the church of 
Jesus Christ. That's what the seven sealed 
scroll is all about. It's about Christ launching war 
or battle against the enemies of the church to bring glory 
to the father and to bring vindication to his people. That's the seven 
sealed scroll. But let's look at the announcement 
here in verse one. I saw on the right hand of him 
who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, 
sealed with seven seals. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming 
with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose 
its seals? Kind of an interesting statement, isn't it? A strong 
angel. Did you ever think there were 
weak angels? Is there a gradation among the angels? This angel 
can bench press so much, and this angel, he's the really big 
guy you don't want to mess with. It's a strong angel. I don't 
think John is teaching us or highlighting here for us a gradation 
among the angelic beings. He's announcing that there is 
this strong angel. There is this one that, by all 
intents and appearances, is a majestic being. He's amazing in and of 
himself. He's a strong angel, but he's 
not fit to open the scroll. He's not strong enough. He does 
not participate in Deity. He is not God. He is not the 
Lord of Glory. This sets the stage to introduce 
the hero who is worthy to open the scroll and the lucid seals. There's a bit of attention. He 
says, and no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth 
was able to open the scroll or to look at it so much. I see 
the church is suffering. I see the church is trying. I 
see those two first persecuted unbelieving Jews and the Roman 
Empire taking out their aggression and hostility and enmity upon 
the people of God. There is the seven sealed scroll. 
It contains the judgments of God. It is going to be poured 
out upon the objects of the targets of his wrath. And yet there's 
no one to open the scroll. John says, I wet much. There 
was no one found worthy to open and read the scroll or to look 
at it. There was none to open it, to 
execute its judgment, to carry out that decree. This was grieving 
to John. Here he has seen the trials in 
the church. Now he's in the throne room of 
heaven. There's an answer waiting to be able to deal with the trial. 
And yet there's no one fit. The strong angel can't do it. 
As big and mighty and as powerful as he is, he just doesn't have 
the wherewithal. Notice what he's doing. He is 
building the sea so that we can stand in awe of God's champion. Notice in verse five, but one 
of the elders said to me, do not we behold, the lion of the 
tribe of Judah, the root of David has prevailed to open the scroll 
and to lose its seven seals. The hero of heaven, the champion 
of the church, the one alone who can protect his body is now 
introduced and he's on the scene. And notice the descriptors. Notice 
how Jesus is described for us. He is the lion from the tribe 
of Judah. What does that conjure up in 
your mind? Hopefully it brings you back to Genesis 49 and this 
promise made to Judah and the scepter that would not depart 
until Shiloh comes. It was a kingly promise concerning 
one that would come from David, who would rule with authority 
and majesty and honor and power. The champion of Israel is here 
introduced and he's identified as the lion of the tribe of Judah. 
He goes on to mention that he is the root of David, not here 
the branch of David, but the root. This highlights his deity 
in a unique sort of a way. It is Jesus who is the root from 
whom David sprung. Jesus is the root of David. And notice what he goes on. He 
says, He has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven 
seals. Now, I want you to get this, 
because this is great. I know it's hot. I know you haven't 
studied Revelation 4 and 5 for a little while, but look at this. 
John's crying. John's weeping. There's nobody 
to open these seals. There's no champion. There's 
no hero. There's nobody who can undertake. One of the elders 
says, don't weep. There is one. He is the Lion 
of the tribe of Judah. He is the Root of David. He has 
prevailed. He is fit. He is able. He is 
willing. What happens when John turns? 
What does he see? Well, he would see the Lion, 
wouldn't he? See the Lion of the tribe of Judah. He would 
see the root of David, see him there in the majestic, blazing 
glory of all of his kingly power, office, and reign. What happens? John turns and what does he see? A lamb. A lamb as one, having 
been slain, having been slaughtered. You see, all of those images, 
all of that Bible, all of that theology comes to fruition in 
the person of our Lord Jesus. He is man. He is God. He is suffering Savior. Look at it. Verse six. And I 
looked and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four 
living creatures and in the midst of the elders stood a lamb as 
though it had been slain. His power is connected to his 
suffering. His power is connected to Calvary. His power is connected to what 
he did on the cross. The lion of the tribe of Judah 
is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He's standing there blazing, 
glorious, majestic. He is in the midst of the throne. 
He's not an attendant. He is right there, present with 
God, in the midst of the throne. It says, having seven horns and 
seven eyes, symbolic of power and sovereignty, which are the 
seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Now, notice 
verse seven. Then he came and took the scroll 
out of the right hand of him who sat on the throne. That's 
amazing. Who but God alone could do that? 
You don't go take something out of God's hand. unless you're 
equal in power and glory with the Father, unless you're the 
second person of the triune God, unless you're the champion of 
Israel, the hero of the book of Revelation, unless you're 
the lamb who has prevailed through the blood shedding at Calvary. 
He takes this scroll, he opens it up, and as I said, in chapter 
6 and 8, he reveals or he unleashes his power and judgment upon all 
offenders. upon all those who molest his 
church. That's the flow of the book. 
But let's see how they praise him. Let's see how they worship 
him. Let's see how they glorify the 
Lamb of God who sits upon the throne. Verse 8. Now, when he had taken the scroll, 
the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down 
before the Lamb, each having a harp and golden bowls full 
of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. That's a good 
posture to adopt and assume. How do we know we're in times 
of revival? Because we all fall down before 
the Lamb. I'm not saying necessarily you 
could fall down in affectation. They're in the presence of the 
glorified Christ. They don't say, let's sip a latte 
together, Jesus. You bless me and I'll do for 
you. They're not conversational. There's a reverence, there's 
an awe, there's a spirit of fear in the midst of them. It says, 
when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and 
the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. The Lamb is 
holy. The Lamb's a conqueror. The Lamb 
is victorious. The Lamb is God. What is the 
correct posture that we are to assume? But reverence before 
the Lamb. We should speak to corporate 
worship on earth. We should seek to be on time. 
We should seek to pay attention. We should seek to actively engage 
our minds. We should seek to visit the very 
presence of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We ought to 
treat this as a symbol, or as a down payment rather, of what 
we will enjoy in the eschaton. It says they each had a harp 
and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the 
saints. Now, notice, and they sang a new song saying this is 
the focus. This is the point. This is why 
they are crazy. This is why they are honoring. 
This is why they are worshiping Jesus Christ. You are worthy 
to take the scroll and to open its seals for you were slain 
and have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every tribe 
and tongue and people and nation and have made us kings and priests 
to our God. And we shall reign on the earth. They praise him for redemption. They take the identifier of Israel. Remember, in the Old Testament, 
in Exodus 19, God says, I'm going to make you a kingdom of priests. It took the doing and the dying 
and the rising of Jesus so that sinners in him, the elect in 
him, can function as the Israel of God and be a kingdom of priests 
on this earth to bring glory and honor unto him. They praise 
Him, they honor Him, they worship Him. We follow through in chapter 
5, verses 11 to 14. What are they doing? Just speaking 
well of Jesus. You see, this is just filler, 
right? You miss the point of the book, or one of the points 
of the book. Revelation, as I mentioned this morning, is very pro-church. 
It's very pro-Christ, and it's very pro-worship. What do you 
do in the presence of God the Creator? You praise Him. You 
don't argue over the historicity of Adam and Eve if you accept 
Bible truth. You don't argue over what God 
says He did in the space of six days and called it all very good. You don't say, well, Darwin showed 
us and Darwin taught us, and you don't try to harmonize and 
modernize what the Scripture says with God-hating, rebellious 
science. You don't do that. You take the 
doctrine and you praise God for it. You worship him. You exult 
in him. You glorify him. You honor him. You look at a sunset like today 
and you say, wow, God is great because he has created all these 
things. When you've come to the cross, when you've come to Jesus, 
when you believe the gospel, when these truths are rehearsed 
or reminded or preached to you, when you consider the fact that 
Jesus was slain and redeemed us to God by your blood, what 
should proceed from our mouths is worthy is the Lamb who was 
slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor 
and glory and blessing. You know what the best way to 
prepare for worship in the morning is? To feed your soul the gospel, 
so that you'll come into this place rejoicing in the Savior, 
rejoicing in the King, rejoicing in the One who was slain. And then we see that they say, 
Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits 
on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever. This passage, 
these two chapters, teaches something about the God we worship. He 
is the Creator. He is the Redeemer. Redemption 
is uniquely connected to what Jesus did on the cross. Several 
times in this chapter, we see that emphasis upon the fact that 
he was slain. Stood a lamb as though it had 
been slain, or we might translate as it had been slaughtered. That's what happened to Jesus. He was slaughtered in a sacrifice 
of atonement at Calvary. It pleased the Lord, the prophet 
says, to put him to grief. Or it pleased the Lord, rather, 
to bruise him or to crush him with sacrifice. We see that here 
in their hymn, in their praise. You are worthy to take the scroll 
and to open its heels, for you were slain. You have redeemed 
us to God by your blood. It's a great word, redemption, 
isn't it? I know we talk about these words often. We should 
talk about them. If I were to ask you right now, 
what does redemption mean? Well, it means something good, 
right? Jesus buys us back out of the slave market of sin. Jesus, 
through His bloodshed, rescues us from the slave market of sin. Redemption presupposes bondage. Redemption presupposes slavery. God redeemed Israel out of Egypt. Why? Because they were slaves. 
They were in bondage. They were in captivity. They 
had harsh taskmasters. They had to do things that were 
very difficult and very grieving. So the Lord God redeems them. He buys them out of Egypt. Well, that's what Christ does. 
That's one aspect of his atoning work that is on focus or in focus 
here and have redeemed us to God by your blood. Paul in Ephesians 
one says in him we have redemption through his So we praise God 
for creation. We praise God for redemption. We see Jesus as the hero. The 
glory and the praise of heaven is given to the Lamb and given 
to the Father. Well, just a couple of thoughts 
before we actually take the supper. The first thing we need to remember 
is that in this section, and in Ezekiel the prophet, and in 
Isaiah the prophet, When they were confronted with the glory 
and the majesty of God, it promoted humility and it promoted praise. These are two twin concepts that 
we ought to capture in our own worship, humility and praise. What happens when Isaiah sees 
the glory of God? He sees the angels with two wings. They covered their face, two 
wings they flew, two wings they covered their feet. He hears 
them say, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts. The whole 
earth is full of His glory. Isaiah is confronted with that 
vision of God, and he says, Woe is me, for I am undone. I am a man of unclean lips, and 
I dwell amongst a people of unclean lips. For my eyes have seen the 
Lord. You see, the glory of God promotes 
humility in the people of God. Proud men don't spend time with 
Jesus. Proud women don't spend time with God. Proud people are 
not the recipients of spending time with the Lord. You cannot 
be in the presence of God and be proud. Just impossible. When Ezekiel saw his vision, 
when Ezekiel saw the glory and the majesty of God, what does 
Ezekiel do? He falls down dead before the 
Lord. John does the same thing. Revelation 
chapter 1 verse 17. And when I saw him, I fell at 
his feet as dead. But he laid his right hand on 
me, saying to me, Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last. Here, as these four living creatures 
and twenty-four elders see the Lamb who takes the scroll out 
of the hand of the Father, they fall down before the Lamb. They fall down before Him. Humility. Lowliness. If you're proud, I'm 
proud. What should we do? We ought to 
spend time with Jesus. If you know your Bible and you 
know yourself, you'll say, I need to spend time with Jesus. Why 
is that last enemy? Well, the last enemy, according 
to the Bible, is death. There's actually times, I was 
talking to a brother about this recently, where the devil isn't 
affecting or molesting you. I don't know when those times 
are. I don't know, you know, all of the dynamics involved. 
But the devil is not omniscient. He is a created being. He has 
limited prowess. He has helpers, to be sure, and 
he does do dastardly and horrific things. But just suppose for 
a moment that there's an hour sometime this week that the devil 
isn't going to mess with you. You're off the hook, right? You're 
going to have an hour of holiness. You're going to plan for it. 
I'm going to be really holy. The devil's not going to mess 
with me. I'm just going to sit and be holy. Listen to that song, Take 
Time to Be Holy. I'm going to slot it out in my 
daytime. Don't bother me, people. I'm 
going to be holy for this hour. You've still got your remaining 
sin. You can't get rid of that. And of the remaining sin, you 
know what I suspect is one of the top, one of the mothers of 
the sins, is pride. You're swimming across that River 
Jordan to get into Emmanuel's land, and you know what's still 
with you? You. The world's behind you. The devil 
may be messing with somebody else, but you are still with 
you. We need to spend time with Jesus. 
We need to kill pride. We need to take a lesson from 
the prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel. We need to take a lesson from 
the Apostle John on the island of Patmos. We need to take a 
lesson from these four living creatures and these 24 elders. We need to realize that being 
in the presence of Jesus will help slay the remaining sin of 
pride. Humility is what is captured 
here. and as well worship and praise 
and glory given to Him. We learn something about Jesus. 
We've already seen this this morning in our study in Revelation 
3. Back in Revelation chapter 1, 
we read verse 12, Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with 
me. And having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands. And 
in the midst of the seven lampstands, one like the Son of Man. Clothed 
with the garment down to the feet and girded about the chest 
with a golden band. Jesus is in the midst of the 
lampstand. We see that when he comes to 
commend and condemn the churches. We saw it this morning. He's 
there in Laodicea to condemn them for their sin and to counsel 
them to buy from him and to zealous or to lovingly exhort them to 
zealously repent. Well, the Lord Jesus is present 
with his churches. The Lord Jesus from his position 
at the right hand of God Most High. When the enemies are plaguing 
his people, he acts on their behalf. He opens these seven 
seals. He unleashes judgments upon them. If you want my opinion, I think 
what's in view is the judgment upon apostate Israel in the first 
century. This was the sign that the Son 
of Man was, in fact, reigning and ruling at the right hand 
of heaven. He had foretold this in Matthew 24. He had announced 
his purpose. He had described it in vivid 
detail. And revelation is the unleashing 
of it, the opening of it, the amplification and the theological 
explanation of it. That's what Jesus does. Unbelieving 
Israel is an enemy to the church. He will take care of them. He 
will deal with them. He will bring the curses of the 
covenant, all of Deuteronomy 28, to bear upon that apostate 
people. Jesus is mindful of his people. 
Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for his people. Jesus is victorious 
for his people as well. I think the chapter five, verse 
nine helps us with a verse in the scripture that a lot of people 
stumble over. A lot of people, when they hear 
the Reformed faith, when they hear things like limited atonement 
or particular redemption, their minds immediately fly to John 
3.16. It says that God so loved the 
world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in 
Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John, in Revelation 
5.9, defines for us how He means world. World is not every sinner 
without exception. That would contradict Jesus' 
prayer in John 17. I do not pray for the world, 
but I pray for those whom you've given me out of the world. John's 
Gospel, John 3.16, the beauty, the glory of that statement is 
that Jesus is not simply the Jewish Savior, the Jewish Messiah. This Jesus is the Savior of the 
world. Men from every tribe, men from 
every tongue, men from every people, and men from every nation. D. A. Carson comments, with reference 
to John 3.16, he says, God's love is to be admired not because 
the world is so big and included so many people, but because the 
world is so bad. That is the customary connotation 
of God's love. When we consider John 3, 16, 
God's immeasurable love is viewed not in the fact that he saves 
everybody, without exception, because the Bible doesn't teach 
that. It's that he has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. Jew, Gentile. You just follow 
that trajectory in John's Gospel. It makes perfect sense. What 
happens? John chapter 4. Jesus has dealings with a Samaritan 
woman by the well. Right? What does she do? She 
runs back to her village and she says, come and see a man 
who told me all things that I ever did. They were sinful things. Or wretched things. So what happens? Those Samaritan men come and 
they hear Jesus. And they say, now we believe 
and now we know that you are indeed the Savior, what? Of the 
world. Not just the tribes of Jacob. Not just a small geographic region. But men from every tribe, every 
time, every people, every nation, men from Samaria, men from North 
America, men from Asia, men from all over the place. Now, we ought 
not to minimize. It certainly does sound like 
it's going to be a lot of them. There's going to be countless 
multitudes standing before the lamb, praising him for his wondrous 
work of redemption. Revelation 5-9 fleshes out what 
John 3-16 specifies. God so loved the world. Men from 
every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. And then finally, 
Christ is praised as Redeemer. He is praised in this section 
for redemption. Remember, the other side of redemption 
is damnation. Notice in chapter 6, after Jesus 
begins to start opening up these seals, If you notice the sixth 
seal, verse 12, I looked when he opened the sixth seal, and 
behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth 
of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of 
heaven fell to the earth as a fig tree drops its late figs when 
it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll 
when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved 
out of its place. And the kings of the earth, the 
great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every 
slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in 
the rocks of the mountains. Please listen to this. If you're 
not a Christian tonight, please don't take the bread and wine. 
Not because anyone's against you. It's because the bread and 
the wine are for believers. It's a church ordinance. It's 
given to the people of God. Don't get offended that you can't 
take bread or wine or grape juice. Be terrified at what John is 
describing right here. This is a temporal judgment. 
Again, I believe it's dealing with Israel, AD 70. I know good 
men differ, people are going to hear this and say this guy 
is whacked out. Either way, this is a judgment text. It's not 
AD 70 and it's in the future. It doesn't change the application. 
Look at what John is saying. Look at what the apostle is highlighting. Calling upon you that, I don't 
know that I'm a Christian, I don't really want this Jesus. I kind 
of want my sin, I kind of want to do what I want to do. Look 
at what is the opposite to salvation. Christ is praised in chapter 
5 for having redeemed us by His blood. The Lamb who had been 
slaughtered shed His blood for the remission of sins for His 
people. Now notice, the kings of the earth, verse 15, the great 
men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and 
every free man hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks 
of the mountains and said to the mountains and the rocks, 
fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne 
and from the wrath of the Lamb." Those are terrifying words. The 
Lion of the tribe of Judah. I turned and I saw a Lamb as 
having been slaughtered. That lamb who shed his blood 
for the salvation of sinners is the lamb who comes to pour 
out wrath and fury and anger and judgment. These men, these 
mighty men, all sorts of men, call upon the rocks and the mountains 
to fall on them and hide them from the throne or from him who 
sits on the throne and from the wrath of the lamb. For the great 
day of his wrath has come, and who is able to stand? The only 
way to flee the wrath of the Lamb is to believe the gospel 
of Jesus Christ. The only safety in this world 
from suffering the wrath of the Lamb is the cross of the Lamb. Believe on Him to the saving 
of your soul. Believe on Jesus for that redemption 
that they celebrate in Revelation chapter 5. There's always the 
opposite side, redemption, salvation, as blessed concepts as those 
are. We cannot, we must not forget that there is a judgment to come 
on all impenitent, on all unbelieving sinners. So believe the gospel, 
believe on this lamb who was slain. He has called sinners 
to himself through the preaching of his gospel. Father, we thank 
You for Your Word. We thank You so much for what 
we see in Revelation 4 and 5. We thank You for the glory of 
God revealed in this section. We pray that it would be used 
to humble us. It would be used as a means to 
praise and worship You even more. We just ask now that You bless 
our time as we remember Jesus as the Lamb who has been slain 
for sinners. We ask in His name. Amen.