Jesus Christ

The Lamb Breaks The Seals {Revelation 6}

5:06 PM

 



Revelation 6


God’s heavenly scroll contains His divine sentence against the world. Held together by seven seals, the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, is the only One holy and worthy to unroll the scroll. And with each seal broken by the Lord, a new judgement is unleashed upon the earth. Chapter six of Revelation brings us to the beginning of God’s wrath poured out upon a wicked and unrepentant world.


The first four seals come in the form of four divine horsemen.


Rider On The White Horse- This rider is no other than the Antichrist. He sets forth to conquer the world, quickly rising to power. Many fall under his spell as he brokers a false peace between Israel and the world, lasting 3 1/2 years. During this time he leads many away from God.


Rider On The Red horse- The moment the abomination of desolation occurs, the red horse and rider are set loose. This rider takes peace from the world causing wars like never before seen. The great sword he is given drips with blood as the people of the earth slaughter each other.


Rider On The Black Horse- Back in ancient times, scales were often used to weigh something precious. As this rider brings with him worldwide economic collapse and famine, the precious thing being weighed is food. Except for the privileged few, food will be both scarce and expensive.


Rider On The Pale Horse- Called death, and bringing hell along with him, the pale horse and rider are responsible for the deaths of 1/4 of the world’s population. No one will be immune to the war, famine, and wild beasts of earth at his disposal as he wipes out the peoples of the earth.


The fifth seal releases the cries of the tribulation saints. Even facing certain persecution and death, many will receive Jesus as their Savior and be saved during the seven year tribulation. These martyred believers, clothed in white, plead for God to avenge their spilled blood. And in yet another example of the love and grace of God, He tells them they must wait and rest a bit longer until all of His children have had the opportunity to be saved.


The Final seal of the chapter wields forth nuclear war and devastating cosmic occurrences. Fired nuclear weapons decimate the lands. Asteroids, and meteorites rain down from the sky, and a shaking of the earth so great occurs, it causes all peoples to hide themselves, “in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of the their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?’(vs 16-17)


On that great day, no one will be able to hide from God. But in His goodness and love, God gives each of us the opportunity to escape His wrath to come. When we receive His free gift of pardon through the blood of Jesus Christ, before the tribulation occurs, the Lord will call us to meet Him in the sky in the Rapture, sparing us the judgement to come. The Bible tells us that those who go through the tribulation know the judgements they incur come from the most high God, yet their hardened hearts still reject Him and His Son. 


The days are growing short my friends. I truly believe we are living in the season of the Lord’s return. Won’t you save yourself from the wrath to come, and receive God’s gift of eternal life filled with love, joy, and fellowship with the Lord forever?





Lamb

Worthy! {Revelation 5}

12:00 AM

Scripture Reading : Revelation 5

It’s Easter week! A time to celebrate all we have received only because of all Jesus did for us this week thousands of years ago at Calvary. Last week I wrote on that from Isaiah 53 and you’re welcome to read it here, but for this week, I can think of no better spot to be celebrating than in this chapter where we see our Savior and Lord as King! The only One found worthy!

John is sharing his vision. God on His thrown holds a scroll that no one has been found worthy enough to open, and John is overwhelmed to the point of weeping with utter despair, but suddenly one of the elders says to him, “Do not weep!  See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed.  He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”  John looks up, expecting to see this lion, but instead, he tells us, “Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne.”  At the sight of this Lamb, the heavenly creatures and elders fell down before the Lamb and 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 for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Rev. 5:9).

No longer the babe lying in the manger, or our Savior on the cross, through John’s vision we see the Lion of Judah, the Root of David, the only One worthy… may I say that again, the ONLY ONE worthy to take the scroll out of God’s hands and open the seals! And at that very moment Jesus takes hold of the scroll, “the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb” in an act of worship and begin to sing! A very special song for a number of reasons:

  • This Song of the Lamb is a song that proclaims the power of God, not through violence, but through His overwhelming, sacrificial love. 
  • It’s a song that displays God’s gift through the outpouring of Christ’s blood. 
  • It’s a song that displays the wisdom of God that is often perceived as foolishness by His enemies. 
  • It’s a song that speaks of the strength of God made perfect through our weakness. 
  • The Song of the Lamb is a hymn that gives honor, glory and praise to our amazing Savior who, “being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death- even death on a cross!  Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:6-11).


Tomorrow begins our holy week celebration. And as you go through the days ahead I pray you’ll sing this song along with me!  

Let our singing be an act of worship to the One who is both the Lion of Judah and the sacrificial Lamb of God. The only One found worthy to break the seals! There is no one else who is worthy of our worship and praise! 


Let us join with the heavenly hosts this week as we approach Easter in singing: “To the One who sits on the throne and to the Lamb, be all blessing and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!”  And let all God’s creatures say, “Amen!”

God

Why is Jesus Worthy of Our Worship? {Rev 6-8:5}

8:30 PM


 
One of my all-time favorite traditions at Christmas is to read through the Book of Revelations!  While the rest of the world celebrates His coming to earth as a baby, I love to look ahead to all we have to look for to, and this being the day after our Christmas celebration, I thought it would be the perfect time to reflect on just why Jesus is worthy of all our worship!

“After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.  And they cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”
 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying:
“Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!” – Revelations 7:9-12
Yesterday, in Revelation 5 we discovered that Jesus was the only…the ONLY One who was found worthy to open the scroll and break the seven seals. Now today we’re invited to look on what John saw happening in heaven. We’re actually being called to join with the multitude of angels and other creatures in worshiping our Lord, Jesus Christ.

I pray we each will pause for just a few moments as we wrap up our study and Christmas celebration, to reflect on just a few reason why He is so worthy of all our worship!  

Jesus is ...

__Our Creator:
“Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”- (Genesis 1:26)
We owe every breath to the One who has made us.
__God the Son, who laid aside His divinity to come rescue us
Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
 rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness. – (Philippians 2:6-7)

__The Savior who took on human-form and died to save us.
And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:8)
__The only One who revealed God the Father to us.
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father” – (John 14:9)
__The Son of Man, who chose to identify with us and die for us because of He loved us:
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”- (John 1:14)
“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (John 15:13)
 Now it is an extraordinary thing for one to willingly give his life even for an upright man, though perhaps for a good man [one who is noble and selfless and worthy] someone might even dare to die.  But God clearly shows and proves His own love for us, by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:7-8 emphasis mine)
__The Lamb of God, who took away the sins of the world
The next day he [John] saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”(John 1:29)
__The Lion of Judah, who will return as the judge, the ruler, and the authority over all.
“Then one of the [twenty-four] elders said to me, “Stop weeping! Look closely, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome and conquered! He can open the scroll and [break] its seven seals”. (Revelations 5:5)
These are but a few of His attributes. I can echo John’s words in John 21:25, “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.”
 But any and all of these attributes should be enough to motivate us to praise and worship the King of kings and Lord of lords! The Great I AM! Who set aside all His heavenly rights to come down to earth to be born as a babe, so that He could save us all from our own sins, in order that we would one day be able to be with Him in paradise for all eternity!

Come, let us bow down in worship,
    let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; 
 for he is our God
    and we are the people of his pasture,
    the flock under his care.
Today, if only you would hear his voice, 
 “Do not harden your hearts... (Psalm 95:6-7)

Lamb

Worthy is The Lamb That was Slain! {Revelations 5}

9:00 PM


I cannot remember just how long ago I started this tradition of reading through the book of Revelations during the month of December, but it’s one of my favorite things to do during Christmas! In fact, it’s as familiar as stringing Christmas lights and hanging stockings! I love worshiping Jesus as the King of kings and Lord of lords while we celebrate Him coming to earth as a baby in a lowly manger, and it’s my prayer you’ll want to adopt this little tradition as well!

The book of Revelations is like peeking through heaven’s keyhole on the greatest events coming, and I pray we’re able to convey the significance of all that we see on display before us!
I’m especially excited to have the chance to write about one of my favorite chapters! In both chapters 4 and 5, we’re given a glimpse of a scene that will take place in heaven before God pours out His judgments on the earth (Rev 6-18). In chapter 4 we were able to experience the worship of God the Father, and now in chapter 5, we’ll experience the worship of Jesus Christ.

First: John reminds us that God is in control:

I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals.  And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?” -Rev 5:1-2

Chapter 4 began by drawing our attention to the throne; chapter 5 begins by drawing our attention to a scroll in God’s right hand. Can you think of a better way to illustrate God’s sovereignty over all than by this picture of the scroll resting in His RIGHT hand? For His right hand has always been a symbol of His authority. Someone, probably God Himself, has sealed it with seven seals, which conveys the perfect number of seals (“seven”) and also hints at the absolute sacredness of this scroll. But there’s a problem;

“And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it.  Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it;” - Rev 5:3-4

There’s been a search of all heaven and earth and no one was found worthy to open the scroll, which crushes John’s resolve, for he becomes overwhelmed to the point of weeping uncontrollably. Does John believe that the wrongs of earth would not be dealt with? Did he fear that the righteous will never be vindicated and that the wicked will go unpunished? John seems to understand at this moment that if God’s purposes fail, then all of life is meaningless.

Which is the sad truth for all of us, for without Christ there will be only weeping. But;
“...one of the elders said to me, “Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.”

Second: All's NOT lost! There’s hope! Jesus will carry out God’s final purposes!

John turns to look expecting to see the, “Lion that is from the tribe of Judah” (the king of all the beasts; strong and powerful), But he sees something completely opposite: John looks and sees, “between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth ” (Rev 5:6). There are  four things we need to understand in 5:6. 
John sees;

  1. A Lamb (the meekest of animals) which is the symbol of Jesus Christ at His first coming, meek and submissive, the sacrificial substitute for us (Isa 53:7; John 1:36; 21:15). The Lion is a symbol of Jesus at His second coming, powerfully judging the world in righteousness. John sees the Lamb, now in the center of all the creatures and elders gathered around the throne, as the central character.
  2. A Lamb that had been slain. The word “slain” means “to cut up and mutilate as in animal sacrifices”. It describes for us the brutal crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ and all He suffered on our behalf.
  3. A Lamb that is standing. The slain Lamb, Who was violently slaughtered and put to death that is now actually standing! Symbolizing that He has overcome the power of sin and death! Once killed, He is now standing in the innermost circle next to the throne of God.
  4. A Lamb Who is awesome in power with His seven horns and seven eyes. The number seven represents the fullness of Christ’s power in defeating His foes. The horns are a biblical symbol for power and authority.

Third: Jesus Christ is worthy of overwhelming praise!

“And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.’ Here we see Jesus Christ, the Lion-Lamb, boldly approaching the throne of God. (5:7). We see  His sovereignty on display as He and only He is able to take the scroll out of the Father’s right hand! He is the only One who is worthy! This very act symbolizes the transfer of authority from the Father to the Son. And once He does all present break out in a new song... “ When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one 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 book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
“You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.” - Rev 5:7-10 (Selah- pause & meditate on this)

May I also add a personal thought here?... If Jesus Christ is the only One found worthy to take the scroll out of the right hand of The Father, surely He is powerful enough to take care of anything your still clinging on to; any fears, doubts, discouragements, etc. Is there anything you still have not given over to Jesus' care? Perhaps loved ones, your job, finances...? Why not release these to Him today? There's not a better time or chapter in all the Bible!

 There is much more I could share, but I think it’s significant to close like the, “four living creatures saying, “Amen.” And the elders falling down and worshiping.” He alone is worthy! He is the “Lamb that was slain” for us, now standing before the Father. The only one worthy to take the scroll from The Father’s hand! O come let us adore Him, let us bow down before Him...