Click here to open a .pdf file with original formatting.  Easier to read.

Rev. 5:1-14  1  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. 2And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?” 3And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it. 4Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it; 5and 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.”

6And I saw 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. 7And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. 8When 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. 9And 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.
10“You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.”11Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, 12saying with a loud voice,
“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.”
13And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.”

14And the four living creatures kept saying, “Amen.” And the elders fell down and worshiped.

This is our second week (with a big gap) in Chapter 5 and our third week where I will contend this is the most important passage in the entire Bible.

In case you've missed some weeks (let me know if you want E-notes) let me bring you right back into that argument.

The reason I maintain this event in chapter 5 is the most important event in the Bible is because all of history (fulfilled) and all of prophecy (some yet unfulfilled) is about this event. The whole book leads here. This is the climax of this book.

In a nutshell (again). "Get this in your head and you'll have it in a nutshell" jmac

God created . . . everything! It was good. God created man and gave him the authority to reign on earth. Adam sinned and forfeited that authority to Satan. Satan has reigned on earth ever since. This book is about God, redeeming fallen men, and taking back this earth, and reigning with men on this earth.

There's going to be a regime change on earth! Satan is deposed. Jesus Christ reigns forever more. Chapters 6 - 19 describe the events surrounding that regime change. It's a huge deal.

Chapter 5 is Jesus, Worthy! to open the title deed to this earth. In verses 1-7 the search goes out through all creation to find someone worthy to open the seals on this document. No one is worthy to do that! Except one! The lamb of God!

Jesus walks up to His father and receives the title deed to the earth. 6000 years of tears and misery under an evil despot are about to come to a halt!

Let's see if anyone else agree's with me about this event. Turn to verse 8. Let's pick up the narrative there.

8When 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.

Heaven agrees! The four living creatures agree. These creatures who surround the throne, and worship God and God alone, bow down to Jesus, the Lamb of God, and worship.

And the 24 elders. Most commentators say the elders represent the church in completion. The church is in heaven, raptured. The church bows down and casts their crowns at the feet of the Lamb of God. We're represented by these elders.

The 24 elders have harps to make music, and they have golden bowls full of incense, the prayers of the saints. Who are the saints? The saints are anybody in any age who has had their sin cleansed away and been made righteous by faith in the Lamb of God.

Patriarchs. Jews. Christians. Anyone who has been washed clean in the blood of the lamb and been clothed in white garments because of His blood, in any dispensation, are the saints.

If you have the down payment of the Holy Spirit living inside your heart and are trusting in the Lamb of God to cleanse you from all sin, you are a saint. We are the saints.

Don't put a bumper sticker on my car that says I'm a saint. Sometimes I don't drive like a saint should drive. Positionally, I'm a saint! Practically, I've got some work to do. I need to keep bathing and bathing in this book until Jesus comes, and then I'll be changed in a twinkling.

In Vs. 9, song breaks out; 9And they sang a new song,

In the original order, in the greek, literally; kai (and) adousin (they sang) ōdÄ"n (song) kainÄ"n (new).

That greek word, kainen, that is translated new, occurs 11 times, and what it means is different. Different from any other song ever. A NEW song. A different kind of song.

I won't get any traction here, but I will tell you, modern christian music has problems. The whole idea of a NEW song is because there is a New King. The fallen world doesn't make music beautiful enough for this King.

So think about that. Should the music that the church claims is worship, sound more and more and more like the worlds music. Have we gravitated to worldly music so that we can be "cool" like the world is "cool". Or should the music we sing in worship to God be different. The Bible is clear that this song is different! It's a new song.

'told you I wouldn't get any traction. You're all thinking 'your white hair is really showing Jim'. You're pressing this greek to make a point that it wasn't intended to make. Maybe.

But whether I'm right or wrong, when heaven sings to the Glory of the Lamb of God, the music is nothing produced by the fallen world. It's new. It's different.

We'll save this argument for another day, because I've actually put a LOT of thought into this. Music in the church. I'm happiest when it's turning the world OFF, not ON.

9And 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. 10“You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.”

Well I thought I was done arguing about music. Read through that again. Listen to the words to this song. There's a LOT of meat in that song. This song is so full of doctrine, we could break it down and talk about it for quite a while.

I love christian music with depth.

When Isaac Watts was writing hymns for children, he wrote these words;

I sing th'almighty power of God, That made the mountains rise,
That spread the flowing seas abroad, And built the lofty skies!

I sing the wisdom that ordain'd The sun to rule the day;
The moon shines full at his command And all the stars obey.

I sing the goodness of the Lord, That fill'd the earth with food;
He form'd the creatures with his word, And then pronounc'd them good.

Lord, how thy wonders are display'd, Where'er I turn my eye!
If I survey the ground I tread, Or gaze upon the sky!

There's not a plant, or flower below, But makes thy glories known;
And clouds arise, and tempests blow, By order from thy throne.

Creatures (as num'rous as they be) Are subject to thy care;
There's not a place where we can flee, But God is present there.

In heaven he shines with beams of love, With wrath in hell beneath!
'Tis on his earth I stand or move, And 'tis his air I breathe.

His hand is my perpetual guard; He keeps me with his eye:
Why should I then forget the Lord, Who is for ever nigh?

He wrote that for children. Most of the adults in our churches today will neither tolerate, or can understand, the great themes in this hymn . . for children.

I'm preaching again. If you want to get me cranked up, talk about music and worship.

9And 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. 10“You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.”

This is not a seven-eleven song. There is docrine for the church here. Christians can meditate on this song and thrive on what it says.

“Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals;

Jesus is the One who is Worthy to take the Book from God Almighty, and to break open it's seals. The title deed to the whole earth belongs to Him. The destiny of the whole earth belongs to Him. He IS Worthy!

Why? for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.

Because He was slain. His death on a cross purchased lost men for God. His blood paid the price to redeem me out of slavery to Satan. I'm still a slave, but He bought me and gave me to a New master. He paid the price to break me free from bondage to Satan. He purchased me for God.

The Cross was the end for Satan. He's still causing trouble 2,000 years later, but he is a vanquished foe. Before Jesus ascended into heaven He stated; "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth."

He purchased men from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. He bought men from every place, from every ethnicity, from every corner of the earth, He has purchased men for His father in heaven.

Remember my little nut shell when we started. God gave Adam the authority to reign on earth. Lost. Adam forfeited to Satan when he sinned. In this song it is Found.

V10 “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.”

The Lamb has purchased back what we lost in Adam in the Garden of Eden. This is paradise restored. We're going to reign - with Him - on earth! The curse is reversed in this song.

Have you ever sat in a giant hall, a city block long, and listened to a mighty pipe organ. The sound of it fills the hall. Such power! Then all of a sudden ranks of pipes a city block away in the back of the hall join the chorus of the ones in the front. How do they do that! They're so far away you can hear the slight delay. The speed of sound causes that little delay as the music from the back makes it to your ears up front. Then more ranks of pipes from the great wings on either side join in and you're surrounded by . . . music!

That's what we have in the rest of this chapter. Does anyone else agree with all of heaven that this is the penultimate event of history?

Vs. 11Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, 12saying with a loud voice,
“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.”

Suddenly the music is coming from everywhere. Millions of angels join in on this song. Worthy is the Lamb to receive... receive what? What's in that inheritance?? What's in that title deed. What does the worthy Lamb receive?

Power - all the power of all the creations
Riches - all the riches of all the worlds
Wisdom - all the wisdom of God who created
Might - all the might of God who spoke the worlds into being
Honor - all the honor of all the ages
Glory - all the glory
Blessing - all the blessing

Everything that IS . . . belongs to Him!

OK, we've got all of heaven and all of the angels shouting and singing over the Lamb. Anybody else thing this is the most important event . . ever?

13And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.”

This is us! We'll be part of this throng! Practice saying this, so when the day comes, you'll know the words. You're going to be singing this.

“To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.”

Memorize those words, and sing them! Daily! This is our song to the worthy Lamb who purchased us and gave us to His Father. We'll never wear these words out. We can never sing them enough.

Is that everyone?

No, and oddly, I've not heard this taught much in the church. Look again at vs. 13And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying,

Think about what this is saying for a minute. I'm going to tie some other verses in with this and hopefully you'll see something here you maybe never saw before.

You know very well that I'm a literalist. I know I'll get to some things in upcoming chapters that will have me crying 'uncle' and I'll abandon the literal interpretation . . necessarily.

But there's no good reason to here. So listen again to what this verse is saying;

13And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying,

Every created thing. Heaven, earth, under the earth, in the sea, on the sea. There is no place where created things are away from God's presence.

Every person who ever lived or breathed, whether they rejected God or not, every person ever created is going to join in this song! Adolph Hitler is going to be singing to this jew, Jesus, the words that follow. Everyone in hell is going to be singing praises to the Lamb of God.

Romans 14:11,12 says: for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Phillipians 2:9,10 says; For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Is there an echo in the room?? That sounds like a parallel to the passage we just read in Revelation 5. Same thing exactly.

Every tongue ever created will sing this praise to the Lamb of God. It won't get them out of hell, but they WILL sing this song of praise to the lamb.

In March 1966 John Lennon said that the Beatles had become more important, more influential than Jesus Christ. Look it up. That's what he said.

"Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue about that; I'm right and I'll be proved right. We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first—rock 'n' roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me."

Guess what, his life and their careers swirled downhill until he was cut down in broad daylight by some crazy man with a gun and became . . nothing.

John Lennon will bow the knee to the Lamb of God and join in this song on that day! Every created thing will join in this chorus of worship and praise to the Son of God.

The church doesn't need to sound like John Lennon! John Lennon's going to be in hell sounding like the church!

You think I'm about to run out of gas here, don't you? Guess what. There's more.

Every created thing. The whales are going to sing this song. Mac and Mollie are going to sing this song. The hippo's in Africa and the kangaroo's in Australia, every created thing is going to sing this praise to the Lamb of God. The stars are going to sing. The planets are going to sing. This poor old tired earth is going to sing.

Romans 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.19For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.20For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope21that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.22For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.

Right now the earth is groaning. Taken captive by an abuser. Abode of Satan. But the world is looking forward to this day, when the Lamb of God takes His rightful throne and casts Satan out. On that day, the world will sing, along with ALL creation.

No more wars. No more broken ness. No more tears. No more corruption. The world groans and longs for that day to appear.

14And the four living creatures kept saying, “Amen.” And the elders fell down and worshiped.

I've been having an argument with myself about which is the most important passage in the Bible. Silly.

Is it this one. Or is it the cross?

Silly because it's a package deal. They're both equally important. They both bring equal glory to the Son of God.

You can't have the coronation without the Cross. The Cross is what showed the worthiness of the Lamb. And you can't have the cross without the King of Kings coming to earth to redeem men. It's a package deal.

Those of you who know me, know that whatever passage I'm teaching at the moment tends to be the most important passage in the whole Bible. This is a living book. And whenever that life connects with me, I tend to get all excited and say, this is the most important passage in the whole Bible. Revelation 5 may just well be that passage.