Revelation

Before we begin, I want to correct part of my teaching from last time we met together. Through further research and a better biblical understanding, I believe part of my teaching may have been misinformed. Passingly, I mentioned that that Matthew 24:37-41 is speaking of the rapture. However, when you look at the language Jesus uses, He indicates that sinners will be taken away, not believers.

Matthew 24:28-30
"For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left."

While there is other Scripture that may indicate of the Rapture, I do not believe this passage does. I believe in the context of the flood and what Jesus says after in verses 41-44 (as well as the entirety of Matthew 25) points to a warning of the final judgement. Jesus referencing a story of sinners being swept away to their death does not communicate believers being swept into Heaven.

This mistake I made does bring up a good practical guideline. What a teacher or what a pastor says may not always be truth. Scripture is your sole source of perfect truth.

• We all have a personal responsibility to do our own Biblical scholarship.

• If our faith only rests on the words of a teacher or pastor and we haven't searched ourselves, we are building a weak foundation for our faith.

• I am not saying take all your trust away from those that teach, but be discerning when you hear something new. Do your own research.

• Many people will grow up and leave the faith because something that they were taught does not line up with what they eventually learn/read later in their life.

Anyways, let's begin...

A Timeline: Revelation 4-5

As we go through the book of Revelation we are going to need to modify our typical approach to receiving a teaching. The purpose of this series is not seeking to provide you practical life application (although there is plenty). Instead, my purpose is for you to have greater understanding and appreciation for the book of Revelation and of God.

The ultimate practicality comes through your understanding of these Scriptures, so that you may be more aware of who your God is and what is to come.

Let's begin...
Revelation 4:1
“After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said,"

• Who is the voice? We know this to be Jesus according to Chapter 1.

“Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”

• After what? Well in Chapters 2-3, Jesus delivers messages concerning the conditions of the churches during that time.

  • If you did the reading, you will know what those messages were.

• We are now seeing a vision of "what will take place later" as it says in Rev. 1:19.

Revelation 1:19
“Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.”

So, John enters the door and what happens?
Revelation 4:2-3
"At once I was in the Spirit,"

• John has now left his bodily form and entered heaven.

"and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne."

• Who is this someone? We can safely assume this is God and it will be confirmed later.

Revelation 4:4
"Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads."

• Who are these elders? Well Scripture does not directly say. However, I believe we can likely identify these elders as humans, not angels. In all Scriptural instances "elders" refer to men.

• Why 24? Scripture does not directly say either.

  • It is interesting the specificity of this number. 12 is the number we see for both the tribes of Israel and for the disciples. Are these numbers connected to the 24? Only God knows.

Revelation 4:5-6
"From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal."

• Here we see a familiar word again; “seven.” In this case it is talking about the seven spirits of God. Who here knows about these seven spirits?

• At first glance, this seems a bit concerning. Who are these seven spirits? Are there seven different forms of God?

Once we get to Revelation 5 we will talk about it.

Let's continue...
Revelation 4:6-8
"In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: “‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come.”

• We see four creatures here, each with six wings and a phrase they never stop saying.

  • We have already seen these creatures before in Scripture.

Isaiah 6:1-3
"In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”

• Seraphim are traditionally what we know to be a type of angel.

• For some of you this may be a shock, but angels are not babies with wings.

• There is a reason they always have to tell people "do not be afraid."

• John is describing the same angels Isaiah saw in Heaven.

Let's continue...
Revelation 4:9-11
"Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”

• This passage, and really this entire chapter, reiterate what we talked about in Revelation 1. God is much more holier, more powerful, greater, and more set apart than we can ever imagine.

So what do we learn about what is to come from Chapter 4?

• Nothing, this is merely providing the setting for what John is about to see.

So let's continue...
Revelation 5:1
"Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals."

Revelation 5:2-5
"And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Then one of the elders said to me, “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.”

• Notice who they say can open the scroll: "the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David."

• These are names that were commonly associated with the thought that the Messiah would be this great conquerer. That the messiah would destroy and judge the wicked (all of which is true).

So what does John see when he hears of this great judge, this conquerer?

Revelation 5:6a
"Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders."

• We are are going to see this again in Revelation 7, but we have this awesome picture of John hearing one thing and then seeing something that may not match the expectation.

• Jesus was a conquerer, but never in the way Israel expected.

We often have these expectations of how Jesus should be, but we are confronted with who Jesus actually is.

And why is it that the slain lamb, Jesus, is worthy?
Revelation 5:9-10
“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. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”

• There is our answer.

Let’s Continue…
Revelation 5:6b
"The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth."

• Okay here we see the seven spirits again. What are they?

  • Well, we have already seen these mentioned in Revelation 1, and it gives us some helpful clues to what this is:

Revelation 1:4-5
"Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ"

• We see three persons identified here: 1. Him who is, and who was, and who is to come 2. the seven spirits before his throne 3. Jesus Christ

  • In some of your Bibles it may say “the sevenfold Spirit”

This seven spirits is the Holy Spirit.

Remember in Rev. 4:5
"In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God."

• Seven lamps are not lamps in the sense of what we understand as lamps. In this case it is the seven places where there is fire on a lamp stand.

• This is why I believe Sevenfold is a more accurate depiction, as it is one Spirit with seven aspects.

Why does the Holy Spirit have seven aspects of Himself?

• Well, this could be referencing Isaiah 11:2 where it lists seven aspects of God.

It also could just use seven because seven is a sign of perfection. This is why we see God uses it so much.

Let's finish up...
Revelation 5:7-10
“He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. And they sang a new song, saying: “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. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”

This is the Gospel.

Revelation 5:11-12
"Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped."

This is our God.

• Every single creature will praise His name and we will all fall down at His feet.

• Our God, our savior, Jesus Christ is worthy of all praise.

• And whether we like it or not, whether we deny Him now, no matter who your are, there will be a day where we will all bow down and recognize Him.

As we continue in this series I hope you thoughts of God are challenged. I hope we can walk away from this with a greater sense of fear and reverence for our God.

To summarize what we has happened so far in Revelation 1-5:

1. Jesus appears to John to tell him "what is now and what will take place later."

2. Jesus gives seven messages to seven churches about what was presently happening.

3. John is invited into Heaven to be told of what is to come.

4. He sees angels and elders surrounding God's throne and praising Him.

5. There is a scroll that no one worthy to open except Jesus.

6. Jesus is praised for being being worthy, and is about to open the scroll's seals.

Next week we will talk about Jesus opening these seals and the tribulation to follow next week.

Homework:
Read Revelation 6-11. Read one chapter a day.