Twelve Times Twelve Thousand Evangelist

After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea:  “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel. Revelations 7:1-4

It is easy to get caught up in the cataclysms described in the book of Revelations.  I am reading the text wondering about what would happen if all wind stopped.  I am thinking about Revelations 6:14 that says, “The heavens (or the sky) receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.” Having an atmosphere and having wind are directly related.   The cataclysms of Revelations are terrible but the Gospel is good news.  In the midst of judgment God seals 144,000 Jewish evangelists to His work.   How wonderful is our God!!!  He demonstrates his faithfulness to his people and to his promises by bringing them back to himself. Then he releases them into the earth to win souls.  Twelve thousand from each tribe!   Jesus turned the world upside down with 12 men, what will He do with 12 times 12,000?

My heart breaks for my unbelieving friends.  Many of them church members and a number of them clergy.  Don’t be deceived friend your greatest opportunity for evangelism is when you are at church.  Unbelievers fill the church pews! When I meditate on this thought I feel like Solomon, “vanity of vanities all is vanity.”  Our generation is so cold to the Gospel.  Who can be saved?  Then, like John, I look up and see what he saw. He said "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.” Revelations 7: 9-10

The news gets better and the choruses fill heaven and earth. “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 forever and ever. Amen!” Revelations 7:11-12

What is remembered, what is celebrated? Those who repented of their sins and rejoiced in the blood of Jesus Christ that cleansed them from all sin!    John is teased by one of the elders in heaven. I suspect with a nod and a wink, he this asked this question, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?” John answers, “Sir, you know.”  Some questions are asked because the answer is so good to hear! What day were you saved? How long have you been clean?  How much money did you get on that promotion?  What a joy to say, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”  Yes! Yes! Yes!  God is so good that he is saving folk during the tribulation, and he is doing with Jewish evangelist whose eyes have been opened to their messiah!

I will ask you another question, what is the condition of those saved in the tribulation? “They are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. ‘Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’ Revelations 7:15-17Amen and Alleluia!

The Earth Shakes but Hearts Don’t Break

“I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.

 Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called 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! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?” Revelations 6: 12-17

I am reminded as I reflect on this scripture of the song writer David who said, “The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.” Psalm 14:1

The Kings of the earth acknowledge the lamb when he begins to shake up the creation but without repentance.  It is the same hardness of heart that keeps men from acknowledging him now.  Romans 1:20 reads, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”

Psalm 19: 1-4 also reflect this truth. “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them.  Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.”

The truth of these scripture was made very alive to me recently when I visited a replica Hopi Indian Kiva.  A Kiva is essentially a prayer room where men danced and were visited by Kachinas, these are supernatural spirit being who are benevolent and taught the Hopi how to live in the hostile physical environments of New Mexico and Arizona. [1]   There are to my mind Angels.  It demonstrated for me that God has always been meeting with his people.

Below is a part of the Blackfeet creation story

“This story is about a lone spirit that lived in this spiritual place before there was a world of any kind of life … He has been alive from ever and will continue to live forever … Life is given to all of us humans and to all the creations of the earth … ” The Blackfeet describe the Creator God as “Creator Sun”, who’s first living beings were snakes that rebelled against their creator and were punished for their transgressions. He then decided to make “ … something that will look like my image.”This creation was a woman (Creator Sun’s wife), animated when, “He had blown in the nostrils of the mud figure, which gave it life”.  This woman was looking for food one day when she was tempted by a “snakeman” who told her a half-truth and caused her to betray her husband. The Creator “ … knew what was going on … but, as always, he is so forgiving to all his creations.” “Nevertheless, all of us are to pay for whatever sins we commit … ”

“From the mud Creator Sun molded a form in his own shape, his own image … This mud figure came to life as Creator Sun blew into his nostrils. “ … he wanted to do for the mudman … Some way to help him overcome that loneliness. Using that strange power, Creator Sun put the mudman into a deeper sleep so he wouldn’t know what was going on.

“Kneeling down beside him, Creator Sun took out the mudman’s lowest, smallest left rib. With this rib he made an image after the mudman and himself … To bear fruit, to bear offspring.”[2]

I have included these brief Native American references in the context of this scripture in order to demonstrate that The Lord has always been confirming his existing among the various families of mankind.  Our rejection of him is done intentionally.  “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness.” Roman 1:18. Therefore, when the moon turns blood red and stars fall to earth the Lord is justified.  He is as justified at this future judgment as he was in His judgment at the flood. He is in fact justified in judging all of mankind now.  He waits because he desires for the population of heaven to increase.  He comes when man’s rebellion supersedes all of his goodness.

As we continue through the book of Revelations we are going to see His kingdom established.  Yet even then some men would rather be struck down by mountains that shake than to be embraced by a savior that offers love and a society in which all prosper.  Thank God for His Mercy.   

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[1] http://www.americana.net/articles/2011/12/hopi-kachinas-their-significance-in-ceremony-and-art 

[2] http://creation.com/indian-creation-myths

Be Prepared for Persecution

“When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.” Revelations 6: 9-12

It is biblical to believe that God has not appointed us His wrath. It is completely false to believe that the church is free from persecution. John Wimber founder Vineyard Fellowships years ago pointed out the every reference in the New Testament related to suffering is a reference to persecution. The Revelations 6 persecution is in the middle of the tribulation. The true church of God has always been persecuted. Jesus says Luke 6:26 “Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.” It is time for us to stop making friends and influencing people and time for us the preach the word in season and out. If we are not listened to then at least our hands are clean. This blog will be sent out to more than 900 facebook friends. It will be read by about 10 of them. The average readership of one of my blogs is about 20. I am not complaining, Jesus keeps me company as I write and the Holy Spirit teaches me as I go. There is nothing more rewarding than that.

Jesus also said in the beatitudes ” Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.“Blessed are you when people insult you,persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

The preaching of Hebrews 11 has always encouraged me but the rarity of the preaching of verses 35 - 40 in the pulpits of the body of Christ is sin. It is a sin because we leave our saints unequipped to cope with persecution. It includes these words, “There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning;they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.” These kinds of things don't happen to preachers who preach you can live any way that you want to without consequence. It does happen to those the continue to preach the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ without compromise.

Let me also make this point. The church is persecuted by religious and political structures not sinners going about their lives. Sinners stumble upon preachers through the sovereign hand of God and are gloriously saved. Pharisees, and their type, listen intently to the words of Gospel preaches seeking opportunity to silence and destroy them. We can be like those in Hebrews 11 that “were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.”

Like the future saints referenced in Revelations 6 we are to “wait a little longer.” They were waiting for the heat of persecution to be turned down. I am stating emphatically we will only be “waiting a little longer” for the heat of persecution to be turned up. The words of the prophets are being written on the subway walls of our generation. Stand firm and do not faint.

Delaying a Historic Future

“When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.” Revelations 6:8-9

Jesus knows the future from the perspective of history. He said of this historic time to come, “there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.“ Matthew 24:21 His is more saddened by the spectacle than we are. Jesus, God in the flesh, has always wanted more for mankind than we have accomplished. He wanted Peter to walk on the water, and not only Peter but all who were on that fated ship. When the tiny ship and the sea were tossed Jesus did not say to Peter, “good start” as he walked on the water. He said “you of little faith, why did you doubt.” There has always been a disparity between what we could accomplish and what we are accomplishing for the Lord. As Jesus saved Peter by reaching down and pulling him up so he is going to save all mankind by reaching down and pulling us up. “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.” Matthew 24: 22

The last 100 years have been the bloodiest in the history. However, worse times are yet to come. Their inevitability is chilling and can cause believers to lose hope. As the signs of the times are read in the daily news, or lived without shame on our electronic boxes, it is easy to throw up your hands and say, “come Lord Jesus come.” What should motivate us is the biblical knowledge that we will stand before him in judgment. That judgment is two fold, my own, and my generations. In regards to our judgment it is all about works. All of our sins have already been forgiven at the cross if we have trusted him to save us from our sins.

1 Corinthians 3: 11-14 “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.” This scripture indicates that there are two kinds of saved people. The first is the gold, silver, and costly stones kind. They are those that dig deep into the Christian life and what they have built on earth will endure in heaven. Then there are wood hay and straw Christians. These are saved believers but all they retain in heaven is the soul that Jesus saved.

The judgment of a generation is lived out in real time and affects the lives and the generations immediately following ours. It also has eternal consequences. Worshiping the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob is a reflection of this principle. A better example comes from the mouth of Jesus. “Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades. For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”Matthew 11:20-24

The middle east in the time of Jesus created the scenario that would lead to the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple in 70 AD. In regards to Capernaum Jesus says “you will go down into Hades” As Jesus foresaw the destruction of Jerusalem and his temple, so he sees the events that lead up to the coming of Antichrist. These are terrible days and my prayer is that we will be a part of a generation that delays these days of God's judgment. The prophet Amos said to those days, “Woe to you who long for the day of the Lord! Why do you long for the day of the Lord? That day will be darkness, not light. It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear, as though he entered his house and rested his hand on the wall only to have a snake bite him. Will not the day of the Lord be darkness, not light pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness? Amos 5: 18-20

The sea will rage. Getting out of the boat and obeying the Lord now may be just the thing needed to bring great great grandchildren to the Lord. If he has not returned by then his coming will be nearer than ever. Let us labor in our generation in a manner that helps those to follow.

The Black Horse of Famine

When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures,saying, “Two pounds of wheat for a day’s wages, and six pounds of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!” Revelations 6: 5-6

Famine is a judgment on the human family. There is a judgment that comes upon the lazy and the sluggard. Proverbs 10:4 Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth.

Proverbs 12:27 The lazy do not roast any game, but the diligent feed on the riches of the hunt. Proverbs Proverbs 26:15 A sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth. Matthew 25 tells us the story of a wicked and lazy servant who did nothing with his gift. It was taken from him and given to the one richest and wisest and the use of resources.

Luke 16:19-21 demonstrates for us that riches are not always a measure of blessing and poverty does not mean we are separated from God. “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores  and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. There is no sin in being rich, in fact within this same chapter we are told the story of wise business practices and their relationship to spiritual truth. Luke 16:10 reads “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much”

There is also no sin in being poor. We do not know what lead to Lazarus situation As we continue in the story we see Lazarus in paradise and the rich man in Hades. The most informative line in the story comes from the voice of Abraham “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

The one who has been raised from the dead is obviously Jesus. Abraham is saying that if you do not listen to Mosses and the prophets neither will you listen to Jesus who was raised from the dead. The reason is because the message is the same. The prophet Ezekiel stand out in my mind when he says "'Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. Ezekiel 16:49

How are we to understand the famine describe in Revelations 6. We are to understand it in the context of other famines. There are a combination of factors that lead to such situations. Laziness and the hardness of the heart of the wealthy have been seen clearly. The rich man walked by Lazarus each time he returned home. He gave no thought to his plight. Ezekiel's list adds arrogance. It is the arrogance that believes we are not dependent upon God for our life and our needs. We are like the man who stored up his treasure in a barn but did not know that he would give an account of his soul that night.

It is an arrogance that believes life can be lived independently of the word of God. Jesus said I have food that you are not aware of, meaning that the Word of God sustained him. Stated more clearly, he said, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ Matthew 4:4

We as a society are pressing forward with and arrogance and independence from the Word of God in ways the no previous generation ever has. We are plowing up ground in the areas of abortion and marriage that have never been tilled before.

In the 1920's and 1930's the areas of Oklahoma and Texas plowed millions of acres of grass lands. After a few great harvest the reaped dirt clouds 200 miles across and 10 miles high in the air. Our generation is plowing this spiritual ground now. It will create dirt that fills the spiritual air and will ultimately release a rider on a black horse that brings the greatest famine for food the world has ever known. May God give His people wisdom to understand the signs of the times and let's us grow fat on the Word of God for there is surely a famine of the Word of God in our future.

An Imposter on a White Horse

What we can learn about the nature of God from Revelations 6 is that his means of judgment are consistent throughout the scriptures.  Ezekiel 14:21 let us know what the means of those judgments are    "For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: How much worse will it be when I send against Jerusalem my four dreadful judgments--sword and famine and wild beasts and plague--to kill its men and their animals!” While we are working to understand the nature of God and his plan for mankind let us take time to consider these judgments as they relate to our time.  In today’s blog I will only have time to consider the first judgment, war or the sword.

The sword means war.  Proverbs 16:7 says, “When a man's ways are pleasing to the LORD, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him.” If it is true for the individual it is true for the nation.  When nations are required to send their young men, and now their young women, to war to war there is a judgment that is occurring. This true even when the war is just!  Never was any war ever more justified than World War II.   The war would have never been fought if France and England had a forgiving attitude toward Germany after World War I.  The policies that rebuilt Germany in 1947 could have been implemented in 1920.  Winston Churchill warned that the absence of compassion toward Germany would lead to their developing a military machine. Un-forgiveness gave rise to Hitler.  120,000,000 million lost lives as a result. War is the child of the devil not God.   The Lord is not absent from the process of War.  He sent his own people from the Exodus desert to the Promised Land with instructions in warfare. This was done because of the Canaanites wickedness not Israel’s righteousness. Revelations 6: 1-2 reads,

“I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.”

This verse can be confusing because the changes in personality are quick.  The Lamb opening the seal is Jesus the rider on the white horse however is the devil.  He is an antichrist wearing the garments of a savior. David Guzik from the Blueletterbible.com is my go to guy on difficult passages, quoting from his commentary.  “Some - perhaps they take their interpretive clues more from cowboy movies than from the Bible - believe the rider on the white horse is Jesus. Jesus does return on a white horse in Revelation 19:11-16. But this is a satanic dictator who imitates Jesus.”  What follows this satanic dictator is the judgment of war.

^“When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword.” Revelations 6:3-4

War effects or pervades everything.  The loss of life is clear.  War destroys what takes years, sometimes centuries, to build.  War takes resources used for producing things and shifts them to things that destroy.  War often destroys the mortality of those in the field of battle.    

America is at war now.   We are at war in part because we supported an evil man, Saddam Hussien, to gain and maintain power over his own people in diabolical means.  We are at war in part because as a nation we are addicted to illicit substances.  Therefore poppy seeds are grown to produce heroin in Afghanistan instead of food.   We are at war in part because we consume so much energy as a nation that we cannot support that consumption.   There are certainly other reasons as well. 

The primary reason we are at war is because the Prince of Peace is not governing the manner in which we conduct our affairs as a nation.   If peace were our agenda we would not support diabolical dictators but we would find alliances with men and women of wisdom and understanding.  They are there in the Middle East, even now. 

If Jesus ruled the hearts of men and women in our country they would not be drawn to heroin. It is a drug the kills productivity and creativity, and makes its users slaves.

If the Prince of Peace governed our affairs we would take dominion over the earth by using its own power to meet our energy needs and not rape oil fields in the Middles East or the coal fields of the Appalachian Mountains.  (The coal industry employers fewer and fewer people while taking more and more coal at higher profits with more environmental damage than ever) Its Mountains would produce more energy with wind farms while employing more people.  Instead we go to war over oil.   

We go to war because a rider on a white horse posing as the prince of peace is increasingly governing the hearts and the minds of the people of our nation.  Satan rides out “bent on conquest.”  We as believers need to be wiser than ever, more involved than ever, and more prayerful than ever.  Remember Jesus tarries or waits so that none will be lost.  As the day of his coming grows ever near let us remember that he is slow to anger. Let us occupy until he comes and “demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5

The Lamb Looking Slain

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. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 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.” Revelations 5: 6-10

As John is wiping tears from his face, trying to understand the nature of his heavenly savior he sees Jesus carrying in his countenance, gate, demeanor and visage the one who is freshly slain. The work of blood of Jesus Christ is always imminent and immediate. Something is imminent when it can happen at any time and something is immediate when it is happening right now. The application of the blood of Christ is always both. It is always available and is always received now. Heaven is not subject to time. When a soul is saved, it is saved by a Jesus that is slain now not just then. His salvation is in time and not just in history. He is there with us! Jesus is there, slain at the altar call, slain at the bedside, slain where ever a soul calls on him to be saved. He is not referencing something he did for the soul, but something he is doing for the soul now. John and the elders see this and worship God who is always working on behalf of the men and women he created.

Jesus approaches the Father as only He can but interestingly, He does so with 24 elders carrying the prayers of God's people. Time affects heaven in this manner. It adds newly saved souls and prayers of believers who recognize they add nothing to the work of Jesus Christ on earth. Jesus 's blood and his alone purchases persons from every tribe language and nation. The glory of the prayers is their grand diversity. The intercession of the saints is to point the blood of Jesus who alone is worthy to be slain.

We as a kingdom of priest can carry a burden to be slain. We hear it in the words of the Apostle Paul. “For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race.” Romans 9:3 Paul knew that he was not worthy. He called himself the chief of sinners. The most mature of saints recognize their sin before a holy God. They also look forward to a day when sin will have no dominion over them. A day when mortality puts on immortality and we live and reign with Jesus forever. Men are not alone in this desire. The angels join us as they joined Jesus in John's visitation to heaven. Concerning this salvation the Apostle Peter tells us the “Even angels long to look into these things.”

“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!” Revelations 5: 11-12 These angels are joined by the creatures of every physical and spiritual environment. They come from heaven, earth, from life under ground and within the sea. All of them give honor to Jesus who rules with power, wealth, wisdom and strength.

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. Revelations 5: 13-14

The God Man Opens the Scroll

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. 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.” Revelations 5: 1-5

Between Revelations chapters four and five there is a great transition in the roles of Jesus that reflects the heart of the Gospel.  Revelations 4 declares “you are worthy”, Revelations 5 ask the question “who is worthy.”    Heaven has no difficulty comprehending the divinity of Jesus Christ.   His glory was witnessed in heaven before he came to earth and after he returned to heaven.  Jesus references His glory in John 17:5 when he prays to the Father his prayer references the glory “I had with you before the world began”, yet heaven was slow to acknowledge his role as human representative.  Slow enough that John began to lament for the fate of the human family when none were found worthy to open the scroll and its seals.  The responsibility of Jesus as the only representative of mankind who is worthy is demonstrated in the title that is referenced.  He is from the tribe of Judah and the lineage of David.    For so it is written, in the scriptures, that the Messiah must be both in order to qualify as he who is worthy. 

Genesis 49:10 reads, “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his.” Jeremiah 23:5 declares, “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.” Both prophecies are fulfilled in Jesus. However this is only a partial qualification.   Hebrews chapter four brings the full measure of his qualifications together for mankind. “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.  Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4: 14-16.

John is weeping because he is failing to understand that Jesus is the sinless man is worthy to open the scrolls and break the seals.  John failure is often our failure.  We forget how human Jesus is.   Jesus ascended into heaven as a man. He sits at the right hand of the Father as a man.  He will return to earth as a man.  All the while being eternally “God from God, true God from true God, one in being with the Father”. 

I feel like I need to say something of the scroll that is written on both sides.  A scroll that is written on both sides can be partially read.   This would mean that you could obtain a partial understanding.  To truly know God we must understand that which is hidden, His divine nature. John 1:18 states “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.” You must also understand what is seen.  John 15:15 “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” 

John was comforted when he recognized both the divinity and the humanity of our savior.  I pray in the difficult days that are to come, you will be comforted in the knowledge that our savior is both God and Man.