The Triumph of the Lamb: Revelation's Message of Hope

One of the things that I love the most about the book of Revelation in the New Testament is the way in which this book incorporates so much of the themes and the content and the images from the Old Testament. And as we said at the very beginning of this series, From Dust to Glory, that for us to have a full comprehension of the sacred Scriptures we have to immerse ourselves in the whole scope of biblical revelation, become familiar with the Old Testament as the Old Testament reaches its fulfillment in the pages of the New Testament. [00:00:07]

If you remember the vision that the prophet Ezekiel saw of the whirling merkabah, the chariot throne of God that appeared in the sky -- that the description of what Ezekiel saw by the River Chebar is almost identical to the vision that John is having of the interior in the heaven when he sees the staging of judgment, where the throne of God, the chariot throne of God surrounded by the sea of glass and where this thundering and lightning and all the rest is emanating from the midst of it, and the four figures of the eagle, and of the lion and of the ox or the calf and of a human being are displayed; and not only that, the figures having eyes just like the chariots of God. [00:03:20]

And then we read, "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.'" Here's Isaiah six. Here's what Isaiah saw when he saw the Lord high and lifted up, and the glory filled the place where He was. And he sees the six-winged seraphim singing their antiphonal response, the trisagion, the three times holy, "'Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!' [00:04:25]

And 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." So he sees a person sitting on the throne having a scroll, and you know that the Word of God was written on scrolls, or parchment, in the ancient world and then they were rolled up. It's like the Dead Sea Scrolls that were found in the decade of the forties. But it was customary in antiquity for these Sacred Scrolls to be written only on one side, and it's extraordinary that a scroll would be mentioned having writing on both sides of it, on the back and on the front. [00:05:58]

Now John is witnessing all of this as it's unfolding before his eyes and he says in verse two, "Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, 'Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?'" You know one commentary on the book of Revelation argues that the literary form of Revelation is not an epistle, it's not a homily, it's not a symbolic history, but that it is written in the ancient form of the theatre. That it is a drama that unfolds in several acts, as it were. And with that drama comes the tension of conflict and of suspense. [00:07:39]

Verse three, "But no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it. And so I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it." So all of the tension of anticipation comes crashing into profound disappointment. [00:09:50]

But then one of the elders said to me, 'Do not weep, for behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.'" Talk about a roller coaster of emotions. Here is John, joyous anticipation, going to see the scroll opened, plunging into the depths of despair when nobody is found worthy, and now the elder whispers in his ear, "Don't cry. Don't despair. There is one who's worthy for behold the Lion of Judah has prevailed, the one who has come from the root of Jesse." [00:14:52]

Now beloved, if you don't know the Old Testament, it's meaningless, but John knew the Old Testament. He knew what that image of the Lion of Judah referred to all the way back to the book of Genesis, to the patriarchal blessing that Jacob gave to his sons. The promise of the kingdom went to the tribe of Judah, and Judah, the son of Jacob, was known as the "lion's whelp," and so he would be the king. But the king that is referred to here is the One who is in the decadency of David, out of the seed of Jesse. [00:15:28]

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." Let me stop right there. He's waiting for this magnificent beast, the lion, in the fullness of its strength, to come and open the scroll, but when he turns to see the lion, he doesn't just see a lamb, but he sees a lamb as it had been slain. He sees a lamb that had been slaughtered. He doesn't see a figure of power. He doesn't see a symbol of exultation. He sees the suffering servant of God in His humiliation, in His passion, in His meekness as the sacrifice for the people of God. [00:17:24]

Do you remember when we talked about how songs were composed in the Old Testament to celebrate a new victory that God performed for His people? The Song of Moses, the Song of Deborah, and now we have the New Song that is composed by the saints in heaven as they come with the bowls of the prayers of the people of God, those who had been crying from behind the altar, waiting for their redemption. Now they begin to sing a new song to this Lamb. [00:19:25]

"Worthy is the Lamb to receive honor and glory, dominion and power and majesty," so that now the whole host of heaven is singing the praises of the Lamb as the Lamb now appears in heaven to receive His reward, to receive His throne because He has fulfilled His mission. He did what He was sent into the world to do. He accomplished His vocation. [00:20:34]

You see, it does matter if we find the key to the comprehensive interpretation of this book, whether it's preterist, futurist, historical or ideal; but the good news is, we can take any one of those positions and still get this message: the one thing is certain is that the Lamb has prevailed and has entered into His glory and who promises to all of His people that they too will participate in His presence as He has been given the authority to open the books. [00:22:33]