The Slaughtered Lamb Who Conquered

I would ask that you bow with me and ask our Father to open his word to us as he speaks in this great book. God of heaven, we've assembled here to give you our praises, to give of our resources, to confess our sin and our faith together. and now Father, we have come to this point where we have assembled to hear You speak to us. Lord God, would You point us to Jesus today?

Would You help us to see the sovereignty of the Lamb? Would You, Father, give us a vision of the throne room of God that would help us to stand in the midst of suffering and temptation? Lord God, we commit this time to you, asking not only that you minister your word, but that you cause us to listen. Lord, I pray that your spirit would make this text come alive for us in order that your purposes would be accomplished.

We commit this time to you now, asking you to work for your glory and our good. In the name of Jesus, our powerful Redeemer. Amen. Well, now you took your place in the theater of the universe last week, and you were awed by act one, scene one, of the revelation of Jesus. You witnessed the magnificent display of God sitting on his throne. The elders and creatures have declared him holy and sovereign by their actions and by their praises.

The glory of his holiness and sovereignty shine forth from his throne, which has by his sovereignty come the restless chaos of evil. It is from this throne that all judgment and deliverance will proceed in the cosmic drama that will unfold before us in this book. And now the curtain opens on scene two, Revelation chapter 5. Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back sealed with seven seals And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals No one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it.

And I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll. or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, Weep no more. Behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals. And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders, I saw a lamb standing as though it had been slain with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the Lamb, each 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 scroll and open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.

Then I looked, and I heard around the throne of the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing. And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea and all that is in them saying, To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever. And the four living creatures said amen and the elders fell down and worshipped We see again this holy God who exercises sovereignty sitting on his throne, still within the circle of the cherubim and the elders.

And yet something catches our eye. In the intensity of glory and the echoes of praise, we failed to see the scroll. There in God's right hand is a scroll with writing on the front and the back. Along the edges you see seven seals preventing the scroll from unrolling and preventing anyone from opening it and revealing the contents of it. Now in the ancient world, documents were sealed with wax and impressed with the author's insignia as a token of authenticity.

A sealed scroll could not be read until the seals were broken. But since the seals symbolized the owner's authority, it could not be opened, the seals could not be broken without his authorization. Now John knows what that scroll is. It is the scroll containing the purposes of God to be carried out against all the evil that is coming against His congregations.

It contains His purpose of judgment against evil and the salvation of His people from the midst of that evil. It contains the purposes of God in judgment and deliverance. We know that because the Old Testament has these scrolls, these pictures of this scroll, if you will. Turn back, for example, to Ezekiel chapter 2. Ezekiel chapter 2, which almost sounds exactly like we're reading in Revelation.

Chapters 1 and 2, where the prophet is called. Where the prophet is called by the Spirit. In Ezekiel 2, you read of Ezekiel's call. We come to the end of Ezekiel 2, beginning in verse 8. Here what you read a scroll of a book was in it And he spread it before me And it had writing on the front and on the back And there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe.

This is a scroll that has words of judgment. Laments because of the judgment that's going to come against the people of God. The scroll given to Ezekiel contains those words of lament over judgments to come. And so we expect that role in Revelation to tell of God's judgments on wicked people and the deliverance of His people. Turn over to Daniel chapter 7.

And you know, when you look at Daniel 7, if you take the time, what's happening in Daniel 7 is what happens in our chapter, Revelation 4 and 5. Because underneath Revelation 4 and 5 is this whole thing with a throne and one sitting on the throne and one approaching the throne and receiving authority from the throne. And in Daniel 7, verse 10, you heard it already this morning.

Well, you heard it this morning where it says this, a stream of fire issued and came out from before the one sitting on the throne and thousands, a thousand thousands served him and 10,000 times 10,000 stood before him. The court sat in judgment and the books were opened or the scroll was opened. Again, a book or a scroll opened in the throne room of God for purposes of judgment.

Now whoever opens this scroll not only reveals its contents, but is also the one authorized to carry out its edicts. John and all those present know that someone must approach the throne, unveil God's decisive purposes, and carry them out. In the chaos and confusion in the world, in the persecution and seduction of the churches, there is an ordered plan of judgment and deliverance.

But who will reveal and execute that plan? The sound of a herald brings out the voice of a powerful angel reaching to every corner of the universe. Who is worthy to open the scroll and break the seals? the question is not merely here who is able to open the scroll and reveal its contents Who is worthy to open the scroll and unveil the plan of God? It goes deeper than that.

Who is worthy to carry out the plan of God? Who has the right to receive from the Father's hand all authority in heaven and earth and to execute the edicts of God, the judgments of God against wickedness, the deliverance of His people? And the universe responds at this point with a deafening silence. No one answers. For no one in all the universe is worthy to receive that scroll or to shoulder the responsibilities that come with it.

Then you see in verse 4 that John begins to weep. And he weeps uncontrollably. you've got to get in your mind the picture of the apostle john at this point he's not just sitting there shedding a few tears he is weeping loudly it says he is weeping uncontrollably uncontrollably you see john as we've seen in chapters two and three has seen the dire needs of christ's congregations. He has seen their sufferings and he has seen their compromise.

He has witnessed evil as it oppresses the people of God and he has seen evil in its more subtle forms corrupt them. And now it appears, and now it appears to him that the scroll's seals cannot be broken and God's plan of judgment and deliverance cannot be executed. This means that for him, history will not be governed in the interest of the church, that God's children will have no protection in the hour of bitterest trial, that no judgments will come upon a persecuting world and that believers will not triumph.

You see this is the darkness of utter hopelessness John having seen the things that he has seen now sees the scroll which he understands is God decisive judgments And no one is found worthy to open the scroll and to execute the edicts of God. He is utterly, completely hopeless at this point. That is why he weeps. is there no one who will execute God's sovereign purposes?

Is there no one who will rescue the people of God? Is there no one who will see that justice is done? No one in all of the universe has answered the call. And so he leaves. There is no hope. and then suddenly like a floodlight turned on in the darkness hope bursts upon the apostle as one of those elders turns to him on his throne turns to john and says weep no more because there is one who has conquered and because of that he has the right and the ability to reveal and execute God's plan.

He is the lion of the tribe of Judah. He is the root of David. The lion of the tribe of Judah. What is that all about? Go way back to Genesis. As I was studying this, I was blown away.

I mean, I've read this before, and I have been familiar with it, but I was just amazed when I looked at this. In Genesis chapter 49. This is near the end of the book of Genesis where Jacob is blessing all of his sons. Okay? He starts with the oldest Reuben and moves through them all. And when he comes to Judah, in Isaiah 49, verse 8, he begins speaking of his son Judah.

And this is what Jacob says. This blessing slash prophecy. Judah your brothers shall praise you your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies your father sons shall bow down before you Judah is a lion cub from the prey my son you have gone up He stooped down He crouched as a lion And as a lioness who dares rouse him Now note, the scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples, or the obedience of the nations.

Wow! Judah will produce a king from his line. A king that will not only have the obedience of his brothers, but will have the obedience of the nations. And he will be like a lion or a lioness. A powerful creature that no one dares resist. This lion-like ruler of great power surely has conquered and is worthy.

John gets hope. And here's that phrase, the root of David, which is an allusion to Isaiah chapter 11, the stump. Okay? Let's look at it. Isaiah 11, the stump that's been cut down and a branch grows out of it. Isaiah 11, beginning in verse 1.

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, and his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see or decide dispute by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor and decide with equity for the meat of the earth.

He shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist and faithfulness the belt of his loins. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together and the little child shall lead them.

The cow and the bear shall graze. Their young shall lie down together and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea In that day the root of Jesse who shall stand as a signal for the peoples of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.

From the stump of the conquered people of Israel, a great conqueror will come. Like when you look at this magnificent reign described in verses 1 through 10. This unbelievable reign of this powerful, powerful king where righteousness reigns. The knowledge of the Lord will fill the earth. There will even be a change in the natural order of things. This is the root of David.

This is that powerful monarch. And those verses describe this powerful, conquering monarch of universal proportion. It is this powerful lion, this mighty monarch, who has conquered, and he is the one who can execute both judgment and deliverance. That is what the elder says to John. Don't weep. The lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David is overcome.

He has conquered. He is worthy. So John, his heart soaring, no doubt looks up from his weeping, expecting to see what? A lion or a powerful monarch of unbelievable might. But instead, standing near the throne between the elders and the creatures, he looks up and it looks like a lamb that has been sacrificed. A lamb, and the word slain there is really, if we were to translate that with all of its implications, He is not a lamb as though it was slain, but a lamb that is slaughtered.

He doesn't see a lion. He doesn't see a man or a figure of unbelievable might. He looks up and he sees a lamb that looks like it's been mutilated for sacrifice, standing before the throne. Now, unlike any other sacrificial lamb, and has the appearance not only of being slaughtered, but of power. It has seven horns. What is that all about?

Horns? I've never seen a lamb with seven horns. I don't know if I've ever seen a lamb with two horns. Seven horns on his head. What's that all about? A horn represents strength.

The imagery of the Bible is that a horn represents strength. For example, Psalm 18, verses 1 and 2. Listen to all these adjectives that surround this word horn. I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. All right?

You see, you hear all those rock, fortress, refuge, God, horn, all of it, all together. Horn represents strength And in the Bible apocalyptic literature a horn can represent a king a powerful king or a powerful nation For example, in Daniel 7, verse 24, as for the ten horns out of this kingdom, ten kings shall arise. So the horn represents something of power, oftentimes a king or a nation, of great power.

And by the way, as we proceed through this book, what are we going to see? We're going to see plenty of horns. I don't mean trumpets. That's one thing. We're talking about horns. You're going to see a lot of those in the rest of this book.

They represent strength or power. These horns portray the supreme power of the Lamb. It's the visual equivalent of what we saw in chapter 4 last week in verse 8. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God what? Almighty. This Lamb is omnipotent.

All right? Seven horns, the number of completeness, exhaustiveness okay Seven horns And the Lamb possesses seven eyes And we already seen twice now that these seven eyes are the seven spirits of God that is the Holy Spirit of God sent out into all the earth This lamb like God is omniscient The lamb has all power and all knowledge extending to the earth's farthest corner. That is why in his omniscience he could say to the churches in chapters 2 and 3, I know your word.

And that is why in his omnipotence he can say to those churches seven times this promise to the one who overcomes I will do this. But don't miss this. Don't miss this. The lion who cannot be resisted the monarch who is so powerful and who achieves final victory, overcomes and conquers by the apparent defeat of death. Don't miss that. John looks up from his weeping expecting to see an incredibly powerful figure that is irresistible And instead he looks up and he sees one who is conquered by the apparent defeat of death.

The Messiah conquered not as a lion, not as an irresistible monarch, but as a lamb hauled off to be sacrificed. Did you see that? That's what is so amazing about this vision. He appeared powerless, but then by his death begins the fulfillment of all these prophecies of this powerful, powerful king who will be worthy to unroll the scroll. And so, this apparently powerless victim, verses 7 and 8, this apparently powerless victim approaches the throne of God to take the scroll.

This apparently powerless victim is the one worthy to reveal and execute the plan of God. This lamb that looks like