Everybody sing!

 

Sing, make a joyful sound! 

Sing, life in Christ is found. 

Wages of sin and death, He paid them all! 

Sing, make a joyful sound! 

Sing, life in Christ is found. 

Now in my heart he reigns. 

Sing! Sing! SING!

 My father and I used to have this running debate.  I would sing a favorite hymn, usually during the Christmas season, and it would reference the angels singing over the manger, or to the shepherds.  He would point out that the scripture in Luke 2:14 does NOT say that the angels sang "Glory be to God in the highest, and on Earth, peace, goodwill toward men."  He would point to the text in verse 13, that says "A heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and SAYING..."  His conclusion was that angels, unlike men, cannot sing.

In my study of Revelation, I have found that my late father was wrong.

And when he (the Lamb) had taken it (the scroll), 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 the saints.  And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God 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."  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 elders.  In a loud voice they sang: "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 see, and all that is in them, singing: "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. --Revelation 5:8-14

I purposely lumped all of these verses together in this study, because they follow an overarching theme.   First we see the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures singing a song about Jesus, the Lamb of God, being worthy to open the scroll.  In earlier blog postings I went over who the elders represent: probably the believers of the Old Testament (represented by Twelve Tribes of Israel) and the believers of the New Testament (represented by the Twelve Apostles) together.  I also explained what I think about the four creatures (the Lion, the Man, the Ox and the Eagle--see post entitled "What's Your Sign?")  You will remember in the first part of Revelation chapter five, no one was found worthy to open the scroll or break its seals.  John was so upset at this news that he wept.  But now that the Lamb has stepped up, and has been found worthy, the whole church is so happy that they sang a new song about it.  This song is an outpouring of contemporaneous praise.  They were so excited that they just had to sing.

Have you ever been so excited that you extemporaneously broke into song?  Maybe you got some great news, and suddenly you broke into your own version of "I'm So Excited" by The Pointer Sisters.  Or maybe you just started chanting the good news, and the chant turned into a sing-song rhythm, and you added the melody from "Ring Around the Rosies".  Go on, admit it.  You sang "I got the promotion" or "I got into college" with that simple four-tone melody.  That's how I imagine this scene unfolded before John's eyes and ears.  The elders and creatures representing mankind started declaring the worthiness of the Lamb, and before long it became something spoken in unison, then a chant, then a song.  They sang about the redemption of mankind through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.  They sang about how that great work of redemption changed them from sinful creatures worthy of death into a kingdom of priests who serve God and will reign on earth.  What a transformation!  No wonder they were so happy.

Second, John says he saw multitudes of angels, and they sang their own song.  Remember, the angels know nothing of redemption.  They were created to serve God, and those who fell away were cast out of Heaven with Lucifer.  There is no way for a demon to change into an angel--they follow their nature.  Even so, they wanted to join in the celebration of praise to the Lamb.  So they sang their own song.  Sorry, Dad.  They sang of what they knew: that the Son of God is worthy of power, wealth, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and praise--everything that they have to give is due to Him.  Let's repeat that: everything that they have to give is due to Him.  Are angels powerful? Yes, more powerful than humans.  Are angels wealthy? Well, they do walk on streets of gold, past walls made of every precious jewel.  Are angels wise? They know that Jesus is the Lamb that was slain.  You get the picture, I don't need to go on.  The point is that they worship God with their entire being.

Third, John hears a song sung by every living creature ever made--those in heaven, those on earth, and those everywhere else that God may have created beings.  I'll confess I don't know whether "under the earth" means creatures of the sea, or souls in hell who ultimately acknowledge the Son of God, or even aliens from other galaxies yet undiscovered by men (hey, it could happen--we might not be alone in the universe, but if there are others, God made them, too.)  What I do know is that John heard everything that God has made sing his praises.

Let's go a bit deeper into the passage.  We know that God likes music, and that music is an integral part of worship.  Verse 8 says that the elders and the creatures all had harps.  Revelation 15:2 says that God had given them the harps: "They held harps given to them by God."  Apparently God likes harp music.  But we also see in verse 8 that God likes prayers.  He likens prayers to incense.  Psalm 141:2 says, "May my prayers be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice."  Many religions use incense in their worship.  Your church may not, but when God first taught the children of Israel how to worship Him, he instructed them to use incense.  And revelation says that our prayers are like an offering of incense, pleasing to God--the sweet savor of adoration; the smokey scent of confession; the pleasant perfume of thanksgiving; and the fervent fragrance of supplication.  A secondary translation of Revelation 8:3-4 says, "Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, consisting of the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne.  The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel's hand."  So God wants us to pray to him.  Prayer is an integral part of worship.

God also likes creativity and originality.  The elders sang to him a new song.  This phrase is seen elsewhere in Scripture:

• Psalm 33:3 "Sing to him a new song; play skillfully and shout for joy."
• Psalm 40:3 "He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.  Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord."
• Psalm 96:1  "Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth."
• Psalm 98:1  "Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him."
• Psalm 144:9  "I will sing a new song to you, O God; on the ten-stringed lyre I will make music to you." (Note: this is probably what John meant in Revelation when it says God gave all of them a harp--a small, hand-held instrument, not a big concert harp.)
• Psalm 149:1  "Praise the Lord.  Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints."
• Isaiah 42:10  "Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you islands, and all who live in them."
• Revelation 14:3-4  "And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders.  No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.  These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they kept themselves pure.  They follow the Lamb wherever he goes.  They were purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb."

There are songs in my heart that you will never hear, but God hears them.  There are songs on the hearts of men more holy than I, who live lives more closely attuned to His will; I will never know those songs.  But I can still sing, and I can make a new song in my heart to God.

Let's look at the new song that was sung by the elders in God's presence.  In verse 9 they sing that the Lamb is worthy "because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God."  Hebrews 9:12 says, "He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption."  He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, not repeatedly year after year as did the Levitical high priests.  Christ's sacrifice was perfect, because it was completely effective and did not need to be repeated.  After he had obtained eternal redemption, Christ ascended into the true heavenly sanctuary.  Years ago singer/songwriter Andre Crouch wrote these words:

The blood that Jesus shed for me, 

Way back on Calvary, 

The blood that gives me strength from day to day, 

It will never lose its power.   

It reaches to the highest mountain.   

It flows to the lowest valley.   

The blood that gives me strength from day to day, 

It will never lose its power."

That blood was used to purchase us for God.  1 Corinthians 6:20 says "You are not your own; you were bought at a price.  Therefore glorify God with your body."  Christians in all stages of life should realize that their ultimate allegiance is to Christ, who bought them with his blood.  1 Peter 1:18-19 says, "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver and gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a Lamb without blemish or defect."  In the Bible, to redeem means to free someone from something bad by paying a penalty, or a ransom.  Likewise, in the Greek world, slaves could be redeemed by the payment of a price, paid either by someone else or by the slave himself.  Similarly, Jesus redeems believers from the "curse of the law" and "all wickedness".  The ransom price is not silver or gold, but Christ's blood.  The result is the "forgiveness of sins" and "justification."

And to think, that blood that redeems us from sin was offered willingly by our Savior, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  Makes you want to sing, doesn't it?

Sing praise to God who reigns above, 

The God of all creation. 

The God of power, the God of love, 

The God of our salvation. 

With healing balm my soul he fills,  

And every faithless murmur stills: 

To God all praise and glory! 

What God’s almighty power has made 

His gracious mercy keepeth. 

By morning glow or evening shade 

His watchful eye ne'er sleepeth. 

Within the kingdom of His might, 

Lo! All is just and all is right: 

To God all praise and glory! 

The Lord is never far away, 

But, through all grief distressing, 

An ever-present help and stay, 

Our peace and joy and blessing. 

As with a mother’s tender hand 

He leads His own, His chosen band: 

To God all praise and glory! 

Thus all my toilsome way along 

I sing aloud his praises, 

That men may hear the grateful song 

My voice unwearied raises. 

Be joyful in the Lord, my heart! 

Both soul and body bear your part: 

TO GOD ALL PRAISE AND GLORY!

Agnus Dei

Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders.  He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.  He came and took the scroll from the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. --Revelation 5:6-7

 Who is worthy to open the scroll, and to read its contents?  The victorious Lamb of God!  He is pictured as the sacrifice for sin, and as the mighty conqueror, bearing the marks of its slaughter.  Many references in the Bible allude to the Son of God in this way:

• He was born in a humble setting, where animals were stabled, and was laid in a manger.  The Lamb of God born among livestock, because there was no room for him in more auspicious quarters.
• He was foretold by the Scriptures.  Genesis 22:6-8 says, "Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife.  As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, 'Father?'  Abraham replied, 'Yes, my son.'  Isaac said, 'The fire and wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?'  Abraham answered, 'God himself will provide the lamb for the offering, my son.' "
• He gave himself up willingly to be the sacrifice for our sins. Isaiah 53:6-7 says, "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.  He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth."
• He has fulfilled his divine mission.  John 1:29 says, "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, 'Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.' "  It may be that John chose this unique way of referring to Jesus' mission to point both to the sacrificial offering that Jesus would become, and to his subsequent conquest of all evil powers--the two ways by which he "takes away the sin of the world."
• He alone gives us access to a holy God.  1 Peter 1:18-19 says, "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect."

John describes this vision of Jesus appearing as a Lamb, alive but looking as if it had been killed.  Maybe its white wool was stained red; maybe its body bore the scars of the sacrifice it had endured.  But there it stood, standing on the throne where God sat, taking a place of victory over death.  Surrounding him were the four creatures--the ox, representing strength; the eagle, representing freedom; the lion, representing power; and the man, representing reason--and joining them were the twenty-four elders, representing the Twelve Tribes of the Old Testament and the Twelve Apostles of the New Testament.  All were looking up toward the Lamb of God.

John adds three attributes of the Lamb, each described as seven-fold.  Three is the number of divinity--The Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Seven is the number of completeness (three represents God, and four represents Man; added together, they make seven).  So when John said the Lamb had seven horns, it means He is all-powerful.  When he says the Lamb had seven eyes, it means He is all-knowing.  When he says He is like the seven spirits of God sent into all the earth, it means He is omnipresent (everywhere at the same time).  John has just described the attributes of God, yet he is giving this description of the Lamb, who is Himself God.

The image above shows the Lamb in possession of a cross.  A similar image is used by the Moravian Church, showing the Lamb standing and carrying a cross and a banner.  In our text, John says the Lamb took the scroll, that no one else in all creation was worthy to possess.  He had earned the right to stand in the middle of the throne, and to take the scroll, because of the cross He bore.  According to Church tradition, the banner he carries signifies victory.  2 Corinthians 2:14 says, "But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere."  We who join him in His battle over evil will share in his victory.

But what of those who do not join the Lamb, and who do not enjoy the victory which was purchased by His blood? Revelation 13:8 says, "All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast--all whose names have been written from the creation of the world in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain."  So the Lamb is also in possession of the Book of Life, and that Book has had your name written on it from the beginning of time. And because God is all-knowing, He already knows whether you will be covered by the blood of the Lamb, or whether you will instead worship the Beast.  We humans do not have the mind of God--we do not know beforehand who will live or who will die; who will be saved or who will be lost.  But God in his wisdom has given us free choice, to accept Him or not.  The only soul you can control is your own.  I urge you to commit your soul to the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.  "For God so loved the world that He gave his only son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

The Latin phrase for Lamb of God is Agnus Dei.  This phrase has been in the Church liturgy for centuries.  You may have heard the older, more traditional hymn of this name, or you may be familiar with the more contemporary chorus below.  But the message has meaning, and I urge you to meditate on the meaning of the words of this song:

Alleluia
Alleluia
For the Lord God Almighty reigns

Alleluia
Alleluia
For the Lord God Almighty reigns

Alleluia
Holy
Holy are You Lord God Almighty
Worthy is the Lamb
Worthy is the Lamb

You are holy
Holy are you Lord God Almighty
Worthy is the Lamb
Worthy is the Lamb

Amen

Imagine a whole host of heavenly beings singing this song to the Savior, and you get the gist of what John was trying to say in Revelation chapter 5. 

Lion of Judah, Lamb of God

 

Who is He...The mightiest of all 

Who is He...Creation trembles at His call

Who is He...The lowly sacrifice, who paid a victims price

His name is Jesus

(chorus)-

Jesus...From the Father's own right hand

Jesus...Son of God and son of man

Jesus...Who died and rose again

Jesus...He's the Lion and the Lamb

Who is he? With the power none can tame.

Who is he? That every foe would fear his name. 

Who is he? Who was humbly led away, to suffer that dark day

His name is Jesus

(chorus)

(Bridge)

He's the Lamb that was slain

He's the Lion that reigns

My Savior and King both the same

Who is He...With the eyes that burn like fire

Who is He...Oh the wonder He inspires

Who is He...Who bore the guilt and shame

For the ones who'd gone astray

His name is Jesus 

 (chorus) --Ann Barber and Billy Batstone

 Jesus is a study in contrasts.  He is fully God and fully man; he is the Lion of Judah, and the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world; he is a Priest and King.  Thus we see in Revelation chapter five a transition from the One Seated On The Throne to One Who Is Worthy To Open 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 even look inside it.  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." (Revelation 5:1-5)

This was a very special scroll.  Books were not invented until the fifth century, and most everything in Bible times was written on a scroll.  The scroll was designed to roll up, so on the inside of the scroll the fibers of the papyrus run horizontally, making it easier to write on than on the outside of a scroll, where the fibers are vertical.  Every time the Bible mentions an inscription on both sides, what is written pertains to God's sovereign involvement in human history, especially his coming judgment.

• The Ten Commandments  "Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands.  They were inscribed on both sides, front and back." (Exodus 32:15)  This rather uncommon feature highlights the great importance of these stone tablets as official covenant documents.
• God's curse of the lawbreakers "He asked me, 'What do you see?' I answered, 'I see a flying scroll, thirty feet long and fifteen feet wide.'  And he said to me, 'This is the curse that is going out over the whole land; for according to what it says on one side, every thief will be banished, and according to what is says on the other, everyone who swears falsely will be banished.' "  (Zechariah 5:2-3) Although theft and perjury may have been the most common forms of lawbreaking at the time, they are probably intended as representative sins.  The people of Judah had been guilty of infractions against the whole law.
• God's revelation of things to come  "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."

Not only was the scroll inscribed on both sides, but it had seven seals.  Seven is the number of completeness.  Even the fact that it is sealed is significant. It means that the message on the scroll is protected, and hidden from certain people, and even that it is not meant to be read until the time is right.  Consider these verse found elsewhere in the Bible concerning sealed messages:

Isaiah 8:16-17  "Bind up the testimony and seal up the law among my disciples.  I will wait for the Lord who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob.  I will put my trust in him."

Daniel 8:26  "The vision of the evenings and mornings that has been given you is true, but seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future."

 Daniel 12:8-9  "I heard, but I did not understand.  So I asked, 'My Lord, what will the outcome of all this be?'  He replied, 'Go your way, Daniel, because the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end.' "

 Matthew 13:10-11, 13 "The disciples came to him and asked, 'Why do you speak to the people in parables?'  He replied, 'The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them....This is why I speak to them in parables:  "Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand".' "

And it is this last verse, when Jesus was trying to explain the exclusivity of the Gospel message to his disciples, that might best explain the seven seals on the document in Revelation 5.  Like it says in Isaiah 29:11, "For you this whole vision is nothing but words sealed in a scroll.  And if you give the scroll to someone who can read, and say to him, 'Read this, please,' he will answer, 'I can't; it is sealed.' "

One Bible commentator (Barclay) says that the contents of the scroll might be God's will and testament, his final settlement of the affairs of the universe.  Roman law required a last will and testament to be sealed seven times, by seven different witnesses.  This was done most visibly by well known Roman leaders Augustus and Vespacian, who left instructions for their successors.  So it's not like a last Will and Testament that you or I might write, something that would only be read at our death.  Clearly, God will never die; but the creation will come to an end, and God has expressly written out his will, his prepared statement of how the debts will be paid, how evil will be dealt with, and how the righteous will be rewarded.

So like a town crier, the mighty angel spoken of in verse 2 calls out for the One who is worthy to open the scroll and to read it.  Thinking of the scroll as kind of like a final will, what kind of Person would be eligible to read it?  For someone poor like me, an executor can be named to carry out the contents of the will.  An executor does not necessarily need any training or qualification--it can be some friend or relative.  For a rich person, it requires an attorney, but not just any attorney--it must be someone trained in probate law.  For a an official or head of state, it may take a probate judge to define and interpret the contents of the will.

For the contents of the scroll, which is a final settlement of the affairs of the universe, it would take a very, very special Person to qualify as one worthy to break the seals and open it.  It would have to be someone who was present at the creation; someone who was intimately familiar with the human condition; but someone who could act as an equal to God Himself.  So when the mighty angel made a call for someone who was worthy to open the scroll, and no one could be found (not in heaven, or on earth, or under the earth), it was a very emotional moment for the Apostle John.  He wept and wept because he knew the stakes--if God were to judge the universe without an Advocate for mankind present, then no man would be found worthy to spend eternity with God.  We would all be cursed as lawbreakers, much like those to whom Zechariah was speaking in the passage quoted above.

At this very dramatic point in the story, one of the elders tells John not to worry.  The elder says that there is an advocate for mankind; it is the Lion of Judah, the Root of David, the One who has triumphed.

Lion of Judah
In Genesis chapter 49, Jacob (who was called Israel) blessed his twelve sons.  When he got to Judah in verse 9, he said, "You are a lion's cub, O Judah; you return from the prey, my son.  Like a lion he crouches down, like a lioness--who dares to rouse him?"  The Lion is a symbol of sovereignty, strength and  courage. Judah is often pictured as a lion in later times.  Judah's greatest descendant, Jesus Christ, is himself called "the Lion of the tribe of Judah."

Hebrews 7:14-6 says, "For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.  And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry, but on the basis of an indestructible life."  Moses had decreed that the tribe of Levi would be priests.  But Jesus is our Priest, in that he stands as a mediator between God and man.  According to Psalm 110:4, the priest in the order of Melchizedek is "a priest forever".  This is what Jesus became as a result of the act of God's power that raised him from the dead as the eternal victor over death.

Root of David
Isaiah 11:1, 10 says, "A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit....In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious."  Jesse, you will remember, was the father of King David, the greatest king in the history of Israel.  If you look at the family tree of Jesus, you can see a direct connection from Jesse and David to Jesus.

Romans 15:12 says, "And again, Isaiah says, 'The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; the Gentiles will hope in him.' "  Paul was quoting this passage in Isaiah 11, but was interpreting it to include Gentiles, who may have been excluded in Isaiah's original writings.  Paul proved to be a prophet, because in Revelation 22:16, Jesus said, "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches.  I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star."

Triumphant One
Jesus defeated Satan in a debate (see the temptations of Jesus).  He escaped the plans of men to imprison him and quiet his message.  He willingly gave up his life, on his own terms, as a sacrifice for man.  Then he defeated death by rising himself from the dead (every other man who was raised from the dead in the Bible was raised by God; Jesus raised himself from the dead).  And now, in Revelation 5, he takes his place as one who is proclaimed worthy to open the scroll, and reveal the will of God for the universe and all that is in it.

Next time we will see that when Jesus comes to take possession of the scroll, he appears in the form of a Lamb.  So he is the Lion and the Lamb--symbolized by power, yet a willing sacrifice.

Your only Son 
No sin to hide
But You have sent Him,
From Your side
To walk upon this guilty sod
And to become the Lamb of God

Your gift of Love 
They crucified 
They laughed and scorned him as he died
The humble King 
They named a fraud
And sacrificed the Lamb of God

Chorus:
Oh Lamb of God, Sweet lamb of God 
I love the Holy Lamb of God
Oh wash me in His precious Blood
My Jesus Christ the Lamb of God

I was so lost I should have died 
But You have brought me to Your side
To be led by Your staff and rod
And to be called a lamb of God

Chorus

Oh wash me in His precious Blood
My Jesus Chris the Lamb of God

          as sung by Twyla Paris

I'm not worthy!

 

Though I'm not worthy to see your precious face 
I bow before thee pour out your holy grace 
For you alone can wash my sin 
And cleanse my soul so deep within. 

Heal me, wash me in your mercy 
Mend these broken pieces of my heart 
Love me though I am not worthy 
Cleanse my soul and make me whole again 
Only say the word and I shall be healed. 

Though I'm not worthy in your grace I long to stand 
And bow before thee, stretch out your healing hand 
For you alone can purify 
and heal these wounds so deep inside. 

Though I'm not worthy to feel your love, oh Lord 
I bow before thee, my Savior be adored. 
For you alone break hardened hearts 
And bid old bitterness depart.  --Curtis Stephan

In the 1988 Saturday Night Live sketch created by Mike Myers and Dana Carvey, and later in the movie Wayne's World, the characters Wayne and Garth are immature metalheads, who dream of having their own band.  Yet when they jammed with Aerosmith in the in sketch, and with Alice Cooper in the movie, all they could say was "We're not worthy!"

As much as Wayne and Garth were not worthy of their rock idols, the rock gods Aerosmith and Alice Cooper, how much more are we unworthy of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ!  That is the point of the last few verses of Revelation 4.

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." --Revelation 4:9-11

For comments on the living creatures, see my prior posts.  I have also commented on him who sits on the throne; the one who lives for ever and ever; and, the twenty-four elders.  To recap, see Isaiah 6:1-8.  “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high  and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.  Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: with two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, 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.’  At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.  ‘Woe to me’, I cried. ‘I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.’  Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar.  With it he touched my mouth and said, ‘See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.’  Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’  And I said, ‘Here am I.  Send me!’ “    

This must have been how John felt when he was ushered into the presence of God. This is the eternal God, "who lives for ever and ever".  The Apostle Paul also sensed this; in Romans 16:27, he wrote, "To the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ!  Amen."  This is the ultimate purpose of all things--to glorify God.

• Those in authority  "Ascribe to the Lord, O mighty ones, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.  Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the spendor of his holiness." --Psalm 29:1, 2.
• Nations and individuals  "All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord; they will bring glory to your name....I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever." --Psalm 86.9, 12
• Heavenly hosts  "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." --Luke 2:14.  In this passage, the angels recognized the glory and majesty of God by giving praise to him.  "In the highest" is a reference to heaven, where God dwells.

So how do you glorify God? How do you give him the praise he deserves?  Benjamin Keach was a Baptist.  He is noted for introducing hymnology into the worship service.  He published a Catechism in 1689 to clarify the theology of the Second London Baptist Confession that had been written in 1677.  In this "Baptist Catechism", the second tenet taught was this: What is the chief end of man? Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.  1 Corinthians 10:31 says, "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."

We can give glory, honor and thanks to God with our mouths, certainly.  Prayers and hymns and spiritual songs are vital parts of worship.  But if we live lives that do not glorify God or honor Him, what is the point of our giving thanks to Him? For what--for our faith? James said, "Faith without works is dead." 1 Corinthians 6:20 says, "You were bought with a price, so glorify God in your body."  Perform those acts that give honor to God; avoid doing anything that dishonors Him.

Another way we can give glory and honor to God is to defer any praise given to us.  In our passage we see that the elders laid their crowns at His feet before they gave praises with their words.  I saw in the news last week where American veterans of the war in Afghanistan were marching in protest, and they were planning to throw down their service medals on the White House lawn, to shame the government and call attention to their cause.  In contrast, the elders in heaven want to humble themselves before the King, and bestow on Him any glory given to them.  The crowns of glory laid aside for them, they were willing to lay at the feet of Jesus, to whom all glory and honor are due.

Paul devoted his later life to preaching and to ministering to people in Jesus' name.  In Acts 14, we read of Paul and Barnabas preaching to the people in the city of Lystra.  A crippled man was there, and when Paul saw that he had the faith to be healed, he called to him, "Stand up on your feet!"  The man jumped up and began to walk.  The people there in Lystra thought that the gods had come down from Mount Olympus to walk among them.  They called Barnabas Zeus, and Paul was called Hermes, as he was the chief speaker.  But Barnabas and Paul tore their clothes and rushed into the crowd, who were preparing sacrifices to offer to them, and shouted, "Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you.  We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things (Greek mythology) to the living God, who made heaven and earth and the seas and everything in them." (Acts 14:15).

And this takes us back to Revelation 4:11--the last part of the verse says, "For you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."  By the way, in the creation account of Genesis 1, have you ever wondered who God was talking to in verse 26 when he said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness"?  I believe there were three persons present at creation--the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  God created us in His own image, to have fellowship with him.  He had already created the angels, but they had no part in the creative Act of God.  And the angels knew nothing of Redemption--they either followed God and praised Him, or they followed Satan and were cast out of heaven.  There was no turning back to God, no changing of the demon's minds.  Yet when Man sinned, and was banished from the Garden, God gave Man a chance to redeem himself; and ultimately, God sent His Son as the Redeemer, so that man's fellowship with God could be restored.  This was why we were created; this was the will of God that He gave us life--so that we could spend this life and the next sharing His glory.

Psalm 146:6 says, "The Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them--the Lord, who remains faithful forever."  Praise God for his faithfulness.  His purpose for us can be restored even after sin separates us from His Holy Presence.  He is worthy, and now by His grace, we are given access to Him, unworthy as we are.

In the coming weeks, we will get to the verse in Revelation chapter 5 where Jesus is pronounced worthy to open the scroll, and also to receive power, wealth, wisdom, strength, honor, glory and praise.  For those who enjoy numerology, the verse we studied here had but three attributes of God, three things that the Lamb is worthy of.  But in the next chapter, there are seven attributes, seven things for which the Lamb is worthy.  By God's grace, we shall study that soon.

Thank You For The Cross, Lord
Thank You For The Price You Paid
Bearing All My Sin And Shame
In Love You Came, And Gave Amazing Grace

Thank You For This Love, Lord
Thank You For The Nail Pierced Hands
Washed Me In Your Cleansing Flow
Now All I Know, Your Forgiveness And Embrace

Chorus:
Worthy Is The Lamb, Seated On The Throne
Crown You Now With Many Crowns
You Reign Victorious
High And Lifted Up, Jesus Son Of God
The Darling Of Heaven Crucified
Worthy Is The Lamb
Worthy Is The LambWorthy Is The Lamb  --Darlene Zschech 

What's your sign?

Evangelist             Lion                       Ox                   Eagle

We have been looking at the fourth chapter of the book of Revelation.  It is important to know that the church members to whom it was written were aware of Old Testament Scriptures, as well as Jewish traditions.  So a lot of the mysterious images and references that seem arcane to us are actually symbols that the first century Christians were familiar with.  As time went on, early Church leaders expanded on the symbolism, and created visual images, artistic representations of the symbols, and attached new meanings to them.  These artistic renderings can be found in early Bible manuscripts and Psalters, probably included in order to help the illiterate parishioners follow the sermons and memorize Bible stories.

With this in mind, let's move on.  So far we have seen John describing a vision; a voice beckoning him to come up and look around; a magnificent throne unlike any seen on earth; the image of God Himself sitting on the throne; colors and lights almost indescribable in human terms; twenty-four elders seated in a circle around the Throne of God, dressed in white with gold crowns on their head, each seated on a lesser throne; and thunder and lightning coming from the Throne of God, as if He were trying to get John's attention.

Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.  In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back.  (Revelation 4:6)

 This Sea of Glass is described further in Revelation 15:2: "And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name."

There are two different interpretations or allusions to Old Testament Scriptures that are at play here, and John may have used the term intentionally having a double meaning, because both references are beautiful, believable, and Biblical.

Expanse
A woman I work with asked me last week to explain the term "expanse" used in Genesis 1:6-8: "And God said, Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water.  So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it.  And it was so.  God called the expanse Sky.  And there was evening and there was morning, the second day."  I explained to her my limited understanding (since I do not read Hebrew), was that the term referred to the space between the oceans and the clouds.  But that limited explanation really does not do the word justice, for it would describe only a colorless void, like air--unseen by human eyes.

Then I saw Ezekiel 1:22 use the same word in a different context: "Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was what looked like an expanse, sparkling like ice, and awesome."  Certainly this "expanse" was something noticeable, more visible than air but still transparent, for its purpose was to separate the creatures from the Glory of the Lord.  An even more striking description is found in Exodus 24, when Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and seventy elders of Israel were invited into God's presence on the mountain.  "They saw the God of Israel.  Under his feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself."  The most talented special effects producers in Hollywood could not re-create the vision of where God was standing (much less the vision of God Himself).  The pavement that He stood upon was made of clear, blue sapphire paving bricks, that either reflected the sky or were transparent so you could see the sky right through them.

The purpose of the sea of glass, clear as crystal, may have been to separate the elders and the four living creatures from God.  The word "holy" literally means "separate; set apart".  Later, we will see that the four living creatures never stop saying, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."  God is not just holy, nor is he holier; he is holiest, the most holy (thus the three-fold repetition of the word.)

Basin of the Heavenly Temple
A second interpretation, no less valid, would be the basin of water in the heavenly temple.  The basin in the Jewish Temple here on earth was called the Sea.  This enormous reservoir of water corresponded to the bronze basin made for the Tabernacle (see Exodus 30:17-21).  Its water was used by priests for ritual cleansing.

• 1 Kings 7:23-25 "He made the Sea of cast metal, circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim and five cubits high.  It took a line of thirty cubits to measure around it.  Below the rim, gourds encircled it--ten to a cubit.  The gourds were cast in two rows in one piece with the Sea.  The Sea stood on twelve bulls: three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east.  The Sea rested on top of them, and their hindquarters were toward the center."
• 2 Kings 16:17 "King Ahaz took away the side panels and removed the basins from the movable stands.  He removed the Sea from the bronze bulls that supported it and set it on a stone base."
• Jeremiah 27:19, 22 "For this is what the Lord Almighty says about the pillars, the Sea, the movable stands and the other furnishings that are left in this city...They will be taken to Babylon and there they will remain until the day I come for them, declares the Lord.  Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.

So when God gave instructions to Moses about building the Tabernacle and its furnishings, maybe He was using heaven as a blueprint. Other features of the Temple in Heaven are: the lamps (Revelation 4:5), the altar (Revelation 6:9), the altar of incense (Revelation 8:3, and the Ark of the Covenant (Revelation 11:19).  Or maybe God will furnish his heavenly temple in the same way that the earthly temple was furnished, so that humans might sense some familiarity with it. When Solomon built the Temple in Jerusalem, he used the same blueprint, but this time in a more permanent structure.  Yet as Jeremiah warned, even the stone Temple was not impervious to thieves and marauders.  The difference in the heavenly temple is that no one can tear it down or take its furnishings.  

So we see that the descriptions given by John so far are of tangible things, things that we can visualize.  He then moves from a description of the place to a description of the inhabitants of heaven.  In addition to God on his throne, and the twenty-four elders, John describes four living creatures.  Verse 7 says, "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 a flying eagle."  This vision mirrors what Ezekiel saw: "And in the fire was what looked like four living creatures.  In appearance their form was that of a man.  Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a man, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle."

The number four stands for completeness--see the four directions in Genesis 13:14 and the four quarters of the earth in Isaiah 11:12.  The living creatures, called Cherubim in Ezekiel 10, are throne attendants.  Here, they contribute to the whole complex scenario that symbolically represents God's creation.  The four beasts were often depicted in the paintings and sculptures of the Middle Ages, but in this later use they represented the Four Gospels.

• Matthew the Evangelist, the author of the first gospel account is symbolized by a winged man, or angel. Matthew's gospel starts with Jesus' genealogy from Abraham; it represents Jesus' Incarnation, and so Christ's human nature. This signifies that Christians should use their reason for salvation.
• Mark the Evangelist, the author of the second gospel account is symbolized by a winged lion – a figure of courage and monarchy. Mark has John the Baptist preaching "like a lion roaring" at the beginning of his Gospel. It also represents Jesus' Resurrection(because lions were believed to sleep with open eyes, a comparison with Christ in the tomb), and Christ as king. This signifies that Christians should be courageous on the path of salvation.
• Luke the Evangelist, the author of the third gospel account (and the Acts of the Apostles) is symbolized by a winged ox or bull – a figure of sacrifice, service and strength. Luke's account begins with the duties of Zacharias in the temple; it represents Jesus' sacrifice in His Passion and Crucifixion, as well as Christ being High priest (this also represents Mary's obedience). The ox signifies that Christians should be prepared to sacrifice themselves in following Christ.
• John the Evangelist, the author of the fourth gospel account is symbolized by an eagle – a figure of the sky, and believed to be able to look straight into the sun. John starts with an eternal overview of Jesus the Logos and goes on to describe many things with a "higher" level than the other three (synoptic) gospels; it represents Jesus'Ascension, and Christ's divine nature. This represents that Christians should look on eternity without flinching as they journey towards their goal of union with God.

In this series, the four creatures are lined up in a sort of descending order of creation: man first--God's appointed ruler in the earth; a lion second--the most ferocious of wild animals known in Israel and Mesopotamia, and reputedly the strongest of such beasts; an ox third--the most powerful of domesticated animals; and an eagle last--the mightiest of the birds of the air.  

But there might be a different order.  If you look at Numbers chapter 2, the Lord gives specific instructions of how the Israelites are to form their encampment: the Tabernacle as to be in the center, surrounded on four sides by the clans of the tribe of Levi.  The remaining tribes are divided into four groups of three (twelve in total, as the sons of Joseph were given their own places among the tribes.)  The groups are always listed in a specific order: Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun on the east side; Reuben, Simeon, and Gad on the south side; Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin on the west side; and Dan, Asher and Naphtali on the north side.  Numbers 2:2 says that each tribe had its own banner, and each triad of tribes had its standard.  Jewish tradition suggests that the tribal banners corresponded in color to the 12 stones in the breastpiece of the high priest (see Exodus 28:15-21, where it lists the same stones as are found in the description of the foundation of the heavenly wall in Revelation 21).  Tradition also holds that the standard of Judah had the figure of a lion; the standard of Reuben had the figure of a man; that of Ephraim had the figure of an ox; and that of Dan the figure of an eagle.  

So in this configuration, the lion comes first.  The early church leaders may have known this, as Mark's gospel was written before Matthew's; it was just re-ordered in the Bible.  Why does the lion come first? In Revelation 5:5, Jesus is called "The Lion of Judah".  Jesus is supreme--he existed before man was created, and he laid down his life for man.  Man is second in the prescribed order, because he is sinful and fallen; yet because of Jesus, Man is redeemed.  The ox served as a sacrifice in the Old Testament, a way of bringing God and man together.  Yet in the New Testament, the Spirit of God is described like a dove, a winged creature.  So shall man rise up on the wings of eagles, to touch the hand of God.

Are you counted among the redeemed?  You might stand with Judah, under the standard of the Lion, the king of heaven.  Are you separated from God by a great expanse, a pavement that you can see through but not penetrate? Then you might stand with Reuben, under the banner of a man.  Reuben was first born, but lost his birthright to Judah because of sin.  We also have lost our fellowship with the Father because of our sin.  Are you trying to work your way to salvation, or do you think that you will be accepted by God because of your sacrifice? Then you might stand with Ephraim under the banner of the ox.  Do you want to fly to heaven and commune with God on eagle's wings? Then you might stand with Dan under the banner of the eagle.

What is your spiritual sign?  God knows--the description of the living creatures being covered with eyes, in front and in back, symbolizes God's all-seeing nature.  You cannot escape His watchful eye.

Lightning in a Bottle: the Lightning is God, the Bottle is you

University of Queensland economist David Savage has done a comparison of the behavior of the passengers aboard the Titanic with those on the Lusitania, another ship that also sunk about the same time.  As the Titanic was sinking and women and children climbed into the lifeboats, the cellist and violinist from the band stood and played.  They died when the ship went down.  Men stood and smoked cigars.  They died, too.  This behavior is puzzling to economists, who believe that people generally behave in their own self interest.  "There was no pushing and shoving," says Savage, who has studied testimony from the survivors.

But when the Lusitania went down, the passengers panicked.  There was a lot of similarities between these two events: both ships were luxury liners, they both had a similar number of passengers, and each had a similar number of survivors.  The biggest difference, Savage concludes, was time.  The Lusitania sank in less than 20 minutes.  The Titanic took two and a half hours.  "If you've got an event that lasts two and a half hours, social order will take over and everyone will behave in a social manner," Savage says.  "If you're going down in under 17 minutes, basically it's instinctual."  On the Titanic, social order ruled, and it was women and children first.  On the Lusitania, instinct won out.  The survivors were largely the people who could swim and get into the lifeboats.

Yes, we're self interested, Savage says.  But we're also part of a society.  Given time, societal conventions can trump our natural self interest.  Sadly, natural self interest includes spiritual self interest.  Look at the story of Noah and the world-wide flood.  For 400 years, Noah preached repentance to the people.  Society pegged him as a crackpot, a person to be ignored.  But when the door of the Ark was shut tight and the rains began to fall, people banged on the door, begging to be let in.

It's the same way with those preaching hell-fire and damnation.  Society turns their heads from these doomsayers.  Yet while Jesus was here on Earth, he told a parable (doubtless rooted in truth) about a rich man who died and went to hell, and poor Lazarus who died and went to heaven.  The rich man begged to come over the divide, but it couldn't happen.  He begged that Lazarus could come and cool his tongue with a drop of water, but it couldn't happen.  Finally, he begged that Lazarus could come back to life and share the truth with the rich man's brothers, so they could avoid the rich man's fate.  Abraham answered that the society in which his brothers lived, much like the society that the rich man himself had lived in, would not listen to one who knew the truth--even one that had risen from the dead.

We know that Jesus has risen from the dead.  Yet our society has chosen to politely excuse ourselves from His message that repentance is required for redemption.  We have time, you see.  The Apocalypse is not yet upon us, and there is no need to panic.  Like the passengers on the Titanic, we are watching our ship sink, yet we are stoically smoking cigars and waiting to die.

Revelation 4:5 says, "From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder.  Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing.  These are the seven spirits of God. "  John is reporting on his own vision of heaven, and of the God who sits on the throne.  In the book of Revelation, thunder and lightning always mark and important event connected with the heavenly temple.  In the rest of the Bible, the lightning and thunder and even the blazing of the lamps are symbolic of the awesome majesty and power of God:

• Exodus 19:16.  "On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast.  Everyone in the camp trembled."  God was preparing to give Moses the Ten Commandments.
• 1 Samuel 7:10.  "While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offerings, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle.  But that day the Lord thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites."  God was showing His power to protect His people from their enemies.
• 1 Samuel 12:18.  Then Samuel called upon the Lord, and that same day the Lord sent thunder and rain.  So all the people stood in awe of the Lord and of Samuel." This was Samuel's last act as Judge over the people of Israel, and God showed the people his favor toward Samuel's ministry.
• Job 38:1 (also Job 40:6).  "Then the Lord answered Job out of the storm."  Job had been questioning God's justice, His mercy, and His power over life's circumstances.  God was about to set Job straight.
• Psalm 18:13, 14.  "The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.  He shot His arrows and scattered the enemies, great bolts of lightning and routed them."  A poetic recitation of God's protection of His people throughout history.
• Revelation 8:5.  "Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake."  A future view of God's power and might, foretelling of an important event in heaven, one that we will get to in the months ahead (God willing).
• Revelation 11:19.  "Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and within His temple was seen the Ark of His Covenant.  And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm."
• Revelation 16:18.  "Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake.  No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake."

See, God knows how to get our attention.  Why, then, do we always forget the message that He is sending us, and instead play by society's rules?  It is as if Society was our god, and God is mute.  We would rather please Society than to obey God.  Society can shame us, especially in the here and now.  Who cares about eternity?  If being godly embarrasses me now, I will not be godly--this is a choice we are making every day.

Another way that God seeks to get our attention is through the Church.  Our text (chapter 4 verse 5) refers to the Church as "the Seven Lamps" and "the Seven Spirits".  This signifies a two-fold purpose of the Church: to be a light to the world, and to share God's truth to all people.

Source of Light
Zechariah 4:2 says, "He asked me, 'What do you see?'  I answered, 'I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lights on it, with seven channels to the lights."  The vision here was probably of seven lamps arranged around a large bowl that served as a bountiful reservoir of oil.  Isn't that a beautiful metaphor? God supplies the fuel, no matter which church is shining the light.  The bowl represents an abundant supply of oil, symbolizing the fullness of God's power through His Spirit, and the "seven lights...seven channels" represent the abundant light shining from the lamps (seven being the number of fullness.)  Remember, in Revelation 1-3, there are messages sent directly to seven churches.  These churches were probably real, and most likely were not the only churches in existence at the time.  The seven churches of Revelation represented all of the churches.  Today, there are seven distinct branches of Christianity--Orthodox, Catholics, Protestants, Baptists, Evangelicals, Pentecostals, and Adventists (although there is always some blurring between the distinctions).  Scripturally, each Christian Church draws its power from the same source: and that source is Jesus.

J.B. Phillips paraphrased the first chapter of John in this way: "At the beginning, God expressed himself.  That personal expression, that word was with God, and was God, and he existed with God from the beginning.  All creation took place through him, and none took place without him. In him appeared life, and this life was the light of mankind.  The light still shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out.  A man called John was sent by God as a witness to the light, so that any man who heard his testimony might believe in that light.  This man was not himself the light; he was sent simply as a personal witness to that light.  That was the true light that shines upon every man as he comes into the world.  He came into the world--the world he had created--and the world failed to recognize him.  He came into his own creation, and his own people would not accept him.  Yet wherever men did accept him, he gave them the power to become sons of God.  These were the men who truly believed in him, and their birth depended not on the course of nature nor on any impulse or plan of man, but on God.  So the word of God became a human being and lived among us.  We saw his splendor (the splendor as of a Father's only son), full of grace and truth."  (John 1:1-14)

The light, the very splendor of God's own son, belongs to the Church to share with the world.

Source of God's truth
Revelation 1:4 says, "To the seven churches in the province of Asia: 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."  I love this expanded version of "I AM"-- He is, He was, and He is to come.  Amen!  This is the message of the church.  And the seven spirits are described in Isaiah 11:2: "The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him--the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power; the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord."

The word of God, which as John shows us is Jesus, is given to the Church to share with the world.  Revelation 3:1 says, "To the angel of the church in Sardis write: these are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars."  This mystery was already explained in Revelation 1:20: "The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches."  Again, the number seven represents completeness--not only has God given us enough truth to find Him, he has bestowed this Truth to enough churches to reach every man, woman and child on earth for Him.  There is no excuse--one of the churches will speak to every person, but not every person will respond to all the different churches.  That may be why God allows so many doctrines, so many interpretations, to thrive--"so that by all possible means I might save some" (1 Corinthians 9:22)

Revelation 5:6 says, "Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders.  He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out to all the earth." Don't get caught up in the strange description--seven is the number of completion; horns are representative of power; the eyes allow God to see the whole world through the worldwide Church.

So God is using the Church throughout the World to send a message.  This message is of obvious import, because it is accompanied by thunder and lightning, rumblings and earthquakes.  And yet He sends this message in a portable package that is you.  He is sending a message in a bottle.  That bottle, as fragile as it is, contains the power of Almighty God.  You are, in other words, Lightning in a Bottle--you can do the impossible, because with God, all things are possible.