Worship In Heaven

INTRO

Most of the message in Revelation is about what has yet to come. Throughout history, we have the accounts of Moses when he went up on the mountain and God gave him the account of what was before his time, from the ancient past and in the beginning. That is found in Genesis.

In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul gave account of the distant past and the message to the church. Paul gave instruction on the formation of the church and he included the disciplines of the church age.

Now, in Revelation, the Apostle John was given the account of what was to come. From these three writers of Scripture came the explanations of who God was, who God is, and who God is yet to come.

In the first four chapters of Revelation, John explained who Jesus is and what He looks like. Christ is the Word of God. Chapter 4 gives the description and explanation of the image of God on His throne.

TEACHING

Revelation 5:1-14: Chapter 5 is to be the action plan that followed after the explanation of Christ’s appearance. John came into a throne room scene, and then the scene went into action with the four beasts and the 24 elders. John joined the audience before the throne.

John saw God on the throne, and in His right hand was a book. This book would have been a scroll written on both sides and sealed with seven seals.

In verse 2 an angel cried out, “Who is worthy to open the book and loosen the seals?” There is required criteria for an individual to open the seals. The comparison would be similar to someone who had the authority to open up a scroll that was sealed with the king’s signet.

The desire of all was to know what was in the scroll, but no one had the authority or was worthy to open the scroll. All the observers except the elders were weeping. The answer came from one of the elders–Christ was present and was able and worthy to open the scroll.

Verse 6 describes the Lamb of God, as though He had been slain, and with seven horns and seven eyes, at the throne in the midst of the audience of elders and beasts. The appearance of the marks from the crucifixion may have given the impression of having been slain. The seven horns and eyes represented the seven spirits of God. Isaiah 11 includes a list of the seven spirits.

The seven spirits of God could be contrasted to the evil spirits found in Numbers 5; Isaiah 4, 29, and 61; Hosea 5; Luke 13; Acts 16; Romans 11; 2 Timothy 1; and 1 John. The seven spirits of God include: the Spirit of the Lord, wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and fear of God. The spirits of evil include: jealousy, judgment, burning, heaviness, whoredom, infirmity, divination, slumber, fear, and the anti-Christ.

God sends His influence in spirit all over the earth, especially to those in the church because they’re already born of the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of God would have a home or dwelling place in them. The influence of the Spirit would automatically be in them. When prayer walking, you can ask God to fill those areas with His seven spirits.

Matthew 12:44 outlines the casting out of evil spirits. There is a strategy in the spirits for having authority. A reasonable application would include comparing the list of the spirits of God against the life of the believer. The question would be, what is the evidence of the spirits of God in the life of believers and leaders? The importance of the seven spirits is to offer believers evidence of the working of God in their lives.

The Lamb in Revelation represents Christ. The 24 elders in Revelation could represent the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles. The 24 become the witnesses. The price Christ paid through the crucifixion gives Him the authority to open the scroll and break the seals.

In verse 8, Christ took the scroll, and the 24 elders and the four beasts bowed down before the Lamb. They had harps, and they sang a new song proclaiming Christ’s authority. They had bowls of incense and offered them up to Christ. Christ’s victory made the believers a kingdom and priests before God.

The text in verse 11 states that a choir of more than a 100 million sang, “Worthy is the Lamb.” Seven attributes are mentioned in the song. The list of attributes included: power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and blessing.

There was something that was coming together. The One on the throne no longer held the scroll. The Lamb in front now held the scroll, while the four beasts praised God and the 24 elders worshipped the Lamb.

CLOSING

Those who have suffered for their faith will hear the songs of praise, and they will rejoice. All those present will worship at the throne of God. Chapter 5 gives an image of the worship of God that begins at this point. Next, the stage is set for deeper things that are to come.