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Revelation 4
11 "Worthy are you, our Lord and God, the Holy One, to receive the glory, the honor, and the power, for you created all things, and because of your desire they existed, and were created!"
(Rev 5)
1 I saw, in the right hand of him who sat on the throne, a book [scroll] written inside and outside, sealed shut with seven seals.
2 I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the book, and to break its seals?"
3 No one in heaven above, or on the earth, or under the earth, was able to open the book, or to look in it.
4 And I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open the book, or to look in it.
5 One of the elders said to me, "Don't weep. Behold, the Lion who is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome; he who opens the book and its seven seals."
6 I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, having seven horns, and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth.
7 Then he came, and he took it out of the right hand of him who sat on the throne.
you created all things, and because of your desire they existed, and were created!
Here we are given the reason for His worth – He created all things.
In addition, they say He is worthy to receive because of His desire.
Desire is very similar to emotion if not the same thing. God emotionally desired for creation to exist. Contemplate this and its implications. There is enormous potential for new insights here. What can it do deep inside us to actually believe and feel God's desire that we exist and were created by Him?
What we find here is an introduction to a key element in Revelation that emerges more clearly throughout the book. It is a New Song that is essential for any to learn who choose to participate on the Lamb's side of this war. This new song, as we shall see more and more clearly as we progress through this book, requires a single-minded focus on the goodness of God with no suggestion that He has any dark side. This is key for learning this song, and as we shall see it is extremely difficult for God's people to divest themselves of their penchant to include at least a little of their old feelings into their praise. Yet the sooner we come to appreciate the true song of the Lamb and its unique difference from the song of Moses, the sooner we can practice singing this new song. This is not just a song but the most potent weapon we are given that can defeat the enemy.
This is the message which we have heard from him and announce to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5)
As we move into chapter 5, which really is a seamless continuation of this one, it becomes even more clear what this word worthy is all about.
God must be appreciated as worthy of all our trust, for the Lamb reveals that God never resorts to force or retaliation as His enemy claims, and He always remains consistently the same.
The authority God relies on is that received from others that is given to Him willingly, not authority forcibly imposed on others like we do it here on earth. This is why these beings say God is worthy to receive – it is an invitation for us to see the truth of His complete trustworthiness that can spontaneously elicit all such expressions of praise and admiration we see listed here.
The law of love being the foundation of the government of God, the happiness of all intelligent beings depends upon their perfect accord with its great principles of righteousness. God desires from all His creatures the service of love—service that springs from an appreciation of His character. He takes no pleasure in a forced obedience; and to all He grants freedom of will, that they may render Him voluntary service.
So long as all created beings acknowledged the allegiance of love, there was perfect harmony throughout the universe of God. It was the joy of the heavenly host to fulfill the purpose of their Creator. They delighted in reflecting His glory and showing forth His praise. And while love to God was supreme, love for one another was confiding and unselfish. There was no note of discord to mar the celestial harmonies.... (PP 34-35)
The Scroll Crisis
I saw, in the right hand of him who sat on the throne, a book [scroll] written inside and outside, sealed shut with seven seals.
What are the implications emerging from the clues and descriptions we have read thus far when we read that the One on the throne is left holding a sealed scroll in His right hand that no one can open?
What does this say about the One on the throne? Why does it appear He cannot open the scroll Himself? Is God powerless in this situation? Does the enemy have something on God and is holding Him hostage similar to how he holds others captive and kidnapped?
This clearly indicates a crisis that developed in the family of heaven. If we think otherwise we remain blinded by the false assertions of the enemy about the nature of God's character, His methods and His government. This chapter is crucial for coming to a real appreciation of what this entire book is all about. If we fail to grasp the powerful revelation in this chapter, we are likely to miss everything in the rest of the story and will be left to wild speculations with no basis but our own prejudices.
Here is the tipping point in the story as we begin moving into the core issues of the war described more clearly in chapter 12. Something is seriously amiss here, and we need to begin to see this now.
If it is Father God on the throne, why is He seemingly paralyzed by the problem of this scroll?
Inferred here is that this scroll must contain highly secret information that someone is keen to keep hidden. What might this mean, and who would have such vested interest in keeping this information hidden that they used 7 seals to prevent anyone from gaining access to it?
Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and tell him, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: You seal up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. (Ezekiel 28:12)
What does this word seal mean? to close up; especially to seal:--make an end, mark, seal (up), stop.
This is taken right out of God's description of the covering cherub here referred to as the king of Tyre, one who was closest to the throne of God but betrayed Him by starting a rebellion out of jealousy over the authority of Michael, God's Son who was likely the other covering cherub. So we find here a strong clue as to who was behind the sealing of the evidence about God's wisdom and true beauty by one who wants to draw attention away to his own wisdom and beauty in place of God's.
Why are there 7 seals?
What might be implied by the mention that this scroll has writing inside and outside?
Are the same things on both sides, or would that contradict the sense of urgency and secrecy?
What if the outside of this key documentation is deliberately misleading in order to distract and confuse anyone attempting to discover what is written inside?
It appears that whatever this information is that is blocked from public exposure, it likely has something to do with the character of the One holding the scroll. Consider that for awhile. Selah
What might be the significance of the scroll being held in the right hand of God? What is usually found at the right hand of God? We might be surprised at what we discover in Scripture.
But Jesus held his peace. The high priest answered him, "I adjure you by the living God, that you tell us whether you are the Christ, the Son of God." Jesus said to him, "You have said it. Nevertheless, I tell you, after this you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of the sky." (Matthew 26:63-64)
But he stayed quiet, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" Jesus said, "I AM. You will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of the sky." (Mark 14:61-62)
So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. (Mark 16:19)
This Jesus God raised up, to which we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted by the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this, which you now see and hear. (Acts 2:32-33)
But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!" (Acts 7:55-56)
God, having in the past spoken to the fathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, has at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds. His Son is the radiance of his glory, the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself made purification for our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; (Hebrews 1:1-3)
Every priest indeed stands day by day serving and often offering the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins, but he, when he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God; (Hebrews 10:11-12)
[Jesus Christ] who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, angels and authorities and powers being made subject to him. (1 Peter 3:22)
We normally assume that what or whomever is at the right hand of God is one who has the most authority. This is not necessarily wrong, yet it is not always the case. One of the main themes too long overlooked or ignored by most, yet is central to the issue of salvation, is the war over who represents us in the pivotal position in the council of heaven composed of the Sons of God referenced in the story of Job.
He showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of Yahweh, and Satan standing at his right hand to be his adversary. Yahweh said to Satan, "Yahweh rebuke you, Satan! Yes, Yahweh who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Isn't this a burning stick plucked out of the fire?" (Zechariah 3:1-2)
Does this sound familiar?
Now it happened on the day when the God's sons came to present themselves before Yahweh, that Satan also came among them. Yahweh said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Then Satan answered Yahweh, and said, "From going back and forth in the earth, and from walking up and down in it." Yahweh said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant, Job? For there is none like him in the earth, a blameless and an upright man, one who fears God, and turns away from evil." Then Satan answered Yahweh, and said, "Does Job fear God for nothing? Haven't you made a hedge around him, and around his house, and around all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will renounce you to your face." (Job 1:6-11)
Do these passages provide clues as to why the scroll occupies the right hand of the One on the throne?
I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the book, and to break its seals?" No one in heaven above, or on the earth, or under the earth, was able to open the book, or to look in it. And I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open the book, or to look in it.
Suddenly we find another worthy reference that raises more questions. The One on the throne has just been denoted as being worthy to receive glory, honor, praise and power/authority. Yet we suddenly discover He may be caught in a trap of the enemy and looking for someone to save His reputation. And a massive crisis is created when it is discovered that apparently there is no one anywhere that can be found who has the capacity or credibility to effectively deal with this crisis of confidence.
This is no small issue, yet it is brushed aside by most because of our failure to appreciate the nature of God's government. Our thinking is so infected by lies of the enemy about our loving Father that we find it incredulous to even imagine that God could even be put into a crisis given His infinite power.
This is precisely where we must allow the Spirit of God to open our minds and hearts to the true meaning of this stupendous revelation about God that defies nearly everything we have been taught or assumed about power. Simply because God has infinite power does not mean He can do anything and everything we wants. God is restricted in His use of power by the very nature of His own character which is love. This is where love and law intersect and things can become very confusing if we fail to understand the dramatic difference between the nature of God's law and the nature of the counterfeit.
Without a correct understanding of the difference between artificial and natural law, we find it impossible to reconcile what is going on here, for in the counterfeit view of law this makes no sense. But when we begin to see that heaven does not operate using our standards and methods for maintaining order and control, suddenly we begin to appreciate John's extreme distress. Only when we begin to taste the tears of John in our own hearts in sympathy with God, gained through a proper appreciation of His true character, can we then be able to also share the enormous relief and excitement that John feels when a solution is located that holds potential of saving God's authority.
Within the paradigm of artificial law it makes no sense that God could be trapped by accusations and slander while being the Source of infinite power. This is because in our system, power is what is used to force compliance to our artificial rules. And because we have projected this same way of relating to others back onto our perceptions and interpretations of God's interactions with us, we imagine that all God needs to do to solve this problem, since His is clearly superior in rank, capacity, authority and raw power, is to simply exert His authority and bring a stop to the rebellion. To do anything less would be to lose respect on the part of all who serve Him, or so it is proposed by those who have little appreciation for the nature of God's family system of government. We live under a corporate system of law that has little to do with family virtues and is operated on the principles of this world that were infused into our thinking when our first parents gave their allegiance to the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. That tree represented the counterfeit system of government that we know too well, but it also blinded us to the original design for which we were created and results in the dysfunction in our world full of sins.
Were God to simply exercise raw force and assert His innocence as it seems He could easily do, then He would not be holding the scroll waiting for someone else to come to His rescue. I realize that to even suggest that God might need rescuing from anything sounds like blasphemy, yet if we accept the truth that God is exactly like Jesus as Jesus insists, we have to challenge most of our paradigms about God's disposition, methods, motives and meanings. When we begin to grasp that the One sitting on the throne of infinite power over the entire universe has the same character and disposition as the Lamb who alone is qualified and trustworthy to save the One on the throne, we can appreciate better the scene portrayed in this chapter.
The evidence for this way of viewing God and how He exercises authority the same way Jesus does is all through Scripture. Yet until we are willing to see God as the most humble being in the universe, we will find it tough to begin to grasp the extent of the crisis created by the enemy of God that threatened the entire universe, not just our world.
For the Father judges no one, but he has given all judgment to the Son. (John 5:22)
Then he came, and he took it out of the right hand of him who sat on the throne.
Here we find a key piece of evidence corresponding to what we see transpiring here. When we see God holding a sealed scroll, likely filled with the evidence that if made publicly available could potentially resolve the greatest government crisis of confidence imaginable, we realize that the One we have always assumed to be the Supreme Judge is the one who has become the accused. And we know that if a judge is accused and strong evidence is presented incriminating the character of that judge, it is impossible to resolve the suspicions and doubts of everyone involved were that same judge to insist on presiding over his own trial. He must recuse himself from any trial involving himself.
This is precisely what we see here in Revelation 5. God is on trial because He has been accused of abuse of power, of harboring secret dark motives out of harmony with His claims of running His government only on the basis of love alone, and that God has a dark side that will be forced into action should rebellion reach a level sufficient to threaten His authority seriously.
I believe all these charges and many more are what can be clearly seen written on the outside of this scroll. The fact that this scroll is in the right hand of God denotes that the issue under contention is His use of authority, for the right hand is a symbol of authority and power. Thus by location we can deduce what the crisis is over and the scroll contains evidence that can be used for or against God's reputation. And until His reputation is fully exonerated (Rev. 7:10) and every shadow of doubt about Him is fully dispelled, it will be impossible for Him to effectively rule the universe without lingering seeds of rebellion lurking somewhere with potential to spring up again. This is something He is unwilling to allow (Nahum 1:9). His only valid option is to continue to exercise methods consistent with true love to validate His claims that love really is the most powerful force in the universe and that fear is a liar and must be eliminated as incentive for obedience.
What we find here is a confrontation between the kingdom of darkness ruled by the father of lies, and the kingdom of love created by the One who is defined as love. We must grasp this reality and make it the center of our focus from here all the way to the end of the book if we hope to receive the amazing insights and appreciate the true meaning of the symbols portrayed here. If we commit to cling to the truth that God is only love, that He is light and in Him is no darkness at all, no shadow of turning, no deviation at any time from living out the foundational principle of other-centered love as the only way in which everything can operate orderly in total freedom, then we can begin to appreciate why God needs to be rescued from this dilemma and how the hero who appears soon here goes about to accomplish this.
May it never be! Yes, let God be found true, but every man a liar. As it is written, "That you might be justified in your words, and might prevail when you come into judgment." (Romans 3:4)
May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar, as it is written, "THAT YOU MAY BE JUSTIFIED IN YOUR WORDS, AND PREVAIL WHEN YOU ARE JUDGED." (Romans 3:4 NAS95)
I saw an angel flying in mid heaven, having an eternal Good News to proclaim to those who dwell on the earth, and to every nation, tribe, language, and people. He said with a loud voice, "Fear the Lord, and give him glory; for the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and the springs of waters!" (Revelation 14:6-7)
Can we see the direct connections between these passages? To give God glory and worship Him is all part of the process of conducting His trial to bring about His full exoneration. It is not something we are forced to do out of fear but rather in aroused heart gratitude, genuine appreciation of the true character of love the defines the Godhead. Having our own lives transformed by exposure to the light of this truth makes us evidence of the power in the eternal Good News that God is light and has no darkness at all, that God is love and never resorts to fear to maintain control or authority. This is foreign to our way of thinking and living and perceiving God, yet it is the true gospel, the light that is filling the whole earth predicted in chapter 18 that precipitates the final showdown in this trial and finally brings it to completion. This is the context for the entire book and describes a scene of judgment, only with God at the center of the trial instead of a stern judge presiding in a trial over us.
This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil. (John 3:19)
When we grasp this truth about judgment, that it involves light exposing lies that cause darkness and fear rather than in the false context of supposed impartial judges and juries imposing sentences and enforcing punishments against others, viewing God as the One on trial suddenly makes everything else fall into place with a clarity and power like never seen before.
God desires from all His creatures the service of love—service that springs from an appreciation of His character. He takes no pleasure in a forced obedience; and to all He grants freedom of will, that they may render Him voluntary service.
