Latest / Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago / Weep No More | Revelation 5:1-5 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Revelation Bible Study Series)
Transcript
- 0:01I know our brother just prayed, but I'd like for us to pray once
- 0:05more before we open the Scriptures.
- 0:07Lord, we ask that You would help us as we unpack your word.
- 0:12We pray that you would guide us verse by verse, truth by truth,
- 0:17and that Lord, it would transform us.
- 0:19This is our ultimate desire. Renew us, refresh us, rejuvenate
- 0:24us. Do what only You can do in the
- 0:26human heart. We ask these things in the
- 0:28precious name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen and Amen after John
- 0:37faithfully obeyed the Lord Jesus Christ by sending out seven
- 0:41messages to seven specific ancient churches, churches that
- 0:46reflect the variety of conditions that churches can
- 0:50find themselves in today. The Lord transports him from the
- 0:55earth and brings them up to heaven by the Spirit, and He has
- 1:00a vision, and a vision that he experienced more specifically
- 1:04was a glimpse into the very throne room of God.
- 1:11And the one who sat upon that throne had the appearance, the
- 1:15appearance of Jasper and carnelian.
- 1:17And surrounding the throne was a rainbow that resembled an
- 1:21emerald. Coming from that throne were
- 1:26thunders, rumblings, lightning. And surrounding that throne were
- 1:3324 other Thrones occupied by these elders who are mesmerized
- 1:40by the one who was sitting on that seat of power and majesty.
- 1:46Before that throne were 7 torches of fire that symbolize
- 1:49the Spirit of God. And on the sides of the throne
- 1:53you had these four living creatures and they were singing
- 1:58the praises of God and they were leading these elders to echo
- 2:02their refrain endlessly. And this breathtaking scene, all
- 2:08of it, every detail reflected perfectly off of this glass
- 2:13crystal like pavement that rested before the throne.
- 2:20And it was last week that you and I understood that this
- 2:24marvellous unveiling was meant to teach us that God's
- 2:27authority, God's sovereignty, God's power is above all.
- 2:33And not only is it above all, it is gloriously grand.
- 2:36It is faithful, it is accessible, it is righteous, and
- 2:41it is and it will be the center of eternal worship.
- 2:46All very helpful truths to lock in our minds and chain around
- 2:51our hearts, especially as we navigate through the challenges,
- 2:57the many challenges of the church and a rapidly changing
- 3:01world. But this vision that John
- 3:05experienced did not end at the end of chapter 4.
- 3:08It only continues and the reason why it continues is because the
- 3:12God who sits upon this awesome throne is triune.
- 3:21You see, the one that we were beholding last week together was
- 3:24no other than the Father. And the reason we can say that
- 3:27is because again, we identified that the Holy Spirit manifested
- 3:32as these torches of fires was located before the throne.
- 3:37And what we will read now as we open up chapter 5 is the Son of
- 3:41God who will majestically approach the throne of the
- 3:46Father in dramatic suspense. And although we might desire to
- 3:53seize the complete scene of this chapter and one message, we will
- 3:59only consider the 1st 5 verses before we partake of the Lord's
- 4:02Supper. And so I invite you now with
- 4:05great excitement and Glee to read with me Revelation chapter
- 4:085, beginning in verse one down to verse 5.
- 4:13And I will tell you from now the crescendo of this brief message
- 4:17will be verse 5, where we will encounter these beautiful 3
- 4:21words. Weep no more, Weep no more shall
- 4:27we begin. Revelation 5/1 Then I saw in the
- 4:31right hand of him who is seated on the throne a scroll written
- 4:35within and on the back sealed with 7 seals.
- 4:39And I saw a mighty Angel proclaiming with a loud voice,
- 4:42who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals.
- 4:45And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to
- 4:48open the scroll or look into it. And I began to weep a loudly
- 4:52because no one was found worthy to open the scroll to look into
- 4:56it. And one of the elders said to
- 4:58me, Weep no more. Behold, the lion of the tribe of
- 5:05Judah, the root of David, has conquered, so that he can't open
- 5:10the scroll and its seven seals. While these four living
- 5:17creatures were breathing out praise and these 24 elders were
- 5:23also showering the Father with their own adoration, something
- 5:30new catches John's eye. It was an item in the right hand
- 5:34of God, a scroll to be specific. And there are two details about
- 5:39the scroll that the Holy Spirit inspires John to pen in God's
- 5:43holy book. The first one is that there was
- 5:47content written within and around, it was completely
- 5:50covered with information. And 2nd to that there were 7
- 5:56seals that perfectly concealed the message of that scroll.
- 6:04Now the interpretation of these details is not too difficult to
- 6:07understand. To see that the there is things
- 6:11written within and on the back implies that God has a lot to
- 6:15say and that his message is complete and it's ready to be
- 6:20known. And following that, the the
- 6:23seals that keep this message out of view reveals that it's it's
- 6:29sealed, it's something that we can't see.
- 6:30It's not for any eye to behold per SE.
- 6:34And as we will discover, there is only one who is authorized to
- 6:39unfold the message and the content of the scroll.
- 6:47And although the scroll may seem mysterious at first, that has
- 6:50not left scholars and students of the Bible without the desire
- 6:56to discover and to try to make some kind of speculation of what
- 6:59is found in this hidden message. And there's a lot of debate, and
- 7:04there's a lot of conversations about it.
- 7:05I am those who believe that there doesn't even need to be
- 7:08any debate because all you got to do is continue to read on in
- 7:11the Bible to know exactly what's in the scroll.
- 7:14What is it about? So go to chapter 6 just to get
- 7:17an idea, to see the nature of the scroll beginning in verse 1.
- 7:22And I won't read all these verses, but just to give you an
- 7:24idea and just to convince you of what we're dealing with here.
- 7:28This is after the Lamb, who is Christ takes the scroll from the
- 7:31right hand of the Father. And we read in Revelation 61.
- 7:34Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals
- 7:38and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a
- 7:40loud, with a voice like Thunder, come.
- 7:44And I looked and behold, a White Horse and it's rider had a bow,
- 7:47and a crown was given to him and he came out conquering and to
- 7:49conquer. Verse 3, When he opened the
- 7:52second seal, I heard the second living creature say come.
- 7:56And out came another horse, bright red.
- 7:58It's rider was permitted to take peace from the earth so that
- 8:00people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
- 8:03Now we pause here and we see that this will continue.
- 8:06The seals will continue to be unlocked until we finally come
- 8:10to Revelation 8. And notice what we find in
- 8:12Revelation 8, verse one. When the Lamb opened the 7th
- 8:16seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
- 8:20Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven
- 8:24trumpets were given to them. There's no question that these
- 8:31seals, the same seals that were covering the scroll that we find
- 8:34a Revelation 5, are connected to the enactment of God's judgement
- 8:40being unleashed upon the evil in the world proceeding and leading
- 8:45up to the establishment of the Son of God's Kingdom on the
- 8:49earth. In other words, the plain
- 8:53evidence of the text shows us that this scroll symbolizes
- 8:57God's sealed plan for His future and final judgments upon this
- 9:04world, which includes the redemption of His people.
- 9:09That's what we find here, and this interpretation should not
- 9:13surprise us because again, Revelation is saturated with Old
- 9:17Testament references and allusions.
- 9:20And if you've been reading the Hebrew Scriptures faithfully,
- 9:22then you'll remember that there are instances, there are
- 9:24examples, there are moments where we find some similar
- 9:28imagery that prepares us for what we are seeing here.
- 9:32So let me give you an example with the prophet Ezekiel.
- 9:35In Ezekiel chapter 1, the prophet also experiences a
- 9:39vision of the glory of God. And interestingly, he too
- 9:41encounters the four living creatures.
- 9:45And then when you come to chapter 2 of Ezekiel, like John,
- 9:49following his vision of the glory of God, the prophet is
- 9:54given a scroll. He's also presented a scroll.
- 9:58And listen to the description of the scroll from Ezekiel 29 and
- 10:0310. And when I looked, behold, a
- 10:07hand was stretched out to me. And behold, a scroll of a book
- 10:12was in it. And he spread it before me, and
- 10:16it had writing on the front and on the back, and they were
- 10:19written on it. Words of lamentation and
- 10:21mourning and woe. So both Ezekiel and John saw
- 10:27scrolls with writing on both the front and the back, which
- 10:31emphasizes the vast number and the severity of the judgements
- 10:36that they record. But here's the main difference
- 10:39with Ezekiel's experience and John's.
- 10:42The scroll that Ezekiel received was opened.
- 10:45It was spread before him, whereas the the scroll on the
- 10:50right hand of the Father was sealed, perfectly sealed.
- 10:55Nothing of its decrees could be seen.
- 10:59Now that means something. Not anybody could reveal or
- 11:04execute the judgments, the plan of the culmination of human
- 11:07history. It wasn't available.
- 11:09It wasn't just thrown, It wasn't just given to anybody.
- 11:12No, it was secured and had to be somebody who is authorized to
- 11:18unfold them. And until they were broken, this
- 11:21is the most important part. Until those seals were broken,
- 11:25God's purposes will remain unknown and unfulfilled.
- 11:30That's the awareness that this heavenly gathering in Revelation
- 11:335 sense, which is why a mighty Angel finally proclaims the
- 11:38following in Revelation 5. Two, Who is worthy to open the
- 11:42scroll and break its seals? Who is worthy?
- 11:49And a universal search goes out. As the words of this Angel
- 11:53reverberated to every corner of the cosmos, the four living
- 11:57creatures remain silent, and the 24 elders sat still in their
- 12:03seats. All the myriad of holy angels
- 12:08looked at each other humbly, including Gabriel and the mighty
- 12:14Archangel Michael. That deafening quietness only
- 12:19continued as the sea of Old Testament prophets and kings and
- 12:24Saints were examined. Abraham didn't Step 4.
- 12:31Isaac didn't move an inch. Jacob was still David.
- 12:39No, no, no, not David, Samuel, Isaiah, None of the prophets.
- 12:44They were all sharing an awareness of their unworthiness.
- 12:50And that silence only continues as the sea of New Testament
- 12:54Saints and leaders heard the invitation of that Angel, and
- 13:00not a single one of them responded to this challenge.
- 13:07And after an indefinite period of searching, the quest for a
- 13:10worthy candidate came to its conclusion.
- 13:13No one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open
- 13:19the scroll or look into it. Not one.
- 13:25Now go back to Revelation 5 three and read John's words very
- 13:28carefully. And no one in heaven or on earth
- 13:32or under the earth was able to open the scroll or look into it
- 13:35able highlight that wasn't able to open the scroll.
- 13:40What does that mean? Well, remember, we read in
- 13:42Revelation 6 how the breaking of each seal set into motion a
- 13:48spectacular event on the earth that would bring the world that
- 13:52much closer to its final cleansing and restoration.
- 13:58Therefore, to break those seals on the scroll implies that you
- 14:03have to have somebody who has the sovereign authority and
- 14:05power in order to do what carry out the affairs that it was
- 14:08designed to set into motion. Anybody can break a seal open.
- 14:14A child can do that. That's not the point.
- 14:16The point is, who is able to execute what the scroll demands,
- 14:22what it's planning to perform? And not a single creature in
- 14:27heaven, or the most religious or pious person on earth, or any
- 14:32spirit under the earth had the audacity to even entertain the
- 14:37possibility that they were able to break a single one of those
- 14:40seals and perform God's final program for human history.
- 14:50And what John discovered at this point, no one is able.
- 14:55No one to defeat Satan, no one to judge sinners, No one to
- 15:02restore our fractured universe. No one to redeem the faithful.
- 15:09No one to swallow up death forever.
- 15:11No one to establish God's Kingdom of peace and glory.
- 15:16No one to answer and fulfill prophetic promises that have yet
- 15:21to be accomplished. No one to make everything right
- 15:25once and for all. No.
- 15:31And John waited in this vision to see Is there anybody?
- 15:37Is there anyone? No one stepped forward, and as
- 15:43time went on, emotion began to well up from the depths of his
- 15:47being until he could no longer contain it.
- 15:51And what do we read in verse 4? And I began to weep bitterly.
- 15:59Now the weeping here is the same word to describe the weeping
- 16:03Jesus expressed after the triumphal entry.
- 16:08And he looked upon Jerusalem. It's the same word to define
- 16:14Peter's brokenness after he had verbally denied his master and
- 16:18Jesus looked at him in the book of Luke.
- 16:24So John's reaction to this is not some controlled
- 16:28disappointment with a few tears streaming down his cheeks.
- 16:33He's wailing, he shattered, he's falling apart in heaven of all
- 16:41places. Why such an intense reaction?
- 16:49Why weep? John 2 main answers.
- 16:56The first one is the fate of the world, and the second one is the
- 17:01object of his faith. The fate of the world was at
- 17:06stake. If no one could open that
- 17:07scroll, if there was no worthy candidate, then the world as
- 17:12we've always known it, as the as the history books has always
- 17:15written honestly about it, would remain in its cursed condition
- 17:19forever, without hope of redemption, no chance of
- 17:25restoration. So the cycles of sin and death
- 17:28would continue. The sorrows of sickness and
- 17:32disease would never end. The harassment and the deception
- 17:37of the devil and his demons will only intensify no end.
- 17:42Insight, true and lasting justice would never be executed.
- 17:49All the while, wickedness would prevail and grow and claim more
- 17:54victims because that new heaven and that new earth that was
- 18:00promised in which righteousness would dwell forever would never
- 18:04materialize. No hope.
- 18:11This world will remain and it will only decay more and more.
- 18:16But what about the object of John's faith?
- 18:19Do you remember where this is actually all taking place?
- 18:22Yeah, sure, John is in heaven by a vision, but he is suffering on
- 18:24an island called Patmos. On account of the word of God,
- 18:28of the testimony of Jesus. This man for most of his life
- 18:32put his faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
- 18:36And like you, his belief in Christ was more than just him
- 18:40being the Savior for sinners. We believe He's the soon
- 18:43returning King who complete humanity's rescue at the end of
- 18:48the age. So where is he?
- 18:54Where is he? Is he not the one who can open
- 18:59the scroll? Where can he be found?
- 19:03And tears began to flow because one reason why John is crying
- 19:07here is because the object of his faith, his trust, was being
- 19:11shaken. His confidence in Christ was
- 19:16being tested. Everything that he believed up
- 19:20to this point, the high price that he prayed with his life,
- 19:24would it be vindicated? The trust of millions of people,
- 19:29would it come to pass? So you see here, it's the fate
- 19:35of the world, and it's the object of John's faith that's
- 19:40causing him to react in this way.
- 19:46And although those are the two primary reasons for John's
- 19:48weeping, there's also a broader application for us.
- 19:51If you just zoom out, step back and look at this from a general
- 19:55perspective, I see John's tears saying something to you and I.
- 20:00That they testify of this man's desire to know God's will and to
- 20:06see it come to pass. That scroll had the purposes and
- 20:11the plans of God. They were concealed.
- 20:13They were out of view, yes. And primarily, who's going to
- 20:17open it? Who's going to, who's going to
- 20:19fulfil the final chapter of God's redemption, but also
- 20:25what's in the scroll? And he weeps.
- 20:34Do you hunger to know God's will?
- 20:39Where's your heart in discovering more of what God has
- 20:44made known in His Book, and to see it manifest in your life?
- 20:50The promises, the testimonies, the revelation.
- 20:57As I was meditating on this point even this morning, these
- 21:00verses came to mind from Psalm 119, verse 19.
- 21:04I am a sojourner on the earth. Hide not your commandments from
- 21:09me. And in verse 20, my soul is
- 21:14consumed with longing for Your rules at all times.
- 21:18Don't you love that? I'm a sojourner on the earth.
- 21:21So don't conceal Your commandments, Your truth, Your
- 21:24insight, Your treasures from me. What is he saying there?
- 21:28I'm just passing through this life.
- 21:30I only have a little window of time to discover the depths of
- 21:33who you are and to see things manifest in and through my life.
- 21:36So hide them, not from me. Do you pray like that?
- 21:42Here's another thing that I learned from this psalmist.
- 21:45The more this world is home to you, the less you're going to
- 21:48hunger for God's Word. I'm a sojourner on this earth.
- 21:53This is not my place. This is not permanent.
- 21:56This is not where I'm going to dwell forever.
- 21:57I'm not building any lasting Kingdom here.
- 22:00I'm just traveling through. So give me what's eternal.
- 22:04Give me what's going to last. Give me what I was really
- 22:08created for. So one potential reason why you
- 22:13find yourself not longing for deeper and wonderful treasures
- 22:17in the Scriptures, perhaps. Perhaps you got a little bit too
- 22:21comfortable here and you don't realize eternity and heaven and
- 22:25the things of the Spirit. But the psalmist says I'm just
- 22:29passing by. So give me what my soul
- 22:32ultimately craves. Hide not your commandments from
- 22:35me. Do you long for the same?
- 22:43I love how the psalmist says at all times his devotion to the
- 22:47truth is not sporadic, doesn't just get inspired at Maranatha
- 22:54conference once a year for a couple of days.
- 22:58It's a conviction that sits the foundation of his heart.
- 23:03It's true, it's who he is. So it's either that that is
- 23:11really something you can say Amen to, even though it's not
- 23:13perfect. And I can say it's not perfect
- 23:15for me either. The flesh tends to erupt and
- 23:19challenge that desire. But do you find yourself more
- 23:22indifferent to the scrolls that God has given us here?
- 23:30Let me put it this way. Are you content to remain in
- 23:33ignorance or do you even find your heart being moved because
- 23:39there are moments where you can't pursue deeper
- 23:42understanding and you so want to?
- 23:47John's reaction to being denied to some degree.
- 23:52What that scroll was holding is a wonderful example for you and
- 23:56I and how we should relate to what God has given us into our
- 24:00hand. There's no seal on this book.
- 24:03You can have it in digital screens, you can have it in
- 24:05hearing, you can have it in leather, goat skin.
- 24:08You can have it in so many ways. But your heart, Lord, I want to
- 24:15know more of you. I want to know all your
- 24:17promises, all your warnings, all the things that you have made
- 24:20plain and the things that are not so obvious.
- 24:23Oh God, hide not your commandments from me.
- 24:30And John's weeping now was interrupted in the main verse of
- 24:35our message. Let's come back to it, to
- 24:37Revelation 55. One of the elders spoke up, and
- 24:44he offered some of the most incredibly comforting words in
- 24:48all of the Book of Revelation. Weep no more, John.
- 24:55You don't have to cry like this anymore, don't you?
- 25:00Don't you know that there is One who is worthy to open the scroll
- 25:03and to look into it? Did you forget?
- 25:06And I want to make the case today, before we partake, that
- 25:11the solution to John's sorrow is the same for ours.
- 25:18Being reminded of the fact that our Savior has conquered.
- 25:26He's the living conqueror. Isn't that what he says?
- 25:30Behold, the line of the tribe of Judah.
- 25:31The root of David has conquered, which means 2000 years ago Jesus
- 25:38lived a perfect life of obedience, and he died a
- 25:41vicarious death. And because he did so perfectly,
- 25:45whatever he started he will finish.
- 25:49Neither Satan's sin nor death will have the final word Jesus
- 25:55conquered, which means he will vindicate the persecuted church,
- 26:02and it means that He will glorify believing loved ones
- 26:04that you and I have lost to accidents and illness.
- 26:10It means that He will prove himself faithful to every
- 26:13unbelieving, blasphemous generation that has ever lived.
- 26:17It means that Christ will finally create a world free from
- 26:22the effects, every effect of the fall, for us to live in
- 26:26perfectly in His glorious presence forever.
- 26:31Weep no more. However, the eldest words carry
- 26:37deeper meaning. He reminds John of two titles
- 26:42relating to Jesus Christ. The first one is that he is the
- 26:46lion of the tribe of Judah, and the second that he is the root
- 26:49of David. Now from just an aerial
- 26:53perspective, that says something about the humanity of Jesus and
- 26:57the divinity of Jesus, the lion of the tribe of Judah.
- 27:04This truth affirms the humanity of our Messiah, that he
- 27:09descended from a real tribe within the people of Israel.
- 27:12He's from the tribe of Judah, truly man.
- 27:17But he is also the root of David, and the root of David
- 27:23implies something about his preexistence, that in the same
- 27:27way a root is the source of life to a plant.
- 27:30Jesus Christ existed before David, and he was the very
- 27:34source of his lineage. He's the root, which is amazing.
- 27:39You don't have to turn there, but this is a Direct Line in
- 27:42prophecy, a reference to the prophecy found in Isaiah 1111,
- 27:46verse 10, where we're told the root of Jesse, the root of
- 27:49Jesse, all the nations, all the Gentiles will inquire of him.
- 27:54And Paul quotes Isaiah 1110 in Romans to say this is Christ,
- 27:59this is Christ and bringing in the Gentiles to him, the root of
- 28:02Jesse. But in Isaiah 11 one we're told
- 28:06that he's the branch of Jesse. Well, how can you be the root
- 28:09and the branch? Again, even within that chapter
- 28:11you have something about the pre existence of Christ.
- 28:13He's the root, but he's also the branch.
- 28:16He's a descendant. He's coming from this family,
- 28:21this lineage. And if that wasn't glorious
- 28:26enough, here's the the heart of what this elder is saying to
- 28:31John. What's the essence of his
- 28:33message when he says the line of the tribe of Judah, the root of
- 28:36David has conquered so that he can open the scroll and it's 7
- 28:38seals. It's plain whatever God promised
- 28:41from the beginning, he will fulfill.
- 28:44He will fulfill. Because again, you see that
- 28:48these are titles of the Messiah that was predicted in the Hebrew
- 28:52Scriptures. And the root of David comes from
- 28:54Isaiah 11, but there's one that's even earlier than that.
- 28:57The lion of the tribe of Judah comes from the book of Genesis.
- 29:01And that's what we're going to turn to in our final passage
- 29:04together. Go to Genesis 49, and this is
- 29:07when Jacob gives a prophetic benediction to each of his sons,
- 29:12the immediate tribes of Israel. And when he comes to Judah, I
- 29:16want you to see what he says because this is what the elder
- 29:18is doing. He's reaching back to this
- 29:20prophecy and he's saying John, Jesus is a fulfillment of what
- 29:26was prophesied in Genesis 49. Look at verse 8 with me.
- 29:31Judah, your brother shall praise you.
- 29:35Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies.
- 29:38Your father's son shall bow down before you.
- 29:42Judah is a lion's cub. You have gone up from the prey,
- 29:48my son. He stooped down.
- 29:49He crouched as a lion and as a lioness.
- 29:52Who dares rouse him? The scepter shall not depart
- 29:56from Judah, nor the ruler staff from between his feet until
- 30:00tribute comes to him. And to him shall be the
- 30:02obedience of the peoples. What a shock this must have been
- 30:07to the brothers who are hearing their fathers say this about
- 30:10Judah. Why is this a surprise?
- 30:14Why is this startling? Because the family of Israel was
- 30:19very few in number. They're still in Egypt when this
- 30:22was given. They haven't even entered into
- 30:25the promised land. And yet we read here that Judah
- 30:28and his descendants will have preeminence among his brothers
- 30:31in that they will be in a position of rulership over his
- 30:35brothers. So you're talking about a king
- 30:39and a Kingdom, and here you are still renting a neighborhood in
- 30:45the land of Egypt. It's fascinating, and we know
- 30:50that this is speaking about a king and a Kingdom because of
- 30:53the imagery of a scepter. You've probably seen one, a
- 30:56staff with ornaments that symbolizes sovereignty and power
- 31:01and majesty. So in practical terms, what is
- 31:04this prophecy conveying? It's saying that eventually
- 31:07kings were going to arise from the line of Judah.
- 31:12And what you find as you continue in the Old Testament is
- 31:15that the seed form of this prophecy began to sprout with
- 31:18King David, and it blossomed more and more with the
- 31:22succeeding kings following him. As we've been studying in first
- 31:27and second kings, David's line through Judah would govern the
- 31:31Kingdom of Judah. But this is a detail in the
- 31:34prophecy that many people miss. Look back at verse 10 of Genesis
- 31:3749. What does he say?
- 31:38The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler staff
- 31:42from between his feet, until tribute comes to him, and to him
- 31:49shall be the obedience of the peoples.
- 31:51Now some of you may be looking at me because you're saying why
- 31:54does your Bible say that? My Bible says something
- 31:56different. Virtually every other word for
- 31:59word translation will render the same verse in the following way
- 32:03until Shiloh comes. Anybody have that word in their
- 32:05Bibles? I guess most people here read
- 32:08the ESP then until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the
- 32:13obedience of the people. You'll find that in the new King
- 32:15James. You'll find that in the King
- 32:16James. You'll find that in the NASB.
- 32:20So then why does the ESV say until tribute comes to him?
- 32:26It's because the etymology, the root word for Shiloh, is quite
- 32:30complex. It's quite complex in the Hebrew
- 32:33and and one of the variant definitions of this word is he.
- 32:38To him it belongs, or that which belongs to him.
- 32:42And that's that's why the scholars behind this translation
- 32:45chose this following phrase to put into this prophecy.
- 32:50But no matter what version you have, one thing is unmistakably
- 32:54clear. This prophecy points to a
- 32:56specific individual. It anticipates somebody from the
- 32:59royal line of Judah, a person, not just a position, not just
- 33:04the government, but one particular individual.
- 33:07There is one king who will exercise universal reign, and he
- 33:12will bring unprecedented authority to the nations.
- 33:17And this king is something and someone Israel and indeed the
- 33:21whole world should be expecting. Look at again.
- 33:25Until tribute comes to him and to him shall be the obedience of
- 33:30the peoples. Genesis.
- 33:34Then you go to Revelation and this elder and this heavenly
- 33:38vision looks to Johnny says the lion of the tribe of Judah is
- 33:43here. What God said in Genesis is now
- 33:48being realized in Revelation. You know what's so amazing to
- 33:50me? That title for Christ, the lion
- 33:53of the tribe of Judah is exclusively found in the Book of
- 33:56Revelation. I'm thinking why not use it
- 34:00more? It's powerful, the lion of the
- 34:03tribe of Judah. Why did the Holy Spirit keep it
- 34:08until the last book of divine revelation?
- 34:11Because it is a title appropriate for the second
- 34:14coming of Christ, that's why. And that's partly the reason why
- 34:21the Pharisees and the Jews could not accept that Jesus Christ of
- 34:25Nazareth was the Messiah. Where is the lion like Savior
- 34:34and king? Come on, we gave you three years
- 34:39and we're still oppressed. Tear them apart.
- 34:44Deliver us once and for all. Own this place.
- 34:49Jacob said that a lion would come, a king would come.
- 34:54Here You are, just travelling with some of these unlearned
- 34:57man. Yeah, you're doing miracles here
- 34:59and there, but come on, let's see it come to pass.
- 35:04And even up to the final moments of his life, they were tempting
- 35:07him to prove himself. You know, some people think that
- 35:12the Pharisees had good intentions and they were just
- 35:15confused because they were just going with what the Scriptures
- 35:18had to say. And it seemed like Jesus was a
- 35:20little bit too ambiguous. No, the Pharisees were
- 35:25intentionally ignorant because the same Hebrew Bible that says
- 35:30there is one coming like a lion also portrays him as a lamb.
- 35:37He is a lion, but he first must come as a lamb, and he must lay
- 35:42down his life as a sacrifice. And that is why, interestingly,
- 35:47in the same vision of Revelation 5, the Elder tells John the lion
- 35:52of the tribe of Judah is here. And when he looks for him, you
- 35:55find in the following verses that he finds instead of what?
- 35:58A lamb. I'm getting ahead of myself
- 36:01here, so I'm going to reel back here.
- 36:06What do we take from this John? There needs to be no need to
- 36:12weep. For what reason?
- 36:141 Main reason. God is faithful to His promises.
- 36:18Everything that He has said you can trust completely.
- 36:23I love this. I love connecting the Bible
- 36:26because you have something God said from Genesis and now in
- 36:29Revelation, he's saying here it is.
- 36:31Here's the realization of it. And yes, we're dealing with not
- 36:37weeping in terms of God fulfilling his promises in the
- 36:40end of the age. But let's, let's apply it today.
- 36:43Let's apply it now. Listen, you and I would have
- 36:46fewer tears and greater relief if we just really believed God,
- 36:51if we really just took Him at His word, if we had an ache and
- 36:57a long longing to know all that He has to say, all that He has
- 37:00revealed, we would strengthen our souls.
- 37:06We would have more smiles and less frowns.
- 37:12I'm reminded when Jesus hid himself on the road to Emmaus,
- 37:17when those two disciples were dejected, walking back after an
- 37:21eventful weekend in Jerusalem, and when the stranger supposedly
- 37:26asks them, what are you guys talking about?
- 37:28The scripture tells us in Luke 24 that they were sad and they
- 37:32began to explain the events relating to Jesus Christ of
- 37:35Nazareth who was crucified, and they had hoped that he would be
- 37:37the deliverer for Israel. What is Jesus Christ prescribed
- 37:44to these heavy hearted disciples?
- 37:45Let me read to you one verse. Luke 2425 And he said to them, O
- 37:50foolish ones, and slow of heart, to believe all that the prophets
- 37:55have spoken. The remedy to your pain and the
- 38:04clouds that hide the blessing and the happiness that your soul
- 38:09can experience is your darkness pertaining to the Word of God.
- 38:16It's your blindness, it's your unwillingness to take in not
- 38:20just some, but all that the prophets have spoken.
- 38:25I suggest to you today that you can know greater joy if you have
- 38:32a greater investment in the truth and not just familiarizing
- 38:39yourself with it, but asking God for the faith to clutch onto and
- 38:42to believe it with all that is within you.
- 38:46I love how this elder in Revelation turns to John and
- 38:49reminds him of scriptural truths to stop his tears.
- 38:55Is there any difference for us? Let's emphasize over and over
- 39:00with these two disciples. Here's how I'm going to provide
- 39:03a balm for your souls. Consider all that the prophets
- 39:07have spoken. So here's what we're leaving
- 39:10with today. Here's how we're going to
- 39:13prepare to remember what Christ has done.
- 39:14This is what Revelation 51 to 5 has left us with #1 in terms of
- 39:20application. May we be like this man who
- 39:23longed to know the will of God, who longed to see it
- 39:25accomplished. But may we also prescribe this
- 39:28to our own souls, that the revelation of Christ being a
- 39:31living conqueror and the things that were said about him He
- 39:34fulfilled, and the things that he said about anything, we must
- 39:38trust wholeheartedly if we are going to be able to sail the
- 39:44seas of a church that is frequently battered in a world
- 39:49that is growing and evil. Only then will we know more
- 39:53song, less tears, more joy, less sorrow.
- 40:00May we come and remember what He has done for us, together with
- 40:03hearts filled with faith. Lord, we ask as we praise you,
- 40:08that you would be blessed by what you see in here.
- 40:13And we choose to remember today that you were the fulfillment of
- 40:17ancient predictions that your Son, Jesus Christ is the true
- 40:23Savior of the world. And Lord, if there are tears for
- 40:32any reason today, may we sense the truth soothing our hearts so
- 40:42that our eyes can come to life again as we behold the One who
- 40:48is worthy to open the scroll and to look into it.
- 40:51We thank You that with all the updates of the horrors that are
- 40:54being committed in our city around the world, the tragedies,
- 40:57the disasters, the floods, the earthquakes, the wars, our world
- 41:05will change. One day you will redeem
- 41:10everything and you will be worshipped for it forever.
- 41:14But we choose to worship you now as we reflect on how you have
- 41:19redeemed us and how one day you will rescue us forever and ever.
- 41:23We pray these things with great faith in Jesus name, Amen.