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Voddie Baucham - Why Does John Weep Over The Scroll In Revelation 5 · Voddie Baucham Sermons

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  Speaker 1: Revelation chapter 5, beginning at verse 1. And as we
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  Speaker 1: enter into Revelation chapter 5, I said this section, Revelation
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  Speaker 1: chapter 4 and 5, again, it is the clearest picture
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  Speaker 1: that we have of heavenly worship, I believe, anywhere in
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  Speaker 1: the Scriptures. And because of that, it's the clearest picture
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  Speaker 1: that we have of the theological implications of our earthly
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  Speaker 1: worship anywhere in the Scriptures. But I believe as we
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  Speaker 1: move forward in this, the crescendo begins here in chapter 5.
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  Speaker 1: Here's where we truly understand worship. Because here is where
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  Speaker 1: we get the picture of the lion and the lamb.
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  Speaker 1: Beginning in verse 1. Then I saw in the right
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  Speaker 1: hand of him who was seated on the throne a
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  Speaker 1: scroll saying, Written within and on the back, sealed with
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  Speaker 1: seven seals. By the way, just as an aside here,
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  Speaker 1: as we talk about the various ways that we approach
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  Speaker 1: the book of Revelation, and we talked about the sort
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  Speaker 1: of literalistic approach and the difficulties of the literalistic approach
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  Speaker 1: to Revelation. People who want to take everything literally, unless
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  Speaker 1: you're specifically told not to. Well, we're not specifically told
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  Speaker 1: not to take this literally. But if we take it literally...
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  Speaker 1: then God the Father actually has a right hand. That's
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  Speaker 1: a problem. Because God is a spirit and doesn't have
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  Speaker 1: a body like men. We could talk about the Son
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  Speaker 1: having a right hand, but not the Father. So as
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  Speaker 1: we get here into this section in chapters four and five,
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  Speaker 1: and as we move forward, I just want to reiterate
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  Speaker 1: and emphasize the approach to revelation that we're taking, the
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  Speaker 1: idealist approach to revelation that we're taking, where we understand
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  Speaker 1: based on chapter one, verse one, that the book is
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  Speaker 1: meant to be taken symbolically, not literally. Right? There are
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  Speaker 1: signs here. There are pictures here. And it's not meant
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  Speaker 1: to be taken literally. It's meant to be taken symbolically.
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  Speaker 1: And then we try to understand what the symbols mean.
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  Speaker 1: And here is a great example where this approach works
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  Speaker 1: and the literalistic approach does not work. I saw on
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  Speaker 1: the right hand of him who was seated on the
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  Speaker 1: throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed
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  Speaker 1: with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming
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  Speaker 1: with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the
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  Speaker 1: scroll and break its seals? Don't you love this? Almost
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  Speaker 1: like a courtroom scene. He stands up like the sergeant
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  Speaker 1: at arms. A strong angel with a loud voice. And
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  Speaker 1: no one in heaven or on earth or under the
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  Speaker 1: earth was able to open the scroll or to look
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  Speaker 1: into it. And I began to weep loudly because no
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  Speaker 1: one was found worthy to open the scroll or to
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  Speaker 1: look into it. And one of the elders said to me,
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  Speaker 1: remember the 24 elders around the throne, weep no more. Behold,
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  Speaker 1: the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David,
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  Speaker 1: has conquered so that he can open the scroll and
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  Speaker 1: its seven seals. And between the throne and the four
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  Speaker 1: living creatures and among the elders, I saw a lamb
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  Speaker 1: standing as though it had been slain. with seven horns
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  Speaker 1: and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God,
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  Speaker 1: sent out into all the earth. And he went and
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  Speaker 1: took the scroll from the right hand of him who
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  Speaker 1: was seated on the throne. So we know now that
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  Speaker 1: the lamb is the lion. No one's worthy to take
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  Speaker 1: the scroll. That's okay. Okay. Because the lamb and the
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  Speaker 1: lion and the root of David is worthy to take
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  Speaker 1: the scroll. Now who's taking the scroll? The lamb who
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  Speaker 1: was slain. The lion is the lamb. And when he
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  Speaker 1: had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the
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  Speaker 1: 24 elders fell down before the lamb, each holding a
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  Speaker 1: harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the
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  Speaker 1: prayers of the saints, saying, And they sang a new
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  Speaker 1: song saying, worthy are you to take the scroll and
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  Speaker 1: to open its seals. For you were slain and by
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  Speaker 1: your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe
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  Speaker 1: and language and people and nation. And you have made
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  Speaker 1: them a kingdom and priests to our God and they
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  Speaker 1: shall reign on the earth. Amen. Amen. What a powerful
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  Speaker 1: passage of Scripture. The word pictures here are almost overwhelming.
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  Speaker 1: But there are several things necessary for us to understand
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  Speaker 1: if we are to understand the significance of this text.
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  Speaker 1: The first is this. The first is the nature of
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  Speaker 1: the scroll. What is the scroll? Why is the scroll
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  Speaker 1: so important? There are a number of interpretations of the scroll.
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  Speaker 1: One is that the scroll is actually synonymous with the
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  Speaker 1: Lamb's Book of Life. We see the Lamb's Book of
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  Speaker 1: Life in Revelation 3, 5, 13, 8, 17, 8, 20, 12,
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  Speaker 1: and 15, and 21, 27. So we see this Lamb's
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  Speaker 1: Book of Life. So some are arguing that the scroll
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  Speaker 1: here that only the lion slash lamb can open is
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  Speaker 1: the Lamb's Book of Life. The problem with that, of course,
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  Speaker 1: is that the Lamb's Book of Life is a different book.
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  Speaker 1: We know this from Revelation chapter 20 and verse 12,
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  Speaker 1: where we read, And I saw the dead, great and small,
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  Speaker 1: standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another
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  Speaker 1: book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And
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  Speaker 1: the dead were judged by what was written in the books,
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  Speaker 1: according to what they had done. So the reference there
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  Speaker 1: is to a different book, another book, not the same book,
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  Speaker 1: not the same scroll with the seals that we read
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  Speaker 1: about here. Some, again, who take a futurist approach to
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  Speaker 1: this letter, to this book, say that basically the scroll
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  Speaker 1: represents the future Great Tribulation. It represents this period that
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  Speaker 1: is yet to come, referred to as the Great Tribulation.
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  Speaker 1: This literal seven-year period known as the Great Tribulation. Well,
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  Speaker 1: here's the problem with that. We've already alluded to it earlier.
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  Speaker 1: The fact that in Revelation chapter 1 and verse 19,
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  Speaker 1: we read, write therefore the things that you have seen,
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  Speaker 1: those that are, and those that are to take place
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  Speaker 1: after this, past, present, and future. What we find in
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  Speaker 1: these scrolls are not just about future events, but what
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  Speaker 1: we find in these scrolls have to do with events
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  Speaker 1: that are already taking place even at the time of writing.
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  Speaker 1: So what do we have? Two things. One, the fullness
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  Speaker 1: of God's plan of judgment and redemption. That's what we
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  Speaker 1: have in the scrolls. the fullness of God's plan of
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  Speaker 1: judgment and redemption. Why do I say this? Well, because
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  Speaker 1: we see this idea of the sealed scroll or the
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  Speaker 1: sealed book in the prophetic literature that informs John's writing.
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  Speaker 1: We've said before that for the most part, there's Daniel
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  Speaker 1: and there's Ezekiel and a lot of Isaiah here, but
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  Speaker 1: Daniel is the book referenced more than any other book.
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  Speaker 1: And in Daniel chapter 7, and again in Daniel chapter 12,
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  Speaker 1: we have references that illuminate this for us. Listen to
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  Speaker 1: Daniel chapter 7, verses 9 through 10. As I looked,
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  Speaker 1: thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat.
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  Speaker 1: His clothing was white as snow and the hair of
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  Speaker 1: his head like pure wool. His throne was fiery flames.
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  Speaker 1: Its wheels were burning fire. A stream of fires issued
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  Speaker 1: and came out from before him. Again, this fire is
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  Speaker 1: a reference to judgment. A thousand thousands served him and 10,000
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  Speaker 1: times 10,000 stood before him. The court sat in judgment
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  Speaker 1: and the books were opened. In Ezekiel chapter two, We
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  Speaker 1: have another example of this. There we see a court
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  Speaker 1: of judgment and the scrolls being opened or the books
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  Speaker 1: being opened. Look in Ezekiel chapter two, verses eight through 10.
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  Speaker 1: But you, son of man, hear what I say to you.
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  Speaker 1: Be not rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth
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  Speaker 1: and eat what I give you. And when I look, behold,
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  Speaker 1: a hand was stretching out to me and behold, a
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  Speaker 1: scroll of a book was in it. and he spread
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  Speaker 1: it before me. And it had writing on the front
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  Speaker 1: and on the back. Unusual, most scrolls didn't have writing
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  Speaker 1: on the front and on the back. Here in Revelation,
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  Speaker 1: we have a scroll with writing on the front and
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  Speaker 1: on the back. In Ezekiel 2, a scroll with writing
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  Speaker 1: on the front and on the back. And there were
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  Speaker 1: written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe.
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  Speaker 1: So in Daniel, we see what? This book that is unsealed,
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  Speaker 1: in a courtroom where judgment is about to be announced.
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  Speaker 1: In Ezekiel chapter two, we see a scroll written on
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  Speaker 1: both sides. What's in the scroll? Lamentation. and woe. In
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  Speaker 1: Isaiah chapter 29, we find a similar idea. Verses 11
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  Speaker 1: and 12, and the vision of all this has become
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  Speaker 1: to you like the words of a book that is
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  Speaker 1: sealed and When men give it to one who can read, saying,
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  Speaker 1: read this, he says, I cannot, for it is sealed.
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  Speaker 1: And when they give the book to one who cannot read, saying,
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  Speaker 1: read this, he says, I cannot read. Well, the context
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  Speaker 1: of Isaiah chapter 29 is God bringing judgment upon his enemies.
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  Speaker 1: So John, reaching back to this prophetic literature from the
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  Speaker 1: Old Testament, this apocalyptic literature from the Old Testament, has
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  Speaker 1: the picture of a scroll that is sealed, that is
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  Speaker 1: written on both sides, and it is a scroll of judgment.
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  Speaker 1: We also know this because contextually, when we move into
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  Speaker 1: chapter 6, what do we find? We find judgment and woes.
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  Speaker 1: So this is a scroll of judgment. But there is
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  Speaker 1: another issue as well. This scroll that is sealed with
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  Speaker 1: seven seals hearkens to its particular day in which in
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  Speaker 1: Roman courtrooms documents were often brought in and sealed with
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  Speaker 1: multiple seals. Mainly, last wills and testaments. And they're sealed
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  Speaker 1: so that you make sure they haven't been tampered with.
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  Speaker 1: So that only the one who is the executor can
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  Speaker 1: break the seal and open the last will and testament
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  Speaker 1: and read the wishes of the deceased so here we
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  Speaker 1: have judgment redemption and inheritance that's why when it can't
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  Speaker 1: be opened john weeps He weeps out loud. He weeps
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  Speaker 1: uncontrollably because here's this sealed document. He knows that this
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  Speaker 1: sealed document has the picture of God's redemption of his
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  Speaker 1: elect and God's judgment on the wicked. And he looks
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  Speaker 1: at this document, waiting for God to unleash his judgment
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  Speaker 1: on the wicked and to consummate his redemption of his
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  Speaker 1: elect and for the last will and testament to be read.
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  Speaker 1: And the angel says, who is there who can open this?
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  Speaker 1: And the answer is no one in heaven and on
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  Speaker 1: earth and under the earth. And John weeps. Listen to
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  Speaker 1: what Hendrickson writes. Here's why John's weeping. This means for
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  Speaker 1: John that history will not be governed in the interest
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  Speaker 1: of the church and that there will be no protection
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  Speaker 1: for God's children in the hour of bitter trial, no
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  Speaker 1: judgment upon a persecuting world, no ultimate triumph for believers,
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  Speaker 1: no heaven, no earth, no new heaven, no new earth,
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  Speaker 1: and no future inheritance. That's what it means if there's
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  Speaker 1: no one worthy to open the scroll. And that's why
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  Speaker 1: John weeps. He weeps because if the scroll is not opened,
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  Speaker 1: things are not brought to their full conclusion in the
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  Speaker 1: way that God intends. If the scroll is not opened,
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  Speaker 1: there is no end to this persecution that God's people
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  Speaker 1: are experiencing. If the scroll is not opened, then there's
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  Speaker 1: not going to be justice for God's elect. If the
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  Speaker 1: scroll is not opened, there is no inheritance for the
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  Speaker 1: people of God. He weeps because the scroll must be
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  Speaker 1: opened and there must be justice and there must be redemption.
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  Speaker 1: Then verse five, one of the elders said to me,
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  Speaker 1: weep no more. Behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah,
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  Speaker 1: the root of David has conquered so that he can
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  Speaker 1: open the scrolls and its seven seals. Now, this is
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  Speaker 1: extremely important. Note that he uses these two references to Christ.
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  Speaker 1: He refers to him as the lion of the tribe
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  Speaker 1: of Judah and the root of David. Now, when he
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  Speaker 1: refers to him as the lion of the tribe of Judah,
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  Speaker 1: we know that this is a reference to Genesis chapter 49.
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  Speaker 1: And we understand that Jesus is the lion of the
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  Speaker 1: tribe of Judah because of his lineage. Genesis 49, beginning
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  Speaker 1: at verse 8, we read, Judah, your brother shall praise you,
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  Speaker 1: which is a play on words because the name Judah
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  Speaker 1: means praise. Your brothers shall praise you. Your hand shall
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  Speaker 1: be on the neck of your enemies. Your father's son
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  Speaker 1: shall bow before you. Judah is a lion's cub. From
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  Speaker 1: the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down.
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  Speaker 1: He crouched as a lion and as a lioness who
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  Speaker 1: dares rouse him. The scepter shall not depart from Judah
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  Speaker 1: nor the ruler's staff from between his feet until tribute
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  Speaker 1: comes to him and to him shall be the obedience
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  Speaker 1: of the peoples. Binding his foal to the vine and
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  Speaker 1: his donkey's colt to the choice vine. He has washed
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  Speaker 1: his garments in wine and his vestures in the blood
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  Speaker 1: of grapes. His eyes are darker than wine and his
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  Speaker 1: teeth whiter than milk. There is a picture of divine judgment.
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  Speaker 1: So what does the angel say? There is one who
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  Speaker 1: can open the scroll of the judgment of God because
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  Speaker 1: he is the one foretold in the line of Judah.
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  Speaker 1: He is the lion of the tribe of Judah. Jesus
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  Speaker 1: Christ is able to judge the world because he is
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  Speaker 1: the lion of the tribe of Judah. He is the
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  Speaker 1: justice of God. We see that picture of him in
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  Speaker 1: Revelation chapter 19 that we've looked at time and time again.
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  Speaker 1: And it looks a lot like this picture that we
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  Speaker 1: find in Genesis chapter 49. Jesus Christ is the judge.
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  Speaker 1: We don't like to speak about him in those terms. Listen, beloved.
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  Speaker 1: If you don't like speaking about Jesus in those terms,
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  Speaker 1: then you are missing one of the most important aspects
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  Speaker 1: of who he is. Because what, pray tell, does redemption
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  Speaker 1: mean if there is no justice? What are you saved
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  Speaker 1: from if there is no wrath of God? What are
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  Speaker 1: you rescued from if there is not a day that
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  Speaker 1: is going to come when he actually does exact vengeance
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  Speaker 1: upon the wicked? What have you been transferred from, if
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  Speaker 1: not from darkness and judgment, to light and redemption? You
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  Speaker 1: cannot appreciate the redemption that you have in Christ unless
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  Speaker 1: you understand the justice and judgment of God that will,
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  Speaker 1: that must come against the wicked. And you will never
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  Speaker 1: turn to Christ unless you understand this because you don't
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  Speaker 1: have anything to flee from if there is no justice
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  Speaker 1: or judgment of the wicked. You don't believe you need
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  Speaker 1: a savior if you don't believe that there is justice
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  Speaker 1: against the wicked. And so we have this picture of
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  Speaker 1: lowly Jesus, meek and mild, who just wants to be
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  Speaker 1: your friend. And he's pining over you because he doesn't
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  Speaker 1: have enough friends, especially friends like you. And your greatest
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  Speaker 1: sin is depriving Jesus of you. That's not the gospel.
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  Speaker 1: Gospel says... You are a wretched sinner and you've sinned
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  Speaker 1: against a holy and righteous God. And the day is
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  Speaker 1: coming when you will face that God and his justice
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  Speaker 1: will be poured out. Flee from your sin and run
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  Speaker 1: to the only one who can save you, who is
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  Speaker 1: Christ himself. The judge is the only one who can
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  Speaker 1: save you. The lion of the tribe of Judah. Bow
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  Speaker 1: before him now or bow before him then, but you
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  Speaker 1: will bow.