The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible - Part Nineteen - B May 10, 2020 by: John Herbert | Series: The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible Audio Study Notes PDF https://s3.amazonaws.com/cornerstonejax/sermonfiles/T014_20200510.mp3 Refresh A Recap from the Sermon Heb 4:9 There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. We will continue today to look at the redemption of the inheritance. The full text of this message can be found by clicking the PDF button. Sunday May 10th 2020 The Word of God A Survey of the Bible – Lesson 19B This My Inheritance 1). Ge 3:6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings………. 17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; As a result of Satan’s deception in the Garden, God’s creation was ruined. The Man and the Woman created to rule in Satan’s place were ruined and all of their progeny were subsequently born in a ruined state – Ge 5:3 And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. Eph 2:1b….who were dead in trespasses and sins…… And the realm over which the Man and the Woman were to rule, the newly restored earth, was also ruined. a). And because of the ruinous result of sin, Mankind and the realm over which he is to rule, would have to be redeemed, so that God’s purpose for creating Man would be fulfilled. b). And as we have seen, redemption began for Man immediately following Adam’s ‘fall’ – Ge 3:21 Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them. Even though Adam and Eve’s sin had been dealt with through the death and shed blood of the slain animals, they were not restored to their former position, but instead were expelled from the Garden and separated from the tree of life and rulership. c). They were then placed in an environment where continuous work would be necessary and bread for life would have to be extracted from the cursed ground that would also produce thorns and thistles. d). But in the midst of this there is one thing that we will note well and that is that God’s purpose for Man did not and has not changed, and remains the subject of our focus even today – Heb 2:5 For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. 6 But one testified in a certain place, saying: “What is man that You are mindful of him, Or the son of man that You take care of him? 7 You have made him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, And set him over the works of Your hands. 8 You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him. Heb 4:9 There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. And so, if God’s purpose did not change, and will be accomplished, why didn’t He just replace Satan with Adam and the Woman following their redemption? e). The answer is very simple, but also multi-faceted. In its simplest form, they were not fully redeemed as yet, and we will remember that God had set in place an unchangeable pattern for the complete redemption of a ruined creation and it is impossible for God to violate His Word. Therefore, there must be the completion of 6 days of sovereign redemptive work on God’s part before the ruined earth and ruined Man can be fully restored and the 7th Day can begin. And as we will remember from 2 Peter Chapter 3, these days will comprise of 1000 years each. And so, 6000 years must pass before God’s redemptive work with respect to Man and the earth is completed. f). We will also remember that rulership can only be exercised by a Man and a Woman in a marriage relationship and that the first Man and his wife had been rejected from exercising rulership because of sin. And beyond Adam and Eve God is now dealing with an ever-increasing number of people, not just 2 individuals. Marriage remains central and the Bridegroom is preparing, but His wife is not yet revealed. g). And we will also remember that in order to be able to rule Adam and the Woman had been created in the image and likeness of God, and as we have seen, all those born from Adam onwards have been born in the likeness of Adam – born with a sin nature and born naked, being very visibly apart from the covering of glory that Adam and the Woman originally possessed. And so, complete redemption, spirit, soul and body, must be accomplished before the image and likeness of God can be regained. h). Also let’s not forget, that for an incumbent ruler to be replaced, his replacement must be proven to be worthy to do so – the Woman, as a result of Satan’s deception, and the Man, through heeding the voice of his wife, showed themselves disobedient to God’s command and were therefore proven to be unworthy to take Satan’s place. And this will inevitably lead us to realize that those who will eventually replace Satan must, through their faithful obedience to the command of God, have proven themselves worthy to do so. And this proof is inextricably connected to works of faithful obedience, patient endurance and overcoming the world, the flesh and the Devil during the course of the Christian life – 1 Pe 1:6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls. And in the midst of this, let’s not neglect to observe the obvious. The first 32 verses of Genesis form the foundation and provide for us a typological picture of how God’s purpose will be fulfilled - a picture that takes us beyond the storyline of the restoration of the ruined material creation and the first Man and his wife to life changing spiritual truth. In these verses we find the framework upon which the remainder of Scripture is built. All of which must be studied together, here a little and there a little, so that we may see the complete revelation of the outworking of God’s purpose and how we fit into it. i). And here is a significant truth for us – God has ‘created’ us and saved us to participate with Him in His purpose, not so that He can participate in ours. j). There is only one purpose for the existence of the Church, and it is the same as the purpose for our eternal salvation and the same as the purpose for the creation of Man in the beginning, and to view matters in any other way is to create our own ‘golden calf’. k). But for those with eyes to see and ears to hear, who will submit themselves to God so as to be taught and trained and changed by Him through receiving the implanted Word, theirs will be a place of honor and glory when God’s purpose is fulfilled. And these are the same ones who will be overcomers, who will be identified as the Bride of Christ at the Judgment Seat – those who will comprise the Woman to be presented back to the Man without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, being holy and without blemish, so that together, as a complete being, they will rule from the heavens over the earth in the age to come. 2). And it is because these same individuals are revealed at Christ’s Judgment Seat in Revelation Chapters 2-3 that the events of Revelation Chapter 4 can then take place – Re 4:1 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.” 2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. 3 And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald…….. 9 Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: 11 “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.” This Chapter begins by presenting the same scene that we find in Revelation Chapter 1, the resurrection/rapture of the church to Christ’s Judgment Seat. The resurrection/rapture is presented in Chapter 4 through ‘the first voice’ which was ‘like a trumpet’ that said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this’. But although the Chapter begins with the resurrection/rapture, this Chapter is not dealing with the events of the Judgment Seat that follow, rather we see One sat on a throne ‘set in heaven’. And around the throne ‘was a rainbow’. a). And the presence of the rainbow in this setting is to take us back to the first appearance of a rainbow in Scripture – Ge 9:13 I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. The appearance of the rainbow in Genesis Chapter 9 came following the completion of God’s judgment upon the earth through the flood of Noah’s day. Its presence indicated that judgment had passed, and that God would not again destroy the earth with a flood of water, the rainbow being a sign of the covenant God had made with respect to this. b). The appearance of the rainbow ‘around the throne’, the Judgment Seat, in Revelation Chapter 4 again points to judgment having been completed. On this occasion the judgment of all Christians. c). So that which is now to be dealt with is what will follow the completed judgment of all Christians. And as a result of the judgment of all Christians, as we have seen, those found worthy to rule as Christ’s consort queen in the place of Satan’s angels will have been identified. d). And with this new order of rulers now present, crowns are cast before the throne by the 24 elders. e). To make sense of this, let’s remember that a third of the angels created to rule with Satan rebelled – Re 12:3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. 4 His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. This means that that 2/3rds didn’t rebel. They remained loyal to God and remained unfallen. They were still crowned rulers, but no longer in a ruling capacity. And it is these angels who did not rebel with Satan who are the elders seen in Revelation Chapter 4, with 24 being a representative number, not an actual number of them. And the type of crowns they are wearing is made clear through the Greek word used here, ‘stephanos’, which denotes a crown worn by someone who is able to rule but is not currently doing so. For those who are actually ruling the Greek word ‘diadema’ is used for crown instead. Power Point – Slides 1-7 These unfallen angels then, cast down their crowns before the throne as those who will wear those crowns in the age to come are now present and have been proven worthy to do so. The crowns are cast before the throne as it is God alone who appoints rulers – Da 4:17 ‘This decision is by the decree of the watchers, And the sentence by the word of the holy ones, In order that the living may know That the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, Gives it to whomever He will, And sets over it the lowest of men.’ And the crowns cast down by the 24 elders are not the only crowns to be worn by worthy Christians. There are also those crowns [diadema] presently worn by Satan’s rebellious angles who continue to rule, crowns that will be retrieved at their overthrow, and also Satan’s crown [diadema] is to be taken from him as the Lord crushes his head. The crown that Christ will wear in the Kingdom Age. 3). And then following the acknowledgment of the new order of rulers and the certainty of them wearing ‘diadema’ in the age to come seen in the events of Chapter 4, comes Chapter 5 – Re 5:1 And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. 2 Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it. 4 So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it. 5 But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.” 6 And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb 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 took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. Revelation Chapter 5 begins with the search for someone who is worthy to ‘open the scroll and to loose its seals’, which is held in the right hand ‘of Him who sat on the throne’. And as we see from v3 no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it. And as with those who appear at Christ’s Judgment Seat, it is proven worthiness that will determine the outcome of the search. And out of all those connected to this one province in God’s universal Kingdom, whether human of angel, only One is found to be worthy to take the scroll and loose its seals. a). And in v5 this One is described as ‘the lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David’, leaving us in no doubt as to who this One is. b). Then in v6 when John looks at the same scene, he sees, not the lion but, ‘a lamb as though it had been slain’. And the juxtaposition of the lion and the lamb draws our attention to another significant truth. There will be fierce judgment that will follow the loosening of the seals on the scroll, pictured through the lion, but the primary purpose for this fierce judgment is redemption, seen through the lamb as though it had been slain. c). And we might remember that Christ had shown His worthiness to replace Satan as the earth’s ruler through their face to face encounter recorded in Matthew – Mt 3:16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” 4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil………. 8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ” 11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him. Jesus has paid redemption’s price through His death and shed blood on the cross, the price necessary to redeem fallen Man and the price necessary to redeem the forfeited earth. d). And it is in this capacity that He takes the scroll from the right hand of God the Father. e). And all of this poses some interesting questions for us - Why does the Lord have to take the scroll from His Father? Why can the events recorded in Revelation Chapters 4-19 only take place following the Judgment Seat? And what about the nation of Israel? f). After all, we might call to mind 2 parables from the Matthew 13 parables that deal with this subject – Mt 13:44 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, 46 who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. These parables deal with both the Church and Israel in connection with the redemption of the inheritance. Israel is dealt with in v44 and the Church in v45-46. g). The treasure hidden in the field pictures Israel ‘hidden’ by the Lord in the earth, scattered among the Gentile nations. And for joy over this treasure, His chosen people, He ‘sells all that he has and buys that field’. And through the purchase of the field He acquires the treasure hidden in it – Ps 135:4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel for His special treasure. The ‘one pearl of great price’ pictures the faithful Christians who will comprise the Bride of Christ, those revealed at the Judgment Seat in Revelation Chapters 2-3. And we see from the parable that ‘a merchant’ ‘went and sold all that he had and bought it’. h). Selling ‘all that he had’ in both parables deals with exactly the same thing. It deals with the price paid to redeem the forfeited inheritance. i). The redemption of the inheritance purchases ‘the treasure’, cleansed and restored Israel and the ‘one pearl of great price’, Christ’s Bride who will then be his Wife and Consort Queen. j). And to understand how all this fits together there are 2 Books in Scripture to which we would turn, the Book of Ruth and the Book of Esther. Not forgetting of course all the related Scripture that would go with them, particularly the Book of Daniel. k). Both the Books of Esther and Ruth deal with historical events that are separated by some 700 years. The events of Ruth take place during the time of the Judges and the events in Esther take us to Israel in captivity. l). But both these Books because of their type/antitype structure have their focus on the future rather than the past or the present. And both Books deal with exactly the same period of future time. The same period of future time depicted in Revelation Chapters 1-19, the same events seen in the parables of the treasure and the one pearl of great price. m). Ruth presents this from the perspective of the faithful Christian and Esther from the perspective of restored Israel. n). In Esther there is no mention of the Church, but in Ruth Israel is ever present, which is only as it can be because without Israel we have nothing – Ro 11:16 For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. 17 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, 18 do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. Ru 1:16 But Ruth said: “Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God. 17 Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me.” Ru 3:5 And she said to her, “All that you say to me I will do.” But we will need to return to this next time though – if the Lord is willing. The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible - Part Nineteen - B May 10, 2020 Speaker: John Herbert Series: The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible Category: Sunday Morning https://s3.amazonaws.com/cornerstonejax/sermonfiles/T014_20200510.mp3 Download Audio x
Refresh A Recap from the Sermon Heb 4:9 There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. We will continue today to look at the redemption of the inheritance. The full text of this message can be found by clicking the PDF button. Sunday May 10th 2020 The Word of God A Survey of the Bible – Lesson 19B This My Inheritance 1). Ge 3:6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings………. 17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; As a result of Satan’s deception in the Garden, God’s creation was ruined. The Man and the Woman created to rule in Satan’s place were ruined and all of their progeny were subsequently born in a ruined state – Ge 5:3 And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. Eph 2:1b….who were dead in trespasses and sins…… And the realm over which the Man and the Woman were to rule, the newly restored earth, was also ruined. a). And because of the ruinous result of sin, Mankind and the realm over which he is to rule, would have to be redeemed, so that God’s purpose for creating Man would be fulfilled. b). And as we have seen, redemption began for Man immediately following Adam’s ‘fall’ – Ge 3:21 Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them. Even though Adam and Eve’s sin had been dealt with through the death and shed blood of the slain animals, they were not restored to their former position, but instead were expelled from the Garden and separated from the tree of life and rulership. c). They were then placed in an environment where continuous work would be necessary and bread for life would have to be extracted from the cursed ground that would also produce thorns and thistles. d). But in the midst of this there is one thing that we will note well and that is that God’s purpose for Man did not and has not changed, and remains the subject of our focus even today – Heb 2:5 For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. 6 But one testified in a certain place, saying: “What is man that You are mindful of him, Or the son of man that You take care of him? 7 You have made him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, And set him over the works of Your hands. 8 You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him. Heb 4:9 There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. And so, if God’s purpose did not change, and will be accomplished, why didn’t He just replace Satan with Adam and the Woman following their redemption? e). The answer is very simple, but also multi-faceted. In its simplest form, they were not fully redeemed as yet, and we will remember that God had set in place an unchangeable pattern for the complete redemption of a ruined creation and it is impossible for God to violate His Word. Therefore, there must be the completion of 6 days of sovereign redemptive work on God’s part before the ruined earth and ruined Man can be fully restored and the 7th Day can begin. And as we will remember from 2 Peter Chapter 3, these days will comprise of 1000 years each. And so, 6000 years must pass before God’s redemptive work with respect to Man and the earth is completed. f). We will also remember that rulership can only be exercised by a Man and a Woman in a marriage relationship and that the first Man and his wife had been rejected from exercising rulership because of sin. And beyond Adam and Eve God is now dealing with an ever-increasing number of people, not just 2 individuals. Marriage remains central and the Bridegroom is preparing, but His wife is not yet revealed. g). And we will also remember that in order to be able to rule Adam and the Woman had been created in the image and likeness of God, and as we have seen, all those born from Adam onwards have been born in the likeness of Adam – born with a sin nature and born naked, being very visibly apart from the covering of glory that Adam and the Woman originally possessed. And so, complete redemption, spirit, soul and body, must be accomplished before the image and likeness of God can be regained. h). Also let’s not forget, that for an incumbent ruler to be replaced, his replacement must be proven to be worthy to do so – the Woman, as a result of Satan’s deception, and the Man, through heeding the voice of his wife, showed themselves disobedient to God’s command and were therefore proven to be unworthy to take Satan’s place. And this will inevitably lead us to realize that those who will eventually replace Satan must, through their faithful obedience to the command of God, have proven themselves worthy to do so. And this proof is inextricably connected to works of faithful obedience, patient endurance and overcoming the world, the flesh and the Devil during the course of the Christian life – 1 Pe 1:6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls. And in the midst of this, let’s not neglect to observe the obvious. The first 32 verses of Genesis form the foundation and provide for us a typological picture of how God’s purpose will be fulfilled - a picture that takes us beyond the storyline of the restoration of the ruined material creation and the first Man and his wife to life changing spiritual truth. In these verses we find the framework upon which the remainder of Scripture is built. All of which must be studied together, here a little and there a little, so that we may see the complete revelation of the outworking of God’s purpose and how we fit into it. i). And here is a significant truth for us – God has ‘created’ us and saved us to participate with Him in His purpose, not so that He can participate in ours. j). There is only one purpose for the existence of the Church, and it is the same as the purpose for our eternal salvation and the same as the purpose for the creation of Man in the beginning, and to view matters in any other way is to create our own ‘golden calf’. k). But for those with eyes to see and ears to hear, who will submit themselves to God so as to be taught and trained and changed by Him through receiving the implanted Word, theirs will be a place of honor and glory when God’s purpose is fulfilled. And these are the same ones who will be overcomers, who will be identified as the Bride of Christ at the Judgment Seat – those who will comprise the Woman to be presented back to the Man without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, being holy and without blemish, so that together, as a complete being, they will rule from the heavens over the earth in the age to come. 2). And it is because these same individuals are revealed at Christ’s Judgment Seat in Revelation Chapters 2-3 that the events of Revelation Chapter 4 can then take place – Re 4:1 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.” 2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. 3 And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald…….. 9 Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: 11 “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.” This Chapter begins by presenting the same scene that we find in Revelation Chapter 1, the resurrection/rapture of the church to Christ’s Judgment Seat. The resurrection/rapture is presented in Chapter 4 through ‘the first voice’ which was ‘like a trumpet’ that said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this’. But although the Chapter begins with the resurrection/rapture, this Chapter is not dealing with the events of the Judgment Seat that follow, rather we see One sat on a throne ‘set in heaven’. And around the throne ‘was a rainbow’. a). And the presence of the rainbow in this setting is to take us back to the first appearance of a rainbow in Scripture – Ge 9:13 I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. The appearance of the rainbow in Genesis Chapter 9 came following the completion of God’s judgment upon the earth through the flood of Noah’s day. Its presence indicated that judgment had passed, and that God would not again destroy the earth with a flood of water, the rainbow being a sign of the covenant God had made with respect to this. b). The appearance of the rainbow ‘around the throne’, the Judgment Seat, in Revelation Chapter 4 again points to judgment having been completed. On this occasion the judgment of all Christians. c). So that which is now to be dealt with is what will follow the completed judgment of all Christians. And as a result of the judgment of all Christians, as we have seen, those found worthy to rule as Christ’s consort queen in the place of Satan’s angels will have been identified. d). And with this new order of rulers now present, crowns are cast before the throne by the 24 elders. e). To make sense of this, let’s remember that a third of the angels created to rule with Satan rebelled – Re 12:3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. 4 His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. This means that that 2/3rds didn’t rebel. They remained loyal to God and remained unfallen. They were still crowned rulers, but no longer in a ruling capacity. And it is these angels who did not rebel with Satan who are the elders seen in Revelation Chapter 4, with 24 being a representative number, not an actual number of them. And the type of crowns they are wearing is made clear through the Greek word used here, ‘stephanos’, which denotes a crown worn by someone who is able to rule but is not currently doing so. For those who are actually ruling the Greek word ‘diadema’ is used for crown instead. Power Point – Slides 1-7 These unfallen angels then, cast down their crowns before the throne as those who will wear those crowns in the age to come are now present and have been proven worthy to do so. The crowns are cast before the throne as it is God alone who appoints rulers – Da 4:17 ‘This decision is by the decree of the watchers, And the sentence by the word of the holy ones, In order that the living may know That the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, Gives it to whomever He will, And sets over it the lowest of men.’ And the crowns cast down by the 24 elders are not the only crowns to be worn by worthy Christians. There are also those crowns [diadema] presently worn by Satan’s rebellious angles who continue to rule, crowns that will be retrieved at their overthrow, and also Satan’s crown [diadema] is to be taken from him as the Lord crushes his head. The crown that Christ will wear in the Kingdom Age. 3). And then following the acknowledgment of the new order of rulers and the certainty of them wearing ‘diadema’ in the age to come seen in the events of Chapter 4, comes Chapter 5 – Re 5:1 And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. 2 Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it. 4 So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it. 5 But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.” 6 And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb 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 took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. Revelation Chapter 5 begins with the search for someone who is worthy to ‘open the scroll and to loose its seals’, which is held in the right hand ‘of Him who sat on the throne’. And as we see from v3 no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it. And as with those who appear at Christ’s Judgment Seat, it is proven worthiness that will determine the outcome of the search. And out of all those connected to this one province in God’s universal Kingdom, whether human of angel, only One is found to be worthy to take the scroll and loose its seals. a). And in v5 this One is described as ‘the lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David’, leaving us in no doubt as to who this One is. b). Then in v6 when John looks at the same scene, he sees, not the lion but, ‘a lamb as though it had been slain’. And the juxtaposition of the lion and the lamb draws our attention to another significant truth. There will be fierce judgment that will follow the loosening of the seals on the scroll, pictured through the lion, but the primary purpose for this fierce judgment is redemption, seen through the lamb as though it had been slain. c). And we might remember that Christ had shown His worthiness to replace Satan as the earth’s ruler through their face to face encounter recorded in Matthew – Mt 3:16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” 4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil………. 8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ” 11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him. Jesus has paid redemption’s price through His death and shed blood on the cross, the price necessary to redeem fallen Man and the price necessary to redeem the forfeited earth. d). And it is in this capacity that He takes the scroll from the right hand of God the Father. e). And all of this poses some interesting questions for us - Why does the Lord have to take the scroll from His Father? Why can the events recorded in Revelation Chapters 4-19 only take place following the Judgment Seat? And what about the nation of Israel? f). After all, we might call to mind 2 parables from the Matthew 13 parables that deal with this subject – Mt 13:44 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, 46 who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. These parables deal with both the Church and Israel in connection with the redemption of the inheritance. Israel is dealt with in v44 and the Church in v45-46. g). The treasure hidden in the field pictures Israel ‘hidden’ by the Lord in the earth, scattered among the Gentile nations. And for joy over this treasure, His chosen people, He ‘sells all that he has and buys that field’. And through the purchase of the field He acquires the treasure hidden in it – Ps 135:4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel for His special treasure. The ‘one pearl of great price’ pictures the faithful Christians who will comprise the Bride of Christ, those revealed at the Judgment Seat in Revelation Chapters 2-3. And we see from the parable that ‘a merchant’ ‘went and sold all that he had and bought it’. h). Selling ‘all that he had’ in both parables deals with exactly the same thing. It deals with the price paid to redeem the forfeited inheritance. i). The redemption of the inheritance purchases ‘the treasure’, cleansed and restored Israel and the ‘one pearl of great price’, Christ’s Bride who will then be his Wife and Consort Queen. j). And to understand how all this fits together there are 2 Books in Scripture to which we would turn, the Book of Ruth and the Book of Esther. Not forgetting of course all the related Scripture that would go with them, particularly the Book of Daniel. k). Both the Books of Esther and Ruth deal with historical events that are separated by some 700 years. The events of Ruth take place during the time of the Judges and the events in Esther take us to Israel in captivity. l). But both these Books because of their type/antitype structure have their focus on the future rather than the past or the present. And both Books deal with exactly the same period of future time. The same period of future time depicted in Revelation Chapters 1-19, the same events seen in the parables of the treasure and the one pearl of great price. m). Ruth presents this from the perspective of the faithful Christian and Esther from the perspective of restored Israel. n). In Esther there is no mention of the Church, but in Ruth Israel is ever present, which is only as it can be because without Israel we have nothing – Ro 11:16 For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. 17 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, 18 do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. Ru 1:16 But Ruth said: “Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God. 17 Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me.” Ru 3:5 And she said to her, “All that you say to me I will do.” But we will need to return to this next time though – if the Lord is willing.