Heaven’s Readiness to Begin the End

Transcript

GR 2005
06/04/2017
Heaven’s Readiness to Begin the End
Revelation 5:8-9
Gil Rugh

I invite you to turn in your Bibles to the Book of Revelation, Revelation chapter 5. These are interesting days if you look at what is going on in the world and I’m reminded that we seem, in light of what the Scripture says, to be moving in very significant ways to the climax of human history as unfolded in Scripture. I have no guarantee of that but we do look around and see what is taking place in the world. As we study, what the Bible has to say it seems many things are coming together in light of what He says will take place in the closing days of earth’s history. That’s what the Book of Revelation is about; from chapter six on, the Book of Revelation will be talking about what will take place in God’s unfolding judgments on a world in rebellion against Him. That will culminate with what we know of, as Armageddon, with the second coming of Christ to earth to establish a kingdom and it’s a kingdom which will never end.

The Book of Revelation is a unique book. Of all the books in the bible and all the prophecies in the bible, it puts things together for us in an orderly, sequential way. The book itself is laid out very simply. We begin in chapter one with John having a vision of the resurrected glorified Christ and it is the work of this Christ who is our Savior that makes the redemption of all creation possible. Then we went to chapters two and three where Christ addressed seven individual local churches with messages that are pertinent and ultimately have significance for every local church down through church history.

The church began in Acts chapter two. It will end with the Rapture of the church, Christ calling the church to meet Him in the air and to be taken to His Father’s house. Then we’re caught up to chapter four and five. There we are given a vision of heaven through John’s record of the vision he had and there we’re reminded, chapter four, God is on the throne and that indicates He has absolute authority on all that is taking place throughout creation. He is the God to be honored, to be worshiped. It is His purposes that will be done. It is His purposes that will be unfolded in subsequent chapters beginning in chapter six and following. All the catastrophes, all the tragedies, all the suffering, part of His plan and it only will get worse as chapters six to 19 tells us.

In chapter five we’re still in heaven but the focus changes from God the Father on the throne to God the Son who became a man and by His death on the cross, provided redemption so that the culmination and end of all of this will not be tragedy but glory and redemption. Not for everyone but for all those who have come to experience God’s salvation so while chapter four focused more attention on the Father on the throne chapter five opened up beginning, “I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals.”

We noted this is the rest of the Book of Revelation. It unfolds the culmination of God’s plan for His creation culminating with the death and destruction and consignment in eternal hell of all unbelievers from all time. In contrast to believers who will enjoy a kingdom that Christ will establish which will be the focus of chapters 20, 21 and 22, so this seven-sealed book of great importance and the question was asked as we have studied. “Who is worthy to open the book and break its seals?” Verse two. “And no one in all of God’s creation, in heaven, on earth, under the earth was found worthy, could take this seven-sealed book and bring to ultimate completion and fruition God’s plan.”

John is overwhelmed! He weeps greatly. He understands something of the tragedy if this book cannot be unsealed--but there is One John is told in verse five. “Stop weeping; the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome to open the book and its seven seals.” Those are descriptions as we’ve noted drawn from the Old Testament, the Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, those are Messianic titles. Descriptions of the One who would come to be Israel’s Redeemer, Israel’s King but first He had to come and suffer and die so He has overcome so as to open the book and break its seals because what He has done in victory will enable God’s plan to ultimately be realized so He came, this One in verse six.

“He is standing between the throne (where the four living creatures) are around the throne.” Remember the throne, the sea of glass and then around and under you have these four living creatures, living beings, a category of angelic beings as we noted. You see a “Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are, the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.” We noted here when we studied this that you have God the Father on the throne, God the Son standing there before the throne and the Holy Spirit of God there present at the throne as well. You have the three Persons of the triune God having their presence manifested. It is the Lamb standing, as if slain and this is Christ. It’s the picture, we noted, awkward to try to draw. He’s seen as a Lamb and yet He is a man. He will come and reach out His hand and take the scroll from the hand of the Father on the throne and yet He is the one sacrificed, as slain, perhaps the wounds still in His body as they were after His resurrection remember.

Remember the man we call doubting Thomas and Christ told him, “look at My hands, the wound in My side, the marks of His death, His being slain. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” He is the only one qualified by the work that He had accomplished to bring to fruition God’s plan to bring redemption to a sin cursed creation so in verse seven where we pick up our study from where we left off last time.

This Lamb the Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David came and took the book, the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne and this is like it sends a tremor through heaven as all the inhabitants of heaven realize the significance of what is taking place. We are now ready for the final act. We are ready for God to bring to conclusion His purposes and plans for His creation. It is an awesome event. It is an event anticipated by the Old Testament prophets and now John sees it, as we’re ready to see the concluding events.

Come back to the Book of Daniel chapter seven and remember Daniel chapter seven covers basically the same time-period and overview that Daniel chapter two did. What we have is Daniel in chapter seven seeing an overview of coming world empires starting with Babylon, down to Rome and then the last phase of the Roman Empire at which time Christ will come back and crush all earthly empires. Daniel chapter two pictured it as a stone cut without hands crushing the image, which represented world empires.

Here its wild ravenous beasts each representing a different empire starting with Babylon and then to Greece. Verse seven of chapter seven. “I kept looking in the night visions, a fourth beast,” and at the end of verse seven “it had ten horns” and this will get brought to our attention. We’ll be looking at it in Revelation chapter 12, chapter 13, chapter 17 picking-up on some of these pieces. Verse eight. “While I was contemplating the horns, another horn, a little one, came up . . . three of the first were plucked up” and all of a sudden now, we move to what? The kingdom that will be established. “I kept looking until thrones were set up, the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was white like snow . . .” The description of Him and His throne and in verse 10, “thousands upon thousands were attending Him; myriads upon myriads were standing before Him.” We’ve been looking into the throne room scene in chapters four and five of Revelation. We’ve focused on the living beings those four angelic beings, the twenty-four elders representing the church but we’ll see as we move along in chapter five there are many, many others assembled there in heaven in the presence of God’s throne. Here you’re told thousands upon thousands, myriads upon myriads. The court sat, the books were opened and you see the destruction of these enemies of Christ in His reign.

Look at verse 13. “I kept looking in the night visions, behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, He came up to the Ancient of Days was presented before Him. To Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom that all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which will not pass away; His kingdom is one, which will not be destroyed.” This is the significance of what is happening in Revelation chapter five of Christ taking the scroll. As He opens this scroll, it will culminate with Him taking possession of a kingdom, which will never end. That’s why it is such a momentous event in heaven.

We’re seeing John now giving a vision of what Daniel glimpsed. It’s not yet happened. It will happen at a future time. We’ll say more about that. Daniel wants more information so he asks for that but come down to verse 27. Then the sovereignty, the dominion, the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven “will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, all the dominions will serve and obey Him.” So as we move through the Book of Revelation we’re going to see the unfolding in more detail of all the events that take place in this climatic period. We’ll say more about that as we go into chapter six and again remind ourselves of the time setting of where we are and how it unfolds.

Daniel didn’t understand all of this. Go to chapter 12 of Daniel verse eight. “As for me, I heard but could not understand; so I said, ‘My lord, what will be the outcome of these events?’” I mean Daniel’s gotten quite a bit of revelation here but it hasn’t all been put together in a way that he can clearly understand and note what it says, verse nine. “Go your way, Daniel, for these words are concealed and sealed . . .” In other words this is a revelation given to you Daniel but it’s not God’s intention at this time that you have full understanding but remember when we come to the Book of Revelation we looked at the end, these words are not to be sealed. God’s intention now as He puts it all together—His intention is that we understand it. Remember blessings are promised to those who read and heed and that implies you must understand it because you are to have your conduct shaped by it and live in light of it.

So we come back to Revelation chapter five and you see Christ coming and taking the scroll out of the right hand of the Father. A picture we saw in Daniel 7, Christ coming before the throne of the Father to receive from Him. Now Daniel just got a summary. We get more details because there are events in detail that Daniel has some information on but doesn’t understand that lead up to the culminating event of Christ’s coming, establishing His kingdom and ultimately doing away with all wickedness. So come back to Revelation 5. Let’s look at verse eight so Christ comes, takes the book out of the right hand of the Father on the throne. The Father never became a man, the Holy Spirit never became a man but the Father manifests His presence among His creation in a human form. We saw it described in Daniel 7. He has white hair; He’s sitting on a throne and so on.

Here He’s sitting on a throne He has a scroll in His right hand, Christ comes before Him, takes the scroll. That means in the order of things, the Father now is giving the Son authority to unfold the events that will climax on His return to earth to be its king. “When He had taken the book, the scroll, the four living creatures, the twenty-four elders fell down before the throne.” There is an immediate response here, just as when no one came forward initially in all creation to take the scroll because no one was worthy and John wept greatly, now when the Lamb of God comes forward and takes the scroll there is immediate response and that is of worship, falling down before the Lamb to worship Him.

Now you’ll note worship belongs only to God. We’re reminded the same worship given to the Father as we saw in chapter 4, look at verse 10 of chapter four, “and the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne and will worship Him who lives forever and ever. Now all these who are in heaven fall down before the Lamb and give Him the same worship they gave to the Father.” A reminder that Christ is fully God as well as fully man and there is order within the three Persons of the Godhead but they are all equally God but they are distinct in Persons. The Father now gives authority to the Son. Remember the great commission is Matthew chapter 28. Jesus said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” and now He is taking that authority for the final chapter, if you will, in God’s plan to bring about the redemption of His creation.

The four living creatures, the twenty-four elders fell down. Now we’ve reminded ourselves because we were in chapter 4, of worship, the attitude of worship. We just read chapter 4 verse 10 where in heaven in worship they fall down before God. Here now they fall down before the Lamb of God in their worship. Come over to chapter 5 verse 14. “And the four living creatures kept saying, ‘Amen’ the elders fell down and worshiped.”

Chapter 7 verse 11. “The angels standing around the throne and the elders, the four living creatures, they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God.” In chapter 11, verse 16. “The twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God.” Come over to chapter 19 verse four. “The twenty-four elders, the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne.”

Then John makes a mistake in verse 10 of chapter 19. The angel has been an instrument giving him such awesome revelation. Verse 10 says, John writes; “then I fell down at his feet, the angel’s feet to worship him. He said, ‘Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God.’” And you see the recognition; only God is worthy of worship and when heaven bows, the hosts of heaven, the people in heaven, angels in heaven bow down and worship the Lamb, they’re recognizing He is God also, just as the Father is. They with the Spirit comprise the One God. Three distinct Persons; One God.

Bow down and we’ve talked about this, I just remind us, we don’t have to fall down physically. There would be nothing wrong with that but what God is really looking for—remember Jesus told the woman at the well in Samaria. “You must worship God in spirit and in truth;” God seeks such people to worship Him. People think because they go to a worship service, because they go through certain religious activity, God is pleased because they worshiped. Did they really bow on the basis of the finished work of Jesus Christ and give honor to God, the Father, the Son, the redemption provided and the attitude we come--not to come a time here to get a self-help sermon. That doesn’t mean that we don’t receive benefit for, in what we would call practical ways for living our lives but it all focused in our attention on God.

If we don’t have that perspective, things are going to get confusing. People who don’t have that perspective get into chapter six and following say, “I can’t believe God would do that. I don’t think a loving God; a merciful God would treat people that way.” Over time, some who have stood for the truth have, in recent years, given up the doctrine of hell because they say I just can’t imagine that God would do that. We are not to imagine what God would do we are to read what He said He would do and believe it. I have to keep perspective; I come to bow before Him, to give Him honor, to be humbled before Him. Not just in a service like this.

You know we remind ourselves in our daily activity when things don’t go well, when you turn on the news and before you know it you’re engaged in talking to the television and frustrated with them and why don’t they do this and I have to sit back and say, “God you’re on the throne, you’re doing what’s right. Your purposes are being realized.” Even the rebellion of godless people is included in your plan for accomplishing your purposes. The difficulties that come into our lives—I have to say, “God, I bow in Your presence, I submit to Your will for me.” Humanly speaking it’s not what I would choose, it’s not what I want. I don’t want to suffer, I don’t want to lose a loved one, I don’t…… but Lord, I accept Your will. That attitude of humility, submission, it is required for worship. It’s not about me, it’s not about you. He must be the One that is the focus of our attention and to Him we bow.

Back in chapter five, the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb and remember the elders represent the Church, each one holding a harp. Can’t you just see me. I mean the harp, the lyre as sometimes referred to in the Old Testament Scriptures, the normal accompaniment, the instrument of heaven in many ways to the praise, to the adoration, to the singing, if you will, going on in heaven. They are holding this instrument so they can sing a new song when we get to verse nine with a musical accompaniment, the honoring of the Lord, the worship of Him. That’s why we have the singing part of the service and the instruments; we want to give honor to Him. We’re not saying we do it exactly like they do it in heaven but in our spirit this is all to direct us to Him. I appreciate the work that goes in and all the preparation of music to be careful with the songs that are sung and to have good theology. Appreciate the work with our kids that build it into them with the songs that we sometimes impress on our memory, great truths.

So here, the twenty-four elders along with the others, and I think it’s the elders here, who are holding the harps and the golden bowls of incense. The living creatures have been described. They don’t seem to have that but it wouldn’t be a problem. Later we’re going to see angelic beings included in some of this but here it seems particularly the elders with the harps and the golden bowls of incense. Now you remember in the Old Testament, we won’t take the time to go back but with the sacrifice, incense was added. There’s a practical reason. You know you’re slaughtering these animals, you think about the smells and so on. It wouldn’t be very pleasant but when you add the incense, it gives a pleasantness but the incense also would rise, and it pictures a fragrance going up to God and it was pleasing to Him, that kind of picture.

Come back to 2 Corinthians chapter two, a similar picture of our lives as acts of worship that are pleasing to God. Verse 14 of 2 Corinthians 2, “thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us,” note this, “the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.” We are a “fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to one an aroma of death-to-death, the other an aroma from life”—you see giving off that fragrance which is pleasing to Him

Come back to Psalms 141. He’s taking samples from time to time. Remember we have hundreds of allusions and references to the Old Testament in the Book of Revelation and we won’t attempt to look exhaustively at that but look at Psalm 141. And we start out, “O Lord, I call upon You; and here you have a prayer, “hasten to me! Give ear to my voice when I call to You!” Now note this, “may my prayer be counted as incense before You; the lifting up of my hands as the evening offering” and here my prayers are like a sacrifice. I come, not out of a selfish desire but I do have concerns, I have needs. I come to You. I call upon You. Hear me. Then he goes on to give his desires but you see his prayer is like the incense. It comes before God, it’s pleasing in connection with the sacrifice so now come back to Revelation.

It’s interesting, here we have “golden bowls,” at the end of verse eight, “full of incense,” which are the prayers of the saints. The prayers that have come into the very presence of God and what is being indicated here is, now these prayers will be answered. Many of our prayers have been answered in the past. Some were experiencing answers to prayer, even as we’re here today, we’ve prayed about things and we can stop and think how God has been working and answering and there are prayers that have yet to be answered but they will be. Some of these prayers will come out of the great tribulation and God’s people under such terrible suffering and persecution asking for God’s intervention.

Turn over to chapter six of Revelation. Just an example. Here are martyrs who have come out of the great tribulation. They have suffered, given their lives and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” How many have given their lives in service of Christ? People seem to get away with it here in the tribulation people will be causing believers to die horrible deaths and they seem to be doing all right. Lord, won’t you do something? Here we have God’s time to answer.

Come back to the Book of Luke, chapter 18. Jesus refers to what is coming here in a parable He tells about prayer. You know we talk about the sovereignty of God and His total control. You know we walk a balance. God is completely in control, I am completely responsible, and sometimes we fail to take advantage and fulfill our responsibility to pray. Well God’s sovereign, He’ll do what He will. Note this; chapter 18 of Luke opens up—“Now He was telling them a parable to show . . .” Now note, what’s He want to show . . . “that at all times they ought to pray and not lose heart.” They ought to pray and not lose heart. We don’t have time to go through the parable but the point of the parable was to demonstrate, verse seven, now, “will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay over them?” “I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”

So, what we have now are these prayers that have come up to God and that are being offered to God. I take it past, present and what will take place—now God is ready to answer those so it’s significant that these prayers are here. Prayers that maybe we thought that will never get answered. No, now God will intervene. Sometimes we think, “oh, if God would only do something those people are so mean, so wicked. They treated those Christians so unfairly. Lord why won’t you do something?” Christians today in different parts of the world dying horrible deaths for their faith in Christ. Will God care? Yes! It is time. It is time; here is the point why the prayers are before the Lord.

Come over to chapter eight of Revelation. Look at verse three and here you have angels involved in a similar kind of situation, we’ll get to the context as we move this far. “Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, so that he might add it to the prayers of the saints on the golden altar, which was before the throne.” This is amazing! Think about it. Our prayers go to the very throne of God. Remember Hebrews 4. We are encouraged and welcome on the basis of the finished work of Christ to come to the throne of God with our requests. For us it’s a throne of grace. Think about it. The God who rules all, who controls and is sovereign over every detail of everything tells little old me to come with all my desires, all my requests to cast my burdens on Him because He cares for me. You would think we would spend hours a day talking to God but sometimes we think well I’m so busy, get up and get going in the morning. Lord bless the day, I’ve got to get out of here and I’m on my way. Martin Luther said, “my day is so busy I couldn’t begin it without four hours of prayer.” You think about it, the busier we are the more I have to talk to God about and they come before His throne.

You say, well how does that work with His sovereignty if it’s all in His plan and He does His will? I don’t know. All I know is He says you don’t have because you don’t ask. I hate to be standing before God someday and God says, Gil I wanted to do so much more but you never asked. Well Lord I thought you’d do what you wanted to do. Didn’t I tell you I would do if you asked. Yeah, but I thought, you know. I didn’t tell you to think. Oh! I just told you to ask Me but I couldn’t work it out, I thought You’re plan included everything so my prayers would do nothing. Don’t think. The prayers, “the effectual fervent prayers of a righteous man accomplish much” James 5 says. Why didn’t you believe that part of My word? “Whatsoever you ask in My name you’ll receive.” You should believe that so I don’t have to resolve all the difficulties. God has to resolve His own problems if I can say that reverently.

I’m going to pray like my prayers make all the difference and I relax knowing His sovereignty will accomplish everything that needs to be done and I live with the tension but how terrible it will be to get to heaven and He says you should have prayed more for them. Well do you have loved ones you want to come to know the Lord? Pray every day for them. Well if God’s elected them they’ll get saved; if He hasn’, they won’t, so I’m coming to tell Him I want them to get saved and that’s the burden of my heart. That’s what I’m bringing to Him.

Here they are the prayers before the throne. Any of mine there? Well I was pretty-busy Lord worrying about things trying to work things out, trying to get my plans accomplished. Sometimes we need to stop! That doesn’t mean we just have to close ourselves in a room for eight hours. You know our day ought to be filled with prayer. Pray without ceasing. Isn’t that the beautiful thing? I don’t have to go to a certain place, go through a certain ritual, get to this point and then hope God might listen to me and especially if I could get somebody else; pray without ceasing. Whatever I’m doing I just, Lord, this is a tough place. Lord, I want you to work here, Lord; I’m not handling this well. I need to back up, remind myself of who You are, and ask, “Lord give me grace to handle this” and the prayers are before the throne. They will be answered and now is the time. God’s wrath will be poured out on the unbeliever. It will culminate in an eternal hell and God’s plans will be accomplished to bring glorious redemption for His people.

Come back to chapter five verse nine. “And they sang a new song, saying, ‘You are worthy to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.’” You are worthy. Remember verse 11 of chapter 4 in the worship given to the Father. “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; “. . . God the Father is worthy, God the Son is worthy. He’s the only One who could act on behalf of the triune God to bring about the conclusion of the plan that God established in consultation with Himself as Ephesians 1 says. “You are worthy.” Verse 2 asked the question, “Who is worthy . . . ?” No one else. All the glory, all the honor, all the credit . . . “You are worthy to take the book . . .” that’s the new song.

You have to come back to Isaiah, just this 1 passage and Isaiah 42. The chapter opens up, a great Messianic section. “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations.” Verse five, “thus says the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and its offspring, who gives breath to the people on it, the spirit to those who walk in it” . . . remember the worship to God offered in Revelation 4 as the Creator? Verse eight, “I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, nor My praise to graven images. Behold, the former things have come to pass, now I declare new things; before they spring forth I proclaim them to you. Sing to the LORD a new song”. . . it’s in the context of, proclaiming new things . . . “sing His praise from the end of the earth!”

So they’re proclaiming to the Lord a new song but now He’s going to tell of a finality and righteous judgment to an extent that we didn’t know before and a fullness of glory that’s only been touched upon. Now we get a complete picture, the new song and it’s time for it to be sung in the glories of heaven. I see how heaven anticipates what is to be unfolded when that first seal is opened and we hit chapter six and events now begin to unfold that will not stop until we get through the seventh seal which brings us through chapter 22 of Revelation.

Back in chapter five. “He, Christ is worthy to take the book and break its seals.” He is worthy of honor and glory and praise because of His Deity but what we need for redemption and the redemption of God’s creation, redemption of sinful humanity is a Savior. Remember we saw Him as the Lamb that had been slain in verse six so now we read in verse nine. “You’re worthy to take the book and break its seals, for You were slain, and with His death, He purchased for God with Your blood, men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.” Awesome statement! You see where the focus of heaven is. It’s on Jesus Christ and His finished work because there would be no redemption without that.

In the angelic realm, there is no redemption. The angels who sinned are destined for hell, period. Without the mercy, grace of God in providing a Savior in the person of His own Son, there would be no salvation. He’s the only One who could bring it about. You were slain, You purchased for God with Your blood. There was no other way for us to be redeemed. Christ had to die. This purchase, one of the great words of Scripture, agorazo. Some of you have taken some Greek. Agorazo. Sometimes, it has a preposition on the front eic agorazo but it means to pay the price, to set someone free. It could be used of a slave being purchased to be set free. Here God’s holiness, God’s righteousness is not a payment made to Satan as some have corruptly taught. It is what God’s holiness required.

Come back to Romans 3. After unfolding the seriousness of the sin of mankind, it encompasses everyone, Jew and Gentile alike. All are sinners all are under condemnation. Then you read in chapter three of Romans, verse 21. “Apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested,” verse 22, “even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe; there’s no distinction here for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” We are justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus whom God displayed as a propitiation, a satisfaction. Christ turned away God’s wrath from us by satisfying the requirements of God’s righteousness. In His blood through faith and this is all, verse 26 to “demonstrate His righteousness so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Christ Jesus.”

In order for God to function consist with His own righteousness, the word just and justify, the same basic word as the word righteous, the One who is righteousness and would declare righteous, justify. He couldn’t just declare us righteous. That would not be consistent with His own righteous character. There is a penalty entailed in sin. It is death including eternal death in an eternal hell. God chose not, for His own purposes, to provide a redeemer for angels who sinned but He is required and consistent with His own character to condemn the angels who sinned to an eternal hell as payment for their sin. But in mercy and grace, He determined to provide a Savior, One who would pay the penalty for human beings so that when a human being turned from their sin and placed their faith in Christ, God could justly declare them righteous on the basis of applying the penalty that Christ paid to their account. It’s paid in full so they could be set free from bondage to sin and the penalty of sin, which is death. Salvation is often viewed in Scripture as a price that had to be paid because, remember….. you’re in Romans. Romans chapter six verse 23 says “the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

In 1 Corinthians chapter six verse 20 Paul writes, “you are not your own, you were bought with a price.” Our body belongs to Him; our life belongs to Him. He paid the price to set us free from sin, from slavery and so on. He’s the Lord who bought us by paying what His own righteous, holy character required. He made the payment. Now it’s not credited to your account unless you place your faith in Him.

So come back to Revelation 5 as we wrap for our study at this time. You’ll note, “You were slain and purchased for God with Your blood,” in verse nine of Revelation 5, “men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.” That encompasses everyone. His payment was for everyone but as we just read in Romans, it is not applied to everyone. It is available to everyone. It is sufficient for everyone but not everyone is saved. Why? God says, here’s what I’ve done. You’re a sinner on your way to hell. You’re enslaved to the devil and your sin. Doomed! Your situation is so serious, in love, I had My Son, “for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son in order that” everybody would be saved. No! “In order that whosoever believes in Him might be saved.” Think about it.

People lost for eternity! They deserve to be. No one will go to hell and say I didn’t deserve this. Yes, you did. No one will go to heaven and say I deserved this. No, you didn’t, I didn’t. Well, why are you saved? Are you a better person than someone else is? No, because God in mercy and grace offered to me the same salvation He offered to someone else and all I can say in His mercy and grace, I responded in faith. In mercy and grace you responded in faith. Or in stubbornness you didn’t. We don’t need a different message for those in Syria, those in Saudi Arabia, those in India, those in fill in the blank. It’s the same gospel, the same Savior, so wherever we go we have one message to bring. The wages of sin is death.

We’ll see when we get to chapter 20 that includes an eternal hell. That’s an awful, awful thing. More awful than I can think. That a hell with suffering that has no end. I can understand why people say I choose not to believe in hell but you can’t make it go away; it’s real and just amazing. There is eternal salvation; Christ was slain to purchase with God by His death, paying the penalty, the price required, and the wages of sin is death, physical, spiritual eternal death. People from all over the world, wherever they are, that’s why we carry the gospel to people wherever they are. Right here on our doorstep or in other places in the world, there is only one Savior, there is one God, “one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”

We’re going to stop there. We ought to consider. Where are you? Won’t save you attending this church. Won’t save you being baptized in this church. Won’t save you having Christian parents who raised you in this church. Won’t save you having Christian children who brought you to this church. Won’t save you listening to these sermons. The only salvation for you is recognizing your sin and placing your faith in Jesus Christ. That’s so simple. That just seems too easy. Well in one sense it’s easy because God did all that could be done. It wasn’t easy for Christ to go to the cross. It wasn’t easy for Him to suffer and die in your place but now God offers you a free-gift. Believe in Christ. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.”

Let’s pray together: Thank You Lord for the riches of what You’ve provided for us in Christ. How awesome it is that You’ve given us this glimpse into the very glory of Your presence in heaven. How awesome it is that someday we will be privileged as believers in Christ to gather before the very throne that we are reading about, to bow in worship of You and be called to serve You throughout eternity. How wondrous and awesome is the salvation provided in Christ. Lord pray that any who are here might consider carefully where they are in their relationship to Christ. Pray that we who have trusted Christ might keep that at the forethought of our thoughts and minds and actions throughout every day of every week. How privileged we are to belong to You the living God who is sovereign over all. We pray in Christ’s name. Amen.