Revelation 5:6-14

Revelation 5:6-14

And in the middle of the throne and the four living beings and in the middle of the elders I saw a lamb as having been placed and slaughtered who has seven horns and seven eyes who are the seven spirits of God having been sent forth into all the earth.  And he came and took out it of the right hand of the one who was sitting upon the throne.  And when he took the book, the four living beings and the twenty-four elders – each having a lyre and a bowl of incense which are the prayers of the holy ones – fell in the presences of the lamb and they sing a new song while saying, “You are worthy to take the book and to open its seals because you were slaughtered and in your blood you bought for God out of all tribes and tongues and people and nations and you made them a kingdom and priests for our God and they will reign upon the earth.”  And I looked and I heard a voice of many angels encircling the throne and the living beings and the elders.  And the number of them was ten-thousands of ten-thousands and thousands of thousands while by a great voice saying, “Worthy is the lamb, the one who has been slaughtered, to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise.”  And I heard all creatures – the ones in heaven, upon the earth, underneath the earth, upon the sea, and all the things in them – saying, “To the one who sits upon the throne and to the lamb is praise and honor and glory and sovereignty into the eras of the eras.  And the four living beings were saying “Amen” and the elders fell and bowed to worship.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

When we look at the identity of Christ presented in this section, we get a clear perspective.  Jesus is the lamb who was slaughtered.  I always find it interesting that God and heaven can celebrate an event that the word celebrated for an opposite reason.  The world celebrated Jesus’ death because they thought that they got rid of Him.  They think that they won; therefore, they are celebrating.  However, God knows something that they don’t.  Jesus’ death was the sacrifice of God that would cover the sinfulness of those who repent.  God celebrates the event because in accepting loss, He is given the opportunity to distribute grace.  Jesus is worthy to take the scroll because He was willing to accept defeat knowing what God can do with the defeat.  There is a challenge there.  Are we willing to accept defeat, believing that God can and will redeem it?

When has God been able to redeem defeat in your life?  How do you react to the thought that God accepted defeat because it presented Him an opportunity to extent grace?

Second Thought:

Looking deeper into the identity of Jesus, we see that He has seven horns and seven eyes.  These are the seven spirits of God, sent into the world.  Horns are an ancient symbol of power.  Eyes are a symbol of omniscience.  The case that God is making about Himself is that He can see everything and is all-powerful. This message ties in really well to the first thought.  How is it that human beings and God can celebrate the same event for completely opposite reasons?  It can happen because human beings aren’t all powerful and we have a very narrow and limited sight.  God’s perspective is better than ours.

Where have you experienced the power of Jesus in your life?  Have you ever been in a position to see something differently than God and realize that His version is the better perspective?  How can you have that level of understanding in your life?

Third Thought:

The rest of the passage centers on the worship of the lamb.  Remember, Jesus is worthy because He was slain.  Jesus is worthy because He purchased us for God with His blood.  The worship in heaven is centered upon God and Jesus.  This is as it should be.  In our worship, it is very easy to become focused on what is in it for me, how I can change, or even how I can show off my talents.  While none of these things are inherently bad – in fact all of them can be quite good! – when this is our focus we are missing the point of worship.  Worship is about God and His greatness.

What is your worship?  How do you worship?  Where are you in jeopardy of focusing on yourself and what you get out of it instead of letting it be about Jesus?

Passage for Tomorrow: Revelation 6:1-4