Well, if you've been with us over recent weeks, we've been looking through these opening chapters and revelation and at one level we come to a climax here in chapter four and chapter five if we had time for having Had an end of term report on the states of the seven churches John now lifts our eyes heavenwards To see not only what is going on in heaven now at this point in time But also how it will be for all of eternity future As a teenager I can remember sitting right here and watching Dave Allen Not quite sure that he's still in existence or telling the jokes that he did and He used to regularly make Gives Many of which in force were quite justified at the state of the established church But I remember one of his jokes in which he said that now if you read the Bible you know that God is It's against everything basically isn't he? He's against sex he's against you having too much fun and He's against you having her too many friends all too much of a wild time So presumably Dave Allen went on to say there'll be none of those things in heaven So I don't want to be there anyway. I'm going to help and making sure that I carry on the route that will get me there well His mockery of the promise of heaven Actually, I think care shows that some some elements of truth in our view of God and our eternity together For heaven actually is the place where we will spend the whole time honoring and worshiping God and giving him the praise that is due to him And there is a sense in which heaven will be the place that you want if you want to be there But you won't want to be there if you've not spent any of this life honoring and glorifying God for indeed What we do Sunday by Sunday and and all the rest of our life is is practice for that day Spend outside wanting to glorify God and so on at him and so praise him and if that's the thought that is not just to you They heaven similarly will not be something that is attractive or drawing you Now as I said this portion of revelation is written just after the end of the letter to the seven churches and particularly remember last week We were thinking about that Luke Horn church and layers of seer but actually had shut Jesus out of the church and John tells us the encouraging news that actually there is a door open in heaven To which we are invited to walk through he may be shut out the church But heaven as a place is open because of what Jesus has done Revelation just means unveiling drawing back the curtains and John gets a peep at heaven So what exactly did John see if he looked into heaven this chapter is not that easy indeed and as we go into the rest of the book of Revelation There are many pictures which are difficult to understand What kind of picture is it that John is painting? Well clearly it's not a portrait It's not a detailed analysis of what's going on in heaven at this time But nor perhaps fortunately is it like much more than last which at least makes no sense to me I went to the tape modern for the first time a couple of weeks ago and I love the building and the spider But the rest of it made very little sense to be at all The bits I like most with this small amount of money that was on display in one of the rooms at the time But I guess that says a lot more about my appreciation of art than it does about the state of taking modern Because in actual fact this this picture of heaven is more like an impressionist painting It captures a bit of the mood of what's going on in heaven rather than giving a detailed analysis John is told by this voice Speaking like a trumpet come up here and I will show you what must take place after this Some of these pictured it rather like this John is summoned to the control room at two-prem head quarters a room lined with maps in which someone has placed the cluster of little flags It's wartime And the flags may mean one of two things either that changes have taken place on the battlefield With which the map must now be shown to agree or Rather than an order has been issued for troop movements and the flags have been moved to new positions and The units are there now expected to occupy those positions The strange and complex pictures of John's vision are like the flags in this parallel the pictorial counter-part of Earthly realities and These symbols to may either be directed in other words telling us what is to happen or descriptive telling us what has happened already In other words The picture that we get in heaven is a combination of what is going on now in heaven These are the worshiping Jesus and what won't yet take place in the consummation the fullness at the end of time So look with me then please will you it says some of the things that are on John's canvas The first is a wonderful invitation this invitation of the door standing open Jesus in the next chapter has a 5.6 and 7 is described as a lamb who was slain and That he is the one who now sits on the throne This lamb is the same lamb that John the Baptist pointed to when he saw Jesus backside in by the River Jordan The holds the Lamb of God which takes away in the sin of the world It was picture language that pointed back to the blood that the Passover lamb But his God came to judge the people of Egypt He instructed every Israel households to kill a lamb and to smear the blood on the door posts and when God saw that a Substitute lamb had been killed in that household God passed over judgment of every household in which he saw the blood And similarly the picture now of heaven's open door is that the blood of Jesus is now actually freed us from Judgment and made us welcome in God's sight Back in the Hebrews we read these words of the illustration of what went on in the Old Testament Sacrifice now kind of full filmman in Jesus who as the great high priest made a one Perfect sacrifice so that we can be welcomed in heaven And so this impressionistic picture is an invitation to have a peak through heaven's door of the reality Which is going on now and to enjoy the privileged access to the hiking of heaven that is now Secondly, this is also an awe-inspiring vision To get verse two at once I was in the spirit and there before he was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it There is a throne. There is a place of command authority the ultimate judgment and The one who is sitting on it is that lamb who was slain the hiking of heaven Jesus himself Jesus does rule John C's he will come as perfect judge and he is in control of time and ascendancy In verse three and the one who sat there had an appearance of Jasper and Carmelion a rainbow resembling an emerald encircling the throne In a bit more about what that means and those notes will get on the way out But notice really that it's it's just an approximation It's an impressionist picture. They had the appearance of Jasper and Carmelion and a rainbow The second commandment is not broken. There's no image of God that is given here when they've given an approximation in words We're not allowed to paint this picture It is spoken and told for us so that the living God is not in touch it in our imagery itself Then verse four we see 24 elders around the throne probably symbolizing the 12 tribes of Israel plus the 12 apostles the foundation of the old covenant the foundation of the new and Indeed all of those who've experienced God's truth now call to worship him and Indeed a place of awe and power There's lightning verse five and rumblings peels the thunder and Before the throne seven lamps of lasings a place of awesome power But it's also the place where the church is So seven lamps that we've been looking at in the last seven weeks. That's where they are The church is before the living Lord
What what then is the appropriate response to this vision? Well clearly We're told here that the response that was made and he's been made by those around the throne now is Is of due homage and recognition being given to the one on the throne? At the in the center the second half of S6 around the throne were four living creatures and they were covered with eyes in front and in back The first living creature was like a lion the second was like an ox the third like the face of a man And the fourth was like a flying eagle Each of the four living creatures has six wings and was covered with eyes all around Even under his wings All gods creation on a hymn not only the two lots of 12 the 24 elders, but also all the creation of the world The lion the ox the man the eagle The lion maybe the noblest of creatures the ox may be the strongest man may be the wisest or the eagle the swiftest Not exactly sure some things that the lion could have be the greatest the animal kingdom the ox the greatest the domestic Kingdom the eagles the greatest the birds and man is the greatest of the earth's creation But actually it doesn't really matter who these four groups of people symbolize and animal symbolize rather what is significant is what they do They cover their eyes and speak of God's holiness indeed verse eight has echoes of that wonderful vision in Isaiah 6 Where they're also we heard the words from the creatures holy Holy holy is the Lord God almighty who was and is and is to come they come and they are their eyes because the sun was too brilliant to gaze That's just like the sun is too much for human eyes Holy holy holy they say The Bible doesn't emphasize important things by putting them in bold type or highlighting them which things are important the Bible is say the more than once God is three times holy He is a holy worthy God separate from us and calling us to acknowledge that fact and We see here in this chapter and all of us created all acknowledge that fact The God is worthy of you homage and recognition and this worship going on heaven indeed is a declaration of his worth Verse nine whenever the living creatures who give glory honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and Do Liz forever and ever the 24 elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever they lay their crowns before him Worship is a declaration of his worth Here in verse nine which all they give him glory honor and power in chapter 5 verse 12 They sing worthy as the Lamb to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory will praise and Then the next verse in chapter 5 be praise honor glory power forever and ever Doesn't say no words each time that each time recognizing that the this God is worthy of our praise of our best friends of our best Response to him first ten they fall down before him They lay down their crowns their right to rule their life nice and they bow down They say worthy Worthy is the one He sits on the the throne. He alone Is worthy of all that we are and all that we have And I want you to notice that there are two main themes to the song of worship the declaration of God's worth In verse 11 of chapter 4 they sing of the worth of the creator God You are worthy our Lord and God's received glory and honor and power for you created all things And by your will they were created and have their being this One is it's on the phone is the one who brought everything into being he started it all off He just winded up and let it slowly tick down. He continues to allow the holy creator order to have their being now sustaining this world But there's a second theme to this song of praise and it's in chapter 5 and verse 9 and 12 And that theme there is because you were slain and with your blood you purchased men for God and Verse 12 they honor the lamb who is slain and Who bought salvation So in other words the second theme of this song is not only the creator goodness of God and Jesus making this well But also his wonderful act of redemption The lamb who indeed was slain for sins of the world Who bought us back and slavery to sin in order that we may indeed come into God's holy presence And the call to worship is a call to united agreements that this is rightly improperly do you got alone? The God is the maker of all things and God is the only one who can save us From our sin and its consequences to bring us to eternity with him
Well, we get a wonderful wonderful glimpse of what heaven is like and Church is but a poor approximation of that But we should at least have some hints in our corporate worship together of what's going on in heaven And I want to just draw out from that three points that I think is significant and the first is to say that theology which is the knowledge of God Should lead to doxology Which is the praise of God the glorifying of God in other words the point of knowing God knowing about him is to acknowledge him We're not here just to fill our minds with truth to study the Bible as if we were trying to gain a degree The point of reading the Bible is to bring us to our knees to bring us to praise to bring us to acknowledge his worth and to acknowledge him in all things The second thing that these two chapters tell me is that history is coming to a climactic end Did you notice in chapter 4 verse 8 the latter half of that song? Where we are told that he who was and is and is to come Now I pointed out when we're looking at chapter 1 that the word was a bit different in chapter 1 verse He talks about he who is who was and who is to come now maybe splitting The sentence up on necessarily here, but surely there is significance in the fact that the one who was The certainty past the one who is is the one who will be to come forever In other words This passage points me to two fixed points in time The fixed points at the beginning of time creation And the fixed point at the end of time which is judgment That this one who made this world is the one who sits on the throne to judge all things There is none other who will be able to judge humankind fairly and accurately In chapter 5 verse 2 the question goes up in heaven who is worthy to open this sprawl this legal document That has a record of outstanding before God No one on earth is found worthy to make judgments about Our hearts about our motives about what really is truly right and wrong ultimately How this will be envied that judge who had to make that awful decision to separate the Siamese twins And remember he spoke in the television about how hard it was So where all the evidence and have to make a decision that ultimately he didn't know whether it was really right Or for the best how hard many of our human judgments and decisions are But here in heaven were introduced to one who holds the scroll in his hand and he will open it He will judge our secret thoughts now hearts now Moses purely and rightly free knows is funny And can do so justly and fairly Now it seems to be that the war revelation is telling us is if we deny the beginning of time Created by God We will naturally deny His perfect judgment at the end But but but also the present will make very little sense as well For if you have no God at the beginning of time and no God at the end of time Where would you need a Jesus to come into time To redeem us from judgment to come Into time came the lamb the lamb who is slain Who is despised for his meatless and and unrecognized by the people But the one who will come back as judge It is the lamb who is now on the throne chapter 5 verse 6 The one who will judge all people And the hands of the judge opening the scrolls are those same hands which renails the cross throughout salvation Jesus Must be our central focus Jesus is a lion like lamb and a lamb like lion He comes with all authority and power But he came in meatness in order that when we meet the judge We may depend upon what he did as our lamb in time past The story is as we have said his story history is his story and Jesus as at the center And finally Let me encourage you as I believe revelation 4 and 5 does Which is to make heaven your focus And your goal I will infer an itest on Friday And the reason I went for itest is because I found that my eyes are becoming increasingly blurred And so I went to see the audition and he encouraged me to realize that between the age of about 30 and 55 Which I am your vision tends to say fairly stable And the reason why my eyes are getting so blurred is nothing to do with alcohol But more with like many of you spending too much time on a computer And the prescription for my glasses has stayed the same But because I'm spending too long a looking at computer screen they go blurred And so he encouraged me as I'm sure he's encouraged many about you To regularly take breaks To refocus your eyes on something other than the flickering screen before you come back again And And I was reflecting upon that as I was preparing this passage because that's great advice for a Christian, isn't it? heaven must be our vision But the difficulty is that you and I spend so much of our time with our focus upon this world what's right before our eyes And our vision of heaven becomes spoiled or blurred By looking at the transity things of this life And John is encouraging us here to take regular breaks from focusing upon this world only To gaze upon heaven and to restore your correct focus on time and eternity And let's you be fearful that this focus upon heaven indeed is just pie in the sky and Taking our mind of what's upon off work. It needs to be done here Here um hit these words from CS Lewis He said if you read history or find that the Christians who did most for the present worlds We're just those who thought most of the next The apostles themselves who set foot the conversion of the Roman Empire The great men who built up the middle ages The English evangelicals who abolished the slave trade and left them while on earth Precisely because their minds were on heaven did most on this earth And the argues that since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other worlds That they become so ineffective in this my questions to you this morning is are you homesick for heaven? Is your heart long to be there really? It seems to me that this is the prime test of whether you belong to Jesus Christ or not Do you long to be with him? Are you anxious to be in heaven?
I'm sure that's the only thing that keeps us here active on this earth Every true believer I'm sure we'll be able to say with the apostle Paul For me to live is Christ and to die is gain He longs to be with Jesus But he goes on to say well If I'm going to go on living in the body this will be fruitful labor for me What what my shoes I do not know I'm talking between the two I desire to depart and be with Christ Which is better by far, but it's more necessary for you that I remain in the body True believers will feel this tension Lord Jesus take me to be with you. I can't wait to get to heaven But yet there's fruitful labor on earth Well, I remain here So can I please encourage you to take regular breaks from focusing upon this world And to have your vision restored as you focus on these anticipatory chapters of glory that is ahead of us Let's pray together dear Lord Jesus. Thank you for what we learn about you In this passage the lion like lamb and the lamb like lion
But thank you tea for the picture it gives us a ceaseless worship and praise going on before you were prone
We pray that we would With them bow down before you acknowledging your worth and we pray Lord that our vision May be regularly refocused and refreshed by this picture And that likely a possible poor labor on earth may be fruitful All the more because we anticipate the reality of the planets of heaven For your namesake