Looking for a Lion, Finding a Lamb

Can we again open our Bibles if you have one? Revelation chapter 5. Let's read verse 5 and verse 6.

Revelation 5 · chapter mention

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I don't know how familiar you are with the book of Revelation, but there's probably two main myths about the book of Revelation.

One is it's about the future. Many people who speculate about these things say that the book of Revelation talks about things that will happen in the future.

And they read all sorts of amazing things into the book.

And especially in these days of power politics in the Middle East, there are many folks who say, well, it's obvious, it's all there in the book of Revelation.

Well, the book of Revelation, frankly, may allude to the future, but it is very much a book which talks about today.

So that's mythology number one, that it's a book entirely about the future.

Mythology number two is that it's a difficult book.

Now, there's a certain degree of truth in that.

The book of Revelation is perhaps not the easiest book in the Bible, but it's not as difficult as we think.

Remember, the Bible is a people's book.

The Bible is written for every single one of us.

It's not for experts to stand up in a podium and to explain it and unpack it to people as if there was some priestly caste who is understanding,

and the ordinary people can't really get it.

The Bible is a book for every single person.

And there, of course, there's symbolism in the Bible.

We'll see symbolism in the verses we're going to read.

But at the end of the day, it's not as difficult as it appears.

And so if you were to have an image here about Revelation chapter 5, indeed the whole of Revelation,

Revelation 5 · chapter mention

you would ask the question, what is behind the locked door?

Or what is behind the curtain?

Because the word Revelation means an unveiling.

So what we have is you imagine something and it's mysterious.

And someone says, look, you go into that room, but don't look behind the curtain,

because there are mysteries behind the curtain.

And so look at the Revelation as the unveiling, the opening of the curtain to see what is behind it.

Now remember also that whenever we read the Bible, and again we see this tonight when we look at Esther,

there is really one story in the Bible, and that's the story of Jesus.

And the story of how Jesus came to save, and that runs from Genesis right on to Revelation.

How he came on a great rescue mission.

And so the hero of the Bible, the hero of the day, the hero of the hour is always the Lord Jesus.

And of course he is featured very much in this chapter.

He is seen there in two figures.

He is seen there as a lion.

We see that, of course, in verse 5.

And he's seen also as the lamb.

There was a 13th century Italian philosopher known as Bonaventure.

And someone, a student, said to Bonaventure,

why don't people love God more?

And his reply was, they don't love him because they don't know him.

It's interesting, isn't it?

They don't love him because they don't know him.

That's true very much here in the Western Isles.

The church-going population of the Western Isles is, I think, the highest in the United Kingdom

at something like 10%, but 90% of folk don't appear to know him or don't appear to even care.

And I think a lot of the problem is that folk just don't know him.

They don't know about him.

They don't know what he is like.

And sometimes we've not really helped.

And so what I want to do here is look at this passage.

And the key word in the passage is, if you wanted one key word in the passage,

it is the word worthy.

Dominates it.

You see it there in verse 2.

You see it in verse 9.

You see it in verse 12.

It's the theme of the song of the angels in verse 9.

And worthy are you to take the scroll and open its seals.

Worthy.

And again, we'll unpack that in a wee while, God willing.

But this morning, as we look at the passage, I just want us to notice, strangely enough, three things.

The first thing we notice there is the scroll.

And that kind of dominates the chapter, isn't it?

The scroll.

What do we notice about the scroll?

Well, verse 1 and verse 3, we notice that the scroll is sealed.

And so you're always wondering, what's inside a sealed scroll?

Well, we've got to ask ourselves, what exactly is this scroll?

Verse 1 says it's got writing on it.

There's writing on it on both sides.

The idea there is it's packed with information.

It's packed with writing.

And there's lots of ideas, lots of theories about what actually is written on the scroll.

Some folks say it's prophecies are written on the scroll.

There's another interesting view.

It's the last will and testimony.

Some folks say it's the last will and testimony of Jesus.

That's what's written on the scroll.

And so the picture is it's like the reading of a will.

What has Jesus left for the church?

And it's in the scroll.

And people are really keen to open the scroll.

So it could be prophecies.

One view is it's the last will and testimony of Jesus.

And another view, and I think this is probably the most accurate, is everything's in the scroll.

The history of the world is in the scroll.

The future is in the scroll.

The purposes and plan of God are in the scroll.

Wouldn't you like to know the purposes and plan of God?

Well, sometimes it's a blessing not to know the purposes and plan of God.

Have that picture in your mind that that's what the scroll is.

It is the purposes and plan of God for everything.

It's not the first time we see the scroll.

You see the scroll in Exodus chapter 2.

Exodus 2 · chapter mention

The same book.

Sorry, Ezekiel.

Ezekiel chapter 2 verse 10.

Ezekiel 2:10

Exact same book.

It says,

And both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe.

It's seen in Psalm 139.

Within the volume of the book, it written as of me.

All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to pass.

And of course, in an ancient tradition, a book was often sealed after the contents were witnessed by seven people.

And so it's the future of humanity here.

And it is jaw-dropping.

Because when the book is opened, chapter 8 verse 1,

it says that there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

But there's a problem, isn't there?

You've got this book.

You've got this scroll.

And it's got everything in it.

It's like a safe.

But nobody knows the combination.

And you see here, there, the problem with scroll.

In verse 2, I ask the question,

Who is worthy to open the scroll and to break its seals?

You've got the picture there, haven't you?

The scroll.

I see two concepts there, don't you?

The first concept I see is the concept of frustration.

Who is able to open the scroll?

It's like you know something is there.

Now, in the idiom of the day, there's something bigger going on here.

Because not only did the person who opened the scroll see its contents,

but actually, in the context here,

the person who opened the scroll didn't just read it,

but they enacted it.

They made it happen.

So, this stuff in the scroll wasn't going to happen.

Good things, bad things, all these things,

the future of humanity,

the history of the world,

everything wasn't able to get going

unless someone opened the scroll.

The promise of the new heavens and the new earth.

Although the book of Revelation is not all about the future,

where it is somewhat about the future.

That this world is not all there is to be.

That there is a new creation.

That there is a new day coming.

That there is an end to all the tears.

That there is an end to all the pain.

That there is an end to all the frustration.

That this valley of tears is not determinist.

But that there will be a glorious new creation.

But there is nobody able to enact it.

Because nobody can open the scrolls.

And the book was in the hand of a man on a throne.

And he is encircled by a rainbow.

Isn't he?

And the rainbow there,

don't you just love rainbows?

I don't know about you,

but my heart sings

when I see a rainbow.

Because it speaks to me about promise.

It speaks to me about God and the throne.

It speaks to me about a God who said,

I am with you.

I will never leave you.

I'm the promise keeper.

And from the throne,

yes, it's surrounded by a rainbow

and there's flashes of thunder.

That's what God is.

God is a God of awe,

of majesty,

of wonder.

But there's a frustration here,

isn't there?

That's the first concept,

it's frustration.

The second concept is

what I've called worthiness.

They weren't looking for a powerful person.

Don't we today have world leaders

who talk about power?

They boast about power.

My aircraft carrier is bigger than yours.

My army is bigger than your army.

I am the emperor.

What I say goes.

Power.

And it's seen there in the world stage.

It's seen also in your office.

It's seen also in your home.

Power.

And everybody is looking for power.

But it's not a powerful person

who opens a scroll.

This is how world politics,

this is how domestic politics

gets it all wrong.

Power is useless

in the kingdom of God.

Power is also useless

in the way the universe works.

We're not looking for a man or woman of power.

Revelation chapter 5

Revelation 5 · chapter mention

is looking for someone of worthiness.

Who is worthy?

Not a person who's powerful,

but a person who is good.

Godly.

Humble.

Not a person who sees himself as Jesus

or even a universal doctor.

But someone who sees himself as nothing.

the power of goodness.

So the question goes out again.

Who is worthy?

You look in the world situation

through history and through time,

who's worthy?

Is there a worthy politician?

You see great humanitarians.

You know,

we've seen them in the past.

Nelson Mandela,

Mother Teresa,

great humanitarians,

wonderful people.

The world leaders.

Who's good?

Is there one good figure

for maybe the

five of you

who like Lord of the Rings?

Who is able

to destroy the ring?

That that ring,

that malevolent thing

that brings misery

into the world

is not a symbol of sin.

It's not a symbol of transgression.

That misery thing

that brings

rottenness

into the core

of everything in the world.

Who is able

to destroy the ring?

Nobody.

Verse 3,

he's in despair.

No one in heaven

or in earth

or under the earth

was able

to open the scroll

or to look into it.

Verse 4,

and I began

to weep loudly.

That brings out

the original,

snorting,

wailing like an animal

and inconsolable grief.

And if you have

a sensitive

conscience,

that's how you'll feel

just now

whenever you watch

the news.

There are folk

near to me

who just can't

watch the news anymore.

It literally

triggers

an emotion

of grief.

Where can we go?

We're just lost.

We need

a Messiah.

Don't we?

These islands

need a Messiah.

Our nation

needs a Messiah.

There are elections

coming up

and folk are saying,

yeah,

we are the people

who will sort this

and sort that

and sort the others.

Can't even get off

a ferry

in five minutes.

The world's

in a mess.

We need

a Messiah.

And so what

do we see

in the passage?

We see a scroll,

don't we?

And we're asking

this question,

we need

a Messiah.

Messiah.

Enter

the Lamb.

Point one,

the scroll.

Point two,

the Lamb.

There's something

dramatic happens here.

Look at verse five.

I love the language

of verse five.

It's very

military,

isn't it?

Weep no more

and behold

the lion

of the tribe

of Judah.

The root

of David

has conquered

so that he

can open

the scrolls.

And there's

this image

of a lion,

an image

of power,

the king

of the jungle,

invincibility.

You've seen

a lion's jaws,

how it can

just consume

a wildebeest.

A lion

is at the top

of the eating

hierarchy.

Lions eat

people,

so there's

this image

of power.

And Jesus

is that lion,

isn't he?

He is the one

who is of the

tribe of Judah.

He is the one

of the root

of David.

People talk

about Jesus,

gentle Jesus,

meek and mild.

Yes,

he is.

But he's also

lying.

He's also

all-consuming.

He's also

powerful.

Folks say

they don't know

about Jesus.

Do they know

about the Jesus

who is not

some sort of

leftover

hippie

from the 60s?

Someone who

just floats

about being

nice to

everyone?

No.

But there's

more to

Jesus than

the lion

is of

Jesus.

The lion

is a

lamb.

Looking for

a lion,

finding a

lamb.

That could

be the

metaphor for

where we

are in

Stornoway

today.

That could

be a

metaphor of

where we

are in

Scotland,

in the

United

Kingdom.

We're

looking for

a lion.

But he

sent a

lamb.

What do we

notice about

a lamb?

Well, one or

two things.

We notice

weakness,

don't we?

This reveals

the values

of the

Kingdom.

Strength

is through

weakness.

Strength

is through

weakness.

If you

watch the

major world

powers,

it's almost

a comedy

show,

isn't it?

Let's

take

Vladimir

Putin.

You ever

seen his

table?

You need

binoculars to

see the

guy at the

other end.

It's the

biggest table

I've ever

seen in

the world.

So you've

got little

Vlad at

one end of

this huge

table.

It's the

optics of

power,

isn't it?

the optics of

power,

the optics of

power,

and then

of course

we have

the

president

with

Air

Force

One.

Invincible

world

power.

I live in

Edinburgh

when the

royals are

in town.

You always

know the

royals are

in town.

There's a

cavalcade,

the cars

are there,

the motorcycle

outriders,

the cars

with the

flashing blue

lights.

It's the

royals,

there's

power,

there is

power here.

But here

is the

power of

the Lamb.

Folk talk

about soft

diplomacy,

don't they?

Soft power.

We are

Christians,

we are

people,

men and

women of

the kingdom.

And this

is where

our power

comes from.

And the

power of

the kingdom

is inverse.

isn't it?

It's the

power of

gentleness,

it's the

power of

opposites,

that the

way up

is the

way down,

that those

who have

less have

more,

that those

who have

nothing have

everything.

It's the

mathematics of

the kingdom.

And the

paradox is

things are

not as

they seem.

Things are

not as

they seem.

Here we

are in

this

building.

It's a

simple

building,

traditional

Presbyterian

church,

plain

building.

And yet

there's more

power in

here this

morning,

isn't there,

than

Downing

Street,

Holyrood,

the Kremlin

and the

White House

combined.

Isn't

there?

power.

But it's

a quiet

power.

And that's

the way

God most

often works.

Again,

we'll see a

little bit of

that tonight

in Esther.

God doesn't

just work

with the

dramatic

signs and

wonders.

He works

powerfully.

Have you

ever heard

the moon

operating in

the tide?

Have you?

No,

it's

silent.

And yet

the seas

rise

and the

seas

fall.

That's

power.

The

lamb is

gentle,

the lamb

is silent,

the lamb

is meek.

We see

weakness,

but also

we see

sacrifice,

verse 6.

This is a

weird lamb.

Verse 6,

I saw a

lamb standing

as though

it had

been slain.

You know,

the metaphors

are bizarre.

Not only

is the

Messiah,

not only

is the

one who

is able

to open

the scrolls

a weak

lamb,

he's a

dead

lamb.

It looks

as if

he's been

slain.

Now,

again,

the gospel

and grammar

as they

say,

I saw

a lamb

standing

as though

it had

been

slain.

There's

an ambiguity

there.

Is it

dead?

Is it

alive?

Well,

it looks

as though

it had

been

slain,

but,

you know,

it's

alive.

who

does that

remind you

of?

That

reminds you

of Jesus

and

resurrection.

He looks

as if

he's been

slain,

but he

is

alive.

And this

is us

right into

the heart

of our

faith.

The

kernel of

the

kernel,

the very

epicenter

of the

Christian

faith.

What is

the

center of

the

gospel?

What is

the center

of the

church?

It's not

all the

stuff.

It's not

all the

accoutrements.

It's not

all the

outward

stuff in

the church.

And that's

what I

would love

to do,

and that's

what I

try and

do from

day to

day.

Get folk

to the

kernel of

the

gospel,

and the

kernel of

the

gospel is

dear

dying

lamb,

thy

precious

blood

shall

never

lose

its

power

till

all

the

ransomed

church

of God

be saved

and sin

no more.

This

is

a

foolish

message.

You say

to it,

what is

the answer

to the

world's

ills?

A

dying

lamb

who was

sacrificed

for our

sin.

Look at

how all

the faith

traditions

view God.

I was

in India

recently,

and it

was dominated

by the

Hindu faith,

and there

are shops

that sell

idols,

and they're

all there,

and they

all look

very

idly.

The

gods

of human

invention

are either

too

bizarre

and remote

and up

there and

unattainable,

or they're

too human.

this is

not an

avatar,

this is

a flesh

and blood

god,

this is

a god.

We've

seen the

scroll,

we've

seen a

lamb.

Thirdly,

what are the

implications?

The question

we may ask

is,

so what?

Who

cares?

here we

are,

a few

folk

gathered

here in

this

building,

Kenneth

Street.

You go

home and

someone says,

oh,

what was he

on about

today?

Well,

he spoke

about a

lamb.

What else

did he

speak about?

Spoke about

gentleness,

spoke about

sacrifice,

a lamb who

died for

our sins.

So what?

I think

this passage

speaks,

and this is

the application

for today,

there's several

levels of

application.

The first,

the passage

to me speaks

in terms of

reversals.

Number one,

there's a

reversal of

power.

Look at

verse six.

Here we

move into

symbolism.

The lamb

looking as if

it had been

slain with

seven horns

and seven

eyes.

Well,

you know,

symbolism 101

tells you that

seven is the

number of

perfection.

Every school

girl knows

that.

Seven is the

word of

perfection.

So when you've

got seven

horns,

horn is a

symbol of

power.

Again,

that's not a

complex image.

The eyes,

wisdom.

Zechariah speaks

of the seven

eyes of the

Lord which

range throughout

the earth.

Stop right

there.

Stop right

there.

The lamb

has seven

horns.

He's all

powerful.

And he's

got seven

eyes.

He sees

everything.

Again,

the present

tense is

used of

the power

and not

the visibility

of the

lamb but

the vision

of the

lamb that

he can see

absolutely

everything.

think for

a moment

of the

people to

whom the

book of

revelation

was written.

It wasn't

written to a

group of

comfortable

Christians

in an

island,

seated in

nice padded

pews in a

warm building

like us.

the book of

revelation was

written by

two people

who perhaps

the very next

day they would

have been fed

to the

lions.

It was

written to the

persecuted

church.

It was

written to

people who

feared the

Roman Empire.

The Roman Empire

was tyrannical.

It was going to

massacre people.

That's who it

was written to.

Not folk in a

tidy situation

like us but

folk who in

fear of their

lives.

Suffering

persecution for

their faith.

And so much

of this was

behind closed

doors.

See that again?

Closed doors,

veil.

And they

wondered,

did anyone

ever notice?

Did you ever

think that?

Does anybody

ever notice?

I heard in the

news two days

ago,

Nigeria.

The persecution

of Christians

in Nigeria

is going

through the

roof and

only recently

has it begun

to be spoken

about.

I read

this morning,

that's an

incredible

statistic,

365 million

Christians,

one in

seven Christians

in the world,

one in seven,

365 million

are being

persecuted for

their faith.

who cares?

Who knows?

Who knows?

He sees.

In verse

seven,

he took the

scroll from

a hand.

Didn't he?

Verse seven

says that.

He went and

took the scroll

from the right

hand of him

who was seated

on the throne.

the will of the

father and

son are one.

Do you feel

you're alone?

Churches can

feel

isolating

places at

times,

don't they?

you've got

the inner

people,

you've got

the circle,

the in

crowd,

but you're

not one of

the in

crowd.

You're just

sitting there

in the pew.

Does

anybody know

I'm here?

Does

anybody care?

care?

He cares.

There's a

Zulu

greeting.

Not used

it often

myself,

but there's

a Zulu

greeting

and it's

sawabona.

Sawabona.

It means,

if there are

any Zulu

speakers here,

they'll correct

my pronunciation,

it simply

means,

I see

you.

I see

you.

quiet,

marginal

person

suffering

without anybody

knowing your

story.

The lamb

in the midst

of the throne

sees you.

So there's

a reversal

of status

here.

Look at

what the

passage says.

These saints

have been

despised for

many years,

not many

noble,

not many

wise,

but he

sees you.

verse 8.

Isn't

that intriguing?

They fell

down before

the lamb,

each one

holding a

harp and

a golden

bow full

of the

incense.

Again,

we know

what the

incense is,

which are

the prayers

of the

saints.

the

prayers of

the

saints.

And the

prayers are

answered.

The

worthiness is

the scene.

And notice

what the

worthiness

is.

The

worthiness

arose from

his death,

slain with

that blood.

Verse 2,

there was

silence in

heaven.

Verse 9,

there's this

chorus of

wonder of

praise.

There's a

reversal of

status.

But then

thirdly and

finally,

there's a

reversal of

exclusivism.

Look at

verse 9.

Whether you

are to

take the

scroll and

to open

its seals,

for you

were slain

and by

your blood

you ransomed

people for

God from

every tribe

and language

and people

and nation.

the true

internationalism

of the

church.

One of my

big things,

I pray for

our own

denomination,

is it

will become

bigger,

it will

become

poorer,

and it

will become

darker.

Bigger,

poorer,

darker.

What does

that mean?

Bigger means

that we

want to

see our

churches

grow and

expand.

We want

to see

people come

to faith,

not just

splitting

churches

and forming

new churches,

not just

doing that

constantly,

it gets a

bit weary,

but people

who are

non-believers

seeing the

beauty of

Jesus,

seeing the

beauty of

Jesus and

running to

him and

filling up

the churches

that we

have,

planting new

churches,

bigger,

also poorer,

that we

have folk

from every

socio-economic

unit,

that we've

got folk

from housing

schemes,

that we've

got folk

from all

over as

well,

darker for

ethnic

diversity.

And that's

the promise.

You ransom

people from

every tribe

and language

and people

and nation,

whoever you

are in

this island.

And one

of the

great things

about the

highlands

and islands,

whether not

everyone sees

it as great,

but I

certainly see

it as great,

is the

diversity

of our

religions,

people who

come from

every single

area.

And the

wonderful thing

is that

they're welcome

in the

church of

God.

Someone once

said to me,

what's your

name?

I said,

David Meredith.

And the

reply was,

Meredith,

what sort

of a name

is that?

I'm sorry

I wasn't a

McLeod or

a Nicholson

or a

McKenzie

or a

Smith

or a

Bacani.

Every tribe

and language

and people

and nations

folk with

the weirdest

names and

folk from

every complexity

purchased.

We look for

the internationalism

of the church.

So what do

we have

here?

Let's

come into

land.

We've got

the world

in a mess.

And how

can I put

it simply?

We've got

a Messiah.

A Messiah

who can

change the

world and

change your

heart and

change your

life.

What do

we have

here?

Some folks

say it's

too good

to be

true.

It is

true.

Folks,

it's

true.

The

gospel's

true.

Jesus is

the lamb.

Jesus is

the one

who says

trust in

me,

lean in

me.

Jesus is

the one

who says

yes,

I have

died,

but I've

died for

you so

that you

would not

die.

And I'm

going to

bring a

new creation.

I'm

going to

make this

world

new.

There's

going to

be a

freedom

from all

sin,

freedom

from all

illness,

freedom

from all

division,

freedom

from

everything.

The four

living

creatures,

what did

they do?

verse 14.

They said

Amen.

And the

elders fell

and worshipped

him.

We're

Lewis folk.

We don't

say Amen

out loud.

We say

in here.

Sing it

out or

keep it

in.

It doesn't

matter.

Our

response

this morning

should be

Amen.

And we

fall down

and

worship

him.

Father,

we thank

you for

your word,

for its

power,

and the

power of

God

unto

salvation.

Help us

today to

rejoice in

the Lamb

and to

see him

as King

of Kings

and Lord

of Lords.

Amen.

we sing

in Psalm

34 from

the

Scottish

Psalter,

page 247.

Scottish

Psalter is

Psalm

34

from

verse

8.

The tune

is

Denfield.

O taste

and see

that God

is good,

who trusts

in him

is blessed.

Fear God

has

saints,

none that

in fear

shall be

with want

oppressed.

Singing

to verse

15,

to God's

praise,

O taste

and see

that God

is good.

Standing

need

to sing.

Amen.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And now may the grace of Lord Jesus, the love of God the Father, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be upon us all now and forever. Amen.

Thank you.

Thank you.