Throughout this study so far we have looked in depth at the two vital keys for interpreting Revelation. The first lesson was on using the Old Testament to define how we read the book. The 2nd lesson focused on the The Chiastic Structure. For this third lesson we are going to try and focus on combining them a bit more intentionally. As a quick reminder we aren't going deep into the signs and symbols yet because we are doing an overview of the full book before we continue.
In today and next week's sessions, we are going over the two C sections. This lesson will be on the introductions, and next week's will be on the seals vs the judgments.
Passages
C1 (4:1–8:1) [Second Septet] Seven Seals
Intro (4:1–5:14) Christ on His Throne
C2′ (16:18–19:10) [Sixth Septet] Seven Condemnations of Babylon
Intro (16:18–16:21) The Harlot is no match for Christ
What Is The Scroll?
Lets compare it to the Old Testament to see some clues about it contents.
Daniel's Vision
| Daniel 7 | Revelation 4–5 |
|---|---|
| Daniel watches a heavenly vision (7:9) | John looks into heaven through an open door (4:1) |
| Thrones are set in place (7:9) | A throne is set in heaven (4:2) |
| The Ancient of Days is seated (7:9) | One is sitting on the throne (4:2) |
| The Ancient of Days appears in dazzling glory (7:9) | The One on the throne appears in radiant glory (4:3) |
| A fiery throne and river of fire proceed from God (7:9–10) | Lightnings, thunders, and seven lamps of fire proceed from the throne (4:5) |
| A thousand thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand stand before Him (7:10) | Ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands surround the throne (5:11) |
| The heavenly court is seated (7:10) | A heavenly assembly surrounds God's throne (4:4, 5:11) |
| Books are opened (7:10) | A sealed scroll appears (5:1) |
| Daniel is troubled by what he sees (7:15) | John begins to weep (5:4) |
| Daniel seeks understanding from one who stands by (7:16) | An elder explains the vision to John (5:5) |
| The Son of Man approaches the throne (7:13) | The Lamb approaches the throne (5:6–7) |
| The Son of Man receives dominion and a kingdom (7:14) | The Lamb is declared worthy and takes the scroll (5:7–10) |
| The saints receive the kingdom (7:18, 22, 27) | The redeemed become kings and priests who reign (5:9–10) |
| An everlasting kingdom is established (7:14, 27) | The Lamb receives glory and honor forever and ever (5:13) |
Revelation Focus
- A sealed scroll in the right hand of the one on the throne
- The question of worthiness to open the scroll
- John’s sorrow when no one is found worthy
- The Lamb being declared worthy
- The Lamb taking the scroll amid heavenly worship
Daniel Focus
9 “I watched till thrones were put in place, And the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, And the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, Its wheels a burning fire; 10 A fiery stream issued And came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him; Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated, And the books were opened. 11 “I watched then because of the sound of the pompous words which the horn was speaking; I watched till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given to the burning flame. 12 As for the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time. 13 “I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him. 14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed. 15 “I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit within my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. 16 I came near to one of those who stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things: 17 ‘Those great beasts, which are four, are four kings which arise out of the earth. 18 But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.’ 19 “Then I wished to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its nails of bronze, which devoured, broke in pieces, and trampled the residue with its feet; 20 and the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, before which three fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth which spoke pompous words, whose appearance was greater than his fellows. 21 “I was watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them, 22 until the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom. 23 “Thus he said: ‘The fourth beast shall be A fourth kingdom on earth, Which shall be different from all other kingdoms, And shall devour the whole earth, Trample it and break it in pieces. 24 The ten horns are ten kings Who shall arise from this kingdom. And another shall rise after them; He shall be different from the first ones, And shall subdue three kings. 25 He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, Shall persecute the saints of the Most High, And shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand For a time and times and half a time. 26 ‘But the court shall be seated, And they shall take away his dominion, To consume and destroy it forever. 27 Then the kingdom and dominion, And the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, Shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And all dominions shall serve and obey Him.’ 28 “This is the end of the account. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly troubled me, and my countenance changed; but I kept the matter in my heart.”
Daniel 7 emphasizes:
- A Beast and a “horn” speaking and acting arrogantly
- Conflict between the Beast and the saints
- A judicial response against the Beast’s dominion
- The Beast being judged and removed
- Afterwards the Son of Man takes the Kingdom.
- The saints receiving the kingdom after judgment is rendered
Discussion Question: Using only the texts above, is this the same event? Why or why not?
John's vision is clearly modeled after Daniel's. Yet Revelation 4–5 contains details not found in Daniel 7, while Daniel 7 contains details not found in Revelation 4–5. So my focus today is not to line up all the details and figure out if it's the same event, rather I want us to think big picture. John clearly wants us to understand the shared setting and function of what is happening.
- The setting in Daniel 7 and Revelation 4 is likened to a --courtroom--, where we see thrones placed, a Judge, and an open door in heaven.
- The books and scrolls are brought into the fiery courtroom before thousands of witnesses. This suggests that the scroll is functioning as a --covenant-- document
- We can see that only the --Son of Man-- was worthy to unseal the scroll. He is publicly recognized as the rightful --king-- to the kingdom.
- Because the Messiah has the right to open the scroll in heaven, it guarantees the victory of His --saints-- and the --kingdom--.
- This victory stands as a full --fulfillment-- of all of God's --promises--.
Why Does John Weep?
John began to weep because no one was found --worthy-- to open the scroll.
Discussion Question: "Why does John weep for such terrible judgments?"
What Was In The Scroll?
John’s weeping only makes sense if we understand what the scroll represents in the framework of the Old Testament. If the scroll is connected to Christ receiving the kingdom, then we should ask: What exactly was promised to the Messiah throughout the Old Testament?
Abraham: The Promise of Worldwide Blessing (Covenant Begins)
I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
A covenant begins with Abraham that expands beyond one nation to --all nations-- being blessed through his --seed--.
“When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
24 “David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them. 25 Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children’s children, forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever.
The seed, now to be from the line of --David--, will build a --house-- and a --kingdom-- for God.
“I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession.
One day this seed will receive the --inheritance--
For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the Lord, They shall inherit the earth.
11 But the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
The meek await an --inheritance-- from the --LORD--
16 Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all 17 (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; 18 who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.”
We receive this inheritance by --faith--
All the ends of the world Shall remember and turn to the Lord, And all the families of the nations Shall worship before You. For the kingdom is the Lord’s, And He rules over the nations.
10 “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious.”
Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the Lord’s house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
The world awaits the coming reign of the promised --King--, the creation of the --The Mountain of The Lord.--
14 So the LORD God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”
The seed would one day defeat the --serpent--.
Discussion Question: So, why is John weeping when no one is found worthy?
--If no one is worthy to open the scroll, then none of these promises can reach their intended fulfillment. The promised kingdom cannot be established. The inheritance cannot be received. The serpent cannot be defeated. The nations cannot be blessed through Abraham's seed. The saints cannot reign with the Messiah.--
Therefore, John's tears are not over the judgments contained in the scroll.
Is He Worthy?
Discussion Question: If Jesus is the Son of God, why couldn't He just walk up to the throne and open the scroll at any time?
When Jesus --takes-- the scroll, the heavenly court sings a new song. They declare that Christ is worthy to open the scroll because He was --slain--, and by His blood He has --redeemed-- people from every tribe and tongue to make them --kings and priests-- to our God, and they will --reign-- on the earth.
15 And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. 16 For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. 17 For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives.
- Hebrews explains that a testament is only activated and takes legal effect by the --death-- of the testator (the one who wrote the will).
31 “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
- Jeremiah foresaw that The LORD will make a --new covenant--.
20 Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.
- Jesus made a new --covenant-- in His --blood--, that is --shed-- for you.
28 Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.
- God --purchased-- the church with His own blood.
13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;
- God has given Jesus and His saints this --inheritance--
9 And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, 10 And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.”
Cliff Hanger
18 and there were lightnings and thunders and noises. And there was a tremendous earthquake, a terribly severe earthquake such as had not occurred since mankind existed on the land. 19 So the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fury of His wrath. 20 And every island fled, and mountains were not found. 21 And huge hailstones, weighing about a talent, fell out of the sky on the people; and the people blasphemed God on account of the plague of the hail, because its plague was exceedingly severe.
If the scroll is tied to covenant inheritance and kingdom promises, why does it appear to be connected in Revelation to the downfall of Babylon?