Christians already know howthe story will end

October 22, 2001

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November 25 Lesson

Christians already know how the story will end
___Revelation 5
___¹Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. ²And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, "Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?" ³But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. ⁴I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. ⁵Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals."
___⁶Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. ⁷He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. ⁸And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. ⁹And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. ¹⁰You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth."
___¹¹Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. ¹²In a loud voice they sang: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!"
___¹³Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!" ¹⁴The four living creatures said, "Amen," and the elders fell down and worshipped.

___By Wesley Shotwell
___I like mystery books. Sherlock Holmes stories are good ones, written by that master of the mystery, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. And, of course, Agatha Christie always comes to mind when you think of mystery books.
___One of the practical problems of reading a mystery, however, is that once you start reading, it's hard to stop. You have to keep reading until the mystery is solved. You keep going until Hercule Poirot has all the suspects in a room together and unravels the mystery, solves the crime and points out the perpetrator. Without the revelation of the secret to the mystery, there is a sense of unease. You can't stop until you know how the story turns out.
___The mystery
___Well, the fifth chapter of Revelation introduces us to a mystery book in heaven. Actually, the book is in the form of a scroll with the unusual feature of writing on both sides, a mysterious thing indeed for ancient people in John's day.
___Scrolls were handwritten and rare since there were no photocopy machines back then, and most people could not read. In order to know what was written in a scroll, someone had to be found who could read it aloud.
___But there was even more mystery attached to this scroll. It was being held by the powerful hand of God. This was the God who created the heavens and the earth, the God who knew the past and the future, the God who held the powers of nations and kings in the palm of his hand. This was the God who held the secrets to the mysteries of life and the world.
___And to be frank, there were some mysteries in the world that folks in the churches needed to understand, and they could not be at ease until they knew how the story would turn out. The Roman authorities had told them that they had to bow down and worship the emperor. If they didn't bow down to worship the Roman emperor, they were beaten, or they lost their jobs, or were thrown into prison, and sometimes they were even killed.
___That was rather mysterious to folks who had given their lives to Jesus believing that God would take care of them. They had refused to worship another god, and what thanks did they get from the Lord? Misery!
___You know what the real mystery was? The early Christians were beginning to ask themselves, "Is it worth it to worship God? Is evil going to win over righteousness? If God is protecting us, then where is he?"
___They needed some answers to those questions. They were getting rather discouraged, and they needed some encouragement to keep going and remain faithful. To them, it seemed as if evil were winning the day, and it was a mysterious dilemma indeed. But John saw that God held the answers in his powerful right hand.
___It was a mysterious book, a book that could reveal the secret to the mysteries of life and the world. It was a book that could bring assurance about how the story would turn out.
___The search
___Now all they have to do is find someone who is qualified to open up the scroll and reveal its message. They need someone with moral authority to read the mystery of the destiny of life and the world. So they begin the search. They look up, they look down, they look all around. They look in and out and over. But they can't find anyone qualified to reveal the message of the mysterious scroll.
___And John says he weeps. He weeps, not just because of unanswered curiosity, but because the scroll from God is the only thing that has the possibility to reveal whether or not it is really worth it to be a Christian. It is the scroll that can give meaning and purpose in life.
___And if no one can read the scroll, how can suffering Christians keep going in the face of the evil surrounding them? They have to have hope. Without hope, there is no reason to live. Without hope, they may as well give up and give in to the demands of the emperor. John weeps because no one can be found who is worthy of reading the scroll. He weeps because there is no one to give hope.
___The hope
___Then the lion is announced. "Stop crying," someone says. "The Lion of Judah is here, victorious and voracious, and the Lion can open up the scroll and read the mystery." Now there is some hope. The Lion comes to save the day.
___You might anticipate a lion to save the day. Lions, after all, are mighty and strong; the king of the beasts. Lions are symbols of authority and power. There is even a professional football team named the Lions.
___"Stop crying," someone says. The Lion of Judah has shown up. He can open the scroll.
___But what does John see when he turns to look? He doesn't see a lion; he sees a little lamb! A lamb that has been slaughtered even, wounded with fatal blows, his throat slit in sacrifice. There's quite a contrast between a lion and a lamb.
___When you need a strong, courageous lion, you don't get too excited when a murdered sheep shows up. There is a reason why no football teams are named the Lambs.
___But there is something different about this sacrificed lamb. He is alive! This innocent little lamb that was laid on the altar of sacrifice, this lamb whose blood was spilt is alive.
___So stop crying, someone says. The triumphant Lion, the risen Lamb gives us hope. There is One who is worthy to reveal the answer to the mystery.
___Of course, it's not hard for us to see that we are talking about Jesus. Who else but Jesus could be described simultaneously as a conquering lion and a sacrificed lamb?
___I suppose there is no place where Jesus demonstrates his nature more than at the cross. It was at the cross where, like a lion, he triumphed over evil. It was at the cross where, like a lamb, he was sacrificed for the sins of the world. And, of course, at the resurrection the slaughtered lamb rose from the grave dealing a deathblow to the enemy of death.
___Someone once wrote: "What death did to Jesus is nothing compared to what Jesus did to death." Indeed. The lion/lamb killed death. If death is dead, there is hope. Anyone who can kill off death is worthy of revealing God's mystery. And the only one worthy is Jesus.
___The hero
___If Jesus is worthy of revealing God to us, then he is certainly worthy of our worship. Not only is he worthy of worship, his power over death compels us to worship him.
___So it's no wonder that these folks in heaven break out in song. But it's not just the folks in heaven who break out in worship of Jesus, the lion/ lamb. This worship service in heaven radiates outward into a crescendo of praise so that John writes in verse 13: "Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: 'To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, forever and ever!'"
___We gather in worship week after week. And when we gather, we break out in song, joining the everlasting song that is sung in the heavens. We sing because Jesus, the lion/ lamb is worthy, because he gives us hope. He is worthy of our worship, but even more than that, his victory over death compels us to worship him.
___The solution
___Worship reminds us the mystery has been solved. We worship because we know Jesus Christ has revealed God to us, and in that revelation we can be assured that in the end evil goes down in defeat. Worship reminds us of the past, for we are reminded of the cross and resurrection of Jesus. But even more than that, worship provides the believer hope for the future.
___The mystery has been solved. It's like reading the end of a mystery novel before you read the rest of the book. You don't know all of the things that are going to happen in the middle of the story, but you know how the story is going to end. Worship reminds us that in the end, God wins. We may not know all of the things that are going to happen in the middle of the story, but we know how the story ends.
___We live in a time of fear and unease. It is a time when people are worried about what the future holds. Some are even afraid that perhaps evil will win out.
___But we gather to worship Jesus because he gives us hope. We worship because we need to be reminded of the cross and resurrection of Christ. But we also worship because we know that the Lion of Judah has conquered evil, and we know that the Lamb of God has overcome death.
___Therefore, we will not fear. God is still on the throne. He holds the mysteries of the world in his hand. And Jesus Christ has revealed the end of the story to us. We may not know all of the conflicts and struggles that we will face here in the middle of the story. But in worship, we read the last page of the story. And the last page assures us that God wins in the end.
___Worthy is the Lamb.

For thought and discussion
___ Why did John weep when no one could be found to open the scroll?
___ Do you think it is important to know all of the details of the future, or just the end result?
___ If we say we have faith in God, why do we have such a fear regarding what tomorrow might hold? Is this a demonstration of a lack of faith, or simply the way human beings are designed?
___ The people of John's day needed answers to some questions. Are Christians in this era in the same predicament, or have the Bible and Christ already provided the answers needed?___
___ Why do you think Jesus is described with the metaphors of a lion and a lamb?
___ Why is it important for people to have hope? How does this lesson give you hope for the future? Does it provide you with a source of security that you had perhaps forgotten was available? How will it make today and tomorrow easier to face?

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