Sermon Central
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The Seven Seals Series
Contributed by Pastor Duncan Shabane on May 28, 2020 (message contributor)
Summary: __” …a book written within and on the backside….” ---- this sounds like a contract, including deeds, marriage contracts, rental and lease agreements, and wills.
** Revelation 5 is the continuation of Revelation 4
** (Revelation 5:1)
__” …a book written within and on the backside….” ---- this sounds like a contract, including deeds, marriage contracts, rental and lease agreements, and wills.
__The inside of the scroll contained all the details of the contract, and the outside, or back, contained a summary of the document.
__ it almost certainly is a deed, the title deed of Christ Kingdom (part of that kingdom is the earth, where Christ will reign for a thousand years) (compare Jer. 32:7).
Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”
__Isaiah 9:6–7
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”
__...” sealed with seven seals” --- Romans sealed their wills 7 times on the edge at each roll, to prevent unauthorized entry.
__We are not told specifically anywhere what this book contains.
__This is one of the mysteries that will remain until we are in heaven with Him and ask Him face to face.
__ We know that the Right Hand of God is Jesus Christ, so whatever this book is, (actually the book is a scroll that is rolled up and sealed), Jesus is holding it.
__"Sealed with seven seals" just means that it is closed in completeness.
__ These seals could be opened one at a time or all at once.
__ They perhaps, if opened one at a time, could reveal a portion each time a seal is removed.
__Verses 2-4: Only one with the proper authority could “open the book”, by losing or removing its “seals” (Isaiah. 29:11).
__ “Who has the right to judge the World” That is, to reveal what is hidden in the scroll and to execute what is written. “No man,” literally, “No one”, could be found among mankind or angels who had the authority to remove the “seals” and real the scroll.
** (Revelation 5:2)
"And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the book, and to lose the seals thereof?"
__ “Strong angel”: The identity of this angel is uncertain, but it may refer to the angel Gabriel, whose name means “strength of God” (Daniel 8:16).
__I believe the reason a "strong angel" is mentioned here is to show that all the earthly and heavenly strength, aside from God's, cannot open this book or these seals.
__The "loud voice" is as if the angel is calling out to see who will come forth to open the book.
"And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon."
__ “In heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth”: A common biblical expression denoting the entire universe and not intended to teach 3 precise divisions.
__There are some things that man cannot do. This one statement here shows that Jesus was, and is, no mere man.
__ This says regardless of where he is located, man does not possess the power to open this book. There are some things, like judgment, that are reserved for Jesus to do.
__scroll is closed by seven seals that are opened one by one to indicate events that will occur before and during Christ’s second coming.
__the Rapture will occur after the seven seals have been opened.
“Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?’”
*First four seals are the four horsemen of the Apocalypse
__Because the first four of the seals of Revelation and their meaning for earth’s inhabitants are presented metaphorically as messengers riding different-colored horses, they are commonly referred to as the four horsemen of the Apocalypse.
__The word apocalypse comes from the Greek word apokálypsis, meaning “disclosure” or “revelation.” So the phrase “the four horsemen of the Apocalypse” means the four horsemen of the book of Revelation.
**First seal: a white horse
__As the first seal was opened, the apostle John wrote: “And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer” (Revelation 6:2).
