#revelation5

[mcwright]

The Scroll and the Lamb

A Meditation on Revelation 5 There’s a scroll. It’s sealed.Seven seals deep.In other words…completely locked, untouchable, unknowable. This scroll holds the story.The meaning.The healing.The justice.The redemption.The unraveling of everything that’s wrongand the unveiling of what is right. And the question is:Who is worthy to open it? And the room gets still.All of heaven holds its…

The Scroll and the Lamb

[personalsaviourblr]

REVELATION 5 THE SCROLL AND THE LAMB

[iuicdetroit]

The #ScriptureoftheDay from #IsraelUnitedInChrist! #Revelation5:5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. #DailyWord #IUIC #BibleVisuals #TheWordOfGod https://www.instagram.com/p/B9t6QkIp8Zc/?igshid=139m28uz9i40a

[iuicmemphis]

The #ScriptureoftheDay from #IsraelUnitedInChrist! #Revelation5:5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. #DailyWord #IUIC #BibleVisuals #TheWordOfGod https://www.instagram.com/p/B9t5h55JROf/?igshid=7jxsnnn4li4b

[accesstogod]

Revelation 5:1-14 (King James Version)

Published on http://www.accesstogod.com/index.php/2017/09/30/revelation-51-14-king-james-version/ #KingJames, #KingJamesVersion, #KJV, #NewTestament, #Revelation5, #Revelation, #Revelation5, #Revelation51, #Revelation5114, #Revelation5114KJV, #Revelation510, #Revelation511, #Revelation512, #Revelation513, #Revelation514, #Revelation52, #Revelation53, #Revelation54, #Revelation55, #Revelation56, #Revelation57, #Revelation58, #Revelation59

[tabrownwv]

I just finished this. The #lion 🦁 courtesy of @janngray #oneanddone kits 😁 #illustratedfaith #illuminatedjournaling #lionofjudah #revelation5 #biblejournaling #jesuschrist #victoryinjesus

[klasis]

The Dead Lamb: A Sermon from Revelation 5

Imagine for a moment that you are John. Imagine you are witnessing this scene with God on the throne and the creatures and the elders and there is this scroll. You are weeping over this scroll. You are not entirely sure why but you cannot imagine anything more distressing than the fact that this scroll cannot be opened. There must be someone that can open this scroll, but you are told that no one on can. Just when you have given up all hope and are overwhelmed by this distress, someone taps you on the shoulder. “Don’t cry John! See the Lion of Judah has conquered so that he can open the scroll”.  There is a moment of excitement. The Lion of Judah! If anyone could open the scroll surely it is the Lion of Judah. And he has conquered! You cannot think of a more apt description for someone who is worthy to open this scroll. Your wave of dread passes as you lift your face to look at the Lion of Judah. You prepare to be overwhelmed by the image of this Lion.   And then you see a dead lamb.   Maybe dead is the wrong way to say it. The lamb looks like it should be dead. It does not look good. It does not look like a creature who might be called a Lion. You are confused at the image unfolding before you and something is very odd about all this.  But the lamb goes forth and takes the scroll and when he does, every creature in the room bursts into song. The songs praise the actions of the lamb and its worthiness and their songs are just as confusing as what you see.  “You are worthy to take the scroll and open its seals, for you were slaughtered." This is the picture Revelation gives us to describe Jesus' status in the universe.  Our views of conquest and worthiness do not fit these images. The images of our conquest are reflected in our military emblems; lions, eagles, bears or snakes. Maybe the occasional gun or cannon. These are symbols of strength. When we show how we have conquered, we do everything to present ourselves with force. The strength to crush the enemy is on display. Stories of conquest are everywhere in our history and our news.  I’ve been following a twitter account called “tweets from World War 2” that gives information from the war in real time as though the events of 1942 were happening today. The scale of destruction and suffering that occurs in the war gets me nearly every time I read one of their tweets. Yesterday they were reporting on the state of the island of Malta (then controlled by the British) and how it was being bombed one thousand times a week at the height of the war. Some four thousand people died and thirty thousand buildings were destroyed, all in the name of holding a place of “strategic importance”. All of this part of a war based (at least on one side) on conquest.  Have you ever heard of Al Dunlap also known as Chainsaw Al. Dunlap was a corporate executive who developed a reputation for successfully turning around companies and helping to make them lots of money. One of the most significant parts of his plan to make businesses profitable was to downsize operations. In 1996 when he was hired as the president of Sunbeam Corporation, he fired some seven thousand people people as part of his plan to increase profits. Those seven thousand lost their jobs all for the sake of one corporation run by a man who had a vision to conquer in the corporate world.  Or consider the plight of those who were conquered by the Roman Empire in the century before and after this vision was written down. In the name of peace, nations were overrun by Roman soldiers and occupied with enough military strength to ensure they could not resist. Those who dissented and resisted the empire were executed, often on a cross. All in the name of Roman conquest.   The image of the slain lamb is confusing, but in light of all of this, is our normal understanding of conquest an more sensible? Are these the kind of events we want in the world? Conquest that destroys lives, buildings, and jobs and brings about pain and suffering?  Jesus comes into the world to conquer. He came to conquer sin and death. He is worthy to rule over every tribe and every nation. He is worthy of all of the praise and power we can ascribe to him. But not because he has a gun to our heads or an executioner over our shoulder. On the night he was betrayed, he told Peter to put his sword away. Jesus reminded those around him that if he wished he could have called in legions of angels to protect him with force. Instead Jesus went  quietly to the cross and died.  But in his death, Jesus accomplished more than he could have ever accomplished with a show of force or an army of angels. Through his death, Jesus freed us from our bondage to sin and brought us into his kingdom. He has invited us to join him in this Kingdom. It is a kingdom unlike any that we have ever seen. Forged not in conflict or in strife, but in self-giving sacrifice.  When we read this passage, let us be surprised that the Lion of Judah looks like a lamb who was slain and let us be surprised that this lamb is worthy because he was slain. But let it be a joyous surprise. Let us be glad that God does not use our own methods when dealing with us. Let us be glad that there was a different way. We should embrace the alternative conquest of the Kingdom Christ established and we should join all the creatures in heaven and on earth as we bow down and worship the one who was slain.