Greetings. This is Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church with a moment of truth, where we challenge you to think through an important issue of life and faith. And today, I want you to think through the issue of Christ's will and testament in the book of Revelation. Indeed, does receive a seven-sealed scroll. What is the nature of that seven-sealed scroll?

Well, I submit to you that it is his will and testament by which he inherits all of creation. We'll look into that here in just a moment. But first of all, I want to let you know, once again, give you a little bit of an update on our community Bible study, which is on the book of Revelation, Revealing Revelation. This is a community study on the apocalypse. That is the book of Revelation.

And we launched that back in October 10th, and we just had our third study together at Starbucks on 17th Street here in Idaho Falls. And what a delightful time it's been. I wish I could just have everybody experience what we've been experiencing at this community Bible study on Thursday evenings. And I just want to invite you, if you haven't stopped by to see us yet, to go ahead and visit us at 7 p.m. at Starbucks on 17th Street. We have a pretty good little group, and it seems to be growing.

We might have to change venues if we run out of room, if we get too many more people. But that shouldn't stop you. Please do stop by and pay us a visit. What a delight it's been. I've been team teaching this course on the book of Revelation with my friend and brother in Christ, Pastor Mike Gilea.

And he's been doing a fantastic job. He's very enthusiastic. He's been discovering new thing after new thing in the book of Revelation. And he has had his entire orientation to the book transformed as he's been doing his study. And his vision then of the book of Revelation is largely then in line with mine as well.

We share so much in our perspectives on Revelation. It's been so exciting. And we've been sharing that with those who come Thursday evenings at 7 p.m. at Starbucks and it runs till about 8.15. We've been able to promptly conclude. We've been sharing that with us on our community Bible study.

And I want to invite you to join us. And you're able to give input, ask questions. It's been a very good, intimate study with 10, 12 people. We might have a few more coming as well. And we just look forward to seeing you there perhaps Thursday evenings at 7 p.m. at Starbucks.

And it runs till about 8.15. We've been able to promptly conclude then at 8.15, one hour and 15 minutes. Good time had by all. Good fellowship to around a cup of coffee, which I will never argue with. But in any case, let me go on then to help unpack the book of Revelation a little further, perhaps for you, in this radio program.

And today we're looking at Revelation chapter 5, verses 1 through 5, where we see the Lord Jesus Christ receive his inheritance by will and testament. And let me read for you then, first of all, Revelation chapter 5, verses 1 through 5. Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written and on the back sealed with seven seals. A scroll written within and on the back, excuse me, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals.

And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it. And I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, weep no more. Behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah. The root of David has conquered so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.

Oh, what a beautiful picture then of Christ's triumph. Christ is going out to conquer. And we're going to see this theme, this motif laced throughout the book of Revelation. The idea of Christ going out to Nike, to conquer. Do you recognize that word, Nike?

It is indeed the Greek word to conquer, to overcome. And indeed, Christ has done this. And he is in the midst, even now, even today, of conquering his inheritance, of taking it, even as Joshua and Israel did in the book of Joshua during the conquest. Christ, well, just because you inherit something, just because you receive something in a will and testament does not automatically mean that everyone and everything in that will and testament is going to subdue themselves or turn themselves over to you voluntarily. We see this in the book of Joshua, and it's true here for Christ as well.

One of my favorite Western movies is Red River starring John Wayne. I like John Wayne Westerns. And Red River is one of his longest films, and it is also one of his most complex characters. John Wayne is not famous for complex characters, but insofar as he has played complex characters, his portrayal of Tom Dunson in Red River is one of those complex characters. And what we see, John Wayne playing Tom Dunson, he rides into Texas with his young adopted son and a couple of cows, right?

And he's going to lay stake to his claim. And he is challenged almost immediately by a Mexican rancher whose foreman comes out to meet him and ready to shoot him down. But of course, our man, Tom Dunson, played by John Wayne, has the faster draw and shoots him down. And then Howard Hawks, the great filmmaker, black and white this film is, but boy, oh boy, it's one of those films that just endures and endures. Through time-lapse photography, we see this foreman buried in the ground with a cross.

And then through time-lapse photography, we see six more graves appear, but also a vast herd of cattle that Tom Dunson and his son have managed to flourish and blossom in the American way on the prairies of Texas. And what a beautiful film it is, too. And in the course of his growing that herd, he's had to kill six more men to stake his claim and to hold his claim. He's had to go out and conquer then his territory. And the major motif of Revelation is very similar.

It is that of Joshua having to go out and stake his claim and then to conquer. Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the book of Revelation, receives the earth and all of creation as his inheritance in this seven-sealed scroll. But like Joshua and Israel, this new Joshua and his church must take and subdue the land in order to make it his. Oh, yes, Tom Dunson has nothing on our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is the new Joshua by his very name.

What is the name Jesus? It is the Greco version of the Hebrew Yeshua. And that is his name, our Lord Yeshua. The conquest of creation by his people, the church, is the Joshua theme all through the book of Revelation. The new paradigm is indeed the book of Joshua in the book of Revelation.

And we will see this beautiful symmetry throughout the apocalypse from here on in. So let's look to our text today, where what has been implicit heretofore is now made quite explicit from now on. A couple of points I want to make with you in this chapter. Chapter five, verses one through five, which we just read in the book of Revelation. Point number one, our title is will and testament.

This is the major theme in this chapter, will and testament. The father has established a last will and testament to bequeath all of creation to one worthy at the death of the testator. Yes, that's all packed into point number one, verse number one. The phrase, then I saw, right in chapter five, then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne, a scroll, right? That phrase, then I saw, indicates a major shift in focus now, though not necessarily a shift in locale.

We're still in heaven. But John is directed to a new development here in heaven. It's nothing less than a bequeathal ceremony in which a will and testament is bestowed upon one who inherits from his father. How do we know this? Oh, the great scholar Zahn, in his commentary, he puts it like this.

He says, the word biblion, which is the Greek word used here for scroll, the word biblion itself permits of many interpretations. And it could mean, indeed, a biblion could mean a book of destiny or providence. That's one of the close alternatives here to what we're going to propose. But, as Zahn goes on to say, the word biblion itself permits of many interpretations. But for the readers of that time, it was designated by the seven seals on its back, beyond possibility of mistake.

The most simple member of the Asiatic churches knew that a biblion made fast with seven seals was a testament, that is, a will. Unquote. And this we must emphasize throughout the book of Revelation, especially here in this chapter. The readers of that time, as Zahn says, it was designated by the seven seals on its back, beyond possibility of mistake. That is, it was a biblion made fast with seven seals, was a testament, a will.

That would have been its most self-evident nature to any reader, to any hearer of this testament. When we see a man with a green shade open a large ledger and pick up his pen, we know we're looking at an old-fashioned banker or accountant, right? When we see a uniformed officer flip open a pad by a car on the side of the road, we know it's a cop who's about to write a traffic ticket. When we see a rope figure in a pulpit open a large book and prepare to read, we know it's a minister about to read the Bible. Well, just so.

In its context, the first century reader, or more likely the listener, would have envisioned a figure of great authority holding a scroll written within and on the back and sealed with seven seals, and he would have immediately recognized that a great ceremony of great importance was about to take place. That is, the reading and disposition of a will and testament. That would have been immediately discernible to any first century listener to this text. The ancient Roman will and testament was given on a scroll where the greater the inheritance, the more was written, and sometimes fully on both front and back.

Indeed, so written on front and back, a very full will and testament that is all of creation going to be handed over. And it was sealed, then, this ancient Roman will and testament, which every listener would have immediately recognized. Then this scroll sealed by seven witnesses who affixed their seal to the scroll so that it would not be tampered with until the death of the testator, right? And we see allusions all through Roman literature, especially in the writers Cicero and Virgil, that this indeed was the case.

A seven-sealed scroll was a will or testament witnessed by seven witnesses who then affixed their own personal seal to that scroll, to that will and testament. Well then, upon the death of the testator, usually the father of a great estate, then the eldest son would open that scroll and he would read and execute the will and testament. And it was ideally then in the presence of the seven witnesses who sealed it. Well, we still have formal ceremonies, don't we? In much the same fashion, where upon the death of a father with a substantial estate, the family is called to a formal reading of the will, right?

Dramatized many times by Hollywood or television over the years, hasn't it? Where who gets what, then, is detailed. Behold the scene before us in chapter five of Revelation. What will be the nature of the contents? Oh, that is always the drama, isn't it?

Hollywood has always capitalized on that dramatic moment, including a modern version in the series Strange Inheritance, if you've ever heard that on the radio or seen it on TV with Jamie Colby hosting, right? Strange Inheritance. What a fascinating show that is. Well, but before we get to the contents of that inheritance, that will and testament, there is more drama before us in chapter five, isn't there? And that brings me to point two, and I want to cover verses two through four here.

In this point, we are looking at will and testament. That's the title of my sermon, chapter five of the book of Revelation, because it deals with the will and testament of the father to the son. And we see a mighty angel in verses two through four. A mighty angel establishes that only one worthy under the terms and conditions of that testament, only that one worthy is worthy to break the seventh seal, verses two through four. Now, in those verses, when initially John narrates what he sees, he now narrates what he hears, doesn't he?

A mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice. This is what he hears. A mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice. Wouldn't that be terrifying? This is the first of three mighty angels who will announce and execute events of great consequence, turning points in the narrative of the apocalypse.

And here's one of three great angels. It's the idea of recapitulation that I've gone over with you time and time again, that themes are recapitulated throughout the book of Revelation. And we see that beginning here with three mighty angels, the first of them. Now, we see the final and complete destinies of the nations will be disposed of, right? In chapter 10, then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven wrapped in a cloud with a rainbow over his head and his face was like the sun and his legs like the pillars of fire.

He had a little scroll open in his hand. That's the mighty angel in chapter 10. There's one in chapter 18 as well. The final destiny of Babylon the great will be disposed of there. Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, so will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence and will be found no more, unquote.

Chapter 18, another mighty angel. Well, here, just as a messenger would go out throughout the land to call all of the interested parties to the disposition of a Roman will and testament. So a mighty messenger, an angelos, calls to all of creation to determine who is the authentic heir who alone can break the seven seals. He calls out to all of creation, heaven, earth, and under the earth, who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seven seals? Mighty voice.

Well, sometimes commentators shroud this narrative in great mystery and drama as if some unknown criteria known only to God is requisite for the opening of the scroll, right? I've seen many commentators shroud this in great mystery and drama, but the simplest solution, still heavy with great drama and authority, the simplest solution is that the eldest son who has labored in the house of his father doing the will of the father is the one worthy to open the will and testament, right? Oh, we see an example of this in the parable of the prodigal son in Luke chapter 15.

And there, our Lord in the parable says, look, these many years I have served you, says the eldest son. Remember when he complains, the younger prodigal son comes back and dad throws him a big party. And I never disobeyed your command, and the son says, yet you never gave me a young goat that I might celebrate with my friends. And of course, the father says to him, son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. There's the inheritance that's coming to the eldest son, right?

It was fitting to celebrate and be glad for this your brother was dead and is alive. He was lost and is found. Indeed, everything is his, he says to the eldest son. At first glance, the answer comes back here in Revelation, though, as we return to the mighty angel calling out to all of creation, who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seven seals? At first glance, the answer comes back that nowhere in all of creation can there be found one who is worthy to inherit all of creation, right?

And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it. We see that in verse three. That's the answer that comes back. Well, think of all the myriad of creatures that we have encountered so far in the book of Revelation. You think the earth now is full of beautiful creatures and myriads and myriads of species that we haven't even been able to identify fully as we go through all of creation.

And this is a fallen creation. And look at the beauty, the myriad of creatures. Well, heaven's going to be stocked with even more of them. We'll be stunned at the galore and the beauty of all of the creatures that we find in heaven. We've already encountered many, many of them, right?

All of the mighty beings and the angels that we've have yet to see, too, for that matter. Creation is festooned with them and most of whom we would be tempted to fall down and worship before if we encountered them now. But none of them, none of these creatures even come close to being worthy to inherit what the Father is prepared to bestow. Ah, think of the consequences. This were the end of the matter, dear listener.

Think of the results for all of us. If indeed no one had been found in heaven, on earth, or under the earth, that was worthy to inherit, to open the scroll, to break the seven seals. Oh, all the promises of the Old Testament, for example, if they all went unfulfilled, as psalm 82 says, arise, O God, judge the earth, for you shall inherit all the nations. That's what we're going to find in the scroll, is that this promise is fulfilled, that Christ will inherit all the nations. Or the promise in Psalm 111, he has shown his people the power of his works in giving them the inheritance of the nations.

Yes, the inheritance of the nations. The nations will be that which is inherited by the one worthy to open the seals. What then of us, too, if indeed no one had been found in heaven, or on earth, or under the earth, who was worthy to open the seven-sealed scroll, the inheritance of the Lord? What then would be of us? Ah, it would mean that we are certainly lost.

We find the promises to us from the beginning then to be null and void, if that's the case. The call of the angel would ring hollow, wouldn't it, through eternity, empty, unanswered. The will and testament would remain unopened and sealed forever. Oh, what a tragedy that would be. This is the context in which John finds himself.

All of the promise of our Lord's ministry while John walked with Christ will come up short. No, wouldn't it, in the final analysis? All of the guts and content of the covenants with the fathers, and that promised under the new covenant, too. This is the new covenant of my blood, right? Our Lord said all of this would be empty and shallow in the end.

Salvation is bust. At last, that would be the consequence. What reaction would this prompt in any of us, huh? To know that that that vast, glorious inheritance is there, waiting to be claimed and fulfilled, but there is none worthy to seize it and execute its claims. We are meant to feel the poignancy of this moment with John.

Don't jump too quickly to what you know will happen next, right? We know what will happen next. We've read the book. But appreciate, first of all, the contents of the scroll, which is your inheritance, because you are organically connected to the inheritor. You are.

You are as a member of Christ's body. We may know, for example, that Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall will come together in the end in their movies, but we still cry when they're apart in the middle of the movie because we're invested in the characters. We may know that good will triumph in the end of the film, but we still cry when the hero dies defending good because we are invested in the character. Well, John breaks down and weeps uncontrollably when no one worthy is found to break the seals of the scroll because he too is invested in the contents of that scroll.

That is the promise of the covenants, dear listener, the inheritance of the nations, the salvation and redemption that is his. How would you respond? How would you respond? This is the deliberate drama that we are faced with, dear listener, in the contents of this book. Well, I'm going to leave you hanging there with that drama until next week because we really can't unpack this with due justice until we postpone it, until next week.

But know, indeed, that the drama continues, that there will be one found worthy to take the inheritance of the scrolls. So until then, dear listener, I want to invite you to see how the glorious Christ will indeed inherit and break those seven seals and why he is worthy to break those seven seals. What a beautiful thing that will be. But until then, I invite you to join us in our study of the book of Revelation with Pastor Mike Gillia of Share of the Sun Ministries.

And we both are team teaching the book of Revelation on Thursday evenings at Starbucks at 7 p.m. We begin at 7 p.m. Come in, join us, come a little early, maybe grab a cup of coffee and sit down with us and talk through the book of Revelation as we unpack chapter by chapter. We're going through chapter by chapter in the book of Revelation. And it's been a lot of fun and many have joined us and many will join us then in the near future, too. But I invite you to join us at 7 p.m. on Thursday evenings at Starbucks on 17th Street, where we will unpack this community study of the book of Revelation.

I am Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Idaho Falls. We meet for holy worship at 10 a.m., where I'm preaching through the book of Revelation, all things Revelation. My head is just jam-packed with things of the book of Revelation. It's 10 a.m. on Sunday morning. We meet for holy worship.

We invite you to join us. And we also then invite you to our Bible study again. And you can call us for more information. Let us know you're coming, perhaps. But you want more questions, give us some feedback.

You can call us at area code 208-523-0196. That's area code 208-523-0196.