1 00:00:04,780 --> 00:00:10,039 Greetings. This is Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church with a 2 00:00:10,039 --> 00:00:16,160 moment of truth, where we challenge you to think through an important issue of life and faith. And 3 00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:22,539 today, we challenge you to think through the issue of who is worthy to break the seven-sealed 4 00:00:22,539 --> 00:00:29,899 scroll in the book of Revelation in chapter five. The seven-sealed scroll, which we have seen 5 00:00:29,899 --> 00:00:37,280 already, is the will and testament of the Father to a son, a son who is worthy then to open those 6 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:46,500 seals. Well, before we see who it is that is worthy to take that scroll and to break its seven seals, 7 00:00:46,979 --> 00:00:54,200 let me remind you of a Bible study that we are having, and we're making progress every week. 8 00:00:54,200 --> 00:01:03,780 We have a book or a Bible study, a book study, a book study of the book of Revelation that we're 9 00:01:03,780 --> 00:01:09,859 sponsoring, but we're holding it off-site. That is not on our church property or any other church's 10 00:01:09,859 --> 00:01:17,879 property, but rather at a Starbucks on 17th Street, and we're calling it Revealing Revelation, 11 00:01:17,879 --> 00:01:25,319 a community study of the apocalypse. Indeed, the apocalypse, which is also the book of Revelation, 12 00:01:25,459 --> 00:01:34,359 meaning, indeed, apocalypsis, that is, revelation. And we have been several weeks now. I'm losing 13 00:01:34,359 --> 00:01:39,000 track of how many weeks we've been studying the book of Revelation, but it's been so fun. It's 14 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:43,760 been everything that I had hoped it would be. We have not only people from our church, but from churches 15 00:01:43,760 --> 00:01:49,560 across the city and across the region, for that matter. And then we have some individuals who 16 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:55,260 aren't particularly associated with any church, and they're starting to come, too. So it's been so 17 00:01:55,260 --> 00:02:04,700 great. We have advanced our understanding of the book of Revelation. We've had time then to share with 18 00:02:04,700 --> 00:02:11,219 each other and share our perspectives on the book of Revelation, and then also give our input. That is, 19 00:02:11,219 --> 00:02:20,659 when I say our, I mean myself, Pastor David Bass at New Geneva, and then also my co-teacher, 20 00:02:21,259 --> 00:02:29,580 Pastor Mike Gillia, of Share the Sun Ministries. We have been team teaching the book of Revelation. We 21 00:02:29,580 --> 00:02:36,460 share a perspective, a broad and general perspective on the book of Revelation. And so it's been just a 22 00:02:36,460 --> 00:02:45,580 delight to team teach with my brother and co-laborer, Pastor Mike Gillia of Share the Sun Ministries. And we 23 00:02:45,580 --> 00:02:53,599 invite you to join us on Thursday evenings at seven o'clock at Starbucks on 17th Street. And there 24 00:02:53,599 --> 00:03:01,800 you're going to find a community of folks who will welcome you, and you'll feel as if you can be a full 25 00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:07,699 participant in sharing your views and your perspectives, and then we will as well. So that 26 00:03:07,699 --> 00:03:13,659 is all in order, and hopefully you'll be able to join us here in weeks to come. Thursday evening, 27 00:03:13,860 --> 00:03:20,419 seven o'clock at Starbucks, a community study of the apocalypse. Well, let us look then to our text 28 00:03:20,419 --> 00:03:26,560 today. What a delightful text it is, too. We're going to look at Revelation chapter five, 29 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:35,400 verses six to ten, and see who is worthy to open the seven sealed scroll of the book of Revelation. But 30 00:03:35,400 --> 00:03:39,699 before we do that, let's go ahead and read the text. And I'm going to, for context, I'm going to provide 31 00:03:39,699 --> 00:03:47,400 you with a reading from Revelation chapter five, verses one to ten. We'll be concentrating on verses six to 32 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:53,400 ten. But for context, let's give it a go at Revelation five, one to ten. Here we go. 33 00:03:53,400 --> 00:04:01,419 Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed 34 00:04:01,419 --> 00:04:08,620 with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, who is worthy to break the seals 35 00:04:08,620 --> 00:04:15,159 and open the scroll? But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or 36 00:04:15,159 --> 00:04:22,959 even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look 37 00:04:22,959 --> 00:04:30,759 inside. Then one of the elders said to me, do not weep. See, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of 38 00:04:30,759 --> 00:04:39,139 David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals. Then I saw a lamb looking as if 39 00:04:39,139 --> 00:04:45,019 it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and 40 00:04:45,019 --> 00:04:51,899 the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the 41 00:04:51,899 --> 00:04:58,120 earth. He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. And when he had 42 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:05,360 taken it, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the lion. Each one had a harp 43 00:05:05,360 --> 00:05:10,540 and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 44 00:05:10,540 --> 00:05:16,939 And they sang a new song. You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals because you were 45 00:05:16,939 --> 00:05:23,420 slain. And with your blood, you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and 46 00:05:23,420 --> 00:05:31,199 nation. You have made them to be a king, to be kings and priests, to serve our God. And they will reign 47 00:05:31,199 --> 00:05:40,920 on the earth, unquote. Revelation chapter 5 verses 1 to 10. Well, last week we looked at the lion of the 48 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:47,600 tribe of Judah, right? Today we're going to see about the lamb of God. Mixed metaphors. One of my 49 00:05:47,600 --> 00:05:53,420 favorite forms of humor is the mixed metaphor in English. That is when someone consciously or 50 00:05:53,420 --> 00:05:59,779 unconsciously combines several cliches or metaphors to cause bewilderment, maybe even laughter. Yogi 51 00:05:59,779 --> 00:06:07,160 Barra is one of my favorite examples of a man who could mix metaphors like nobody else. He would say 52 00:06:07,160 --> 00:06:12,639 about his management style, for example, he was a baseball manager for the New York Yankees. And 53 00:06:12,639 --> 00:06:17,839 about his style, he would say, I'm shooting from the seat of my pants. I'm not sure I want to be in 54 00:06:17,839 --> 00:06:24,279 the way of that. He also said, it's time to step up to the plate and cut the mustard. That's a mixed 55 00:06:24,279 --> 00:06:29,759 metaphor, right? And he also said this, you can put the cart before the horse, but you can't. 56 00:06:29,779 --> 00:06:36,579 Make him drink. Oh, my goodness. Now that's a mixed metaphor, if anything is, right? And then he said 57 00:06:36,579 --> 00:06:43,000 this, I wouldn't want to be in anywhere near this man's bedroom. He said he had a lot of black sheep 58 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:50,939 in his closet about a certain person that he didn't entirely agree with. And then he also said about 59 00:06:50,939 --> 00:06:57,620 Casey Stengel, his former manager. He said, if he were alive today, he'd be turning over in his grave. 60 00:06:57,620 --> 00:07:06,319 And then when he just offered a comment that was kind of embarrassing, he said it was one that was 61 00:07:06,319 --> 00:07:13,500 off the cuff of my head rather than the top of my head. These are mixed metaphors. And my English 62 00:07:13,500 --> 00:07:18,899 composition teacher in high school used to mark us down when we used mixed metaphors, 63 00:07:18,899 --> 00:07:26,600 but not so the Holy Spirit, not the Holy Spirit in the Bible. As my Greek exegesis teacher used to say, 64 00:07:26,660 --> 00:07:33,680 he used to say, the Bible is not afraid to use mixed metaphors when describing our Lord. And that's so 65 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:39,819 true. In fact, the case can be made that it is impossible to adequately form an idea of the 66 00:07:39,819 --> 00:07:45,660 multifaceted nature of the persons of the Godhead without doing precisely this. That is, 67 00:07:45,660 --> 00:07:54,220 mixed metaphors to try and capture the immense and majestic work and nature of Christ and his 68 00:07:54,220 --> 00:07:59,319 accomplishments. And we're going to try and do that a bit today in looking at a mixed metaphor between 69 00:07:59,319 --> 00:08:06,279 the Lion of the tribe of Judah and the Lamb of God. Let's look first at verse 6, for example. And I'd 70 00:08:06,279 --> 00:08:14,259 like to make this point with you, summarizing verse 6, this point, Agnus Dei, that is Latin for the Lamb 71 00:08:14,259 --> 00:08:20,300 of God. It is constantly, don't we? Some of you are familiar with this term, the Agnus Dei, Latin for 72 00:08:20,300 --> 00:08:27,560 God. And the point I want to make from verse 6 is, our Lord Jesus Christ stands immediately as the Lamb 73 00:08:27,560 --> 00:08:35,399 of God in the Spirit between the Father, all of creation. Oh yes, majestic picture we have of the 74 00:08:35,399 --> 00:08:44,259 Lord Jesus Christ here in chapter 5, verse 6. Now, we saw last week one of the determinative factors for 75 00:08:44,259 --> 00:08:50,600 revelation, which will carry through for the rest of the apocalypse too. That is, the seven-sealed 76 00:08:50,600 --> 00:08:59,539 scroll in the right hand of the Father is a will and testament by which he who can open it inherits 77 00:08:59,539 --> 00:09:28,779 all of creation as his possession. Oh, we saw last week from the great German scholar Zahn, 78 00:09:28,779 --> 00:09:35,720 this observation. And I quote him now, so important. He said, the word biblion, that's the 79 00:09:35,720 --> 00:09:42,240 Greek word here. You can hear the word Bible deriving from it. The word biblion itself permits 80 00:09:42,240 --> 00:09:48,740 of many interpretations. And that could be, for example, it could be a book of destiny and providence, 81 00:09:48,740 --> 00:09:57,659 which many maintain that it is, or maybe a deed of land to a scroll, a biblion. He goes on to say, 82 00:09:57,659 --> 00:10:03,279 then, the word biblion itself permits of many interpretations. But for the readers of that 83 00:10:03,279 --> 00:10:12,639 time, it was designated by the seven seals on its back, beyond possibility of mistake. The most simple 84 00:10:12,639 --> 00:10:19,779 member of the Asiatic churches knew that a biblion made fast with seven seals was a testament, 85 00:10:19,779 --> 00:10:28,700 unquote. That is a will. We also saw then that in great despair, the apostle John weeps uncontrollably 86 00:10:28,700 --> 00:10:35,200 when he realizes no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to 87 00:10:35,200 --> 00:10:41,580 look into it, unquote. Right? We saw that last week. And we were meant then to resonate with the apostle 88 00:10:41,580 --> 00:10:48,200 and not to hastily fleeing to the next verses. Many of you who have read Revelation time and again, 89 00:10:48,200 --> 00:10:53,220 you know that there is one worthy to open the scroll. But indeed, in these verses, we are meant 90 00:10:53,220 --> 00:11:01,039 then to resonate with the apostle John in weeping. Because just think about if no one had been found 91 00:11:01,039 --> 00:11:06,379 to open that scroll, it would still be sealed. And we would still be in our sins. And we would not 92 00:11:06,379 --> 00:11:11,580 be inheriting all of creation as coheirs with Christ. All of these things, right? We were meant 93 00:11:11,580 --> 00:11:20,580 to contemplate the full implications of an eternally sealed will and testament. Oh, but alas, the text 94 00:11:20,580 --> 00:11:28,220 goes on to tell us that one of the creatures from the Council of 24 Elders steps up to John to reassure 95 00:11:28,220 --> 00:11:37,460 him. That indeed, he says, behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered so 96 00:11:37,460 --> 00:11:44,840 that he can open the scroll and its seven seals. Remember that from verse 5? And read detailed, too. 97 00:11:45,279 --> 00:11:53,519 I urge you to consult the message from last week so that you can see precisely how we detailed the 98 00:11:53,519 --> 00:11:59,700 history of this beautiful metaphor for the Messiah, Lord Jesus Christ, all through biblical history, the 99 00:11:59,700 --> 00:12:06,539 lion of the tribe of Judah. And here is where we mix our metaphors, though, here at this juncture. 100 00:12:07,179 --> 00:12:15,080 For when John looks for where the conquering lion of Judah may be found, what does he find, right? 101 00:12:15,960 --> 00:12:21,679 He turns to see. He turns to look to see and cast his eyes on this lion of the tribe of Judah. What does 102 00:12:21,679 --> 00:12:32,340 he find? Does he find maybe a navy seal from the tribe of John Wayne? No. Maybe he sees a noble knight 103 00:12:32,340 --> 00:12:38,059 from the round table of King Arthur. No, no, no. None of those things, does he? What he does see then 104 00:12:38,059 --> 00:12:46,980 is a lamb standing as though it had been slain. Oh, my. Not only is a lamb standing as though it had been 105 00:12:46,980 --> 00:12:53,740 slain, a mixed metaphor with the lion of the tribe of Judah, but it is also counterintuitive, isn't it? 106 00:12:54,860 --> 00:13:01,519 Lambs are conquered generally. Meek and mild, aren't they? They are not conquerors. They are victims. 107 00:13:01,700 --> 00:13:09,799 They're not victors. Oh, my, my. To the worldling, this kind of metaphor is foolishness. And as the 108 00:13:09,799 --> 00:13:14,879 apostle Paul puts it to the Corinthians in his first letter to the Corinthians, he says, 109 00:13:15,240 --> 00:13:20,919 has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God, the world did not 110 00:13:20,919 --> 00:13:29,019 know God through wisdom, excuse me. It pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those 111 00:13:29,019 --> 00:13:38,340 who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified a stumbling 112 00:13:38,340 --> 00:13:46,419 black to Jews and folly to Gentiles. But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power 113 00:13:46,419 --> 00:13:53,100 of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is 114 00:13:53,100 --> 00:13:58,879 stronger than men. For first Corinthians chapter one. That applies here in the metaphor before us of the 115 00:13:58,879 --> 00:14:08,080 lamb, the Agnus Dei, the lamb of God. Because in the wisdom of God, he prepared his people with over two 116 00:14:08,080 --> 00:14:16,139 millennia, 2,000 years of sacrifice with the Agnus Dei, the lamb of God. And it was central to the 117 00:14:16,139 --> 00:14:24,259 deliverance of his people. That is the Passover lamb, right? And so consequently, in this two millennia 118 00:14:24,259 --> 00:14:29,720 of history of sacrifice, by the time we arrive at the foot of the throne of the Father here, 119 00:14:30,159 --> 00:14:38,019 we find a perfectly sound metaphor for our Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ, who has indeed conquered death 120 00:14:38,019 --> 00:14:44,039 and sin. This is how he has conquered. He has conquered death and sin by his own blood. That which 121 00:14:44,039 --> 00:14:51,960 majorly stands in the way of eternal life with the Father between us and him, our sin. Christ took it 122 00:14:51,960 --> 00:14:58,779 away. This was his conquering. So as absurd and foolish as it may be for those outside of Christ, 123 00:14:59,659 --> 00:15:06,580 we who have been delivered, we who have been saved, we who have had Christ's blood stand between us and 124 00:15:06,580 --> 00:15:13,340 our sin and the Father, we mix these metaphors with perfect consistency and beauty and worship too. 125 00:15:13,559 --> 00:15:19,059 Aren't you prompted to worship the Lord Jesus Christ for what he has done in bringing us to the Father? 126 00:15:19,059 --> 00:15:27,820 So when we look at the Agnus Dei, when we look at the Lamb of God, do not neglect these several 127 00:15:27,820 --> 00:15:35,980 features. First of all, the Agnus Dei, the Lamb of God, is positioned between the throne and the four 128 00:15:35,980 --> 00:15:43,500 living creatures and the elders. He's there as intercessor between all of creation, between the 129 00:15:43,500 --> 00:15:50,480 Father and all of creation. If you wish access to the Father, if you wish to come to the Father, 130 00:15:50,919 --> 00:15:56,840 you must first come to his intercessor. That is the Lord Jesus Christ. And then the word 131 00:15:56,840 --> 00:16:05,840 estikos in the Greek, in the Septuagint, it is also translated as standing. The word estikos 132 00:16:05,840 --> 00:16:13,440 is a technical liturgical term too, in the order of service in the temple. And this word estikos, 133 00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:19,220 when a priest would stand, it would signal the priestly function of the one so standing 134 00:16:19,220 --> 00:16:26,620 to perform his priestly labors of intercession. And that's exactly what we have here. The high priest, 135 00:16:26,620 --> 00:16:33,340 the Lord Jesus Christ, exercising his priestly function of intercession between the people 136 00:16:33,340 --> 00:16:41,480 and the Father, and between the people and the Lord in the Holy of Holies, right? That's how it 137 00:16:41,480 --> 00:16:47,460 worked in the temple. And of course, we have seen already that the earthly temple is but a figure, 138 00:16:47,799 --> 00:16:54,860 a shadow of the heavenly temple, the early church as well. The early church, that is in the first, 139 00:16:54,860 --> 00:17:01,159 second, third centuries and so, the early church also quickly incorporated this feature into its 140 00:17:01,159 --> 00:17:08,720 liturgy. It saw Revelation as a handbook for worship too, which we should also see the book of 141 00:17:08,720 --> 00:17:14,779 Revelation as. It is meant to be seen so. This is one of the revolutionary things in my current reading 142 00:17:14,779 --> 00:17:21,180 of the book of Revelation is that I too am beginning to see it as a handbook for worship. If it's good 143 00:17:21,180 --> 00:17:27,279 enough for the eternal worship of heaven, it ought to be for the worship of the church as best we can 144 00:17:27,279 --> 00:17:34,839 reprise it. Oh, yes. Therefore, in every early liturgy, whether it was East or West, Greek or Latin or 145 00:17:34,839 --> 00:17:41,519 Russian, there is a portion of the liturgy that was called the Agnus Dei, that is the Lamb of God, 146 00:17:41,599 --> 00:17:48,440 an entire portion of worship dedicated and given over to this scene in heaven, the Agnus Dei. 147 00:17:48,440 --> 00:17:55,039 And consequently, too, as you look over the centuries and centuries, you think you've got good music now. 148 00:17:55,400 --> 00:18:01,279 My, my, my, look at the two centuries of music we have. Some of the most beautiful music of the 149 00:18:01,279 --> 00:18:07,359 entire church is dedicated to this portion of the liturgy, to the Agnus Dei, to the Lamb of God. 150 00:18:07,940 --> 00:18:15,740 I urge you to seek the catalog of the music of the church and go back centuries and centuries and see how 151 00:18:15,740 --> 00:18:21,160 the beautiful music of the West has been developed and, in large part, because of this portion of the 152 00:18:21,160 --> 00:18:27,920 worship service, the Agnus Dei. And we cheat ourselves by dismissing it as just a bunch of 153 00:18:27,920 --> 00:18:34,160 mumbo-jumbo. And, oh, we're so eager to move on then to the real stuff, the 7-Eleven choruses that we 154 00:18:34,160 --> 00:18:41,319 sing in worship or the 15-minute mixed sermons. No, there is real and genuine worship incorporated here 155 00:18:41,319 --> 00:18:47,559 in the music of the church. Note also, then, the Trinitarian nature of our metaphor as well. 156 00:18:47,720 --> 00:18:52,980 The Trinitarian nature of our metaphor. We have the Father seated upon the throne. And then we have 157 00:18:52,980 --> 00:19:02,619 the Son as intercessor. Do we not? The Son, then, as intercessor between his creation and the Father. 158 00:19:02,779 --> 00:19:08,720 And now we have, then, the seven, or we have the Spirit pictured as the seven horns, right, 159 00:19:08,720 --> 00:19:16,420 on the Lamb and the seven eyes, which represents omniscience and omnipresence that John interprets 160 00:19:16,420 --> 00:19:22,980 for us. He says, which are the seven spirits of God. Now, we should be resonating with that 161 00:19:22,980 --> 00:19:29,779 because we've seen it earlier in chapter 1. The seven spirits of God, indeed, are a beautiful picture 162 00:19:29,779 --> 00:19:35,460 and image of the Holy Spirit sent out into all the earth, right? That's that sense of omniscience and 163 00:19:35,460 --> 00:19:40,720 omnipresence. All the earth is, indeed, overseen by the seven spirits of God, the Holy Spirit. That 164 00:19:40,720 --> 00:19:45,640 is, it's a perfect text. If you're going to preach on Trinity Sunday, if you're a pastor or a preacher, 165 00:19:45,740 --> 00:19:54,799 right? Well, this is not a static picture, however, because we have in verse 7 another very profound 166 00:19:54,799 --> 00:20:02,759 picture. We have, indeed, verse 7. Let me summarize that verse for you. Agnus Dei. Our Lord Jesus Christ 167 00:20:02,759 --> 00:20:09,640 receives directly, as the Lamb of God, the will and testament of the Father to all of creation. 168 00:20:10,119 --> 00:20:16,099 Oh, that will is for all of creation. In verse 7, he receives it, right? We see that in verse 7. 169 00:20:16,240 --> 00:20:22,420 He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. Oh, this is a liturgical 170 00:20:22,420 --> 00:20:28,420 action, too. That is something that was done in the Old Testament and something that is done in New 171 00:20:28,420 --> 00:20:35,660 Testament churches that practice a righteous and holy liturgy. The apocalypse initiates the narrative 172 00:20:35,660 --> 00:20:41,960 action for the rest of the book, right here, with this liturgical action, the handing over of the 173 00:20:41,960 --> 00:20:50,339 scroll from the Father to the Son. This Lion, this Lamb of God, Lion of the tribe of Judah, who is 174 00:20:50,339 --> 00:20:57,859 simultaneously the Lamb of God, both offices, both attributes, this Lion and Lamb is worthy to do so 175 00:20:57,859 --> 00:21:05,759 because he is the only being in all the universe. Think of it. The only being in all the universe 176 00:21:05,759 --> 00:21:13,500 who has conquered that which stands as a separating blight on all of creation. That is the sin and death 177 00:21:13,500 --> 00:21:21,299 inaugurated by this covenant head and steward of all that God has made, that is man. By becoming this 178 00:21:21,299 --> 00:21:30,460 Lion, this Lamb, has become both God and man and therefore being by nature one who could satisfy both the 179 00:21:30,460 --> 00:21:38,119 demands of being the existential bridge to the Father and his creature man and then by being the new Adam as 180 00:21:38,119 --> 00:21:46,640 well, who was perfect, perfectly holy, and yet powerful to save as well. Oh my. Yes, he is worthy 181 00:21:46,640 --> 00:21:54,680 indeed to receive the will and testament of the Father to all of creation. By being slain, that is by being 182 00:21:54,680 --> 00:22:03,480 crucified, Christ died the death of the testator. You remember what is required for the inauguration of a 183 00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:09,240 will and testament? Do you not? From Hebrews chapter 9. Therefore, he is the mediator, that is Christ is the 184 00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:17,599 mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance. Ah, the 185 00:22:17,599 --> 00:22:26,359 inheritance, right? All of creation. Since a death has occurred, Hebrews says, since a death has occurred that 186 00:22:26,359 --> 00:22:33,319 redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. For where a will is involved, and 187 00:22:33,319 --> 00:22:39,079 here we have a will, do we not? In the will and testament of the Father, the seven-sealed scroll. For where 188 00:22:39,079 --> 00:22:45,920 a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. For a will takes effect only at 189 00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:54,019 death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive. Oh, yes, a will takes effect 190 00:22:54,019 --> 00:23:01,059 only at death. And here, this will takes effect because of the death of Christ. The New Testament has 191 00:23:01,059 --> 00:23:06,680 no problem mixing metaphors again. Jesus dies the death of the testator. That is, the one who made the 192 00:23:06,680 --> 00:23:14,200 will and testament, because Jesus, as fully God, also made the will and testament, but is also the inheritor 193 00:23:14,200 --> 00:23:22,720 of that at the same time, in the same way that he is lion and lamb simultaneously. Many teachers who reject 194 00:23:22,720 --> 00:23:30,140 the seven-sealed scroll as a will and testament do so because of the so-called logical inconsistency of 195 00:23:30,140 --> 00:23:35,900 the son dying the death of the testator, but that's not required. Indeed, the Bible mixes metaphors 196 00:23:35,900 --> 00:23:45,039 beautifully. He is both the testator and the one who dies, too. So, as we reprise the Agnus Dei in our 197 00:23:45,039 --> 00:23:52,400 worship services, we acknowledge and we teach the power, sovereignty, and worthiness of our Lord Jesus 198 00:23:52,400 --> 00:23:58,940 Christ. He, indeed, is worthy to receive that scroll. He's, indeed, worthy to receive the will 199 00:23:58,940 --> 00:24:06,339 and testament from the Father because he is not only the one who is the testator and died the death of 200 00:24:06,339 --> 00:24:12,720 the testator, but he is also the one who inherits and receives the will and testament. That is, all of 201 00:24:12,720 --> 00:24:21,759 creation. And we, as co-heirs with him, are also co-inheritors of this creation. And we are co-conquerors, 202 00:24:21,859 --> 00:24:26,440 too, as we'll see in days to come and weeks to come. But for now, we have this beautiful image 203 00:24:26,440 --> 00:24:32,700 of our Lord Jesus Christ as the Agnus Dei, the Lamb of God, and it should prompt you to worship. Go to 204 00:24:32,700 --> 00:24:38,720 church this Sunday and worship this Agnus Dei, the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, who has, indeed, 205 00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:46,079 been found worthy to open the seven-sealed scroll of the Father. What a beautiful picture. What a 206 00:24:46,079 --> 00:24:53,480 beautiful text we've had today. Well, this is Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian 207 00:24:53,480 --> 00:25:00,559 Church in Idaho Falls, Idaho. And I just encourage you not only to attend our worship service, but also 208 00:25:00,559 --> 00:25:07,799 perhaps our Bible study on Thursday evenings, 7 o'clock. We're meeting at Starbucks on 17th Street. 209 00:25:07,799 --> 00:25:14,000 And we're having a good time. We buy some coffee and some treats and sit down and pour over the text, 210 00:25:14,160 --> 00:25:19,480 and we're able to relax and kick back and talk about it and get your input. So join us on Thursday 211 00:25:19,480 --> 00:25:28,259 evenings in Idaho Falls, 7 o'clock, at Starbucks on 17th Street for our community Bible study of the 212 00:25:28,259 --> 00:25:38,640 Book of Revelation. How fun it's been. I'm co-teaching the course with Pastor Mike Gillia of Share the Sun 213 00:25:38,640 --> 00:25:45,180 Ministries. It's been fun co-teaching that with him. But I also invite you then to join us for our 214 00:25:45,180 --> 00:25:52,000 worship services at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church. New Geneva meets for holy worship on Sunday 215 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:58,779 at 10 a.m. at 101 4th Street on the corner of 4th and Boulevard. I'm preaching through the book of 216 00:25:58,779 --> 00:26:05,140 Revelation, too. My life has been almost all things Revelation here, combined with this radio program, 217 00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:13,839 the Bible study, my preaching. My head is just bursting with insights and things from the book of Revelation. 218 00:26:13,839 --> 00:26:20,619 So I would just urge you to join us for holy worship at New Geneva on Sunday at 10 a.m. at 219 00:26:20,619 --> 00:26:26,980 101 4th Street on the corner of 4th and Boulevard. And you can call us for more information at 220 00:26:26,980 --> 00:26:36,180 area code 208-523-0196. And maybe get some feedback. Give me some feedback on what you think here. But 221 00:26:36,180 --> 00:26:42,619 more information maybe to tell us you're going to be there at the book study, too, by calling 222 00:26:42,619 --> 00:26:47,859 area code 208-523-0196.