This sermon was preached at Sherwood Community Friends Church on Sunday, October 25. You can watch the video of this sermon by clicking below.
Two weeks ago we started our journey through the book of Revelation with our Behind The Curtain series. Before we go any further, let’s remember where we’ve been.
Where We’ve Been
In week one, we let Revelation introduce itself by allowing the Biblical text to tell us it was written by the Apostle John, disciple of Jesus, to seven real churches in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) who were living under the oppression of Rome.
We learned Revelation is three things: an apocalypse, a prophecy, and a letter. And we gave ourselves two questions to ask every time we read it, or any book or passage from the Bible. Let’s say them together.
What did this mean for the original audience?
What does it mean for us?
Then we landed on our theme verse and big idea for the whole series. Let’s say these together too.
“These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes.” Revelation 14:4 CSB
Revelation is not about predicting the future. It’s about revealing Jesus and forming us into his faithful witnesses in the present.
Last week we read King Jesus’s letters to those seven churches. Five of the seven were compromised or complacent. The bigger danger for all of them was comfort and satan in the pews. We left with this:
Jesus is watching us and he knows our works well. What sort of letter would we receive from King Jesus here at our church if he sent one to us?
We also met our two teams.
Team Lamb — HOOORAAAAYYYY!!!!
Team Dragon — BOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
Right after the seven letters from King Jesus, John takes us into a space described within chapters 4 & 5 that truly does something none of us would expect. But first, let me tell you a story about a different sort of king and his audience.
Nero’s Theater
Nero was the fifth emperor of Rome and he was determined to level up beyond his predecessors. So he decided to be a stage singer, a performer, a self-proclaimed star. And he wanted the whole empire to know it.
The Roman historian Suetonius tells us Nero recruited “more than five thousand sturdy young commoners” and trained them in a special style of rhythmic applause. Their job was to clap, loudly and on cue, every time Nero sang or performed. Another historian, Tacitus, says that day and night they heaped on Nero’s person and voice the kinds of titles you would give a god.
While Nero was singing, nobody was allowed to leave the theater— not for any reason (Suetonius). Women went into labor and gave birth right there in the stands. Some men got so worn out that they jumped from the wall to escape. And some pretended to be dead so they could be carried out like a corpse.
Now let me ask you this… What kind of king has to hire his applause and lock the doors to keep his audience?
Nero was gone by the time John wrote Revelation, but the emperors after him kept the show going. Rome had thrones and crowns and choirs and crowds, and every bit of it loudly proclaimed: Caesar is lord, bow down and worship him.
This morning John takes us into a very different throne room where no one is paid to be there, no one is locked in, and the One on the throne is worthy of every bit of praise he receives. Amen?!
Revelation Chapters 4–5
Revelation chapter 4 sets the stage, and chapter 5 is where the action happens. We’re going to read both chapters in their entirety. Don’t worry… they’re short chapters.
There will be two songs (one in each chapter)… Heaven sings these songs, and today we get to sing along.
CHAPTER 4
Revelation 4:1–11 CSB “After this I looked, and there in heaven was an open door. The first voice that I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”
Immediately I was in the Spirit, and there was a throne in heaven and someone was seated on it.
The one seated there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian stone. A rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald surrounded the throne.
Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones sat twenty-four elders dressed in white clothes, with golden crowns on their heads.
Flashes of lightning and rumblings and peals of thunder came from the throne. Seven fiery torches were burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. Something like a sea of glass, similar to crystal, was also before the throne.
Four living creatures covered with eyes in front and in back were around the throne on each side. The first living creature was like a lion; the second living creature was like an ox; the third living creature had a face like a man; and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle.
Each of the four living creatures had six wings; they were covered with eyes around and inside. Day and night they never stop, saying,
Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God, the Almighty,
who was, who is, and who is to come.
Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to the one seated on the throne, the one who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before the one seated on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne and say,
Our Lord and God,
you are worthy to receive
glory and honor and power,
because you have created all things,
and by your will
they exist and were created.”
CHAPTER 5
Revelation 5:1–14 CSB “Then I saw in the right hand of the one seated on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides, sealed with seven seals. I also saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or even to look in it. I wept and wept because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or even to look in it. Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Look, the Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered so that he is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
Then I saw one like a slaughtered lamb standing in the midst of the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent into all the earth. He went and took the scroll out of the right hand of the one seated on the throne.
When he took the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and golden bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
And they sang a new song:
You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were slaughtered,
and you purchased people
for God by your blood
from every tribe and language
and people and nation.
You made them a kingdom
and priests to our God,
and they will reign on the earth.
Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels around the throne, and also of the living creatures and of the elders. Their number was countless thousands, plus thousands of thousands.
They said with a loud voice,
Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered
to receive power and riches
and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and blessing!
I heard every creature in heaven, on earth, under the earth, on the sea, and everything in them say,
Blessing and honor and glory and power
be to the one seated on the throne,
and to the Lamb, forever and ever!
The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.”
This is the Word of the Lord. Amen!
Did you catch that this all happened when John finished writing down seven letters from King Jesus? If you’re one of those churches, you read your letter and you’re now probably thinking, “Okay, what happens next? When’s God taking down Rome?!”
Instead of a battle, John gets swept up into the Almighty’s throne room, and the very first thing he sees is worship. Scot McKnight points out that before we get to the cosmic judgement in the seals, trumpets, and bowls, we get cosmic worship first. Then he puts it this way:
“Revelation is about worship, and dissident disciples worship the Lamb.”
Hold onto that. Before we can understand anything else in this book, we must understand who’s on the throne because everything— everything— stems from there. And to understand what John is doing here in Revelation, we need to understand one important word.
What Is a Polemic?
Polemic: A polemic is a strong argument against something. It takes a claim that’s out there in the world and pushes back on it hard.
Revelation is a polemic that John wrote against Rome and everything Rome said about itself.
Who’s read the book 1984? Or seen the movie?
Even if you haven’t, I’m sure you’ve all heard the line, “Big Brother is watching you.” That came from 1984.
Like John, secluded on the island of Patmos, George Orwell wrote his book on a remote island in Scotland. Two writers, two islands, both writing against a power that wanted more than obedience.
Big Brother wanted love. When a government asks you to love it, what’s it really asking for?
Worship. That’s what Rome asked for, and that’s what John wrote against.
And John didn’t invent this. The Bible has been doing it from the beginning. Genesis chapter 1 was a polemic, written deliberately against the creation stories of the nations around Israel. Their gods had to fight a war and be torn apart to make the world, but our Creator God, just, spoke.
The Egyptian Pharaoh was treated as a god. Egypt also had gods for the Nile River, for the sun, for the harvest, and for almost everything else. Listen to what Yahweh says about the first Passover night:
Exodus 12:12 CSB “I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night and strike every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, both people and animals. I am the LORD; I will execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt.”
Every one of those 10 plagues was specifically aimed at a god Egypt trusted. All of it culminated on the night of the Passover lamb. Let’s keep that in mind, because we’ll see that Lamb again in a few minutes.
So, Revelation is a polemic pushing against Rome and everything Rome said about itself.
God’s Throne
Let’s walk back into the throne room with John. Notice the very first thing he sees in chapter 4 (v2). A throne. That word “throne” shows up over and over in these two chapters. It’s the center of the whole scene.
John paints this scene to look like a Roman imperial court. Caesar sat on his throne and handed out justice. He was surrounded by attendants called lictors who carried the symbols of his authority. Roman emperor Domitian, who most likely ruled when John wrote this, increased his throne room attendants to twenty-four (Mathewson, David). Twenty-four. Sound familiar?
In the Roman world, there were crowds in the royal court whose sole job it was to shout praise to the man on the throne. Titles like “Lord God” and “Almighty” were used in the worship of the Roman emperor (Mathewson).
The Biblical text tells us John walks into heaven and hears four living creatures singing, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God, the Almighty.” He hears twenty-four elders say, “Our Lord and God, you are worthy.”
Do you see what John’s doing? He’s taking every title Rome gave to Caesar and handing it back to the One who actually owns it.
That’s what a polemic does. It pushes back hard against the lies a society tells itself and calls us back to what’s real.
And then the elders take off their golden crowns and throw them down before the throne. In Rome, golden crowns were presented to the emperor to honor him (Mathewson). In heaven, the elders lay down their own crowns at the feet of the One who is worthy.
Rome’s throne room was a cheap imitation of the original, and anyone in the empire who heard this version would have known exactly what John was saying.
Now here’s the thing… John wasn’t only reaching toward Rome. He had the Old Testament in his mind too. John wanted his readers to know his vision lined up with what OT prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel saw (Mathewson).
Listen to Isaiah when he saw the Lord on his throne:
Isaiah 6:3 CSB “And one called to another: Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Armies; his glory fills the whole earth.”
Same song.
Ezekiel also saw four living creatures and a rainbow around the throne (Ezekiel 1). And the lightning and thunder coming from the throne goes all the way back to Mount Sinai when God gave Moses the Law. Listen to this:
Exodus 19:16 CSB “On the third day, when morning came, there was thunder and lightning, a thick cloud on the mountain, and a very loud blast from a ram’s horn, so that all the people in the camp shuddered.”
The God of Sinai, the God Isaiah and Ezekiel saw, the God who judged the gods of Egypt, is the same God sitting on this throne.
But did you notice John never actually describes the One on the throne? He describes the jewels, the rainbow, and the lightning around him, which guards God’s transcendence (Mathewson). God is so beyond our comprehension that John can only describe what surrounds him.
And the four living creatures— a lion, an ox, a man, and an eagle— represent all of creation, gathered around the throne worshiping day and night (Mathewson), which is what creation was made for.
So why is God worthy of worship? The elders of chapter 4 tell us: “Because [he has] created all things.” He made everything. He holds it all together. He’s worthy because he’s the Creator.
Who Is Worthy?
While chapter 4 is almost completely still like a photograph (Mathewson), chapter 5 is where everything starts moving.
John sees a scroll in God’s right hand, written on both sides and sealed with seven seals. Ezekiel saw a scroll written on the front and back too (Ezekiel 2:9–10). This scroll holds God’s plan to set the world right, his justice and his salvation. Then a mighty angel loudly asks the question that drives the whole drama of the scene:
“Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?”
Who has seen the Marvel movie Thor?
Thor’s hammer is basically a modern version of the sword in the stone. You remember that one. The sword is stuck in a stone, and whoever can pull it out is the rightful king. Valiant knight after knight tries and fails. Then a young nobody named Arthur walks up and pulls it out.
Thor’s hammer works the same way. Marvel tells us it carries an inscription that says, “Whosoever holds this hammer, if they be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.” The Avengers had a party one night where they all took turns trying to lift it. Iron Man tried. War Machine tried. Even Bruce Banner (the Hulk) gave it a shot. Captain America barely nudged it. Nobody was worthy.
Now for you fellow Marvel nerds, yes, I know what happens later with Captain America, but that’s not the point here… mmmkay.
Revelation 5 leads us into Heaven holding the same kind of search. The angel looks in heaven. On earth. Under the earth. Nobody’s worthy. And John starts weeping. He says, “I wept and wept.”
Why is John crying? Because if nobody can open that scroll, then God’s justice never comes. Evil is never judged. Nothing is ever made new. Rome/Babylon/Team Dragon wins.
Then one of the elders says, “Do not weep. Look, the Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered.” That’s Old Testament language. Just before his death, Israelite’s patriarch Jacob called his son Judah a lion’s cub, and the scepter would never leave Judah (Genesis 49:9–10). Isaiah promised a Root from Jesse, Israel’s King David’s father (Isaiah 11). John hears, “The Lion.” The King… from Judah… is here and he’s the conqueror.
Then he turns around to see this Lion… but… he sees a Lamb.
This— right here— is the star of the show who this whole apocalyptic heavenly drama was building to bring into the scene.
A Lamb that looks like it had been slaughtered.
Slaughtered, and standing. I think what John’s seeing is the cross and the empty tomb in one picture.
On that original Passover night, Yahweh judged the gods of Egypt the same night the blood of a lamb covered and saved his people. John’s Lamb and the Passover lamb are one in the same.
In the Gospel of John, we read that John the Baptizer saw Jesus coming and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). And Isaiah spoke of a servant led like a lamb to the slaughter (Isaiah 53:7).
Here’s what John wants the seven churches to see. Let’s put our minds back in their frame.
The Lion conquers by being the Lamb. Caesar conquered with the sword. Jesus conquered by willingly laying down his life. The Lamb is both the way we’re redeemed and the model for how we follow him (Mathewson). That means we follow him as his faithful witnesses, and sometimes we suffer and sacrifice.
The Lamb Takes the Scroll
Then comes the crescendo the whole chapter has been waiting for. Verse 7.
“[The Lamb] went and took the scroll out of the right hand of the One seated on the throne.” This is the turning point of this chapter because someone finally did it! The Lamb is the One who is worthy!!!
So why is the Lamb worthy? Listen to the song again.
Revelation 5:9 CSB “And they sang a new song: You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slaughtered, and you purchased people for God by your blood from every tribe and language and people and nation.”
Rome built its empire by conquering nations. The Lamb builds his kingdom by purchasing people from every tribe, every language, and every nation with his own blood. In chapter 4, God is worthy because he created all things. In chapter 5, the Lamb is worthy because he redeemed all people.
So the Lamb holds the scroll and heaven explodes in worship! First the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fall down before the Lamb. Then thousands upon thousands of angels. Then every creature in heaven, on earth, under the earth, and in the sea. The worship moves out from the throne in bigger and bigger circles until all creation is singing.
And they sing the same kind of worship to the Lamb in chapter 5 that they sang to the One on the throne in chapter 4. Creator God and the Lamb end up receiving the same worship (Mathewson) — because they are the same being.
At the end of the book it’s called “the throne of God and of the Lamb” (Revelation 22:1). That’s a powerful statement about who Jesus is because it’s point blank saying: Jesus is God and he’s worthy of all worship. Amen?!
BIG IDEA: God is worthy because he created us, and the Lamb is worthy because he redeemed us.
Who’s on Stage This Week?
In these two chapters, Team Lamb is out in full force. The One seated on the throne. The Seven Spirits, which is the Holy Spirit in all his fullness. The twenty-four elders. The four living creatures. Countless angels. All creation. And at the very center of it all, the Lamb!
Let’s hear it for Team Lamb!!! “Hoooraaaayyyy!!!”
And where’s Team Dragon? Look around the throne room.
Ummm… Crickets. Nothing. Not a single seat. Team Dragon has no place in this room. Rome can build all the thrones it wants. The dragon can hire all the applause it wants. The God of Heaven isn’t one bit nervous.
In a couple of weeks we’ll hit the first of what we’re calling curtain moments. Every one of those moments brings Revelation’s readers right back into this room, so we never forget who’s on the throne.
Why We Worship
Let’s ask our first Bible reading question: What did this mean for the original audience?
For seven churches living under Roman rule, this was everything. Caesar self-appointed himself in charge of everything. He had the crowd and the crown. But John pulls back the curtain and says, “Look beyond the physical curtain because there’s a heavenly throne above every throne, and it isn’t empty.”
So, what does it mean for us?
Back in 1647, a group of pastors wrote the Westminster Shorter Catechism, and they started with this question: “What is the chief end of man?” In other words, what are we here for?
Their answer: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”
Glorify God: That means we give him the honor he’s worthy of, with our words and with our whole lives.
Enjoy him forever: That means worship is a relationship with our Father God that never ends. That’s what we were made for.
And here’s the thing. Every one of us worships something. Every one of us has something or someone sitting on the throne of our hearts. For Rome it was Caesar. For some of us it’s our career, our home, our comfort, our bank account, our phone, our kids or grandkids, our politics, our feelings and emotions, our vices, our traumas, our bitterness.
Most of us know in our heads that Jesus is on the throne, but we don’t always put him on the throne of our lives (Mathewson).
What we worship shapes how we live, and heaven worships the Lamb.
Orwell ends the book 1984 with one chilling line about his main character, Winston: “He loved Big Brother.” Big Brother finally got what he wanted— a forced love.
Heaven’s worship is freely given. Nobody’s paid to be there. Nobody’s locked in. Every creature in heaven and on earth falls down because they’ve seen the Lamb and they know he’s worthy.
“Reducing worship to Sunday at [10:30am] violates the heart of worship. Worship is Sunday through Saturday, 24-7 (McKnight).”
Worship is how we work on Monday, how we arrange or decorate or use our home, how we spend our money, the emotions lingering in our hearts, and what we say about Jesus when it costs us something. Worship and witness go together.
In a world like Rome, worship was an act of resistance. “Worshiping God becomes an act of dissent, and dissenters subvert the powers that be (McKnight).”
When those seven churches heard heaven sing, “Our Lord and God, you are worthy,” they were telling Caesar he wasn’t. That’s what dissident disciples do. We live in Babylon, but we don’t bow to it.
Let me give you one more verse to hold onto. We’ll get there in a few weeks, but it might just be the “central chorus” (McKnight) of all the songs in Revelation. It’s certainly the high point of everything heaven sings:
Revelation 11:15 CSB “The seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying, ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ (his anointed One), and he will reign forever and ever.’”
That’s where this is all going. The empire of the world, every Rome, every Babylon— and yes the United States is a major Babylon— every Big Brother, folds into and bows to the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. And the worship that started in chapters 4 and 5 rings out until all creation in the whole world joins in together.
Close
Remember how Revelation 4 starts. John looks up, and there in heaven is an open door. And a voice says, “Come up here.”
Caesar locked the doors to keep his audience. God opens the door and invites us to come in.
How many of us need to hear that invitation today?
Have you accepted the invitation to follow the Lamb?
Have you put Jesus on the throne of your life, or is something or someone else in his place?
Do you need to lay down your own crown at the feet of the One who is worthy?
Consider today to surrender and allow the Lamb to occupy his rightful place on his throne— and worship him?
Gospel Invitation
Romans 10:9 CSB “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Did you hear that?
Say with your mouth: “Jesus is Lord.”
In John’s day, those were dangerous words to utter, and it landed him on a prison island, because everyone was supposed to say Caesar is lord. It still means the same thing today. Someone gets the throne. Who’s it going to be?
If something in you is stirring right now, to give Jesus back his throne, pray the following words together with me:
Father God- I’m sorry I’ve put other things on the throne of my life, and I’ve sinned against you. Thank you for dying on the cross for me and for rising from the dead. You are worthy. Please forgive me. Come sit on the throne of my heart, and lead me as I follow you from here on, together with your Church. In the Name of Jesus’. Amen.
If you prayed that and meant it, I want to celebrate with you. Come find me after the service, let me know you prayed those words, so I can pray with you and help you take your next step.
Pray with me as we conclude.
Almighty Father, you are worthy, because you created all things. Lord Jesus, you are worthy, because you were slaughtered and you purchased us with your blood. Holy Spirit, seal everyone who surrendered to you today. Protect us from the evil one. Help us put you back and keep you on the throne of our lives. Help us follow the Lamb as your faithful witnesses and endure until you return. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Citations
1.McKnight, Scot, with Cody Matchett. Revelation for the Rest of Us: A Prophetic Call to Follow Jesus as a Dissident Disciple. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2023. Chapter 18, “Worshiping in Babylon,” pp. 185–195. Quoted: “Revelation is about worship, and dissident disciples worship the Lamb.” (p. 186); “Reducing worship to Sunday at 11 a.m. violates the heart of worship. Worship is Sunday through Saturday, 24-7.” (p. 192); “Worshiping God becomes an act of dissent, and dissenters subvert the powers that be.” (p. 193); “central chorus” (pp. 193–194). Paraphrased: the throne room comes before the seals, trumpets, and bowls (pp. 185–186).
2.Mathewson, David L. The Book of Revelation, Didasko Seminar, May 2025. Principles paraphrased in the pastor’s own words: the throne room modeled on a Roman imperial court; Domitian’s twenty-four lictors; imperial titles; Isaiah and Ezekiel’s throne visions; the four living creatures as all creation; chapter 4 as setting and chapter 5 as action; the scroll (Ezekiel 2); the Lamb and the Passover; the Lamb as means and model; the same throne and worship for God and the Lamb; putting Jesus on the throne.
3.Suetonius. The Lives of the Caesars, “Nero,” 20.3 and 23. Quoted: “more than five thousand sturdy young commoners.” Paraphrased: no one could leave the theater while Nero sang. Also cited by McKnight, ch. 18.
4.Tacitus. Annals 14.15. Paraphrased: Nero’s Augustiani praised him with the titles of gods. Also cited by McKnight, ch. 18.
5.Orwell, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four. London: Secker & Warburg, 1949. Quoted: “Big Brother is watching you” and the closing line, “He loved Big Brother.”
6.The Westminster Shorter Catechism (1647), Question 1. Quoted: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”
7.Marvel Entertainment, “Thor and the Mighty Wielders of Mjolnir,” marvel.com. Quoted: the Mjolnir inscription.
8.Blackhawk Church, Madison, WI. Revelation Playbill. Used by permission.
9.Scripture quotations are from the Christian Standard Bible (CSB), copyright 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers.
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