Fritha Dinwiddie 4/21/24 Fritha Dinwiddie 4/21/24

THE SEVEN-SEALED BOOK

#424 THE SEVEN-SEALED BOOK

Scripture Revelation 5:1-14 NIV Orig. 1-21-1973

Rewr. 3-29-1989

Passage: 5 1 Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” 3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. 4 I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. 5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

6 Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits[a] of God sent out into all the earth. 7 He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. 8 And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. 9 And they sang a new song, saying:

“You are worthy to take the scroll
    and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
    and with your blood you purchased for God
    persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
    and they will reign[b] on the earth.”

11 Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12 In a loud voice they were saying:

“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!”

13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:

“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!”

14 The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

Purpose: Continuing a study in Revelation for adults in Church Training.

Keywords: Bible Study Christ the Saviour

Timeline/Series: Revelation

Introduction

Dr. H.A. Ironside 1draws from an Old Testament parallel a factor aiding in understanding this 5th chapter. It, too, concerns a sealed parchment, and is in the form of a property deed.

Jeremiah continued to remind the people of Israel of the impending disaster hanging over their heads. He spoke to “Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon” that “any nation [willing to] bow its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon . . .” would live. The same message was delivered to Zedekiah (Jeremiah 27:12f). “Bow your neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon . . . and you will live.” This message made Jeremiah far more enemies than friends. But Jeremiah was also projecting restoration.

The instrument of the sealed parchment arose at the instigation of a cousin of Jeremiah by the name of Hanamel (Hanameel). Hanameel was a kind of real estate broker. He believed what Jeremiah was forecasting about Judah’s downfall. That being the case, the best thing it could do with property was to unload it. Jeremiah is instructed of the Lord to redeem the property. (Jeremiah 32:6-15) “Houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land” (v15).

So the title deed was signed, sealed, and put away for the one who would come as Jeremiah’s heir. Whoever, and whenever, the property would be his. He would be able to communicate his ownership through the title that the prophet signed.

Dr. Ironside suggests that the seven-sealed scroll here described is the title deed to the souls of men. Once it is established who the rightful heir is, he has but to step forward, prove his title, and claim the legacy. “Worthy is the lamb, who was slain” (Revelation 5:12).

THRONES DON’T COME CHEAPLY

#418 THRONES DON’T COME CHEAPLY

Scripture Revelation 4:1-11, NIV Orig. 7-12-1964; 1-1973

Rewr. 3-26-1989

Passage: 4 1After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. 3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. 4 Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits[a] of God. 6 Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. 7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying:

“‘Holy, holy, holy

is the Lord God Almighty,’[b]

who was, and is, and is to come.”

9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:

11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God,
    to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
    and by your will they were created
    and have their being.”

Purpose: Continuing a series for use with adults in Church Training.

Keywords: Bible Study God, Glory Worship

Timeline/Series: Revelation

Introduction

It can be perceived directly that thrones don’t come cheaply. There is a cost, and someone must bear it.

Edward the VIII of the House of Windsor discovered early in his reign that the price was formidable indeed. After the death of his father in January of 1936, Edward became king of England. He had been a faithful servant of the British Empire for all of the twenty years of his adult life. He was well-known and loved by the British people. His inherent ability, his experience, and his being of the royal family portrayed a regent of great ability. However, his term as England’s reigning monarch was a brief one indeed.

Less than a year after inheriting the throne at his father’s death, he discovered the price that he would have to pay to hold on to his title. To remain king he would have to give up the woman whom he loved. He was unwilling to pay that price.

While the romanticists applaud his decision, the historians wonder what might have been England’s destiny under his able leadership, especially with the Second World War already in its early struggles.

Shakespeare did not picture it any differently. Macbeth was literally driven to the throne by his own ambition. He was a loyal subject of the king until he became enamored with the idea of himself as being king. You perhaps remember the scene with the three witches, with the tempting of Macbeth, and with resultant death of Duncan at Macbeth’s hand. He himself died similarly. Thrones don’t come cheaply.

A cursory reading of the Old Testament books of II Kings and II Chronicles further proves this point. The price paid under the labors of this kingly ambition. An extremely high price has already been paid for the throne perceived here in the opening of Revelation 4.

I. The Price of Purchase Describes Honor. V1 “. . . a door opened . . . and the first voice said . . . Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter.”

We are not left to wonder whose throne. John was in the midst of a worshipful experience: At Patmos for punishment (Revelation 1:9) and in the spirit of worship (Revelation 1:10). In this continuing encounter he observes an open door, unguarded, same as in Revelation 3:8 (Philadelphia) hinges removed and permanently open. We were in Washington D.C. summer after the explosion in Lebanon, killing hundreds of soldiers. Barricade made entrance to White House a maze.

John is ordered to appear before throne. Word “looked” suggests design. “Saw” is a better translation.

John is then transported into a discerning spirit. This is an ordinary view of God. Psalm 47:8 “God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness.” Isaiah 6:1 “I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up.” We are given a description of what was seen:

· An open door—Door of opportunity (3:8), door of objectivity (3:20), door of observation (4:1).

· Next he observes a throne—Someone is on the throne; he makes no effort to describe with man-like quality

· What he sees he does picture—No mention of size, shape, texture; God is pictured in terms of light—glittering diamond (jasper), shining ruby (sardius), rainbow like an emerald. I Timothy 1:16 “God dwells in the light that no man can approach unto.” Psalm 104:2 “God who covers himself with light as with a garment.”

· He sees a rainbow: peace.

· There are twenty-four thrones/elders—Tribes/apostles; 4 earthly/3 divine/doubled; Wearing crowns signifying victory.

· Thunder and lightning—Announcing God’s presence (Sinai); Lamps of Spirit’s presence to enlighten, save.

· A glassy sea (transparent)—wide dominion/peaceful kingdom.

The signs thus seen are of honor, glory: Breastplate of High Priest—Exodus 28:17; foundation of holy city—Revelation 21:19; the colors communicate majesty (white—God’s purity, red—God’s wrath, green—God’s mercy).

II. The Price of Purchase Declares Holiness. V8 “And the four beasts . . . rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.”

Along with his title to honor is his testament of holiness. Usurpers can claim the trapping of the throne. Sergeant Doe led uprising in Liberia while Fritha was there. But only his own character can describe his worthiness to lead.

A further look at those around the throne:

· The elders—Genesis 3:22 “one of us,” Job 1:6 “Sons of God.” 24 courses of priests (I Chronicles 24:7f), symbolic of perfect worship.

· Their crowns—II Timothy 4:7,8 “I have fought . . . I have finished . . . I have kept . . . , laid up for me . . . a crown of righteousness.” Matthew 19:28 “When the son of man sits on his glorious throne, you my disciples shall certainly sit upon your thrones.”

· There are four living creatures—Covered with eyes suggesting wisdom; four classes of beings (Lion—preeminent wild, Oxen—preeminent domestic, Eagle—preeminent of winged, Man—PREEMINENT.) Thus, all creation praises: everything fulfilling its function.

III. The Price of Purchase Demands Homage. V10 “And the four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth forever and ever.”

The threefold effect of praise: glory, honor, thanks.

The elders’ praise represents all who are themselves followers of Christ:

· They fell down before Him;

· They cast crowns at His feet—stephanos, earned crowns;

· But they are on the thrones through His work, not their own;

· All living creatures have wings suggesting their readiness to do the will of God;

· Here are the operations of a divine economy that keeps this world in harmony;

· The church is to acquiesce to this divine harmony thus lifting our own voices of praise—the sounds of all creation, the voices of faith.

Conclusion

In this Roman world of which John wrote, there was a military/political event that figures into the picture here described. When one king was vanquished by another, the absolute sign of submission was to see him, the vanquished, remove his crown and cast it at the feet of him, the conqueror. The armies of Rome often carried with them to the field of battle an image of their emperor. When the enemy was subdued, then in open ceremony, the beaten monarch, or his agent, had to throw down a likeness of the royal crown before this image.

In mind and will, our lives are our own. We are sovereign and are determined to remain so. To accept Jesus is no act of appeasement. It is not giving intellectual assent to Jesus’ potential to Lordship. It is to de-throne self. It is to reject the deified self-image and pay homage to the king of kings.

Fritha Dinwiddie 4/8/24 Fritha Dinwiddie 4/8/24

OPENED DOORS OF OPPORTUNITY

#426 OPENED DOORS OF OPPORTUNITY

Scripture Revelation 3:8, 20; 4:1 NIV Orig. 10/15/1967

Rewr. 5/12/1987

Passage:

38 I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

41After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”

Purpose: Calling attention to our present advantage from God if we grasp the meaning of circumstances put before us.

Keywords: Consternation Hope Opportunity Revival

Special Program

Introduction

Checking the meaning of the word “door” in a dictionary, you may find any one of dozens of definitions. A cheap one may say nothing more than “access” or “passageway.” My Brittanica says little more. “Frame used for closing or opening . . . Any means . . . of exit or entrance.” The principle rendering in both examples then would be that a door is something to hide behind.

Scripture uses the word variously, even that way. But there are other meanings and we draw from those other meanings this morning.

The psalmist uses it as a barrier, not to keep closed, but to get opened. “Be ye lifted up ye everlasting doors, and the king of glory shall come in.” (Psalms 24:7). Yet again, he uses the idea to suggest humble service. “I’d rather be a door-keeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in tents of wickedness.”

Jesus, you remember, drew word pictures often with such imagery. In prayer: “When thou has shut the door, pray.” In parable, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:24). As an expression of finality in faith: “They that were ready went in: . . . and the door was shut. (Matthew 25:10). As an example of Himself: “I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” Notice the strong imagery there that it is not something to lock ourselves behind, it is a place to which we have occasional respite, remembering even as we do, that the greater place for good is beyond those doors.

I. The First of These Doors is the Door of Decision. V20 “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.”

We must remember that the one addressing the door is the One who knows our sin. History is full of incidents of people and nations thinking their sin is of no consequence. Jeremiah saw the real trouble for Judah. The northern kingdom had fallen. Jeremiah 7:9f “Will ye steal, murder, commit adultery and swear falsely and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; And come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My Name, and say, ‘We are delivered to do all these abominations?’” The remarkable thing about Jim Bakker’s recent media exploitation. His sin of adultery was bad enough. But for seven years he had practiced deceit.

The One standing at the door demands the response of faith and faithfulness. We must never be deceived into thinking that polite acknowledgment and practical indifference will placate the holy and righteous God. Your testimony in your community depends on your faithfulness. Deacon, hear me, faithfulness is expected. Your church may not take action, but God will. Teacher/worker, God expects you to do your best, and to seek to improve.

We are as close as a church can be to losing Church Training to disinterest. Some of you are saying “Who cares?” which is the devil’s remark. Most of us got our basic training in Church Training.

Trusting Christ, we moved forward to grow in Him. We will do well to recall Luke 9:62 “No man having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit.” It was so easy to feel uplift of revival. Some took the courageous way of openness. Still others felt some innate desire. [The] next Sunday we weren’t even average. Church Training was the lowest in my memory. So, some were out of town for M.D., but why stay absent yourself that night.

Hear me, the One at the door respects your privacy. We ignore Him to our peril. Our children will be less spiritual than we. Our friends and neighbors need to know what it is that we really stand for. Faithful pastors must conclude, “Lord, if I can’t lift their vision, send one who can.”

II. The Next Door is That of Decision. V8 “Behold, I have set before thee, an open door.”

It is not in the sense of time or place. We still hear people talk about the good old days. We remember the value of such times. But we also remember the hardness, and the work. Someone spoke of the days when “a man’s word was his bond.” But it’s tough, in a $90,000 home, waiting for microwave meal to heat, watching Walton Mountain, on a 2T4 HEU, wishing for the “good old days.”

But, you see, God would have us where we are, for Jesus’ sake. The “direction” in missions came at Antioch.

· Acts 11:19 “preaching . . . to none but Jews only.”

· Acts 11:20 “preaching the Lord Jesus unto the Grecians.”

· Acts 11:26 “called Christians first in Antioch.”

It had not to do with time, place.

Nor is direction set by our circumstance. Naught else in all of nature has the power to change circumstance. Birds fly 5,000 miles with seasons. Whales swim thousands of miles to breeding site. Wildebeests migrate by the millions for grass. But all are responding to their inner clock. People can and do often change their circumstance. Tragically, many cannot. Calcasieu River bottom dwellers. And, our changing is sometimes running away. Every believer should claim the proof-text for circumstance and direction: Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God.”

Such direction is limited only by our dedication. Jeremiah voices a word of consternation. Jeremiah 9:24 “But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord that exerciseth lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight,” saith the Lord.

Oswald Chambers quotes Quaker, Mary Hooker. “When Jesus found the Galilean disciples they were mending their nets.” She added, “The majority of Christian people are always washing and mending their nets, but when Jesus Christ comes along, he tells them to launch out and let down their nets.”

It is thusly that He is speaking to us today. Do what you can, where you are, now.

III. Finally, We Must Also Perceive a Door of Division. 4:1 “After this, I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven.”

It is through this door that God’s word gains access. What power is the word allowed in your life? Even if we are in Sunday School. Too often is the first time we’ve touched a Bible since last trip, which for many was not last Sunday, or even the Sunday before. How it should grieve us to learn Mormons’ regard for their book, Jehovah’s Witnesses specially prepared texts, and we [with the] Bible take it for granted.

It is through this door that we experience the resurrected Jesus. Through that door the record is set. Through that door we experience reality. Romans 8:34 “It is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.”

Through that door gains entrance, the convicting and convincing power of the Holy Spirit. You will not remember John Marco Allegro, but his idea of truth caught on with the news media a while back. An ex-lay-preacher, he put forth the junk that Old Testament prophets saw visions as a result of LSD trips, and that early Christians were a politically slanted, drug-taking cult. Media will print and produce garbage if it will sell to the public. The Garbage barge is symbolic.

Conclusion

We experience many doors in our lifetime. Too often, they are “frames for closing” or “Any means of exit” (Brittanica), rather than entrances through which God is allowed to assert His sovereignty in our lives. Heed the message of Walter de la Mare’s Listeners.

‘Is there anybody there?’ said the Traveller,

Knocking on the moonlit door;

And his horse in the silence champed the grasses

Of the forest’s ferny floor:

And a bird flew up out of the turret,

Above the Traveller’s head:

And he smote upon the door again a second time;

‘Is there anybody there?’ he said.

But no one descended to the Traveller;

No head from the leaf-fringed sill

Leaned over and looked into his grey eyes,

Where he stood perplexed and still.

But only a host of phantom listeners

That dwelt in the lone house then

Stood listening in the quiet of the moonlight

To that voice from the world of men:

Stood thronging the faint moonbeams on the dark stair,

That goes down to the empty hall,

Hearkening in an air stirred and shaken

By the lonely Traveller’s call.

And he felt in his heart their strangeness,

Their stillness answering his cry,

While his horse moved, cropping the dark turf,

’Neath the starred and leafy sky;

For he suddenly smote on the door, even

Louder, and lifted his head:—

‘Tell them I came, and no one answered,

That I kept my word,’ he said.

Never the least stir made the listeners,

Though every word he spake

Fell echoing through the shadowiness of the still house

From the one man left awake:

Ay, they heard his foot upon the stirrup,

And the sound of iron on stone,

And how the silence surged softly backward,

When the plunging hoofs were gone.1

1de la Mare, W. (1979). The collected poems of Walter de la Mare. London: Faber.

Fritha Dinwiddie 4/6/24 Fritha Dinwiddie 4/6/24

HOLDING FAST Philadelphia

#233b HOLDING FAST

Philadelphia

Scripture Revelation 3:7-13 Orig. 2/20/1966

Rewr. 3/15/1989

Passage:
7 To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. 8 I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9 I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. 10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.

11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. 12 The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name. 13 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Purpose: Teaching Revelation to adults in Church Training

Keywords: Christ as Mediator Salvation Mission of the Church Grace

Timeline/Series: Revelation letters Philadelphia

Introduction

Four times already the exhortation delivered to these churches had advised repentance. Only one of the five yet studied (Smyrna), does not contain this message. Philadelphia is one of only two not challenged by this need.

The last two churches will both be challenged by the symbol of doors. Philadelphia, the city of “brotherly love” reveals an “Open door,” opened and unshuttable. The final church, Laodicea, will reflect a closed door. Christ himself is pictured standing before this door, “knocking.” The advice given here is to “hold fast.”

I. First, Let’s Examine the Open Door. V8 “I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it.”

Opened by God Himself. Perfect passive participle—opened to stay open. Such doors are for trusting friends. AARP program for “latchkey kids.”

Doors are opened for the church to move out. Opportunity of service to God. Gibbon: tall column amidst rubble of fallen city. Opened to launch attack against evil. Church not a bastion of defense. V11 “hold that fast which thou hast.” Major on boldness. Isaiah 22:5 “day of trouble.” V22 Eliakim [Eliakim's authority to “open . . . and shut” results from “the key of the house of David” being put “on his shoulder.”]. Peter, Matthew 16:18 “upon this rock I will build.”

II. Consider the Overpowering Love. V9 “Behold, I will make them to . . . know that I have loved thee.”

First mark is forgiveness. Some do not seek. Others cheapen meaning. Harlot (Luke 7) doesn’t return to her trade. Meaning of crucifixion: Jesus didn’t die for “sins.” He died for my sin.

Next mark is faith unto salvation. Jews were claiming to be “Israel.” V9. Romans 2:28f, “He is not a Jew who is one outwardly.” John 8:44, “You are of your father the devil.”

Final mark is eternal life. Deuteronomy 5:29, “O that they had such a heart in them that they would fear me and always keep my commandments, that it might be well with them, and with their children forever.” Galatians 6:8 “He who sows to the spirit will of the spirit reap life everlasting.”

III. Consider Overcoming Grace. V10 “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I will also keep thee.”

Grace in the hour of crisis. Is it deliverance from trial? Safekeeping in trial? John Vandercook: trials, she, arthritic spine; she wanted to be missionary: John says “140 nations come to them.” Action 3-14-89 to cover insurance ($407/mo.)

Grace in temptation. 2 Peter 3:17 “Beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness.” Ephesians 6:13 “Take the whole armor.”

Grace on the day of judgment. V12 “He shall go out thence no more.” Philadelphia had earthquake problem. Mexico City—escape. Nicaragua—people went back and aftershock hit. These are the people who bring stability.

Conclusion

God is the temple, but faith is the pillars of that temple. God’s name means we are his true children. New Jerusalem means that we belong. Christ’s new name. “Now we see through a glass dimly.”

1 Gibbon, E. (1996). The history of the decline and fall of the Roman empire (D. Womersley, Ed.). Penguin Classics.