Revelation Series: Chapter 5 - "The Kinsman Redeemer"

The plot thickens: we are given a front row seat as our Kinsman Redeemer, Jesus the Messiah, is found worthy to take the seven-sealed book from the Father. Listen as we take a very detailed look at what John was probably witnessing after being transported into the throne room of Heaven. Strap yourself in...this is going to get intense!

Transcript

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[Music] good morning good afternoon or good evening wherever or whenever you're listening to us right now and welcome to this bonus episode of the Churchosity podcast my name is Heath Brady and I'm Andrea Brady and we are your Churchosity podcast Personnel these are the types of episodes that we like to call the postcripts because these are the things that we think and talk about when the recording button is off so we thank you for listening and welcome to the Inner [Music] Circle well Andy yeah we are inching closer and closer into the very deep end of the pool in our Revelation study yay did you enjoy the last episode I did very much pretty cool stuff going on huh oh yeah yeah well um buckle up buckle up here we go if if we haven't stirred up any controversy or trouble yet it's probably going to happen on this episode if it hasn't happened yet uhoh uhoh well you're going to hear me say this a lot as we go through this Revelation study it is highly unfortunate that so many Christians and even non-christians either avoid the Book of Revelation altogether mhm or they've been given a template to lay over the Book of Revelation telling people how to interpret the book rather than actually going into a study of this book with no presuppositions with no premeditated agendas and just literally read and study it as it is right and as we've been discovering a lot of these Mysteries a lot of these signs and wonders that John writes about are fairly easily interpreted through scripture itself exactly if we would just do the homework right yeah but I have to say of all the times that I have studied the Book of Revelation this trip through the book has been my favorite really yes because I I think I mentioned this very early on in this series of episodes that every time I go through the Book of Revelation I always find something new uhhuh or something changes in my perspective or opinion mhm and that has happened on a handful of occasions thus far and it isn't because of man's Wisdom it's because of biblical understanding yeah does it throw a monkey wrench into your teaching not not necessarily what it's more so done for me is help solidify uh some some key things cool further in the book Revelation there's a handful of idioms that I've wrestled with and gone back and forth over and just as a little aside listeners Andrea and I uh are looking ahead to Chapters in the future that we are going to be unpacking and having conversations about them and it's been really really fruitful but a lot of those conversations have been taking place because of what we have learned studied this far yeah employing the tools that we have used up to this point M continuously nice it helps I think I think so too so we're going to keep plugging ahead on this episode we're going to handle all of chapter 5 oo which in many ways is a continuation of chapter 4 and a lot of teachers will group these two chapters together I chose not to because there's a very different tone in chapter 5 huh than there is in chapter 4 okay and I wanted to handle chapter 5 by itself because we are going to find some rather provocative things in this chapter okay so I want to remind everyone that we are journeying through this incredible book this Revelation this unveiling this apocalyps of Jesus Christ Our Lord and Savior which God gave to him so that he could show his bonder servant John the things which will quickly take place and we have been enjoying unpacking all of these signs and wonders through the first four chapters that Jesus gave John to have him write down and remember we've said it and we'll keep saying it that these are not dreams or visions that John had and he mysteriously wrote about it he's literally experiencing everything that he is seeing and hearing loud voices like trumpets and peels of Thunder bright lights that look like stones and rainbows like every single one of these things that he's seeing and hearing he is literally experiencing this isn't just some madeup mystery letter that he wrote right we also want to remind everyone and this is going to be especially crucial for this episode that John was transported he was taken somewhere and somewh else I remember and that is going to occur several times through the Book of Revelation MH and that's important to remember remember I on our last episode I used the parade analogy mhm we cannot look at the Book of Revelation like we're sitting on the curb of a parade and each one of these chapters is just a chronological sequence of events like a linear timeline we have to look at this book like we are in the helicopter that is hovering over the parade so that we can see the end from the beginning and everything in the middle got it and when at the beginning of chapter 4 Jesus tells John to come up here through the door that he sees open in heaven it's as if Jesus is in the helicopter and he says get on the helicopter let's fly through this door and chapter 4 is John writing down everything that he sees in heaven at that particular time H so are you strapped in I am yeah let's go ahead and read Revelation

5 I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back sealed up with Seven Seals and I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud loud voice who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals and no one in heaven or on the earth or under the Earth was able to open the book or to look into it then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it and one of the elders said to me stop weeping behold the lion that is from the tribe of Judah the root of David has overcome so as to to open the book and its Seven Seals and I saw between the throne with the four living creatures and the elders a lamb standing as if slain having seven horns and seven eyes which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the Earth and he came and took the book out of the right hand of him who sat on the throne when he had taken the book the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the lamb each one holding a harp and golden Bulls full of incense which are the prayers of the Saints and they sang a new song saying worthy are you to take the book and to break its seals for you were slain and purchased for God with your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and Nation you have made them to be a kingdom and Priests to our God and they will reign upon the Earth then I looked and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders and the number of them was myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands saying with a loud voice Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing and every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the Earth and on the sea and all things in them I heard saying to him who sits on the throne and to the lamb be blessing and honor and glory and Dominion forever and ever and the four living creatures kept saying amen and the elders fell down and worshiped 14 very powerful verses yeah like don't you wish that you could get in that helicopter and go witness this yeah I mean I made the joke in the last episode about the greatest worship band ever was well this one here is even better I'm just saying there's myriads of myriads of angels that join in that's the choir right oh man this is going to be fun are you ready Andy I'm ready okay O So to set the stage as we established in chapter 4 we identified some key characters we talked about about the 24 elders and we established that they were the 24 Elders were the levitical priesthood right okay which was commanded by God Moses and Aaron had the tribe of Levi Camp around the Tabernacle where the presence of God was right and then in 1 Chronicles 24 which is the first place where 24 is mentioned in scripture we see King David organizing the entire levitical priesthood with 2 four heads okay and so those are the pattern right right where the levitical priests were in numbers how they were sorted in Chronicles and now here in heaven you have this idiom for the levitical priesthood because they are around the throne where God the father is sitting kind of like the Ark of the Covenant like they were arranged in those days exactly okay we also talked about these four living creatures mhm and we identified them as being idioms or representations of the different tribes of Israel correct because they are they are also around the throne but they were they are outside from it just like the arrangement in Numbers Chapter 2 where the 12 tribes were split into groups of three and each group of three camped on all four sides of the Tabernacle with the levitical priests in the middle M they camped and marched exactly it's pretty cool well why all of that matters is because we discover that everything in Revelation 4 is extremely

Jewish you have the nation of Israel completely represented by 24 elders and four living creatures mhm and you have the seven candlesticks remember a different Greek word from Revelation 1 2 and three that was lightbearers but you have these candlesticks like the manur in the Holy place they burned with oil in the Holy place but in heaven it's illuminated by the holy spirit so ju you literally have this heavenly representation of the Earthly diagram of the Tabernacle and the temple oh that's cool and that's what John is in the midst of and writing about and this is what Jesus flew him transported him to go see and write about so we pick it up in chapter 5 and now the proverbial plot begins to thicken and it gets a little more intense so in verse one John writes that he saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne so who is him who sits on the throne the Lord the father yep a father in his right hand is a book now something you need need to know is that this is actually a scroll it's not a book books did not exist until after 2 Century ad okay so in this time period this would have been a scroll the thing that we would consider a book was called a codex back then oh I see so it's different Al together why does all of that matter well let me tell you some interesting facts about Scrolls what you are about to see take place in Revelation 5 is what I like to kind of sarcastically call the ultimate escrow closing Scrolls were the form of communication prior to 2 Century ad they were made from Papyrus or bull rushes which were 15 ft tall but they stood 6 ft underwater and they were thick as a man's wrist the pith was extracted and cut with a knife Into Thin strips rows were then laid out vertically and then horizontally and then they were moistened with water and with glue they were pressed together and then beaten with a mallet and smoothed over with a pmus stone huh now typically when these sheets were written on they were written on the front side which was called the recto because that was the side that had the horizontal grain it's kind of funny in our Western culture our college rule notebook paper goes you know has the horizontal lines yeah but uh that's the side with the horizontal grain and that's where the writing was normally done the backside was called the Verso because the grain was vertical and it was rough so it was rare if ever to see a scroll written on the back side H but a sheet that was written on the back was called an epistra which means a sheet quote written behind and this was unusual since it was rougher and uneven but these sheets were approximately 8 in x 10 in they were joined horizontally and the writing on them was done in 3in narrow columns 2 and 1/2 Ines on the top and on the bottom were left for margins and there was a 3-in space between each of the columns and then once the document was completed it was rolled up on a wooden roller yeahhuh so that's the kind of thing that John is seeing in the right hand of the father there's there's this large rolled up Scroll if you will and it's got seven seals on it h but it's also written on the inside and on the back so it's written with a purpose yeah it's pretty cool but I want to show you all something because I like it when the Bible interprets the Bible and I want to kind of drift off into the weeds for a few moments to kind of set the stage for the rest of Revelation chap 5 and what is about to take place so flip in your Bibles or in your Bible apps to the book of Jeremiah chter 32 we're going to start in verse 6 but to set kind of the stage Jeremiah is in prison and he receives a word from the Lord and this is what he writes starting in verse 6 and Jeremiah said the word of the Lord came to me saying behold hanel the son of Shalom your uncle is coming to you saying buy for yourself my field which is at anoth for you have the right of redemption to buy it then hanl my uncle's son came to me in the court of the Guard according to the word of the Lord and said to me buy my field please that is in anathoth which is in the land of Benjamin for you have the right of possession and the Redemption is yours buy it for yourself then I knew that this was the word of the Lord I bought the field which was at anathoth from hanel my uncle's son and I weighed out the silver for him 17 shekels of silver I signed and sealed the deed and called in Witnesses and weighed out the silver on the scales then I took the Deeds of purchase both the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions and the open copy and I gave the deed of purchase to baroo the son of narah the son of mesia in the sight of hanel my uncle's son and in the sight of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase before all the Jews who were sitting in the court of the guard and I commanded baroo in their presence saying thus says the Lord of hosts the god of Israel take these Deeds this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed and put them in an earth andwar jar that they may last a long time for thus says the Lord of hosts the god of Israel houses and Fields and Vineyards will again be bought in this land in other words in our vernacular what Jeremiah is telling baroo is take these sealed documents put him in a jar and bury him in the ground because Jeremiah knew that when Israel was back in the land he wasn't going to be alive anymore oh that's essentially what he's saying here H and then it goes on from there now the reason why I wanted to go here to this very obscure weird Passage that the focus here is that Jeremiah is being approved to take possession of and and redeem land he's found worthy okay uh this is also known as the goel or the kinsman redeemer okay so he did not he did not originally possess this land but he was designated as approved and worthy to take possession of the land and so he buys the land and the deed is sealed okay now I won't bore you with all the rest of the chapters that that unpack the rest of the story but what ends up happening is long after the nation of Israel is back in the land they dig up this jar and they have to find another goel and they find one and that goel is then Worthy to break the seals on the scroll open up the scroll and then take possession of the land oh you follow me uhhuh all right back to Revelation 5 verse two now remember this is a this is a book sealed up with Seven Seals and I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice who is worthy to open the book and break its seals sound familiar yeah and no one in heaven or on the earth or under the Earth was able to open the book or to look into it so remember from our example that I shared with you this is a model to pay attention to here remember I said in Jewish mindset prophecy is fulfilled in patterns in models okay okay there was a purchase of land made for later Redemption and even though Jeremiah knew the Babylonians would tread underfoot the land for 70 years he received evidence that God promised them that they're going to return and when they returned they dug up the documents and if the requirements were met for what was written on the outside then they could unseal and take title to that land that was purchased so here so here in verse three there's something very interesting going on John writes no one in heaven or on the earth or under the Earth was able to open the book no one was worthy no one was approved no one had met the requirements that were written on the outside of the scroll interesting okay A man is sought now remember the example of the goel and I would encourage all of you listeners as a side study read read and study the Book of Ruth because it's a short little four chapter book that contains such Rich history and further solidifying this model of kinsman redeemer because the qualifications for a goel is they have to be a Kinsman so here with this particular seal they have to literally be a Kinsman of Adam and they also have to qualify as the goel in order to open up the seals on this book essentially this sealed scroll is the title deed to the Earth that Adam forfeit oh Jesus purchased this title deed when he died on the cross at Calvary and he is going to take possession of what he purchased but it's interesting to me that here it says they searched Heaven Earth and under the Earth H and they could not find anyone yeah that's kind of crazy like where was he where was who the goel yeah Jesus yeah well we we'll we'll have to wait and see okay verse 4 now we read this verse and we just are kind of like deeply moved by it right yeah in our understanding of it then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it now we read that verse and we don't really understand fully what's going on there but John 100% completely gets what's going on this is the title deed to the Earth and there is nobody anywhere that they find to be the go to be the qualified person somebody's missing and this upsets John and in the Greek when it says I began to weep greatly it's it's literally to fall apart with convulsions he is greatly inwardly and outwardly upset now I mentioned the Book of Ruth and why it would be really helpful as a side study to go through the Book of Ruth because in Ruth's story you have some really interesting in things you have Boaz who is a kinsman redeemer he is the goel you have what's known as the law of Redemption where Boaz is able to purchase land for Naomi that she had lost and she's able to return to it you also have the Fulfillment of what's known as the law of levite marriage because Ruth Ruth is a gentile and Boaz marries her oh interesting and you can see how that works in Leviticus 25: 23- 2 and the Redemption is then sealed so what exactly is a goel a kinsman redeemer well there's four qualifications for a goel one they had to be a Kinsman mhm two they had to be able like they had to be alive and they had to be able to do it okay three they had to be willing and see that's the thing about the the Ruth and Boaz story yeah Boaz didn't have to marry Ruth he wanted to oh I see he was willing to mhm but then here's the fourth and most crucial element the goel had to assume all the obligations of the beneficiary all of the debts oh yes okay the goel assumed responsibility for all of those debts so let's continue so John they' they've looked all over Heaven they've looked all over Earth they've looked under the Earth and no one is found worthy to crack these seals and open the scroll and John is sobbing convulsively verse 5 and one of the elders said to me stop weeping behold the lion that is from the tribe of Judah the root of David has overcome so as to open the book and its Seven Seals well there's your answer who the person is right thank goodness yes the lion the lion from the tribe of Judah the root of David who is that Andy Jesus that's Jesus and it says that he is overcome how did he overcome by dying on the cross by dying on the cross but not only that he is a Kinsman of Adam mhm which means he's perfect he's able you can rest assured that he's willing and he's assumed all the obligations of the beneficiaries he did all of that on the cross right and that qualifies him and makes him able to open the scroll and its seals now notice up until verse 5 they can't find a goel in heaven and then all of a sudden in verse 6 and I saw between the throne suddenly there appears between the throne with the four living creatures read that on the mercy seat and the elders a lamb now back up a moment the Elder in verse 5 said that it was the lion

okay just as a side note from chapter 5 in the Book of Revelation on all of Jesus's titles are Jewish oh interesting from chapter 1 there are a total of 24 titles none of them are Jewish and it's interesting because when Jesus came to Earth the first time he was the lamb but when he comes back the second time then he is the lion oh interesting yes okay so what's going on here John writes he uses he uses a peculiar idiom here which then becomes a simile he says I looked and saw between the throne suddenly with the four living creatures and the elders a lamb standing as if slain what sort of a picture does that put in your head Andy well I'm thinking of like Christ's wounds from dying on the cross maybe exactly okay so a lamb who had been sacrificed mhm right but he's standing in heaven now on The Mercy Seat appearing as if he had just been slain now go with me here okay prior to verse 6 there's no one anywhere on the earth or in heaven yet or under the earth that is a goel and then in verse 6 boom all of a sudden the goel is arrived and it's Jesus and he's standing there with an appearance of a lamb as if it had just been slain you know what this quite possibly means Andy um well if you're looking at it from the helicopter it's after he was after he died on the cross sure and he's in heaven now so probably like after he ascended into heaven right I I believe that what John is experiencing is the eternity side of the Ascension of Jesus Christ to the right hand of the father because remember in Christ's Resurrection body he still bore the scars and wounds yes remember cuz Thomas had to touch the hands and the feet and the side to believe uhhuh remember yeah so this is Jesus in his resurrected body because he appears as a lamb that has been slain and notice remember they said that they looked in heaven well Jesus isn't in heaven they looked on the earth well Jesus isn't on the earth they looked under the Earth Jesus isn't under the Earth but but notice it says they didn't look above the Earth huh okay and then boom the goel shows up the lamb standing as if slain I believe that what John just witnessed was The Eternity side of Christ's Ascension to the father oh interesting now what's really creepy what's really going to bake your noodle what cuz remember eternity God is outside of our physical domain of time remember we talked about this mhm what's really creepy is that Jesus is the one that told John come up here so I can show you the next bit of information and what he's showing John is his own Ascension right why is this creepy because essentially Jesus is in two places at the same time right and so on our side of Eternity and so is John though and so is John because he's in the spirit yes on the Lord's day he's in the helicopter yeah now on this side of Eternity John in real time is in 95 ad writing about this yes but he's also on the other side of Eternity where time is not a physical property anymore well and he's also on the earth When Jesus ascended exactly [Music] but isn't it crazy uhhuh and I just think that this is freaking phenomenal yeah that John the disciple whom Jesus loved got to see this yeah which explains why he grieved so heavily in verse 4 because John had to have known who it was that was worthy to take the scroll and break the seals yeah and they couldn't find him and they couldn't find him isn't that intense yeah oh it's just so intense but the verse goes on so not only is Jesus standing here in the appearance of a lamb as if it had been slain it says this weird idiom that it has seven horns and seven eyes well horns in uh in scripture are symbolic of power you can look at Deuteronomy 22 First Kings 22 Zechariah 1 Psalm 75 they're also a symbol of Honor check out 1st Samuel chapter 2 Psalm 89 Psalm 112 and Psalm 148 and the number seven it does not mean Perfection we have to be careful about that because the dragon in Revelation 12 has seven heads also okay it's the number of completion oh okay so this is an idiom for Jesus who has complete power and complete honor and then it gets a little confusing because then it's n seven eyes but then John tells you who the seven eyes are what the seven eyes are which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the Earth the Sevenfold Spirit the Sevenfold Spirit got it so right here you have the father on the throne you have Jesus the lamb and you have the Holy Spirit and what's about to happen to the Holy Spirit sent out into all the earth oh oh my goodness you mean to tell me that Pentecost is about to happen on the earth I see oh my gosh okay well that that's pretty cool do you have Goosebumps yet yeah I do actually see a lot of a lot of Bible scholars a lot of pastors a lot of Bible students a lot of Christians they forget that when you get to Acts chapter 1 Jesus is still on the earth and he gives Specific Instructions to the 12 apostles to remain in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit comes but when the Holy Spirit comes you will be my witness you will be filled with power and you will be my Witnesses in Jerusalem and in Judea and of all of Samar and in all of Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth and they did that very thing When Jesus ascended they stayed in Jerusalem they didn't go anywhere and then Acts chapter 2 Boom the Holy Spirit comes is that wild yeah that's that's wild so John is in my opinion based off what I'm reading John is on the eternity side of Christ's Ascension and the preparation of the Holy Spirit to go down at Pentecost is that nuts uhhuh it's crazy okay that's pretty cool so he is described as the lion of Judah and the root of David well that lion is attributed to Jacob's son Judah in Genesis 49 yeah it's also referenced in Hosea chter 5 and in Hebrews chapter 7 but it's interesting this root or line of David mhm this is like his human Heritage right so like Isaiah 11 Jeremiah 23 Romans 15 we'll see it in revelation 22 and in Matthew 1:1 so this is this is you know he is the root of David he is he is of the line of David but here's what's interesting Jesus was a physical result of David's lineage and yet he was the one who brought David and his lineage into

existence yeah and What's creepy about that is that that is such a ridiculous Paradox and yet it's exactly the thing that Jesus used to mess with the heads of the Pharisees in Matthew chap 22 in verse 41 Matthew writes now while the Pharisees were gathered together Jesus asked them a question what do you think about the Messiah whose son is he and they said to him the son of David and he said to them then how does David in the spirit call him Lord saying the Lord said to my Lord sit at my right hand until I put your enemies beneath your feet that's Psalm chap too by the way uh-huh if David then calls him Lord how is he his son and no one was able to answer him a word nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask him another question wow so anytime you're confused about something the Pharisees tend to come to our [Laughter] rescue so this is all part of God's covenant with David that his line was to rule over all the Earth 2 Samuel 7 Psalm 2:8 this was also confirmed to Mary when Gabriel came to her in Luke 1:33 so there's a lot going on here in chapter 5 this isn't just Jesus showing up as the lamb who was slain he's also referred to as the lion of Judah who is going to come back and rule the Earth and it's a reaffirmation of his lineage of David so in other words these are all the reasons why he is qualified to be the goel he's the Redeemer he's the purchaser he's ready willing and able he's of the right lineage so he's a Kinsman and he's a ruler cuz he's he's the lion he's taking care of all of it that's awesome isn't that insane yeah oh just one other little fun thing what you know when Jesus was crucified mhm we read in John chapter 19 at the crucifixion starting in verse 17 they took Jesus therefore and he went out bearing his own cross to the place called the place of a skull which is called in Hebrew golgatha There They Crucified him and with him two other men one on either side and Jesus in between Now Catch This pilate did you know that pilot was very well educated I would imagine pilate could read and write in three languages oh okay how do I know this verse 19 pilate also wrote an inscription in other words when when someone was put to death by crucifixion there was a placard that was nailed above their head that said what their crime was why they were being put to death so that's what the the inscription is that pilot writes now we read this in English and we miss like the comedy in this believe it or not interesting it says pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross it was written Jesus the Nazarene the king of the Jews therefore many of the Jews read this inscription for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city and it was written in Hebrew Latin and Greek now watch this what so the chief Priests of the Jews were saying to pilate do not write the king of the Jews but that he said I am King of the Jews now why do you think just out of curiosity Andy the chief priests would be upset about that phrase King of the Jews being on the Epitaph of Jesus um because they didn't recognize him as that sure and cuz he's being crucified for blasphemy essentially right right and so pilot writing that makes it almost you know official or something or affirming that yeah affirming that yeah that's all probably true but it's deeper than that is it yes you ready for this okay one thing that talmudic and Jewish Scholars are obsessed with are acrostics in literature you know what you know what acrostics are no it's where you have like a phrase and you take like the letters in the phrase and you arrange them in a certain way and they say something else it's like a meaning within the meaning okay like for instance talmudic Scholars are obsessed with um the Torah in the Hebrew because in Genesis and exodus every 50th Hebrew letter spells Yahweh in order oh and in numbers in Deuteronomy every 50th letter spells Yahweh backwards you know I have heard that and then Leviticus it doesn't do it at all so it all points to points to the law right okay yes heard that so th those are acrostics okay well when pilate wrote Jesus the Nazarene the king of the Jews in the three languages Greek being the known language of of the day Latin being the official language of Rome and Hebrew being the common language of the Jews well when you read that in Hebrew guess what what it's an acrostic that phrase Jesus the Nazarene the king of the Jews okay because the first letter of each word in that phrase spells Yahweh oh no and not only that so that must have made them really upset oh yes and not only that that Yahweh is an unspeakable name you don't say it it was considered blasphemy to say Yahweh M unless you were like the high priest so there's a whole lot of levels of these Jewish leaders being upset that this was written on his very Epitaph like they got Jesus crucified falsely for blasphemy and now they're even upset because the citation of his offense doesn't say what they would ER is that interesting yeah just a fun little side note thing interesting back to Revelation CH 5 okay so we have Jesus who has all of the sudden appeared in heaven I believe that this is the eternity side of the Ascension and John sees this he's described in all of the ways that he is qualified to be the go well the one to take the scroll break the seals and open it and read from it and the Holy Spirit is there as well getting ready to be sent out into all the Earth verse 7 and he came and took the book out of the right hand of him who sits on the throne boy can you just imagine the exchange of eyes between the father and the son in that moment yeah and when he had taken the book the four living creatures that's all the N the representatives of the Israelites the 20 24 Elders which is the representatives of the levitical priesthood they fell down before the lamb each one holding a harp and a golden bowl full of incense which are the prayers of the Holy ones or the Saints this is all very idiomatic of what took place in the tabernacle during things like the day of atonement oh and here's where it gets really really funny verse 9 they sang a new song saying worthy are you this is Jesus worthy are you Jesus to take the book you are the goel you are worthy to take the scroll and to break its seals why for you were slain and you purchased for God with your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and Nation now wait a minute I thought that all of this was Jewish oh what's going on here Andy well I firmly believe that number one that this is further proof that Pentecost is about to take place and the church is about to be born because the church is not just Israel it's people from every tribe tongue and Nation nice right right and they were purchased by his blood mhm verse 10 you Jesus you have made them to be a kingdom and Priests to our God okay let's stop there now we've mentioned this before Andy this whole idea of being Kings and Priests there's only three people in history that have ever been worthy to have the title of Kings and Priests you remember this yeah who are they melkisedek mhm uh Jesus uhhuh and the church the church which is about to be literally born on earth oh wow and then what's the thing that comes after that they will reign upon the Earth as his Kings and Priests so we're Kings and Priests we're Kings and Priests you know why because Jesus brought the kingdom and we have the spirit and we have the spirit wow isn't that intense yeah that is intense now before I go any further further because I'm not done baking your noodles and I'm sorry that this episode is so long this is the other reason why I split four from five cuz there's so much going on here that we'll miss if we don't unpack this thoroughly here in chapter 5 competent Bible scholars and teachers believe again because of the 24 Elders that the church is in heaven but also because of this phrase you have made them to become Kings and Priests to our god well there's several problems with that number one I already told you that the church is not in heaven yet in chapter 4 they're also not in heaven in chapter 5 it's not the elders alone who are singing It's the elders and the four living creatures who are singing and they're singing not about themselves as kingdoms and Priests but as someone on the Earth who are Kings and Priests from every tribe tongue people and Nation you follow me yeah now when I speak about translations of scripture to to use to study there are so many reasons why that matters in this instance it's extremely important for me to note that in every modern translation of the Bible meaning into English so that's like New American Standard and i v RSV Etc right every single translation verses 9 and 10 say worthy are you to take the book to break its seals you were slain and purchased for God with your blood men from every tribe tongue and Nation verse 10 you have made them to be a kingdom and priest to our God and they will reign upon the earth except for one translation oh really and that's the King James oh the King James it says us interesting so it's very important that you're using a good translation of scripture and even if you're a king Jimmy fan that's okay go look at the Greek because the Greek will show you what this actually says in the Greek and in the Greek it's them it's those it's they they're not singing about themselves they're singing about some somebody else some other people and where are they they are on the earth in every tribe tongue people and nation and they will reign upon the Earth that's the church does that make sense yeah that makes sense okay now I might get a little emotional as we wrap this up okay are you ready yeah verse 11 then I looked and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders and the number of them was myriads of myriads and thousands and thousands saying with a loud voice Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing and every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the Earth and on the sea and all things in them I heard saying to him who sits on the the throne and to the lamb be blessing and honor and glory and Dominion forever and ever and the four living creatures kept saying amen and the elders fell down and

worshiped the reason why this these last four verses of this chapter make me get emotional is because it's a continuation of chapter 4 where the elders cast their crowns Before the Throne remember okay yes they're still cast before the throne in chapter 5 and they're worshiping with the four living creatures and with this Myriad of upon myriads of angels Jesus the lamb who was

slain the primary reason why I believe that these 24 Elders are representation of of the levitical priesthood yeah what happened the moment that Jesus breathed his last breath on the cross what happened in the temple oh the curtain was torn the veil yeah separating humans from the presence of God uh where only whom could enter the oh the high priest the priests right right that veil was torn in two from top to bottom symbolizing that access to God was made available to all and a priest was no longer required oh the reason why these priests these 24 Elders cast their crowns at the throne is because their job is done and Jesus shows up and now they worship him because he has made them Kings and Priests and they will rule upon the Earth how do I know this this is like a passing of the torch it's not a removal of them from the blessing it's just a shift in job who who's doing the job wow you have in verse 10 you have made them to be a kingdom and priest to whose God our God our God it's very Jewish yahovah is the god of the Jews the god of the nation of Israel and now he has made people from every tribe tongue and Nation on the Earth part of the family just like where it says that the Gentiles are grafted in to Abraham yes because of their faith right mhm John is witnessing that purchase literally taking place and it's all playing out with all of the cast of characters and the 24 Elders have fulfilled their job they've fulfilled their task and now Jesus has become in effect melkisedek just like it's prophesied about in Hebrews wow he is now the high priest yes and he appeared on The Mercy Seat in heaven mhm because his blood was poured out for the sins of all which made him the goel and now as a result every created thing in the entire universe is worshiping him and to seal the deal no pun intended the last verse of chapter 5 the four living creatures they kept saying amen boy you talk about a church service yeah wow and that's the way the chapter ends you see when Jesus starts opening the seals which we're going to see in chapter 6 yeah the Wrath of the L begins being poured out on the earth oo but this cannot start until the seals are broken and the seals can't be broken until he takes the scroll and he can't take the scroll until the 24 Elders are in heaven and have cast their crowns Before the

Throne that's what kept the book sealed interesting yeah so now he's the goel so he is the goel he is our kinsman redeemer and now as we move forward Into the Book of Revelation we are going to see just in fact how Redemption is going to look on the earth and that's all we have to say about that thank you for listening to the Churchosity podcast the post scripts on our next episode we'll be looking at Revelation chap 6 and the breaking of the seals it's going to be intense and it's going to be fun so until next time this is the Churchosity podcast Personnel saying peace [Music]