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Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels surrounding the throne and the living creatures and the elders; they numbered myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, singing with full voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, singing, “To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” And the elders fell down and worshiped. (Revelation 5:11-14)
Happy Tuesday, dear Friend! I pray this find you well and enjoying the day! I saw on social media yesterday a hilarious post: "Eww, Monday, who invited you??" I pray Tuesday is better received in your life today.
Our passage for today takes us into the future as revealed to John the disciple on a Sunday morning on the Island of Patmos. Exiled for his faith, it was on the day he would normally be in church worshiping God, that God came to visit him and reveal to him the things that were to come. This coming September, Lord willing, yours truly will be on that island with the group going to Greece with me. This is the last week to sign up! May 3rd is when we need to know if you've been guided to join us! (Wow, what a bold move, Pastor!)
The place of the passage is in Heaven. As one would imagine, that sacred and pure place is inhabited by angels, living creatures and the elders. The angels were those beings created by God to be angels, the living creatures are those animals present in glory, and the elders are those who suffered here on earth and died for their faith. The number of those was beyond counting, and all were singing "with full voice" (just like we used to do in many of the churches where I have worshiped and pastored! You may remember when Col. Potter made his appearance on the TV Show MASH, he asked Father Mucahy for a 'good ole Methodist hymn sing.'). I remember fondly the times I have been present at worship in the Asbury School of Theology chapel services. The singing there is without equal, as is the enthusiasm of those who worship. Their song was one that said, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!" That hymn is about Jesus, who is the Lamb of God. Jesus was slaughtered in order to receive these necessary things: Power, wealth, wisdom, might, honor, glory, and blessing. The Lamb is now the King and as king has the necessary assets with which to rule and reign. Those in Heaven know this and sing this. We on earth would do good to know those things and make them a part of our praise to God and His Son, Jesus. As the hymn continued, John hears the voices grow because every creation in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, all sang, "To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!" Worship, praise, submission, and obedience are the repertoire of the faithful; those who know Jesus and love Him are in that choir. And this song was pleasing to the four living creatures around the throne who all said, "Amen!" At the sound of that word, the elders fell down and worshiped the Lamb.
This is a victory scene being celebrated in the most holy of holy places; the realm of God. I thought back to the Old Testament when it was decided that for humanity's sin, an animal, usually a lamb, would die. "The wages of sin is death." Sin does not go unpunished. For the OT people, sacrifice, which included the slaughter of animals, was the atonement required by God for sin. The New Testament is all about the final sacrifice, that was the Lamb of God. All lambs who died were worthy. The Lamb of God was the most worthy. He died for our sins as an atonement of that broken bridge that existed between humanity and God; and Jesus as High Priest, became the bridge from which the word bridge comes from. That's good news worthy of Easter celebration!
Easter marks the day when Jesus defeated sin and death; marking our God as the God of life not death. If you're a fan of Game of Thrones, this week's episode was a heart-stopping one, where a battle was waged between an army of the living and the army of the dead. The battle was long and as the living tried to kill the dead, many of the living died. The army of the dead was ruled by the Night King and at one point in the battle, the Night King raised back to "life" the dead killed as well as the living killed. The living who were killed were raised as new soldiers for the dead. At the point where I thought I had had enough of the show, the story turn an interesting turn. I hate to spoil the show for those of you wanting to see it, but let me just say it was a bit scary to see the power of the dead and the way they killed the living. I thought, of course, to this book and the struggle involved in the final pages of the Bible, and thus, eternal life for some, eternal death for others. But, we know the ending and Who wins. Yet, to experience that will be an experience for the nonbeliever. It is better to prepare for those coming days now, by entering into a trusting and eternal relationship with Jesus. We want to be on the winning side, don't we? And who sings better? Winners or losers?
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I pray that I might be in relationship with You through Jesus. I want to be on the side who sings the loudest and longest; and a song of victory at that! I ask that I be forgiven of my sins and I be in right with You through Jesus Christ; in Whose name I pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Pray Mas!
Eradio Valverde
Here's our t-shirt for the month of May. It's called Pray Más.
https://teespring.com/pray-m-s-pray-more-a-bold#pid=2&cid=2397&sid=front
