We have not yet finished our tour of heaven. We diverted last week to answer the question: Why worship God? The answer that was given is that we worship God because he created us. He is worthy of our worship.

When we looked into what heaven might be like we saw several parts. First, an open door, second, a throne with someone on it, third, an emerald rainbow around the throne, fourth, twenty-four thrones with elders in each throne, fifth, angelic beings who said day and night, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come,” which was followed by the twenty-four elders getting off their thrones, taking off their crowns and saying, “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”

What a sight! Great rejoicing! But the great rejoicing turns to sadness.

Re 5:1 -14 “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.

Here we find John weeping uncontrollably. Have you ever been there? Do you know what it is like to cry and cry and cry and not stop? What was your circumstance? Was it the death of a loved one? Was it the breakup of a relationship? Was it the loss of your home or your job? What caused it for you? If you have experienced this level of grief, you know how John felt.

So what was behind his grief? No on in heaven, no one on earth, no one who had died, could open the scroll that was seen in the hand of God or even look inside it.

A seven-sealed scroll was a legal document. You would open the first seal, read down, the open the second, read on, then the third, and so on. So John is weeping because there is no one worthy to open this legal document.

To be worthy means to be equal to the honor, the award, the position. Pete Rose is trying to get into baseballs Hall of Fame. He has all the credentials. I got this information from the Wikipedia site. “Rose, a switch hitter, is the all-time Major League leader in hits (4,256), games played (3,562), at-bats (14,053)[1], and outs (10,328). He won three World Series rings, three batting titles, one Most Valuable Player Award, two Gold Gloves, the Rookie of the Year Award, and made 17 All-Star appearances at an unequaled five different positions (2B, LF, RF, 3B & 1B).”

But Pete Rose may never make it into the Hall of Fame. Why? He was accused and admitted to gambling on baseball. Almost every year this question comes us, “Is Pete Rose worthy to be in the Hall of Fame? He was a terrific baseball player. But does he meet the critera for the honor of being a Hall of Fame candidate?

The search begins. Who is worthy to open this legal document that is coming from God? If you had been alive, would you have been worthy? Would I? No, we would not. John wasn’t worthy and he weeps because this scroll is so important and no one will be able to open it.

So what is in the scroll? We have the advantage of being able to turn the page and find out. Each seal has an important part.

When the seals are opened, out come judgments on the earth. The first seal is the seal of conquest. The second is the removal of peace. The third seal is famine. The fourth seal is death and hell. The fifth seal is the seal of justice. The sixth seal is the great day of wrath. The seventh seal reveals great tribulation.

So the person who is worthy to open the seal needs to be a person who is in a position to judge everyone else on earth.

It is important that I define terms at this point. Many people accuse Christians of judging them when we say, “the Bible says that such-and-such is wrong.” You do not judge a person when you say, lying is a sin, homosexuality is immorality, taking what doesn’t belong to you is wrong. That is not judging. That is simply stating a fact.

Judging means to sit behind the bench, condemn the person and then execute judgment on that person. It is being the judge, jury and executioner for someone else.

You might have someone come beside you and say, “You need to deal with your anger!” They are not judging you, they are stating their opinion of your situation. They may even say, “You are guilty of hurting a lot of people with your anger.” This may or may not be true, but they still are not judging you. The person who judges you does both of these things, but adds a third. They say, “I’m not going to speak to you. I’m going to hurt you for hurting me…” They become not only the judge and jury, but the executioner. The Christian would say, “Your anger is a sin. You are hurting people. How can I help you?” That is not judging.

So when we ask, “Who is worthy to judge the earth?” we are looking for someone who is in a position where they can rightfully tell you that you are wrong and then can condemn you for it.

So who is worthy to sit in judgment on this world? Many of us are qualified to point our the sins of the world. We have the Bible, we have our conscience and many of us know firsthand what sin is like because we are experts in doing it!

But we are not worthy to open the seals of judgment. We are too guilty of sin ourselves.

So what about the angels in heaven? They have never sinned. They are perfect before God. But when the scrolls is shown on the throne, none of the angels stepped forward. Why not?

There are two criteria I would suggest to you that would make any of us worthy to be in a position to condemn others. The first is if we were the creator, the second would be if we shared their condition.

The one seated on the throne who gives the scroll is God, the creator of heaven and earth. He is worthy to make up the scroll that tells his creation how to live. When you construct a shed, you retain the right to use it as a shed, remake it into an addition on your house, or tear it down. That is the power of the creator. (Unless you add in the issue of town codes).

But if we are not the creator, we cannot condemn unless we shared their condition. There is an old Native American says that goes, “Don’t judge a man until you have walked two moons in his moccasins.” A person who could condemn other would be someone who has “walked two moons in his moccasins.”

But in order to condemn, he would have to have avoided all the pitfalls and all the sins of those he would seek to condemn.

No angel would qualify. They did not create us, nor have they walked in our moccasins.

Who is left? Verse 5.

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 in the centre of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne.

Who is left? The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David has triumphed. Who is the lion of the tribe of Judah? Who is the root of David? None other than Jesus the Christ, the Anointed one, the Messiah of Israel, the savior of the world!

Notice the images. He is the lion, king of the jungle. He is the source or root of David. But when John looked, he didn’t see a lion, he saw a Lamb, one that looked as if it had been killed. I don’t know what a lamb looks like that looks like it had been killed. For this one that looked like it had been killed was alive. It was standing in the center of the throne. I can’t quite picture this. Isn’t this where God was sitting? Is this the center of that area? This Lamb was surrounded by the four living creatures and the elders. In these sets of circles, he is at the center. He walks up to the throne and takes the scroll from the right hand of God.

So what makes Jesus more worthy than the angels? What makes Jesus more worthy than the elders? What makes Jesus more worthy than you or me? What gives Jesus the right to pronounce condemnation on the world?

I will let the text tell us.

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 the saints. 9 And they sang a new song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God 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 on the earth.”

A song is sung in heaven. In this song the reasons that Jesus is worthy to open the seals of judgment are given.

First, Jesus is worthy because he was slain.

Second, Jesus is worthy because he made people from every tribe, language, people and nation a kingdom of priest to serve our God.

A lot of people throughout history have been slain. Some have been killed in war, others as martyrs others as criminals. Jesus was slain for a unique reason. He died because you and I sinned. He took all the punishment that God would have directed towards us on himself when he died on the cross.

When we look at the seven seal judgments, they are awful: famine, death and hell, wrath, tribulation. But do you know what was worse? What Jesus suffered on the cross for us. What we call the great tribulation was nothing compared to what Jesus suffered. Paul tells us that God made him who knew no sin, to be made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. All the sins of Genghas Khan, all the sins of Adolf Hitler, all the sins of the terrorists, all the sins of the child molesters, all the sins of you and I were taken by Jesus on the cross. He suffered what we should have suffered.

The result was that many people from every tribe and language and people and nation were saved by his death on the cross.

Is Jesus worthy to judge the world? Absolutely. He came to earth and lived among us. He knows the power of temptation, though he never gave in. He died on the cross for our sins. He has come to people like you and me, people all around the world, and he has offered to forgive their sins. But these people have rejected Jesus. They have rejected the cross. They rejected the Lamb that was slain for them.

If you brought someone into your house, you fed them, you clothed them, you gave them spending money, you helped them find a job, and then that person stole valuable jewels out of your home, would you not be in the right if you were angry, upset, and made sure that they got what they deserved?

Some of us have been too conditioned by grace and mercy to answer this straight. The right answer is, “You would have every right to make sure they got what they deserved”. You treated them great and they treated your help as dirt.

But, you say, God is gracious and full of mercy. He won’t get people. Not so. There is a window of opportunity. God’s mercy and grace are extended for a limited period of time. When the door shuts, your chance is gone. The lion who turned into a lamb will become the lion again.

He is also worthy because he made people from every tribe, language, people and nation a kingdom of priest to serve our God.

One of them is Daniel Butler's from Rochester, New York

“I have always believed in Jesus, but in my childhood, I would never spend any time praying or reading Scripture. I use to spend most of my day watching TV or playing video games, which was laziness in every aspect, including spiritually. I was addicted to sexual pleasures of the flesh for years. The ways of wrong were in my daily activity. I was disrespectful to my parents. In my speech was filth and profanity. I did not have the Lord in my life.

When I was nineteen, a serious revelation in my commitment to God occurred, I realized that I wanted a stronger relationship with my God. At first I was crushed emotionally thinking it was too late to develop a deep relationship with God. I viewed myself as such a wretched sinner, and I wondered if God would forgive me. I hated the actions I committed in my past. My spirit was crushed, godly sorrows flooded my heart, but then it hit me, God's mercy is everlasting. I cried out to the Lord, asking him for a heart of flesh, soon after things changed.

A deep love for God developed, through the scriptures I was getting to know God and our Lord Jesus Christ. I developed hatred of sin in my daily life. I am in no way perfect, but through Christ who strengthens me, I sin much less, stay away from things of the flesh, and I am spiritually minded. I have, by the mercy of our loving God, been reborn.

(Note this paragraph) I want to help others know truth. I am forever humbled that God's grace came upon me. THANK God our heavenly Father for our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. “

Here is someone that Jesus made to be a servant of God.

Is Jesus worthy to judge? He not only saves people, he brings them into God’s kingdom and develops them into servants of God. I don’t know what company you work for, what family you belong to, but there should be no greater thrill for us than to be servants of the living God. And we become servants through trusting in Jesus, the lamb of God, who was slain for us.

Jesus is worthy to judge because he is the one who died for us. I love Romans 8:1: There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Why not? Because Jesus paid it all.

John, who trusted in Jesus, and the elders, who trusted in Jesus, saw that he was worthy to make things right, to condemn this sinful world and reward the righteous. He was worthy to open the seals.

Jesus says to you today, Trust me. Come over to my side. Put your faith in me. You will not face condemnation and I will make you a servant of God. If not, Jesus says, there is coming a day that I will make all things right. If you reject me, I will reject you. If you accept me. I will accept you. Today is the day of salvation.

Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive our power, our wealth , our wisdom, our strength, our honor, our glory and our praise!

For the Christian today, I want you to do on earth what was done in heaven.

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 sang: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honour 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, singing: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honour and glory and power, for ever and ever!” 14 The four living creatures said, “Amen”, and the elders fell down and worshipped.”

Let’s join them today.