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Pagosa Springs SDA

Skip Dodson

Seven Secrets of the Apocalypse: War Hero

Our Father in heaven, we thank you for the privilege of prayer.

And we're grateful, Father, for this opportunity to assemble together in your house.

Today, Lord, we do so without fear of persecution.

Father, we know that that day may come when we will not enjoy such blessings.

We pray that you would prepare us for those times by helping us to behold the champion, the hero of the great controversy today, and to remember that in all circumstances we can look to him and know that he has won the war and that soon he will come and take his loyal subjects home with him.

Father, Please send your spirit to open our eyes today and Open my mouth to speak only your words for we ask you this father in Jesus name Amen I have a friend who served in Vietnam.

I wish he was here today to hear this message in person, but I'm hoping he can listen to it in another format.

You know, if you go around Archuleta County, you will run into many Vietnam veterans.

There are lots of veterans who live here in this county.

And I've talked with some of them, and I've listened to their stories.

You know, war is always a terrible endeavor, isn't it?

But it was particularly difficult for our Vietnam vets.

And for some of them, it is still particularly difficult.

The campaign itself was long, the longest in our history until Afghanistan surpassed it a few years ago.

Not only was the war long, but it soon became clear to all that there was no real winning strategy.

American forces were not permitted to go on the offensive into North Vietnam for fear of drawing China into the conflict as had happened in Korea the decade before.

This resulted in a prolonged stalemate, and the North Vietnamese Army simply waited us out.

Politics dictated the tactics of the war, making it essentially a losing fight.

But perhaps the most difficult aspect of all of it was the return home, something unexpected.

Because of the social upheaval of the 1960s and early 1970s, the veterans who returned home were not treated well.

About 9 years ago, my friend Charlie told us the story of his welcome, and I put that in air quotes, home.

As he told the story, he still had tears in his eyes.

Often vets were met at airports by protesters carrying signs.

Communist sympathizing celebrities denounced them.

I guess not much has changed in 50 years.

They were portrayed in films and television shows as psychotic, dangerous people.

Whether you agree with war in general or whether you agree with that war in particular, I think you'll agree with me that it was a tragic way to greet men who had risked their lives and endured the horrors of war.

But if there is anyone who understands how our Vietnam vets felt and perhaps still feel, it is our Lord Jesus Christ.

How was he treated throughout his life and particularly at its close by the Jews, by the soldiers of Pilate, by the soldiers of Herod?

How did he feel when he was on Calvary and people were mocking and spitting on him?

The hero of the great controversy who was risking his very existence to save the fallen world was mocked, spit upon and crucified, but friends, thank God that is not the end of the story.

And to get that part of the story, I want you to turn with me again to the passage that Wayne read a few minutes ago from Revelation chapter 5.

Revelation chapter 5 verses, and this time we will read the entire chapter together.

Revelation chapter 5, verses 1 through 14.

And while you're navigating to the text, I should mention that this message today is part 2 of our ongoing series, not given in strict sequence, but over the course of the next months we'll be finishing it up.

The ongoing series entitled 7 Secrets of the Apocalypse.

As I mentioned when I presented part 1, I don't intend to give all these messages right in a row, but instead I'm going to be putting them together as a set with the possible intention, hopefully, of publishing them as some sort of sharing book in the future.

Now Revelation chapter 5 begins in verse 1 with these words.

And I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back sealed with 7 seals.

Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?

And no 1 in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look at it.

So I wept much because no 1 was found worthy to open and read the scroll or to look at it.

But 1 of the elders said to me, do not weep, behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its 7 seals.

And I looked and behold in the midst of the throne and of the 4 living creatures and in the midst of the elders stood a lamb as though it had been slain.

Having 7 horns and 7 eyes, which are the 7 spirits of God, sent out into all the earth.

Then he came and took the scroll out of the right hand of him who sat on the throne.

Now when he had taken the scroll, the 4 living creatures and The 24 elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

And they sang a new song, saying, You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals for you were slain and have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation and have made us kings and priests to our God and we shall reign on the earth.

Then I looked and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures and the elders, and the number of them was 10000 times 10000 and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, worthy is the lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.

And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying, blessing and honor and glory and power be to him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever.

Then the 4 living creatures said, what did they say, church?

And the 24 elders fell down and worshiped him who lives forever and ever.

Now I wanna make some observations about it.

And the first thing I would observe here is this question, who is worthy?

Well, I would propose that it has everything to do with righteousness.

This is especially true if you consider the larger context of this chapter.

If you go backwards 1 chapter to Revelation chapter 4, we see clear allusions to the giving of the 10 Commandments at Mount Sinai, 1 of the most momentous events of all the Old Testament.

The first thing we see in Chapter 4 is that the prophet is told to come up here.

He went up to receive instruction from God.

Then you have the lightning, the thunder, the voices, and the fire, also mentioned in chapter 4.

All of those things were also present at Mount Sinai.

You also have a sea of glass upon which a group of elders sits, and this is very reminiscent of the pavement of translucent blue sapphire stone of Exodus 24, 9 through 11, on which the elders of Israel saw the pre-incarnate Christ and had a fellowship meal to celebrate the ratification of the covenant.

And finally, you have the 4 living creatures, the faces of which were found, according to ancient Jewish tradition, on the banners of the 4 leading tribes around the camp of Israel.

So friends, with all of that in mind, I would suggest to you that the focus in Revelation 4 is clearly on God as creator and by implication as lawgiver.

So with all that behind Revelation 5, wouldn't it be logical that this question, who is worthy to open the scroll, has everything to do with this question, who is righteous enough to open the scroll?

Of course, there is only 1 definition of righteousness in the Bible, 1 standard of measurement, and that is what, everyone?

1 standard of righteousness, and what is it?

The character of God as expressed in the law of God.

The question of who is worthy is an absolutely vital question to ask even at this present time.

It was relevant at the time of John in this particular setting in which it is asked, but it is also an absolutely vital question to ask at this time.

I will affirm without hesitation that I've never lived at a time when people are more confused, bewildered, and befuddled about what righteousness is than they are right at this particular moment.

And I would also assert that the level of hypocritical self-righteousness, the term that they use now is virtue signaling, That's another term for self-righteousness, hypocritical self-righteousness.

In the midst of all this confusion, the Bible cuts right through the fog to bring us face to face with this ultimate question, who is really worthy?

Or if we phrase it in the way that I've suggested, who is really righteous?

And as I pointed out, I think that's an absolutely vital question, not only for the book of Revelation and for John and for the scene that we've looked at in heaven, but for our present situation.

We should see that the answer to the question posed in the second verse provokes 1 of 2 responses.

The answer, according to verse 3, is this, and no 1 in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look at it.

Now, here we find the whole gamut of where we can find human beings.

Let's start at the bottom and work our way up.

There are people that are under the earth.

I don't mean some sort of underground city like some conspiracy theorists say exist.

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Seven Secrets of the Apocalypse: War Hero

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