Title Deed to Everything

Who is worthy of owning everything? Who is worthy of claiming the title deed to the earth? Jesus Christ, of course.

Revelation 5:1 starts, “I saw in the right hand of Him the sat on the throne.” That’s significant because we know that at the resurrection of Jesus Christ, according to Psalm 110:1, where was Jesus seated? “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” So, the Lord Jesus is going to have to go very far to receive this from the Almighty, because He’s right there. “In the right hand of Him who sat on the throne, a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals.” What is the significance of being written inside and on the back? It was typical of a title deed in the ancient world that it would be written front and back and then it would be sealed. The fact that it’s sealed with seven seals shows something very important. To break the seal, back then, you had to be the person to whom the deed was given.

While weeping and as John admits, he reports in Revelation 5:5 that “One of the elders said to him, “Behold the lion of the tribe of Judah has prevailed.” When did Jesus prevail? Obviously, on the cross. “It is finished.” That was Christ’s victory. “He has prevailed to open the scroll and to lose is seven seals. “And I looked,” John says in Revelation 5:6, “and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures and in the midst of the elders stood a Lamb.” Jesus, The Lamb of God, is standing “as though it had been slain having seven horns and seven eyes.” Once again, symbolism is being used. It’s not always describing the actual appearance of the person is describing something about them. And the horn in Scripture is a symbol of strength, power, and authority. And the eyes, intelligence. “So it had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God set out in the earth. And he came and he took the scroll out of the right hand of him who sat on the throne when he had taken the scroll. The four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the lamb, each having a harp and golden bowls of incense which are the prayers of the saints.” Did you ever stop and think that every prayer you pray is on record? And it says here that the prayers are incense offered before God. Before the veil separating the Holy of Holies, the assigned priest would light the altar of incense and the smoke of it would go up. And what was it a picture of? It was a picture of the prayers of the saints.

In Revelation 5:9,” they sang a new song.” Who is singing the new song? Well, it’s the elders and those who are with it, and I include us in that group. They sang a new song. “You are worthy to take the scroll and open a seal for you were slain.” The idea of redemption when it relates to people has the slave market in mind. You’re a slave. You’re standing on the slave block. Redemption means to pay the price to set you free and then you were let go. That’s the idea of redemption. “You have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every tribe and tongue.” No group not represented. And notice in Revelation 5:10, “you have made us kings and priests.” Who again are these people? Church age believers. No Old Testament believer was King Priest. 1st Peter 2:9 says, “we are a royal priesthood.” The very fact that these people are singing and saying, “You redeemed us and you have made us kings and priest,” tell us, those are church age believers. Are any believers in the tribulation going to be royal priests? No. Church age only. That’s one of the privileges we have that no one of any other time of history is going to enjoy among many, many of the things that we have in Christ.

Revelation 5:10 concludes, “…and we shall reign on the earth.“ One day I believe each one of us is going to be a lot of certain responsibilities in the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we’re going to exercise authority. John says in Revelation 5:11, “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 10,000 times 10,000 saying with a loud voice say, ‘Worthy is the lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.” Now we’ve had the first chorus church sing, second the second chorus is angels. Revelation 5:13 says, “and every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth, and 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 under the Lamb forever and ever.” There is a day coming when every created thing is going to be singing praises to Jesus Christ. In fact, the Old Testament tells us that when the kingdom begins, the mountains and the hills and the trees and the rivers will begin to sing. You might think that this is just imagery. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem and the Pharisees rebuked his disciples, to stop speaking messianic prophecy. Jesus replied, “I tell you of these keep silent the rocks of the earth would cry out. I believe it’s going to happen one day. I can’t wait to see all creation, just joining in and singing, “blessing and honor and glory and power to Him who sits on the throne in the land forever and ever. Revelation 5:14, ends the chapter, “The four living creatures said, ‘Amen!” and the 24 elders fell down and worshiped Him, who lives forever and ever.” That is the last beautiful picture that you’re going to see until Chapter 20.

Gene Cunningham - October 10, 2022

How are the Dead Raised Up?

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1st Corinthians 15:35-45 documents what kind of resurrection bodies believers in Jesus will have; what it’ll be like. 1st Corinthians 15:35-38 says, “Someone will say,’ How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?’ Oh, foolish one. What you sow is not made alive unless it dies. And what you sow, you do not know that body that shall be. But mere grain, perhaps wheat or some other grain that God gives of the body as He pleases and to each seed its own body.” You plant a little grain of corn, and a great stock of corn grows out of it. The stock of corn doesn't look at all like the grain. The resurrection body will not look at all like the body you have. Thank God for that! But it will be of the same element. It'll be the same body resurrected. The body of Christ as the disciples saw it and the body of Christ as they saw it in the transformation glory on the mount of Transfiguration, it was the same body, but it was majestically and magnificently different. That's the point of Paul's making. Your resurrection body is going to be a vast improvement over the one you now inhabit, Paul says. 1st Corinthians 15:39 continues, “All flesh is not the same flesh. There is a kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another fish, and another birds.” Paul is simply trying to illustrate to the Corinthians (who did not believe in the resurrection) that there are different forms a body can take. 1st Corinthians 15:40 states, “There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies, but the glory of the celestial is one. The glory of the terrestrial is another.” So, you have the visual glory of the mountains, the glory of the pines, the glory of the rivers. You also have the glory of the sun, the moon and the stars. Paul continues in 1st Corinthians 15:41-42, “There is one glory of the sun, another of the moon, another of the stars. For one star differs from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead…” Do you know what Paul is saying here? There will be a distinction between your resurrection body and someone else's body. That’s because your resurrection body is going to reflect the glory that you laid hold of in your life on earth. Another person’s resurrection body is going to reflect the glory that they laid all that in their life. Daniel tells us this in Daniel 12:3, Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.” While some stars are really bright, other stars are very faint. Some believers are going to have a reflected glory of Christ in eternity. That is going to be magnificent. They're going to be luminous. Other believers who did very little with their lives, they're going to look like a faint star way off in the distance. Every believer will be able to be evaluated visually as to how they lived for Christ in their life. For example, you’ll look down the street and see a blazing light and say, “There comes the apostle, Paul!” Conversely, looking down the street you see another and say, “There's a there's a light coming. I can hardly see it. It looks like a flashlight that the battery's running out. You’ll say, here comes Gene. He says in 1st Corinthians 15:42, “So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is shown in corruption. It is raised in incorruption; it is sown in dishonor. It is raised in glory.” We talk often about the dignity of death. There is no dignity in death. Death is a curse. Death is an ugly thing. We put dead bodies in beautiful caskets so that we see only the beautiful casket, not the decomposing body. There is nothing dignified or beautiful about death. Death, frankly, stinks! Thank God He has something greater for us than death! He has given eternal resurrection! 1st Corinthians 15:44-45 says, “It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. It is raised a spiritual body because there is a natural body and there is a spiritual body. So it is really the first man. Adam became a living soul. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.” Aren't you glad that you can step out of Adam into Christ? Note: This video contains clips copied from the LUMO Jesus Film Project