Memory Texts: “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. Rev. 22:1-2 “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” Rev. 5:12
“Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Rev. 21:1-4.
“I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. Rev. 21:22-27.
With all the beasts running around in the books of Daniel and Revelation, it is easy to lose sight of that one animal that is by far the most important symbolic creature in the Bible, the Lamb. The Lamb is Jesus Christ. John 1:29.
Jesus Christ is the great sacrifice for sins, the reality that the lambs of the tabernacle and temple system of the ancient Hebrews foreshadowed and typified. Jesus Christ is the only One who has made our salvation possible. If any of us is ever saved to see that crystal clear river of life in that city with no night, it is solely because of Christ and what He did for us on Calvary.
Many of us here on earth are still confused about this most vital of all facts, but rest assured that no one in heaven is confused. They all know who is worthy, and why:
“Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. . . . He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. . . . And they sang a new song, saying:
“You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”
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. In a loud voice they were saying:
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!”
Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:
“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!”
The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.
In the end, it is all about the mercy and forgiveness made possible for us by the great Lamb of God. This is why they sing, and why we will sing. David was prophesying when he wrote:
Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord.
Lord, hear my voice:
let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.
If thou, Lord, shouldst be extreme to mark what is done amiss,
O Lord, who shall stand?
But there is mercy with thee,
therefore shalt thou be feared.I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait,
and in his word do I hope.
My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning:
I say, more than they that watch for the morning.Let Israel hope in the Lord:
for with the Lord there is mercy,
and with him is plenteous redemption.
And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
Those of us who by God’s grace and mercy triumph over the beast and his image, and over the number of his name, will never be in any doubt as to why we are there. We will be singing the same tune, the same praises to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ:
“I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign . . . a sea of glass glowing with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and over the number of its name. They held harps given them by God and sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb:
“Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the nations. Who will not fear you, Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.” Rev. 15:1-4.
It is all about the Lamb of God, and His worthiness.