Refresh & Restore – Just Keith Harris

“The Lamb Who is Our Shepherd” from Revelation 7 — a Refresh & Restore Bible Study

"The Lamb Who is Our Shepherd" from Revelation 7 (The KING is Coming) – Refresh & Restore | A JustKeithHarris.com Podcast

📖 Revelation 7After the terrifying events of Revelation 6, John is given a breathtaking glimpse of hope. Before judgment continues, God reveals that His people are known, sealed, and secure in Christ. The chapter culminates with one of Revelation's most beautiful pictures: the Lamb who was slain is also the Shepherd who leads His people forever.In this episode, Keith Harris and Jamie Harrison discuss:✔️ Why Revelation 7 is an interlude between the sixth and seventh seals✔️ What it means for God's servants to be sealed✔️ The two primary views of the 144,000—and why faithful Christians differ✔️ How John's pattern of hearing one thing and seeing another helps interpret the chapter✔️ The innumerable multitude worshiping before the throne✔️ Why Jesus, the Lamb, is also our Shepherd who leads us to living waterThis chapter reminds us that our greatest hope isn't solving every prophetic question—it's belonging to Christ. Those who trust Him are safe in Him, and one day He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.📖 "For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." (Revelation 7:17, ESV)🔗 If you'd like to see a written version of this podcast, complete with footnotes and cross-references, you can find it here.

We’re back in our study of Revelation called The KING is Coming, where we’re taking a verse-by-verse approach to see what the book truly reveals—Jesus Christ Himself. As always, I’m joined by Jamie Harrison, and I’m thankful for the opportunity to walk through this study together. Today, we’ll be in Revelation 7, where John sees what comes after the opening of the sixth seal. After the wrath and judgment of Revelation 6, this chapter gives us a picture of God’s people being sealed, saved, and gathered before the throne, where the Lamb who was slain is also the Shepherd who leads His people to living water. This week’s passage is Revelation 7:

After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. ²Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, ³saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” ⁴And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:
⁵12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed,
12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,
12,000 from the tribe of Gad,
⁶12,000 from the tribe of Asher,
12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali,
12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,
⁷12,000 from the tribe of Simeon,
12,000 from the tribe of Levi,
12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,
⁸12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun,
12,000 from the tribe of Joseph,
12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.
⁹After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, ¹⁰and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” ¹¹And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹²saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
¹³Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” ¹⁴I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
¹⁵“Therefore they are before the throne of God,
and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne will shelter them
with his presence.
¹⁶They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
the sun shall not strike them,nor any scorching heat.
¹⁷For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”^[1]

Keith Harris:
Greetings, sojourners.

Here we are, back in our The KING Is Coming study, and today we’re in Revelation 7. Jamie, you got anything preliminary you want to say, or you just want to dive right in?

Jamie Harrison:
Let’s just dive right in.

Keith:
Let’s do it. So Revelation 7 is following—because, again, it’s been a minute since we recorded—Revelation 6. We see some wrath being poured out.

Jamie:
Well, I was sure wondering if Revelation 7 followed Revelation 6. I appreciate you really clarifying that for me.

Keith:
You may be joking, but part of what we’re—

Jamie:
That is a new development.

Keith:
But in looking at this, one of the things that we’re doing—and I said it that way as a sort of reminder—

Jamie:
Yes.

Keith:
Our point in this study isn’t to answer every question, because every one of our questions is not meant to be answered. The text wasn’t designed that way. We’re seeing what God showed John. And so, when we look at this, we’re looking at what John saw next. And I’ll let you take it from there.

Jamie:
Yeah, that’s really important. And I’m glad you went back to chapter 6 just to kind of point out that the last thing we saw was that sixth seal being opened, and this huge earthquake. The sun turns black. The moon becomes like blood. You know, all these different things happen. Stars are falling to the earth. All these things. And every single mountain and island is moved from its place.

So you’re talking about worldwide destruction going on when this sixth seal is busted open. And then the next thing he sees—now, again, it’s very important, just like Keith said—that’s not necessarily the next thing that happens. That’s the next thing he sees.

The next thing he sees are four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, restraining the four winds of the earth so that no wind can blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. So, in other words, right after this extremely destructive storm, the next thing he sees is calm. There’s no wind.

Keith:
And sees the supernatural reason for why the calm has come. Like, he can see these angels.

Jamie:
That’s right. And so what you get here is—you know, we always talk about the calm before the storm—and judgment is coming. And it’s about to come hot and heavy right after this.

And so you kind of get the idea here that everything is calm for a minute because the Lord is about to seal some people who are going to make it through the tribulation. And we can go back to Ezekiel chapter 9. We get the idea of that sealing, what it looks like. Ezekiel has a vision of a slaughter in Jerusalem. That’s going to be chapter 9, verses 4 through 7. I mean, you can read the whole chapter, but kind of where the seal starts is verse 4 there.

And they’re being sealed from judgment. They’re being sealed on their forehead by a mark. So you get the same kind of idea here. Same idea as the Passover, Exodus chapter 12, you know, where they’re sealed by the blood of a lamb from their firstborn being killed there.

And so, in Revelation 14:1, we find out this is the same group of people in Revelation 14. And it says:

Then I looked, and there was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him were 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.^[2]

And so it looks like that seal is something to do with Jesus’s name and the Father’s name on their foreheads—some type of, what we’re going to learn, spiritual protection from the coming judgment.

Keith:
Yeah, and that symbol would have looked like what the Hebrew letter tav looked like at the time of Ezekiel, which some interpret as kind of a cross at an angle or an X. Either which way, it’s obviously pointing forward to Christ and the fact that He—I think it’s John 10, and I think it fits with the end of Revelation 7, not getting ahead—but Jesus being the Good Shepherd, and that He holds His people in His hand, and no one can pluck them from His hand.

The symbolic seal represents the spiritual reality that Jesus has them.

Jamie:
Yes and amen. And this group of people that we’re looking at here, they’re being sealed until the number would be completed. Look at chapter 6, verse 11 of Revelation. It says:

So they were each given a white robe, and they were told to rest a little while longer until the number would be completed of their fellow servants and their brothers and sisters, who were going to be killed just as they had been.

Now, you ask, why do we connect those together? Great question. Because in chapter 7, where Keith just read, in verse 14—well, right above, in verse 13—he says, “Hey, who are these people in white robes, and where did they come from?” And he says, “Sir, you know.”

Then he told me these were the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

So each of those connect together to show us that these are the people that are going to be sealed, that are going to be saved, that are going to be persecuted for their faith during the great tribulation, that are going to reach other people for Christ. And when that number is completed, then the Lord’s judgment will be completed directly after.

I hope all that makes sense.

I do want to point out that this is the exact opposite of the mark that we’re going to learn about in Revelation 13, verses 16 through 17, where it says:

¹⁶And it makes everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, ¹⁷so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark: the beast’s name or the number of its name.

And, of course, it’s commonly referred to as the mark of the beast. And so this is the exact opposite. That mark is going to bring judgment.

Keith:
Well, and I mean, when you look in the context of Ezekiel 9 to get the understanding there, it’s those who are faithful to God. And the faithfulness to God—in Ezekiel chapters 4 through 7 preceding that—the faithfulness to God is very important in the context of Revelation.

Your mark shows to whom you’re faithful. And so nobody who is faithful to Christ is at risk of being hoodwinked into getting this other one. Your mark shows your allegiance. I think that’s a very important thing there.

Jamie:
Absolutely. No doubt about it.

So now we get into the real controversial part, right? What is this 144,000 number? Is there only 144,000 people going to heaven?

And let’s just go ahead and hit that one right off the bat: no. That’s dumb. I don’t know any other way to say it. And I don’t joke anymore. That’s a very serious statement. That’s dumb. There’s way more than 144,000 people going to heaven, and the Bible is going to tell us that here in just a minute.

Keith:
And the danger—and really where the idea of only 144,000 people are going to heaven comes from—the fact that different cults, like the Jehovah’s Witnesses, have gained ground, and people are believing what they’ve heard or what they’ve seen on social media, or some random jake-leg—I’m using my quotey fingers—preacher says.

What the Bible says matters. And so when anybody says anything—us, your pastor, especially Jehovah’s Witnesses and jake-leg internet TV preachers—check it with the Bible. That doesn’t pass the test.

Jamie:
Yeah, just a lot of people believe whatever’s on social media is true. If it made it on social media, it’s got to be true, right? And that’s also very dumb. I can attest to that personally.

Keith:
I mean, last week I saw a picture of a cloud that was shaped like a soldier, including kneeling at his gun. And no cloud ever was that clear. And people are like, “Oh my gosh, look at this sign from God!” And under it was the city of Jackson that did not resemble the city of Jackson, and nobody noticed because they were looking at the soldier in the sky.

Jamie:
Wow.

Keith:
Don’t get your theology from social media.

Jamie:
Correct.

Keith:
Or look for truth there at all.

Jamie:
Yeah. Just that. Period. The end.

So with the 144,000, there’s two main approaches to that number. One is that it’s a literal number. One is that it’s a figurative number. And so I think the best way to go about it is, let’s look at both. Let’s talk about the—I don’t want to use the word justification—but I’ll use the verses that people use for each. Okay?

And then read the Bible on your own, and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you, and He will guide you into truth.

So the literal number—we’ll start there—and it comes from, you go all the way back to Numbers, where there was a military census performed at different times. And what they would do, Israel would do, is they would count the military-aged males to see how many people they had that were of age and eligible to fight in a war. Okay?

And in Revelation 14:4—remember, Revelation 14 is also talking about this same group of people—it says:

These are the ones who have not defiled themselves with women, since they remained virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were redeemed from humanity as the firstfruits for God and the Lamb.

So this is talking about males from the tribes of Israel, and they have been counted as a military census would have been counted.

Keith:
Yeah, and I think Numbers 31 is the reference there. In that case, just to clarify, it wasn’t 144,000 in the book of Numbers, right? But the book of Numbers obviously contains a lot of numbers and censuses, and they weren’t always clear, round numbers.

Numbers 31:4-5:

⁴You shall send a thousand from each of the tribes of Israel to the war.” ⁵So there were provided, out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.

It’s not always so clear-cut a number.

Jamie:
That’s right. And so, again, same thing. Numbers chapter 2, you know, it talks about—it goes through how they camped in the military formation. And this tribe camps here on the east side. This tribe camps on the north side. This tribe on that—the Levites in the middle, where the Ark of the Covenant would have been, the temple would have been—the tabernacle would have been.

And so this, you kind of can go back again to Revelation chapter 14, verse 4, where it says they follow the Lamb wherever He goes. Because as the Spirit—as the glory of God moved, the cloud moved, so the Israelites followed.

And I do think it’s very interesting that Judah is the first tribe listed, and that in Numbers chapter 2, Judah is the first tribe listed. And so there is a connection to who is the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and that would be Jesus. So that is a pretty cool correlation there, where you look at it and go, “Hey, regardless of whether this is an exact number or a figurative number, they’re following the Lion of the tribe of Judah.”

And we’re going to come back to that thought in just a minute. A lot of people also look at Ezekiel chapter 37, where the dry bones become an army. The Lord puts His Spirit in them. That would be the thought of salvation. And so the idea is that this 144,000 number gets saved.

Keith:
Well, and I think we need to pause there, because so much conversation—again, a lot of it from these random social media snippets that people put pictures up there and stuff—there is nobody, no matter what their ethnicity, who is going to heaven unless they’ve been saved.

Jamie:
Correct.

Keith:
In the Old Testament, it was still by grace through faith. Jesus, God in flesh, had not yet become incarnate. But think about Abraham. Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.

Everyone who trusted and called upon the name of the Lord showed faith in Him. And every Israelite who’s ever walked the earth hadn’t got saved.

Jamie:
Right.

Keith:
Every son of Adam, daughter of Eve, as C. S. Lewis says it—they’re not in heaven. Those who have faith—You look in the book of Numbers. The ground opened up and swallowed thousands. It didn’t catapult them up to heaven. They were in open rebellion.

I think the reading we’re currently looking at, Seeing Jesus in the Old Testament, in our Bible reading plans—yesterday, they were—it was where Phinehas, the Priest came up and literally skewered people who were taking their cult prostitutes and trying to go into the tabernacle with them. And Phinehas is like, “That’s enough.”

And then when people are like, “Dude, why are you acting like this?” God audibly spoke from heaven. He’s like, “Hey, y’all need to be glad he killed those two, because he’s jealous with My jealousy.”

You have God’s people, generically talking about Israel, but you have God’s people—those who, by grace through faith, are saved and, I guess in the context, we say sealed to Him. They belong to Him by grace through faith. No other way.

And so, in any understanding of the 144,000, there’s nobody getting in because they descended from Abraham.

Jamie:
Correct.

Keith:
Not a one. Zero.

Jamie:
Only by the blood of the Lamb.

Keith:
Amen.

Jamie:
So, just to really briefly, I guess, quickly finish the Ezekiel thought: you know, God puts His Spirit in them to salvation. And then, in Ezekiel 36:24 through 28, Ezekiel 37:24 through 28, you have the Jewish people coming under the new covenant, which would be salvation. But it very distinctly says they will be under one King, and that’s a reference directly to Jesus.

And so, the idea of witnesses—how do we, what makes us think that they’re witnesses? Because this just looks like a list of 144,000 people.

Well, in Revelation chapter 14, again, what we get is that—let’s start in verse 4:

⁴These are the ones who have not defiled themselves with women, since they remained virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were redeemed from humanity as the firstfruits for God and the Lamb. ⁵No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.

⁶Then I saw another angel flying high overhead, with the eternal gospel to announce to the inhabitants of the earth—to every nation, tribe, language, and people. ⁷He spoke with a loud voice: “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship the one who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

So you have this proclamation of the gospel, and right before it, we’re told that these 144,000—this number—are the ones redeemed from humanity as the firstfruits. Okay? Firstfruits infers that there’s more fruit.

Keith:
Or at least last fruits.

Jamie:
That’s right. And so that’s where the idea that they’re witnesses comes from, is that they will be sent forth as a quote-unquote army of witnesses to reach people for the name of Christ.

Keith:
And that makes sense because you were talking about—I just found the verse I was looking for—you were talking about until the number has been completed. Matthew 24:14:

And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

And that’s red letters. That’s Jesus.

Jamie:
Yes. So then, let’s talk for a second about, all right, is this a symbolic number? Is it just a number? We know that 12 is the number of completion in the Bible: 12 tribes of Israel, 12 disciples, on and on and on.

Revelation 21:12 through 14, you have that same number 12 come back around with the foundations and things. And so you get the idea that number 12 is just the perfect unity of God’s kingdom.

And I think that Revelation 21 is really important there, because in verses 12 through 14, this is talking about the New Jerusalem:

¹²The city had a massive high wall, with twelve gates. Twelve angels were at the gates; the names of the twelve tribes of Israel’s sons were inscribed on the gates. ¹³There were three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. ¹⁴The city wall had twelve foundations, and the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb were on the foundations.

And so the idea there being is that the church is unified. It is one in heaven. There is no distinction of male or Greek, Jew or male or female. Do you agree?

Keith:
Yeah.

Jamie:
Wow. Okay. There’s that. And so, again, is this a symbolic number? Is it a literal number? You know, you walk through it and you look and you go, “All right, 12 is the number of completion. That makes sense to me. I get that.”

We know that the Lion of the tribe of Judah will be leading this group of people. And I want to point out something very important here. And, and, and hopefully this makes sense. If it doesn’t, you can leave Keith a comment and let him know, because I will not be looking at the comments, but Keith will.

Revelation chapter 5—chapter 6. Excuse me. I don’t know what I’m talking about. It is chapter 5. I’m just—wow. Maybe we need to hit the pause button and take a break.

Keith:
No, you got it.

Jamie:
Okay. So Revelation 5:5, same place it’s always been. This is one of mine and Keith’s favorite Scriptures. It says:

Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Look, the Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered so that he is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

Now, who leads the 144,000?

Keith:
Jesus.

Jamie:
Jesus, the Lion from the tribe of Judah.

Look, the Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered so that he is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

Okay, so this is what John hears the elder say. He hears him say, “Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah.” And we know that the 144,000 is led by the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

And then he looks, and in verse 6 it says:

Then I saw one like a slaughtered lamb standing in the midst of the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent into all the earth.

And it goes on. He takes the scroll, and He unseals the scroll, and then they have this awesome praise moment there together.

And so the “he hears, and then he looks and sees” connects right together with chapter 7, because watch this: in verse 4 he says, “I heard the number of the sealed.” But watch this in verse 9: “After this, I looked.” So he hears the number, just like he heard, “Look, the Lion from the tribe of Judah,” but he saw one like a slaughtered Lamb. So he looks—or, excuse me, he hears—144,000, 12,000 from each tribe. But he looks, and there’s a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language—which no one could number—standing before the throne and before the Lamb.

So first off, there goes your 144,000 people are going to be saved, and that’s all.

Keith:
Well, and also, this numberless multitude—if it’s all tribes and peoples and languages—there are obviously Jews in there.

Jamie:
That is correct. And so the last part of this is, we look and we go, okay, he sees this number. He sees—or sees this group of people that nobody can number standing before the throne. They’re clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands.

And in verse 14—again, back to the same verse we talked about earlier—he asks, you know, “Who are these people?” And he says they’re the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They’ve washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

So this innumerable number of people are people that come out of the great tribulation, who are persecuted for their faith, most likely killed for their faith—not necessarily all of them, but most likely killed for their faith—persecuted for their faith. They came out of the great tribulation.

In other words, there’s a seal placed on their forehead, and once that number is completed, the Lord’s judgment will come. And so I think we, when you put all these things together—

Keith:
Well, I think there’s one more Scripture that goes with that before you put it all together. Romans 11, which talks about the remnant of Israel coming to Christ. Romans 11:25. And I think—and I think the wording of this is particularly helpful for when we put this all together:

Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

So we’re seeing all these places—Old Testament, New Testament, with future vision for John—talking about till the number has become complete. Now we see the number, and then we see the numberless. Like, it does seem that when we put all this together—again, this isn’t like, there are way more popular theories—

Jamie:
Right.

Keith:
But sticking with what the Bible says, it seems to reason, “lest you be wise in your own sight,” that where there is a lot of clear evidence in Scripture—a good rule of Bible interpretation is the clear things are important, and the important things are clear. Or, as Alistair Begg says, “The main things are the plain things.” So when Jamie puts all this together, this is coming out of a volume of Scripture.

Jamie:
For sure. And again, I go back—I guess the word is, I guess, to say, to put all this together—we have this group of people. And again, it says these are the ones coming out of the great tribulation.

And in verses 15 through 17, you get all these things that they’re going to be protected from. But in verse 15, it says, “For this reason, they are before the throne of God.” For what reason? For the reason they were persecuted for their faith, and they came out of the great tribulation.

So we know this is an innumerable group of people that was persecuted for their faith, and for that reason, they’re before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His temple.

Which, first off, that’s just—that’s an incredible thought. You know, I was listening to a song—maybe it was yesterday—a song came on, and one of the lyrics were—I can’t remember the exact wording now that I brought it up—but it’s basically that we get to join a song they’re already singing when we get to heaven.

Like, just think about that for a minute. There’s these awesome worship sessions going on in heaven right now as we speak, and one day we’ll be part of the choir.

Keith:
And I think we lose sight of that sometimes. And again, the reason for us doing this—we’re not trying to be relevant, not trying to be cool, not trying to be any such thing.

It’s so easy to try to have religion outside of relationship with Jesus. And none of these people who are standing around the throne are there for some religious experience. Religion does not withstand persecution. Right now, around the world—and I was looking at something else Jesus said in Matthew 24:21:

For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.

Y’all, persecution has been increasing and been going on since Jesus ascended into heaven. You’ve got Stephen, the first martyr, all the way up through—you go through the Roman Empire where they were killing Christians.

Finally get to the point where they realize, “We’ve got to burn this book that they’re preaching from, because killing the folks ain’t stopping it.” And then God puts an end to that persecution.

They meet together. You get the canon of Scripture going. And then every so often, all over the world—like even right now—there are countries in the world where you will be imprisoned for the rest of your life for the preaching of the gospel, be shunned and never be a part of your family again because of the preaching of the gospel.

There are places right now on the continent of Africa where they are killing Christians by the hundreds and thousands. And none of these people are sitting there begging for their life. They’re being witnesses.

Literally, the word that we see for witness in the New Testament—that Greek word is martyrion, where we get our word for martyr. They gave their life to point to the eternal life that comes from the life of Jesus Christ.

They’re not resentful that when they see Him in glory, after they lose their life for Him on earth, they see fulfillment. They see not personal achievement, but their personal Savior.

And y’all, I think we lose that when we spend too much time trying to figure out what exactly is the 144,000. I’m fine if it’s literal. I’m fine if it’s figurative, because I’m going to be standing before Jesus. And I might have a lot of questions when I get up there, but I don’t think they’re going to come to mind as readily.

Jamie:
Nope.

Keith:
Like, yeah, I don’t—you know, it’s going to be eternity, but I think I’m going to have better things to do.

Jamie:
Yeah, I think verse 11 there says:

All the angels stood around the throne, and along with the elders and the four living creatures they fell facedown before the throne and worshiped God….

I think that’s—I think that’s going to be what we’re doing.

Keith:
It does say, “forever and ever, amen.” That’s good enough for Randy Travis. That’s good enough for me.

Jamie:
Amen. I was going to go into some other things here, but I think, instead, just to close this out, I think to look at—it says back in verse 15:

¹⁵For this reason they are before the throne of God,
and they serve him day and night in his temple.
The one seated on the throne will shelter them:
¹⁶They will no longer hunger;
they will no longer thirst;
the sun will no longer strike them,
nor will any scorching heat.
¹⁷For the Lamb who is at the center of the throne
will shepherd them;
he will guide them to springs of the waters of life,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

Now, there’s all kinds of correlations to the Old Testament and Israelites and Greeks being brought together. But I think here’s what I want to point out, is that all of these things that it just listed are judgments that are going to happen. And some of them will affect these people to an extent.

I mean, they’ll no longer hunger—they’re going to be hungry, right? They’re going to be thirsty. The sun’s still going to be hot while they’re here on earth. But all of these protections, all of these things that will no longer happen, happen after they have died for their faith.

Keith:
Yeah, the division between the sixth seal and the seventh—that, I mean, you think about—and just as reference for the fact there were those sealed who didn’t go into exile, but that doesn’t mean that no one who went into exile had faith in God.

Look at Daniel, Hananiah, Azariah, Mishael. Like, but when God’s ultimate wrath is poured out, God’s not unjust. If Jesus has borne the wrath, there’s no need for His people to bear the wrath. It’s been borne.

And so I think it’s important, as we close out, to kind of just look at the paradox here. Because the beauty of this—more beautiful than a symmetry of numbers. I know, to some people, numbers and understanding and clarity, it just resonates with their soul. “For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd. He will guide them to springs of living water. God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” When you look at all this language, it’s Revelation 21. The beauty of eternity being outside of time—you skip, you skip things.

And I think that paradox right there, that thing that doesn’t make sense from an earthly perspective: lambs aren’t shepherds; shepherds are. But Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, will be their Shepherd. He’ll be the Shepherd of all who, by grace through faith in Him, are saved by Him from the wrath of God.

And I think the beautiful thing here is what you need to be asking yourself, more so than anything about a number, more so than anything about anything else, is: Who is your shepherd? Who is your Savior? Is your hope in the Lamb?

If thinking about heaven being forever and ever, amen—standing around the throne, around the Lamb, waving palm branches, singing hosanna—if that bores you, you’ve got eternal problems. In fact, as we record this today, the next day is Sunday, the Lord’s Day, when we’re supposed to gather. If the thought of gathering in worship of Jesus tomorrow bores you, you might want to look at the eternal forecast. If you are bored gathering around the Lamb now, maybe you need to analyze, more than you need to theorize, whether you are covered by the blood of the Lamb. And I don’t mean a momentary lapse, or you’ve got something else to do. I mean, you really need to look and see if practicing for heaven here on earth is something that you just can’t stand.

You’re either with Him or you’re not—sealed and saved, or you ain’t.

Thank you. God bless, and we’ll see you next time with Revelation 8.

^[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Re 7:1–17.

^[2] When Jamie quotes from Scripture, he uses the Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Re 14:1.

“Who Can Stand Under the Wrath of the Lamb?” from Revelation 6 — a Refresh & Restore Bible Study

Click below to listen:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6BJKifmhcryQPo0R7oMcjD?si=-cRmPr16RTOzc0433ogqcQ

We’re back in our study of Revelation called The KING is Coming, where we’re taking a verse-by-verse approach to see what the book truly reveals—Jesus Christ Himself. As always, I’m joined by Jamie Harrison, and I’m thankful for the opportunity to walk through this study together. Today, we’ll be turning to Revelation 6, a heavy chapter where the Lamb who was worshiped as worthy in Revelation 5 begins to open the seals of the scroll. As judgment unfolds, this passage presses us to see both the holiness of God’s wrath and the urgency of standing in the grace and mercy of the Lamb. This week’s passage is Revelation 6:

¹Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” ²And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer.
³When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” ⁴And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
⁵When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. ⁶And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!”
⁷When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” ⁸And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.
⁹When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. ¹⁰They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” ¹¹Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.
¹²When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, ¹³and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. ¹⁴The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. ¹⁵Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, ¹⁶calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, ¹⁷for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”^[1]

Keith Harris:
Greetings, sojourners.

This is a heavy chapter, and so I think that’s about all the segue I’ve got there. Jamie, dive in.

Jamie Harrison:
All right. So we pick up with the Lamb, who we talked about in the last episode, being the One who was worthy to take the scroll and open it. And He does take the scroll here, and one of the four living creatures says with a voice like thunder. Now, if you remember back from chapter 4, thunder is a sign of judgment to come, and it’s going to be said several times again throughout Revelation every time a judgment is coming. And so the first thing you see here is a white horse. And a lot of people get interested — excuse me — get confused about this rider on a white horse, because in Revelation 19 there’s a rider on a white horse who is Jesus. But this rider on the white horse is given a bow. It doesn’t say a bow and arrows. It just says bow, which is interesting. But he’s got a crown. It’s given to him. Notice the crown is given to him. And he goes out as a conqueror in order to conquer. So remember, the Jews are looking for somebody who will come and conquer and take over. And so this rider comes in as a conqueror to conquer. And so this is most likely a depiction of the Antichrist who is going to come.

And so the entire world is going to follow him. They’re going to be obsessed with him. He is going to go for a peace in the world. That’s going to be his—we’ll just say—the way he kind of takes power is, “I’ll bring peace to the world, and I can do this and that.” And it’s not going to be through war. We’re going to do it in a peaceful manner through treaties and stuff. And so if you go to Daniel chapter 9, in Daniel 9:27^[2], he says:

He will make a firm covenant with many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and offering. And the abomination of desolation will be on a wing of the temple^, until the decreed destruction is poured out on the desolator.”

So he’s going to make a covenant of peace. He’s going to do it in a peaceful manner, not by war. But it’s going to be a false peace, which I think is key to point out and talk about. Then you go back to Matthew 24, which is where Jesus is talking about the end times and what that will look like. And in Matthew 24, verse 4, it says:

⁴Jesus replied to them, “Watch out that no one deceives you. ⁵For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and they will deceive many.

And so that’s who we have here—somebody who’s going to deceive.

Keith:
Well, and just in case you’re wondering where we get some of this stuff too, this isn’t just commentary or interpretation that we’re spouting out back to you. You look at the language there—I think it’s in verse 2—where it describes this rider on the white horse. The Spirit of God has told us twice here, like in quick succession, that he is coming to conquer because people aren’t going to realize it. It says, “He came out conquering and to conquer.” That’s what he was doing when people thought he was bringing peace. And I’m speaking of it in past tense, but many believe this is a future thing here. “…conquering and to conquer”—that’s his purpose. And the Spirit of God has to tell us. This is another reason why many look at this to be the Antichrist, because he’s coming imitating Christ. Like Jamie said, he’s also riding a white horse. He’s imitation. This is Great Value imitation here. And he had a crown, and that was given to him because he doesn’t have dominion. Just like the song in Revelation 5: dominion belongs to the Lamb, to Him who sits on the throne. He allows him this opportunity, but He also allows us a glimpse at what he’s really doing—coming out conquering with the purpose to conquer.

Jamie:
And I think there we talk about the rider holds a bow. Again, it doesn’t say bow and arrow. It just says bow, meaning there’s no fight that’s going to take place. He’s going to give this false peace, again by a covenant, like it says in Daniel.

Keith:
Symbolic.

Jamie:
That’s right. And we know it’s false. We know in Daniel it also says there will be a war. Matthew says there will be wars and rumors of wars, and we’ll get into that a little bit more. So we know three-and-a-half years in, that false peace is going to go away, and he’s going to show his true self.

Keith:
You say three-and-a-half years in—that’s referencing the seven-year period known as the Great Tribulation, correct?

Jamie:
Correct. Okay, so the crown that he’s wearing here—I found it interesting that the word here in Greek for crown, and Keith, you’ll have to tell me if I’m pronouncing this correctly, stephanos. Is that accurate?

Keith:
Yes. Reminds me of Stefano from Days of Our Lives that my mom and grandmother used to watch. You know, he was dead and alive and dead and alive and dead and alive.

Jamie:
Yeah, that’s the guy. It’s my cousin. So that is the victor’s crown, okay? That’s like a laurel wreath that they would give you if you were an athlete and you won the race or whatever. So it’s given to you for your victory. It’s a laurel wreath. Again, in Revelation 19:12, the word that’s used for crown is diadēma—the kingly crown. And this crown only belongs to the King. And so that’s how we know that this rider is not Jesus. Not only the fact that he’s coming in order to conquer and to conquer, and he’s bringing about evil—that’s obvious in and of itself—but the fact that the crown is going to be given to him. Which means, most likely, the world is going to elect him as their leader, whether it’s through maybe the United Nations or something and he becomes a leader of that—however you want to look at that. He’s going to become the leader, elected by the people despite the cost—despite what it’s’s going to cost them. They’re going to elect him as leader. So again, I just want to point out: this is not Jesus. Jesus is not given His crown.

Keith:
And to clarify, when you say “elect” there, you’re not trying to make some political prophecy. They’re going to back this guy. He’s coming with his own agenda, in his own way. God’s allowing him to do this to bring about these things that have been prophesied. But folks are just in his corner. They’re going to get what they want.

Jamie:
And I think—I don’t want to spend much time talking about this—but there’s something people forget. Every leader who has ever existed has been placed in leadership, or allowed to be placed in leadership, by God for His purposes. And in Romans, He said, “Pray for your leaders”—all your leaders—because God placed them there. So, you know, we say, “Oh, we need to get back to being a praying nation.” Here in America, I agree with that. We do need to pray more. All of us do. All believers do. And non-believers—first get saved, and then pray. Obviously it doesn’t work in reverse order. But praying is important. God’s going to put in charge who He wants in charge.

Keith:
And in this case right here, He is coming as the Lion, bringing judgment. And part of doing this is giving people what they wanted in the first place. That’s right. I mean, it’s no different than the book of Judges, when there was no king in Israel and people did what was right in their own eyes. Or 1 Samuel, when they wanted a king like everybody else. He’s giving them what they wanted in judgment. And that’s a big part of this.

Jamie:
And what’s really — I’m jumping way ahead of myself here — but what’s really interesting is you would say, “Well, the people didn’t even know that’s what they were doing.” They didn’t know. But it says right at the end of the chapter that they actually cry out to the rocks, asking the rocks to fall on them. And they say, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne, from the wrath of the Lamb, because the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” So the people are going to recognize this is the wrath of God and are going to continue to support the Antichrist. They’re going to continue to worship the Antichrist. They’re going to take the mark of the beast willingly.

Keith:
Willingly being tricked.

Jamie:
Correct. And will most likely say some kind of vow that says there is no other god but him — the Antichrist.

Keith:
Which is not a new thing. People have been doing that — going along to get along, getting what they want out of it — for centuries. Roman Empire, Persian Empire, Greek Empire — I know I’m out of order historically — Babylonian Empire. They’re getting what they want, getting what they asked for here.

Jamie:
Which is why people say, “Be careful what you ask for. You might just get it.” So that’s the first seal. The first seal most likely is going to set the course of events in motion. First seal — sorry, I said scroll. There’s only one scroll. The first seal is going to set in motion the Antichrist coming to power. And then we get to the second seal. This is the second seal. He hears the second living creature say, “Come,” and another horse goes out. So these are — a lot of people call these the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, right? This horse is a fiery red horse, and its rider is allowed to take peace from the earth so that people will slaughter one another, and a large sword was given to him. And so obviously this one’s very simple. This rider represents war. I mean, this red—blood, right? People are going to die. They’re going to be killed. And again, back in Matthew 24, they’re going to be killed and kill each other. Verses 6 and 7:

⁶You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, because these things must take place, but the end is not yet. ⁷For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines^, and earthquakes in various places. ⁸All these events are the beginning of labor pains.

So understand that Jesus is telling us this. And right after that He’s going to talk about persecution happening. So I need people to understand that, as we’re looking at these seals, if this happens in our lifetime, we will be here for this. This will happen with Christians present on the earth. According to Jesus, Christians will be here.

Keith:
And this is going to be the point where some of y’all are like, “Hold on. We are pre-trib rapturists.” Now here’s the deal. There is nobody who wants a pre-trib rapture—yes, Lord—more than us two. When we look at this, we’re not trying to fit any of this into a camp. We’re trying to take this verse by verse. Do I want a pre-trib rapture? Yes. But let’s look at a little bit of reality here. And I’m not trying to take a rabbit trail. You need to look at passages like Matthew 24, which is Jesus talking. Jesus trumps your favorite Bible preacher. He does. Jesus trumps your favorite prophecy preacher. Jesus trumps all of that. But I want you to think about some other folks here in the Bible. Look at 1 Peter chapter 5, where he describes tribulation being experienced by the brothers throughout the world. I want you to understand Peter died in the midst of an act of tribulation and persecution in Rome. Paul—the whole idea of a peaceful, prosperous life—it didn’t seem like the apostle Paul, through his service to the Lord, earned health, wealth, and prosperity. You need to understand, as long as there’s been a church, they have experienced persecution. And again, who trumps your favorite Bible preacher? Jesus. He said in John chapter 16, “In this world you will have tribulation, but take heart. I have overcome the world.” So when we look at this, we’re not trying to make a prophetic stance here. We’re just following the text. And it does seem like—

Jamie:
John 16

Keith:
Jamie’s checking my reference here, which is always a good thing.

Jamie:
John 15—that’s what I was looking at. Jesus says:

Remember the word I spoke to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.

And so, you know, it’s this whole section here. Persecution is predicted.

Keith:
And John 16—the one I was talking about—double-checking the reference there—the end of the chapter, verse… Excuse me. Thirty-three. I knew it was a double number there.

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

So the idea here is we follow the text. Jesus talks about persecution that is going to come. Now, when it comes to the Great Tribulation here—that’s what Jesus was referencing in Matthew 24. What we’re looking at here with these seals in Revelation 6, like Jamie said, it does seem like the church is still going to be present in this time.

Jamie:
That’s right. So we move to the third seal. When He opens the third seal, the third living creature says, “Come.” And he looks, and this time there’s a black horse, and its rider holds a set of scales in his hand. And he heard someone say, “A quart of wheat for a denarius and three quarts of barley for a denarius, but do not harm the oil and the wine.” And so the idea you get here is that there’s going to be worldwide famine and worldwide war from the second seal. And so you think a natural outcome of a worldwide war is going to be famine. I was just talking yesterday or two days ago — on Thanksgiving Day — asking about my grandmother, who recently passed, had a ration book left over from World War II.

Keith:
Oh, wow.

Jamie:
And I was asking if they knew what happened to it, because it was real cool, you know, just a cool thing to look at, talk about, whatever. But because the world was at war, the people at home were given ration booklets. You know, you could get so much sugar, so much bread, so much butter — whatever it was — and that’s all you could get. And so what’s going to happen here in this third seal is that you’re going to have worldwide famine. The war is going to obviously destroy the food supply, because when you have war — think about in modern times — we’re blowing crap up. And so when you’re blowing stuff up, it is going to harm the food supply, the water supply, all of those things. And it’s going to cause, I’m going to say, rationing by governments, which is going to drive prices up. We’ve experienced that here for sure. Inflation, I think, was up 24%. It’s risen another 2% now. I don’t think it’s rising at the moment we’re talking right now. But still, you go to Walmart — somebody say amen — and you buy one bag of nothing, and it’s $127,423.62. And then you get home and you’re like, “Wow, I didn’t even buy enough to eat a snack.” So — but we’re talking about, like, there’s a country — and I can’t remember the exact name of the country. I want to say it’s Zimbabwe — that they would walk around literally with wheelbarrows full of their currency to buy a loaf of bread.

Keith:
It was like that in lots of places in Europe. I remember reading The Hiding Place, talking about how their currency became worthless. But man, what it reminds me of—and this might be the only economic term I can remember from my high school economics class, Mr. Nez Watson. He told all of us, “Scarcity exists.” And that’s in normal times, right? This is abnormal. So economic scarcity leading to actual scarcity of provisions—that’s a byproduct, like you say, of war. And so extreme measures would have to take place to survive. And I think that’s part of the implication here. Many will not survive.

Jamie:
That’s correct. And so to kind of get, I guess, a little bit more specific, in case you’re wondering where we’re coming up with this, where it says, “A quart of wheat for a denarius.” Remember that a denarius is a day’s wages during this time. So you’re talking about somebody working an entire day to be able to buy one quart of wheat, which would maybe feed one person—definitely not enough for a family. So if you’re a dad, you work an entire day—you know, twelve hours, however long that is. War is going on, so it might be longer. And it’s only enough to buy just enough to feed one person. During this time you would have gotten anywhere from eight to twelve quarts of wheat for a denarius, to kind of put that in perspective. The three quarts of barley—we know that barley is normally fed to animals because it’s low in nutrients. It’s cheaper than wheat, and they’ll eat it. And so here it says that a denarius will get you three quarts of barley. Now that would be enough to feed a small family, but it’s very low in nutrients, so it’s not going to keep you alive very long. So again, back to what Keith said, people are going to start dying. And now, “Don’t harm the oil and the wine.” There’s a lot of possible interpretations here. Maybe the rich people will have plenty of it, or it’ll be some type of luxury that has to be protected because people are going to be killing for it. Oil does a lot. Oil, obviously, you’d use it to make bread. Wine—for cooking, to purify water—all these things. But it’s the idea that “don’t harm the oil and wine.” I lean toward, you’re going to have to protect it because there ain’t going to be much of it out there.

Keith:
Well, it also might be because some folks are going to think, “No, this isn’t really happening.” They’re going to be the people who are more insulated from it. I was reading about a time—this was toward the end of the first century—when the emperor Domitian, because there was a shortage of grain, was going to have the vineyards cut down and use that fertile farmland for planting grain. And the rich gave such a backlash that he said, “Never mind.” Pour it up. Drink up, guys. So this might have some kind of social aspect to it as well. Because it always happens like that. The ones who are most affected in these times are the weaker, the poor, the less affluent. There are some people who are going to think they’re insulated from this. But as we continue, the insulation gets thinner.

Jamie:
So the fourth seal is opened, and this time we get this pale green horse, and its rider is named Death, and Hades is following after him. They’re given authority over a fourth of the earth to kill by the sword, by famine, by plague, and by the wild animals of the earth. So here’s where we get confirmation that death is going to occur. Now notice it says they’re given authority over a fourth of the earth. It doesn’t say that they’re going to kill a fourth of the people on the earth, but they can. It is being allowed at this time.

Keith:
And we’ll see that percentage change, and it’s based on what they’re allowed—what authority is given.

Jamie:
That’s correct. And back in Matthew 24, in verse 7, which we read just a second ago, He says again:

For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines^, and earthquakes in various places.

Some manuscripts and some translations also add in “epidemics” or “pestilences” in various places. Again, Jesus confirms before Revelation is even written that these things are going to happen. He tells us these things are going to happen.

Keith:
And when you say “some manuscripts,” to clarify there, it’s not different versions of the Bible. Some fragments that we have of some manuscripts would have included footnotes or notes in the margin where, more than likely, through pastoral oversight, someone was looking and going, “Okay, Matthew 24, Revelation 6—these go together.” And they probably just kind of jotted down “pestilence” over in the margin, so to speak. And when we get a little piece of a fragment, it’s like, “Oh look, there’s a word there.”

Jamie:
Yep, that is correct. So the word here for “pale green horse” is chlōros, which is where the word chlorophyll comes from. And it basically describes a pale, ashen green characteristic of a decomposing corpse.

Keith:
Yeah, and just to clarify, that word is used four times in the New Testament. Three of those times it’s just translated “green.” This isn’t stuff we’re making up. But yeah, hopefully you haven’t seen a bunch of decomposing corpses. They don’t look good.

Jamie:
Correct.

Keith:
And this passage right here always makes me think of the movie Tombstone, with Johnny Ringo describing the situation: “Death’s coming, and hell’s coming with it.” I mean, people use this like they’re bringing some sort of vengeance. People are victims of these. Ain’t nobody steering the pale rider, so to speak. This is the judgment being poured out—the wrath of the Lamb, as they’re going to recognize later on. This is no joke. Nothing to play with.

Jamie:
Not at all. And so, like Keith has already said, the rider’s name is Death, so death is coming, and Hades is following after him. Hades is seen as the place of the dead. So the idea there being death claims the body, and Hades is going to collect the soul. Not a good thing at all. And then he mentions four means of extermination: The sword—which is obviously war. Hunger—famine. Death by plagues, infections, diseases. And unrestrained beasts of the earth. So there is a lot going on here. And “unrestrained beasts of the earth”—what does that mean? Who knows? I guess the animals start going crazy because of all the war that’s going on. If their habitats are being blown up and destroyed, they start coming into the cities. Who knows what it’ll look like? I just know you don’t want to run up on one of them.

Keith:
A hungry, starving, domesticated animal will go back to its nature.

Jamie:
Correct. And then we get to the fifth seal. Here in the fifth seal you see a group of people under the altar that have been slaughtered because of the Word of God and the testimony they’ve given. So you go to Revelation 5:8, and you see where the saints’ prayers are ascending to God. It’s the same idea. These are the saints who have been slaughtered, most likely during the Tribulation. And they cry out with a loud voice and ask God, “How long until You judge those who live on the earth and avenge our blood?” It’s like, “God, what are You waiting for? Why are You holding off on this?” But here’s the response. It says they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little while longer until the number would be completed of their fellow servants and their brothers and sisters who were going to be killed just as they had been. So there are going to be more believers who are going to be killed for their faith. That number is not completed yet. But also there are going to be more people who are going to be saved. And that number is not completed. Once the number of people who are going to be saved are saved—that’s the end.

Keith:
And so the idea there is God, in His sovereignty, is in charge of this. But you need to look—God, in His grace and mercy, is still in the business of saving people. We could cry out and be like, “You know, we do…” Like I say, “Man, do I want a pre-trib rapture?” But if I had my way, then, “Well, God, You’ve saved enough folks. You’ve saved me. Go on and rescue me.” But in this right here, you look—obviously they’re still going to be here. It says, “Until that number should be complete who were to be killed”—future—”as those who were crying out had been”—past. And so we know this could have happened in John’s day. People had already been martyred in the thousands. We’ve got tens of thousands who have been martyred within the last year. We talked about Nigeria in some news here recently. We know in a lot of Middle Eastern countries, a lot of Asian countries, there are a lot of things going on. That goes back to the 1 Peter passage—that these things have been experienced by the brotherhood around the world. People are being persecuted. People are being killed for their faith. And that’s the thing here. It’s not just Christians who have died. These are people who were slain for the Word of God, for the witness they had borne. Just a reminder there—that word witness. If you go back to the first chapter of the book of Acts, that Greek word is where we get the English word martyr. This is not a passive thing. These people are actively involved in evil, actively persecuting the Lamb, taking it out on those who belong to the Lamb, and killing them. This is not just a passive evil-on-evil sort of crime here. It’s like, “You know what? We don’t want this.” And I think that’s also—and I’m not trying to get ahead again—but we’ve mentioned it several times: The wrath of the Lamb. That’s a weird way of saying it. Because we’ve already talked about that. What they’re getting right now ain’t the Lamb. They’re getting the Lion. But still, man, people have such a hatred for Jesus being who the Bible says He is. They’re all right with Him being a good person. They’re all right with Him being a good teacher. But they’re not all right with somebody being willing to die for their sins. I mean, you take guys like—what’s his name from the American Revolution? Thomas Paine. Man did such great things for the founding of this republic. But you get that dude talking about Jesus, like in his book The Age of Reason. That dude had a hatred for the Lamb of God. He had a hatred for the idea of Him being crucified for sin. He had a hatred for the idea that a holy God could call him a sinner. And he was tame compared to the evil that’s going to be poured out on these martyrs—and soon-to-be martyred.

Jamie:
No doubt. And then we get to the sixth seal. And a violent earthquake occurs to the point that the sun turns black like sackcloth made of hair, the entire moon becomes like blood, the stars of heaven fall to the earth as a fig tree drops its unripe figs when shaken by a high wind, the sky is split apart like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island are moved from their places. Catastrophic. I mean, we could get into the technicalities of all this, but in order for every island and mountain to be moved from its place, all the earth’s fault lines would have to begin to—

Keith:
Yes. Yes.

Jamie:
—all over the world. You’re talking about a global earthquake. And this is just the first of three. There’s three of these that’s going to happen. Now remember, the timeline of Revelation is just what John saw next. So the three that are mentioned—maybe it’s the same one mentioned three times. Maybe it’s three different ones. We don’t know. It doesn’t say. It doesn’t say, “This happens, then this happens, then this happens.” It’s what John saw next. But worst-case scenario, it’s three different earthquakes of this magnitude. The sun becoming black like sackcloth made of hair. The moon turning to blood. I read in several places that this could obviously—an earthquake of this magnitude would cause volcanic eruptions all over the place, which would cause ash and debris to blow into the atmosphere, which could possibly make the sun look like that.

Keith:
And I mean, you think it’s definitely sackcloth made of hair. It’s talking about the sun being occluded. Something in between.

Jamie:
That’s right. And then you’ve got some kind of asteroid or meteor shower that happens with the stars falling to the earth. The sky recedes like a scroll. Who knows what that means? We just know it ain’t gonna look like it looks right now by any stretch of the imagination. And when those earth’s plates begin to shift, the whole earth is going to be realigned in that moment. No island, no mountain—nothing—is going to be in the same place. To the point that the kings of the earth—we’re talking about the rulers of the earth—all the way down to every slave and every free person and everybody in between are going to hide in caves. They’re going to hide among the rocks of the mountains. They’re going to say to the mountains and the rocks, “Please fall on us and hide us from the face of the One who is seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, because the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” So I just want to go back to the point that the people recognize this is the wrath of God. They recognize, “Okay, Jesus told us this was going to happen.”

Keith:
Well, and recognize the wrath of God—but what specific God it is. They ain’t talking generic.

Jamie:
They know the Lamb. The wrath of the Lamb. And, you know, I’ll just say this. God’s judgment is going to come. You know you can’t withstand His wrath. But that’s not why you get saved. And I hope, if you’re not saved, you’re listening to this. I heard a pastor the other day on a little clip say they had listened to something about what hell was going to look like, and a person came down and said, “I don’t know anything about heaven, but I know I don’t want to go to hell.” And that’s a good first step. Hear me—that’s a good first step. We don’t get saved because we don’t want to go to hell. We don’t get saved because we don’t want to experience God’s judgment. We get saved because we have a genuine love for the Lamb. Right?

Keith:
We talked a little bit ago about how these people are willingly following the leader here in the first seal. People must willingly follow the Lamb. This Jesus isn’t a byproduct of heaven. If you listened last week when we looked at Revelation 5, there’s a reason why we don’t know about the scenery, about anything more than Him who’s seated on the throne. He occludes everything. More so than sackcloth made of hair will occlude the sun in those seals. I think of Paul’s language in Philippians chapter 3, when he talks about the surpassing worth of knowing Christ.

Jamie:
And to jump in there, when we’re talking through Revelation, if you get more excited about what these horses represent, or these locusts represent, or whatever represents, than you do the fact that Jesus is the King of kings and the Lord of lords, then we have to step back and look at our relationship with Christ and ask, number one, “Do I even have one?” Because the joy of heaven is being with Him.

Keith:
And I think, I guess if we’re looking at this in that context… Jamie, if you were living in this time—we don’t want this to happen in our lifetime. Church folks will sing, “Come, Jesus, come,” in a heartbeat. But “Come, Jesus, come”—this comes too.

Jamie:
I’d say all hell is going to break loose. Which actually…

Keith:
It is. But I mean, heaven. Right? And that’s the thing here. When you look at this, if you were living through Revelation 6, which seal would you be found in? Would you be found in the fifth seal, where you have all of these people who have been saved by the blood of the Lamb, who are crying out to their Sovereign Lord, holy and true, knowing that ushering in the judgment He’s bringing about? Or are you in those who are talking about the wrath of the Lamb and you’re not affiliated with Him? Essentially, like Jamie said, it’s not for fire insurance. It’s not to scare hell out of you or heaven into you. Do you look at this Lamb of God and see Him for who He is—the King of kings, the Lord of lords? If you don’t have a relationship with Him, that lordship isn’t to be found when you’re under His boot, so to speak. It’s to be found now. It says in Romans chapter 10, verse 9:

…because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Revelation is clear. He is the Sovereign Lord. He’s in charge. He gave authority over a fourth of the earth to experience His judgment. Thus far in the book of Revelation, He’s got authority over one hundred percent of everything that’s ever been. The scroll—that’s the deed to everything that is—is His. He can open the seals. Where do you stand in light of the Lord? I think that’s a good place to end. Where do you stand? Because there’s going to come a day where the question is asked here at the end of Revelation 6: “For the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” It’s better to stand in His grace and mercy now than under His judgment ever. I think that’s it for us. We’ll pick up with Revelation 7 next week.

^[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Re 6:1–17.

^[2] When Jamie quotes Scripture, he uses the Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020).

Musings on Marriage, Missions, and My Walk with Christ — Refresh & Restore

¹The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle. The man declares, I am weary, O God; I am weary, O God, and worn out. ²Surely I am too stupid to be a man. I have not the understanding of a man. ³I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One. ⁴Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His son’s name? Surely you know!

⁵Every word of God proves true; He is a shield to those who take refuge in him.^[1]
Proverbs 30:1-5

Greetings Sojourners,

What a joy it is to get to write to you today and share a bit of testimony with you. I must admit that I find myself joyful today – as joyful as I am tired, which, as you will see, is quite a lot.

Let me begin by saying, “GOD is good!” He is good because that’s who He is (Psalm 34:8, Psalm 100:5, James 1:17), and His goodness is not contingent on whether or not I feel like He’s been particularly good to me in a given moment; He’s good – all the time! These past few weeks have given me the opportunity to reflect and look at God’s goodness as well as His consistency and character and how I have seen Him work and move in my life, and as I’m not particularly special, I can say with confidence that He can and will work in your life as well.

The passage we open with is one that always tickles me as much as it humbles me. So, before we hit the musings I have prepared, let’s meditate on the Word to set us off.

Firstly, we don’t really know who Agur son of Jakeh is, to whom Proverbs 30 is attributed. But as neither he nor the Lord saw fit to tell us much about him, we will look instead to the Lord he introduces us to.

Secondly, it’s okay if the way Proverbs 30 begins makes you chuckle a bit. Lord willing, we will all grow up enough to be able to laugh at our own mistakes and ignorance. I’ve surely been weary, and I’ve definitely been “weary” and “worn out” because of my own stupidity. So, when Agur declares both his weariness and that he is surely “too stupid to be a man” and that he has “not the understanding of a man,” that is actually a good place to begin in wisdom. Sometimes people begin with their résumé, trying to prove why they are wise and why their wisdom should be heeded. Agur’s résumé is that he learned wisdom the hard way – through lessons bought rather than merely taught.

If you don’t think Proverbs 30 is particularly humorous, I would wager that you might be a young or thick-headed man or a woman who is having to deal with one or the other. I’m kidding – mostly. What I want you to see here is the basis for what comes next, namely, the way Agur’s words in the Old Testament point us to Christ.

He admits his ignorance and the weariness that comes from it. And he does so in order to show that what he knows of God, “the Holy One”, does not come from himself but that it has been revealed to him by God Himself. That’s an important distinction, and that leads us to our third point from Proverbs 30: God reveals Himself to man through His Word (Psalm 19:7-11, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Hebrews 1:1-2).

Look at the series of rhetorical questions that Agur asks and see how they build on the magnificent power of God, the mighty Creator who has graciously made Himself known to lowly folks like me and you and Agur. The beauty to me is how each of these rhetorical questions can, and ultimately should, be answered with a clear “the Lord JESUS”.

Who has ascended to heaven and come down? The Lord Jesus. Jesus Himself told Nicodemus in John 3:13 that “No one has ascended into heaven except He who descended from heaven, the Son of Man”, and He gave that information as part of the invitation to see Him lifted up, “that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life” (John 3:15).
Who has gathered the wind in His fists? The Lord Jesus – God Himself – is the only One with such power. The very same God who can measure “the waters in the hollow of His hand” (Isaiah 40:12) is He who “was pierced for our transgressions” (Isaiah 53:5).
Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? The Lord Jesus – the God who invented water – is the only one who can make it do what He commands (John 1:1-3, Colossians 1:15-17, Hebrews 1:3). This is seen in Job’s reply to Bildad when he speaks of the might of God, who binds up the waters in His clouds and controls the boundaries of sea and sky (Job 26:8).
What is His name, and what is His son’s name? Surely you know! JESUS!

His name is Jesus, and that’s the beauty of making Himself known to us and offering salvation to all who trust in Him. It’s seen clearly in Proverbs 30:5: “Every word of God proves true; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.” Every promise He makes is kept. Every prophecy He gives is fulfilled. He is who the Bible says He is, and we can trust Him, take refuge in Him, and know full well that He will take care of His own (John 10:27-30, Romans 8:38-39, 1 Peter 5:6-7).

That’s why Agur’s words are such a fitting place for me to begin. Weariness has a way of exposing how little we understand, but the Word of God lifts our eyes from our limits to the Lord who makes Himself known. That’s exactly what I’ve needed this past year: for the Word of God to lift my eyes from what I couldn’t understand to the God who has made Himself known and proved Himself faithful.

Ultimately, that’s what I want to talk about today – a testimony of the trustworthy God, not because my experiences prove Him trustworthy, but because He has told us who He is in His Word. What I share today does not add to the Word, but it does my heart good to look back and be able to say, “Look! Here is where Jesus shielded me! Here is where He proved Himself to be true and loved me!” If you don’t listen to a single word past here, you’ve lost nothing because His Word in Proverbs 30:1-5 is more than sufficient to point you to Him. What comes next is likely more for me than you anyway.

To segue into these musings, I’m going to, as my father-in-law says from time to time, “put a little English on it”. What I mean is that I want to set out with a clear thesis to keep me on track and, hopefully, help me muse more than ramble as I share about how God has cared for me over this past year (and ultimately over the course of my life).

This past year has reminded me that God is good when I am weak, marriage is deeper than romance, His mission is bigger than my strength, the church is a gift, and hope in Jesus does not fail – even while I am still learning how to walk forward (2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Ephesians 5:31-32, Matthew 28:18-20, Ephesians 4:11-16, Romans 5:1-5).

So, let me begin where the Lord has so often shown me His goodness most clearly: my marriage.

Musing on Marriage

This may sound weird coming from a man, but I like romance. I enjoyed – and still do enjoy – pursuing and wooing Candice like I did when we were dating. I liked learning about her while we were dating and found it kind of exciting to get to chase after the woman whom I thought then was the most magnificent person I’d ever met. After 22+ years of pursuing her, I have found that she is indeed more than my 19-year-old brain could have fathomed at the time.

Over the years, the pursuit waned as, well, I got lazy and convinced myself that once I had married her, I had caught her. That’s true in a sense, but a lasting marriage doesn’t quite work like that. We were grown when we started out, true. But we’ve been growing and changing, individually and together. Sometimes these changes are for the better; other times, well, let’s just say they are changes.

Thankfully, God has let me realize, like Agur, that I’m too stupid to be a man. The wisdom I have doesn’t come from some sage source of me just being smart; it comes from the Lord being gracious enough to let me outlive my ignorance. I joke often when I preach or teach and marriage comes up that Candice had a stupid and lazy husband the first ten years she was married, and she has had a better husband for the second ten years – and she’s had the same husband the whole time. God convicted me of my ignorance and has allowed me to see the error of my ways, with Candice loving me enough to hold me accountable to the man she knew I was supposed to be. She paused long enough for me to catch up, and the pursuit is on. Lord willing, it will continue until death parts us.

This time last year, Candice had her hands full. She had been waiting on me hand and foot for about a week before I ever made it to the hospital last June. It was scary for me to find myself unable to walk or even feed myself, but it was probably scarier for her as every added thing she took on to do for me that I couldn’t do for myself likely looked like something she’d have to do for the long haul. The first post that I wrote on the subject, “Reflections on the Goodness of God from My Hospital Bed”, was actually our first collaboration – Candice typing and me looking over her shoulder to try and say what we were writing. I felt humiliated and emasculated at the time, but looking back, it was such a beautiful picture of the love Christ has for His bride, the Church, in that He is strong where we are weak and cares for His own selflessly because He loves her (Ephesians 5:25-32, 1 John 3:16-18).

Once I finally got home, I thought everything would magically fall back into the way things were, but that’s not how life works. Sometimes the way things were is simply in the past. I still needed help, and she was adamant that I would take the help whether I was smart enough to realize it or not. This is honestly the first time that I’ve thought about it, but as tired and scared as she was, I can’t remember a time when she complained about it. The strength I needed, she had, and that added strength came from the Lord – given to my wife, my helper, to love me and help me when I could not help myself (Genesis 2:18, Ecclesiastes 4:9-10).

Rather than focus solely on the past, I think it’s helpful for us to move forward to more recent times. Yes, there were new firsts – walking hand in hand without me needing to be guided, dancing without me having to hold on to her for support. Little by little, all those firsts became regular. The most recent memorable moment to muse on was actually a second rather than a first, though.

We celebrated our 20^th wedding anniversary on June 17. We already knew it wasn’t going to be our typical “go somewhere to eat and do date-stuff” kind of anniversary in Oxford or Jackson or Memphis. For our 10^th anniversary, we flew out to Colorado, and it just wasn’t going to work out to do something like that this year. We snuck in some time while I worked in Jackson for a week, and we were planning on getting in a date when we went to Hattiesburg to see Keri at the end of drum major camp. But, as far as the actual anniversary went, it was going to be us and Xander – not because we couldn’t get someone to watch him but because I’d been away for a week and we were glad to spend that time with him.

The morning of our anniversary, I had an appointment and Candice had summer school. We had planned on the three of us going out to eat for lunch and then going to church later that evening since it was Wednesday. I had quite a surprise when I picked them up for lunch. For weeks, Candice had been secretly working on her wedding dress, and she was wearing it – the very same wedding dress from 20 years earlier – when I picked them up. One of my core memories is seeing her in that dress when the doors opened during our wedding, and I was transported back there. Rather than being trapped in the past, though, I was transfixed by the timeline in between – the tears, the laughter, the pain, the pleasure, the kids, the houses, the jobs, the life. Most surprisingly, she was worried I’d be embarrassed. Never. She’s my bride. We went to eat and then to the church for an impromptu vow renewal – no pomp or party, but a genuine renewal of the covenant we had made with each other. The difference was that we know now what we didn’t know then, and we still responded with “I do” – (special thanks to John and Sara Goldwater, Michael Curry, Sammy Carollo, and my best man and wingman, Xander, for helping us make that happen).

I understand more of Ephesians 5:32 than I did at 19 years old: “This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.” I understand the love Jesus has for His bride more because I’ve begun learning what it is to live for your bride rather than merely being willing to die for her. Candice’s care for me showed me love received, and this season has pressed me to consider more deeply what Christ-like love requires of me as her husband. I know what it is to be willing and eager to hold fast to your wife. And, in my weakness, I have also learned more of what it is to be the church: loved, served, held, and helped by Christ when I cannot help myself. I’ve learned the depths of love that I couldn’t know without relationship with Christ and without relationship with Candice.

I’ve found a good and excellent wife and obtained favor from the Lord (Proverbs 18:22, 31:10-12). I rejoice in the wife of my youth more today than I did 20 years ago (Proverbs 5:18-19). And I understand love more deeply than I ever could from romance alone because what the Lord can build and show in relationship is deeper than what we can manufacture on our own.

Marriage is deeper than romance, but that does not make romance less beautiful. It gives romance roots. It turns affection into faithfulness. It turns vows into a life. And, by the grace of God, it lets a husband look at his wife after twenty years and say with assurance, “The Lord has been good to me.”

And just as the Lord used marriage to remind me that love is deeper than romance, He used missions to remind me His work is bigger than my strength.

Musing on Missions

One of the things that bothered me the most about having to go into the hospital last summer is that I was missing a mission trip with our Christ Community youth to go to New Mexico and help a church with their VBS. When the swelling first started in my feet and joints, I was convinced that I would go to the doctor, get some medicine, and essentially walk it off in time for the mission trip. Actually, that’s the only thing that convinced me to go to the doctor in the first place, as I had a little over a week from the onset of symptoms to when we would leave on the trip. Needless to say, once I got admitted into the hospital, I was starting to think I wasn’t going to get to go – as I said, I’m too stupid to be a man, or in this case, just stupid enough.

The plan had been for the four of us to go, but no amount of convincing was going to make Candice go. She was determined to stay with me. So, we sent Keri with our church family to go farther away than she’d ever been from us. We watched Life360 doggedly – not because we didn’t trust the chaperones, whom we know love her as if she were their own, but because we simply weren’t there (although the amount of pictures Shonna and Sara sent of Keri made us feel like we were). Even those pictures were part of God’s gift of the church to us. We could send our daughter farther away than she’d ever been because we knew she wasn’t going alone. She was with family – not by our blood, but by the blood of Jesus (Mark 3:34-35, Ephesians 2:19, 1 John 3:14-18). Shonna and Sara sharing pictures with us did more than help us feel included; it reminded us that the Lord has given our kiddos spiritual aunts, uncles, brothers, and sisters who love them because they love Him.

The first night they called during their worship time slayed me. Sara Goldwater FaceTimed, and I got to see all of my church kiddos and Keri one by one, and they had picked songs to sing that night for worship that they thought would minister to me. They were right. “Battle Belongs” reminded me that God is my fortress and mighty to save; “Firm Foundation (He Won’t)” reminded me that Jesus is my rock and foundation who will never fail; and “Because He Lives” reminded me who holds the future. I wept as I worshiped.

That night was one of the clearest reminders I’ve ever had that the church is a gift. I already knew that doctrinally. I had preached and taught that the church is the body of Christ, the family of God, brothers and sisters joined together in Jesus. But that night, it was clear. I wasn’t in the room (or even the same state) with them. I wasn’t useful to them in any way. I wasn’t leading or serving them. I was a thousand miles away in a hospital bed, weak and weeping, and the Lord used His people to carry me. Their voices became a mercy to me. Their love became a reminder that Candice and I weren’t alone. Jesus was with us, and one of the ways He made that plain was through His church (Galatians 6:2, 1 Thessalonians 5:11, Hebrews 10:24-25). But as grateful as I was for that gift, I was still hurting.

The next night I was in my feelings – which honestly was understandable – and I asked to talk to John after their worship time. I laid out my struggles, and he gave me some tough, pastoral love by telling me that while I wasn’t on the mission I had planned to be on, I was still on mission. He also told me I needed to ask God to help me figure out how to join in with His mission where I was.

Praying with nurses and phlebotomists, preaching Sunday worship in the cafeteria of the rehab, and looking for ways to minister from a walker or wheelchair was definitely not the mission I had signed up for, but it was where God had me – and where He hadn’t sent anyone but me.

That was last summer’s mission field. This summer, by God’s grace, the mission field looked very different.

The past eight days have been spent with some of our Christ Community kiddos and adults on mission in South Dakota. And this year, by God’s grace, I got to go. We drove over 1,200 miles there over two days. We partnered with Redemption Church in Piedmont, South Dakota to do VBS/backyard Bible club in the mornings and soccer camp in the afternoons at a park near the church. It was beautiful to get to see our people serve the Lord.

Now, don’t get the illusion that I’m about to say that I was some vital part of this; I wasn’t. This past year has shown me clearly that I am not necessary for ministry or missions to happen; Jesus is. He equips those He sends for the mission they have. When I started in pastoral work at Christ Community, one of my goals was for me not to be in a position to be indispensable. I didn’t want there to be anything that couldn’t be done if I were to fall off the end of the earth. Well, for all intents and purposes, I might as well have last summer. No area where God has called me to serve at CCC went without. People stepped up and did the work by God’s grace and power. Just as the mission trip went on without me, so did our weekly worship gatherings, and what a beautiful thing to behold because Jesus is better than anything I’ve got to offer. That’s part of why the church is such a gift: the work doesn’t rise and fall on any one person, because Jesus Himself is the Head, and He gives gifts to His people for the building up of the body (1 Corinthians 12:4-7, 12-27; Ephesians 1:22-23, 4:11-16).

I even got to see a beautiful picture of love in the midst of the mission. I got to be the one to do the Bible teaching at the backyard Bible club, and during the second day, a chicken showed up. Now, that might not seem like a big deal to you, but let me tell you, it’s hard to be more interesting to kids than a chicken randomly walking up in the middle of town. The third day was the gospel emphasis where we wanted to make sure we were very clear with the kiddos about who Jesus is, what He has done, and how to be saved. I had semi-jokingly told the other adults that, if that chicken showed back up, I was going to take the kiddos over to a shade tree and teach the lesson Sermon-on-the-Mount-style and that I didn’t care which one of them got rid of it, but that they were to relocate it somehow if it showed back up.

And show up it did!

I led the children over to the tree, and my bride took a poster we had made for soccer camp with the Lord’s Prayer written on it and fought that chicken back the whole time I was teaching God’s Word to the kiddos. If you had told me 20 years ago that part of God’s mission or my wife’s love for me or for the Lord would involve beating a chicken back with the Lord’s Prayer, I would’ve lacked the scope or imagination to understand. But now I know!

One of the evenings of the mission trip, this became real to me in a powerful way. I got to come home from the hospital on June 25, 2025, after having been in there 18 days and 19 hours. Candice videoed me going from the car into the house that day, legs emaciated and wobbly with her afraid I was going to topple over and me afraid I wouldn’t make it up the steps and in the door. On June 25, 2026, I was walking up and down a trail in the shadow of Mt. Rushmore, tears filling my eyes at the goodness of God and a testimony of what He can do (“Hope in Jesus Does Not Put Us to Shame”).

That’s getting at the heart of missions anyway. It’s not about having the strongest people in the right places; it’s about a strong Savior sending weak people to tell other weak people where life, forgiveness, hope, and rescue can be found (Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:8, 2 Corinthians 5:18-20).

No, I’m not necessary for any bit of God’s mission to be carried out. He is essential, and I’m an accessory. But praise be to God, He lets me participate. He doesn’t need me, but He wants me. And if He can use me in a hospital bed, a rehab cafeteria, a backyard Bible club, a soccer field, or even under a shade tree while my wife battles poultry with the Lord’s Prayer, then surely He can use whatever weakness, circumstance, or opportunity He places in front of any of us to point people to Jesus!

And that brings me to the thread running underneath all of these musings: my walk with Christ. Marriage and missions have both reminded me that Jesus is faithful, and this past year has helped me see anew that He has never left me, never forsaken me, and never wasted a step.

Wrapping Up by Musing on My Walk with Christ

When I was a kid, there were certain things that were always around my great-grandmother Grandma Simmons’s house. One of them was the “Footprints in the Sand” poem, which hung in several places. I’m not going to quote it here, but you probably know the gist. A person looks back over the course of their life and sees footprints in the sand. Sometimes there are two sets. Other times, there is only one set. When looking back, they cry out to God feeling as if those times with one set of footprints were Him abandoning them, but they find out that the Lord had never left them – those were the times He was carrying them.

I think about that poem differently the older I get. Part of that is because I remember Grandma Simmons’s testimony. She had lived long enough, struggled enough, prayed enough, and seen enough of the Lord’s kindness to consistently counsel her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren that God had sustained her, cared for her, and taken care of her all the days of her life.

Looking back over the past year – and the thirty-nine years before that – I can say the same (“God Hears, God Sees, & God Knows”).

I don’t care if the footprints were side-by-side, if there was only one set because He was carrying me, or if, as John Goldwater says, there were drag marks where the Lord just took me and put me where He would have me. I am thankful that I can look back and see His footprints throughout my life. I am thankful that He cares for me. I am thankful that He has a plan for my life. And I am thankful that one day, when this life is over, the same feet I have followed will be the feet where I bow in worship (Deuteronomy 31:8, Psalm 37:23-24, Hebrews 13:5, Revelation 5:9-14).

That’s where I find myself right now in my walk with Christ. I’m trying to make sure I’m where He would have me to be, doing what He would have me to do, and pursuing Him above everything else – or at least striving to pursue Him above all else (“Thankful: Learning to Number Our Days”).

Back in 2015, I burned out and quit ministry because I let my identity get wrapped up in what I did – in being “Pastor Keith”. I don’t want to do that again. I don’t want to confuse calling with identity. I don’t want to confuse serving Jesus with being seen serving Jesus. I don’t want to wrap my identity up in ministry, writing, preaching, teaching, leading worship, or any other good thing Jesus lets me do.

My identity must be wrapped up in Jesus (Galatians 2:20, Colossians 3:1-4, Philippians 3:8-10).

Now, that does not make those callings unimportant. God has clearly called me to be a husband, father, brother, uncle, son, teacher, pastor, worship leader, and writer. I want to be faithful in all of those things. I want to be the husband God has called me to be for Candice and the daddy Keri and Xander need. I want to be a pastor among the flock God has called me to serve. I want to disciple well. I want to work at my job in a way that honors Him. I want to write and teach and sing and serve in ways that point people consistently to Jesus.

But I want to pursue Jesus while being those things, not pursue those things in place of Jesus (Matthew 6:33; John 15:4-5; Colossians 3:17, 23-24).

There’s a quote often attributed to William Carey that hits me hard: “I’m not afraid of failure; I’m afraid of succeeding at things that don’t matter.” I don’t want to build a busy life, or even a visibly fruitful ministry life, only to realize that I succeeded at things Jesus wasn’t calling me to chase. I don’t want to succeed at the wrong things. I don’t want to gain attention and lose faithfulness. I don’t want to be impressive; I want to be faithful to my Lord.

So, I find myself at a crossroads of sorts. Is God calling me somewhere else? Is He calling me to dig in where I am? I don’t know. And, honestly, it’s okay that I don’t know yet.

I know Him.

I know His Word is true. I know He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.

I know He is good when I am weak. I know marriage is deeper than romance. I know His mission is bigger than my strength.

I know the church is a gift — not a building, not a program, not a place for religious spectators, but a blood-bought family where burdens are borne, prayers are lifted, children are loved, the gospel is preached, and weak saints are carried by God’s grace (“Light Momentary Afflictions, Eternal Weight of Glory”).

I know hope in Jesus doesn’t fail, even while I’m still learning to walk forward.

Right now, I’m leaning into Him. I’m digging into His Word, not merely to study to preach or teach, but to spend time with Him. I’m seeking His strength to be faithful in the life He has given me, even while I’m still learning what that looks like.

And because this is not merely my story, maybe that is the challenge for you, too, dear Sojourner.

Are you pursuing Christ, or only the life you hope He will bless? Are you seeking His Kingdom, or asking Him to strengthen your own? Are you resting in your identity in Jesus, or trying to build one out of your roles, productivity, ministry, family, reputation, or success?

Are you where He would have you to be? Are you doing what He would have you to do?

And if you don’t know the answers to these questions, are you leaning into Him while you wait (Psalm 27:14, Proverbs 3:5-6, Isaiah 40:31, James 1:5)?

I don’t know what the next year holds. A year ago, I couldn’t have imagined much of what this year would bring. But I know the One who holds it. I know His name. I know His Son’s name. Surely you know….

His name is Jesus!

He has carried me, corrected me, humbled me, strengthened me, and loved me. He has shown me His goodness in hospital rooms, in my marriage, through His church, carrying out His mission, in weakness, in recovery, and in all the steps in between. And if He has taught me anything through this past year, it is this: He is worthy, He is faithful, and He is enough.

Lord, may my life be in pursuit of You.

^[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Pr 30:1–5.

“Light Momentary Afflictions, Eternal Weight of Glory” — a Refresh & Restore Bible Study

Hebrews 12:1-2 –
¹Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ²looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Philippians 4:10-13 –
¹⁰I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. ¹¹Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned, in whatever situation I am, to be content. ¹²I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. ¹³I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

2 Corinthians 4:7-18 –
⁷But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. ⁸We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; ⁹persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; ¹⁰always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our bodies. ¹¹For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. ¹²So death is at work in us, but life in you.
¹³Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, ¹⁴knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. ¹⁵For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.
¹⁶So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, ¹⁸as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.^[1]

Greetings Sojourners!

It has been a while since I’ve gotten to write, and it’s long overdue. A friend asked me a few weeks back if he’d been removed from my list to send out Bible studies. I assured him that I hadn’t and that I had been working on so many different avenues. His response hit me pretty hard after I listed out the litany of said avenues; he said, “You’ve got to make time for things that are important to you.” Well, this ministry is important to me – not for the opportunity to write and publish but to share God’s Word and help people make sense of it and apply it in their lives. That has to begin with me, though.

It seems like this past year has been such a weight. Not to rehash or bore you with repetition, but the ordeal of losing the ability to walk, spending a month in the hospital, and working to be able to, well, be able to do everything again has been taxing – more taxing than either I’m willing to admit or than I even fully realize. I sat in counseling earlier today in the office of a friend who is trying to help me process the past year and its toll, reminding me that it’s not fragile or weak to struggle through things that are immensely difficult and that what I perceive as failure is sometimes just life. At the end of the session, I said, “This too shall pass”, and he said, “That sounds good to say, but it’s harder than that.” I knew as soon as I said it that I didn’t believe it. I understand it intellectually. I believe it fundamentally. But practically? No, that’s not how I am living.

I find myself living in the tension of the last line of one of my favorite novels, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald:

“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne ceaselessly into the past.”

The tension is that I have to row against the currents bearing me pastward while lifting my eyes “to the hills”, to where my help comes from – “from the Lord, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1-2). The same Lord who held me through the past year – through the past forty years – is still my “keeper” (Psalm 121:5) and can surely “keep [me] from all evil”, “keep [my] going out and [my] coming in”, as He has kept my life (Psalm 121:7-8). The One who holds all of my tomorrows can hold me from being carried by the currents of life because He is the God who calms storms, both literal and figurative.

The reality is that difficulties happen. Ordeals overwhelm. Bodies fail. Plans fall apart. A year goes by, and it brings mixed emotions of pride at making it through and the recognition that there are some things one cannot make it through unscathed. So, here I sit in my office, hoping that these thoughts I have been struggling to put down will be helpful to you.

So, dear Sojourner, let’s walk through this bit together.

—

Do you ever feel that there just isn’t enough time in a day? Or a week, month, or year? Just me?

Of course, I’m not the only one to feel this pressure or tension, trying to fit all the things that must be done alongside the things that need to be done – and even fit a few select items on my to-do list that I merely want to do. I’m a husband, father, brother, son, uncle, teacher, pastor (and try to fit as much friendship/fellowship and writing as I can).

I try to be a good steward of my time and to use it as best I can to live the life I am called to live. This isn’t merely careful scheduling but growing to understand that I only have so much bandwidth to be the man I was born again to be. I am reminded constantly that I can only do what I can do, and I find I identify more with Paul in Philippians 4:13 – “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” – in context, of course. What I mean is that I am learning more and more that I “know how to be brought low” and “how to abound”, understanding that “plenty, hunger, abundance, and need” are just a part of life. So, in saying I can only do what I can do, I realize with each new limitation placed on my life that I can only do what the Spirit of Christ enables me to do – or moves things around to let me do.

Now, when I talk about limitations, let it be known that I am not a fan. However, limitations are the norm. We are limited by our humanity – our fallen-world flesh. Just as the fall of man into sin brought death into the world, we have been, in a sense, dying since we began living. That probably sounds morbid to you; rest assured, it does to me, too. But, then again, I am 40 years old in a body that is aging more rapidly than I would like, learning realities like arthritis and mysteriously crippling autoimmune responses. But as the song based on Job 1:20-22, “Blessed Be Your Name”, says, God is still good and life is still a blessing whether the “land is plentiful” and “the sun’s shining down on me” or if “I’m found in the desert place” or “the road marked with suffering; in all of life, any strength I have comes from the Lord – “Blessed be the name of the Lord!” – because the strength I have within myself is surely not enough.

Maybe you feel that you are not enough. Or you may feel that when everything you want to do and everything that is required is set before you, you just don’t stack up – you don’t measure up to the task(s) at hand. Just me?

Just like I’m not the only one to feel the pressure or tension of not being able to get all the things that need to be done or that I want to be done completed, I’m also not the only one who feels like he doesn’t measure up – that the task(s) at hand are too much for me. No matter how much my ability or knowledge grows, my mind and body age daily. Things that should be simple sometimes become hard. Sometimes, my get-up-and-go has simply gone-off-and-went, and I find myself identifying with the Preacher of Ecclesiastes:

Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, ‘I have no pleasure in them’…and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity. (Ecclesiastes 12:1, 7-8)

Well, maybe I don’t quite identify fully with the Preacher there, because, Lord willing, I’m not headed out to pasture or returning to dust and crossing over into glory just yet.

I realize that, as I said earlier, this likely sounds morbid – and probably depressing, but this ain’t that kind of Bible study.

The longer I live and the further I get into middle age, the more I see the beauty in life despite its troubles and the amazing grace found in the reality that this world is not all that there is. The farther we get from the Fall and the effects of sin and death reigning on the earth, things break down more and more, and it becomes especially important for us to remember that this world is not our home, we’re just passing through. We need to remember that our hope, if it’s founded only in this world, has an expiration date. Hope in Jesus has no expiration date because it’s fixed on Him and grows out of His grace to us – grace that carries us fully through suffering in such a way that endures, produces character, and builds that hope into our lives (Romans 5:2-5).

So, let’s look at a few passages in the New Testament that help fix our eyes on Jesus and the eternal hope that can be found only in Him.

There is a Race Set Before You (Hebrews 12:1-2)

At Christ Community and The Foundry, we’re currently walking through Hebrews 11 on Sunday mornings and looking at those men and women “who have faith and preserve their souls” (Hebrews 10:39), the “people of old” whose faith in God saw “commendation” from God for being assured of “things hoped for”, being convicted “of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1-2). We have looked at the faith of Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses – with more in the coming weeks. Hebrews 12, obviously, comes out of that context as it talks about being “surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1).

Similarly to how I said earlier that the God who had faithfully carried me through my life thus far could surely carry me for the rest of my life, we are called to look at the faith this “cloud of witnesses” put in Jesus – how even though they were living in the Old Testament, they trusted God and held to His promises, knowing that “He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23) without needing to see the fulfillment of the promise. We look to these witnesses, not to see how we stack up against these mighty heroes of old but to see that the same God who worked through Moses is the same God who works in His people today – realizing that Moses did not serve God because he was great but that the great God worked mightily in Moses (a testimony I am sure Moses would wholeheartedly agree with). Looking at the testimonies of faith in the lives of these men and women frees us to “lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1). Let’s unpack that.

Our sin weighs on us and holds us back, that much is clear. What is less clear is how we fail, time and again, to realize that the sin we cherish is seeking to kill us. In church life, too often we act like we do not enjoy the sin that we constantly return to, and I believe that is our undoing. It would do us well to look to the wisdom of the Proverbs when we draw our sin up to us closely as if it were a blanket offering warmth, not realizing we are being burned:

“Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned? Or can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched? So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife; none who touches her will go unpunished.” (Proverbs 6:27-29)

The sin that clings to us needs to be cast aside before we get burned. We need to fix our eyes on Christ and look to Him for comfort, peace, and rest, understanding that He knows best and has a plan for our lives that does not include the damage from sin that we refuse to see.

Now, I realize that even before last summer my athleticism was nothing to brag about, but if I were to have to run a race, even I know that I don’t need to do it with my backpack and heavy work boots on. I would need to cast all of that off. Believe it or not, I’ve actually run a race (and didn’t come in last place). I ran in the 5K portion of the races benefiting St. Jude a few years back. Those races take place in December, and it was cold. I tried running in a coat while practicing, and it was more than a little aggravating swish, swish, swishing along and eventually having to take it off and carry it before the end. I tried running in the old-fashioned long johns that I had grown up with, but the fabric was too thick and made it hard for my legs to move and bend as they should while literally chafing against me in the second and third miles. I had to cast those things aside and gird myself for the race at hand. So it is in “the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1). Saying God has a plan for your life is not something to take lightly. He has prepared a course for all those He has saved (Ephesians 2:10). It is for us to recognize what needs to be taken off so as not to be held back as we run to Him.

Too often, we are mournful about what has to be taken off, and that is because we are suffering from having our eyes on the wrong things. While the men and women of Hebrews 11 are truly a “great…cloud of witnesses”, looking to Jesus is the key for understanding this. Hebrews 12:2 says we are to look to Jesus “who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” – don’t miss this: “for the joy that was set before Him”. We get caught up on the excruciating nature of the cross and the sin and shame He bore and hypothesize how He must have felt; this is because we are worldly and pain and suffering distract us from the joy set before us. The sin that we allow to cling to us pales in comparison to the joy set before us in Christ. He is to be our joy more than heaven is to be our finish line.

When I was in the rehab for physical and occupational therapy, no one could have prepared me for how hard it would be. But on day one, I asked them what I would have to do in order to be released and go home to Candice, Keri, and Xander; I had to be able to pass a test to get in and out of a car unassisted, be able to walk a certain distance, and be able to climb more steps than are at the entrance of my house. I had to be able to endure at least an hour and a half of physical therapy and then turn around and do at least another hour and a half of occupational therapy. It was grueling. I sweated. I cried. I had to endure the humiliation of being lapped by a 90-year-old man with a hip replacement and having to be watched in the shower to ensure I could care for myself. I had joy set before me, though. I wanted to go home; no, more than that, I wanted to walk up to Candice and the kiddos and wrap my arms around them while standing in our house. I ran the race that was set before me.

Now, I realize that was only one leg of the race God has set before me. I constantly have sin trying to cling to me and weigh me down, and I have to consistently look to Jesus as the joy set before me and tear the sin away and cast it aside. How about you? What sin is clinging to you and weighing you down? Where are you on the course God has set before you? Rest assured, dear Sojourner, and look to Jesus. He’s worth it all.

We are Clay in the Hands of the Potter (2 Corinthians 4:7-18)

All my life I have sought to be independent and resilient. I wanted to be a strong man who could carry the load of others. I wanted no one to have to help me or carry my burdens. Part of that is noble, but that last part was pure foolishness. That’s not how life works. Most importantly, that’s not how God intended for life to work for His people. He didn’t tell us only to bear the burdens of the weak but reminds us that we are all in need of burden-bearing when He said,

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” (Galatians 6:2-3)

I had deceived myself. Thankfully, God in His divine providence put me in a position to see just how foolish I was (and still reminds me on an as-needed basis when my view of burden-bearing gets out of whack).

We’ve already talked about how we get weighed down with sin when we take an earthly perspective instead of an eternal perspective, so we won’t rehash that here. The crux of 2 Corinthians 4:7-18 is that “we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us” – the treasure being “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” from 2 Corinthians 4:6. I’ll make this simple. I don’t want to be a jar of clay. I want to be something sturdier. I want to be, as I said, resilient. But remember, I also said I can be a fool.

There are many verses in the Bible that use the imagery of God being the potter and His people being His clay (Isaiah 64:8, Jeremiah 18:1-6, Romans 9:20-21, 2 Timothy 2:20-21 and so on). The Bible also shows us the foolishness of the clay talking back to God in Romans 9:20b-21a: “Will what is molded say to its molder, ‘Why have you made me like this?’ Has the potter no right over the clay…?’” Suffice to say, I have talked back to the Potter more than I should and made my case for being more than a jar of clay, but in His grace and wisdom, His answer through His Word has been clear and reminds me that it is best to “be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work” (2 Timothy 2:21). It is better to be clay in the hands of the Potter than any other substance for any other purpose. In the same way the Lord has set a race before me, He has molded me for the purpose He has for my life – and the same with you.

The earthly perspective sees clay as weak and breakable. The eternal perspective reminds us that we jars of clay are “afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed” and that “death is at work” but “life” through Christ (2 Corinthians 4:8-9, 12). The value of the jar of clay is not in its resilience or strength but in the Potter. Think of the McCarty and Peter’s pottery in Mississippi. To some it looks like brown containers, but to those who know the skill and talent of McCarty or Peter it has value beyond its use.

Over the past year, I have lamented the way that my body has seemingly betrayed me. I have lamented with other brothers and sisters whose mitosis went haywire in their bodies to create cancer cells instead of normal healthy cells. I have lamented with brothers and sisters whose brains and memories are degrading leaving seemingly less than they thought they were. Ultimately, that’s what I lament in my own life: being less than I thought I was. That’s an earthly perspective. The eternal perspective is that I was “bought with a price” and am not my own (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) – that I have been ransomed from sin and death and the “futile ways inherited from [my] forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18-19). The eternal perspective tears down the foolishly short-sighted earthly one in that I cannot see what His plans are fully at this time but I know that “He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23) – I “know whom I have believed, and am convinced that He is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me” (2 Timothy 1:12) – and I know that it is useless to try and worry too much over this jar of clay when “to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).

This is the beauty of this passage. Look at the clarity of 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, as God’s Word says it more clearly than I could hope to expound it:

“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen as transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

This world is not all that there is. This body is not all that there is. The troubles we experience are not all that there is. No, all of the trials and sufferings this life can throw at us are light momentary afflictions that will be forgotten as easily as a mother forgets labor once her baby is laid in her arms. When I fall on my face at the feet of Jesus once this life is over, I won’t remember I was a jar of clay because I won’t shatter when I fall in front of Him. I won’t shatter because the nail-scarred hand that wipes the last tear from my eyes will lift me up because He cares for me (Revelation 21:4, 1 Peter 5:6-7). And here’s the beauty, dear Sojourner, it is that same strong hand that keeps us from shattering in our jars of clay in the present. How about you? Do you long to be more or are you satisfied with being His? Do you take an eternal perspective with your eyes lifted to the hills, looking for help and fixed on Jesus, or are you letting every weight of sin drag you down as if this world were all there was?

May we fix our eyes on Christ!

Wrapping Up

I don’t know if all this makes sense or if it’s just cathartic rambling on my part. That’s not for me to know. I reckon that’s above my pay grade.

My mind has been so frazzled and I’ve struggled to get my thoughts down for so long that this may not make a lick of sense. But praise God, His Word doesn’t return void. I hope some of this helps you. More than that, I hope something in here points you to the hope found in Jesus and lifts Him up as worthy of worship and worth living for.

All I know is that I am thankful that He has provided me brothers and sisters to help bear my burdens (and that they’re persistent even and especially when I’m too hardheaded or willfully ignorant to see that I need the help). I’m thankful that despite my failings and flaws He has set a race before me. And I’m thankful for this jar of clay because, without it, I may think that I could do this on my own, unable to realize that “the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us” (2 Corinthians 4:7).

I think that’s my prayer for you, too, dear Sojourner – not that you’ll suffer or struggle but that you would set Jesus as joy before you so that whatever the world is throwing at you, it pales in comparison to the glory and worth of Jesus – that whatever light momentary affliction you face would be seen as such, and, as the hymn, “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus”, says “the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace”. Amen.

^[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Heb. 12:1-2, Phil. 4:10-13, 2 Cor, 4:7–18.

“Worthy Is the Lion, the Slain Lamb Who Lives” from Revelation 5 — a Refresh & Restore Bible Study

We’re back in our study of Revelation called The KING is Coming, where we’re taking a verse-by-verse approach to see what the book truly reveals—Jesus Christ Himself. As always, I’m joined by Jamie Harrison, and I’m thankful for the opportunity to walk through this study together. Today, we’ll be in a passage that is probably quite familiar if you’re a member or regular-attender of Christ Community Church as we read it in worship fairly often – Revelation 5:

5 Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. ²And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” ³And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, ⁴and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. ⁵And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”
⁶And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. ⁷And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. ⁸And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. ⁹And they sang a new song, saying,

“Worthy are you to take the scroll
     and to open its seals,for you were slain,
and by your blood you ransomed people for God
   from every tribe and language and people and nation,
¹⁰and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
     and they shall reign on the earth.”
¹¹Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, ¹²saying with a loud voice,
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
      to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
      and honor and glory and blessing!”
¹³And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,
      “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
      be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”
¹⁴And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.^[1]

Keith Harris:
Greetings, sojourners. We have a lot to dive into today, so, Jamie, let’s go ahead and dive in.

Jamie Harrison:
All right, so for real, let’s dive in, man, because this really is like — this is it. This is the big climactic scene in heaven. We mentioned in chapter 4 that the throne room is going to be the setting for the remainder of Revelation, and it’s mentioned over and over and over — the throne room, the throne room. And we know that the One seated on the throne is God the Father. And we know that Jesus is going to come and He’s going to sit at His right hand, and the Holy Spirit is there — we’ll see in just a second. And so it starts with this scroll that’s got writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals there in verse 1. And back in Roman times we know that a will or a title deed would be sealed with seven seals. And basically what they would do is they would roll it, seal it, roll it, seal it, roll it, seal it — and again there would be seven seals. And nobody was able to open that scroll except the appointed heir.

Keith:
Is there a significance to the seven in Roman Empire days, or is that just — you think — significant biblically here?

Jamie:
I would say biblically significant. I know people try to read a lot into a lot of different things, but there’s — obviously there’s seven churches, so people say one seal for each church, right? Those kinds of things. You know what I think is that it’s just biblically significant — the number seven in and of itself. And so no necessary hidden meaning per se, but it’s completely sealed — it’s locked down.

Keith:
Correct. Gotcha. As the number seven being the number of completion..

Jamie:
Amen. So this thing is sealed up. And in verse 2 we see the angel ask, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” And this angel is a mighty angel. And you would think if anybody could, you know, it’d be this really mighty angel — but he’s not worthy to open it. And then in verse 3 it says no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or even to look in it. Now understand, when it says no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth, that’s everybody that has ever been.

Keith:
All the places to be.

Jamie:
Correct, right? So that is covering everybody, and nobody is able to open the scroll.

Keith:
And I think that’s an interesting wording there. The question is “who is worthy,” not “who is able.” So we’re covering strength here, but worthiness is the question. Excuse you.

Jamie:
Thank you.

Keith:
So talk to me — take a sip — the difference with worthiness and ability here is not about strength. You mentioned the mighty angel. You mentioned everybody who is. What’s the deal here?

Jamie:
It kind of goes back to — who was it? Was it King Arthur that pulled Excalibur out of the stone?

Keith:
Allegedly.

Jamie:
Right — yeah, that’s a myth. And so the idea of that story being all these strong guys came up and tried to get it out and couldn’t — only the one who was worthy. And so I want to limit — let’s get to that in a second.

Keith:
All right.

Jamie:
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Keith:
We’ll put a pin in it.

Jamie:
Yes, put a pin in it — but not too hard, that will hurt. All right, so I’m going to jump over to Hebrews chapter 1, verses 1 through 3 real quick, because this is going to help us as we move forward. I’m going to jump over to Hebrews chapter 1, verses 1 through 3 real quick, because this is going to help us as we move forward.

1 Long ago God spoke to the fathers by the prophets at different times and in different ways. ²In these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son. God has appointed Him heir of all things and made the universe ^g through Him. ³The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of His nature, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.^[2]

And that’s a really cool Scripture there because it tells us who is the heir — Jesus. Jesus is the heir. And the Son is the radiance of God’s glory, the exact expression of His nature, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After He makes purification for sins — not His sins, for sins — He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. And that’s going to answer your question about who’s worthy, but we’re still not going to jump ahead.

Keith:
Well, and also — who’s able to atone for sins? Not us. Not those on earth or under the earth, for sure.

Jamie:
It’s kind of like Big John says all the time — that if Jesus did 99% of the forgiving and we did the one, all we would brag about is the one.

Keith:
But clearly here we got the none.

Jamie:
That’s correct — definitely the none. Not to be confused with nuns — this is N-O-N-E, none. Okay, so now we can move forward, because nobody is able to open the scroll. And then John begins to weep. It says, “I wept and wept because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or even to look at it.” Can you imagine — like you see this scroll in the right hand of the Father, and I don’t know at that point if John necessarily knew what it was or not. I mean, he doesn’t say he knows what it is. But obviously he was alive during that time, so if it’s sealed with seven seals his mind probably went straight to some type of title deed or a will or something like that as well. And so can you imagine this climactic moment where you see this scroll and then nobody is worthy to open it?

Keith:
I wonder too — just thinking about the vision that he’s seeing there — it kind of puts me… it reminds me of Isaiah 6, the vision that Isaiah got in the year that King Uzziah died. Like thinking about worthiness — you’re sitting there, you can see the throne. And we talked about this back in Revelation 1 — like in my mind, seeing the throne, you’re not looking at it alone. When we say “high and lifted up,” He literally was high and lifted up. I mean, think Ezekiel — the visions he had of the throne. Like he’s looking at the soles of His feet from way down. And when you ask who is worthy — I know when I am confronted with the holiness and worthiness of God, my first thoughts turn to my unworthiness and why I’m unworthy. Like — gotta be feeling some guilt, gotta be feeling overwhelmed in the first place. This disciple whom Jesus loved, outliving all the rest of the apostles — more than likely in his late 80s, early 90s at this point — like he’s feeling some stuff. He’s well acquainted with his unworthiness, and his friend, the worthy One — the Lamb of God — that’s how his gospel describes Him — died. He knows He rose, but still at the same time, that’s a lot to process.

Jamie:
And so he weeps and weeps because nobody is worthy to open the scroll or even to look in it. And then in verse 5 — here we go — one of the elders says to me… which we talked about in chapter 4, you know, what the elders might represent. And it says, “Do not weep. Look.” Now the word’s important — he says, “Look.” “The Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that He can open the scroll and its seven seals.” So the Lion from the tribe of Judah — let’s talk about that for a second. Way back in Genesis chapter 49, verses 8 through 10, these are Jacob’s last words. He gives the scepter over to the tribe of Judah, meaning the kings will come from that tribe, obviously starting with David there. But we know that he also references that Shiloh will come — and that’s an idea that someday the King is going to come and He’s going to take over and He’s going to reign for eternity. That’s talking about Jesus again. And so the Lion from the tribe of Judah is like the King of kings.

Keith:
In the wording of the prophecy all the way back pre-king — hence that — what does it say? The Root of David, correct? And it’s a big deal.

Jamie:
And the Root of David goes back to Isaiah 11. Hey — I’m turning to Isaiah 11… maybe I should have used the digital Bible instead, because these pages—

Keith:
Well, this is where the preacher wants to say, “I still hear pages turning — we’ll wait.”

Jamie:
That’s going to be Isaiah 11 — the eleventh chapter of Isaiah. That’s what preachers do, in case you were wondering — it’s because they’re trying to find it themselves. Isaiah 11, verses 1 through 10:

11 Then a shoot will grow from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch from his roots will bear fruit.
²The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him —
a Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
a Spirit of counsel and strength,
a Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
³His delight will be in the fear of the Lord.
He will not judge
by what He sees with His eyes,
He will not execute justice
by what He hears with His ears,
⁴but He will judge the poor righteously
and execute justice for the oppressed of the land.
He will strike the land
with discipline from His mouth,
and He will kill the wicked
with a command from His lips.
⁵Righteousness will be a belt around His loins;
faithfulness will be a belt around His waist.
⁶The wolf will live with the lamb,
and the leopard will lie down with the goat.
The calf, the young lion, and the fatling will be together,
and a child will lead them.
⁷The cow and the bear will graze,
their young ones will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
⁸An infant will play beside the cobra’s pit,
and a toddler will put his hand into a snake’s den.
⁹None will harm or destroy another
on My entire holy mountain,
for the land will be as full
of the knowledge of the Lord
as the sea is filled with water.
¹⁰On that day the root of Jesse
will stand as a banner for the peoples.
The nations will seek Him,
and His resting place will be glorious.

I understand, again — this is a prophecy of Jesus that is going — He’s going to come. At this point this is obviously before He has come. And so this is who the Jews were looking for — this conquering king, okay? Now that’s very important, because they were looking for a conquering king. But when Jesus came, He did not conquer, so to speak, the way they thought He was going to in that moment — thinking He was going to free them from Roman oppression, right? And so here’s where it gets really exciting, because this conquering king — remember, “the Root of David has conquered,” is what it says in Revelation 5. And so when you read this, you’re like, “Okay, I see the Lion from the tribe of Judah. I hear you saying the Root of David, and it says that He’s conquered.” Well, how has He conquered? Because He came and He died, and then He rose again — and the Romans are still in control. They’re still in control. Still in control at this point. Now remember, they told him to turn and look. And when you turn and look, it says “the Lion from the tribe of Judah.” But when he turns and looks — in verse 6 — he sees One like a slaughtered Lamb standing in the midst of the throne. He does not see the Lion from the tribe of Judah, so to speak, like you would think you would turn and literally see some type of very strong, mighty force standing there.

Keith:
Like Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia, right? Kind of a Mufasa — that’s right — big old lion.

Jamie:
Lion, lion — right. And instead he turns and he sees One like a slaughtered Lamb standing in the midst of the throne. Now just picture this for a minute — you’re John. You’ve lived with Jesus, you’ve walked with Jesus, you’ve seen Jesus. And then you turn expecting to see this lion, and instead you see One like a slaughtered Lamb. You see the scars in His hands. You see the scars in His feet. You see the scars in His side. And the idea you get kind of takes us back to the Passover lamb — you know, put the blood on your doorpost and it will cover you, and we’ll spare you from death.

Keith:
So — and I think too — it’s got to draw him back to what the Holy Spirit led him to write down by his own hands. “Behold the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world.” That’s what he wrote down in John 1:29 — the words of John the Baptist. Like, I think this is a huge perspective change, because if anybody should have known the answer to “who is worthy” and not been so bereft that he’s crying, it’d be the disciple whom Jesus loved, right? But here he turns around and — I don’t know — it’s almost liberating. If John can forget, maybe it’s a little more understandable — sometimes not excusable, but at least understandable. If John, standing there in heaven, doesn’t immediately think, “Jesus is worthy,” — remember Him? — yeah, we need that reminder too. But I mean, he’s looking for this archetypal Lion of the tribe of Judah, this conquering leader. Maybe you think some kind of warrior angel is fit to come out and put a whooping on—I mean, he’s having this vision from a prison island in his 90s. He’s needing a little liberation, no doubt. But liberation theology doesn’t match up to the beauty of the Lamb standing as though slain.

Jamie:
And that’s key — what you just said — is that He’s standing. How many slaughtered lambs do you know that are standing?

Keith:
None.

Jamie:
None. That is the whole idea of slaughtering. But Jesus is standing. He isn’t timid, He isn’t laying down, He isn’t dead — He’s alive.

Keith:
And I think, going back to your — and I guess this is probably what you’re getting into — like things that are showing that He’s standing, He’s not propped up. He has seven horns — that fullness of strength. Seven eyes — that fullness of clarity and sight and knowledge and all of that representing the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. That the second person of the Godhead — still fully God, still fully man — fully alive and fully eternal. Because full death did nothing to stop Him.

Jamie:
Correct.

Keith:
That’ll preach — that’s what they say.

Jamie:
I can tell you want to do it, man.

Keith:
I’m trying to hold him back. It’s okay — saving a little bit for Sunday.

Jamie:
He turns — he sees Jesus standing in the midst of the throne, One like a slaughtered Lamb, but He’s standing to receive the scroll. The scroll that nobody has been found worthy to open at this point. But Jesus comes over, and at that moment when He takes that scroll, He identifies Himself as our kinsman-redeemer — the One that is worthy to open the scroll. The Root of David. The Lion of the tribe of Judah. The all-conquering King. The all-prevailing Lord. The King of kings. The Lord of lords. I know you want to go, man. I know you want to go. Take it away.

Keith:
I mean — He’s the answer to the question. And you look at this, and I’m not trying to get ahead, but what’s so beautiful to me in the response of the elders and the myriads standing around the throne and all of the creatures there is their worship. Just like in the Old Testament, going all the way back to that praise song written by Moses — “the horse and the rider were thrown into the sea.” It’s in response to what they see there. Like they literally, spontaneously — Holy Spirit-led — sing a song about Him being worthy to take and open the scroll. And not just take it — to open it. He’s not worthy to hold it — it’s not a baton being passed on in some marathon race of faithfulness. He’s worthy to take it, to open it, because He was slain. And His blood ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. And did what God said all the way back when He’s talking to Abraham, when He’s talking to Moses, when He’s talking to His people throughout the millennia — to make them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth. This is the fulfillment of all these earthly things — and even it points to the ways that evil has tried to fight against the kingdom of God, but it can’t. It literally killed Jesus — God in flesh — and He didn’t stay dead. It didn’t take. Was it Peter who says in Acts chapter 3 that the pangs of death were unable to keep Him? You’ve got the beautiful resurrection chapter in 1 Corinthians 15 where Paul talks about the hope and glory that is in the resurrection. That we are saved by His finished work on the cross, but we’re kept and we get this eternal life through His resurrection. This is a huge deal right here, because nobody else can do that — which is why He alone is worthy. He’s singular. He’s holy. He’s unique. He’s God. And it’s just beautiful — beautiful.

Jamie:
Some of the commentaries I read through say that this is the greatest act in all of human history. And I think it’s fitting to look at it that way — that this is the culmination, this is the completion. And I know — I hate to even have to clarify this almost — but I do know there will be people listening to this that don’t know Christ. And in the next episode, Jesus is going to open the scroll — and when He opens the scroll, bad stuff is going to start happening, right? And so the idea would be, “You’re really excited about this scroll that’s bringing bad stuff about?” You know — what it’s bringing about is our inheritance, because we’re heirs with God and co-heirs with Christ, according to Paul in Romans chapter 8. And so I get where the idea could come from — “Well, you’re excited bad things are going to happen.” No, no, no, no, no. Understand this — throughout all of this, salvation is available. Salvation is available when these seals start breaking. Salvation is available later on in chapter 9, where it’s going to say, in essence, that this huge demonic army kills all these people, and then the people continue to worship the demons that were just killing them. So it’s still a choice. There’s still the opportunity to come to know Christ and repent here. So is it bringing about bad stuff? No. It’s bringing about what we deserve, which is God’s judgment.

Keith:
Kind of along the lines that you’re talking here — it’s not for us to be excited or terrified for what He’s going to bring about. We’re excited that it’s in His hands. That none of this stuff that happens is out of His control, outside the realm of His sovereignty. And it’s kind of like — and we’ve quoted Big John several times today — but his answer when people want to ask about the problem of evil: “Where is this good God in the midst of all this evil?” How can God still be good in the midst of the things we’re going to read about in the next chapter? If it wasn’t for this good God, there would be no goodness at all. It would just be the evil and wickedness that honestly we ourselves are no less capable of than the ones we would deem more wicked or more evil. The difference is what our good God does with it. And that’s the thing — it’s all in His hands now. He’s not playing with sin. He’s not playing with feelings. This is — I mean, when He came the first time, we got the Lamb. This time, we get the Lion. And that’s no light thing. It’s kind of like — y’all know I’m a nerd — in The Chronicles of Narnia, where Aslan is meant to be a picture of Jesus. One of the kids — I think it’s Lucy — asks, “Is he a safe lion?” And I think it’s the beaver who responds, “A safe lion? He’s a lion.” Like — ain’t nothing safe about a lion. Safety came when He came as the Lamb, taking away the sins of the world. Sins of the world have been taken away. He has conquered. Now you get the teeth.

Jamie:
Yep — that’s a good word.

Keith:
Sound effect — onomatopoeia.

Jamie:
Yep, that. So I don’t want to just keep harping on the same point over and over, because we could — I mean definitely this is very exciting. It’s very exciting to know how — not that one day I’ll get to go to heaven and have a big mansion and see streets of gold — but one day I’ll get to see the King of kings and Lord of lords who is worthy to open the scroll. Face to face.

Keith:
There’s no scenery even described in a lot of these places. When you’re in the presence of Jesus, in the presence of the throne, they’re not talking about all the things that sometimes we would sing about. All the rest of it pales in comparison to Him. When the Lamb stands as though slain, the eyes are on Him — not the floor.

Jamie:
And when we get to Revelation 21 we’ll talk a lot more about that. But we know there will be no sun or moon in the New Jerusalem, because the Trinity will be the light. There will be no shadows. There will be no dark corners. There will be no dark anything. They will be the light. We know there’s no temple because they’re there — there’s no need of a temple. And so yeah — it’s like all eyes on Him.

Keith:
Well, and Hebrews says all these things are shadows pointing to Christ — like that’s figurative shadows. But there will be no figurative nor literal shadows, right? Because all is light.

Jamie:
And I think — I almost feel like that’s a good place to stop. You know, we could continue on and talk about some little things here and there. But when you look at the song — that song — and then the second one, what they say — not a song again, it’s a recitation. Is that the right word?

Keith:
Yeah — well, I mean it says, “And they sang a new song, saying…” So it’s not about the musical aspect of it as much as it kind of reminds me of church traditions that’ll get to talking about shouting. Sometimes they’re singing — there’s a melodic thing to it — but it’s more about the substance than the song.

Jamie:
And that’s it. And the substance here is Jesus. You died for us. You were slaughtered. You purchased people by Your blood — not just a certain group of people, but people from every tribe and language and people and nation. And now because of that we can be saved. We can have a relationship with Christ. We can one day spend eternity with Him.

And in the second one — it’s every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea and everything in them — this is like everybody, everything that he’s seeing here. They say, “Blessing and honor and glory and power be to the One seated on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever.” And then they fall down and worship. And I think when we begin to really dive into the book of Revelation and the rest of the Bible, that should be our response — to fall down in worship. And this is something I’m guilty of a lot of times — I’ll read just for the sake of reading, to do my reading for the day. But is there ever a moment during that reading where I stop and I just begin to worship the Lord because of what I read, because of who He is, because of what He did for me — because He’s worthy?

Keith:
And I mean, like Jamie said, this is a good time to segue into a close. That’s why we’re studying the book of Revelation like this. We’re not trying to answer every unanswerable question. We’re not trying to sweep out the nooks and crannies of prophecy. We’re not trying to convince anyone of our own wisdom or knowledge. We’re trying to point people to the Lamb. And so that’s what we close with today.

As we get ready next week to move into Revelation 6 and see what’s in the scroll, right now we leave you in the hands of Him holding the scroll — who’s worthy not only to hold it but able to open it. The Lion of the tribe of Judah. The Lamb of God who has taken away the sins of the world. He is mighty. He’s high and lifted up. But He’s approachable.

I think Hebrews 4:15-16 is a good passage to end on — and again, if you’re listening and you’re part of Christ Community Church or The Foundry, we’ve been in the book of Hebrews for most of this year. I think it’s a good time to look at the approachable nature of our great God and King.

¹⁵For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

When you look at this, we see John moved by the presence of the Lamb in literally the shadow of the throne. He’s approachable. He is available for us.

Jamie talked about how we look at this — that while all this is going on, there’s still opportunity to be saved. It says multiple times in the Bible — I know in Isaiah — “Seek the Lord while He may be found.”

Well, sojourner, we have presented you the Lion, the Lamb, the King — our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

What are you going to do with Him today?

He’s approachable.

He can be found.

Why don’t you seek Him?

^[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Re 5:1–14.

^[2] When Jamie reads from his Bible, it’s from the CSB (The Holy Bible: Holman Christian Standard Version. (Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2009)).

“Before the Throne of God Above” from Revelation 4 — a Refresh & Restore Bible Study

4 After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” ²At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. ³And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. ⁴Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. ⁵From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, ⁶and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.
And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: ⁷the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. ⁸And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,
“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
who was and is and is to come!”

⁹And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, ¹⁰the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

¹¹“Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.”^[1]

Keith Harris:
Greetings, sojourners. We have a lot to dive into today, and frankly I am excited. I’m beside myself — and also beside Jamie. Jamie, talk to us about Revelation 4. Yes, yes — threw you off with that.

Jamie Harrison:
Yes, yes you did. So we have here — just to get started — to remind you the timeline of Revelation from this point forward. So we finished the seven letters to the churches, and from here on out we have to understand that the timeline is what John saw next. So does this mean historically this is what did happen or will happen, or whatever is happening right now? No. It’s just what John saw next.

Keith:
So does it mean it’s not?

Jamie:
No — it’s just what John saw next.

And so it starts by^[2], “After this I looked, and there in heaven was an open door.” And we learned just a couple of weeks back that Jesus is the one who opens doors. So Jesus opens this door, and the first voice that I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet — now we know that that first voice he heard was Jesus way back in chapter 1, verse 10 — and he speaks to him again in a voice sounding like a trumpet. And he says, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”

And so again, what John saw next — this is what’s going to take place after this. After what? We don’t know. We have no idea. But what we do know is what’s going to take place next — right, at some point.

And so just to hit real quick on the trumpet deal — because of what’s coming up in Revelation — the idea of a trumpet in the Bible, especially in the Old Testament, would have been something that was used to signal a warning. Like a warning that maybe there was an enemy approaching and a war was about to happen. Sometimes they would blow a trumpet to signify that the Lord had delivered a message, and then they would deliver the message.

Keith:
And so I know those are both really negative sounds, and this isn’t necessarily one of those, but it kind of makes me think about in today’s time like a tornado siren or the sound your phone makes when an emergency alert comes through. And again, I’m not saying that it’s exactly that — those are very negative in our minds — but they get your attention.

You know, when you hear those, stop what you’re doing. Listen.

Jamie:
That’s right. And so that’s the idea here. And again, in every single letter that we read — all seven letters — it was “For those who have ears to hear, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.”

And so here again Jesus is saying — voice like a trumpet — you better listen. I’m trying to tell you.

And so immediately John is in the Spirit, and there’s a throne in heaven and someone was seated on it. So he is taken to the throne room, which is pretty awesome — somewhere that I look forward to seeing one day, whatever that’s going to look like. Jesus will be there. I’ll be there. It’s going to be pretty awesome.

And so what we do know is that from here on out the focal point of the book of Revelation is the throne room. Every time something happens we’re going to be taken back to the throne room. Something will happen — we’ll be taken back to the throne room.

Fourteen times in chapters 4 or 5 — fourteen times in just chapters 4 and 5 — the throne room is talked about. In the rest of the book of Revelation, forty-six times the throne room is mentioned, with God the Father of course being the one sitting on the throne.

And so again, just to help you understand that: what is the setting of the rest of this book of Revelation? It’s the throne room. It’s centered around the Godhead.

Keith:
And one thing, just as you were describing that — you know a lot of times in literature or movies, if you’ve got a king and a battle is going to be waged, the throne room is kind of like that last resort, like a place of safety. But we also know the throne room is at risk.

None of those times in the book of Revelation is the Godhead in the throne room hiding. Nothing’s — there’s no catapult of hell, so to speak, in danger of reaching them. God is so high and lifted up and unapproachable.

And so God — this is a place of safety and security beyond our greatest fears. God’s in no danger whatsoever. And so in that case, even despite worldly danger, that tells us the things in here that frighten us — we’re safe in the arms of Christ.

Jamie:
And so John goes into a description of what he sees. And again, so many times in Revelation we get descriptions of things, and it’s just the best John could do to describe what he saw. I think some of these things he probably didn’t have words for, and so this is the best thing he could compare it to.

And so he tells us that the one seated on the throne — verse 3 — had the appearance of jasper and carnelian stone, and a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald surrounded the throne.

And so the jasper and carnelian stone of course were in the breastplate of the high priest back in Exodus 28 — you can see that. Jasper being a crystal-clear gem, diamond-looking, reflects all — refracts all — the colors of the spectrum in wonder. It’s brilliant.

So just think about that for a second — refracting all of these colors of the spectrum in this brilliance is what it looks like to him.

Keith:
So more shiny and shining than the shiniest, brightest thing we can come up with.

Jamie:
That’s right. And carnelian stone — or sardius stone — which is a fiery, bright ruby-looking red stone. So you put all that together, and so far that’s the description we have of what he sees when he looks at God.

And then you get this rainbow that has the appearance of an emerald — of course an emerald being like this cool green hue — dominates the rainbow that he sees that is surrounding the throne.

And remember that a rainbow back in Genesis is the sign of God’s faithfulness to keep His word and His promise that He gave to us then. And so I want to just kind of stop there for a minute and point out that what he’s seeing here is God’s glory. He is seeing the glory of God and describing it the best way that he possibly can.

But you have this rainbow that surrounds the throne. It’s not a half rainbow like we see — this is the full rainbow. This is the complete promise of God. This is the complete fulfillment. This is His mercy even in judgment. This is all of these things completed around Him.

And I’ve got Keith who’s going to read this cool deal from the Jesus Storybook Bible. And if you want to kind of talk about it and then read it.

Keith:
Yeah. The Jesus Storybook Bible is not a translation of the Bible, but it’s where Sally Lloyd-Jones has tried to communicate through all the parts of the Bible to children who God is in Christ. And so this is from the chapter on the flood.

“The first thing Noah did was to thank God for rescuing them, just as He had promised.
“And the first thing God did was to make another promise. ‘I won’t ever destroy the world again.’ And like a warrior who puts away his bow at the end of a great battle. God said, ‘See, I have hung up my bow in the clouds.’
“And there, in the clouds – just where the storm meets the sun – was a beautiful bow made of light.
“It was a new beginning in God’s world.
“It wasn’t long before everything went wrong again, but God wasn’t surprised; He knew this would happen. That’s why, before the beginning of time, He had another plan – a better plan. A plan not to destroy the world but to rescue it – a plan to one day send His own Son, the Rescuer. “God’s strong anger against hate and sadness and death would come down once more – but not on His people, or His world. No, God’s war bow was not pointing down at His people.
“It was pointing up, into the heart of Heaven.”^[3]

Jamie:
So again, that rainbow signifying that promise — Jesus took the wrath for us so that we could be saved. And this is what we are seeing in the throne room — His complete promise, His glory.

So again, that rainbow signifying that promise — Jesus took the wrath for us so that we could be saved. And this is what we are seeing in the throne room: His complete promise, His glory.

And I want to read a little excerpt from a book by Paul David Tripp called Do You Believe? This is from pages 69 and 70. I think that covers us on copyright stuff. Is that accurate?

Keith:
Yes. And then write this stuff — we’re quoting it.

Jamie:
This is quotation marks.

“Glory is not a thing like a shoe, a steak, a candle, or a cottage. Those are particular physical things that can be carefully described by words so that you would immediately have an accurate picture in your mind of what is being talked about. One could draw a picture or take a photograph of a shoe, and you could see it and know what it was, but glory is not like that. No single picture could ever capture glory. Glory simply cannot be photographed. Glory is not so much a thing as it is a description of a thing. Glory is not a part of God; it is all that God is. Every aspect of who God is and every part of what God does is glorious. But that’s not even enough of a description of God’s glory. Not only is He glorious in every way, but His glory is glorious.
“Scripture does, however, put the hugeness of the glory of God into the smallness of human language so that we can at least get some sense of what it’s like. For example, the prophet Isaiah, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in Isaiah 40, stretches human language in order to give us a little glimpse of God’s glory. ‘Who has measured the water in the hollow of his hand?’ Imagine how much water you could hold in the palm of your hand, then consider that God could hold all of the liquid in the universe in His hand and not spill a drop! ‘Who has…weighed the mountains in scales? … Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket [to God]. … He spreads [the heavens] like a tent to dwell in’ (Isa. 40:12, 15, 22). Isaiah is employing incalculably huge word pictures to help us to have even a twinge of understanding of how glorious God is. Yet even these very picturesque and helpful descriptions fall miserably short of capturing the awesome glory of God.
“We cannot gain a full understanding of the glory of God from a few passages, because the reason glory is glory is because it lives above and beyond that kind of description and definition. You can say for sure that God is glorious, because your Bible declares He is, but you cannot accurately and fully describe in words the glory that Scripture declares. Perhaps the only workable path 9into some understanding of the grandeur of the glory of God is to read the entire Word of God again and again, looking for divine glory. Why? Because the glory of God isn’t hidden in His Word; no, His glory is so grand that it splashes across every page of His book.”^[4]

Keith:
One thing’s for sure — there’s awe in everything John writes. Like, this is John, good friend to Jesus on earth. And he’s not saying, “Hey, that’s my buddy.” That’s my God. That’s the throne. That’s — it’s amazing, glorious.

And again, there’s nothing we can say that’s going to do it justice.

Jamie:
That’s right. And you can go to Revelation 21:9–27 and look at New Jerusalem. That’s what heaven will be — what it will look like. And it talks about God’s glory and how glorious it is.

But again, it’s something that is indescribable — or undescribable? Is that the — it’s both of them.

Keith:
It’s both of them.

Jamie:
Yes, it is. I wasn’t sure if that was even a word until just then. So John moves on and he says in verse 4:

“Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones sat twenty-four elders dressed in white clothes with golden crowns on their heads.”

And these twenty-four elders throw a lot of people off. You know — who are they? What are they? What do they represent? Are they really twenty-four people?

And the answer is: we don’t know. Because it doesn’t tell us.

You know, I can tell you that in Revelation 21:12–14 the Bible talks about the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles. And it could be that these twenty-four elders are literally those people. It could be that they’re representation of those people. It could be that they represent the fact that every human being — despite race, despite ethnicity, despite whatever you want to fill in the blank with — will be in heaven if they have a relationship with Christ.

It could represent that — so to speak — the complete church.

Keith:
It could be representatives from the twelve tribes and the twelve apostles.

Jamie:
That’s right.

Keith:
If you’ve got that many “could be’s,” then we need to look at what can we know for sure.

Jamie:
That’s right.

Keith:
That’s the big deal with the study of Revelation — or any sort of prophetic book like this. We want to find our favorite preacher guys or writers to tell us definitively, because we get comfort from it.

I get comfort from having a God who’s so big that He doesn’t need me to know everything. That kind of tells me in some cases — if you’ve got something that’s completely explainable by the mind of man, some dude made it up, right?

And this is so otherworldly that, like Jamie said, John’s doing the best he can.

Jamie:
The absolute best he can.

And now on that thought, we do know in Daniel chapter 7 and verse 9 where God sits down on His throne, and you look around — there’s other empty thrones around Him in Daniel. And now when John sees them, there are twenty-four people sitting on them.

Keith:
So what was empty is, at this point, going to be full.

Jamie:
That’s right.

Keith:
Now full with who?

Jamie:
Again, we don’t know. And I think that’s okay.

Keith:
Well — and well, I know that’s okay.

When you look at this, the point of them — just like when you see angels in Scripture — they’re very quick to say, “Hey, don’t worship me. I worship the One worthy of worship.”

Their whole everything is to say, “Look — look to the throne. Look to Jesus.” They’re not in any sense saying, “Hey, we’ve arrived. Look at how good we are.” They lay their crowns down. They are continually in worship of the One.

So who the twenty-four are — they would say very clearly, “We point to Him.”

Jamie:
That’s right.

Keith:
And so I think that’s enough for me.

Jamie:
And when we see them, we see that they lay their crowns down before the throne.

Keith:
That’s exactly right — which the only reason we know they have crowns is because it tells us they have them.

Jamie:
That’s right.

Keith:
And then it tells us they lay them down.

Jamie:
That’s right.

And so it goes on from there in verse 5: flashes of lightning and rumblings and peals of thunder came from the throne.

And this reminds me of Exodus 19 and Exodus 20 where God speaks through the thunder right before He gives the laws and punishments. So kind of another idea of God speaking here.

Flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder come from the throne. And then if you look further in Revelation — Revelation 8:5, 11:19, and 16:18 — that lightning and thunder is a sign of the fury of the judgment to come.

So it’s kind of like God is about to speak, or God is speaking through this to help us understand, to get ready for the fact that His judgment is coming. His judgment is going to be complete, and it is going to be furious.

And we’ll get there in a few chapters. But it is — it’s intense, I think may be the best word I can think of.

And it goes on — same verse, verse 5 — seven fiery torches were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. And we know that to be the Holy Spirit, as we’ve talked about before.

Something like a sea of glass, similar to crystal, was also before the throne.

And notice he says “something like a sea of glass.” So is it a sea of glass? No, it’s not. It’s something like that — meaning that it’s some type of crystal-clear pavement that’s around God’s throne that looks like some kind of glistening sea.

A lot of the commentaries that you read say that this is a symbol of God’s holiness. And I’m — you know — I’ll go with those guys. They’re a lot smarter than me.

But we do know that Revelation 15:2 and 21:1 say there’s no sea in heaven. So it’s not a literal sea, but it is some type of idea of His holiness and that it’s around His throne.

But again, I think it just goes to the fact that there are these things that are indescribable that John’s doing the best he can to describe.

Keith:
Well, and employing language that we use — and again this is an English translation of the Greek — but that’s the language we use when we don’t know how to describe something. We use similes.

And he says, “as it were a sea of glass like crystal.” He’s literally trying to describe this.

But again he keeps making a beeline back to the throne, back to God, back to the praises — because a lot of the stuff that we very easily get caught up on are trappings, wall hangings, adornments, decorations. Jesus is the main thing.

Jamie:
That’s exactly right. And so he goes on again in verse 6 to talk about four living creatures covered with eyes in front and in back, and they’re around the throne on each side. And that’s kind of a freaky—

Keith:
Yeah.

Jamie:
—I wouldn’t think about these as Precious Moments cherubim. And then he describes the four living creatures. And now remember, before we go into this, that we’ve already got the rainbow surrounding the throne, which is going to be your Noahic covenant.

And now here we go. The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature was like an ox, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle.

Now if you’ve got your Bible with us, turn to Genesis 9 — going almost all the way back to the beginning here — Genesis chapter 9. And we look at verses 8 through 11 and it says:

⁸Then God said to Noah and his sons with him, ⁹“Understand that I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, ¹⁰and with every living creature that is with you—birds, livestock, and all wildlife of the earth that are with you—all the animals of the earth that came out of the ark. ¹¹I establish my covenant with you that never again will every creature be wiped out by floodwaters; there will never again be a flood to destroy the earth.”

And you notice every single thing that is listed here is exactly who these four living creatures appear to be in Revelation. So it tells us in Revelation that one looked like a lion, and this covenant is with the beast of the earth — or the wildlife of the earth. In Revelation it says one looks like a calf. Well here you have that — it tells us livestock or cattle. And in Revelation it says the face of a man. Well it tells us that with you, Noah, and your descendants after you — that’s man. And then you have like a flying eagle, and it tells us with the birds or the fowl.

And so it appears as though these four living creatures would be representative of this Noahic covenant. In other words, His promises that He is not going to flood the earth again. In fact, He’s going to send His Son to die on a cross, to be raised again three days later so that we could be saved.

And so all of this again going back to Jesus — every bit of it. Did you have something you wanted to add there?

Keith:
No, just a thought — or take away. I thought of a phrase from Scripture. I don’t have the address right off the top of my head, but it says, “The whole earth is full of His glory.” He’s not going to flood in wrath anymore, but instead with His glory.

And we’ve already said that it’s incalculable, indescribable. But at this point we just see Him better. Again, if you can look in Revelation 4 and go back and see ties to Genesis, there’s a reason God does that — and it’s to show us He’s got this.

He knows what He’s doing. He’s not saying stuff by accident. He’s got a definite plan that has already been fulfilled and victorious while we’re waiting for it to pan out. He’s 100% sure on it. He sat down, right?

If we’re looking at creation — seventh day is a day of rest. We’re reading about Revelation wondering what’s going to happen this day, that day, this year, that year. God’s already said it and sat down.It’s finished.

Jamie:
And I think on that note it’s cool to point out — which I feel like this is related here — but in the temple, the Holy of Holies, all of these things that they built in the Old Testament and performed sacrifices in… what’s the one piece of furniture that wasn’t there?

Keith:
Nothing to sit on — except for the mercy seat.

Jamie:
That’s right. There’s no chair for the priest — the high priest — because those sacrifices were never ending. They continued on and on and on. But once Jesus raises again three days later, what does He do?

Keith:
Sits down.

Jamie:
Sits down.

Keith:
Well, I know this doesn’t directly tie, but thinking about who’s sitting on those twenty-four thrones — we ain’t got to worry about it. We don’t need to be looking for a place to sit down. It’s occupied.

Jamie:
That’s accurate. And so what are these four living creatures doing while they’re in heaven? Verse 8 says each of the four living creatures has six wings. They’re covered with eyes around and inside. Day and night they never stop saying:

Each of the four living creatures had six wings; they were covered with eyes around and inside. Day and night they never stop, saying,

Holy, holy, holy,

Lord God, the Almighty,

who was, who is, and who is to come.

Keith:
And that’s the address I was looking for earlier — Isaiah 6. That’s what the angels there are saying in the throne room.

And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;

the whole earth is full of his glory!”

Jamie:
And to what Keith spoke about earlier, the next couple of verses say that whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to the One seated on the throne — the One who lives forever and ever — which we know is day and night, they never stop saying it.

It says the twenty-four elders fall down before the One seated on the throne and worship the One who lives forever and ever. And they cast their crowns before the throne and say:

¹⁰…the twenty-four elders fall down before the one seated on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne and say,

¹¹Our Lord and God,

you are worthy to receive

glory and honor and power,

because you have created all things,

and by your will

they exist and were created.

And so I think it’s just awesome to think about heaven for a second, right? This throne room — you’ve got these four living creatures constantly crying out to the Lord. You’ve got these twenty-four elders constantly crying out to the Lord and worshiping the Lord and praising the Lord. And His glory and His brilliance is there, and this rainbow is there. Just how awesome it’s going to be if we have a relationship with Him.

Keith:
And again that’s the kicker. When we look at these things, a lot of time is spent in the world today — more “Christian” books written on the end times than any other particular subject — because people want to know what Jesus says cannot be known. He doesn’t know the day or the hour. And if Jesus isn’t read in on it, there’s not a soul on the earth who’s going to be like, “You know…”

Because here’s the thing: what we can know is Jesus is worthy. Jesus is God. And when we see these descriptions we should be moved, at the very least, to be like Isaiah in his vision of the throne room:

And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

When we look at these we need to be moved to worship. It should drive us to our faces. It should drive us toward His throne. It should drive us — for all the things that we think we have that are of worth, which is nothing comparable to a crown of an elder with a throne around His throne — to focus on the worthiness of Him.

When we move forward in Revelation that is a consistent theme: the glory of God on full display. Him being God, being all powerful, not being in danger. War being made against Him and Him being able to fell all the forces of evil with a word. It’s not going to be a battle. It’s not going to be a fight. We’ve got a toothless lion seeking to devour and destroy. But as we’ll see next week, seated on the throne—

Jamie:
—Is the Lion.

And I want to just say this before we close out, kind of to piggyback on what Keith said. I think it’s important to note that these elders and these living creatures aren’t worshiping God because of what He did for them. They’re not worshiping Him because of what He can offer. They’re not worshiping Him because He filled their bank accounts up or He did this or did that or whatever. A lot of times as believers — I’m not going to say a lot of times — sometimes we get caught up in that. “Well, God blessed me with this,” or “God’s given me that.” But we worship Him because He is who He is.

Keith:
And the Bible does describe being thankful and grateful in our worship to Him for what He’s done — yes. But if He had done nothing for us, He’s still worthy.

Earlier we mentioned Philippians 2 — that because Jesus is who He is and He’s done what He’s done, God has bestowed on Him the name that is above every name.

⁹Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

These are people who didn’t want Jesus, don’t want to fool with Him, aren’t bowing in worship — they’re bowing in submission and subjection because He is the King. And when it’s time to bow, you bow.

So whether it be like the elders casting their crowns before the throne, or those under the earth bowing in subjection — Jesus is Lord. Jesus is God. He lives forever and ever. He is worthy to receive glory, honor, and power. He created everything. It’s by His will they exist. It’s by His will that we were created. By the word of His power that it’s all held together.

And He is thrice holy. Holy, holy, holy.

How will you stand — or kneel — in response to the King?

^[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Re 4:1–11.

^[2] When Jamie cites Scripture, it’s from the CSB – The Christian Standard Bible (Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017).

^[3] Sally Lloyd-Jones, The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name, illus. Jago (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2007), 46–47.

^[4] Paul David Tripp, Do You Believe?: 12 Historic Doctrines to Change Your Everyday Life (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2021), 69–70.

“Lukewarm Yet Not Without Hope: Jesus’s Letter to the Church at Laodicea” — a Refresh & Restore Bible Study

¹⁴“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.

¹⁵“ ‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! ¹⁶So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. ¹⁷For you say, “I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing,” not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. ¹⁸I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. ¹⁹Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. ²⁰Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. ²¹The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. ²²He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ ”^[1]

Keith Harris:
Welcome to this week’s Refresh & Restore Bible study. We are in our The King Is Coming study of the book of Revelation, and today we’re closing out the section on Jesus’s letters to the churches with what’s probably the best known of those — Jesus’s letter to the church in Laodicea.

Today, just as we have been recently, we are here with Jamie Harrison. Hey, Jamie.

Jamie Harrison:
Hey Keith. Good to be here with you today doing this Bible study. I feel as though we’ve never left.

Keith:
Well, sometimes it can just feel like we’ve recorded two or three of these right in a row.

Jamie:
Again, it can feel just like that.

Keith:
Sometimes it is that. Before we get into too much banter, let’s dive into the letter to Laodicea. What have you got for us today?

Jamie:
Hopefully the Bible has stuff for us and not me.

Keith:
Amen. Amen.

Jamie:
So the letter to Laodicea — Laodicea, Laodicea — yes, yes — is the toughest letter of all the seven letters to the churches. With Sardis, which was a tough letter — you have Him saying, you know, Jesus says that you’re dead, right? You’re living on a reputation, but you’re dead. But He even gives them a little bit of praise where He says, “Hey, you’ve got some who are still keeping My word.” But with this letter to Laodicea, there is none of that right there. There is no praise at all.

Keith:
There’s opportunity, that’s right — but no praise. And for context — we talked about this a little while ago — for context, the church in Laodicea and the church of the Colossians, thirty years prior to this, twenty years prior to this, Paul talked about them in unison. That, you know, you read this person’s letter, y’all read this one. He talked about them well. But here we are a generation or so later, and Jesus says a lot of tough stuff to them.

Jamie:
And so, of course, the letter starts off just as the other ones have — with that salutation of “Write to the angel of the church in Laodicea,” which again, the angel — the pastor. And then He gives attributes of Himself. “Thus says the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the originator of God’s creation.” So you get the idea here. The Amen is certainty. Veracity. Christ has the final word, so to speak. The faithful and true witness — He is completely trustworthy. He’s a perfectly accurate witness to the truth of God, so to speak. And the originator of God’s creation — so there’s this heresy that was going on in Laodicea and Colossae that Christ was a created being. And you can look back at Colossians 1:15–19 for that.

Keith:
And heresy — that’s a word that means it has been clearly established and understood to be not biblical. And it’s really and truthfully meant to be not biblical — to throw people off, right? And so I just wanted to clarify that. It’s not a word we hear often, because we live in a very permissive society where some people — even pastors — will have sort of a laissez-faire, hands-off, anything-goes attitude. Jesus especially didn’t when He came to the church at Colossae, because He corrected that, like Jamie’s about to do here.

Jamie:
And so the originator of God’s creation is — I’ve been here since the beginning. I’m not a created being. I was here at the beginning. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” And even back in Genesis — it’s “Let us make man.” It’s plural. We were here from the beginning. We created the heavens and the earth. We did those things. And so Jesus corrects this: I’ve been here from the beginning, and what I’m about to say is truth — and has always been — and it is the final word. So He jumps right into it and He says: “I know your works. You are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot.” So in all these letters, you’ll notice that Jesus is personal with these churches. He points out different things that would have been personal to them. Last week we talked about the church in Philadelphia and the earthquakes they had — and being called pillars, something that would not fall apart when the earthquake hits. So it’s very personal to them. And here He gets personal right off the bat. He says, “I know that you’re neither cold nor hot.” What you need to know about Laodicea is that they didn’t have a water source there. They had all of their water piped in through underground aqueducts. And as you can imagine, by the time the water got to them, it was very lukewarm. It wasn’t cold, it wasn’t hot — but in fact, it was dirty and lukewarm.

Keith:
In lots of places at the time — if you think about it in the context of the era in which this was written, where this church existed — if they had hot springs, they were renowned for that. People would come to those hot springs. If they had cool, clear water, people would come from miles around to get some of this cool, clear water. But by the time it got to them, it wasn’t either of the valuable water sources, right?

Jamie:
Meaning it wasn’t useful, right? And so, of course, the people that live there — you know, you get used to it after a while. I guess your stomach builds up a tolerance to it, whatever the case may be. I don’t know how that works. I’m not a doctor or scientist by any stretch of the imagination or anything like that. But what we do know is that especially with visitors — when they would come to the city — if they would take a drink of the water, they would immediately puke it out. Because of the lukewarmness, because of the dirt and stuff that was in it, it would cause an immediate reaction from the body to puke. Or throw up. Or spit out. Whatever you want to say. And so don’t get lost in the fact that Jesus is being very personal with this church. “Hey, you guys are like this water. You’re not useful.” And because you’re not useful, He goes on in verse 16: “Because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I am going to vomit you — or spit you — or puke you — whatever you want to call it — out of My mouth.” So again — very, very personal. You guys are not useful to Me. You are something that needs to be thrown up and gotten rid of.

Keith:
And the tense of that word in Greek is almost like a snapshot — like a Polaroid. He’s wanting them to get this picture, get this image, and realize — you know, sometimes when we see a spit take or something like that, we might find it humorous in today’s time. But if you’re the one who’s taking something into your mouth that is not what you wanted, not what you were going for — it’s not a pleasant experience. You want to expel it. You don’t want to deal with it. It’s an instantaneous reaction. And Jesus is saying, the way y’all are right now — this is what it will be if it continues. That’s a big deal.

Jamie:
And again, He identified Himself as the originator of God’s creation. So this is the Creator of the world saying to you —

Keith:
“You’re useless.”

Jamie:
Right. And so as we move forward here — a couple more things about Laodicea that will help us put this in context and make sense. They were a very, very wealthy city. They trusted in themselves a lot because of this wealth — as oftentimes happens. And they had three main industries. One of those industries was banking. One of those industries was wool. And one of those industries was medicine. Specifically salve for eyes. Very specifically, they had created this tablet and they would crush it up and put it on the eyes and supposedly it would help you with stuff. And I’m sure it did. I don’t know. I didn’t live back then. But I’m sure it worked to some extent.

Keith:
I mean, if you’re famous for something — it’s not like they could go to a market and buy it back then. If people are coming to buy it —

Jamie:
Must have worked, right? And so with the wool — obviously you think garments. Banking — you think money. And so again, Jesus being very, very personal with this church, as He goes forward He says in verse 17: “For you say, ‘I am rich. I have become wealthy and need nothing.’” So He gives one side of the coin. You’re rich. I need nothing. I’ve got everything I need. here’s your banking industry. And then He turns around and gives the spiritual counterpart to that. He says, “But you don’t realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.” So He’s going to hit every single industry on this one. You’re poor. You’re blind. And you’re naked.

Keith:
And rather than being respected, people are going to pity you. And you just can’t see it.

Jamie:
That’s right. And so He goes forward to say: “I advise you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire so that you may be rich.” And I think back to 1 Peter 1:5–7 there, that tells us that fire proves the purity of gold. We know that. But what Peter tells us there in chapter 1 is that it proves the character of our faith. So what is Jesus saying here? “I advise you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire so that you may be rich.” In other words — you live for Me. You have a relationship with Me. You do the things that I’ve called you to do and asked you to do. And when you’re put through the fire of testing, through the fire of trials, through the fire of persecution — you’ll come out on the other side and be with Me for eternity.

Keith:
Versus thinking you’re fine by yourself.

Jamie:
That’s right.

Keith:
And I mean, that’s the case. You think about it — pure gold. He’s giving something of higher value. If you’re in a banking industry, that’s something you’re going to understand. Hey, you’ve got gold — sure. But this is pure, refined gold. This is a higher carat weight, so to speak. So He’s basically saying, “You think you’ve got all this — but I’ve got the real thing.”

Jamie:
And think about right now — the time that we live in. January of 2025. Think about the inflation that’s been going on the last few years and how much everything costs. You know how much it’s worth, right? So I think of — just say me personally — financially, every month my wife and I get a check from the school where we work. We know how much we’re going to get paid. We have a budget. We pay the bills. We have X amount for food and things like that. When this inflation hit — it wasn’t the case anymore. All of a sudden, I talked to a lot of people during these last couple of years who have been like, “Man, with the interest rates going up, with the food prices going up, the gas prices going up — I just don’t know what to do. I can’t afford to live anymore. What am I supposed to do?” And it reminds me of this letter. You get to the point where you’re comfortable and you depend on yourself to pay the bills, to get the food that you need — instead of, even when times are good, knowing where it comes from.

Keith:
“I am rich. I have prospered. I need nothing.” You get a shift in verb tenses there. “I am currently rich because I have prospered in the past.” And essentially when we get to that point — and it’s much more difficult to seek Christ when things are going well, because you forget how needy you are. And they did.

Jamie:
And I think back to — you know — whoever the richest person in the world is right now. I don’t know who it is today. It seems to change from day to day.

Keith:
Not us.

Jamie:
Definitely not us. But the fact is — according to the Word — you can be the richest man in the world and have nothing if you don’t have Jesus. I think of that song: “I’d rather have Jesus than anything.” You know, “I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold.” That’s it. And so that’s the idea that Jesus is getting at here. And so He goes on to say, “I advise you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire so that you may be rich, white clothes so that you may be dressed and your shameful nakedness not be exposed.” Now He’s hitting that second industry — that wool industry. Those garments. They had very nice clothes. Because of the wool they produced, the dark wool, the dyed garments. So they thought, “Look at how clothed I am. Look at how nice I look. Look at me. Look at me.” You watch some of those award shows — I don’t think anybody watches anymore — and they come in with their dresses and suits. “Who are you wearing?”

Keith:
Walmart.

Jamie:
That’s right. Walmart. Whichever one’s on sale. Amazon. China. We don’t care. Just something cheap. But their idea was: “Look at me.” And Jesus says, “But you need to ask Me for white clothes so that you may be dressed and your shameful nakedness not be exposed.” In other words — you don’t even realize you’re naked. I think back to Adam and Eve in Genesis. They didn’t realize they were naked. They were clothed with God’s righteousness in the beginning. They were pure. Without sin. That’s that idea of white. Then in Genesis 3 they sin, and the shame forces them to go get itchy, scratchy leaves and put them on to cover themselves up because their nakedness has been exposed. It’s the exact same idea. Isaiah 20:1–4 gives that same idea of shame for nakedness. Ezekiel 23:29 — two immoral sisters. Revelation 16:15 — another example you can look at.

Keith:
There’s something John and I were talking about a couple of weeks ago. It kind of reminds me of Hebrews 4:12–13. You know, a lot of times we talk about the Word of God being living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, dividing even soul and spirit, joints and marrow, discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. A lot of times we talk about that as being the written Word of God. But we were looking at it the other day — in the direct context of Hebrews 4, it’s not talking about the written word. It’s talking about Jesus — the Word. And so He’s already told them in this letter — and again, I never put it together like this — He is the beginning of God’s creation, the originator of it. He’s the Word that was spoken in which everything is made. Everything is held together by the word of His power. And now the church at Laodicea is laid before Him — their sin being naked and exposed, like Hebrews 4:13. He knows the thoughts and intentions of their heart. They need to listen to Him. Because they’re in danger.

Jamie:
Yeah. That’s right. And so He tells them — you need these white clothes that come from Me. In Revelation 19:8 it says — this is talking about the church, the bride of Christ: “She was given fine linen to wear, bright and pure, for the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the saints.” These believers — the church — the bride of Christ — will be dressed with God’s grace, with God’s righteousness when we get to heaven and spend eternity with Him. So what do they need? They need His grace. And what do we need now? His grace. And so He goes from there and He’s going to hit that third industry. He says not only do you need white garments, but you need ointment to spread on your eyes so that you may see. So He’s hitting this church hard. You guys sell all this stuff. You think it’s awesome because it fixes your eyes and you’re not blind anymore and you can see better. But no — you’re blind. Even with yourself. You’re blind. He says you need ointment that can only come from Me. In 2 Peter 1:5–9 it says: “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. The person who lacks these things is blind and short-sighted and has forgotten the cleansing from his past sins.” So you talk about a direct correlation here. The Word literally says that if you don’t have these things, you’re blind and short-sighted and you’ve forgotten that you’ve been cleansed from your sins.

Keith:
Twenty, thirty years ago everything was fine. But now things were fine for so long they forgot. They needed the Lord.

Jamie:
And so then He doubles down here — I don’t know if “doubles down” is the right word — but in verse 19 He says: “As many as I love, I rebuke and discipline.” Okay, so in other words — look guys, I know I’m coming down hard on you. I’m speaking the truth to you. But it’s because I love you. It’s because I love you. Now hear that. Because some people will listen to this and say, “Look, there’s God. He’s such a dictator. All He does is bash people.” And I’ve told on this podcast before — my vision of God when I was growing up was a dude sitting on a throne with a pitchfork waiting to throw me into hell the first time I messed up. And then if I got saved and messed up, I had to get saved again and again and again and again and again and again and again — because He was going to throw me into hell every time that I sinned. And He was waiting for it. Like He was literally sitting — you know how you picture a guy crouched down in a video game and he’s waiting on you to come around the corner and then he pounces on you? That’s how I pictured God.

Keith:
Like He’s trying to keep you from some fulfillment you were going to get.

Jamie:
That’s right. And instead it says: Look — as bad as you guys are — I want to puke you out of My mouth. But in verse 19: “As many as I love, I rebuke and discipline.” So He doubles down on the rebuke. He doubles down on the discipline. But He explains why. It’s because I love you. It’s because I care about you. It’s because I want you to spend eternity with Me. And then He tells them what to do: “So be zealous and repent.” So if you notice, that repent word keeps coming up over and over and over and over in this study.

Keith:
The whole Bible, really.

Jamie:
And so I think before we move on, it’s imperative to say here — Look guys. And I heard a guy say this one time and it freaked me out when he said it, but now I understand it. He said, “It doesn’t matter what you do. God loves you.” And I was like, whoa. Hold on just a minute. That’s not true. But here’s what he meant. No matter what we’ve done — if we repent, confess Jesus as Lord, believe in our heart beyond a shadow of a doubt that He was raised from the dead — then we’ll be saved. No matter what we’ve done. No matter how bad it is. There’s not much that shocks me anymore being a middle school principal. I hear lots and lots of stories and things that have happened to kids — and things that just make you stare at the wall at night. Keep you up. But all of that stuff I’ve heard that’s been done — if those people ask for forgiveness, Jesus will forgive them.

Keith:
And just as it was with the church at Laodicea — He knows the heart. It’s more than words. It’s more than religion. This is genuinely looking at the love God has. And even when it seems like He’s excitable here in His wrath and judgment — He wants to puke them from His mouth — He’s tempered by His love. And they need to get excitable. They need to warm up. They need to be heated — heated to repentance. He’s not saying this trying to scare people into some words. He’s not trying to get an emotional response. He’s trying to remind people that the God who loves them has made a way for them in Jesus. And that if they don’t respond in faith, they’re going to get what He’s promised. It’s not a threat. It’s a reality. He is the way.

Jamie:
And that brings the question up that a lot of people ask: “If God is so loving, then why do people go to hell?” If God is so loving — all these things. Here’s the fact: If God didn’t love us, He would not be as patient as He is with us. Everything we’re about to read for the rest of this book of Revelation could happen real quick and in a hurry. Why hasn’t it happened yet? Because He’s still giving us a chance to repent. Right? And so to go along with verse 19 there — “be zealous and repent” — Hebrews 12:5–6 says: “My son, do not take the Lord’s discipline lightly or lose heart when you are reproved by Him, for the Lord disciplines the one He loves and punishes every son He receives.” In other words, the Lord is going to discipline us to get us where we need to be. Sometimes we will go through times of trial. We will go through things in our lives where you go, “Lord, where are You in all this?” But we’re going to grow through it if we remain faithful to Him. We’re going to draw closer to Him through it if we remain faithful. And so the idea there is — repent.

Keith:
Sounds kind of silly in the context, but I watched a clip yesterday from an old video where Mr. Rogers — sweater, cardigan, PBS Mr. Rogers — was sitting and listening and talking to a group of parents way back when. Had to be at least the ’80s. As they’re sitting there talking, he’s asking these parents, you know, “Are there some times when you’re raising your kids that you disciplined in a way that you wish you hadn’t?” And these parents are sharing with Mr. Rogers. And you’re expecting him — because he’s always this chill, calm, caring presence — I mean, he epitomizes care in my mind. But he described a time when his boys were young — one who was very boisterous — and there’d be times when he would be so angry at the kid because of something he had done or was doing. But rather than responding in kind in his discipline, he just wrapped his arms around the kid and hugged him up. And I remember sitting there thinking — first off, I can’t imagine Mr. Rogers getting angry in the first place. He literally said he was furious. So I’m like, wow. That’s kind of scary. I think I would be frightened by angry Mr. Rogers. But what he said — just as Jamie was talking about the love and the discipline that comes with the love of God — he said he wrapped his arms around his son because his son’s arms weren’t enough. And so we can’t course-correct on our own. We’re not going to repent if left to our own devices. Left to our own — period. God wraps us up in His love. And sometimes that love He wraps us up in is discipline. But it’s because our arms aren’t enough. His are. And so when you look at this — again, like Jamie said — we get the image of God as this dictator who’s trying to keep us from the fun we want to have or the life we think would be fulfilling. He didn’t have to tell them they were lukewarm. He didn’t have to tell them He wanted to puke them from His mouth. He didn’t have to make Adam and Eve better clothing to cover their shame. He didn’t have to expel them from the garden and let them live. But in love — He did. It’s so important to see there that yes, He’s telling you to repent. Yes, that means you’ve done wrong. He’s telling you out of a heart of love. Because He knows what works best. And He’s trying to keep you from hurting yourself — and others.

Jamie:
So the end of this letter here — verse 20 — says: “See, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with Me.” And I don’t think there’s much more intimate of a setting than to eat with somebody. It’s a pretty cool thought. You think of the marriage supper of the Lamb and that we’ll all be sitting with Jesus eating that meal together. So that’s the idea. He is standing at the door of this church — which is us believers. He’s knocking. He’s not banging. He’s not forcing the door open. He’s just knocking. And if we’ll open that door, then He’ll come in and we can have a relationship with Him. And guys — that’s powerful. It’s very, very powerful. And again He goes to: “To the one who conquers I will give the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I also conquered and sat down with My Father on His throne.” In other words — we’ll spend eternity with Him if we conquer. 1 John 5:4–5 — we keep going back to that — who is the one who conquers? It’s the one who is saved. The one who has a relationship with Him. And of course the letter ends the same way the rest have: “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.” And I think what the Spirit seems to be saying to the churches is: One — if you don’t know Me, it’s time. Two — if you do know Me but you’ve become spiritually lukewarm, spiritually cold, spiritually distant — then it’s time to get right. It’s time to respond. Big John preached again last Sunday — January 5, 2025 — if you want to go back and look at that. His point was every member of the body has a function. Even the appendix has a function — because if it bursts, the whole body goes away. So whether you think you’re the appendix or the kidney — we all have to be doing our job as Christ has called us to do. The idea I get through these seven letters is this: What I think being a Christian is, and what Jesus says being a Christian is, might be two different things. So I need to step back and reflect. What has Jesus called me to do? What am I missing because I’m not listening? And again — if I don’t know Jesus — that’s where we have to start.

Keith:
Yeah. And the idea here — and we’re not trying to be cheesy.

Jamie:
I’m not a big cheese guy anyway.

Keith:
Not trying to do some invitation where music’s playing softly and somebody’s saying—

Jamie:
“I surrender all…”

Keith:
Definitely not that. But here’s the deal. We’ve got to be clear on the invitation. And I think, you know, out of all the letters to the churches, the church at Ephesus was meant to be written first. The church at Laodicea was meant to be written last. The idea is — He has offered this invitation. He wants to eat with you. He wants to dwell with you. He wants you to confess Him as Lord. It is His desire that all people be saved — but not at the expense of His holiness. He says it’s His desire that all should be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. He is the faithful and true witness. He is God. And as He offers this — He’s knocking. Not forcing Himself upon you. As one of my FCA kiddos said a while back — “Jesus is a gentleman.” He’s not forcing Himself on anybody. As He stands there at the door and knocks and you hear His voice — understand this: Nothing Jamie and I say in teaching has any lasting power. It’s the Bible that we point you to. If you’ve heard the Bible read here today — If you read it written — You’ve heard His voice. Are you going to open to Him?

And ultimately, as we go through the rest of this book, you can get caught up in end-times stuff. You can seek to have your questions answered. Know who the 144,000 are. When the millennium is. When this is. When that is. But ultimately — if you look for the Revelation and you miss Jesus — Then you had an ear. You had the opportunity to hear. And you left the door closed.

Sojourner — it’s up to you. Jesus is knocking. Are you going to open?

^[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Re 3:14–22.

“Kept Through the Trial: Jesus’s Letter to the Church at Philadelphia” — a Refresh & Restore Bible Study

⁷“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.⁸“ ‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. ⁹Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you. ¹⁰Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. ¹¹I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. ¹²The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. ¹³He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’^[1]

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3jmFoqZKEX3Uxr90Bd1q8T?si=c6iEuIjESoqS7zdb3Eyjfw

Keith Harris:
Greetings, Sojourners,
We’re excited to dive into this letter today. How excited are we?

Jamie Harrison:
I am almost as excited as you are. Almost. Almost.

Keith:
Too many cups of coffee.

Jamie:
Too many cups of coffee — and that’s T-W-O, actually number three. I had one before I got here. This is not good.

Keith:
Well, I’m glad you’re excited. Since you’re excited, why don’t you filter that excitement into Revelation 3 — the letter to Philadelphia.

Jamie:
This letter — this letter is… it’s a little deep. It’s a little controversial. There’s one particular verse in here that’s the only one I ever hear quoted when people say Jesus is going to come back before the tribulation. It’s always this one.

But I want to say up front — Keith and I have made very clear from the get-go that these kinds of controversial things are not our focus. Our focus is: What does the Bible say about Jesus?

Keith:
And we’ve said this at least once every episode. We don’t have the answers to all the popular questions. We’re not seeking to. What we try to do is what I would call good, practical, healthy Bible interpretation — where the clear things are important and the important things are clear. And that which is less clear? That’s above our pay grade. So we’re going to tell you — to the best of our ability — what the Bible says, and do what Nehemiah 8:8 says:

“They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.”

That’s what we’re going for — to point people to Jesus. And if something cannot be known, we’ll tell you that. And then we’ll move on.

Jamie:
That’s right. Amen. Let’s go.

So as we get started here, remember the letters are all set up kind of in the same order, for the most part. And here we start off again with our salutation: “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia…” — referring to the pastor of said church. And then Jesus is going to jump straight in and give some attributes about Himself. And He says: “The words of the Holy One, the True One, the One who has the key of David, who opens and no one will close, and who closes and no one opens.” (CSB) So He gives quite a few things about Himself here. And just to briefly dive into each one a little bit: First off, He describes Himself as the Holy One. Please understand — this is Jesus declaring that He is God. Don’t ever be confused about that. Some people will say, “Well, Jesus never said He was God.” Well, first off — He did. And second — here’s one example. When He says He is the Holy One, He is declaring that He has full authority as a member of the Godhead. He is God — and that is exponentially important to understand. Jesus has the same authority that God the Father and God the Holy Spirit do.

Keith:
Because we’re not talking about three gods. We’re talking about three persons of the One God. Because it says the Holy One, the True One, clarifying that while Jesus is a member of the Trinity — which is just a word we use to describe this multifaceted God — He is one God, and His name is Jesus.

Jamie:
And so He goes from there — He says the Holy One, the True One, like Keith said. Now, the city of Philadelphia — not Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, because that didn’t exist yet.

Keith:
That’s accurate.

Jamie:
Coincidentally, this city was actually destroyed [once] by an earthquake — but we digress. Philadelphia was called “the Gateway to the East.” They were situated on a main route of the imperial post from Rome to the East. So it was a very important city in terms of traffic — people passing through, mail being delivered — things like that. But along this route, because there were so many travelers, there were also many, many temples to other gods.

Keith:
Which was very common — not just in the Roman Empire, but especially in the Roman Empire. They wanted to keep people happy, keep people placated. And one way to do that — especially if you’re trying to gather a lot of people together — is to make it easy for them. So you think about cities today that have mosques and temples and synagogues and churches and this and that. It’s along the same vein — gather the people in, get them for your purpose. And, I mean, that’s what gathers them.

Jamie:
That’s right. And so Jesus here — when He says the True One — understand: He’s not fake. He’s not man-made. He’s not a copy. He is God. He’s saying, “I’m not like all these other false gods and temples you see along the way. I am God.” Revelation 6:10 refers to Jesus as the One who is holy and true.
In other words — again — He is God. So He is making an emphasis here, so that the church in Philadelphia understands: this is who is speaking.

Keith:
And I think it’s 1 John 5:20 that says — specifically about Jesus —

“He is the true God, and eternal life.” (ESV)

So this is consistent — same author as Revelation, by the way. The same John who wrote Revelation also wrote 1 John. So the message is consistent: Jesus is God.

Jamie:
So then the third attribute He gives here is: “The One who has the key of David, who opens and no one will close, and who closes and no one opens.” (CSB) I just want to briefly hit on this. If you look back at Isaiah 22:15–25, you’ll see kind of where this idea — the “key of David” — comes from. And the story that happens in Isaiah 22 is this: Assyria invades Judah, and the Jewish leaders — instead of calling on God to defend them — they call on Egypt to defend them. And one of those leaders was named Shebna… Shebna? Shebna? However you want to say it.

Keith:
Just say it fast.

Jamie:
Say it fast. Nobody knows.

Keith:
Confidence. That’s the key.

Jamie:
That’s right — confidence.

So Shebna used his office for personal gain, and so God removes him and puts Eliakim in his place. And gives him the keys of authority — these “keys of David.” Whoever this steward is has control over the distribution of resources. So again, Shebna uses it for personal gain. Eliakim comes in — he’s a very good man, according to the Bible. But even though he’s a good man, we’re told in the story that he will give way — that his shelf will be removed, so to speak — because he’s still just a man, and he’s not able. He’s not able to do what Jesus can.

So when he’s removed, the keys are going to be given to Jesus. Only Jesus can be trusted with our lives. He is the heir to the throne of David. So when He says, “The One who has the key of David,” that’s what He’s referring to. He is, so to speak, over the house. He is the treasurer. He’s in charge of the distribution of resources. In other words — He’s the man, okay? I think that’s the best way to say it. He has the key.

So if you ever hear anybody else say that they have the key of David — they are a liar.

Keith:
And in a very real sense — an antichrist. Not the Antichrist, but an antichrist. If the Bible says this is what Jesus has — and they’re not Jesus, or Eliakim from centuries ago — then they’re lying. And they’re dangerous.

Jamie:
Very, very dangerous. And I do encourage — as we go through this study — look in the Word. Don’t take our word for it. We’re big on that when we’re teaching or preaching in church. Our pastor, Big John, is always like, “Man, go back to the Word. Don’t just take my word for it — go to the Word.” So again, that was Isaiah 22:15–25 — check it out, read it for yourself.

Keith:
Specifically verse 22 is where that key reference is — that Jesus is pretty much quoting word for word.

Jamie:
Absolutely.

So what does Jesus do with these keys of David? Well, it tells us: “The One who has the key of David, who opens and no one will close, and who closes and no one opens.” (CSB) Well, what is He opening and closing? You can look straight to the Bible on this — because again, the Bible is going to tell us what the Bible means. And if you look in Acts 14:27, 1 Corinthians 16:9, 2 Corinthians 2:12, Colossians 4:3–4 — and there are others — but if you look at those, all of them refer to a door being opened for ministry, for the gospel to be spread. So Jesus has the authority — as a full member of the Godhead — to close and open doors. And what doors is He closing and opening? They’re doors to ministry, the spread of the gospel, for you to go and do the works you’ve been placed here to do. Paul talks about this in a couple of his letters — Keith, help me with the exact one — but he wanted to go to a particular country to the East and wasn’t allowed to go.

Keith:
Yeah, and at one point in time, he was planning on going to Spain — and we know he didn’t make it there.

Jamie:
That’s right. Wanted to go to Rome, but wasn’t allowed to go at that time because the Holy Spirit closed that door. And so that’s the idea we’re looking at here.

So Jesus, once again, is explaining — in three different ways — “I’m part of the Godhead, and I’ve got all authority.” And then He goes on from there and says: “I know your works. Look, I’ve placed before you an open door that no one can close, because you have but little power, yet you’ve kept My Word and have not denied My name.” (CSB) So — you have but little power. He’s opening these doors not because they have wealth, not because they’re a large congregation, not because they have some qualification like X, Y, Z — He opens the door of ministry because of their faith.

Keith:
It’s a clear contrast here to [Jesus’s last] letter. If you look back at Matthew 7, Jesus says, “You said you did this in My name, and that in My name — we raised the dead, we prophesied…” And Jesus says, “But I don’t know who you are.” Here, Jesus is saying, “I do know who you are. And I’ve picked you — not because you’re strong in and of yourself — but because I’ve given you a ministry that no one is going to be able to stop.” The contrast is the strength of Jesus that He gives to those He has saved — those He has made alive. That’s what it takes for ministry. It’s not based on your gifting or your ability or your works — because the world will tell you (and a lot of times, even religion will tell you): “Do this, and you earn that.” But Jesus is saying: “You get this because I am this. I used My key. I unlocked the door. They can’t shut it.”

Jamie:
That’s right. That’s a huge deal. Very much so.

So He says: “You’ve kept My Word, you’ve not denied My name. Note this: I will make those from the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews and are not, but are lying — I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and they will know that I have loved you.” (CSB) So first — you’ve kept My Word and not denied My name. In other words, they’ve survived persecution. They’ve survived trials. These people are stepping out in faith. They’re doing the things the Lord told them to do. They’ve kept His Word. They’ve survived persecution. They’ve survived trials.

Keith:
Which, in contrast, obviously means there are some who — because of the persecution and the trials — denied His name. They just walked away from Him. That was a common practice — not just back in ancient times, but even now. If you’re living in a country that is hostile to the gospel, they will absolutely give you the opportunity to renounce that belief — to say, “No, just kidding. Jesus isn’t my Lord. Allah is,” or “Caesar is,” or whoever. And these people — in the midst of that, having the opportunity — said: “No. Jesus. Period.”

Jamie:
That’s right. Period. So with this next verse — verse 9 — talking about the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews and are not, but are lying — you can jump back to Revelation 2:9–10 and you get the same kind of idea. They are Jews outwardly, but not inwardly, so to speak. In other words, they’re not who Jesus would want them to be — who God would want them to be. They’re being led by Satan to persecute these believers. Now, if you’re a Jew reading this letter back during this time, you might say, “Are you trying to say I’m part of the synagogue of Satan?” Well — if you’re doing Satan’s work, then that’s what you are.

Keith:
It says what it says.

Jamie:
That’s right. And He says: “I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and they will know that I have loved you.” (CSB) You can also look at Philippians 2:5–11 and Revelation 5:11–13 for similar language.

And then He says: “Because you have kept My command to endure, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is going to come on the whole world, to test those who live on the earth.” (CSB) Then verse 11: “I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one takes your crown.” (CSB) And here’s that verse I mentioned earlier — the one that some people quote when they say Jesus is going to come back before the tribulation. It’s this phrase: “I will keep you from the hour of testing…” Now — when you read that, you might assume that it means He’s going to remove you from the trial, that He’ll take you off the face of the earth and move you to heaven before the trial starts. So I think we have to look at that word “keep.” What does it mean? Is Jesus saying, “I’ll take you out of the Great Tribulation”?

Now, mind you — He’s just commended them. There’s no admonition in this letter, no rebuke. It’s all praise. He just told them, “Great job working through persecution. Great job working through trials.” In other words, as Christians — we’re going to go through these things. The Bible’s clear about that. So again, what does the word “keep” mean? This particular Greek word — and Keith, you can pronounce it better than I can…

Keith:
I believe it’s tēreō.

Jamie:
Sounds great. We’ll go with that. It means: “To cause to continue, to guard, to watch over, to protect.”

So let’s read that verse with each of those meanings plugged in. “I will also cause you to continue from the hour of testing.” “I will guard you from the hour of testing.” “I will watch over you from the hour of testing.” “I will protect you from the hour of testing.” So when you read it that way, it doesn’t sound like you’re being removed. It sounds like you’re being protected through the hour of testing.

So let’s look back at a couple of places where that same word — keep — is used. First, let’s go to John 15:20–21. This is where Jesus is speaking to His disciples. He says: “Remember the word I spoke to you: A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will also keep yours.” (CSB) There’s that same word — keep. Verse 21: “But they will do all these things to you on account of My name, because they don’t know the One who sent Me.” (CSB) So these two verses say that we’re going to go through persecution — it’s going to happen.

Now jump to John 17:6–19. This is where Jesus is praying for His disciples. And I think it’s important to read this whole section: “I have revealed Your name to the people You gave Me from the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. Now they know that everything You have given Me is from You, because I have given them the words You gave Me. They have received them and have known for certain that I came from You. They have believed that You sent Me. I pray for them. I’m not praying for the world but for those You have given Me, because they are Yours. Everything I have is Yours, and everything You have is Mine, and I am glorified in them. I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, protect them by Your name that You have given Me, so that they may be one as We are one. While I was with them, I was protecting them by Your name that You have given Me. I guarded them, and not one of them is lost except the son of destruction…” (CSB)

Keith:
— referring to Judas.

Jamie:
Right — “so that the Scripture may be fulfilled.” Then He says: “Now I am coming to You, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have My joy completed in them. I have given them Your word. The world hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I am not praying that You take them out of the world, but that You protect them from the evil one.” (CSB)

Keith:
That word protect — same word again: tēreō. That’s the word we’re looking at.

Jamie:
Exactly. He says: “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. I sanctify Myself for them, so that they also may be sanctified by the truth.” (CSB) Now, one of the keys to studying the Bible is knowing that the Bible is going to confirm what the Bible says. And if it doesn’t, then it’s probably one of those things that we’re not supposed to know about.

Keith:
And when something is only mentioned vaguely, or only mentioned in one place — it depends on how it’s used, whether or not we can be clear about it.

Jamie:
Right. So here in Revelation, Jesus says He will “keep” them from the hour of testing. And in John 17, He uses the same word — and He literally says: “I’m not praying that You take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the evil one.” In other words, while they’re going through the tribulation of the world — the persecution — He is protecting them through it, not removing them from it.

Keith:
And we’ve been looking at that word keep as a verb — but the noun form of it literally means something like a warden or a guard. It’s related to how we use the phrase “keep an eye on.” And “keep an eye on” doesn’t necessarily mean you rescue someone from everything — it means you make sure they can make it through. If you’re keeping an eye on your kids, you don’t necessarily mow everything down in front of them — even if you want to.

Part of that is them learning how to navigate things, knowing you’re there. As kids grow into adulthood, they’ve got to be able to do things on their own. So, like, if I’m keeping an eye on my kids while they’re cooking, I can’t run over every time they touch the stove knob and slap their hand away. They know I’ve got them — but they’re still learning. And that’s the idea behind this word keep.

Jamie:
So I think to kind of finish this out — if you’re still with us (and hopefully you didn’t click off because you disagree with what we just said) — I want to say this: Is Jesus coming back before the Tribulation? Is He coming back halfway through? Is He coming at the end? The answer is: I don’t know. I’m not Him. And He told us that no one knows — only the Father.

Keith:
One thing we can definitively say is that He’s not coming back before any tribulation — because we know from the book of Acts, the church has already been going through tribulation. And I think about 1 Peter 5:8–9 — where Peter’s writing to believers who are going through trials and tribulations. He talks about their adversary, the devil, prowling around like a roaring lion, seeking to devour and destroy. And he says: “Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.” (ESV)

I hear people in the church today talk about, “Well, what are we going to do when persecution sets in?” If you’re living a godly life in the middle of a secular world, you’ve probably experienced it on some level. But all around the world today — and for the last 2,000 years — there are Christians who’ve faced the choice: “Will you renounce Christ and live, or remain faithful and die?” So we can definitively say — whether or not He comes back before the Great Tribulation — there’s already great tribulation happening in a lot of places.

Jamie:
A lot of places. Here in America, we’re kind of shielded from that — or spoiled. That’s a better word.

Keith:
Spoiled. Good word.

Jamie:
So again — the answer is: We don’t know. Sure, I’m rooting for a pre-tribulation return…, but I also have to look at it objectively and say: If believers at the beginning of the church suffered immense persecution… We could talk all day about the torture techniques used on them. Some of it would blow your mind — might even make you puke. The early church suffered.

Keith:
And I love how Shane Viner put it when we discussed this a while back. He said, “I want more than anything for the pre-trib view to be right… but it sure is good news to know that if it’s not — He’s got us.” That’s it. That’s such a beautiful sentiment. Do we want Jesus to come and rescue us beforehand? Absolutely. But we can also look at those who are suffering now around the world and say — “He’s still got them. And He’ll still have us — no matter what the world throws our way.” I’ve heard someone say, “The world’s greatest threat — death — brings the Christian’s greatest reward.”

Jamie:
So Jesus goes on from there and says again: “I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one takes your crown. The one who conquers, I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will never go out again. I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God — the New Jerusalem — which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.” (CSB) So here we go — “the one who conquers.” Again, 1 John 5:4–5 tells us the one who conquers is the one who is saved. He says, “I’ll make him a pillar in the temple of My God.” Now, I think it’s interesting — in Philadelphia, they were constantly scared of earthquakes. They were constantly having to evacuate the city. And we mentioned at the beginning that it was actually destroyed by an earthquake in 17 BC. So this language would’ve hit home — when Jesus talks about a pillar. A pillar holds a building up. They had seen buildings collapse — often. So this is personal.

Keith:
And ideally, the pillar stays.

Jamie:
That’s right. So here Jesus says: “I’ll make you a pillar in the temple of My God.” In other words — this temple will never be destroyed. You will be there forever. And of course, we know this temple isn’t a literal building. Revelation 21:22 tells us that there is no temple in heaven — because Jesus Himself is the temple. We also know that the believers bear His name (Galatians 2:9). He says: “I’ll give you the name of My God, the name of the city of My God — the New Jerusalem — and My new name.” (CSB) Ezekiel 48:35 says the New Jerusalem means: “The LORD is there.” And that’s exactly what we have here in Revelation. The Lord is there. There’s no sun, because He is the light. There’s no temple, because He is the temple. And we will be there forever with Him. Now as far as where it says He’ll write on us His name and His new name — Some people say, “Well, what is that name?” I don’t know. Because He didn’t tell us.

Keith:
And if He doesn’t tell us, we’re not supposed to know.

Jamie:
That’s right. I can give you a few other verses in Revelation that mention His new name — that’s Revelation 2:17, 3:12, 19:12, and 22:4. Check those out. But again — it doesn’t say what the name is. Who knows? But I know it’s going to be pretty cool — because it comes from Him.

Keith:
It’s one of those things like — have you ever tried to explain something to someone, and finally just said, “You had to be there”? Well, this is going to be one of those things. You have to be there — with Him — to know. And that’s good. Because again — we’re talking about a Savior who keeps us through persecution, who gives us perseverance. If we are His, we will be with Him forever. So we don’t have to know everything right now. We can have assurance in this: We know Him. And He knows us.

Jamie:
And of course, the last verse: “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.” (CSB) Or maybe it says, “has ears.” I don’t know. That’s horrible. There’s some guy in the world without ears right now who’s reading the transcript going, “I don’t think that’s very funny.” Yeah, I apologize to you, sir.

Keith:
Most of what comes out in these podcasts starts as writing, but this — oddly enough — is meant to be heard. These conversations — while we joke — the idea here is: Don’t just hear what we said. Hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Not just these churches in Revelation — but to your church as well. If you’re saved, you should be part of a local church. And this letter is written to yours, too. Are you going to be like the churches that Jesus rebuked for their works? Or like the ones who had no works at all?
Or are you going to be like this church — where Jesus says: “I know that you have little power — but I’ve given you work to do, and you’ve done it.” This letter is meant to apply to your life. Before Jesus gave any of the future stuff in Revelation, He gave these letters — to deal with the now. So… are you part of the synagogue of Satan? Are you claiming to be part of God’s people, but lying? Or are you bowing at His feet, knowing full well that He loves you — and because He loved you, you love Him? With this letter to the church at Philadelphia — dear Sojourner, this is our plea: Seek to apply this. Do you belong to God?

Has He saved you? Have you confessed Him as Lord, and believed in your heart that God raised Him from the dead? Because if you haven’t — You’ve got nothing to hold fast to. If you haven’t — There’s no amount of works, no amount of Bible reading, no obsession with prophecy that can save you. Jesus is the True One. And if He has opened the door to you — no one can shut it. That’s good news.

Alright. We have thoroughly enjoyed this. Jamie, thank you for being here.

Jamie:
Oh, thank you.

Keith:
We’ll see y’all next week with the last of the letters — the letter to the church in Laodicea.

^[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Re 3:7–13.

Christ Has Come: The Promised King & His Gift of Love” — a Refresh & Restore Bible Study

Romans 5:8 –

…but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.^[1]

John 3:16-17 –

¹⁶“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.^[2]

1 John 4:9-10 –

⁹In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. ¹⁰In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.^[3]

Merry Christmas Adam, Sojourners!

Why Christmas Adam, you ask? Well, Adam came before Eve, right? Ba-dum-cha!

I’m somewhat sorry to start with a dad joke, but I am who I am. And even a light moment like this can remind us that Christmas meets us in ordinary, human places before leading us to eternal truths. So, with that smile (hopefully) in place, let’s turn our hearts to deeper things.

As we move toward the culmination of Advent and stand on the threshold of Christmas, we pause once more to reflect on the gifts God has given us in the coming of His Son. Over the past few weeks, we’ve traced the steady unfolding of the gospel through hope, peace, and joy. We’ve seen that our hope rests not in circumstances but in the faithful God who keeps His promises. We’ve seen that true peace was secured when Jesus entered our darkness to reconcile us to God. And we’ve seen that real joy is not manufactured by emotion or ease but springs up where God’s mercy is received and trusted. And if this season finds you carrying grief, sorrow, disappointment, or weariness, there is room for that here. The coming of Jesus doesn’t require us to pretend, perform, or put on a happy face. It invites us to come to Him honestly – needy, heavy-laden, and real – and to find that He meets us with mercy (Matthew 11:28-30, Psalm 34:18, Hebrews 4:15-16).

Now, all of those gifts converge in the love of God.

Christmas is the declaration that God’s love is neither distant nor abstract. It took on flesh (John 1:14). The incarnation is not merely the arrival of a baby in Bethlehem; it is the greatest gift ever given – the Son of God sent for sinners like us. Hope, peace, and joy all find their source and fulfillment in Him because they flow from God’s love revealed in Jesus. Without God’s love, there would be no promise kept, no peace secured, and no joy that lasts. Christmas tells us that love has come near (Hebrews 2:14-18).

In this final study in our Christ Has Come series, we’ll consider how Scripture defines that love – not as sentiment, but as saving action. We’ll briefly walk through three key passages that together give us a clear and faithful picture of the love of God revealed in Christmas: Romans 5:8, where God demonstrates His love for sinners; John 3:16-17, where God gives His Son so the world might be saved; and 1 John 4:9-10, where love is defined – not by our response to God but by God’s initiative toward us. As we do, it’s my prayer that we’ll see that Christmas proclaims this staggeringly simple and gloriously true gospel message: God loves, God gives, and God saves.

God Demonstrates His Love (Romans 5:8)
…but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

This verse doesn’t merely tell us that God loves – it shows us how He loves. His love is not theoretical. It’s not conditional. It’s demonstrated, proven, and displayed throughout history through the death of Jesus (1 John 3:16).

What makes this love so staggering is when it was shown. Paul explains that Jesus didn’t die for good, righteous people or folks who had earned God’s favor. He died for sinners – ungodly people living in rebellion and enmity against God (Romans 5:6-10). Human love, at its best, may sacrifice for someone we feel is worthy, but God’s love belongs to an entirely different category. While we were still estranged, still guilty, still God’s enemies, still unable to fix or save ourselves, God acted. He moved first in love (1 John 4:19).

And it’s important to see that this wasn’t only the love of the Son for us but also the love of the Father. You see, the cross wasn’t a tragic accident or a reluctant sacrifice – it was God’s loving plan of redemption. God demonstrated His love by sending His Son to die in our place (Romans 8:32). The justice and righteousness of God required that sin be dealt with, and Romans 5:9 reminds us why the cross was necessary: “Since, therefore, we have now been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God.” God’s love doesn’t ignore sin or minimize judgment. Rather, love moved God to place His righteous wrath against sin upon His own Son, so that sinners like us could be forgiven, justified, and reconciled to Him.

Romans 5:8 teaches us that God’s love isn’t measured by how we feel in a given moment or how well life is going. It’s anchored in an unchanging historical reality: Jesus died for us. Christmas, then, isn’t sentimental but sacrificial. It points us to the cross, where God’s love is demonstrated fully, finally, and forever.

God Gives His Son (John 3:16-17)
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.

If Romans 5:8 shows us how God demonstrates His love, John 3:16-17 helps us understand why – and to what end. The cross doesn’t stand alone as an isolated act of love but flows out of the eternal, gracious heart of the Father. Long before nails pierced flesh, love was already moving. God loved, and so God gave.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son….” These are probably the most familiar words in all of Scripture, but they lose none of their weight or strength with repetition. They magnify this God-sized love, a love not measured by the size or goodness of the world but in the costliness of the gift He gives. Scripture is clear: God’s love for the world is astonishing not because the world was worthy, but because it was fallen, rebellious, and broken. The wonder of John 3:16 isn’t that God loved something lovable—which would make sense—but that He loved sinners and gave His Son so that they might be saved through Him. That is grace. That is mercy.

And this love isn’t vague. It’s not sentimental. God’s love takes action. He gave His Son – He sent Him into the world to take on flesh, dwell among us, and ultimately to bear the penalty for our sin. The incarnation – Christmas – is an act of love. Christmas tells us that love came near to us, and as we said before, Christmas leads us to the cross, God giving Himself so that sinners might live.

John 3:17 presses this even further because Jesus didn’t enter a morally neutral world awaiting judgment; He entered a world already condemned by sin (John 3:18, 3:36). His first coming wasn’t to add condemnation but to offer rescue (John 12:47). Love sent the Son on a mission of salvation – not ignoring sin but dealing with it fully and finally.

This helps us see the way Christmas and the cross are woven together in God’s redemptive plan. God’s love doesn’t deny judgment but provides salvation from it. The same love that sent Jesus into the world is the love that led Him to lay down His life. And the promise attached to that love is breathtakingly simple: “whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” God’s love invites trust. It calls for faith. And it offers life – real, eternal life – to all who believe in Him.

If Romans 5:8 shows us that God loved us while we were still sinners, John 3:16-17 shows us that this love has always been purposeful, redemptive, and saving. Love gives. Love sends. Love saves.

God Defines Love (1 John 4:9-10)
In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

If Romans 5:8 shows us when God loved us and John 3:16-17 shows us why He loved us, 1 John 4:9-10 tells us what love truly is. Scripture doesn’t leave love to our imagination or interpretation. It defines it for us. And it does so by pointing, once again, to God’s action in sending His Son.

John tells us that God’s love was “made manifest” – made visible, made known, made unmistakable. Love didn’t remain hidden in God’s heart or vague in His intentions. It was revealed when God sent His only Son into the world so that we, who were dead in our trespasses and sins, might live through Him (Ephesians 2:1-5). Love isn’t about how we feel toward God but about what God has done for us. “In this is love,” John writes, “Not that we have loved but that God has loved us.” Love begins with God. Love moves toward sinners. Love takes the initiative.

This is where Christmas love often gets misunderstood. We tend to think of love primarily in human terms like affection, warmth, or generosity, but Scripture presses us deeper. God’s love is not only demonstrated in sending His Son – it’s defined by His purpose for sending Him: “to be the propitiation for our sins”^[4]. That word matters. Propitiation means that Jesus bore the righteous wrath of God against sin, as we discussed earlier, but it also means that He fully satisfied the demands of God’s holy justice (Romans 3:25-26, Isaiah 53:5-6, 2 Corinthians 5:21). Love didn’t ignore our sin. It didn’t excuse our rebellion against God. Love dealt with sin fully and finally by placing its penalty on a sinless substitute.

This is also why no human comparison or analogy could fully capture what God has done – though it can help us feel the weight of it. As a father – as a daddy, I cannot imagine loving anyone enough to give one of my children in their place. My love for my kids outweighs any value anyone else could ever have in my eyes. And even if I could somehow bring myself to offer such a sacrifice, it wouldn’t do any good. My kiddos, like their daddy, are sinners. They couldn’t atone for anyone’s sin. They couldn’t bear God’s righteous wrath. They, like me, can’t even save themselves. We didn’t need a better example or a more inspiring human being—we needed God’s Son. We needed God to put on flesh and dwell among us, live the sinless life we are incapable of living, and die the death we deserve because of our sin. Only a sinless Savior could stand in the place of sinners (Hebrews 4:15, 1 Peter 3:18). Only Jesus could be the propitiation our sins require.

This is the love Christmas proclaims. God didn’t send His Son because we were lovable. He sent Him because we were lost. He didn’t wait for our love but acted in love first. And He didn’t merely show us affection – He provided atonement. Christmas tells us that love came down, took on flesh, and willingly walked toward the cross so that we might live through Him.

Wrapping Up

As this study comes to a close – and Christmas itself arrives – we’re reminded that the love we’ve been considering isn’t something to admire. It’s something to receive. Christmas isn’t only a message to be believed but a Savior to be trusted. And coming to Jesus doesn’t require you to feel “merry”, to force a smile, or to pretend the season isn’t heavy. There is room in Christ for grief, sorrow, anxiety, and whatever burdens you’re carrying (Psalm 34:18, 1 Peter 5:7). He meets us where we are – and He loves us too much to leave us as we are (Hebrews 4:15-16).

For some, this invitation is especially clear. If you find yourself among the lowly – aware of your need, burdened by guilt, weary from sin, or conscious that you can’t save yourself – Christmas holds out real hope. The love of God has come near to sinners in Jesus, near enough to take hold of. And Scripture tells us plainly how to do that: “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). It really is that simple – and that profound. Look away from yourself and toward Jesus and what He has done. Put your trust – your faith – in Him. And if you do, God’s promise stands firm: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13). What better time to receive Him—and the love that’s been given?

For others, this season is a call not to come for the first time but to remember again. Many of us have been lifted by grace – saved, forgiven, reconciled to God through Christ. And yet even the redeemed can grow weary, distracted, or dulled by the noise of the season. Christmas gently calls us back to the gospel we first believed. It invites us to remember what the Lord has done and to ask Him to remind us again – day by day – of His steadfast love. The love of God in Christ that saved you is the same love that sustains you, comforts you, and carries you forward.

This is the good news Christmas proclaims. Love has come. Love has taken on flesh. Love has walked toward the cross. And love calls sinners to come, believers to remember, and all to rest in Christ – because He is love. So wherever you find yourself this Christmas, lowly or lifted, weary or rejoicing – fix your eyes once more on Jesus. The Promised King has come. And in Him, the greatest gift of love has been given.

^[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ro 5:8.

^[2] ESV, Jn 3:16–17.

^[3] ESV, 1 Jn 4:9–10.

^[4] Propitiation means that Jesus bore the righteous wrath of God against sin and fully satisfied the demands of God’s holy justice (Romans 3:25–26; Isaiah 53:5–6). At the cross, God did not ignore sin or lower His standard; He dealt with sin completely by placing its penalty on His own Son. Because Jesus satisfied God’s justice, all who trust in Him are justified—declared righteous before God, not because of their works, but because Christ’s righteousness is credited to them (Romans 5:1, 5:9; 2 Corinthians 5:21). This means that God’s love and God’s justice are not in conflict at the cross. In love, God provided what His justice required. Propitiation shows us that salvation is not God choosing between love and holiness, but God expressing both perfectly in Jesus.

Christ Has Come: The Promised King & His Gift of JOY — a Refresh & Restore Bible Study

Luke 1:39-56 –

³⁹In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, ⁴⁰and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, ⁴²and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! ⁴³And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
⁴⁶And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
⁴⁷and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
⁴⁸for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
⁴⁹for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
⁵⁰And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
⁵¹He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
⁵²he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
⁵³he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
⁵⁴He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
⁵⁵as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

⁵⁶And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home. ^[1]

Merry Christmas, Sojourners!

As we move deeper into this Advent/Christmas season, I keep coming back to the way the Lord trains our hearts through the gifts He gives. He doesn’t just announce that His Son has come – He teaches us to receive Him.

In our first study in this series, we focused on hope – the kind of hope that doesn’t rest on circumstances but on the faithful God who keeps His promises, even through brokenness and waiting. In the second study, we turned to peace – not a thin calm or temporary quiet, but the steady peace Jesus secured by entering our darkness, reconciling us to God, and holding us fast through every season.

Now, we come to joy – and we pause. We need to know what it is – and what it isn’t.

Biblical joy is deeper than a mood or feeling. It’s not the fleeting and ever-changing “happiness” our world tries to chase and manufacture. In Scripture, joy is gladness rooted in God – gladness that can exist even when life is still hard, even when answers are still unfolding. The New Testament word often translated “joy” can describe the rejoicing God inspires, and it can even describe the occasion or grounds for joy – what joy is built on and rises out of (Luke 2:10, Romans 14:17).^[2] That’s why biblical joy isn’t fragile. It isn’t dependent on a perfect day or easy circumstances. It grows where mercy takes root, where pride is lowered, where need is admitted, and where God is trusted.

We can miss it if we move too quickly through the Christmas story. In Luke’s Christmas narrative, joy arrives before the word shows up when the shepherds hear “good news of great joy” (Luke 2:10). Months before Bethlehem, joy is already stirring in the hill country of Judea. A baby, filled with the Holy Spirit, leaps for joy in the womb (Luke 1:44). A woman, filled with the Holy Spirit, blesses the mother of her Lord (Luke 1:41-43). And that young mother, Mary – lowly, standing at the beginning of a road she doesn’t yet understand – rejoices in God her Savior (Luke 1:46-47). Joy was already breaking through the darkness, because Jesus was already there!

Luke 1:39-56, our passage for today, shows us that the joy of Christ is grounded in God’s unfolding mercy – mercy that humbles the proud, lifts the lowly, feeds the hungry, and keeps covenant promises stretching all the way back to Abraham (Luke 1:50-55; Genesis 12:1-3, 17:7; Micah 7:18-20). We see this joy in the song Mary sings. The song is deeply personal but not small. It echoes the hope of Hannah long before her (1 Samuel 2:1-10), and it reaches forward to the Kingdom her baby will grow and usher in – a Kingdom where God’s grace reverses what sin has marred, and where the Savior lifts those who put their faith in Him (Luke 4:18-19, 6:20-23; Isaiah 61:1-3).

In Luke 1:39-56, we’ll see that joy is not something Mary manufactures or inspires in others – it’s something God gives as His mercy begins to unfold. We’ll begin by looking at the original context and setting of Mary’s visit to her relative Elizabeth, where joy first breaks through the silence in unexpected ways. Then we’ll listen carefully to Mary’s song – known as the Magnificat, where joy rises from a heart overwhelmed not with herself, but with her God and His mercy. From there, we’ll see how this song points beyond Mary to Jesus Himself – the coming King who fulfills God’s promises and brings lasting joy. And finally, we’ll consider what this passage teaches us about the gift of joy God gives to the lowly and the lifted, to those who know their need of Him and trust His Word.

Original Context & Setting: Joy Breaks the Silence (vv. 39-45)

Luke tells us that “in those days” Mary rose and went “with haste” into the hill country of Judea to visit her relative Elizabeth (Luke 1:39). This small phrase links what follows directly to the angel’s announcement (Luke 1:26-38). Mary doesn’t linger in Nazareth to sort out the social consequences of her pregnancy or demand clarity about her and the baby’s future. Instead, she moves forward in faith (v. 38). She goes to see the sign God Himself had given her: her much older relative Elizabeth, once barren, is now six months pregnant by God’s grace and power (Luke 1:36-37).

Their meeting is inconsequential by worldly standards. No crowds gather. No rulers take notice. Yet this is one of the most theologically rich encounters in all of Scripture. Two miraculous pregnancies meet. Two stories of God’s mercy intersect. And joy erupts before a single word is spoken.

When Mary greets Elizabeth, John the Baptist leaps in his mother’s womb (v. 41). Luke – the physician – is careful to explain that this is no ordinary movement, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, interprets it for us: “the baby in my womb leaped for joy” (v. 44). Even before his birth, John fulfills his calling to prepare the way of the Lord as he recognizes and announces the presence of the Messiah in utero (Luke 1:17, 76; Malachi 3:1; Isaiah 40:3). Joy breaks out not because circumstances are easy, but because Jesus is near.

Elizabeth is then filled with the Spirit herself and cries out in a loud voice, pronouncing Mary “blessed among women”, not for who she is but because of the Child she carries – “blessed is the fruit of your womb” (v. 42). Then, Elizabeth goes further calling Mary “the mother of my Lord” (v. 43). This is a staggering confession. Months before Bethlehem, months before angels sing to shepherd, Jesus is confessed as Lord by a Holy Spirit-filled woman and acknowledged by a Spirit-filled unborn child. The joy here is deeply Christ-centered, not found in Mary but magnifying the Son.

Finally, Elizabeth speaks a blessing that turns our attention to Mary’s response to God’s Word: “Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord” (v. 45). That emphasis on faith matters, especially when we remember that this moment follows a season of silence brought on by unbelief. The Spirit-inspired words spoken through Elizabeth stand in quiet contrast to her husband Zechariah’s earlier doubts, which left him unable to speak until God’s promise began to unfold just as He had said (Luke 1:18–20, 64).^[3]

At this point in the Christmas narrative, Mary doesn’t yet see the full shape of God’s plan, but she trusts the God who spoke. And in a time when God had been silent for centuries, His Word breaking forth again was no small thing (Amos 8:11-12). Even though Mary didn’t know how all of this would work out, God was already showing her that He was with her on the journey (Matthew 1:23). We begin to see here that joy doesn’t wait for completion or a finish line. It doesn’t require resolution. It doesn’t depend on our full comprehension of what’s going on or how things will turn out. Joy springs up where God’s Word is believed (Psalm 119:111, Jeremiah 15:16).

Now, the word “joy” doesn’t appear here, but it is already present – present in the leaping child, the Spirit-filled confession of Jesus as Lord, and in Mary’s quiet faith in God’s promise. And it is out of this joy that Mary’s song will rise – not as a sudden emotional outburst, but as a thoughtful, Scripture-shaped response to the mercy of God at work in her life.

The Joy of God’s Mercy in the Magnificat (vv. 46-55)

When Mary finally speaks, she doesn’t begin with explanations, questions, or fear. She begins with worship. Luke tells us, “And Mary said…” (v. 46), and what follows is not a spontaneous emotional overflow but a carefully shaped song, steeped in Scripture and centered on God. This song, as I have mentioned, is known as the Magnificat, named after its opening word in Latin, drawn from Mary’s opening declaration: “My soul magnifies the Lord.” And that opening line sets the tone for everything that follows.

Mary’s joy in this song is not focused on herself. She’s not magnifying her experience, her obedience, or her unique role in human and redemptive history. She magnifies the Lord. Her joy is vertical before it’s personal. She magnifies her Lord and her “spirit rejoices in God [her] Savior” (vv. 46-47). In humility, she calls God her Savior, acknowledging her sin and need for God’s mercy. Joy grows where pride is lessened and God’s grace is welcomed.

She goes on to explain why her soul rejoices: God has looked upon her “humble estate” (v. 48). Mary wasn’t wealthy, powerful, or impressive by any worldly standards. She was young, obscure, and vulnerable. Yet God has seen her. The joy she experiences isn’t rooted in her being chosen because she was worthy, but in being shown mercy despite her lowliness.

From there, Mary’s song widens. What God has done for her personally reveals something true about His character universally. “Holy is His name,” she declares, and “His mercy is for those who fear Him from generation to generation” (vv. 49-50, Exodus 34:6-7, Psalm 103:17). Joy, in Mary’s song, is never detached from who God is. It flows from His holiness, His power, and especially His mercy. This isn’t a one-time act of kindness but a continuation of what God has been unfolding throughout history and continues to unfold today.

As the song continues, Mary celebrates the great reversal God brings—scattering the proud, bringing down the mighty, exalting the humble, filling the hungry, and sending the rich away empty (vv. 51–53, 1 Samuel 2:6-8). These words are not political slogans or rhetoric but theological declarations. Mary rejoices in the way God’s mercy turns worldly values upside down (1 Corinthians 1:27-28). Joy comes not to those who trust in their own strength—because human strength fails and fades—but to those who know their need and look to God to strengthen and save.

Finally, Mary anchors her joy in God’s faithfulness to His promises. He has helped His servant Israel, remembering His mercy “as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever” (vv. 54-55; Genesis 12:1-3, 22:17-18). Her joy rests in God’s covenant faithfulness to His people (Deuteronomy 7:9). God was doing in Mary what He had promised long ago. The mercy unfolding in her womb is connected to promises stretching back generations, all the way to Genesis and Abraham. And she rejoices in the assurance that the God who spoke to her keeps His Word.

This is what makes the Magnificat so magnificent. Mary’s joy is deeply personal but not private. It’s shaped by Scripture, grounded in God’s mercy, and oriented toward His purposes and plan rather than her own. She doesn’t rejoice because she experienced an influx of health, wealth, and prosperity as some falsely promise; she rejoices because God is doing exactly what He said He’d do. And this kind of joy – joy rooted in mercy and tempered in humility and faith – prepares us to see the true significance of the Child she carries. Because Mary’s song does not end with her; it presses us forward to the work this Child has come to accomplish.

Fulfillment in Jesus, the Coming King

In the last two weeks, we’ve looked a lot at Old Testament references in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus and in the prophecy from Isaiah. It took some work to flesh out the promises of God and show their fulfillment in Jesus. Luke 1:39-56 is much easier because Jesus is already there in Mary’s womb (Luke 1:31-33, Galatians 4:4).

The promises Mary celebrates are no longer distant or abstract. They aren’t waiting centuries to be fulfilled. They are present, personal, and alive in the Child she carries. The mercy she sings about has taken on flesh (John 1:14). The King she rejoices in is not merely promised – He is already at work, even before He is born (Luke 1:35, Matthew 1:21).

This is what makes Mary’s joy so striking. She’s not rejoicing in who Jesus will one day become, but in who He already is. The reversals she proclaims – the proud scattered, the lowly lifted, the hungry filled – are not wishful thinking or poetic exaggeration but the certain outworking of God’s mercy now embodied in her Child. Luke has already told us who this Child is. The angel Gabriel announced that He would be given “the throne of His father David”, that He would reign forever, and that “of His Kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:32-33, 2 Samuel 7:12-13, Isaiah 9:6-7). Those promises stand quietly behind every line of the Magnificat. When Mary sings of God helping His servant Israel and remembering His mercy (v. 54), she is rejoicing in the arrival of the long-awaited King who would finally do what no earthly ruler – even her ancestor King David – could: bring salvation, righteousness, and lasting joy (Jeremiah 23:5-6, Zechariah 9:9).

Jesus fulfills everything expressed in Mary’s song. The proud are scattered as human self-sufficiency is exposed by grace (Luke 18:9-14). The mighty are brought low as the true King enters the world unnoticed and lives a life culminating in the cross (Luke 19:38, 23:33; Philippians 2:6-8). The hungry are filled as Jesus offers Himself as the Bread of Life to those who know their need (Luke 6:20-21, John 6:35). And those who cling to wealth, status, and self-righteousness are sent away empty because they refuse to partake of the mercy He so freely gives (Luke 12:15, 18:24-25).

The mercy Mary rejoices in here reaches its fullest expression at the cross, a reality that would one day pierce her own heart (Luke 2:34-35). There, the lowly are lifted, sinners are forgiven, and the proud illusion of being able to earn righteousness collapses. Jesus is not a mere announcement of God’s mercy – He becomes its means, bearing sin and the wrath of God due for it, and reconciling sinners to God (Luke 22:19–20, Romans 5:8–11, Isaiah 53:4-6, 2 Corinthians 5:21). Mary’s joy isn’t sentimental; it’s anchored in the coming sacrifice of her Son.

Thankfully, the sacrifice she would later witness was not the end. The resurrection she would also witness confirms that her joy was well-founded (Luke 24:1-8, Acts 1:14). God keeps His promises (Hebrews 10:23). The King lives. Jesus rises, reigns, and continues to extend the mercy she sang about – gathering the lowly, forgiving the guilty, and bringing true joy to all who trust in Him. This means Mary’s song was not simply a celebration for what God had done for her, but a declaration of what God had begun to do for the world. The Child in her womb is the King who fulfills every promise, secures lasting joy, and proves once and for all that God’s mercy never fails.

Wrapping Up

We’ve talked a lot about joy today, and, if I’m honest, I find myself longing to feel more of that joy myself. Thankfully, biblical joy is more than a feeling. Feelings ebb and flow, changing with circumstances and surroundings. But joy, biblical joy, is found – just as it was with Elizabeth, John the Baptist, and Mary in Luke 1:39-56 – in the presence of Jesus. It is found fixing our eyes on Him and lifting our entire worldview toward Him, seeking what is above rather than being hijacked by all of the bad this fallen world has to offer (Colossians 3:1-4, Hebrews 12:2).

The joy found in Jesus is available today. He brings joy for the lowly and the lifted.

The lowly are those who know their need – who don’t pretend to have it all together, who feel the weight of weakness, guilt, grief, and sin. Like Mary, they may feel insignificant, overlooked, or uncertain about the road ahead. But as Mary taught us, God looks upon our humble estates. He fills the hungry. He draws near to those who fear Him and trust His Word. For the lowly, the joy of Christ isn’t ignoring or denying hardship or difficulty – it’s the assurance that God sees, God keeps His promises, and God is at work even when we can’t see the outcome.

If that’s you today – if you feel lowly, burdened, or aware of your need – Scripture holds out a clear and gracious invitation. The same Jesus who brought joy to Elizabeth and Mary calls you to confess him as Lord and believe that He is who God says He is in His Word. Romans 10:9 makes this clear: “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” It’s not complicated. It’s not earned. It’s trusting Him. It’s faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). And just as it was for them, Jesus is enough.

The lifted are those God raises up by grace. To be lifted by God is not the same thing as being elevated by the world. The lifted are not those who boast in strength, status, or success but those who have been brought low enough to receive mercy. They are forgiven, reconciled, redeemed – and they know that this status is a gift from God by grace through faith in Jesus (Titus 3:4-7, Colossians 1:13-14).

If you find yourself here today – resting in Christ, walking in forgiveness, knowing the mercy He has shown you – this passage invites you not to move on from joy but to return to it again and again – to ask the Lord to remind you of what He has done, to renew your wonder in worshiping Him, and to meet you each day with new mercies (Lamentations 3:23, Hebrews 4:16). Joy deepens as we remember what Jesus has done and entrust ourselves to Him daily.

Joy is not something we can manufacture. It’s something we receive. And it grows wherever Jesus is trusted. May the joy of God’s mercy – secured by Christ our King – take root in your heart and rise in praise, just as it did in Mary’s song.

^[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Lk 1:39–56.

^[2] Chará (χαρά) is commonly used for “joy/rejoicing,” and can also mean the cause/occasion/ground of joy (e.g., Luke 2:10; Rom. 14:17). | Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).

^[3] Zechariah questioned how he could be sure God would give him a son citing that he was “an old man” and Elizabeth was “advanced in years” (Luke 1:18). Because he didn’t believe the angel’s word, he was made mute until “the day that these things take place” (Luke 1:20), and his speech returned when John was named, just as God had promised (Luke 1:57-64). Although the text makes no reference to it, Zechariah would have been mute during the entirety of Mary’s visit to their home.