In this rich message on Revelation 4–6, Dr. David Campbell helps listeners recover the true pastoral and hopeful heart of the book of Revelation. Drawing deeply from the Old Testament, he shows how John’s vision of the heavenly throne room (Revelation 4–5) fulfills and unifies earlier prophetic visions from Isaiah 6, Ezekiel 1–3, and Daniel 7, 9, and 12.
Key themes in this sermon include:
- The heavenly scroll in God’s hand (Revelation 5:1) as the unsealed fulfillment of Ezekiel’s scroll of judgment (Ezekiel 2:9–10) and Daniel’s sealed book (Daniel 12:4, 9), now opened because “the time is near” (Revelation 1:1–3).
- Jesus as the “Lion of the tribe of Judah” (Genesis 49:9–10; Revelation 5:5) and the “Root of David” (Isaiah 11:1, 10; Revelation 5:5), who conquers not by the sword but as the slain Lamb (Isaiah 53; John 1:29; Revelation 5:6–10).
- How the Lamb “as though slain” (Revelation 5:6) continues to be present in the ongoing sufferings of His body, the church (Colossians 1:24; Philippians 3:10; 1 Peter 4:12–13).
- The church as the true “kingdom of priests” (Exodus 19:5–6; 1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:5–6; 5:9–10), not by replacement, but by fulfillment in Christ of all God’s covenant promises (2 Corinthians 1:20; Galatians 3:7–9, 26–29).
- The four sets of seven judgments—seals, trumpets, visions of conflict, and bowls (Revelation 6–16)—as parallel, cyclical pictures of the entire church age (Matthew 24:4–14; Luke 21:9–19), from Christ’s ascension (Acts 1:9–11; Ephesians 1:20–23) to His return (Revelation 19–21).
- God’s sovereign use of suffering and judgment to warn unbelievers and purify believers (Ezekiel 14:12–23; Romans 8:18, 28–30; Hebrews 12:5–11; 1 Peter 1:6–7).
- A corrective to fearful, dispensational end-times speculation about a secret rapture and a seven-year tribulation (compare 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18; 2 Thessalonians 1:5–10; Matthew 24:29–31), emphasizing instead Christ’s present reign and the ongoing advance of the gospel to all nations (Matthew 24:14; Revelation 7:9–10).
- The Bible’s great storyline from Eden lost to Eden restored: from the first garden-temple (Genesis 1–3) to the final garden-city, the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21–22), where God’s presence is fully and forever restored (Revelation 21:3–5; 22:1–5).
This message will challenge your eschatology, deepen your confidence in God’s sovereignty (Revelation 1:8; 4:11; 22:13), and invite you into a life of cross-shaped, counter-cultural discipleship (Mark 8:34–35; Romans 12:1–2) as those who follow the Lamb wherever He goes (Revelation 14:4).
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