ERC Sundays

Pastor Chris continues our series in Revelation, examining the seven seals and God's people revealed to John.

Pastor Matt and Pastor Chris recap Sunday's message and take a deeper dive on Revelation 4 & 5, including thoughts on crowns, eyes, and horned lambs.

***SHOW NOTES***

“Sunday Leftover” Notes 2/10/25

-Rev 4:3 appearance of jasper and carnelian…splendor of divine presence. Reminiscent of the

high priests of OT Ex 28:17-20; 39:10-14

-Rev 4:4 There are five heavenly crowns mentioned in the New Testament that will be awarded

to believers. They are the imperishable crown, the crown of rejoicing, the crown of

righteousness, the crown of glory, and the crown of life. The Greek word translated “crown”

isstephanos (the source for the name Stephen the martyr) and means “a badge of royalty, a prize

in the public games or a symbol of honor generally.”

1) The Imperishable Crown – (1 Corinthians 9:24-25)

2) The Crown of Rejoicing – (1 Thessalonians 2:19)

3) The Crown of Righteousness – (2 Timothy 4:8)

4) The Crown of Glory – (1 Peter 5:4)

5) The Crown of Life – (Revelation 2:10)

Ultimately…James tells us that this crown of life is for all those who love God (James 1:12).

Rev 4:8-9And 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

And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who is seated on the

throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on

the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever. Theycast their crowns before the

throne…

Rev 5:1The scroll that is said to be written within and on the back is (as Robert Mounce would

define it) “the full account of what God in His sovereign will has determined as the destiny of the

world.”

The seven seals would have been understood by the original audience because according to

Roman law, documents of a certain importance were required to be sealed by seven witnesses…

But then again, despite that direct contextual link, most scholars tend to agree that the number is

seals is more so governed by the symbolic use of the number seven in Revelation and signifies

the immovable, perfect will of God in the scroll.

Rev 5:4I began to weep loudly….Philip Hughes said, “The universe itself is morally incapable

of effecting it’s own destiny…this tragic inability was attributable not to a lack of physical

strength but to moral incompetence.”

Rev 5:6 What does this lamb look like?“Any attempt to visualize a seven-horned, seven-eyed

lamb in a literal fashion should remind us of the symbolic nature of John’s visions. The throne-

room scene is not a graphic description of heaven but a symbolic representation of the decrees ofGod concerning the final stages of human history. The seven horns of the Lamb symbolize his

irresistible might. His seven eyes speak of the completeness of vision which leads to perfect

knowledge. The eyes are further identified as “the seven spirits of God sent out into all the

earth.” -Robert Mounce

Rev 5:11 living creatures, elders, the voices of many angels…myriads of myriads and

thousands of thousands..This is an uncountable number meant to overwhelm the senses…

Rev. 5:13

13 And 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!”

Pastor Chris continues our series in Revelation and teaches on the throne room of God and the various creatures, objects, persons and meanings therein, to the glory of the Lamb who was slain.

Pastor Matt teaches on the John's letters to the 7 churches in Revelation, and how we should receive them as the church today.

Pastor Matt kicks off our study in Revelation by examining how Jesus reveals himself to John and how he is the support and foundation for the early church.

Pastor Matt wraps up our 4-week series on Spiritual Disciplines in talking about giving, and how we can approach it, but ultimately, that it must be entered into cheerfully.

Pastor Chris teaches on the intimacy and necessity of prayer.

Pastor Matt continues the series by examining the discipline of fasting and the different ways it was used in the Bible and what that means for our lives today.

Pastor Matt kicks off our mini-series on Spiritual Disciplines by examining the practical aspects of engaging in Sabbath rest in modern-day life.

Pastor Chris wraps up our Advent Series on Peace by teaching on the significance of Jesus' birth as God's gift for us!