Rev 12:10+11, And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them before our God day and night.” And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even to death. 
	We return to our consideration of the Lamb of God, as we continue to dwell on this most important aspect of Our Lord Jesus Christ. We have been looking, in some depth, into the reality of Christ as the Victor, and the manner in which the Church is to see and to revere Him in that place even now on this earth. We have also been taking into account His position as the Lamb of God. He is the only sacrifice that eternally sealed our salvation and our position in Him. 
It is easy for us to accept the fact that He is the perfect sacrifice which takes away our sins and procures our salvation and standing before God. This is not to say that we fully understand and comprehend all that God has done in the giving of His Son for our sakes. That will be the glorious study of all eternity. Rather, because it so affects us, we have a vested interest in His sacrifice. We, therefore, tend to relate to Him on the level of His being the Perfect Lamb of God offered for our sakes. 
As we go forward this morning, let us consider another vantage point in which He is seen as the Lamb of God.  There is another vision of Christ that needs to be noted and accepted, as we proceed with this deliberation. It is that of the angelic hosts as they recognize and acknowledge Him as the Lamb of God.  
First of all, let it be very clear that we are neither deifying nor minimizing angels. They are created beings just as are we. They are ministering servants. The Lord made them for His special purposes, just as we have been created for His profound purposes. They do, however, see the Lamb from an entirely different perspective than do we. It is incumbent upon us to recognize the glory of the Lamb that is visible to their eyes. 
Christ has His place of honor before the legions of the angelic hosts that is just as important as is His glory before our eyes. John was tempted to place himself at the feet of the angel who was showing him the revelation of Jesus Christ. Rev 22:8+9, And I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. And he said to me, "Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book; worship God." We dare not make the same mistake. 
There is a key in this passage that we need to accept. Both the angels and mankind are to worship God and God, Alone. We are not to bow down before anything else. No matter how powerful or majestic a thing or a person might be, we do not worship any created thing. We, and all the angelic hosts, worship God, Alone! This is a key aspect of what we are told about the angels. They worship God as do we. We share the same heart that would see God’s glory fill all the universe of His creation. 
As we are told by the Psalmist in Ps 103:17-21, But the lovingkindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children's children, To those who keep His covenant, And who remember His precepts to do them. The Lord has established His throne in the heavens; And His sovereignty rules over all. Bless the Lord, you His angels, Mighty in strength, who perform His word, Obeying the voice of His word! Bless the Lord, all you His hosts, You who serve Him, doing His will. The angels, mighty in strength and performing his word are instructed to bless the Lord, as are we.
	They not only bless Him, but they are to praise Him as is the entirety of creation. Ps 148:1-5, Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; Praise Him in the heights! Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts! Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all stars of light! Praise Him, highest heavens, And the waters that are above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the Lord, For He commanded and they were created. 
	As well, it is important to understand that the angels of God are fully a part of the glory of the Lamb. They are included in the glory that will be in place in the light of the revelation of Jesus Christ. Matt 25:31-34, "But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. "And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 
	When Christ returns, it will be with all the angels. They will be witness to the Lamb, as the Son of Man, sitting on His glorious throne. They will be part of His reign of glory, working according to His will. They will be seeing the results of what God has done on this earth in the light of the power and the honor and the glory of the work of Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God. 
Mark 8:34-38, And He summoned the multitude with His disciples, and said to them, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. "For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's shall save it. "For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? "For what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels." 
	This will be an eye-opening experience for the angels that will elicit praise and honor from all the angelic hosts. Humanity will stand before the throne of glory and before the gathered hosts of angels. We will all give account as to the relationship that the Lamb has in our hearts. They will listen to the testimony of the saints and of the damned. They will receive the witness of the confirmation or the denial of the Lamb as Lord and Savior. Luke 12:8+9, "And I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man shall confess him also before the angels of God; but he who denies Me before men shall be denied before the angels of God. 
	Even this day, the angels rejoice as the Lamb is recognized by each one, who calls upon Him for salvation. All heaven shares in the joy of the acceptance of the Lamb as Savior in each heart so moved. Luke 15:6, "In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." 
They may not fully understand what is taking place, but they rejoice with God and with all the gathered saints as the witness of Jesus Christ, the Gospel of Salvation is applied into each heart and mind throughout time on this earth. The election of the saints of Christ rings true in their hearts, to the best of their understanding, and they celebrate with Christ, the salvation of humanity unto God through His blood.
	The angels bore witness to the circumstances that required the salvation of mankind and the means of that salvation. They were actively completing the tasks assigned to them as they followed the progression of what God had to do in order to redeem mankind unto Himself. They bore witness to the Christ, at His birth and throughout His life. They witnessed the events which they heralded to the glory of God on this earth. 1 Tim 3:16, And by common confession great is the mystery of godliness: He who was revealed in the flesh, Was vindicated in the Spirit, Beheld by angels, Proclaimed among the nations, Believed on in the world, Taken up in glory.
	We have the tremendous testimony of this angelic service recorded for us in the Letter to the Hebrews. The writer to the Hebrews neither minimizes nor does he exalt the angelic hosts. He simply states the reality as revealed by the Holy Spirit as to the differences between Christ, as the Son of Man and the angels. Throughout that letter, the references to the angels are neither demeaning nor exalting. They are presented in the manner in which we are to regard them, as fellow worshippers of the glory of God in Jesus Christ. 
Heb 1:1-6, God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high; having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they. For to which of the angels did He ever say, "Thou art My Son, Today I have begotten Thee"? And again, "I will be a Father to Him And He shall be a Son to Me"? And when He again brings the first-born into the world, He says, " And let all the angels of God worship Him.” 
Note that all the angels of God are to worship Jesus Chrsit, the Lamb. They are to give Him all glory and honor and praise as will the Church. We will be gathered together, along with all the angelic hosts, and all the saints before Him. The Church and the angels will join voices and hearts to worship and to honor Him as the Lamb of God. 
Heb 12:22-24, But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel. The angels and the saints will come together before God in a communal gathering to observe and to bear witness to the grace of God’s hand of operation. We will be of one heart and mind to tell the great story of the triumphant work of God’s love throughout the history of mankind. The Heavenly host will yearn to hear more and more of His story.
	1 Peter 1:10-13, As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful search and inquiry, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven —  things into which angels long to look. Therefore, gird your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 
	One key aspect of this relating of the story of our salvation is that it will not just be our witness. Christ, Himself, will declare the full riches of His Grace for our sake. He will give the ultimate testimony before the throne of God and before all the angelic hosts. Our names will be proclaimed, to His Honor and to His Glory by His own mouth. He will bear testimony to the fact that we sought our refuge and salvation in Him. Rev 3:5, 'He who overcomes shall thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels. 
	At the other end of the spectrum, those who do not call upon the salvation of God will receive their punishment, as well, in the direct presence of the angelic hosts. The lost will be forever tormented as witnessed by the angels, as they witness both the accursed anguish and distress of the damned as well as the blessing of the joyful recipients of the Lamb’s salvation. Rev 14:9+10, And another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or upon his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.
	The angels will see the result of man’s free decision to accept or to reject the great love of God so fully offered in Jesus Christ. They will be the eternal witnesses of the infinite and inestimable value and glory that is set in the willing sacrifice of the Lamb of God. They will eternally herald the magnificence and the grandeur of God that the salvation of mankind will elicit from all of creation. And they will offer God all worship and adoration and praise for such a perfect revelation of His Omniscient, Omnipresent, and Omnipotent Nature of Love. 
	Next week, Lord willing, we will look at the worship that the angelic hosts offer to the Lamb of God. There is a definite value associated with our understanding of what is included in the praise of angelic adoration, reverence, and adulation unto Our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a chorus in which we, His Church, will be joined for all the eternal ages to come. So be it!
And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them before our God day and night.” And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even to death. Amen.

		This morning’s benediction is Rom 8:38+39. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.