Worship in Heaven - Podcast
There's A Man Going 'Round Taking Names • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 2 viewsRevelation chapter 4 ad 5
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Hello and welcome to this episode of Pastor’s Corner. I’m Thomas Hogan Senior Pastor of Amazing Grace Church of the Nazarene in Walla Walla Washington.
We are in the book of Revelation Series There’s a man going ‘round taking names.
In this episode we dive back into Revelation chapters 4 and 5 to take another look at the imagery and symbolism of what John sees in the Throne room of heave.
So lest’s begin by reading Revelation 4:1-4
1 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.”
2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne.
3 And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance.
4 And around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads.
The central vision of chapters 4 and 5 is the worship around the throne of God almighty in heaven.
One might be asking right now how is it possible that John could be in the presence of and actually see God all mighty?
What about John 1:18
18 No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.
12 “You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself, and his sons, and his cattle?”
20 But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!”
These and many other passages make it clear that no one except Jesus has seen God, right?
John actually gave us the clue. something that we can miss or forget as dive even deeper in to the Book
10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet,
and also
2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne.
So two things we can glean
John was in the Spirit, I think that kind shields Him from what would happen in seeing God.
This is a vision. Vision of something real and happening but no the less a vision.
Now let’s start with the vision john sees as he walks through the open door of heaven
3 And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance.
A rainbow, man that took me right back to Genesis 9:12-13
12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations;
13 I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth.
We like John see the origin of the rainbow we see!
The rainbow came from the throne of God.
Then John sees around this throne 24 other thrones and seated on those thrones were 24 elders.
Why 24, you might ask?
In the Bible the most important twelves are the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 Apostles.
They represent the totality of God’s people.
So understanding this now I think will help us going forward into other chapters of visions of Revelation.
5 And from the throne proceed flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God;
If you keep this in thought that we are in the presence of God then suddenly this verse reminds of of another verse
16 So it came about on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud upon the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.
The seven lamps here is also no doubt a reference to the
It is possible that the seven Spirits of God is a reference to to the Holy Spirit in His fullness, or to seven key angels who stand before the throne whom we see in just a few chapters who are given trumpets.
Ten john sees four living creatures.
One has a face of a lion, another the face of a calf, one of a man and the the last with the face of an eagle.
Rather than trying to guess the symbolism of these creatures, and certainly their appearance is as striking as it is bizarre, I want focus on what is taking place.
John is seeing worship in heaven, worship of God Almighty.
Day and night these four creatures constantly say
8 And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.”
They give glory by stating who God is.
Think about these words and what people say about God today.
He is the eternal cause behind the creation of everything.
Of course it goes without saying they mean these words.
What about us?
When it comes to recognizing who God is do we mean it?
Do people know we mean it?
Now on the heals of the four living creature’s worship comes the worship of the 24 elders.
They bow before the throne and cast their crowns and say: Revelation 4:11
11 “Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they existed, and were created.”
Casting their crowns is a symbol or recognition that nothing is theirs they are a gift from Him who sits on the throne.
Do we recognize that in our worship?
Nothing is ours by right everything we have is a gift from God.
Now the 24 elders burst into endless praise!
Wow, that is the heavenly anthem that rises to the throne from those around the throne!
There are reasons that the 24 elders give for for their worship:
He created all things
By His will they exist
By His will they were created
Simply, God Almighty is the center of everything!
Now we move in the chapter 5
John now sees an angel with a book
1 And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals.
2 And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?”
He sees this book in God’s right hand.
He says that the scroll has writing on both sides, front and back, it is sealed with seven seals.
There have been so many interpretations of what this book is:
The Scriptures
The Book of Life
A Legal Document
Most often the plan of God to judge and save the world; a plan John is about to see unfold.
This is where I lean.
N.T. Wright: “We rightly guess that it contains God’s secret plan to undo and overthrow the world destroying projects that have already gained so much ground, and to plant and nurture instead the world rescuing project which will get creation itself back on track in the right direction.”
This fits very nicely with that we will see when the seals are broken.
That means also that everything about to transpire is all part of God’s secret eternal plan about to be revealed!
Now one of the elders tells John to stop crying.
See now one on heaven on earth is able to open it!
This greatly upsets John.
Yet he is comforted by the elder because there is on who can open it!
It is Messiah!
The description reminds us of Genesis 49:9
9 “Judah is a lion’s whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He couches, he lies down as a lion, And as a lion, who dares rouse him up?
And also being the root of David takes us to another prophecy Isaiah 11:1
1 Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.
10 Then it will come about in that day That the nations will resort to the root of Jesse, Who will stand as a signal for the peoples; And His resting place will be glorious.
Here is what I think Jews missed about Messiah.
John looks to see who the Lion of Judah is, not a lion but a lamb, looking as if slain!
The lion is the symbol of royalty and power, like Aslan in the Chronicles of Narnia!
The Lamb is a symbol vulnerability and sacrifice.
I love how N.T. Wright puts this together: “From this moment on John, and we as his careful readers, are to understand that the victory one by the lion is accomplished through the lamb, and in no other way.”
That is not all John sees with this lamb, he sees that the lamb has seven horns and seven eyes.
The lamb is all powerful and all seeing.
He alone has the right to take the book and open its seals!
Jesus as the lamb is a key component to the way in which God rules the world.
Now the lamb is worshiped and acclaimed as worthy because He was slain, a death that had the redemption of all people as the goal.
They praise the Lamb for brining Isaiah’s promise to fruition
6 But you will be called the priests of the Lord; You will be spoken of as ministers of our God. You will eat the wealth of nations, And in their riches you will boast.
and Isaiah 66:20-21
20 “Then they shall bring all your brethren from all the nations as a grain offering to the Lord, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules, and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “just as the sons of Israel bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord.
21 />“I will also take some of them for priests and for Levites,” says the Lord.
Peter had shown that this was fulfilled in 1 Peter 2:9
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
At the point the innumerable heavenly host break out in praise and worship
Can you picture what it sounded like?
John calls it a loud voice, it sounded with great volume and intensity!
Joining in the singing Revelation 5:13
13 And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.”
The vision of worship ends with Revelation 5:14
14 And the four living creatures kept saying, “Amen.” And the elders fell down and worshiped.
This should be our response to what we are reading!
Amen! Amen!
What wonderful and glorious vision that we join with all of these in the worship of God Almighty and the Lamb!
What a vision of all creation in heaven and on earth together in worship!
I hope this brings us encouragement as we are again reminded that we are not alone!
Thank you for joining me in the Pastor’s Corner. Have a blessed week.