The Wonder of God

A Small Wonder

There was a not so great TV show in the late 80’s called “A Small Wonder”

The premise of the the show is of a single child family with one addition…that addition was in the form of an android robot…named VICI…which stands for “Voice Input Child Identicant”

Vicki was the “small wonder” and she could do amazing robot things…even as she tried to learn what it was like to be a human being...

It was a weird tv show and only lasted a few seasons...

Today I don’t want to focus on A Small Wonder…I want us to focus on a big wonder...

What makes you wonder? What makes you stand in awe when you experience, observe, or ponder it?

I think that matters…what holds us in awe…what makes us stand in wonder…tells us something important…

it tells us that…we are all created…to wonder…with a sense of wonder...to be in awe…of God...

But if its not God…rest assured...people will be in awe…in wonder... of something…in God’s place...

Albert Einstein is quoted as saying:

“He who can no longer pause to wonder, is as good as dead.”

A Big Wonder!

Today we continue our journey through the book of Revelation…a journey of wonder…as we get to read what John…saw and heard…from his encounter with the risen and glorified Jesus Christ...

The book of Revelation is a letter…to seven churches of John’s day in the first century AD...

It is also a Prophesy…like Daniel or Zechariah in the Old Testament... as it claims itself in the first and last chapters of the book...

And finally…the book of Revelation is in the form and style of apocalyptic literature…meaning John is our guide and he shares interpretations of visions and symbols that he sees...

And specifically…apocalyptic literature is written at a time of perceived persecution or a persecution that is on the doorstep…and about to happen…which was certainly true of

We have…up to this point…covered the first three chapters...

Chapter 1 introduces the resurrected and ascended Jesus…the first…the last and the living one…who gives John a message to seven churches...

Ch. 2 & 3 introduced the 7 churches and the message Jesus had for each of them…some were doing well as they patiently endured suffering and persecution…other churches misunderstood themselves and their standing with God…and Jesus called them to repentance and patient endurance...

Today in chapters 4 & 5 we read…what could be considered a third introductory section…as John…in another vision…is swept up into the throne room of God.

You want to talk about a reason to stand in awe…to be lost in the wonder of God…the description we heard read this morning…is it!

(Begin Crescendo)

There are flashes of lightening and thunder…torches of fire…a sea of crystal glass is before the throne…four living creatures…full of eyes in front and back....were around the throne...

We are told by John:

English Standard Version Chapter 4

And 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.

These gems and precious stones are used as symbols to describe God’s indescribable nature…some say they represent different attributes of God...

The Jasper might make reference to God’s purity.

The sardius or carnelian stone is red…which may represent God’s wrath and judgement.

The emerald represents the principle color of the rainbow…a reminder of God’s mercy and grace. (Steve Gragg Rev. Four Views parallel commentary; p.123; Idealist)

These same stones are mentioned in Exodus 28:17-20 (Don’t read)

Exodus 28:17–20 ESV

You shall set in it four rows of stones. A row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle shall be the first row; and the second row an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond; and the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; and the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They shall be set in gold filigree.

As a description of the ephod…or holy garments of the priests of God…they are meant to symbolize God in all His Majesty and holiness...

Revelation 4 is the only description of the throne of God in the New Testament...

Isaiah famously speaks of God’s throne when he calls Isaiah to be his prophet...

Isaiah 6:1–4 ESV

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.

The prophet Ezekiel is given a fantastic vision of God in chapter 1 & 10 of his book.

(Crescendo)

And like Ezekiel...

...All of these weird creatures with eyes all over…and the 24 elders on their thrones (representing God’s royal priesthood…the Church)…they all have the same reaction to God…seated on His throne...

They worship...

They are awestruck with God’s sovereignty, power…and glory...

They bow in Wonder of God...

(Calm pause)

Remember John is being shown this glorious vision of God in God’s throne room…on the heals of receiving the seven letters to the seven churches....

…and before the apocalyptic…cataclysmic…judgement of God’s wrath that is still to come...

Why was he shown this vision at this point?

What does this tell us about God?

He is shown this wonderful heavenly scene in God’s throne room…to humble him…to remind him that God is...

Holy

Sovereign over all things

That God is worthy “to receive honor and glory and power…as the creator of all things...”

Its a preemptive reminder…that God’s wrath and judgement of the people of the Earth…will not be:

arbitrary...

it won’t be a divine temper tantrum...

God’s judgement is a natural extension of God’s holiness…and sovereignty.

Like Bobby Brown once said “It’s my prerogative”

Judgement / wrath

Mercy / Grace

It’s all God’s prerogative / God’s free choice

______________________

The Scroll and Seals

If chapter one introduced Jesus…as the revealer of the message to the Churches of Revelation...

Chapter 5 describes Jesus’ proper place…as God Himself…seated at the right hand…holding a scroll with seven seals...

Jesus is described as

“the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, who has conquered”

and therefore worthy to open the scroll...

New Testament scholar Dr. Thomas R. Schreiner writes:

“This one is the Lion from Judah’s tribe, the Messiah from David’s line. John emphasizes that believers must “conquer” in order to obtain eternal life (2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21; 12:11; 15:2; 21:7), but the saints will not and cannot conquer... unless the Lion conquers first. Their conquering is derived from... and dependent upon... his conquering. His conquering is foundational, and their overcoming is the consequence of his triumph.”

[Thomas R. Schreiner, “Revelation,” in Hebrews–Revelation, ed. Iain M. Duguid, James M. Hamilton Jr., and Jay Sklar, vol. XII, ESV Expository Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2018), 606.]

Remember what Jesus said to the churches at the end of their letters? He kept saying “to the one who conquers...”

Listen to what he says to the church at Laodicea:

Revelation 3:21 ESV

The 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.

Jesus conquered sin and death on the cross…and because of that…we who trust and believe in Him as Lord and Savior…will ultimately triumph as a result of what Christ has done for us...

And because Jesus has conquered already…he is found to be the ONLY one worthy to open the seals and the scroll...

And because Jesus has conquered…our future is secure...

_____________________________________

We will get into the scrolls next week…and we are in for quite a ride as we read through what each seal-judgement contains...

But today’s focus is on God’s majesty…on God having already secured ultimate victory…for all who believe and trust in him...

So the next time you are filled with a sense of wonder…the next time you are in awe of something…take a moment…and remember the powerful description of God in Jesus Christ…in Revelation 4 & 5...

And remember…whatever it is that we are in awe of in the here and now…can not even compare…to the wonder of God...

Thanks be to God…amen.