Worship at Work

Series on Revelation

II The Viewpoint

A Cycle One, The Sovereign, Scroll, and Seven Seals

1 The Sovereign

Text: 4: 1-11

Introduction

In Chapters 1-3 of Revelation we have been with John on the isle of Patmos and seen his vision of Christ. After that through the letters that Jesus dictates to the seven churches we have been focused on these congregations in Asia Minor, or what is modern Turkey. But now we are back on Patmos with John and about to see a series of startling visions that carry us far beyond Patmos in time and space. The scene of John’s vision changes from earth to heaven and remains there until chapter 10, after which the point of view continually alternates. We read in verse 1, After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here.” It is to be noted that the prophet alone, not the church, is called to go through the door; his elevation in vision is for the purpose of revelation, in order that he may communicate what he sees to those on earth. Many dispensational interpreters have taught that the door opened in heaven is actually the rapture of the church taking place. There is no foundation for this. In the ensuing chapters believers are often mentioned and In most cases these believers are on earth, not in heaven. One must make several groundless assumptions to interpret John’s experience here as the rapture of the Church. John is seeing a different vision; he is given the unique opportunity to look into heaven and to describe what he heard and saw. Incidentally, in II Corinthians 12:4 Paul also was taken up to the third heaven in a vision, but he relates that “he heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell.” The report that John gives is couched in symbolic speech and should be interpreted accordingly. That is, the “door” to heaven is a figurative expression that conveys to John the limits of his heavenly observation. Not everything is visible to him. However, John observes and then in astonishment says, “Look!” as if the reader can see what he sees. So we are able to see into heaven with John and what we see is the place, the person, the people and the purpose.

I The Place

The place is described in verses 1 and 2, After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. The place is a throne room. A throne room is an impressive setting for a monarch to preside ‘in majesty’ over official ceremonies, to hold council, to grant audiences, to receive homage, to award high honors and offices, and to perform other official functions. Any of these could just as well be transferred to other rooms. It is A common misconception that kings governed their lands seated on a throne for most of the working day. In earlier times this may have been true for some rulers who actually presided over their council; yet often another room was used, but only in peacetime. Even when in the main or only palace, the monarch often spent much time in other parts of the residence, such as the dining hall, the chapel, private quarters, possibly separate presence room, council chamber, ballroom, gardens, court theater and other recreational facilities. Nowadays throne rooms are only used for occasional grand ceremonies. Paper work is done in an office, and most guests are received in a salon. Many of them have become museums and showplaces for the public. How is this vision of John’s different. This is a throne room that is forever. It is eternally occupied by the King of Kings. It is a symbol of constant power and all encompassing rule in the universe. John was not the first mortal who was permitted to see heaven. In a dream, Jacob saw a stairway reaching to heaven from where God addressed him. Jacob exclaimed, “This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.” Also Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel were allowed to see God’s celestial throne and in each case the message was the same: God is in absolute control of the affairs of men.

II The Person

In this place in John’s vision there is a central person who dominates the scene as we read in verses 3 and 4, And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. The person at the center on the throne is obviously the point of the vision. He is surrounded by a multitude starting with 24 other thrones and so is marked as the king of kings. In Colossians 1:15 and 16, Paul is discussing the supremacy of the Son of God and He says, He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. All other thrones exist as a result of His creation, His permission, indulgence and sufferance. John has immediately confronted us with the triune God: the Father on the throne, the Son with a voice like a trumpet and the power of the Spirit who has lifted Him to new heights and reveals the scene to him. As to the appearance of the one on the throne very little is said. Jewish rabbis in ancient times seldom described God’s throne for fear of desecrating the divine name. They were forbidden to speak openly about heavenly mysteries, and those who spoke about the throne ran the risk of profaning the Deity. In the Old Testament as well there is great reserve in describing God and John says in his gospel that no one has seen God at any time. Of course there are visions of God, but this is not the same as actually seeing God for that is impossible. God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal and unchangeable in His being. However there are similarities in these visions. In Exodus 24:9-11 we read that Moses, two sons of Aaron and seventy elders “saw the God of Israel” on “a paved work of sapphire stone as clear as heaven.” The paved work is just like the “sea of glass” that John sees in verse 6. Ezekiel 1:26-28 describes a similar scene, Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking. Notice the prophet calls it a “likeness” of the glory of the Lord. Isaiah wrote in 6:1, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up. He too saw winged beings who worshipped God in language like that of Revelation 4:8, crying to each other, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The precious stones mentioned here probably resemble what we call diamonds, rubies and emeralds, and they are refracting and reflecting the glorious light from the one on the throne who created all things by the Word of His power and said, Let there be light. Thus the person on the throne is revealed as all glorious, beautiful and omnipotent.

III The People

The people around the throne are described in verses 4-8, Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. What message is this scene conveying to us? Throughout Church history men have vainly attempted to identify each of the parts of this vision without much agreement or success. I shall add one more which is to try to step back and see the big picture. What is this picture? We are permitted to see with John the overall picture of God’s rule. We see it in the form of a look into paradise which is symbolized in the tabernacle and temple. At the heart is God’s throne, the ark of the covenant in the holy of holies. The most important thing in that ark is the law and so we see the thunder and lightening that accompanied the giving of the law on mount Sinai and surrounding the throne of God are the 24 elders which are most likely angels representing the 24 orders of the priesthood which had the duty of instructing in the law in the Old Testament. Moving out from there we see the seven blazing lamps which represent the menorah which was in the tabernacle in front of the curtain for the holiest place. Finally we have the living creatures identified as cherubim in Isaiah and Ezekiel and similar, though different in John’s description. They are the guardians of the throne and they were the guardians of the way into Paradise, the garden of God. We read in Genesis 3:23 and 24, So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. The tree of life represents fellowship with God. It is a sacrament. In Eden Adam and Eve had that fellowship. After their expulsion God instituted worship and fellowship in the tabernacle and the temple of Israel, but He was approachable only through the altar and the lamp stand and the ark and then only under very limited circumstances. The worship scene was a picture of Paradise. And when we look at the end of Revelation what John sees is the ultimate fulfillment of this picture. He says in 21:3, And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. In 21:5 he says, He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” We are back in the throne room and we are surrounded by precious jewels and light. John says of the city that is descending that she had the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. And we read in 21:22 and 23, And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. All the elements are present, and the city has no need of a temple or light because it is the temple and the light never goes out. But the guardians of the way are gone, missing in action, because Jesus has removed them. He removed them by His death. He advanced to meet the flaming sword turning every way to keep the entrance to the garden and took the penalty for us. This is why in the next chapter we move on to the Lamb who was slain and who has overcome. Here in chapter 4 we have the holiness of God keeping men away, but there in chapter 5 we have the grace of God restoring what is lost. It seems likely to me that John’s vision in Revelation 4 is a picture of Paradise which is lost by sin, typically symbolized in the tabernacle and temple, and fully restored by Jesus at the end because He is the way back.

IV The Purpose

The purpose is clearly set forth in our text: it is worship. So we read in verses 8-11, Day and night they never stop saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” It is remarkable how many times in the Apocalypse the twenty-four elders are mentioned falling before the one seated on the throne to worship God in chapters 5,7,11, and 19. We frequently underestimate the importance of worship. In many churches the service of worship is nothing more than a warm-up for the sermon. Often in congregations there are many people who endure the “preliminaries” of worship just so they can get to the sermon. Don’t misunderstand me. The sermon is important. The prophetic declaration of the Word of God is needed. However the point of the sermon is to produce love, worship, and dedication to God in our lives. Actually the whole of the universe, and of our life and breath exists for the worship of the one true and living God. The purpose of creation is worship. The purpose of providence is worship. The purpose of redemption is worship. The purpose of reality is worship. Worship is not a warm-up or a preface, a preamble, a preparation, a preliminary or a prelude to something else. It is the whole point, and here we see it in all its glory. Everyone, day and night, constantly, eternally singing Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord Almighty. This is why the so-called regulative principle of worship is important. It means we include in worship everything God desires, and exclude anything he has not commanded. It means worship is regulated according to what God wants and not according to what suits the fancy of men and will make the church popular. The reason is that the unadulterated worship of God is the whole point of existence.