Good morning. It is Sunday, our day especially given to worship. John, the last of the apostles still living, was called to heaven and told to “write”. God wanted His people to understand some things.
John’s heavenly journey began with a face-to-face meeting with the risen Christ. John was the one who had referred to himself as, “the disciple Jesus loved”. It was a remarkable meeting, with John falling to the ground in spontaneous worship. He had never imagined Jesus quite like this.
Jesus told John to write, for He had words for the seven churches of Asia Minor. They were words of comfort, and they were words of correction, and they were words of warning.
All of that was recorded in Revelation 1-3, and when we get to Revelation 4 things get really interesting. It was at that point that John found himself before the throne of God Almighty. The following is Revelation 4, something to think about as we prepare for worship today: 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. And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like 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.From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the sevenfold Spirit of God. Also in front of 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 its wings. 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.”
As we worship today, may this image of heaven be real for us. May we see God enthroned, and may we see God praised, and may we see God worshipped.
Vern