WORSHIP GOD WHO SITS ON THE THRONE
Revelation 4:1-11
Key Verse: 4:8b
“Day and night they never stop saying: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come.”
The Revelation is from Jesus Christ. God revealed visions to John by sending his angel. The words of this prophesy is the word of God and testimony of Jesus Christ. In Ch1, Jesus – who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests – revealed his glorious true image as God Almighty, who is the Alpha and the Omega, the Living One. Giving His words to the seven churches in Ch2-3, Jesus identifies himself as the one who hold seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lamp stands (Ephesus), who is the first and the last, who died and came to life again (Smyrna), who has the sharp, double-edged sword (Pergamum), whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze (Thyatira), who holds the seven spirits of God (Sardis), who is holy and true, who holds the key of David (Philadelphia), and who is the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation (Laodicea). In this way, Jesus empowered each church that was enduring sufferings for the word of God and for their faith in Jesus to remain faithful, even to the point of death by holding onto this glorious Jesus, the Almighty. To the one who is victorious, he promises to give the kingdom of God; new heaven, the new earth, and New Jerusalem.
From Ch4 to Ch22, Jesus shows the visions what must soon take place. That is God’s righteous judgment over the evil world and God’s salvation for His people. In Ch4-5, we see the vision of the heavenly Throne with God sitting on it and Jesus, the Lamb who was slain. It is like opening of the Heavenly Supreme Court to pronounce judgment and execute justice. This vision of God’s throne in Heaven teaches us Who God is. God is the Holy, Almighty, and Eternal God who has such authority and power to judge all evil completely. This vision leads us to praise and worship. Through this Bible study, we may see the glory of the throne of God. This vision of God may give us the conviction of eternal victory even in the midst of troubles and sufferings. It may empower us to be faithful to God Almighty, even to the point of death. (2:10)
I. God who sits on his throne (1-6a).
Look at 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, and I will show you what must take place after this.” In the phrase “After this,” “this” refers to everything we looked at in ch1-3. Then, ch4 begins the next section of the revelation which deals with future history – “what must take place after this.” In his vision, what did he see? He saw a door standing open in heaven and he heard a loud voice, like a trumpet. It is Jesus’ voice he heard in his first vision. Jesus invited John to enter into Heaven, saying “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place fter this.”
Have you ever been invited to Heaven? Not many people have this privilege. Since it is God’s dwelling place, anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful cannot enter it. Nothing impure can enter it. (21:27) But, Jesus opened the door to heaven, and invited him to Heaven. Since it was a rare experience, John must have been amazingly thrilled and encouraged. Look at verse 2a. “At once I was in the Spirit…” Flesh and blood cannot enter the kingdom of God. So, by the way of vision, John entered into Heaven being in the Spirit. Actually, no one can fully understand what happened to John. Paul had a similar experience, but even he did not know if he was in the body or out of the body; only God knew. So, being in the Spirit, what did he see?
Verse 2b-3 says “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.” First of all, he saw a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. In Revelation, “Throne” appears 47 times, and it refers to God’s throne 40 times. What is a throne? It symbolizes power, glory and honor of a king. It means to have the political, military and economic power of the kingdom. So, people are willing to do anything to possess thrones. To take a throne of Roman Emperor, people betrayed each other, killed each other, even their own father, a son, a brother, and a mother even. Indeed, a throne represents power to rule.
Here God’s throne is the heavenly throne, beyond comparison to worldly thrones. This throne of God is the evidence of God’s sovereignty over the universe; no one has overthrown him or replace him. It is the evidence of God’s Almighty Power and Authority over the universe. God who sits on the Heavenly throne have the authority to judge the world and power to bring justice. God who is on the throne is in control over universes.
How did John describe God? Let me ask a question: How would you describe your wife or your baby? “My wife is beautiful like a diamond.” “My son is adorable like a poodle.” “Diamond” or “poodle” is not only about appearance, but also about its character, nature, impression, image, and values. How did John describe the one who sits on the throne? He had the appearance of jasper and ruby. (3a) Also, a rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. John in trying to describe for us what is indescribable – God’s invisible qualities and divine natures.
Jasper stones are translucent stones of various colors, generally red, opaque or green. Ruby, this was also known as Sardius, is a red stone looks like a diamond. Jasper, Ruby, and Emerald represent God’s invisible qualities and divine nature. It might be supernatural splendor of God, His righteousness, holiness, glory, faithfulness, and his mercy and grace. As he saw the rainbow of emerald, he must have felt God’s faithfulness, just like Noah. Yet, this is just a metaphor to express God’s invisible qualities and divine natures. This Heavenly throne of God shows that God is the sovereign King of Heaven who rules over all. He has supreme authority over all. He is in charge with all power and authority. From His seat in Heaven, God has ruled the heavens and the earth with a majesty that we cannot possibly imagine.
In reality, at that time John was suffering to be a witness of Jesus exiled in the island of Patmos. Christians were going through the fiery persecutions under the rule of Roman Emperors like Nero and Domitian. They were forced to deny the name of Jesus, and worship gods of Greek and Emperors as a god. They were excommunicated by their own family. They were fired and mistreated because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They were daily marginalized, despised, discriminated against, disadvantaged, and incited. It seems like the roman Emperors ruled the world with military, political, and economic power. They had such authority to throw them into fire or to make them human-torches or to throw them into a den of lions.
However, the truth is that there is the throne in heaven from where our God rules our lives and directs history to fulfill his sovereign will, to judge the evil and to save his people. God who sits in the throne is Sovereign Ruler. Though John himself was under such persecution, he did not give up his faith. He did not disown the name of Jesus. Why? Because He submitted to the authority of God Almighty, not the Roman Empire. John himself was inspired by this unforgettable vision and his spirit was lifted high with the vision of the heavenly throne. He had become the faithful witness of Jesus, bible Teachers in the time of great persecution. Holding on the Vision of God, he kept his faith to the end and became an example of those who overcame the world.
We live in a world corrupted by the power of sexual immorality, by the power of money, by the authority of Humanistic governments, and by the pragmatism. It seems like our future would be determine by kings or rulers or politicians of the world. But, that is not true. Our future will be determined by God who sits on his heavenly throne. No matter what, God who sits on the throne will bring his righteous judgment upon the evil and His salvation to his holy people. Submitting God who sits on His throne, we can overcome this sinful world and live for the kingdom of God. We may fight the spiritual battle to the point of death until we become victorious and receive the crown of life. For God who sits on his throne, has ultimate authority over all. (Mt10:28) Obeying His words of life, we may submit to God in our daily lives.
Let us see what are “around the throne.” Look at verse 4-5. Surrounding the throne were 24 other thrones, and seated on them were 24 elders dressed in white and has crowns of gold on their heads. Who are the 24 elders? Though there are different interpretations regarding 24 elders, fundamentally these elders on thrones represent God’s holy people who are redeemed by faith in Christ. Their white robes which refer the righteousness of Christ show that they are saved by faith in Christ. Their crowds of gold show that they are given honor and authority of the kings after they had fought the good fight and kept their faith to the point of death. Christ crowns them with righteousness, life, and eternal glory (1Ti 2:12; 2Ti 4:7-8; 1Pe 5:4)
In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirit of God. This refers to the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Seven-fold Spirit is wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength, knowledge, fear and deity. (Is 11:2-3) These lamps are not the lamp stands, but torches, which were used in wars. (Jud 7:16, 20) The Holy Spirit, a very critical agent in God’s judgment, is fully equipped and ready to unleash judgment on the world.
Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal (6a). This sea demonstrates the separation of the Heaven, and the throne of God. Nothing hinders peace in Heaven. No matter how troubled the world is, before God’s throne there is peace. Nothing can shake or hinder God’s splendor, beauty, majesty, sovereignty, or holiness.
From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder (5a). These display the presence of God Almighty. (Ex 19:16) Do you know how the Israel responded to the presence of God? Moses fell down, saying, “I am trembling with fear.” (Heb 12:21) Isaiah fell down and pronounced a curse on himself in humiliation; Ezekiel fell on his face; John fell down with fear.
Look at verses 6b-8. In the center, four living creatures were around the throne in the center. And what are the four living creatures? They were powerful angelic beings which have 6 wings and covered with eyes mentioned by Isaiah and Ezekiel. (Isa6:2, Ez10:15) They were fully ready to carry out God’s command. Each living creature has distinctive strengths. They are like a lion, an ox, a man and a flying eagle (7). They are well equipped with God’s characters- courage, faithfulness, wisdom, and sublime divinity – to participate in the execution of God’s judgments. (6:1-7)
The vision shows that the heavenly God’s supreme court is fully ready to verdict God’s final judgment. All they are waiting for the revelation of the Lamb who was slain who can execute God’s judgment.
II. Praise and Worship (6b-11)
Then, what do the four living creatures and the 24 elders do? Firstly, the four living creatures was praising God day and night, saying “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come” (8b). They proclaim God’s divine attributes: He is holy, Almighty and eternal.
God is not just holy, but perfectly holy. It means complete separation from sin;
from evil in any form. It means God is free from any evil error or wrong. First, and foremost, we should recognize and acknowledge God’s holiness. Why? If God were not holy, he will not care whether we suffer and die in sins; if God were not holy, he could not wash away all our sins. Rather, for God is holy, God cares for us and desires for us to be holy. For God is holy, God cleans all our dirty sins and make us holy. For God is holy, God will judge all sins absolutely. His holiness leads us to repentance; it leads us to be humble. His holiness inspires us to have hope and desire to be holy as he is holy. Praise God who is holy, holy and holy.
The Lord God is Almighty. The living creatures next extol his power as the Lord God Almighty. This means that God is the most powerful. His power is so strong that no one can oppose him. With his power, he can do whatever he wills. We must acknowledge and praise for God is Almighty. For God is Almighty, he can save us and take us to the kingdom. He is able to protect us from Satan. Because he is Almighty, I can come to him back No matter how terribly I failed or sin. For he is almighty, I can depend on God in all matters. Since God is El Shaddai, no one can stand against His people. (Gen 17:1-8) God’s mighty power will bring final judgment on all evil forces. In
summary, God is almighty to create, to sustain, to save and to judge.
The living creatures also praise God as the one who was, and is, and is to come. It means that He is the eternal God. He lives for ever and ever. (9,10) His power is eternal power; his victory is eternal victory. God’s eternity give us eternal victor, eternal salvation, eternal happiness and joy. This will not end 100 years later or even 1000 years later. It will be forever and ever. It is not temporal or conditional, but eternal and absolute victory. What God promise, it will surely happen.
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” What should we respond to God who is Holy, Almighty, and Eternal? All we should respond with faith and praise and worship. Look at verses 9-11. The four living creatures and the 24 elders respond God with praise and worship!! Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to God on his throne, the twenty-four elders fall down before him and worship him. Laying their crowns before the throne, they said “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” (9-11).
The 24 elders acknowledges that all authority – indeed all things – derive from him and belong to him. It is because God is the creator of all things. God the creator gives us purpose and meaning of existence even. How do all things including ourselves come into existence? “by your will” “by God’s will” We exit purely out of God’s will. Without God’s will, nothing exists. Without God’s will, nothing happens. There is always good, pleasing, and perfect will of God for everyone and everything. Nothing is meaningless in God, the creator. Amen
What a amazing vision of God’s heavenly throne! Day and night they never stop to give glory, honor and thanks to God who sits on his throne and who lives for ever and ever. In the Heavenly Supreme Court, God sits on the throne with his majestic glory, surrounded by the believers and the angels who sing and praise him for his glory. He is the sovereign ruler and king of kings who is control of all.
Trusting God who is Holy, Almighty, and Eternal, We may overcome the world while we are living in this troubled world. Trusting God who sits on his throne, we may carry out His will to spread the gospel to the end of the earth; to raise 7000 spiritual leaders through 1:1 Bible study and disciple making ministry. Let’s praise and worship
God as the center of our lives.