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Revelation chapters 4-5 are some of the loftiest chapters in the entire Bible. Greg Beale, who is a very well known and respected New Testament scholar, calls Revelation 4-5 the theological heart of the book of Revelation. That is because these two chapters put everything into perspective for believers who were under attack from both inside and outside of the church. These two chapters pull back the curtain to reveal the universe’s ultimate reality to God’s people and give them all they need to endure in the face anything. That is the function of these two chapters. They are meant to stir up the people of God to face anything for the glory of their King. So what are these ultimate realities that give a believer all they need to endure anything? Let’s look at them this morning in Revelation 4:1-11.
Revelation chapters 4-5 are some of the loftiest chapters in the entire Bible. Greg Beale, who is a very well known and respected New Testament scholar, calls Revelation 4-5 the theological heart of the book of Revelation. That is because these two chapters put everything into perspective for believers who were under attack from both inside and outside of the church. These two chapters pull back the curtain to reveal the universe’s ultimate reality to God’s people and give them all they need to endure in the face anything. That is the function of these two chapters. They are meant to stir up the people of God to face anything for the glory of their King. So what are these ultimate realities that give a believer all they need to endure anything? Let’s look at them this morning in Revelation 4:1-11.
[4:1] After this I
looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which
I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show
you what must take place after this.” [2] At once I was in the Spirit, and
behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. [3] 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. [4] Around the
throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four
elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads.
[5] From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of
thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are
the seven spirits of God, [6] and before the throne there was as it were a
sea of glass, like crystal. And around the throne, on each side of the throne,
are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: [7] the first
living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third
living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an
eagle in flight. [8] And the four living creatures, each of them with six
wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never
cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and
is to come!”
[9] And whenever the
living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the
throne, who lives forever and ever, [10] the twenty-four elders fall down
before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and
ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, [11] “Worthy are
you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created
all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” (Revelation 4:1-11 ESV) My
prayer today is that God would give us eyes to see, as He did Elisha’s servant
in 2 Kings 6:17, three ultimate
realities in this chapter that will motivate us to endure anything for the
glory of God.
I.
The Beauty of God (1-3)
The first ultimate reality that we
come face to face with in this chapter is that of the beauty of God. The vision of
chapter 4 takes place “after” the
initial vision of Christ and His address to the seven churches in
1:9-3:22. After that, John, in some
visionary experience, immediately finds himself “in heaven” (1-2). What I
want you to notice is that the first thing to capture’s John’s attention is “a throne” and the “one seated on the throne.”
He is not captivated first by the lightning, the thunder, the sea of
glass, the twenty-four elders, or the four living and very interesting
creature, but by the beauty of the “one seated on the throne.” This is because heaven’s main attraction is
God Himself!
The beauty of God is also
highlighted in the way John describes the One seated on “the throne” (3). The One
sitting on the throne has the “appearance
of jasper and carnelian” and there is “a
rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald” around His throne. What I believe John is trying to describe is
the radiance of God’s glory. I come to that conclusion from two texts
mainly. The first is Revelation 21:10-11, where New
Jerusalem is said to have “the glory of
God,” which is described as the “radiance”
of “a most rare jewel, like a jasper.” The second text is Ezekiel 1:26-28, which contains another “throne vision” that is
being alluded to here in Revelation 4.
In that passage, “the throne”
and the One on the throne are described as being like a rare jewel (sapphire in
that case) and the “brightness” around
the throne is said to be like a “rainbow.” Ezekiel calls this “the likeness of the glory of the LORD.” That is why I say John is trying to describe
the radiance of God’s glory.
Basically, the mental image being
given is the radiance or brightness of God (because He is light,
dwells in unapproachable light, and clothes Himself with light as with a
garment: Psalm 104:2, 1 Timothy 6:16, 1
John 1:5) being put on display as if it were bursting through or being
refracted by precious jewels, with a rainbow-like halo around it. It would be the most beautiful thing that you
have ever seen. The point is that God is
more beautiful than anything in the universe.
The radiance of His glory surpasses anything in creation and all of
heaven recognizes that reality by falling down before Him in worship.
So how does this reality help a
Christian endure temptation and persecution?
I want to remind you of a quote that we read together this past summer
in our Battling Unbelief study: “Sin is
what you do when your heart is not satisfied with God. No one sins out of duty. We sin because it holds out some promise of
happiness. That promise enslaves us
until we believe that God is to be more desired than life itself (Psalm 63:3),
which means that the power of sin’s promise is broken by the power of
God’s. All that God promises to be for
us in Jesus stands over against what sin promises to be for us without him.”[1]
Temptation is the attempt to get you to believe the lie that God is insufficient or unattractive when compared to
whatever it is that you are being tempted with.
Persecution is the attempt to make you believe the lie that suffering is too high a price to pay in comparison to the
joy of the beauty that we will behold in God’s presence forever. With the curtain pulled back in this chapter,
we see that there is no comparison! You make known to me the path of life; in
your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures
forevermore. (Psalm 16:11 ESV) For I
consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with
the glory that is to be revealed to us. (Romans 8:18 ESV) Ask God to open your eyes to His beauty. If you will begin to treasure the beauty of
God the way that those in heaven do, you will find a potent remedy for
temptation and a potent fuel for enduring suffering!
II.
The Sovereignty of God (1-11)
The second ultimate reality that we
come face to face with in this passage is the sovereignty of God. To say
that God is sovereign means that God has ultimate
rule over His creation and that He exercises
that rule over all of creation forever.
It means that He is the King of the Universe. This chapter reminds believers that
regardless of what Rome may do, regardless of what local Jews may do, and
regardless of what Satan and his demons may do, God is still on His throne.
The sovereignty of God is seen all
over this chapter. First, notice that
what John is going to be shown is “what
must take place after this” (1). It
doesn’t say what might take place or
what may take place, but what “must take place.” What this means is that what will take place
on earth is settled in heaven, because God is sovereign over the future. Second, did you notice how many times the
word “throne” or “thrones” appears in this chapter?
The word “throne” or “thrones” appears fourteen times in
chapter 4 alone! The message is clear:
GOD RULES! Thirdly, the “flashes of lighting” and “rumblings and peals of thunder” that
come from God’s throne (5) leave not doubt about the awesomeness of His power.
This is no wimp sitting on heaven’s throne! Fourth, notice the “a sea of glass, like crystal” that is before His throne (6). With all of the lightning, thunder, and
commotion of this scene, you would not expect this sea to be as smooth as
glass, but it is under His feet.
Finally, notice the relationship
between the “twenty-four elders,” the
“four living creatures” and the “one seated on the throne.” It’s not exactly clear who the “twenty-four elders” are. I believe they are a group of angelic beings
because they seem to be a group of beings that is different from God’s people
in the book of Revelation. Also, an
angelic court is consistent with other “throne visions” and passages in the Old
Testament (Psalm 89:7, 1 Kings 22:19). The “four
living creatures” are an allusion to both the Seraphim of Isaiah 6, the Cherubim of Ezekiel 1, as well as the throne scene
in Daniel 7, indicating that they
too are angelic beings. In Revelation
they are the guardians of “the throne,” the
heavenly worship leaders, and also carry out various commands for God. The most important point in this chapter is
not who these two groups are but WHO THEY pay homage to! They bow and prostrate themselves before God
in worship and cast their crowns before Him, which is not only a submission to
God’s authority but also a recognition that their authority has been delegated to them by God because it
ultimately belongs to Him.
So how does this second reality help
a Christian endure temptation and persecution?
It helps me face suffering by reminding me that I will never face
anything that hasn’t been approved by God as being the wisest and best thing
for me. And if the One who sits on
heaven’s throne is for me, who can be against me? Do you trust the sovereign rule of the One
who sits on heaven’s throne? When my
heart becomes saturated by the reality of God’s sovereignty, my heart can
become a peaceful as the still waters under His feet. Temptation is an attempt to get me to commit
cosmic treason and act as the ruler of my own life. This reality reminds me that the centerpiece
of heaven is supposed to be the centerpiece of my heart. Does the One who sits on the throne of heaven
sit on the throne of your heart?
III.
The Worth of God (8-11)
The final ultimate reality that we
come face to face with in this chapter is that of the worth of God. God is worthy
of all worship (glory, honor, thanks, and power) forever. The word “worship”
comes from the Saxon word, “worth-ship.”[2] Worship is our declaring, magnifying, and
rejoicing in the worth of God. This
passage gives us two reasons why God is worthy of all worship forever. First, God is worthy of all worship forever
because He is holy (8). To say that God is holy means that He is
absolutely separate from and above all creation. There is
no one and no thing that can compare to Him.
His rule is like no other’s, which is why He alone is call “the Lord God” and why the incredible
beings bow down and cast their crowns before Him. His power is like no other’s, which is why He
alone is called the “Almighty.” God alone is omnipotent. His being is like no other’s. He alone enjoys totally self-sufficient and
eternal existence, which is why He is called the One “who was and is and is to come” and “who lives forever and ever.”
God is Holy.
The second reason that God is worthy
of all worship forever is because of His
creative work (11). The reason given
in verse 11 as to why God is worthy “to
receive glory and honor and power” is because He “created all things.” By His will they “existed and were created.”
Those who have a good theology of creation understand what creation
implies: that they exist for and belong
to their Creator. The truth is that
whether you believe it or not God is the creator of all things, including
you. You exist because God wants you to
and if He didn’t, you wouldn’t. Also,
you exist for God. He owns you and you will one day give an
account to your Creator.
Again we must ask the question, how
does this reality help a Christian endure temptation and persecution? When your heart and mind is riveted by the
reality that God is holy, holy, holy and that you are not your own, but belong
to your Creator, who is worthy of all that you are, you will find yourself
resisting temptation and enduring suffering.
Do you ceaselessly worship God?
What is God worth to you and what realities inform that value?
Jesus taught His disciple to pray
that God’s will would be done on earth as it is in heaven. This chapter pulls the curtain back on how
God’s will is done in heaven. The world
was like that in the beginning, but the human race rebelled against their
Creator, this one upon the throne, and chose to sit upon the throne of their
hearts instead. That’s the source of all
the messes in your life: you want to live for you instead of God. This is the bad news, but the good news is
that God would not leave us to our rebellion.
Since we would not step down from our throne, God stepped down from His,
became one of us, and died in our place for our rebellion. However, He did not stay dead! He rose victoriously from death and sits
again on His throne and commands humanity to make Him the King of their hearts
and lives. This is what it really means to become a
Christian, to surrender to Jesus as King.
Will you surrender to the King of heaven as the King of your heart
today?
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