1 HEAVENLY WORSHIP (part 2) Revelation 4:6b-11 August 10, 2014 Dr. Danny Forshee - Some things are just a matter of fact; they are destined to happen and nothing or no one will change it. Revelation 4 describes God as seated on a throne and worshipped by the heavenly hosts that include redeemed humanity, angels, and this special group of angelic beings known as the four living creatures. Facts override opinions. Facts, as John Adams said are stubborn things. With football season right around the corner, I heard an interesting story this week told by Jackie Sherrill in a conversation with the legendary Earl Campbell. Now if you do not know who these men are then you need to study up on your Texas football history! Sherrill was the head coach of the Texas A&M Aggies, and Campbell the legendary running back of the Texas Longhorns, probably the most punishing running back to ever play the game with thighs the size of tree trunks. Sherrill told the story how all the coaches were recruiting Earl Campbell to play football for their teams. One of them was Coach Paul Bear Bryant of the University of Alabama. When Texas Coach Darrell K. Royal heard that Bear Bryant was trying to get Campbell, he called him and had a conversation with him. He told Bryant that he would never get Campbell. If Bear watched him play 5 times then Royal would watch him 10; if Bryant called Campbell 20 times he would call him 40. After they talked Bear Bryant went into a coaches meeting with his coaches and told them to take Campbell off the recruiting board for they were not going to get him. Some things are just meant to be and no matter what you do, it will happen. God is awesome, and He will be worshipped for all eternity and that is a fact! - Please open your Bibles with me to Revelation 4. Last week we studied verses 1-6b and today we will complete chapter 4. Dr. John MacArthur has helped me in the outlining of this chapter with the usage of prepositions. He builds the outline around the throne of God mentioned 11 times in this chapter alone. Last week we noticed the One who sits upon the throne, and worship around the throne, phenomena proceeding from the throne, and that which is before the throne. Today we will focus on what is in and around the throne and the heavenly worship given to Him who sits on the throne. - This chapter is so powerful and revealing it thrills the soul of the saints of God to study it and be able to peer into what our future holds. This chapter answers in part the age-old question, what will heaven be like? Contrary to what some people think, heaven will not be one long continual party of drinking beer. In fact, the main Person in Heaven is God and it will all be about Him.
2 - The aged Apostle John is given access by the Lord Jesus to peer into heaven and see the glories therein. John records for us what he saw, and given the inadequacy of human words to describe the indescribable, he does a marvelous job. - As we examine this text on worship may God do a mighty work in your heart and soul. As you see God as He is, may a swelling tide of love, devotion, and adoration arise within your spirit. With each passing moment we take one more step closer to this dramatic scene and the rest of the events recorded in the awesome book called the Apocalypse, or Revelation. - Read the text. 6 Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. 7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. 8 The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come! 9 Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: 11 You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created. I. IN AND AROUND THE THRONE (VS. 6-7) - Last week we looked at the first part of vs. 6, the sea of glass, like crystal. Now in vs. 6 we are introduced to some amazing living beings, or creatures, which play a prominent role in the book of Revelation both in worshipping God and carrying out God s orders of judgment upon the earth. - Who are these four living creatures? The early church fathers like Irenaeus, Athanasius, and Augustine equated the four creatures with the four Gospels. For example, Augustine viewed the lion as representing Matthew, the man with Mark and the ox or calf with Luke, and the eagle with John. And this interpretation continues today through men like John Walvoord. Others see these four creatures or beings as representing the following attributes of God: courage, patience, sympathy, and contemplation. (Thomas, p. 355-57.) - But the better interpretation is to view these four living beings as a special creation of God, an exalted order of angelic beings. (Thomas, p. 357). They possess close proximity to the throne of God, or within the inner circle of the throne of God. (MacArthur, p. 152). As we will see later in
3 Revelation these living beings play a vital judicial role as they administer divine justice upon the earth. (Thomas, p. 357). - In verses 6 and 8 John records that these being were full of eyes. This represents their vision, knowledge, intelligence, awareness, and alertness. (See The Believer s Study Bible, p. 1809.) - They have a remarkable resemblance to the angelic beings in Ezekiel chapter 1 and 10 and Isaiah 6. They also have a special relationship with the animate creation on earth 1. The one like a lion relates to the untamed animal world and raw power and strength. 2. The one like a calf relates to the domesticated animal life, and thus pertains to service. 3. The one like a man relates to the highest form of God s creation and that is mankind, who possesses superior knowledge and reason to that of the animal and plant world. 4. The one like an eagle relates to the fowls of the heaven and pertains to speed and alacrity. (Ibid. p. 1808-1809 and MacArthur, p. 154.) - Dr. Robert Thomas, p. 358, does an excellent job of summarizing these amazing living beings A merging of these four aspects results in the following identification of the four living beings of the Apocalypse: they are of an exalted angelic order engaged in worship, who bear a special relationship to those angelic beings described in Ezekiel and Isaiah and whose special function in the context of the Apocalypse is the administering of divine justice in the realm of animate creation. II. WORSHIP TO THE ONE ON THE THRONE (VS. 8-11) - Vs. 8 contains two more features of the living creatures before it reveals their song of praise to God. 1. They each have six wings, like the seraphim in Isaiah 6. Read Isaiah 6:2-3. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said: Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory! - I believe that with two wings they covered their faces denoting reverence and awe, two wings covered their feet denoting humility, and with two wings they used for flying in response to God s commands (Thomas, p. 360). 2. Also notice that they do not rest day or night. They are perpetually in motion whether praising God or obeying His commands. - Vs. 8 records their anthem of praise to God, and notice that this hymn of praise focuses on the very essence of who He is. - A. HIS NATURE - God is holy. One Greek manuscript uses the word holy nine times! (The Believer s Study Bible, p. 1809, in the center column.) Our God is the awesome, holy God. There is none like the Lord our God. Read Exodus 15:11 11 Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders?
- Read Psalm 111:9. He has sent redemption to His people; He has commanded His covenant forever: Holy and awesome is His name. - B. HIS POWER - He is Almighty. There is no limit to His ability or power. The Greek word is Pantokrator and means all-powerful; He who rules and controls all things. - Do you know where I see the power of God most clearly demonstrated? In the creation and redemption. I thought about this song, Down from His Glory, written by William Booth Clibborn, the grandson of William Booth the founder of the Salvation Army. My favorite part is The great Creator became my Savior. - C. HIS ETERNALITY - Notice the last part of the hymn of praise in vs. 8 who was and is and is to come. He has no beginning or ending. He has always been, He is and He will always be! This describes the Old Testament name for God Yahweh. He is transcendent meaning He is above all else. His creative beauty can be clearly seen in botany and zoology, the plant and animal world, but God is not as the pantheist says, within His creation. No, He is separate from, over it. - In vs. 9 we read how when the living beings praise the Lord this serves as the cue for the 24 elders to do the same. Notice that the praise is directed to the One who sits on the throne, the Lord God Almighty. And notice also another statement about His eternality He lives forever and ever. - Several years ago when I lived in Virginia, I was playing golf at the Langley Air Force Base. At 5:00 pm the gentleman I was playing with stopped and faced the flag of the United States of America and stood at attention while the national anthem was played. He said it is a tradition that whenever the anthem is played everyone is to cease his or her activities and stand in honor of our country. With my 3 Wood in my hand I did just that, and all of a sudden a sense of pride and patriotism came over me. There is coming a time in heaven when these remarkable beings worship the Lord then all the saints of God will do the same. I can only imagine the joy, the wonder, and the ecstasy that will flow through me when I worship the One who sits on the throne, the One who created me and redeemed me through the blood of His dear Son, Jesus Christ! - Worship is so vital. It is what we will do in eternity. Our worship here should prepare us for when we worship Him then. Those who have no desire to worship Him corporately here on earth will they be in this heavenly worship scene? - Notice the four acts of worship by the elders, who represent the saints of God gathered by the crystal sea. - 1. They Fall Down - This is the proper posture of the redeemed when you come into the presence of the Lord. This is the first of six times in the book of Revelation that the elders prostrate themselves and worship God or the Lamb, who is Jesus Christ (Thomas, p.365) 4
- 2. They Worship - The Greek word is proskuneo, and it means to kiss, to bow down in homage, and to adore (Strong s Concordance, p. 61). - 3. They Cast Their Crowns Before the Throne - The saints of God cast their rewards, their crowns given to them by the Lord for their service to Him while they lived on earth. Genuine worship whether here or in the hereafter always involves giving. There we will give our crowns and praise. Here on earth as we worship the Lord we give the following to the Lord during our corporate worship praise, prayer, sermon, money, devotion, and whatever else He desires. Worshipping God is not about getting from God; rather, it is about giving to God, everything, all we are. - 4. They Sing Praise to Him - Notice the 24 elders song, the song of the redeemed in vs. 11. It begins with You. It is directed to the Lord. They sing that He is worthy. The word is axios, and it was the word used to describe the triumphant processional of the Roman emperor as he returned from a victorious battle campaign. (MacArthur, p. 158) - Notice that they sing that the Lord is worthy to receive, and in the Greek New Testament it reads the glory, the honor, and the power. In vs. 9 the four living creatures give God glory, honor, and thanks. The difference is the 24 elders mention the word power. This to give praise to God for His power in creation (Thomas, p. 366). - The last two lines of the elders hymn of praise highlights God s creative power. Scripture makes it very clear that God is the creator of the heavens and the earth as Genesis 1:1 states. Colossians 1:16 says, 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. - The doctrine of creation continues to come under attack in our day. Chuck Colson says, Both friends and foes of Christianity realize that everything stands or falls on the doctrine of creation. (Charles Colson and Nancy Pearcey, How Now Shall We Live? p. 98) - It takes an enormous amount of faith and blind trust to believe that all that we see is the result of a mindless, naturalistic force known as macroevolution. From the human brain to the bumblebee everything is attributed to mass mutations and natural selection. - We rob God of the praise, honor, and thanksgiving, and recognition He so rightfully deserves when we attribute His handiwork to another source. It too me six months of intense research and writing to finish my PhD dissertation in February 1995. Were you to walk into my office and tell me that monkeys and not I, wrote the 250-page book in my library then I would take offense. How much more is God offended when we do not acknowledge His handiwork? Speaking of monkeys, Dr. Paige Patterson, president of Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth, TX, has a baboon that 5
6 he killed on one of his safari hunts sitting in his office reading a copy of Darwin s Origin of Species. - Seriously, every person God created He desires to grant not only the breath of life but also eternal life. This can only happen because the great Creator became our Savior and has the kratos, the power to redeem. - If you have never humbled yourself before God and acknowledged His awesome being and power and repented of your sins and trusted in Jesus alone, His death and resurrection, then I invite you to do so right now. CONCLUSION AND INVITATION - What an amazing event awaits believers in Jesus Christ. What a joy and privilege it will be to participate with all the redeemed people of God and praise Him in heaven for eternity. Are you going to be there? Or will you spend eternity in hell suffering physical, emotional, and spiritual torment? And for what, a rejection of God, based on pseudo-science or because you would rather enjoy a small amount of pleasure in exchange for your eternal soul? - Read Hebrews 11:6 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. - Other who know Christ, have you not been stirred by your reading of this glorious scene of heavenly worship? I hope it stirs within you a greater desire to know God better and worship Him more devotedly. - Some need to come and unite with us here at GHBC. Whatever your decision, salvation, rededication, church membership, surrender to ministry you come or let someone know so we can assist you.