Last 5 Days
Holy is our God, He is Worthy to be Praised!
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.”
The four approaches to understanding Revelation include (1) References to Old Testament, (2) Symbolism, (3) Repetition, (4) Texture. Here in this chapter, we see a manner of writing similar to apocalyptic literature. Symbolism and reference to the Old Testament are also literary hands that John had employed to bring across a concept.
The door standing open in heaven signifies God’s revelation, and John is invited, in language that recalls God’s call to Moses (Exodus 19, 24, 34), to receive his revelation. John referenced to Exodus 19:16-18 as he wrote about the presence of fire at the throne, the proclamation, “Holy, Holy, Holy” reminded readers of Isaiah 6, while the four living creatures, the rainbow and the 24 elders called reference to Ezekiel, Genesis and 1 Chronicles. This reference to the Old Testament, the use of symbolism, and the writing’s similarity in nature to apocalyptic literature reminds its readers that this vision of worship in heaven was to the eternal God, who is seated on the throne, and who is Yahweh, God who revealed himself in glory and majesty in the Old Testament.
John also employed the literary hand of texture, which means the pattern of writing, in this chapter. The contrast between the vision of heaven and what is on earth is noteworthy. In Chapter 4, we see John introducing the heavenly events that precede the seals, trumpets and vials of Chapters 6-16. These events in heaven affect and are affected by events on earth, but the events in heaven are truth and are eternal. The reference to the eternal truth of heaven is to help readers understand that the events on earth will pass, and we can persevere because of the eternal vision given to us.
Beyond understanding the literature approaches, the main message of this chapter is to extol the character of God – Holy, great, sovereign. It is to remind us that He lives forever and ever, and our appropriate response is to fall on our face to worship Him, because He and He alone deserves all glory, all praise, all power. God is the Creator, He was there before we were, He is forever, who will be there at the end of earth. He is alpha and omega, the beginning and the end, who was, who is and who will be.
In the presence of the greatness of God, dear brothers and sisters, may we, too, be able to praise His name, to proclaim “Holy, Holy, Holy” is our Lord, God Almighty. May we recognise God for who He is, that He is our Creator, and that He fulfils His promises, and that He loves. May we remember that God is sovereign, and no matter what we are facing now, God who holds our tomorrow will bring us through. May all glory be to our Lord!