“I saw
the Lord …”
Encounters with God
Revelation chapters 4 and 5 Worship Around the Throne
Many
people are fascinated by the book of Revelation because of its prophecy or
because of its symbolism, but Revelation is far more than either of those: it
is a book about the Lord God Almighty, His Son and His Spirit! In being fascinated by Revelation, let us
never lose sight of the Lord!
John
says he was “in the Spirit” (4:2) when God revealed Himself to him and gave him
revelation and prophetic words, as well as insight into the heavenly realms,
into Heaven and into the throne room itself.
The key is being filled with the Holy Spirit!
Descriptive words concerning the Lord
Holy (4:8) – our God is holy in a way we
cannot fully understand. We may think of
holy as “being good” but the very nature of God is holiness – total and utter
holiness, without any kind of sin, imperfection, weakness, etc.
Almighty (4:8) – our God has all power, in
Heaven, over all the earth and even those things under the earth. Nothing is too hard for our God. His creation and His miracles are not “hard”
for Him, for He has all power, might, authority and wisdom. Creation wasn’t hard for God – He simply
spoke the words and things were created!
Nothing is out of His control.
Everlasting (4:9, 10) – our
God always has been, is and always will be.
Time has little meaning or relevance to Him. Time only began when God created the earth,
the sun, the moon and creatures (especially Man). We measure time by the sun, the seasons or in
other physical ways, but God is over and beyond all this. The future is just as real to Him as the
present or the past. To prophesy what
will happen is not difficult for God – He knows it all!
Worthy (4:11) – our God is worthy of glory
and honour and praise and thanks and power and authority. HE IS
GOD – and there is nothing and no-one like Him!
Creator (4:11) – by His power and wisdom all
things were created and are sustained.
And He holds us in the hollow
of His hands! Created by God, loved by
God, saved by God, sustained by God, healed by God, blessed by God, filled with
His Spirit. What an awesome God!
All
other gods are demons or idols – this is why we are forbidden to worship anyone
or anything other than the One True God Who has revealed Himself to Mankind
since Creation: through Adam, Abraham, Moses, Israel, David, the Prophets,
Jesus Christ Himself, the Apostles and the book of Revelation!
Even
the four living creatures (4:6-7) indicate something about the God they
serve: one was like a lion, a symbol of the
King and His Sovereignty; one was like an ox, showing strength and power; one
was like a human being, like the Son of God Who came into this world as a human
(though still divine); and one was like an eagle, showing power and majesty,
which, together with the dove, represents the Holy Spirit.
The
Lion of the tribe of Judah – Jesus – is also the Lamb (5:5-6) that was slain,
as the eternal sacrifice, once and forever, to make atonement for our
sins. He is the Conqueror, because He
has conquered sin and death, and all the powers of darkness. Hallelujah!
The
four living creatures (angelic beings) and the twenty four elders (possibly the
12 leaders of the tribes of Israel plus the 12 disciples of Jesus) fell before
the Lamb in worship, and each offered up to Him golden bowls full of incense
which are the prayers of the saints. As
those prayers ascended to the Lamb, they (presumably) played their harps and
sang a song of worship to the Lamb. He
was worthy … for He was slain and by His Blood He ransomed us for God – people
from every tribe, language, people group and nation. He has made the ransomed a kingdom and
priests, serving God and reigning on the earth (5:9-10).
The
Lamb is worthy to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honour and
glory and blessing – forever and ever! (5:11-14). If ever there was any doubt as to the deity
of Jesus Christ, as taught in the Bible, these verses certainly confirm His
deity – He is worthy of true worship forever and ever! Amen!
Revelation 19:1-16
Here
we see a great multitude of people in Heaven, from every tribe, tongue and
nation, worshipping God. God has made
His judgments, which are true and just.
Corruption, immorality, violence against God’s people, etc., have been
judged and dealt with, forever! The
worship of the great multitude is joined by the worship of the 24 elders and
the 4 living creatures, who announce the marriage of the Lamb and His Bride,
who is now ready.
Notice
that the worship again dwells on the salvation, glory, power, and true and just
judgments of the Almighty, Who rules over all.
The
Bride is clothed in fine linen, bright and pure, which signifies the righteous
deeds of the saints. Note that this is
not the righteousness of Christ, through which we have been saved, but the righteous
deeds which all Christians should be doing as a result of their salvation! See Ephesians 2:8-10 (We are saved by grace,
which is received through faith, for
good works).
Blessed
are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb, for the “guests”
are the Bride!
Worship
God! Testify to Jesus – for the spirit
of prophecy is the testimony to Jesus!
Prophecy is far more than simply foretelling the future – it is
proclaiming Jesus in the power and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, so that Jesus
is glorified.
Heaven
is opened and we see a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and
True. He judges in perfect
righteousness, with true justice. His
eyes are like a flame of fire (see also Rev. 1:14); He is crowned with many
crowns, for He rules and reigns over all the nations of the earth; His robe is
dipped in blood – His blood; and His Name is the Word of God (John 1:1-2).
The
armies of Heaven follow Him, riding on white horses, and they are also clothed
in fine, pure, white linen. From His
mouth there comes a sharp sword (see Rev. 1:16 and Eph. 6:17). He will rule in righteousness, justice and
truth. No-one will be wrongly accused!
And
on His thigh and on His robe are written the words “King of kings and Lord of lords”.
The implications for us
What
a mighty God we serve! We need to keep
our eyes on the Lord and His greatness, power, authority and love for us,
rather than keeping our eyes on the world or the powers of darkness. Remember:
“If GOD is for us, who can be against us!”
QUESTIONS
1.
If someone asked you to describe what
God is like, what descriptive words would you use to describe Him?
2.
Who do you think the 4 living creatures
and 24 elders are? (Why 4 and 24?)
3.
What is unique about God’s judgments?
4.
Who is the Bride of Christ?
5.
What does fine, pure, white linen
represent? Who is represented by the
Lion and the Lamb?
6.
Do you think Christians can become too
focused on evil spiritual principalities and powers, rather than focusing on
the Lord and what He is saying and doing?