Revelation 4 Falling Down in Worship

Is there one worship time that stands out in your life? This vision of John reminds me of those times when, as a child, our family would go into town to see the Christmas windows at Eaton’s department store. They would transform their windows into magical wonderlands and we would crowd up to the windows with our noses pressed into the glass and be transported into the winter wonderlands. I believe this is why I enjoy live theatre so much still today as it allows me to be transported into other worlds and times I can only dream about.

John’s on the barren island Patmos, where he’s been exiled because he follows Jesus as his saviour and Lord. Here John is given this vision and told to write it down for the churches. The veil between heaven and earth is thin and John sees into the throne room of heaven. There’s a huge contrast between the island of Patmos and heaven’s throne room, which is a place of wonder and awe. John can’t see God himself; he describes God as shining like jasper and ruby, colourful and precious gems. The throne’s surrounded by a rainbow, reminding us of how God saved Noah and his family. From the throne comes flashes of lightening and rumblings and peals of thunder, reminding us of God meeting Israel at Mount Sinai after saving them from Egypt.

God saves his people and desires a relationship with us, this is why he makes so many covenants and promises with us. This relationship reaches its height in the coming of Jesus when he comes as a child born of Mary and is called Immanuel, God with us. Jesus comes to save us from our sin, going from the cradle to the cross where he defeats Satan and frees us from our slavery to sin and death. In becoming human, Jesus experiences life completely, from birth to death, from joy to sorrow, from having deep close friends to having someone close to him betray him, growing up in a family and living a single life, Jesus experiences life in its beauty and horror. This experience makes it possible for us to have a closer relationship with Jesus because he understands life here because he’s lived it with us. It also leads us to worship him with all our hearts.

Around the great throne of God are 24 other thrones where 24 elders dressed in white and wearing crowns of gold are seated. John sees 7 lamps blazing away on the shores of a sea of glass. Having been on the ocean on a clear calm evening and seeing the beauty of the night sky and northern lights reflected off the ocean, I can only imagine how all the colours and light in heaven are shining throughout the throne room, creating an enchanted mystical effect of beauty and wonder. This is a special place that has no equal here on earth. There’s no darkness in heaven, no sin, only purity and holiness and righteousness. It’s a completely safe place where evil can’t touch anyone.

This is being written to churches where many are facing persecution and even death. As they hear John describe the worship happening in heaven, they see a place of safety where they can just worship God and Jesus without fear or threat. For many of us today, it’s hard to imagine that worshiping God could cost us our life, but for John and the churches who are receiving this letter, there’s no greater desire in their hearts. In Montreal, there are a number of Pakistani families who have fled their country because it wasn’t safe for them as Christian leaders to remain. The father of the family, James, often mentioned how amazing it is that he can share Jesus with his Muslim neighbours in safety and even invite them to worship Jesus with him. For James, worship is at the heart of what following Jesus is all about.

This is such a picture of hope. We may be living trapped by certain sins we can’t seem to defeat, it may be a time of darkness and pain for you and it may feel like help or strength is far away, but in John’s vision of heaven’s throne room, we see how close heaven is, how close Jesus is. Even when we’re alone and feel helpless, God’s with us and his power and grace are never limited by the circumstances of our lives. This is why Jesus is called Immanuel, God with us, to remind us that God understands our struggles and is with us through it all.

I’m fascinated by the four living creatures around the throne, covered with eyes, in front and in back. At first glance, it’s like they come out of a science fiction movie, but the Jewish members of the churches hear echoes back to the prophets Ezekiel and Daniel and the creatures they describe. Ezekiel 1:4–10 “I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north—an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal, ⁵ and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In appearance their form was human, ⁶ but each of them had four faces and four wings. ⁷ Their legs were straight; their feet were like those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze. ⁸ Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. All four of them had faces and wings, ⁹ and the wings of one touched the wings of another. Each one went straight ahead; they did not turn as they moved. ¹⁰ Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a human being, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle.”

Then there’s Daniel’s creatures, Daniel 7:4–7 “The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle… ⁵ “And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear… ⁶ “After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule. ⁷ “After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left.”

Whenever we encounter these kinds of beasts and creatures in the Bible, they’re about power, knowledge and control, and here in the throne room, they’re all worshiping and giving God all the glory. The elders get off their thrones and lay their crowns before God’s throne and acknowledge, “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” We worship God, we bow before Jesus as King of kings because everything that exists has been created by God through Jesus. There’s nothing that equals God, nothing as powerful or more powerful than God, which is why God sends Jesus to become human, to save all creation from our sin. Our God’s not only great, he’s merciful and grace-filled as well, worthy of all our praise!

In Revelation 4, our hearts are moved to worship; we’re invited to join all creation in praising God. Because we’re created in God’s image, worshiping God is part of who we are. Romans 12:1, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” Reverend Frederick Boyd Williams writes, “Desmond Tutu, Anglican Archbishop Emeritus of Capetown, is fond of saying, "Christians are a eucharistic people; we must always be giving thanks."… Christian worship is about giving thanks to the Holy God; for calling us to be God's Holy People; in all the Holy places; where we engage in Holy Play.” Worship can be something that is happening all the time, wherever we are, when we remember that worship is really about meeting God right where we are, in whatever we’re doing at the time, able to see how God is right here right now. Worship looks like thanksgiving, praise and gratitude.

As one blog post says, “our worship on Sunday inspires our worship each day. We honour God by the way we act among our families, friends, and colleagues. We worship him through offering each and every action to him. So, for example, we worship God by being people who speak the truth from sincere hearts.” Worship moves from the sanctuary on Sunday mornings with us into the rest of the week where we live out our worship as service, in the act of serving Jesus obediently in all of life. We do this best together.