REVELATION
SIMPLIFIED
CHAPTER 4.8
Gleanings
from the Book of Revelation:
A
Weekly Verse-by-Verse Bible Study Series
The
REVELATION
TO JOHN
(The
Apocalypse)
Chapter
Four
Survey
The Apostle John, while in the Spirit on the Isle
of Patmos, is caught up in Heaven and given a vision (a photographic
prophetic view of the future) of what must take place after the Church Age (v.1).
He is seeing the triune God seated on the Throne
of judgment epitomized by the dazzling brilliance of a white jasper stone and a
blood-red sardine stone. His faithfulness toward the covenantal relationship
with Israel is also typified by these precious gems.
Encircled around the Throne is an emerald
green-lighted rainbow exemplifying and guaranteeing God's fidelity to His
promise. Also seen is the presence of twenty-four church elders,
representatives of the universally redeemed church, and four living creatures
who embody the faithful angelic realm of created beings. Both groups are seen continuously
praising the creator God affirming His holiness.
In the following verses, John is describing one of
the most glorious moments in Heaven and the greatest praise festival in the
entire universe – Worshipping Almighty God. God gets all the glory!
Worship on Earth
While on earth, everyone's responsibility to God should
be:
1
Corinthians 10:31 – Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
A preacher once articulated to his congregants: If
you ask many people the question - Are
you going to Heaven? The answer will always be, yes. Very rarely will you
hear someone say, I am going to spend the
rest of eternity in Hell?
A better question might be: Why do you want to go to Heaven? If your answer is to avoid Hell,
then the motive is not a sound one. The truth of the matter is this: When
individuals go to Heaven, they are going to spend most of their time getting
down or up off of their faces to worship the Trinity. There will never be a
time when the world God made is not praising Him.
So, if you see someone in a fellowship who is
bored with Sunday morning worship, then the question should be: Are you sure you want to go to Heaven? Because,
when we get to Heaven that is the primary thing we will be doing.
There are three elements needed to understand
worship:
1. The Meaning of Worship
2. The Nature of Worship
3. The Purpose of Worship
The Meaning of Worship
The word worship
(Hebrew, shâchâh – Greek, proskuneō) means to prostrate
(fall down humbly) oneself in homage, reverence, or adoration
to the One whose worth is acknowledged. To accredit honour to God expresses the
relationship that the creature holds to the Creator. Some examples in Scripture include:
Genesis
24:52 - And it came to pass, that, when
Abraham's servant heard their words, he worshipped the LORD, bowing himself to the earth.
Exodus
4:31 - And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had
visited the children of Israel, and that He had looked upon their affliction,
then they bowed their heads and worshipped.
John 18:6
- As soon
then as He (Jesus) had said unto them, I am He, they went backward, and fell
to the ground.
The Nature of Worship
True worship is
ascribed to God out of great respect, reverence, devotion, praise, and
adoration.
Genesis
25:51 - And
he (Abraham) removed from
thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on
the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called
upon the name of the LORD.
Philippians
3:3 - For we are the circumcision,
which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in
Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the
flesh.
John 4:23
- But the
hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers
shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth:
for the Father seeketh such to worship Him.
The nature of worship for the Old Testament saints
was purely physical (a shadow) whereas the New Testament believers worship God
in spirit and truth. This may be done by various means.
A few examples include:
1. Prayer
2. Supplication
3. Fasting
4. Singing
5. Making a joyful noise
6. Lifting up holy hands
7. Holy Communion
The Purpose of Worship
Worshipping God is the creation's ultimate response to
a Sovereign God. He desires to conform us not to this world but to the image of
His Son, Jesus Christ. Yet first, we must submit our will to the Holy Spirit
who renews our minds daily as we surrender our lives to Christ (cf. Romans
12:2). In doing so, the Lord is preparing us to live and reign with Him in a
glorified body throughout eternity. Therefore, we worship God for:
1. Who He is
2. What He has done
3. What He is about to do
Thusly, we give Him all the praise, honor, and
glory.
WORSHIP IN HEAVEN
(Verse 6b)
And in the midst of the Throne, and round about the Throne, were four beasts full of eyes before
and behind...
(Verse 8a)
And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within:
(Verse 8b)
And they rest not (lit. have no rest) day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God
Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.
From verse 8b to verse 10 is a Praise Anthem of
creation.
The Worshippers
1. The four
living creatures are the representatives of all the elect angels (discussed
in the previous study), the first set of worshippers. They are seen around the Throne
of God in a conscious ceaseless act of worship, saying…
Holy, holy, holy
The word Holy
[Greek: Hagios,
ἅγιος (Strong's G40)], when stated three times, is emphatically known in
ancient hymnology as a tris-hagion: A threefold praise
addressing the Triune God.
Isaiah 6:3
- And one
[angel] cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is
the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is
full of His glory.
Lord God Almighty
The Lord God Almighty is an all-inclusive term
taken from Revelation 1:8 to describe the supreme authority of the universe. He
is the supreme, sovereign Almighty One (Omnipotent) to whom we pay reverence
and homage.
Which was, and is, and is to come
Jesus Christ is identified in this praise, also taken
from Revelation 1:8, the beginning and the ending (the Alpha and Omega).
The Worship Service
(Verse 9)
And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to Him that sat on the Throne, Who liveth
for ever and ever,
(Verse 10)
The four and twenty elders fall down before Him that sat on the Throne,
and worship Him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before
the Throne, saying,
2. The
Twenty-four Elders
Also mentioned in the previous study, the
twenty-four elders, the church representatives of all God's visible redeemed
people from Pentecost to the Rapture, are seen in a prostate position joining
the living ones (the angelic hosts) in this amalgamated act of worship. Scriptural
references include:
Genesis
17:3 - And
Abram fell on his face: and God talked with Him.
Joshua
5:14b - And
Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship.
Matthew
17:6 - When
the disciples heard this, they fell face
down to the ground (NASB).
Note: Israel, except for the elect [today called
Messianic Jews], is not in Heaven at this point. They appear later in
Revelation when another worship service will transpire.
Forever and ever – Unto the ages of ages – Eternity. The Lord God shall
be worshipped throughout eternity.
Casting crowns
During antiquity, it was customary that when a
king surrendered to another king in battle, he cast his crown at the victor's
feet. [See discussion in Revelation studies 2.8b and 4.4]. However, in this
passage, they are not kingly crowns (diadem) but victor's prize crowns (stephanos).
1. A Diadema –
a crown of royalty generally worn by a king
2. Stephanos – a garland usually made of interwoven laurel
given to a victorious athletic contestant. These crowns, worn in the arena of
faith, are crowns of service during a Christin's life
The Bible mentions at least five possible crown
rewards:
1. Crown # 1 – An Incorruptible Crown (cf. 1 Cor. 9:24-25)
2. Crown # 2
– A Crown of Righteousness (cf. 2 Tim. 4:8)
3. Crown # 3
– The Crown of Rejoicing (cf. 1 Thess. 2:19)
4. Crown # 4
– The Crown of Glory (cf. 1 Pet. 5:4)
5. Crown # 5
– A Crown of Life (cf. Rev. 2:10)
God will reward the overcomers according to their
capacity, ability, or talents. In an act of adoration, the saints will be
casting their warranted crowns at God's feet. In doing so, God is ultimately
glorified. Sadly, there will be some that will not be casting crowns because
they have not earned one.
(Verse 11)
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power:
for Thou hast created (did create) all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were
created.
This phrase accentuates a definitive act of
creation at a definite period in time. According to Genesis 3:15 (the promise
of a Redeemer), all creation is awaiting deliverance from the bondage of
corruption and sin caused by the disobedience of our first parents.
Romans
8:20- 22 – For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself
also shall be delivered from the bondage of
corruption into the glorious liberty of the
children of God. For we know that the whole
creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
This anticipation is likened to a pregnant mother
awaiting the birth of her newborn.
Praise and Worship
From a multitude of recordings, three were
randomly selected fitting to our contemporary atmosphere of worship – A mere
taste to whet our appetite:
1. Unnamed
source:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWndDW_271g
2. Unnamed
source:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdbxSpJn1yQ
3. Brooklyn
Tabernacle Mass Choir:
Jesus
Christ
The Object of Worship
Philippians
2:9-11 - Why
God also has highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every
name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Only He is worthy - Thou art worthy to be praised. We will never be able to realize our
worthiness until we are changed into immortality and presented faultless before the presence of His glory (cf.
Jude 24). Praising Jesus will be our ultimate goal.
Without Him, there would be no victory over sin
and death. This warrants sleepless praise of:
Holy,
holy, holy,
Lord God
Almighty,
Only Thou
art worthy
To thine
be the glory
God made us for His pleasure and His purpose:
Colossians
1:16 - For by Him were all things created, that are in Heaven, and that are
in earth, visible and invisible, whether they
be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were
created by
Him, and for Him.
No man or man-made thing should ever be the object
of any worship. The universe was created to give Him glory. Hence, verse 11 is
the culmination of everything that is contained in the Bible.
Chapter 4 gives us a glimpse of life after the
grave. In the next study, Chapter 5, there will be more proof of Who is worthy
– A continuation of Chapter 4.
QUESTIONS:
1. What is the true meaning of worship?
2. What is our purpose in life?
3. Why did God give us the Bible?
4. What will be doing in Heaven?
5. Who are the twenty-four elders?
6. Who are the living creatures?
7. What will we do with our reward crowns?
If this study was a blessing to you, make it a blessing
to others.
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