The Priority of Worship
Revelation 4:1-11
Message #12
For the past two weeks, we’ve been talking about the Rapture, which is a mode of transportation that gets us from Earth to Heaven. Today, we look at the very first thing we are going to do when we get to Heaven. Remember, the door in Heaven only opens twice – once to let the Church in (in Chapter 4), and once to let the Church out (in Chapter 19) to return with Jesus. And last week, we saw that door in Heaven open to let us in.
And today, as we gaze into Heaven with John, what we’re going to see is pure worship. Everything around the throne of God IS worship. So, if you mistakenly think worship is a warm-up for the important stuff, then I pray you would really hear this message because the entire focus around the throne of God is worship. And you and I have been given the incredible gift of being able to experience a taste of that worship here on earth. I pray we would understand today this important point.
Worship is not meant to prepare you for the preaching of God’s Word.
The preaching of God’s Word is meant to prepare you for worship.
It’s the preaching of the Word of God that ignites your heart to worship.
Let’s begin by defining worship. Worship is defined as “the act of ascribing worth to God.” To ascribe worth to God means “to assign or attribute to God the WORTH that he is due.”
Ultimately – as a Christ-follower – THIS is the highest purpose for our existence.
Ascribing WORTH to God ultimately is the highest purpose for our existence.
Revelation 4:1 (NLT)
1 Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke to me like a trumpet blast. The voice said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.”
We’ve looked at that verse for the past two messages, this is how John (and the Church) gets up to Heaven.
Revelation 4:2–3 (NLT)
2 And instantly I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it.
3 The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones—like jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow.
The first thing John focuses on IS the throne AND the One seated on the throne. And what he sees absolutely consumes him, and it is beyond his ability to fully describe, and so he can only compare it to what he knows. And so, he says (in verse 3) “The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones—like jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow.
Jasper is what we would know as “a diamond”
Carnelian is what we would know as “a ruby”
Can you even begin to imagine the brilliance of an immeasurable diamond and ruby with the light of God emanating from inside of it and an emerald rainbow encircling the entire throne? Imagine the brilliance of colors all of this would create.
John is struggling to describe the beauty and majesty and brilliance of what he is seeing in Heaven. This is the transcendent, Triune God of All Creation. This is God in all his brilliance and in all his majesty. No wonder John has no words to fully describe what he is seeing.
So, the first thing John sees is God, in all of his heavenly glory, seated on the throne. And the second thing John sees is critical for us to understand.
Revelation 4:4 (NLT)
4 Twenty-four thrones surrounded him, and twenty-four elders sat on them. They were all clothed in white and had gold crowns on their heads.
WHO could these twenty-four elders represent? Well, they are not angels because the word elders is the word used only for human church leadership. Plus – angels don’t have thrones. But in Christ, we have been promised to rule and reign with him, which would certainly be a reference to thrones. In fact, Revelation 3:21 says, Those who are victorious will sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne.
Plus, the only ones clothed in white garments in Heaven are the Saints clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. And the only ones to receive this type of crown at this point are Believers brought to Heaven in the Rapture. This is the STEPHANOS crown – the Victor’s Crown that the Lord promises to all who overcome this world through faith in him.
The Thrones
The Elders
The White Garments of Righteousness
The Crowns of Victory
All of these things clearly point to the Church.
But what about this number twenty-four? In 1 Chronicles 24, King David divided the entire Levitical Priesthood into twenty-four “divisions” and put one priest as the representative of each of the twenty-four divisions.
And even though there was a huge number of Levitical Priests, when the entire Priesthood was called into the Temple Courts, all of the priests would be represented by the twenty-four leaders of the twenty-four divisions – those twenty-four representing the entire Royal Priesthood.
You can’t understand Revelation without the Old Testament. In each message, I refer to something in the Old Testament. Here, it’s the twenty-four Levitical Priests, now twenty-four elders because now it’s not the Levitical Priesthood in the Temple; it is the Church.
1 Peter 2:9 says You (believers) are a Royal Priesthood, a Holy Nation. In Christ, we are a royal priesthood, and here in John’s heavenly vision, we are represented by twenty-four elders just as the Royal Priesthood of Levitical Priests were represented by the twenty-four priests.
So, the second thing John sees in Heaven – second only to the throne of God and the majesty and glory of God – second only to seeing God, John sees us worshiping God around his throne. My hope is to show you the priority of ascribing worship. And I’m not sure we really grasp the immeasurable and indescribable privilege and awe we have of doing in some little way on earth what we will do in a very big way in Heaven – and that is worshiping the God of All Creation around his throne in the center of Heaven.
This is phenomenal. Ephesians 1 says that the Holy Spirit is the down payment of our eternal life, of our new life. And worship here is like a down payment (like an earnest) of what we’ll be doing in Heaven.
In verse 5, John begins to give us an idea of how awesome and magnificent the scene around the throne really is.
Revelation 4:5(a) (NLT)
5 From the throne came flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder . . .
This is the only way John can try to describe the incredible power coming from the throne of God. The last time the throne of God was described like this was on Mt. Sinai when God gave the Law to Moses.
flashes of lightning, and the earth-shaking RUMBLE of the Loudest THUNDER
The power and the majesty of the lightning and thunder coming from the throne of God is a sign of the judgment of God that must come upon the sin of the world. And the only reason we are worshiping IN the throne room instead of receiving that judgment is because Jesus Christ has taken that judgment in our place, and he has brought us into the throne room of God with him in his righteousness.
Continuing in verse 5, we see the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Revelation 4:5(b) (NLT)
5 . . . And in front of the throne were seven torches with burning flames. This is the sevenfold Spirit of God.
The Holy Spirit is described here the same way he was back in Revelation 1, verse 4. As John was introducing his letter, he says this.
Revelation 1:4-5 (NLT)
4 This letter is from John . . . Grace and peace to you from the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come; from the sevenfold Spirit before his throne; 5 and from Jesus Christ . . .
John names the Triune God in his introduction, and here in Chapters 4-5, we see the Triune God on his throne in the full glory of Heaven, and we are there to worship him.
Next, the first half of verse 6.
Revelation 4:6(a) (NLT)
6 In front of the throne was a shiny sea of glass, sparkling like crystal . . .
This “sea of glass, sparkling like crystal” is one of many mysteries in Revelation, and so it is a great time to explain this very important point about studying Revelation.
When we can get a good (or possible) interpretation of something in Revelation – we do. When we can’t, we don’t.
So, this incredible “sea of glass” is mentioned again in Revelation 15, and a similar “sea of glass” is described in the mind-blowing “Glory of the Lord” vision in Ezekiel Chapter 1 (you should read this). And in each of these cases, we get the feeling the writer is seeing something impossible to describe in words.
John is trying to express the inexpressible
He’s trying to describe the indescribable
Because our finite language cannot fully describe God’s infinite glory.
But what we do know about the sea of glass is all three times it is written in the Bible, it is written in connection to the indescribable glory of God, and that is what John is describing here.
There is one little cool idea about it referring to the molten sea that was the bronze laver in the Tabernacle, in the Temple. And I was going to go into that, but I already said don’t go too crazy trying to find stuff out. If it’s clear – grasp it, hold onto it. If it’s not, say “Wow! That’s going to be awesome! Can’t wait to see it.”
Revelation 4:6(b)-7 (NLT)
6 . . . In the center and around the throne were four living beings, each covered with eyes, front and back.
7 The first of these living beings was like a lion; the second was like an ox; the third had a human face; and the fourth was like an eagle in flight.
Four “living beings” circling the throne, again defying John’s ability to try to describe. What we do know there, is this description in verse 6 that they are covered with eyes, front and back, is a reference to the omniscience of God.
The best John can do is very similar to Ezekiel’s description of these same “living beings” in Ezekiel Chapter 1. The Ezekiel description in Ezekiel Chapter 1 makes your head spin. And then, in Ezekiel Chapter 10, Ezekiel refers back to these same four living beings and calls them Cherubim. These Cherubim are incredible and awesome angelic beings and their primary job in Heaven…they are worship leaders. And when we see them worshiping in Revelation, they are always worshiping with the twenty-four elders (us). They do some other things as well but without our involvement.
There are some great discussions we can have about the different “looks” of these living beings. Lion, Ox, Man, Eagle.
They may represent the different attributes of God
They may represent the different pictures of Christ in the Gospels
But one thing we know for sure, these created beings are awesome and beautiful, and they fully understand the power of worship.
And we actually know the name of one ex-cherubim. In fact, Ezekiel 28 says he was a leader of the Cherubim. His name means Lightbearer – and we call him Lucifer. And he understands the power of worship for good or evil – depending on what you’re worshiping. So don’t let him deceive you because he is good at it.
But these Cherubim in Revelation 4 are in the throne room of God, and they are worship leaders.
Revelation 4:8 (NLT)
8 Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day after day and night after night they keep on saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty— the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.”
Worship leading means going FIRST into worship. To lead worship means you worship first, and others follow. Others see you worshiping, and they follow you in worship, which is exactly what we see in the throne room in Heaven.
Revelation 4:9–10(a) (NLT)
9 Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever),
10 the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever) . . .
When the “worship leaders” in Heaven go first into worship, then we worship with them.
And we have “living beings” here who go first into worship. The question is – do we respond by worshiping with them?? Do we join them in worshiping our indescribable God, or do we watch them like we’re watching “American Idol.” Listen, please, if you are watching worship – you are missing it. We have an opportunity to experience a taste of heavenly throne room worship right here on Earth.
When our worship leaders begin worshiping, and we join them in worshiping the One who lives forever, it’s like basic training for when we get Raptured into the eternal throne room. God has given us the ability – right here – to have a taste of what worship in Heaven will be like. But we cannot even get that taste by watching the worship leaders worship. We must follow them into worship!
Now, there IS one thing we can’t do here that we will do there.
Revelation 4:10(b) (NLT)
10 . . . And they (24 Elders) lay (cast) their crowns before the throne . . .
We’re actually going to come back to this event next week in a special message on the Judgment Seat of Christ, which is where we get these crowns to cast before the throne. So, a full explanation of this is coming next week.
And finally, for today, verse 11 is what we’ll be singing in that great heavenly throne room worship time.
Revelation 4:11 (ESV)
10 . . . and say, 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.”
Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power,
Remember worship is defined as “the act of ascribing worth to God.” That is what we will be doing in Heaven, and that is what we can be doing here. How important is it? Ultimately, it is the highest purpose for our existence.
Ascribing worth to God, ultimately, is the highest purpose for our existence.
And here in Revelation 4, we are whole-heartedly ascribing worth to God. We are singing out his worthiness IN his throne room. And when we come together to worship – to ascribe worth to God – here, in a small way, we’re doing here what we will be doing there.
When we worship with all of our hearts – here
We are getting ready for worship – there
When we are genuinely ascribing worth to God here
We are experiencing a taste of Heaven here
Psalm 103:1 (ESV)
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!
Psalm 29:1–2 (ESV)
1 . . . ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.
Psalm 96:1–4 (ESV)
1 . . . sing to the Lord, all the earth! 2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name . . . 3 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! 4 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised . . .
And today, as we gaze into Heaven with John, what we’re going to see is pure worship. Everything around the throne of God IS worship. So, if you mistakenly think worship is a warm-up for the important stuff, then I pray you would really hear this message because the entire focus around the throne of God is worship. And you and I have been given the incredible gift of being able to experience a taste of that worship here on earth. I pray we would understand today this important point.
Worship is not meant to prepare you for the preaching of God’s Word.
The preaching of God’s Word is meant to prepare you for worship.
It’s the preaching of the Word of God that ignites your heart to worship.
Let’s begin by defining worship. Worship is defined as “the act of ascribing worth to God.” To ascribe worth to God means “to assign or attribute to God the WORTH that he is due.”
Ultimately – as a Christ-follower – THIS is the highest purpose for our existence.
Ascribing WORTH to God ultimately is the highest purpose for our existence.
Revelation 4:1 (NLT)
1 Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke to me like a trumpet blast. The voice said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.”
We’ve looked at that verse for the past two messages, this is how John (and the Church) gets up to Heaven.
Revelation 4:2–3 (NLT)
2 And instantly I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it.
3 The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones—like jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow.
The first thing John focuses on IS the throne AND the One seated on the throne. And what he sees absolutely consumes him, and it is beyond his ability to fully describe, and so he can only compare it to what he knows. And so, he says (in verse 3) “The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones—like jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow.
Jasper is what we would know as “a diamond”
Carnelian is what we would know as “a ruby”
Can you even begin to imagine the brilliance of an immeasurable diamond and ruby with the light of God emanating from inside of it and an emerald rainbow encircling the entire throne? Imagine the brilliance of colors all of this would create.
John is struggling to describe the beauty and majesty and brilliance of what he is seeing in Heaven. This is the transcendent, Triune God of All Creation. This is God in all his brilliance and in all his majesty. No wonder John has no words to fully describe what he is seeing.
So, the first thing John sees is God, in all of his heavenly glory, seated on the throne. And the second thing John sees is critical for us to understand.
Revelation 4:4 (NLT)
4 Twenty-four thrones surrounded him, and twenty-four elders sat on them. They were all clothed in white and had gold crowns on their heads.
WHO could these twenty-four elders represent? Well, they are not angels because the word elders is the word used only for human church leadership. Plus – angels don’t have thrones. But in Christ, we have been promised to rule and reign with him, which would certainly be a reference to thrones. In fact, Revelation 3:21 says, Those who are victorious will sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne.
Plus, the only ones clothed in white garments in Heaven are the Saints clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. And the only ones to receive this type of crown at this point are Believers brought to Heaven in the Rapture. This is the STEPHANOS crown – the Victor’s Crown that the Lord promises to all who overcome this world through faith in him.
The Thrones
The Elders
The White Garments of Righteousness
The Crowns of Victory
All of these things clearly point to the Church.
But what about this number twenty-four? In 1 Chronicles 24, King David divided the entire Levitical Priesthood into twenty-four “divisions” and put one priest as the representative of each of the twenty-four divisions.
And even though there was a huge number of Levitical Priests, when the entire Priesthood was called into the Temple Courts, all of the priests would be represented by the twenty-four leaders of the twenty-four divisions – those twenty-four representing the entire Royal Priesthood.
You can’t understand Revelation without the Old Testament. In each message, I refer to something in the Old Testament. Here, it’s the twenty-four Levitical Priests, now twenty-four elders because now it’s not the Levitical Priesthood in the Temple; it is the Church.
1 Peter 2:9 says You (believers) are a Royal Priesthood, a Holy Nation. In Christ, we are a royal priesthood, and here in John’s heavenly vision, we are represented by twenty-four elders just as the Royal Priesthood of Levitical Priests were represented by the twenty-four priests.
So, the second thing John sees in Heaven – second only to the throne of God and the majesty and glory of God – second only to seeing God, John sees us worshiping God around his throne. My hope is to show you the priority of ascribing worship. And I’m not sure we really grasp the immeasurable and indescribable privilege and awe we have of doing in some little way on earth what we will do in a very big way in Heaven – and that is worshiping the God of All Creation around his throne in the center of Heaven.
This is phenomenal. Ephesians 1 says that the Holy Spirit is the down payment of our eternal life, of our new life. And worship here is like a down payment (like an earnest) of what we’ll be doing in Heaven.
In verse 5, John begins to give us an idea of how awesome and magnificent the scene around the throne really is.
Revelation 4:5(a) (NLT)
5 From the throne came flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder . . .
This is the only way John can try to describe the incredible power coming from the throne of God. The last time the throne of God was described like this was on Mt. Sinai when God gave the Law to Moses.
flashes of lightning, and the earth-shaking RUMBLE of the Loudest THUNDER
The power and the majesty of the lightning and thunder coming from the throne of God is a sign of the judgment of God that must come upon the sin of the world. And the only reason we are worshiping IN the throne room instead of receiving that judgment is because Jesus Christ has taken that judgment in our place, and he has brought us into the throne room of God with him in his righteousness.
Continuing in verse 5, we see the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Revelation 4:5(b) (NLT)
5 . . . And in front of the throne were seven torches with burning flames. This is the sevenfold Spirit of God.
The Holy Spirit is described here the same way he was back in Revelation 1, verse 4. As John was introducing his letter, he says this.
Revelation 1:4-5 (NLT)
4 This letter is from John . . . Grace and peace to you from the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come; from the sevenfold Spirit before his throne; 5 and from Jesus Christ . . .
John names the Triune God in his introduction, and here in Chapters 4-5, we see the Triune God on his throne in the full glory of Heaven, and we are there to worship him.
Next, the first half of verse 6.
Revelation 4:6(a) (NLT)
6 In front of the throne was a shiny sea of glass, sparkling like crystal . . .
This “sea of glass, sparkling like crystal” is one of many mysteries in Revelation, and so it is a great time to explain this very important point about studying Revelation.
When we can get a good (or possible) interpretation of something in Revelation – we do. When we can’t, we don’t.
So, this incredible “sea of glass” is mentioned again in Revelation 15, and a similar “sea of glass” is described in the mind-blowing “Glory of the Lord” vision in Ezekiel Chapter 1 (you should read this). And in each of these cases, we get the feeling the writer is seeing something impossible to describe in words.
John is trying to express the inexpressible
He’s trying to describe the indescribable
Because our finite language cannot fully describe God’s infinite glory.
But what we do know about the sea of glass is all three times it is written in the Bible, it is written in connection to the indescribable glory of God, and that is what John is describing here.
There is one little cool idea about it referring to the molten sea that was the bronze laver in the Tabernacle, in the Temple. And I was going to go into that, but I already said don’t go too crazy trying to find stuff out. If it’s clear – grasp it, hold onto it. If it’s not, say “Wow! That’s going to be awesome! Can’t wait to see it.”
Revelation 4:6(b)-7 (NLT)
6 . . . In the center and around the throne were four living beings, each covered with eyes, front and back.
7 The first of these living beings was like a lion; the second was like an ox; the third had a human face; and the fourth was like an eagle in flight.
Four “living beings” circling the throne, again defying John’s ability to try to describe. What we do know there, is this description in verse 6 that they are covered with eyes, front and back, is a reference to the omniscience of God.
The best John can do is very similar to Ezekiel’s description of these same “living beings” in Ezekiel Chapter 1. The Ezekiel description in Ezekiel Chapter 1 makes your head spin. And then, in Ezekiel Chapter 10, Ezekiel refers back to these same four living beings and calls them Cherubim. These Cherubim are incredible and awesome angelic beings and their primary job in Heaven…they are worship leaders. And when we see them worshiping in Revelation, they are always worshiping with the twenty-four elders (us). They do some other things as well but without our involvement.
There are some great discussions we can have about the different “looks” of these living beings. Lion, Ox, Man, Eagle.
They may represent the different attributes of God
They may represent the different pictures of Christ in the Gospels
But one thing we know for sure, these created beings are awesome and beautiful, and they fully understand the power of worship.
And we actually know the name of one ex-cherubim. In fact, Ezekiel 28 says he was a leader of the Cherubim. His name means Lightbearer – and we call him Lucifer. And he understands the power of worship for good or evil – depending on what you’re worshiping. So don’t let him deceive you because he is good at it.
But these Cherubim in Revelation 4 are in the throne room of God, and they are worship leaders.
Revelation 4:8 (NLT)
8 Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day after day and night after night they keep on saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty— the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.”
Worship leading means going FIRST into worship. To lead worship means you worship first, and others follow. Others see you worshiping, and they follow you in worship, which is exactly what we see in the throne room in Heaven.
Revelation 4:9–10(a) (NLT)
9 Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever),
10 the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever) . . .
When the “worship leaders” in Heaven go first into worship, then we worship with them.
And we have “living beings” here who go first into worship. The question is – do we respond by worshiping with them?? Do we join them in worshiping our indescribable God, or do we watch them like we’re watching “American Idol.” Listen, please, if you are watching worship – you are missing it. We have an opportunity to experience a taste of heavenly throne room worship right here on Earth.
When our worship leaders begin worshiping, and we join them in worshiping the One who lives forever, it’s like basic training for when we get Raptured into the eternal throne room. God has given us the ability – right here – to have a taste of what worship in Heaven will be like. But we cannot even get that taste by watching the worship leaders worship. We must follow them into worship!
Now, there IS one thing we can’t do here that we will do there.
Revelation 4:10(b) (NLT)
10 . . . And they (24 Elders) lay (cast) their crowns before the throne . . .
We’re actually going to come back to this event next week in a special message on the Judgment Seat of Christ, which is where we get these crowns to cast before the throne. So, a full explanation of this is coming next week.
And finally, for today, verse 11 is what we’ll be singing in that great heavenly throne room worship time.
Revelation 4:11 (ESV)
10 . . . and say, 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.”
Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power,
Remember worship is defined as “the act of ascribing worth to God.” That is what we will be doing in Heaven, and that is what we can be doing here. How important is it? Ultimately, it is the highest purpose for our existence.
Ascribing worth to God, ultimately, is the highest purpose for our existence.
And here in Revelation 4, we are whole-heartedly ascribing worth to God. We are singing out his worthiness IN his throne room. And when we come together to worship – to ascribe worth to God – here, in a small way, we’re doing here what we will be doing there.
When we worship with all of our hearts – here
We are getting ready for worship – there
When we are genuinely ascribing worth to God here
We are experiencing a taste of Heaven here
Psalm 103:1 (ESV)
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!
Psalm 29:1–2 (ESV)
1 . . . ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.
Psalm 96:1–4 (ESV)
1 . . . sing to the Lord, all the earth! 2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name . . . 3 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! 4 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised . . .