After dictating the letters to the
seven churches, we get to the Antichrist, the Mark of the Beast, the destruction
of the earth, and the return of Christ. Um, no. That’s not what’s next in the book. Before we get to anything else, the
Lord Jesus wanted to give his servant John (and us) a behind-the-scenes look at
Heaven itself. Later on we’re going to see some things—both in the book of
Revelation and in world events—which would make us think that evil’s on the
rise, things are spinning out of control, and that the good guys are on the
losing side. When those things happen, we must must must keep in mind that
God’s still on his throne and is still Boss of everything. He has everything under
control, and everything is working towards his ultimate plan for his glory and
our good, even if it’s not looking like that at any particular moment.
John was transported by the Spirit
into the Throne Room and is given a glimpse behind the curtain of eternity.
But before we get into what he describes
for the rest of the chapter, we need to think about this. John is describing
everything as best as he can, using his very limited vocabulary and intellect
(not that any of us would do any better). I’ve used this illustration before,
but I can’t think of anything that fits better here. Suppose that you’re trying
to explain an airplane to an African who’s never seen it. He’s never heard of
an airplane before, nor has he seen a picture of it. You tell him, “It’s like a
bird. It soars on the air with wings.” He then asks “Does it have feathers?”
“Um, no.” “Well, then is it a bird or not? Every bird I’ve ever seen has
feathers.” You then have to somehow convey that an airplane is like a bird in
some ways but that’s not the entire picture. Any illustration we use concerning
spiritual matters is going to be incomplete at
best and inaccurate to some degree or another.
Any description is going to be
inaccurate to some degree, because John is talking about things which are out
of our frame of reference, like that African who’s never seen a plane. For example,
when the Bible says that the streets are paved with gold, does that mean that
the pavement is literally going to be constructed with the element we know as
Au? Well, the gold there is clear
as glass, and there’s no gold I’ve ever heard of in this world that you can
see through like glass. John there is trying to convey incredible beauty and
wealth that we can’t comprehend. What’s the most valuable substance in most
cultures throughout history? Gold. Just keep that in mind as we see these
images, especially as he’s describing Heaven.
The first thing he sees—appropriately
enough—was the Throne, and the One sitting on it. This is God the Father.
Notice that John doesn’t much describe what the Person on the throne looked
like at all. He describes what and who are around the throne, but the only
thing he says about the appearance of the Father was that he looked like “jasper
and ruby,” flashing brilliant and beautiful colors. That’s because in our unglorified
state God lives
in “unapproachable light.” One day when we receive our new bodies, we’ll see
him face to face, but not now. Now even angels cover
their faces when they approach him. By the way, as an example of what we discussed in the last paragraph, the throne is not literal
furniture: It represents ultimate power and authority and sovereignty.
But I want to reiterate that this is
the first thing he sees when he enters Heaven. God is the center of
attention here. He’s the center of Heaven. Everything revolves around and relates to
him. I’m looking forward to a lot of periphery activities once I get there, but
I suspect that my priorities will shift considerably once I step into that
room.
The next thing John noticed was a
rainbow surrounding the throne. The rainbow, a token of his covenant with
humanity set in Noah’s day, represents his faithfulness to his word and his
promises. Rainbows are reflected light on water, so it’s appropriate that God’s
light would be reflected in multiple colors around his throne.
Next are the “24 elders” who are
dressed in white and wear crowns on their heads. Who are they, or what do they
represent? Our best guess is that this represents the redeemed around the
throne. Why 24? Again, best guess is that you have “12” that count as the 12
tribes of Israel, plus “12” that represent the 12 apostles (who stand in for
the church), thus 12+12=those redeemed under the Old Covenant plus those
redeemed under the New Covenant. Again, I have to emphasize best guess. White robes would represent
the righteousness
of Christ and crowns represent
power and authority which have been delegated to them and/or rewards they’ve
received. More on the crowns in a moment. Those are important.
After
the elders are four very strange creatures. I suppose they’re angelic beings,
since they have wings. They’re covered with eyes, which represent knowledge and
insight. Although not omniscient like God, they have comprehensive knowledge
into what they’re responsible for. Not sure how to interpret this, but a lion
typically represents the greatest of the predators, an ox is the greatest among
domesticated beasts, a man is the greatest among rational beings on earth, and an
eagle is considered the greatest among the birds. To say anything more is
really to indulge into pure speculation at this point, except to say maybe they
represent all of physical creation before the throne. Emphasis on maybe.
What's everybody doing around the throne? Whatever these creatures are or what they
represent is secondary to what they’re doing: worshiping the God on the Throne
of Heaven. What they’re saying/singing is similar to what Isaiah heard
when he got his peak behind the
curtain:
Holy,
holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,
who
was, who is, and who is to come.
This is to emphasize the
immutability of our God. He never ever ever changes.
He was in eternity past before he created a single thing, he's here now in
this very moment, and he’ll be here when the last star has finally turned into
a cold cinder. He is holy, meaning he is utterly unique and separate. He’s like
nothing else in the entire universe.
Now
let’s get to the significance of those crowns the elders are wearing. What
purpose do they serve? Do I get my crown so I can walk around with it in
Heaven? Absolutely not! The purpose of any crowns I get is so that I can
throw them at the foot of my Savior God and give him more glory. They’re for his
glory, not mine. As I throw my crown at his feet, I can sing a song of
worship to the only One who deserves all the praise, honor, and glory. It’s
never about me. It’s always about him.
Did you notice what they’re praising
him for? Just on the basis of his
creation alone he’s worthy of all praise, honor and glory. We haven’t even gotten into praising and thanking him
for the Incarnation, the Passion, the Resurrection, the sending of the Spirit,
the righteousness with which he clothes us, his mercy, his grace, his power,
his mercy, his wisdom. . . whew! And these are just words which we use to describe
what our very limited human understanding can comprehend about who he is and
what he’s done. Just start worshiping him on the basis of creation alone, and you’ll have plenty to do.
Well, what are you waiting for? Use today’s
reading as a springboard. And to help you, here's "The Thone" by Michael W. Smith.
Father God, words are sooooo inadequate
for the task sometimes. But if I’m not using the words in my mouth to honor and
praise and thank you, my mouth’s not living up to its purpose. Help me to
prepare for Heaven, right now, please.
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