2003-08-22
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
God never tells me ahead just how much I will be led by His Spirit to write on a particular subject, but I do know to trust Him, that He will answer my continual prayer that He will provide encouraging lessons for each of you and me. Thus, He leads me today to write about the description of heaven that we are given in REV 4 and 5 and elsewhere in the Scriptures. Our wise and awesome God gives us just enough to stimulate pent up desire in believers to spend eternity with Him there. My husband, Peter, reminds me often that as much as we are given, it is only a foretaste of such bliss as the human imagination cannot comprehend.
REV 4 gives us a remarkable description of God’s throne room and the worship that goes on in it. REV 4: 2b-3, [John describing what the Holy Spirit, Who took control of him, is allowing him to see] “There in heaven was a throne with Someone sitting on it. His face gleamed like such precious stones as jasper and carnelian, and all around the throne there was a rainbow the color of emerald.” These precious stones signify specific meanings. For example, jasper, which is translucent, indicates holiness, and carnelian [also known as sardius] is red, signifying His righteous wrath. Emeralds are associated with the concept of mercy. These are all attributes God possesses. The rainbow is a symbol of God’s grace and a reminder of God’s covenant in GN 9: 11-13 never to destroy the world by flood again. This can be extended to mean that in spite of the coming judgments, God will keep all the covenants He has made with His children.
God is not alone in His throne room. REV 4: 4-6a, “In a circle around the throne were twenty-four other thrones, on which were seated twenty-four elders dressed in white and wearing crowns of gold. From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder. In front of the throne seven lighted torches were burning, which are the seven spirits of God. Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.” Understandably there is more than one interpretation on who the twenty-four elders are. I choose to believe that the first twelve were chosen by God from each of the twelve tribes of Israel, and the other twelve are chosen from the heroes of the NT. Others differ with that and say either they are unspecified in origin and we can’t know until we gain eternal life with God. And, still others claim they are all NT victors. No matter which interpretation is true, they are all saints who have been judged and rewarded, which is why they are wearing crowns (symbols of rich reward) and wearing white robes (symbols of purity). The throne here is one of judgment, which explains the flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder. The seven lighted torches represent the Holy Spirit in his fullness and majesty. There is only one Spirit of God, but the seven represents perfection and completeness. The sea of glass like crystal tells us that the throne is located in a place that is undisturbed by the restless, wild tossing of this world, or by the opposition of the wicked, who are like a troubled sea.
It is clear that what John is seeing in Revelation transcends the physical laws of earth (as Newton laid them out) and the time/space continuum of Einsteinian relativity-even defies them. But the Sovereign God in Whom we believe has power beyond the human imagination. We must praise Him that He chooses always to use that power for righteous reasons and in righteous ways. The description of worship in heaven continues with REV 4: 6b-8, “Surrounding the throne on each of its sides, were four living creatures covered with eyes in front and behind. The first one looked like a lion; the second looked like a bull; the third had a face like a man’s face; and the fourth looked like an eagle in flight. Each one of the four living creatures had six wings, and they were covered with eyes, inside and out. Day and night they never stop singing: ‘Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, Who was, Who is, and Who is to come.’” The description of the four living creatures having eyes in front and behind indicates clarity, breadth, and depth of vision. We know these living beings are created by God because they worship God. They seem to be a combination of the cherubim in EZK 10 and the seraphim in IS 6, These angelic beings are guardians of the throne of God. The cherubim seem to be associated with burning judgment, and the seraphim with burning purification. The description in (7) seems to parallel the way Christ is presented in the Gospels: lion-Matthew-King; bull-Mark-Servant; man-Luke-Son of Man; eagle-John-Son of God. The song that they sing continuously is the “Te Sanctus,” a Latin term for the holiness and eternity of God. The singing of the word “holy” three times is a strong suggestion of God’s Trinitarian nature.
There is more to say about this what we find in REV 4 and 5, and that will be the subject of next week’s devotion. How very clear God makes His will to us for worship and our relationship with Him! He wants us to know Him, and the only way we can really do this effectively is to spend daily time in His word, paying careful attention not only to His teaching, but also to the attributes He reveals to us. Our Lord wants us to have a dynamic prayer life too. He shows us worship in heaven to allow us to see His paradigm for worship. The issue of holiness is really demonstrated, which brings me to be led to repeat the will of God about holiness stated in 1 PET 1: 15-16. “Instead, be holy in all that you do, just as God Who called you is holy. The Scriptures [LV 11: 44-45 and 19: 2] say, ‘Be holy because I am holy.’” The prayer of my heart is that each of you and I will take that advice.
PRAYER: O Lord, despite our imperfections, You have a heart to love us. We know that we do not deserve the grace You extend to us. We acknowledge our utter need to be dependent on You and Your inspiring compassion and patience. You deserve our eternal thanks, praise, and worship for being the loving and righteous God that You are. With the infinite wisdom that You have, You have commanded us to obey Your teaching and take delight in the encouragement that You give us. Part of that encouragement is this remarkable view of worship in heaven that You have given us. RO 8: 18 tells us to put our suffering in Your perspective. “I consider that what we suffer at this present time cannot be compared at all with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.” Verse 19 of that same chapter expresses how we feel. “All of creation waits with eager longing for God to reveal His sons.” We come before Your altar today to confess our sins and to express our eagerness to expunge them from our lives. The salvation that Your Son’s work on the cross has made available to those who endure in faith in Him is to us a precious gift that we treasure. The same can be said for the gift of the Holy Spirit that You have given us. You are such a great, supreme, sovereign, and glorious God! It is only through our faith, the faith that You have given us in Him, that we are truly forgiven. David wrote what is in our hearts today in PS 27: 13 –14, “I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord.” Such a promise could never be kept except by You, Dearest Abba, and we love You for Your faithfulness. We bring this prayer to a close with this plea from PS 25: 4, “Show me Your ways, O Lord, teach me Your paths; guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long.” In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.
As mentioned above, next week’s message will be a continuation of the description we are given of heaven in REV 4, 5, and other places in the Scriptures. Our God is so very unselfish with us. He has shown us that He won’t hold back any blessings from His children, not even His own Son sent to the cross for our redemption. We have every reason to be strong in our faith, to believe we have been given the power to fight Satan to victory in Christ’s name, and to endure in faith as long as necessary to gain eternal life with the Father. We are called to this purpose, and our loving God has equipped us to succeed in it.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn