I’ll never forget that day. I was fifteen years old and I had gotten my learner's permit. My dad tossed me the keys to the van and said, "Let’s go for a drive." Oddly, he invited my older brother to come along for the ride. It's one thing that he was risking his own life, but it was quite another that he would risk the life of his second-born. Even more surprising to me was that my dad wanted me to drive into Kankakee. I had not driven in the big city of Kankakee before! There were stop lights, traffic, and pedestrians!
However, as we neared Kankakee my dad told me to make an abrupt left turn. We pulled into the parking lot of a tiny airstrip. And a man I’d never met waved at us. He worked with my dad at the factory. As we hopped out of the van he told my dad, "It’ll just be a few minutes. I’ve got to get the airplane out of the hanger." Airplane?! My dad had secretly arranged for my brother and I to have our first ever trip in an airplane. My feet about gave out underneath me.I was so excited, and a bit nervous.
After a little while, this small plane came bouncing across the field. The pilot hopped out of the cockpit, opened the passenger door and invited us, "Get in." And there I stood staring at the open door. I was fully aware of what would happen if I were to step through that door. Taking a deep breath, I accepted the invitation. Once we were situated the pilot throttled up the engine and away we went, bouncing up and down on the grassy strip. All of a sudden we just floated up off the ground.
I turned around to see my dad waving at us, smiling from ear to ear. But in minutes, he was a tiny dot and our family van was a matchbox car. And the roads I had driven on were mere outlines of a mutli-colored checkerboard. For the first time in my life I realized how utterly insignificant my life was. From God’s perspective I was little more than a tiny ant. We flew over our house in Herscher. We flew over the nuclear power plant in Braidwood. We followed the winding Kankakee River for a time. We disappeared through the clouds. It was a humbling, reality-altering experience!
God revealed a picture of heaven to the apostle John.
But it wasn’t anything like the experience the apostle John had as he noticed a door standing open before him. It was a door into heaven! It's one thing to step into a cockpit and ascend into the heavens. It’s quite another thing entirely to step into the very dwelling place of God.Into heaven itself!
Revelation 4:1-6 (NIV) tells us, "After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, 'Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.' At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back."
What does John's vision mean to us today?
How are we to make sense of this mysterious vision of heaven? We can start by contrasting John’s vision of heaven with our modern conceptions of worship. In modern churches the focus is on the worshiper. The attendee! The consumer! You! Are the seats comfortable for you? Is the lighting good enough for you? Is the literature attractive to you? Were we friendly and welcoming enough to you?
Churches remove the crosses from their buildings lest the cross should offend someone. Churches de-emphasize the offering lest people feel awkward or compelled to give back to God. And the music! Oh, how we evaluate the music. Did I like that song? Was it one of my favorites? Was it upbeat enough? Was it contemporary? Was it traditional? Did its lyrics have a good vibe? Did they have emotion? Did they make me feel good?
And this seating arrangement! Why are we sitting in a circle this week? It's awkward. It's different. I can see the faces of other worshipers instead of the backs of their heads. I’m suddenly confronted with community. And I can’t see the video as well. And the band and musicians and vocalists and pastor aren’t the central focus. (Note to reader- the congregation was seated in a circular fashion, facing a table with a crown, a communion chalice, and a loaf of bread on it.)
What should be the focus of our worship?
In John’s vision we discover that the throne of Christ is the central focus of all heaven. Notice the emphasis in Revelation 4. Revelation 4:2 (NIV) says, "...before me was a throne in heaven…" and continues, "with someone sitting on it." Revelation 4:3 (NIV) tells us that, "A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne." Revelation 4:4 (NIV) says, "Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones…"
Revelation 4:5 (NIV) tells us that, "From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder." It continues by telling us that, "Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are seven spirits of God." Revelation 4:6 (NIV) says, "...before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal." The verse continues, "In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures..."
Why has our worship become so worshiper-centered? So spectator, consumer-centered? Why has our worship grown so man-centric, so technology-centric, so music-centric, so style-centric, and so self-centric?
The focus of worship in heaven evolves around the throne of Christ. The focus of worship in heaven evolves around the very throne, the rule, the authority, the power, the majesty, the worthiness, and the very glory of the risen and resurrected Christ! Better we face this truth now, this morning, with a simple change of seating than for us to one day face Christ and realize that our worship all these years has been misfocused.
The throne is the focus of worship in all creation.
The throne isn’t just the focus of worship in heaven. It’s the focus in all creation. Revelation 4:6-8 (NIV) says, "In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.' "
Want to have fun? Try drawing one of these four living creatures. You can’t do it! Like God himself, the wonder of these four creatures defy our imaginations. Heaven is altogether wonderful, mysterious, and transcendent.
But let’s talk about what these four creatures represent. Why four creatures? In the Hebrew Old Testament, the number four always signified universality. There is everything to the north. Everything to the south. Everything to the west and east. Later in Revelation we’ll see the, "four winds" and "four corners of the earth." A completed building has four corners and four walls. The Old Testament tabernacle detailed in Exodus 25 - Exodus 39 has four rings of gold, four cups, four pillars, four horns, four bronze rings, and four rows of precious stones.
The idea here is that every created thing on heaven and on earth glorifies the throne of Christ. Without him, nothing was made that has been made. Colossians 1:16-17 (NIV) tells us, "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things and in him all things hold together."
The four creatures give honor and glory to him who sits on the throne.
The first living creature was like a lion, symbolizing all the wild beasts of the earth. The second living creature like an ox, symbolizing all the domesticated creatures of earth. The third living creature had a face like a man, symbolizing God’s crowning achievement, the wisest of all creatures in God’s created order. The fourth living creature was like a flying eagle, one of the finest of creatures known for its strength, power, speed, precision, deliverance, and sudden attack. That these creatures were covered all around with eyes points to the ability of these creatures to see and to grasp the totality of God’s sovereign plan.
In John’s vision the creatures universally give honor and glory and thanks to him who sits on the throne. They universally adore the Christ by singing, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come." If only we had such insight as these creatures and all of creation into our true purpose. Our purpose is that we exist to declare the glory of Christ’s power and rule to all the world.
The throne is the central focus of worship of all history.
There is more. The throne is the central focus of worship in heaven. It is the central focus of worship in creation. But it is also the central focus of all history! Revelation 4:9-11 (NIV) says, "Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: 'You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.' "
Who were these twelve elders who were so willing to lay down their crowns to glorify Christ? They were the twelve patriarchs, the twelve sons of Abraham, from whom the twelve tribes of Israel descended and to whom God promised to send the Christ, the Messiah. The twelve patriarchs patiently waited for Christ to appear.
The twelve elders were also the twelve apostles who were the twelve closest followers of Christ. They were the witnesses of the resurrected Christ who were sent to the ends of the earth to proclaim the arrival of Christ’s rule on earth, his forgiveness, mercy, favor, and the hope of eternal life!
The twelve patriarchs plus the twelve apostles symbolize the old covenant and the new covenant. They symbolize all that is before Christ (B.C.) and all that is after Christ's death (A.D.), all worshiping! In Revelation 4:4 (NIV) they are given a place of honor. They are now dressed in white, which symbolizes the reality of their redemption from sin and death. "Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads." Laying their crowns before the throne of Christ, they fall down singing as told in Revelation 4:11 (NIV), "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."
Who is the central focus of our worship?
John’s vision of the throne leads us to ask, "Who the central focus of our worship?" Falling down was a gesture of submission. All of creation falls down before the throne, acknowledging the authority and kingly reign of the resurrected Christ. Laying down one’s crown was a signal of one’s complete allegiance. It signifies that we no longer exist to serve self, but the one to whom all creation ascribes worth!
In our worship do we fall down before Christ? In our worship do we lay down our crowns, fully surrendered to the lordship of Christ? Do we live our lives now in conscious relationship to the throne so that every thought, word, and deed comes under God’s rule?
What is heaven like?
Let’s talk for a moment about heaven. What kind of place is heaven? Who belongs there? At the beginning of his ministry in Matthew 4:17 (NIV) Jesus preached, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." With this Jesus was proclaiming the establishment of his throne in the hearts of men. But then in Matthew 6:10 (NIV) Jesus taught his disciples to pray, "...your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." In other words, may Christ reign in our hearts, over our wills, just as he reigns in heaven!
In Matthew 6:33 (NIV) the exhortation comes from Jesus, "...seek first his kingdom and his righteousness..." In Matthew 7:21 (NIV) Jesus says, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."InMatthew 13:41-43 (NIV) Jesus said, "The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear."
Finally, Mark 14:22-26 (NIV) says, "While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, 'Take it; this is my body.' Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, and they all drank from it. 'This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,' he said to them. 'I tell you the truth, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God.' When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives."
What is true worship? It’s falling before the throne. It’s receiving his kingdom reign.