A Glimpse of Heaven

Heaven is the home of God.  It is the destination where almost every human wants to spend eternity.

 

 

We have heard stories about heaven.  We have read books about heaven.  We probably have even watched movies about heaven.

 

However, this morning, we are going to see a glimpse of heaven that can be trusted above all other description, and that is the description that John gave in Revelation 4.

 

 

This morning, we are taking a major turn in our study of John’s Revelation.  Most of the rest of this book all happens in the future, and is even yet to happen. 

 

We know chapter 4 marks a major shift in John’s writing by the wording that he used.  At the end of 1:19, Jesus said write about things which will take place after this.  4:1 says after these things.  Do you see the connection there?  John was to write the things which will take place after the messages to the churches.  That now begins at 4:1

 

 

However, this glimpse of heaven in chapters 4 and 5 serve as a prologue or transition.  All of chapters 2 and 3 were set in the first century.  Beginning in chapter 6, we will see the Great Tribulation on earth.  Jesus will return in chapter 19.  He will reign on earth for 1000 years in chapter 20, and chapters 21-22 tell us about eternity. 

 

 

Just a few more introductory comments, and then we’ll turn to 4:1.  When we first began this study back in September, I told you then that apocalyptic literature is highly symbolic.  We will see that today in chapter 4 with the use of the word “like” in 1, 2, 3, and 7.  Consequently, while some meanings of symbol can be determined, I will probably not be as dogmatic as others have been simply because I can’t with complete honesty. 

 

 

Finally, Revelation 4 is about a throne in heaven.  That word is used some 14 times in this chapter.  Therefore, I want to show the person on the throne who is to be worshipped, the participants around the throne who will worship, and the practice of worship at the throne.

 

 

1. The Person on the Throne who is to be Worshipped, Revelation 4:1-3

1 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.”  2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. 3 And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald.

 

These first three verses detail the person on the throne who will be worshipped.  In verse one, John saw a door standing open in heaven.  He then heard a voice that sounded like a trumpet speaking and called him up to heaven. 

 

What was said to John is found at the end of verse one.  By the way, who is speaking to John?  Go back and look at 1:10-11.

 

10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, 11 saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”

 

It was the Lord Jesus then, and I would suggest that it is the Lord Jesus here.  However, notice something interesting to me.  Most red-letter editions of the New Testament don’t have these words in 4:1 in red.  Why?  They do have 1:10-11 in red.  My answer?  I don’t know.

 

The Lord Jesus called out to John to temporarily be transported to heaven for another vision.  Therefore, John has a second vision where his body remains in Patmos, but his spirit is transported to heaven.  He then began to describe for us what he saw.

 

The first thing that John saw was a throne and One sitting on the throne in verse 2.  A throne is a symbol of authority and rule like with a king.  I would suggest that the One sitting on the throne and the Person on the throne to be worshipped is God the Father.  God the Son, the Lord Jesus, will make His appearance in chapter 5. 

 

Verse 3 then describes some colors.  God had the appearance of a jasper stone.  This was a crystal-type color similar to the color of light and may have been similar to diamond. 

 

He was also like a sardius stone in color which is blood-red.  Your translation may say ruby. 

 

There was also a rainbow around the throne that was like an emerald in appearance.  Emerald is green.  Therefore, these primary colors describing God here are white, red, and green.

 

There is one last item I want to point out in verse 3.  Notice the rainbow.  The rainbow is a sign of God’s faithfulness. 

 

In Genesis, it was a sign of God’s faithfulness to never flood the world again.  Here, it is a sign of God’s faithfulness to be in control or reigning and ruling from His throne. 

 

By the way, I hate that the homosexual agenda has stolen the rainbow for their symbol.  Make no mistake about it.  Long before it was a symbol for diversity, it was a symbol of God’s faithfulness.  God is the Person on the Throne who will be Worshipped. 

 

 

2. The Participants Around the Throne who will be Worshipping, Revelation 4:4-8a

4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads. 5 And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.  6 Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. 7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. 8 The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within.

 

God the Father will be the Person on the throne who will be worshipped, but who will the participants worshipping be?  In verse 4, John saw twenty-four thrones around God’s throne.  On these thrones, he saw twenty-four elders that were clothed in white and wearing golden crowns on their heads.

 

Undoubtedly, I would contend that these are either pastors or older men that are representative of a larger group of people.  An elder or elders are the human leaders of the local church.  Elder is also used to describe someone older in age and experience.

 

What about the number twenty-four?  The number twelve is used in the Bible to communicate fullness or completeness.  To double that number would be the fullest of fullness.

 

I would say these twenty-four elders symbolize the raptured Church.  OT saints will be resurrected later. 

 

These twenty-four elders represent the redeemed and born-again Body of Christ that will be raptured before the Great Tribulation.  The evidence seems to be clear to me with their white garments of purity and their golden victor’s crowns of overcoming. 

 

Verse 5 speaks of flashes of lightening and sounds of thunder as a part of this worship service.  Then there are seven lamps of fire.  John identified these as the seven Spirits of God or the fullness of the Holy Spirit. 

 

He then saw something like a sea of glass.  This wasn’t a sea but like one symbolizing vastness.  Then in the center of the throne and around the throne, there were four living creatures.  They were creatures in the sense of being created not like beasts as the KJV translates it. 

 

Who were these four living creatures?  I would say they are some type of angel.  They have eyes all over them.  One was like a lion.  The second was like a calf or ox.  The third had a human face.  The fourth was like a flying eagle.  They also had six wings. 

 

Turn to Ezekiel 1:1-14. 

 

1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the River Chebar, that the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. 2 On the fifth day of the month, which was in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, 3 the word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was upon him there.  4 Then I looked, and behold, a whirlwind was coming out of the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself; and brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire. 5 Also from within it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had the likeness of a man. 6 Each one had four faces, and each one had four wings. 7 Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the soles of calves’ feet. They sparkled like the color of burnished bronze. 8 The hands of a man were under their wings on their four sides; and each of the four had faces and wings. 9 Their wings touched one another. The creatures did not turn when they went, but each one went straight forward.  10 As for the likeness of their faces, each had the face of a man; each of the four had the face of a lion on the right side, each of the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and each of the four had the face of an eagle. 11 Thus were their faces. Their wings stretched upward; two wings of each one touched one another, and two covered their bodies. 12 And each one went straight forward; they went wherever the spirit wanted to go, and they did not turn when they went.  13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches going back and forth among the living creatures. The fire was bright, and out of the fire went lightning. 14 And the living creatures ran back and forth, in appearance like a flash of lightning.

 

These are angels symbolizing all of creation. The lion is the wild creatures.  The calf is the domesticated creatures.  The eagle is the flying creatures.  The man is the pinnacle of creatures. 

 

The main idea is that they were angels of some type, and along with the elders where the participants around the throne worshipping God the Father. 

 

 

3. The Practice of Worship at the Throne, Revelation 4:8b-11

And they do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!”  9 Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: 11 “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.”

 

Our final thoughts today are on the practice of worship.  We have seen the person of worship.  That is God the Father.  We have seen the participants of worship.  That is the Church and Angels.  Now we turn to the practice of worship in the second half of verse 8 and following.

 

The four living beings begin worshipping and don’t stop.  They proclaim of the Lord and to the Lord that which is familiar to us from Isaiah 6.  Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.

 

In response, the twenty-four elders begin to worship as well.  They fall down prostrating themselves before the Lord and then cast their crowns and are worshipping also.  They are proclaiming verse eleven. 

 

Therefore, here are some truths we can see about worship in heaven that can guide our worship on earth in the local church.  First, worship can be a sight to behold.  Remember all of the colors mentioned and the flashes of lightening?  When we hear of a church now that does such or has some dramatic lighting, we mock them and say they are putting on a show.  Maybe they are simply trying to look more like heaven. 

 

Second, worship can be loud.  You simply don’t understand this text if you think worship can’t be loud.  There were peals and sounds of thunder, and truth be told, we’re ok with loud if it is our preference of music being played or sung. 

 

Third, worship should be fully participatory.  There isn’t anyone in this chapter not singing because of their voice or because they don’t like to sing.  Everybody is singing.  By the way, you better start liking to sing because there won’t be any preaching in heaven. 

 

Fourth, worship can be continuous and repetitive.  In verse eight, the four living beings did not cease to say all night and all day, and they repeated over and over again holy, holy, holy.  I’ve heard some of you older saints mock newer songs because of their repetition.  There is nothing wrong with repetition when your singing to God about God. 

 

Finally, worship should be active.  It is ok to raise hands and kneel and even get on your face before God.  That is what is happening here.  They then blessed the Lord by casting their crowns at Him.  All their rewards or good deeds were used to bless the Lord.

 

 

Conclusion

My invitation to you this morning is to worship like Revelation four.  Keep in mind if you’ve never been born-again, you won’t do this.  Therefore, my invitation to you is to be saved.