Bible Passage: Revelation 4:1–5:14

I. Jesus gave Apostle John a glimpse of the Heaven (4:1)—“Come up here, I will show you what must take place after this”

1. To have a glimpse of the Heaven, John was given an enablement i.e., “At once I was in the Spirit”

2. In the Heaven, first John sees a throne and the One who is seated on the throne (4:2-3)—the Father

3. Everything in the Heaven is focused on the One who is seated on the throne (4:2-3)

4. Apostle John is unable to describe the One who is seated on the throne in human words (4:2-3)

5. So, he uses similes to describe the One who is seated on the throne and the things around the throne

a. Like jasper and carnelian (4:3)

b. Like rainbow around the throne which was like emerald (4:3)

c. The One Who is seated on the throne (4:2) is the King

6. A large diverse congregation is involved in ceaseless worship (4:4-11)

a. Four living creatures with full of eyes

b. Twenty-four elders with white robes (4:4)—something like the twenty-four Levitical groups at the Temple

7. Around the Throne, there is humanly indescribable splendor

a. Twenty-four thrones and twenty-four elders (4:4)

b. White clothes of the elders (4:4): those who were forgiven by the blood of Christ

c. Crowns (4:4)

d. Flashing of lights (4:5)

e. Roaring and crashes of thunder (4:5)

f. Flaming torches (4:4)

g. Sea of glass (4:5)

h. Four living creatures (4:5)—lion, ox, man, and eagle

II. The attributes of the One Who sits on the throne

1. Holy (4:8)

2. Powerful (4:8)

3. Eternal (4:8)

III. The One Who is seated on the throne is worshipped with in humility

1. The four creatures with all their beauty give glory to the One Who sits on the throne (4:9)

2. The twenty-four elders threw themselves on the ground and worshipped the One Who sits on the throne (4:10)—absence of human pride

a. The twenty-four elders cast their crowns before the One Who sits on the throne (4:10)

b. The twenty-four elders confessed the One Who sits on the throne

IV. In a close proximity with the One who is seated on the throne, there is the Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne (5:6)—i.e., Jesus the Lamb stands next to the Father

1. Jesus’ throne is next to the Father’s throne which is surrounded by the thrones of the twenty-four elders

2. Jesus is worthy to open the scroll—“the things that must occur after these things”

3. Through His death, burial, and resurrection, many people from around the world were purchased for God—from every tribe, language, people group, and nation

4. Through Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, these people who were purchased now serve as God’s kingdom and priest

5. Thousands and ten thousands encircle the Son and worship (5:9, 12-13)

a. Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise

b. To whim who sits on the throne and to the Lamb, be praise and honor and glory and power for ever and ever

c. The four living creatures and the elders continue to fell down and worshipped the Father and the Son

6. It looks like that the worship in Heaven is not a program, but it’s life in Heaven

V. Lessons of Worship

1. The Triune God is the ultimate true King whose splendor and majesty surpass anything of the kings and kingdoms of this world

2. Therefore, Christ follower must worship only the Triune God and must not worship anything and anyone else

3. Those who overcome all humanly compromising situations participate in the heavenly worship of the Triune God

a. this is global in scope

i. Persons from every tribe, language, people group, and nation (5:9)

ii. Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand (5:11)

iii. After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that non one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language (7:9)

4. Worship involves renouncing human pride and merit, and bringing us to the feet of the Triune God

a. The twenty-four elders fall before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne (4:10)

b. The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshipped (5:14)

5. Worship is believer’s response to God’s revelation of Himself in History that is recorded in the Scripture

6. One’s worship can only be proportionate to one’s understanding of God revealed in the Scripture

7. Christian worship is Trinitarian

a. To Him who sits on the throne [the Father] and to the Lamb [the Son] be praise and honor and glory and power for ever and ever

b. The Father who is seated on the throne

c. The Son who is the Lamb who is slain, the one who is worthy to open the scroll

d. The Holy Spirit is the One who enables true worship

8. True worship begins when God touches one’s life

a. The elders were wearing white robes

b. It is given to them by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus; and as believers, their continued confession and repentance

9. Therefore, only a born-again person can offer true worship to the Triune God

Takeaway:

1. Worship the Triune God by renounce your pride which goes against the worship in Heaven

2. Persevere your life situation by not compromising because those who are sitting around the Triune God are those who endured hostile situations and stood for their faith

(7:14 “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb! 7:15 For this reason they are before the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his temple, and the one seated on the throne will shelter them. 7:16 They will never go hungry or be thirsty again, and the sun will not beat down on them, nor any burning heat, 7:17 because the Lamb in the middle of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes)