The Hidden Agenda
Revelation Chapter 4
Michael H. Koplitz
As we continue with our study of the book of Revelation, we come to John’s description of Heaven. Actually, what he describes in this chapter is the throne room of heaven. It is full of imagery and symbolism. Nevertheless, before we look at the symbolism, I must tell you that we have seen this vision of heaven before. This description of heaven comes to us from Ezekiel chapter one.
In verse two, John tells us that he is “in the Spirit.” This means that he has a prophet vision and that we remember that when we examine what follows. Twenty-four thrones encircle the throne of God. There is someone called an elder for each lesser throne who sits on that throne except when they are worshiping God. The number 24 has given scholars some heartache over the years in trying to decipher what John meant. Twenty-four may refer to the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles, or the 24 books of the Hebrew Canon, or the 24 orders of the priesthood. Emperor Domitian had 24 lictors, assistants surrounding his throne. Well, no one is certain what the 24 lesser thrones signify.
The color white is used again, indicating purity. Greek literature of that time attributed well to white and bad to black. The sea of glass that is described alludes to the sea that existed in Solomon’s Temple in 1 Kings 7:23. The Temple at Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 A.D. during the first Jewish revolt. It was believed that God resided in the Temple, so it is normal to see parts of the Temple in John’s vision of heaven.
The trumpet is introduced in this chapter and will be used again to signify some significant event or pronouncement. The four creatures described here are a bit different then what Ezekiel described. In Ezekiel’s vision, each creature has four faces. In John’s vision, each has a different face. The types of faces match in both visions.
The focus of this chapter is the worship that is occurring in the throne room of heaven. The 24 elders would immediately fall down and worship God whenever God appeared on the throne, as did the four creatures. What does their worship consist of? There is praising and thanking and glorifying God through bodily movement and hymns.
How do we worship God today? Don’t we use music, prayer, sacraments, and bodily movements to praise God? We also have other activities in the Church that worship God. We have Bible Study and Sunday School, which are times for us to glorify God by learning more about God’s word and how God wants us to live our lives.
There is one more thing that we can learn from this description of the worship of the elders and the creatures. Let me ask you this. What is your attitude when you come to a time of worship? What is your attitude today? Why are you here? Are you here to worship God with all your soul or do you think about something else?
People come to worship with many hidden agendas that aren’t a part of glorifying God. Some of these agendas include:
1. a chance to socialize and show off
2. to ease one’s conscience that they are doing the right thing
3. a habit that has been going on since childhood
Others come to worship thinking about everything else but worship like:
1. Whether or not the roast in the oven will be cooked properly when they get home
2. Hoping that the sermon will be short
3. Worrying about getting to the restaurant for lunch before the other churches let out
4. Worrying about the time
Do you come to worship with an expectation? The elders and the creatures worshiped God without any expectations. They were not looking for anything. When God appeared on the throne, we are told that they fell to the ground in worship. The hymns they sang are given to us and indicates that they never asked for anything.
Many of you would say that you expect to meet the Lord at Sunday worship time. But what happens if that doesn’t happen. Are you going to go home saddened that you didn’t feel God’s presence this morning? Numerous factors contribute to whether or not you will feel God’s Spirit this morning. The prayers, the music, the message may not work for you. Then what are you going to do? This probably happens more times than any of us would like to admit to.
Instead of coming with an attitude or expectation about worship, we must come with the attitude of praise, like the elders and creatures, and with no expectation of receiving anything from God at this time. We come to worship, to praise, and to glorify God. That is the primary purpose of worship. We don’t come here expecting anything, but rather, we come here to offer to God ourselves and our thanksgiving for everything that God has seen fit to bestow upon us. That’s why we are here!
Suppose you feel the Spirit moving you, if your prayer is answered during this fantastic worship time. God will give to us when we truly come before him with our unconditional love. We must love God because God is God. We shouldn’t love God only when He gives us stuff. We shouldn’t love God only when He answers our specific prayers. We should unconditionally love God in the same way He unconditionally loves us. In that way, we will receive the blessings that God has ready for us.
Let me take you through a prayer exercise that I hope you will adopt. When you come before God in prayer, what do you do with your hands? Haven’t we been taught to clasp our hands together? I want you to try a different way. Join me in this. Turn your hands so that the palms of your hands are face up and opened.
In having your hands in this posture during prayer, you should be reminding yourselves as your tell God that you come before the throne of grace with no expectations, no attitudes, no preconceived results, instead of that you are offering God yourself. It is good to ask God for things in prayer. But our expectation should be that God wills everything in His way in His time. With your hands palm up, let’s close our eyes and pray.
