REVELATION 4.1 After these things I looked and saw a door opened in heaven, and the first voice that I heard, like a trumpet speaking with me, was one saying, “Come up here, and I will show you the things which must happen after this.” 4.2 Immediately I was in the Spirit. Behold, there was a throne set in heaven, and one sitting on the throne 4.3 that looked like a jasper stone and a sardius. There was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald to look at.
4.4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones. On the
thrones were twenty-four elders sitting, dressed in white garments, with crowns
of gold on their heads. 4.5 Out of the throne proceed lightnings, sounds,
and thunders. There were seven lamps of fire burning before his throne, which
are the seven Spirits of God. 4.6 Before the throne was something like a
sea of glass, similar to crystal.
In the middle of the
throne, and around the throne were four living creatures full of eyes before
and behind. 4.7 The first creature was like a lion, and the second creature
like a calf, and the third creature had a face like a man, and the fourth was
like a flying eagle. 4.8 The four living creatures, each one of them
having six wings, are full of eyes around and within. They have no rest day and
night, saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who
is and who is to come!” -WEB
Bible
Do you know how the Tribulation begins? In Revelation
chapter 4, it begins with worship! The Apostle John was caught up in a vision
to heaven, to the very throne room of God: and there he saw amazing Seraphim,
Angels and Elders who were worshiping God. They were all saying, "Holy,
Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."
The painting above depicts the twenty-four Elders who
worship God in Revelation 4. John is in the lower left of the painting, writing
down the remarkable vision that he sees. The seven Lampstands are in the foreground,
below the throne.
We also see the four Seraphim who worship around the
throne of God at all times. Seraphim are very special creatures who never leave
God's Presence. The four Seraphim appear frequently in illustrations of
Revelation.
The End Times are not about Judgment. That's the surprising thing I've learned from the book of Revelation. Judgment Day doesn't happen until 1000 years AFTER the End Times events.
The End Times are meant to apply pressure, in a last-ditch, all-out effort to bring people to repentance. All the folks who have put off getting serious about Jesus will be feeling the pressure, because Jesus does love us.
In fact, God is patient, because he wants everyone to turn from sin and no one to be lost. 2 Peter 3:9
God holds off the full fury of his wrath until only the die-hard rebels are left on planet earth. And even as the seven bowls of the full fury of God's Wrath are dumped on earth, one after another, those hard-core sinners are given a last-minute chance to turn to God.
How do we survive the intense pressure of the End Times? The book of Revelation switches us to a worship service again and again. The only way we can endure the days to come is to understand that Heaven is rejoicing at the soon return of Jesus Christ, when everything will be made right.
So turn on the worship and soak in the joy of heaven. We need it.
Soli Deo Gloria (Official Lyric Video) - Darlene Zschech & Mitch Wong
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkSISmHh0xI
IMAGE CREDIT: Vision of St John the Evangelist
by Unknown Master, German, circa 1450 A.D., oil on wood. Currently located at
Wallraf-Richartz Museum, Cologne.