Theological Commentary: Click Here
Revelation 4 and 5 is our first great picture into heaven in the book of Revelation. The entire scope of this chapter is the
worship of God. He is the center of the
worship. He is the heart of heaven. He is the focus. That is how it should be.
Did you
notice that these chapter is naturally divided into sections? After John sets the context, he tells us
about the 24 elders. We can gather from
other places in Revelation that these 24 elders are a symbolic representation
of the Old and New Testament people.
Prior to Christ’s coming, there were the 12 tribes of Israel. After Christ came, there were the 12 apostles,
who spread the witness of God to create His church. What we can learn from this section is that
God is faithful to His covenants. The people
of the first covenant will be present.
The people of the second covenant will also be present. We will be together as God’s people. We will be there together for the sole
purpose of worshiping God.
After
meeting the 24 elders, we meet the four living creatures. We’re never truly told what the four living
creatures represent, but the common thought is that they are the representation
of the rest of creation. These are the
creatures that represent the best of the world that God created. Like His people, creation gathers to worship
God as well.
One of my
favorite elements of this chapter is near the end of chapter 4. The elders bow down and cast their crowns
upon the one who is at the center in the throne. Finally, we get a picture of human humbleness! Finally, we see that humanity gets it right. Granted,
this doesn’t mean that all humanity gets it right. I’m not trying to talk about universal
salvation here. But there are elements
of humanity that do get it right. There
are those who do have the worship of God and living according to His ways at
the heart of their lives. That’s what
life is ultimately about.
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