The glory of God is discovered each time we approach the throne of God. “Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? And where isthe place of my rest? For all those thingshath mine own hand made, and all those thingshave been, saith the LORD: but to this manwill I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembles at my word.” Isaiah 66:1 We so much need to humble ourselves before the Lord God Almighty, as we seek to walk before Him as we live this life. “And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” 1st Timothy 3:16 When we go to Revelation 4, John was invited to come up into heaven and be shown the things which must be hereafter, in verse 1,after he had an encounter with the resurrected Lord. “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his hand upon me, saying unto me, “Fear not; I am the first and last, I am he that was dead: and, behold, I live for evermore, Amen: Rev. 1;17-18 Listen carefully and observe: Starting in Revelation 4:2“And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. And he that sat was to look upon a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like an emerald. And around about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold. And out of the throne proceeded lightings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. The first beast was like a lion, and the second like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.”
Our human limitations overwhelm us as we see this scene in heaven, and in the last few verses of Chapter 4:10, “The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat upon the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throng saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: For thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” In the events unfolding in heaven, John saw a book written, it actually was a sealed book, sealed with seven seals. John then saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof” Now John will see whom he is looking for: “And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns, and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.”
The four and twenty elders along with the four beasts, fell down before the Lamb, and I paraphrase here, and they sung a new song. “Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.” At this point John hears the voice of many angles, beasts, elders and the numbers are beyond description. Ten thousand times then thousand, and thousands of thousands. (To much to even comprehend.) Saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.” I think of the song, “I Can Only Imagine,” because these are so profound and we see but see not. The glory surrounding our Lord Jesus Christ exceeds our expectations and it is not comprehended as we view from afar off. But the glory of God and the Lamb of God opens our eyes to the glorious throne of God and quickly we are humbled. When Jesus was born, his place was a humble manger in a village called Bethlehem, and yet when he ascended up into heaven there is none like Him. In heaven his is found in the midst of the assemble gathered together in heaven. John saw what was going on, in glory, and of course was overwhelmed. This morning the one who was slain, paying for the sin of the whole world, becomes the center of attention. Nothing distracts anyone from Him, The Son of God, who was slain for you and me. Listen and think with God. We look through a glass darkly, for us who believe, but when we get there, it will be face to face. The fruit of the Spirit will be eternal, the devil will be cast into a lake of fire in Revelation 20:10 Imagine with me this morning. There will be a time coming where there will be no doubt, for the Lord Jesus Christ as obtained a place for all who believe in Him, the one who overcame death and the grave, and ascended into heaven and reigns even now, for death could not hold him nor will it hold those that believe. If you would like to imagine, imagine this, Christ died for you, was buried for you, rose from the dead for you, ascended up into heaven for you, sits beside God for you, gaining victory over sin and the devil for you, and invites you to come to Him who calls you, to receive eternal life. It is impossible to imagine heaven, if we cannot believe that Christ came so that you would have a place prepared for you for all eternity, if you could only imagine. Ask Christ into your heart today, and imagine with me how glorious it will be!
