He Is Worthy
The book of Revelation can be pretty confusing sometimes, and I know with the current state of our world right now, people have been spending extra time in this book. But there is a chapter in Revelation that I have always loved. It’s not a chapter about prophecy; it’s a chapter about God’s throne room.
The word “throne” appears in the NASB thirteen times in Revelation 4. John was going to be shown what must take place, and in the Spirit, he saw a vision of God’s throne.
Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads. Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God; and before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. Revelation 4:2-6
I remember years ago, during a Bible Bee study, we were asked to draw a picture of what Revelation 4 was describing here. That picture has stuck with me, along with a wonder of how beautiful God’s throne must be – I mean, He looks like jasper stone and sardius, there’s a rainbow that looks like an emerald, and before the throne is a sea of glass… that sounds amazing!
The chapter goes on to describe the four living creatures, and then in verse 8 tells us what they continually say:
And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.” Revelation 4:8
God is so holy, it’s emphasized three times. We must never forget the holiness of God. He is perfect, spotless, and because He is holy, He requires holiness within us. God’s holiness is the reason our sin separates us from God, and that’s why we need Christ to be our Savior and perfect righteousness for us. It’s through Christ’s blood purifying us from our sin that we are made holy so that we can stand before the throne of a holy God with confidence (see Heb. 9:11-15, 1 Pet. 1:14-21, & Heb. 4:16).
Revelation 4 ends saying that as the four creatures praise Him, the twenty-four elders begin to worship Him, too:
And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.” Revelation 4:9-11
Three times it’s emphasized that God is eternal (verses 8, 9, and 10). He created everything and holds the world together because He wants to, and because of that, He is worthy of all glory, honor, and power.
Revelation 4 is all about God’s grandeur and how worthy He is of worship. He is worshipped because of His holiness and power. God is worshipped in reverence and awe as we see the elders falling before the throne and casting their crowns before His throne.
Christian culture can sometimes focus so much on God’s love and His friendship that we forget how holy and awesome God is. When we lose sight of how awesome and holy He is, we lose some of our reverence and awe.
God is so much more than our buddy; He’s the Creator of the universe! He holds all things in existence together! I encourage you to take a step back and realize how awesome God is. Read Psalm 19 that talks about creation praising God. Read Revelation 4 several times through and meditate on His holiness. Read Job 38 and see how powerful God is.
Another thing that stands out to me in Revelation 4 is the elders casting their crowns before the throne. It seems to be a symbol of surrender and humility as they lay their everything before the throne. It reminds me of the woman who poured costly oil on Jesus’ feet.
Now one of the Pharisees was requesting Him to dine with him, and He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume, and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume. Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner.” Luke 7:36-39
Turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet. You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” Then He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.” Luke 7:44-48
This woman recognized who Jesus was and humbled herself before Him. She treated Him with reverence when the Pharisee did nothing. She surrendered to Christ and left forgiven.
Am I willing to lay everything before Jesus’ feet? To be wholly surrendered because He is worthy? That is my prayer. Everything of worth in me should be surrendered at the feet of Christ. My desire is to live in surrender to Him because He is worthy.
I challenge all of us to spend time dwelling on God’s holiness and worthiness today. Come before His presence in awe and reverence, and take time to surrender whatever needs to be surrendered to Christ today. He is worthy of all glory, honor, and power, and He is worthy of our total surrender.
With love,
Kelsey
