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Revelation 4:8-11

The Song of the Glory of God

A sermon by Pastor Joe Haynes

Preached on May 20, 2018 at Beacon Church

Revelation 4 opens with John seeing the sight of the glory of God, and closes with the song of the glory of God. What caused the song? This isn't just an academic question. This question is personal for me. And it's personal for you too. Because the real question here is, "what can turn our hearts from sin to worship?" What can put a song in these deadened, sluggish hearts of ours when we just don’t feel alive to God and aren’t impressed with His glory? In other words, what can turn unsatisfied sinners like us into joyful worshippers? Sadly, we're all experts when it comes to knowing what can turn worshippers into sinners. We know all sorts of things can trigger selfish, indulgent, angry behaviour in us. We could literally walk out of a beautiful time of soul-satisfying worship, and in minutes be knee deep in sin. We know the sorts of things that can take us away from God, but what can take us back to Him? There are 2 events in these verses: the four living creatures keep on proclaiming God’s holiness, and the 24 elders bow down and praise God’s worthiness. I want to zero in on what causes those two events to happen. The why.

God’s glory redounds in worship

“And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever…” (Rev. 4:9 ESV). What causes the four living creatures to proclaim God’s glory? (c.f. v 9) The answer is: God’s glory. Look at the light in chapter 4—starting with the light from God’s throne. Crystal clear light (the colour called jasper then, in verse 3, see Rev 21:11), blood red light (the carnelian colour); the thunder and lightning in verse 5, the flaming torches of the Spirit of God, and in verse 6, the glassy sea of bronze. So from what we learned last week of the meaning to those symbols, in order to come to God we need to go in the opposite order: we have to hear God’s promises that our sins can be washed away; we have to receive the Holy Spirit; be struck speechless by the thunder and lightning of God's holy decrees, but when we see the blood red glory of the death of Christ for sinners like us, then, and only then, can we see and bask in the brightness of God's pure and holy glory. Through the hearing of the Gospel (the laver), the Holy Spirit gives us life and faith (the torches), to repent of our sin under the condemnation of the Law of God (the thunder), and believe in Christ our sacrifice (the carnelian): nobody comes to the Father except through the Son. Nobody can believe in Jesus without repenting of sin. Nobody can repent without the grace of the Holy Spirit. And nobody can receive the Holy Spirit without hearing the Gospel. This path of salvation, from sinner to worshipper, must begin with the clean water of the Good News. This Good News is the power of God to save sinners, and it is the power of God to sanctify saints. We should never give up walking this path again and again to come back to worship.

I heard a sermon by John Piper back around 2012 and heard him say something like “missions exists because worship doesn’t”.[i] When missionaries and preachers spread the Gospel to the nations, it is because there are places where people aren’t yet worshipping God! The ministry of God's Word is the way God broadcasts His glory to people who need to come to God. Ministers of the Word don't so much take the water to the people as they invite the thirsty to drink. God’s glory causes sinners to become believers and believers to worship: His glory redounds in worship.

God’s ministers proclaim His Word

What causes the 24 elders to worship?

And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever,  10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever.  (Rev. 4:9-10 ESV)

The ministry of the Word through the ministers God uses. I said last week that these four living creatures in verses 6-7 are symbols that stand for "ministers of the Word of God". But I didn't really give you the reasons for why I say that. Let me take a few minutes to do that. Beginning with what we read about where these living creatures are standing--on each of the four sides of the throne of God. “And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind…” (Rev. 4:6 ESV). Most of these images and symbols in chapter 4 are drawn from the Tabernacle of God or the Temple in Jerusalem in ancient Israel. In Numbers 2, God instructed Moses that the when the tribes of Israel make camp, it should be in four groups, each one under a banner--a flag--on each of the four sides of the Tabernacle containing the Ark of the Covenant. “The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,  2 "The people of Israel shall camp each by his own standard, with the banners of their fathers' houses. They shall camp facing the tent of meeting on every side,” (Num. 2:1-2 ESV). The four flag-bearing tribes were Judah, Reuben, Ephraim, and Dan. When camping, and when marching, the tribe of Levi, the priesthood, surrounded the Tabernacle in the middle, with these four divisions of the rest of the tribes, under their four banners around Levi. “Then the tent of meeting shall set out, with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camps; as they camp, so shall they set out, each in position, standard by standard,” (Num. 2:17 ESV). So here, in Revelation 4, in this symbolic vision, we have God's throne in the position of the Tabernacle, with the Levitical priesthood "around the throne" (v4), with the four living creatures standing for the four divisions of the camp of Israel under their four standards, or banners, or flags. God instructed Israel to march under these four banners, and to camp and rest under these four banners. Isn’t that a fitting picture of the universal Church of Christ in this world? Marching on our way to the Promised Land? And ministers of the Word carry the banner.

Then we read that they are four living creatures. “And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind…” (Rev. 4:6 ESV). That comes from the book of Ezekiel, which describes four angelic beings who go out "from the midst" of God's presence (Eze 1:5), "wherever the Spirit would go they would go" (Eze 1:12). And each of them had four faces of a lion, an ox, a man, and an eagle. Revelation 4:7 is a bit different: “the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight,” (Rev. 4:7 ESV). Each one only has one of the four faces. But at least one ancient Jewish commentary on Numbers 2 says that the symbol on Judah’s banner was the lion, Ephraim's the ox, Reuben's the man, and Dan's the eagle.[ii] Although the Bible doesn't describe those flags, that's what Jewish tradition says. It’s a powerful picture: the banner-bearers aren’t just making a living. They are called to serve God, going out from being with God to call worshippers out from the people. They go where the Spirit takes them utterly dependant on Him. In the symbol here there are only four of these ministers of the Word, compared to the 24 elders of the priesthood. That’s because the priesthood of all believers who are called to God through the ministry of the Word is a much bigger group of people than those who preach and teach the Bible. But every sinner who believes in Jesus through their ministry (notice the elders in verse 4) comes and is dressed in white clothes- the righteousness of Jesus; is given a crown of glory to share in His Kingdom; is seated on thrones to rule with Christ when His Kingdom comes.

But the Ministers also receive the Word themselves.

And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!" (Rev. 4:8 ESV)

Did you notice the wings of the four living creatures? In Ezekiel, they have four wings, two stretched out and touching each other's wings forming a circle around God presence, and two covered their bodies in humility (Eze 1:11). But what John saw was six wings each, a detail from a different vision in Isaiah 6, where different angelic beings covered their eyes with two wings, their feet with two wings, and used two wings to fly (Isa 6:2).

Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.  3 And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!" (Isa. 6:2-3 ESV)

They cover their eyes so that they don't look directly at God’s glory; they cover their feet so that God doesn't look directly at their unworthiness; they fly to swiftly obey God's will.[iii] In Isaiah, that picture was a disturbing contrast to the way the people Israel ignored God's holiness, became bold in their sin, and failed to obey Him. In Revelation 4, this picture is added to the living creatures to symbolize that ministers of God's Word must remain faithful to bow before our holy God, to confess sin, and to obey His commands. The last detail about these four living creatures is their eyes. “And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind…” (Rev. 4:6 ESV).

Their eyes in front of them cannot fail to see the glory of God. God has opened their eyes to see that path of salvation from the Gospel sea of bronze, past the torches of the Spirit, past the thundering of God’s Law, through the Covenant of Christ’s blood, and finally to the throne of grace—that’s what their eyes in front of them are enabled to see. But with their eyes behind them, they see so many far off from God, who might come forward if they heard the Gospel, and they sorrow over those who ignore the call and turn their backs on Him who sits on the throne. The implication of the eyes in front of them, seeing God, and their eyes behind them, seeing the world, is that through their ministry God's glory is made known to the world, and the world is held accountable for their rebellion against God. As Rev 22:11 says, “Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy,” (Rev. 22:11 ESV). Last of all, they also are full of eyes within: the truth of God exposes everything false inside of us. As Paul tells young Pastor Timothy, "Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers." (1 Tim. 4:16 ESV) Ministers are not super Christians. They are also just sheep after all--but sheep to whom Christ our Chief Shepherd has entrusted His other sheep. These living creatures, symbols of all ministers of the Word, are held accountable by God for their teaching and for their examples to the flock. As James writes, "Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For we all stumble in many ways." (Jas. 3:1-2 ESV) 16 years ago, when I started preaching God’s Word, I had no idea the layers of sin in my heart God was about to reveal. This ministry keeps on peeling those layers away and exposing sin I didn’t know lay buried underneath the sins I knew about. Romans 7:18 has become one of my favourite go-to passages in the Bible: “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right but not the ability to carry it out.” This might be a clue to what the four different faces of the living creatures mean--as some commentators suggest, the face of a lion for strength, of an ox for patient hard work, of a man for learning and wisdom, and of an eagle for swift obedience. These faces of the “living creatures” remind us that God who created every creature makes us live and He alone produces godly character in our lives. Perhaps these are meant to be understood as the qualities the Holy Spirit creates in the lives of ministers who stay faithful? The fruit He grows by calling ministers to also come again to worship?

God’s people bow down in praise…

“For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand,” (Ps. 95:7 ESV).

In any case, strength, patient endurance, understanding, and obedience are implied in the sound John hears coming from the mouths of the four living creatures in verse 8b: “and day and night they never cease to say, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” (Rev. 4:8 ESV). Three times, "holy, holy, holy"--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--the Lord God Almighty! The words of their sermon--the words they never stop saying--come from Isaiah 6:3... With a twist. In Isaiah 6 they cry out "the whole earth is full of His glory", but in Rev 4:6 they say, "who was and is and is to come!" It's not much of a stretch to conclude that in Isaiah God's glory is revealed through all Creation--the whole earth is full of His glory. In Revelation, God's glory is revealed through His sovereign rule over the past, the present, and the future--who was and is and is to come! Faithful ministers must learn from what John wrote about “what must take place after this” (4:1), in order to be properly equipped for their ministry.

Since the day Jesus ascended to His Father in Heaven, in every place there where a true and faithful church has taken root, ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ have taught, and explained, read aloud and proclaimed the Scriptures to invite sinners to come to Jesus by faith. For 2000 years like a broken record stuck on the most beautiful song in the world, this has been the song of the choir of Christianity, led by the choir-leaders, its ministers of the Word. In all that time, just imagine how many suffering saints have pored over the prophecies of Revelation looking for strength, for patient endurance, for understanding, for the ability to obey God? The throne of God is the right symbol to introduce a vision of the future God was showing to the prophet, John. Compare verse 1 with the end of the chapter:

After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this." (Rev. 4:1 ESV)

9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever,  10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, (Rev. 4:9-10 ESV)

Our God reigns.

Now we can see the cause and effect connection between the message the four living creatures never stop saying, and the praise that rises up from the 24 elders. The glory of God shines from His throne, thunders in His decrees, gives life in His Spirit, and washes sinners through His Gospel, and it returns to Him in praise. Praise in the preaching of His ministers; praise in the worship of His saints. And there is a cause and effect relationship between the future John was shown and wrote about, and the unceasing preaching of Good News by the ministers of God’s Word. In verse 9 it rises up in them as God-glorifying, God-honouring, thanksgiving, specifically because the have learned that blessed truth: God rules forever:

…The twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,  11 "Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created."   (Rev. 4:10-5:1 ESV).

This is personal: their thankful praise is from the heart. And look how the whole body of believers, all the priesthood of believers in Christ, symbolized by the 24 elders—look how they respond to the sincere, God-glorying message they hear: In verse 4 when John first saw those 24 elders, they were sitting down but not any more! Maybe you know the famous story of Queen Victoria when she heard the Hallelujah Chorus composed by Handel, she stood up. But when these 24 elders hear about the sovereign, timeless Lordship of God over the history and the future, they all fall down in worship! They "cast their crowns", refusing to keep any glory for themselves, but giving all their praise to God, and they respond to the ministers and pastors and teachers in every church by lifting up their voices in turn, saying, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created,” (Rev. 4:11 ESV).

Every time a sinner repents, we confess all over again, "Lord, the thing I've taken to heart, the idol I've worshipped, the sin I've looked to for comfort or for reward--Lord these dead things are not worthy of the glory I've given them. Oh Lord and God, you alone are worthy!" Matthew Henry insisted that our song is not, "we give you glory" because really we have no glory of our own to give--even our crowns belong to God.[iv] But we do say, "You deserve all glory oh Lord God"--glory and honour and power. All your ways are right and good Lord! For in the same way that the world exists--that all things were created by your will, and that all things in the word carry on their existence--by your will--in that same way the future holds no surprises, nothing uncertain, and nothing unplanned. But all things in the past, the present and the future exist by your will and come to pass by your decrees, and for your glory! In this way every sinner who hears the Word of God, is washed by the Gospel, filled with the Spirit, convicted of sin, and believes in the blood of Jesus, begins to see the holy purity of the glory of God. And we bow down, and we cast our crowns at the foot of His throne, and we worship. Meaning we find our souls stirred with beauty, our hearts lifted up in adoration, our spirits satisfied with something greater than ourselves in which we delight. We can’t find satisfaction in something that has been made; we can’t find ultimate meaning in something created. Our hearts long to worship the uncreated One, the Creator of everything that exists; the One whose good and merciful will gave us Jesus; the One whose plan of Redemption will one day heal what sin has broken and redeem what Adam lost. So fueled by the glory of God in this vision, no matters how bruised, or battered, or tired, we can pray along with our Lord Jesus when He suffered, “not my will Lord, but yours be done.”

[i] John Piper, “Missions Exists Because Worship Doesn’t: A Bethlehem Legacy, Inherited and Bequeathed”. DesiringGod.org [https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/missions-exists-because-worship-doesnt-a-bethlehem-legacy-inherited-and-bequeathed]. Accessed May 19, 2018.[ii] John Gill, Gill’s Expositor, citing Abraham Ben Ezra (Aben Ezra) on Numbers 2:2, in “Revelation 4:6”. Online Bible Edition.[iii] c.f. Eerdman's Bible Dictionary, "Seraphim"[iv] Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary; Crossway Classic Commentaries, “Revelation”. Olive Tree edition. “Revelation 4:8-11”.