Revelation structure is a little bit like a roller coaster. All right, so Revelation 1 through 5 is the click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click part, right? Revelation 4 is, we are almost there, and it turns to clacks. Click, click, clack, clack, clack, clack. And then Revelation 5 next week, we're going to start flying.
Okay? But before we get there, we need to set the stage for the drama to unfold in chapter 5.
Now, let me just draw some connections here. So last week, Alec preached from one of the— did a great job preaching from one of the books, one of the letters to the churches in Revelation. And it's critical to remember that Revelation was written not to a bunch of guys with conspiracy boards laid out in their basements, but Revelation was written to churches.
To 7 churches in Asia Minor. And keeping those people in mind helps us keep Revelation aimed where it's supposed to be aimed. Revelation is not just supposed to be aimed at our heads. Revelation is aimed at our hearts. And so when you get to know the churches in Revelation 2 and 3, you'll begin to understand why Jesus encourages them the way that he does.
Does. Now, if you are a Christian living in Asia Minor in one of these 7 churches, your reality, your life would be driven in large part by what people in throne rooms decreed over you. Okay? There were a number of provincial rulers and kings in Asia Minor, governors, Roman governors. And so when they issued a decree, and you imagine this decree coming from a You know, this is where all the money was, right?
They wanted to impress people. So you'd go up a little stair and there'd be another stair and you keep going up and there'd be a long hallway. And then this guy would be at the end, right? And what he decreed from the throne would affect your life. All the way to the Roman emperor himself, the Caesar himself, right?
Caesar's authority was everywhere. Symbols of his authority were everywhere. Even the coins you used, had pictures of Caesar. There were busts of Caesar everywhere. It's a very Roman, colonized Roman area in Asia Minor.
And the Christians at this time, beginning to feel persecution from multiple sides, were extremely aware that somebody in a throne room could, with an instant, reshape their lives. And it led some of them to fear. It led some of them to compromise. It led some of them to say, you know what, we don't even know how much time we have. Let's enjoy life.
That's why Revelation 4 gives us a throne room and one on the throne, but an utterly different kind of throne room with an utterly different King sitting on it.
This is is God's Word. Revelation 4, verse 1: 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.' At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven with one seated on the throne. And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. And around the throne were 24 thrones, and seated on the thrones were 24 elders clothed in white garments with golden crowns on their heads.
And from the throne came flashes of lightning and rumblings and peals of thunder. And before the throne were burning 7 torches of fire, which are the 7 spirits of God. And before the throne there was, as it were, a sea of glass, like crystal. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are 4 living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. The first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight.
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.' And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the 24 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, '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.
This is God's Word. And Lord, we pray, we pray for eyes to see this.
We pray that you would allow us with spiritual sight to glimpse what you have given John a glimpse of in this chapter. Lord, help the inadequacy of my words, and even in some ways John's words at the limits of human language. Lord, help us to see what only you can help us see. Amen.
6 · Establishes the sermon's controlling theological framework: a cosmic throne (God's sovereignty) and a personal throne (functional lordship in the believer's life)
At the center of the universe, there is a throne. This picture in Revelation 4 is that throne. And the one seated on the throne is the one around whom and in whom and through whom everything is ruled. Everything exists. But the challenge in our lives is this, that the way I'm going to sum it up is using with this language.
In the center of each of our hearts and lives, there is another throne. And what I mean by that is there is something or someone that functionally rules and reigns over us. That what reshapes our lives, whether it's a relationship, a pursuit, whether it's something over us like an employer or, you know, the forces of inflation or whatever it may be that we feel The defining reality of our lives, the reality of our lives is defined by whatever is sitting on that throne. And so the key question Revelation 4 asks us is this: Is the one on the throne at the center of the universe sitting on the throne of your life?
7 · Signals the sermon's three-part structure and introduces the first major section on God's cosmic throne
That's the question. Now, 3 sections today. The first is the throne at the center. Of the universe.
8 · Establishes a hermeneutical principle for interpreting Revelation's symbolic imagery: the images are not obstacles to be decoded but revelatory aids that communicate what literal language cannot
Now, remember, as we went through these images, remember what we said a couple weeks ago, that these images, these pictures in Revelation are not to obscure the real meaning. It's not as though we got to dig through these weird pictures to find the kernel of, you know, truth. No, these pictures are meant to help us see the true meaning. In other words, if I say, hey, a lady came in and she had brown hair, that's a true statement. If I say a lady came in and her eyes were like ice, you're like, okay, I get that. That actually helps me see better.
I don't care that she had brown hair. I care about what's going on. Why are her eyes like ice? Right? Similarly, the pictures in Revelation 4 are helping us to glimpse in image what's at the end of the limits of human language.
9 · Uses a simple hypothetical comparison (brown hair vs
In other words, if I say, hey, a lady came in and she had brown hair, that's a true statement. If I say a lady came in and her eyes were like ice, you're like, okay, I get that. That actually helps me see better.
I don't care that she had brown hair. I care about what's going on. Why are her eyes like ice? Right?
10 · Introduces David Helm's structural framework for reading Revelation by tracking Christ's appearances, then applies this framework to show that chapters 4 and 5 function as the theological foundation for the chaos described in chapters 6 through 11
So what is revealed? Well, verse 2 says that, 'Behold, a throne stood in heaven with one seated on the throne.' Now, the structure of Revelation, as we walk through this, will— it's going to be lots of twists and turns as we study Revelation. But David Helm has a simple way to keep track of where you are in Revelation and to understand the section of Revelation you're in. And that is by looking at the appearances of Christ. So Revelation 1, this person walking among the lampstands appears, and then chapters 2 and 3 are the lampstands, the churches among whom he's walking, right?
In Revelation 4 and 5, you see the throne and the next week, the Lamb together. And that shapes the tumultuous next period of the bowls of wrath and things that are being poured out on the earth in Revelation 6 to 11. And then perhaps in Revelation 12, there's a picture of a lion— not a lion, a dragon, a woman, and a child, which is Christ. And that kind of shapes the cosmic warfare section of Revelation. And at the very end, Jesus, the rider on the white horse, appears, comes, defeats evil finally, and ushers in the new heavens and the new earth.
So each section, the appearance of God, the glimpse of God and of Christ specifically, shapes what comes next. Next. So what shapes this next section of Revelation? It is this: that above the turmoil and chaos of chapters 6 through 11, we need to see chapters 4 and 5, and we need to see above the chaos of the earth, there sits a throne and one seated on the throne, and that one is exercising his authority and rule without difficulty, without challenge upon the earth.
11 · Exegetes Revelation 4:3's description of the one on the throne using jasper, carnelian, and emerald imagery
Now, what can we glean here from what this one on the throne is like? For verse 3 uses this very vivid picture. He who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. Now, if you read into Revelation, you can get a good commentary. I recommend Beale or Johnson, among others. If you read into the commentaries of Revelation, some are like, okay, well, this is what jasper was in the ancient world, and here's the modern equivalent, and here's what I think it means, and here's where it pops up in Scripture.
And there are surely variations and shades of meaning here. But don't lose the forest for the trees, right? Step back a little bit. What's this image meant to evoke? It's meant to evoke with these precious gemstones, sparkling, reflecting color, color shining through.
Emerald perhaps being the brightest of the stones with the clearest color, all of that. And then around the throne is this swirl of rainbow and color. And John gets to the limits of his human language and says, 'It had the appearance of an emerald.' You know, you could feel John trying to write this down. Like, how do I? How do I capture this?
What we're meant to see is something dazzling.
12 · Illustrates the dazzling beauty of the throne room by recounting a visit to La Sagrada Familia in Spain, where morning and afternoon light washes the interior in color
I remember a few years ago I had the opportunity to go to Spain with my dad on a family heritage trip. And one of the things we saw in Spain was La Sagrada Familia, one of the greatest architectural wonders of the world. It's this church that has been under construction for 100 years, one of the most beautiful, ornate churches on the outside. But you enter the inside and it's— It's actually very minimal.
It's not filled with statues and things. And it's just this great cavernous space. It looks like almost organic in these shapes that almost like giant trees are holding up the roof. And one of the unique features of this cathedral is that in the morning, all the stained glass on the side facing the morning sun has morning light colors like blue, green, light yellow, so that as the sun rises, the entire interior of the space is washed in color. And then in the afternoon, the stained glass on this side is all afternoon sun colors.
It is oranges, reds, deep yellows, so that as the sun shines in, it washes the church again. In color. I've never seen anything like it.
John is saying, kind of like that? Question mark.
What we're meant to hear, to get here, is that this throne is dazzling. It is awe-inspiring. It is jaw-dropping. The beauty of the one on the throne is indescribable. Take 100,000 of the brightest diamonds of earth It's inadequate.
Take the cathedrals and the stained glass of earth and shine light through them across this place, and it would be inadequate. The one on the throne is dazzling in beauty.
13 · Self-correcting transition where the preacher adjusts his exposition mid-sermon to address the rainbow imagery earlier than originally planned, showing responsiveness to the congregation's needs
And then verse 4, we read around the throne were 24 thrones and seated— you know what, before we go on to that, I want to do something here. I'm going to change something from the first service because I think you need this earlier in the text to make sense of what comes later. That there was one more detail in chapter 3, that around the throne was a rainbow.
14 · Traces the rainbow imagery back to Genesis and Noah's covenant, establishing that the rainbow surrounding the throne signifies God's mercy, faithfulness, and covenant promise
Now, you could say, okay, well, that he's just grabbing, you know, images. I do think the specificity of the rainbow is important in the context of the entire Bible. Anybody want to venture a guess as to where we see the rainbow in the Bible? Somebody, come on. Come on, Sean.
Yes, in Genesis. The whole— we all know the Noah and the arky-arky, and, you know, and they get off the ark. But remember, God sees. He looks down and humanity is exposed, and the darkness of our heart is exposed, and he sees only sin and evil continually. And he wipes away the sin and injustice and evil in his judgment, but preserves in his kindness a remnant.
Of humanity, Noah and his family, and makes a covenant with this family. And so that— and the covenant is symbolized in the rainbow, right? And so here's the notable thing. That rainbow in Genesis symbolizes God's mercy, God's faithfulness, and God's covenant promise. So not only is he beautiful, He's merciful.
He's faithful. Imagine, as it were, that God himself on the throne is wrapped in mercy and covenant faithfulness.
15 · Exegetes the 24 elders as angelic beings representing the people of God (OT and NT), emphasizing their power and yet their posture of deference to the one on the throne
That makes us go, 'Oh, yes, yes.' But then verse 4, 'Around the throne were 24 thrones, and seated on the thrones were 24 elders clothed in white garments with golden crowns on their heads.' What does that mean? Why are these people here? Well, remember in Revelation, numbers are significant, but not in like Bible code wave significant. It's not like you got to count every third word and then read them backwards and they spell out Vladimir Putin and you're like, there it is, there it is. No, they're numbers from Scripture, right?
And 24 is 12 times 2. And we know the number 12 is significant, the 12 tribes of Israel, the 12 apostles. G.K. Beale says this, 'It seems best to see these elders as angelic beings representing the church as a whole, including the saints in the New and Old Testaments.' Meaning, as it were, like the Old and New Testaments, it's 12 and 12 together, that's the gathered people of God. They're representative. I don't think they are the people of God, but they're representative of the people of God.
But notice something, these are angelic powerful beings. They sit on thrones, they have crowns, right? Again, if we encountered any one of these beings, we would do what what John does repeatedly through the rest of Revelation, and fall on our face in fear and terror. And yet these rulers, these powerful beings, they are in deference to the one on the throne. They're not co-ruling with the one on the throne.
They are in deference to him.
16 · Exegetes the lightning, thunder, and seven spirits of God in Revelation 4:5, clarifying that the seven spirits represent the Holy Spirit in fullness (using the biblical symbolism of seven for completion) and setting up the next theological point about God's character
Verse 5: From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. And before the throne were burning 7 torches of fire, which are the 7 spirits of God. Now, you might be gone if you've just learned about the Trinity. You're like, I thought there were only 3, now there's 7.
What's happening? It's okay. Remember, 7, the number 7 in the Bible, is used to symbolize completion. And so the 7 spirits of God is an almost colloquial way of saying The Spirit of God in all of His fullness is there. Well, what is it like to be with the Lord there in the fullness of His Spirit?
17 · Challenges the modern tendency to emphasize only God's comfort and mercy (the 'teddy bear parts') and insists on a full picture that includes His awesome power and holiness (lightning and thunder)
Look, sometimes I think Christians over and almost exclusively emphasize the— if I could say it this way— the kind parts of God, the parts we most relate to, if I could say— I'm running a risk here, but hear what I'm saying— that the teddy bear parts of God, you know, where it's like, 'I just want God's mercy and I want to just hold it and it makes me feel better,' which is true. God is merciful. God does embrace us. God puts his hand on John's shoulder. But we need a full and complete picture of the character of God.
And the full and complete picture of the character of God is not only that he is wrapped in mercy and covenant faithfulness, but at his throne there is lightning, there is rumbling, there there is thunder.
18 · Connects the lightning and thunder imagery in Revelation 4 to the Sinai theophany in Exodus, where God's unveiled presence was so powerful that touching the mountain meant death
Now, where do we see God's presence surrounded by lightning, smoke, thunder? Exodus. Somebody said Exodus. That's it.
After they escaped from Egypt, God says, 'I'm going to reveal myself to you.' And so they're surrounding Mount Sinai, and God comes to rest on the mountain. And on this mountain, lightning Thunder, power, and the direction is given to God's people, 'Do not come near it. Do not even touch it lest you die.' The unfiltered, unveiled presence of God.
19 · Recounts a visceral personal experience of witnessing lightning strike a power line and start a fire, using the terror and awe of that moment to help the congregation feel the weight of God's cosmic power represented by the thunder and lightning at His throne
Now, I don't know about you, but I'm like, 'Okay, I've seen thunderstorms. I've seen lightning. I'm, as a 21st century Christian, not impressed by the thunder and lightning.' Well, so much of that is because every time there's thunder and lightning, we get to sit in our nice house and You know, and we're like, 'Oh, look, it's thundering.' Or driving a car that's climate controlled and it's like, 'Oh, it's raining. I'm going to turn the air up a little bit here.' You know, it's like, whatever. But a few years ago, I was driving down a steep incline as we were going home, Jen and I.
We're driving down a steep incline. And as we're driving down, it was pretty thundery. I mean, thundery to the point that I'm like, 'It actually might not be safe to drive right now. This is kind of crazy.' And as we're driving down, we kind of had an incline, we could see into people's yards and things. As we're driving down, a boom unlike any boom I've ever experienced.
I experienced it twice in my life. One is that when lightning hit the neighbor's house across the street and I thought my windows are gonna break. And this time when the boom hits to where every inch of your body goes tense, 'Cause you think this might be it. And in that instant, hearing the boom, I saw, this never happened to me in another context, where a bolt of lightning came down and hit a power line in someone's backyard. The power line explodes, that's the only words I could use to describe it, it explodes, and sparks from the power line fly into all the yards around it, And 1 yard, this was in, you know, summer, 1 yard, there's like a 2-second delay, and I'm not kidding, whoom, fire.
And I just remember every muscle in my body is tense, my palms are sweaty, my mouth gets dry. We get to the bottom of the hill, Jenna and I have not said anything. I look at her and say, Should we call someone about that?
And she just kind of looked back at me.
And we, like, literally, we're just in shock. So for another 20, 30 seconds, we're driving. We drive past the fire station. The lights of the fire station come on. This car, like, you could see them, like, racing down.
And they're, like, a minute later, they're racing up the street. So we're like, okay. I think they are aware.
And I don't know if in my life I have ever felt so exposed and vulnerable, realizing that in an instant I could be vaporized from the sky.
20 · Synthesizes the preceding exposition and illustration into a propositional claim about God's character: mercy, beauty, and unmatched power coexist in the one on the throne
God is robed in mercy. He is dazzling in beauty. But he and his power are unmatched in the universe. He comes with sonic cosmic booms and lightning that splits the sky. This is who God is.
21 · Exegetes the 'sea of glass like crystal' in Revelation 4:6 by tracing the biblical symbolism of the sea as chaos and danger, then showing that before God's throne, all chaos is stilled—a powerful image of God's sovereign control
And then verse 6, this detail, 'And before the throne there was, as it were, a sea of glass-like crystal.' Now, throughout the Bible, the sea is often pictured as chaotic and dangerous, right? It's the realm of the Leviathan. The storms rage in many places in Scripture. And in Revelation, the sea is especially bad. In the Book of Revelation, nobody wants to hang out on the beach because that's where scary beasts with horns come out and rule the world.
So if you like going to the beach, stop. I'm just kidding. You can go to the beach. But in the imagery of Revelation, the beach is not like, hey, let's go down to the seaside and see what— nope, that's a beast coming out of the sea. We're going to go back.
Revelation 6 through 11, there's going to be all this raging tempest and storms, all of this stuff. The world feels like a raging sea, pictured as a raging sea in some cases. And yet before the throne, all of the raging tempest oceans of the earth are silent and still before the rule and reign of God himself.
22 · Rejects a picture of God as anxious or reactive, asserting instead that the world's chaos does not disturb God's sovereign calm
The Lord, listen, I want you to get this. The Lord is not up there in Revelation 4 on the throne going, oh my gosh, he's wringing his hands. Oh, inflation and war in Europe and COVID. And he's just like furiously putting out fires and he's just, he's up there. He's just a hardworking guy doing the best he can.
No, no. The world and all of its tempest and rage is still before the Lord of Hosts.
23 · Transitions from exposition to application by naming the first existential problem Revelation 4 addresses: the despair of feeling ruled by forces beyond one's control
And what does this mean? Well, I believe that this would profoundly reshape the way we think about life if we can grasp it. The first way this reshapes life is it answers the statement, these people or this thing rules over my life and It's hopeless.
24 · Bridges from the original context (first-century Christians fearing Roman power) to contemporary application, naming modern equivalents: bosses, spouses, world events, medical situations—forces that feel like they rule over our lives
This is very much the plight of the original Christians in first-century Asia Minor. They felt acutely those who had power over them. They feared what would happen to them. And maybe today you feel the same. Maybe you feel like your life is just getting pushed and pulled by all these forces above you and around you.
And maybe functionally something else is on the throne of your life, not God. You see something else. Well, if this boss does this or that, it changes my life. Spouse does this or that, they change my life.
Maybe it's something even harder to define. It's the world turmoil, it's inflation, it's COVID, it's war, it's disaster. And you're constantly wondering, what is this going to happen? It's a medical situation. This thing is the thing that rules over my life.
25 · Delivers the gospel comfort directly: God on the throne means your life is not subject to the whims of earthly powers—He rules over them all and holds His people in His hand
Oh, brother and sister, hear the good news. Hear this the way that it would have encouraged the original Christians who read it. Who fear day after day, what will Caesar say this week? What will Caesar decree this year? What will happen to us?
The Lord is revealing himself as the one on the throne over all. Your life is not left up to the whims and chances of the powers over you. There is one who rules over those powers and who holds you in his hand. If you are his people. Oh, what good news!
You don't have to wonder what's going to happen, what will the medical result be, and that'll change my life. No, it may, but one rules over it all.
26 · Identifies a second modern problem: the existential despair that follows radical autonomy
Now I want to address perhaps a more modern twist on this that I think is unique to our age in particular, and that's the thought: no one rules over my life.
And it's hopeless. See, we live in an age where it's like the age of the individual, the age of me. It's like, nobody's going to tell me what to do. All of our big stories are like the little guy, the individualist raging against the system and winning, right? The problem is, once we rage against the system and win and are free to do whatever we want to do, then it's like, what now?
When life is left up to us to define and rule and reign over, we find our power absolutely inadequate.
27 · Illustrates the inadequacy of human autonomy using two cultural references: the Wizard of Oz and a Marvel show where killing the cosmic ruler leaves everyone in existential terror because no one is actually fit to rule
We're like the, you know, to reference a dated film, right? We think the powerful Wizard of Oz is the one who's in control. And, you know, Wizard of Oz, the parable is they go and they find it's just a little guy in a booth with a voice box and gears. And we're like, 'Haha, we can determine our own destiny.' This happened recently actually in a Marvel show where they get to this person controlling all of time and everybody, Everybody's destiny.
They go and find him, find he who remains in the Citadel at the end of time. And it's just a guy. And one of the characters kills him. And everybody else is like, I guess we're doing whatever we want now. Woo!
The problem is this. You get there and then existentially, it is terrifying.
28 · Applies the gospel to the postmodern condition: the good news is that someone competent is on the throne, and it's not us
Look, if life is left up to you to exert your rule and reign over? Good luck with that. I can't even get my 2-year-old to do what I want him to do. If I'm the one on the throne, we're in trouble.
That's why this is good news for postmodern ages. The good news is this: someone is on The throne. The throne is occupied, and it is not by us. It's someone who holds the strands of the past, present, and future in his hand. Someone who can exert his rule for justice and good upon the earth.
Oh, what a comfort.
29 · Summarizes the first major section with a Dennis Johnson quotation and issues a direct pastoral charge: look to the one on the throne and take heart
In summary, Dennis Johnson says this: John's vision opens to the beleaguered church's view through heaven's door, a glimpse of God's sovereignty over earth's turmoil.
Brother, sister, look to the one on the throne and take heart today.
30 · Signals the transition to the second major section: how we should posture ourselves toward the throne revealed in Revelation 4
Now, two things that follow from this picture of the one on the throne. The first is our posture toward the throne.
31 · Introduces the four living creatures and pre-emptively addresses congregational confusion, then interprets the symbolism: eyes represent comprehensive sight, differing faces represent all aspects of creation
I want us to notice our posture toward the throne. Now, in verses 6 to 8 here, we're introduced to these four living creatures.
Now, Maybe that tripped you up as we went, as we went. Maybe you were like, hey, I'm tracking, I'm tracking. And then we get to the creatures who are filled with eyes and inside and outside with faces, and you're like, I'm out again. Never mind. This may be where you stop your Bible reading plan through Revelation.
You're like, I can't even get into the shallow end here. Now, remember, remember, this is meant to help us see something. The fact that they have eyes all over themselves, that's meant to represent that they see everything, they observe everything. And their differing faces represent the different aspects of creation. They're meant to summarize creation as a whole.
32 · Completes the exposition of the four living creatures by interpreting their specific forms (lion, ox, man, eagle) and their song, which declares God's absolute uniqueness—He is utterly unlike anything in creation
So perhaps it's the ferocity of creation represented in a lion, the strength of different parts of creation represented in an ox, the wisdom of creation represented in a man, the speed of creation represented in the eagle, meaning that they're meant— here's the picture. They see everything in creation. They represent everything in creation, and as a result, they sing this song: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come. The summary of creation, its song, is there is one who is utterly unlike anything else in creation. They're not singing, hey God, he's great, he's kind of like this.
No, they see everything. There is nothing like this. There is nothing like him.
33 · Theological observation sourced from Johnson: the creatures' worship is grounded in God's being, not His acts
Now, Johnson notes that what they are singing about is not what God has done, but who God is.
34 · Contrasts typical Christian gratitude (focused on God's acts) with the deeper worship of the creatures (focused on God's being), affirming the former while calling for the latter
A lot of our Christian lives are spent thinking about who— what God has done in a good way, right? Like, he's come to save us, as we're going to celebrate in Easter resurrection weekend. He's come to, you know, maybe he's helped you get a job, he saved your marriage, and we rejoice. We should rejoice when we see the things that God has done in our lives. It should result in praise. But that's not why they're praising God.
They're praising God not because of what he does, but because of who he is.
35 · Explains the literary device of repetition for emphasis in Hebrew (and NT Greek influenced by Hebrew), then applies it to the trisagion: 'holy, holy, holy' is emphasis to the third degree, indicating this is the supreme attribute of God
Now, we could do an entire sermon on the three words here: holy, Holy, holy. Now, what's going on here is that in Hebrew, and following kind of that Hebrew literature having influence on the New Testament in Greek, in these ancient languages, they didn't have Microsoft Word. All right? So if you are writing an email to another person at your job and they are always late, your email would do something like this. You will say, hey, Bob.
I need this by Friday. And you look at the email and you think, nope. And you bold by Friday and you think, nope. Underline bold, nope. Italicized, underline bold, crank up to like 18-point font.
By Friday, Bob. I'm sure that's nobody here, but If you've ever tried to emphasize something, we have those tools to emphasize it. Now, in Hebrew literature, in ancient literature, often they would repeat something to emphasize its importance. So Jesus, in his teaching, will often say this: 'Verily, verily, I say to you,' which are literally 'Amen, amen,' meaning, 'Listen up.' No, no, no. 'Listen up!' Right?
Let's just, like, I think you're listening. No, we're listening. No, you're not.
This is that important, right? And so some things are doubly emphasized, but only one aspect of God's character in the Bible is increased, as it were, to the third power, increased to the third degree, increased to the superlative. God is not just holy or holy, holy. He is holy, holy, holy.
36 · Clarifies that holiness in Revelation 4 is not primarily about moral purity (though that's true) but about God's ontological set-apartness, His transcendence, His utter difference from creation
Now, when we see that word, often the connotation we have is holiness being a moral quality. So holiness is like, you're holier than thou. Hey, that guy's always holier than thou. What does that mean? It means that Bob the Worst thinks he is better than everyone else in the office and more righteous, you know, and he's not really, but he thinks he is. Right?
Holy. Now, surely God's holiness does have a moral aspect to it. But what's being emphasized here is not specifically the moral aspect. It's the essence of holiness. And the essence of holiness is set-apartness, if I could create a word out of thin air.
His set-apartness, his transcendence, his separateness from— remember, they're looking at everything in creation and saying, Something is unlike everything else, set apart, transcendent, above.
37 · Unpacks the titles 'Lord God Almighty' and the phrase 'who was and is and is to come,' emphasizing God's eternal self-existence in contrast to all created things, which have beginnings and endings
And then they illustrate it in his titles, the Lord God Almighty. So this isn't like, like, well, he's a king, kind of like other kings. No, he is the Lord. He is the God over all gods, and he is the Almighty, unlimited in his power.
And then look how it ends: 'Who was and is and is to come.' This is actually repeated in the phrasing 'forever and ever' and 'forever and ever' that we keep seeing. 'Who was and is and is to come,' meaning nothing else in creation can this be sung about. Everyone in this room began and pretty quickly in their 20s began to decay. Right? You're going to— like, human lives are like, great from 0 to 20, and then it's all downhill.
Right? Some of you are saying, amen. Like, I got a doctor's visit this week.
There is something in creation with no beginning.
The entirety of the universe that we observe around us, as far back as scientists think they can go, into the cosmos in time. There exists something before everything. In fact, side note, if something didn't exist before everything, how did everything come to being? But that's for another time.
Something existed. Something does exist in a state of being unlike everything else. And it will continue to exist. It's not as though at the end, you know, 100,000 years from now, God is going to be like, man, I'm just tired. If I could just hang up the hat and have somebody take over for a while.
No.
Meaning this, he is set apart. He is in charge. He was, he is, he always will be. That is what the Bible reveals about God being utterly unlike us.
38 · Applies the theological point by urging the congregation to study God's attributes, recommending specific resources, and warning against neglecting the incommunicable attributes of God (the ways He is unlike us)
And let me just quickly say this. I would encourage you to study the attributes of God.
There's a number of resources on the table. I think Grudem, Wayne Grudem, the theologian, has some great starter theological resources called Christian Beliefs: 20 Basics Every Christian Should Know. If you want just one chapter on the character of God, it's over on the book table. You can grab it. You can look at the book.
If you want to dive deep, there's a big theology there you could go into. Here's why I think we need this. We need this because we default as Christians to love and gravitate toward the communicable attributes of God, meaning the aspects of God in which he is like us. And it's true, God is like us. We represent, we celebrate that in Christ and the incarnation.
But we must also never forget there are incommunicable attributes of God, meaning there are aspects of God in which he is utterly and completely unlike us. And that is part of who he is. And And we as human beings are made to worship him in all of his being.
39 · Personal testimony of a formative spiritual experience listening to R
Now look, when I was a teenager, Tom Wilkins was my youth leader, he's one of our former pastors, and he was encouraging us, like, get your own time with God in the morning. And so I always had a hard time getting up and reading my Bible. So my dad liked this theologian named R.C. Sproul. He's this, you know, guy from Pittsburgh with crazy hair. And I was like, well, this guy's kind of cool. So I go through the list of resources you could get, and I picked one called Fear and Trembling because I thought, well, that sounds— that sounds fun.
You know, it sounds exciting, at least even if it's not, you know, if I don't like it, at least it'll be exciting. So I got up, I put the little compact disc, which you can look up if you're Gen Z, put the compact disc in a compact disc player. That we used to have and put my little headphones on. And I'm sitting out looking at the sunrise as I'm listening to R.C. Sproul talk about the nature and character of God.
He did a message on Isaiah 6 in which similarly the trisagion, the holy, holy, holy, is being expounded. And as I just remember, I remember where I was in my room. I remember watching the sun come up and I remember thinking, I have never known a God like this.
That the weight of glory felt heavy to me.
That God is not a teddy bear that you go to for comfort when you're feeling sad alone. God is not just somebody who came and walked among us and wept at the grave of his friend alone. God is also indescribably dazzling, indescribably set apart, indescribably sovereign and eternal, indescribably different than anything else in creation. And there was something in my heart that said, 'I want to know this God.' There's something in me that was made to know this God because it's in him I live and move and have my being. And to ignore that means to— to never understand the purpose for which I even exist.
40 · Transition from the illustration back to the main point: what posture should we have in response to this vision of God?
See the posture then in response to what is being communicated?
41 · Describes the 24 elders' posture of worship—falling down, casting crowns—as total surrender and awe, then cites Johnson on how modern hearts are numbed to this response by self-reliance and cynicism
The 24 elders fall down before him. They're not just like thumbs up, golf clap. No, they are utterly undone, falling, casting their crowns, meaning the best of who they are, their glory, their worth, all of it being cast before the Lord. Dennis Johnson says, 'Recognition of the supreme worthiness of God evokes a stabbing, sweet sense of awe to which our modern hearts may be numbed by self-reliance and cynicism.'
42 · Contrasts the modern 'build-a-god' approach (picking and choosing divine attributes) with the biblical revelation of God as He is, whole and unedited, demanding a posture of total surrender
Look, when we get to know the Lord, our posture— look, Sproul uses this picture. That in a modern world, we treat God, we build a— it's like we build a bear, build a god, right? We take all these aspects of creation. We're like, well, I kind of like this Hindu concept, and I kind of like this other thing, and I kind of like this thing. And we build. And that's why people say things like, well, my God wouldn't do something like send someone to hell.
That's such an interesting phrase, my God.
What Revelation does, what Isaiah 6 does, is it throws the buffet of divine attributes on the floor and says, 'This is God. This is him as he is.' There's no picking and choosing. And in response to him, it's like, 'Well, I'd like a God that just embraces me. I don't have to do the falling on the floor thing.' Nope. They're one and the same.
43 · Directly applies the posture of worship to the congregation's lives, asking whether there are areas where they are withholding submission, then cites Kuyper to assert Christ's total lordship
Posture toward God should be bending the knee. Look, Lord, just bring this question to mind, I think, for maybe a couple folks in the room. Are there any areas in your life that you are not bending the knee to the King? And might that be because you don't see him as he is? You think, I can keep this little section of my life sectioned off, my kingdom.
No. As Abraham Kuyper said, 'There is not one square inch over the whole domain of human existence over which Christ, who is over all, does not cry, 'Mine.''
44 · Signals the transition to the final major section: the nature of praise directed toward the throne
All right, last, the praise toward the throne. We'll wrap this up here.
45 · Emphasizes that the worship in Revelation 4 is not reluctant or coerced but joyful, springing from seeing God as He truly is and declaring His worthiness
We must not miss, however, that this song, these songs are songs of praise. The song of the living creatures, the song of the elders are songs of praise.
It says, 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. These elders representing the church, in a sense, see who God is, and their response is worship. Their response is joy. Their response— listen, you gotta understand this. This is no reluctant worship that is bending the knee to a brutal dictator that we really don't wanna serve, no.
When we see God as he is, the response in our hearts is, 'Worthy are you.' And we are filled with joy in saying it.
46 · Contrasts modern self-affirmation ('I'm worthy') with biblical self-understanding (worth derived from being made by God), arguing that true value is found in reflecting the Creator's glory, not in autonomous self-assertion
And this is gloriously different from our current age. In our age, we often say things like, 'I need to be true to myself. I need to honor myself.' We repeat affirmations like, 'I'm worthy. I am important.
I am valuable.' Now, look. Is that stuff true? There is an element of truth there that is powerful. But to say things like that divorced, in other words, to say, 'I'm just great,' is totally different than saying, 'Anything great in me that is fearfully and wonderfully made is a pointer and a reflection of the Creator.' I'm valuable not because of some weird inherent self-worth. I am valuable because God himself wrapped in mercy with peals of thunder all around shaped and fashioned me.
Do you see then why that then is powerful? To say God fearfully and wonderfully made you. God fearfully and wonderfully made you. Meaning as a creature, you find your worth in staring at the creator and reflecting back to him the glory, in a sense you could say, that he has made you with, which is a reflection of his own. Meaning we're just mirrors reflecting back to the Lord the glory of God.
47 · Illustrates the joy of God-centered worship through personal experiences of awe (ocean, sunset, children's first steps), showing that the happiest moments are not self-focused but God-focused
Look, my happiest moments as a human being have not been moments in which I am making much of myself. My happiest moments are not me standing and receiving some kind of award and be like, 'Yeah, I'm pretty great, huh?' Happiest moment? No. My happiest moments, by and large, are moments in which I stood at the edge of a beach staring at an endless ocean, feeling small. They are when I've gotten out of the car in El Paso— I love this— in a parking lot and look up and the sky is on fire.
And in that moment, I'm not thinking how great I am. In that moment, I'm thinking, great are you, Lord, for by your will everything that exists exists. The Lord Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come. Even when I see my sons taking their first steps, I'm not thinking like, man, I did a great job, you know, as a dad leading them to take these first steps. I'm thinking, this is insane.
Who made this? When we see the glory of God, it fills our own hearts with joy. And when we grasp the glorious truth that is so countercultural, it changes our lives. And the truth is this: it's not about you.
48 · Applies the 'it's not about you' truth to American culture by diagnosing the despair that follows self-focused living despite material abundance, then offers Revelation 4's alternative: joy is found in worshiping God, not ourselves
Look, we live in a world where, like, if making it about us could make us happy, Americans would be the happiest people in the world. We have, according to world history, we have, if you have just a median-level income, probably more resources than Caesar did in the first century. You have information, you have all, you know, you're one of the richest people to ever live in human history, and you can choose to do anything for yourself. You can go to a movie, you could get a facial, you can do this, you could travel over here, you could drive over there, you do all this stuff, and Americans, we're doing all of this stuff, and products, of course, our screens are like this thing, that thing, this thing, that thing. This will make you happy, that'll make you happy.
And it's all about you. And at the end of the day, what happens? Americans are profoundly unhappy. Depression rates are rising, anxiety rates are rising. People are getting married and divorced at surprisingly alarming rates.
And it's this endless quest to make it about us that ends in despair. And against all of that, Revelation 4 unveils something utterly different. It says, what if it's not about you? What if your existence as a creature is to be found joyfully, happily in the worship of another? Oh, what a countercultural truth, but what a welcome one.
49 · Final application question: is your entire life singing praise to God, or are you withholding areas? Urges trust in God's character as grounds for total surrender
So is your life singing praise to the one on the throne? Are the areas of your life singing praise to the one on the throne? Or are there any in which you're like, no, no, I'm going to hold on to this one, this life, this part is going to be about me? Look, here's the glorious truth. When you see the God of Revelation 4, when you see that he's utterly unmatched in his power and holiness, and yet is clothed in mercy and faithfulness, can you not trust him with your life?
Trust him to manage your life better than you can. Listen to him. Bow the knee and raise your hands in worship.
50 · Closing prayer transitioning into congregational worship
Would you stand and let's pray.
Lord, I pray that as we end here, oh Lord, you would, as we sing, as the hymn says,