[0:00] Amen. You have your Bibles open to the book of Revelation chapter 4. If you're physically able and desire to do so, I ask if you'll join with me as we stand together and we read the Word of God found in Revelation chapter 4.
[0:14] Revelation chapter 4, John writing here, being moved of the Spirit says, After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, he said, Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.
[0:34] Immediately I was in the Spirit. 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 sardis in appearance, and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance.
[0:48] Around the throne were 24 thrones, and upon the thrones I saw 24 elders sitting, clothed in white garments and golden crowns on their heads. Out from the throne came 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.
[1:07] 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. The first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle.
[1:26] And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within. 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.
[1:43] 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 24 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.
[2:07] For you created all things, and because of your will they existed and were created. Revelation chapter 4, you may be seated. We are just continuing to make our way through the book of Revelations, and I don't know if you realize it or not, but we have just made a great transition in the book of Revelations.
[2:32] If you remember, Revelations is easily divided into three parts. Revelations is divided into the one who has been and always will be, the things which are and the things which will be.
[2:44] So we saw in Revelation 1 a picture of the one who is, the one who always has been, the one who was from the past and continues into eternity, and that is Jesus Christ. Revelation chapter 2 and 3 speaks to us of the things which are, the things which are in existence, the things which exist now, that is the church.
[3:03] Revelation 4 and following speak of things which will be. We have just entered into sacred territory, because we are now having something revealed to us which has not happened yet.
[3:15] We are peering into future events, though we may not completely understand them. If you remember, as we have discussed the book of Revelation, it is not a revelation of things to come.
[3:26] It is a revelation of Jesus Christ in light of the things to come. So when we get into this territory, and when we begin to discuss things that are still to come, things which often will make us scratch our heads, and make us kind of squint our eyes, and things which will make our minds hurt just a little bit, let us not get lost in the minutia of the detail.
[3:49] Let us not get lost in all of the activity that is transpiring. Let us not get frustrated, because we do not always understand the imagery. Because if those things happen, then we are forgetting to look at that which the book of Revelation is wanting us to look at, and that is Jesus Christ.
[4:06] It is the revelation of the one who is in control of it all, in light of those things to come. According to my interpretation of Scripture, and again, I wish we had time to go through it, some of you in your mind saying, go ahead, pastor, take us there, until I began to take you there, and then you'd say, okay, pastor, stop.
[4:23] Don't take us there. Between Revelation 3 and Revelation 4, we have this pinnacle event in history called the rapture of the church. I'll show it to you in just a moment, which means that the church is now, all of a sudden, caught out of this world and into his presence.
[4:40] And the word rapture, by the way, does appear in Scripture. It appears in Scripture in 1 Thessalonians. It says we shall all be changed. That is actually the word rapture. We shall all be raptured, because some people say rapture never shows up in the Scripture.
[4:53] Rapture is not in the Bible. It is a very biblical term, and it is something that we would have to trace throughout Scripture. And as we go through the book of Revelations, you will understand it. John introduces this section as after these things.
[5:06] After these things is a very common wording in the book of Revelation because it shows us a period of transition. It says, Now I am seeing a new vision. He has seen the vision of Christ standing on the island of Patmos speaking to him.
[5:20] Then he saw the vision of the church with Christ in control of the church. He has seen Christ standing in heaven, and now he has seen the vision of the church operating on earth. And now here comes a third vision, and it is the vision of things that are going on.
[5:36] Revelation chapter 4 and 5 actually go together. So to properly understand what is happening, I hate to say this to you, but you will have to be here next week too because you will be left halfway off because we don't have time, and it would not be very befitting of us because it would be too much information for this simple preacher to try to put into one sermon.
[5:55] But we understand now a step, whereas the title would be this morning, a step into the courtroom of heaven. It is a step into the courtroom of heaven.
[6:06] John is beginning to have his eyes opened up to things which will be. These are the things which will be. This is what's going to happen as John enters into this new section.
[6:20] Some of you are saying, I can't wait until we get to the horses or the trumpets or the bowls of judgment and all these things. All these things are what will be. But before we see these things, which are so horrible in nature that the men on the earth will cry out for the mountains to fall on them and kill them, and the mountains will not fall, that people will beg to die, and the Lord will not allow them to die.
[6:43] Before we get to those things, we need to understand where those things find their origin, that is, where they come forth from. And the turmoil that is going on on earth finds its origin in the courtroom of heaven.
[6:56] It is decreed of the Lord God Almighty. And unless we are careful, we will read, if we just jumped across Revelation 4 and 5, when we got into Revelation 6 and following, and we began to speak of the trumpets and the judgments and all the condemnation, this period of time, which we call the period of tribulation, and then we get to the battle of Armageddon and all these things, we would say, well, God is not fair.
[7:24] It doesn't make sense. God is a big, mean God, and it's simply not fair. Well, in so doing that, we forget who He is and who we are.
[7:35] But thanks be to the Lord God Almighty, He's given us Revelation 4 and 5 to show us who He is and why He can do what He's about to do and to give us confidence, even in the midst of the judgment which is pronounced, that He is fair, that He is true, and that He is real, and He is accurate, and we need to take all the judgments in light of Revelation 4, that is, a step into the courtroom of heaven.
[8:05] We need to know where these pronouncements were made before we see how these pronouncements are lived out. And the good news is, my friend, if you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, your vantage points for all of these things will be the vantage point of John.
[8:19] From this point on, in Revelation, John sees everything from the vantage point of heaven. He does not see it in first-hand occurrence. He's not dealing with it. And if you are a part of the redeemed, that is called the church, if you are a part of the body of Christ, then your vantage point will be the same as mine, and you'll be standing in His presence, watching His judgment being rendered upon this earth.
[8:42] Heart's broken. Yes. I believe that the things that we see will cause a tear in our eye. I believe they'll call a heartbreak in our heart. I believe they'll cause a mourning in our mind.
[8:54] And we will be saddened by the judgment being carried out. You say, wait a minute, preacher. The Bible tells us there are no tears in heaven. And you're absolutely right. And you get those passages from the book of Revelation.
[9:05] But you get them in two places in the book of Revelation. The saints who are killed during the tribulation. Now, don't get ahead of me. I thought you told me we weren't going through that. I'll go ahead and give you this. We don't go home with too many questions.
[9:16] Those are people who come to faith during the tribulation, okay? The people who accept Jesus Christ during the tribulation are called up to heaven. As soon as they get there, God wipes the tears away from their eyes. Why? Because they've already had time to weep.
[9:27] They've already had time to mourn. They have lived out hell on earth, literally. And God wipes the tear from their eye. The rest of us who already know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are called to Him, raptured, standing in His presence.
[9:39] It is not till the end of the book of Revelation it says He wipes the tear from our eye. Well, depending upon the interpretation of Scripture, that tells me I have at least seven years to mourn and to weep in heaven.
[9:52] If He were to call me home now and the tribulation start, I would have at least seven years to be heartbroken over what's going on on earth. And it is the judgment that comes out of this throne room.
[10:04] It is the judgment that God is pronouncing. And you say, what right does He have to do it? And my simple answer to that is every right. I want you to see three things from this passage and we'll make our way through them rather quickly, at least as quick as we can.
[10:21] Number one, I want you to see the one which is exalted. The one which is exalted. John says, After these things I looked and behold a door standing open in heaven.
[10:32] And the first voice which I heard like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me said, Come up here and I will show you what must take place after these things. The door of heaven is opened up. It is literally, He is looking through the expanse which we call the sky.
[10:45] And He's looking into the other world. He's looking into the heavenly kingdom. And one thing that stood out to me all of a sudden here was the door was open but the invitation also had to be extended, right?
[10:56] That you come up here, John couldn't just walk through the door. It wasn't like Jacob's ladder. You see Jacob's ladder and Jacob had this dream and he saw the ladder leading up to the door in heaven and the angels were, did anyone ever catch what he said in that?
[11:10] The angels were ascending and descending, right? They were coming out of heaven and going back up to heaven. That ladder, Jacob's ladder is Jesus Christ because Jesus later said that you will see the angels ascending and descending upon me, right?
[11:22] So you would see me coming down and going back. So that ladder, that door is open but the invitation has to be extended and we see Christ calling John into heaven. He is in his presence and then he goes on.
[11:34] He says, Immediately I was in the spirit. Behold, a throne was standing in heaven and one sitting on the throne. I love the story that was written in the late 1800s and I actually have read it in person and I can't remember his name.
[11:48] And it was a gentleman who had been a slave in our nation. And after the Emancipation Proclamation, he was set free and he later became a great Baptist preacher and he was preaching in his simple English.
[12:00] And D.L. Moody actually was there and heard him preaching and Moody quoted him saying that when I get to heaven, I don't want to see Peter. I don't want to see John. I don't want to see Paul. When I get to heaven, the very first thing in my mind is going to be, show me the King.
[12:14] I want to see my Master. I want to see my Savior. I want to see my Lord who rules over me. And the picture we have here of John entering the door of heaven because of the invitation which has been extended.
[12:26] The very first thing that catches his attention, friend, listen to me, the thing which is central to his focus, the thing which is the center of the courtroom is the throne.
[12:38] Thirteen times the word throne is used in the scripture. Eleven times with reference to the throne of God. Two times with references to the throne of the 24 elders. We'll get to those in just a minute.
[12:49] But eleven mentions of the throne. If you want to know that which is the central theme of heaven, that which is the center not only just of the courtroom, but that which is the very center of all of the glories of heaven, it is not the crystal sea.
[13:04] It is not the river of life. It is not the tree from the fruit of life. It is not any of those things. That which is central is the throne. Isaiah said that he was called up into heaven.
[13:15] And what did he see? A throne. Ezekiel, while sitting on the side of the riverbank, saw this vision, which makes many of us scratch our head. And Ezekiel won. And he saw these wheels with eyes all around it and going this way and that way.
[13:27] And you're trying to understand it and you can't do it because it's beyond our understanding. But what did he see? I looked above them in the expanse. I saw a what? Throne. Moses was there and he saw a throne.
[13:38] He went up with the elders up on the mountain and they were under the throne. Daniel was there and he saw the Ancient of Days approaching what? The throne. He saw all of these things. The thing which is central to heaven, it is the throne.
[13:52] Friend, there's a lot of stories about individuals being in heaven. There's a lot of stories about people going into the afterlife. And I don't mean to discredit them or to take anything away from them. But the central focus of heaven is the throne of heaven.
[14:05] And that is the one who sits on the throne. It is all about God. It's supposed to always all be about God. It will always all be about God. It is not man-centered. It is not man-focused.
[14:15] It is not man-ordained. It is God-focused and God-centered. Why? Because he is God. He is on the throne. He is in control. And he alone has a rightful place of existence, which is the center.
[14:28] We see the central focus of heaven. And I love this picture. John says, And then he who sat on it was like a jasper stone and sardis in appearance. And there was a rainbow around the throne like an emerald in appearance.
[14:39] Now, I could give you all the imagery. The jasper is probably red, probably symbolizing blood. The sardis would be kind of a flesh cover, symbolizing his humanity.
[14:50] The emerald rainbow, which would be a circle, not an ark, by the way. It went all the way around the throne, was the symbol of the earth and peace and God's promises and all these covenants that he is there. But one thing I want you to understand, one thing that I hope that you grasp, the reason you cannot understand what Isaiah is saying in Isaiah 6, the reason you cannot understand what Ezekiel is talking about in Ezekiel 1 and 2, and the reason we cannot understand what John is talking about here in Revelation 4, is because he who sits on the throne is utterly indescribable.
[15:27] They can tell you what he is like, but they cannot tell you what he looks like, because he is indescribable. Paul says, I know a man who was caught up into the third heavens and many Bible scholars, and I think accurately so, believe that Paul was speaking of himself.
[15:43] He said, of that man I will boast, but he was caught up into the third heavens and he was not given permission to talk about the things which he saw. Why? Because Paul, you cannot describe me. We serve an indescribable God.
[15:57] He could tell you what he is like, these stones and this radiance. Now does that mean there is literally stones? And Ezekiel says that from his loins down, it was like a flaming fire, and from his loins up, it was like burnished bronze.
[16:11] Is that saying that he is some statue? No, that's just saying that's the only way I can describe it to you. The glory that I saw was so indescribable. And I believe that's important.
[16:22] It's always, Scripture always speaks of views of heaven and the scenes of heaven as being like something so that man, in his nature, God knows the nature of man. And man has nothing to go on to make an idol out of, right?
[16:36] Man can't fashion an idol. This is what God looks like because we don't know what God looks like. We only know of a few people in Scripture that is God-ordained who have been there and all of them say, he's kind of like this, but I can't even talk about it.
[16:47] I can't even tell you what he looks like. God's allowed a few to be in his presence and even those few who came out said, ah, I really don't know. His glory is so awesome.
[16:57] His majesty is so splendid. His appearance is so magnificent. There's nothing that you can do to reflect that glory and that image and that majesty, so don't even try.
[17:08] It's like fire and lightning and thunder and seas of glass and jasper and sardis and emeralds and all these colors that you can think of and it's just, it's amazing. That's all it is. It's amazing.
[17:19] Friend, listen to me. I want to tell you something. The God that we serve or the God that I serve and I long for you to serve is such an indescribable God that he literally takes your breath away if you're ever in his presence and if you don't have a God like that, then the reality is you don't have the God of scripture and he is the center of heaven.
[17:41] His indescribability, one of my favorite preachers of all time and you say, Pastor, you got a lot of favorite preachers and you're right, I do. One of them, S.M. Lockridge, Shadrach, Meshach Lockridge.
[17:52] What a good name, right? That man had to be a preacher, S.M. Lockridge and I've played the clip for you of the King of Kings, you know, S.M. Lockridge, and I love, he goes on for like, that sermon is so awesome.
[18:03] By the way, it's like a 45 minute sermon and he's preaching it. Actually, it's like an hour and 10 minute sermon but he gets carried away in a congregation around him. You get some old school recordings, right, where you can hear the congregation kind of getting carried away with him and he preaches and for like 20 minutes he's describing God and after those 20 minutes and everybody's carried away, he finally just stops, he says, I wish I could describe him to you and that is so right because no matter every attribute he could give him, no matter how many qualities he could talk of, no matter how much he could tell you he is like, in the end, he is completely indescribable.
[18:43] And that's the God we serve and if we want to know why there are things we can't understand, ask those who have been in his presence, they can't even tell you what it's like there. They say, well it's just, yeah, it's just awesome, it's just majestic, it's glorious, it's splendid, it's awestruck, wonder.
[19:05] There's these colors and this glory and this presence and he is the center, he is the one which is exalted exalted and it is all about the throne.
[19:17] Number two, I want you to see those which encircle the throne, those which encircle the throne. So John says, I'm here and I see this throne and I see he who sits upon the throne, it says in verse three, and he who was sitting was like Jasper Stone and Sardis in appearance and there was a rainbow around the throne like an emerald in appearance and look at verse four, excuse me, around the throne, that is encircling 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.
[19:50] There's a lot of discussion about who these are. A lot of questions, a lot of biblical scholars are pondering who are the twenty-four elders and I'll go ahead and give you some not so that we can have the sake of argument but so that you can understand.
[20:03] Some see the twenty-four elders as being a representation of the Old Testament Jerusalem and the New Testament church. Twelve for the Jews in the Old Testament, twelve for the church in the New Testament. Some see the twenty-four elders as being angelic beings representing an exalted state of angelic beings.
[20:19] Some see the twenty-four elders as being those which represent the twenty-four orders of the priest, of the Davidic priesthood which was ascribed by God for worship in the temple.
[20:30] The only problem with that is is we're not in the temple, right? We're in the courtroom. Just for the sake of understanding because I've had this question asked to me in the past. I'm sure many of you want to know about it too or at least you will as we go through it.
[20:43] One thing you will notice in heaven there is no physical temple, right? There is no structure called the temple just for understanding. The throne, by the way, is not talking of a seat.
[20:56] It's talking about an exalted position. It's not a piece of furniture. It's the one who is exalted. It is the one who has the rule. It is the one who has the authority. But we're looking at this and encircle this.
[21:08] Now, my understanding is in none of these. It is not a representation of the Jewish people and the church. It is not a representation of exalted angelic beings. It is not a representation of the twenty-four orders of the priest from the Jewish Judaism practice.
[21:22] It is none of these things. As a matter of fact, the twenty-four elders, I believe, and Scripture, I think, testifies to it that this is a representation of the glorified, exalted, raptured church.
[21:36] It is here that we see the church gathered around the throne of God. You say, well, pastor, what right do you have telling us that this is the church? Well, we don't know why the number 24 was given.
[21:47] We just don't know. No one really knows. But we do know that there are more than 24 people gathered around the throne. And the reason we know there are more than 24 people gathered around the throne is because all of Revelation tells us that everybody gathers around the throne from every tribe, from every tongue, from every nation, and all will confess.
[22:02] Right? They're gathered around his throne and we'll get to in just a minute what they're doing there. Right now, we're just talking about who is there. What we see here is that 24 is a number of representation. I'm not going to sit here and tell you that I have all these numbers figured out, but I do know that 24 is a number of representation.
[22:18] It could be pointing back to the 24 represented in the priesthood because we know that the church is the priesthood of believers. But either way, it is a representation of a larger body.
[22:31] And the reason that I believe that this is the church is because of what is going on. Number one, they have thrones. Number two, they're clothed in white garments. And number three, they have golden crowns upon their head. The fourth thing they're doing that only that church can do we'll get to later.
[22:45] The reason I believe that this is the church is because all three of these are promises Christ gave to those who would overcome. You're sitting on the throne, I'll cloth you in white garments, and you'll have a crown on your head.
[22:55] You'll be in a place of authority, right? So we see here, what we understand is that the church is gathered around the throne in the courtroom of heaven. Sitting in a place of authority, sitting in a place of respect, sure.
[23:09] Sitting in a place of honor, but gathered around the throne. You say, what difference does that matter? Well, the reason that matters, and Paul says that we ought to examine ourselves to see whether or not we are in the faith, right?
[23:22] To test ourselves to see if we are approved. There's no better book, I think, in all of Scripture to test us than the book of Revelations because we come upon things that make us search. And here's a question.
[23:33] I'm not going to ask, I'm not going to make you give me the answer verbally, but I'll ask it to you so that you can test yourself around it. If you are not content to spend eternity gathered around the throne, which you cannot even describe, and just to be in His presence, then my friend, you have missed the glories of heaven.
[23:53] I know people want God and they want God in a box. They want Him where they can pull Him out of the box and when they need Him, He's there. And when they need Him, they'll use Him and they want to use Him like a magic genie. As long as things are going good, I'll keep God in my box and whenever things go bad, I'll pull God out of my box and I'll allow God to come out of the box, but what I don't want is for my life to be revolving around God.
[24:13] But what we see as soon as John steps into the courtroom of heaven, the church is literally encircling the throne and they are focused on one place and that is the Lord God Almighty.
[24:26] He is their all-consuming vision. He is their all-consuming concern. And though they cannot rightfully describe what He is or who He is, they are content with being in His presence so much so that they cannot go anywhere else and they long to be there, to have a longing to be in the presence of God.
[24:43] People say, well, I love Jesus and I love the fact that He came and He died for me and that's a great story. The Holy Spirit kind of scares me a little bit. I don't understand that but I get goosebumps every now and then so I think goosebumps.
[24:54] But God, I'm just not so sure about God. But the problem is is He is going to be the center of our focus and the center of our worship and the center of our attention and our lives will literally be encircling Him and wrapped around Him and we have to understand where we are in light of who He is.
[25:12] And what we see here is the church is encircling the throne and not only do we see the church and all of a sudden we are met and I think it's going to be so cool and glory by the way because I cannot wait until I have to quit describing these things and I can literally just see them.
[25:24] I want to know what Ezekiel's will that has eyes all around it and spinning it. I really want to see that and I think it's really going to just be an awesome splendor and I can read Scripture and I can see how man's imagination has run wild and we have drawn pictures of things and we try to figure out what's going on.
[25:39] I mean, I literally can see when reading the book of Job, I just finished it recently, I can see how man comes up with fire-breathing dragons and these fairy tales because the Bible speaks of this beast who's breathing fire from his mouth and stuff like that but one thing that I cannot wait to see is these next things that are introduced that are around the throne and that is the cherubim and cherubim, by the way, are not just some naked boys flying around with playing harps and singing, right?
[26:02] Don't get this picture of all these cherub and you say, that's a bad image, I didn't need to see that but that's kind of what we get so many times when we think of cherub. Cherubim here are described, by the way, by Isaiah, they're described by Ezekiel and they're described by John and they're all described the same way, they have six wings.
[26:17] Ezekiel tells us with two they cover their feet, with two they fly and with two they cover their face and they are gathered around the throne. We see four of them here, four of these creatures. These are created beings, these are angels in case you ever wondered if the God you serve is mighty enough to serve him and to give your life to him, look at the things which surround him and we see these cherub which are there.
[26:37] It says that they have eyes all around them. It's kind of crazy but then it says that there are four beasts that are around his throne. There's flashes of lightning and pills of thunder and one has the face as a lion. Many believe that these are pictures and I think rightfully so of each of the gospel accounts and each of the representations of Jesus Christ.
[26:55] When we want to understand something accurately and we want to understand and I know I'm giving you a lot of information but stay with me, we want to understand something in the best light possible. We gather more than one resource, right?
[27:06] Many of you are in education and some of you are going through it, some of you don't want anything to do with it and some of you instruct it. We know that every good research paper and every good thing written on, you want more than one source, right?
[27:19] Bring me more than one source, document your sources and I want to see where you got your information from. So we need to have more than one source telling us what Jesus Christ is like. Ever wonder why you have four gospels?
[27:30] Because now you have four eyewitness accounts or four testimonies of one person and you have well documented sources. And now we see these four beasts in heaven, one with the face of a lion.
[27:42] Guess who presents to us the lion from the tribe of Judah? That is Matthew, right? Matthew is writing to the Jewish people and the Jewish people were looking for the king of David and he is from the lion.
[27:53] He is to be a lion. Judah was represented by an image of lion. Lion from the tribe of Judah, which is Matthew. The second one would be the one with the face of an ox or a calf.
[28:04] An ox or a calf. Not something that was really highly exalted but it was used to be a beast of burden. Guess which gospel that points to? Mark. Mark shows us that the Son of Man did not come to be served but to be a servant to all.
[28:17] Jesus in Mark is one who serves people. He is not just being served. And so we see this cherub with the face of an ox representing that picture of Christ.
[28:27] And then we come to the one who has the face of a man. Who is it that tells us that Jesus in his humanity you should be going all of a sudden right now Luke, Matthew, Mark, Luke right?
[28:38] It's amazing. They're just in order. It's so crazy. The Bible makes so much sense and it seems to parallel one another. Yeah, that's not a coincidence by the way. God knows what he's doing even in moving man.
[28:48] So we have Luke because in Luke Jesus is the Son of Man. The most often referred to title in Luke of Jesus is he is the Son of Man. And then you get to the fourth creature which is the creature who has a face like an eagle.
[29:03] Eagles will always use in scripture to represent heaven to represent the heavens or the expanse or that which was from above not that which was from below. You should already have it. We're narrowed it down.
[29:13] You're left to one. Who is that? That's the Gospel of John because in John Jesus is neither man nor a servant nor a king. He is actually Emmanuel God in the flesh. He is God came across us.
[29:24] He takes his genealogy. He doesn't give a genealogy because God has no genealogy. He is represented by the eagle because he is from the heavens. Some ask in this fourth chapter where is the Savior?
[29:38] Where is the Lamb? By the way we see the Lamb very quick in chapter 5. That's why you have to come back for that one. But what we see here is he's everywhere. He's all around. He is there.
[29:49] He's represented by these that are around the throne. You have the 24 elders which are the church. The representation of the church. Then you have these created beings who are just reflecting the glory of Christ before the throne and all their exalted power.
[30:04] Now we have the one which is exalted those which encircle and number 3 and finally and I know I have went over but it's okay we have to get to this that which is exclaimed.
[30:16] What is being said? You ever thought about what you're going to talk about in heaven? Now I believe that we will serve him and I believe that once we get out of this the marriage supper of the Lamb we get to the end of the book of Revelations where the new Jerusalem and the heavens and the earth come and the new Jerusalem comes upon the face of the new earth and then there's this great place of you know we're going to there's different things but right now looking at this picture the throne room of heaven you have the cherubim and what are they saying?
[30:44] These are created beings these are angels they can only do what they were created to do verse 8 tells us what they're doing. By the way this is the same thing they were doing in Ezekiel and this is the same thing that they were doing in the book of Isaiah pretty consistent theme right?
[30:56] This is what is going on in the courtroom of heaven if you ever wondered. Right now this is what is going on this is why I love that hymn so much holy, holy, holy this is why I like it because it allows us to join in what is going on in the courtroom presently.
[31:13] Every time scripture gives you a picture of the courtroom of heaven gathered around the throne this is what is being exclaimed. These are what the angelic beings are exclaiming holy, holy, holy is the Lord God the Almighty who was and who is and who is to come.
[31:31] The angels it says and they keep doing that it says that day and night they do not cease to say this over and over and over and over holy, holy, holy this is thrice repeated holy it declares the holiness of God.
[31:48] And by the way the declaration of his holiness shows us that what he is about to proclaim in judgment comes from holiness. Which means it is fair it is true it is good it is right because it finds its origin in holiness.
[32:06] They declare that. Now this is why I believe the 24 elders are the church by the way because the one thing that the angels do not do the angels now stay with me do not worship.
[32:19] They declare they proclaim and they exclaim but that's not worship. Worship is a voluntary action which was made upon the worthiness of another.
[32:33] You say well yeah that's what angels do. No. Angels don't have a choice. They will declare his holiness they will declare his worthiness or they will be cast out of heaven. They don't have a choice.
[32:44] That's not worship. Right? That's creation. That's being created to do that. They declare it because that's what they were created to declare. Only man by the way this is great company only man has the ability to worship because we have a choice.
[33:00] Each of you sitting here this morning has the opportunity. The holiness of God is something that is certain. The angels are declaring it whether or not you want to admit it whether or not you want to own it whether or not you want to accept it the angels are declaring it.
[33:13] By the way the holiness and the worthiness of God is not dependent upon the acceptance of man. Get that? God does not need you to tell him he's worthy. He does not need you to tell him he's holy. His throne is surrounded by those who declare it day in and day out and night in and night out.
[33:26] They have to because he is. But man has the ability to respond to that holiness. Man has the ability to respond to his worthiness and this is what we see. And the 24 elders will fall down before him.
[33:40] They'll get off their throne their place of position. They'll get off their place of authority. Church listen to me. The church will say we may be in a place of authority but we're not in his place.
[33:51] And when they hear the cherubim declare this they will fall down before him. Oh how good it is to fall down in the presence of the Lord God Almighty. How majestic it is. It says they will fall down before him and they will fall down before him who sits on the throne and will worship him who lives forever and ever and they will cast their crowns before the throne.
[34:11] They'll take off that jewel that possession that prize that reward and they won't look at it and go oh look in that moment of glory and in that moment of being enraptured in who he is whatever they have gained by their entrance into heaven will be count as rubble to be thrown at the feet of the one who sits on the throne of heaven.
[34:32] They will say I don't want to sit here I cannot help but get up off my feet and fall down on my face. I'm not going to sit here with my arms crossed while they're proclaiming his holiness. I'm not going to sit here going yeah that's right cherubim.
[34:43] No I have to get up. You say well I don't feel like it. Well then you will you'll be in a glorified exalted body it'll be okay and you'll take that exalted body and you'll fall on your face. You'll take that crown and you'll throw it at his feet and here's the worship that the church declares 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.
[35:07] By the way now since you are worthy you created it it is your reason they're here you have every right to do with it what you want to do. Revelation 6 and following.
[35:20] You say what difference does this matter to me? Let's bring it all home and let's wrap it up. As you're sitting here this morning I want to ask you a question. Is this the God you serve?
[35:36] This is the God that Christ is calling you to. One of an exalted position who is indescribable who has the right over all of creation who lives constantly hearing the declaration of his holiness and who deserves our falling on our faces throwing our rewards at his feet and proclaiming his worthiness.
[36:07] If it's not then my friend you're serving the wrong God because this is the God who's going to make the declaration of what's going on in the world.
[36:20] If it is you say yes that's the God I serve then oh what comfort we have in uncertain times because guess what John was living on an island of Patmos being exiled for the faith in difficult days and the Lord showed him God's still on the throne he's still on the throne I don't know where you're at but the power and the presence of the spirit will show you where you're at John says I was in the spirit you say what are the seven torches that are the seven spirits of God around the throne I know I didn't answer every question but I will answer this one to you that means that his throne is surrounded by the fullness of the Holy Spirit someone once someone once wrote that God sits on the throne of judgment and the Holy Spirit is the torch of his wrath because Jesus says that he will come into the world to convict the world and to try the world and sometimes the very first place that torch points to is my life and he shows me that I am not yet what I should be and by the power and the presence of the spirit he draws me to himself and I go before that throne and I fall on my face and I throw my rewards down and I say
[37:33] God they're yours and so am I I don't know where you're at but may he who sits on the throne and show you where you're at for his glory let's pray Lord thank you so much thank you for this day you've given us God thank you for the opportunity we've had to gather together and to read your word and to hear your word Lord I pray that your word would take root in our lives Lord I pray you would be magnified and glorified oh God that you would be seen on the throne and our lives would be for your purposes and your glory and your worship and we ask it in Jesus name Amen daddy
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