A Glimpse of Heaven

by Dick Buckingham, Administrator

In my 11^th and 12^th grade Bible class, we read a chapter in the Word each day devotionally.  Currently, we are reading through the book of Revelation, at a student’s request.  Having studied and read and mediated and taught from God’s Word for many years, I often hesitate when students want to read through Revelation as a class.  At the end of the reading each morning, I typically say, “Are there any comments?”  I realize the book of Revelation will produce more questions than comments and the students will be looking to me to make sense of this glorious, but difficult, book of prophesy.  Though I have come to grips over the years with a reasonable understanding of the book and its imagery that suits my satisfaction, students often are not satisfied with the broad strokes that I believe the book paints with and want to know specific details of everything the chapters describe.

Yet I relish the opportunity to bring them to one of my favorite chapters in all of God’s Word, chapter 4.  Here in this early chapter of the text, the Apostle John is transported to a place we all long to know much more about, the presence of God that we call heaven.  Once there, he begins to describe to the best of his ability the incredibly awesome experience that he encounters.

2 At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. 3 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. 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, 6 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 four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: 7 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. 8 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!”

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, 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.”  Revelation 4: 2-11 ESV

I love this chapter because it depicts the focus and primary activity in heaven.  The focus is God and activity is worship, real worship.  The first thing John saw when he entered into heaven was the throne and person of God.  He does his best to describe the experience in terms of things he and his readers have experienced, but no doubt even the language John uses isn’t adequate to fully grasp what he is seeing.  He then sees that there are others present, 24 elders and four unusual creatures.  Who and what these are is not my focus, but rather what they are doing.  John sees that the creatures are declaring God’s holiness over and over again.  And every time the creatures speak, the elders fall before him and worship God by casting their crowns before him and proclaiming His worthiness.

I am both awed and convicted by this vision of John’s.  I am awed because I get a glimpse of what it will be like when I shall at last see Him face to face.  I am convicted because I understand this is what I was created for and I fall so far short of this incredible offering of worship.  My worship (and perhaps yours) tends to be so self-centered.  It seems so much more about me and what I get out of it.  Does the music move me?  Is the message relevant to my life?  Worship as John’s sees in heaven is entirely God focused.  Those present are not concerned with anything, but are wholly given to the worship of the great and awesome God who is seated on the throne.  My worship is also so infrequent.  The creatures in Revelation “day and night…never cease to say…” and every time the creatures give glory to God, the rest join in to worship.  It is a continual, never ending, all-out expression of praise to God.  It is a strong reminder that our very lives are to be a living sacrifice, which is our spiritual act of worship.  Everything we do, everything we say, every thought we think, ought to be God focused and a declaration of His holiness and His worthiness.

I have got a ways to go in this.  Yet for a moment, I can pause with John in his awesome vision of heaven and I can imagine what it would be like to be doing all that He has created me for!