Title: Worship in Heaven
Contents
Expository Preaching
Subject: Heavenly Worship 1
Text: Revelation 4:1-4
------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ ---After this day
The word ‘after these things’ means after hearing the voice of infinite affection and love from the glorified Christ, who holds the churches of this earth in his glory, and sometimes encourages and sometimes exhorts them.
Until now, John had heard the voice of the Lord like a trumpet. That voice was for the churches on this earth. He loved that church, and saw in glory what they were supposed to do after this.
Then John experienced an amazing thing. Moved by the Holy Spirit, you will be divinely dragged to heaven. A loud voice like the sound of a trumpet said from a high place, “Come up on this road.” In an instant, John was sucked up. He lifted him up to the highest heavenly realm.
The place where Elijah suddenly disappeared in a heavenly chariot, the place where Ezekiel disappeared while looking at the scroll, the place where Isaiah disappeared while eating the word, and the place where Philip baptized the Ethiopian Minister of Knowledge and Economy and disappeared. . It's not a miracle, it's a miracle. You have been brought up to the world of joy among joys.
According to the book “I was a prisoner of war in China,” I was able to cross the Yalu River in an instant when I couldn’t cross it. It's a joke This miracle happened. The Holy Spirit lifted him up to the highest realm in the blink of an eye. There, I saw a truly amazing heaven, the world of the heavenly palace.
not empty throne
If you look at verse 2, “I was immediately moved by the Holy Spirit, and behold, a throne was set in heaven, and there was one sitting on the throne.” First of all, John's eyes saw the throne of the heavenly kingdom. But surprisingly, the throne was not empty. It was such a big surprise. It is a joy that cannot be expressed. Up until now, he thought that the throne was empty. Otherwise, I couldn't believe how much God's suffering, pain, persecution, and persecution could be experienced, how the Lord's church could suffer such terrible suffering, no matter how much the glory of the church on this earth was shown. I was suffering and tormented alone like that, and my heart was very troubled because I thought it was an empty throne, but surprisingly, the throne was not empty. I was moved so much that tears came to my heart. Consolation has come. A cool wind blew like a piercing chest. My heart was refreshed.
And someone sat on the throne. Verse 3 describes him like this: “The shape of the one who sat down was like jasper and pearl stone, and there was a rainbow around it, and it was surrounded by a throne, and its shape was like a chrysanthemum.” Because God is a spirit, it cannot be described in a physical form. It was depicted with jasper, publicity stone and green gemstone.
Jasper is a gemstone that is blue like the sky. It is a transparent and clear gem. This means a holy God who has no sin. It is the holiness and purity of God.
The publicity stone is a gemstone of red color. This means judgment. God is holy and at the same time he is the one who executes the three plates.
But what was even more surprising was that there was a rainbow and it was surrounded by a throne. This rainbow was referred to as a green gemstone. A rainbow of green and bright colors surrounded the throne. Scholars have interpreted this to be the mercy of God. Because the rainbow brings to mind the story of Noah. Just as the rainbow is a sign of God's mercy, just as God's mercy promises that He will never again judge the world with water after the flood destroyed the world.
So, in summary, the image of a holy God, a God of judgment and a God of mercy, appeared on the throne. Because God is holy, He judges sin. Chapters 6 to 19 contain this scene of God's judgment. Terrible calamities and terrible judgments are pouring down, and what is even more surprising is that people do not repent even under such terrible judgments. This is where God's mercy is revealed. Waiting for sinners to repent and return. It is God's mercy. There is God's judgment, symbolized by jasper and public stone, and God's mercy, symbolized by the rainbow.
One thing we need to remember here is that people in the world these days only love rainbows. I like the rainbow hanging on the throne of God, and I don't like the fact that there are jasper and prism stones. Because we only like God's mercy and ignore God's judgment, unspeakable sins are prevalent in this earth.