REVELATION 4 & 5
Revelation 4 and 5 bring us to behold the glory, the transcendence, the wisdom and awesomeness of God. We see God sitting on the throne, in control and ruling over all, surrounded by angelic beings, unapproachable by any without going through the sea of glass, the seven lamps, the 24 elders, the 4 living creatures and being greeted by continuous thunder and lightning which stuck terror in the hearts of the Israelites when they beheld Gods revelation on Mt Sinai. The throne was surrounded by a kaleidoscope of colors, reminiscent of precious jewels with a beautiful rainbow (reminding us of the rainbow after the flood in Noahs time) and there was continuous worship and praise from those surrounding the throne and myriads and myriads of angels. This is our God, our Creator, sovereign and majestic, yet merciful and loving! We must not lose sight of this reality as we go through the pains and sufferings as pilgrims in this fallen world. We cannot diminish His glory by refusing to worship Him; in fact, our good is to love Him, and to love Him, we must know Him and if we know Him, we shall fall on our faces and knees in worship. For indeed He alone is worthy of all worship, glory and honor!
Then we see the slain Lamb of God; our Creator has become our Redeemer. The Son of God has become man, for us and our salvation, and has died on the cross to save us from eternal judgment. The saving death of Christ quenches Gods wrath against us by obliterating our sins from the sight of God and shielding us from the nightmare of retributive justice by becoming our representative substitute, in obedience to the Fathers will, and receiving the wages of our sin in our place. Redeeming love and retributive justice joined hands so that God can show Himself to be the just and thejustifier of those who have faith in Jesus (Romans 3:26). He tasted on Calvary Gods wrath, which was to be our due. The subsequent chapters of Revelation will manifest the fearful and terrible wrath, which will be unleashed on a rebellious world. Jesus sacrifice guaranteed and assured the glory, holiness and true happiness of the redeemed! It is no wonder that He alone was worthy to receive the scroll from the Fathers right hand and to remove the seals. It is no wonder that those around the throne and myriads of angels accorded Him the same praise and worship as that received by the One sitting on the throne. May the truth in Revelation 4 and 5 bring us to our knees in worship and adoration. May it encourage us to persevere in faith and gratitude to the One who has loved us even when we were sinners and enemies of the Cross.