“…the living creatures… twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him.” (Revelation 4:4-11, NASB)

John’s vision of the future begins with a worship service. Instead of talking about the angels, streets of gold, tree of life, new heaven, new earth, new Jerusalem, John’s vision of heaven begins with a worship of God. He saw twenty-four elders surrounding the throne in heaven and worshiping the One who sat upon it. It says in today’s passage,

“And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and 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.’ 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 twenty-four 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 art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they existed, and were created.’”

Wow. How many claims about the visions of heaven begin like this? Visions fabricated by men will start with what they want to see in heaven, but visions revealed by God will begin with the vision of who God is and the worship of that God. This is how I know that John’s vision was real, and this is how I will recognize whether someone’s vision of heaven will be real.

According to John’s vision, the worship service for the One who sat upon the throne in heaven goes on forever and ever. Notable worshipers of this heavenly worship service are the “four living creatures” and the “twenty-four elders.” First, the four living creatures do not cease to say day and night, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.” According to the books of Isaiah and Ezekiel, these four living creatures are in fact Cherubim angels who worship God forever. These angels have both distinctive and common characteristics. They are distinct in that one looks like a lion, another like a calf, another like a man’s face, and a flying eagle. They are common in that they all have six wings and are full of eyes in front and behind.

Second, the twenty-four elders each have their own thrones situated around the throne of God with golden crowns on their heads. John does not specify who these “elders” are, but we would not be incorrect to interpret them as elders of the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. The specificity of names may not be important, but it symbolizes the twelve pillars of Israel and the Church. Their names are also etched on the twelve gates and the four walls of the New Jerusalem (Rev.21:12-14).

Fourth, although today’s passage does not mention it, Revelation 5:11 and 13 indicate that “many angels” and “every created thing” were part of this worship.

Lastly, the central figure in this worship service is the Lamb of God, who is the only one able to take the scroll of God, open its seals, and bring about the judgments (Rev.5:5-6). In other words, John’s vision of the future begins with a worship service to a God who lives forever by angels and humans, both Israel and the church, Old Testament and the New Testament, and of the old covenant and the new covenant. It is a picture of a holy, righteous, and perfect worship service. Our future in eternity will begin with a worship service!

• Why do you think God gave a vision about heaven to John by starting with a worship scene instead of things in heaven?
• How does your church worship compare to this worship service in heaven?