Introduction
Revelation is the most important NT book for understanding early Christian liturgy. The central message is “Only God and the Lamb, not Caesar, are worthy of worship” (4:11). What happens in heaven is far more important than anything that happens on earth. In the midst of conflict and persecution, the triumph of God and the Chr community is not only guaranteed but already celebrated (Osborne, 48). There is no ultimate harm to any follower of Christ, even to the martyrs who gave their lives as a witness to Christ.
Julius Caesar represented the power of Rome and the empire which was at times hostile to the early church. When he returned to Rome after many years of fighting its battles abroad, he planned great festivities and triumphal processions to celebrate his victories over Gaul, Egypt, Pontos, and Africa. Each of the four processions took an entire day. His goal was to hold the city spellbound by his greatness. The cavalcades wound through the streets and ended at the temple of Jupiter, displaying treasures, booty, large paintings of battles, and maps. Then came the prisoners with their barbarian kings; then the Roman officials; and then the commander himself, riding on a chariot drawn by three white horses. He wore a laurel wreath and purple toga, carried the eagle sceptre, and coloured his face with red lead to represent Jupiter, whose power had made the armies victorious, while over him a slave held the golden wreath. Yet the same slave also repeated in his ear, “Remember, you are human.”
Worship Portrayed in Heaven and Earth
The throne of God is the unifying factor in Rev 4-5. John goes up to heaven and sees what is almost beyond words. There is a glorious picture of God the Father on the throne:
“There in heaven stood throne, with one seated on the throne! And the one seated there looks like jasper and carnelian and around the throne is a rainbow that looks like an emerald. Around the throne are 24 thrones and seated on the throne is our 24 elders, dressed in white robes with golden crowns on their heads. Coming from the throne are flashes of lightning and rumblings and peals of thunder and in front of the throne burn seven flaming torches which are the seven Spirits of God and in front of the throne there is something like a sea of glass, like crystal.” (Rev 4:2-5).
God is so transcendent. Words to describe are stretched almost to the point of breaking. John describes the throne and those who sit closest in the heavenly realm. There is a place for acknowledging the complete otherness of God in worship. Sometimes we are tempted to describe God as a heavenly chum, a kind of buddy in the sky, or an Australian terms ‘our mate’. While there is a truth that we can be close to God, as friends or sons and daughters in intimate family relationship, there must also be a recognition that God is beyond our understanding and enthroned in glory.
In chapter 4 God is the central focus and in chapter 5 Christ is worshipped. The hymns probably reflect early Christian worship with the singers shifting from the living creatures (4:8), to the elders (4:10-11), to both groups together (5:8-9) to the myriads of angels (5:11-12) to every creature (5:13). There may have been early patterns of worship with prostration (face down, cf. RC priest’s ordination) and recognising the worthiness of God and the Lamb. Some scholars have tried to draw parallels with the synagogue patterns of worship, but that was more word based teaching. This is much closer to Isaiah 6, Ezekiel 1, and Daniel 7.
There is the apocalyptic image of the open door to heaven (4:1), which opens and we enter a hidden realm. This reverses the idea that heaven is closed because of human sin. There is a picture of concentric circles with the rainbow immediately around the throne, then the four living creatures and finally the 24 elders. There may be a hierarchical order here. The elders are probably saints, given their white robes and crowns. The number 24 might be significant following the 12 tribes of Judah and the new 12 tribes in the church [originating in the apostles]. Hence the church is the new Israel. The seven spirits of God (1:4) depicts the Holy Spirit. A small but highly significant detail in “before the throne there is as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.” (4:6, cf. 21:1) which portrays the defeat of the sea monsters, the OT gods of chaos in opposition to Yahweh.
These four beings combine the cherubim of Ezk 1, 10 with the seraphim of Isa 6 beings who continually sing, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” (4:8). Other hymns are strategically placed throughout the book and call attention to two things: the majesty and sovereignty of God, and the worship of his people, heavenly as well as earthly. This hymn specifically emphasises God’s holiness, omnipotence and eternal nature. The response to the sight of God is unrestrained worship (4:9-11). There is a dramatic touch with the elders casting their crowns before the throne, singing “worthy art thou…” (4:11). The Westminster Confession says that humanity was created to “glorify God and enjoy him forever”. Perhaps we can take from this scene the fundamental importance of grounding our faith in the appreciation of the majesty of God.
In the early church worship was important. In our day we see enormous variety of worship in the church, and probably every denomination sees a NT justification for their style of honouring God. It is likely that the book of Revelation reflects the worship of the early church which would include songs of praise, liturgical phrases, and possibly actions such as prostrating the self before God. I would observe that it appears quite ordered and possibly formal, certainly not chaotic or unpredictable.
Reflect: How do you think our style of worship at GUC equates with this passage in Revelation?
Chapter 5 centres on Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God. It is clear that Jesus is acknowledged as divine and receives worship. There are songs of praise and there is no question that the honour due to our Lord is no less than that to God the Father.
Revelation has other scenes of heavenly worship including the saints in chapter 7, the elders in chapter 11:16-19, the 144,000 saints in chapter 14:1-7, the saints in chapter 15:2-6, and the praise of the multitude in heaven chapter 19:1-8.
There is a basis for the somewhat clichéd image of the saints playing harps in heaven (14:2). The harp was a 10 or 12 string lyre which was used in temple worship (Psalm 33:2). This is an affirmation of an eternal role for music in the worship of God. It seems likely that musical instruments were part of the worship of the early church.
Chapter 19: 6-8. In this passage we are close to the culmination of the victory of Christ over the powers of evil. This is portrayed in his second: coming on a white warhorse with the armies of heaven, carrying a sharp sword to destroy the nations (19:11-16). This victory emerges from the worship in heaven, “hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God” (19:1). This hallelujah is worthy of Handel’s Messiah.
What do we do with such heavenly imagery? Many find the notion of an afterlife hard to believe. And few of us would find an unending church service attractive!
I do believe in eternal life but one full of challenges and potential growth. I think we are tested and prepared in this life for something far greater. Christ has redeemed us for a purpose, which will one day be revealed.
One aspect of what we can anticipate is to finally see God the creator of the universe. To fully acknowledge the work of Christ on our behalf and to understand the revealing role of the Holy Spirit. God as trinity.
Anglican scholar N.T. Wright made a comment about the “weight of glory” passage in 2 Corinthians 4:17: For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. “The weight of glory” thus seems to refer to a superabundant expression of that humanness: God’s people will be more truly themselves. We sometimes speak of somebody who has been very sick being “just a shadow of their former self.” But what Paul points out is that human beings are just a shadow of their future selves. God has prepared a larger selfhood which is the true fulfillment of all that they are at the moment, which will be the final, glorious enriching of it. Everything that humans, at their deepest and best moments, are reaching out for, struggling after, longing for, and dreaming of, will finally be fulfilled. Not necessarily, of course, in the ways we would currently imagine; rather, in the ways that God knows will be truly fulfilling for us.
Worship in the Book of Revelation is not entertainment, it is something powerful. This is where eternal reality is manifest. What is lasting first happens in heaven, with a knock-on effect to the earthly realm. This gives a new meaning to our sense of worship because we can join in this eternal ‘making real in the spiritual realm’. We celebrate God, yes, and that is a worthwhile activity, but our worship is also a realisation of everything yet to come. Hallelujah, the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.
Rev’d Dr Bruce Stevens is supply minister at GUC 2022-23