Revelation Worship
Is worshipping the true God worth the effort? Early Christians had plenty of easier, more visible, choices. Opportunities to worship idols, emperors, mystery cults, the Roman and Greek pantheon and civic and household deities presented themselves daily in shops, clubs, sports arenas, stadia, gymnasia, theatres, town meetings and at home. In one sense everyone was "religious" and participation was expected. So why go against the grain to worship God who can't be seen? Where would worshipping God take them? Perhaps these are self-centred questions of "what's in it for me" and it is better to ask who is this God who calls us to worship? What are His eternal purposes for worship and why is He worthy of our worship?
The book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ provides answers to these questions not just in words but in visions, word pictures and sounds. It speaks often of showing, seeing and hearing. It gives object lessons in what worship is not. For its author, the Apostle John, and his readers, Jesus opens a window into heaven and shows what worship of the true God in eternity looks and sounds like in at least half a dozen vivid scenes. To inspire the value of worship in churches on earth He gives the churches scenes of eternal worship of God. To churches facing persecution, temptation, materialism and apathy, John writes about many dimensions of worship. He talks about worship's posture, praise, purpose, people, power, perils of its alternatives, and, above all, God's person and the reasons we worship Him.
The posture of God's worshippers is among the first thing we see. They fall down before Him. John uses the verb proskuneow most often for worship. It means to fall down to worship, to do obeisance (gesture expressing reverence), to move the body in respect and submission, bowing to acknowledge God and His superiority. Several times we see elders, angels and four marvellous living creatures falling down before God and the Lamb in worship (4:10; 5:8, 14; 7:11; 11:16; 19:4). The elders cast their crowns before God's throne (4:10). John falls before Jesus and His angel (1:17; 19:10; 22:8-9).
We hear their thundering praises to God in worship: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come... Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created" (4:8, 11); "Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, 'Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns'" (19:6b).
Here on earth we stand in God's presence to worship him. We are used to worshipping Him as a group of His people, the church, those assembled in Jesus. Revelation enlarges our vision of those with whom we will be worshipping God eternally. Revelation worshipers include the angels (7:11), the twenty-four elders (4:10; 5:8; 11:16;19:4), the four living creatures (5:14; 19:4), the great multitude (17:9; 19:1-6), God's bond-servants (19:5), the Apostle John (19:10; 22:8-9) and all the patriarchs, prophets, apostles and saints of the ages (21:12, 14; see also Hebrews 11; 12:22-24).
Revelation paints pictures that place the worship of God in vivid contrast to the worship of angels, idols, the devil and the beast and his image. Revelation weaves pictures of the worship of God alternating against false worship in this order where A is God: ABACACACADCDA: A) God (1:17; 4:10; 5:14; 7:11), B) demons and idols (9:20), A) God (11:1, 16), C) the dragon and the beast (13:4, 8, 12, 15), A) God (14:7), C) the beast and his image (14:9, 11), A) God (15:4), C) the beast and his image (16:2), A) God (19:4-6), D) the angel 19:10, D) the beast and his image 19:20, 20:4, D) the angel (22:8), and A) God (22:9).
Revelation's scenes of worship reveal the power and majesty of the person of God, Father, Son and Spirit. The idols, emperors and beast are nothing compared to God. Jesus is revealed early in Revelation as the brilliant, supreme, strong Son of Man whose face shines like the sun (1:13-16). He is King of kings and Lord of lords (19:16). He is sovereign and reigns over all.
Revelation reveals the reasons for worshipping God. God is worthy of worship because He created us: "Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created" (4:11). We worship "Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it" (10:6b). Because of His creative and redemptive works, God is due "power and riches and wisdom and might and honour and glory and blessing….and dominion for ever and ever" (5:12-13).
God is worthy of our worship because He redeemed us by paying the ultimate price for us, Jesus' own body and blood: "And they sang a new song, saying, 'Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation'" (5:9). Through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, the Lamb sacrificed for us, God redeems His creation back to Himself. Through death He overcomes death. Through faith, confession of Jesus' name, repentance, baptism (immersion) for the forgiveness of our sins and faithful living we inherit the crown of life (2:10). Worship points us beyond death to service and fullness of life on earth and to eternal life.
God, our Creator and Redeemer, is worthy of worship because He reigns: "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns" (19:6b). Hallelujah literally means praise Yahweh, praise the Lord. Revelation uses it four times in triumphant and joyful succession and is the only New Testament book employing this beautiful word (19:1-6). In His sovereign reign the Lord also judges, protects and avenges (19:2).
Worshipping God fulfils His eternal purposes. He created us and redeems us to worship Him. Having redeemed His people, God makes us servant priests who reign with Him: "You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth" (5:9-10). God's reign is total and forever: "Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, 'The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever'" (11:15). Incredibly, God's people will have the honour and privilege of reigning with Him forever: "And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever" (22:5).
Back here on earth in the 21st century the world offers plenty of easier choices to worship every day. Their sights and sounds are all around us in shops, arenas, theatres, religious buildings and home entertainment centres. But the reasons to worship God are overwhelmingly greater. Jesus' Revelation through His angels and John does for us what it did for its first readers two thousand years ago. It opens our eyes, raises the bar, opens a window to heaven and helps us see beyond to God. Against Revelation's awesome scenes of worship and visions of the glory and majesty of the person of God, vain worship and materialism lose all their lustre. Because of God's creative and redemptive works for us and in us, worship and life take on meaning, depth and purpose. Worship leads us to the throne of God. The posture of the heart in worship is prostrate and humble yet God lifts us up into the honour of the priesthood of all believers who join multitudes in praising Him joyfully, serving Him and reigning with Him forever. Yes, and amen with the multitudes in heaven, worshipping God is truly worth the effort.
Paul Birston
June 2008©