Sermon: Sunday, 13th April, 2025
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Revelation 4
Have you ever felt like giving up watching the news or reading the newspapers? It seems like bad news follows bad news. From the wars in Ukraine and Palestine to the trade wars and the economic uncertainty they are bringing. As I was preparing this sermon there were Scottish news items about a gang attacking an off duty police officer. Judge Lord Arthurson said the group acted like a ‘feral mob’, likening the account of the attack to a ‘dystopian genre horror film’. In the Steadfast Global prayer notes I read that in Uganda: A new Christian and mother of six children was murdered by her husband on 23 March after making her first visit to church in Busembatya town. Closer to home, there are situations in our own lives that bring us distress and great pain. In short, quite often we feel the world is just in a mess and it seems things are out of control.
Surely, many think, a God who is both all-powerful and good would not allow the world to continue like this. Is God too weak to sort the mess out or does he just not care? It was exactly the same back in John’s day. Christians were often brutally persecuted under the reign of various Roman emperors. They were marginalised or banished and sometimes even killed. Becoming a Christian usually made your life far more difficult in terms of getting on in everyday society. Where was God in all of this? It is understandable that many of us just want Jesus to come back and put an end to all the evil and suffering. But what are we to do in the meantime? How are Christians able to carry on day after day, without living in fear and without losing faith that God is really in control. If we are truthful, sometimes it really does feel like Trump or Putin or Jinping or Apple or Amazon rules the world. Or maybe it seems like no one is in control, and everything is just chaotic and pointless. What is the answer? What can we say to those who feel like giving up on God? How does God meet us when we are tempted to stop trusting in him?
God provides the antidote to fear and doubt here in Revelation chapter 4. He wants to reassure us that he is the one who is in control, and does this through a marvellous vision, given to John. The word ‘revelation’ or apocalypse means God revealing to us that which is normally hidden. Just because it is normally hidden does not mean that it is not true. There is order and control and authority and meaning in the universe, it’s just that we cannot usually see it with the human eye.
So what does God do for John and for us today? ‘After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven.’ (Revelation 4:1) If we are to know more about who God is and what his purposes are, he must reveal those to us. We cannot work it out just by guessing or even by looking at the world he has made. We can only truly know God if he makes himself known. And that’s what he does here in Revelation 4. God opens a door so that we this morning are able to gaze into the very centre of the created order. Jesus is the voice (verse 1) beckoning John and saying: ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.’
1. An occupied throne
‘…there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.’ (Revelation 4:2) John is able to enter the ‘real world’ and see what is really at the centre of the universe. And the truth is, the world is not in chaos. It does not say that ‘chance’ is on the throne, and that really there’s no meaning to life whatsoever. Nor does it say that mother nature is on the throne. Caesar is certainly not on the throne, even though Rome is the superpower of the day. In fact, there is a person on the throne – the Lord God Almighty. Sure, today Putin and Trump and Jinping have their thrones, and Starmer an even smaller one! But these are but temporary and limited thrones. Revelation even mentions the throne of the evil. Writing to the church in Pergamumm we read; ‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is.’ (Revelation 2:13) But there is only one throne which really counts. There is only one throne which is eternal and all-powerful and that is the throne of God.
The word throne is mentioned 62 times in the New Testament and 47 of them come in Revelation. God wants the picture of him occupying the throne to fill our minds. The word throne is mentioned about 10 times just in this chapter. I love Leon Morris’ comment here:
‘John’s readers were evidently familiar with earthly thrones and they were troubled by all that Caesar’s throne meant. John will not let them forget that there is a throne about every throne.
As the Getty hymn puts it: ‘There is a higher throne than all this world has known, where faithful ones from ev’ry tongue will one day come.’ We might not understand all the imagery in this chapter, but one thing is clear: God is in control and this ought to give us great reassurance. Not only is God in control, but he is all-powerful and wise and merciful and forgiving and holy and majestic. That’s the good news. The one who reigns is a good and glorious and merciful God. And we see all these qualities through the images given to us here.
I love the description in verse 3: ‘…and round the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald.’ Why is there a rainbow around God’s throne? The rainbow reminds us of God’s covenant – his commitment to his people. And that commitment is eternal. The rainbow reminds us of God’s mercy and forgiveness of sin. When the entire world deserved to be destroyed, the Lord saved humanity through Noah and the ark, acting in mercy and forgiveness. Wow. The one on the throne is a God of power and might, the Creator and Sustainer of all things, but he is also full of mercy and forgiveness.
Words cannot adequately describe the glory and majesty of God and so God is depicted in terms of dazzling and beautiful light: ‘And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and round the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald.’ (Revelation 4:3) This speaks of the transcendent beauty of God.
When you are at an airport, so many things are happening at once, with flights and baggage and delays and cancelled flights and storms. There are times when it might seem like chaos at an airport. But were we taken up into the airport control tower, we would realise that the controller’s commands are being sent out to all of the airport staff and that things are actually in good order.
Vern Poythress: ‘Through this vision we are transported into the control tower of the entire universe. From this vantage point, as we understand the Controller and his plans, things fall into place. And even if they sometimes escape our comprehension, we know the One who does comprehend it all. His plans cannot and will not fail.’
Friends, the next time things happen to us which are really hard we might well be tempted to doubt God’s goodness or His power or love. What is the solution? We must come back to Revelation chapter 4. We must walk through the open door described here and remind ourselves who is really occupying the throne and what He is like.
‘God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.’ (1 John 1:5) God is good and God is holy and God is glorious. Don’t get anxious about those who sit on the small temporary thrones. We don’t give an account of our lives to them, only to God. This passage, if we rub it into our lives, should totally change our perspective on the news. We will continue to hear more and more bad news. But God will work it for good. Don’t be frightened, even if we are persecuted for being Christians. God is not in the least bit fazed by earthly or demonic rulers.
‘The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, ‘Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.’ He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.’ (Psalm 2:2-4)
2. A worshipping crowd
What is the right and only response to this all-powerful, majestic, holy God? In a word: worship. Verse 4 introduces us to 24 smaller thrones surrounding the Lord’s throne. These are thrones of the 24 elders. At first, I thought these must be the thrones of Christians who have died and gone to be with the Lord, and some take this view. However, I think it is more likely that they are angelic beings. Why is that? If you go to Revelation chapter 5, these 24 elders are singing about the church and they say: You have made ‘them’ to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.’ (Revelation 5:10) If the 24 were human, I think they would sing you have made ‘us’ to be a kingdom of priests. I found Poythress helpful here:
The elders are angelic beings and hence not identical with the church. But they and the church are still images of one another.’
Perhaps there are 24 angels standing for the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles. Whoever exactly these 24 beings are, the crucial thing about them is that they fall down before God and worship him, laying their crowns before Him. What does it mean to lay your crown before God? You are acknowledging that He is the rightful Ruler of all things. They are giving God the first place. All other sovereignty must yield to His.
What gives God the right to deserve worship from the angelic hosts of heaven and from all human beings in the earth, including us? Thee answer is given: ‘You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.’ (Revelation 4:11)
As the Creator of all things, God owns and controls all He has made. It would be foolish for creatures like us to try and push ourselves onto God’s rightful throne, would it not? And yet, that is exactly what many of us are doing. Many people want to be in charge of their own lives and live any way they want. They don’t want to let God be God. They don’t want to worship and obey Him. Instead, they want to go their own way, rebelling against God. Friends, this is a very foolish and treasonous thing to do. It is foolish to reject the true King.
Let me urge you to copy the angels in Heaven. They give God his rightful place. They respond in worship and submission. Christians are those who can say: ‘Lord Jesus, I am not in charge of my life any more. You are.’ We cast our little crowns before the throne. Queen Victoria heard a sermon on Revelation chapter 4 and with tears said to the preacher: ‘…because of what you said about the coming of the world’s rightful King, I wish still to be here when he returns, that I might lay my crown at his blessed feet.’
From verse 6, we are introduced to the 4 living creatures. We’re not used to such unusual creatures. As we have seen often in Revelation, the key to unlock these weird visions is the Old Testament. Very similar creatures are found in Ezekiel chapter 1, and there they are identified as the cherubim. Notice that these 4 creatures are closest to the Lord’s throne and so are likely to be mighty and important angelic beings. They are covered with eyes. It is as if God’s heavenly assistants reflect his own attributes. And so the eyes on these beings speak of the fact that God is able to see everything that happens in the whole of His created order. Nothing is hidden from his sight. No one can conceal anything from God. And the references of the lion and ox and eagle and man speak of God’s power and majesty, swiftness and intelligence. We are told what the 4 creatures say again and again: Day and night they never stop saying: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.’ (Revelation 4:8)
God is holy, which means he is totally separate from his universe. He is the only uncreated one, who was and is and is to come. He is the only one who has always existed. And he is perfect in every respect. This is a God of absolute power and holiness and majesty and if the angelic beings know how to respond aright in worship, surely we ought to follow their lead. How wonderful that we could begin our service today joining the angels in heaven singing ‘Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty’. This is a God worth worshipping, worth serving and worth devoting our lives too.
Let me just end by saying that in some ways this is one of the most practical passages in the whole Bible. It won’t make you richer financially or top up your sun tan or guarantee your children or grandchildren will be happy. But if you are feeling overwhelmed by the pain and suffering of this world and are struggling to make sense of it all and are doubting God is in control, then come through the door with John and be reminded that He is ruling and reigning on His eternal throne. This is the great reality of the universe. And if you are proud, living for yourself, and ignoring the true King, even though he made you and even though the earth belongs to him, then you also need to come through the door and see that God is at the centre of the universe, not you. Along with all people, the only right response is to worship him through Jesus Christ.