Revelation 4
This fourth chapter of
Revelation has one primary purpose, one main message to communicate to us. We
are tempted to fathom the meaning of every symbol and image, but before we do
that we must not miss the main picture. This chapter is a picture of the entire
universe seen not from a physical perspective, but from the perspective of its
order. The first question we need to ask is not, “What does this or that symbol
mean?” The first question is, “Who is at the center of the universe? Who is it
all about?”
When Adam and Eve sinned
they were attempting to place themselves at the center of the universe as the
ones who determined right and wrong and law. The rebellion of Satan was an
attempt to place himself at the center of the universe, to usurp God's authority.
When we sin we are doing the same thing. By a sin of commission we are actually
trying to take God's place at the center and place ourselves as the one who
rules. In a sin of omission we are ignoring the one who is on the throne. We
have been entirely too casual in our thinking about sin. We think of sin as a
single act or a simple broken rule. It is much worse than that; it is an
attempt to throw God from His throne and to take that place for ourselves.
Every attempt to do so is inevitably going to fail and we are ruined in the
process.
Look at the One on the
throne and we will see we are insignificant, tiny, living dust that could be
blown to the four corners of the world in a moment. In contrast to our
smallness we see the one who is on the throne. In verse 8, we see three
descriptions of Him, none of which would apply to us. He is Holy, Almighty, and
Eternal. In verse 11, we see why He is worthy of worship. It is because all that exists apart from Him was
created by, and has their ongoing existence in Him and because of His will.
This incomprehensibly large universe in which we live is insignificant compared
to God. It is as if in making it He says, “Here is a tiny picture of my power.”
The beginning point of understanding Revelation and of being a disciple is to
understand it is about God and not me. That is why as a disciple our first call,
our first order of life is to die to self.
Questions to ponder
If God created the whole
universe out of nothing and without effort what does that say about the efforts
of any to depose Him from His throne?
Why is it that we try and try again to reorder the universe to suit us?
In a tiny apparently black
spot in the sky, the Hubble Space Telescope photographed 10,000 galaxies. The number of stars is beyond count, but God
calls each by name. In moments of
suffering what does it mean for persecuted Christians to know such a mighty God
is on the throne of the Universe?
