Worship in the throne room
Worship in the throne room is the answer to the letters of the churches. Why and how is this the introduction to all the plagues that follow?
The background and context
The last verse before this chapter mentioned already the throne room of God, but there is further links to the first three chapters that addressing the situation of the church. There is the use of common phrases in both parts
| Topic | Letters | Throne room |
|---|---|---|
| reception of authority | in the promise for the overcomers in Thyatira for getting the morning star | as for the lamb to receive the scroll as well as honor and glory |
| overcomer | in Laodicea to sit on the throne | the lamb overcame and is worthy to open the scroll |
| the seven spirits of God | in the address to Sardis | as the description before the throne and as the description of the eyes of the lamb |
| the saints white clothing | with the conquerors in Sardis and Jesus’ offer to Laodicea | as the suites of the 24 elders |
| saints seating on thrones | for the overcomers in Laodicea | as the 24 elders |
| saints having crowns | as promise in Smyrna and reality in Philadelphia | as in the picture of the 24 elders |
| image of an open door | in the reality in Philadelphia and the wish in Laodicea | as the introduction to the throne room |
| voice like a trumpet with rapture in the spirit | the vision regarding the churches | starts the vision here |
These relations should give a vision for the church regarding their spiritual reality but also to follow Christ’s example. The reality that is shows in this vision is part of the reality that the church should act upon.
Daniel 7 has a striking parallel to chapter 4 and 5 of the Revelation:
| Topic | Daniel 7 | Revelation 4-5 |
|---|---|---|
| introduction phrases | Daniel | Revelation |
| throne in heaven | Daniel | Revelation |
| God sits on this throne | Daniel | Revelation |
| the description of God | Daniel | Revelation |
| fire before the throne | Daniel | Revelation |
| heavenly servant surround the throne | Daniel | Revelation (24 elders, 4 living beings and angels) |
| books before the throne | Daniel | Revelation |
| books are opened | Daniel | Revelation |
| divine (messianic) figure approaches throne to receive authority | Daniel | in Revelation (as description, because he bought them from all nations which all give him praise) |
| the scope: all peoples, nation and tongues | Daniel | Revelation |
| the seer’s distress when seeing the vision | Daniel | Revelation |
| the seer’s reception of heavenly council from one of the throne servants | Daniel | Revelation |
| saints given authority to reign over a kingdom | Daniel, not only twice but three times | Revelation |
| concluding mention of God’s eternal reign | Daniel | Revelation |
Even there are many parallels you can easily see that the order of events are different in both passages.
This scene reminds on the angelic council as for
- the calling of Isaiah or
- the decision about Ahabs death
Why is worship the answer?
When we look at the problems in the churches, we can categorize them as follows:
- Wrong doctrine leading to wrong behavior (Pergamon, Thyatira)
- Wrong self-evaluation leads to wrong actions (Sardis, Laodicea)
- Wrong priorities leading to meaninglessness (Ephesus)
- Risk of giving up when circumstances are too hard (Smyrna, Philadelphia)
For all of them, worship is the answer.
- When we know the original better and better, we are less influenced by false teachings.
- When we know God and worship Him as He is, we understand ourselves better and see where we need Him.
- When we find our place in relation to God, our priorities fall into place, for “If God is not first, everything else is in the wrong place.
- When we put our trust in God and walk faithfully with Him, we are not easily shaken because we have found something unshakable.
The throne room
John’s first impression is the glory of God, which even makes it impossible to see God directly. When Moses asked to see God’s glory, he could not, but instead God showed him His mercy, so God’s glory can be described as His mercy. The judgments will be from the viewpoint of mercy.
The second point is the rainbow. This is a reminder of the covenant with Noah, where God put his bow there as a promise never to flood the earth again and to keep the seasons — no demands on Noah in this covenant. This throws another light on the character in the throne room. There are judgments, but they are limited.
The last one is the sea of glass. This has three associations:
- Gods glory in heaven and during the the Exodus,
- the bronze sea of the Temple of Solomon and
- Israel’s crossing of the Red Sea in the Exodus
The sea is the place of evil including evil people and the sea of glass is a picture of congealed evil.
This indicates that God is close to His people and protects them. The saints will also be there during the plagues, but God will protect them.
This is also the theme here, as you will see: Every series of plagues or announcement originates in the throne room. This is the central place in the book. Therefore, it is important to understand this place.
When we look at the coming events, we see this
- The seals have tremendous trouble, but they are there to expose Satan’s wickedness, to save as many as possible, and to come with a quick end.
- The trumpets expose the false things that people rely on, and in the fifth and sixth trumpets, the cause of the trouble is the demons that people rely on.
- The bowls are the place where God puts everything so that the people will not be deceived and go down with the beast in the sixth and seventh bowls.
The worship
In ancient times, the temple (which is a reflection of the heavenly throne room) is a representation of the world. God is in the center, and everything around him finds its place in relation to him.
We have the creation represented by the four creatures inspired by Ezekiel
- Lion, the ruler of the land animals
- Ox, the strongest of the domesticated animals
- Man as the ruler of creation
- Eagle as ruler of the air
They are joined by the 24 elders, reflecting the 24 orders of priests, 24 Levithical gatekeepers and 24 permanent worshipers introduced by David, but also the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles as the foundation of the church. This means that Israel and the Church are to be understood as one in spite of all the conflicts. The church is defined as a church of worship.