WE WILL NOT BE BORED
Revelation 4:9-11 NKJV
9 Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying:
11 “You are worthy, O Lord,
To receive glory and honor and power;
For You created all things,
And by Your will they exist and were created.”
I have heard people trying to be funny talk about not wanting to go to heaven. Their concern is that the party people will not be there, and they would rather party in hell. Their assumption is that heaven is boring. From a couple of different perspectives, that is so totally wrong. Anyone who has thought that hell will be a party and heaven a bore has never read this chapter. Heaven will be jaw-dropping amazing. And anyone thinking that hell is a party place is deceived and dangerously so. Any place that is absent of the presence of God is not where we want anyone to spend eternity.
This chapter four gives us a glimpse of heaven. And what a glimpse. The colors, the rainbow, the sea of glass. The elders wearing golden crowns. The thundering, lightnings, and voices. And the four living creatures with faces like a lion, a calf, a man, and an eagle. And they have eyes all around. Are you ready for this?
The living creatures have six wings and are constantly giving glory, honor, and thanks to God. And the 24 elders fall down and worship God and throw their golden crowns down before Him. Don't ask me who these elders are, and John didn't say, so we'll have to wait and find out.
The elders, as they are worshipping, declare that God is worthy. He is worthy to receive glory and honor, and power. The word glory here means to recognize. Giving glory to God is ascribing to Him His full recognition. There is no one who is more worthy to receive glory. The glory of man fades, but the glory of God never does. There is much to the glory of God, so we have much to look forward to.
The elders give God honor. Honor being respect, reverence, and esteem. We honor people in this life. When I was younger, the President of the United States came through my town. It was great to see him, and you could sense the honor surrounding the office of President. Even if you disagree with the politics, the office carries honor. How much more honor does our God carry and deserve?
Glory, honor, and power. The word for power is mighty accomplishing power. The power that gets things done. Is there anything or anyone who comes close to the power of our God? That is a rhetorical question. No one or nothing comes even remotely close.
The Lord is worthy because He created all things. It's good to settle that thought in our minds. He is the creator of all we can see and the things we can't see. Because of Him, all in our world and life exist. By His will, all things were created, and by His will, all things will exist. In the ages to come, we will be giving glory, and honor, and power to the One who is worthy, to the One who lives forever and ever.
No, heaven will not be boring. It will be beyond amazing. I believe we only get glimpses of heaven so that we don't give up on this dark world and just go there too quickly. But we still have a job to do reaching those people who think heaven is not where they want to be.
PRAYER
Father, You are worthy of all the glory, and honor, and power. I worship You now and will throughout the ages. Forever and ever, amen.