“Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew6:9,10
If ever there was a pattern for worship which has its example and exhortation from heaven, it is in the book of Revelation. Beyond the revelation of the glorified and risen Christ that we see in the beginning of the book, revealing Himself to be the “Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” (1:8) we find that this Almighty God, this Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer, this Eternal Head of the church, the living body of Christ, is the One who also gives to the Apostle John individual letters to the seven churches of Asia Minor. This Eternal One who gives eternal life comes, with full knowledge of all that is true, to visit individual churches, indeed, individual believers, in order to meet their needs. We know that His coming to the heart of every believer is addressed because He concludes each letter by addressing the individual heart: “He that hath an ear to hear let him hear…and he who overcomes.” So, what about heaven’s priority for these churches, and individuals? Certainly, Christ speaks to the different needs of every heart and assembly, but there is revealed in the Revelation that which is the great priority for all. The call of God on this earth is that which is seen in heaven when God the Father is seen upon His throne, and when the slain Lamb of God takes the scroll out of the Father’s hand, to claim all that is His by redemption and creation. What is this priority? It is that true act and attitude of worship, the true ascribing or giving to God by the Holy Spirit the glory that is His to receive.
When we come to chapter four of Revelation, John relates that, as he was looking to the Lord, hearing His words by the Spirit, he saw a “door standing open in heaven.” (4:1) What was this door but that instrument of God to direct John’s attention to that which he would be enabled to see, certainly communicating the words of God, but also, and in great measure describing the truth of what he saw. The door was a “call” to come and see, to enter in, and grasp eternal reality. What was that reality?
In the book of Isaiah, in his vision of God in chapter 6, Isaiah saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, with his robe filling the temple.”(v.1) The cry of the seraphim that was heard was: “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.” In John’s vision beyond the open door, he too would see ” a throne set in heaven, and One sat upon the throne.” (Rev. 4:3) There is more detail to John’s vision, as we see twenty-four thrones with elders sitting upon them. There are also four “living creatures” which do not rest day or night, saying, “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and is, and is to come.” (4:8) That which was true in Isaiah’s day concerning the throne of God, and the three-fold declaration of His holiness, is the same in John’s day on the isle of Patmos. In Revelation, there is revealed certain specific truths concerning this worship of the three-fold holy God. These facts are elements of worship. Not only is the worship entirely by the Spirit and according to the truth, but they deal with the glory, honor, and thanksgiving due to the God of creation, by the entirety of His creation.
There is another aspect of this worship in heaven, and it deals with the Eternal Redeemer of the souls of men, the faithful and only Savior. In chapter five, John sees a scroll in the Father’s right hand. There is only One in the entirety of heaven and earth who is declared worthy to take this scroll. A new song will ascribe to the slain Lamb of God, power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory and blessing. (5:12)
Dear Father, Teach us to truly worship. In Jesus’ name, Amen.