A Journey to Heaven

“And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, "Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created." (Revelation 4:8-11)

John sees a door open in heaven and is immediately caught up in the Spirit to the very presence of the Lord God Almighty Himself. He describes the majesty and glory of the only One worthy of our worship. He sees the 24 elders seated around the throne take the lead of the four living creatures and fall down in worship. John sees them cast their crowns before the throne. The focus of heaven is clearly on the worship of God!

Who are these “elders” and what are they casting before the throne? The Greek word is “presuteros”, and it is where we get the word Presbyterian. So, does it mean the elders are Presbyterians and not Baptist’s? That is for another debate. Actually, the 24 elders are a picture of the redeemed of the ages: perhaps 12 representing the O.T. saints and 12 representing the church age saints. Why do they represent the redeemed? As we studied yesterday:

Their Position - They are seated! The fact that they are seated lets us know that they are at rest. The battles are over and they find themselves seated before the throne of God at perfect rest and peace! Thank God a day of rest awaits the heaven bound saint today!

Their Purity - These elders are robes in "white". This is always a symbol of holiness and purity. White is symbolic in Revelation of the righteous acts of the saints (3:4-5, 18; 6:11; 7:9, 13-14; 19:8). Their crowns – (stephanos) are victors crowns (cf. 2:10) for the redeemed, not angels. What an honor!

Their Prize - Each of these elders wears a "crown". This crown in not like the crown that Jesus wears, Rev. 19:12. His crown is a "diadem" - a king's crown. The elders wear the "stephanos" - a "victor's crown".

Notice that they cast their crowns at God’s feet? In Escape the Coming Night David, Jeremiah observes that there are 5 different crowns mentioned in the NT that are available to believers:

Imperishable wreath - (I Cor. 9:25) This crown is given to those who run the race successfully. They “receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.”

Crown of Life - “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, He will receive the crown of life which the Lord promised to those who love Him.” (James 1:12) This crown is given to those who successfully endure the sufferings associated with temptation.

Crown of rejoicing - “For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? For you are our glory and joy.” (I Thess. 2:19-20) The people we led to Christ and nurtured in the faith are a “crown.”

Crown of glory - “Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker of the glory that is to be revealed. … And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.” (I Peter 5:1-4) This is an expression of reward for faithfulness.

Crown of righteousness - (2 Tim. 4:6-8) All Christians receive the righteousness of Christ. This crown is a special enjoyment of righteousness because of the love of Christ. Paul wants us to understand that a love for Christ will attract HIS attention.

They cast their crowns at His feet! Will we one day? You bet! I wonder what things God would have us cast at His feet today? Our time? Our talents? Our treasures? And what difference should a knowledge of eternity make in the way we worship today? Will worship continue to be just a Sunday-only experience, or will worshiping God become our everyday lifestyle experience?

Worshipping is not about pleasing you and me, but expressing our appreciation and love to our Lord and Savior. I like what someone said: “Your problems aren’t too big—perhaps your worship is too small."

There’s a recent song that was written by a young man who led the worship at church. He was an extremely talented singer, but the preacher there took him aside and told him that he could not lead the singing at church until things changed, because he saw that he was more interested in the attention he received than in worshipping the Lord. This young man was angry at first and yet the words of the preacher were true, and he knew it. Six months later he wrote a song and taught it to the church there. The words are these:

Heart of Worship
(words and music by Matt Redman)

When the music fades
All is stripped away
And I simply come
Longing just to bring
Something that’s of worth
That will bless Your heart

I bring you more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what you have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You’re looking into my heart

I’m coming back to the heart of worship
And it’s all about you
It’s all about you, Jesus
I’m sorry Lord for the thing I’ve made it
When it’s all about you
It’s all about you, Jesus

King of endless worth
No one could express
How much you deserve
Though I’m weak and poor
All I have is yours
Every single breath

Until Next Week,

Dr. Derek