…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 4:10-11
Revelation is full of these scenes of worship, and they are well worth stopping to linger on their significance. This chapter is a vision of the throne of God. John witnesses the throne and sees it surrounded by 24 “elders” and 4 “living creatures”. The elders appear to be human and the creatures appear to be covering angels. The angels worship the Holy God Who always is. It is the elders’ worship that is most fascinating.
The elders have smaller thrones of their own right, and they quickly desert them, throw their crowns down before God’s own throne and worship God. There song is one that acknowledges the worth of God. In in they pledge three things and exclaim why God is worth the pledge of these three things.
The song pledges to God glory. They cannot add to the glory that is already His. But they can acknowledge that the glory the human heart might hold for itself, or for some other thing greater than a man, is fully due to God. The second pledge is honor. We honor what we admire as great. And God alone deserves true honor and respect. And keep in mind, the description of the elders makes it clear they are great people, honored by God with their position before His throne. And they give all honor to God. The final pledge is the pledge of power. Again, we cannot add to the Almighty in terms of power. But we can offer to Him whatever resources and power are ours for His service. He deserves what energy, all energy, that we have to serve Him.
The reason these 24 elders pledge these things has to do with God’s supremacy. And it is seen in the first thing we learn about God in the Bible: He created all things. He deserves recognition from all men. He is the source of all things. And His will brought everything, the entire universe, into existence. That is a crucial thought. It is why insidious naturalism and scientism are not to be ends in and of themselves. We cannot let our appreciation of the understanding of the universe become greater than the mind that created it! That is why acknowledging that by the will of God everything exists is one of the strongest statements of worship. Those closest to God around His throne are thrilled to acknowledge His Intelligent Design, and to worship their Creator!
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