Sun Kwak, “Falling Upwards into Heaven’s Throne”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-atoCQGxmg

TEXT: Revelation 4:1-11

[1] After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” [2] At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. [3] And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. [4] Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. [5] From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, [6] and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.

And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: [7] the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. [8] And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,

who was and is and is to come!”

[9] And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, [10] 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,

[11] “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.”

SERMON: “Falling Upward to Heaven’s Throne”

Every year for our anniversary, and so, once a year, we get a one-off that centers us toward why we exist as a church. And today, we’re here in Revelation 4. And the last time we were in the book of Revelation, I described the book as less literal prophecy and more illustrated children’s book. And there’s something about the simplicity and the limited space that makes the illustrations and vocabulary a lot more meaningful and poetic with children’s books. Not all children’s books, of course, are equal. But the ones that are done well have the ability to draw you into the storyregardless of age. And it’s been said by scholars and serious students of the book of Revelation that it’s to be read like a child’s picture book and less like an almanac — more with what Dietrich Bonhoeffer refers to as this wide awake wonder of a child and less with the vigor of end time enthusiasts. And one of these scholars Vern Poythress, professor at Westminster Seminary, shares this story when disclosing a moment he had teaching on the book of Revelation at a local church. After teaching through the series, Dr. Poythress was approached by a twelve year old boy, who proceeded to tell Dr. Poythress that he had read through the book of Revelation a couple weeks ago and that he thought he understood what it meant. And so, Dr. Poythress paused and asked him what he thought it meant. And the boy responded: “I read it just like a fantasy book, but I knew that everything in it was real.”

For here’s a book filled with dragons and beasts and fire and horsemen. It’s a book that looks almost too fantastical to portray anything in real life. And yet, what New Testament scholar Richard Hays notes about this book is this — That the business of Revelation is to stand things on their heads. It’s to rob the established order of the most fundamental thing of all — its sheer facticity. The moral strategy of Revelation is to destroy common sense as the guide for life. And this is precisely what Scottish philosopher Adam Smith said about our experience with wonder— that it’s the removal of cause and effect. And so, we read this book with the same fascination of a two year old flipping on and off light switches. Because one of the purposes of this book filled with fantastical and even frightening images is to awaken the heart, to grab our attention, to engage our senses. The words of Eugene Peterson when commenting on the book of Revelation — that there’s nothing new here in this book that the other 65 books in the Bible don’t already confirm. That Revelation isn’t for new information but rather for a renewed imagination. That these dragons and beasts and fire and horsemen — these are there to give to us a picture of reality through another dimension. These are words given to us to anchor our present experience. Not just to give us a picture of heaven, but to give us a vision of the kingdom.

Because Revelation gives to us a vision for how to see this world through the perspective attained through seeing our king on his throne. And when you look at our passage today, that word throne is used over and over. It’s used ten timesin our chapter. And ten times, not just to grab our attention but ten times to portray a consummate rule. And throughout, there are prepositional words in relation to the throne — on the throne, from the throne, around the throne. This throne is the center of heaven because of he who is rightfully seated on the throne. Because contrary to popular belief about Revelation, this is not a book for the future. This is a book for the here and now. For the struggling parentand the persecuted church and the doubting teenager and the jaded follower of Jesus, written through the hands of one imprisoned in what might be compared in our modern day to Alcatraz. Here is the book of Revelation for our hearing, our trusting, and our living. For this was not to John’s immediate audience a prophecy but first and foremost a letter. And it was a letter written to communicate to suffering Christians — you will conquer, because you are conquerors. The apostle John is pleading with these early Christians — I know it’s hard, but we have victory. And this isn’t to say that there isn’t heartbreak. But for suffering Christians, the apostle John gives this picture of hope and the certainty of victory. Because what Revelation 4 gives us is a vision of a throne — to know that when there are things too heartbreaking for consolation, there are things too devastating for present repair, there is one on the throne— and he sees everything, and we can trust his rule. John’s reminder to hurting, suffering, jaded, confused, and lukewarm people. Remember Jesus, remember who sits on the throne.

And so, the Revelation 4 opens up in verse 1: “After this.” And after what? Well, after chapters 2-3, which consist of words directed to the seven churches of Asia Minor. And with Revelation being a book not to be taken literally but symbolically, the number seven alludes to the number of completion. Though the churches that Jesus speaks to are real churches with real problems, these are words that are also directed to the universal church for all time, which means they are words relevant to us right now. And what are the words that are repeated to each church? They all have different issues and differing words of commendation. But to each of these churches, it states, once again, that they are conquerors. And why repeat this seven times? Because we need this constant reminder. And to these churches — some in poverty, some influenced by the culture, some in persecution, some stuck in legalism. To the church universal that’s always full of problems and letdowns, Jesus’ words — Remember, who’s on the throne — you are winners.

And one of the oddities — kids, don’t try drawing this — of this throne room is that there are eyes everywhere. And it’s intended to show this all-encompassing sight — that Jesus sees everything. He sees all the injustices, all the brokenness, all the corruption and crookedness of the human heart. He sees it all, and John’s words to the church, much like a parent might say to a child — If you can see him, then he can see you. You look down at verses 6-8, and from the second half of verse 6 on, we read of these frightening images of characters. There are these four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. But John’s not trying to describe the heavenly throne room to be a terrifying place with these depictions. The images are allusions and references from the Old Testament prophets. The four living creatures come from Ezekiel, and the six-winged nature of these creatures direct us to the seraphim in Isaiah. And it’s from Isaiah 6 that we get those words — holy, holy, holy. That God is not just one time or two times. But here is the only place in the Bible where something is stated three times. This is the depiction of the thrice holy God who was not to be approached upon his mountain, as we find in Exodus 19. Because that’s what we find in verses 5-6 of our passage, with the flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder. From the Old Testament to where Johnis writing to where we’re listening to this where we are seated, King Jesus has always been on the throne and in control. That when we see our lives cycling through turbulence, when we see things around us disintegrating, our comfort is not to be found in the collapsing thrones of this world but upon the heavenly throne that’s always been. It’s to remind us that this king has always been. He’s seen it all, and he’s always been in control.

Now, I don’t know what colors do for you, but they mean a lot to me. And I know a few people who are near and dear to my heart where color is not a part of their current experience. And I can’t wait for them to experience color when they’re in glory. Because there’s so much in color, especially because they evoke emotions and make you feel certain things when you look at them. There’s a reason why someone is said to be feeling blue. Or, when one’s heart is deemed pure as white — and I’m aware that white and black aren’t technically colors. There are these colors around the throne that are meant to evoke a certain response out of us as readers. But when you look at this throne room, there are some descriptions that don’t make a whole lot of sense. Like, what’s the appearance of jasper? And I think emeralds are green. So, when we read that the rainbow had the appearance of an emerald, is this a rainbow colored stone or is this a green rainbow? We’re just going to ignore the ROY and BIV in the ROYGBIV? But most commentators that I’ve come across note that these descriptions are here to express two dominant colors, which are red and green, from carnelianand emerald. And the purpose of these two colors is not just that they’re on the opposite sides of the color wheel, which is why I think they’re the complementary colors of Christmas. But it’s about what they represent. That redrepresents war and bloodshed and vengeance. But green represents peace and prosperity and flourishing. And the question is who is adept to handle these diametrically contrasting aspects of life? Who is sturdy enough to handle the collision of these? Who can responsibly navigate this tension? Which is why the rainbow is described not as a semicirclebut one that goes all the way around. Because you might remember the rainbow to be the symbol of God’s common grace and mercy. That this was a promise from God to Noah and to all living things after the Flood that he won’t destroy the earth again before the second Advent in complete wrath and judgment.

And so, this picture we see with the rainbow, that’s green, that’s not u-shaped but completely wrapped around the throne. This shows us that this God of wrath, when looking upon the evil, the sins, the lies, the hypocrisy in this world and from his throne, he sees it through the lens of his mercy. That these were eyes of fire, as described in chapter 1. And what John saw and we get to read of is the picture of the king on his throne with eyes of fire but looking through this fully wrapped rainbow. That from every which way God sees us, he sees us according to his promise of mercy. That this all-seeing king with fires from his eyes is looking at this broken world and his broken people through the prism of his covenant mercy. And so, in verse 6, we’re given the descriptions of this sea of glass, like a crystal — as in, it’s compressed, and yet, you’re also able to see through it. For the sea in biblical times, unlike our modern understanding of the sea as Californians, was not a place of tranquility. But in the first century, the sea was a place of great danger and tumult. It was the black dread of the ancient world due to its unpredictability and its irregular patterns. Scholars say here that the sea was understood to be the abyss of chaos, the reservoir out of which evil and wickedness arose. And doesn’t if often seem like, from our vantage point, that the evil and wickedness of this world are uncontrollable and kept unchecked? But that’s not what John sees, and he wants to show us — that this sea is placed before the throne, not in uncontrollable violence and turbulence. No, it’s sea of glass, meaning it’s compressed, it’s confined. That the chaos of the world is controlled and sustained. And all of this is put before the throne. Jesus sees it, and he is in full control. And we can trust him when we think things are getting out of hand. In the chaos of changing diapers or delinquent paymentsor overdue conversations. In our day to day chaos, we look to the throne, to the one who’s always been sitting there.

Because we’re told about this throne. But here, in our passage, we’re also told of those who see this. And what we’re shown are twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones are twenty-four elders. And these, according to verse 4, have on them golden crowns. And some have described this to be twelve plus twelve, as the people of the Old and New Testament — twelve tribes and twelve apostles. And I don’t think that’s necessarily wrong. But I think there’s something even more fitting. Because the number twenty-four isn’t just twelve plus twelve. But it’s also just twenty-four. And when you look back at 1 Chronicles 24-25, there are twenty-four divisions of priests who are organized by King David for musicianship. And you look at what these twenty-four elders are doing down in verses 9-11 — they’re singing and worshiping. And this singing and worshiping by the twenty-four elders — this is the picture of the church. And these who are on thrones and have golden crowns — these are those who are conquerors. And they’re given thrones, because they know the one on the throne — we know the one who is on the throne. And here, these twenty-four elders depicting the whole of God’s people are lead to worship.

And what’s the picture given in verses 9-10? They’re falling down and casting crowns. They leave their seats, and they leave their thrones. And why? In view of the king who left his seat, his throne. In view of the sea of glass before him. In view of our sins, our helpless flailing, our active rebellion, he left his place of honor, in order to meet the brokenness, the stains, and the corruptions of this world. He who places on our heads golden crowns of honor and royalty, because he had placed upon his head a crown of thorns that represented our sin, our shame, our deserving judgment. That as we sing to Jesus, as we center him and gather around him, as we worship him, we cast our crowns, and fall upward into the arms of our king who came down to us. We who were and are in a world filled with collapsing thrones and humbled lords, we place our eyes upon the king on his throne. When the world seems too dark, when we’re overwhelmed by evil, we remember who’s seated on the throne. When things are out of your control, when circumstances seem overbearing, remember who’s seated on the throne. When old sins resurface and persistent sinful patterns overstay their welcome, remember who’s seated on the throne. For in him, we are conquerors. We have victory, we have certainty and assurance.

For we go back to the question. Who is it that can handle the collision of war and peace? Of life and death? Of bloodshed and blossoms? But he who experienced death on the cross and he who rose from the dead. The author of life, who was given the ultimate death in order that nothing in between would ever rattle him off of his throne. For this is the story that brings all assortments of people together — as depicted by these seven churches, by these twenty-four elders. The diversity of God’s people throughout and across all generations and cultures and people. King Jesus is seated on his throne. And every Sunday, regardless of what you and I are going through, we are reminded that nothing in this world can change that — our circumstances, our sins, our failures, our anxiety-ridden problems. He is on his throne, and his eyes are on us, and his eyes are on you.