Revelation_7
Scripture
Revelation 7:11-12
All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: Amen! Praise and Glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!
Observation - What does it say?
Chapter seven presents two spectacular visions in between the opening of the sixth and seventh seals (or judgments). Picture mighty Angels, all the tribes of Israel, multitudes from every nation, and the twenty four elders of chapter four all positioned around the throne of God worshiping the Lamb of God. The scene is anything but quiet. The verse I chose lists seven (a number associated with perfection) attributes expressing complete or perfect praise.
Understanding - What does it mean?
A couple years after the 1994 earthquake that struck Southern California Jack Hayford, founding pastor of the Church on the Way, delivered a series of messages that later became the substance of a book titled “E Quake, earth’s last and greatest cataclysm.” The horror of that early morning upheaval was still fresh in the congregants mind; the epicenter, after all, was only a few miles away. My house was also near the epicenter and my in-laws lost their home to a fire started by the earthquake. I felt a host of feelings that morning but I confess that HOPE was not one of them. That is precisely what caught my attention, and I quote, “One of the essential principles to unlocking the hope of Revelation is worship …”
“The book of Revelation is the newspaper of tomorrow but it is also a handbook for today. It forecasts a series of terrible and terrifying events, but at the same time it provides a perspective that on the whole affords us with a very practical hope.” To avoid getting sucked into the speculative and the superficial excitement surrounding Revelation Pastor Hayford points the reader to the substantial. Don’t focus on the mind numbing visions without first fixing your eyes on the Vision Giver.
I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead Revelation 1:12-17
Hear his voice, observe his garments, just try and look fully upon his Shekinah glory, fix your eyes on his, and witness his authority over all adversaries. It’s no wonder the apostle John found himself in a position of abject worship; prostrate before the Almighty One. To live in California is to live under the specter of the “BIG ONE.” Seismologists suggest an impending 7 plus quake with a devastation level beyond imagination. Revelation predicts events that will disintegrate life as we know it on earth. I can’t think of a better reason to join in with the host of heaven as they continually worship the King.
Life Application
Father, my worship is far from perfect. I have lost the edge that was once bold and loud, i.e., purposeful and demonstrative. I am not called to be loud and obnoxious but I am called to passion and perseverance. To whom should I turn Lord? All hope is found in You. You have the words of eternal life. There is none like you in heaven or on earth. Salvation belongs to you God for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. Amen.
-Warren Vivian