Kingship of Christ in Revelation 4

Introduction: The Multi-Dimensional Salvation of Christ

0:00 The salvation of God in Jesus Christ is a vast and a many-sided or multi-faceted or multi-dimensioned salvation. and it is so because the need of sinners is multidimensional and God's gracious salvation answers in all its parts to some of those specific needs of guilty sinners. One of the great problems which a Christian faces is the problem of how to hold together in his mind so that he may believingly respond to those various facets of God's salvation in Christ.

0:50 Well, one helpful way to at least make an effort at holding together something of the glory of this multi-dimension salvation is to contemplate the work of the Savior under the headings of His offices of prophet, priest, and king. For example, it is as our great priest that his work answers to our guilt, our pollution, and our defilement as sinners. If we think of our need because of ignorance and darkness of mind, then we contemplate Christ as our great prophet, making known to us the mind and the will of God.

1:37 If we contemplate what we are as sinners in our native state of rebellion, in our continuous weakness, and all of the unconquered enemies in our lives, then there is great consolation and strengthening of faith to contemplate Christ in His office as a King. Now having examined his office as our great priest and prophet, we are drawing to a conclusion our consideration of his office as a king. Having traced out the lines of biblical truth pointing to his kingship beginning way back in the Old Testament, we have arrived at last to the last book in the Bible, the book which sets forth the conflict and conquest of Christ and his people,

2:25 even to the hour of consummation. And so for several Lord's Day mornings we have been meditating upon the great theme of the kingship of Christ in this book of conflict unto consummation, the book of the Revelation. In our two previous studies we examined, first of all, some principles by which to understand and interpret the book of the Revelation. And then we studied the opening greeting, verses 4 and 5, in which the climactic note is one of Christ's kingship. The church is to conceive of grace and peace coming down from God the Father, God the Spirit, and God the Son, who is the faithful witness, the first begotten of the dead, and the

3:14 ruler of the kings of the earth. And then last Lord's Day we contemplated his kingship in the opening vision, which is, as it were, sets a framework within which the entire book unfolds. John sees this unique personage in the midst of these seven golden pedestal lamps. He sees a representation of Christ in His majesty and power and glory, ministering to his church as its great king, its great prophet, and its great priest. And we must never lose sight of that vision of Christ or that representation of what Christ is in that vision of one like unto

4:00 the Son of Man. It is essential for the suffering, struggling church militant always to remember that there is one who walks in the midst of the lampstands, resplendent in the glory of His mighty person and His offices. Well, we come this morning to begin the consideration of the vision of chapters 4 and 5, which we could well entitle, A Vision of the Throne of God and of the Lamb. The concluding verse of praise in chapter 5 is, as it were, a summary statement of all that has transpired in the vision.

The Plan: Chapter 4 Alone This Morning

4:45 Unto him that sitteth on the throne and unto the Lamb be the blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever. So we have then in chapters 4 and 5 this vision of the throne of God and of the Lamb. Now as I've already intimated, it's unfortunate that there is a chapter division between chapters 4 and 5. The vision is a unity.

5:16 The vision sets forth a glorious truth, not one part in isolation from the other. but it is convenient in a sense that it is broken down because if I were trying to expound the vision in its entirety this morning at least for my purposes I would show both a lack of good judgment and a lack of grace because you would for sure get a full hour and a half old-fashioned Puritan sermon and I've only preached one of those in my life all of the joking notwithstanding about the length of Pastor Martin's sermons you usually get 40, 45 minutes Sunday morning and a little bit more than that Sunday night. I did on one occasion preach an hour and a half sermon, but only once in 25 years, I assure you.

6:02 So I don't want to demonstrate either a lack of good judgment or a lack of grace, and so we must focus our attention this morning upon chapter 4. But as I do, let me remind you, it's the entire section that forms the thrust of the message of God, And I trust you will read and meditate much upon these two chapters together throughout the week in preparation for the exposition of next Lord's Day morning. Well, as we think through then the vision as it is given to us or the part of the vision given to us in chapter 4, we shall consider first of all the setting of the vision. Having done that, we will consider the main substance of the vision,

The Setting: From Ear-Dictation to Eye-Vision

6:48 and then thirdly, the major significance of the vision. And we will no doubt follow that outline through the entire study this morning and again next Lord's Day morning, God willing. First of all, then, the setting of this vision. John has received the shattering vision recorded in chapter 1, the vision of this one like unto the Son of Man, that majestic soul-shattering sight of the great King and mighty victor who walks in the midst of the lampstands.

7:24 Having heard his words of comfort, John then obeys the command to write the things that he both hears and sees. Then John is given a very prodigious, dictating responsibility. All the way through chapters 2 and 3, John is simply writing what he hears. Notice chapter 2 and verse 1.

7:49 Unto the angel of the church in Ephesus write, These things saith. And each of the messages to the various churches begins with these things saying. So after that initial shattering vision in which John's eye was very active as he was caught up in the Spirit and made the recipient of direct revelation, the primary organ of activity or receptivity was the eye. Then for two chapters, it is John's ear that is the primary organ of the reception of Revelation.

8:30 Unlike the Apostle Paul, when he would write a letter, his own mental processes would be involved in thinking through the subject, in structuring his argument. Not so. John at this point is simply doing what a secretary does when she's called into her boss's office and he says, now will you take this down? And she takes it down.

8:52 That's precisely what John is doing. So in the letters to the seven churches, we have the dictation of the exalted Lord to the seven churches. And of course, the great point of all that is given in that dictation is that the church in its present state on to the consummation is under the care of its exalted Redeemer King. He is the ruler of the kings of the earth.

9:21 He is the Lord who reigns with absolute power. He has the keys of death and of hell. And he dictates then this expression of his concern for his church. And he says, in essence, I walk in your midst. I know you, my people. I care for my own. I enter into your sufferings and your struggles. I reprove you for your sins. I admonish you for your waywardness.

9:53 I encourage and support you with gracious promises that as you overcome, you will join me in the triumphs of my overcoming. And it's not without significance that the final word of promise to the overcomers, which is given not just to the last church, but to all the churches, ends with the note of a shared position of authority. Notice it in verse 21 of chapter 3. He that overcometh, I will give him to sit down with me in my throne, even as I also overcame and sat down with my Father in his throne.

10:33 Now, can you feel something of the situation? John has been feverishly dictating. The ear has been the primary organ of reception. The messages are now written down.

10:45 John no doubt feels something of the tremendous glory and power of those messages. Christ is in the midst. He knows His churches. He cares for His churches.

10:57 He sees the church in its suffering. He anticipates her further conflicts. He promises blessings to the overcomers And then suddenly the eye again becomes active as the organ of receiving revelation Verse 1 of chapter 4 After these things, that is, this extensive work of dictation, after these things I saw. Now the eye, you see, is active again.

11:27 And behold, a door opened. Now he's not saying that as he looked the door was swung open. But as he looked, he saw a door already having been and remaining open. That's the force of the tense of the verb.

11:42 I saw a door having already been opened and remaining open in heaven. And now the ear comes into play again. And the first voice that I heard, a voice as of a trumpet speaking with me, that is, it was the same voice I heard recorded in chapter 1. This voice says, Come up hither, and I will show thee the things which must come to pass hereafter.

12:11 Or it could be translated, the things which must come to pass, period, after these things straightway I was in the Spirit. That's a linguistic problem, and I'll not involve you in the problems of Greek grammar this morning. Suffice it to say that after the ear being the exclusive organ of receiving the revelation, the eye again comes into play. And it beholds now not a strange personage, but an open door into the heavens.

12:43 And then a voice that beckons John, Come up hither, and I will show you the things which must come to pass. I have demonstrated that I am in the midst of my church. I've assured the church of my living presence, of my compassion, of my concern, of my determination that my church shall be what I died to make it. I've comforted it.

13:08 But there is much yet to come. There are further conflicts. There are further wars. There are further upheavals, even to the consummation.

13:19 Now, John, come up hither, and I will show you the things which must come to pass. And now we read in verse 2, straightway, I was in the Spirit. John is once again brought into that peculiar state where he will be the organ of direct revelation. This in-the-spirit terminology being technical language with respect to the receiving of direct revelation.

The Substance of the Vision: The Throne and Its Occupant

13:49 Now, that's the setting of the vision. You see it, you feel it, and you sense what it was like. All right, now let's move very quickly to the substance of the vision. Now, the substance of the vision in chapter 4 is made up of two major ingredients.

14:06 verses 1 to 7 is taken up with the throne and its occupant. Look at the language. Straightway I was in the Spirit, and behold, there was a throne set in heaven. Now again, it doesn't mean that John actually saw a throne come and set.

14:27 No, when he beheld, it was already there in place. I beheld the throne set in heaven, and one sitting upon the throne. And all the way through verse 7, you have these details concerning the throne and the one who sits upon it. And everything else that is in the vision takes its point of reference from the throne.

14:58 It is never described as a thing in isolation, but a thing in relationship to the throne. Notice this in verse 4. And round about the throne were four and twenty thrones. Verse 5.

15:14 And out of the throne proceed lightnings and voices and thunders. Verse 6. And before the throne, as it were, a sea of glass. And then in verse 10.

15:27 And the four and twenty elders shall fall down before the hymn that sitteth upon the throne. And further on, and shall cast their crowns before the throne. Twelve times the throne is mentioned in this very short chapter of eleven verses. And then you have several references to the thrones of the four and twenty elders.

The Second Ingredient: The Response of Those Nearest the Throne

15:51 But twelve times the throne, the throne, the throne, the throne. What is God saying? Well, whatever He's saying, the key to it is found in this dominant element of the throne and its occupant. And then the second major division of this chapter is the response of those nearest to the throne as they contemplate the occupant of the throne.

16:20 And that takes us from verses 8 to the end of the chapter. and the four living creatures having each one of them six wings are full of eyes round about and they have no rest saying holy holy holy and then you have the elders who chime in before the throne and they give forth this tremendous hymn of praise worthy art thou our lord and our god now whereas you thought to come to the book of the revelation was to enmesh yourself in a hopeless and intricate maze of symbols and obstruse things that you could never sort out. That's not too difficult, is it? In chapter 4, the first part of this vision of the throne of God and the Lamb,

17:09 you have the dominant emphasis upon the throne and its occupant, and then the response of those nearest to the throne as they behold the occupant of the throne.

17:26 Now that's basically the substance of the vision.

The Significance: The Church Under Rome, God Still on the Throne

17:33 Now then, what is the fundamental significance of that vision? This was given to John's companions in tribulation. It was the effusion of the large heart of the Lord Jesus for His suffering, struggling saints, not only in the seven churches specifically mentioned, but all of the churches existing at that time, and all of the churches that shall exist in struggle and conflict down to the consummation. What comfort, what direction, what consolation is to be found in this opening vision?

18:22 Well, as I try to underscore the fundamental significance of the vision, try again to keep the whole picture in focus. having read the account of the glorious personage in the first chapter, Christ in regal and priestly power, caring for the church in all the spectrum at its need, it doesn't take much for us to ask the question, yes, Christ is in the midst of His church, caring for her needs, commanding, rebuking, and succoring, but the church is in the midst of a world A world at times filled with evil men. A world that often is governed by evil men and evil forces.

19:10 The church does not carry out its mission and ministry in an island insulated from the world. Yes, it's wonderful to know Christ in all His regal power and priestly compassion is in the midst of the church. But what about the church in the midst of the world? What is her comfort?

19:29 What is her consolation? What is to be, as it were, the ballast in her hull as she sails through troubled and tempestuous waters? Well, you see, here's the answer to that. John hears with his voice, his ear a voice saying, Come up hither and I will show you the things which must come to pass.

19:54 Well, you would expect then that the next vision will unfold in symbol those things which form the cycle of the interaction between the forces of darkness and King Jesus and His church. But John does not see such things until chapter 6. The voice says, Come and I'll show you the things which must come to pass. And he says, behold, I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne, and I saw one upon the throne.

20:28 Now, is God throwing a curve at John? He promises things to come to pass, and instead he shows him a thing, a throne, and a being upon that throne, and many other beings around that throne, rendering homage and worship. No, he didn't throw him a curve, my friends. He did precisely what the people of God so desperately needed.

20:55 They needed to come to grips with the significance of that first vision. They needed to come to grips with the reality that the One who orders all of the events and all of the circumstances of the world, who governs all the affairs of the nations of the earth was indeed at that very moment, in the midst of all their tribulation and suffering and trial and anguish and agony, He was seated upon a throne.

21:30 And from that throne in mighty, unflinching power, He would accomplish all of His sovereign desires. and this is brought out so beautifully when we consider the substance of the praise of those nearest the thrones let's look at it just briefly and the four living creatures creatures whoever they may be having each one of them six wings are full of eyes round about and within and they have no rest day and night saying this is what they perceive the being upon the throne to be Holy holy holy is the Lord God the Almighty Who was and who is and who is to come What are they doing They are first of all acknowledging the identity of the one upon the throne It is the Lord God

What the Creatures Perceive: Holy, Almighty, Eternal

22:29 And then they acknowledge what they understand of His attributes or His being. He is holy. He is without moral imperfection. He is completely apart and separate from all other beings.

22:45 All of those ideas are bound up in this designation holy. God is completely apart from all other beings. And no little part of that apartness is that He is without moral stain. And then they worship Him as the Almighty.

23:06 He is without equal in strength and power. There is none that can rival Him nor threaten His purposes. For whatever power would rise up against Him and His throne, the One upon the throne is Almighty and can restrain and put down that power. And then they worship Him as the Eternal One.

23:27 Look at the language. Who was and who is and who is to come. There is no growth nor development in God. There is no evolution of perfection nor devolution away from perfection.

23:43 He has no beginning and no end. All that He ever has been, He is and ever shall be. And these creatures, whether they represent the entire creation, whether they represent something else, and the commentators all differ, one thing is sure. whatever they are or represent in this vision, what they discern of Him upon the throne is unmistakably clear.

24:10 It is the Lord God, and He is upon a throne, and He is holy in Himself and in all His works and ways. He is almighty in the outgoing of divine energy, and He is the eternally changeless One.

What the Elders Declare: Worthy as Creator and Sustainer

24:26 And then when we read the response of the four and twenty elders, And here we can say with a greater degree of certainty, in all likelihood and with little possibility of debate, representing the church of the old and the new economies. You have the twelve tribes of Israel. You have the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Later on, when there is that vision of the perfected church, you find that those are the foundations of that perfected church.

24:58 Now, what do they see? In Him that sits upon the throne. What is the focal point of their praise? Look at it.

25:06 They fall before the throne. Casting their crowns before the throne. Saying, worthy art Thou our Lord and our God. To receive the glory and the honor and the power.

25:20 For Thou didst create all things. And because of Thy will they were. That is, they continued to exist. and were created.

25:33 They behold in the one upon the throne that one who is infinitely worthy of ascriptions of highest praise and honor, particularly in the light of what he is as the creator and sustainer of the universe, whose creation and sustaining of the universe is to be found in the exercise of His own inscrutable will. Because of Thy will they were, that is, they continued to be as well as initially began to be.

Imagining the Letter Read in the First Churches

26:13 Now, when you bring that together, my friends, do you see what a message of consolation it would be to the struggling saints? In that second great general persecution under the Roman authority, while Domitian has set his sights upon the church, and while John has been exiled to that lonely isle of Patmos, and he anticipates that he will be given visions of things to come. Now his eye in this condition of elevated relationship to the Spirit and to the world of spiritual reality, there is not a literal throne in heaven with literal creatures. No, no, my friend.

26:55 This is all in vision representing tremendous realities. And the great reality is spoken by those nearest to the throne. And it's as though the Lord is saying, O my struggling people upon the earth, who when you look about you, all you see is wicked men triumphing in their wickedness. Evil men carrying out their evil designs.

27:22 The church rent from without, crippled by its own sins from within. Where will it all end? and he says in essence, come and see what I've seen. See the door opened in heaven.

27:39 And what is there? A nervous God biting his nails because things are getting out of hand? A nervous God embarrassed because some of his ways don't appear quite just and righteous to the creature? No, no.

27:55 He sees in royal state the glorious, ever-blessed God. Then He gives to us that which He was privileged to see and to hear. All of creation most likely represented in those four living creatures. All of creation acknowledging that the God who is presently enthroned is infinitely and unchangeably holy.

28:24 He is infinitely and unchangeably almighty. He is eternal. He is the great I am. And furthermore, because the church is in God's world, standing on God's earth, interacting with the world of men and things, he says, get your minds riveted upon this great truth.

28:48 All of this has come to pass because God willed that there should be a world. And there is a world with which you may now interact, because the same God who made it sustains and upholds it by His own mighty power. Because of Thy will, they were ever being, as well as came into being.

29:11 I think the best commentary upon the main significance of this part of the vision is Romans 11.36. For of him and through him and unto him are all things to whom be glory forever and ever. As I was meditating upon this passage, my mind began to go off into a flight of imagination.

29:44 and I hope it was sanctified imagination. Can you imagine what it would have been like that first morning when the lector, the man appointed to read the epistle or the letter that would come from John from the Isle of Patmos came, say, to the church at Ephesus or Smyrna. And the lector is standing and he's reading John under the seven churches that are in Asia Minor. He's reading along.

30:09 He reads of that amazing account of that vision that John saw And then the reader comes to this part of the vision. I saw a throne opened in heaven. There are believers tossed to and fro, many of them perhaps crippled with doubts, wondering where will it all end, what will it all come to. And then as the reader reads this section and comes to the part where these living creatures are found before the throne, ascribing holiness and almightiness and eternality to God, The four and twenty elders are before the throne saying, He is worthy to receive glory and honor and power because of His will all things exist and came to be.

30:55 I can just picture one saint who is perhaps a bit more volatile in his response, raising his hand and saying to one of the elders, Sir, sir, will you have the lecturers stop for just a moment? Just have them stop for a moment. Is it possible that we could join them in that chorus of praise? Oh, how we've dishonored our God because we've seen that steel-like heel of Rome trumping out its vengeance upon the saints.

31:25 And because we've seen the struggles and the setbacks of the church, we've been practical atheists. We've acted as though God were not upon His throne. We've conducted ourselves in a way that's been a disgrace to Him and perhaps a torrent of exhortation poured forth from this brother as he admonished his fellow believers in the midst of every circumstance which caused the doubt totally unchanged to say, my friends, things are not what they appear to be to these eyes. They are what they appeared to be to the eye of John when he was in the Spirit on the Lord's day.

32:03 The throne in heaven is still set.

32:07 And the one who sits upon that throne is glorious both in holiness, in majesty, and the rainbow surrounding the throne in covenant faithfulness. That rainbow that harks way back to Genesis, in which God committed Himself to a covenant with His creatures, and there was the living reminder, He is the God of covenant faithfulness. And what is happening about you tossed? try tempted believers.

32:39 There has been no obliteration of that rainbow about the throne. He exercises His sovereignty consistent with every covenant commitment He's made to His world and in particular to His church.

Why Rapture-Readings of Revelation 4 Are Wicked

32:56 Now do you see why it's wicked, positively wicked, for people to say, well, chapter 4 of Revelation is the rapture. And John represents the church being caught away from the earth. And now the church can, as it were, look into the crystal ball and see what's going to happen to the Jews in the tribulation. My friends, it's positively wicked.

33:20 Positively wicked. Now, I did not say the men who teach that are wicked men. I did not say that. But I said that teaching is positively wicked Because the church in her deepest hour of struggle needs to know what The throne is set and God is holy and just in all His ways And even when He allows His church to enter into periods of great trial, when He allows her opposers to take some of her number and put them to death, when He even allows heresy to invade the church and to defile, as it were, the altars of proclamation within that church, God is still upon His throne.

34:04 And the very creatures that spew out their heresy and the very creatures that carry on their enmity against the church, they are sustained by the very arm of omnipotence even as they pursue their wicked designs. This is the essential message of this first part of the vision. And though it does not focus primarily upon the kingship of Christ, the kingship of Christ in redemption exists upon the reality of the sovereignty of God in creation. And that's why God as Creator perceives the vision of the Lamb as Redeemer.

Word of Instruction and Consolation for Believers

34:48 Both chapters focus upon the throne. Both chapters have to do with rule and authority and kingly power. But the vision begins with the throne of Him who is Creator, before there is introduced that dimension of Him who is Redeemer.

35:12 And I want to say in closing, there is contained then in this vision, and in its essential message, both a word of instruction and comfort to every true believer. The word of instruction is, Child of God, never lose hold of the elementary truth, the doctrine of the Bible, which focuses upon God as Creator. You see, the moment you lose sight of that fact, then the world seems to be a meaningless jumble of unrelated and cruel events. But if all things are here because He willed it And they are sustained because He wills it Then though I cannot untangle the strands

35:57 I can say, bless God, there are no tangled strands In the mind of the infinite and eternal God O child of God, never lose sight of the doctrine of creation Without it your consolations rooted in redemption will wear thin at the edges and ultimately crumble. And all you'll be left with is some kind of an existential Jesus kick. And you'll need more than that to face what these believers face. So it's a word of instruction.

36:27 Come back again and again to this foundational perspective. The throne set in heaven is occupied by the glorious God who is creator and sustainer of His world. World, not only is it a word of instruction, I trust you've sensed it is a word of consolation. As you think of your life with its present disappointments, its sins, its frustrations, its unanswered prayers, its unrealized ambitions, even some of the holiest ones, ambitions that grow out of the fact that you're a new creature in Christ, and yet you seem to be frustrated in the fulfillment of those ambitions.

37:08 What do you need, child of God? You need, as it were, to suck sweetness from this vision. Go with John, not in some elevated state of direct revelation, but by the feet of deliberate meditation and prayer. Stand by that open door and see by the eye of faith, not a literal throne with literal creatures and with literal elders, but the great reality that they represent.

37:36 God is enthroned this morning. If we could but see as they see, instead of our wise and oh God explain, and oh God tell me, we then would cry, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come. And we would rise above the tangled, seeming meaninglessness of our presence circumstances and be lost in wonder, love, and praise. O child of God, that's where your comfort will lie.

Word of Warning to the Impenitent

38:17 But I say there's a frightening word for you who are not in Christ. You see, your basic problem as an unconverted man has to do with that throne. That's your basic problem. You don't like it that a throne is set in heaven and that the one who sits upon it is God.

38:38 And he has unqualified rights over you, his creature. You don't like that. That's your basic problem as an unconverted man or woman, boy or girl. Your basic problem is that there is a non-negotiable sovereignty exercised in this world.

38:55 And the language of your heart is, I will not have this one to reign over me. But my friend, that throne exists. and the one seated upon it this morning is full of compassion and long-suffering as we saw last Lord's Day evening in contemplating the conversion of the Ninevites and God's response to their repentance. But my friend, it is by His sovereign will that He exercises His infinite mercy.

39:22 None of God's attributes regulate Him.

39:26 I will have mercy upon whom I will. His mercy is dispensed by the inscrutable dictates of His own will.

39:38 And God wills to extend mercy to you while you defy Him as the enthroned God. But my friend, the hour is coming when God will say, I will to drive from my universe to some part that the Bible calls Gehenna, the lake of fire, the devil and his demons, and every son and daughter of Adam who would not embrace me as the enthroned one through the merits of the land that was slain.

40:12 You see, you song through about thinking there's no throne in the universe, of the throne of your own notions and your own ambitions and your own desires. And this God, who could send you back into nothingness if He chose to, He bears with that and you completely mistake that long-suffering. You think because no thunders and lightning come from the throne to consume you, that no such thunders and lightnings exist. But my friend, they do.

40:44 When John was taken up in vision, He said, thunders and lightnings proceeding from that throne. Symbols of the fiery majesty of God. The one who sits at the right hand of that being is going to come. And the Scripture says, In flaming fire to take vengeance on all that obey not the gospel.

41:06 Vengeance from the Lamb? Yes. Chapter 6 says, hide us from the face of Him that sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. What a strange combination.

41:21 If He had said from the wrath of the Lion of the tribe of Judah, but it's the wrath of the Lamb.

41:29 My friend, the Lamb will come in fiery vengeance. Oh, may God grant that you'll find refuge. find refuge before that throne while it is yet a throne of mercy and ask God for Jesus Christ's sake to pardon and cleanse you of your sins and receive you as His own.

Closing Prayer

41:52 Well, I feel impoverished this morning in trying even to set forth in a little measure something of the glory and the majesty of the passage. If I could have preached on anything else, I would have. but I trust that God who takes the weak things to confound the mighty will take the feeble effort to at least distill something of the consolation of this great truth to the heart of His own and to strike terror to the hearts of those of you who are strangers to grace as we consider Him who sits upon that throne. Let us pray.

42:35 Our Father, we thank You for the great realities set before John's eye in the visions of lonely Patmos. And we thank You that as the Church then received this word of consolation, that we this day may receive it just as fresh as though we had the original scroll in our hands upon which John wrote what he saw. We thank you that the Spirit, as it were, is not bound by time, and that this Word comes to us from our exalted Lord to comfort and console and to warn us

43:23 as surely as it came to those original seven churches. O Holy Spirit, may we be given ears to hear what the Spirit would say to the churches God, seal the word We know not what else to pray But that you would attend your own word To the prophet of each hearer And above all to the everlasting praise of your name We do desire We do desire to join those living creatures Crying holy, holy, holy we do desire in spirit to join the four and twenty elders who cry out, Worthy art thou, O Lord our God, to receive the blessing and the honor and the glory and power

44:14 because you have made all things and because of your will they are and were created. We worship you this morning. We pray that amidst the fitful scenes of our own individual lives, we may have again and again occasion to come back and to behold that door opened in heaven and that throne set and the one seated upon it. O God, seal the word to our hearts.

44:45 We plead through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.