Jeff Garrison
Mayberry & Bluemont Churches
Revelation 4
July 28, 2025
At the beginning of worship:
In Barbara Brown Taylor’s, An Altar in the World, she writes about Francis of Assisi building a church on the ruins of an old one. Francis employed his labor from the people of the town. Quoting Taylor:
to most of the people helping Francis in the construction: building the church became more important than finishing it. Building it together gave people who were formerly invisible to each other meaning, purpose, and worth. When completed, Francis’s church did not stand as a shelter from the world; it stood as a reminder that the whole world was God’s House.[1]
The focus of our scripture today is worship. And while we worship here on Sunday mornings and occasionally at other times, we shouldn’t forget that all the world stands as an altar to God. Paul reminds us to pray without ceasing.[2] Our lives should also be worshipping God without ceasing.
Before reading the scripture:
We’ll spend the next two Sundays in the 4th and 5th chapters of Revelation. Both chapters go together and center on worship in heaven. In Chapter 4, the focus is on God’s throne. Chapter 5 focuses on the slain yet resurrected lamb who now rules, Jesus Christ. Much of the language here is poetic and metaphorical. It reminds the readers of similar visions of Isaiah and Ezekiel.[3]
These two chapters go with the previous two chapters where Jesus addressed the seven churches. One of the themes running through those chapters is the coming persecution. The reader of Revelation will hear more about the troubles on earth. But before going there, John gives a counter vision, one which reminds his readers of God’s control despite the troubles they face.
In Revelation, each new part of the book begins with a scene of heavenly glory.[4] Even during our troubles, we’re to keep God in focus.
While we have a description of God’s throne, John doesn’t provide a vision of God. We know God through Jesus Christ, God’s revelation to us, not from any vision given to the Biblical witnesses. God, hidden since the curse in Genesis 3, remains hidden. Only at the end of Revelation, after the removable of the curse, does God again live intimately with his creation. Let’s hear what John saw there on the Isle of Patmos:
Read Revelation 4
A Rabbi on his deathbed, surrounded by his disciples, was asked to express his most profound wish. He said: “I hope that the day will come when people learn to fear God as much as they fear each other. This shocked his students. “How is it possible that people would fear each other more than God?”
The dying rabbi looked up at his students and said: “When someone does something wrong, they often say: ‘I hope no one sees.’ But they never say ‘I hope God does not see’ because they know God watches. Imagine a world where people lived with an awareness of the Almighty throughout their daily lives. Such awareness would affect their interactions with other people, their business dealings, and their public and private moments.”[5]
Our topic for today is worship. We were made for worship. Everyone worships something. As Bob Dylan sang, “you gotta serve somebody.” It’s just that many people worship and serve the wrong things. It may be money, it may be intellect, it may be power, and it may be a philosophy or an idea or even another person. But nothing we worship, outside of God, can satisfy our deepest longings. As with the story of the rabbi, worship reminds us of God’s presence.
Worship is more than just music or a sermon or prayers or chanting or any of the other corporate stuff we might do together. Worship, in a Biblical sense, is our attitude before God. However, this doesn’t mean that corporate worship isn’t important, as we see in today’s text.
John, on the Isle of Patmos, a rocky outcrop reserved for those deemed to be troublemakers within the Empire, is a prisoner for preaching the gospel.[6] Isolated from his family, his friends, and his church community, he’s given a vision of heaven.
When we think of Revelation, we often conjure up frightful visions of riders on horses and multi-headed beasts rising out of the sea. And all that is in this book. One of the problems many people have with Revelation is they think they must (and can) understand it all. They look for keys to interpret. Certainly, the book is confusing and has its share of blood and guts. Yet, God’s faithfulness and victory at the end remains the overarching theme. Interestingly, before getting to the horrific visions, we have a vision of heaven and the worship which occur there.
This implies that while the earth is in turmoil, in heaven the focus is on worshipping the Creator. God is in control. This reminder prepares John for what’s ahead by reminding him who’s in charge. We should choose worship over worry.[7] In John’s world, there is turmoil and in heaven there is worship. In our world, when we worship, we leave our worries behind because we realize God is in control.
The fourth chapter of Revelation is where the apocalypse-proper begins. It follows the opening chapters which contain a series of letters to seven churches. The last letter, to the lukewarm church of Laodicea, includes a simple vision. “Listen, I am standing at the door knocking,” Jesus tells them, “If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come…”[8]
Interestingly, the fourth chapter begins with a vision of an open door, providing John with a glimpse of worship in heaven. Our doors may be shut, but God’s door is open. A voice from inside the door calls John to come on up and he’s immediately caught up in the spirit, or as another translation renders this passage, “caught up at once in deep worship.”[9] In this state, John sees the glory of God’s throne.
God’s throne is referred to 40 times in the Book of Revelation.[10]The constant appearance of the throne reminds us that even though chaos reigns on earth, all remains well in heaven. God is sovereign and in control and will in time (as you’ll see if you read to the end of this book) restore order and do away with sin and evil and death. Here, in this vision of worship, the throne gathers and unifies all creatures in worship.[11]
In the old New England Churches, which also served as a place for town meetings, the architecture was intentional. They raised the pulpit high, often requiring the pastor to navigate narrow steps to get into it. The proclamation of the word of God came from above the congregation. However, the churches would also have a lectern on the level of the people. From here, the business of the town was conducted. The architecture of the building reminded everyone—especially elected officials—that they stood under God’s word and God’s watchful eyes.
The throne is what centers everyone in John’s vision. However, John doesn’t describe God. Seeing God would be fatal according to Jewish thought. The mortal, the sinful, cannot withstand looking directly at God. This is why the incarnation is necessary. Jesus needed to come in the flesh. Here, instead of seeing the Almighty, God’s glory is reflected in precious stones which radiate the brightness reflecting off the throne. Jasper, carnelian, and emeralds dominate the scene. Furthermore, lightning and fires protrude from the throne and thunder peals out from it. It’s an awesome and frightful sight.
Surrounding the throne are those who worship God, day and night. We’re told of the twenty-four elders in white robes with gold crowns. There is debate on how to interpret these elders, but one possibility is that they represent the old and the new: Israel’s twelve tribes and Jesus’ twelve apostles.[12] In addition are the four six-winged animals with eyes bursting out of their heads, who lead the 24 Elders and the multitude of people who have gathered around the throne. Certainly, there are symbolic meanings to these four beasts representing the noblest, strongest, wisest and swiftest in creation.[13]
Another thing we should understand looking around the throne is that our God shares his leadership and glory. The beast who leads worship and the elders who surround the throne are examples. God isn’t a power-hungry emperor like the dude in Rome, but one who wants us to participate with him in creation and recreation. But as we join in his endeavor, we’re not to claim glory for ourselves but attribute it to God.
The beasts cry out: “Holy, Holy, Holy, the Lord God the Almighty, who was and is and is to come.” Responding, the elders fall flat on their faces, casting their crowns toward the throne. In other words, the elders are not taking any of the glory for themselves; it’s all given to God. And they sing: “You are worthy, 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.” Through this continual reiteration, they act out what is eternally true. This is the heart of worship—reminding ourselves of God’s role and our roles in life.
In front of the throne is a glass sea, like crystal, the still waters that remind us of baptism, of our cleansing that allows us to come before the throne. The waters of the sea are perfectly still, reminding us of Jesus calming the storm. When water is calm, it’s like a mirror. In John’s case, the sea reflects the glory of God’s throne…
What can we learn from John’s vision? How can our attempts at worship reflect what’s going on at the throne?
We’re to worship God in a way that helps us and others who worship get through life by knowing and affirming God’s sovereignty. Worship must focus on God and not us. It’s not about us, it’s about God.
Worship is a duty in which we voluntarily engage because we are grateful for what God has done and is doing. Examine yourselves. What does our attitude in worship say about our trust and belief in God?
The time you spend here on Sunday morning is very important. Throughout the week, we’re constantly bombarded with messages from advertisers saying it’s about you, that they can help you be fulfilled. But in this hour, we’re reminded once again, week after week, that those selling products lie. It’s not about us; it’s about God. In this hour, we re-center ourselves. We’re reminded once again of what’s truly important and eternal. Amen.
[1] Barbara Brown Taylor, An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith (New York: HarperOne, 2009), 10.
[2] 1 Thessalonians 5:17.
[3] Isaiah 6 and Ezekiel 1.
[4] M. Eugene Boring, Revelation: Interpretation, A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1989), 101.
[5] Michael Siegel, Reflections on Fear” as used by Rev. Eugenia Gamble in her message on “30 Good Minutes,” first broadcast February 2008.
[6] Revelation 1:9
[7] Rick Warren, “Live your Calling: What On Earth Am I Hear For?” (Part 2), 2-15.
[8] Revelation 3:20. See https://fromarockyhillside.com/2025/07/20/whats-wrong-with-being-lukewarm/
[9] Revelation 4:2, The Message
[10] Robert H. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, (Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, revised 1997), 119.
[11] Eugene Peterson, Reversed Thunder: The Revelation of John and the Praying Imagination (HarperSanFrancisco, 1988), 59-60.
[12] Peterson, 61. For a different view, see Mounce, 121-122.
[13] Peterson, 62, Mounce, 124.
I have that Barbara Brown Taylor book sitting on my ottoman, waiting to be read.
I think “An Altar in the World” is the best of her books.