Introduction: Do you remember what we discovered about the beginning
of all the famous prayers we have studied so far this quarter? They
started out with praise to God! In our last study of this quarter, we
look more closely at this idea of praise in prayer. Let’s dive in!
- Holy, Holy, Holy
- Read Revelation 4:1. Imagine you are John (the writer of
Revelation) and this is you standing before an open door
in heaven. Would the voice have to ask you twice to come
through the door? - How interested are you in the future? (John is
offered a peek at the future. So, let’s go look with
him!) - Read Revelation 4:2-3. What is the first thing John sees
in the future? - Who do you think this is? (God)
- When the text says that the rainbow resembled an
emerald, what does that say to you? (An emerald has
beautiful deep colors. I think we are being given an
idea of the depth and clarity of the colors.) - Notice that God is also described as looking like
gems. What does this say to you? Ever heard of a
“carnelian?” (According to Thayer’s, carnelian is a
type of Sardius stone which is flesh-colored. We are
being told that God radiates beauty.) - Read Revelation 4:4-5. Who are these elders? What are they
doing? Why do they wear white? (They have the white robe
of Christ’s righteousness. Revelation 7:13-14. They seem
to be helping God with His work. These elders are
mentioned 12 times in Revelation. They are obviously
important people in heaven.) - Is God’s throne kind of a noisy place? (Matthew Henry
suggests the lightening, rumbling and peals of
thunder are God’s messages and directives being sent
out over the universe. Can you imagine heavy duty
electronic bursts going out over the universe from
the throne?) - We are familiar with the Holy Spirit, what are these
“seven” spirits of God? (These seven spirits are also
repeatedly referred to in Revelation. Revelation 5:6
refers to Jesus having seven eyes “which are the
seven spirits sent out into all the earth.” I believe
this seven (the perfect number) refers to the perfect
wisdom of Jesus being manifest in the Holy Spirit.) - Do you recall the “seven lamps” (which are the seven
spirits) being referred to elsewhere in the Bible?
How about the Old Testament? (Interesting background
is that this looks like the instructions that God
gave Moses for the set up of the sanctuary in the
wilderness in Numbers 8:1-3. The tabernacle
(sanctuary) made in the wildnerness during the
Egyptian exodus had seven lamps. If you review
Hebrews 8:1-5 we discover that Jesus is in Heaven
ministering as our Intercessor in the heavenly
sanctuary after which the sanctuary in the wilderness
was patterned! Thus, the picture in Revelation 4 may
be of the place where Jesus is ministering for us!
The seven spirits (at least) give light to what He is
doing. This bolsters the idea they represent wisdom
and understanding.) - What does the Holy Spirit give us today? (Wisdom
and understanding! John 14:26) - Let’s read on. Revelation 4:6-8. If we are right that this
is an expanded picture of Hebrews 8 – of the heavenly
sanctuary, the place where Jesus is acting as our High
Priest and our sacrificial Lamb – are the four creatures
saying the right thing? What would you say about this
event? (Praise God! How holy He is who had died on our
behalf and lives to intercede ( Hebrews 7:25) before the
Father for us!) - How do you understand the language in Revelation 4:8
“who was, and is, and is to come?” - If this is a picture of Jesus interceding for
us, how would these words fit? (Jesus was on
earth with us. He died for our sins (“was”), was
raised to life and intercedes for us in heaven
(“is”) and He is coming again to take us to
Heaven with Him (“is to come.”) - If this is a picture of God the Father, how
would these words fit? (He has always been and
will always be. He is beyond time and space.) - Does God deserve to have our prayers open
with praises to Him? (Oh yes!) - Do these “living creatures” have a boring job?
- Why do you think they have six wings and are
covered with eyes? We get a cable TV station
called “Speedvision.” Does that pretty much
summarize these living creatures? - If you say, “yes,” do you think they stay
around the throne all the time? (I think
these creatures are God’s ambassadors. The
six wings symbolically show they have
tremendous speed and the eyes symbolically
show they have keen powers of observation.
Their “job” is to represent the holiness
of God to the universe. I can see them
going out on missions on behalf of God to
resolve issues in the universe.) - Let’s read on. Read Revelation 4:9-11. Remember I asked
you whether God deserves to have our prayers open with
praise? What is the opinion of the 24 elders? - What are the elders indicating when they “fall down”
and “lay their crowns before the throne?” (These
elders are important people. Their crowns are symbols
of authority and status. Yet they lay all power and
authority at the feet of God.) - Why do they do that? (Verse 11: God is worthy!
He created all things and by His life and death
continue to give us life.) - If you agree with the elders, how insidious is
the theory of evolution? (If you don’t believe
God is the Creator, you don’t believe. Our
local paper has a slogan that applies here: “If
you don’t get it, you don’t get it!) - Victory in the Lamb
- Read Revelation 5:1-4. Who is holding these sealed scroll?
(God on His throne.) - Do you think the scroll has an important message or
important information? (The indications so far are
that it is important. It is held in God’s “right
hand” and has seven seals – the number of
perfection.) - What is the problem with this important information?
(It cannot be opened or read!) - Read Revelation 5:5-6. Who is the Lamb looking as if He
had been slain who is also the Lion of Judah? (Jesus! We
were right before about the sanctuary. Jesus, as a slain
Lamb, enters the heavenly sanctuary on our behalf! This
makes clear that God the Father is sitting on the throne
and Jesus enters the Heavenly sanctuary.) - Read Revelation 5:7-9. Why is Jesus worthy to open the
scroll with the seven seals? (Verse 9: Because of His
sacrifice for us.) - Based on this, what would you guess is this special
scroll with the seven seals? If only Jesus, because
of His sacrifice, can open it, what does that
suggest? (If you read on in Revelation through
chapter 8, you will see that the removal of each seal
represents another event in history. For example, the
sixth seal is Jesus’ Second Coming ( Revelation 6:12-7:17). Jesus is the turning point in the history of
mankind. He turned us from death to life. His perfect
life and perfect sacrifice has now opened the way for
the future triumph of good over evil.) - Do you remember why we wanted to look through the
door of Revelation 4:1? (We wanted to see the future.
Jesus has now unlocked the future of righteousness.) - Let’s jump forward in this song of praise and read
Revelation 5:12-14. Are these people excited about Jesus’
triumph over evil? Are they exciting about His opening the
future for righteousness? Who ultimately praises Jesus?
(Everyone!) - Friend, do you sing the praises of Jesus and the Father
for what they have done to give you victory over sin and
death? Every prayer, every worship service should reflect
our praise and thankfulness for what God has done for us!
May our prayers always reflect our praise to God. - Next week: We start a new quarter of lessons in which we study
“Bible Biographies.”
