Introductory remarks:
The epistolary section of the book is complete. The Revelation proper begins in this chapter through the remainder of the book. "Here begins Revelation proper; first, chapters 4 and 5 set forth the heavenly scenery of the succeeding visions, and God on His throne, the covenant God of His Church, revealing them to His apostle through Christ. The first great portion comprises the opening of the seals and the sounding of the trumpets, (chs. 4-11). As the communication respecting the seven churches opened with a suitable vision of the Lord Jesus as Head of the Church, so this part opens with a vision suitable to the matter to be revealed. The scene passes from earth to heaven" (A. R. Fausset).
The Heavenly Worship
Verse 1, "After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter."
LGT "After these things I saw, and, behold, a door opened in the heaven, and the voice the first one which I heard was as a trumpet speaking with me saying, come up here, and I will show you what things must necessarily come to be after these things."
"This vision is of heaven, not of earth as was true of chapters 1 - 3. The first vision of Christ and the messages to the seven churches began in 1:12f. This new vision of the throne in heaven (4:1-11) succeeds that to which it here alludes" (Robertson).
"After this I looked,"
Literally, after these things. John begins and ends this verse with after these things, so we must conclude it is very important. The first question comes to mind, after what things? Of course we have the answer in chapters 1-3, the things Jesus had dictated to John concerning the assemblies of believers on earth. Now the scene switches to the heavenly visions of future events, eschatology, that is, things to come. Some pre-tribulation rapture teachers teach that this is proof of the rapture of the Church, in this switch from the earth in chapters 1-3, to heaven in chapter four.
"And, behold, a door was opened in heaven:"
John begins this phrase with the exclamation behold, in response to the opened door into heaven. Do you realize that what we have here is first hand knowledge from the apostle John of the incredible scene in heaven? We can speculate about heaven until the cows come home, but we don't have to, because John is giving us a first hand view. I love what Matthew Henry says about speculation concerning the Revelation:
"Whatever is transacted on earth is first designed and settled in heaven; there is the model of all the works of God; all of them are therefore before His eye, and He lets the inhabitants of heaven see as much of them as is fit for them. We can know nothing of future events but what God is pleased to discover to us; they are within the veil, till God opens the door. But, so far as God reveals His designs to us we ought to receive them, and not pretend to be above what is revealed."
"John did not see this door opening as the KJV suggests. This door was open all the time. It is the door through which believers have come to God for over nineteen hundred years. Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me (John 14:6). He also said, I am the door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture (John 10:9). The open door to heaven is the Lord Jesus Christ. He also is the One who will come to the door of your heart - that is the wonder and glory of it all" (McGee).
"And the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me;"
"I saw - that is the eye-gate. I heard - that is the ear-gate. This is like a television program, which we are looking at. This is the first great television program. We have had a wonderful treat in our day to view a television program from the moon, but that is nothing in comparison - here is a television program from heaven! This ought to interest believers a great deal and not cause us to take off like a skyrocket into some wild sort of dreamy stuff. Heaven is a real place. There is a lot of reality there, and we ought not to get uptight over this scene that is now before us. We need to handle it in a normal way, but I admit that I cannot help but get excited about it all" (McGee).
"Which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter."
Jesus invites John into the third heaven, and He says He will show John first hand what was going to come to pass in the future. John received the best seminary education in the world. Paul also had a like experience. Some commentators say that 'hereafter' is after the Church has been translated, because the Church is not mentioned again in Revelation.
Verse 2, "And immediately I was in the spirit; and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and One sat on the throne."
LGT "Immediately I became in spirit, and, behold, a throne was situated in the heaven, and upon the throne One sitting."
"And immediately I was in the spirit:"
John was transported into the third heaven in his spirit; his human body would have been incapable of surviving heavens glory.
"And, behold, a throne was set in heaven,"
Jesus now begins to reveal the things to come, to John. The throne was situated in its place in heaven, John did not see the throne being placed there; the throne is an eternal throne. This imagery is symbolic, and remember, in the introduction to Revelation, it was pointed out that all the symbols are taken from the Old Testament, which is also the Word of God. In Ezekiel 1:26-28 we see that prophet had a similar vision: And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, like the appearance of a sapphire stone; and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness of the appearance of a man upon it. And I saw like the color of amber, like the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of its loins even upward, and from the appearance of its loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice that spoke.
"The throne represents universal sovereignty and ruler ship of God. It means He is in control. The general headquarters of this universe is in heaven, not in Washington, D.C., or London or Moscow or any other place down here. This is the picture that we are given in the Word of God. We read in Psalm 11:4, The Lord is in His holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven: His eyes behold, His eyelids try, the children of men (see also Psalm 47:8; 97:2; 103:19). It is the throne of God the Father, and Jesus sits at His right hand. Psalm 110:1 tells us, The Lord said unto My Lord, Sit Thou at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool (see also Heb. 1:3, 12:2). The Lord is in charge of all events here" (T.T.B. J. Vernon McGee).
"And One sat on the throne."
The throne of grace now becomes a throne of judgment. This is another reason that I say very definitely that the church is gone from the world when this takes place. If the church were still on earth when Christ has left the place of intercession and has come to the place of judgment, He is in the wrong place for the church.
Verse 3, "And He that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round the throne, in sight like unto an emerald."
LGT "And the One who was sitting was in appearance like a jasper and sardius stone, and a rainbow [was] around the throne in appearance like an emerald."
"And He that sat was to look upon a jasper and a sardine stone:"
"The Jasper stone was the last of the twelve stones in the High-Priest's breastplate (Exodus 28:20; 39:13), and the first of the twelve enumerated in the foundation of the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:19). Also the stone employed in the superstructure of the wall of the heavenly City (ch. 21:18). The stone itself was of different colors, the best being purple. According to Ch. 21:11, it represents a crystalline brightness.
The Sardine, Sardius, is the sixth foundation stone of the Heavenly Jerusalem in ch. 21:20. A red stone, supposed to answer to our cornelian. Pliny derives its name from Sardis where it was discovered. Others from the Persian sered, yellowish red. The exact meaning of the symbolism must remain uncertain, owing to our ignorance of the precise meaning of jasper, a name which seems to have covered a variety of stones now known under other classifications. Some interpreters, assuming the jasper to be sparkling white, find in it a representation of the holiness of God, and in the fiery sardius a representation of His wrath" (Vincent).
"And there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald."
"Rainbow is the Greek word iris, which can also mean halo. While the rainbow is polychrome, here it is emerald, which is green (see Ezekiel 1:28). After the judgment of the Flood, the rainbow appeared as a reminder of God's covenant not to destroy the earth again with a flood (see Genesis 9:13-15). It appears here before the judgment of the Great Tribulation as a reminder that a flood will not be used in judgment. Green is the color of the earth. The suggestion here is that of the prophet Habakkuk: . . . in wrath remember mercy (Hab. 3:2) - and God will do that" (McGee).
Verse 4, "And about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold."
LGT "And around the throne [were] twenty four thrones, and upon the thrones [I saw] twenty four elders sitting clothed in white garments and upon their heads gold crowns."
"And about the throne were four and twenty seats:"
Literally, round about the throne: The vision John sees here is the throne of God [the Triune God] encircled by twenty-four thrones. John sees One Great Judicial Throne with The Trinity seated and twelve smaller thrones on the left and twelve on the right round about the Throne. "The twenty-four smaller thrones are thrones of royalty, rather than judicial or sacerdotal [mediator]" (Vincent).
"And upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting,"
The Greek word for elder is presbuteros, meaning an elder. I cannot dogmatically identify the twenty-four elders. What I can do is present several different positions presented by some leading commentators and let you decide.
A.T. Robertson - Word Pictures of the New Testament: "We do not really know why this number is chosen, perhaps two elders for each tribe, perhaps the twelve tribes and twelve apostles (Judaism and Christianity), perhaps the twenty-four courses of the sons of Aaron (1 Chron. 24:1-19), perhaps some angelic rank (Col. 1:16) of which we know nothing."
R. B. Thieme Jr. - Exposition on the Revelation: "I saw twenty-four additional thrones [reserved for the angelic staff with authority in heaven] and twenty-four angelic staff officers [presbuteros denotes authority] were sitting on those thrones [sitting is the posture of thinking] having been clothed [denotes award and honor awarded to elect angels in pre-history] with translucent clothing [uniform of glory] and golden crowns on their heads."
J. Vernon McGee - T. T. B. Commentary: "Elders were representatives. We know that Israel had elders and that elders were appointed in the early churches to rule and to represent the entire church (see Titus 1:5). Their role was clearly understood by the people in John's day. These twenty-four elders stood for the total church from Pentecost to the rapture. Therefore, I can say categorically and dogmatically that there is the church in heaven." [If RBT can dogmatically say the elders are ruling angels, and McGee can categorically and dogmatically say that the elders are the church, I am not sure where I stand]
Matthew Henry's commentary: "Presbyters, representing, very probably, the whole church of God, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament state; not the ministers of the church, but rather the representatives of the people. Their sitting denotes their honor [Thieme says it represents thinking], rest, and satisfaction; their sitting about the throne signifies their relationship to God. Their nearness signifies their relation to God, their nearness to Him, the sight and enjoyment they have of Him."
The Expositor's Testament: "The notion of the church as a fusion [combination] of the Old and the New Covenants is alien to primitive Christianity, and the elders are not the ideal or celestial representatives of the church at all. They pertain to the heavenly court, as in the traditional mise-en-scene [environment] of the later Judaism, which had appropriated this and other imaginative suggestions of the heavenly court, or judicial council from the Babylonian astro-theology, where meta ton zodiakon kuklon [the arrangement of the stars] were ranged four-and-twenty stars, half to the north, and half to the south, of which the visible are reckoned as belonging to the living, the invisible to the dead."
A.R. Fausset - JFB Commentary: "The twenty-four throned and crowned elders are typified by the chiefs of the twenty-four courses of priests, governors of the sanctuary and governors of God (1Chron. 24:5; 25:31)."
J. Dwight Pentecost - Things to Come: Pentecost presents a very good case for the fact that the church is represented by the elders: In Revelation 4:4 John is given a vision of twenty-four elders who are seated on thrones, clothed in white raiment, crowned with golden crowns, and in heaven in the presence of God. Several answers are given as to the question of the identity of these twenty-four. Some, because they are associated with the four living creatures in this book, insist that they are angels. This seems an attempt to evade the implication of taking the literal identification because it is contrary to their system. What is said of the twenty-four elders could not be true of angelic beings, for angel's are not crowned with victor's crowns (stephanos), received as rewards, nor are they seated on thrones (thronos), which throne speaks of royal dignity and prerogative, nor are angels robed in white as a result of judgment. The impossibility of the view argues for the second view, which sees them as resurrected men, who are clothed, crowned, and seated on thrones in connection with royalty in heaven.
Joseph C. Dillow- Reign of the servant Kings; He presents the twenty-four elders as the victorious Christian surrounding God's throne. [Dillow's account is also much too long for this paper, so the same offer stands]
"Clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold."
White raiment is the righteousness of Christ, For He [God] had made Him [Christ] to be sin for us, who knew no sin, but that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Cor. 5:21). McGee says, "Crowns of Gold indicates that the church will rule with Christ (see 1 Cor. 6:3). Crowns are also given as rewards (see 2 Tim. 4:8; James 1:12; 1 Peter 5:4) when the bema judgment, the judgment seat of Christ, takes place." In New Testament Greek the word 'crown' here is stephanos which is the 'victor's crown or wreath. The crown which the Trinity wore is diadem the kingly crown. It is on this basis that John uses these two different terms for a 'crown' that expositors see the elders as the represented church.
Verse 5, "And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God."
LGT "And out from the throne [were] proceeding lightenings and voices and thunders, and seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God."
"And out of the throne"
Literally, out from the throne, NT Greek, ek tou thronou, meaning a seat or a chair. "In Homer, an armchair with high back and footstool. Cushions were laid upon the seat, and over both seat and back carpets were spread. A royal throne. "In some languages 'throne' is rendered as 'the seat of judging' or 'the seat of decision-making for a ruler'" (Semantic Domains - Louw & Nida).
"Proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices:"
The word 'proceeded' is in the present tense and should read, proceeding lighting and voices and thunder.
"He perceived lightnings and voices proceeding out of the throne: that is, the awful declarations that God makes to His church of His sovereign will and pleasure. Thus He gave forth the law on Mount Sinai; and the gospel has not less glory and authority than the law, though it be of a more spiritual nature" Matthew Henry).
"Lightnings and thunderings always precede a storm in the Midwest and generally indicate the intensity of the storm. I think that the meaning here is that judgment is coming. And voices indicates that it is not a haphazard judgment, but it is directed by the One on the throne" (McGee).
"And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God"
As was pointed out earlier (1:4) this phrase has reference to the sevenfold ministry of the Holy Spirit. "God the Holy Spirit is alluded to as the restrainer of the torches, [see also 2 Thess. 2:3-12]" (Thieme).
Verse 6, "And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind."
LGT "And before the throne, as it were, a glassy sea, like clear ice, [crystal]: And in [the] midst of the throne and round about the throne four living creatures full of eyes before and behind."
"And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal:"
This phrase 'there was a 'sea of glass' is preceded by the adverb hos, and in this context the meaning is, as it were. So the phrase is literally, as it were, a glassy sea.
I believe John is simply describing the appearance of the Throne of God, and that it is this appearance that is important, not the material. The word 'crystal' is gr. hualine, from hulos, meaning glass. "Possibly from huei (it rains), like a raindrop. At any rate here it is the appearance, not the material. Glass was made in Egypt 4,000 years ago. In Ex. 24:10 the elders see under the feet of God in the theophany [a visible manifestation of deity] a paved work of sapphire stone (cf. Ezek. 1:26). The likeness of the appearance of sky to sea suggests the metaphor [image] here (Beckwith). Like crystal (homoia krustalloi). Associative-instrumental case after homoia [like]. Old word, from kruos (ice and sometimes used for ice), in N.T. only here and 22:1, not semiopaque, but clear like rock-crystal" (A.T. Robertson).
Thieme says this phrase represents the tranquility of the church in heaven during the tribulation. McGee adds: "This placid sea indicates the position of rest to which the church has come. No longer is she the victim of the storms of life. No longer is she out there on the tossing sea".
I believe it represents the pure justice and perfect judgment of God. I don't believe we should read too much into these descriptions of God's throne and appearances; I believe it is what John saw in the spirit, and that it has no other significance.
"And in the midst of throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind."
The NT Greek states this phrase, (tessera zoa) living creatures. If it were beasts it would read (tessera theria) four beasts. "Alford aptly remarks that beasts is the most unfortunate word that could be imagined. Beast is therion. Zwon emphasizes the vital element, therion the bestial" (Vincent).
"Four beasts are literally four living creatures. The Greek word is zoa, from which we get our English word zoo. It doesn't mean a wild beast as we might think. We will have a wild beast when we get to chapter 13, but that is a different type of beast. This is just a living creature. The emphasis is not upon the bestial, but upon the vital, upon the fact that they are living.
Four beasts full of eyes before and behind. "The four living beings are mainly identical with the cherubim of Ezekiel 1:5-10; 10:5-20; Isaiah 6:2, 3; though with some differences of detail. For instance, Ezekiel's cherubim have four wings, while the six described here belong to the seraphim of Isaiah. So also the Trisagion (thrice Holy) is from Isaiah. In Ezekiel's vision each living being has all four faces, whereas here, each of the four has one.
Full of eyes signifying here unlimited intelligence (Beckwith), the ceaseless vigilance of nature (Swete)" (Robertson). Eyes in the Scripture symbolize wisdom.
Verse 7, "And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle."
LGT "And the living creature, the first one, was like a lion, and the second living creature like a calf [young ox], and the third living creature was like having the face as a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle flying."
I believe this entire verse represents the eternal Word of God as represented in the four Gospels. In the Gospel of Matthew, Christ was identified as the Lion from the Tribe of Judah, which is the first creature John describes, was like a lion. In the Gospel of Mark, Christ was identified as a servant; the calf [ox] is a beast of burden, which is the second living creature John saw; In the Gospel of Luke, Christ is identified as a man, that is, Luke stressed His humanity; a man is the third living creature John saw. In the Gospel of John, Christ is identified as God, that is, His deity is stressed; an eagle represents the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, as the One who controls all of humanity.
Verse 8, "And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty, which was, and is, and is to come."
LGT "And the four living creatures, one by one of them having six wings apiece, and are full of eyes round about and within, and rest they do not have day and night saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord the God the Almighty One, the One which was, and the One which is, and the One which is coming.
"And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him;"
Literally, the four living creatures, one by one having six wings apiece. We have this scene in heaven recorded in Isaiah 6:2,4, Above it [the throne] stood the seraphim: each one had six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.
"And they were full of eyes within:"
These Seraphim were full of eyes "Perhaps before and behind and under the wings, pointing to the secret energies of nature" (Swete). "Full of eyes, they are ever on the alert to perceive the manifestations of divine glory. Covering their faces and feet with wings (Isa. 6:2), they manifest their reverence and humility. Flying, they are prompt for ministry, we thus have the throne of God surrounded by His Church and His animated world; the former represented by the twenty-four elders, the latter by the four living beings" (Alford - quoted by Vincent).
"And rest not day and night,"
This speaks of the constant activity of the Cherubim and Seraphim.
"We have considered the sights that the apostle John saw in heaven: now let us observe the songs that he heard, for there is in heaven not only that to be seen which will highly please a sanctified eye, but there is that to be heard which will greatly delight a sanctified ear. This is true concerning the Church of Christ here, which is a heaven upon earth, and it will be eminently so in the Church made perfect in the heaven of heavens" (Matthew Henry).
"Saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,"
This is the same as Isaiah 6:3, And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His Glory.
This threefold repetition is obviously including the Three Persons of the Godhead. "The task of the Cherubim together with the Seraphim is to sing the praises of God" (Robertson). "And here, they adore one God, and one only, the Lord God almighty, unchangeable and everlasting. They adore three holies in this one God, the Holy Father, the Holy Son, and the Holy Spirit; and these are One infinitely Holy and eternal Being, who sits upon the throne, and lives for ever and ever. In this glory the apostle saw Christ, and spoke of Him" (Matthew Henry).
"Which was, and is, and is to come."
Literally, the One, which was, the One, which is, and the One who is coming. Which was, and is, and is to come refers to Christ. He identified Himself at the very beginning of this book in just that way: I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty (Rev. 1:8). "He is identified for us, and therefore we do not need to speculate in places like this" (McGee).
Verse 9, "And when the beasts give glory and honor and thanks to Him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever."
LGT "And whenever the living creatures will give glory and honor and thanksgiving to the One who is sitting upon the throne the One who is living unto the ages of the ages."
"And when those beasts give glory and honor and thanks to Him that sat on the throne,"
The word 'give' gr. dosousin is in the future tense and is properly, will give; this gives the sense of repetition of the praise and is literally, and whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanksgiving. "The giving of praise and glory to God by the four living creatures (representatives of nature) is met by corresponding worship by the redeemed (the four and twenty elders). Created life adores the Uncreated (Swete)" (A.T. Robertson). "Praise and adoration are the eternal activity of God's creatures in heaven. The creature worships the Creator as the Triune God: Holy, holy, holy. Worship is the activity of heaven" (McGee).
"Who liveth for ever and ever,"
I like the literal translation, the One who is living unto the ages of the ages.
Verse 10, "The four and twenty elders fall down before Him that sat on the throne, and worship Him that liveth forever and ever. And cast their crowns before the throne, saying,"
LGT "The twenty four elders will fall before the One sitting upon the throne and they will worship the One who is living unto the ages of the ages and will cast their crowns before the throne saying,"
"The four and twenty elders fall down before Him that sat on the throne, and they will worship Him that liveth for ever and ever."
The word 'worship' is gr. proskunesousin the future tense of proskuneo meaning, "to express by attitude and possibly by position one's allegiance to and regard for deity - to prostrate oneself in worship, to bow down and worship, to worship" (Semantic Domains - Louw and Nida). An expanded translation would be, they will bow down and express their allegiance to the Three in One. This seems to be the activity of all the redeemed unto the ages of the ages.
"And cast their crowns before the throne, saying,"
Some expositors I have read speak of the crowns as something that would bring attention to us. McGee even says, that after wearing the crowns for a while we would soon get tired and embarrassed, and then cast them at the feet of our Lord. I think this is not quite accurate. The word here for 'crown' is stephanos, meaning a wreath consisting of foliage or of precious metals formed to resemble foliage and worn as a symbol of honor, victory, or as a badge of high office - wreath, crown (Semantic Domains - Louw and Nida). The only reason I would get a crown is for allowing the Holy Spirit to do His work through me, and then I would receive a crown; I believe that the crown will draw attention to the reason I received the crown, and will not be because of anything I could possibly do: the crowns are for the benefit and the glory of the One who gives them and not to those who receive them.
"They cast their crowns before the throne; they gave God the glory of the holiness wherewith He crowned their souls on earth and the honor and happiness with which He crowns them in heaven. They owe all their graces and all their glories to Him, and acknowledge that His crown is infinitely more glorious than theirs, and that it is their glory to be glorifying God" (Matthew Henry).
Our crowns are stephanos, that is, a crown rewarded for winning, a laurel wreath; His crown is diademos, that is, a kings crown; we could never wear a kings crown.
"In Revelation 4:10, where the elders are seen to be casting their crowns before the throne in an act of worship and adoration, it is made clear that the crowns will not be for the eternal glory of the recipient, but for the glory of the giver. Since these crowns are not viewed as a permanent possession, the question of the nature of the rewards themselves arises. From the Scripture it is learned that the believer was redeemed in order that he might bring glory to God (1 Cor. 6:20). This becomes his eternal destiny. The act of placing the material sign of a reward at the feet of the One who sits on the throne (Rev. 4:10) is one act in that glorification. But the believer will not then have completed his destiny to glorify God. This will continue throughout eternity. Inasmuch as reward is associated with brightness and shining in many passages of Scripture (Dan. 12:3; Matt. 13:43; 1 Cor. 15:40-41, 49), it may be that the reward given to the believer is a capacity to manifest the glory of Christ throughout eternity. The greater the reward, the greater the bestowed capacity to bring glory to God. Thus in the exercise of the reward of the believer, it will be Christ and not the believer that is glorified by the reward. Capacities to radiate the glory will differ, but there will be no personal sense of lack in that each believer will be filled to the limit of his capacity to show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9)" (Things to Come - J. Dwight Pentecost - pages 225-226).
Verse 11, "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."
LGT "Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to take the glory and the honor and the power, because You created all things and for Your will they are and were created."
"Thou art worthy,"
The Almighty, pantokrator, is the only One who is worthy, that is, suitable to be praised.
"O Lord, to receive glory and honor or power:"
Literally, our Lord and our God. The word receive is labein is an infinitive meaning 'to take' or 'to receive.' Vincent says, "Perhaps it is better to take, since the glory, honor, and power are absolute possessions of the Almighty." "They do not say, We give Thee glory, and honor, and power; for what can any creature pretend to give unto God? But they say, Thou art worthy to receive glory. In this they tacitly [understood] acknowledge that God is exalted far above all blessing and praise. He was worthy to receive glory, but they were not worthy to praise, nor able to do it according to His infinite excellences" (Matthew Henry).
"For Thou hast created all things,"
"Dr. Walvoord, in his excellent book, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, calls attention to something here that I think is important. The living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne. They worship Him for His attributes, because He is who He is. However, the four and twenty elders who represent the church worship Him not only because of His attributes but also because of what He has done. Here they worship Him as Creator - Thou hast created all things and for thy pleasure they are and were created. In other words, the church comes out of this little earth, which is God's creation, and they join in the worship because He created this earth down here. Genesis 1:1 is accurate, and the church believes it."
"And for Thy pleasure they are and were created."
For Thy pleasure is more accurately translated because of Thy will.
"The reason that God created this earth and that things are as they are because it was in His plan and purpose. I do not understand a great deal of what He is doing, and I do not understand a great deal about this universe in which I live, but I do know that it is created this way because this is the way He wanted it. He is in charge, and we are to worship Him because He created this little earth. I am glad that He did, and I am glad that He created me. He could have forgotten all about me [of course we know this is an impossibility], but I am glad that I was in the plan and purpose of God. We worship Him because of that" (T. T. B. J. Vernon McGee).
"It was His will and pleasure to create all things; He was not put upon it by the will of another; there is no such thing as subordinate creator, that acts under and by the will and power of another; and, if there were, he ought not to be worshipped. As God made all things at His pleasure, so He made them for His pleasure, to deal with them as He pleases and to glorify Himself by them one way or other. Though He delights not in the death of sinners, but rather that they should turn and live, yet He hath made all things for Himself, Prov. 16:4. Now if these be true and sufficient grounds for religious worship, as they are proper to God alone, Christ must needs be God, one with the Father and Spirit, and be worshipped as such; for we find the same causality ascribed to Him. Col. 1:16,17, All things were created by Him and for him, and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist" (Mathew Henry).
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