The book of Revelation is the pulling back of the curtain so that we can see what the future of God's people will be. This revelation is our glorious hope as we look to Jesus in these days of tribulation and know for sure he is coming back to take us home.

As we move into chapter 4 of Revelation our perspective is taken from the churches on the earth to the throne room of heaven. John is invited to come through the open door and see the risen Lord Jesus seated on his throne. For the suffering church of John's day they need to know that in and through their tribulation Jesus is the one who will keep them to the end.

In the throne room John also sees 24 other thrones, making us consider that the elders sitting on these thrones represent the 12 patriarchs of Israel and the 12 apostles, thus representing the totality of redeemed humanity from both the old and new covenant communities of faith.

But what is the central message of this chapter is the worship of Jesus by those in heaven. He is the one that the universe revolves around because he is the one of majesty, beauty, wealth and power. It is he who invites us to come and see and to find rest in him and the salvation of our souls. He is not to be ignored. He is the one who has made us possible to be in heaven through the forgiveness of our sins, only achieved because of his death and resurrection. Revelation 4 forces us to consider this reality of Jesus so that we may look upon his majesty and not be afraid.

Glorious Hope is a podcast teaching series from Annalong Presbyterian Church. You can find out more at http://www.annalongpc.org/sermons.

Get your copy of the ESV Scripture Journal (Revelation) wherever you get your Christian books to help your own study in this series.

A video of this podcast is available at https://youtu.be/iMumpnwbq10.