In chapter 4, John is caught up into Heaven. When he arrives there, he sees God Himself sitting on a glorious throne. John sees Heaven arrayed as a courtroom. God is preparing to unleash His wrath on the inhabitants of the earth.
In the midst of this awesome scene, we also see that Heaven is filled with the praises of Jehovah. Heaven understands what the Lord is about to do and the inhabitants of that city praise the Lord for His glory, His power and for His creation. They are also acknowledging His right to judge the earth.
It seems that John is taken to Heaven to give him a heavenly perspective concerning what is about to happen on the earth. I mentioned this last week, but it is still true: when the events of this earth are viewed from a purely earthly perspective, they can cause fear, doubt and confusion. But, when all the events of history are viewed through the eyes of Heaven, everything makes sense!
So, chapter four ends with God receiving the praise of His created ones and of His redeemed ones. Heaven throbs with the voices of those caught up in their love for Almighty God. Chapter fivefinds us in the same courtroom in Heaven. Now, praise has ceased for a moment and heavenly business is about to be transacted, and we are going to have front row seats as it is acted out.
We are about to find out that, in Heaven, Jesus is the central Figure. He is the center of attention. I believe that Heaven will be a glorious, wonderful place. I believe there will be streets of gold, walls of jasper, gates of pearl, and more glory than you and I can imagine. I believe it will be great to see Abraham, Moses, Paul, and the rest. But, the main attraction of Heaven will be Jesus Himself. In this passage, we are going to see Jesus Himself, in His rightful place; glorified and exalted in Heaven.