Day 245

Today's Reading: Revelation 7

I think we have mixed up our priorities. Author Gordon Dahl agrees. Consider his observation: “Most middle-class Americans tend to worship their work, to work at their play, and to play at their worship. As a result, their meanings and values are distorted.” Worship is not an optional spiritual practice for Christians. It is a response to how we see God. A low view of God shows up in a view that worship is an inconvenience. A high view of God shows up as an automatic response to His worthiness.

The word worship literally means worth-ship. It’s to see the true value of something or someone. It recognizes their worth. In today’s chapter, we see something amazing happen with worship. The apostle John has multiple visions of worship happening in the heavens, but the one in chapter 7 seems to be the climax.

Before we look at that one, I need to take us on a worship journey in Revelation starting in chapter 1, so we can see how worship progresses. Starting in Revelation 1:6, we see two notes of praise: “He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen” (Revelation 1:6). The two notes: glory and dominion.

Then in chapter 4, we see three notes of praise: “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created” (4:11). The three notes: glory, honor, and power.

In chapter 5, we see four notes of praise: “Every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, ‘To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever’” (5:13). The four notes: Blessing, honor, glory, and dominion.

Now we come to chapter 7, where the worship seems to reach a crescendo with seven notes of praise: “All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, ‘Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen’” (7:11-12). The seven notes: blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might be to our God.

Wow! Worship reaches an apex in heaven. It seems that it kept building to this moment, and those in heaven couldn’t help themselves. Worship was worthship pouring out from them.

Heaven is where nothing but truth exists, maximum truth. The truth of who God is is unveiled. And since that happens, worship is the proper response. Everything is clearly seen in heaven. The price of salvation. The value of the Son of God coming to earth. What mercy and grace really is. All of these are unveilings, just to name a few.

When we see the true God and know the true God, we must worship God. Let me put it this way: if our idea of God, if our idea of the salvation offered in Christ, is vague or remote, our idea of worship will be fuzzy. The closer we get to the truth, the clearer becomes the beauty, and the more we will find worship welling up within us. That’s why theology and worship belong together. If they are separated then theology is just a head-trip, and worship without truth is just an emotional experience as we enjoy singing or listening to songs about God. But heaven joins the truth of God and the emotion that He stimulates in our hearts to bring about a seven-note climax of worship.

In 1744, hymn writer Charles Wesley, John Wesley’s brother,