by Terry Wane Benton<\/p>\n
“Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever<\/em>” (Revelation 4:9).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
In John’s vision “up here” he sees the living creatures giving honor, glory, and thanks to God on the throne, and he knows that God is eternal, while the men on earth that fight against the church are not even in charge of their own lives. They die. They are temporary! Keep this viewpoint in front of your mind, and then notice the twenty-four leaders who served God on earth. Are they disappointed that they served God on earth? Look and see!<\/p>\n
“The twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying<\/em>” (Revelation 4:10).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
These twenty-four elders are before the throne, and they have “crowns” of life, but it seems that even the crown of their reward for faithfulness is as nothing compared to their amazing view of seeing the glory of the One who sits on the throne. They “cast their crowns before the throne<\/em>” which means that nothing is more important to them than the honor of seeing the glory of the One on the throne. They don’t feel worthy of their crowns. All honor belongs to God. John sees them cast their crowns down before the throne as they say:<\/p>\n
“You are worthy, O Lord, <\/em>
\nTo receive glory and honor and power;<\/em>
\nFor You created all things,<\/em>
\nAnd by Your will they exist and were created<\/em>” (Revelation 4:11 NKJV).<\/blockquote>\nThey don’t feel worthy of their crowns. They feel that only God is truly worthy to receive glory, honor, and power. Our very existence is totally dependent on Him. Thus, if these twenty-four do not feel worthy of glory, honor, and power, then what of Nebuchadnezzar in the past or Nero in the present? Any crown they had is as nothing. Any “power” that they held is as nothing in comparison.<\/p>\n
When you come up in this vision with John, you truly see that human powers on earth are nothing in comparison to the One on the throne. If we fear the powers of earthly forces, we need to see what John sees. We need to let the vision of John in the Spirit captivate our full attention. If we have “ears to hear<\/em>” what the Spirit is speaking through John’s vision, we will fully believe that no political powers or rulers on earth deserve the power. Their very lives “exist” by the Creator’s will, and they have only the power God allows them to have. God is far greater! God is “worthy” of our full admiration and godly reverence! Don’t let the raging storms on the political scene distract you from seeing the One who walks on those waters! Come up here and get your focus back in the right place! Only He is truly worthy!<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Terry Wane Benton “Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever” (Revelation 4:9). In John’s vision “up here” he sees the living creatures giving honor, glory, and thanks to God on the throne, and he knows that God is eternal,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[1253,310,198,102],"class_list":["post-66027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-glory","tag-government","tag-honor","tag-revelation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9033,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/who-should-we-worship-god-the-father-or-jesus-christ\/","url_meta":{"origin":66027,"position":0},"title":"Who should we worship: God, the Father, or Jesus Christ?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 17, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Who should we worship: God, the Father, or Jesus Christ? Answer: Since both are God, that is they, along with the Holy Spirit, make up the Godhead, they are both worshiped. \"Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker\" (Psalm 95:6).\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":66143,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/who-deserves-your-heart\/","url_meta":{"origin":66027,"position":1},"title":"Who Deserves Your Heart?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 24, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton \"Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: 'Worthy is the Lamb who was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":66084,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/worthy-art-thou-an-understatement\/","url_meta":{"origin":66027,"position":2},"title":"Worthy Art Thou: An Understatement","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 22, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton \"And they sang a new song, saying: 'You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation'\" (Revelation 4:9). So, a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33007,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-the-holy-spirit-is-a-part-of-the-godhead-then-why-isnt-he-on-the-throne-in-revelation-221\/","url_meta":{"origin":66027,"position":3},"title":"If the Holy Spirit is a part of the Godhead, then why isn’t He on the throne in Revelation 22:1?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 30, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, If God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are co-equal, can you explain the reason why the Holy Spirit doesn't occupy a throne in Revelation 22:1? Answer: \"And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17473,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/will-everyone-see-gods-face\/","url_meta":{"origin":66027,"position":4},"title":"Will everyone see God’s face?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 30, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello. Will everyone see the face of God the Father on judgment day? I know that every eye will see Jesus, even those who pierced Him. Is seeing the face of God the Father only a privilege for the saved? I appreciate your time. Answer: I believe you are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":67984,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/jesus-the-king-of-kings\/","url_meta":{"origin":66027,"position":5},"title":"Jesus, the King of Kings","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 9, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer The scriptural concept of kingship starts in Genesis 1. God is the sovereign Creator who made male and female in His image and gave them dominion over the creation (Genesis 1:26-29). The idea is that humanity rules with God according to His will. 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