I can only imagine
What it will be like
When I walk by Your side
I can only imagine
What my eyes would see
When Your face is before me
I can only imagine…

(I Can Only Imagine, by Bart Millard, Mercy Me)

While at worship, John is given tremendously more than human imagining for a privileged look past the confines of earth as he peered through the doors of Heaven.  Through the Doors, John is awed first by worship in heave!  Yes, there are blended colors and hues never before seen displayed in precious stones and powerful creatures protecting the throne; but he is “caught up at once in deep worship”. Hold that thought as we read on…

Revelation 4, The Message

A Door into Heaven

4 Then I looked, and, oh!—a door open into Heaven. The trumpet-voice, the first voice in my vision, called out, “Ascend and enter. I’ll show you what happens next.”

^2-6 I was caught up at once in deep worship and, oh!—a Throne set in Heaven with One Seated on the Throne, suffused in gem hues of amber and flame with a nimbus of emerald. Twenty-four thrones circled the Throne, with Twenty-four Elders seated, white-robed, gold-crowned. Lightning flash and thunder crash pulsed from the Throne. Seven fire-blazing torches fronted the Throne (these are the Sevenfold Spirit of God). Before the Throne it was like a clear crystal sea.

^6-8 Prowling around the Throne were Four Animals, all eyes. Eyes to look ahead, eyes to look behind. The first Animal like a lion, the second like an ox, the third with a human face, the fourth like an eagle in flight. The Four Animals were winged, each with six wings. They were all eyes, seeing around and within. And they chanted night and day, never taking a break:

Holy, holy, holy
Is God our Master, Sovereign-Strong,
The Was, The Is, The Coming.

^9-11 Every time the Animals gave glory and honor and thanks to the One Seated on the Throne—the age-after-age Living One—the Twenty-four Elders would fall prostrate before the One Seated on the Throne. They worshiped the age-after-age Living One. They threw their crowns at the foot of the Throne, chanting,

Worthy, O Master! Yes, our God!
Take the glory! the honor! the power!
You created it all;
It was created because you wanted it.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

If worship is our lifestyle here on earth to the King of kings and Lord of lords, it won’t be too hard to imagine worshiping Him forever in His Presence as we gather around the Throne of God!  In true worship of Jesus, nothing but Jesus matters.  Our stuff we have accumulated, the ending balance at the bank, our positions or rank on earth, our fears and anxieties over losses on earth—just will not matter—so why does it matter now? 

We fall down, we lay our crowns
At the feet of Jesus
The greatness of mercy and love
At the feet of Jesus

And we cry holy, holy, holy
We cry holy, holy, holy
We cry holy, holy, holy
Is the Lamb…

(We Fall Down by Kyle David Matthews)

CONSIDER THIS…

“Is it difficult to imagine Jesus as an active being before his birth on earth? If so, let me challenge you to widen your imagination. Remember, ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever’ (Hebrews 13:8). ‘He was chosen before the creation of the world’ (1Peter 1:20). The normal restrictions of time and place do not apply to him. We would be wrong to limit his corporal ministry to 33 years in Palestine. Long before Jesus ate with Zacchaeus in Jericho, he shared a moment with Joshua near Jericho.

And what a moment it was. ‘As commander of the army of the LORD I have now come,’ Jesus declared (see Joshua 5:14). The human eye saw two armies: the Canaanites and the Israelites. Actually, there was a third. The Lord’s army, God’s angels. This is the heavenly host referred to in Psalm 103:20–21: ‘Praise the LORD, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word. Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will.’”—Max Lucado, Encouraging Word Bible

“Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?” –Jesus, Matthew 26:53  We must remember Jesus, while on the cross, could have called legions (thousands upon thousands) of these angels to rescue him from His mission to save us—but he did not.  I’m humble by the thought, aren’t you?

John, the beloved disciple, a witness to Jesus’ excruciating pain, who vowed to take care of Mary as his own mother, years later, on the island of Patmos now joins the worship in heaven with all creatures surrounding  the throne of God with Jesus sitting as His right—just as He said. 

Lord,

Thank you for reminding us once again who you are and what you did to save us. Thank you for the power of you living in us that prompts our praise of You, The One and Only who saves, heals, protects, provides, comforts, convicts, corrects, and compels us to love like you love us as worship to you! Cleanse our hearts, renew our minds, transform our behaviors by Your power, refresh our souls with your mercy and grace, and continually restore the joy of you in us and us in you—this is worship.  I offer myself to you.

In Jesus Name, Amen

Surrounded by Your glory
What will my heart feel?
Will I dance for you Jesus
Or in awe of You be still?
Will I stand in your presence
Or to my knees will I fall?
Will I sing hallelujah?
Will I be able to speak at all?
I can only imagine…

All this and more!  It’s not about us—it’s about Jesus!