My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
HIM WHO SITS ON THE THRONE
Revelation 5:13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might
Chapter five of the book of Revelation is a chapter preparing the reader for the horrible judgements to come in the next 13 chapters.
John is reminding his readers that the judgements are coming directly from God, through the Lamb of God, His Son, and John takes a moment here to describe the source of the judgements, the One who has the right to perform the terrible and awesome judgements to come.
It is one thing for terrible times to come upon the world, and when horrible, crushing catastrophes fall on the general populace of this world, many lift the fist toward God, cursing Him.
Revelation 16:9 They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory.
Revelation 16:11 and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds.
When we dwell on Revelation chapter 5, we are entering into the enthronement of the Messiah, and the subsequent worship and praise due to HIM WHO SITS ON THE THRONE. Verses 1 -8 speak of the identity of the One who is worthy to open the scroll, and who took the scroll from the One on the throne. The One worthy is the Lamb, the One who was slain for the sins of the world.
If I understand this passage, John actually witnesses the enthronement of the Messiah, at a historical point in time, within the heavens. He witnesses the One who would oversee the coming judgements, for Jesus Himself has said that the Father has given to Jesus the right to execute judgment.
John 5:22 For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son,
John 5:27 And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.
Jesus is the Lamb of God, the One able to execute judgement, and the One who rightfully receives all praise and worship from all those “in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them.”
John takes great pains in defining the extent of the worship from all of creation. The Father, who is on the throne within this passage, for Jesus takes the scroll from Him, is the One who receives all worship, from every created being in heaven or on earth.
But let us not forget that in the coming chapters, there are those who curse. They curse God, though God has every right to bring judgment, as John clearly describes in Chapter 5.
We may make claims that those in Revelation 5 only describe the “world” of the redeemed, and John meant to describe only those “in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them” as those righty related to the God of all the universe. This may be the intended meaning.
Yet John did say the worship and praise was from all “in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them”. He labors to include all in his descriptions of those praising God.
What happened to those cursing God?
Have they repented somehow? The passage in Revelation 16 speaks of their cursing, and of their not repenting. How does my reader understand this seeming difference? Is there hope, even for those who curse God, for those who reject repentance and throw the fist up before God, for those whose lives had always been in rebellion? Is the glory of Revelation 5 describing the eternal state, and that of Revelation 16, a time on earth, a specific period of time when judgement fell?
Let us remember that HIM WHO SITS ON THE THRONE is the One who sent His Son to be slain for the sins of the world. He has proven His love for those who were His enemies by the sacrifice of His Son, and the resurrection from the death He entered.
John labors to include all in the praise and worship of HIM WHO SITS ON THE THRONE in the eternal state, but we have the privilege of entering this praise and worship of HIM WHO SITS ON THE THRONE even today.
He is worthy, and as we enter His presence, let us remember He is one the Throne, is over all, and is the Great King.
May His name be praised by all!
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
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