This fourfold worship (“blessing and honour and glory and dominion”) of the created beings (four, you may recall, is the number of the earth/Creation) and the agreement of the four living beings who represent Creation is now following the sevenfold worship (chapter 5 verse 12:”power and riches and wisdom and might and honour and glory and blessing”) of all the angels. The angelic princes, the twenty-four elders, the archangels and generals, had knelt down and had cast down their crowns (chapter 4 verse 10-11) and had worshipped the Lord God. Now every created being is also worshipping the Lamb Who sits upon the throne. One day “In the Name of Jesus every knee will bow”,1 in Heaven, on earth and under the earth. All creatures: the flying creatures in the sky, such as birds; bats and flying reptiles; the animals on the earth such as amphibians, reptiles, warm blooded mammals and insects. And also all human beings. All creatures in Heaven and on earth and under the earth. ‘Under the earth’ meaning living under the surface of the earth, that is, in the soil and in water that is lower than the earth’s surface, in the rivers, the lakes, the seas and the oceans, such as fish, mammals like whales and dolphins, and reptiles—all creatures in Heaven and on earth.
There will be no more idolatry elements of Creation for divine worship, against which the second of the Ten Commandments warns: “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in Heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My Commandments.”2 Indeed, worshipping Creation itself leads to severe punishment and judgment. Worshippers of Creation instead of the Creator claim to be very rational and wise. They present their theories in very philosophical, high-class ‘New Age’ forms, whose origins are mostly to be found in Hinduism. Claiming to be wise, they have become foolish. As Paul says, they have exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images in the form of corruptible man and of birds and of four-footed animals and crawling creatures.3 The result is then predictable. God withdraws His protective hand and by withdrawing His ‘common grace’ (see remarks) He leaves humanity to itself with severe and grave consequences. Man then will be driven from the inside by his fallen nature, driven by the lusts and desires of his or her sinful heart. And from the outside man will encouraged by the ‘powers of darkness’. Man’s fallen nature and darkened mind leads him to transgression of God’s righteous Laws and decrees. To engage in practices and deeds that result in death.4 People who glorify this style of godless living and mock those who dare protest to such a lifestyle are applauded and bestowed important prizes in film, art and literature in the present world. That is the sad reality of today’s world and of the end times.
Here, in this verse however, all the creatures rejoice and give honour to God and the Lamb. The created world and the created Heavenly celestial beings, like the angels and other entities – they all praise Him. Everything, whether in Heaven or on earth, has been reconciled to God through the blood of the cross.5
He, Who sits on the throne, and the Lamb receive honour and praise in terms that are only ascribed to God. John, as a true Jew, was monotheistic in heart and soul and knew of and confessed the unity of God. But he sees that Christ is with the Father on the throne6 together with the seven Spirits of God.7 From this beautiful presentation of the ‘Trinity” – seen with John’s very eyes, not the result of theological or philosophical rational reasoning – the early Church came to a rational sounding philosophical confession of the Unity of God in three Beings, three Persons, three aspects, three unities: one-in-three and three-in-one. The basic structure of this confession is visible here, not in Greek philosophical terms, but as revealed truth about the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. One God Who reveals Himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
• The battle among psychologists and psychiatrists as to whether homosexuality is a characteristic a person is born with or a developmental disturbance at a young age will probably never be won one way or the other. There are those who think that the modern ‘explosion’ of homosexuality is a result of a tired, decadent culture.
• German research by for instance Dr. Kurt E. Koch into the practice of occultism in previous generations as a cause of severe character deviations, including homosexual orientation, is less well-known. Whatever the case may be; Jesus is the Victor. God loves us just as we are, but He does not leave us as we are. Homosexuals and heterosexuals are on the same foot in this respect. We are all sinners and need the saving grace by the blood of the Lamb in order to be set free from everything and anything that is not according to God’s will. Compare John 8:1-11; Romans 3:22-24.
• Kurt E. Koch (1913-1987) received his Doctor of Theology degree from Tubingen University and was a noted German theologian, minister, and evangelist. He pastored and counselled those suffering from the occult in its various forms throughout the world, covering sixty-five countries and five continents. His other books include Christian Counselling and Occultism; Demonology, Past and Present; The Lure of the Occult; and Occult Bondage and Deliverance.
• ‘Common grace’ is a theological concept in Protestant Christianity, developed primarily in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Reformed/Calvinistic thought, referring to the ‘grace of God’ that is either common to all humankind, or common to everyone within a particular sphere of influence. It is ‘common’ because its benefits are experienced by, or intended for, the whole human race without distinction between one person and another. It is ‘grace’ because it is undeserved and sovereignly bestowed by God.
• In this sense, it is distinguished from the Calvinistic understanding of ‘special’ or ‘saving grace’, which extends only to those whom God has chosen to redeem. By this ‘common grace’ God took care that there is still order among people in society. One of His tools to execute this ‘common grace’ is for instance ‘government’ as an institution of God – Romans 13:1-7.
Bible References:
1.Philippians 2:10–11 2.Exodus 20:4–6; Deuteronomy 4:15–20 NIV 3.Romans 1:22–23 4.Romans 1:24–32 5.Colossians 1:15–20 6.Revelation 3:21 7.Revelation 5:6, 4:5
