Glory, Honor, And Thanks

Reading: Ezekiel 8-11; Revelation 4 9 Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever), 10 the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever). And they lay their crowns before the throne and say, 11 “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.” (Revelation 4:9-11 NLT) I love the Bible! Today I read from Ezekiel, who wrote around 600 BC from exile on the Kebar River, and from John who wrote around 90 AD from exile on Patmos Island, 700 years and over 1000 miles apart, and in spiritual visions they saw the same things. The Spirit took Ezekiel to Jerusalem and showed him the glory of God and the sinful things the Jews were doing in secret. The Spirit took John to heaven and showed him the glory of God and the things that were going to happen in the future.

They both saw cherubim and living creatures with ox, lion, human, and eagle faces. They both recorded what they saw in the most descriptive and colorful language and concepts they had. They were both affected physically and emotionally by what they saw and experienced. I think about how I would describe my experience if I got to see what Ezekiel and John saw. I’ve got a whole range of concepts and experiences they didn’t have. What would I see? How would I describe it? Prayer: Father, I know I would see your glory! I know I would be affected physically and emotionally. I know I would fall down before your throne in awe, and that a lot of things that are big issues to me now would fade into insignificance. I would hear something like, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty—the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.” I would say something like, “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and it is for your pleasure that they exist and were created. Amen.”