Heaven as described in the books of Revelation and Ezekiel, brings to our minds a picture of angels—millions of angels—“ten thousand times ten thousand”—massed around the circular shore of a waveless sea of glass that reflects those countless hosts from its mirrored surface.
o Looking around we can count twenty-four thrones set in a circle, each seating a celestial man wearing a crown.
o Then inside that ring of thrones are four magnificent seraphim. Each has a distinct visage—a lion, an ox, a man, and an eagle—and yet every inch of each of them is covered with eyes. Rather than grotesque, the effect is gorgeous. Fire moves back and forth among them, and the creatures speed to and fro like flashes of lightning. The sound of their whirring wings roars across the expanse, but above that rises their call:
Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty,
who was, and is, and is to come.
(Revelation 4:8)
o Above us and over the heads of the living creatures hangs an awesome expanse—sparkling like ice, providing a jewel-like setting for the emerald throne. On the throne sits one who has the appearance of glowing jasper and carnelian. Then appears “a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne” (5:6). He takes the scroll from the right hand of him who sits on the throne, and all fall prostrate before him—the four great angels, the twenty-four elders, and the millions around the sea—and most of all, us! And we sing with them:
Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth
and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise! (5:12).
Worship is a presentation of our gifts to God. In Matthew when we read that these wise men “presented unto Him gifts, gold, frankincense and myrrh,” we need to pause and consider the significance of these gifts. Gold speaks of Deity, as a study of the Tabernacle makes plain. Frankincense gives forth its perfume only as it is brought into contact with fire. Myrrh speaks of suffering, and is associated with the death and burial of our Lord. Thus these wise men, by the gifts they presented to Him, expressed first, their faith in His essential and eternal Deity; second, their appreciation of the fragrance of His sinless life which should ascend, as a sweet perfume, to His Father; and third, their estimation of the virtue and value of His vicarious sufferings, by which the redemption of humanity should be accomplished.
Temple: Rev. 7.15; 11.19; 14.15,17; 15.5,6,8; 16.1, 17; 21.22
Ark: 11.19
Censer: 8.3,5
Golden Incense Altar: 8.3; 8.5; 9.13
From TAB-33c – Entering God’s Presence (020526PM) – https://youtu.be/fov1B7oMptE
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