Scripture Reading: Revelation 7:1-17
Key Verse:
They are before the throne of God
Revelation 7:15
and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne
will shelter them with his presence.
When you drive in a city you need to watch out for one way street signs. One way streets are designs so that all the traffic points the same direction and there is no chance to meet another vehicle face to face.
When we saw the throne room in Revelation chapter 4, we saw the elders and the creatures continually singing praises to God while He sat motionless on His throne. Most of the time, this is our picture of heaven: a one-way street relationship in which, although we recognize God deserves all our praises, seems impersonal and boring.
In Revelation 7 we see more detailed picture of the throne room of heaven. A multitude of people from every tribe, tongue, and nation bring praise to God and to the Lamb. But this time God does not remain passive. He moves forward to meet His people and spreads out His protection over them and wipes away their tears while the Lamb guides them to springs of living water.
God’s relationship with us is a two-way street even in eternity. This is easy to forget while we are here on earth praising and serving and not able to physically see God’s movements towards us. But if you have trusted Christ as your Savior, God is on His throne, face to face with you, delighting in your praise, and leaning forward to give you protection, provision, and peace.
Comment below: what difference does it make to your expectations of heaven to picture God as active and not passive?
Rachel, Hi Sweet Lady!! I now have stronger Internet service, yeah and Praise God!!! Joining late in your summer study, hope that is ok? And (gulp) bear with me while I’m still learning this phone my kids got me 😳🤪☺️.
Wow, great question! I’ve never thought about God being active or passive in Heaven. I’m still growing and learning so much with Jesus everyday! That being said… I actually have no expectations what God should or should not be doing. He is God. 🙌🏻
It’s good to hear from you, Lisa! I am so glad you are catching up on our Summer Series through Revelation. If you decide to read the whole book Revelation this summer and have any questions, let me know. The answer might be “I don’t know,” but we could have some good conversations.
Hi Rachel, I’m new to reading your blog and would love to join this summer study. I found you probably the way most of us have…searching for a deeper understanding of God’s Word. So often I shy away from those ‘hard parts’ but the Lord highlighted your blog to me and here I am! As for your question about expectations of heaven… I think the ‘stereo-typical’ impression of heaven can lean more to a ‘passive’. I think that perspective is probably driven by our imagery of earthly kings who are removed from their subjects. Of course the Lord Almighty, the sovereign King of the Universe is High above ALL but He choses to be intimately connected us…SOooo I think heaven is something so foreign to this side of reality it’s difficult to understand just how awesome it will be. I wholeheartedly believe God will be ‘active’…that is who He is. HE has engaged us with redemption through His Son, He never changes and He is Love itself! My expectations are pretty high! LOL
Hi Lorraine! I’m so glad you are here on Read the Hard Parts and that you are ready to dig into some hard parts! I love how you likened God’s active role in heaven to His active role in redemption! So true! Heaven is just going to be so much more amazing that we can ever imagine!
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