Rev. 4:8b ... "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come."
In one of our most beloved hymns we sing the following stanza:
"Let us then be true and faithful, trusting, serving every day; Just one glimpse of Him in glory will the toils of life repay."
Men have always wondered what it would be like to see God, and some have expressed a great desire to obtain such a vision. Moses once inquired of God, "I pray you, show me Your glory," (Exo. 33:18). And the apostle Philip was even so forward as to request of Jesus, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us," (John 14:8). God answered Moses, "I will make My goodness pass before you ... [but] you cannot see My face; for no one can see Me and live," (Exo. 33:19-20). Then He put Moses in a "cleft of the rock" which He covered with His hand until His presence had passed Him by. Moses was then allowed to look out and see the back of God," (vs. 21-23). Jesus answered Philip's request with the profound statement, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father ... I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me." (John 14:9-10). Moses saw God's "goodness" and His "back." Philip and the other apostles saw the Father expressed through the personality and character of Jesus. (See also Heb. 1:3).
In a wonderfully magnificent vision in Revelation 4 the apostle John was invited to "come up here," (v.1), where he was highly privileged to behold a representation of God and His heavenly court. He saw the Father sitting on His throne, from which proceeded emanations of variegated lights and "flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder." Before the throne was a "sea of glass like crystal," and between the throne and this sea were "seven lamps of fire burning." Beyond the sea sat twenty-four elders robed in white and wearing golden crowns. Nearest to God and on each side was a "living creature," which more accurately should be called a "living being." These four Beings continually gave "glory and honor and thanks" unto God, even as the twenty-four elders "worship Him." Concerning the identity of the Living Beings, there are several parallels between them and those seen by the prophet in Ezekiel chapters 1 and 10. In Ezk. 10:20 they are called "cherubim." They seem to be spirits of higher order than angels, since Rev. 5:11 refers to them in distinction to angels.
It was the cherubim who uttered the word of the text above as an expression of worship to God: "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come." In this majestic affirmation they confessed -1- God's holiness, -2- God's supreme power, and -3- God's eternal being. Other expressions in this short chapter call our attention to four more of the supreme attributes of God: -4- in v.1 God's perfect prescience is mentioned in His promise to John, "and I will show you what must take place after these things;" -5- in v.11 God's incomparable worth is confessed by the elders, who say, "You are worthy, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power;" -6- also in v.11 there is emphasized God's creative power when the elders exclaim that "You did create all things, and because of Your will they existed and were created;" -7- in v.3 God's radiant beauty is expressed by the symbolism of light reflected from precious jewels.
Here on earth we cannot behold God by our physical vision, but we can still appreciate John's experience and profit from what he saw and described in terms that strain the capacity of human language to express it. Our reverence and awe of God in response to learning these seven supreme attributes of His divine character will prepare us to enter His presence some day, look upon Him in His supreme glory, and then live in wonderful communion with Him through countless ages.
