In the 4th chapter of Revelation, John describes a scene. He sees a central throne, with one seated there. “He who sat there appeared like jasper and carnelian, and round the throne was a rainbow that looked like emerald.”
Around this central throne were twenty-four additional thrones. Seated on these were “twenty-four elders, clad in white garments, with golden crowns upon their heads.”
This is a splendid view, and the description is often used by those wishing to say something about heaven.
What interests me about the scene in chapter 4 is what is happening. There are all the fine jewels and crowns, but the action is the praise of God. “And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever; they cast their crowns before the throne, singing.”
Some would want to depict heaven as more of the best of what we enjoy here. Some might speak of heaven as a place where we enjoy comforts denied us in our earthly life. This scene from Revelation 4 would suggest that heaven is an opportunity to continually worship God.
Perhaps we don’t need to wait, in order to be transported into heaven. Maybe, we can begin to live there now. Is not the opportunity to praise God an experience of heaven? Might it become such in our lives?
I am not suggesting that we spend 24/7 reciting the prayers in the ELW, or singing every one of the hymns in our praise and worship folder. Continually praising God can take the form of living life intentionally. Our ceaseless devotion to the One who sits on the throne is shown in living the life our creator would hope us to live.
Heaven may not be so much a place as it is a way of existing. It may not be something we need to wait to experience. It may be, as Jesus often said, close at hand.
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