Finale Revelation and Imagination Daily Devotional- 26
by David Joynt on July 01, 2021
Stress Test Devotional May 4
May 04, 2024
REVELATION 4:9-11 | 9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to the one who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall before the one who is seated on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever; they cast their crowns before the throne, singing, 11 You are worthy, our Lord and God.
Suetonius tells us that the Emperor Domitian began to insist, in the 90’s AD that citizens address him as master dominus et deus, our lord and god, and to offer sacrifices in his name. It was this demand that was intolerable for Christians, who recognized one dominus and one deus.
Notice the deliberate way this same phrase is highlighted at the beginning of verse 11. Only the one true God is worthy to receive our honor, our worship, and our devotion. This is a direct challenge to the divine claims of Domitian and the growing influence of the emperor cult. The phrase, “you are worthy” was chanted to emperors who were given a triumph, a kind of processional through streets of Rome after a military victory. Again, John’s vision undercuts the deification of people and power other than God. Human political projects are not sacred, in themselves, in any way, though they can in some ways serve Godly ends.
How do you divide and connect faith and politics?
