Finale Revelation and Imagination Daily Devotional- 25

REVELATION 4:8 | ⁸ And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and inside. Day and night without ceasing they sing, “Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God the Almighty, who was and is and is to come.”

ISAIAH 6:3 | ³ And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.”

EXODUS 3:14 | ¹⁴ God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I am has sent me to you.’”

The ceaseless song of the four living creatures, like Paul’s call for us to ceaseless prayer, indicates an attitude or disposition of the soul. The threefold chant is a Hebraic way to create a superlative.         Instead of “holy, holier, holiest,” the word holy is repeated to show unique holiness. The phrase “who was and is and is to come” refers to the revealing of the divine name to Moses, Yahweh, standing for “I am who I am;” I will be who I will be. John echoes the famous sanctus passage from Isaiah 6, where the prophet meets God. Like the Alpha and Omega language in Chapter 1, verse 8, these references identify God as existing and ruling long before and long after any earthly power.

Notice how the vision of John is deeply connected to the Old Testament and its conception of God.

How would this be reassuring for Christians suffering persecution?

Tags: persecution, christians