In Reply to: Re: Bible Questions posted by Rocky on February 19, 2006 at 05:50:57:
Hi FRED,
The question about worshiping God is a good one & I’ve wondered the exact same thing myself, even though I am a Christian. And thinking of it as similar to Family-style praise sessions where everyone’s droning on, ‘Thaaaaank, you Jesus. Praaaaaiiise you Jesus. Thaaaaaank you Jesus. Praaaaiiise you Jesus....’ would drive not only God crazy, but the worshipers as well. You wrote:
OK here’s some verses from Revelations the first lot describe a bunch of beasts that God created to worship Him & they do so 24/7. See verse 11. Can you fathom an all knowing, all seeing God needing a bunch of beasts sitting around telling Him how wonderful He is all the time. It would be a constant mantra, enough to drive anyone crazy.’
The verses you quoted are:
8 And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.
9 And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,
10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
11Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
Rocky’s answer sums it up pretty good: ‘I figure anyone who can put together what dimensional plane we are living on & knows everything about reality all at once is probably ok to be having those beasts saying good things about him, particularly if it is what they like to do.’
I’d like to add a few thoughts. First of all, despite the very literal interpretation that Berg gave to things mentioned in the book of Revelations, MUCH of it is symbolic. It is not a historical book like 2 Kings or Acts & a large number of sincere Christians don’t think for one minute that the 12,000 furlongs (Rev.21:16) cited for the measurements of a square city are literal. These numbers are widely interpreted to be symbolic of completeness & perfection.
What heaven will be like I don’t know, but I’ve long ago thrown out my “Heaven Posters” with swimming pools, enemy-blasting ranges & see-through walls with couples having sex. Shortly after leaving the cult, I was talking with a Christian lady & mentioned that I thought all the descriptions of heaven in Revelations were literal, & she looked at me in surprise & said she’d never met anyone who believed that before.
I agree with you that if the four beasts literally “rest not day & night, saying, Holy, holy, holy” that it would be a constant mantra, enough to drive anyone crazy. If you take this scene literally, it becomes crazier. Note that every time the beasts repeat those words, the 24 elders pluck off their crowns & throw them at God’s feet. So going for a literal interpretation you not only have the mantra going on non-stop, the noise of rattling crowns as wel & the elders' mantra of praise. Those 24 elders would have to exist ONLY to throw their crowns down, day and night without stopping.
I believe this scene is largely symbolic, intended to show God’s greatness & that he does deserve to be worshiped. But if, as Rocky mentioned (for the sake of argument) God is vast & powerful enough to create this world & all worlds, then that makes him God. & whether you call it ‘giving praise’ or simply stating the facts that he is that awe-inspiring & powerful, it would be true.
I don’t walk around all day & all night praising God (any more than I walk around all day & night 'praying without ceasing') but I do acknowledge that God is worthy of people speakingwords about him. As the verse you quoted says, ‘Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory & honour & power: for thou hast created all things.’ It doesn’t happen non-stop like some kind of tape-recorded mantra, but I believe that God is worthy of praise. And most of it is probably not in words.
IMO, a beautiful butterfly going past, is, by it very existence, praising God. Without a word or a sound, without even thinking of God or knowing he exists, the butterfly is praise. Me living my life as best I can is praising God. It’s the same with a beautiful sunset. ‘The heavens declare (show) the glory of God.’
Many Christians think the four beasts are not literal creatures, but representations of the various gods of nations (in lion, eagle, ox representations). If this is the case, then these beasts worshiping God is a symbolic picture of all spiritual powers acknowledging that God is supreme. And consider beasts with eyes all over their bodies. THAT is over the top. They'd never even be able to sit or lay down. That's widely accepted by Christians as symbolizing all-seeing abilities.
I have come to the conclusion that praising God is probably more for our benefit than God’s. I couldn’t worship a praise-hungry, ego-centric, insecure God. But ME knowing that he is so awesome & powerful gives me a more realistic view of myself & the problems I face in this world, & lets me know that God is power.