Today’s image served as a sort of ‘logo’ for a sermon series on Revelation that I preached in the Fall of 2024.
The image encapsulates what I believe is the theological and visual heart of the entire Apocalypse, namely, the whole, seven-fold cosmos gathered in doxological orbit around the glory of God as revealed in the slain and living Jesus Christ (Rev.5:9-14).
At the center of the image is the resurrection-illumined Pierced One (note that the back of the throne doubles as the open tomb, in whose interpretive light the crucified Jesus is revealed). Over him, ‘anointing’ him, as it were, are the seven lamps / torches / eyes of the Spirit. Christ is depicted at the center of the throne as the true ‘icon’ of the unseen God.
Around him are 1) the four living creatures, representing the whole created order. Beyond these are 2) the 24 elders represented as 24 stars. Beyond these are five further rings of worship: 3) the angels, 4) the creatures in heaven, 5) on earth, 6) under the earth, and 7) in the sea. Together, these make up the heptamerous wheel of the cosmos, turning in worship around the true, organizing, and all-defining center of reality: the crucified and risen Jesus.
In this series, I plan to lead our congregation through seven different images given by the Spirit to the Church in the book of Revelation. The goal is for these images to become pillars of our worldview, such that our perceptions, priorities, passions, and actions are radically reconstructed in light of the truth as it is in Christ.
At the heart of this endeavor is the supreme image of the Apocalypse revealed in Rev. 4:1-5:14, the image I’ve tried to illustrate in today’s picture.
