Holy! Holy! Holy!

Holy, Holy, Holy

“2 And immediately I [John] was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. … 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,”Rev. 4:2-9

In Revelation 4:2-9, the reader gets a glimpse of the throne room of Heaven. Another similar glimpse is revealed in Isaiah 6:1-3. In both views, we read of similar creatures that surround the heavenly throne and worship God.

These creatures (Revelation 4 calls them “beasts;” Isaiah identifies them as “seraphim”), because of their nearness to God’s throne, certainly know quite a bit about Him They know more about what God has created, than we do. We only see what is here on Earth. They look about Heaven and see creatures, including seraphim, cherubim, angels, and other glorious things, that we cannot even imagine. However, they were not praising God for all that is in His Heaven.

Those creatures glorifying God most likely know more about the universe God has created than we do. They must know that all the stars are more than our limited human minds can image. It most likely would not surprise them to know that the largest star we know about is VY Canis Majoris, which is estimated at over 1,800 times the size of our large sun. Yet, all those amazing stellar creations were created by God in one day. However, they are not singing His praises about His wonderful creations.

They certainly must know about God’s patience in allowing earth’s inhabitants many opportunities to come to and obey Him. They also must know how so many curse His name, and openly rebel against their own Creator. Those creatures know of the Almighty’s wrath, that He can release when it is time and necessary. Yet, with all they know about what God has done for all those in Heaven and here on Earth, they are not praising Him for His character.

In both instances, in Isaiah and Revelation, they praised Him for His holiness. “… Holy! Holy! Holy! …” cried the Heavenly host. Of all the wonderful things those creatures must know about Him they are most impressed and respectful of God’s holiness! There is no sin in heaven, as God cannot be near such wickedness, so those singing God’s praises do not sin, yet they praise God for His holiness!

Holiness is important to God. That is why He also desires us to be Holy. We certainly will never be as holy as our Creator, but Christians should still strive to live a holy life. It is expected of us to flee and avoid sin and emulate our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Our goal should be to please God by making our lives as holy as we can. Living a holy life is possible, or He would not expect it of us!

“But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” I Peter 1:15-16
“Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God.” Lev. 20:7

“The essence of true holiness consists of conforming to the nature and will of God.” — Dr. Lucas

This article was featured in The Bible View #563.