When John enters heaven, he stumbles into a worship service. Four living creatures offer praise “day and night without cease” (anapausis), like the saints in 7:15 (like the temple servants in Leviticus 8:35; 1 Chronicles 9:33).
The Lord exacts ceaseless day-and-night worship later on in the book: Those who worship the beast and his image, who are sealed with his seal, are tormented forever (14:9-12). The Lord pours a libation of wrath over them, and their smoke rises like a continuous offering(v. 10). The same fate awaits the beasts and the dragon (20:10).
Worship appears to be inescapable. Either worship God day and night, or worship beasts and dragons. Either way, the worship will be without cessation.
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
The Church in the Age of Therapy
In 1966, Philip Rieff wrote in The Triumph of the Therapeutic that “Religious man was born to…
Canada’s Deadliest Blind Spot
On September 20, the Daily Mail ran a story with the provocative headline, “Our 83-year-old Christian grandmother…
The Faithful Joy of Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen
Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen seem to have had little in common. She favored rhinestones; he wore…
