The Book of Revelation, the Revelation of St. John the Divine, the Apocalypse, call it by which ever name you prefer, (but never in the plural - "Revelations" - also, please don't refer to a single Psalm as in the plural , for example, "Turn with me to Psalms 23." Sorry, just a pet peeve of mine.) the Book of Revelation has been read, discussed, argued, interpreted, misinterpreted, dissected and analyzed since the day it left the island of Patmos late in the first century.
Usually the Book of Revelation is seen as a prophetic book that foretells what will happen in the final days of the Last Days or at the End of the Age. The number of interpretations of the details of Revelation nearly numbers the number of angelic beings seen in the Book ("ten thousand time ten thousand and thousands of thousands." Of course, I speak hyperbolically.) Yes, I agree, Revelation tells us what will happen with, to, on and in earth and heaven in the future - perhaps near future for us.
But notice something else in the Book. We see a glimpse of Heaven. We get a taste of worship in Heaven and around the Throne of God. Observe the sights and sounds and smells. See the angels bowing in unison; hear them worshiping in unison; smell the incense; note the altar, the lampstands and other sacred articles that are also seen in Jewish Temple-worship. We see structured, ordered and unified worship. We see....... (drum roll please) ........... LITURGY!
This is just an interesting observation that causes me to ponder.
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