Originally posted: 12/13/2021

And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say,
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come,” (4:8).

And suddenly… we are ushered into the Throne Room of God; and there’s a lot of symbolism going on. John heard things like and he saw things like; and it’s clear that words were not adequate to convey what he saw and heard. But what stands out above the sounds and the sights is One; One Who is seated on His Throne; One Who Is Holy, Holy, Holy.

Consider Him Who Is Holy, Holy, Holy

The Throne Room is filled with worshipers who are proclaiming that He Is “Holy, holy, holy.” The use of ascribing this attribute repeated three times in worship is used only twice in the Bible. Only twice in all of Scripture, once in the Old Testament and once here in the last book of the New Testament, do we hear, “Holy, holy, holy.”

And both occurrences offer undeniable similarities. Both take place in a vision as the Lord is seated on His Throne. Both take place in the heavenlies. And in both visions, it is the heavenly beings who are declaring the Lord to be, “Holy, holy, holy.”

In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. ² Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. ³ And one called out to another and said,
“Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts,
The whole earth is full of His glory,” (Isaiah 6:1-3).

Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne…  ⁵ Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God; ⁶ and before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. ⁷ The first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. ⁸ And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say,
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come,” (4:2, 5-8).

From our three year journey through His Scriptures, we have certainly learned to pay attention when the Lord repeats Himself, for there is an emphatic emphasis placed on that which is repeated.

Consider the quote below by R.C. Sproul, theologian and founder of Ligonier Ministries (“that exists to proclaim, teach, and defend the holiness of God in all its fullness to as many people as possible”), who touched millions through his Renewing Your Mind radio broadcast in the United States as well as internationally.       

“On a handful of occasions the Bible repeats something to the third degree. To mention something three times in succession is to elevate it to the superlative degree. Only once in Scripture is an attribute of God elevated to the third degree. The Bible says that God is holy, holy, holy. The Bible never says that God is love, love, love or mercy, mercy, mercy or justice, justice, justice.”

And although we cannot fully grasp how truly Holy He Is, It is His Holiness that is emphasized above all His other attributes, for it is His Holiness that sets Him apart from all His creation.

From Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance:

Holy (Hebrew, Isaiah 6:3): 6918. קָדוֹשׁ qāḏôš: An adjective meaning sacred, holy… This word is often used to refer to God as being inherently holy, sacred, and set apart (Ps. 22:3[4]; Isa. 6:3; 57:15); and as being free from the attributes of fallen humanity (Hos. 11:9).

Holy (Greek, Revelation 4:8): 40. ἅγιος hágios; fem. hagía, neut. hágion (39), adj. from hágos (n.f.) ..Holy, set apart,…

In both the Old Testament and the New Testament He Is Holy, Sacred, Set Apart; for He Is the Same God: One God Who Is Holy, Holy, Holy; One God Who Is Sacred, Sacred, Sacred; One God Who Is Set Apart, Set Apart, Set Apart.

“I and the Father are one,” (John 10:30).

And perhaps it is because He Is so Sacred, so Set Apart, so Holy, Holy, Holy, that it is not humans, but the heavenly beings who are able to proclaim His Holiness. For as Charles Spurgeon said, “Only as we become heavenly can we comprehend heavenly things.”

From Got Questions.org:

The holiness of God is the most difficult of all God’s attributes to explain, partly because it is one of His essential attributes that is not shared, inherently, by man. We are created in God’s image, and we can share many of His attributes, to a much lesser extent, of course—love, mercy, faithfulness, etc. But some of God’s attributes, such as omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence, will never be shared by created beings. Similarly, holiness is not something that we will possess as an inherent part of our nature; we only become holy in relationship to Christ. It is an imputed holiness. Only in Christ do we “become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). God’s holiness is what separates Him from all other beings, what makes Him separate and distinct from everything else. God’s holiness is more than just His perfection or sinless purity; it is the essence of His “other-ness,” His transcendence. God’s holiness embodies the mystery of His awesomeness and causes us to gaze in wonder at Him as we begin to comprehend just a little of His majesty… https://www.gotquestions.org/holy-holy-holy.html
(For further insight on this, I highly recommend reading the entire article posted in the link above).

As we attempt to wrap our minds around this unfathomable attribute of our Holy God, let’s gaze in wonder at Him in His Inspired Word, that we might comprehend just a bit of His “other-ness” as revealed in His Majestic Holiness.

There is no god like Him Who Is Holy, Holy, Holy.

“Who is like You among the gods, O Lord?
Who is like You, majestic in holiness,
Awesome in praises, working wonders?” (Exodus 15:11).

There is no one besides Him Who Is Holy, Holy, Holy.

“There is no one holy like the Lord,
Indeed, there is no one besides You,
Nor is there any rock like our God,” (1 Samuel 2:2).

There is no one who is equal to Him Who Is Holy, Holy, Holy.

“To whom then will you liken Me
That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One, (Isaiah 40:25).

He Is our Creator and King Who Is Holy, Holy, Holy.

“I am the Lord, your Holy One,
The Creator of Israel, your King.” (Isaiah 43:15).

He Is the High and Exalted One Who Is Holy, Holy, Holy.

For thus says the high and exalted One
Who lives forever, whose name is Holy,
“I dwell on a high and holy place…” (Isaiah 57:15).

He is the High Priest, separated from sinners, Who Is Holy, Holy, Holy.

For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens, (Hebrews 7:26).

He is the Lamb of God, the Lord God Almighty, Great and Marvelous, Righteous and True, King of the Nations; and who will not fear and glorify Him alone Who Is Holy, Holy, Holy?

And they sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,
“Great and marvelous are Your works,
O Lord God, the Almighty;
Righteous and true are Your ways,
King of the nations!
⁴ “Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name?
For You alone are holy;
For all the nations will come and worship before You,
For Your righteous acts have been revealed,” (Revelation 15:3-4)

How do we respond to Him Who Is Holy, Holy, Holy?

While we may not see Him in His Throne Room in a vision, like John, He has Revealed to us in His Word that He is Holy, Holy, Holy. And an encounter with His Holiness will surely bring us face to face with our sinful condition, like Isaiah, and an understanding that without His cleansing and forgiveness of sins, we are ruined.

Then I said,
“Woe is me, for I am ruined!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I live among a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”
⁶ Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. ⁷ He touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.” (Isaiah 6:5-7).

And this Holy, Holy, Holy, Lamb of God, Lord God Almighty, Great and Marvelous, Righteous and True, King of the Nations loved us and gave His life that we would be released from our sins.

and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood—  (Revelation 1:5).

How can we not, like the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to Him? And how can we not, like the twenty-four elders fall down in worship before Him Who Is Holy, Holy, Holy?

And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, ¹⁰ the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
¹¹ “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created,” (4:9-11).

And while we know that this side of heaven, we will never be able to fully comprehend or explain His Holiness, we can, to the best of our understanding, bow before Him Who Is Sacred, Set Apart, and Holy, Holy, Holy; for He Is so very Worthy. And when we do, though He Is so very far above us and so very unlike us, He will make His dwelling with us in that place where we humbly confess our sins and acknowledge that He Alone Is Holy, Holy, Holy.

For thus says the high and exalted One
Who lives forever, whose name is Holy,
“I dwell on a high and holy place,
And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit
In order to revive the spirit of the lowly
And to revive the heart of the contrite,” (Isaiah 57:15).

As we continue our journey through the apocalyptic writings of John, it may be tempting to give prominence to the prophecies and symbolism. But let us remember where He has placed the emphasis. And if we approach our study of the end times with His Holiness in view, then surely our questions will fade in the light of Him Who Is Holy, Holy, Holy.

For with You is the fountain of life;
In Your light we see light, (Psalm 36:9).

And as we see Him in the Light of His Holiness, let us tremble before Him with the utmost desire to come before Him in the holiness He has imputed to us through Christ.

Worship the Lord in holy attire;
Tremble before Him, all the earth, (Psalm 96:9).

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him, (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Oh, Lord how we long to be obedient that we would not be conformed to who we once were, but who we now are in You. Lord, we acknowledge that You Alone are Holy, Holy, Holy, and we thank You that You have graciously called us to Yourself to become like You through our faith in Christ. Oh, may we answer Your call in humility and faith.

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, ¹⁵ but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; ¹⁶ because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:14-16).

Let’s Grow Together!