Wednesday 3 March 2010

A Lenten Conundrum on the subject of worship and humility

"The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne...." (Rev 4:10, KJV - so much more authorized than "The Message" )

Leaves me with a conundrum.
The apostle (or otherwise - see discussion here) watches the elders casting their crowns before the throne.  But he never sees them pick them up again.  So
(a) Is there an infinite supply of crowns in heaven?
(b) Did he just have his attention distracted by someone having a plague, or blowing a trumpet, or riding a Beast or something, and therefore didn't notice all the elders picking them up?
(c) Do they have crown-retrieving spaniels, or servants or something of that nature
or
(d) Is it in some way metaphorical?

3 comments :

  1. Is it possible that they were making the crowns - casting them out of metal? Or maybe some are making them while the others are throwing them?

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  2. Thank you both for your comments.
    Albatross - I think you may have struck on something. Let me just check what the *Message* has to say:

    They worshiped the age-after-age Living One. They threw their crowns at the foot of the Throne, chanting...

    "Age-after-age Living One"? Still, they're definitely throwing their crowns. Some way to treat a crown that is.

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  3. Were they rubber crowns that bounced back to the throwers?

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