The Twenty-Four Elders Worship

Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to the one seated on the throne, the twenty-four elders fall down and worship. They lay their crowns before the throne and sing.

The elders are beings with authority and status. They're clothed in white, which represents victory. They're crowned, which represents rulership. But when they encounter the one seated on the throne, they immediately recognize his supremacy. They don't hold onto their status. They prostrate themselves.

Their song celebrates creation: 'You created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.' Everything depends on the one on the throne. Authority, power, rulership, existence itself flow from him. The elders' worship is acknowledgment of ultimate dependence.