I came across this in my Bible reading today:
The twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.” – Revelation 4:10-11
This is where the vision of John begins, he’s brought into a vision of Heaven by the Spirit starting in chapter 4, and this is the first thing he sees: the 24 elders seated on thrones worshiping the Lord forever.
The 24 elders is symbolic, standing for the whole plan of God coming to its culmination at this moment – 12 are for the tribes of Israel, God’s plan in the old covenant for revealing himself the world, and the 12 apostles, God’s plan for revealing himself to the world through the church. That number 12 was so significant in the New Testament, that once Judas betrayed Jesus, he had to be replaced to keep the number at 12 (Acts 1). So we see here the whole plan of God was to gather worshipers from every tribe, tongue, and nation to bring glory to the king of heaven and earth. They say with their actions, casting their own crowns, that the only one worthy of worship is God himself. And the song they sing is telling –
God created all thing, and all things, all creatures, great and small, owe their very existence to him. We exist because of the will of God – and we were created to worship him. Remember that, about your existence, though you are given so much privilege in vocation, friendship, impact in the world – that he is the one who gave you life.