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The entire
4th chapter of Revelation is a vision of the throne
room of God. The seven churches have been addressed
and it is now time to move into the task of
revealing those things that must shortly come to
pass.
God is
sovereign over all His creation, therefore it is
only fitting for the first vision to establish His
glory and supreme power. Before any of the trials
of the Christians, before any of the atrocities of
their enemies, we first get to see the supreme God,
creator and ruler of the universe on His throne. As
mentioned in previous studies, the figurative
language is not meant to be taken literally, rather
it is designed to illustrate things by association
in the imaginations of the first readers.
Before we try and break
every aspect of this vision down, we are first going
to take a broad view of the vision as a whole. The
throne scene of chapter 4 is a very easy vision to
understand so this will be a relatively easy and
straightforward exercise. The means by which we
first look at this vision will form the pattern for
later more difficult visions.
The primary goal of these
lessons are not so much to break each aspect of the
visions down and explain them, but to teach others
how to do so for themselves. I can just about
guarantee that I will not be completely accurate on
my interpretation of all of these visions,
especially in view of the broad range of opinion
among scholars out there. The approach we are going
to use for these visions is going to be to allow the
Bible to explain the details to the greatest degree
possible and to try to choose what would make the
most sense to someone reading this letter in the
first century. We are going to keep in mind that
those living in the first century are going to read
this letter and naturally associate it with the
circumstances under which they are living. And for
good reason because the Revelation was addressed to
them, it was delivered to them first, the visions
described therein fit their historical circumstances
so closely that it cannot be coincidence. Therefore
we are going to look at this marvelous work, to the
greatest degree possible, through their eyes.
The Broad View of Chapter
4. Who are the characters in the vision? What are
they doing? What activities are taking place
overall? The answers to these and similar questions
will better help us to realize what these visions
mean in the grand scheme of things.
God is the chief and
primary subject in view. He is pictured as being
seated on a throne. The language describing Him
paints a picture of glory, power, and majesty in the
imaginations of the readers. God is being
worshipped and exalted by all the rest of the
characters of the vision continually. Who worships
God? All of His creation who willingly choose to do
so. Now that we have formed a general picture of
what the vision is all about, keeping that in mind,
we will now move on to the specifics.
Looking back in the old
testament we see Ezekiel's vision of the throne
scene. It is of great interest that we observe the
similarities between the two and consider that the
first readers of this Revelation, especially the
Jewish Christians would be familiar with the imagery
and would be able to visualize an association
between the two. As we look at John's vision of
God's throne, let's keep in mind Ezekiel's as well.
Ezekiel 1:25-28
25 And there was a voice above the firmament that
was over their heads: when they stood, they let down
their wings.
26 And above the firmament that was over their
heads was the likeness of a throne, as the
appearance of a sapphire stone; and upon the
likeness of the throne was a likeness as the
appearance of a man upon it above.
27 And I saw as it were glowing metal, as the
appearance of fire within it round about, from the
appearance of his loins and upward; and from the
appearance of his loins and downward I saw as it
were the appearance of fire, and there was
brightness round about him.
28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the
cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of
the brightness round about. This was the appearance
of the likeness of the glory of Jehovah. And when I
saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of
one that spake.
Revelation 4:1
After these things I saw, and behold, a door
opened in heaven, and the first voice that I heard,
(a voice) as of a trumpet speaking with me, one
saying, Come up hither, and I will show thee the
things which must come to pass hereafter.
After the messages to the
churches were delivered, John looked and saw into
heaven. And he heard the same voice he heard
earlier speaking to him. This voice was like a
trumpet, coming through loud and clear and it was
telling him to approach and see the things which
must happen later.
Revelation 4:2
Straightway I was in the Spirit: and behold,
there was a throne set in heaven, and one sitting
upon the throne;
And immediately John was
under the influence of the Holy Spirit and he was
shown a vision of a throne placed in heaven and
there was someone setting on that throne. A throne
represents a place from which someone of authority
rules his subjects.
Revelation 4:3
and he that sat (was) to look upon like a jasper
stone and a sardius: and (there was) a rainbow round
about the throne, like an emerald to look upon.
And He that sat upon the
throne shone like diamonds and sardius stones.
Sardius stones were a bright red stone found mainly
near Sardis and named for it. They are said to be
the modern day equivalent of the carnelian. The
first readers of Revelation knew exactly what they
were and it is possible they would associate the
blood red color of a sardius stone with Jesus' blood
of the new covenant. God's everlasting covenant
never to destroy the earth with a flood again was
sealed with a
rainbow in the clouds. The
rainbow would likely symbolize an everlasting
covenant with God to the minds of the first
readers.
Revelation 4:4
And round about the throne (were) four and twenty
thrones: and upon the thrones (I saw) four and
twenty elders sitting, arrayed in white garments;
and on their heads crowns of gold.
The twenty-four elders were
setting on thrones in this image. Thrones and
crowns are representative of a position of authority
so these elders are going to be prominent figures in
the minds of the first readers. There were
twelve Patriarchs of the tribes of Israel, the
sons of Jacob, and there were
twelve original apostles of Jesus Christ. It is
almost certain the 24 elders mentioned in this
vision are representative of these individuals.
These elders, dressed in white which represents
purity, were seated round about the throne of God
which places Him as the centerpiece of their
attention. All eyes are on God.
Revelation 4:5
And out of the throne proceed lightnings and
voices and thunders. And (there was) seven lamps of
fire burning before the throne, which are the seven
Spirits of God;
The lightnings, voices and thunderings are
reminiscent of the conditions surrounding Mount
Sinai while the people waited for the giving of the
law. "And it came to pass on the third day, when
it was morning, that there were thunders and
lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and
the voice of a trumpet exceeding loud; and all the
people that were in the camp trembled. And Moses
brought forth the people out of the camp to meet
God; and they stood at the nether part of the
mount. And mount Sinai, the whole of it, smoked,
because Jehovah descended upon it in fire; and the
smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace,
and the whole mount quaked greatly" (Exodus
19:16-18).
The seven lamps of fire are
described as being the seven Spirits of God. We
know God only has one Spirit (Ephesians 4:4), so the
seven is therefore representative of the totality of
God's Spirit which rounds out the image of His
complete power and sovereignty. It is only fitting
that a vision of the throne room of God include His
Holy Spirit, present with Him in a position of
authority, glory and power.
Revelation 4:6
"and before the throne, as it were a sea of glass
like a crystal; and in the midst of the throne, and
round about the throne, four living creatures full
of eyes before and behind."
In the imaginations of the 1st
century Christians, the sea, being a source of many
a storm and the death of many a mariner, represents
something violent, unpredictable and dangerous. But
the sea in this vision is still, calm and tranquil.
Jesus calmed the storms as recorded in Mark 4:39.
As powerful as God is and as ominous as the thunders
and lightnings are, those in His immediate presence
are on calm, peaceful waters, having nothing to
fear. Those standing about the throne of God have
come through the storms and are on a sea that has
been calmed, at peace and is still.
The sea of glass like a
crystal is a barrier between the Christians and God
on His throne. Christians walk by faith and not by
site, not being allowed in the literal presence of
God in His throne room. At the end time when the
redeemed inherit their home in heaven, they will
have to access God through the limitations of any
barriers. They will be in his literal presence. In
Revelation 21 we are given a vision of Heaven and in
verse one, the sea which is present in this vision
is absent.
The living creatures in
John's vision are similar to Ezekiel's vision of the
four creatures in chapter 1;
"And out of the midst
thereof came the likeness of four living creatures.
And this was their appearance: they had the likeness
of a man" (Ezekiel 1:5). "As
for their rims, they were high and dreadful; and
they four had their rims full of eyes round about"
(Ezekiel 1:18).
The number
four was symbolic of the world in which we live
and when the first readers saw this number they
would then associate it with all life on this
earth. In interpreting what these living creatures
are, it is important to examine their
characteristics and what they were doing. They were
alive and were assembled about God's throne, in
verse 9 they are worshipping God on His throne,
giving thanks to Him. All mankind is commanded to
give "thanks always for all things unto God and
the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ"
(Ephesians 5:20). Examine the activities and
qualities of these figurative animals and compare
them with who or what we know in existence that
would best match their characteristics and
behavior. The four living creatures assembled all
around the throne are representative of all of
mankind in God's creation who are saved.
Revelation 4:7
"And the first creature (was) like a lion, and
the second creature like a calf, and the third
creature had a face as of a man, and the fourth
creature (was) like a flying eagle."
These characteristics are exactly like those of the
creatures in Ezekiel's vision; "As for the
likeness of their faces, they had the face of a man;
and they four had the face of a lion on the right
side; and they four had the face of an ox on the
left side; they four had also the face of an eagle"
(Ezekiel 1:10).
Looking closely at the
creatures in Ezekiel's vision we see one of their
characteristics that sheds tremendous light on what
they represented. "And they went every one
straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they
went; they turned not when they went" (Ezekiel
1:12). The creatures in Ezekiel's vision followed
wherever the Spirit led never turning from their
course.
All four creatures
represented mankind as a whole, each individual
creature exhibited one of man's unique qualities
when taken as a whole separate mankind utterly from
the rest of the animal kingdom and from the lost.
The saved who were assembled about the throne were
noble like a lion, domesticated and in servitude
like a calf or an ox, wise like men who had ears and
listened to what the Spirit said they came from the
far corners of the earth, soaring high above the
lost of the world, like eagles on wings. Noble, in
faithful service, wise, and soaring high above the
lost on earth. Who is this a picture of? They are
the saved of the earth that follow wherever the
Spirit leads.
Revelation 4:8
"and the four living creatures, having each one
of them six wings, are full of eyes round about and
within: and they have no rest day and night, saying,
Holy, holy, holy, (is) the Lord God, the Almighty,
who was and who is and who is to come."
Here we have the four living creatures praising God
in the same fashion as the Seraphim in Isaiah 6:2-3,
"Above him stood the seraphim: each one had six
wings; with twain he covered his face, and with
twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did
fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy,
holy, holy, is Jehovah of hosts: the whole earth is
full of his glory."
Some have suggested that
the living creatures of Revelation 4 are
representative of the Seraphim in Isaiah because of
the similarity of the six wings. The living
creatures in Ezekiel have four wings each while the
Seraphim each have six which match the wing count of
the four living creatures in Revelation. It should
be noted that the number of Seraphim in attendance
around the throne of God is not mentioned while the
living creatures of Ezekiel are and are described
with the same facial features and animal
likenesses. It is often the case in Revelation that
John draws on the imagery of numerous accounts in
order to complete the total picture of what he is
seeing in his own vision. The purpose for this is
to refer the reader's mind back to other Biblical
imagery to help form in his mind a picture of the
vision in John's mind. It is helpful to focus more
on the activities than the specifics. What's going
on? What are they doing? Who is being worshipped
and who is doing the worshipping and how are they
doing it? It is this Bible student's opinion that
the imagery of the four living creatures is not an
either/or case, rather they represent a combination
of the two in appearance and activity.
The four figurative
creatures in John's vision had more wings than an
ordinary eagle. The characteristics one would
associate an eagle with are amplified in this vision
threefold. These creatures never cease from
worshipping and thanking and giving honor to God.
This is representative of an everlasting eternity in
presence with God where the saved will honor and
glorify Him who existed before anything did, is
living now and will come again which is
representative of Jesus Christ.
Revelation 4:9-10
"And when the living creatures shall give glory
and honor and thanks to him that sitteth on the
throne, to him that liveth for ever and ever, the
four and twenty elders shall fall down before him
that sitteth on the throne, and shall worship him
that liveth for ever and ever, and shall cast their
crowns before the throne, saying,"
And when all of saved mankind from the earth worship
God on His throne who lives forever and ever, the 24
elders fall down before the throne and worship God
with them, throwing their crowns on the ground at
the foot of God's throne. The elders are not in any
way the recipients of worship. The worship of the
living creatures and the elders is directed wholly
and solely upon God. All the figurative crowns,
which came from God, are removed and thrown at His
feet. When God is worshipped, all eyes, all glory,
all reverence, all praise and all attention is
directed solely at Him.
Revelation 4:11
"Worthy art thou, our Lord and our God, to
receive the glory and the honor and the power: for
thou didst create all things, and because of thy
will they were, and were created."
God claims to be worthy to receive glory, honor and
power. This is in contrast to those of the first
century who demanded to be worshipped as Gods on
earth but were not worthy. The word "for"
introduces an explanation of what was first stated.
The Roman emperors didn't create anything. It was
not because of their will that anything existed.
They built a lot of temples to their own glory but
they didn't create anything. It was God's will that
all things were created and existed. No man had
anything to do with that and inspiration claims this
makes God worthy of glory and honor. "The
heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament
showeth his handiwork" (Psalms 19:1).
There were so many false
pagan gods one could worship. These Gods were
dreamed up in the minds of men and were a reflection
of man's capricious ways. These Gods were often
portrayed as possessing the lustful and worldly
characteristics of the people that dreamed them up.
The God we serve is not like those gods. The pagan
gods invented and served by men were no better than
they were. The one true and living God we serve is
true, just, trustworthy and pure. God is incapable
of any unrighteous act and is the image of absolute
holiness and perfection and is powerful beyond human
comprehension. Inspiration used the creation in
this example to illustrate God's power. Consider
for a moment just how vast the known universe is and
what it must have entailed to bring about its
creation from nothing. The Roman emperors who
proclaimed themselves to be gods and required the
worship of men couldn't create the dust on their
sandals. They were untrustworthy, cruel and
followed after the lusts of their own hearts.
We serve a powerful,
caring, just, honest, trustworthy, righteous and
deserving God. Our God is perfect and is worthy of
the honor and glory of His creation. Our God is
worth living for and certainly worth dieing for if
necessary. And as we will see later on, many did
die for Him.
Summary Paraphrase:
Revelation 4
After Jesus finished addressing the seven churches,
I looked and saw a door standing open in heaven!
And the first voice which I had heard again
addressed me like the calling of a trumpet and said
to me, "Come up here, and I will show you what must
take place in the future. " And immediately I came
under the Holy Spirit's power and I saw a throne
standing in heaven, with someone seated on it! And
He Who sat upon the throne radiated light like
diamonds and rubies and all around His throne was a
halo that looked like an emerald rainbow.
Twenty-four other thrones surrounded the main
throne, and seated on these thrones were twenty-four
elders all dressed in white spotless clothing, with
crowns of gold upon their heads. Out from the
central throne came flashes of lightning and
rumblings of thunder, and in front of this throne
seven blazing torches burned, which represented the
sevenfold perfect Spirit of God. And in front of
the throne there was also what looked like a
transparent glassy sea like a crystal, still and
calm and safe. And around the throne, in the center
at each side of the throne, were all the saved,
seeing what is before and behind them, noble,
penitent, wise and soaring on the wings of eagles,
high above the earth.
And when they all offer
glory, honor and thanksgiving to God who sits on His
throne and will never die, all the elders throw
their crowns at God's feet and fall on their faces
with them and join them in worship, crying out
"Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive the
glory and the honor and dominion, for You created
all things and by Your will they were brought into
being and were created."
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