Revelation 4 (Heavenly Vision)

Introduction

English Standard Version Chapter 4

The Throne in Heaven

4 After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. 3 And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, 6 and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.

And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: 7 the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. 8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,

who was and is and is to come!”

9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 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.”

We recently concluded our time looking at the 7 seven letters to the 7 churches in chapters 2-3, and now we’re moving on to chapter 4 of John’s Apocalypse. And while we spent six weeks on the outset of this series surveying the Book of Revelation we need to do our best to keep the overarching storyline of the book in view, lest we miss the forest for the trees, or get lost in the woods. This is why I’m going to make a pointed effort, going forward, to avoid becoming merely a walking commentary on the Book of Revelation. If we’re not careful we could spend endless amounts of time discussing every symbol within John’s Apocalypse. One commentator that I listen to has produced more than 200 lectures on the book of Revelation, so we want to try and avoid doing that here. The overarching message of the Book of Revelation is powerful, and it’s still relevant to us today, but I don’t want us to get bogged down by every symbolic detail.

Therefore, we’re going to focus on the clearest and most important symbols of the book. The imagery most essential to its broader storyline, and the imagery that’s most clearly defined, so if I don’t flesh out the meaning of every symbol going forward you’ll know why.

Revelation Outline

And as we begin chapter 4, I also want to provide you will a short outline for the book of Revelation. While it’s been said that wherever you find five commentaries on Revelation, that you’ll discover six different outlines of it, I think the most basic and helpful approach is how John outlines the book himself. If you’re taking notes I’d suggest writing this down, and if you’re not, well, then maybe you should be.

The book can be divided into at least six parts. The first and the last are simply the introduction and conclusion. The introduction beginning, of course, in chapter 1 and the conclusion in chapter 22. While the other four parts are divided up by John’s four “in the Spirit” experiences. In Revelation 1:9 we’re told that John was in the Spirit on the island of Patmos on the Lord’s day, then in Revelation 4:1 John was in the Spirit in heaven, then in Revelation 17:1 he’s carried away in the Spirit into the wilderness, and finally in Revelation 21:10 we’re told that John was carried away in the Spirit to a great high mountain.

Change of Perspective

In short, Revelation is broken up by four visions, while in the Spirit in Patmos, in heaven, in the wilderness, and on a great high mountain. And as we’ll see going forward these locations has symbolic significance. In fact, as we leave chapters 2-3 behind we read there in Revelation 4:1-2,

English Standard Version Chapter 4

4 After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne.

The Apostle John goes from Patmos on earth to God’s throne in heaven, and this isn’t without significance. At first he’s seeing from an earthly vantage point, and then he’s transported to see from a heavenly vantage point. It’s like being transported from streets of your city to an airplane at 30,000’, your view from the plane is drastically different.

I think all of us can relate to how these these different vantage points change our perspective. From the ground, your perspective is consumed by what’s immediately around you, your school, your work, your friends, your home, your family, your affairs, your fears, your circumstances, everything around you, and you’re only cursory aware of the broader affairs outside of your neighborhood or your city. However, when you’re traveling at 30,000’ you’re removed from that context and given a much bigger picture. You can’t help but notice how insignificant the affairs of those below you are. Your new vantage point provides a greater perspective on your life and your affairs within the broader context of the world that you can see from the sky. This is why man of us want our children to travel to other states or other countries, to broaden their perspective.

Earthly circumstances in light of God on the throne

And likewise, the church of the first century was meant to view their earthly circumstances in light of God’s throne in heaven. Jesus intended to broaden their perspective by directing their gaze to heaven. And as we saw in Jesus’ letters to the seven churches in chapters 2-3, many of the churches had caved to the cultural pressures around them. All seven churches experienced pressure to compromise. They feared the Roman Imperial Cult, they feared the Jews, they feared the trade guilds, therefore many of them had compromised, whether it was sexual immorality, idolatry, the teaching of the Nicolaitans, or the watering down of the Gospel. Therefore, if they were to overcome, it was absolutely essential for them to remember who sat on the throne, that no matter the pressure or the persecution, that the church was fundamentally invincible because of him who sat on the throne.

Not only that, many of the churches were not prepared for the tribulation that was still yet to come. While churches like Philadelphia and Smyrna were ready, churches like Sardis and Laodicea were not. And if those churches were going to survive the great tribulation they needed to understand their circumstances in light of him who sits on the throne in heaven, and repent. They needed to understand their current and future circumstances from heaven’s perspective if they intended to endure the events that were soon to take place.

This is why Jesus said to John there in verse 1, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” In other words, come up here and see what’s about to happen from the vantage point of heaven. Not only are the churches given these visions to anticipate the events that must soon take place, but to understand that what was about to take place was being orchestrated by the one who is seated on the throne in heaven. Jesus is going to pull back the spiritual curtain so to say and show John the spiritual realities behind their circumstances, and the events that are about to take place.

Likewise, today, we should always endeavor to consider our circumstances in light of heaven, to view our earthly circumstances from a heavenly vantage point, a heavenly perspective. To understand the spiritual realities behind our earthly circumstances.

As heaven goes, so go the affairs of men

We’re often prone to think that as America goes, so goes the kingdom of heaven, or so goes the church, and while we might not articulate it that way, our actions often betray us. We get all wound up at presidential elections and at the nominations of Supreme Court justices. We say things like, “this is the most important election in our country’s history,” forgetting that we said the same thing the year before.

And the church of the first century was undoubtedly prone to the very same fears, believing that as Rome went so went the kingdom of heaven, therefore the church in their day and in ours must to see, here in chapter 4, that on the contrary, as the throne goes in heaven, so go the affairs of men on earth. That the universe is not governed by the affairs of men but by the one who sits on the throne in heaven. When our circumstances become grim we must always remember Psalm 2,

Psalm 2 ESV

Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

And how fitting is this Psalm in the context of John’s Apocalypse? That this Psalm finds its fulfillment in the coming of Christ and his ascension to sit at the Father’s right hand, that he is the LORD’s anointed, that he is the King of whom the LORD had set on Zion, his holy hill. The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” Yet we read that “He who sits in the heavens laughs;”

From an earthly perspective the Roman Empire appeared invincible, from an earthly standpoint the church stood no chance against it, so what option did they have but to compromise, in order to survive? To some it was the only way, the church had to be realistic, otherwise the Empire would wipe them out. How often do we reason like that?

That if we don’t get with the culture, we’ll be left behind, people will stop coming to our churches, if we don’t get with the culture, what will history say about us? Will we be on the wrong side of history? So we adopt new forms of worship, and we compromise. Like many of the churches in Asia Minor we permit sexual immorality in our congregations, or we abandon God’s created order, erasing the distinction between men and women, destroying God’s design of male leadership within the church, even losing any and all created distinctions between men and women. We adopt worldly ideologies that contradict the Scriptures. We compromise, and a church that compromises is a church that has been corrupted, and is not longer a church at all.

Therefore, we must remember that Caesar is not Lord, that culture is not king, but that God is. The church must lift her gaze to heaven and see the one who is seated on the throne.

Copy of heavenly things

What follows, at this point, in chapter 4 is a description of the heavenly temple, where God is seated on his throne. We see all of the temple elements that would have been familiar to the first century Jew. However, it’s also at this point, that many of us glaze over while reading these descriptions, simply because we fail to see their significance. We don’t quite understand why God instructed Moses to build a tabernacle in the wilderness with such mind numbing specificity. And while we could spend hours answering a question like that I want to make just a few points that I hope will help.

First, it’s essential for us to understand that the tabernacle in the wilderness, and later the temple in Jerusalem, were patterned after an existing design. The plans given to Moses, and again later to David and Solomon were based upon what John sees here in Revelation. John sees the true temple, the heavenly archetype which formed the pattern for the tabernacle and temple here on earth. The designs given to Moses were not arbitrary or born out of thin air, they were a copy of what exists in heaven, all of the elements, from the mercy seat to the utensils.

We read in Exodus 25:39-40 while Moses is being given the plans for the tabernacle, specifically the utensils for the golden lampstand, we read,

English Standard Version Chapter 25

39 It shall be made, with all these utensils, out of a talent of pure gold. 40 And see that you make them after the pattern for them, which is being shown you on the mountain.

Then later in 1 Chronicles 28:18-19, when David gives his son, Solomon, the plans for building the temple in Jerusalem, he wraps up by saying,

English Standard Version Chapter 28

18 for the altar of incense made of refined gold, and its weight; also his plan for the golden chariot of the cherubim that spread their wings and covered the ark of the covenant of the LORD. 19 “All this he made clear to me in writing from the hand of the LORD, all the work to be done according to the plan.”

The NT writes point this out as well, describing the earthly temple as a copy of heavenly things. We read in Hebrews 9:23-34,

English Standard Version Chapter 9

23 Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.

The tabernacle and temple were copies, or replicas, of the true things, the heavenly things.

You see, the earthly copies were meant to instruct God’s people, not to be an end unto themselves. They were replicas that were meant to teach the Israelites. For instance, I have a little model of Noah’s Ark at home to teach my children, and anyone else who comes over, but I recognize that it’s a replica, that it’s a copy of the real thing, but it still serves to teach me about the real Ark. Therefore, the elements and the imagery of the temple in the Bible is still valuable to us today. While we’re not intended to go rebuild the temple or reinstitute sacrifices again, we must still recognize that the earthly temple serves the purpose of teaching God’s people spiritual truth, and that God is seated in his heavenly temple, even now.

Therefore, we see many of the elements that would have been familiar to the first century Jew and those Jewish Christians, who met, at first, in the temple to worship together. For instance, the throne that God is seated on is also the mercy seat depicted in the OT, the seven torches of fire, which signify the Holy Spirit are like the lampstand of the temple that had seven lamps, and around the throne are four creatures like the two cherubim described in the OT as above the mercy seat, and so on.

And, as we’ll see in the chapters that follow, the heavenly temple will remain in view throughout the entirety of the book, it’s where God rules and reigns, it’s where God is worshipped, and it’s where God sits as Judge over all the earth. The heavenly temple serves as his throne, his sanctuary, and his courtroom.

Ezekiel, Isaiah & Daniel

And it isn’t only the Book of Revelation that we see this heavenly temple depicted. In fact, much of the imagery parallels what we read in Ezekiel 1 and Isaiah 6. And it’s quite striking to read those prophetic accounts alongside Revelation 4 as they depict the same heavenly scene. Therefore, when we read Revelation 4, John’s vision is building upon those previous accounts.

Heavenly Temple

So, let’s continue reading there in verse 3,

English Standard Version Chapter 4

3 And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, 6 and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.

God is described here as having the appearance of jasper and carnelian, which echos the colors Ezekiel describes in his vision, and in Exodus 28 both stones are described as being the first and last stones included on the high priest’s breastplate.

24 elders

We’re also told that around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. These 24 elders would have been familiar to any Jew who worshiped at the temple in Jerusalem, because it had been a feature of temple worship for more than a thousand years. In 1 Chronicles 24 David is described as setting apart divisions of 24 priests to serve at the temple.

However, the priests serving at the temple in heaven, here in Revelation 4, are referred to as elders. This is significant, because within biblical categories priests are directly associated with temple worship, whereas elders are specifically associated with the church. Therefore, it appears that John has in mind to combine the two groups, and when we consider the NT witness this isn’t at all strange.

Earlier in Revelation 1:6 John described the church as being made up of priests, that Jesus has “made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father.” The Apostle Peter described the church in 1 Peter 2:9 as “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession.” In Jesus’ letters to Smyrna and Philadelphia they’re described as being given crowns and being granted to sit with him on his throne. In Matthew 19:28, Jesus told his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

In short, we get the impression that these 24 elders represent the elect of both the OT and NT, that John is combining imagery here to signify the elect, spanning all of redemptive history. We’ll also see later in chapter 5 the elders confessing that the Lamb has made them a kingdom and priests to God.

And one of the features of apocalyptic literature is the use of numbers, therefore many have pointed out that 12 signifies the people God, whether it’s the 12 patriarchs and the 12 tribes of Israel in the OT, or Jesus’ 12 disciples in the NT, the number 12 holds a clear purpose in the Bible, signifying the people of God. Therefore, many see number 24 as a double portion of 12 and representative of the elect people of God throughout all history, both the elect of the OT and NT.

And if that’s not enough listen to the symbolic structure of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21:12, where both the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles are described,

English Standard Version Chapter 21

12 It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed— 13 on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. 14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

Mt. Sinai

And these 24 elders are depicted as being before the throne, which comes flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder. All of which are reminiscent of when Israel gathered at the foot of Mount Sinai in Exodus 19:16-19, we read,

English Standard Version Chapter 19

16 On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. 17 Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. 19 And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder.

We see this imagery at first when the old covenant was given, and now again as it passes away and the covenant curses are poured out one last time upon the covenant breakers. This imagery may also simultaneously signify the the onset of the new covenant.

Then we see 7 burning torches of fire, which are descriptive of the Spirit of God, and by the time we reach chapter 5 all three members of the Trinity will be present before the throne, the Father, Son and Spirit.

And just like the temple in Solomon’s day before the throne is a sea, but this time not a sea of cast metal, filled with water for purification, but a sea of glass, like crystal. While the Aaronic priesthood required purification for their own sin, Jesus does not.

Cheribum

Then we read in verse 6,

English Standard Version Chapter 4

And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: 7 the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. 8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,

who was and is and is to come!”

Within the temple at Jerusalem were two cherubim made of wood and overlaid with gold. Together their wingspans were more than 16’ wide as they stood guarding the entrance to the Holy of Holies and overshadowed the ark of the covenant. In Genesis they’re seen guarding the entrance to the Garden of Eden. In Ezekiel they’re seen serving Yahweh, in Isaiah they’re called Seraphim, and in the Psalms Yahweh is depicted as riding upon them like wind.

In Revelation they’re seen directing the worship in heaven. Their appearance, one like a lion, one like an ox, another with the face of a man, and another like an eagle are, together, believed to represent the whole created order, representing the highest types of animal life.

That there are four of them is intended to drive home this point, that they represent the earth. The earth is often associated with the number 4 in the Bible when it describes the four corners of the earth or the four winds, like that of a compass or the direction of the wind, encompassing the whole earth. Therefore, these creatures signify what all of creation is designed to do, to glorify God.

Then in verse 9 we see the 24 elders take their cues from the 4 creatures, we read,

English Standard Version Chapter 4

9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 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.”

It’s at this point, the early Christians were reminded that it wasn’t Caesar who was worthy of worship, but only the one in heaven, seated on the throne, who was worthy to receive glory and honor and power, for he created all things, and by his will they existed and were created. While Caesar certainly thought of himself as a god, minting his face on coins, with his portrait arrayed with beams of light, as if he were the incarnation of the Greek god Apollo, he was nothing of the sort.

Conclusion

The Christians were suffering for sure, and the pressure for them to compromise was very real, but it was not Caesar who was Lord. And while kings set themselves and rulers took counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens laughs, and the Lord holds them in derision, saying, “As for me I have set my King in Zion, my holy hill.”

The early church needed to see beyond their earthly circumstances, they needed to see beyond their suffering, they needed to see beyond their cultural pressures, they needed a vision of heaven, they needed to see their earthly circumstances in light of God sitting on his throne in heaven. In fact, our need is no different today, we too need to look beyond our earthly circumstances at the one who holds the whole world in his hands. That it isn’t the affairs of men that dictate the affairs of heaven, but as the throne goes in heaven, so go the affairs of men on earth.

Prayer