Unpacking Prophecy: The Throne Room and The Scroll
Revelation Revealed • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 2 viewsA look into the throne room of God and the scroll
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Last week, we started the series Revelation Revealed with the importance of understanding prophecy. Today and through out the rest of this series we will be unpacking prophecy. I love Eschatology, the study of revelation and the end of the church age. With this series, and really all the messages we have here at NEC, I highly suggest that you bring your bible and a notepad. It is vital that you know that when studying prophecy, we must allow scripture to interpret scripture. So we will be having a lot of different scriptures, some I will show on the board, some I will just mention. Now, I know I can be very fast when I speak, so I will try my best to slow down, so you can take notes and engage with the scripture as we go along. With that said, let’s jump in with a few things we need to know before starting our deep dive into Revelation.
The three-fold purpose:
John had a three-fold purpose in writing Revelation.
1. Immediate: It was so Christ could warn the seven churches that “He was coming, quickly”.
2. Historical: It was to encourage, counsel and warn every generation.
3. Godly: It was to proclaim to every believer the revelation of Jesus Christ. To unveil Him as the Lamb that had concurred sin and death. Also, to encourage the believer to hold fast to the faith, because of the future kingdom.
The four different views of interpretation:
Different views of interpreting Revelation generally fall into four categories:
1. Preterist view: This refers to events that were fulfilled in the first century AD, or shortly thereafter. It was written primarily to encourage the original readers.
2. Historic view: This refers to the panoramic view of the future church by looking at the church throughout history. This view is to encourage and warn the church of past and future sin.
3. Futurist view: This refers to events yet to unfold or currently unfolding. This gives courage to those Christians living in the end times, that Jesus return is coming soon.
4. Idealist view: This refers to the battle of good and evil. That the book is written simply to enforce the concept that good will always triumph over evil.
We will take the interpretation that incorporates all these views.
Revelation 4: The Throne Room of God
We are starting here in Revelation 4 because I have done a series on the 7 churches Christ speaks to. I will one day revisit that sermon series but I wanted to get into the rest of Revelation right away.
After this I looked, and there in heaven was an open door. The first voice that I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”
Immediately I was in the Spirit, and there was a throne in heaven and someone was seated on it. The one seated there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian stone. A rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald surrounded the throne.
Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones sat twenty-four elders dressed in white clothes, with golden crowns on their heads.
4:1-2 Some feel that this is a reference to the rapture which we will get into later in this series. This particular verse is more of a command for John to be transported into heaven in the Spirit. John was not the only one ever to be shown the throne room.
I know a man in Christ who was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether he was in the body or out of the body, I don’t know; God knows.
This is to show John what is to happen after the church age. It must be noted that the events Christ shows John are not necessarily in chronological order.
4:3 John describes that jasper has the appearance of crystal and it refracts all colors around it.
arrayed with God’s glory. Her radiance was like a precious jewel, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.
The jasper stone was a clear stone resembling a diamond. It signifies God’s absolute purity and perfection. Sardius/Carnelian stone was a fiery bright ruby like stone. This stone represents God as our Redeemer. In Exodus 28, we see the high priest wore a plate on his chest with 12 gemstones representing the 12 tribes of Israel. Jasper and Carnelian stones were the first and last stones on the breastplate. So the stones represent God being the first and the last, the beginning and the end. The emerald rainbow represents God’s faithfulness to His Word, His promise and His covenant. As seen in the story of Noah. The emerald is also known as a stone of intuition, associated with sight and the revelation of future events and truths.
4:4 We see that the 24 elders are joint heirs with Christ because of the white robes representing holiness and the golden crowns representing victory. Who are the 24 elders? They could represent the redeemed church. It is more likely they represent the past/Law and the present/Grace given to the church. Many speculate that the 24 elders are the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 Apostles.
Flashes of lightning and rumblings and peals of thunder came from the throne. Seven fiery torches were burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. Something like a sea of glass, similar to crystal, was also before the throne.
Four living creatures covered with eyes in front and in back were around the throne on each side. The first living creature was like a lion; the second living creature was like an ox; the third living creature had a face like a man; and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings; they were covered with eyes around and inside. Day and night they never stop, saying,
Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God, the Almighty,
who was, who is, and who is to come.
4:5 Here we see that the lightning and thunder represent the God ultimate power and authority, and the seven torches represent the seven attributes of the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
a Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
a Spirit of counsel and strength,
a Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
His delight will be in the fear of the Lord.
He will not judge
by what he sees with his eyes,
he will not execute justice
by what he hears with his ears,
4:6 John is describing cherubim. These are like the ones that Ezekiel described .
The cherubim ascended; these were the living creatures I had seen by the Chebar Canal.
Ezekiel 1:4–25 (CSB)
We know that the cherubim are angels that are connected to God’s power and holiness. The eyes represent a comprehensive knowledge and perception that these angels have. It should be noted that this perception and knowledge is not omniscient.
4:7 These descriptions are meant to be symbolic in nature and give us just an idea of what John was trying to describe. The lion represents power, the calf represents humility, the man represents rationality, and the eagle represents swift obedience.
Seems like a lot to unpack right. There is something you need to see here. Everything here has a significance. It has a worth. It has a reason. It has a purpose. Everything God has and will create is significant, has worth, has reason, and has a purpose. Including you. Sometimes we don’t see ourselves that way but God doesn’t create willy nilly. We were made to worship Him.
4:8 Holy stated three times is an exaltation of God’s holiness.
Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to the one seated on the throne, the one who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before the one seated on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne and say,
Our Lord and God,
you are worthy to receive
glory and honor and power,
because you have created all things,
and by your will
they exist and were created.
4:9-10 We see that when the cherubim are giving exaltation and honor to God, the elders fall and worship Him. The casting of the crown signifies that they know that God alone is responsible for their rewards.
Pay close attention to this before we go on to Chapter 5. The angels. The very creatures that cause fear in the hearts of the shepherds during Christ’s birth. Circle God’s throne day and night in worship. The elders ( the very representation of the church) fall down in worship, throwing their crowns out of reverence and respect, knowing that all they have and are is because of God. Church we must stop thinking God is some far away being and we will get our worship in when we get to heaven. We must do it now.
Revelation 5: The Scroll
Then I saw in the right hand of the one seated on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides, sealed with seven seals. I also saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or even to look in it. I wept and wept because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or even to look in it. Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Look, the Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered so that he is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
5:1 In biblical times, a scroll was used to convey a teaching and a contract (i.e. deeds, marriages, rental agreements and wills) They were normally sealed several times to ensure no one would tamper with them.
5:2 The “mighty angel” seems to describe Gabriel, whose name means “strength of God.”
I heard a human voice calling from the middle of the Ulai: “Gabriel, explain the vision to this man.”
5:3 This denotes all of creation.
5:4 John is showing great despair.
5:5 These two messianic titles show Christ’s fierceness, strength and lineage. The Lion of Judah references back to Genesis 49: 8-12 and the Root of David references back to Isaiah 11: 1-10. I am not going to read them here, but please go back and read it later. It is two very powerful messianic prophecies.
Then I saw one like a slaughtered lamb standing in the midst of the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent into all the earth. He went and took the scroll out of the right hand of the one seated on the throne.
When he took the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and golden bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song:
You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were slaughtered,
and you purchased people
for God by your blood
from every tribe and language
and people and nation.
You made them a kingdom
and priests to our God,
and they will reign on the earth.
5:6 It should be noted that the Passover lamb was brought into the home for four days before it was slaughtered.
Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month they must each select an animal of the flock according to their fathers’ families, one animal per family.
You are to keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembly of the community of Israel will slaughter the animals at twilight.
This made it have a connection to the family before it was sacrificed. Can you see the foreshadowing? Notice that John says, “as though it had been slain”, the Lamb held the scars but was not dead. The seven horns represent complete power, the seven eyes represent complete knowledge, and the seven spirits is the seven-fold ministry of the Holy Spirit.
5:8 The harp was used for praise to God and accompanied prophecy in the OT.
“After that you will come to Gibeah of God where there are Philistine garrisons. When you arrive at the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place prophesying. They will be preceded by harps, tambourines, flutes, and lyres.
5:9-10 In OT, a new song came from the heart that God had shown His redemptive power. (Ps 33:3, 96:1, 144:9) Here we see the new song to anticipate God’s final redemption. The song also signifies Christ’s part of that redemption.
Sing a new song to him;
play skillfully on the strings, with a joyful shout.
Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels around the throne, and also of the living creatures and of the elders. Their number was countless thousands, plus thousands of thousands. They said with a loud voice,
Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered
to receive power and riches
and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and blessing!
I heard every creature in heaven, on earth, under the earth, on the sea, and everything in them say,
Blessing and honor and glory and power
be to the one seated on the throne,
and to the Lamb, forever and ever!
The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.
5:12 The angels are expressing the seven Godly Attributes.
5:13-14 Here every creature in heaven and earth is giving praise and glory to where it belongs.
Church can you imagine being John seeing this and trying to describe it in human words? The awe, the brilliance, the fear?
This is what I want for us to get from this today, not just the interesting cross references or the little tidbits of information, I want us to get to a place of awe and reverent fear of the Lord.