Revelation Chapter Four (Part 2)

Revelation 4:1–11 ESV

1 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.”

The Throne Room of Heaven

Revelation 4:2–3 “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.”

The Father’s Throne

Author of all creation and all authority. Eze 1:26-27

The Fathers’ appearance is not one of form but light and splendor. The stones and colors are OT imagery to remind us of who He is - creator of all.

The Old Testament speaks of twelve stones that define the twelve tribes. The first and the last of these stones were the stones of the high priest. Sardius is the first stone in the breastplate of the high priest, representing Reuben, the firstborn of Jacob and his name means “Behold a Son.” The twelfth stone was Jasper representing Benjamin and his name means “Son of my right hand.” The first & last! Emerald, here, is referred to as the sapphire stone pavement under God’s feet on Sinai (Ex 24:10). Jasper will later appear as first in both the wall and foundation of the New Jerusalem (Rev 21:11, 18-19).

The word for rainbow in v3 can be translated “halo” described by John as an emerald or green. Green is symbolic of resurrection, fruitfulness & everlasting life. Gen 9:13-15

Around the Throne

Revelation 4:4 “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.”

24 Thrones & Elders

The word in the Greek is thronos meaning seats assigned to kings or judges. The elders are sitting on thrones and clothed in “white raiment” and wearing “crowns of gold.” • The only place in the Bible you will find 24 is when David organizes the Levitical priests and worshipers. He placed them in 24 courses (1 Chron 24:1-19) and each course served for one week and was relieved on the Sabbath (about two weeks a year). When the 24 courses or leaders were together they represented the entire priesthood, just as 24hrs represents the entire day. Melchizedek, is a king and a priest (Gen 14:18-20); Messianic structure as the Messiah will be a priest after the order of Melchizedek (Ps 110:4; Heb 5, 6, 7) See Ps 72 for a list of 24 things that Jesus Christ, as High Priest after the order of Melchizedek, will do when He sits upon His throne and rules as King and Priest during the Millennium.

Who are the 24 elders? • Represent completed group (1 Chron 24)

• They Cannot be: Tribulation Believers (Rev 7:13-14)

Angels (Rev 7:11) or Nation of Israel (Rev 7 and 12) • They do have distinguishing Characteristics:

Sitting on Thrones (Rev 3:21) Wearing White Raiment (Rev 3:25) Wearing Crowns of gold (Rev 2:10; 3:11) They are singing the Song of Redeemed (Rev 5:9,10)

Called “Elders,” “Kings and Priests” (Rev 5:10) The Elders (presbuteros) in the New Testament are the highest officials in the church and are addressed as representative of the whole church (Titus 1:5; Acts 15:6; 20:28; 1 Pet 2:5, 9).

From & Before the Throne

Revelation 4:5 “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,”

Flashes of Lightning

What does the lightning symbolize?

Luke 10:18 ESV

18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.

Matthew 24:27 ESV

27 For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

Deployment, teleportation

YHWY is actively sending, transporting from Heaven to Earth

Rumblings of Thunder

What does the thunder symbolize?

Revelation 10:4 ESV

4 And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.”

John 12:28–29 ESV

28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”

Some heard thunder, some heard the voice of YHVH

Jesus called John, Son of thunder - Boanerges Mk 3:17 Why?

John heard YHVH, John speaks for YHVH. Who do we speak for?

YHVH is always speaking, but not everyone hears.

Who hears?

“He that has an ear” - PROXIMITY

7 Fold Holy Spirit (OT) Is 11:1-5

7 Fold Holy Spirit (NT)

The Spirit of Truth - Joh 16:13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.The Spirit of Holiness - Rom 1:4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.The Spirit of Life - Rom 8:2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.The Spirit of Sonship - Rom 8:15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father."The Spirit of Wisdom - Eph 1:17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.The Spirit of Grace - Heb 10:29 How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot... who has insulted the Spirit of grace? The Spirit of Glory - 1Pe 4:14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.

Sea of Glass (Purification)

Exodus 25:8–9 “8 And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. 9 Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it.”

Exodus 30:17–18 “17 The Lord said to Moses, 18 “You shall also make a basin of bronze, with its stand of bronze, for washing. You shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it,”

Heaven is the source of all things - the place of origin. Our reality comes from another place.

String theory is perhaps the most high-profile candidate for what physicists call a theory of everything – a single mathematical framework capable of describing the entirety of the known universe.

At present, physicists have to rely on two such frameworks. Quantum theory, which accurately describes the physics of the very small, and general relativity, developed by Albert Einstein, which describes the physics of the enormously large. The trouble is, the two theories don’t get along.

The trouble boils down to gravity. It’s the only one of the four fundamental forces of nature described by general relativity, and the only one that quantum theory cannot address. Coming up with a model that ties up all four forces in one neat package is a long-standing dream for theoretical physicists.

String theory claims to make that dream a reality. In simple terms, it does this by reimagining what reality is made of. Instead of treating subatomic particles as the fundamental building blacks of matter, string theory says that everything is made of unbelievably tiny strings, whose vibrations produce effects that we interpret as atoms, electrons and quarks.

In order for that to work, string theory has to make one more radical assumption. That instead of living in a universe with three dimensions of space and one of time, we live in one with either 9, 10 or 25 dimensions of space. These extra dimensions are then curled up so tightly that we don’t notice them – much like a silken thread appears one-dimensional until you get close enough to notice its width. - 96% of the universe is no real it’s projected from another place.

The crystal sea is floor of the throne room.

A barrier between heaven and earth. Gen 1:6-7

The imagery - in the throne room you can see earth.

It represents a barrier between the two worlds, old/new, life/death, lost/found.

A layer of purification - The Word washes us and we stand on it.

Jesus walked on the water on earth, symbolizing our heavenly destiny.

Demons can’t pass through this barrier. Mt 12:43, Mk 5:13

Connected to the Throne

Revelation 4:6–8 “6 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!”

Who & What are the 4 living creatures?

The four living creatures are always found near the throne and the Lamb (Rev 4:6, 5:6, 14:4). They are constantly engaged in praising and in worshipping God (Rev 4:8, 5:9, 5:14, 7:11, 19:4). They have certain functions to perform. They invite the dreadful manifestations of the wrath of God to appear upon the scene (Rev 6:1, 6:7). One of them hands over the bowls full of the wrath of God (Rev 15:7).

Although there are definite differences, there can be little doubt that we find the ancestors of these living creatures in the visions of Ezekiel. In Ezekiel’s vision, the four living creatures each have four faces—the faces of a man, a lion, an ox and an eagle; and they support the firmament (Eze 1:6, 1:10, 1:22, 1:26); the rims of the wheels are full of eyes (Ezekiel 1:18). In Ezekiel, we have all the details of the picture in Revelation, although the details are differently allocated and arranged. In spite of the differences, the family resemblance is clear.

In Ezekiel, the four living creatures are identified cherub, cherubim. The identification is made in Ezekiel 10:20 and Eze 10:22. The cherubim were part of the decoration of Solomon’s Temple, in the place of prayer and on the walls (1 Kings 6:23–30; 2 Chronicles 3:7). They were represented on the hanging veil which shut off the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place (Exodus 26:31). There were two cherubim on the lid of the ark, called the mercy-seat; and they were so placed that they faced each other and their wings swept over to form a kind of canopy over the mercy-seat (Exodus 25:18–21). One of the most common pictures of God is sitting between the cherubim, and it is in this way that he is often addressed in prayer (2 Kings 19:15; Psalm 80:1, 99:1; Isaiah 37:16). God is represented as flying on the cherubim and on the wings of the wind (Psalm 18:10). It is the cherubim who guard the way to the garden when Adam and Eve have been banished from it (Genesis 3:24).

From all this, one thing emerges clearly: the cherubim are angelic beings who are close to God and the guardians of his throne.

Compare to the seraphim \ seraphs in Isaiah 6:2–3 “2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!””

One Kerub to Rule them all

Ezekiel 28:11–15 “11 Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me: 12 “Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord God: “You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared. 14 You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked. 15 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you.”

What do the 4 faces represent?

The 4 living creatures echo the 4 living kingdoms of creation.

Remember 4 is the number of earth - 4 directions, 4 seasons, and time created on the 4th day (day, night, sun & moon).

Lion - King of the wild animals - Symbolic of Matthew’s Gospel

Ox - King of the domestic animals - Symbolic of Mark’s Gospel

Man - King of all living creation - Symbolic of Luke’s Gospel

Eagle - King of all flying animals - Symbolic of John’s Gospel

Jesus came as King in Matthew - His genealogy begins with Abraham

Jesus came as servant in Mark - with no genealogy

Jesus came as the son of man in Luke - His genealogy begins with Adam

Jesus came as The Son of God in John - His genealogy is eternal

He is King of Kings who become servant of all so mankind could mount up with wings as eagle and soar to the throne room!