Revelation 4 "The Throne Room of Heaven"

Good Evening Calvary Chapel Lake City!

Please open your Bibles to Rev 4. Rev 4:1-11 this evening.

Last time we wrapped up looking at the final of the seven churches of Revelation Chapters 2-3.

The seven churches should cause us to search ourselves individually and as a church…

As Jesus examines us… what does He see… which church do we align with the most… are we a church reflecting only commendation like Philadelphia…

Or is there some correction that He would share with us?

Great warnings in Rev 2-3… great insight into the mind of our God in the things that important to Him… the eternal and weighty matters of how He righteously judges believers…

Peering into our lives and loving us enough to give us His word to guide our path… loving these churches enough to provide them with course corrections.

In NOT one of the churches did He say… you’re on the wrong course… I want nothing more to do with you…

Perhaps the worst was Laodicea where He could not stomach their lukewarmness and spewed them from His mouth…

But… He also counseled them, and let them know “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.”

He knocked at their door, and promised for them and anyone… “If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”

An open door… an invitation for fellowship… even with a church that received NO commendation. He had nothing nice to say about their ways… and yet He was still their guide… and treated them with grace.

What a great God we serve!

As we enter into Revelation Chapters 4-5… we are blessed with a picture of “The Throne Room of Heaven” which is our message title this evening…

Both of these chapters… give us a beautiful glimpse of heaven prior to the Tribulation beginning in Rev Chapter 6.

Let’s Pray and then take a look!

V1 “After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.”

“After these things” is a reminder of our outline in Revelation.

John writes a simple outline to this book in Revelation 1:19 “Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.”

Chapter 1 tells us the things which our author John the Apostle saw in his Revelation vision around 95-96 A.D.…

Chapters 2-3 tell us “the things which are”: the Seven Churches in John’s day each with a different spiritual temperature whom Jesus would address.

And the rest of Revelation… Chapters 4-22… are the “things which will take place”… future things for John… future things still for us today.

So, as John writes “After these things” in V1… he looks back to the vision he had in Chapter 1 and the churches of Asia Minor in Chapters 2-3…

And after those things… begins this third major section of Revelation.

Beginning with John writing of this future time and his vision of heaven…

These are future prophecies… here forward are events that have not been fulfilled by past historical events.

This is what’s called the “Futuristic Position”… which holds that beginning in Rev 4… we are looking at events yet to unfold… and this position allows for a more literal interpretation (versus symbolic)… of prophecies in Revelation.

This is the position of Calvary Chapel… and many other scholars on the correct side of the aisle.

Continuing in V1… John “beholds” or looks intently at a door… opened in heaven…

This is the third heaven. Paul mentions knowing a man “caught up to the third heaven” 2 Cor 12:2 (who was likely himself).

The first heaven is the sky… the second the galaxy… and the third the Throne Room of God… eternal heaven in the immediate presence of God.

John hears a voice… which was the first voice he heard… which is a reference to the same voice he heard in Rev 1:10… which was “a loud voice, as of a trumpet...”

The voice is NOT a trumpet, but “as of” (similar to) a trumpet… a loud booming voice…

I guess with a higher pitch… not like a Tuba, but a Trumpet.

The voice in Rev 1 was the “Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last”… identified as “One like the Son of Man” in Rev 1:13… as “He who lives, and was dead, and… lives forevermore” in Rev 1:18…

This is not an Angel, but Jesus Christ.

And Jesus extends to John an invitation to “Come up here, and I will show you the things which must take place after this.”

What an experience this must have been for John… not just to have a vision of heaven…

But to again be connected to Jesus… once again…

Perhaps similar to how John saw Him at the Mount of Transfiguration… but even more glorious.

John was one of Jesus’ inner three disciples and the “one whom Jesus loved.”

John of course… enters into this vision… this would be temporary… his body would remain on Patmos.

But he still get’s a glimpse of heaven… look at vv2-3.

V2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. 3 And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald.

“In the Spirit” is John’s way of articulating John is having a vision. He uses this phrase 4x in Revelation (1:10, 17:3, 21:10 and here).

And John sees a throne and One sitting on the throne… with brilliant lights and color schemes all around Him.

The Throne in heaven reminds us of the Sovereignty of God… who sits high above and the earth is His footstool.

The stones have color and meaning:

Jasper in Rev 21:11 is “clear as crystal”… which may be what we today call a diamond.

Sardius or sardine… stone is a familiar stone… Ruby red in color.

Symbolically, the clear Jasper may represent the purity of God.

And the red Sardius may represent God’s redemptive purpose.

Additionally, on the breastplate of the High Priest… the stones each represented a Tribe of Israel, and of note… the Sardius is the first stone and the Jasper the last (Exo 28:17-21)…

Perhaps symbolizing encompassing and representing all of the Tribes of God’s covenanted people.

And Reuben was the first and Benjamin the last…

Reuben’s name means “behold a son” and Benjamin means “son of my right hand.”

All of which points to Jesus as the representative Israel… the first and the last… and God’s Son who sits at His right hand.

Most likely the One who sits on the throne is both Father and Son… who are one.

Revelation 3:21 pictures this nicely, “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”

There was also a rainbow around the throne… not with all the colors of the rainbow, but an emerald green rainbow.

Which is more difficult to find meaning in… perhaps a representation of the glory of God…

Or God’s covenant rainbow… a promise of mercy amidst judgment… as the rainbow was in Noah’s day…

But green hear as green may point to vitality and restoration.

V4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads.

Twenty-four thrones… twenty-four elders…

Clothed in white robes… crowns of gold on their heads…

There are various view on who these elders are:

Saints of all ages… a representation of the church only… an order of angels.

The seem to be a representation of a group… just as the OT priesthood had twenty-four orders of priests and they stood as representative of the entire priesthood which consisted of thousands of priests.

But we get some ideas of who they are most likely looking at their crowns and their garments.

There are two kinds of crowns in scripture… the Royal Crown of a ruler or sovereign which in Gk is the diadem… the kingly crown.

The other is the crown of the victor like in Grecian games… that crown in Gk is the Stephanos crown. It’s a crown typically made of leaves.

The Gk word here is the latter… the Stephanos.

It’s the same Stephanos crown promised to believers for faithfulness in temporal life before eternal life.

At the Bema Seat.. the Judgment Seat of Christ… believers are promised rewards… one of which are Stephanos crowns…

Which vary and are described in the NT as the ‘imperishable crown, the crown of righteousness, the crown of life…’

These Twenty-four elders are also clothed in white robes.

The bride of Christ at the Marriage supper of the Lamb also wears “fine linen, clean and bright.”

This is the garment of the wife of Christ… the church… Revelation 19:8 states, “the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.”

So with these crowns and with these white garments… the argument for the Twenty-Four Elders being representatives of the church… is the best interpretation.

And notice they appear in heaven… PRIOR TO… Revelation 6… WHEN the Tribulation begins.

How did they church get to heaven prior to the Tribulation… the pre-tribulation RAPTURE of the church.

Just as Jesus promised to the faithful church of Philadelphia… Revelation 3:10 “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.”

This is an explicit promise that faithful believers will not will not endure the hour of trial (the Tribulation) which unfolds beginning in Revelation 6…

Which is purposed NOT for the church, but for Israel. It is the “time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jer 30:7)… Jacob being Israel.

It is Daniel’s prophesy of the Seventieth Week (Dan 9:24) specific to Israel.

AND… we won’t see the church again until after the Tribulation is over and Jesus returns for His Second Coming… riding on a white horse… followed by the church and likely angels as well.

Revelation 19:14 “And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.”

Again wearing white garments… the same as the Twenty-Four Elders here in V4.

V5 And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

Walvoord wrote, “The lightnings, thunderings, and voices which proceed from the throne are prophetic of the righteous judgment of God upon a sinful world.”

This is similar to the thunderings, lightnings and voice of the trumpet which marked the giving of the law in Exo 19:16.

And in Revelation 6… the wrath of God would be poured out on a sinful world.

Seven lamps of fire burned before the throne… which are describes as the “seven Spirits of God.”

This is best understood as the Holy Spirit in a sevenfold way rather than seven individual spirits… which would then be understood as angels.

The Holy Spirit is described in a sevenfold way in Isaiah 11:2 “The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.”

And so we have a picture of the Trinity here in Rev 4… The Father and the Son enthroned… and the Holy Spirit before the throne.

vv 6-8 “Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. 7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. 8 The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!”

Before the throne… there was a “sea of glass”… “like crystal.”

John does not give meaning to this sea, but in the Temple there were similar things…

2 Chr 4:2 describes a “Sea of cast bronze”… some call it a “Sea of brass” or a “molten sea”…

It was a wash stand for the priests to wash in when they came into the temple…

So… not the floor, but a laver or wash stand.

These symbolized cleansing of the priests.

And some liken this imagery to the sanctifying power of the Word of God.

But a certain interpretation is impossible and must wait until we enter eternity.

In the midst of and around the throne were four very interesting creatures…

They are NOT animals or beasts, but “living creatures”…

In Isa 6… we see a description of Seraphim… angelic beings whose function is to bring honor and glory to God.

Isaiah 6:2–3 Isaiah had a vision of the Lord sitting on a throne… and he wrote, “Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!””

In Ezekiel’s visions, we see Four living creatures who are described as Cherubim in Ezk 10… angelic beings whose function is to guard.

Cherubim guarded the entrance to the Garden of Eden at the end of Genesis 3 when mankind was driven out.

These are described in Ezk 1 with the same faces (man, lion, ox, eagle).… that we see here in Rev 4.

When you take all the characteristics… the six wings appears like the Seraphim of Isa 6, but the many faces appear like the Cherubim of Ezk 1 and 10.

So is this a hybrid? Probably not.

Are both of these angelic beings in the picture? Possibly.

OR… are they representative of something else?

Walvoord provides an alternate explanation and wrote, “Some interpret the four living creatures as representative of the attributes or qualities of God presented to John here as living entities. This is probably the best interpretation.”

As likened to characteristics of Christ, Walvoord also writes, “The lion is the king of beasts and represents majesty and omnipotence. The calf or ox, representing the most important of domestic animals, signifies patience and continuous labor. Man is the greatest of all God’s creatures, especially in intelligence and rational power; whereas the eagle is greatest among birds and is symbolic of sovereignty and supremacy.”

“Comparison has also been made of the four living creatures to the four Gospels which present Christ in four major aspects of His person. As the lion, He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah, represented as the king of Matthew. As the calf or ox, He is the Servant of Jehovah, the faithful one of Mark. As man, He is the human Jesus, presented in the Gospel of Luke, and as the eagle, He is the divine Son of God presented in the Gospel of John.”

So… these living creatures being literal Seraphim or Cherubim… or symbolic of attributes of God… it’s debated.

Closing out… vv9-11 “Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: 11 “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.””

So we close out with the living creatures and Elders worshipping the LORD.

Which is an act that unbelievers WILL NOT do in this lifetime… and therefore they WILL NOT have the privilege to do so for all eternity… nor will they inherit eternal life, but eternal suffering.

The living creatures giving glory and honor and thanks to God who is on the throne… and eternal.

The Elders fall down in worship before Him and cast their Victor’s crowns… their Stephanos crowns before the throne… and declare His worthiness to receive glory honor and power.. for He is the creator of all things. It is His will for all things to exist.

We know Jesus is often cited in Scripture as the creator of all things.… which was the Father’s will… and right in the beginning the Holy Spirit hovered over the face of the waters (Gen 1:2).

The Trinity plays a role in creation… and formation of His people… and Salvation of His people.

It’s not Father, Son, OR Holy Spirit… they all play a role in the works of God.

And in the worship of the living creatures and Elders… we see praise of God’s eternal and Sovereign nature… His worthiness

It’s interesting that the crowns are awarded to believers… but what value to they have on our heads?

The only value it would seem is to cast them before before the throne to the only one who paid the price for us to even be present IN the throne room.

He alone is worthy of a crown, but what a privilege it will be to be in His presence… to have life eternal.

Let’s close with this meditation of Jesus Christ in Philippians 2:9–11 “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

And all this is done because Jesus entered His creation from eternity… He “humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Phil 2:8

He made the way for us to have eternal life… gladly I will cast my crowns before Him… for He alone is worthy of praise.

Let’s pray and then discuss this chapter!