Sermon Tone Analysis

Revelation

We are continuing our series in the Book of Revelation.

This week we will be looking at a relatively short section of the book in Chapter 4. These eleven verses are, however chocked full of information.

They describe the throne room of Heaven.

What is so awesome about the Bible is the fact that there many Old Testament references to this topic that we will see throughout this chapter that not only confirm the picture that John gives, but also shows how the throne room lines up with the earthly instructions that God gave to man.

This first verse already supports our opening claims that the throne room of Heaven is something that can be understood by man in our natural state.

Let’s break this down:

After this he looks and sees something

After what?

After he receives the letters

He looks and sees something

He sees a door open in Heaven

He sees a door opened in Heaven

After he receives the letters to the churches, something dramatic happens.

He looks and sees a door inside of Heaven open.

We have to go back and look at Chapter 1 to continue the setting of the story.

Rev

So John is still in the Heavenly realm at the feet of Jesus.

So the door is open in Heaven and John is now reminding us about the first voice which he heard in Heaven - a voice like a trumpet, the voice of Jesus.

What is so significant about that?

The trumpet was used as a signal all throughout church history.

Trumpets were used for a call to worship, to signal feasts and other significant events.

They were also used as a battle cry.

There is also coming a day when we will hear a trumpet sound

The Trumpet is an instrument which gets your attention and can pierce through the crowd.

The voice of our Heavenly father should also be as such.

Next he says

“Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”

Remember he tells John to write down what was, what is, and what will be.

Chapter 4 marks the beginning of the “what will be” in Revelation.

At the beginning of this study John talks about being in the spirit on the Lord’s day.

At the beginning of this study John talks about being in the spirit on the Lord’s day.

John positions himself in two locations simultaneously - Patmos and in the spirit.

Here is where things begin to get meaty and we begin to see independent confirmation of what previous prophets and visionaries had seen and written.

Notice he says immediately he as

He begins describing the scene saying a throne was set in heaven and one sat on the throne.

IT is a sensory over load of creatures and colors, sites and sounds that the mind can not comprehend.

The Jasper and sardine stone were the last and first stones on the breastplate of the high priest.

1 kings 22:19 nrsv

The stones show us and tell us that God is the high priest and lead us to Hebrews.

We see

Hebrews

John also mentions the fact that there was a rainbow around the throne, saying insight like unto an emerald.

The emerald was the third stone in the breastplate and was representative of the Tribe of Judah.

The rainbow is representative of the entirety of Israel or the church and the emerald of Judah, therefore solidifying Christ as not only high priest, but that as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah!

Isaiah records Christ being exalted by the Elders

White garments are the garb of the redeemed, another implication that the elders represent the people of God (see note on 3:4).

The image of white garments is also found in 3:4–5, 18; 6:11; 7:9, 14; 19:8, 14.

The last reference to white garments in the vision (19:14) also introduces the fabric of the garment as linen.

Those who follow the Word of God are clothed in “the finest of pure white linen.”

In 19:8, the bride of the Lamb (the church) “has been given the finest of pure white linen,” which, John tells us, “represents the good deeds of God’s holy people.”

The permission for the bride to wear the finest linen is somewhat unusual since linen was the cloth of kings (1 Chr 15:27) and priests (Exod 39:27–29).

But the people of God are God’s kingdom and priests!

The redeemed of God and the elders will wear crowns as we learned about in

Throughout the Bible there is a recurring theme of God’s manifestation through the thunder and lightning accompanied by His voice.

Rev 4:5

This is the sevenfold Spirit of God.

This continues the priestly imagery because in the sanctuary of the Temple in Jerusalem was the lampstand with seven lamps (Exod 25:31) that stood before the Lord (Lev 24:4).

The imagery is repeated in 1:4; 3:1; and 5:6, and represents the fullness of the Spirit of God.

Lev 24:4

Rev 4:6

in the vision of the new creation, John explicitly says, “The sea was also gone” (21:1).

It is also to be noted that the first of the core of heavenly visions (4:1–5:14) opens with the image of the sea (4:6) and the last of the core heavenly visions (19:11–21:8) closes with the image of the sea (21:1).

Furthermore, in the second heavenly vision (11:19–15:4) the beast that exercises Satan’s power comes from the sea (13:1) and, at the close of the vision, the redeemed (defined as “the people who had been victorious over the beast”) are seen with the sea of glass beneath their feet (15:2).

In both the Roman and Jewish pool of images, “sea” represented the abode of demonic and evil powers (Caird 1966:65ff; Beale 1999:327).

It would seem that John used the image of the sea to represent the realm of evil from which the beast emerges (13:1), over which the saints are victorious (15:2—both introduced with the phrase “like a glass sea”), and which has no place in God’s new creation (21:2).

The image of such a sea before the throne is a powerful picture of the sovereignty of God over the realm of evil.

The sea of glass represents God’s sovereignty over evil.

In the midst of the throne - the middle of the throne is where this beastly figure emerges.

All of creation emanates from the throne of God and can not be separate from Him.

This is a vision of what Ezekiel sees as well - the Lion, Ox, Man and Eagle.

The number four is representative of the completion of God’s creation.

The four winds, four seasons, the four corners of the earth, four rivers flowing from the Garden of Eden, the four kingdoms of Daniel are all representative of the creation of God.

Some commentators go farther and read into the different animals and their characteristics.

Others simply say that they represent the whole of the animate creation of God.

Thus, every creature originates from the center of God’s throne.

These are not so much “beasts” as they are created beings.

This imagery lines up with Isaiah’s encounter with the seraphim.

John, however, does not give description of the function of the wings as Isaiah did, assuming his readers - who were familiar with the ancient writings - would understand it.

John, however, does not give description of the function of the wings as Isaiah did.

He does however agree with Isaiah in noting that they are continually worshiping the creator with a triple repetition of the descriptive attribute of Him being, “holy.”

This triple repetition further confirms the awesomeness and completeness of our God who is, “Holy, holy, holy!”

Notice the reaction here.

When praise is brought by the beasts - these living creatures, the elders fall in worship.

When creation cries out to God, it elicits a heavenly response.

The elders are continually falling, worshiping, and casting their crowns.

The Greek has the future tense here since it is describing what the elders will do “whenever” the four living beings praise God.

Since the beings do this unceasingly, the elders will continually bow, worship, and cast their crowns.