Revelation 4: The One on the Throne

Revelation 4:1-11

A PRELIMINARY THOUGHT:

Last week we did a recap of Revelation chapters 1–3 in connection with their difficult social setting under a bad Roman emperor and our present social situation in America with the presidential election and navigating a significant pandemic.

I’ve thought a bunch on opening the political can of worms I did last Sunday in the first decent portion of the teaching time. I thought it was significant in many respects, both the controversial subject and what was said and especially what was unsaid.

I preached for a few years before coming here for school. I was the senior pastor. I didn’t feel adequate or qualified (maybe I never will). I was, however, growing deeper in love with God and His Church.

Now I’m here, entrusted with some teaching opportunities particularly in Abundant Grace Class and want to serve well in this capacity. So, I’m starting today like this to personally invite each of you to speak into my life. These first two years of teaching some in this class have been healing for me because in previous contexts and in seminary as well so much of the focus is on constructive (and destructive) criticism. In this class, the feedback I’ve received has been overwhelmingly positive. It is evident grace; abundant, unmerited by me, something I can’t earn but many of you have given. I just wanted to say, “Thank you.”

I have wondered, at times, if sticking with a bunch of “old people” every Sunday morning is the best preparation for Ann and I in this time of training for future pastoral ministry. I can say, at this point, the answer is, “Yes. It is one of the best things God has given me at Bethlehem. Thank you.”

Lastly, I want to also admit that between bringing up politics and being in Revelation I probably stand the greatest chance of offending people in certain things I say and want to ask for the opportunity to talk them through, even just one on one, and not speak anything that is unhelpful for any one here. My desire, as imperfect as I am, is to speak only what will build you up, according to your needs, that it may give grace to your ears and life to your soul.

I am going to present ideas that run contrary to yours in this study through Revelation. Similarly, most people here will differ from my limited viewpoint at some point in this study. When that happens, I pray for unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind (1 Pet 3:8).

Prayer

REVELATION 4 & LOOKING FORWARD IN THE APOCALYPSE

The One Who Conquers

Today I want to give a forward look in the rest of Revelation. We’ll hear Revelation 4 but cover in more detail next time I teach in two weeks.

Revelation 4 begins in the end of chapter 3, well and is rooted in the opening words of this revelatory letter:

Revelation 3:21

The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.

Jesus stands at the door to invite the church back into fellowship with Him before it’s too late (Rev 3:20). Then He speaks of the one who conquerors. I wonder, what am I conquering? How about you? You can’t conquer unless you have something to overcome. These churches had a lot of repentance to do. The things we see them needing to overcome are pretty applicable in my life:

- Losing your first love, the flame going out (Ephesus)

- Suffering for being a Christian, even to martyrdom (Smyrna)

- Falling for the stumbling blocks of the world (Pergamum)

- Committing sexual sins in the church (Thyatira)

- Sleeping on the job, complacency lulling you (Sardis)

- Struggling to have strength enough to survive (Philadelphia)

- Gloating over material wealth, lacking it spiritually (Laodicea)

These are the things in which Jesus calls His followers to fight and overcome. I believe that’s what He means by “the one who conquers.” On top of that, Revelation is written to churches who are called “atheists” by the Greeks who have Zeus and other gods and “atheists” by the Jews who reject Jesus as the Christ (e.g. Letter to Diognetus).[1] They are being put to death for their faith:

Chapter 5. The manners of the Christians

…They obey the prescribed laws, and at the same time surpass the laws by their lives. They love all men, and are persecuted by all. They are unknown and condemned; they are put to death, and restored to life. 2 Corinthians 6:9 They are poor, yet make many rich; 2 Corinthians 6:10 they are in lack of all things, and yet abound in all; they are dishonoured, and yet in their very dishonour are glorified. They are evil spoken of, and yet are justified; they are reviled, and bless; 2 Corinthians 4:12 they are insulted, and repay the insult with honour; they do good, yet are punished as evil-doers. When punished, they rejoice as if quickened into life; they are assailed by the Jews as foreigners, and are persecuted by the Greeks; yet those who hate them are unable to assign any reason for their hatred.

Chapter 6. The relation of Christians to the world

To sum up all in one word — what the soul is in the body, Christians are in the world.

These are people in churches in Asia Minor who are either conquering or failing, either overcoming or falling. It’s now or never for them. The time is now for you and for me too. Based on what the churches are going through, what do you need to conquer through Christ who strengthens you?

Jesus’ Invitation to the Throne

Revelation 4 begins a new scene in this revelation God gave John to show his servants things soon to take place:

Revelation 1:1

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place.

Revelation 4:1

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…

After finishing the letter to Laodicea about Jesus’ promise for those who conquer to sit on His throne, so to speak, as He sits on His Father’s throne, Jesus commands John to come up and see the throne room.

Revelation 4 begins with a shift in what John sees. Revelation 1 begins in an epistle format and then introduces the Lord of the churches—Jesus Christ the mighty One. The narrative has a fairly seamless flow through the first 3 chapters to the churches. The main transitions throughout Revelation are here in 4:1, and also in 7:1, 18:1, 19:1 with the phrase, “After this”:

- 1:10–11 John hears the loud voice of Jesus like a trumpet

- 4:1 After receiving the letters to the churches, John looks and behold! an open door in heaven! John hears the first voice like a trumpet again. This is the transition from seeing Jesus as Victor to slain Lamb who leads to victory throughout Revelation.

- 7:1 After watching the Lamb open the seven seals to a mysterious letter, John sees four angels prepared to unleash judgment after sealing 144,000 (a great multitude) from Israel for this tribulation. The bulk of the events of Revelation happen between this sealing and the final war.

- 18:1 After divine judgment is poured upon the earth, John sees another angel with authority by which the earth is made bright by his glory. This angel proclaims with a mighty voice the downfall of Babylon. Other voices and angels predict this fall.

- 19:1 After these decrees, John hears a great multitude in heaven rejoicing, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God!” This leads to the final phase of Revelation—defeat of Satan, the millennial reign of Christ, and the New Jerusalem coming down in a new heaven and earth forever. The promise of Jesus’ coming concludes.

That’s a flyover of Revelation, following the preposition-pronoun combination “after this” (Μετὰ ταῦτα). Now let’s hear what Jesus says to John:

4:1 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.”

John looks. After what? John was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day (1:10) when he met Jesus—the One whose appearance was like the sun shining in full strength (1:16). You couldn’t look at Jesus for fear of His awesome appearance. Jesus commanded John to write to the churches with powerful imagery. The last letter ends with the Throne (3:21) and flows into this new place Jesus invites John to experience.

The Throne

What is jasper and carnelian? They’re red crystals. A rainbow like emerald? Emeralds are green crystals. Did you know, rainbows are full circles when you see them from an airplane? I’d like to end by reading chapters 4 and 5 as a way of beginning to approach this part of the revelation of Jesus Christ to John.

REVELATION 4: BEFORE THE THRONE OF GOD AND THE LAMB

December 6, 2020

The Throne in Heaven

Jesus calls John to come up to the Throne in Heaven. Why?

Jesus is showing John what must take place after those who conquer sit with Christ in/on/beside His throne. In Revelation 1:19, Jesus has told John the outline of this letter of Apocalypse (Revelation):

Revelation 1:19

Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this.

It may look like this in Jesus’ mind:

1. I understand the letters to the churches to be “the things that are.”

2. I understand the three sets of judgment in chapters 4–17 to be “those that are to take place after this.”

a. Revelation 4 begins with this same phrase 1:19 ended with: “after this.”

b. Revelation 18 begins with “after this” to signify a new phase.

As Jesus calls John up to the Throne, He begins to show things “that are to take place after” the things that are—the condition of the churches, their calls to repent, and what they will receive if they conquer. Each letter ends that way.

Revelation 4 takes us to the second phase of Jesus’ outline:

1. The things that are

2. The things that are to take place after this (notice “things” is plural in both phases)

This says to me that Revelation 1–3 are “things that are” in the current condition of the church in the end of the first century AD. If I understand this correctly, this phrase “after this” signifies what takes place after the church age. Other students of the Word understand this differently and I want to respect those positions while also clearly presenting my own. Therefore, I submit to you Revelation 4–17 is a unit of judgment beginning with a scroll sealed at the throne which only One is worthy to open. Once a seal is opened in 6:1 judgment rains down upon the earth through most of the rest of this book of prophecy. It isn’t until 18:1 that we see this temporal marker “after this” again—which in chapter 18 marks the fall of God’s great enemy. And again these words “after this” in chapter 19 to describe specific events leading to the thousand year reign of Christ and new heaven and new earth coming to be our new home.

An Exposition of Revelation 4

Let’s move through chapter 4, now, and pause along the way for questions or comments.

4:1 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.”

After writing to the seven churches as Jesus commanded John to do, he looks and beholds a wide open door in heaven! Jesus has just said, “I stand at the door and knock…if anyone opens the door…” (3:20). As John is processing this overwhelming sight he hears that same trumpet like voice, saying, “Come.”

This is an invitation John has heard from Jesus before. It’s Jesus’ fisherman-call: “Come, after Me” (Matt 4:19, my translation). Here it is a command to go up to where Jesus is. There’s more for John to see.

4:2 At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne.

John began this letter by explaining he was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day while exiled at Patmos (1:10). Each additional occurrence of being in the Spirit builds this description. Here it is instantaneous in response to Jesus’ command to come up to the Throne in Heaven (4:2). As least twice more, John will be in the Spirit later in Revelation:

1. 17:3 carried away in the Spirit to the wilderness to see a woman on a beast

2. 21:10 carried away in the Spirit to a high mountain to see the New Jerusalem coming down from heaven to the new earth

Ezekiel describes his experience similarly (Ezek 3:12–14). It was not a pleasant experience for Ezekiel. The Apostle Paul was also caught up into heaven to receive visions and revelations of the Lord he was not able to speak (2 Cor 12:1–4). It marked him for life with a “thorn.”

John is overwhelmed with the sight of a throne in Heaven and One sitting on it beyond description.

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.

Jasper and carnelian are similar looking reddish quartz crystals with dazzling beauty and value. Emeralds are normally green but there can be certain exquisite emeralds which do look like a rainbow of colors. I had to spend some time online at Zales.com to see the beauty and value of these gems. It took my mind to imagine the Northern Lights, the Aurora Borealis, as a glimpse at the shadow of this majestic scene.

What/who had this supreme beauty and value? The One sitting on the Throne! In all my efforts to define the biblical word “glory” which I hear used a lot at Bethlehem I’ve settled on that from John Piper’s writings and my study of Scripture: “beauty and worth.” John is describing God’s beauty in terms of most valuable gems of splendid color fit only for a king.

Also, as an aside, the rainbow throughout Scripture indicates a covenant of peace (Gen 9:13–16; Isa 54:9–10). Ezekiel sees this appearance like a rainbow as the glory of the Lord (Ezek 1:28). Listen to these OT descriptions of God’s throne from the prophets:

In Isaiah 6:1b–4:

I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 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. And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;

the whole earth is full of his glory!”

And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.

And in Ezekiel 1:26–28:

And above the expanse over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness with a human appearance. And upward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were gleaming metal, like the appearance of fire enclosed all around. And downward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness around him. Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around.

Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.

In Daniel 7:9–10 (though I think this corresponds also to Rev 20:4):

As I looked,

thrones were placed,

and the Ancient of Days took his seat;

his clothing was white as snow,

and the hair of his head like pure wool;

his throne was fiery flames;

its wheels were burning fire.

A stream of fire issued

and came out from before him;

a thousand thousands served him,

and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him;

the court sat in judgment,

and the books were opened.

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.

There is more than one throne. While God’s Throne is clearly matchless, it is the One on the throne which makes it beautiful. The color John saw was not coming from the Throne but from the Father who sits there.

Notice John’s preoccupation with color. I picture heaven to be vivid beyond the imagination such that our eyes could not look for long. In The Great Divorce, C. S. Lewis describes the place the flying bus took them to be color so deep and tangible that he and the others in this story were translucent like ghosts in comparison. That wasn’t even meant to symbolize Heaven, I don’t think, but a place leading to it.

The two most important descriptor words I see in verse 4 are colors. There are 24 elders on 24 thrones clothed in white garments. There are 24 golden crowns—one on each of their heads. White garments are in the likeness of the King (Dan 7:9). Crowns signify king-warriors (Ps 21:3; Rev 9:7). It appears the color white throughout Scripture represents brightness and of new and righteous garments. The color gold represents value and majesty.

Who these elders might be is not told to us.

4:5 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,

Now, we have a description of the Father’s throne. It is not quite like any of the Prophet’s descriptions. This is loud and blinding thunder and lighting. It’s like God sits on a storm cloud with seven torches of fire which aren’t quenched by the raging nature of this throne.

We are told what these seven torches are—the seven spirits of God. This is the description John gave to begin with: “Grace and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before the throne” (Rev 1:4). John has already had one of these fires rest upon him at the coming of the Holy Spirit at that Pentecost (Acts 2:3). The Spirit is prophesied to rest upon the Messiah in a sevenfold way (Isa 11:1–2).

Revelation 4–5 is key to understanding the way God has revealed Himself as the One Father, the sevenfold Spirit, and the Lamb (also 3:21).

4:6 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:

4:7 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.

More description of majesty. I had a rancher object to this in my last church to say he doesn’t want to go to heaven if it’s just a sea of glass. He wants to be able to get mud on his boots. I think he missed the point. This throne is in heaven (4:1, 2) and not to be confused with what the new earth will look like (21–22). If we approach God’s throne with selfish motives there will be nothing left standing—all will be burned as wood, hay, and stubble (1 Cor 3:12–15). I think this is a throne of fire which purges everything and everyone who draws near.

As to the four living creatures, this Greek term ζῷον connotes something like a dragon or other creature which transcends normal animal life. In Isaiah they care called seraphim—dreadful creatures. It might be easier to picture these supernatural beings as the most fearsome and majestic of all God’s creatures. I don’t think this description is meant to make them sound like aliens but like glowing or burning-deadly winged creatures which symbolize power:

1. A lion—the strongest of all wild creatures (think of Aslan)

2. An ox—the strongest of domestic creatures

3. A man—the strongest of human creatures and image bearer of God

4. An eagle—the strongest and debatably most majestic of all winged creatures

Why are they full of eyes? The eye is the only sense through which light can be perceived. Color cannot even be seen by our eyes unless there is light. This vivid place is characterized primarily by brightness and these creatures represent that.

4:8 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!”

Six wings is my tip these are like the seraphim in Isaiah 6. With two they cover their face, with two they cover their feet, with two they fly. They cry the same sort of declaration as in Isaiah 6:3, though emphasize God’s timeless existence.

The word “holy” in reference to God speaks of indescribably holiness in terms of His purity, perfection, beauty, and worth. Here again we have a “glory” word. The word “holy” is primarily used in Scripture to speak of things or people or angels dedicated to God. The BDAG resource I primarily use for meaning of Greek words explains: “The threefold ἅγιος serves to emphasize the idea, as the twofold καλὸν καλόν (good good)=indescribably beautiful.”[2] So this, at least, is communicating uniqueness and perhaps brightness which is matchless. In Revelation 6:10 the Sovereign Lord is called “holy and true.”

Turning to the OT helps express the holiness of God in the Hebrew word קָדוֹשׁ. God is described far more often as holy in the OT, primarily referring to God (HALOT). The “Holy One” is His name throughout Isaiah. It speaks of God’s majesty and sovereignty, that He is indescribable and matchless in glory.

4:9–10a And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever.

Their threefold expression is also giving three things to the Father on His throne: 1) glory, 2) honor, and 3) thanks. If I take nothing else away from this divine encounter through words with our Sovereign Lord, I am told what He deserves from me:

1. Glory. How do I give God glory? I cannot make Him any more glorious but I can extol His greatness and thereby do what I’m made for and what makes Him known. I speak of His beauty and worth, far surpassing all.

2. Honor. How do I honor Him? I cannot honor God aright unless I know Him rightly. Ann is reading JI Packer’s Knowing God in effort to honor Him as she is made to do.

3. Thanks. How do I thank Him? I cannot thank God in my own human capabilities but only through Christ—to give thanks in all circumstances in Christ Jesus (1 Thess 5:18). That’s especially difficult in the difficult ones.

The 24 elders are constantly falling down before the Father on His throne and worshipping Him as the living One who is without beginning or end. I have sensed this throughout the last year or so that I don’t physically bow at Bethlehem—not in the classroom nor in the church services or here. I have stopped kneeling even at home since coming to seminary. I have felt a strong desire to as I have in the past beside the pulpit, in my living room, and in the field as I work.

In my pastoral internship I encouraged everyone on a Wednesday night to cry with loud voices on their knees and was a bit unpopular except with the youth group kids. Prior to that I led a call to worship in our home church in Kodiak and invited the whole congregation to kneel with me as I prayed. Very few did and I was never asked to lead that call to worship again. One man came up to me after the service and said with assurance, “Someday every knee will bow.”

4:10b They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

“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.”

These enthroned elders get off their seats and literally “throw” their kingly crowns before the Father sitting on His throne. This Greek word βαλοῦσιν fascinated me when I learned it here in seminary. It means to forcefully drive out or expel something into the desert or someone into prison or the lion’s den (Mt 18:30; Rev 2:10). Figuratively it is used as love driving out fear (1 Jn 4:18). John would have used this word to speak of throwing his fishing nets into the lake or throwing something on the fire or pitching bad fish away. These elders are renouncing any claim to the throne and instead forcefully take off their crowns and bow.

These enthroned elders proclaim the Father’s worthiness as their Master and King. Why? God the Father is worthy to receive three things in particular:

1. All glory. We call this splendor, magnificence, greatness, fame, prestige, renown. It is similar in many ways to honor. To receive glory is to receive honor and thanks and much more—everything due Him.

2. All honor. We call this value, reverence, esteem, privilege. It is similar to glory in that it speaks of great worth communicated to one who is glorious.

3. All power. We call this power, might, strength.

Glory and honor are what the celestial creatures had also ascribed to God. Why is God worthy of these? Because He created everything. Through His will all things were and were created. It sounds a bit like the character of God: the One who was and is.

Application

How do we conclude such a written view of God’s majesty? You have heard my takeaways:

1. Give God glory.

2. Honor Him.

3. Thank Him in Christ.

4. Bow before Him.

a. Daily kneel in prayer at home.

b. Fall on my knees in awe of Him in public.

[1] https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05008b.htm

[2] William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 11.