The Throne Room of God - Revelation 4:1-11
INTRODUCTION:
Having finished the letters to the churches last Sunday, we now move into the third division of the book of Revelation as Jesus outlined the book for us in chapter 1, verse 19, “Therefore write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things.” (Revelation 1:19, NASB95)[1] John had written first of the things which he had seen, this was his vision of the risen, glorified, exalted Lord Jesus Christ. Next, he had written the things which are, this refers to the church age and the letters to the seven churches, this morning he will begin to write the things which will take place after these things, or the events that will follow the church age and these events begin in chapter 4.
In the 1800’s there was in England a man by the name of Reginald Heber who composed a hymn that has always been a favorite of mine. He used Isaiah 6:1-3 and Revelation 4:8-11 as the basis for this great hymn of the church. The hymn is “Holy, holy, holy.” The hymn declares some of the attributes of the Triune God, verse one says: “Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee; Holy, holy, holy! merciful and mighty! God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!”[2] (Page 48 in Hymns of Grace)
As we look at chapter four and five of Revelation over the next couple of weeks we are going to get a true picture of heaven and we are going to see God in three Persons, holy, mighty, merciful and worthy of our highest praise. These next two chapters center around the Throne of God and we will see how it relates to everything else. Let’s pray and then get into our Scripture for this morning.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles to Revelation 4:1-11, our Scripture passage for this morning. Please stand if you are able in honor of the reading of God’s Word. Follow along as I read.
Revelation 4:1-11,
“After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.’ Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads. Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God; and before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. The first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.’ And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, ‘Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.’” (Revelation 4:1–11, NASB95)[3]
JOHN IN THE THRONE ROOM OF GOD (Revelation 4:1-2a)
John begins this chapter with the words, “After these things…” This phrase is for us to understand that something is about to change, it is John’s marker in his chronology. It notes that this second vision which we are about to look at followed immediately after his vision of the risen, glorified, and exalted Lord Jesus Christ and the letters to the seven churches. This phrase is used numerous times in Revelation to mark the beginning of a new vision.
John exclaims that he saw a door standing open in heaven, an entrance into the presence of God, and when he saw the door he heard a voice, like the voice he had heard back in chapter one, verse ten, a voice like the sound of a trumpet, in other words a commanding and authoritative voice and it spoke to John and said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.” We know from chapter one that the voice John heard was the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ, and His reference to what must take place after these things relates to God’s chronology, telling John that he is about to be shown what will take place after the church age. John says that immediately he was in the Spirit and taken up through the open door into heaven. I will not be dogmatic about this, but I believe that John is a type for us of the rapture that will take place at the end of the church age when all true believers will be taken up to heaven before the Tribulation begins on the earth as was promised to the church in Philadelphia. Our Scripture reading this morning describes this event and says it will happen in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, when it shall sound the dead will be raised and we who are still alive will be changed and we will be with the Lord forever. John heard a voice like a trumpet and was immediately taken to heaven in the Spirit, we will go in our glorified bodies. After this point we do not read about the church again in chapters 4-19 because they are no longer on the earth, but in heaven with their Savior.
Upon his arrival in heaven John begins to describe for us what he sees, and his attention is immediately drawn to a throne.
THE THRONE AND THE ONE SITTING ON IT (Revelation 4:2b-3a)
John’s focus was on the glorious throne of God and the majesty of the One who was seated on it. John was in such awe and amazement by what he saw that it caused him to exclaim: “Behold.” John says that this throne was standing in heaven, it was a symbol of God’s sovereign rule and authority. The throne was said to be standing because God’s sovereign rule is fixed, it is permanent, it is established and cannot be moved or shaken. This should give us great comfort in knowing that God’s immovable throne reveals that God is permanent, He is unchanging, and He is in complete control of the universe. This should be a comfort considering the horror and trauma of the end-time events about to be revealed.
John goes on and says that One was sitting on the throne. John wants us to understand that random chance does not control the universe. Instead it is the all-powerful Creator of the universe who is the ruler. Though John does not tell us who this One is who is sitting on the throne, it is obvious that this is the Almighty God, the One who Isaiah saw sitting on His throne in Isaiah 6. This is none other than God the Father. Then John seeks to describe for us what it is that he sees, he writes that the One sitting on the throne is like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance. In Revelation 21:11 John describes jasper as “crystal-clear.” This jasper stone should be identified as what we know as a diamond. All the shining, flashing facets of the glory of God are compared to a diamond, brilliantly refracting all the colors of the spectrum. A sardius is a fiery blood-red ruby. This stone reflects the shining beauty of God’s glory, and may also symbolize God’s blazing wrath about to be poured out on the earth. As John gazed at this One who sat upon the throne all He could see and describe was the glory of God the Father. 1 Timothy 6:15b-16 says, “He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.” (1 Timothy 6:15b–16, NASB95)[4] I believe John is describing for us the unapproachable light of the glory of God.
There is some further symbolism in the choice of these two stones, the sardius and the jasper were the first and last stones on the breast piece of the high priest, representing the firstborn and the last born of the sons of Jacob. These stones being the first and the last, thus include all the ones in between may represent God’s covenant relationship with Israel. His wrath and judgment will not destroy that relationship. This description of God’s glory is not to bring peace and comfort, instead its blazing brilliancy reveals the terrors of God’s judgment.
AROUND THE THRONE (Revelation 4:3b-4)
John’s gaze moves from the brilliance of the glory of God and he begins to observe other things that are around the throne. First, he describes a rainbow that encircles the throne, John says that it was like an emerald in appearance, this simply means that the green of this rainbow was the dominant color, this to shows us the fullness of the splendor of God’s glory. The rainbow is a comforting balance to the fiery flashings of judgment that were evident from God’s glory. According to Genesis 9:13-17, a rainbow symbolizes God’s covenant faithfulness, mercy and grace. It was the symbol of the eternal covenant made with Noah and all the living. God’s attributes always work in perfect harmony, His wrath never operates at the expense of His faithfulness.
John’s gaze moves farther out from the throne and he sees that there are twenty-four thrones around the throne of God, seated on these 24 thrones are 24 elders. Who are these 24 elders? That has been the debate for many years. Some hold that they are angels, but the problem with this is the Greek word translated “elders” is never used in Scripture to refer to angels, but it always both in Hebrew and Greek refers to men. It is used to speak of older men most often who are fit to rule. Also, it would be an inappropriate term to describe angels, who do not age. Though angels often appear in white we do not read anywhere in Scripture of them wearing crowns and sitting on thrones which suggests authority and rule. These elders are humans and I believe they represent the church raptured and ruling with Christ. Jesus Christ had promised that the one who overcomes would have authority over the nations. Jesus Christ also promised white garments to the overcomers, He counseled the church of Laodicea to buy white garments from Him. White garments symbolize Christ’s righteousness imputed to believers at the moment of salvation. Finally, Jesus promised the crown of life to those who were faithful until death. The golden crowns spoken of here is not the crown of a ruler, that is a different word in Greek, but this is the crown of a victor, worn by those who successfully competed and won the victory. In Scripture, the number 24 is often used to speak of completion and representation. For example, there were 24 officers of the temple sanctuary that represented the 24 courses of Levitical priests, there were also 24 divisions of singers in the temple. This group of 24 elders I believe represents a larger group, the church raptured which in chapter 5 will sing the song of redemption, they have their crowns and live in the place prepared for them, where they have gone to be with Jesus as He had promised.
FROM THE THRONE (Revelation 4:5a)
John’s attention is drawn back to the throne because “Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder.” (Revelation 4:5a)[5] In the book of Exodus when God came down onto Mt. Sinai and also when God appeared to the prophet Ezekiel lightning, sounds, and peals of thunder were associated with God’s presence, here they are associated with God’s presence and the judgment that is about to come on the earth during the Tribulation, John was seeing a preview of God’s wrath against the sinfulness and rebellion of mankind on the earth.
BEFORE THE THRONE (Revelation 4:5b-6a)
With His attention drawn back to the throne, John tells us that there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne of God. This word translated “lamp” is the is the Greek word used for outdoor torches, giving off the fierce, blazing light of a fiery torch. John identifies these seven torches as “the seven Spirits of God.” This is not the first time that this phrase has been used to describe the Holy Spirit in the book of Revelation. Again, it describes Him in all His fullness, the sevenfold governmental role that He will have in the end times. Torches in O.T. times were sometimes associated with war, like when Gideon surrounded the Midianites and blew their trumpets and broke the pots off their blazing torches. This vision depicts God as ready to make war with sinful, rebellious humanity and the Holy Spirit is His war torch. The Comforter of those who love and believed in Christ, will be the Consumer of those who reject Christ.
Next John said that He saw before the throne “something like a sea of glass, like crystal.” Again, John is describing what things look like, it is probably not an actual sea, but a vast pavement of glass or crystal, shining brilliantly. In Exodus and in Ezekiel when Moses, Aaron and the elders of Israel, and when the prophet Ezekiel saw God they described Him as seated with a clear, shining pavement under Him and before Him. God’s glory will be reflected throughout heaven in a manner beyond our ability to describe or imagine. (Exodus 24:10; Ezekiel 1:22)
IN THE CENTER AND AROUND THE THRONE (Revelation 4:6b-8a)
As John continues to gaze upon God’s throne room he writes, “and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. The first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within;” (Revelation 4:6b-8a, NASB95)[6] John here introduces us to the four living creatures who will have a significant role in the end time events of Revelation. They are describes as being in the center and around the throne which simply means that they are in the inner circle nearest the throne. Ezekiel gives a very detailed description of these creatures and suggests that they are in constant motion around the throne. “Living creatures” is not the best translation of the Greek word used here, a better translation would be “living ones” because they are not creatures, but living beings. Ezekiel’s description in Ezekiel 1:4-25 is much more detailed then John’s description here. Ezekiel 10:15 specifically identifies them for us, “Then the cherubim rose up. They are the living beings that I saw by the river Chebar.” (Ezekiel 10:15, NASB95)[7] The four living ones are cherubim, an exalted order of angels associated in Scripture with God’s holy power. It was cherubim and a flaming sword that guarded the way to the tree of life after Adam and Eve sinned. The word cherubim is plural, one living one is a cherub. John says they are full of eyes in front and behind, around and within, this symbolizes their awareness, alertness, and comprehensive knowledge, nothing pertaining to their duties escapes their scrutiny.
John only associates one face with each living one, but Ezekiel notes that each of them possessed all four faces (Ezekiel 1:6) From John’s viewpoint, the first was like a lion, the second a calf, the third had the face like a man’s, and the fourth like a flying eagle. Those descriptions view the four cherubim in relation to the created world, the lion represents wild creatures, the calf represents domestic animals, the eagle denotes the flying creatures, and man the pinnacle of God’s creation.
Their six wings denote that their supreme responsibility and privilege is to constantly worship God. In Isaiah vision of God, we learn that the six-winged Seraphim used their six wings in this way, with two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet and with two they flew (Isaiah 6:2). Four of their six wings related to worshiping God. Worship is their privilege and permanent occupation.
WORSHIP TO THE ONE SEATED ON THE THRONE (Revelation 4:8b-11)
John records for us that the living ones do not cease day or night to ascribe to God His holiness. They constantly worship God with the words, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.” (Revelation 4:8b, NASB95)[8] John goes onto say that whenever they give glory, honor, and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, the one who lives forever and ever, then the 24 elders fall down before the One who sits on the throne and they worship Him. They cast their crowns of victory before the throne not concerning themselves with their own holiness, honor, or reward, all this pales in comparison to the holiness, greatness, honor and glory of God, the Almighty, the Eternal One, the One who is worthy of all glory and honor and power, the Creator God of all things, and it is because of His will that all things existed, and were created. The elders are saying that God has every right to do with His creation as He sees fit, He has a right to redeem those whom He chooses and He has a right to judge those who rebel against Him, they belong to Him, they are His creation. John MacArthur writes, “Their song [the song of the 24 elders] anticipates paradise lost becoming paradise regained.”[9]
CONCLUSION:
In this chapter John has given us a glimpse of heaven, specifically the throne room of heaven from were God will pour out His wrath on the earth in the Tribulation. In this place John saw the glory of God the Father and he saw the Holy Spirit represented by the fiery torches, he heard the voice of the risen and glorified Jesus Christ call him to this place and was told that he will be shown what will take place after the church age. It from the throne where God the Father is seated in glory and power that all that is about to take place commences. God, the holy and just Judge of all His creation will pour forth His wrath on sinful, rebellious man because His holiness and justice demand that sin be punished. If man refuses to acknowledge and believe that Jesus Christ died to pay the punishment for their sin, then man must pay the punishment. God’s holiness and glory also demands worship and we saw the living ones who constantly both day and night acknowledge God’s holiness, His Omnipotence, His Eternality and how this worship inspires the worship of the 24 elders who represent the church, their worship is a glimpse for us that anticipates our future in heaven when we will worship the God of creation and anticipate paradise regained.
This morning we are going to remember the provision made for us so that we might escape the hour of trial that is coming on all the earth, to test those who dwell upon the earth. The Lord’s Supper is a remembrance of the death of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who died as God’s provision for us. Next Sunday we will see Him as the Lamb who was slain on our behalf. As we prepare our hearts to partake of the Lord’s Supper to proclaim the Lord’s death until He returns for us, let me read the last three verses of that hymn, Holy, holy, holy. As you meditate on the words and who God is, prepare your heart to partake of the Lord’s Supper, remembering that God, the Creator, the Eternal One, the Almighty is also the Merciful and Gracious One. Judgment is coming, but today is a day of mercy and grace because of His love for us. Listen to these words, “Holy, holy holy! all the saints adore Thee, Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea; Cherubim and Seraphim falling down before Thee, Who were and art, and evermore shalt be. Holy, holy, holy! though the darkness hide Thee, Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see; Only Thou art holy; there is none besides Thee, Perfect in power, in love and purity. Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! All Thy works shall praise Thy name, in earth, and sky, and sea; Holy, holy, holy! merciful and mighty! God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!” (page 48 in Hymns of Grace).[10]
[1]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[2]Webb, Philip, editor., Hymns of Grace. Los Angeles, CA : The Master’s Seminary Press, 2015
[3]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[4]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[5]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[6]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[7]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[8]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[9]MacArthur, John, Because the Time is Near. Chicago, Ill. : Moody Publishers, 2007
[10]Webb, Philip, editor., Hymns of Grace. Los Angeles, CA : The Master’s Seminary Press, 2015