REV.#13~4: GLORY AROUND THE THRONE 7-11-09
Today we’ll continue our study of the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
We’re here in chapter 4, this is where the rapture takes place as well as what we will experience and witness in both 4:-5:, both chapters are one scene.
The people that don’t believe in shouting and praising God down here are in for a surprise, if we didn’t have glorified ears at this time we wouldn’t be able to stand the great magnitude of exaltation that’s surely goanna take place, and let me say that there’ll be no one bashful or timid there either, all self pride will be a thing of the past, what a time we’re goanna have.
Well the last time we commented on the 1st 4 verses of Chapter 4, so today we’ll read them over again and remind us of what their referring to and continue on.
Listen as I read from Rev. 4:
1After this** I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither,** and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
2And immediately {rapture} I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. this is not the Son, as the Son receives the book from His hand in chapter 5.
3And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone:
The Scripture tells us that God “dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen, or can see.
1 Timothy 6:16 Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to Whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.
“Jasper.” This was a clear, crystal-like gem, possible a diamond.
It portrays the purity and brilliance of God’s holiness. Since such a stone picks up and reflect light, it reminds us that God is light, a Holy God who reveals, and does away with darkness.
Sardine stone- This stone was blood red portraying God’s wrath and justice, but it also portrays His redemptive work of love and grace in the person of the Lamb of God who came to take away the sin of the world through His death on the cross.
In the Old Testament these stones had a special relationship to the tribes of Israel.
Each tribe had a representative stone, which the High Priest wore on his priestly garment. As the High Priest, he was representing each tribe before God at the altar.
The Jasper was the stone representing the first tribe, the tribe of Reuben. The 1st born of Jacobs’s sons.
The Sardine stone represented the last tribe, Benjamin.
So these two stones represent the whole nation, the first and the last and all in between.
Reuben means “Behold a Son” and Benjamin means “Son of my right hand.”
Therefore both of these two stones pointed to God the Son whom the Father would give through the nation Israel to save mankind in the person of His beloved Son.
3-b- and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.**
Remember last time we read from Gen. 9: that God made a covenant of mercy, that He’d not destroy the world any more with a flood, He put a rainbow in the clouds as the covenant.—mercy—
So this rainbow around the throne was green, {emerald} the every green tree is green year around, unending mercy. There’s no rainbow around the white throne judgment in Chapter 20, there’ll be no mercy.
4And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting,** --work is ended.
There are some well-known commentators that say these 24 elders represent the O.T. believers as well as the N.T believers. And I must say that for a long time I leaned in that direction as well, but as we take a closer look at who the book of Revelation was written to we’re inclined to believe that these 24 elders are all N.T. believers, their all Christians.
John is not writing this letter to the tribes of Israel, or the Gentiles, or even to a class of spiritual beings such as angles. He is writing it to the church!
Rev. 1:4- 6
John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; 5And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, 6And hath made us kings and priests** unto God and his Father;--
The number four and twenty Elders represent the church as priests before God.
David divided the Levitical priesthood into 24 sections (1 Chr. 24:7–19).
Believers are seen here as a kingdom of priests in Rev.1:6.
Old Testament saints are not yet included, since they will not be resurrected and rewarded until after the Tribulation period.
Dan.12:1–2 1And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people:** and there shall be a time of trouble, **such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. 2And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
In the New Jerusalem the twelve tribes’ names will be written on the gates of the New Jerusalem, and also the foundation of that great new city will be the twelve apostles’ names. Revelation 21:12-14 but this is not a reference to the 24 Elders at all.
The Gentiles have not been washed by the blood; neither has Spiritual beings, because Spiritual beings have no need of redemption so that eliminates angels as the 24 elders, "The word ’elder’ is nowhere applied to angels." only the Church, the born again, the N.T. believers.
In the opening of the letter, he is reminding the church of what Jesus has done for them. AND THEN WE READ ABOUT The song of the elders, which also points out that it’s not the O.T. saints. in
Rev. 5:9-10 9And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 10And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
The Church reigns on the earth, not Israel.
There is only one group of people that have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus, AND made kings and priests - the church.
Its true that all saved people all the way back to Adam is saved because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross, but we must not confuse the 3 groups of people that are found in the Bible, {GENTILES-ISRAEL- AND THE CHURCH.
So it seems according to all these scriptures, that the 24 Elders are all the N.T. saints, the Church.
We will not only reign with Christ after the tribulation, we will also judge the world.
1st Cor. 6:2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? And if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
4-b-- clothed in white raiment;** and they had on their heads crowns of gold.
Notice; they’re wearing golden crowns.
They evidently have already received them, and that means the judgment seat of Christ has taken place.
The Greek word for crowns here is ’stephanos’, which is the athletics crown, the reward for running the race and winning it, not ’diadem’ which is a crown that speaks of governmental authority. We are not reining on earth yet.
These Elders are the over comers, therefore all are crowned with royal authority.
Only saints of the church age are promised crowns of gold as rewards. THERE ARE 5 THAT CAN BE WON.
Title Reason Reference
An incorruptible For leading a disciplined life 1 Cor. 9:25
A Crown of Rejoicing For evangelism and discipleship 1 Thess. 2:19
A Crown of Righteousness For loving the Lord’s appearing 2 Tim. 4:8
A Crown of Life** For enduring trials James 1:12; T-Rev. 2:10-M-
A Crown of Glory For shepherding God’s flock faithfully*** 1 Pet. 5:4
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5And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices:
“Lightnings and thunderings” always precede a storm - the meaning here is that judgment is coming.-Judgment is pending and ready to break as we’ll see beginning 6:
5-b-and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
This is to do with the 7 attributes of the Holy Spirit that we read about in
ISA. 11:1-2 1And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch** shall grow out of his roots: 2And 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; --
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6And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal:
The church many times before the rapture had problems on earth, No longer is the church the victim of the storms of life. No longer is the church out there on the tossing sea. The stormy sea of life is now smooth.
-- sea of glass
Some writers think that this is a reference to the laver in the tabernacle (Ex. 30:18-21) that was for the purification of the priests. However, the sea before the throne is like glass, solidified, like crystal—not water, for no cleansing is needed here.
As crystal sparkles and reflects light, this also adds to the picture of God’s holy character.
6-b- and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.
(1) They are living creatures. They are angelic beings, (2) “Full of eyes in front and behind.” The cherubim of Ezekiel 10 were also full of eyes signifying their intelligence and spiritual perception of the ways and judgments of God.
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7 And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.
They also represent God’s judicial government and activities over man. They express the character of God’s throne in relation to the earth and man.
God puts the picture of Jesus Christ everywhere. Here it is in these four living creatures, and they are before the throne of God.
These 4 living creatures represent also all the living creation that God promised mercy to back in GEN. 9.
There is this picture of unceasing worship from all of creation - what a contrast to the way things are today.
In these four faces we have - the face of a lion, the face of a calf, the face of a man, the face of an eagle –
And the four evangelists, the writers of the gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John - have depicted the various characteristics of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Matthew is the gospel of the King; the king of beasts is the lion.
The gospel of Matthew presents Christ as King, as the lion of the tribe of Judah (Rev. 5:5).
Genesis 49:9-10 Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? 10The sceptre shall not depart from Judah,--
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Mark is the gospel of the Servant, and the chief beast of labor and burden is the calf or the ox.
Mark 10:44-45 And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. 45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, --
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Luke’s gospel is the one that focuses on the Son of Man, on the humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ, the face of a man.
Luke 19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
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John’s gospel is the one that takes us into His glory and shows us the divinity of Christ, the Savior of the world, as we soar like an eagle in the heavenlies. The keen sight of the eagle.
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8And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.
Their also much like the cherubim of Ezekiel 1:10-11 As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle. 11Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched upward;---
He always was, and now is, and He’s coming back.
In verse 8 they have six wings, which reminds us of the seraphim of Isaiah 6:2-3 2Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
In verse 8 they are seen speaking about God in unceasing acclamations of praise.
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9-11 And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,
10The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
11Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
The saints of God will realize that He is the ONE that’s truly worthy and no one else, they’ll gladly cast their crowns at His feet as He sits on His Majestic Throne.
If it were not for Him none of the saints would be there.
