Today, we find ourselves in the first of two chapters in Revelation, that I consider to be at its very heart. Revelation 4, and 5. Arguably, these two chapters in their own way are the very heart of the Bible, as well.
There are things in these chapters that are not necessarily obvious, that need explanation. Some of these are debated among scholars-- not sharply, or with bitterness. But more along the lines of, I think this, and you think that. There's a sense in which these disagreements don't matter really at all because those disagreements revolve around the outside of the scene. If you find that you are unpersuaded by parts of my sermon today, I'm not sure that there's ever been a time when I've cared less. And if you disagree, I'm not sure that there's ever been a time I've been less tempted to suggest an alternative. At the center of these chapters, we will see God seated on his throne, and the conquering Lion-Lamb. And these pictures are designed to give you hope, and confidence, and reassurance. They're designed to make sure that you bend the knee to God, and to the Lamb, and to no other. You don't worship emperors, or any other gods. What you're to do instead, is read these two chapters, and worship only God, and worship much better than you've ever worshipped, before being exposed to these verses.
If I can leave you in that place, or at least pointing you down that road, I'll have been successful. You'll be ready for an encounter with God, and a life positioned in such a way, that you face him, and he faces you, as long as you live.
All of that said, I think there are three keys to understanding the passage as a whole correctly-- apart from making sure to focus on the center of the vision, on God.
The first key is to recognize that what John sees and hears, and what we see and hear, isn't literal. If you went up to heaven, and saw a vision of God's throne room, I don't think it would quite look like this. This part of it snuck up on me this week, and that might or might not sit well with you. What John sees is this vision filled with symbolic images that are theologically loaded.
I would defend this in two ways. The first, you saw if you did your homework for the week. If we compare Ezekiel 1, Isaiah 6, and Revelation 4, for long enough, eventually we will see, that these three throne room scenes are similar, but in some ways really different. All three of these men saw God on his throne, in a busy throne room, but what they saw is not the same thing. What they see is loaded with symbolism, and not necessarily literal.
The second way to defend this is to cheat ahead to the second half of John's vision in Revelation 5:6. This is what John sees, when he sees Jesus:
6 Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits[a] of God sent out into all the earth.
Is that what Jesus looks like? Is Jesus a Lamb, who looks slain? Does Jesus have seven horns, and seven eyes, and these eyes are the seven spirits that God sends out?
What Jesus shows John is symbolic, not literal. Seven is a number symbolizes completeness, and wholeness. Horns are a symbol of power. So there is a fullness to Jesus' power, and to what John sees.
So that's key #1: We're seeing images, and metaphors, and not something literal.
The second key is to understand that in biblical thought, heaven and earth in many ways are mirrors of each other. What's on earth, has a counterpart, or a copy-- something like that-- in heaven. Let's turn to Hebrews 8:1 (NIV):
8 Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, 2 and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being.
3 Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. 4 If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. 5 They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”[a]
Hebrews tells us that there is a tabernacle in heaven. It's the called the true one, set up by the Lord. And when God had Moses make the tabernacle on earth, Moses was told to design it based off of the heavenly blueprint. So at one point, at least, there was an earthly tabernacle, and a heavenly tabernacle. What was on earth was a copy, or a shadow of heaven-- something like that. There was a heavenly counterpart.
What was true of the tabernacle, is true of other things. God has a family on earth-- us. We are called "sons of God," and that includes men and women. Several passages in the OT also talk about God's heavenly family. There are sons of God who show up in Job 1-2, in Genesis 6, in Psalm 82, and so on. Right now, God has two families-- one on earth, and one in heaven. God also used to have a temple on earth. In Revelation 3:11, we saw that God still has a temple in heaven. There's an earthly Jerusalem, and a heavenly Jerusalem. So there's two tabernacles, two families, two temples, two Jerusalems.
Some of you are Marvel movie fans, so I should probably clarify this on one point. I'm not saying that we live in a multiverse where each of us has another version of ourselves in heaven. This works broadly speaking, and not on an individual level. Two tabernacles, two families, two temples, two Jerusalems. I should probably also say, there is only one God, and one Lamb.
All of that said, the earthly version of these things is not quite like the heavenly ones. When Jesus tells us to pray, he says, we should ask God, that God's will would be done on earth, just as it is in heaven. That's a complicated prayer, in its own way. But the idea is that in God's heavenly throne room, what God wants, God gets. And we are to pray that what God wants on earth, would be what God gets. Lots of things happen on earth that God isn't happy about. Certain things, God tolerates for now, because God has decided He's not going to send a flood every time people rebel. But what we long to see, is earth look like heaven. We don't want it to be a copy or a shadow. We want it to be a perfect mirror.
When John gets this vision of heaven, what he sees resembles earth. On earth, we have copies of many things found in God's throne room. But our copies on earth look like something that's been copied in an imperfect way. Are you still with me? (1) Earth is a copy of heaven. (2) Earth is an imperfect copy of heaven.
The third key to understanding the passage, is to remember where John of Patmos is. He's in exile, stuck in Patmos for his testimony about Jesus. He lives in a world where Caesar seems to be the one true king. Caesar is the one with power, and honor, and authority. That's the seeming reality of life on earth.
Before we dive in, let me say one last thing. This is a passage where there is no place to break. You can look at the handout, and without even reading my translation, you can see all of the "and"s at the start of each line, right? What John sees is one complete picture. He sees a movie, really. And it's not the type of movie where there's a natural place for a commercial break. This is a movie that's brought you without interruption, because it's been sponsored by God. I'm going to break up the text, and disrupt that. I worry a little that this will feel like I'm wrecking it, by sort of dissecting it. But I'll try to put it back together at the end. And if you want this chapter to really grab you, you'll take what you learned this week, and just read it over and over, as a whole, all week long.
So. Verse 1:
(1) After these things, I looked,
and LOOK! A door open in heaven, [Ezekiel 1:1]
and the earlier voice that I heard like a trumpet speaking with me, saying,
[=Jesus; Rev. 1:1 "a revelation FROM Jesus," 10-11]
"Come up here,
and I will show you what must happen after these things!"
After Jesus finishes give John seven letters to give to seven churches, Jesus does something new. He opens a door-- you could maybe call this a portal, really-- into a different reality. Jesus invites John to leave his reality of imprisonment and exile, and enter into this heavenly reality.
Verse 2-3:
(2) Immediately I was in the Spirit, [Revelation 1:10; Ezekiel 8:3-4; 11:5]
and LOOK! A throne was set in heaven!, [Psalm 11:4; 103:19; 1 Kings 22:19]
and upon the throne One Seated, [Isaiah 6:1-3]
(3) and The One seated [was] similar in appearance to stone-- to "jasper" and "carnelian"--
and a rainbow [was] around the throne, similar in appearance to emerald, [Ezekiel 1:28]
The first thing John sees, after going up, and into, this reality, is a throne set in heaven. In heaven, there is alternate power structure to what's on earth. Caesar has his throne, and so does someone else. There is One seated on the throne. It's God, right? But rather than just tell us that he saw God, John tells us, he saw one seated on the throne.
John wants us to think about God in a particular way (it's overspecification), as The One in charge. I'm sure that Caesar on earth had a pretty impressive throne, and throne room. I'm sure that his glory was pretty impressive. But the One we see seated in verse 3 is on an entirely different level. God shines. Modern jasper and carnelian are not the most amazing stones, but whatever exactly is being described here, these stones in the Bible are shiny, and translucent. They're more like diamonds probably. The rainbow perhaps is a reminder of the rainbow God gave Noah, and his commitment to all creation. Or maybe, a rainbow is simply the most glorious thing that any of us has ever seen on earth. A great rainbow, at its brightest and biggest, is a show-stopper. If we can imagine being in the same room as a rainbow, up close, 20 or 30 feet away, instead of miles-- if we can imagine that, we are close to being able to picture one small part of God's throne room.
If you've ever been to the White House, you know it's an impressive building. The oval office, and the president's desk, are impressive. But there is no earthly palace ever built, that compares to what John sees here. And that's half the point, at least.
Verse 4:
(4) and around the throne [were] 24 thrones, [Daniel 7:9-10]
and upon the thrones [were] 24 elders seated,
dressed in white clothing,
and upon their heads gold wreaths,
So after John notices the throne, and The One seated on the throne, his eyes move outward, and he sees that there are 24 other thrones, and on the throne, 24 elders.
Who are these elders?
There's something approaching a consensus among my favorite commentators on the identity of these elders, and I'm happy to rest in that consensus.
On earth, God's people have had two sets of 12 leaders. In the OT, Israel had the 12 tribes, each of them founded by Jacob's twelve sons. In the NT, the church had 12 apostles. They were the ones with authority on earth, among God's people. And the elder language kind of builds on that same idea. Elders are the ones who were responsible for making sure that God's people knew what God wanted. They are the ones who enforced God's rules (Job 29; 1 Corinthians 5:5), and made the community reflects God's values, and looks like what God wants.
I think what John is seeing here, isn't those 24 elders. These 24 aren't Jacob's twelve sons, and the 12 apostles. What John is seeing, is the heavenly counterpart to those elders (with Ian Boxall, Craig Koester, M. Eugene Boring, etc., who all describe this using slightly different language, but broadly agree). These elders are dressed in white, revealing their holiness and cleanness, and they have the winners' wreaths.
Verse 5:
(5) and from the throne coming out, lightnings and sounds and thunders, [Rev. 8:5; 11:19; 16:18; Psalm 18:14; 77:18; Exodus 19:16; Ezekiel 1:4-14, 28]
and seven torches of fire burning before the throne, [Ezekiel 1:12-13]
which are the seven spirits of God, [Psalm 104:4; Rev. 1:4; 3:1; 4:5; 5:6; 8:2 (!) 2 Baruch 21:6; 4 Ezra 8:21; Tobit 12:15; 1 Enoch 20:1-7; 90:21]
In verse 5, we find ourselves on more debated ground. Who are the seven spirits? [For what follows, I'm basically following Craig Koester, who I find persuasive here]
Many of you have Bibles that let you know that there are two main ways to understand this part of what John sees. Seven is a perfect number, and symbolizes completeness. That part is not argued. But there are two options. Option #1, is that John sees the Holy Spirit, in all of the Spirit's fullness. Option #2, is that the seven spirits represent the entirety of God's faithful angels. Angels are sometimes called spirits (1 Kings 22:21; Psalm 104:4; Hebrews 1:7, 14; *Craig Koester). Four times in Revelation, we are told that the seven spirits are before God's throne (Revelation 1:4; 3:1; 4:5; 5:6). In Revelation 8:2, we are told that there are seven angels before the throne. This seems to be the same group. In Jewish thought, this idea that there are seven angels standing before God is a common one. And the NT elsewhere talks about the throne room in terms of God, Jesus, and the angels (Luke 9:26; 1 Timothy 5:21).
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These references aren't scripture, but as representative of a larger shared perspective, they are interesting:
Tobit 12:15:
15 I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who stand ready and enter before the glory of the Lord.”
1 Enoch 20:1-7:
201 And these are the names of the holy angels who watch. 2 Uriel, one of the holy angels, who is over the world and over Tartarus. 3 Raphael, 4 one of the holy angels, who is over the spirits of men. Raguel, one of the holy angels who †takes vengeance on† the world of the luminaries. 5 Michael, one of the holy angels, to wit, he that is set over the best part of mankind «and» over chaos. 6 Saraqâêl, one of the holy angels, who is set over the spirits, who sin in the spirit. 7 Gabriel, one of the holy angels, who is over Paradise and the serpents and the Cherubim. 8 Remiel, one of the holy angels, whom God set over those who rise.
1 Enoch 90:21:
21 And the Lord called those men the seven first white ones, and commanded that they should bring before Him, beginning with the first star which led the way, all the stars whose privy members were like those of horses, and they brought them all before Him.
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And then, let's turn back to the verse we read earlier, Revelation 5:6:
6 Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits[a] of God sent out into all the earth.
I think what John sees, is that God has power and authority over all of the angels in heaven. They serve him, and the Lamb. They act as Jesus' seven eyes, so that Jesus sees everything that happens on earth.
So I'm not denying the Holy Spirit's existence. I'm not trying to destroy Christianity. No one needs to be upset. I think this verse is about angels, and not the Holy Spirit, and if you disagree, that's completely fine. John sees a reality in which all of God's faithful angels, who are like fiery torches, stand before the throne, ready to serve their Maker (and there are other angels, who serve satan, but they've been kicked out of heaven; Revelation 12:7-8).
Verse 6-8:
(6) and before the throne [something] like a sea of glass like crystal, [Rev. 15:2-4]
and in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, four living beings full of eyes in front and in back, [contrast Ezekiel 1:4-28; Rev. 4:9-10; 5:8-10; 5:14; 19:4; 7:11; 14:3; 6:1-8; 19:7]
(7) and the first living being [was] similar to a lion,
and the second living being [was] similar to an ox,
and the third living being [was] having a face like a human,
and the fourth living being [was] similar to an eagle flying,
(8) and the four living beings-- each one of them [was] each having six wings,
around and inside full of eyes,
and rest they don't have day and night, saying,
"Holy, holy, holy [is] the Lord-- the God, The Almighty, The One who was, and The One who is, and The One who is coming," [Isaiah 6:3; Rev. 1:4]
I'm unsettled on the significance to the sea of glass, so I'll just let that go. Sorry. But the other thing we see in these verses, is four very unusual looking living beings.
In many ways, what John sees look a lot like the four living beings in Ezekiel 1. But they have been changed. They are different. In Ezekiel, the four living beings each have four faces, and those four faces are look like a lion, ox, human, and eagle. And in Ezekiel, the main thing the four living beings do, is move God's throne. God's throne is like a chariot, flying through the sky. And the four living beings go where they're told, bringing God wherever God wants. That seems to be the main point, maybe, in Ezekiel 1. God freely goes wherever God wants. He's not tied down. His throne isn't stuck in one place.
The picture in Revelation 4 is close enough to Ezekiel 1 that to be familiar, and different enough to make us stop and think. Revelation 4 is making a different point.
When we think about creatures on earth, they can be divided into four categories. There are wild animals, domestic animals, birds, and humans. Put those four together, and you have, more or less, the entirety of God's creation. What John sees, is the heavenly counterpart to the four main categories of created beings. In this heavenly reality, all of creation is united, and together make a proclamation about the Lord.
Who is the Lord? He is the God, the Almighty, The One who was, and The One who is, and The One who is coming," [Isaiah 6:3; Rev. 1:4]
In the first century, Roman caesars were worshipped as gods. There were temples dedicated to them, where you can offer caesars a sacrifice. You treated them, like you treated any other god in the Roman pantheon.
But our Lord has a better, bigger, higher throne. And our Lord reigns above caesar. Every caesar has a starting point. Every caesar lives a while, and then dies. Our Lord is not like that. Our Lord has always existed. Right now, He still reigns, seated on the throne. And our Lord is coming.
Is that good news, that our Lord is coming?
The answer to that lies in the reality that our Lord is "holy." I'm convinced, even if I haven't managed to persuade any of you (smiling), that the basic idea of holiness is of consecration, or dedication, or commitment. You'll see a link in your translation, if you want to chase this in more detail later.
https://translation.bible/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/case-2017-towards-a-better-understanding-of-god-s-holiness-challenging-the-status-quo.pdf
I don't want to spend a lot of time talking about this. But in the OT, there were vessels and priestly clothing that were holy to God. You'd use those things only at the temple, only in service to God. For humans to be God's holy people, means that they are committed to God. They are dedicated to serving him. God calls us to be a kingdom of priests, who live out of this place of consecration and commitment.
When we do this, we are mirroring God's own commitment to us. To say that God is holy, is to say that God is radically committed to his own people. John might be stuck in exile on Patmos, but God is all-in for John, and for us.
So God is holy, holy, holy. And God is the One who is coming.
This is fabulous news for us, if we have been living holy to God. And it's terrible news for caesar, and all who oppose God, and God's people, and God's kingdom.
Verse 9-11:
(9) and whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to The One seated upon the throne-- to The One living forever-- (10) the 24 elders fall down before The One seated upon the throne,
and they worship/bow down to The One living forever,
and they put down their wreaths before the throne, saying,
(11) "Worthy, you [are], our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power,
because you created all things, (Ps. 33:6-9; 95:1-7)
and because of your will/desire they existed,
and they were created.
What John sees, in this heavenly counterpart to earth, is a reality where all of God's creation submits to God, recognizing God's authority, and praises Him.
The leaders of God's people-- the elders-- legitimately have authority, and responsibility (cf. Ephesians 2:6). But their thrones, and their wreaths, are not in competition to God (cf. Revelation 3:21). The authority they have, is used in service to God. We will see much later that satan also has crowns, and horns, which symbolize power and authority (Revelation 12:3). But satan is not like these heavenly elders. He uses his power and authority to fight God. These elders do well. They understand their role. They understand their thrones are under God's throne.
And ultimately, they recognize that our Lord and God is the one who is worthy to receive glory and honor and power. Our God is seated on the throne, and this is exactly right. This is how it should be.
So let me close today, by trying to pull this all together, and help you hear this, and see this, as John did.
For the most part today, we are incredibly sheltered in the United States. But maybe some of us have had moments where we fear that our leaders are moving in really scary directions. We worry that our constitution seems to matter less and less to judges, and leaders. California is actively trying to limit free speech. And some worry that our president views himself as a king. No kings, right? Or, as Bernie Sanders has argued for 30 years, we worry that we are in the process of becoming an oligarchy.
Some of us find parts of this amusing now. We think people are worrying about nothing. But it wasn't nearly so
funny during covid. Governments can turn on us. They can threaten our jobs. They can keep us from going to the store and buying stuff. They can tell us that for our own safety, we can't publicly worship The One seated on the throne anymore.
And we know that in many other parts of the world, leadership actively punishes Christians for faithfully testifying about Jesus. The leaders-- the elders-- throw people in jail, or kill them.
Life on earth doesn't always work the way God wants. This isn't how God intended life to look. What John sees in heaven, is how it should be on earth. And that's just not the case right now.
Jesus, by giving John this vision into heaven, offers him and us a huge encouragement. There a higher throne. That throne is not empty (*Mitchell Reddish). There is One seated on it. Who is this one? It's not Caesar. It's our God and our Lord, the Almighty. God sees you. He has eyes everywhere. God sees your suffering. He sees that earth is not like heaven. God is radically committed to you. And God is on his way, soon.
Translation:
(1) After these things, I looked,
and LOOK! A door open in heaven, [Ezekiel 1:1]
and the earlier voice that I heard like a trumpet speaking with me, saying,
[=Jesus; Rev. 1:1 "a revelation FROM Jesus," 10-11]
"Come up here,
and I will show you what must happen after these things!"
(2) Immediately I was in the Spirit, [Revelation 1:10; Ezekiel 8:3-4; 11:5]
and LOOK! A throne was set in heaven!, [Psalm 11:4; 103:19; 1 Kings 22:19]
and upon the throne One Seated, [Isaiah 6:1-3]
(3) and The One seated [was] similar in appearance to stone-- to "jasper" and "carnelian"--
and a rainbow [was] around the throne, similar in appearance to emerald, [Ezekiel 1:28]
(4) and around the throne [were] 24 thrones, [Daniel 7:9-10
and upon the thrones [were] 24 elders seated,
dressed in white clothing,
and upon their heads gold wreaths,
(5) and from the throne coming out, lightnings and sounds and thunders, [Rev. 8:5; 11:19; 16:18; Psalm 18:14; 77:18; Exodus 19:16; Ezekiel 1:4-14, 28]
and seven torches of fire burning before the throne, [Ezekiel 1:12-13]
which are the seven spirits of God, [Psalm 104:4; Rev. 1:4; 3:1; 4:5; 5:6; 8:2 (!) 2 Baruch 21:6; 4 Ezra 8:21; Tobit 12:15; 1 Enoch 20:1-7; 90:21]
(6) and before the throne [something] like a sea of glass like crystal, [Rev. 15:2-4]
and in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, four living beings full of eyes in front and in back, [contrast Ezekiel 1:4-28; Rev. 4:9-10; 5:8-10; 5:14; 19:4; 7:11; 14:3; 6:1-8; 19:7]
(7) and the first living being [was] similar to a lion,
and the second living being [was] similar to an ox,
and the third living being [was] having a face like a human,
and the fourth living being [was] similar to an eagle flying,
(8) and the four living beings-- each one of them [was] each having six wings,
around and inside full of eyes, (Rev. 4:6; 1 Enoch 71:7; 1 Enoch 39:12-13; 61:12; *Craig Koester)
and rest they don't have day and night, saying,
"Holy, holy, holy [is] the Lord-- the God, The Almighty, The One who was, and The One who is, and The One who is coming," [Isaiah 6:3; Rev. 1:4]
(9) and whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to The One seated upon the throne-- to The One living forever-- (10) the 24 elders fall down before The One seated upon the throne, [contrast Rev. 13:4, 9, 12, 15; 14:9; 16:2; *Koester]
and they worship/bow down to The One living forever,
and they put down their wreaths before the throne, saying, [contrast Rev. 12:7-9]
(11) "Worthy, you [are], our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power, [Psalm 21:13; 59:16; 6:3; contrast Revelation 13:4; *Koester]
because you created all things, (Ps. 33:6-9; 95:1-7)
and because of your will/desire they existed,
and they were created.
