Revelation Chapter 4
Vs. 1 - 11: the Throne in Heaven
Rev. Bruce A. Shields
First Baptist Church
Tawas City Michigan
www.tawasbaptist.org
Key Verse; Revelation 1:19
“Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.”
Revelation Chapter 1: Things you have seen,
Revelation Chapter 2 & 3: The things which are,
Revelation Chapters 4 – 22: The things which shall be hereafter.
Chapter 2 & 3 – The Things that Are.
Chapter 1 – We see the Lord Jesus as the Glorified One.
Chapter 2&3 – We see the Lord Jesus as the Head over the Church.
Chapter 4-22 – We see the Lord Jesus as the Triumphant One.
We will see the Lords striking message to the seven churches of Asia.
They are applicable to the churches of today.
Before the vision of the Father in Heaven in Revelation Chapter 4, we have the vision and words of the Son, Jesus Christ in Chapters 1 – 3.
We must know the Son before we can know the Father. He is the only way to God.
THE THRONE IN HEAVEN
1a – After this I looked – This statement represents a time AFTER the Church ages described in the previous chapters, or in other words after the Rapture.
1b – and behold, a door was opened in Heaven – This door being opened gives John the ability to see what is taking place there.
1c – and the first voice which I heard was as it were a trumpet talking with me – (Revelation 1:10 – 11a) This is the voice of Jesus.
1d – which said, Come up hither, and I will show you thing which must be hereafter – Jesus is talking about the things that must take place after the Rapture of the Church.
2a – and immediately I was in the Spirit – John saw these things in a Vision.
2b – and, behold, a Throne was set in Heaven, and One sat on the Throne – The One sitting on the Throne is God the Father.
3 – And He who sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow around the Throne, in sight like unto an emerald – This proclaims the Glory of God which is beyond our comprehension.
4a – And round about the Throne were four and twenty seats – These seats are also Thrones, but instead of being the center of the Throne room, they encompass the One Throne which God the Father sits upon.
4b – and upon the seats I saw four and twenty Elders sitting – These men represent the entirety of the work of God as it pertains to believers, with, no doubt, a mixture of Prophets and Apostles. Some believe that 12 of them represent the twelve tribes of Israel in the Old Testament, and the other 12 represent the twelve disciples of the New Testament to show the completed works of God in both time periods.
4c – clothed in white raiment – this represents their Righteousness which comes from Christ.
4d – and they had on their heads crowns of gold – This signifies authority.
5a – And out of the Throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices – Whatever these are, we can see through the word usage that it is constant.
5b – and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the Throne, which are the seven spirits of God – This represents the totality of the Holy Spirit. The number seven is God’s number, meaning perfection.
THE LIVING CREATURES
6a – And before the Throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal – The floor around the Throne was perfectly clear.
6b – and in the midst of the Throne, and round about the Throne, were four Beasts – Beasts here simply mean living creatures that defy human definition. They did not look like anything John had ever seen.
6c – full of eyes before and behind – This again is describing a creature that we have no knowledge of and which is beyond our comprehension. So much of Heaven is beyond us.
7 – And the first Beast (living creature) was like a lion, and the second Beast like a lamb, and the third Beast had a face as a man, and the fourth Beast was like a flying Eagle – These four Beasts represent the Character of Jesus and His ministry, but are not Jesus Himself. He came as a man, at Calvary He became our sacrificial lamb, He returned at the second coming as a lion, and the Eagle in scriptures represent strength and sometimes Heaven itself. I believe the flying Eagle here represent Strength or authority in Heaven, because the Eagle is flying. These four creatures are before the Throne constantly.
8a – And the four Beasts (living creatures) had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within – signifying the revealing of their innermost nature and being.
8b – and they rest not day and night, saying Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come – because they never rest, we know that these creatures are spirit and not flesh. Using the threefold ‘Holy’ refers to the trinity and infinite Holiness of God.
HEAVENLY WORSHIP
9 – And when those Beasts (living creatures) give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sat on the Throne, Who lives forever and ever – if theses creatures can constantly give God “glory and honor and thanks,” how can we who have known the glorious redemption of our Lord do any less!
10a – The four and twenty Elders fall down before Him who sat on the Throne, and worship Him who lives forever and ever – The action of the 24 Elders, who represent the Church of the living God in Heaven, proclaims what the Church on Earth is supposed to be doing.
10b – and cast their crowns before the Throne – This represents the acknowledgment of their royal estate, and that their authority and all that comes with it comes from God.
11a – saying, You are worthy, O Lord, to receive Glory and Honor and Power – unless the Lord’s worth is fully recognized by the worshipper; one’s own unworthiness will never be realized.
11b – for you have created all things, and for your pleasure they are and were created – In effect, the praises of these 24 Elders tell us that the Creation, and that means every part of the Creation, is going to be completely restored, and all because of what Christ did at the Cross.
CONCLUSION
We see Jesus open Heaven for John to see.
A Throne room appears with an image of One Center Throne with God the Father sitting on it. We see a candle stand representing the Holy Spirit within the Throne room as well as four living creatures who represent the characteristics of Jesus and His works.
Surrounding the One Throne is 24 more throne’s with 24 Elders. These 24 Elders represent the covenant Churches of the Old and New Testament and how they are to act towards the Father on the Throne in Heaven.
And we hear from the praises of the Elders that all things were created for the pleasure of God, so knowing this takes place after the Rapture we can be sure that all that remains will be completely restored!
