Revelation Chapter 4 Series

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.