The Book Of Revelation: The Throne Room, The Four Horsemen, & 7 Seals Of The Scroll

Today we dig into the book of Revelation, one of my favorite books in the whole Bible, though I think I probably say that about every book in the Bible.

Let me ask you this, have you ever wondered: What would heaven be like? I think all of us have probably wondered that at one time or another. Will it be beautiful? Will there be plants and animals? Will we live in houses? Will I be able to fly? And I love Revelation because it gives us some pretty detailed pictures of heaven, but it also gives us a great deal of detail about the last days of planet Earth during a time called the great tribulation.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. We have John, in his old age, living on this island, Patmos, It’s about 50-60 years after Jesus had been crucified and rose from the dead. So John is probably in his eighties or nineties at this point. And he has this vision from God. And that’s why we call it revelation, it’s a revelation, an unveiling of Jesus Christ, in which we hear about how the world will end, and.. begin again.

The vision begins with John seeing Jesus Christ, glorious and powerful, mighty and fearful, in a white robe, walking among 7 lampstands. It says in Revelation 1, “12 I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me. When I turned I saw seven gold lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was One like the Son of Man, dressed in a long robe and with a gold sash wrapped around His chest. 14 His head and hair were white like wool—white as snow—and His eyes like a fiery flame. 15 His feet were like fine bronze as it is fired in a furnace, and His voice like the sound of cascading waters. 16 He had seven stars in His right hand; a sharp double-edged sword came from His mouth, and His face was shining like the sun at midday.

17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. He laid His right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last, 18 and the Living One. I was dead, but look—I am alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and Hades. 19 Therefore write what you have seen, what is, and what will take place after this. “

In Revelation chapters 2 and 3 we see 7 distinct messages that Jesus shares with John for the 7 churches that exist at this time in history. Each message is different, giving encouragement and correction for the churches at that time in history. We don’t have time today to get into the messages in each of these mini-letters, but they are really powerful messages. And each of them applies to us in the church today. So I would encourage you, when you get home tonight or over the next few days, read Revelation chapters 2 and 3.

But we’re gonna jump forward to chapter 4, where John gets to see God’s own throne room in heaven. It says in Revelation 4:2-6, “2 Immediately I was in the Spirit, and a throne was set there in heaven. One was seated on the throne, 3 and the One seated looked like jasper and carnelian stone. A rainbow that looked like an emerald surrounded the throne. 4 Around that throne were 24 thrones, and on the thrones sat 24 elders dressed in white clothes, with gold crowns on their heads. 5 Flashes of lightning and rumblings of thunder came from the throne. Seven fiery torches were burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. 6 Something like a sea of glass, similar to crystal, was also before the throne. Four living creatures covered with eyes in front and in back were in the middle and around the throne.”

So we get to see a picture of what it would be like to be in God’s own throne room. And it’s wild. You’ve got a rainbow ,you’ve got precious stones and elders bowing down, you’ve got angels flying about worshipping god, and four strange creatures covered in eyes worshiping God.

But then this story starts to play out before John, it says in Revelation 5:1-4, “Then I saw in the right hand of the One seated on the throne a scroll with writing on the inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. 2 I also saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” 3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or even to look in it. 4 And I cried and cried because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or even to look in it.”