Revelation 4

Revelation 4:1

III. THE THINGS WHICH WILL TAKE PLACE AFTER THIS (Chaps. 4-22) We now come to the third main division of Revelation. The first three chapters described the Church Age from the time of the apostles until the Rapture. Beginning with this chapter, the subject is things which must take place after this.There is a definite break between chapters 3 and 4. From this point on, the church is never mentioned as being on earth. What then has happened to it? We believe that it was taken to heaven by the Lord at the end of chapter 3. Once the saints have been translated to heaven, the Lord will resume His dealings with the nation of Israel. Then will begin the Tribulation. This is a seven-year period in which the Lord deals with the Jewish people concerning their rejection of the Messiah. Those who turn to Christ during the Tribulation will be saved to enter the glorious kingdom on earth, whereas those who refuse Him will be destroyed. Large numbers of Jews will return to the land of Israel in unbelief at the outset of the Tribulation (Eze_36:24-25). The Roman world power will make a treaty with the Israelis, guaranteeing them freedom of worship (Dan_9:27). In fact, the first three and one-half years of the Tribulation will be relatively mild. The Lord Jesus described these years in Mat_24:4-14. At the middle of the Tribulation, an idolatrous image will be set up in the temple at Jerusalem and men will be ordered to worship it or be killed (Mat_24:15). This will signal the beginning of the Great Tribulation, the Time of Jacob’s Trouble, a period of suffering such as the world has never known or ever will know (Mat_24:21). Chapter 4 introduces us to the beginning of the Tribulation. The first scene is in heaven, where John is given a vision of the glory of God. The Lord frequently gave a vision of His glory to His prophets before permitting them to foretell the future (Isa. 6; Ezek. 1). In chapter 1, John saw Christ’s glory before he was permitted to record the future history of the church. Now he is given a vision of God before he learns the judgments which will be poured out on unbelieving Israel and the Gentiles. A. The Vision of God’s Throne (Chap. 4) 4:1 The voice that invites John to heaven is the voice of Christ (cf. vv. 1-2). Many Bible students believe that John’s entrance into heaven is a picture of the church’s being taken home to be with the Lord at this time (1Th_4:13-18; 1Co_15:51-53). The Lord Jesus promises to show John things which must take place after this. These words are similar to the last part of Rev_1:19 and support the use of that verse as an outline of the book. 4:2, 3 The Holy Spirit takes possession of John in a special way, and he immediately sees the eternal God sitting upon His throne in majesty and splendor. Some, following the majority of manuscripts, omit the words And He who sat there was, making the jasper and sardius descriptive of the throne rather than of the Lord. However, these precious stones may also describe the Lord Himself. In the high priest’s breastplate, the jasper represented Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, and the sardius represented Benjamin, his lastborn. The name Reuben means Behold, a son, and Benjamin means son of my right hand. Walvoord sees the two stones as including all the other stones, depicting all of God’s people, and the Person on the throne as God in relation to the people of Israel. The rainbow, apparently a ring of green light like an emerald, is a pledge that God will keep His covenants, in spite of the coming judgments. 4:4 We cannot say with certainty who the twenty-four elders are. They are variously understood as angelic beings, as the redeemed people of both the OT and NT, and as NT saints only. The fact that they are crowned and enthroned suggests that they are saints who have been judged and rewarded. 4:5 It is clear that the throne here is one of judgment, with its terrifying lightnings, thunderings, and voices. The seven lamps of fire represent the Holy Spirit in His fullness and majesty. There is only one Spirit of God, but the seven represents perfection and completeness. 4:6 The sea of glass like crystal tells us that the throne is located in a place that is undisturbed by the restless, wild tossings of this world, or by the opposition of the wicked, who are like a troubled sea. At the throne were four living creatures, full of eyes in front and in back. This speaks of clarity, breadth, and depth of vision. 4:7, 8 The four living creatures are difficult to identify. All we can say for certain is that they are created beings because they worship God. They seem to be a combination of the cherubim in Ezekiel 10 and the seraphim in Isaiah 6. Verse 7 describes cherubim and verse 8 pictures seraphim. These angelic beings are guardians of the throne of God. The cherubim seem to be associated with burning judgment and the seraphim with burning purification. The description in verse 7 parallels the way Christ is presented in the Gospels: lionMatthewKing; calf or oxMarkServant; manLukeSon of Man; eagleJohnSon of God. The living creatures sing ceaselessly of the holiness and eternity of God. Most manuscripts actually have the word holy nine times here, a strong trinitarian touch. 4:9, 10 Whenever the living creatures worship the eternal One on the throne, … the twenty-four elders prostrate themselves, worship the eternal God, and cast their crowns before the throne. 4:11 Their worship acknowledges the Lord as worthy of glory and honor and power because He created all things, and by His will they exist. The vision prepares us for what is to follow. God is seen as the Almighty Ruler of the universe sitting on the throne of His glory, surrounded by worshiping creatures, and about to send judgment on the earth.