seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Revelation 4:1 After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. 3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. 4 Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits[a] of God. 6 Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.
In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. 7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying:
“‘Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty,’[b]
who was, and is, and is to come.”
9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:
11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being.”
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being.”
a. Revelation 4:5 That is, the sevenfold Spirit
b. Revelation 4:8 Isaiah 6:3
I read the commentary at enduringword.com before going to the easy English site.
Before he saw those future events, John saw the throne of God. He tried to describe this in these two chapters. And from chapter 6, he writes about future events.
John saw a door that was open. It was the way into heaven. The voice that John heard before spoke to him again. It called him to come up through that door.
The Lord told John about the events on earth. But before that, the Lord showed John something of heaven. There, God is on the throne. The control of all history is in heaven and not on earth. God has the end of history in his plans. His plans cannot fail. What the Lord showed to John will happen.
The first thing that John sees in heaven is a throne. The person on the throne is the king of all. He is the Lord God who has all power. This throne is above all other thrones. God is king above all other kings.
The throne of God is the centre of heaven. All in heaven look to the throne. God sits there on the throne. All of them worship and serve him.
John did not write about God as having a physical body. Rather, John gives an impression of God as bright light. This bright light shone as the light shines from precious stones.
The jasper was probably a clear stone like a diamond. The carnelian was red. The throne was like emerald, which reflects green light. There was a rainbow, which glows with all colours. The effect of all these colours is to show the glory of God.
John could not describe all that he had seen. He could only give us an impression of these things. The languages of earth are not able to describe what is in heaven. There are similar descriptions in Ezekiel chapter 1 and Isaiah chapter 6.
John does not tell us who the 24 elders are. But they each sat on a throne. Each time they appear in this book, they are praising God. They bring to God the prayers of his people (Revelation 5:8). In this, they serve the church but they are not the church. We think that they are special angels. Their job is to serve and to praise God.
The white clothes show that the elders are clean from sin. Their crowns show that they are royal people.
The lightning and thunder give an impression of the power of God. John hears these sounds as the voice of God. God speaks from his throne.
We cannot see the Holy Spirit. He appeared as flames of fire on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:3). So here, the 7 lamps show that the Holy Spirit is there.
He is also the 7 Spirits of God. We should not understand this as 7 Spirits. These show seven views of the same Spirit. The number 7 in scripture is the perfect or complete number. Here it shows that the person and work of the Spirit is perfect.
The sea of glass adds to the effect of what John saw in heaven. Its clear surface is spread out in front of the throne. Like a mirror it reflected all the lights that flashed about the throne.
The four creatures were by the throne. They were like an inner circle round about the throne. They had eyes in front and behind. They saw all that happened. Nothing could hide from them.
John tries to describe the creatures. They are special angels. John says that their faces were like those of a lion, an ox, a human person and an eagle. They were strong like the lion. They were full of power as the ox. They were wise as a wise man. They were as fast as the eagle when it flies.
Each creature had six wings. The wings show the speed with which they obeyed God. The eyes made them aware of all that was round about them.
Day and night the four creatures praise God. They cry aloud that God is holy. They praise him for his power. Nobody else has power as strong as his. He is the God of all power. They praise him because he is God. He is the only God. There is no other real god. He has no beginning of life or end of life.
The four creatures praise God because he is always the same. God was there at the start of time. He will be there after time has ended.
As the creatures praise so the elders fall down in front of God. They throw down their crowns as an act of worship. They give all honour to God.
The elders speak to God. They praise him for all that he has made. God made all things that exist. Because of this, God deserves to have all glory, honour and power.
OK then.... let me set the scene again. John, the Apostle, and best friend to Jesus the Messiah.... was on a rocky deserted island. Back in Jerusalem.... the temple is in ruins... there had been a Jewish revolt against Rome. Rome accused the Christian Church of being responsible for the destruction of the city of Rome, too. Rome was also accusing Christians of cannibalism and sexual immorality. Rome claimed the Christians ate their babies and had huge orgies. Christians were, therefore, hated and hunted. Christians were beat to death in the streets as a warning. John was banished to an island.... he's alone. First he had a vision of Jesus... glowing... as John saw Him when He met with Moses and Elijah. An angel was assigned to John... to interpret the signs.... there are going to be things that happen in Heaven that are Heavenly and they cannot be described in human language.... so the angel will interpret.... as best the angel can.... considering there are no words in human language that really describe Heavenly things and events.
Everyone gets all excited about the four beasts.... and they excite me too. Knowing I would some day get to this chapter [God willing] I've been giving it a lot of thought. The four creations covered with eyes seems to scare humans. It's not normal to see a lion with eyes all over his body. It's not normal to see a lion with wings.... and not two... six.....
Now I read about the idea that these four beast might just be the beast on a war banner. You know... that giant flag that the guy in the front carries into battle.... there are lots of banners with a lion... standing with it's paws swiping at the air. I can see how that might work for the ox and the eagle as well. Our flag... the one for the US would use an eagle. But.... how would a guy's face work on that flag.... it's not the face of Christ... apparently... because if they put the face of Christ on a flag to go to war with... I'm pretty sure the Bible would say so. So.... it has to be a human face.... a regular Joe. So... this morning I am putting the idea that these were war banners behind me... it doesn't work... these were creations... God made them.... maybe they were the first creatures He made while He was creating the stuff in advance. I'm pretty sure the creations would have evolved.... nature shows off evolution.....
As I've said... I crochet. My daughter asked me to crochet a pair of thigh high leg warmers for her. I've been crocheting for over 40 years.... but making two items exactly the same is really difficult.... and I had no pattern. Sure there are patterns... but they don't fit a runner... and my daughter runs almost every day. So I set to work making two identical leg warmers.... and I had to pull out my work several times until I got to a pattern that would work and could be copied. My husband gave me a thumbs up when I showed him my second leg warmer and how it matched the first. He made a comment about how I didn't pull out the second one like I did the first.... and I told him I had the pattern figured out by then.... I had evolved.
So... what if the four creations are just that... four creations that God made when He was creating the Heavenly appointments..... and they appeal to Him... the lion [courage] the ox [hard working] man [smart] and eagle [swift[. I bet there are more creations up there that John didn't see or he couldn't describe, even with the Angel's interpretation.
One thought comes to me every time I read this chapter. They sing 24/7. Of course John wasn't there forever.... John only has a quick glance, comparatively.
Heaven has no time clock. God knows what we did... what we are doing... and what we are going to do. Just like we know.... because it says it in this chapter... the beasts sang the praise of God constantly.... So.... if there's no clock... and if there's only eternity.... then the fact they sing 24/7 as stated in the Bible.... has no real meaning... because the days in Heaven are eternal.
Here on earth... humans use the sun and the moon to tell time. In Heaven... there is no sun or moon... it's Heaven... that's where God controls the sun and the moon. When we all get to Heaven.... we will have left our alarm clocks on earth.... and won't that make us want to sing His praises constantly?
Maybe the main theme for this chapter is.... In Heaven everyone and everything is thrilled with God.
