Revelation 4:4-6a
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Revelation 4:4-6a
John’s entrance into Heaven has been quite a breath-taking scene. He has seen the throne of God, he has seen the one sitting on the throne (God the Father), he has seen unique colors and even a emerald rainbow that is a full circle.
But this is not all that he sees. For heaven is filled with so much more, and John is only able to give us a small understanding of what he is seeing. He continues to look around the room, and more is being revealed to him. And what is the next thing that he begins to see? Well, listen to what the beginning of verse 4 begins to say.
“And round about the throne were four and twenty seats”
· First, we must remember there is no other throne greater or higher than the throne of God. From his seat, all must answer. But around the throne of God are these other seats. In fact, the word here for seats, is the same word for thrones as well. These are lesser thrones but they have a significant purpose.
· What John is witnessing here, is that God, in Heaven, has established a system of rule. These special seats are designated for 24 individuals to sit on. These lesser thrones are part of God’s governmental system.
· Notice that there are 24 seats. Now the Bible uses numbers to mean different things, for example the number 3 is associated with God. In the very beginning of Revelation, we see him as a Being “which is, which was, and which is to come”, he is a triune spirit “father, son and holy ghost”, Jesus was in the grave 3 days. And we can see 7 as a representation of completeness and perfection, for instance God created and on the 7th day rested (this established our week), there are 7 churches that are refer to in the book of revelation, this is referring to the complete church, there will be a series of 7’s when it comes to the judgment. And you can refer to the number 40, forty is a number of testing, the children of Israel were in the desert 40 years, Jesus was in the wilderness being tested 40 days and nights, it rained for 40 days during the days of Noah.
· So, what does the number 24 represent? Well, this number takes on some of the meaning of God’s power and authority. For instance, there are how many hours in a day? 24. That is not by coincidence, it is by design. The number of 24 is connected with worship, especially at the temple. For example, in Chronicles 23-24, David divides the responsibilities of the temple service into 24 courses.
· So, we may recognize that these 24 seats/thrones around the throne of God, are there for the work and worship of God.
“And upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment: and they had on their heads crowns of gold.”
· These seats are occupied by 24 individuals. Who are these that are in these seats? Well, can I say, they are not angels. Remember, these are not just any seats, these are thrones. Angels do not sit on thrones.
· Angels do not rule over humanity, angels are under the Lord and serve him, by carrying out his message, enacting his orders, and bringing judgment onto the world. And we must clarify this misunderstanding from poor teaching and television, we do not become angels when we die.
· The word here is not angel, but elders. Now the original language the word used here is “presbyterous” this is where our “Presbyterian” brothers take there name from, and why they have elders in their denomination, rather than calling them deacons.
· There are 24 elders then that are seated on these thrones. Who are they then? Well, it could be understood that these are 24 elders from the Word of God. 12 from the Old Testament and 12 from the New Testament. Possibly, 12 Saints from the Old Testament and the 12 Apostles from the New Testament.
· Jesus gave reference to the Disciples that they would judge the 12 tribes , in Matthew 19:28. So, it seems that we can say that 12 of these are likely the apostles. Who then are the other 12? Well, I can suggest a few possible theories, first they are the 12 patriarchs of the 12 tribes of Israel. The sons of Jacob. These being: Reuben, Simeon, Judah, Issachar, Zebulon, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Joseph and Levi. Or, it may be that Joseph and Levi are removed and replaced with Ephraim and Manasseh. Another theory could be the 12 Twelve of the Hebrew Bible, that we know as the 12 minor prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
· There is too much left out, for us to truly assume who these 24 men are, but that they were men who lived here on earth, and had a close walk with the Lord.
· Notice what they are wearing – these elders are wearing white raiment. Now earlier, in our study of Revelation, we saw in 3:5 that the Lord only gives out this white raiment to specific individuals, notice what is said in that verse:
o “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.” – Revelation 3:5
· The garments that they are wearing is an indicator, that these elders have been bestowed with the righteous robe of Jesus Christ. Notice how the scripture uses the word here “clothed” this is a verb, meaning that they were not always in these garments. These garments were put on.
· Just like a judge of today, puts on a robe (and note that it is a black robe, man’s court is flawed and sinful), these elders put on a white robe, indicating holiness and purity.
· They are wearing crowns, heavenly crowns are shown in the Word of God as rewards. It is to note that the crowns of man have no place in Heaven. It does not matter if you are the speaker of the house, the president of the US, or the supreme court chief justice, these titles and crowns that man has will not have any rule in heaven. Those here, that are wearing a crown, are given these crowns as a reward.
· Later in this book, we will see that these elders cast their crowns down at the feet of Jesus, for truly, he is the only one worthy of wearing the crown.
Now John has seen that Heaven is not a solitary place. It is a place that has many in it. But then his attention returns back to the central focus of this realm.
“And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices.”
· The throne of God is a place of reverence, respect, and fear. Have you ever been outside in a thunderstorm? When a lightening bolt hits nearby you, what do you do? You run for the house. Listen, some think that they are going to walk right up to the throne of God, but let me tell you, they are going to find that the throne of God is a fearful place.
· The scene that John identifies with is that like unto a storm. There is a great power that resonates from this throne, and there are things being said, that not even John understands.
· The throne of God exudes this scene, because brethren, God is powerful. We mustn’t ever think that our God is a weak God, and just be reminded the next time a thunderstorm comes, that is just a sample of what the throne of God is like.
“And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.”
· Now here in this portion of scripture, John sees these seven lampstands. Now we must remember, seven is a number of completeness and fullness. And here are seven lampstand that the Bible says are the seven Spirits of God.
· This is symbolism here, this is referring to the Holy Spirit. The complete and full Holy Ghost. Listen the spirit of God is alive, it says here it is burning before the throne.
· Have you ever had someone say to you, the spirit was burning in my heart? Well, listen, when something is burning, it is something that gets our attention.
· Can I say, you will not go through this life without the burning spirit of God drawing your attention. At some point, you will have an encounter with the Spirit of God, you may have many encounters, but it is something that will grab your attention.
· Now when something is burning, it grabs our attention, but we can numb ourselves to the fire. Just like when a person doesn’t respond when they are exposed to the flame, after a while, the nerves become dead and they no longer feel the flame any longer.
· I want you to know, that you can become numb to the holy spirit. If you ignore the spirit of God, you will become cold and unmoved by the things of God, that is why it is important that we not put off God, that we call out on his name right now.
· Now the full spirit of God is revealed in seven parts. What are the seven parts that describe God Spirit? Isaiah 11 gives them to us:
o The Spirit of the Lord
o The Spirit of wisdom
o The Spirit of understanding
o The Spirit of counsel
o The Spirit of strength
o The Spirit of knowledge
o The Spirit of the fear of the Lord
· Listen, the Spirit of God is refer to as a light / lampstand. The scene here in heaven, is the Spirit of God before the throne. These lit lampstands are filling the room with the presence of God himself, very much like the lampstand there in the temple we read about, there in heaven is the Spirit of God illuminating the entry way unto God.
“And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal”
· Now the floor that is before the throne is not your typical idea of a floor. John here describes as a sea. Listen folks, the throne room of God is not a small place. If John looks out and sees this like a sea, that’s big.
· He likens the floor as a sea of glass, when you go to the seas of the world, they are very much like the ocean. They have waves, they are ever changing. There is a constant motion about them. But this sea is like glass.
· One of the favorite things my family have done, is gone to the lake, and we would get up early in the morning, and look out at the lake, and it was just as smooth, not a wave, not even a ripple. And you know what, it looked just like glass.
· Now the seas of this world are mostly contaminated. Its hard to look and see the bottom, well here John looks out and he sees this place like a sea of glass, and its crystal clear.
· This literal place is also symbolic for what the Lord has shown to us here already. The temple that has been built on earth and destroyed twice now, has in it a piece of furniture. It is called the brazen laver. It sat just outside of the temple, and here was where the priest would come and be clean. They would wash themselves before entering in.
· Listen, the sea of glass, is represented of the Word of God. The Bible. One of my favorite verses in the Bible Psalm 119:105 says “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.”
· Listen the pathway to the Lord is crystal clear, it is through the Word of God. And just like when Jesus spoke to the wind and the sea and said peace be still. The sea in heaven is just as still. Because it is the word of God.
“And in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.”
· Now here is another group that is there in Heaven. We have seen John there, we have seen God the Father there, we have seen the 24 elders there, and now we find four beast there as well.
· These unique beings are described in great detail within the next few verses. So, the ideal thing for us to do, is to book mark here in this verse, and return back to it as we being looking at these four beast.