Commentary by Ron Beckham
Verse 1. After these things
I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice
which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said,
‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these
things.’”
The various stages and forms of the Church have been
shown to us in the preceding Chapters. Many churches have not pleased the
Lord, looking to human understanding, and forgetting the desperate need we
have for the Lord who died for you and me. We must look to Him who knows
“what must take place.” John was a man
after God’s heart, and heaven was opened to him. It’s like that for you
and me. Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and His “trumpet”
will wake you to hear and understand. He will show much – to you!
In the next verses and chapters, we will be taken
with John the Apostle to the place of Jesus Christ, who is calling: “Come
up here!” You will see wonders, both in heaven and on earth. Will
you trust His words? Believe Him more than you trust in your own ideas.
If you do, you will see “what must take place.”
In these verses (Revelation 4:1 & forward), John is moved miraculously
into eternity. Is this verse the time of the “rapture” when all of God’s
people are to be lifted from the earth? The language of this verse does
not tell us, but if it is the time, it will be revealed in the verses and
chapters we will now explore.
Verse 2. “Immediately I was
in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One
sitting on the throne.”
John was now “in the Spirit”
and yet Scripture reveals, “you are not in the
flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you”
(Romans 8:9). John was a person who was already indwelt by the Spirit of
God (John 20:22, Acts 2:4, Acts 4:31, and other places) - if John, who
already had the Spirit, could somehow be “in the
Spirit,” receiving anew a special touch from God; the potential
exists for you, also. “Delight” in Him
and “He shall give you the desires of your heart”
(Psalm 37:4).
The “throne” in
heaven we are shown in this verse is a throne of judgment. These verses
depict the time when all will be judged – Are you in Christ? Or are you
not? NOW is the time for that question to be answered. Currently, we are
presented with His “throne of grace,” as
in Hebrews 4:16, where all are urged to “draw
near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and
may find grace to help in time of need.” NOW is the time to turn
to Him, for if we accept His grace, the throne of judgment will do us no
harm.
Verse 3. “And He who was
sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was
a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance.”
The “jasper”
(possibly an emerald, ruby or diamond) was the last row and the sardius
the first row of the high priest’s breastplate (Exodus 28:17-20). Jasper
is the first and sardius is the sixth of the foundations of the heavenly
Jerusalem (Revelation 21:19-20). The word “jasper” in “modern” times
refers to a stone that is opaque, but the substances described as “jasper”
and “gold” in Revelation 21:18, are translucent – light travels right
through them. Nothing will be hidden in eternity.
A rainbow surrounds the throne, which is also seen in
Ezekiel 1:28. In this verse it is described as “like
an emerald,” using a Greek word that is clearly the green emerald
of modern usage. The rainbow is a reminder of the promise of mercy given
to Noah (Genesis 10:13 & context) that God will not again destroy the
whole earth by a flood – we can go to the beach without being afraid. But
a different form of judgment does exist in the future of mankind, as we
shall see in the following Chapters. It is good to trust in Him now – to
wait is to miss His promise of mercy and grace.
Verse 4. “Around the throne
were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders
sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads.”
The 24-elders on 24-thrones have been described in
differing ways. Some think they are angels and others conclude they are
representatives of mankind; much like Adam and Eve represented us in the
Garden of Eden and Jesus Christ was our Representative (and Substitute) in
His life, death and resurrection. If they are men, they’re faithful men,
or they would not be present at this moment. In relation to them, the
number “twenty-four” (12 + 12) is interesting, for it is likely a
reference to both the 12-tribes of Israel and the 12-original Apostles.
Both groups (Israel and the Church) came out of great
incursions of God into the heart of mankind, with God’s intention that He
would be revealed and many would trust in Him. Israel, the called-out
ones of the Old Covenant, and the Church, the called-out ones of the New,
were to be beacons of His light to a dark world. Their “white
garments” imply righteousness imputed to them through faith in the
Lord, and the “golden crowns” represent
the authority given them by God.
Verse 5. “Out from the
throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And
there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the
seven Spirits of God;”
The emphasis in these verses is the judgment of God.
He will not strive with us forever that we might have faith in Him, for
there is a time when those who reject Him will see nothing but His
Judgment, depicted here by the flashes of lightning and sounds of
thunder. And yet, it is not too late right now, for He reveals that He is
“gentle and humble in heart” and promises,
“I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28-30).
And lest you think God’s gentleness is only in relation to the Son, Jesus
said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father”
(John 14:9). God is full of mercy – for you.
Yet Judgment will come to those who do not want the
Lord, as indicated in this verse. Lightning can strike and kill, and
thunder is intensely frightening to those who survive a near miss, yet
lightning is small compared to an atomic explosion. The hydrogen bomb is
merely the little brother of the sun, which is itself insignificant in
relation to the God who created all things. He is all-powerful.
Peacefully, by comparison, John noticed the seven lamps of fire before the
throne, which in Revelation 1:20, were held by seven lampstands called the
seven churches. The “oil” that powers those seven “lamps”
is the Holy Spirit – if there is “fire” in your “lamp”, it comes from Him.
Verse 6. “and before the
throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the
center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front
and behind.”
Have you ever been on the ocean when it is like
glass, utterly still, with the light reflecting from its surface? That is
what we are “seeing” at this moment. All is at peace. The “sea”
in Scripture often represents people, as in Ezekiel 47, where we see a
river flowing from the throne of God. When it reaches the Dead Sea
(Ezekiel 47:8), “its waters are healed.”
We are like that sea, made alive by the living water that flows from the
cross of Jesus Christ. You will be at peace, like this “sea
of glass;” so still, you will seem like “glass”
or “crystal,” if you TRUST in the Lord.
Beings that may well be these “four living creatures”
are also seen in Ezekiel Chapters 1 and 10, where we see the four “full
of eyes all around.” Note that God sees EVERYTHING! These
creatures were identified in a number of places in Ezekiel 10 as “cherubim,”
which is the plural of “cherub”. Books
and paintings have often contained references to cherubs. In many
paintings preserved from the Middle Ages, “cherubs”
are depicted as babies with wings. The painters should have read their
Bibles, for cherubs are not like those paintings at all.
Ezekiel 28 addresses the king of Tyre, but the
Chapter also reaches through the man and looks at Satan, who was behind
the king’s throne. In Ezekiel 28:14, God speaks to him as “the
anointed cherub who covers.” Satan was of the race of these
creatures, until he was “cast… out of the
mountain of God” (Ezekiel 28:16). Cherubim similar to these, with
drawn swords, were posted at the entrance to the Garden of Eden (Genesis
3:24). These are formidable beings.
Verse 7. “The first creature
was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third
creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a
flying eagle.”
The four living creatures described as “cherubim”
in Ezekiel Chapter 10, each incredibly had “four
faces: the first face was the face of a cherub, the second face the face
of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an
eagle” (Ezekiel 10:14). Ezekiel may well have moved around them
and observed the additional faces, whereas John simply looked at them
briefly from a single vantage point.
Jewish readers of these verses would have remembered
the rabbinical teachings of their youth. The “lion”
was the standard of Judah, who pitched tents with the tribes of Issachar
and Zebulun to the east of the Tent of Meeting. The “ox”
or “calf” was the standard of Ephraim, who
pitched on the west, along with the tribes of Manasseh and Benjamin. The
third, with the face of a “man”,
symbolized Reuben, who camped with Simeon and Gad. The “eagle”
was the emblem of Dan who pitched to the north with Asher and Napthali.
Many Christians have regarded the “man”
(or angel in human form) as symbolizing the Gospel of Matthew, with Mark
the “lion”, Luke the “ox”
or “calf” and John the “eagle.” It’s important to remember that these creatures are not
only symbolic, but they also are literal beings, similar to the angels in
that they were created by God before us, and yet they are different –
incredible beings that few of this earth (Adam, Eve, Isaiah, Ezekiel and
John that we know about) have ever seen.
Verse 8. “And the four
living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes
around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, ‘holy,
holy, holy is The Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to
come.’”
The “four living creatures”
before the throne of God are not only mighty and protective, but they are
also filled with love for the Lord who created them. To praise Him is to
love Him, not unlike newlyweds who are filled with praise for one
another. “Holy” is “set apart”,
completely without any taint of sin, and the calling of “Holy”
three times likely refers to the Father, Son and Spirit. “Almighty”
in the Greek is actually “All-Ruler” – He
rules over all, including you and me. “Who Was
and Who Is and Who Is to Come” is much like Revelation 1:4, and
also is reminiscent of Exodus 3:14, where God answered Moses’ question
about His Name with: “I Am Who I Am.”
Notice that the “four living
creatures” do not have a need for sleep (for their rest is in
Him). They have a specific and reasonable function in eternity and that
is to praise the God who created all things. To find Someone who is
worthy of all our praise is to be rested inside. We are regenerated by
Jesus Christ, made even further alive by His Holy Spirit, and in eternity,
we will be in the Presence of God the Father. Our efforts will be
tireless, for “My Presence will go with you and I
will give you rest” (Exodus 33:14). To have Him is all we need.
Verse 9. “And when the
living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the
throne, to Him who lives forever and ever,”
“When the living creatures
give…” can be rendered “as often as often
as the living beings shall give…” pointing to a continued repeating
of the act in the future. To this time, the human race in general does
not join in this continual and very sensible praise of the utterly good
and perfect God, who created all things. Most people look at their own
imperfections, dwell on them, feel angry about them, and therefore do not
“give glory and honor and thanks to Him”.
Our “imperfections” are carefully designed to show us our need of Him, who
is perfect in all His ways. We must turn away from ourselves and look to
Him.
He not only “sits on the
throne” (is utterly in Charge of – everything!), but He also “lives
forever and ever.” Those times on earth where people have had
“good” leaders, have always been tempered by the realization that bad
leaders inevitably will come. When you trust in the Lord, be assured that
He is not only worthy of our praise, but He is also fully able to sustain
His leadership – “Jesus Christ is the same
yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). You can TRUST Him
who will always be there – for you!
Verse 10. “the twenty-four
elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship
Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the
throne, saying,”
The tenses in this verse are all future, with the
exception of “sits” and “lives”
which are in the present tense. If we regard the 24-elders as
representatives of both Israel (the called-out ones of the Old Testament)
and the Church (the called-out ones of the New – see Commentary on
Revelation 4:4), the events in this verse are yet future to Chapters 1, 2,
and 3 of the Book of Revelation. But it is also important to see that
“time” only relates to earth. Eternity, where these events are occurring,
has no “time” at all.
A “crown” is worn by a king and represents his
authority over his subjects. The “crowns”
of the 24-elders indicate that power is given by God in eternity to those
who trust in Him. In Revelation 15:2, we see the Lord’s people “standing
on the sea of glass,” giving praise to Him. If the “sea
of crystal” (or “glass”) is real
water, and there is no reason to think it is not, they are walking on
water, as Peter only partially succeeded in doing in Matthew 14:29. In
response to Peter’s failure, Jesus said, “O you of
little faith, why did you doubt” (Matthew 14:31). The “24-elders”
in this verse have FAITH in the Lord, with no doubt at all.
Verse 11. “Worthy are You,
our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You
created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were
created."
I talked with a doctor recently who has been troubled
by severe pain. When I offered to pray for him, he responded and smiled,
“OK if you want, but I am also being prayed for
by a coven of witches.” The doctor has been looking in the wrong
places for his relief from pain. He could actually destroy himself by
dabbling with “powers” other than God. Doctors themselves are merely
allowed to participate in the healing process – It is God who creates and
God who heals. None of us could do - ANYTHING, except that God permits
it, for our good and His glory. Every good and perfect thing comes from
Him who is worthy of our praise.
God “created all things.”
That’s the very simple, but enormous statement in Genesis 1:1 - “In
the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” You only
exist because God delights in giving you life. It is because of His “will” that you exist “and were created.”
Colossians 1:16 states, “By Him” (Jesus
Christ) “all things were created”. This
is the One that Micah the Prophet said would be “from
everlasting” and yet He also would be from “Bethlehem,”
the place of Jesus’ birth. You need the Lord. You need to trust in Him,
for He is “worthy” indeed.
Ron Beckham, Pastor
Friday Study Ministries
P.O. Box 92131
Long Beach, CA
90809-2131 USA
www.fridaystudy.org
Ron@fridaystudy.org
