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Revelation 4
Updated: Oct 11, 2020
Revelation 4:1
1 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.”
In the first three chapters of Revelation, the Lord gave us insight through John into the glory of God by revealing "the New Jerusalem" (Revelation 21:2) (also known by Christians as The Holy Trinity), which is "the name of my God and the name of the city of my God" and the "new name" of Jesus Christ (Revelation 3:12). Now here in Revelation 4:1, John says, "After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven." He did not miss what the Lord is showing us regarding the glory of God the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit of the city of God. John looked, and He also wants us to look and to "behold, a door standing open in heaven" (Revelation 4:1).
The message of the open door is loud and clear. So much so, that John said, "the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me" (Revelation 4:1); the loud voice is also mentioned this way in Revelation 1:10. The door is open for all to "Come, gather together for the great supper of God" (Revelation 19:17); for all to "Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb" (Revelation 21:9); "The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life" (Revelation 22:17).
Proverbs 25:6-7 tells us, "Do not exalt yourself in the presence of the king, and do not stand in the place of the great; For it is better that he say to you, “Come up here,” than that you should be put lower in the presence of the prince, whom your eyes have seen." The first few words spoken to John in chapter four are, “Come up here." This is indicative of John's humility in the Lord's presence, and also of the humility of the two resurrected witnesses in Revelation 11:12.
Ecclesiastes 5:1 tells us, "Walk prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil." The purpose of the loud voice was to bring John to the place where he would see "things which must take place after this." Likewise for us, the Book of Revelation is indeed meant to be a revelation to God's people who approach the house of God, the New Jerusalem, with humility in the Lord's presence. It is not meant to be a mysterious book. Rather, Revelation is the Holy Spirit's concluding proclamation by which He clearly summarizes the message of the entire Bible. The Book of Revelation is not a new revelation. It is what the Apostle Paul refers to as "the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past;" it is the revelation of the entire Bible by which God "is able to establish His people in accordance with" the gospel "about Jesus Christ" (Romans 16:25).
Revelation 4:2-5
2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. 3 And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald. 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads. 5 And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
It is very important to note the fact that John begins here, and also in Revelation 1:10, by saying "immediately I was in the Spirit" (Revelation 4:2). This statement informs us that what is being revealed is reliable, because "the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth" (Ephesians 5:9), "and it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth" (1 John 5:6).
The Lord wants us to behold. Which is to to say, He wants us to look upon or to gaze at the New Jerusalem.
He begins by showing us "a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne" (Revelation 4:2). The Lord is the One who is on the throne in heaven. This is also mentioned by Micaiah (1 Kings 22:19), by Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1), by Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1:26), by Daniel (Daniel 7:9), and by John elsewhere in Revelation. To the church of the Laodiceans who were being chastised, the Spirit of the Lord and of the Bride says, "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne" (Revelation 3:21). In Revelation 4:9-11 we see "whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.”
The description of the appearance of the Lord, "like a jasper and a sardius stone," in Revelation 4:3 is very revealing. Revelation 21:10-11 tells us, "the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God" has the glory of God, and her light is "like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal." Jesus is the light of the New Jerusalem (The Holy Trinity). Revelation 21:23 tells us, "the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light."
The "rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald" (Revelation 4:3) is the Lord of eternity. As the rainbow, He is "the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth" (Genesis 9:16). He is the reality of what was previously vaguely seen as "the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord" spoken of by Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1:28). The glorious countenance of the Lord was seen in Matthew 17:2 and Revelation 1:16. He is the emerald, which is a precious stone mentioned in Ezekiel 28:13, as well as the jasper and sardius used as a description of the Lord in Revelation 4:3. Ezekiel tells us these stones were in the Garden of Eden from the beginning. It is the sinless Son of Man, as was Adam before the fall. "Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come" (Romans 5:14). "But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive" (1 Corinthians 15:20-22). "There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit" (1 Corinthians 15:44-45). The stones describing the Lord, which are also mentioned by Ezekiel, are also among the stones which represent the tribes of Israel. As the rainbow covenant was given before the Israelites were birthed, and as the stones on the breastplate of Aaron represent Israel, so "the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men" (Titus 2:11). "And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed” (Galatians 3:8); and also "Blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in" (Romans 11:25), but the gospel of Jesus Christ is for everyone, including Israel who "are beloved for the sake of the fathers" (Romans 11:28). So, "all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; For this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins" (Romans 11:26-27).
In Revelation 4:4 we see "Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads." The white robes is the apparel descriptive of the inhabitants of the New Jerusalem where "there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life" (Revelation 21:27). The garment of the Ancient of Days "was white as snow, And the hair of His head was like pure wool" (Daniel 7:9). The Lord acknowledged those few in the church of Sardis who had "not defiled their garments and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy" (Revelation 3:4), and in the Revelation 3:5 promised the same to anyone in the church who overcomes. The Lord counseled the complacent church in Laodicea, which He was about to vomit out of His mouth, to buy from Him "white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed" (Revelation 3:18). Revelation 7:9 shows us "the Lamb, clothed with white robes." Revelation 7:14 shows us that everyone who overcomes the great tribulation "washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." In Revelation 14:14 we see "a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man." This is very likely "a cloud of witnesses" (Hebrews 12:1) including those of who John said, "I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead (AE)who die in the Lord from now on" (Revelation 14:13). In Revelation 19:11 we see "a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True," and then we see "the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses" (Revelation 19:14). Prior to all this, we have seen the young man sitting on the right side of the tomb in Mark 16:5; the two angels, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain in John 20:12;
the two men who stood by the disciples while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as Jesus went up in Acts 1:10.
So, it is with the twenty-four elders. They too made their robes "white in the blood of the Lamb" (Revelation 7:14). They "are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them." (Revelation 7:15). The Lord meets the elders "with the blessings of goodness;" He "set a crown of pure gold upon" their heads. (Psalm 21:3). This is the victors crown mentioned by Paul in 2 Timothy 2:5, of which the Lord spoke to the church in Smyrna saying, "Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life" (Revelation 2:10).
We know the thrones are for elders who sit "judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (Luke 22:30). The Holy Spirit tells us through the Apostle Paul that, "the saints will judge the world" (1 Corinthians 6:2). Through Daniel, He tells us, "the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever" (Daniel 7:18). Through the thrones of elders "He will subdue the peoples under us, and the nations under our feet" (Psalm 47:3).
There has been a lot of speculation about who these twenty four elders might be. The thought that these are the twelve Apostles and the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel sounds good when you read in Revelation 21:12 about the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel written on the gates of the New Jerusalem, and in Revelation 21:14 about the apostles being the twelve foundations. However, the Holy Spirit did not clearly state that these are the twenty-four elders who are introduced in Revelation 4:4.
The Book of Revelation is meant to be a clear revelation. With this in mind, we do know the Book of Revelation was written at the time of the seven churches. The Spirit of God was for all seven churches. Hence the term, the seven Spirits of God. Likewise, each church had a messenger at the corresponding church. The messages to the seven churches were directed to these messengers (preachers referred to as angels). It is reasonable to think the thrones of the twenty four elders, and the twenty four elders themselves were also directly related to the seven churches. As already mentioned, "the saints will judge the world." So, there may have been twenty four elders known to the seven churches at the time in which John wrote the Book of Revelation. This would therefore not limit the thrones of righteous judgment nor the number of elders throughout the centuries to twenty four. Rather, the twenty four thrones and elders of the seven churches were instrumental for the future of the unending universal church. As Isaiah said, "Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end" (Isaiah 9:7). The Lord revealed, "The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches" (Revelation 1:20), because the symbolism required explanation. Regarding the twenty-four elders there was no explanation. Two conclusions can be drawn from this. If it were symbolic, the Scriptures would clearly reveal the meaning, such as with the golden crowns and the descriptive stones. Otherwise the twenty-four elders were actual elders of the seven churches being addressed by the Book of Revelation. The churches surely had overseers and deacons appointed in accordance with the instructions of 1 Timothy 3:1-13. If this is the case, included in the twenty-four elders would have been the seven angels (messenger) of the seven churches, and their appointed elders (bishops and deacons according to Paul's instructions).
In Revelation 4:5 we see that from the Lord's throne "proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God." When God answered Job out of the whirlwind, He asked this very significant question: "Have you an arm like God? Or can you thunder with a voice like His?" (Job 40:9). If anyone has any question regarding the inadequacy of man, the glory of God, and the importance of the Lord's throne, what He said in Job 40:10-14 should be helpful. Here God described Himself and shows His intercession in affairs of man. God said to Job, "Then adorn yourself with majesty and splendor, and array yourself with glory and beauty. Disperse the rage of your wrath; Look on everyone who is proud, and humble him. Look on everyone who is proud, and bring him low; Tread down the wicked in their place. Hide them in the dust together, bind their faces in hidden darkness. Then I will also confess to you that your own right hand can save you." Man cannot save himself, and God knows it. It is by His design that He would be our Savior. Yet, He works through His churches. At the time of the Book of Revelation, "seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God." The seven Spirits are the One Spirit of the One God for the seven angels, for the twenty-four elders, for the seven churches, and for the whole world through the seven churches as written in Psalm 77:18, "The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; The lightnings lit up the world; The earth trembled and shook."
Revelation 4:6-8
6 Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. 7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. 8 The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!”
The "sea of glass, like crystal" (Revelation 4:6) which is before the throne is the pure works of the saints of God. When Moses was setting up the tabernacle, he "spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel" (Exodus 35:4), and said, "All who are gifted artisans among you shall come and make all that the Lord has commanded" (Exodus 35:10). "The children of Israel brought a freewill offering to the Lord, all the men and women whose hearts were willing to bring material for all kinds of work which the Lord, by the hand of Moses, had commanded to be done" (Exodus 35:29), and the Lord called Bezalel of the tribe of Judah by name, and also Aholiab of the tribe of Dan. God gave them wisdom and the ability to teach. Through them, the Holy Spirit equipped the children of Israel for the work of the tabernacle, and it was said, "Bezalel and Aholiab, and every gifted artisan in whom the Lord has put wisdom and understanding, to know how to do all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, shall do according to all that the Lord has commanded" (Exodus 36:1). The Lord had spoken to Moses saying, "You shall also make a laver of bronze, with its base also of bronze, for washing. You shall put it between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar. And you shall put water in it, for Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet in water from it. When they go into the tabernacle of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire to the Lord, they shall wash with water, lest they die. So they shall wash their hands and their feet, lest they die. And it shall be a statute forever to them—to him and his descendants throughout their generations" (Exodus 30:18-21). So, "He made the laver of bronze and its base of bronze, from the bronze mirrors of the serving women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting" (Exodus 38:8).
Ezekiel saw "the likeness of the firmament...the color of an awesome crystal" (Ezekiel 1:22), "And above the firmament...was the likeness of a throne" (Ezekiel 1:26). In Revelation 15:2, John saw "something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God." The sea of glass mingled with fire is reminiscent of the Lord's counsel to the lukewarm church of Laodicea. It was their works that proved them to be "neither cold nor hot" towards the Lord (Revelation 3:15), and deserving of the Lord's rejection, as He said, "I will vomit you out of My mouth" (Revelation 3:16). The Lord's counsel was for them "to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich" (Revelation 3:18).
John makes it even more clear that the sea of glass, like crystals is the pure works of the saints of God in Revelation 4:6 when he says, "And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back." In Revelation 4:8, we see the four living creatures "do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!" In Revelation 5:6 we see "in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth." The focus here is on the Spirit of God going out to accomplish His work in all the earth through the authority of the Lord, who is the Lamb of God. He is the One who has authority, represented by the seven horns, over the seven churches. He sees everything they do, as represented by seven eyes. The four living creatures and the elders are the saints of God who do His works on earth. The explanation of who these four living creatures are is found in their three-word description. First they are "four." Together they form four corners around the throne, and reach to the four corners of the earth as they are led by the Spirit and operate in unity. Next, they are "living." To the church of Sardis, the Lord said, "I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead" (Revelation 3:1). These who are in the New Jerusalem are living. In other words, they are the saints who are doing the works of God. Lastly, they are "creatures." These are the saints who in Christ are "a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17). These saints are before the Lord's throne "with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18). In Revelation 6:1 we see God gives His creature "a voice like thunder" saying, “Come and see” while bringing the revelation of Jesus Christ. In Revelation 6:6 the message goes out by one of the living creatures saying that God provides for His people in the midst of famine. In revelation 7:11 they worship with the elders. Finally, in Revelation 14:3, they witness the worship of those described as the the hundred and forty-four thousand who "were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb" (Revelation 14:4).
The four living creatures, just like the twenty-four elders, were probably part of the contemporary structure of the churches. They may have been overseers of the overall work of the churches, much like Paul and the other Apostles were overseers of various churches. Revelation 15:7 says, "Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever." The seven angels of the seven churches were equipped by one of these overseers to "give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord" (Romans 12:19). This may have been John speaking about himself and about the message of Revelation which he was bringing to the churches. Finally, after the wrath of God is seen poured out on the "the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication" (Revelation 19:2), in Revelation 19:4, the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, “Amen! Alleluia!" The interest of the overseers described as four living creatures is in the "the sea of glass, like crystal," which is the righteous works of the saints.
This is made more clear when we look at the only book outside of the book of Revelation where the four living creatures are described. Ezekiel saw the "likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had the likeness of a man" (Ezekiel 1:5). They, being plural, had the appearance of one single man, just as the church in its unity is the body of Christ; as "we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18). Ezekiel 1:8 says, "The hands of a man were under their wings on their four sides." This is a picture of the Lord carrying His people as they operate in unity in the Spirit, as stated in Ezekiel 1:11-12, "Their wings stretched upward; two wings of each one touched one another, and two covered their bodies. And each one went straight forward; they went wherever the spirit wanted to go, and they did not turn when they went." They were "like a flash of lightning" (Ezekiel 1:14), which is the manifested work of "the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth" (Ezekiel 1:14). Ezekiel farther describes this unity in the Spirit, when he describes the wheels by the four living creatures. He tells us, "Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, because there the spirit went; and the wheels were lifted together with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. When those went, these went; when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up together with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels." (Ezekiel 1:20-21). So, even if we were to view the four living creatures as angels, Ezekiel's wheels still suggest that the works of the creatures are done on earth, as the Holy Sprit empowers God's will to be "done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10), and He reveals to the world that "surely the kingdom of God has come upon you" (Matthew 12:28).
However, the wheels described by Ezekiel are not something different from the four living creatures. The wheels are a confirmation of the meaning of the vision. The four living creatures are described in Revelation 4:6 as being "full of eyes in front and in back." Ezekiel did not describe the four living creatures this way. Instead, describing their wheels, he says, "their rims were full of eyes, all around the four of them" (Ezekiel 1:18). The point in both Ezekiel and Revelation is that "each one went straight forward; they went wherever the spirit wanted to go, and they did not turn when they went" (Ezekiel 1:12). This is the will of God for the churches, and the work of God in and through the churches.
Revelation 4:9-11
9 Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: 11 “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.”
