Revelation ch 4. Vision 2 - The Seven Seals, part 1.

VISION 2: - THE SEVEN SEALS, part 1

REVELATION CH 4: - A VISION OF THE GOD OF CREATION AND OF THE COVENANT.

REV 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."

REV 4:2 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.

REV 4:3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne.

REV 4:4 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.

REV 4:5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God.

REV 4:6 Also before 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.

REV 4:7 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.

REV 4:8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."

REV 4:9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever,

REV 4:10 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:

REV 4:11 "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."

A) INTRODUCTION.

Ch 4-8:5 are a unit and are the next section of the book. Chapters 4&5 are like an introduction and lay the foundational groundwork for the action that follows in Chapters 6-8:5. They show us the "control room" for all of the events that happen later. John is about to see the battle plan that God, the great general, has drawn up. In these chapters John is commissioned as a prophet according to the OT pattern, with a vision of God on the throne. Throughout REVELATION God is always the one on the throne. Christ shares the kingdom, and so do we, but the kingdom is God's. Christ is not seen “on the throne” in REVELATION.

IN Chapter 4 God is seen as the Creator and the God of the Covenant.

Ch 4&5 reveal to us the Trinity - Ch 4 the Father and the Spirit.

- Ch 5 the Son.

B) EXEGESIS.

4:1 "After this I looked" - This phrase, with minor variations, often appears in REVELATION. It introduces a new stage of vision. It does not necessarily infer another step in historical sequence of events on earth, as will become clearer later on. The viewpoint is God's, not earth's, so earthly time sequences are not followed. What we see here then, is another STAGE of Vision, or Revelation, in the experience of John.

"in heaven”

This is the scene of action that John beholds. It is not on earth. John often uses this phrase to indicate that he is seeing one of the pictures in the constellations and is being shown its true meaning, however this does not appear to be the case this time as there is no picture of a door in the constellations.

“an open door". Behind the door is God's throne so John is talking here of the door to the highest heaven, the third heaven (2 Corinthians 12).

"first voice" - c/f 1:10ff = Christ's.

"come up hither" - a prophetic translation like Paul's.

Dispensationlists take this to be symbolic of the rapture of the church as they feel they must find the rapture here somewhere. However there is no indication that this is intended to be anything but literal, the literal sense is quite clear.

"what must take place after this" - c/f 1:19, i.e. after the seven churches have passed.

There is a hint of Astral theology here - the future is written in the stars, and John is going to be given the inside story.

4:2 "in the Spirit" - i.e. open and available to the Spirit of God to do as he willed. John was not yet in a prophetic "trance", or prophetic state. Rather he was already "in the Spirit" and the prophetic experience broke in on top of that openness to the Spirit.

4:3 "appeared" - God isn't really like this but John couldn't explain it any better. God is here revealing himself to John, but he does so in symbols that have meaning to John. Hence we need to ask "What do the various symbols mean?" as they will reveal to us something of the nature of God.

Interpretations:

(i) "jasper" - a clear, transparent, colourless crystal, like diamond. It symbolises Holiness and Justice, there is no flaw in it. It is pure.

"carnelion" - or sardius - is red like a ruby, speaking of the blood of the covenant, i.e. of mercy.

Hence in these stones justice and mercy are perfectly portrayed as being equally aspects of God's character.

Romans 3:21-26 - justice and grace.

(ii) These stones are related to Israel - Exodus 28:17-21. They are the first and last of the 12 stones of the 12 tribes, hence by implication they include all of the other 10 stones, or tribes. These are the stones of the covenant and were worn by the High Priest as he went into God's presence. Hence John is trying to tell us that this is the covenant God of Israel.

(iii) The Names of the two tribes in question are important as they speak prophetically of Christ.

The first is Reuben meaning ,"See a Son". He was the eldest son of the Father, and he symbolises God incarnate in man, i.e. Christ. However his name is to do with his BIRTH, hence speaks of Christ's first coming.

The Last name is Benjamin, meaning "son of my Right Hand". It speaks of Christ exalted at the right hand of the Father, hence of his Second Coming (Philippians 2:7-13; Hebrews 1:13; Ephesians 1:20ff).

Hence John is saying that this is the God of Christ, and by derivation, the people who belong to Christ, the Church, who also enter into covenant with God. They are covenanted between the first and second comings of Christ. Again symbols of Israel are taken and given to the Church.

Note on Methodology of Interpretation:

It seems that nearly all interpreters agree that the symbols of Israel are to be given to the Church in REVELATION chapters 1-3 and 19-22. This is hardly disputable as Chapters 1-3 are letters to Churches. It is only the occasional interpreter who conveniently “forgets” who the seven letters are addressed to who tries to find Israel in those chapters.

However not all agree that the same methodology of interpretation should be applied to Chapters 4-18. Dispensationalists are quite happy to take the symbols as applying to the Church in Chs 1-3 but then insist that the symbols be interpreted in an OT way or be taken literally in Chs 4-18. To me this is a sort of “double dipping” to suit ones own interpretation. Dispensationalists would be the first to cry, “Foul!” if I was to take a book like Romans or Ephesians and use differing methodologies of interpretation just to suit my own theories. Yet this is exactly what they are doing with REVELATION. To me it is inconsistent to do this and the onus of proof is on the Dispensationalist and it seems to me that they have not provided this proof. After all they admit the symbols of Israel are all given to the Church in Chapters 1-3 and 19-22 (they can hardly dispute this!) so why is this not so for the middle section of the book?

"rainbow" - symbolises the abiding mercy of God (Genesis 9). It tells us that God has an abiding covenant of faithfulness with all mankind (Romans 2,3). All who worship him in hope and faith will be saved - even if outside of Christ. Here the covenant of God with all mankind made with Noah is being remembered

"emerald" The Stone of Judah, speaking of Praise. The throne of God is surrounded by a chorus of praise to God the creator and redeemer of mankind.

Notice how God is here revealed in terms of Christ. This is because God has chosen only to reveal himself through Christ.

4:4 "24 thrones ... 24 elders".

Various theories exist on who they are. Two questions seem to me to be important:

(i) Are they men, or an angelic band?

(ii) Do they represent Israel alone, or the Church as well?

Three Theories:

(i) They are Men. They are the representatives of Zion, the faithful of Israel and the Church. Hence they are the 12 Patriarchs and the 12 Apostles.

(ii) They are men. They represent the church only. They are 24 apostles, 12 from the early church, 12 from the last days church.

Hence if either of these theories is so, John is here found to be looking at himself as he is one of the 12 apostles.

Both of these theories assume that the Church is complete and has been raptured by this point in time. This position I do not feel is sustainable from Scripture.

(iii) They are a group of spiritual beings (angels) which represent the people of God from all ages before God's throne until these people get to Heaven in the completed Bride, Zion.

Reasons for this theory:

(i) 24 = 12+12, or 12 X 2.

12 symbolises the kingdom of God, Zion (Revelation 21,22).

2 symbolises Witness.

i.e. 24 speaks of a double witness to God's purposes, Israel and the Church. Hence the 24 elders are the representatives of Zion, the people of God, the 12 patriarchs and the 12 apostles.

(ii) Their song (5:9,10) indicates they are not men. The KJV identifies them with men by translating the pronouns "Us, we". However it is generally accepted that this rendering is wrong and should read as in the modern versions "them, they". This indicates that the elders are not part of the group they sing about, hence are not men and must be some other form of creature, hence spiritual, hence angelic.

(iii) However they function as priests and wear victor's crowns thus identifying them with the people of God in some way. The functions they carry out are primarily angelic:

5:8 - worship, and they offer the prayers of the saints, implying they are not the saints themselves.

7:13-14 - carry out another angelic function.

Also here John calls an elder "Sir", a title of respect not applicable if the elder is a man, considering John's own position as an elder and apostle.

(iv) 24 suggests a connection between them and the 24 orders of priests in the OT (1 Chronicles 25). This indicates their priestly role. However the tabernacle and temple institutions were but a "shadow" of the reality of heaven (Hebrews 8:1-5, 9:23,24, 10:1). This indicates that the 24 orders of priests were actually a copy of something existing in Heaven when Moses had the tabernacle revealed to him. Hence the 24 elders were in heaven then and could not possibly have been resurrected men form a later age.

(v) Satan also knew of the existence of the 24 elders. In his counterfeit religion set up in Babylon in 3500 BC he duplicated the role of the 24 elders with the 24 star Gods of Astrology. This could indicate the existence of the 24 elders in prehistory, before the fall of Satan.

(vi) Isaiah 24:21-23. This probably refers to the same beings, indicating the presence of the 24 elders in heaven in the days of Isaiah. Possibly Isaiah saw them in his vision in Isaiah 6.

(vii) Colossians 1:16 "thrones". These are a part of an angelic hierarchy under which are the principalities = archangels. They seem to be the highest angelic form in heaven, and this order was untouched by the rebellion of Satan.

(vii) They are listed elsewhere among a list of other angelic beings, see 7:9-11 "angels...elders...4 living creatures". They would hardly be sandwiched between two other angelic groups if they were not angels. Also here in ch7 the great multitude of the redeemed, i.e. the church, is clearly a different group of beings to the elders.

See also 19:1-4.

Conclusion: It appears that these 24 elders are 24 angels who represent the people of God. They would then possibly correspond to the guardian angels as mentioned in 1:16. Israel had 12 tribes, hence 12 angels, the Church has 12 spiritual tribes (Revelation 7) hence has 12 angels.

Their ministry is exercised on behalf of men and so presumably ceases when the men come to whom the ministry belongs. This in itself is a strong indication that the rapture has not yet taken place.

"clad in white garments" = holiness (19:6).

"golden crowns" Greek = stephanos = a victor's wreath (3:11).

Hence their rulership is not one inherited by decree, but by right won through overcoming victory. These elders represent the overcomers. They tell us that we share in the rule (throne) of Christ only by virtue of our overcoming in this life.

4:5 "thunder, lightening". The power of the storm is often used to describe God's strength (Psalms 18; Job 38; Nahum 1). Clouds are his chariot, lightening is his arrows.

"seven lamps, which are the seven spirits of God" c/f 1:4.

4:6 "a sea of glass, like crystal".

(i) Ancient temples had a "sea", or laver, for washing in (Exodus 30:17ff). Hence it speaks to us of cleansing, purity, separation. The waters are the Word and the Spirit which wash us.

(ii) In REVELATION the sea speaks of restlessness and rebellion, because it is in constant movement. It particularly speaks of the rebellion of the Gentile nations (Revelation 17:15). Here we see the sea is solid, like crystal, indicating that movement has stopped. There is a fixed purity in God's presence, no rebellion, only peace.

(iii) In the new Creation there will be no sea (Revelation 21:1) hence the sea belongs to the old fallen order, and hence represents the barrier which the redeemed must pass through in a new Exodus from the earthly experience to the new realm of God. It stands as a mute reminder that the whole of creation is touched by sin.

The Four Living Creatures.

c/f Ezekiel 1:4-28; 8:1-4; 10:1-5,9-22.

The living creatures are identified as being the Cherubim in Ezekiel (10:20 c/f 1:1). John is obviously describing the same creature. A comparison of the two records shows some differences but they are not major.

The cherubim are held to be the chariot, or throne, of God. Many scriptures attest to this:

Psalms 18:10; 2 Samuel 22:11; Psalms 80:1, 99:1.

They were thought to be the four winds, or the four corners of the earth, holding up the firmament of the sky, and hence of God's throne.

The idea of God being "enthroned on the cherubim" is also enshrined in the Tabernacle of Moses. The ark of the covenant was a small box which was perceived to be the footstool of God. Standing over the ark were two statues of cherubim who spread their wings over the ark. Their wings were thought to form a seat on which God sat. Hence here again we see the idea that the Tabernacle was simply a "shadow" of a greater reality.

Comparison:

Ezekiel. Revelation.

(i) The Throne.

Rainbow Rainbow

Throne Throne

Firmament like glass Sea like glass

4 creatures 4 creatures

(ii) The Cherubim Themselves.

4 faces each 1 face each

Lion, eagle, ox, man lion, eagle, ox, man

4 wings each 6 wings each

A wheel each No Wheel

The differences are to be explained in that Ezekiel is seeing the mobile throne of the Spirit of God on earth, while John is seeing the fixed and eternal throne of God in Heaven.

(i) Ezekiel sees the image from many vantage points as it moves past him, John only sees it from one fixed vantage point. As a result Ezekiel sees that each beast has 4 faces, John can only see one face on each beast. This does not mean that they only have one face, only that John is unable to see the other faces from his vantage point.

(ii) Ezekiel's vision is of something that by necessity moves, hence wheels are an appropriate addition to the spectre.

(iii) A study of scripture suggests that angels can have either 4 or 6 wings. The difference appears to be in their location. Angels in Heaven regularly appear with 6 wings; angels on earth regularly appear with 4 wings.

Four is the number particularly associated with the earth in Scripture and this could be significant. In this vision the number 4 is repeated, suggesting that these creatures are in some way intimately related to the purposes of God on earth. There seems to be a necessity for God to be separated from this created order by a sea/firmament to establish his holiness.

"full of eyes" - full of insight, wisdom, knowledge.

"lion" - king of the wild beasts.

"ox" - Actually not an ox, but a reem, which was a domesticated beast with the form of an ox but the size of an elephant. It was once common in N.W.Asia but is now extinct. It is to be considered to be the king of the domesticated beasts.

"eagle" - king of the fowls.

"man" - king of all the earth.

The cherubim appear in Genesis 3 as the protectors of God's glory from sinful invasion.

Possible Meanings of the Symbolism:

(1) The cherubim speak of the highest forms of rulership on earth, and hence their position under the throne of God indicates God's rule over Earth. They could, be the guardian angels of creation.

(2) Some feel that they speak of aspects of Christ's ministry. The Lion as king, seen in Matthew. The ox as servant, seen in Mark. The Eagle as the son of God, seen in John. The man as son of man, as seen in Luke.

(3) They have astrological significance.
The lion is Leo.
The eagle is Aquilla a decan of Capricorn.
The ox is Taurus the bull, which is really a Reem.
The man is Scorpio, which is often called "the Man" in ancient literature.
These four make up the four "corners" of the heavens, i.e. they hold up the heavens. Here we see them holding up the heavenly throne. They are not ruling, however, they are simply worshipping.

(4) They speak to us of God as the covenant God. In the wilderness Israel encamped around the Tabernacle in a circle. This is depicted in Numbers ch 2. As the ground plan of their camp stands it is a reflection of the Zodiac in the heavens. Each tribe had a standard, or flag, which had on it one of the pictures from the Zodiac, one picture from each of the 12 constellations. This aligning of the 12 tribes of Israel to the 12 constellations goes back to Genesis.

(i) Genesis 37:9 - Joseph's dream. Here the "11 stars" literally is the "11 constellations".

(ii) Genesis 49 - the blessings of Jacob allude to the respective constellations:

Reuben - water - Aquarius.

Dan - serpent - Scorpio.

Judah - Lion - Leo.

Issachar - Sheepfolds – today called the “Greater and Lesser Bears", which are decans of Cancer.

In conclusion what we see in REVELATION 4 is a portrayal of God the Father as the God of CREATION and of COVENANT, and this is shown to us in terms of Christ.