November 25, 2024 • 25 mins
In this episode, we shift from earth to heaven as we explore Revelation Chapter 4, where John is given a breathtaking vision of God’s throne room. This short yet profound chapter introduces us to the majesty of God, the heavenly worship of the living creatures, and the symbolism of the 24 elders, all pointing to the greatness and holiness of our Creator.
Key points covered include:
- The significance of the open door in heaven and its connection to divine revelation.
- The living creatures and their unceasing declaration: “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty.”
- The 24 elders casting their crowns, symbolizing the ultimate act of surrender and worship.
- How John’s vision reminds us of God’s sovereignty, holiness, and the purpose of worship in recognizing His glory.
Join us as we reflect on how this heavenly scene can deepen our understanding of worship and encourage us to see God’s glory in our lives.
Intro music - Toby Mac
Outro music - Phillips, Craig & Dean
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Well, thank you once again for joining me in this
verse-by-verse Bible study.
I'm Randy Duncan, and in thisepisode we're going to be
covering Revelation, chapter 4.
Now in this chapter, we'regoing to be switching gears, as
we spent the last couple ofchapters covering the seven
letters to seven churches anddiscussing the condition of the
churches.
But in the next couple ofchapters we're going to have a
(00:31):
significant change of scenery aswe move from John's letters to
the churches in the Romanprovince of Asia to his heavenly
vision of God's throne room,and so, in a sense, we move from
earth to heaven, as Johndescribes his vision of God on
his throne and of the Lamb ofGod, who is, of course, jesus
(00:51):
Christ.
Now, with only 11 verses, thisis a fairly short chapter.
However, up until this point,the symbols used in Revelation
have been pretty straightforwardand in interpreting their
meaning it's not been too hard.
But from here on, some of thesymbols will get a little more
difficult and complex, and so webegin with the first two verses
(01:14):
, which read and after this, Ilooked and behold a door
standing open in heaven, and thefirst voice which I had heard
speaking to me like a trumpetsaid Come up here and I will
show you what must take placeafter this.
At once I was in the Spirit andbehold, a throne stood in
heaven, with one seated on thethrone.
(01:35):
And so John begins by sayingAfter this or after these things
, I saw Well, after what things.
After he has received word fromJesus Christ, the things he was
to write to the churches, afterreceiving that information, he
next receives this heavenlyrevelation.
Now I will mention that somefuturist views or dispensational
(01:58):
views of revelation view thisphrase after these things, the
Greek words metatauda as meaningafter the things of the church
or after the church age, and soin their view, most of the
material in Revelation will befulfilled after the church is
gone, via the rapture.
Some even argue that John beingtransported to heaven here is a
(02:21):
type or a foreshadowing of therapture of the church.
But I just wanted to mentionthat so I at least expose you to
some of the differing views ofbiblical interpretation.
But one more note on thisphrase what must happen after
this?
This phrase is also seen inDaniel 2, where the prophet
Daniel explains toNebuchadnezzar the meaning of
(02:43):
his dreams and coming empires.
Daniel says to Nebuchadnezzarthat God has revealed to you the
things that must happen.
The things that Danielpredicted are now coming to pass
.
Nebuchadnezzar's dream was anoverview of history,
anticipating the coming empires,but now John is focused on the
(03:03):
final days, the days when allprophecy will be fulfilled.
But what does John see?
A door opened in heaven Now.
What do we know about opendoors in heaven?
They signify God's revelation.
God discloses his plans.
For example, in Acts 10, petersees the heavens open.
(03:23):
This is where he saw the visionof the clean and unclean
animals, where the uncleananimals of Leviticus 11 and
Deuteronomy 14 are now permittedfor the people of God,
signifying that the gospelmessage was for both Jew and
Gentile.
Another example of heaven beingopen is seen in Luke 3, where
it tells us when Jesus also hadbeen baptized and was praying,
(03:47):
the heavens were opened and theHoly Spirit descended on him in
bodily form, like a dove, and avoice came from heaven.
You are my beloved son, in whomI am well pleased.
In Acts 7, when Stephen ismartyred, he sees heaven open
and Jesus standing at the righthand of God.
And when Jesus returns, inRevelation 19, what do we read
(04:10):
Then?
I saw heaven opened and beholda white horse.
The one sitting on it is calledFaithful and True, and in
righteousness he judges andmakes war.
And so when heaven is open andJesus returns, when the wicked
are destroyed and the saints arevindicated, it again gives us a
glimpse of God's plan, hisrevelation.
(04:30):
One interesting observation isthat the Greek word for open
that is used, anoigo, signifiesthat not only was the door to
heaven open, but that it remainsopen.
But notice that John says thatthe voice sounded like a trumpet
, which, if you remember, washis description of the voice
that first spoke to himregarding the seven letters to
(04:52):
the seven churches.
Now, the image of the trumpetsignifies the urgency of the
message, and trumpets are usedin a variety of ways.
In scripture it sounds thealarm for war.
It signifies an awesomeoccasion, like when God spoke to
Israel at Mount Sinai.
The trumpet also calls theassembly together and, in
Revelation, indicates God'sjudgment of the wicked.
(05:14):
And so it's no surprise herethat John describes this voice
as a trumpet.
But John says a throne stood inheaven, with one seated on the
throne, and he begins todescribe what he saw in verses 3
through 6, which read and hewho sat there had the appearance
of Jasper and Carnelian, andaround the throne was a rainbow
(05:34):
that had the appearance of anemerald.
Around the throne weretwenty-four thrones and seated
on the thrones were twenty-fourelders clothed in white garments
with golden crowns on theirheads, from the throne and the
one sitting on the throne.
But how do you describe theabsolute glory and magnificence
(06:11):
of God?
How can you find the words toadequately portray what you're
seeing Now?
I've practiced Shaolin Kung Fufor a few years now and this
reminds me of a story about aShaolin monk and a young student
.
The master takes his student ona hike to the top of a mountain
where he can view the sunrise.
But when the student sees thesunrise over the mountains, he
(06:33):
comments and he says Master,it's so beautiful.
And immediately the masterexpresses his displeasure at the
student and returns back downthe mountain.
But why was the master so upsetat his student?
Because he knew, and had triedto teach his student, that there
are some things in life thatcannot be described with words.
(06:54):
They must simply be experienced.
And the student's attempt todescribe the majesty and the
beauty of the sunrise usingwords actually diminished the
reality of the event.
It did a disservice to theactual beauty and wonder and awe
of what they were experiencingbeauty and wonder and awe of
(07:16):
what they were experiencing.
Because the truth is, there aresimply some things in life that
cannot be adequately describedusing words, and any attempt to
describe them simply doesn't dothem justice, because, in order
to truly understand andappreciate them, they must be
experienced, and any attempt todescribe them using words
diminishes their reality.
And so we see that finitelanguages are incapable of
(07:39):
describing the infiniterealities that John saw in
heaven, and so he tries toconvey what he's seen by using
earthly analogies, understandingthat even these descriptions
and these analogies will fallwell short of the realities
they're intended to represent.
Notice also that John, inkeeping in line with Jewish
(07:59):
writers, he's reluctant topicture God or even mention the
revered name of God in hisdescriptions, but he begins by
saying that he who sat there hadthe appearance of Jasasper and
carnelian, and around the thronewas a rainbow that had the
appearance of an emerald.
Now, when John mentions jasper,we're not certain exactly what
(08:21):
color he's referring to here,but he's probably describing
something that is translucent.
Later on, in Revelation 21, hedescribes jasper as being clear
as crystal, so what he may havein view here is something like a
diamond.
Again, this is not a literalstone but a description of the
colors he was seeing.
(08:41):
But this could also be arepresentation of the purity and
the glory of God.
When stones like this arecleaned and they're polished,
they sparkle and shine and havethis sort of luminous splendor
about them.
But he also mentions thesardius, or carnelian as we know
it today.
This stone is red or rubycolored.
It's a deep red color.
(09:02):
Ancients used to describe it asblood colored, and so it could
possibly denote God's wrath.
But John also says that aroundthe throne was a rainbow that
had the appearance of an emerald.
Remember, for the Jews, therainbow was the sign of the
covenant of God's mercy, and sothis may represent the fact that
God is merciful.
(09:23):
It's interesting that Ezekielalso mentions a rainbow when
describing the glory of God.
In Ezekiel 128, he says Likethe appearance of the bow that
is in the cloud on the day ofrain, so was the appearance of
the brightness all around.
Such was the appearance of thelikeness of the glory of God,
and when I saw it I fell on myface.
(09:44):
Now again, they're notreferencing literal stones, but
simply these bright, translucentcolors.
Now, of course, this is a palecomparison, but it actually
conjures up in my mind, beinglike someone who's trying to
describe the Northern Lights andall of their brilliance, these
bright, colorful, moving,translucent colors that just
(10:06):
emit radiance.
And as one commentator, huber,has said, this image as a whole,
combined with the fact thatJohn avoids any direct
description or anthropomorphicexpression for God's appearance,
conveys the sense of God'stranscendence.
But John continues in verse 4 bysaying Now the identity of the
(10:30):
24 elders clothed in whitegarments, with golden crowns on
their heads.
Now, the identity of the 24elders is disputed.
Some people identify them asangels, some believe they are
saints and others believe theyrepresent all believers.
The doubling of the 12 couldrepresent both the Old and New
(10:50):
Testament people of God, or the12 tribes of Israel in the Old
Testament and the 12 disciplesin the New Testament.
And it's interesting that laterin Revelation John says that
the names of the 12 tribes ofIsrael are inscribed on the
gates of the temple and thenames of the 12 apostles are
engraved on the foundation.
And then there's also thethought that these 24 represent
(11:14):
the 24 courses of priests asthey're described in 1
Chronicles 24.
But whoever the 24 elders are,they're clothed in white
garments and have golden crownson their heads, which seems to
anticipate the rewards thatbelievers will receive, because
the golden crowns representruling and reigning.
Now, in biblical times, theelders were leaders of the
(11:37):
people and stood as theirrepresentatives before God's
glory at Sinai.
And so these elders mayrepresent God's people as a
whole, who are together known askingdom and priests.
And remember in Matthew andLuke, jesus promised the
disciples that they would situpon 12 thrones judging the 12
tribes of Israel.
(11:57):
But John continues in verses 5and 6, saying From the throne
came flashes of lightning andrumblings and peals of thunder,
and before the throne there was,as it were, a sea of glass like
crystal.
The mentioning of thunder andlightning around God's throne
just speaks to his sovereignty.
It recalls the revelation ofGod's majesty when he gave the
(12:19):
law to Moses on Mount Sinai, andit reminds us that God is still
fearful and awe-inspiring.
Now we don't have to speculatewhat the seven torches or lamps
of fire are, because they'reexplained for us.
They are the seven spirits ofGod.
The number seven designatescompletion and here represents
his perfection andself-sufficiency.
(12:40):
But John also says that in frontof the throne there was a sea
of glass like crystal.
Now this is another one that isdisputed among commentators.
Some believe the sea of glassrepresents the heavenly temple.
Now, this thought has its rootin referencing the bronze sea of
Solomon's temple that was usedfor priests to wash in, and the
fact that it was crystal linksit to the New Jerusalem.
(13:03):
Others believe that the seahere refers to a vast expanse,
pointing to the fact that God isseparate from his creation, and
that John is emphasizing thegreat distance, the vast gulf
between God and man.
But we continue with the rest ofverse 6 through 8, which read
and around the throne, on eachside of the throne, are four
(13:25):
living creatures full of eyes,in front and behind the first
living creature like a lion, thesecond living creature like an
ox, the third living creaturewith the face of a man and the
fourth living creature like aneagle in flight.
And the four living creatures,each of them with six wings, are
(13:46):
full of eyes, all around andwithin, and day and night, they
never cease to say Holy, holy,holy is the Lord, god Almighty,
who was and is and is to come.
And so, as John continuesdescribing what he was shown, he
mentions these four livingcreatures who surround God's
throne.
Now we're going to see thatthese beings will appear often
(14:07):
in Revelation as we move forward, and there's a lot of
speculation and opinionsurrounding them.
Now, just so you're aware, andin case you're not familiar with
it, this is not the first timethese four living creatures have
been mentioned in the Bible.
The prophet Ezekiel alsodescribed what he was shown in
Ezekiel, chapter 1, but hedescribed each of the creatures
(14:29):
as having four faces, whichincluded the face of a man, a
lion, an ox and an eagle.
But here John begins bydescribing them as each being
distinctive in appearance, withone having the appearance of a
man, another like a lion, thenan ox and the fourth as an eagle
.
Now this description hasinspired all sorts of art in
(14:52):
trying to capture what thesecreatures may have looked like.
In fact, you can even seeexamples in church and cathedral
architecture.
But artists have oftentimesattempted this by using
something called a tetramorph.
That word is derived from theGreek tetra, meaning four, and
morph, meaning shape, and so theword comes from the Greek for
(15:12):
four forms or shapes.
Now there are at least a coupleof different thoughts as to
what these appearances mean.
One interpretation is that thesecreatures represent the four
gospels.
Proponents of this view arguethat when you study the four
gospels Matthew, mark, luke andJohn that each portray and focus
(15:33):
on a slightly different aspectof Jesus, and this is an
interpretation that dates allthe way back to the second
century, so it isn't justsomething made up recently, but
the most common of theseinterpretations it associates
the face of the man with thegospel of Matthew, because
Matthew's gospel begins with thegenealogy of Jesus and focuses
(15:54):
on his humanity.
The gospel of Mark isassociated with the lion roaring
with power.
Luke is associated with the ox,focusing on Jesus as the
suffering servant, and then Johnis linked to the eagle,
focusing on his divinity and hisascension.
Now, there are a few variationsof this and different people
(16:16):
throughout history have linkedthe different faces of the
creatures with different gospels.
But that at least gives you anidea of the thought process.
But there's anotherinterpretation that argues these
four living creatures don'trepresent the four gospels, but
that they represent God'screated world.
In short, what they representare the fact that man is exalted
(16:37):
among creatures, the eagle asthe most majestic flying
creature, the ox as themightiest among domesticated
animals, and the lion among wildbeasts, and so together they
represent the whole of creationon earth.
All of them have receiveddominion.
And when John describes them asbeing full of eyes, front and
(16:58):
behind, it signifies that, asGod's servants, they watch over
the created order on his behalf.
And even if these creatures aremore angelic-like creatures,
the mentioning of them beingfull of eyes simply refers to
them being ever watchful, neversleeping.
They see and perceiveeverything.
(17:18):
Nothing evades them.
And so, again, those are just acouple of different
interpretations concerning thesemysterious four living
creatures that John describes.
But the most important thing, Ithink, is not exactly what they
represent, or who they represent, or even their splendor, but
their message and what they'redoing.
(17:39):
And what does John say thatthey're doing?
He tells us, day and night,they never cease to say holy,
holy, holy is the Lord, godAlmighty, who was and is and is
to come.
Now, when it says that theynever cease, it doesn't
necessarily mean that this istheir sole activity, but rather
(18:00):
that it's their constantdisposition, meaning that every
action is an expression ofadoration and reverence and awe
toward God.
And you know, it's interestingAll beings who directly witness
God's presence and his greatness, they all give him glory, and
by doing so, it shoulddefinitely give us pause and
(18:23):
reflection that maybe we shouldbe doing the same, and as great
and splendid as these creaturesno doubt were.
It should also remind us thatGod alone is worthy of worship
to receive all glory and honor.
And they remind us also thatGod is the eternal one, who was
and is and is to come.
No beginning, no end, theself-existent one.
(18:48):
And I realize it's easy tosometimes get caught up in the
details and potentialinterpretations of this chapter,
but don't miss the moreimportant point here.
The primary purpose of thischapter is to focus on and
communicate the greatness of Godand of his throne.
And when these four creaturessay holy, holy, holy, that
(19:09):
threefold repetition designatesthe superlative degree,
reiterating that God ismaximally holy, infinitely holy,
holy, beyond human conception.
But we finish with the lastthree verses, beginning with
verse 9, which reads andwhenever the living creatures
give glory and honor and thanksto him who is seated, which
(19:31):
reads.
So we briefly discussed thefour living creatures giving
glory to God, but here John saysthat when they do, the 24
(20:02):
elders fall down before him andthey cast their crowns before
him.
Now we also discussed thepossible identity of the 24
elders, but if they do representthe church and, honestly, even
if they don't here bowing beforeGod and casting their crowns
before God's throne, they offerGod not only their words of
praise but their own glory.
(20:23):
And here they are seen castingthose crowns before God because
they recognize God as the onlyone truly worthy of this kind of
glory and honor.
He's the reason and purpose forall existence and certainly for
their being in his presence.
And they also say, as we see inthe last verse Worthy are you,
(20:46):
o Lord and God, to receive gloryand honor and power.
And like I mentioned before,those who have been in God's
presence understand the gloryand holiness of God.
(21:06):
And even many throughouthistory have admitted that God
is God and that to him alonebelongs glory and honor.
King Nebuchadnezzar admittedthis in the book of Daniel, so
did King Darius, and it'sstrange and sad that even in our
modern times many people stillwill rebel against God.
Many will never see what thesetwo great ancient pagan kings
(21:28):
realized that God's sovereigntyand his rule are eternal and
everlasting.
You know, sometimes it takesgetting humbled by God, as was
the case with each of thosegreat kings, but nothing removes
pride and a supposed moralsuperiority better than a taste
of the greatness and splendorand glory of God.
(21:49):
And once you've experienced itor come to realize it for
yourself, it's not enough tojust admit it, it's not enough
to just give intellectual assentto God being God.
It can't just end there.
It needs to be converted intoworship.
But worship isn't just sayingnice things about your idea of
(22:10):
God.
As Craig Keener says, worship isthe recognition of who God is,
what he's already done, whathe's promised to do, and how
worthy he is of our praise andworship.
It's not just gaining moretheological or philosophical
information.
Those things are great.
In fact it's part of why I dothese podcasts to help people
(22:32):
learn more in those areas and toencourage believers in Jesus
Christ.
But mere knowledge isn't enough.
Jl Packer says that you have toturn that knowledge about God
into knowledge of God, byturning every truth we learn
about God into a matter formeditation before God, leading
to prayer and praise.
(22:53):
And so my prayer for you isthat you find some time, you
make some time, pause andreflect on who God actually is,
understand that God is theauthor of all of creation and
realize how far short of Hisglory and his holiness we fall.
Pray that God would reveal toyou just a glimpse of his glory,
(23:16):
and I pray that you will cometo the same conclusion as the
four living creatures and, likethem, that you will also declare
holy, holy, holy is the Lord,god Almighty, who was and is and
is to come, holy holy, holy isthe Lord, God Almighty, who was
(23:46):
and is and is to come With allcreation.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
I sing praise to the King of kings.
You are my everything and Iwill adore you.
Holy, holy, holy is the one,god almighty, who was and is and
(24:11):
is to come.
I sing holy With all creation.
I sing Praise to the King ofkings.
You are my everything and Iwill adore you.
(24:33):
I tell holy Lord, holy love.
All creation sings holy, holy,holy, lord, you're holy, you're
holy, you are holy.
(24:55):
Thank you.
Well, thank you once again for joining me in this
verse-by-verse Bible study.
I'm Randy Duncan, and in thisepisode we're going to be
covering Revelation, chapter 4.
Now in this chapter, we'regoing to be switching gears, as
we spent the last couple ofchapters covering the seven
letters to seven churches anddiscussing the condition of the
churches.
But in the next couple ofchapters we're going to have a
(00:31):
significant change of scenery aswe move from John's letters to
the churches in the Romanprovince of Asia to his heavenly
vision of God's throne room,and so, in a sense, we move from
earth to heaven, as Johndescribes his vision of God on
his throne and of the Lamb ofGod, who is, of course, jesus
(00:51):
Christ.
Now, with only 11 verses, thisis a fairly short chapter.
However, up until this point,the symbols used in Revelation
have been pretty straightforwardand in interpreting their
meaning it's not been too hard.
But from here on, some of thesymbols will get a little more
difficult and complex, and so webegin with the first two verses
(01:14):
, which read and after this, Ilooked and behold a door
standing open in heaven, and thefirst voice which I had heard
speaking to me like a trumpetsaid Come up here and I will
show you what must take placeafter this.
At once I was in the Spirit andbehold, a throne stood in
heaven, with one seated on thethrone.
(01:35):
And so John begins by sayingAfter this or after these things
, I saw Well, after what things.
After he has received word fromJesus Christ, the things he was
to write to the churches, afterreceiving that information, he
next receives this heavenlyrevelation.
Now I will mention that somefuturist views or dispensational
(01:58):
views of revelation view thisphrase after these things, the
Greek words metatauda as meaningafter the things of the church
or after the church age, and soin their view, most of the
material in Revelation will befulfilled after the church is
gone, via the rapture.
Some even argue that John beingtransported to heaven here is a
(02:21):
type or a foreshadowing of therapture of the church.
But I just wanted to mentionthat so I at least expose you to
some of the differing views ofbiblical interpretation.
But one more note on thisphrase what must happen after
this?
This phrase is also seen inDaniel 2, where the prophet
Daniel explains toNebuchadnezzar the meaning of
(02:43):
his dreams and coming empires.
Daniel says to Nebuchadnezzarthat God has revealed to you the
things that must happen.
The things that Danielpredicted are now coming to pass
.
Nebuchadnezzar's dream was anoverview of history,
anticipating the coming empires,but now John is focused on the
(03:03):
final days, the days when allprophecy will be fulfilled.
But what does John see?
A door opened in heaven Now.
What do we know about opendoors in heaven?
They signify God's revelation.
God discloses his plans.
For example, in Acts 10, petersees the heavens open.
(03:23):
This is where he saw the visionof the clean and unclean
animals, where the uncleananimals of Leviticus 11 and
Deuteronomy 14 are now permittedfor the people of God,
signifying that the gospelmessage was for both Jew and
Gentile.
Another example of heaven beingopen is seen in Luke 3, where
it tells us when Jesus also hadbeen baptized and was praying,
(03:47):
the heavens were opened and theHoly Spirit descended on him in
bodily form, like a dove, and avoice came from heaven.
You are my beloved son, in whomI am well pleased.
In Acts 7, when Stephen ismartyred, he sees heaven open
and Jesus standing at the righthand of God.
And when Jesus returns, inRevelation 19, what do we read
(04:10):
Then?
I saw heaven opened and beholda white horse.
The one sitting on it is calledFaithful and True, and in
righteousness he judges andmakes war.
And so when heaven is open andJesus returns, when the wicked
are destroyed and the saints arevindicated, it again gives us a
glimpse of God's plan, hisrevelation.
(04:30):
One interesting observation isthat the Greek word for open
that is used, anoigo, signifiesthat not only was the door to
heaven open, but that it remainsopen.
But notice that John says thatthe voice sounded like a trumpet
, which, if you remember, washis description of the voice
that first spoke to himregarding the seven letters to
(04:52):
the seven churches.
Now, the image of the trumpetsignifies the urgency of the
message, and trumpets are usedin a variety of ways.
In scripture it sounds thealarm for war.
It signifies an awesomeoccasion, like when God spoke to
Israel at Mount Sinai.
The trumpet also calls theassembly together and, in
Revelation, indicates God'sjudgment of the wicked.
(05:14):
And so it's no surprise herethat John describes this voice
as a trumpet.
But John says a throne stood inheaven, with one seated on the
throne, and he begins todescribe what he saw in verses 3
through 6, which read and hewho sat there had the appearance
of Jasper and Carnelian, andaround the throne was a rainbow
(05:34):
that had the appearance of anemerald.
Around the throne weretwenty-four thrones and seated
on the thrones were twenty-fourelders clothed in white garments
with golden crowns on theirheads, from the throne and the
one sitting on the throne.
But how do you describe theabsolute glory and magnificence
(06:11):
of God?
How can you find the words toadequately portray what you're
seeing Now?
I've practiced Shaolin Kung Fufor a few years now and this
reminds me of a story about aShaolin monk and a young student
.
The master takes his student ona hike to the top of a mountain
where he can view the sunrise.
But when the student sees thesunrise over the mountains, he
(06:33):
comments and he says Master,it's so beautiful.
And immediately the masterexpresses his displeasure at the
student and returns back downthe mountain.
But why was the master so upsetat his student?
Because he knew, and had triedto teach his student, that there
are some things in life thatcannot be described with words.
(06:54):
They must simply be experienced.
And the student's attempt todescribe the majesty and the
beauty of the sunrise usingwords actually diminished the
reality of the event.
It did a disservice to theactual beauty and wonder and awe
of what they were experiencingbeauty and wonder and awe of
(07:16):
what they were experiencing.
Because the truth is, there aresimply some things in life that
cannot be adequately describedusing words, and any attempt to
describe them simply doesn't dothem justice, because, in order
to truly understand andappreciate them, they must be
experienced, and any attempt todescribe them using words
diminishes their reality.
And so we see that finitelanguages are incapable of
(07:39):
describing the infiniterealities that John saw in
heaven, and so he tries toconvey what he's seen by using
earthly analogies, understandingthat even these descriptions
and these analogies will fallwell short of the realities
they're intended to represent.
Notice also that John, inkeeping in line with Jewish
(07:59):
writers, he's reluctant topicture God or even mention the
revered name of God in hisdescriptions, but he begins by
saying that he who sat there hadthe appearance of Jasasper and
carnelian, and around the thronewas a rainbow that had the
appearance of an emerald.
Now, when John mentions jasper,we're not certain exactly what
(08:21):
color he's referring to here,but he's probably describing
something that is translucent.
Later on, in Revelation 21, hedescribes jasper as being clear
as crystal, so what he may havein view here is something like a
diamond.
Again, this is not a literalstone but a description of the
colors he was seeing.
(08:41):
But this could also be arepresentation of the purity and
the glory of God.
When stones like this arecleaned and they're polished,
they sparkle and shine and havethis sort of luminous splendor
about them.
But he also mentions thesardius, or carnelian as we know
it today.
This stone is red or rubycolored.
It's a deep red color.
(09:02):
Ancients used to describe it asblood colored, and so it could
possibly denote God's wrath.
But John also says that aroundthe throne was a rainbow that
had the appearance of an emerald.
Remember, for the Jews, therainbow was the sign of the
covenant of God's mercy, and sothis may represent the fact that
God is merciful.
(09:23):
It's interesting that Ezekielalso mentions a rainbow when
describing the glory of God.
In Ezekiel 128, he says Likethe appearance of the bow that
is in the cloud on the day ofrain, so was the appearance of
the brightness all around.
Such was the appearance of thelikeness of the glory of God,
and when I saw it I fell on myface.
(09:44):
Now again, they're notreferencing literal stones, but
simply these bright, translucentcolors.
Now, of course, this is a palecomparison, but it actually
conjures up in my mind, beinglike someone who's trying to
describe the Northern Lights andall of their brilliance, these
bright, colorful, moving,translucent colors that just
(10:06):
emit radiance.
And as one commentator, huber,has said, this image as a whole,
combined with the fact thatJohn avoids any direct
description or anthropomorphicexpression for God's appearance,
conveys the sense of God'stranscendence.
But John continues in verse 4 bysaying Now the identity of the
(10:30):
24 elders clothed in whitegarments, with golden crowns on
their heads.
Now, the identity of the 24elders is disputed.
Some people identify them asangels, some believe they are
saints and others believe theyrepresent all believers.
The doubling of the 12 couldrepresent both the Old and New
(10:50):
Testament people of God, or the12 tribes of Israel in the Old
Testament and the 12 disciplesin the New Testament.
And it's interesting that laterin Revelation John says that
the names of the 12 tribes ofIsrael are inscribed on the
gates of the temple and thenames of the 12 apostles are
engraved on the foundation.
And then there's also thethought that these 24 represent
(11:14):
the 24 courses of priests asthey're described in 1
Chronicles 24.
But whoever the 24 elders are,they're clothed in white
garments and have golden crownson their heads, which seems to
anticipate the rewards thatbelievers will receive, because
the golden crowns representruling and reigning.
Now, in biblical times, theelders were leaders of the
(11:37):
people and stood as theirrepresentatives before God's
glory at Sinai.
And so these elders mayrepresent God's people as a
whole, who are together known askingdom and priests.
And remember in Matthew andLuke, jesus promised the
disciples that they would situpon 12 thrones judging the 12
tribes of Israel.
(11:57):
But John continues in verses 5and 6, saying From the throne
came flashes of lightning andrumblings and peals of thunder,
and before the throne there was,as it were, a sea of glass like
crystal.
The mentioning of thunder andlightning around God's throne
just speaks to his sovereignty.
It recalls the revelation ofGod's majesty when he gave the
(12:19):
law to Moses on Mount Sinai, andit reminds us that God is still
fearful and awe-inspiring.
Now we don't have to speculatewhat the seven torches or lamps
of fire are, because they'reexplained for us.
They are the seven spirits ofGod.
The number seven designatescompletion and here represents
his perfection andself-sufficiency.
(12:40):
But John also says that in frontof the throne there was a sea
of glass like crystal.
Now this is another one that isdisputed among commentators.
Some believe the sea of glassrepresents the heavenly temple.
Now, this thought has its rootin referencing the bronze sea of
Solomon's temple that was usedfor priests to wash in, and the
fact that it was crystal linksit to the New Jerusalem.
(13:03):
Others believe that the seahere refers to a vast expanse,
pointing to the fact that God isseparate from his creation, and
that John is emphasizing thegreat distance, the vast gulf
between God and man.
But we continue with the rest ofverse 6 through 8, which read
and around the throne, on eachside of the throne, are four
(13:25):
living creatures full of eyes,in front and behind the first
living creature like a lion, thesecond living creature like an
ox, the third living creaturewith the face of a man and the
fourth living creature like aneagle in flight.
And the four living creatures,each of them with six wings, are
(13:46):
full of eyes, all around andwithin, and day and night, they
never cease to say Holy, holy,holy is the Lord, god Almighty,
who was and is and is to come.
And so, as John continuesdescribing what he was shown, he
mentions these four livingcreatures who surround God's
throne.
Now we're going to see thatthese beings will appear often
(14:07):
in Revelation as we move forward, and there's a lot of
speculation and opinionsurrounding them.
Now, just so you're aware, andin case you're not familiar with
it, this is not the first timethese four living creatures have
been mentioned in the Bible.
The prophet Ezekiel alsodescribed what he was shown in
Ezekiel, chapter 1, but hedescribed each of the creatures
(14:29):
as having four faces, whichincluded the face of a man, a
lion, an ox and an eagle.
But here John begins bydescribing them as each being
distinctive in appearance, withone having the appearance of a
man, another like a lion, thenan ox and the fourth as an eagle
.
Now this description hasinspired all sorts of art in
(14:52):
trying to capture what thesecreatures may have looked like.
In fact, you can even seeexamples in church and cathedral
architecture.
But artists have oftentimesattempted this by using
something called a tetramorph.
That word is derived from theGreek tetra, meaning four, and
morph, meaning shape, and so theword comes from the Greek for
(15:12):
four forms or shapes.
Now there are at least a coupleof different thoughts as to
what these appearances mean.
One interpretation is that thesecreatures represent the four
gospels.
Proponents of this view arguethat when you study the four
gospels Matthew, mark, luke andJohn that each portray and focus
(15:33):
on a slightly different aspectof Jesus, and this is an
interpretation that dates allthe way back to the second
century, so it isn't justsomething made up recently, but
the most common of theseinterpretations it associates
the face of the man with thegospel of Matthew, because
Matthew's gospel begins with thegenealogy of Jesus and focuses
(15:54):
on his humanity.
The gospel of Mark isassociated with the lion roaring
with power.
Luke is associated with the ox,focusing on Jesus as the
suffering servant, and then Johnis linked to the eagle,
focusing on his divinity and hisascension.
Now, there are a few variationsof this and different people
(16:16):
throughout history have linkedthe different faces of the
creatures with different gospels.
But that at least gives you anidea of the thought process.
But there's anotherinterpretation that argues these
four living creatures don'trepresent the four gospels, but
that they represent God'screated world.
In short, what they representare the fact that man is exalted
(16:37):
among creatures, the eagle asthe most majestic flying
creature, the ox as themightiest among domesticated
animals, and the lion among wildbeasts, and so together they
represent the whole of creationon earth.
All of them have receiveddominion.
And when John describes them asbeing full of eyes, front and
(16:58):
behind, it signifies that, asGod's servants, they watch over
the created order on his behalf.
And even if these creatures aremore angelic-like creatures,
the mentioning of them beingfull of eyes simply refers to
them being ever watchful, neversleeping.
They see and perceiveeverything.
(17:18):
Nothing evades them.
And so, again, those are just acouple of different
interpretations concerning thesemysterious four living
creatures that John describes.
But the most important thing, Ithink, is not exactly what they
represent, or who they represent, or even their splendor, but
their message and what they'redoing.
(17:39):
And what does John say thatthey're doing?
He tells us, day and night,they never cease to say holy,
holy, holy is the Lord, godAlmighty, who was and is and is
to come.
Now, when it says that theynever cease, it doesn't
necessarily mean that this istheir sole activity, but rather
(18:00):
that it's their constantdisposition, meaning that every
action is an expression ofadoration and reverence and awe
toward God.
And you know, it's interestingAll beings who directly witness
God's presence and his greatness, they all give him glory, and
by doing so, it shoulddefinitely give us pause and
(18:23):
reflection that maybe we shouldbe doing the same, and as great
and splendid as these creaturesno doubt were.
It should also remind us thatGod alone is worthy of worship
to receive all glory and honor.
And they remind us also thatGod is the eternal one, who was
and is and is to come.
No beginning, no end, theself-existent one.
(18:48):
And I realize it's easy tosometimes get caught up in the
details and potentialinterpretations of this chapter,
but don't miss the moreimportant point here.
The primary purpose of thischapter is to focus on and
communicate the greatness of Godand of his throne.
And when these four creaturessay holy, holy, holy, that
(19:09):
threefold repetition designatesthe superlative degree,
reiterating that God ismaximally holy, infinitely holy,
holy, beyond human conception.
But we finish with the lastthree verses, beginning with
verse 9, which reads andwhenever the living creatures
give glory and honor and thanksto him who is seated, which
(19:31):
reads.
So we briefly discussed thefour living creatures giving
glory to God, but here John saysthat when they do, the 24
(20:02):
elders fall down before him andthey cast their crowns before
him.
Now we also discussed thepossible identity of the 24
elders, but if they do representthe church and, honestly, even
if they don't here bowing beforeGod and casting their crowns
before God's throne, they offerGod not only their words of
praise but their own glory.
(20:23):
And here they are seen castingthose crowns before God because
they recognize God as the onlyone truly worthy of this kind of
glory and honor.
He's the reason and purpose forall existence and certainly for
their being in his presence.
And they also say, as we see inthe last verse Worthy are you,
(20:46):
o Lord and God, to receive gloryand honor and power.
And like I mentioned before,those who have been in God's
presence understand the gloryand holiness of God.
(21:06):
And even many throughouthistory have admitted that God
is God and that to him alonebelongs glory and honor.
King Nebuchadnezzar admittedthis in the book of Daniel, so
did King Darius, and it'sstrange and sad that even in our
modern times many people stillwill rebel against God.
Many will never see what thesetwo great ancient pagan kings
(21:28):
realized that God's sovereigntyand his rule are eternal and
everlasting.
You know, sometimes it takesgetting humbled by God, as was
the case with each of thosegreat kings, but nothing removes
pride and a supposed moralsuperiority better than a taste
of the greatness and splendorand glory of God.
(21:49):
And once you've experienced itor come to realize it for
yourself, it's not enough tojust admit it, it's not enough
to just give intellectual assentto God being God.
It can't just end there.
It needs to be converted intoworship.
But worship isn't just sayingnice things about your idea of
(22:10):
God.
As Craig Keener says, worship isthe recognition of who God is,
what he's already done, whathe's promised to do, and how
worthy he is of our praise andworship.
It's not just gaining moretheological or philosophical
information.
Those things are great.
In fact it's part of why I dothese podcasts to help people
(22:32):
learn more in those areas and toencourage believers in Jesus
Christ.
But mere knowledge isn't enough.
Jl Packer says that you have toturn that knowledge about God
into knowledge of God, byturning every truth we learn
about God into a matter formeditation before God, leading
to prayer and praise.
(22:53):
And so my prayer for you isthat you find some time, you
make some time, pause andreflect on who God actually is,
understand that God is theauthor of all of creation and
realize how far short of Hisglory and his holiness we fall.
Pray that God would reveal toyou just a glimpse of his glory,
(23:16):
and I pray that you will cometo the same conclusion as the
four living creatures and, likethem, that you will also declare
holy, holy, holy is the Lord,god Almighty, who was and is and
is to come, holy holy, holy isthe Lord, God Almighty, who was
(23:46):
and is and is to come With allcreation.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
I sing praise to the King of kings.
You are my everything and Iwill adore you.
Holy, holy, holy is the one,god almighty, who was and is and
(24:11):
is to come.
I sing holy With all creation.
I sing Praise to the King ofkings.
You are my everything and Iwill adore you.
(24:33):
I tell holy Lord, holy love.
All creation sings holy, holy,holy, lord, you're holy, you're
holy, you are holy.
(24:55):
Thank you.
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