Commentary on Revelation
Chapter 4
The vision
The heavenly worship
Rev. 4:1 After this I looked, and lo, in heaven an open door! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, "Come up hither, and I will show you what must take place after this."
We should thank God that the door into Heaven is an open door. This voice is the same one he heard in the first vision (1:10). John is invited not just to look in through the door but to enter through the door. The things that must take place after this would occur soon (See 1:1 and 1:3).
2 At once I was in the Spirit, and lo, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne! 3 And he who sat there appeared like jasper and carnelian, and round the throne was a rainbow that looked like an emerald.
Compare Ezekiel's vision in Ezekiel 8:3. (The Spirit lifted him up between earth and heaven.) The throne which rules the world is not in Italy. The throne of God is mentioned 38 times in the book. All things are viewed in regard to their relation to the throne. The Bible is very clear that God is enthroned in Heaven: Ps. 99:1; 1 Sa. 4:4; 2 Sa. 6:2; Isaiah 37:16 - God sits enthroned upon the cherubim. The rainbow reminds us of God's mercy and that he keeps his covenants. A similar description is used in Ezekiel 1:28.
4 Round the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clad in white garments, with golden crowns upon their heads.
The 24 elders represent royalty in the presence of supreme royalty. They sit on thrones surrounding God's throne indicating that their power is derived from God. Their white garments represent the righteous deeds of the Saints (19:8). These 24 elders also represent a priesthood. Recall from 1 Chron. 24:7-18 that their were 24 orders in the Levitical priesthood. In Rev. 5:8 we see the 24 elders performing priestly duties. Thus we have a royal priesthood. 1 Peter 2:9 describes the church as a royal priesthood. Jesus combined the priesthood with kingly power. Zech. 6:9-15 depicts the high priest being crowned with a crown. Ps. 110 tells us that Jesus is both a king and a priest.
5 From the throne issue flashes of lightning, and voices and peals of thunder, and before the throne burn seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God; 6 and before the throne there is as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.
Thunder and lightning are commonly used to depict God's wrath and power to judge. The seven torches of fire are the seven spirits of God which, as before, represent the Holy Spirit. In the tabernacle the seven lamps were kept burning in the holy place before the holy of holies. The Holy Spirit is the revealer; he makes all things clear. This sea stresses separation. In Solomon's temple a sea stood between the priest and the holy place where God dwelt (2 Chron. 4:2-6).
And round the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: 7 the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like a flying eagle. 8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all round and within, and day and night they never cease to sing, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!"
The four living creatures are the cherubim. In the Old Testament God was pictured as sitting enthroned above the cherubim which sat atop the ark of the covenant. In 1 Chron. 28:18; Ps. 18:10; Ez. 1 and Ez. 10 the cherubim are God's chariot on which he rides to judgment. The purpose of the cherubim is to defend God's holiness. They kept Adam from the tree of life. The were woven into the veil which stood between man and the presence of God in the temple. The stood over the ark of the covenant looking down upon the law of God. They would have demanded immediate justice were it not for the mercy seat which covered the transgressions because of the blood which was sprinkled there. These creatures are the judge of all who enter the presence of God. They are endlessly concerned with God's reputation and the vindication of his character. They never cease to say, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty." The lion is a predator on earth. The eagle is a predator in the air. The ox is powerful and relentless. Man balances the blind savagery when justice is wrought. Six wings? They have four in Ezekiel. They are full of eyes: They miss nothing.
9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives for ever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever; they cast their crowns before the throne, singing, 11 "Worthy art thou, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for thou didst create all things, and by thy will they existed and were created."
The elders cast their crowns before the throne and worship God. Their song is directed to God the Creator. They owe their existence and present status to God's power and will. The scene of this chapter is one of unending worship of God by the cherubim and the Church. The creatures worship the Creator. Contrast Romans 1:25 where sinful men are depicted as worshipping the creature rather than the Creator. (Was Jesus created? Obviously not!)