Deeper Commentary
CHAPTER 4
4:1 After these things I looked, and
beheld a door opened in heaven- John is being given a peep into the
heavenly throne room. The 'court of heaven' was a common Jewish idea. The
events on earth are reflected there, with representative Angels standing
before God and receiving His judgments. The Angels may represent sinners
and sinful entities, but Angels themselves do not sin. The comfort is that
situations in earth are not out of control, but are known and perceived
totally and instantly in Heaven. The opening of a door speaks of an
opportunity being provided, perhaps in response to a knock (see on
3:8,20). It could be that John and others had sought desperately to
understand their persecutions and how things really were in Heaven; and
John's visions were the answer.
And the first voice that I heard, as if a
trumpet was speaking to me, was as one saying: Come up here, and I will
show you the things which hereafter must came to pass-
Unlike Hebrew, the tenses in Greek are precise
and have specific reference. In Rev. 1:19 John was told to write down the
things which he had seen, the things which presently are, and the things
which shall be “hereafter”. I suggest the things he had seen were the
things of the vision of the Son of Man; the things which are refer to the
messages to the seven churches; and “the things which shall be hereafter”
is a phrase developed here in Rev. 4:1, where John is bidden come and see
“the things which must be hereafter”. The things from then on all refer to
the future, the last days and the coming of Christ. The vision of the
Heavenly throne room in chapters 4 and 5 therefore refers to how things
are in the Heavenly court in the last days. That is confirmed by
comments on many of the following verses in chapter 4. The vision is in
the form of "a voice of a trumpet". The same Greek words are found in Mt.
24:31 and 1 Thess. 4:16 about the "sound [s.w. "voice"] of a trumpet"
which will be heard at Christ's return. The same words are used of the
trumpets heard at the final outpouring of woe upon the land at the Lord's
coming (Rev. 8:3). The vision therefore has a clear end time reference,
and describes the scene in Heaven at that time, rather than being a
general picture of how things are in Heaven.
4:2 Immediately I was in the Spirit-
Being "in the Spirit" was in response to the invitation to come 'up' to
Heaven to view the court room (:1).
And beheld a throne set in heaven; and
one sitting upon the throne- The
setting up of the throne recalls the language of the throne being 'set'
for judgment at Christ's return (Ps. 122:5; Dan. 7:9). As noted on :1, the
entire vision in chapter 4 is of the state of affairs at the last day
being reflected in the Heavenly throne room. Thrones set on earth are set
in Heaven, just as David on earth sat as it were on the throne of God in
Heaven as king.
4:3 And he that sat on it was to look
upon like a jasper stone, and a sardius; and there was a rainbow round
about the throne, like an emerald to look upon- The rainbow suggests
that Divine judgment has come to an end, and the faithful remnant saved.
As noted on :1, this is a picture of things at the last day. The Lord sits
upon the judgment throne with a rainbow as a halo around it, meaning that
His judgment is overarched by grace and a desire in fact not to condemn
the world, even if they spurn His grace and choose His condemnation.
Jasper is the gem used to describe the
appearance of all the faithful (21:11,18,19); the Lord's righteousness and
exalted status will finally be true of all who are in Him. The sardine or
sardius likewise (21:20), and the emerald (21:19). These are also stones
in the High Priestly breastplate, representing the tribes of the Lord's
people. We, His people, shine from His face. This is the extent of His
total identification with us, and ours with Him. See on 5:3.
4:4 And round about the throne were
twenty four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty four elders
sitting, dressed in white garments, and on their heads were crowns of gold-
This again is reflecting the situation of the last days. The elders are
'clothed in white clothing', but every time those words occur in
Revelation the context is of believers who have overcome the tribulation
and are now clothed in white (3:5,18; 7:9,13). The vision of such clothing
in Heaven may suggest that the elders thus clothed are the representative
Angels of the believers on earth. Revelation is full of this kind of
representation of human situations before the court of Heaven. Their
golden crowns (4:4) are the crowns of victory which the faithful wear
after judgment (the stephanos is specifically a victory wreath- 1
Cor. 9:25; Phil. 4:1; 1 Thess. 2:19; the crown which shall be given "at
that day", 2 Tim. 4:8; James 1:12; 1 Pet. 5:4; Rev. 2:10). Golden crowns
are worn by the latter day enemies of God's people (Rev. 9:7); the
specific usage of stephanos here, the victory wreath, suggests
that they are celebrating their brief victory and establishment of a fake
Kingdom of God. This is exactly what Moslems expect their Mahdi to do as a
result of their latter day victories against the Jews. The ten horns of
the beast are also crowned (13:1); the brief victory of the beast is a
parody of the establishment of the true Kingdom of God.
These 24 elders recall the 24 orders of
priests, who represent all the Lord's redeemed people. For we are a nation
of priests, constantly in His service. As noted on :3, the Lord is
presented as having the stones of the high priestly breastplate shining
from His face as He sits enthroned, as a king-priest after the order of
Melchizedek. We too shall be enthroned. Priests who are enthroned are
king-priests; the Lord likewise was a king-priest after the order of
Melchizedek, and we shall eternally have this status. We have just read
that the faithful shall share His throne (3:21). As noted several times on
Hebrews, we are not only benefitted by the Lord's high priestly work for
us, but merge with Him, entering into the Holiest as did the High Priest-
to do the work of the High Priest for the salvation of others.
I am of the view that the seals and vials of
Revelation have such strong connection with both the Olivet prophecy and
the actual events in the land in AD66-70 that it is impossible to discount
the application of Revelation to this period. This means that it would
have been written some time before AD70. A major theme is the need to
resist the Caesar worship and maintain their separation from the world
around them. Indeed, the whole of Revelation can be read, in its’ AD70
application, as an account of the struggle between Christ and Caesar. Such
strong imagery is used in order to emphasise that there could be no third
road. It was one or the other. Thus Rev. 4,5 presents a picture of the
throne of Heaven, but it is replete with reference to the imperial
ceremonial court. Consider the points of contact and contrast:
- Greco-Roman kings were considered to be divine, and their courtrooms
were arranged in concentric circles centring upon the Caesar / King- just
as with the true throne room
- Their attendants were often arranged in groups of 7s and 12s- after the
supposed seven planetary spheres and the 12 signs of the zodiac. Compare
this with the 7s, 12s and 24s [2 x 12] in Revelation (4:4,5,10; 5:6-10).
The 24 elders are a parody of the 24 lictors or bodyguards who
surrounded Domitian and other Caesars. Instead of praying for Caesar and
the empire, Revelation presents a radical counter culture. Caesar and his
empire are presented as a fake Kingdom, which is to be prayed against-
resulting in the overthrow of that Kingdom by the Kingdom of God. And the
death of the Lord Jesus is seen as having already guaranteed this, and
achieved it in prospect. Likewise casting crowns before Caesar is parodied
in :10. This is ultimately done before the Lord Jesus, and is done for
ever. All these allusions show how the Roman kingdom / empire is the
antithesis of the true and ultimate Kingdom / empire, of God through the
Lord Jesus. The 'iron rule' of Rome is the antithesis of the 'iron rod'
with which the Lord Jesus shall rule the nations through His people (Rev.
2:26). There is no overlap between the two empires. Human politics cannot
bring about God's Kingdom. The kingdoms of this world are to become the
kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. And in the lead up to that,
Christian culture and Roman culture [or the world's culture] are
absolutely separate and counter to each other.
- These attendants sung hymns of praise to the Caesar (cp. 4:8-11; 5:9-14)
- The Caesar dispersed justice to the empire / kingdom, symbolised by a
scroll (cp. 5:1-8).
- Language such as God, Son of God, Lord’s day, saviour of the world was
used in the imperial cult.
Suffice it to say that today just as much as in the 1st century, there is
a radical clash of cultures and belief systems between us and this present
world. The radical nature of the conflict cannot be overstated.
4:5 - see on Rev. 1:20; Jer. 1:11,12.
And out of the throne proceeded
lightnings, voices and thunders- As
noted on :1, the vision of the Heavenly throne room in chapters 4 and 5
refers to how things are in the Heavenly court in the last days.
In this context, the seven heads and mountains of the beast perhaps have
their match in the seven spirits / Angels before God’s throne. As found in
Daniel, the situation on earth is not at all out of control; rather is it
a reflection of the Heavenly throne room, just as the beasts of Daniel 7
arise out of the sea as a result of the [apparent] ‘striving’ of the
spirits / Angels / winds. The lightnings which flash out of the throne
were not just what were ‘usually’ there in Heaven; rather are these the
lightnings which flash in the last day events of Rev. 8:5; 11:19; 16:18,
recalling the flashing of lightning as a sign of God’s especial and saving
activity of His people (Ps. 18:14). As lightening, fire and thunder
'proceeds' out of the throne and from the mouth of Him sitting upon it
(1:16; 4:5), so the same word is used of how fire and judgment proceed out
of their mouth of God's briefly victorious enemies (9:17,18). So often the
contrast is drawn between the things of God's Kingdom and God's people,
and those of His opposition. The thundering recorded here is that of Rev.
19:6 at the time of the second coming of Christ. The great voice out of
the throne [“voices” may be a reflection of the Hebrew idea of an
intensive plural] is the great voice out of the throne of Rev. 16:17; 19:5
when “it is done”. It is the voice of victory which effectively comes out
of the throne at the last day (Rev. 7:9,10).
The 24 elders of Rev. 4:5 represent rather
than symbolize the believers, whose guardians they are. These Angels
represent the saints in the court of Heaven. In this lies the practical
meaning of all this; that we, our 'case', our thoughts and deeds, are
represented in none less than the court of Heaven; and there they are
judged, discussed, and responded to.
And there were seven lamps of fire
burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God-
It is the faithful who are "before the throne". The seven spirits refers
perhaps to the totality of God's Spirit and His power. Seeing He makes His
Angels spirits, it could be that God's power is apportioned between seven
senior Angels. But the connection with the seven churches and stars, who
are the angels of the churches, is also clear. As the indwelling Spirit
dwells and abides within us, so we are represented as the seven lamps
burning always before Him in Heaven. In the last day, of which this vision
speaks, we shall be turned to Spirit nature. We are the elders, and we are
the seven spirits. The symbolism reflects different aspects of the same
realities.
4:6 And in front of the throne there was
as it were a sea of glass like a crystal- The allusion is to
the bronze "sea" or laver in the temple. Verse 5 has just alluded to the
candlestick. Here there is a tranquil
“sea of glass”, but this is the very same symbol as used in Rev. 15:2
concerning how this situation is arrived at after and as a
result of the fiery judgments upon God’s enemies in the last days.
This confirms the suggestion on :1 that we have here a vision of the state
of things in the last days, seen from Heaven's perspective. This glass sea
is “clear as crystal”- which is the very metaphor used to describe the
Kingdom conditions (Rev. 21:11; 22:1). Again and again, Revelation 4 uses
the language of the period surrounding the establishment of God’s Kingdom
on earth. It’s a prophetic vision of the things which shall be “hereafter”
(4:1), rather than a description of how things were in Heaven at John’s
time and how they have been ‘up there’ for the last 2000 years.
In confirmation of this, note that the whole
scene happens “in front of the throne”, but this phrase is repeatedly used
later in Revelation to speak of the situation before the judgment throne
of the Father and Son, when this as it were is set up on earth. Before
that throne the faithful shall be found faultless (14:5), and they sing
before that throne a new song because of their triumph (14:3). Those who
overcome the tribulation of the last days are found “before the throne”
(7:9,11,15). So what we are seeing in chapter 4 happening ‘before the
throne’ is not a mere description of ‘what was going on before God’s
throne at John’s time, and has been going on all along since then’. No.
This is about what shall happen before that throne at the day of
judgment at the second coming. That is the time referent of
Revelation’s language of “before the throne”. For the sea of humanity is
hardly calm as crystal glass before His throne, and will not be until the
last day.
And in the midst of the throne and round
about the throne, four living creatures full of eyes before and behind-
There are evident similarities between Ezekiel's cherubim, and the four
living creatures of Rev. 4. They are both described as "full of eyes" (Ez.
1:18 = Rev. 4:6), with four very similar faces (lion, calf, man, eagle in
Rev. 4:7 = lion, ox, man, eagle in Ez. 1:10); and both have wings (Rev.
4:8 = Ez. 1:8). Yet the living creatures of Revelation speak of being
redeemed by the blood of Christ and made king-priests in God's Kingdom
(Rev. 5:8-10)- as if they are the redeemed people of God. The four faces
are likely to be connected with the four standards of the tribes of Israel
(Lion = Judah, Man = Reuben, Ox = Ephraim, Eagle = Dan). Each of those
tribes had two other tribes assigned to them in the encampment procedures
of Num. 2. There is extra-Biblical tradition that the cherubim in
Solomon's temple had the same four faces which Ezekiel saw on the
cherubim- lion, ox, man and eagle. Those to whom Ezekiel related his
vision would have immediately understood the point- that the earthly
sanctuary was a reflection of the Heavenly, and that above that was a huge
Angelic system operating, which also represented God's people- them. But
that huge system was to remove to Babylon, and then the final visions of
Ezekiel show that glory returning. Ezekiel, as the representative "son of
man" as he's so often styled, was caught up within that system and
transported at ease between Babylon and Jerusalem- and those who wanted to
opt in with God and His Angels could likewise be taken to Babylon and
returned. Those who chose to remain in Babylon were therefore resisting
being part of an awesome system of God manifestation and Angelic
operation. We have that same choice in things great and small today.
Just as the lamb with seven heads faces off against the dragon and beasts with multiple heads, so here, the four living creatures [AV "beasts"] are the equivalent of the "four beasts" of Daniel, who morph into the beasts of Revelation. Again the idea is that the apparently invincible systems seen "on earth" are nothing compared to their far greater equivalent "in Heaven". And the faithful are given a glimpse of Heaven's perspective, and asked to make that their worldview.
We have just read that the faithful shall
share His throne (3:21). And exactly there is where we find the living
creatures. The "four living creatures" are a means of expressing God's
manifestation, be it in Angels or Israel in the past. But now, at the
point of the last day of which this vision speaks, the reference is to us.
This is why we / they are both in the midst of the throne and round about
it. We are in one sense before the throne, receiving His grace, casting
our crowns there (:10); and in another sense, sharing with Him in His
throne itself.
4:7 And the first creature was like a
lion, the second creature like a calf, the third creature had the face of
a man and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle- See on :6. The
four beasts full of eyes which are found here (:6,7) are the Heavenly
reflection of the four beasts of Daniel 7, and the powerful little horn
with its cunning eye is thus presented as a weak parody of the Heavenly
reality. As noted on :1, the vision of the Heavenly throne room in
chapters 4 and 5 refers to how things are in the Heavenly court in the
last days. These beasts all exist in the last days in some form, but
shall be subsumed within the "four living creatures" of the cherubim,
representing the glorified believers; see on :6.
4:8 And the four living creatures each
had six wings, full of eyes round about and within-The 'beasts' / 'creatures' of the nations
shall be subsumed within and by the cherubic "living creatures",
representing the believers (see on :6). Their being "full of eyes" is a
repeatedly noted feature, and I suggest refers to how we shall then know
all. A large element of our struggle in this world is that we do not have
full vision, we cannot attach precise meaning to event, nor see the
immediate future. This plays no small part in the psychological struggle
of believers especially, who sense that there is meaning to
event, and the hand of God is and shall be in their immediate future
history, but cannot see it all in detail.
4:9- see on Rev. 5:6.
And when the living creatures shall give
glory and honour and thanks to him that sits on the throne, to him that
lives for ever and ever- The giving
of honour to Him who sits upon the throne (4:9) is an idea only found
elsewhere in 19:7, where honour is given to the Lord on the throne "for
the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready".
Again, we are directed to understand the giving of honour as appropriate
to the Lord's second coming. The picture is specifically of the last days;
see on :1. The "living creatures" have something to "thank" the Lord for,
and to glorify and honour Him for. I suggested on :6 that at this point,
they refer to the glorified believers.
4:10 The twenty four elders shall fall down before him that sits on
the throne and shall worship him that lives for ever and ever, and shall
cast their crowns before the throne, saying- Those who enter the
Kingdom will genuinely, from the very depth of their being, feel that they
shouldn't be there. They will cast their crowns before the enthroned Lord,
as if to resign their reward as inappropriate for them. Indeed, they
shouldn't be in the Kingdom. The righteous are "scarcely saved" (1 Pet.
4:18). The righteous remnant who spoke often to one another about Yahweh
will only be "spared" by God's grace (Mal. 3:17).
This is another of many allusions to the
emperor cult, whereby local kings and rulers knelt and cast their crowns
before the Roman emperor or before images of him. It was a statement of utter submission. But this
picture is applied to the Lord Jesus, and contributed towards making
Revelation such a subversive and illegal document within the Roman empire.
The things we stand for are no less radical and break all the norms of the
societies in which we currently live.
Because it is by God’s will that we are
created, because He is from everlasting to everlasting, because God is
creator (:11), we cast our crowns of ‘reward’ before His throne in a sense
of unworthiness, just as David in Ps. 8 had the overawing sense of ‘Who am
I…?’ when he reflected upon God’s creation.
4:11 Worthy are you, our Lord, to receive the glory and the honour and
the power. For you did create all things, and for your sake they existed
and were created- "Our Lord" refers to the Lord Jesus, and is again a
subversion of the way Caesar was addressed in this way. His creation of
all things recalls the prologue of John's gospel, where clearly a new
creation is in view (2 Cor. 5:17), a creation of a world of persons in His
image. And as the faithful find themselves accepted and immortalized
before His throne, they will realize that indeed the new creation has come
to its final term. And they stand there because of His creation of them,
and not in their own strength, created of His will [NEV "sake", AV
"pleasure"] and not their own. The allusion may be to Jn. 1:13, where the
Lord Jesus is presented as bringing us into spiritual being not of our
will but of His. In :8,11 we read of “the Lord God Almighty, who was and
is and is to come” ‘receiving [lambano]’ “glory, honour and power
[dunamis]”. The only other time we read of this is in Rev.
11:15-17, when the seventh Angel sounds and the Kingdom of God is
established: “We give You thanks O Lord God Almighty, who is and who was;
because You have taken [lambano] Your great power [dunamis]
and have reigned”. The vision here is specifically about the state of the
Heavenly throne room at the last day; see on :1.
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