Revelation - Lesson 11

What Comes After - Revelation 4

Prayer: Lord, it has been a long time since we have been in this book, and I pray that as we pick it back up we are focused on how you are glorified through it.  Thank You that you promise us we are blessed by reading & considering this book, because it can - to our feeble minds - at times be unclear.  Teach us what we need to know for our own Spiritual growth, and help us to trust you for the things we don't understand.   Amen!

I hope you took the opportunity to look over our previous lessons, because I'm going to jump right in where we left off, but in doing so I have to back up for a single verse to help us understand where we are in the scheme of the book of Revelation.

Revelation 1:19 - John was told to record all that he had seen (chapter 1 - his initial encounter with the resurrected Christ), what is now (chapters 2-3 - the church throughout the church age), and what is "after this" (chapters 4 -22).  The same words translated "after this" (or the like) is in Greek "meta tauta".

Revelation 4:1 - It is interesting that this first verse in chapter 4 both begins and ends with the Greek words "meta tauta" - twice is was said lest we had any question what Jesus meant when he spoke to John 1:19.

Before I go any further I want to point out that the church which has been mentioned many times in chapters 1-3 is not going to be mentioned again for the rest of the book.  That doesn't mean the Church with a capital "C", in other words the Church as a body of believers, isn't around.  Pre-tribulation teachers will point to the conspicuous absence of the Church (or at least by that name) as a proof of the rapture occurring before the tribulation.  I think I've been clear that I don't care what position you take on this (pre, mid, or post) but that you remain open to what the Spirit has to teach, but this argument has strong merit.  Another strong argument is that the judgements to come, that we'll see starting in chapter 6, would not be in harmony with God's promises and provisions to the Church.  I will warn you to be careful in your assumptions - I personally hope & pray for a pre-tribulation rapture, but I am wanting to be prepared in case it is post-tribulation.

The "Bride" will be mentioned later in Revelation, which is a picture of the Church post-rapture.  The church with a little "c", the gatherings of those who might say they believe but who remain after the rapture (false believers) are called the "Harlot" later in Revelation.

I am going to take a few minutes for a side trip into the Ancient Marriage Ceremonies of Israel, I think you will enjoy this & I think it will help our understanding of the Church as the Bride of Christ.

Ancient Jewish Wedding & parallels to the Church:

Betrothal - this was a legally binding contract = New Covenant

The Bride price was paid = Blood of Christ

The Bride was set apart = Sanctification of believers / Church

Bridegroom departs to his father's house = Jesus returning to the Father

Prepares a room addition = Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us

Bride prepares for his imminent return = Church awaits Christ's imminent return

Groom would Surprise the Bride = Jesus will come when we don't expect

Wedding Ceremony itself = Jesus will gather the Church to Himself (rapture)

Seven day Marriage supper = Seven "days" or 70th "week" of Daniel (symbolic of 7 years), believed to be concurrent with the 7 year tribulation of those left behind.

Enough about that for now, as I've said before I'm attempting to teach something I know I don't fully understand.

So, what is happening in verse 1?  John is being invited to go through an open door into heaven, he is invited by a voice he first heard in chapter 1, a voice like a trumpet, a voice believed to be that of the risen Christ.  John was invited into heaven to see what the future held, to see what was "meta tauta".

Ok, admittedly I'm a geek, so I let my imagination wander a bit.  I couldn't help but wonder what a doorway into heaven, a doorway into a place where you could view the future, would be like... And did it simply open up in front of him or was the doorway always there & was he only now aware of it.  But then I reminded myself that I live in a physical world, with physical rules & properties (including time), created by God.  Where John is about to go isn't part of this world, it isn't subject to the same rules & physical properties, so my human imagination can run wild but I'll never be able to "get it" while trapped in this world.  So at this point I'm going to say "don't strain your brain" trying to figure out the how, but instead just take a step of faith & trust God - after all, you're having to take a very small step compared to the one John's about to take.

Revelation 4:2-3 - John is transported by the power of the Holy Spirit into the throne room of heaven - Yikes!!  John struggles to grasp what he's seeing, he describes it as best he can by relating it to sparkling jewels... we've got to give the guy a break, he's trying to describe what we mere mortals trapped here on Earth haven't experienced.  John is going to try to tell us many things that he sees & hears, he is actually seeing & hearing these things, and he is bearing witness to them.

There is a presence on the throne, it is God, He is described as looking like Jasper & Carnelian.  The Jasper mentioned here would be a clear stone that gave off multiple colors - some believe what he was describing is what today we would call a diamond.  The Carnelian mentioned here would be a blood red stone.  I get the sense he was describing the complete purity & holiness of God, as well as the blood of Christ, but that is just guess on my part.

A rainbow, or perhaps more accurately a halo, surrounded the throne - it was also described like a sparkling stone - an Emerald.  Some think the rainbow here reflects the rainbow given as a promise to never again destroy all life with a flood; honestly we just don't know.

Revelation 4:4 - Around God's throne are 24 additional thrones, on which are seated 24 Elders.  So who are these Elders?  Some think they may be the heads of each of the 12 Tribes of Israel + the 12 Apostles (Disciples - Judas Iscariot + either Matthias or Paul).  Others think that since the throne room is the model for Israel's temple that these are representative priests from the 24 orders of priests set up by King David.  And there are other opinions as well, the truth is that we just don't know who they are.  They are dressed in white, possibly symbolizing that they are or have been purified.  They wear crowns, which may represent the rewards given by God to His faithful ones.  What is going to be more important than who they are is what they do & we'll see that a little later in the chapter.

Revelation 4:5 -  This would perhaps more accurately read that peals of thunder & flashes of lightning continuously emanated from the throne.  God was and continues to be active & at work.  Remember that 7 is the number of perfection or completeness, the seven lamps we are told are the seven spirits (or seven-fold spirit) of God.  Some think that these lamps mean the Church, represented by seven lamp stands in Chapter 1, is now in heaven - but again we can't say that definitively.

Revelation 4:6-8 - Verse 6 mentions a Sea of Glass, and there are many theories about what this is or could represent. One commentary thought it might represent the Laver - the place of ceremonial washing in the Temple, another thought it represented the sea in which God casts our sins never to be returned, and yet another thought it represented absolute calm.  There were other thoughts as well, but none seemed particularly strong.

What I find more interesting is the creatures described, they sound somewhat horrific with eyes all around, but I'm certain that they are beautiful beyond my imagination.  These are believed to be an exalted form of angelic being, specifically tasked with guarding the heavenly throne & leading the worship of God.  Ezekiel 1 and Isaiah 6 also attempted to describe these creatures (or similar creatures).  The purpose of the eyes is believed to be so that nothing escapes their attention.

They lead worship with "Holy, Holy, Holy" - some think this is due to the triune nature of God, others think it is due to the fact that God is eternal (past, present, future).  The worship they lead doesn't cease, it is ongoing.

The creatures are said to resemble a Lion, Ox, Man, & Eagle.  People have written loads of theories how this relates to many other things in scripture from the 4 Gospels to the 4 Ensigns of the lead tribes as Israel traveled through the wilderness, and a variety of things in between.  All or none of these theories may be valid, but we just don't know.

Revelation 4:9-11 - The 24 Elders respond to the leading of the 4 creatures.  Though they have thrones and crowns of their own they don't consider themselves above falling down before the throne of God & casting their crowns at His feet.  They acknowledge God as worthy of all glory & honor & power, and they acknowledge God as creator of all things.

What I find interesting & a personal challenge is that God is present at the center of this scene.  He is center & the focus of the creatures, He is center & the focus of the Elders, and He is center to even more that we will hear more about in the following chapters.  In this chapter God is at the center, right where He should be.  He is rightfully the center of heaven & the center of all the Universe (creation), but what is challenging is how hard it is for us to keep God always at the center.  We are faulty fallen beings, prone to being self-centered and placing ourselves on the throne of a universe of our own imaginations, and so frequently we fail to even acknowledge God in our daily lives.  What a different picture is painted with heavens throne room, in which God is the complete focus & all else is inconsequential.

Prayer:  Lord God please help us to be like John the Baptist who know He needed to decrease for the sake of Your glory.  Please keep us aware that you are in our lives and actively involved, and in our world and actively involved.  Help us to become more & more God-centered, to run to you & not away, to be brave in living out our faith in "fear & trembling" before you our Awesome Holy God.  Amen!

Reflection & Prayer: Think about how you have spent your time, money, energy this last week.  Consider where were you self-centered rather than God-centered.   Take some time to pray with one another.