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Revelation 4

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The Open Door and the Throne of God 1–5

1
After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. ​
2
And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. ​
3
And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. ​
4
And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold. ​
5
And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. ​

The Four Living Creatures 6–8

6
And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. ​
7
And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. ​
8
And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. ​

The Doxology of Creation 9–11

9
And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, ​
10
The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, ​
11
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Revelation 4

Verse 1

a door was opened in heaven — ‘After this’ and ‘hereafter’ are the one Greek phrase, meta tauta, which also gives the third part of the plan in Rev 1:19, ‘the things which shall be hereafter’. The first voice is the ‘great voice, as of a trumpet’ of Rev 1:10. ‘Come up hither’ is heard again by the two witnesses in Rev 11:12.

Verse 2

a throne was set in heaven — ‘In the spirit’ is the state of Rev 1:10. Thronos occurs 14 times in this chapter. The one who sits is not named but described (vv.3–6), as Isaiah saw ‘the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up’ (Isa 6:1) and Micaiah ‘the LORD sitting on his throne’ (1 Kings 22:19).

Verse 3

a jasper and a sardine stone — The sardius is the first stone of the high priest’s breastplate and the jasper the last (Ex 28:17–20); jasper is the light of the city ‘having the glory of God’ (Rev 21:11). The rainbow (iris), ‘like unto an emerald’, recalls Ezekiel’s ‘bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain’ round the glory of the LORD (Ezek 1:28).

Verse 4

four and twenty seats — ‘Seats’ is thronos, the word for the throne itself: the elders sit on thrones of their own. The number matches the twenty-four courses of the priests (1 Chr 24:18), and Christ promised the apostles ‘twelve thrones’ (Matt 19:28); readers differ on whether the elders are the redeemed or a heavenly order. Their crowns are stephanoi of gold.

Verse 5

lightnings and thunderings and voices — As at Sinai, ‘thunders and lightnings’ with ‘the voice of the trumpet’ (Ex 19:16); the trio returns in Rev 8:5 and 11:19. The seven lamps are ‘the seven Spirits of God’, named ‘before his throne’ in Rev 1:4 and ‘sent forth into all the earth’ in Rev 5:6; in Zech 4:10 the seven lamps are ‘the eyes of the LORD’.

Verse 6

four beasts — The Greek is zoon, ‘living creature’, not the therion of the beast from the sea in Rev 13:1; Ezekiel’s creatures are ‘four living creatures’ (Ezek 1:5). Over their heads he saw ‘the colour of the terrible crystal’ (Ezek 1:22); here the ‘sea of glass like unto crystal’ lies before the throne, and in Rev 15:2 the victors stand on it.

Verse 7

like a lion … a calf … a man … a flying eagle — Ezekiel saw the same four faces: ‘a man … a lion … an ox … an eagle’ (Ezek 1:10), and later knew the creatures to be ‘the cherubims’ (Ezek 10:20). Here each creature has one face, in the order lion, calf, man, eagle, where each of Ezekiel’s had all four.

Verse 8

Holy, holy, holy — The seraphim of Isa 6:2–3 ‘had six wings’ and cried ‘Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts’. Here the cry is joined to the title of Rev 1:8, ‘the Almighty’ (pantokrator), and to the threefold description of him ‘which was, and is, and is to come’, set in the order of past, present and future. They ‘rest not day and night’.

Verse 9

when those beasts give glory — ‘When’ is hotan, ‘whenever’: the worship of v.10 follows each time the creatures give ‘glory and honour and thanks’ (eucharistia). ‘Him that liveth for ever’ is the title Nebuchadnezzar gave: ‘I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever’ (Dan 4:34).

Verse 10

cast their crowns — The stephanoi of v.4 are thrown (ballo) before the throne; ‘worship’ is proskuneo, to bow down. The elders ‘fell down’ again before the Lamb (Rev 5:8), on their faces before God (Rev 11:16), and ‘fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne’ (Rev 19:4).

Verse 11

for thy pleasure — ‘Pleasure’ is thelema, will: all things are and were created because he willed it. ‘Thou art worthy’ (axios) is said again of the Lamb: ‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing’ (Rev 5:12). Compare Col 1:16, ‘by him were all things created’.