Revelation 4:1 After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”
While we will obviously be looking at what is to come we will look now at the hope of the Church!
Revelation 3:10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.
There is a judgment coming upon the world. There is a time coming for those who have waited on and trusted in the Lord. That the Church will not have to endure the time of tribulation is a fundamental doctrine of the Faith!
1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10 He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
There is a time when the Church will no longer be on earth! You will not find us on earth in the Revelation to come to John. The Church is not mentioned on earth past Revelation chapter three. Where are we? We are with our Lord Jesus!
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage each other with these words.
1 Corinthians 15:44b-58
When we arrive in heaven we will see the things that John saw and first we will go to the Father!
Revelation 4:2-3 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. 3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne.
John sees what he cannot describe. He sees One who looks as though He is a shinning diamond and a glorious red like a deep ruby, shining in bright brilliance. John sees each color distinctively from the other and yet he sees them as coming from the One on the throne!
These stones were in the breastplate of the High priest but in reverse order! (Exodus 28:15-21) There the ruby was first and the diamond last for sinful man must first find atonement. The red of the ruby standing for atonement and the brilliance of the diamond representing the glory of the Lord. John sees the glory first and then the atonement for he is not a sinful man in need of redemption but a redeemed man seeing the glory first and then the atonement that brought the glory! (Psalms 130:7)
The emerald rainbow around the throne is the completed version of what we see on earth. The rainbow on earth is partial but reminds us of God’s covenant with man. (Genesis 9:12-17) In heaven the rainbow encircles the throne to show the fulfilled covenants of God! (2 Peter 3:8-10) There we will see what is to come upon the earth (Revelation 4:1) as we enjoy the sights, sounds, and wonders of heaven!
Revelation Scenes from Heaven
The scenes from heaven are amazing to look into as we see the Father, the Holy Spirit and all around the throne!
Revelation 4:4 Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads.
These seem to be the leaders from both Covenants now joined as the Bride! The representatives over the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles that walked with Jesus. (Rev. 21:12, 14) These have their bodies for they are seated and wearing their robes of white! They have already passed before the judgment seat of Christ for they are wearing crowns! (2 Corinthians 5:10, 1 Corinthians 3:10-15, Rev. 2:10; 3:4-5) Whether redeemed Gentile or Jew, now there is one new Body of Believers! (Ephesians 2:11-22) That the thrones surround the throne of God show that there is equality but still that God is above all.
Then we see the One that has knit both Jew and Gentile together into one through the blood of Jesus!
Revelation 4:5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. (Seven-fold Spirit of God)
The Holy Spirit is seen! (He has no singular throne for He shares the Father’s throne for before the Son of Man ascended there was but the one throne where the triune God sat over all.) The lightning and thunder speak of the work of judgment that is yet to come to the world for the Spirit’s work has not yet finished and yet here at this point in time He is with the Body of Christ that He worked together!
In front of the Father’s throne the Spirit is represented as seven lamps, fully lit to the point of a blazing flame. We have seen this representation in Zechariah of the lampstand with seven channels to seven lamps fed by the two olive trees. (Zechariah 4:2-3) These show the seven-fold ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We are dependent upon each facet of His ministry and shall see the glory of the Spirit’s complete work all at once!
The Spirit of Adoption (Romans 8:15). The Spirit of Truth (John 14:17). The Spirit of Intercession (Romans 8:26). The Spirit of Glory (1 Peter 4:11). The Spirit of Holiness (Romans 1:4). The Spirit of Life (Romans 8:2, Rev. 11:11). And the Spirit of Wisdom (Ephesians 1:17)!Oh what an amazing sight to see – to see Him whom has been but as the wind to us in His revealed glory! What we will see is what works within us now!
Then we look upon the crystal sea!
Revelation 4:6 Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.
The sea represents the purity of God as nothing is seen in it as it is transparent and pure! So is the glory and intentions of our Father – transparent and pure!
In the earthly copies of the heavenly reality we have the Bronze Laver or Basin that the priests would wash in before ministering in the Tabernacle (Exodus 30:17-21) and the BronzeSea of the Temple. (1 Kings 7:23) These spoke of impurity of man as before a pure and holy God but in heaven we have no need to wash for we are pure before our God through the blood of His Son!
Hebrews 10:21-22 And since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
Revelation Around the Throne
Revelation 4:6-8 In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. 7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."
The scene from Isaiah 6 is seen by John.
Isaiah 6:1-4 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." 4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
Ezekiel also saw this scene of the throne at his commission. (Ezekiel 1)
The purpose is not to elaborate upon the appearance of the creatures, though they show the completeness of God’s plan for the creation of man and animals, but to show the reverence and awe by all creatures over the glory of the Lord. As these strange and amazing representatives of the creation see and experience the glory of God they have but one response and that is to worship the living God! (Why were these creatures created? Perhaps so that all of the other beings in heaven could function while these designated creatures respond to the glory of the Lord for all! Yet as we will see they do have a part in ordering what is to come.) Yet the cry of these living creatures only inspires the elders seated around the throne!
Revelation 4:9-11 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: 11 "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."
[Isaiah saw the glory of God and the creatures crying our holy and responded with “Woe is me!” (Isaiah 6:5) The redeemed have no thought of woe but only of praise for they have boldness through the blood of Jesus to be before the living God! (Hebrews 10:19-22)]
The majesty of it all is beyond our ability to comprehend here. It is higher than the most amazing worship experience that we could ever experience in any setting other than heaven. Many that have visited heaven have not even experienced this particular scene and moment. This is a scene of commissioning and setting forth what is and what is to come while calling to remembrance the glory that was; for the glory of God never fades or ceases to exist and is as real for what was as it is for the present and what will be! And what will be that is causing such reverence and worship?
Revelation 5:1-4 Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals.
The document that holds the fate of an unrepentant world is the hand of the Father and waits to opened to bring about the judgment of a world that rejected the salvation of God through His Son, (John 1:9-14, 3:16-21, 31-36) while bringing the house of Israel to salvation and belief in the Son of God that they too have, to this point, rejected as their Messiah.
Revelation The Lamb
Revelation 5:1-4 Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, "Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?" 3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. 4 I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside.
The focus quickly becomes the seals on the scroll but what is the contained in the scroll? While the angel asks if anyone can break seals, he asks with the end view to opening the scroll. As we will see, every time that a seal is broken on the scroll major events are set in order on earth. This would show that the scroll has to do with the earth. If the scroll has to do with the earth then why can’t any of the redeemed take it and open it? What is sought here is one that is worthy of their self and there is not one redeemed man, woman, or child that can make such a boast as none stand before the Father on their own!
Ephesians 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
We gather, again from what we will soon see, that if the scroll is not opened then all that is to be stops and will not be fulfilled. As our place is to reign over the earth, (Daniel 7:17-18, 27; 2 Timothy 2:12), then again we see that the scroll must be about the earth. We see that no man steps up to take the scroll, nor does any angel, or even any demon. Neither the Father nor the Spirit opens the scroll. The earth was given to man but man surrendered his power and authority to satan via the serpent in the garden. Man sold himself for the knowledge that he was a creation and was perfect only through his relationship with God. Of course created beings cannot stand equal to God no matter what the purpose of their creation, but a son of God can stand equal to God. Yet a son of God alone could not open the scroll and claim the earth for earth was given to man and yet man of himself cannot stand equal to God to take his rightful possession. Yet if there could be one that was God and man . . .
Revelation 5:5-6 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.” 6 Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
Man? Yes. God? Yes. He stands of His own righteousness and claims what is rightfully His, but also ours as those that were redeemed from sin by His blood!
Hebrews 9:11-12 (See also Romans 3:21-26, Ephesians 1:7-12, Colossians 1:12-14, Titus 2:11-14, 1 Peter 1:17-21)
The Lamb of God, the sacrificial offering of God and to God on our behalf, [already slain and risen, victorious over sin and death never to die again, (Hebrews 9:25-28)], is plainly seen as man and God, yet as Christ has always done, He stands as one of us, as the Son of Man ready to take up our possession of our behalf. That He is God is shown by the completeness of His power, (the seven horns) and that He possesses the Spirit without measure (John 3:34-35) and His glory goes all through the earth, (the seven eyes)! That He is man is given through His identification with the tribe of Judah and the lineage of David.
[Where was the Lamb before this moment? Was He at the judgment seat of Christ, (2 Corinthians 5:10) having just finished with the last saint? Was He giving us time with our Father who gave His Son that we might be brought to Him? (Ephesians 1:3-5)]
All eyes of the redeemed and the angels fix on the Lamb of God, (John 1:29, Revelation 13:8), as the hope and promise of all as He takes the scroll – the legal rights to all that man was given and all that God has promised!
Revelation 5:7 He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne.
Revelation Worthy Is the Lamb
Revelation 5:7-8a He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. 8 And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb.
The Redeemed are in heaven because of the Lamb. Jesus won the victory for man and is now receiving the fruit of His victory for man! (Remember, Jesus is man as well as God!)
Romans 8:16-17 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs-heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
Revelation 5:8b-10 Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song:
[Is the Lamb worthy to take the scroll and open the seals because He is God? No. Because He purchased us for God! (1 Peter 1:18-20, 2:9-10) And oh, the praise! The elders bow, play, give thanks for answered prayer by offering their prayers as incense, (every prayer was asked in the name of Christ and answered because of our worthiness through His!), and they sing the new song of the Redeemed!]
“You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. 10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”
Every sentiment is given. It is all through Jesus. All is because of Him! Worthy is the Lamb! Those that believe are redeemed to reign, and in that summation is all the understanding necessary to live in all that we have in Christ Jesus both now and forever!
This is the song of those that loved the appearing of Jesus for they longed to see Him and to take their place with Him! (2 Timothy 4:8) This is a love song of the highest order and intimacy that is stored up in the spirits of all just men made perfect everywhere (Hebrews 12:22-24), and when we see Jesus take the scroll, this song of praise of over two thousand years in waiting will erupt in such a glorious crescendo that all of heaven and earth will follow come to sing their praises of the Lamb of God!
Revelation 5:11-12 Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12 In a loud voice they sang: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!"
The angels that minister to Jesus and to His saints, (Hebrews 1:14), that longed to understand the redemption of man, (1 Peter 1:10-12) now see and understand so fully that their song is sung in part with ours, one layered over the other or in rounds as we all praise the Lamb that was dead but lives forever! So great is the praise coming from heaven that it jolts all of creation, that which groaned for the revelation of the Sons of God, (Romans 8:22), into their own song of praise!
Revelation 5:13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!”
Oh what praise and glory! Oh what an amazing display of sights, sounds, fragrances, and adoration! Does Jesus just stand in strength as He receives our praise or does He raise the scroll over His pierced brow in triumph as we rejoice together? Does one order of worshippers notice the song of the other orders or are we all so caught up in the moment that we scarcely hear the one next to us? How long does it all go on? What is the reaction of the Father and the Spirit who share in His praise? Is it all more glory or love; or is it the glory of love?
We would let the worship continue forever but we must move on to the opening of the seals. (As long as we worship the Lamb all is stopped!) So the four creatures that encircle the throne take their place as directors of the greatest drama of all time as they bring all to quiet worship for that which is to come.
Revelation 5:14 The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.
