The Revelation of Christ.
Revelation Four.
Behold the Throne!
“Write
the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the
things which will take place after this” Revelation 1:19 (NKJV).
The “Key” to the Book of Revelation,
is found in Revelation 1:19. The book of Revelation is the only book
of the Bible that gives the reader an outline right from the beginning, (giving every preacher a three-point
sermon), and they are here given by Jesus Christ Himself.
1. The
Things which you have “SEEN.” Revelation
chapter 1.
Its highlight is
the Vision of the Son of Man in the midst of the “Seven Lamp-stands” Revelation 1:10-20. Giving us a glimpse of the Glorified Christ, and of
God’s Glory = Chapter 1.
2. The
Things which “ARE.” Revelation chapters 2-3.
Its highlight is
the Messages to the Seven Churches, Revelation
2:1-3; 22. The letters to the 7 churches of Asia Minor = Chapters 2-3. The Church Age, and the
Dispensation of God’s Grace.
3. The Things which “WILL TAKE PLACE AFTER THIS.” Revelation 4-22.
Its highlight is
the Great Tribulation, Revelation
5:1-14. The Future, and of
God’s Government = Chapters 4-22.
We have seen
the history of the church in the seven churches of chapters 2–3, but as
we come to chapter 4, the question naturally arises: What has
happened to the church? From chapter 4 through the rest of the Book
of Revelation, there is no mention of the Church on the earth, because the
Church is now with Christ in the Heavens.
Now, let us start our study on “The Things which “WILL TAKE PLACE AFTER THIS.” As we enter this last division of the book of
Revelation with all its judgment and wrath, it is well to keep in our standpoint
that Jesus Christ is central. He is directing all events as He brings them to a
successful but determined conclusion.
There is “in the midst of the throne … a Lamb” Revelation 7:17.
He is a Lamb because He died for the sins of the world. And He is the One who
is going to judge.
Verse 1.
“After
these things I
looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first
voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come
up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.”
“After these things.”
The church (born again believers) has had the centre stage until now, as
a matter of fact, the word “Church” appears 19 times in Chapters 2 and 3,
but now in Revelation 4:1, the church disappears. And is not seen
again until Revelation Chapter 19 when we find the church returning
with Christ back to the earth at the battle of Armageddon!
In the language of the radio, the church goes “off the air.” Why does
the church go off the air in Revelation 4:1? Because the Church
goes “up into the air” in Revelation 4:1. This verse is a
picture of the “Rapture of the church!” Oh! The joy and delight that the
Church is Heaven bound. We can only imagine that glorious ride!
Are you excited about making that trip?
Are you watching for
Him?
Are you watching Working
for Him?
Are you Witnessing
for Him?
The “Rapture” is the next event on
God’s prophetic timetable. It will not be long! All the prophecies have
been fulfilled. There is nothing holding back the return of
Jesus Christ, it is imminent, it could happen ANY moment, and though we do
not know the day or the hour, right now, we are closer to the return
of Christ than any humans have ever been in the history of the
world!
“I saw, and behold
a door set open in heaven.”
He is almost at the door! He will open it soon and invite His
Church into their Heavenly rest!
This is one of the FOUR OPEN DOORS in the Book of Revelation:
1. In chapter 3, verse 8, speaking
to the church in Philadelphia, the Lord Jesus says, “I have set before thee
an open door.” This refers to a door of opportunity for giving out the Word
of God.
2. The open door of invitation
and identification with Christ is in chapter 3, verse 20: “Behold, I stand
at the door, and knock: if any man hears my voice, and open the door, I will
come into him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” That door is the
door to your heart.
3. We have an open door here
in verse 1, which is the way to God through Christ, as we shall see.
4. In chapter 19, verse 11,
we see a door opened in heaven again. That is the open door through which
Christ will come at His second coming.
He comes out at the end of the Great Tribulation to put down all the
unrighteousness and rebellion against God and to establish His kingdom.
John did not see this door opening as the Authorized Version of verse
I suggests. This door was open all the time. It is the door through which
believers have come to God for over nineteen hundred years. “Jesus saith
unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father,
but by Me” John 14:6.
He also said, “I am the door: by me if any man enters in, he shall be
saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture” John 10:9.
The open door to heaven is the Lord Jesus Christ. He also is the One who
will come to the door of your heart, which is the wonder and glory of it all.
Have you noticed that from Chapter 4, The scenes shift to the heavens?
Since the Church is still the subject, we follow it now to its new home, heaven.
How did the church get to heaven? This is a good question, and Paul
gives the answer: “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up
together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so, shall we
ever be with the Lord” 1 Thessalians 4:17.
We are going to see it in chapter 4 as twenty-four elders,
representatives of the Church in Heaven. We are also going to see the Church
in heaven as a bride, coming down to her new home, the New Jerusalem.
Paul defines the operation in 1 Corinthians 15:51–52: “Behold, I show
you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a
moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall
sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”
Faith in Christ Jesus places us in fellowship with Christ, Christ places
us into His Body, called the “Church.” He told His disciples “I will build
My Church.” The Church has already met the Lord in the air. The saints
enter the opened door to heaven. The church is with Christ, and Christ is in Heaven,
directing the events of the Great Tribulation Period.
When I was a child, a magnet was a great toy to have, for if you take
certain metals example: silver, gold, (I never had much silver and gold to play
with ha, ha), zinc, copper, and iron and sprinkle them on the ground, then take
a magnet and sweep it over those metals on the ground. Some of the metals would
rise to meet the magnet, but others would stay on the ground.
The gold would stay on
the ground,
The silver would stay
on the ground,
The zinc would stay on
the ground,
The copper would stay
on the ground,
The bronze would stay
on the ground,
But the iron would rise. Why would some rise? Because they have the same
nature as the magnet. When Jesus comes again, those who are “Heaven-born will
be Heaven-bound.” Those who have the nature of the Lord Jesus Christ, “the
dead in Christ, will rise first, and we which remain will be caught up to meet
them in the air.”
The world scoffs at these things, just
as they did in Noah’s day, but no one will be laughing on the day when millions
shall suddenly vanish!
Six reasons for a
Pre-Tribulation Rapture:
1.
Not one time is the Church mentioned in a Bible text discussing “The Great
Tribulation.”
2.
In all the writings of Paul, the Church is never mentioned in
connections with “The Great Tribulation” or wrath to come.
3.
The Church has already been judged at Calvary. The purpose of “The Great
Tribulation” is judgement.
4.
The pictures of Enoch/Lot etc. All Bible types are pictures of
pre-tribulation.
5.
Revelation 19 pictures the Church in Heaven during
the Great Tribulation.
6.
The coming of Christ for His saints is always pictured as sudden and
unexpected or Imminent.
Right now, God is still striving with rebellious mankind / calling /
convicting / convincing / saving sinners.
But there is coming a day very soon when God’s patience will give way to
God’s wrath, and there will be an avalanche of God’s judgment poured down upon
the world which rejects Christ.
It will be a judgment so terrible, so severe, so beyond comprehension,
that God will not allow His church to go through it! 1 Thessalonians
1:10 says “And
to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even
Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.” There is a feeling in
the air that the return of Christ is very soon.
It will be a judgment so terrible, so severe, so beyond comprehension,
that God will not allow His church to go through it! 1 Thessalonians
1:10 says “And
to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even
Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.” There is a feeling in
the air that the return of Christ is very soon.
Why do so many feel that way? Certainly, signs of the times are all
around us. The nuclear threats of our day alone have many thinking that we
just cannot continue on this way for long. But think of it this way:
Many people in their lifetime, have
seen mankind harness the atom, and develop capabilities to destroy the entire
earth in less than 30 minutes.
Israel established as a nation, and the dispersed Jews return to Israel
by the hundreds of thousands (just as the Bible predicted would happen just
before Christ returns).
Israel has become the hub, the hotbed of all that goes on in the world. Jews
recapture the city of Jerusalem for the first time in 2000 years, in a war that
took only 6 days. Computers change the world, linked together with instant
communication. The cashless society is nearly a done deal. You will hear of
more earthquakes in your lifetime than the last 500 years put together. Technology
advance from airplanes to space shuttles!
But as believers, we need not run around with headline hysteria, we are
to simply look up, for our redemption draws near! We are to wait for our
Saviour faithfully and patiently, who will soon come bursting through the blue
with the sound of a trumpet, in the twinkling of an eye.
When the Bible says that it means in a
millisecond, in an instant, therefore, when the rapture occurs, if you are not
saved, there will not be time to get saved, it will be too late for you. If you
are a Christian, and not living for God, there will be no time to make it
right. Your salvation is secure, but will you be ashamed when He
comes? You will not be able to ask Him to wait.
The message of the rapture is “be ready.”
Do it now, for the Lord could come at any moment. Be watching! Be ready!
“Come up hither.”
This is heaven’s invitation to John, and it is an invitation to all the
fellowship that know Christ as Saviour. John wrote in 1 John 1:3: “That
which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have
fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his
Son Jesus Christ.”
Someone said: John is saying in effect, “We heard it, we saw it, and we
declare it unto you. I am letting you know this so that you can have fellowship
also, and one of these days you will be going up through that open door.”
“And the first
voice which I heard, a voice as of a trumpet speaking with me.”
This is the sound which calls the Church to meet Christ in the air. And
whose voice, is it? It is the voice of Christ. This introduces us to one of the
simple symbols which occurs frequently from here on in the Revelation.
Let us pretend the rapture just happened, and we were whisked away.
What would happen?
What would you see?
What would you hear?
Verse
2.
“Immediately
I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One
sat on the throne.”
“Immediately
I was in the Spirit.”
“At once (straightway)” denotes
the briefness of time, which is one of the characteristics of the Rapture. Paul
said that we are to be caught up “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” 1
Corinthians 15:51–52. A twinkling of an eye is brief. I read that the
twinkling of an eye to be, is determined has 1/1000 of a second. That is how
quick the Rapture is going to be, immediately, straightway, at once.
“I found myself in
the Spirit.”
In other words, the Holy Spirit is still guiding John into new truth and
is showing him things to come (see John 16:13).
“And behold, a
throne set in heaven, and one sitting on the throne.”
The throne was already there, but John now sees it for the first time.
Our attention is now directed to the center of attraction. The throne
represents the universal sovereignty and rulership of God. It means that He is
in control. The general headquarters of this universe is in heaven, not in any
other place down here.
The throne of grace now becomes a throne of judgment. This is another
reason that I say very definitely that the Church is gone from the world when
this takes place. If the Church were still on the earth when Christ has left
the place of intercession and has come to the place of judgment, He is in the
wrong place for the church.
“Behold, a throne
set in heaven.”
Some things we will see upon arrival in Heaven.
The Master on the Throne.
Verse
3.
“And
He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance;
and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald.”
All that we see here is colour, beautiful colour like precious stones.
We do not get a picture of God at all. He never has been photographed. Our
attention is directed to the One who is seated on the throne. Although He is
God the Father, we should understand this to be the “Throne of the Triune God.”
Nevertheless, the three persons of the Trinity are distinguished:
1. God the Holy Spirit in verses
2 and 5.
2. God the Father here in verse
3.
3. God the Son in verse 5
of chapter 5.
What we have before us here is the Trinity upon the throne. John could distinguish no form of a person on the
throne, only the brilliance and brightness of precious stones. Great in glory!
The word translated
jasper could mean diamond = radiance, beauty, infinitely pure.
Then there is the
Sardine stone = deep red, symbolizing the blood of Christ
In the Old Testament, the high priest wore a breastplate, in it were 12
stones, representing the people of God, the 12 tribes of Israel. The
1st and last stones in that breastplate were these 2!
Not only great in
glory, but great in grace!
Look at end of verse 3: “rainbow.”
“Rainbow” is the Greek word iris, which
can also mean “halo.” While the rainbow here it is an emerald, which is green
(see Ezekiel 1:28). Green is the colour of the earth. After the judgment
of the Flood, the rainbow appeared as a reminder of God’s covenant not to
destroy the earth again with a flood (see Genesis 9:13–15).
It appears here before the judgment of the Great Tribulation as a
reminder that a flood will not be used in judgment. After God destroyed
the world with a flood, He made a covenant with man, and put in the sky His
symbol of that covenant, the rainbow, a picture of God’s grace.
Most rainbows are multi-coloured, but
this one is emerald, green, the colour of the earth. And us
earth-dwellers, raptured away, will realize that once and for all, the storms
of life are over! In heaven, beholding the throne we realize, all the
storms are over!
Can you see Him on the throne? Great in glory, great in
grace, and:
Great in
government!
Verse 4.
“Around
the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones, I saw
twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold
on their heads.”
Who are these elders? These are the redeemed, chapter 5 makes it
clear.
“Clothed in
white raiment = righteousness of Christ.” We know that Israel had elders and that elders were appointed in the
early churches to rule and to represent the entire church (see Titus 1:5).
Their role was clearly understood by the people in John’s Day.
These twenty-four elders stand for the total church
from Pentecost to the Rapture. Therefore, I can say categorically and
dogmatically that here is the church in heaven.
“White raiment” is the righteousness of Christ (see 2 Corinthians
5:21).
“Crowns of gold” indicates that the church will rule with Christ (see 1
Corinthians 6:3). Crowns are also given as rewards (see 2 Timothy 4:8;
James 1:12; 1 Peter 5:4) when the bema judgment, the judgment seat of
Christ, takes place.
Then it mentions the crowns we can win:
Runner’s crown (imperishable
crown in I Corinthians 9. Given to the Christian who exhibits
self-control, temperate in all things
Soulwinner’s crown (crown of joy) I
Thessalonians 2. Given to those who win souls to Christ.
Crown of
righteousness (anticipator’s crown) 2 Timothy 4. Given to the
Christian who faithfully waits, and looks for the coming of Christ
Crown of life—James 1. Given
to the Christian who endures suffering in a noble way (persecuted,
suffering who for a lifetime now have allowed the Lord to turn tragedy into
triumph)
Crown of glory—I Peter 5—Minister’s
crown, given to a faithful shepherd
These are the 5 crowns we can win, and what will we do with them? Cast
them before the Lord we will read later.
Verse 5.
“And
from the throne proceeded lightnings, thundering, and voices. Seven lamps of
fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.”
What a change! One moment we are beholding the rainbow of peace,
and the next the lightning’s flashing and the thunder’s crashing! Though’ the
storms are over for us, down below the storms are brewing like never before as
God’s righteous judgment goes forth upon the earth from His mighty
Throne.
Will you be witnessing this scene we are describing in heaven, or will
you be left behind in the storm which begins from His throne?
We have seen the master on the
throne, great in glory/grace/government.
The multitude before the throne.
We have seen the master on the
throne and now a multitude before the throne.
The majesty surrounding the throne.
Verses 6.
“Before
the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of
the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of
eyes in front and in the back.”
“A sea of glass” denotes its appearance and not the material of which it is made. This
sea is before the throne of God and is another indication that the emphasis is
not on mercy but on judgment. This sea represents the holiness and
righteousness of God (see Matthew 5:8; Hebrews 12:14).
We are told in 1 Thessalonians 3:13, “To the end he may stablish your
hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.”
“Four beasts.”
They are literally “four living creatures.” It does not mean a
wild beast as we might think. We will have a wild beast when we get to chapter
13, but that is a different word and a different type of beast. This is
just living creatures. The emphasis is not upon the bestial, but upon the
vital, upon the fact that they are living.
“Four beasts full
of eyes before and behind.”
This speaks of their alertness and awareness. They resemble both the
cherubim of Ezekiel 1:5–10; 10:20; and the seraphim of Isaiah 6:2–3.
Verse 7.
“The first
living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf,
the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature
was like a flying eagle.”
There are those who identify each of these living creatures with the
gospel which it represents.
“The first living
creature was like a lion,”
The first Gospel represents the Lord Jesus as the King. He was born a
King, He lived a King, He died a King,
He was raised a King, and He is coming again as a King. Everything He
does in the Gospel of Matthew He does as the King.
Remember that God said that the tribe of Judah was like a lion that the
King, the Ruler, would come from that tribe, and that the scepter would not
depart from Judah until Shiloh came (see Genesis 49:9–10; Revelation 5:5).
“The second living
creature like a calf (ox).”
This is the beast of burden, the servant animal domesticated. In the
Gospel of Mark, Christ is presented as the Servant. There is no genealogy given
in this gospel. If you hire someone to mow your lawn or to wash your dishes,
you do not ask him who his papa and mama are. What difference does it make? You
want to know whether he can do the job. The Gospel of Mark presents Christ as
the Servant.
“The third living
creature had a face as a man.”
The third Gospel, the Gospel of Luke, presents the Lord Jesus as the Son
of Man. It is His humanity that is emphasized.
“The fourth living
creature was like a flying eagle.”
He communicates the deity of Christ as seen in the Gospel of John.
These living creatures also represent the animal world, as suggested by
Godet. The lion represents wild beasts, the calf represents domesticated
beasts, the eagle represents birds, and man is the head of all creation.
Note that there is no mention of fish. In the new heaven and the new
earth, there will be no more sea, and since there is no sea, you will not need
any fish. Nor will there be reptiles. The serpent will not be there to
introduce sin as he did at the beginning.
These 4 beasts represent all of creation praising the Lord. In Genesis
9, after God destroyed the earth with flood, and saved Noah and family, He
made a covenant with 4 specific categories of creation:
8And God spoke unto
Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,
9And I, behold, I
establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you.
10And with every living
creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of
every beast of the earth with you” Genesis 9:8-10.
Note the Four: Man = fowl = cattle =
beasts of earth.
Lion = beasts of
earth.
Calf = cattle.
Man = man.
Eagle = fowl.
God has made a covenant with all His creation. Do not ever get the idea
that God is finished with His creation.
Do not ever get the idea that the devil spoiled it and it is all over
with His creation. Not only did God redeem man, but all His creation will
be ultimately redeemed.
The Bible says if we do not praise the Lord, the very rocks would have
to cry out! Romans 8:19-22 describe creation groaning for its
redemption, when all of creation will bloom like the rose.
Later in Revelation we will see the lion and the lamb lying down
together, and the little toddler will play by the snake! And together, all
of creation will praise God together, the Creator!
Verse 8
“The four living creatures, each
having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day
or night, saying: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and
is to come!”
Let us imagine the sound of all creation (chanting: “Holy, Holy,
Holy” continuously) as it attempts unceasingly to describe how holy our God is!
These six wings correspond to the seraphim of Isaiah 6:2.
Instead of hand, it should be
having, this is the present tense. This is where the action is, and this is
taking place.
That which they say repeatedly is, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God
Almighty.” This is the same refrain as that of the seraphim in Isaiah
6:3.
“Which was, and is, and is to come” refers to Christ. He identified Himself at the very beginning of this
book in just that way: “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending,
saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty”
Revelation 1:8). He is identified for us, and therefore we do not need to
speculate in places like this.
Verses 9-11.
“And when those beasts give glory and honour and
thanks to him that sat on the throne, who lives for ever and ever,
The four and twenty elders fall down before him that
sat on the throne, and worship him that lives for ever and ever, and cast their
crowns before the throne, saying,
You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, honour, and
power: for You have created all things, and for Your pleasure they are and were
created.”
This is the first great worship scene which we see in heaven.
When should be whomsoever, indicating that this is a continual act of
worship? In other words, praise and adoration are the eternal activity of God’s
creatures in heaven. The creature worships the Creator as the triune God: “Holy,
holy, holy.” Worship is the activity of heaven.
I have a sermon which I have not preached in quite some while, which is
entitled, “Why Do You Want to Go to Heaven?”
Why do you want to go to heaven? You are going to find yourself either
getting down on your face or getting up, to worshiping the Triune God and
especially the Lord Jesus Christ.
If you find worship boring down here and you are not interested in
worshiping the Lord Jesus and expressing your heart’s desire to Him, why do you
want to go to heaven? We are going to spend a lot of time up there worshiping
Him.
“And cast their
crowns before the throne.”
The crowns of the church are laid at Jesus’ feet as an act of submission
and worship. Many people talk of there being a crown for them over there.
Frankly, if we get a crown at all, I think that after we wear it for a while
and the newness wears off, we are going to feel embarrassed. What are we doing
wearing a crown? The only One worthy up there is the Lord Jesus. Therefore, we
are going to lay our crown at His feet.
“For You have
created all things.”
The living creatures give glory and honour and thanks to Him who sits on
the throne. They worship Him for His attributes because He is who He is.
However, the four and twenty elders who represent the church worship Him
not only because of His attributes but also because of what He has done. Here
they worship Him as Creator— “thou hast created all things, and for your
pleasure they are and were created.”
“And for your
pleasure they are and were created.”
The reason that God created this earth, and those things are as they are
is because it was in His plan and purpose. I do not understand a great deal of
what He is doing, and I do not understand a great deal about this universe in
which I live, but I do know that it is created this way because this is the way
He wanted it.
He is in charge, and we are to worship Him because He created this
earth. I am glad that He did, and I am glad that He created me. He could have
forgotten all about me, but I am glad that I was in the plan and purpose of
God. We worship Him because of that.
This world was created by Jesus, for Jesus, sustained through Jesus,
redeemed by Jesus, and it is all coming back To Jesus!
Revelation
4 Keeps
asking the question are you “Right with God?” or you will be “Left
Behind.” Of course, the only way to be “right with
God” is to be born again, and 'made right' with Him. It is HIS righteousness we
need (Grace), not for us to be living right in attempt to achieve heaven
(Works).
We have seen enough signs; we need to start listening for
sounds. (trumpet). Forget the undertaker, I am looking for the upper
taker! Look up! Your redemption draws nigh!
End of chapter 4.
