Revelation 4 - Printer Friendly

Chapter 4 is brief, but it sets the stage for much of the rest of Revelation. It also makes the transition from John's description of things which are—or were, at the time he wrote—to those things which are yet to happen—again, at least at the time he wrote. Among the interesting properties of this passage is that the word "church" no longer appears in Revelation, until the very end when it is only used to repeat that "the churches" should take the message seriously. This absence of references to the church supports the view that those who are believers will be taken in the rapture and not subject to the tribulation.

This passage opens with John referring again to the voice which sounded like a trumpet. This voice was first mentioned in Revelation 1:10–11 and later identified as Jesus. Here, the voice calls John "up here," which seems to mean to heaven, and shows him events which will happen in the future (Revelation 4:1–2).

Next, John sees a vision "in the Spirit." He sees twenty-four thrones, each with an elder dressed in white, surrounding "the" throne of God. The twenty-four "elders" on the thrones may symbolize the patriarchs of the tribes of Israel plus the twelve apostles. John describes the throne in terms of gemstones, which are associated with certain symbolic ideas. There is also a sea of glass and four fantastic creatures (Revelation 4:3–6).

John describes these creatures as animals. Some commentators have suggested that each of these animals embodies traits parallel to the depiction of Jesus in one of the four Gospels. These creatures seem to constantly praise God. In response to their praise, the twenty-four elders fall in worship, casting their crowns down before God (Revelation 4:7–11).

Revelation 4:1–6 describes the apostle John's experience of being in the Spirit and being transported to heaven. There, he sees the radiance of God described as precious jewels. Further, he sees twenty-four other thrones, occupied by twenty-four elders. He also witnesses seven burning torches and a sea of glass in front of God's throne. Near the throne are four creatures that ascribe threefold holiness to God.

Revelation 4:7–11 continues the apostle John's description of what he saw and heard after being transported to heaven. This passage is typical of apocalyptic literature, and Revelation in particular, as it seems to blend literal descriptions with symbolic ones. Some of these details are meant to have deeper meanings, or be entirely a metaphor. Others seem to be intended to be interpreted literally. John describes four living creatures similar to the heavenly creatures Isaiah and Ezekiel saw (Isaiah 6:2–3; Ezekiel 1:5–15). His description in Revelation 4 also focuses on the creatures' ascription of praise to God and the twenty-four elders' praiseful response.

John reports in the opening verse of Revelation 4 that he saw a door open in heaven and heard a voice beckoning him to come up to heaven. From heaven's vantage point John would witness future events. Upon his arrival in heaven, John saw God. He was sitting on a throne surrounded by twenty-four other thrones. A sea of glass lay in front of God's throne, and four living creatures were beside the throne. When the living creatures ascribed honor and praise to God, the elders who occupied the twenty-four thrones fell down and worshiped God. They cast their crowns before Him and praised Him.

Chapter 3 concluded the description of ''the things that are'' (Revelation 1:19). Chapter 4 begins the final section of Revelation, regarding ''the things that are to take place after this'' (Revelation 1:19). Chapter 1 describes the appearance of Jesus to John on the island of Patmos, at which time He commanded John to write to seven churches in Asia Minor. Chapters 2 and 3 provide us with the contents of Jesus' letters. Whereas chapters 1–3 relate events on earth, chapters 4 and 5 describe what John saw in heaven. Because the word ''church'' does not appear in this ''after this'' section of Revelation, we may assume the church does not experience the judgments described in chapters 6 and beyond.

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''