Revelation 4:9 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever,

NIV: Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever,

NASB: And when the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever,

CSB: Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to the one seated on the throne, the one who lives forever and ever,

NLT: Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever),

KJV: And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,

NKJV: Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever,

John's use of the word "whenever" in this verse points to the fact that the living creatures' praise of God is not simply a one-time occurrence. Their praise is ongoing. They give "glory and honor and thanks" to eternal God, who occupies the throne of heaven. They recognize that God's glory is the manifestation of His holiness. On the Mount of Transfiguration, three of Jesus' disciples caught a glimpse of Jesus' glory when His holy nature manifested itself through His human body (Matthew 17:1–2). Our glorious God is worthy of honor and thanks.

The order of the qualities the living creatures ascribe to God is noteworthy. Because He is glorious, no one can compare to Him, so He deserves the honor that is rightfully His. Because He is beyond compare, His subjects ought to thank Him for the love, grace, and mercy He bestows on them.

How well do we recognize God's glory, honor, and right to receive our thanks?

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.''

Accessed 5/6/2024 5:52:53 PM