Notes on Revelation 4
Door in heaven opened—This is a passageway to the Spirit world, an alternative universe that runs parallel to our world.
First voice—This is Jesus, who has not yet been named. This may indicate that this is a separate vision taking place at a later time, because John has to inform us who he was speaking to, as if we weren’t just hearing a long set of speeches from this same voice.
“Come up here”—Some say that this phrase is in the future and it represents the rapture. This could not be, for the following reasons:
a. The end of the sentence is where the spirit-being indicates that he would show “What will happen after this”, thus the prophecy of future times is not yet.
b. The purpose of the sentence is to give prophetic knowledge, not to live in heaven
c. John does not represent the church, but is simply a prophet.
Thus, the statement is not about the rapture, but an invitation to receive spiritual knowledge.
“In the spirit”—This might be the prophetic spirit, indicating an ecstatic trance, or it could be the Spirit World itself (or both). Clearly, John is indicating that what he is seeing is in the spirit world and he is reflecting that in his words.
The Vision—This is a Throne vision, such as was often experienced in the OT (e.g. Isaiah 6, Ezekiel 1-2, I Kings 22:19ff). This passage closely parallels Ezekiel’s vision, but it also gives some changes from that. From this point through much of the rest of the book, all action is centered on the throne. This reflects basic Christian theology that all real political and natural actions come from the authority of God—whether good or evil from a human perspective.
The throne—God is spoken of as the one who sits on the throne, not mentioned directly as is common in the first century. John is seeing the reality on which the ark of the covenant was copied (Hebrews 8:5). Thus there are parallels between the temple/tabernacle and the throne room of God, including cherubim, precious stones, and a sea. (Exodus 28, II Chronicles 3-4). This description is copied from Ezekiel 1:26-28,
Jasper, Carnelian, Emerald—Representing magnificence. All were used in Eden (Eze 28:13). Probably a summary of the full list of stones in Rev 21. The throne room is the seed of the new creation.
Rainbow—Also Eze 1:28. As God promised in Genesis 9, the rainbow would be ever before him, to remind him to keep his promise not to destroy all of humanity.
Twenty four elders, thrones—God’s full people have always been represented by 12 tribes. The original leaders of the tribes were the patriarchs, who are given blessing by Jacob/Israel in Genesis 49 and Moses in Deuteronomy 33. A father is a leader, always, and represents the clan. But Jesus proclaimed that the 12 apostles would sit on twelve thrones and rule over the twelve tribes (Luke 22:30, Matt. 19:28; Rev. 21:12ff). All the promises of God are represented here, giving the ruling of the people of God to both patriarchs and apostles.
They are not angels, because angels are always mentioned separately. They are priests, of a sort (as there are 24 head priests in the early temple—I Chron. 24:4-6), as they lead worship and pray to God. But they are also kings, as they sit on thrones and have crowns. Nor are they the church, for the church is spoken of as multitudes in white robes (7:9-17). It is best to see them as the leaders—as “elders” are always seen as leaders of a clan—of the people of God.
Lightning, sounds, thunder—The kind of voice that came from God during the speaking of the ten words (Exodus 19:16; 20:18; Job 37:2; Job 40:9; Psalm 77:18). This voice of God is the source of later judgments in 8:5, 11:19 and 16:18.
Seven lamps=seven spirits-- See Zechariah 4:2-6. God’s spirit is seen as His power through which He works in the world. Spirit is not ethereal, but super-physical. The “lightning” in Ex 20:18 is in the LXX translated as “lamps” or “torches”—the same word used here. These are certainly seen as representing God’s power.
Sea of glass like crystal—In Genesis 1, the sea is divided between the earthly sea and a spiritual one. Sea monsters (like Leviathan or Satan) frolic in the heavenly sea (Psalm 104). In the Temple, there was a sea which was a giant basin for the priests to wash their hands between sacrifices (II Chron 4:2-10). In the OT, there are two main physical seas—the “Reed” or Red and the “Great” or Mediterrarian. Solomon placed his sea toward the Southeast, so that might represent the Red Sea. But this Sea is unique, clear as crystal, like the water in the final utopia (22:1). Ezekiel also saw an “expanse” of crystal in his vision of the throneroom (Eze 1:22). The spiritual sea is the living space of powerful spirits, many of which are in opposition to God. But God is Lord of all of them, no matter their opposition to God and His creation. Genesis 1 is actually God’s way of separating the powerful spiritual creatures from God’s creation on the earth, so that the earth creatures might be ruled by humans. (Isaiah 51:9-11; Psalm 74:12-15; Eze 32:2)
Four living ones—Not “creatures” as most translations. The term is more generic than that. These are the beings found in both Ezekiel and Isaiah before the throne (Ezekiel 1:5-21; 10:1ff; Isaiah 6). They are called either “cherubim” (Ezekiel) or “seraphim” (Isaiah). They are represented in both the ark of the covenant (2 of them) and statues in the holy of holies of the temple (two of them) (Exodus 25:18ff, II Chron. 3)
Different traditions of the cherubim/seraphim—The number of wings vary (4 in Ezekiel, 2 pairs of three in Isaiah, 6 unpaired ones in Revelation); Their position varies (above the throne in Isaiah, the base of the throne in Ezekiel, “in the midst of the throne” in Revelation); Faces differ (4 faces of each in Ezekiel; one different face on each of the four in Rev.).
In the midst of the throne—The four living ones actually hold up the throne. This is the same in Ezekiel 10.
Four types of cherubim—In rabbinic writings, the lion, ox, eagle and human are the strongest beings, lords over the animal kingdoms. A late rabbinic saying is, “The mightiest of the birds is the eagle, the mightiest among the domestic animals is the ox, the mightiest among the wild animals is the lion and the mightiest of all of these is a human being. God has taken all these and secured them to his throne.”
Six wings—A detail from Isaiah 6.
Full of eyes, eyes all around the wings—Could represent omniscience. Not only do they represent the main groups of animals, they see all within their respective animal kingdoms?
Holy Holy Holy—The word “holy” means the separate, the uniquely pure. In Hebrew, when a word is repeated, it is increased. Thus a thrice repeated “holy” would mean “the most holy”. The congregation could stand in the Holy, the high priest alone could go into the Holy Holy, the presence of God is the Holy Holy Holy. Thrice repeated “holy” is also stated by the seraphim around the throne in Isaiah 6.
Lord God Almighty—Oft used title of God (e.g. Amos 3:13; Hosea 12:6; Nahum 3:5; Zech 10:3; Malachi 2:16). God’s sovereignty and power is emphasized. God is the unlimited ruler of the universe.
He who is and was and is coming—God is sovereign over all ages, past, present and future.
The Living One—The supreme living one, Lord over all other living ones.
Forever and ever—Literally, “to the One Living to the ages of ages” (See Daniel 4:34 and 12:7). Ultimately, this is actually a repeat of the earlier, longer praise.
First voice—This is Jesus, who has not yet been named. This may indicate that this is a separate vision taking place at a later time, because John has to inform us who he was speaking to, as if we weren’t just hearing a long set of speeches from this same voice.
“Come up here”—Some say that this phrase is in the future and it represents the rapture. This could not be, for the following reasons:
a. The end of the sentence is where the spirit-being indicates that he would show “What will happen after this”, thus the prophecy of future times is not yet.
b. The purpose of the sentence is to give prophetic knowledge, not to live in heaven
c. John does not represent the church, but is simply a prophet.
Thus, the statement is not about the rapture, but an invitation to receive spiritual knowledge.
“In the spirit”—This might be the prophetic spirit, indicating an ecstatic trance, or it could be the Spirit World itself (or both). Clearly, John is indicating that what he is seeing is in the spirit world and he is reflecting that in his words.
The Vision—This is a Throne vision, such as was often experienced in the OT (e.g. Isaiah 6, Ezekiel 1-2, I Kings 22:19ff). This passage closely parallels Ezekiel’s vision, but it also gives some changes from that. From this point through much of the rest of the book, all action is centered on the throne. This reflects basic Christian theology that all real political and natural actions come from the authority of God—whether good or evil from a human perspective.
The throne—God is spoken of as the one who sits on the throne, not mentioned directly as is common in the first century. John is seeing the reality on which the ark of the covenant was copied (Hebrews 8:5). Thus there are parallels between the temple/tabernacle and the throne room of God, including cherubim, precious stones, and a sea. (Exodus 28, II Chronicles 3-4). This description is copied from Ezekiel 1:26-28,
Jasper, Carnelian, Emerald—Representing magnificence. All were used in Eden (Eze 28:13). Probably a summary of the full list of stones in Rev 21. The throne room is the seed of the new creation.
Rainbow—Also Eze 1:28. As God promised in Genesis 9, the rainbow would be ever before him, to remind him to keep his promise not to destroy all of humanity.
Twenty four elders, thrones—God’s full people have always been represented by 12 tribes. The original leaders of the tribes were the patriarchs, who are given blessing by Jacob/Israel in Genesis 49 and Moses in Deuteronomy 33. A father is a leader, always, and represents the clan. But Jesus proclaimed that the 12 apostles would sit on twelve thrones and rule over the twelve tribes (Luke 22:30, Matt. 19:28; Rev. 21:12ff). All the promises of God are represented here, giving the ruling of the people of God to both patriarchs and apostles.
They are not angels, because angels are always mentioned separately. They are priests, of a sort (as there are 24 head priests in the early temple—I Chron. 24:4-6), as they lead worship and pray to God. But they are also kings, as they sit on thrones and have crowns. Nor are they the church, for the church is spoken of as multitudes in white robes (7:9-17). It is best to see them as the leaders—as “elders” are always seen as leaders of a clan—of the people of God.
Lightning, sounds, thunder—The kind of voice that came from God during the speaking of the ten words (Exodus 19:16; 20:18; Job 37:2; Job 40:9; Psalm 77:18). This voice of God is the source of later judgments in 8:5, 11:19 and 16:18.
Seven lamps=seven spirits-- See Zechariah 4:2-6. God’s spirit is seen as His power through which He works in the world. Spirit is not ethereal, but super-physical. The “lightning” in Ex 20:18 is in the LXX translated as “lamps” or “torches”—the same word used here. These are certainly seen as representing God’s power.
Sea of glass like crystal—In Genesis 1, the sea is divided between the earthly sea and a spiritual one. Sea monsters (like Leviathan or Satan) frolic in the heavenly sea (Psalm 104). In the Temple, there was a sea which was a giant basin for the priests to wash their hands between sacrifices (II Chron 4:2-10). In the OT, there are two main physical seas—the “Reed” or Red and the “Great” or Mediterrarian. Solomon placed his sea toward the Southeast, so that might represent the Red Sea. But this Sea is unique, clear as crystal, like the water in the final utopia (22:1). Ezekiel also saw an “expanse” of crystal in his vision of the throneroom (Eze 1:22). The spiritual sea is the living space of powerful spirits, many of which are in opposition to God. But God is Lord of all of them, no matter their opposition to God and His creation. Genesis 1 is actually God’s way of separating the powerful spiritual creatures from God’s creation on the earth, so that the earth creatures might be ruled by humans. (Isaiah 51:9-11; Psalm 74:12-15; Eze 32:2)
Four living ones—Not “creatures” as most translations. The term is more generic than that. These are the beings found in both Ezekiel and Isaiah before the throne (Ezekiel 1:5-21; 10:1ff; Isaiah 6). They are called either “cherubim” (Ezekiel) or “seraphim” (Isaiah). They are represented in both the ark of the covenant (2 of them) and statues in the holy of holies of the temple (two of them) (Exodus 25:18ff, II Chron. 3)
Different traditions of the cherubim/seraphim—The number of wings vary (4 in Ezekiel, 2 pairs of three in Isaiah, 6 unpaired ones in Revelation); Their position varies (above the throne in Isaiah, the base of the throne in Ezekiel, “in the midst of the throne” in Revelation); Faces differ (4 faces of each in Ezekiel; one different face on each of the four in Rev.).
In the midst of the throne—The four living ones actually hold up the throne. This is the same in Ezekiel 10.
Four types of cherubim—In rabbinic writings, the lion, ox, eagle and human are the strongest beings, lords over the animal kingdoms. A late rabbinic saying is, “The mightiest of the birds is the eagle, the mightiest among the domestic animals is the ox, the mightiest among the wild animals is the lion and the mightiest of all of these is a human being. God has taken all these and secured them to his throne.”
Six wings—A detail from Isaiah 6.
Full of eyes, eyes all around the wings—Could represent omniscience. Not only do they represent the main groups of animals, they see all within their respective animal kingdoms?
Holy Holy Holy—The word “holy” means the separate, the uniquely pure. In Hebrew, when a word is repeated, it is increased. Thus a thrice repeated “holy” would mean “the most holy”. The congregation could stand in the Holy, the high priest alone could go into the Holy Holy, the presence of God is the Holy Holy Holy. Thrice repeated “holy” is also stated by the seraphim around the throne in Isaiah 6.
Lord God Almighty—Oft used title of God (e.g. Amos 3:13; Hosea 12:6; Nahum 3:5; Zech 10:3; Malachi 2:16). God’s sovereignty and power is emphasized. God is the unlimited ruler of the universe.
He who is and was and is coming—God is sovereign over all ages, past, present and future.
The Living One—The supreme living one, Lord over all other living ones.
Forever and ever—Literally, “to the One Living to the ages of ages” (See Daniel 4:34 and 12:7). Ultimately, this is actually a repeat of the earlier, longer praise.
posted by Steve Kimes | 8:34 PM
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