REVELATION
Victory in Jesus
Week 4

We are finally here to the “good stuff”!! This is the second section of the book. Most consider it to be the “hub” of revelation. All of the crazy imagery and symbolism starts here!

In Chapter 1 John began by telling his audience that he was writing of things to come to pass. He lets us know he is acting as a prophet, sharing things with us given to him from God. He promised a blessing to those who read and heed his warnings!

Chapters 2 and 3 are the letters to the 7 congregations. In each letter, he assures them that Jesus knows what is going on! He commends them on good works, and he admonishes their bad deeds. He urges them to listen to his warnings, and promises blessing to all who do and have “unto death faithfulness”.

Chapter 4 will make 3 major statements:

1. God is on his throne
2. He rules the world
3. Heaven and Earth should all worship him

READ CH 4

After reading Chapter 4, what stuck out the most in your head? What message did you take from it?

Let us begin to examine the word:
 

• In verse one there are several interesting points:
  • He says a “door was opened in heaven”. What do you think this means? Was he actually transplanted to heaven? Was he just being revealed to in “heaven’s viewpoint”? God has allowed such visions, where the prophet can look into heaven before (EX: Ezekiel 1:1, I Kings 22:19, II Cor 12:1-2)
  • He also says that a “voice like a trumpet” spoke to him. Who do you think this was? Why do you think so? It was Jesus himself! In Chapter 1 verse 10-11 Jesus is described as “a voice like a trumpet”…..so here he is again. It is Jesus who invited John to look in!
• This is the 1st reference to a throne in Revelation. In Chapters 4 and 5 alone, the word is used 17 times! Clearly John is trying to establish the fact that God is powerful and sovereign!!!!
  How do you picture the arrangements of thrones looking? The description paints a picture of circle arrangement. It states, the others were “around the throne”, and in the middle was THE throne! (so there is an outer throne area, where the redeemed, represented by the 24 elders are…..and the Inner throne is the dwelling place of God!--- Jesus and the angels are found in both)
• Once again he cannot describe God in terms of what he “looked” like. Again, he is described with pictures. What could these mean:
  • Jasper and Carnelian?- Jasper stones were white, representing the purity and holiness. Carnelians were fiery red, a color that symbolized justice.
  • Rainbow like an emerald?- This is a green image. Green represented truth. Also, what could the image of a rainbow represent to the readers? It could be a reference to his mercy and assurance; a reminder that God keeps his promises (w/ genesis 9:12-17 as the background for this)
• In verse 4 who do you think the 24 elders on the outer throne represented? Why? I think they represent God’s redeemed …those who have died faithful to God. There are reasons behind this: In these times, the crown began as a victory wreath. The crown was a symbol for someone that was victorious! I believe these “elders” were those victorious over sin. I also believe there is more behind this. How many tribes of Israel were there in the OT? 12 !!! These were his original chosen people. And in the NT, how many apostles did Jesus choose? 12!!!!! So we have record of 24 individuals or groups designated as God’s own. I believe there is significance in this number! The 24 here are representative once again of his chosen, or those “who died faithful to God”.
• What do you think the “sea of glass” represents in verse 6? I am not sure about this. I may represent a separation. In the description, I think it is clear that there is a separation between God’s throne and the others. In chapter 15 he uses the sea to separate the faithful from the unfaithful. In 21:1, he uses “no more sea” to represent no separation from God in heaven!
• Now it gets really stinking cool! Let’s talk about these beasts!!! What the heck do you think they are???? What do they possibly represent? I believe that they are angels (Cherubim). Cherubim and Seraphim angels are described much in Ezekiel. There are MANY SIGNIFICANT similarities to the cherubim in Ezekiel and the “beasts” in Revelation. Notice the similarities:
  • Both are described as “living creatures”- Ez 1:5, Rev 4:6
  • Their appearances are a little similar- Ez 1:5, Rev 4:6
  • Both are closely associated with the throne- Ez 1:26, Rev 4:26
  • Both are described as covered with eyes- Ez 1:18, Rev 4:8
  • Both accounts have rainbows encircling the throne- Ez 1:28, Rev 4:3.

  The similarities are unbelievable. It seems extremely clear they are one in the same. Revelation never makes it perfectly clear what they are. Does Ezekiel have anything t5o say about them? ** Read Ez 10:20- Here they are described as Cherubim…..angels!!!

What could “full of eyes” possibly mean? Sorry….. --but I haven’t figured that one out either!

* I think the animals used to describe the beasts are quite significant. I do not think that the animals themselves are what is important….I believe there is significance IN WHAT THEY REPRESENT: LION=Strength, Calf= Nobility, Man=Wise, EAGLE=Speed

These traits can be attributed to God’s angels. In fact, in other scriptures, he uses these EXACT descriptions to describe angels elsewhere:

• Mighty in strength (Psalm 103:20-21)
• Steadfast in service (noble)- (Psalm 103:20-21)
• Intelligent as to what is going on (Luke 15:10, Matt 24:36)
• SWIFT in doing God’s will (Daniel 9:21)

These beasts worship God on his throne! (there are several songs in Revelation. The first one “A Song of Praise” is in Verse 8). When they sing….it is the catalyst for the 24 elders (God’s redeemed) to fall down in worship! It says they “cast their crowns” towards him. Why? ** Remember when I told you earlier that crowns were symbols of Victory???? They are recognizing the victory they have gained in his mercy and grace, and are giving the credit where credit is due: IN OTHER WORDS….VICTORY IN JESUS (the theme for this study!)

• Verse 11 closes the chapter. In it is the second song of Revelation (Song of Creation).
• Note…when he uses the words “THOU ART WORTHY”…this could possibly be a jab at the Roman oppression. The Christians were asked to proclaim the Emperor as worthy of praise, and to give him all glory, power and honor. I believe it was very relevant that God was reminding them that only he was deserving of such!!!!!!! He was saying “Hey my angels and elders have made the decision to declare ONLY me worthy…so you guys… DO THE SAME!!!!”

So there is chapter 4. It gets more and more vivid from here. Keep reading ahead. Dive into the words. Try and understand their meaning. Research them rather than just skim them. Chapter five furthers the awesome imagery. I cannot wait until next week!
 

PEACE