Revelation

“The Unveiling of Jesus”

Vs. 1-9 The visible and verbal activity around the throne

Vs. 10-11 The worship of Him who lives forever

Intro

John follows a strict outline in his writing of the unveiling of Jesus and he does so in three locations, “In heaven, in His Church, and on the earth”. Although this chapter starts off with the unveiling of Jesus in heaven it really starts the final section which will continue through the remainder of the book, “The things which will take place after this”. That is the events which will take place after the church age as Jesus is now mainly being seen through His Church as redeemer as He is calling people out of the kingdom of this world into the kingdom of the Son of His love (Col. 1:13).

The key to this section and this chapter is the word “throne” as it appears 12 times in 11 verses and 37 times throughout the book. In fact the word appears first in chapter 1:4 and will conclude with the word in 22:3, why you could call Revelation the throne book!

If you stop and think about it thrones are associated with two events:

Worship: Those through human history who sat upon thrones expected and received worship from those in their kingdom. Although different from the human perspective still the central focus of heaven is the Lord seated upon His throne and as such the central activity will be His worship.

Judgement: People used the throne as a courtroom and the king as a judge who would render his decision. So too in the heavenly realm the throne will be either a place to run to or run from depending upon a person’s heart. We will either “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16). Or we will, as those in Rev. 6:15-16 “hide themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and say to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!

Vs. 1-9 The visible and verbal activity around the throne

Vs. 1 There are three very important statements made by John in this opening verse:

“After these things… things which must take place after this”: John is very specific as to the time in which this next unveiling took place “after these things”. The question is “after what things”? Well that would be the events of the Church age. The vision which John has is going to be from the vantage point of heaven and not earth. John may have been on the island of Patmos which made the world system look bright and glorious whereas the Church was dark and gloomy but once he cleared the clouds he could see clearly!

“After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven.” With the timing of this clearly stated John reveals that he sees “a door standing open in heaven”. This is the 4th time John has recorded that there was a door in the book of revelation.

In chapter 3:8 Jesus declared to the church in Philadelphia that He had “set before them an open door, and no one can shut it; for they have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.” Here Jesus proclaimed an open door for service to reach those who had not received Him.

In chapter 3:20 Jesus spoke to the lukewarm church at Laodicea, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.” Here tragically we see Jesus on the outside of the Church trying to come in. Then a few words later Jesus exhorts the same church that “If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” This is an invitation of grace to those who have shut the door of their hearts to the Lord to answer the knock of Jesus and allow Him to come in and have fellowship with them. How fitting then that John would see an open door into heaven prior to his being called up into heaven. In John 10:9 Jesus told the Pharisees “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” He is not one of many doors but rather “the door” in which all who wish to enter into heaven must pass. How great is it that “The door” is knocking at the door of every human heart asking them if they want to come and be with Him?

“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.” This is one of the clearest statements concerning the rapture of the Church. In chapter 3:10 Jesus promised that He would “keep us from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.” As such John represents those who are to be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. Paul spoke of this in 1 Corin. 15:51-52 when he said “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed; in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” It is this trumpet sounding that John hears here calling him up into heaven through the open door. I can’t wait to hear those same words.

Vs. 2 Notice that with the voice of a trumpet and the words, “Come up here,” that “Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven”. Not after 7 years of tribulation or even 3 ½ years but “immediately,” in other words as we have already read in Paul’s words it was “ in the twinkling of an eye”! Also notice that John is taken to the truth that no matter what events on earth may seem to proclaim to its inhabitants that a “throne is set in heaven, and One sits on the throne.” He alone is in control no matter the chaos and despair that living in this world system may produce.

Vs. 3 Furthermore He who sits on the throne is gloriously victorious as His glory is reflected in the material that John sees. Of further interest is the rainbow around the throne. God had made a promise to Noah after the flood that He would never again destroy the earth by water and this promise had the sign of a semi-circle rainbow. Here we see that the circle is not broken and the promise forever kept but not on earth better yet in heaven. God is faithful always to keep His promises even when man is not.

Vs. 4 Here John sees thrones or seats around the throne of God where the 24 elders were sitting. But just who are these 24 elders?

Well here is what we know:

They are not angels because in chapter 5:8-10 they are seen worshipping the Lord because He has “redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation”.
That would make them men but it does not tell us who they are and John (if he knew) does not reveal their identity.
Based upon speculation some see them as representing the 12 tribes of Israel along with the 12 apostles. They come about this based upon two verses:
Matt. 19:28 “when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
Rev. 21:12-14 “twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.”

A further indication of their identity is found in the fact that they are wearing “white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads.” White robes are always a sign of the righteousness that is in Christ while the crowns according to 1 Peter 5:4 is awarded for faithful service which we will receive when our Chief Shepherd appears both of which are based upon His grace as we shall see that we will be casting those crowns at His feet in verse 10!

Vs. 5 John sees and hears certain specific activity around the throne that he writes down:

First, it must be noted that before he heard or saw anything else he first saw “the One that sat on the throne”. Whatever may be said about the activity in heaven all eyes are at first drawn to the One who sits upon the throne. John’s eyes are then peeled back to see those whom the One who sits on the throne has redeemed.

Second, John has a very similar experience as did Israel as God met with Moses in Exodus 19:18. The similarities don’t end there as Moses was given along with the commandments the blue prints of the Holy Tabernacle which we are told in Heb. 8:5 are “the copy and shadow of the heavenly things”. Here John sees first hand the “heavenly things”.

We have already discussed the seven spirits of God which are defined for us in Isa. 11:1-2 as:

“Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him”: Speaks of authority and power.
“The Spirit of wisdom”: Skilful wisdom in knowing what we need.
“And understanding”: Perfect knowledge knowing all things.
“The Spirit of counsel”: Knows how to communicate truth.
“and might”: Victorious power, able to enforce His counsel.
“The Spirit of knowledge”: Can’t be tricked or deceived.
“and of the fear of the LORD”: Absolute reverence as all will bow before Him.

Vs. 6-8 Like that of the “bronze laver” in the Holy Tabernacle John sees a “sea of glass”. In the tabernacle the High priest would prepare to go into the Holy of Holies by first washing and looking into this basin of water to see his own reflection reminding him that he was a sinner and his own need to be washed from his sins. Here though before the throne we will not see our sins but rather for the first time see ourselves as He sees us in His Son. John also sees “four living creatures” ; it seems that they were the same who in Gen. 3:24 “He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.” Later Isaiah has a vision of them in 6:2-3 where they are called seraphim. Ezekiel has visions of them both in chapter 1 and again in chapter 10 where he calls them cherubim. Thus what we know of them is limited.

What we do know is that they appear to be the highest order of angelic beings and their primary function is to lead worship. For this reason many believe that Satan (Lucifer) was once one of them.
John sees them as being “full of eyes in front and in back.” Which no doubt speaks of their knowledge.
In Isa. 6 we are told they “each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.” They cover their face so as to not look upon One so lovely as the Lord, they cover their feet so as to not show their unsightly parts and with two of them they fly.
John in verse 7 adds one more piece of evidence concerning them, and what they were “like”.

Many see the gospels in this description:

The first living creature was like a lion: Matthew proclaims Jesus as King, thus like a lion.
The second living creature like a calf: Mark proclaims Jesus as a servant, thus like a beast of burden.
The third living creature had a face like a man: Luke portrays him as a perfect man thus a face like a man.
The fourth living creature was like a flying eagle: Finally John sees as God the Son, thus a flying eagle.

We will have to wait and see just what these angelic creatures will look like and why, but we don’t have to wait to see their activity in heaven as John records it for us.

Vs. 8 They are unceasing in their adoration of the Lord:

First their praise is given in a threefold manner, Holy is the Father, Holy is the Son and Holy is the Spirit.
Second, they worship the Godhead’s sovereignty as He is the Lord God Almighty.
Finally they worship His eternal nature “Who was and is and is to come!”

Vs. 9 Not only do they worship three ways they do so in a threefold manner,

“Whenever the living creatures”:

give glory
and honor
and thanks

“To Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever,” Won’t it be wonderful when we too can join in such praise?

Vs. 10-11 At the four living creatures worship redeemed man represented by the 24 elders respond three ways:

Fall down before Him who sits on the throne
Worship Him who lives forever and ever,
Cast their crowns before the throne, saying:

Finally, they open their mouths in praise by proclaiming His worthiness to receive all that is due His name simply because He is the creator of all things and it is by Him they exist and will continue to exist. The words, “were created” seem to suggest that this is the beginning of the Lord redeeming the world back to Himself.

I’m reminded of two scriptures:

Luke 19:40 Where Jesus says, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.”
Romans 8:21-22 as Paul says that “creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.”

Revelation

“The Unveiling of Jesus”

Vs. 1-9 The visible and verbal activity around the throne

Vs. 10-11 The worship of Him who lives forever

Intro

The key to this section and this chapter is the word “throne” as it appears 12 times in 11 verses and 37 times throughout the book. In fact the word appears first in chapter 1:4 and will conclude with the word in 22:3, why you could call Revelation the throne book!

If you stop and think about it thrones are associated with two events:

Worship: Those through human history who sat upon thrones expected and received worship from those in their kingdom. Although different from the human perspective still the central focus of heaven is the Lord seated upon His throne and as such the central activity will be His worship.

Vs. 1-9 The visible and verbal activity around the throne

Vs. 1 There are three very important statements made by John in this opening verse:

“After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven.” With the timing of this clearly stated John reveals that he sees “a door standing open in heaven”. This is the 4th time John has recorded that there was a door in the book of revelation.

Vs. 4 Here John sees thrones or seats around the throne of God where the 24 elders were sitting. But just who are these 24 elders?

Well here is what we know:

They are not angels because in chapter 5:8-10 they are seen worshipping the Lord because He has “redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation”.

That would make them men but it does not tell us who they are and John (if he knew) does not reveal their identity.

Based upon speculation some see them as representing the 12 tribes of Israel along with the 12 apostles. They come about this based upon two verses:

Matt. 19:28 “when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

Rev. 21:12-14 “twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.”

Vs. 5 John sees and hears certain specific activity around the throne that he writes down:

We have already discussed the seven spirits of God which are defined for us in Isa. 11:1-2 as:

“Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him”: Speaks of authority and power.

“The Spirit of wisdom”: Skilful wisdom in knowing what we need.

“And understanding”: Perfect knowledge knowing all things.

“The Spirit of counsel”: Knows how to communicate truth.

“and might”: Victorious power, able to enforce His counsel.

“The Spirit of knowledge”: Can’t be tricked or deceived.

“and of the fear of the LORD”: Absolute reverence as all will bow before Him.

What we do know is that they appear to be the highest order of angelic beings and their primary function is to lead worship. For this reason many believe that Satan (Lucifer) was once one of them.

John sees them as being “full of eyes in front and in back.” Which no doubt speaks of their knowledge.

John in verse 7 adds one more piece of evidence concerning them, and what they were “like”.

Many see the gospels in this description:

The first living creature was like a lion: Matthew proclaims Jesus as King, thus like a lion.

The second living creature like a calf: Mark proclaims Jesus as a servant, thus like a beast of burden.

The third living creature had a face like a man: Luke portrays him as a perfect man thus a face like a man.

The fourth living creature was like a flying eagle: Finally John sees as God the Son, thus a flying eagle.

We will have to wait and see just what these angelic creatures will look like and why, but we don’t have to wait to see their activity in heaven as John records it for us.

Vs. 8 They are unceasing in their adoration of the Lord:

First their praise is given in a threefold manner, Holy is the Father, Holy is the Son and Holy is the Spirit.

Second, they worship the Godhead’s sovereignty as He is the Lord God Almighty.

Finally they worship His eternal nature “Who was and is and is to come!”

Vs. 9 Not only do they worship three ways they do so in a threefold manner,

“Whenever the living creatures”:

give glory

and honor

and thanks

“To Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever,” Won’t it be wonderful when we too can join in such praise?

Vs. 10-11 At the four living creatures worship redeemed man represented by the 24 elders respond three ways:

Fall down before Him who sits on the throne

Worship Him who lives forever and ever,

Cast their crowns before the throne, saying:

I’m reminded of two scriptures:

Luke 19:40 Where Jesus says, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.”

Romans 8:21-22 as Paul says that “creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.”