Worship
in Heaven Rev. 4:1-9
There are seven key things that we must identify in this chapter and
chapter five.
1) First, we must identify
the throne and the one sitting in it, as mentioned in verse two. The throne is
the center of the stage in Revelation four and five, and the one sitting on it
is not described, but all of the things around the throne are described. We
know that it is God the Father sitting on the throne. The throne is no longer
pictured here as the throne of grace that we go to in this dispensation but is
transformed into a throne of judgment in preparation for the great end-time
judgment of the Tribulation period.
2) We have to identify
the 24 elders who are sitting on 24 thrones.
3) We have to identify
the seven lamps and the seven spirits of God that are before the throne.
4) We have to identify
the four living creatures.
5) We have to identify
the Lamb who comes forward in chapter five.
6) We have to identify
the scroll and to understand its significance.
7) We have to
understand the seven seals on the scroll.
The thrust of these two chapters is not so much on these details. We
have to understand them. They are filled with symbols and doctrinal
significance but once we understand the details we understand what we are
watching in this dramatic scene. Then when we come to end of looking at that
analysis we have to look at what is actually transpiring here. It is first and
foremost a scene of heavenly worship as the four living creatures, the elders
and all of the angels are before the throne of God and will sing praise to God.
In verse 8 we know that “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY {is} THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, WHO
WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME” is similar to that which the seraphs sing to one
another in Isaiah chapter six. So the focal point of this whole narrative is on
the holiness of God, the one sitting on the throne who comes to judge human
history, that He is the one who has absolute righteousness, absolute justice.
He is the only one who can judge and he gives that judgment to the Lamb. And
the Lamb is qualified because He is the one who has redeemed us.
We see that on the throne there is one sitting, and then there is the
description of the throne. Around the throne are twenty-four thrones and on the
thrones, John says, “{I saw} twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white
garments, and golden crowns on their heads,” verse 4. The 24 elders are church
age believers representing the church. This is very important for understanding
what goes on later in Revelation, and if we miss-identify the 24 elders we will
be a little off-center at different places as we go through the events in the
heavenlies. There are eight reasons why the 24 elders are the resurrected,
glorified and rewarded church.
1) They are called
elders, PRESBUTEROI, which is a term
never used of angels anywhere in the Scriptures.
2) There is an absence
of the mention of these 24 elders, or any group of 24 elders, in heaven prior
to the events of Revelation chapter four. In other words, they are not there.
3) The prophecies in
Daniel are the frame of reference for Revelation. In Daniel 7:9 which is a
vision of the successive Gentile kingdoms in human history, culminating in
their destruction and the establishment of the kingdom of the Son of Man,
Daniel says: NASB “I kept looking Until thrones were set up, And the
Ancient of Days took {His} seat; His vesture {was} like white snow And the hair
of His head like pure wool. His throne {was} ablaze with flames, Its wheels
{were} a burning fire.” Only one throne has an occupant at this particular time
in Daniel 7:9, and that is God the Father. It is not until we get to the 24
elders in Revelation that we have occupants of the other thrones in the heavenly
courtroom.
4) The number 24 is
based on the representative priesthood in
5) The white garments
are those of rewarded church age believers. This is the same term used in
Revelation 3:5, 18.
6) The golden crowns
are called STEPHANOS crowns, not DIADEMA. STEPHANOS is the crown of a victor, a reward for having overcome, for being a
victory. This represents the fact that they have already been rewarded and have
gone through the judgment seat of Christ, the distribution of rewards and
crowns has already taken place. Angels are never said anywhere in Scripture to
wear victor crowns, only human beings.
7) The function of the
24 elders tells us they must be church age believers. They function throughout
the book of Revelation as kings and priests to God. They are brining prayers
before God, they are worshipping God, they function as priests.
8) These 24 elders are
redeemed by the blood of the Lamb—Revelation 5:9. Angels are not redeemed;
there is no redemption for angels. Redemption comes by the blood of the Lamb.
It was Jesus Christ who was the Lamb of God who as true humanity was able to
die as our substitute. A substitute had to be kind for kind.
This isn’t the end of the 24 elders, they play a key role in the rest of
the book of Revelation when we go back and forth between the heavenly scene and
earthly scene. There are eleven verses that describe the function of these 24
elders. They are mentioned in 4:4, 10; 5:5; 6:8, 11; 7:11, 13; 11:16; 14:3;
19:4. What is important is that in each of these situations they are seen
before the throne of God, worshipping along with the four living creatures.
Revelation
1) The elders are
located in the heavenly throne room of God, sitting around the throne of God,
in chapters 4 & 5.
2) These 24 thrones are
in close proximity to the Lamb’s throne, so there is an indication of
association there with the Lamb, 4:4;
3) They are also in
close association with the four living creatures, but they are distinct from
them, 4:6, 9, 10; 5:6, 8, 11.
4) They fall down before
the one sitting on the throne to worship Him. Again and again and again there
is this picture of them falling on their face to worship the one upon the
throne.
5) They provide
information to John during his visions. They give him information to help him
interpret what he is seeing in 5:5;
6) Both in chapter 5
and 14:3 they sing a new song. This song emphasizes the redemptive work of
Christ on the cross.
Revelation 4:5 NASB “Out from the throne come flashes of
lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And {there were} seven lamps of fire
burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.” Two different
ideas are present in this verse. The first part emphasizes the visual-audio
effects that come out from the throne. We find a mention of these effects f9our
different times in Revelation. This is the first, there are three others. In
Revelation 8:5 we read NASB “Then the angel took the censer and
filled it with the fire of the altar, and threw it to the earth; and there
followed peals of thunder and sounds and flashes of lightning and an
earthquake.” Revelation
One of the most important lessons that we can derive from a study of
chapters four and five is that with regard to the 24 elders of the church,
where are you going to be in Revelation
chapter four? Are you going to be with those 24 elders? Or are you going
to be, if the Rapture occurs, among those who are the inhabitants of the earth?
The only way to make a distinction is your view of Jesus Christ. Those who put
their faith alone in Jesus Christ are those who will be resurrected at the
Rapture. At that point we will be judged at the judgment seat of Christ
concerning our status based upon what we have done with what God has provided
us in this age. Those who die without Christ face eternal condemnation. Those
who are alive when the Rapture occurs face the horrible judgments of the
Tribulation. Many of them will not survive. If they survive without trusting
Christ then they will be thrown into the lake of fire. This is an important
decision.
Another important decision has to do with worship. For those who are
believers in the Lord Jesus Christ part of our destiny as priests and kings is
to worship God. Part of what we do here on earth is to learn how to worship God
in preparation for that. That involves all of our priestly functions as
believer priests—knowing the Word of God, our spiritual growth, our spiritual
maturity, are all a part of our spiritual life as priests. Our prayer life with
the Lord is private worship. Learning His Word is part of our individual
worship as priests. This is our responsibility to prepare us for that coming
time.