Revelation 4 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Revelation 4

The Throne in Heaven

4:1 After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. 3 And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings¹ and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, 6 and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.

And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: 7 the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. 8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
who was and is and is to come!”

9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

11   “Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
    to receive glory and honor and power,
  for you created all things,
    and by your will they existed and were created.”

Footnotes

[1] 4:5 Or voices, or sounds

Commentary

v1: An open door into Heaven; the way opened by the death of Christ. Here is an invitation, contrasting with the Laodicean church's experience.

Behind this door, we see something of the spiritual realities behind events on the earth. The Lord continues to reveal, "what will take place later" (1.19). Job knew nothing of the behind-the-scenes spiritual battles. Daniel was deeply troubled when the Lord God showed him the future (Dan 7.28), and later Daniel was shown events from the distant future (Dan 8.26). We submit to God who knows best; we trust Him to reveal certain things, but to conceal others.

The voice is like a trumpet, indicating a gathering together (Ex 19.16), and a preparation for the return of the Messiah (1 Thess 4.16).

v2: John is "in the Spirit" (v10), a deep spiritual experience. Do we talk too lightly about our deeper experiences?

John sees an occupied throne, as in Is 6.1; God is in control; of today's events, and of future events. The throne is what he first describes, for this is not peripheral, but central.

v3: At once, John tries to describe the scene. He mentions gem stones, perfect gloriously colourful, shining brightly. This contrasts to his dull surroundings on rocky Patmos, and also contrasts to the daily imperfections of human life.

God's rainbow in Heaven, His eternal mercy, Lam 3.22-23; yet, it seems, mercy is scarce on the earth.

v4-6: Around the throne, the 24 elders also seated upon thrones, compare Matt 19.28. But this is something new and striking; John expects to see 12 thrones (Luke 22.30), but here are 24.

The seven Spirits of God, active on the earth (3.1; 4.6); events in Heaven affect our lives on the earth.

v6-8: The four living creatures;

full of eyes, seeing God's glory;
they never cease to be amazed at His glory;
they never cease to express their awe.

Together, they speak of Christ's character, esp. as revealed in His life;

the lion, the king (Matthew);
the ox, the servant (Mark);
the human face, the man (Luke);
the flying eagle, God (John ).

Further, they reflect a rabbinic saying that declared the lion to be the mightiest of all wild animals, the ox the mightiest of domestic animals, the eagle as the mightiest bird, and man as the mightiest of all.

The reference to six wings follows Is 6.2.

v9-10: The living creatures inspire the elders to worship. The Lord God lives forever and ever. He has life in Himself, John 5.26. Our life can only come from Him. In their worship, they fall down before Him, and lay down their crowns. They are prostrate before the glorious Eternal One.

v11: Here, the basis of their praise is God's creation, Ps 93; 97; 148; a theme taken up in the church, Acts 4.24; 17.24. Such songs of praise recur in revelation, a reminder of the eternal worship that we will give to God, and that will characterise Heaven.