PHIL HARRIS
Introduction
To be true to the inspired word of God it is important to stay within the context. Staying in context means to keep in mind both what came before a particular verse and to look forward toward what comes after any certain text. Often a certain point can be clarified by referencing elsewhere in Scripture where the same idea is discussed, but that understanding must also be consistent with its own original context.
Consider this example: look at Matthew 24:3 where the disciples asked when Jesus would return. This was part of his response:
“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only…” (Matt. 24:36).
Now compare Jesus’ statement with what is written in the first verses of Revelation:
The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw (Rev. 1:1-2).
In the book Revelation God the Father gave to Jesus Christ the things that are now to be revealed for our understanding, yet Jesus’ actual return is still hidden hidden from us just as illustrated in the parable of the Ten Virgins found in Matthew 25:1-13:
Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour (Matt. 25:13).
In the opening verses of Revelation we see the relationship of God the Father, Jesus the Son of God, and the working of the Holy Spirit.
In Revelation chapter four it is the voice of Jesus that invites John into heaven; however, we soon learn in chapter five that it is the Father who is sitting on the throne holding the scroll with the seven seals when we come to this text:
And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne (Rev. 5:6-7).
An important point to notice as we study Revelation is that from chapter four and onward we are viewing the testimony of Jesus within heaven from God’s perspective—from eternity outside of place or time.
Keep in mind that the eternal holy throne of God is within the spiritual realm outside of the created universe and is described for our understanding with beautiful pictures that manifest what is actually there.
Revelation Chapter Four
The Apostle John Is Invited Into Heaven
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” (Rev. 4:1).
Theologians such as Ray C. Stedman and John MacArthur agree that Revelation 4:1 is a pivotal verse that marks the end of the church age culminating with the rapture as recorded in 1 Corinthians 15:52 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. While “saints” are mentioned throughout the rest of this book, the “church” isn’t alluded to again until the “Bride of the Lamb” is mentioned toward the end (Rev. 18:23; 19:7-9; 21:2-9; 22:17).
Verse one begins with the phrase “After this”; then “a voice like a trumpet, said; ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this’”. If these words refer to the rapture at this point, this idea would fulfill the promise given to the church in Rev. 3:10:
Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth (Rev. 3:10).
The prophets Isaiah (Is. 6:1-7), Ezekiel (Ez. 1:1) and Daniel (Dan. 7:13) and even Stephen when he was being stoned to death (Acts 7:55-56) were able to see into heaven. The apostle Paul (2 Cor. 12:2-4) was brought into “the third heaven” but not allowed to record what he had been shown. Only the Apostle John was invited “up” into heaven with the instruction to record what he learned from the perspective of being in heaven.
In other words, in this section of Revelation, John was writing about events on earth as seen from an eternal, heavenly perspective. As we continue our study of this book, we will compare some of John’s visions with descriptions from Old Testament prophets who were given end-time visions from an earthly perspective.
Significantly, both the Old and the New Testaments equate the heavenly throne and the heavenly temple one and the same place. This understanding is important for us former Adventists because of the way Ellen White taught the “sanctuary doctrine”. God’s throne does not move; His throne is where He is, and the heavenly temple is God’s throne and the place of His presence. For biblical confirmation of this identity, see Psalm 11:4 and Revelation 7:15 as examples.
Therefore, the throne in Revelation 4:1 is also a picture of the heavenly temple. For example, look at the comparison of John’s use of “the throne of God” in Revelation 7:15 where he speaks of the 144,000 with Jeremiah’s reference in Jeremiah 17:12:
“Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence…” (Rev. 7:15)
A glorious throne set on high from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary (Jer. 17:12).
Thus, the picture of the heavenly throne in Revelation 4:1 is a place of pure holiness and beauty, and that picture of the throne obviously includes the heavenly sanctuary. There is no atonement for sin being conducted in the heavenly sanctuary; that work was finished on the cross when Jesus cried out, “It is finished” and gave up His spirit and died. Contrasted to the purity and holiness of the heavenly sanctuary, in the Jewish Mosaic sanctuary here on earth, sin needed to be atoned with a blood sacrifice every year which was offered by the Aaronic High Priest before he could approach the Holy of Holies behind the veil.
In heaven sin does not and never could have existed; therefore, there is not and never was need for a veil separating our holy God from any other part of heaven. In Scripture (Heb. 10:11-13) Jesus sat down at the side of the Father “until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet”. The side of the Father is the most holy place one can be when in heaven because the atonement for the sins of the world was forever completed here on earth at Calvary by Jesus’ shed sinless blood!
As we ponder the significance of God’s throne and the heavenly sanctuary being one and the same place, we have good reason to reject the fantasies of Ellen G. White. Nothing of heavenly importance occurred at the throne of God in the heavenly sanctuary on October 22, 1844. Of course, this fact also brings into question the unbiblical Adventist investigative judgment/sanctuary doctrine.
Behold the Throne Of God
At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. 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 (Rev. 4:2-3).
In the Spirit John arrives in heaven and sees a throne—the throne from where God rules the universe.
The one sitting on the throne has the appearance of jasper and carnelian and is surrounded by an emerald rainbow. This jasper is thought to be a perfect diamond, thus giving off many colors. Carnelian means “redness” and could be a red ruby which would remind us of the blood of the Lamb shed at Calvary. The rainbow that surrounds the throne has the shimmering color of green. This emerald rainbow appears to point forward to the New Jerusalem as we see near the end of Revelation:
And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb (Rev. 21:22).
The Twenty-Four Elders
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 (Rev. 4:4).
Around the central throne are another twenty-four thrones occupied by elders dressed in white garments with golden crowns on their heads. Looking forward to Revelation 7:13-17 we learn that the wearing of white robes means they have been washed clean in the blood of the Lamb and that the elders represent all those coming out of the Great Tribulation. A golden crown is a symbol of great honor.
Throughout history there has been much debate as to just who the 24 elders are. The obvious answer is that God is keeping their personal identity to himself. We are not told.
I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence…” (Rev. 7:14-15).
Lightning, Rumblings, and Thunder
From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal (Rev. 4:5-6a).
These effects are the same the sights and sounds manifested when God gave the law on Mount Sinai as recorded in Exodus 19:16. As we will soon see when we move to chapter six and onward, God is about to shift from the age of grace to a time of judgment.
This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering—since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus (2 Thess. 1:5-8).
God will inflict vengeance on those who do not obey the biblical gospel of Jesus Christ. Little wonder the apostle Paul places a brutal curse upon anyone who preaches another gospel (Gal. 1:9, 3:10 & 5:12).
At the end of verse five John mentions the “seven spirits of God”. We gain insight into this figure of speech when we read Isaiah speaking of the multiple Spirits of the one God associated with the Branch of the stump of Jesse (Is. 11:1-9):
And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD (Is. 11:2).
The Four Living Creatures
And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: 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. 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!” (Rev. 4:6b-8).
This description may startle us, but when we look at the Old Testament prophets, we see that they saw similar creatures. The prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 6:1-6 mentions seraphim, each of which have six wings who proclaim:
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” (Isa. 6:3).
The prophet Ezekiel in Ezekiel chapter one mentions four similar creatures. They are moving at the direction of their spirit (verse 20), ministering before a throne (verse 26) and there is a rainbow in the clouds above them (verse 28):
As for the likeness of their faces, each had a human face. The four had the face of a lion on the right side, the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four had the face of an eagle (Ez. 1:10).
What Ezekiel sees and what is recorded here appear to be manifestations of the same four creatures John saw. In fact, we learn in Revelation 4:9–11 that these living creatures devote themselves to worshiping God:
And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 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, “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” (Rev. 4:9-11).
Worthy Is Our God
And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 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, “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” (Rev. 4:9-11).
Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to our eternal holy God seated on the throne, the twenty-four elders fall down casting their crowns before them saying; “Worthy are you, our Lord and God….” All those who are in the presence of God’s throne, both angelic and human, are united in worshiping and praising the eternal, sovereign, glorious God!
Revelation Chapter Five
The Lamb Is Worthy To Open the Scroll
Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals (Rev. 5:1).
Concerning the scroll with the seven seals, the prophet Daniel was told:
“…But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” He said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end…” (Dan. 12:4 & 9).
We saw at the beginning of Revelation that we are now in the “time of the end”. As we proceed through this book, we will coming back to Daniel’s prophecy where appropriate and compare John’s revelations with Daniel’s prophecy. What is clear in this first verse of chapter 5 is that the one sitting on the throne of God (God the Father) is holding this very same book, or scroll, that Daniel sealed. Jesus’ unveiling in the book of Revelation is about “the time of the end”—the subject of Daniel’s sealed scroll.
Furthermore, the one holding the scroll that is sealed with seven seals is God the Father sitting on his throne (Rev. 1:1). Now, in chapter five, we are about to discover what has been hidden inside the scroll.
And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it (Rev. 5:2-4).
The apostle John weeps because there appears to be none who can break the seals and open the scroll. Then one of the elders tells him; “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals” (Rev. 5:5). Then John records:
And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne (Rev. 5:6-7).
The Lamb, Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah, the one who died at Calvary for the sins of the world, is worthy in all respects to open the scroll by breaking the seven seals.
Throughout Scripture the number “seven” means completeness. This idea is illustrated for us in the creation account. The Lamb’s “seven horns and with seven eyes” announces to us his total power and omniscience, with his seven eyes being the seven spirits of God—or simply the Holy Spirit. In other words, the Lamb embodies the complete substance of the one true God! He lacks no attribute but is the one in whom the “fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form”.
And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth” (Rev. 5:8-10).
Here in heaven we see the living creatures and elders fall (or kneel down) as they worship the Lamb who is worthy. They offer Him the incense of the prayers of the saints, the music of the harps, and their voices of praise. In other words, all the inhabitants of heaven recognize the Lamb as God, worthy of their unreserved worship and honor and praise.
Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” (Rev. 5:11-12).
The lamb who was slain for the sins of the world is worthy to receive power, wealth, wisdom, might, honor, glory and blessing—another set of seven. His work of atonement and He Himself are perfect and complete.
Paul also wrote about the worthiness of the Lord Jesus using similar language to John’s describing universal worship and honor:
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:5-11).
Then all of creation sings praises to the throne of God and the Lamb:
And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” (Rev. 5:13).
The shouts of praise and worship to the Lamb in the throne room of heaven remind me, in contrast, of what Paul says about the groaning of all creation. We on earth know that we suffer here, but we are waiting for our certain future when we will be glorified with our Lord Jesus when He comes for us. Here is what Paul says:
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies (Rom. 8:18-23).
One day we will physically join the living creatures and the elders in heaven praising Jesus face-to-face, a glorious moment which George Frederick Handel has immortalized in the “Hallelujah Chorus” of his oratorio The Messiah. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain!
And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped (Rev. 5:14).
All biblical quotes taken from the ESV
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