YAHWEH FATHER’S THRONE IN HEAVEN
Revelation 4:1-11
As taught by Dave Lindstrom
I. The revealing of the glory and awesomeness of Yahweh Father’s throne in heaven
(Revelation 4:1-6).
A. This is the start of a new section of prophecy that goes from Revelation 4:1 – 22:5. It starts with the sovereign throne of Yahweh and ends with the establishment of the New Heaven and New Earth. John seems to tie vision after vision together with words like “after these things” which give primarily a futuristic idea (Rev. 1:19, 4:1, 7:1, 9, 9:12, 15:5, 18:1, 19:1, 20:3).
B. The Apostle John next sees a door that had been opened in heaven and hears the powerful trumpet voice of Yahweh Jesus inviting him into the open door for a look into future events (Rev. 4:1; Rev. 1:10, 19).
1. Up until now John received his vision of the glorified Christ (Rev. 1:1-20) and Christ’s message to the seven churches (Rev. 2:1 – 3:22) while probably in his cave on the isle of Patmos. Now he is given a vision which elevates him to the vantage point of heaven.
2. Many believers see the rapture (“catching up” Greek “harpazo” I Thes.4:17) of the church as occurring before (between Rev. 3:10 – 4:1) or at Rev. 4:1. Believers who hold to this position believe that Christ will rapture His church before the seven years of tribulation that will come on this earth as prophesied in Daniel 9:27, 12:1; Matt. 24:4-29; 2 Thes. 2:3-10; and
Rev. 6:1 – 19:10 and so are called pretribulational.
C. As John went through the open door of heaven (in the spirit, in his vision), he immediately is struck by the awesomeness of the throne of Yahweh Father! (Rev. 4:2; I Kings 22:19; Isa. 6:1-4; Ezek. 1:26-28). With the inspiration of Yahweh’s Spirit, he describes it for us in Rev. 4:3-6. The concept of the throne of Yahweh is very important in Revelation.
1. Out of the 22 chapters of Revelation, the throne is related to in 14 of the chapters. The word throne is used 13 times in Revelation 4:1-11 alone!
2. Yahweh Father is described by the Spirit inspired John in terms of light in the color of three stones: jasper (probably like translucent diamond), sardius (also called carnelian which was fiery red), and emerald (covering a rainbow of shades of green encircling the throne). Brilliant splendor, glory, and unapproachable light give us a visual of our Yahweh Father (Rev. 4:3; Ezek. 1:26-28; I Tim. 6:16).
3. Around the Father’s throne were 24 thrones occupied by 24 elders wearing white clothes and gold crowns (Rev. 4:4).
a. Many believe these to be human elders such as 12 chosen from Israel and 12 chosen from the church as in the New Jerusalem
(Rev. 21:12-14).
b. Many believe these to be a special elevated rank of angelic beings who have served Yahweh and His creation well. They point out that these 24 elders seem to be uniquely linked with the four living creatures that are for sure angelic, they are always distinguished from the saints
(Rev. 5:8, 11:17-18, 19:1-4), and their place seems to center around the heavenly throne rather than any earthly thrones. This probably fits the context of the passage better.
4. From the throne came an awesome display of lightning, thundering sounds, and seven fire torches representing Yahweh’s seven-fold (all- encompassing) Spirit. Each of these depict Yahweh’s power to judge and purify by His Holy Spirit (Rev. 4:5, 8:5, 11:19, 16:18; Exodus 19:16;
Matt. 3:11).
5. The throne was located on a large expanse of crystal glass that was like looking into the sea or ocean (this magnified Yahweh’s transcendence, purity, and holiness). However, four six winged, supernatural angelic creatures, probably in the same order as seraphim and cherubim, who could see from any position (rich in Yahweh’s will and knowledge), were right next to the throne and surrounding it (Rev. 4:6; Ezek. 1:5-25, 10:1-22; Isa. 6:1-3).
THOUGHT: Let’s silently meditate on this awesome sight of Yahweh Father our Heavenly Father and give Him praise.
II. John next gives us more detail concerning these four living creatures (Rev. 4:7-8).
A. They have faces like a lion, calf (ox), man, and flying eagle. Even though the early church fathers assigned these to the four gospels and others to tribes of Israel, the most probable explanation is that these highly ranked, supernaturally close order of angelic beings expressed Yahweh’s heart in creation. They represent and bring continuous worship by acknowledging His power, strength, spiritual relationship, and soaring ability over this creation (verse 7; Ezek. 1:10, 10:14).
B. They each have six wings (Ezek. chapters 1, 10; Isaiah 6:1-3) that can shield them from the awesome holiness of Yahweh and eyes that expressed their ability to see from any angle to discern Yahweh’s bidding or will. They continuously say that Yahweh is beyond holy (repeated for emphasis, Isaiah 6:3, “set apart” from all else), that He is the only Ruler of All or Lord God Almighty (Adonai Yahweh Sabaoth “ of Hosts” in Hebrew, Isaiah 6:3; Ezekiel 6:3), and that He is Yahweh the great I Am (was, is, and is to come Exodus 3:14).
III. John next gives us more detail concerning the 24 elders (Revelation 4:9-11).
A. When the four living creatures worship Yahweh’s attributes, His right to rule, and return thanks for who He is, the 24 elders worship by prostrating themselves and placing their crowns toward the throne (verses 9, 10).
B. The 24 elders then join in the praise by saying their own chorus and adding aspects of Yahweh’s creation, will, and sovereignty (verse 11).
IV. Some helpful terminology and definitions.
A. Millennium comes from two latin words “mille-1,000” and “annum-year”. Therefore, the word refers to the 1,000 year reign of Christ found in Rev. 20:1-8 (chiliasm is derived from the Greek word for 1,000).
1. A person who believes that Christ will return to this literal earth “before” setting up and reigning 1,000 years on this earth is called a Premillennialist.
2. An Amillennialist is a person who believes that the 1,000 year time period is not literal but symbolic. Many believe that if there is a millennial reign of Christ, it is already happening during this present time of the church.
3. A Postmillennialist is a person who believes that the church will usher in the restoration and millennial reign of Christ on this earth under Christ’s invisible direction. Christ will then return visibly after this millennial work on earth to judge the wicked and set up His New Heaven and New Earth.
B. Tribulation is suffering or affliction and the word taken in a prophetic sense means the seven year period of suffering (that starts the day of the Lord) that is to come on the earth according to Daniel 9:27, 12:1; Matthew 24:4-29; 2 Thes. 2:1-10; Rev. 4:1 – 19:10). The Tribulation Period is usually seven years and the most intense suffering happens in the last three and a half years of the seven and is called the Great Tribulation (Daniel 9:27b; Matthew 24:21).
1. A person who believes that the church will be raptured before the seven year Tribulation starts is pretribulational.
2. A person who believes that the church will be raptured in the middle of the seven year Tribulation but before the three and a half year Great Tribulation is midtribulational.
3. A person who believes that the church will be raptured before the wrath of the Lamb is pre-wrath tribulational (usually after the middle).
4. A person who believes that the church will be raptured after the seven year Tribulation Period is posttribulational.
