Revelation 4 Bible Study by Steve Wilson

Revelation 4

After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet [Jesus] said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” ² At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone [God the Father] sitting on it. ³ And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. ⁴ Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. ⁵ From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits^[a] [the manifold Holy Spirit] of God. ⁶ Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.

In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. ⁷ The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. ⁸ Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying:

“‘Holy, holy, holy

is the Lord God Almighty,’^[b]

who was, and is, and is to come.”

 

⁹ Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, ¹⁰ the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:

¹¹ “You are worthy, our Lord and God,
    to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
    and by your will they were created
    and have their being.”

 

Why is God Worshipped?

The scene in Heaven is one of perpetual worship. Look again at verses 8-11.

 

The four living creatures say, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” How can this be described as giving “glory, honor and thanks” in the next verse? The word “holy” means “set apart,” “completely different.” It means God is something totally beyond us – righteous and wise beyond our comprehension. We glorify and honor and thank Him because He will always do the best thing in the best way, even when we don’t understand what He’s doing. And He is eternal, so He will always be there for us, ensuring our good. How good it is to know that our Creator will never cease to be so that He will never let us down and that He is “holy, holy, holy” so that He will always do what is right for us. He is truly a God in whom we can place all of our trust.

 

Each time the four living creatures remind them of God’s holiness and eternal nature, the twenty-four elders get off their own thrones and bow down, maybe even prostrate themselves, before God’s throne. They lay their crowns before God. Where did the 24 elders get their crowns? They received them from the Lord.

 

1 Corinthians 9:25 - Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

 

1 Thessalonians 2:19 - For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you?

 

2 Timothy 4:8 - Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

 

James 1:12 - Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

 

1 Peter 5:4 - And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

 

Why do the 24 elders lay their crowns before God and say He is worthy “to receive glory and honor and power”? Because He is the Creator. He is the Ruler of all that is, and indeed, has the only right to rule anything! As His creatures, we owe Him everything – our existence, the air and food that sustains us, the people who accompany us. God has been gracious to reward and honor the 24 elders, but recognizing who God is, they take off their crowns and lay them before the Lord as if to say, “No, You are the One who deserves the honor.”

 

This offering of the crowns back to God reminds us that everything God gives us still belongs to Him. We acknowledge that however God may bless us or reward us from time to time, all things are still His and are to be used for His glory.

 

Comparing John’s Vision in Revelation 4 to Isaiah 6 and Ezekiel 1

Isaiah 6:1-3 – In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of His robe filled the temple. ² Above Him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. ³ And they were calling to one another: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory.’” 

 

In both John and Isaiah's visions, the four living creatures (seraphim) are saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty…”

 

Now compare these visions to what Ezekiel saw.

Ezekiel 1 – In my thirtieth year, in the fourth month on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles by the Kebar River, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.

² On the fifth of the month—it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin— ³ the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, by the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians.^[a] There the hand of the Lord was on him.

⁴ I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north—an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal, ⁵ and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In appearance their form was human, ⁶ but each of them had four faces and four wings. ⁷ Their legs were straight; their feet were like those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze. ⁸ Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. All four of them had faces and wings, ⁹ and the wings of one touched the wings of another. Each one went straight ahead; they did not turn as they moved.

¹⁰ Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a human being, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle. ¹¹ Such were their faces. They each had two wings spreading out upward, each wing touching that of the creature on either side; and each had two other wings covering its body. ¹² Each one went straight ahead. Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, without turning as they went. ¹³ The appearance of the living creatures was like burning coals of fire or like torches. Fire moved back and forth among the creatures; it was bright, and lightning flashed out of it. ¹⁴ The creatures sped back and forth like flashes of lightning.

¹⁵ As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground beside each creature with its four faces. ¹⁶ This was the appearance and structure of the wheels: They sparkled like topaz, and all four looked alike. Each appeared to be made like a wheel intersecting a wheel. ¹⁷ As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the creatures faced; the wheels did not change direction as the creatures went. ¹⁸ Their rims were high and awesome, and all four rims were full of eyes all around.

¹⁹ When the living creatures moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the living creatures rose from the ground, the wheels also rose. ²⁰ Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, and the wheels would rise along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. ²¹ When the creatures moved, they also moved; when the creatures stood still, they also stood still; and when the creatures rose from the ground, the wheels rose along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

²² Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was what looked something like a vault, sparkling like crystal, and awesome. ²³ Under the vault their wings were stretched out one toward the other, and each had two wings covering its body. ²⁴ When the creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings, like the roar of rushing waters, like the voice of the Almighty,^[b] like the tumult of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings.

²⁵ Then there came a voice from above the vault over their heads as they stood with lowered wings. ²⁶ Above the vault over their heads was what looked like a throne of lapis lazuli, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. ²⁷ I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. ²⁸ Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him.

This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.

There are many similarities between the three visions. But there are also differences. Take the descriptions of the four living creatures, for example.  

 

The Four Living Creatures

	Isaiah	Ezekiel	John
Wings	6	4	6
Eyes	Covering Body	Covering Body	Covering Body
Faces	? (faces are hidden)	4	1

 

We know that the vision in Revelation 4 is of God the Father because we’ll see God the Son entering the same scene in Revelation 5. They share the screen, so to speak, so we know they are different persons.

 

Isaiah 6 may also be a vision of God the Father, but Ezekiel 1 seems to be a vision of God the Son, who also sits on a throne in Heaven and is attended by similar but different living creatures. The visions are similar because both God the Father and God the Son are equally God. We’ll see more similarities between Ezekiel’s vision (extended into Ezekiel 2 and 3) and the visions of Jesus in Revelation as we continue.

 

What do the four living creatures do? In all three visions, the four living creatures surround God’s throne. They seem to be something like God’s chariot drivers or litter-carriers. They are also His criers, but rather than shouting, “Make way!” they call, “Holy, holy, holy…”

 

Who are the Twenty-Four Elders?

God’s throne is surrounded by twenty-four other thrones, on which are seated 24 elders (Revelation 4:4).

 

We assume that these elders are human as we are given no indication that they are not. Looking ahead in Revelation, I think we can identify the first 12 of these 24 as being the elders of the tribes of the Israel. The tribes are listed in Revelation 7:5-8. The tribe of Levi is not mentioned because in the Old Testament, they were no longer to be counted as a separate tribe but became the priestly tribe interspersed among the other tribes.

 

The second 12 of the 24 are most likely the 12 Apostles. Jesus Himself said they would sit on thrones.

 

Matthew 19:28 - Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

 

The question would be, which twelve Apostles? Is Judas included? He was one of the twelve Jesus was speaking to in the verse above. If not Judas, is the twelfth Apostle Mattias or Paul? Matthias was chosen to replace Judas in Acts 1:15-26, but Paul is also named an Apostle (Romans 1:1, for example).

 

Our final clue that these 24 elders are the elders of the tribes of Israel and the Apostles is that these two groups also appear together later in the Book of Revelation.

 

Revelation 21:12-14 –  [The New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven] had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. ¹³ There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. ¹⁴ The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.