Revelation 4: An open door to heaven: John’s second vision.

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Verses 1 - 6a: What John saw in Heaven.

Note: the vision of heaven that John sees is very much like the visions of Isaiah and Ezekial, and all share many common images and symbols.

Verse 1: “After this . . .” : after the letters to the churches were concluded.
“A door was opened . . .” : John saw a door standing open, with heaven on the other side. This is very like Ezekial 1: 1. “. . . the heavens were opened . . .”
“. . . the first voice . . .” : I.E. the trumpeting voice he had heard in chapter 1.
“. . . after this . . .” : merely means later or next, not necessarily in some distant future as the futurists would have us believe.

Verse 2: “At once I was in the Spirit. . .” as soon as he received the invitation to “come on up” in verse one, he is instantly transported to heaven.
The throne he sees is the throne of God – with God on it, as we can tell from the following verses.

Verse 3: God has the appearance of jasper and sardius (carnelian). These are semi-precious gemstones (precious gems in John’s day!).
Sardius is a blood-red variety of quartz highly prized by the ancients. It is called sardius because it came from Sardis, as in Rev. 3: 1. This was one of the gems in the breastplate of the high priest. (Ex. 28: 15 - 20)
Jasper is a type of banded quartz that comes in a multitude of colors. The variety in the breastplate of the High Priest was believed to be the dark green variety. There is a dark green variety that has blood-red spots in it that look like drops of blood (bloodstone). These two stones are the first and the last stones mentioned in the list in Exodus 28. [alpha and omega??]
     All around the throne was a green-hued rainbow. This is what B. W. Johnson says about the rainbow:
“The rainbow was a pledge of God’s faithfulness to his covenants. God sits upon the throne; splendid, terrible, but compassed about by the covenant of grace.” I can live with that.

Verse 4: Twenty-four thrones encircled the great throne. Each of these lesser thrones had an “elder” seated on it. Each elder wore a golden crown. The word elder is from the Greek presbuteros, which means “an elderly one.” this is the same word used both for a Sanhedrist (member of the Jewish high council) and a bishop (elder) of the church. Surely from this dual usage of the word we get a clue as to who these 24 elders are (who they represent). 12 tribes of Israel. 12 apostle of Jesus. These 24 represent the complete “kingdom” of God – both its Jewish and Christian counterparts.
The color WHITE, throughout Revelation signifies purity or righteousness (salvation).
The golden crowns are not kingly crowns of authority (Gr. diadema), but golden crowns of honor (Gr. stephanos).
These 24 represent the saved of all generations.
     Is John seeing the ACTUAL place where God resides? Or is all this symbolic of something? [Since the purpose is to make spiritual things more understandable to our physical minds, all these are symbolic of the power and majesty of God and the wonderful extent of his saving grace.]

Verse 5: “from the throne issue . . . lightning . . . and thunder . . .” : God punishes with the lightning, but he also warns and informs with a voice like thunder. Compare this verse to Exodus 19: 16, before God delivered the law to Moses.
Seven flames of fire represent the seven spirits of God (seven-fold Spirit of God). Zech. 4: 10 says “. . . in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth.” (Also in Rev 5: 6) The Holy Spirit is the eyes (and hands) of the Lord running to and fro through the whole earth to do his will. Note that the number seven is 3 + 4, which represents God over all the earth.

Verse 6a: In front of the throne is a sea of glass, I.E. a perfectly calm (glassy) sea. Clear like crystal, not the cloudy glass that the ancients made.
Might not the sea also represent baptism? Perhaps. All must pass through the water of baptism to enter the kingdom of God. See Gal. 3: 26 - 29.

IMPORTANT POINT: What is the significance of God on the throne? [God is in complete control over all the events which will shortly cone to pass.]

Verses 6b – 11: The “Living Ones” and their praises to God.

Verse 6b: “. . . on each side of the throne. . .” I.E. one on each of the four sides of the throne.
Four “living things”: from the Greek zoon. This noun is neuter, neither male nor female, so it can be translated animal (beast). They were “full of eyes” on the front side and the back side.
Are these the same as the “seraphim” seen by Isaiah? Most likely. They have six wings like the Seraphim. Isaiah does not mention their faces, for in his vision their faces were covered by two of their wings. They are also very much like the “cherubim” of Ezekial 10: 12 - 14. It would seem that unlike the traditional explanation of cherubim and seraphim being two classes of angels, they are, in fact, the same thing, just described in slightly different terms – heavenly (angelic?) creatures that wait upon God.
The word cherub has an unknown derivation. Seraph means “fiery one,” and may refer to their color or some fiery manifestation that accompanied them. These four creatures may be symbolic of all the creation in subjection to God’s authority.
Jewish tradition says that when Israel wandered in the wilderness, the tabernacle would sit in the middle of the encampment, with Judah on the east side, Dan on the north side, Ephraim to the west, and Reuben to the south. Judah is represented by the lion, Dan by the eagle, Ephraim by the ox, and Reuben by the man. So, perhaps in these “seraphim” we have a symbol of God surrounded by faithful men, offering him praise.

Verse 7: Note that the four types mentioned in describing the four “living things” represent the whole spectrum of God’s “land animal” creation: man, domestic animals (ox), wild animals (lion), and flying creatures (eagle).

Verse 8: The eyes completely covering the creatures symbolizes what two things? [1. They never sleep. 2. They see everywhere.] These creatures praise God always (at intervals).

Verses 9, 10: When the “living ones” praise God, the elders join in by doing what? [1. They fall prostrate before God. 2. They cast their crowns at his feet.] What characteristic of God is noted twice in these two verses? [He liveth forever and ever.]

Verse 11: What great work of God qualifies him for everlasting praise. [The uncaused first cause; namely, that HE created all things.] “All things” can justly be translated “the universe,” I.E. all things that exist, no matter where they are found.
Why do you suppose John was shown this vision of God in heaven BEFORE he was shown the things “which must shortly come to pass?” [To clearly demonstrate that God is in charge. Later it might seem that great armies or rulers were shaping the course of events, but it is ALWAYS God who directs them.]

NEXT, CHAPTER FIVE: WORTHY IS THE LAMB!