REVELATION
CHAPTER 4, The Rapture Of The Church / Johns Vision Of Heaven
By
Jim Bomkamp
1.
INTRODUCTION
1.1.
In our last
study, we finished the last of the
seven letters to the churches dictated by Jesus to the apostle John, that to
the church in
1.1.1.
1.1.2.
1.1.3. Jesus appealed to
individuals to be genuinely converted, but does not appeal to the church
directly
1.2.
In our study today, we are going to look at chapter 4 of the book of
Revelation, and we will see that it records an incident for us that is intended
to symbolize the event known as the rapture
of the church
1.2.1. Having just finished the
letter to the last of the seven churches, the one which will exist just prior
to His return, I believe that the Lord intentionally led the apostle John to
record the event that will occur next in sequence before the end of times and
His return, the rapture of the church
2.
The Second Coming of Christ will occur in two phases:
2.1.
In the scriptures, we discover that there are two vastly different sets
of accounts about the events that will occur when Christ returns to the
earth. The descriptions in the
scriptures are so different concerning these two events that the only rational
explanation for them is that that cannot occur at the same point in time. The two events represent different phases of
Christs return and are called:
2.1.1. The rapture of the
church
2.1.1.1.The rapture must occur
in time before the other event since the scenarios that will occur before that
other event are so catastrophic that they could not have occurred leading up to
the rapture.
2.1.1.2.The rapture occurs
when the church is suddenly and unexpectedly taken up from the earth by Christ
who will meet her in the air, and then she shall be with the Lord from that
point on in time
2.1.1.3.The word rapture
comes from the Latin translation of the Greek word harpadzo, in found
in 1Thessalonians 4:13-18 where my NASB translation renders it caught up.
2.1.1.4.The rapture of the
church could happen at any time, there are no events prophesied that must occur
before it, and therefore the imminent return of Christ provides an incentive for all people to
always be ready for Jesus to return
2.1.2. The glorious appearing
of Christ (sometimes called the Second Coming of Christ)
2.1.2.1.This event occurs in time at
the conclusion of the 7 year tribulation when, from chapter 19 of the book of
Revelation, Christ comes from heaven to earth upon a white horse with all of
the armies of heaven following (including all of the saints who have previously
died or been raptured up to heaven)
2.1.2.2.This event pictures Christ
coming into a decimated earth that has barely survived 7 Seal Judgments, 7
Trumpet Judgments, and 7 Bowl judgments, and the purpose of Christs coming is
to finally and completely judge all of the nations who have amassed together an
army of 200 million to wage war against the Lord
2.1.2.3.The glorious appearing
is always at least 7 years away, for the events of the 7 Year Tribulation must
occur before it since Jesus taught in Matt. 24:29-30 that it would occur after
the events of the tribulation, 29 But immediately after the tribulation of
those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and
the stars will fall from the sky, and
the powers of the heavens will be shaken,30 and then the sign of the Son of Man
will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and
they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.
2.2.
The following graphic which comes courtesy of Tim Lahaye and his
excellent commentary on the book of Revelation shows the contrasting events
that the scriptures tell us will occur with each of these two phases of Christ
return (PLEASE BE PATIENT AS THE GRAPHIC MAY TAKE SOME TIME TO LOAD):
2.3.
Likewise, there are scriptures that relate to the contrasting events that
will occur for each of these two phases of Christs return as pictured by this graphic
that also comes to us courtesy of Tim Lahayes revelation commentary (PLEASE BE
PATIENT AS THIS GRAPHIC MAY TAKE SOME TIME TO LOAD):
*Please
note that Tim Lahaye credits Dr. Thomas Ice as being the originator of this
graphic.
2.4.
The history of the premillennial doctrine.
2.4.1. The study of the history of
the premillennial doctrine as well as the doctrine of the rapture
of the church is interesting. Those who
oppose the doctrine usually state that the doctrine could not be true since it
has only come into being since the early 1800s and the writings of John
Darby. However, Tim Lahaye has
documented that there have been others in history who held this view dating way
back, including:
2.4.1.1.Victorinus, Bishop of Petau,
in 270A.D.
2.4.1.2.Pseudo-Ephrem (he
is called pseudo because he may not be Ephrem of Nisibis who lived
from 306-373A.D.) in the 4th century
2.4.1.3.Reverend Morgan Edwards in
1742 A.D.
2.4.2. Tim Lahaye also points out
that the emergence of the premillennial doctrine has come about largely
because of the discovery in the scriptures of the fact that God has one plan
for redeemed Gentiles and another for the Jews, whom He will restore to Himself
during the 7 Year Tribulation of the book of Revelation.
3.
Concerning the rapture of the church:
3.1.
The book of 1 Thessalonians is believed to be the first book that was
written of the New Testament. The
apostle Paul had been with the Thessalonians preaching the gospel and
establishing the church there, as we read from the book of Acts, and he had
taught the people of the end times events that were to occur and about the fact
that the Lord had promised that He would personally come and receive the
church, or rapture the church, unto Himself.
However, since Paul had left the church time had gone along and now some
in the church had died. This caused the
church to wonder if the ones who had died would still be raptured to
be with Christ when He returned, or whether they were lost. The church was grieved and burdened about
this. Paul wrote the letter of 1
Thessalonians to the church to tell them more about the end times and that when
Christ did return for His church that the ones in Christ who had passed away
(and gone to be with the Lord whether in body or in spirit) would be
resurrected at that time and meet the rest of the church who was still alive
and that all of the body of Christ would at that time meet Christ in the air.
3.1.1. Paul wrote the following to
the Thessalonians in 1Thessalonians 4:13-18, "But I would not have you
to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow,
even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose
again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this
we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain
unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from
heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of
God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them
in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the
Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words."
3.1.2. Chuck Smith has written the
following about the word rapture that is taken from this verse in 1 Thess.
4:17, The phrase "caught up" in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 is the Greek
word harpazo, which actually means "to be snatched away
violently." The Latin equivalent of
harpazo is the verb rapio, "to take
away by force." In the Latin
Vulgate, one of the oldest Bibles in existence, the appropriate tense of rapio
appears in verse 17. Raptus is the past participle of rapio. Our English words "rapt"
and "rapture" stem from this past participle. Although
"rapture" isn't in the King James Bible, the basic word does appear
in the Latin Vulgate.
3.2.
Chuck Smith continues as He writes about the differences between the rapture
of the church and the Second Coming (His glorious appearing):
At the Rapture, Jesus is coming for His
saints. In 1Corinthians 15:51-52 Paul said, "Behold, I show you a
mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed [metamorphosis - a
change of body], in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, ..." You
won't even realize it's happened until it's all over. Suddenly, you're in the
presence of the Lord with all the Church!
We the Church will be changed. Paul wrote to the Philippians, "For
our conversation [citizenship] is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned
like unto His glorious image", Philippians 3:20-21. During the metamorphosis Paul wrote to
3.3.
As I have mentioned so many times in my teaching, the period of the outpouring
of Gods wrath upon the earth (as is seen in the Great Tribulation) is not for
the Christian, it is for the world that is in rebellion against God.
3.3.1. In 1 Thessalonians 5:9 Paul
wrote, "For God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation
by our Lord Jesus Christ." Paul
said the same in Romans 5:9 - we've not
been appointed unto wrath.
3.3.2. Jesus in the whole context
of the Tribulation, said, "Pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy
to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son
of Man", Luke 21:36.
3.4.
The church is not seen in the book of Revelation after chapter 3 (until a
footnote in chapter 22 that is) because she has been snatched up out of the
earth, and the rest of the book after chapter 3 then begins to unfold to us the
period of the Great Tribulation, which is the seven year period prior to the
Millennial Reign of Christ. This is the
period known in the Old Testament as the time of Jacobs troubles (Jeremiah
30:7).
3.4.1. Those not restored to the
Lord through Christ of the descendants of Israel will go through the
tribulation, as will all those who are alive and do not know Christ as their
Lord and Savior, however I believe the church will be taken out of the world
before that time.
3.4.2. We also see from the
scripture that during the latter half of the Great Tribulation that the nation
of
3.4.3. Likewise, after the Great
Tribulation period
3.4.4. At the end of the Great
Tribulation, and when
3.4.5. The following graphic, again
provided courtesy of Tim Lahaye shows that among those who are in the premillennial
camp of end time eschatology, that there are three main views concerning at
what point relative to the 7 Year Tribulation of the book of Revelation that
the rapture of the church will occur (PLEASE BE PATIENT AS THIS
GRAPHIC MAY TAKE A LONG TIME TO LOAD):
3.5.
We in the Calvary Chapels hold to a pre-tribulation stance concerning the
timing of the rapture of the church and thus the following graph
provided by Tim Lahaye and his Revelation commentary portrays the events that
we believe will occur during the end times (PLEASE BE PATIENT AS THIS GRAPHIC
WILL TAKE SOME TIME TO LOAD):
3.6.
Perhaps looking at the events of the Great Tribulation in the book of
Revelation will help us to sit back and evaluate our own life.
3.6.1. We should be reminded about the
fact that sin does have consequences, and that everything a person does in his
life will have a reward of one type or another.
3.6.2. Those who do not have a
saving faith in Christ ought to be brought to soberness concerning the reality
of life and of death, and of the inevitability of having one day to stand
before the Lord in judgment.
3.6.3. If a person stands before
Christ at judgment not having received Him in this life as his Lord and Savior,
he shall suffer the horrible consequences of an eternity in hell, the lake of
fire of Rev. 20 which burns forever and ever.
3.7.
Jesus told us that we ought to be watching and waiting for His return
(Matthew 24:42)
3.7.1. The writer of Hebrews wrote,
"And unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time",
Hebrews 9:28.
3.7.2. Likewise Jesus also said,
"Therefore be ye also ready; for in
such an hour as you think not the Son of Man cometh", Matthew
24:44.
3.7.3. We first become ready for
His return by personally receiving into our heart and life Christ as our Lord
and Savior, and then we stay ready by walking with and abiding in Christ.
3.8.
Once the church has been raptured, many of those who were their
loved ones will realize they've actually missed the opportunity of being raptured
with the Church. As a result, they'll
become dead serious with God and will choose to be martyred during the Great
Tribulation period by refusing to take the mark of the beast. They will choose death by the government of
the Beast in preference to receiving the mark of the Beast because of their
genuine saving faith in Christ (Revelation 20:4).
3.8.1. In Revelation 7:9-14, John
saw in heaven "a great multitude which no man could number, of all
nations and kindreds... clothed with white robes", singing of
salvation. The elder said to John,
"These are they which came up out of the great tribulation and washed
their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."
3.8.2. In Revelation 6:9, under the
fifth seal, these souls martyred during the Tribulation period are waiting for
their opportunity to enter the heavenly scene.
They are told to wait a little longer until the total number to be slain
have been killed.
3.8.3. Being a Tribulation saint
will be a hard road to travel. As Jesus
said, "For them will be great tribulation, such as the world never has
seen before or ever will see again, Matthew 24:21. It would be much easier to leave this earth
with the church at the rapture than roll the dice and gamble that you
will make it to heaven after you have been left behind by the church and are
one of the fortunate ones to have lived through the 7 Year Tribulation and
taken opportunity to have a genuine conversion as a Christian.
4.
VS 4:1 - 4:1 After these things I looked, and behold, a door
standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound
of a trumpet speaking with me, said, Come up here, and I will show you what
must take place after these things. - John tells us that Jesus called
him to come up to heaven
4.1.
We saw in Rev. 1:19 that there were three sections to the book: the things
which John had seen (the vision of Christ in chapter 1), the things which are
(the state of the church as addressed by Christ in His epistles written to the
seven), and the things which shall be after these things. The
two Greek words translated after these things in chapter 1 verse 19
are the identical words used twice here:
meta tauta. These
words are meant to signify that we have now entered the third and final section
of the book of Revelation.
4.2.
I believe that this verse describes a period of history upon
the earth after the church has been raptured and taken up to heaven
to appear in the presence of the Lord. This fact is verified by Christ in
this verse who says that He is
going to show John what must take
place after these things,
which would mean after the church
age.
4.3.
The book of Revelation has been called The Throne Book because of the 61 times that thrones are mentioned in the New Testament, 46 of them
appear in Revelation.
4.4.
Chapter 4 of the book deals with John in the very presence of God. This is The Third Heaven, the very throne of God, the same place which
Paul said that he was taken up to by God once (2 Cor. 12:2).
4.4.1. When Paul was
taken there, he didnt know if he had
been taken there in his body or out of it. When Paul returned he appears to have seen
things that were just simply incapable of description, and heard words that
were inexpressible.
4.4.2. After reading in chapter 4
of Johns account of being before the very throne of God, I am left with a very
empty feeling, for his description of it is very inadequate
for my curiosity. It must have been a
very humbling experience for him to try to write in words the things which he
saw, for he did not have sufficient descriptive words for this.
4.4.3. My pastor friend, Jim Suttle, aptly has remarked that Johns attempt to describe the throne of God would be like looking into
one of the little kaleidoscopes that kids get at McDonalds, and then being
asked to give a dissertation on astronomy.
4.4.4. However, as we look at this vision given to John of
the third heaven, we ought to apprehend
it with a childlike wonder and awe.
It ought to more than anything bring us into an attitude of worship and reverence towards the Lord. In fact, worship of God is what I
want to specifically target in this study of Johns vision of the throne of
God.
4.5.
As I have mentioned, this verse seems to describe that the church is
being raptured up to God. We ought to see then that John is taken by means of a heavenly time
machine to that point in the future when the church has just been raptured, and that he is an
observer of the events transpiring at that time. As previously mentioned, I personally believe that possibly time
travel would be in-line with what John wrote in chapter 1 of his being in
the spirit on the Lords Day. John appears
to have seen the future and recorded it for us.
4.6.
One good piece of evidence that it is the rapture that is pictured here is that since we know that the Lord is going to return for
His church when the trumpet sounds, as we saw in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, that here we see that the voice that is speaking with him is as a trumpet.
4.7.
The door is open in heaven for John and all of the redeemed of
the Lord to enter at this moment of
time. However, John does not mention anyone else entering at the same
time as he is entering, so I would surmise that he is possibly the last arrival after the rapture.
5.
VS 4:2 - 2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a
throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. - John enters heaven in the Spirit and beholds
One sitting upon the throne
5.1.
John apparently enters heaven as a disembodied spirit, which may also account for his lack of ability to
adequately describe for us the details of the throne of God.
5.2.
Now, we begin to take a long look at the throne of God, and we see in this chapter that this throne is standing in heaven,
and that One is sitting on the
throne.
5.2.1. From the scenes found in the
scriptures, the throne of God appears to be the central fixture in heaven, and
worship of the One on the throne emanates from all who are gathered around the
throne.
5.2.2. The throne is being occupied
by God the Father, for as we will see in
the next chapter Christ, the Lamb who was slain, comes before the throne in
order to open the seals on the scroll that is presented.
5.2.1. Everything about the
presence of God speaks of order and reveals the Lords majesty.
5.2.1.1.In every kingdom that has
existed upon the earth, there has been the effort to create an atmosphere of
majesty around the rulers throne, and
they have done this by creating as much
pomp as possible.
5.2.1.2.God has made sure that man
should realize the order that remains always before His throne, and thus we see in the Old Testament, for instance,
that He ordered that with the making of the tabernacle and the temple, that all
would be done as a copy of that which existed in heaven.
5.2.1.3.This order that surrounds
Gods throne should remind each of us that there shall never be a creature
which comes into His presence unexpectedly,
and that there shall never be one which
comes there without feeling a sense of dread.
5.2.1.3.1.There is a sense of something terrible or terrifying
in everything that the Lord does.
5.2.1.3.2.Thus, we should always come before the Lord giving Him
honor, respect and the reverence due Him.
5.2.1.3.3.In spite of the descriptions given by Ezekiel, Isaiah,
and here in Revelation of the majesty of Gods throne, there is so little of true fear of the Lord in the church today. We Christians would be wise if we were to
concentrate much more upon giving always to the Lord the reverence that is due
to Him.
6.
VS 4:3 - 3 And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a
sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an
emerald in appearance. - John describes the Lord upon His throne and a
rainbow around the throne
6.1.
As I mentioned earlier in my commentary
on this chapter, I find that Johns
description of the throne of God is woefully inadequate to satisfy my
curiosity.
6.2.
In this verse, John tries to describe God the Father, and the only thing that
He can use to do so is that He was like a couple of stones.
6.2.1. The jasper stone is
a clear crystalline, and what it may have appeared to be like is a diamond. Some have said
that the color of the jasper stone is a purple or violet color.
6.2.2. The sardius stone
mentioned is a blood-red color.
6.2.3. The stones themselves are
probably revealing not only color, but also the perceived texture of God.
6.2.4. It also the case I believe
that these stones were shining brilliantly,
for Paul wrote thus about the Lord in 1
Tim. 6:16, 16 who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable
light; whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion!
Amen.
6.3.
There is also described here a rainbow that is quite different
than rainbows of which we are familiar,
for this rainbow:
6.3.1. It is circular and encircles all
the way around the throne of God.
6.3.2. The color of the rainbow is
that dark forest green emerald color.
6.3.2.1.Seattlites like me know this color because with all of
the greenery that is in the city of
6.4.
The rainbow immediately reminds us of Genesis 9 where the rainbow is given as a part of a covenant from the Lord that He will never
again destroy the earth by water.
6.4.1. Thus, we see with
this rainbow that God
has ever before Him the covenant which He made with man after the flood.
6.4.2. Thus we see that the rainbow before the throne symbolizes the faithfulness of God.
6.5.
I personally think also that it is a good thing that John did not have a
very specific description of the image of God.
6.5.1. In the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament we are
told not to make an image of anything that is in heaven, and if we had a very
specific image of God described to us here, there would have been throughout
history painting after painting made to depict it. Then, people would get together and meditate
upon the painting, or come and stair at the painting when they wanted to pray. You see, any image that we make of God soon begins to take the place of God
Himself to us and we begin to worship the image instead of God.
6.5.2. John may have held off from
giving a more specific description of God because of that very commandment to
not make any images of anything that is in heaven.
6.5.3. It has been said that The
essence of idolatry is to make God manageable, and I believe it is by design that Johns description
of God is very vague and that there are not what I would call much in the way
of very specific descriptions of God given in the Bible. I think this is also why the gospel writers
did not go into a lot of detail trying to describe what Jesus looked like.
6.5.4. Johns vision of the resurrected Christ in chapter 1
of Revelation and the description which He gives of God here in chapter 4 are
about as good as the Bible will give us.
7.
VS 4:4 - 4 And around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and
upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments,
and golden crowns on their heads. - John sees around the throne of
God 24 elders seated upon thrones and with crowns on their heads
7.1.
The next thing
that occupies Johns attention is that all around the throne of God are 24
other thrones, and those who are
sitting on those thrones are called elders.
7.2.
Further, these elders are clothed in white garments, which is a
symbol of holiness and purity, and they have upon their heads golden
crowns.
7.3.
There are various
opinions about whom these 24 elders are:
7.3.1. Some have said that they are angelic beings in some
sort of heavenly government.
7.3.1.1.However, we have no other
reference in the scripture where angelic beings sit upon thrones, nor where
they wear crowns.
7.3.1.2.Plus, Paul
wrote that we, the church, would actually judge angels (not
that angels would judge angels), and
Jesus taught that the 12 apostles would sit on thrones and judge the twelve
tribes of
7.3.2. Some have said that these elders are a combination of
12 Old and New Testament elders.
7.3.2.1.Most likely this view would comprise them of the 12
sons of Jacob (
7.3.3. The 24 elders are representative of the church.
7.3.3.1.They are a representative group.
7.3.3.2.The main support for this
view is that God deals with His people, the Jews, primarily during and after
the period of the Great Tribulation.
7.3.3.3.Interestingly, if these
elders are in any sense a representation of the church, then John should have
been looking at himself as being one of them. He does not mention anything about himself,
although John never mentions himself in the books he wrote either.
8.
VS 4:5 - 5 And from the throne proceed flashes of lightning and
sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before
the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God; - John writes that from the throne of God that
there proceeded lightning and sounds of thunder
8.1.
The throne of God is a place descriptive of Gods awesome holiness and
from whence judgment is executed, which
is symbolized by the flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder.
8.2.
This verse is immediately reminiscent to me of the giving of the Law by
God on
8.3.
The seven lamps of fire are interpreted by John to be the seven
spirits of God which were first
introduced in chapter 1 of the book. These are the seven aspects of the Spirit of
God seen in Isaiah 11 as the
Spirit of:
8.3.1. The Lord.
8.3.2. Wisdom.
8.3.3. Understanding.
8.3.4. Counsel.
8.3.5. Power.
8.3.6. Knowledge.
8.3.7. The fear of the Lord.
8.4.
The seven aspects of the Spirit of God are all seen as burning, which also indicates the fact that nothing escapes His notice, for He is
vigilant and zealous in searching out all things.
9.
VS 4:6-7 - 6 and before the throne there was, as it were, a sea
of glass like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living
creatures full of eyes in front and behind. 7 And the first creature was like a
lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face
like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. - John describes a sea of glass surrounding the
Lords throne which is also surrounded by four living creatures
9.1.
In verse 6, John
describes that there is a sea of
glass like crystal that is before the throne of God. It is perhaps not surprising that there is a sea around the
throne of God, but it is very
interesting that it consists of something that is like glass or crystal.
This sea of glass before the throne in heaven was symbolized by the lavers for water in the
tabernacle.
9.1.1. The lavers were for
cleansing ones self before ministering, and the sea of glass in heaven
symbolizes the fact that God is perfect and holy, and that none shall ever come into His presence in heaven unless they
have been thoroughly washed by the blood of the Lamb of God.
9.2.
Next, John tells that there are these ones which are called living
creatures. Some translations call these living
beasts, however living creatures or living beings is a
better translation. What John is describing are angels who are of
the type called Cherubim.
In Ezekiel chapter 1, we
see that Ezekiel had a vision of these
same creatures, and in Ezekiel 10:20 we read that they are Cherubim.
9.3.
Each of these living creatures were identical in that they each
had four different faces that were like the following creatures:
9.3.1. Lion.
9.3.1.1.The king of the animal world
9.3.2. Calf.
9.3.2.1.The highest of the domestic beasts of burden.
9.3.3. Man.
9.3.3.1.The highest and most intelligent of all earthly
creatures.
9.3.4. Flying eagle.
9.3.4.1.The superior of all birds.
9.4.
It has been conjectured that these four faces of these living beings are
representative of different things:
9.4.1. As seen in Numbers chapter 2
whenever the 12 tribes of
9.4.1.1.In their respective camps
then we know from Genesis that:
9.4.1.1.1.The symbol of
9.4.1.1.2.The symbol of Ephraim was
the ox.
9.4.1.1.3.The symbol of Rubuen was a man.
9.4.1.1.4.The symbol of Dan was an
eagle.
9.4.2. Another explanation is that
the four faces are representative of the four gospels. This is a very
interesting speculation.
9.4.2.1.The gospel of Matthew reveals Christ
as the King, and the lion
is the king of the animal world.
9.4.2.2.The gospel of Mark
reveals Christ as the servant of God, and the ox or calf is the animal
which this most typifies this since it is used so much as a beast of
burden.
9.4.2.3.The gospel of Luke reveals the
humanity of Jesus, so the symbol of a man is appropriate to represent it.
9.4.2.4.The gospel of John reveals the
divinity of Christ, and this might be characterized by the flying eagle.
9.4.2.4.1.Eagles can soar on high because of their specially
designed eyes that can look directly into the sun.
9.4.3. Each of these faces is a
representation of God, and in each of
these types we really see Gods characteristics as being represented. The
sum total of the faces is a reflection of the majesty of God Himself.
10.
VS 4:8 - 8 And the four living creatures, each one of them
having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do
not cease to say, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and
who is and who is to come. - John describes the four living creatures as
continually worshipping the Lord upon the throne
10.1. Each of these Cherubim are full
of eyes around and within, which is
symbolic of the fact that they have external
as well as internal knowledge of God.
10.2. These creatures
intelligently worship God, for they are
very intelligent creatures, and they are extremely aware of all that is going
on around them.
10.3. As with Ezekiels visions of the living creatures
in Ezekiel chapter 1 where they are called Cherubim, the creatures have six wings.
10.4. Cherubim are often pictured
in the Old Testament:
10.4.1.We see the Cherubim first in Genesis 3:24 when some are given the task of guarding the
entrance to the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve are kicked out of it.
10.4.2.It was Cherubim
which were designed by God to be placed
on the top at either end of the ark and whose wings were spread out over the
mercy seat. They seem to be
protecting the ark itself.
10.4.3.God flies on the wings of
the Cherubim.
10.4.4.There were several
Cherubim carved or sewn into the tabernacle under Gods direction.
10.4.5.Isaiah reveals in chapter 6
of Isaiah concerning the Seraphim, which
are associated with and very similar to
these Cherubim (if not identical), that with two of their wings they cover their feet, with two they cover their
faces, and with two of their wings they fly.
10.4.5.1.They cover their feet as an
act of worship.
10.4.5.1.1.When God spoke to Moses in the burning bush, He told
him to take off his shoes, for the ground in which he was on was holy
ground. These Seraphim cover their feet
because they walk on holy ground before the throne of God.
10.4.5.2.With two other wings they
cover their faces as an act of worship.
10.4.5.2.1.When they remove their wings from their faces, they
see the Lord and immediately cover them again and cry out, Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty.
10.4.5.3.They fly using only two of
their wings.
10.4.6.Satan was a Cherubim, and he was the worship leader of heaven (Ezek.
28:13-14).
10.5. These living creatures never
tire in worshipping God, for they were created by Him for the primary purpose
of worshipping Him, and that is their
delight. For them, to see Him is to
worship Him.
10.6. The Greek word proskuneo
is used here for worship, and it is the primary word in the New Testament used for
worship. We can see from this word the intimacy of which worship of God is to
consist, for it literally means to kiss
Him on the arm or the face.
10.7. We see tremendous reverence
and awe around the throne of the Lord, never the light-hearted kind of response
that I sometimes hear people make towards the Lord which makes it seem that if they were before the
throne in heaven they would walk up to the Lord and slap Him on the back and
say, So, hows it going buddy?
10.8. As we continue on in the book of Revelation, we will
see that these same living creatures
speak and they end up being somewhat of a guide to John through the
various visions that he is having.
11.
VS 4:9-11 - 9 And when the living creatures give glory and honor
and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, 10
the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and
will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before
the throne, saying, 11 Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive glory
and honor and power; for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will
they existed, and were created. - John sees the living creatures
worshipping as well as the 24 elders who are constantly casting their crowns
before the Lords throne
11.1. We see here that these living
creatures are worship leaders in heaven,
for when they give glory and honor and thanks to God the elders cannot
help themselves and join in. They
then fall down before the Lord and
declare Him worthy as they thrown their crowns before Him.
11.1.1.These Cherubim have been created to be such awesome and magnificent creatures who by their act of worship all other creatures under heaven should be
inspired to join in and worship God.
11.2. The 24 elders who are before the throne likewise worship God.
11.2.1.The 24 elders show their
humility and gratitude in worship God by casting their crowns before the throne. In doing this they are acknowledging that the very crowns which they have been given
and perhaps earned, have come because
of the goodness and grace of God.
11.2.2.The 24 elders who are before the throne are struck with the realization that God who is on the throne is worthy of their worship.
11.2.2.1.Some have in the first place
referred to worship as being worth-ship, for when we worship God we are declaring that He
alone of all that exists is worthy of being worshipped.
11.3. To God is due all glory
and honor and power for in the first
place it was He who created all
things, and likewise it was His desire and idea that everything
that exists came into existence in the first place.
11.4. We can learn the following
things about worship from these Cherubim and Seraphim:
11.4.1.We need to draw close and
behold the Lord, for as we look on Him we cannot help but worship Him.
11.4.2.Worship of God should be
intelligent.
11.4.3.A true worshipper of God
reflects His glory.
11.4.4.As 4 of the 6 wings of the
Seraphim (and perhaps Cherubim) are used for worship, we ought to worship Him
at least twice as much as we do things in serving Him.
11.4.5.Worship was something that these
Cherubim were it was not simply
something that they performed (they reflect His glory).
11.4.6.As with all of Gods creations, we ought to worship God continually and never
tire.
11.4.7.Worship of God involves
being intimate with God as is implied in
the very word itself.
11.4.8.If creatures as mighty as
these Cherubim worship God as described by John, should not we who are much humbler creatures follow their example.
11.5. We can learn the following things about worship from
these 24 elders who surround the throne of God:
11.5.1.We are created to worship
God.
11.5.2.They worship because they are before the Lord, and as we draw close to Him we cannot but worship.
11.5.3.We should worship God in all
that He has given us, even those things
which we have earned and been given.
11.5.4.God is to be worshipped as
the creator of all things, as it has been
said, There will be no worship
songs of evolution in heaven.
11.5.5.The Lord alone is worthy
of our worship.
11.5.6.Worship is to be physical, we are to put ourselves wholly into it as is seen
with the elders falling down before the throne and worshipping God