Revelation Chapter Four A Throne Set In Heaven

The fourth chapter of Revelation has got to be the most triumphant chapter in the Holy Bible. The First Testament saints and the Second Testament saints are finally, after thousands of years, directly around the majestic throne of the Heavenly Father. The veil of His glory has been removed for them. For the first time since Adam sinned, men and women can sit or stand in His unclouded presence without a redemptive covering. They are glorified Saints in the presence of the eternal throne with the archangels and the Heavenly Host. It is glory indescribable and eternal. This is the triumphant moment of His redeemed, as the beginning of the end is unfurled. This is the final process of the reclaiming of all things that God Almighty might finally be “All in All” in His entire universe.

This chapter begins with Heaven opening like a door and the Son of God Himself speaking with a voice like a trumpet. He calls to John, the writer of His words of Revelation, “Come up hither and I will show thee things which must be hereafter.” Jesus Christ is clearly the Narrator and Host to John as He reveals to him the triumph of this future moment. I have often wondered why Jesus Christ chose not to be in sight during all of chapter four. Finally it dawned on me that His presence is there, but as John’s Host to unravel the grandeur of this hour.

This moment in prophecy is the mountain peak. The saints of God have thirsted and longed for His presence. The passion of every Blood-washed soul is to know and see God in His glory and to awake to His visible sight and Divine Person. Being a Christian is more, much more than being delivered from eternal hell. It is the hope of spending eternity in the fellowship of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. This scene in Revelation chapter four is just the beginning, but what a beginning.

John the Apostle had just finished penning the seven letters to the seven churches. This concluded the church age because this book never speaks of the church again until Jesus reminds John in chapter twenty-two that this entire book is a testimony to be given to the churches. He says, “I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.” (Revelation 22:16). Beginning in this fourth chapter, the overcoming saints have been promoted to being “elders in the presence of God” conducting Heavenly business with the Father and His Son. The scene in this chapter is Heavenly. Earthly places and events have suddenly faded into the background. Instead of talking about earthly cities, the talk is of angels, heavenly seraphims, cherubims, and the seven-fold offices of His Holy Spirit.

For the first time since Adam hid himself in the Garden of Eden because of sin, man can behold God in His glory without a covering of redemptive blood. No event or idea is more positive in proof of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture than this fact. Search the Scripture for manÂ’s approach to God and you will find every approach awesome in redemption requirement. In the Garden the Father slew the first animal to make coats from a blood sacrifice before Adam and Eve came out of hiding. The family of Rahab escaped the dreadful destruction of Jericho by a scarlet thread hanging from her window in the wall. A scarlet cord traced its way from the garden to the Book of Revelation without a break. But now, the Saints are sitting upon thrones in the uncovered presence of Divine Revelation. The Sovereign God is in full view by the redeemed saints of both Testaments. It is a breathtaking picture of our future.

The Open Door in Heaven
We must not bypass the powerful significance of this open door. Heaven is closed at the present. No man or woman can ascend into His glory, because we are flesh and blood, until we are transformed at the Resurrection. Yes, the spirit of the saints goes to His presence to await that event, but our flesh goes back to dust. To see that the saints have passed through this door into Heaven settles the fact that before the seven dark years of the Great Tribulation, the overcoming saints will escape to His wonderful nearness and presence. The chapter begins as follows, “After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.” (Revelation 4:1).

Jesus Christ said to John that what he was about to see was all in the context of “hereafter.” That statement settled the fact that nothing beyond this moment in this revelation is historic or past. It does not relate to the existing church as far as time or fulfillment but to the future of the saints after this transfer from earth to heaven. Absolutely nothing in Revelation from chapter four to chapter twenty-two can be placed on a timeline before the Rapture. This is a wonderful aid in interpreting this great Revelation of Jesus Christ. In chapter one, He was seen in His post-resurrection glory. In chapters two and three, He was seen in the midst of His church, directing the life and ministry of His ecclesia or body of the church. From chapter four on, He must be seen revealing the future beyond the time of the saints’ earthly pilgrimage.

The Throne of God Appears
The entire scene of this chapter is around the throne of our Heavenly Father. It begins with the saints beholding Him on this indescribable throne and ends with the raptured saints casting their crowns at His feet beneath the throne. In fact, the throne of the Father is a familiar scene from this point to the end of this Revelation. Thirty-six times His throne is mentioned from this moment until the last chapter. Remember how this book begins. John wrote, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John.” (Revelation 1:1). This book is the Father’s message and gift to the church and He is clearly the Sovereign that directs its course.

We can take for granted by Scripture that Jesus Christ is clearly seated on His right hand and will remain there until He steps out of glory to ride the white horse of victory as the “Great Tribulation” concludes in chapter nineteen. Peter stated on the day of Pentecost as he quoted David in the first testament, “For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Until I make thy foes thy footstool.” (Acts 2:34-35). Jesus Christ is Lord in the church but the Father is Lord in Heaven and as the time of judgment approaches the Father becomes the focus of authority. The Father is going to conclude all reign of evil and reduce Satan to the Savior’s footstool for final judgment. What a picture to anticipate.

This scene is majestic. “And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.” (Revelation 4:2-3). John does not try to describe the sight before him. It is too awesome, so John uses the brilliance of great jewels. A jasper stone is precious, crystalline, and purple in hue. A sardine stone is called exceedingly precious; it is a beautiful bright red carnation color. Throughout Scripture, especially in Jewish circles, God’s name is not even spelled in its totality nor is He described as to His appearance. The view to John was certainly beyond words.

A rainbow encircled the throne and it was “in sight like unto an emerald.” While the idea of a throne is final and ultimate in authority, the rainbow adds the idea of grace and mercy. Our God is never revealed without a sense of His infinite love and this final book is no exception. Revelation is not primarily about anger and wrath but redemption, the complete redemption of God’s universe.

The Presence of the Redeemed before His Throne
Second to the Heavenly Father on His throne and His Son that is hosting John to this spectacular view are the saints in redeemed regalia before the throne. The Word states, “And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.” (Revelation 4:4). The Biblical type for anyone clothed in white raiment is a redeemed saint. There is no other interpretation possible. When you add, “on their heads crowns of gold,” the language removes the right of anyone to even suggest another possibility. The redeemed of the Lord are now before His throne.

Twenty-four elders are never seen in Scripture prior to this moment. Twelve elders are a First Testament type and twelve elders are a Second Testament type. This language is deeply biblical and when you add the two twelves the number is twenty-four. I have never found one person that can give another interpretation to the twenty-four elders. This is a perfect picture of the raptured saints. There is absolute evidence that you cannot separate the resurrection of the First Testament from the resurrection of the Second Testament. If the Jewish people are resurrected at a different time than the New Testament saints, where do you place the New Testament Jews from the early church period or even the Messianic Jews in the present?

This number of twenty-four (24) is totally symbolic of the multitude that becomes evident in Chapter Five. The twenty-four elders give us a united picture of the two Testament periods and the multitude description reveals the great host of the raptured saints. In chapter five we see the larger literal number as following, “And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.” (Revelation 5:10-12).

The Glory Proceeding from the Throne
While the throne is glorious in itself by the eternal Father that sits thereon and by the presence of the saints in their eternal regalia, that glory only increases as we witness the attending Heavenly Host. We see lightening and hear thundering down here in a negative manner, but this display is Heavenly and serves to add glory and even exceeding glory.

The Holy Spirit is present because the Bride is the prize He presents to the Son and to the Father. It was His duty to convict and convert those whom the Father chose, called and sealed to redemption. He taught them the glory of truth and administered it in the redemption of the cross of Christ. He is the Porter in John 10:3 and the Paraclete in John 14:18. He is the Teacher in John 14:26 and the Guide in John 16:13. All of this and much more He does but always He does it that Jesus Christ might be all in all in the church. His absence from this great scene and moment in prophetic fulfillment would be impossible. Let’s review this important picture of chapter four. “And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.” (Revelation 4:5-8).

After noting the presence of the Holy Spirit in the totality of His office, we see the four beasts full of eyes before and behind. These living creatures are clearly God’s cherubims and seraphims, His archangels and the leaders of the Heavenly Host. Their appearance is awesome, even beyond description, but are certainly heavenly creatures that guard His City of Holiness. Their intelligence and wisdom is beautifully depicted by John as being full of eyes within and in no need of rest as they cry day and night a thrice proclamation of “Holy, Holy, Holy.”

We have but to view the attendance of grandeur at the political events of our own world to realize they are but a cheap copy of the Heavenly. The statue like guards and attending political appointees are but human relics of this Divine order. These living creatures that John described as like a lion, a calf, the face of a man, and a flying eagle shows the pain of JohnÂ’s description. There is no suggestion that these Heavenly beings favored animals. Their appearances were too awesome to describe as like humans so John resorts to a picturesque kind of symbolism.

Isaiah called these “living creatures” His “train that filled the temple.” Here is his beautiful description. “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.” (Isaiah 6:1-4). What is most breathtaking about John’s vision is that for the first time in human history the Saints in glorified form and grandeur are present in the Heavenly Jerusalem. This is what makes the Book of Revelation outstanding in its finality. The great scene in the Heavenly City is now complete in this prophetic revelation of our future; the saints are finally home.

The Saints Cast Their Crowns at His Feet
The ending of this chapter could not be more fitting. It costs to be a Bible Christian. The world has never loved those that refuse to compromise or transform their message to suit the prevailing mood. Jesus Christ made it plain that His disciples would be hated by the world even as He was hated. He promised blessings on the persecuted. He said, “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.” (Matthew 5:10-11). It is a joy to suffer for Him.

But when we have overcome and endured gladly all the struggles to be His Disciples, and have been caught away to His eternal city, and are in His presence uninterrupted by our old skin tent, He alone will become important to us. He is altogether lovely. He gave the prize of His heart, His only begotten Son, to leave His presence and be put to shameful death for us. He has redeemed us from slavery and purchased us into Sonship, and when we are in His presence, all else will be as nothing. The closing verses of this great picture states, “The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” (Revelation 4:10-11).

Conclusion
Worship is the heartthrob of every saint of God. Today we worship in the Spirit and cast our heartfelt thanks to Him by faith. This Revelation helps us to fix our attention on the future when we will worship Him in whole, not in part.

The throne set in Heaven is the first scene we are promised to behold as we prepare for eternity. The “rapture” or the “catching away” was clearly promised by Isaiah, David, and Malachi of the First Testament and Jesus Christ and His disciples in the New Testament. Very little is said about the place where we would be caught up to celebrate our victory and to see Him face to face. David in Psalm, gave this location a beautiful name. He called it “the Ivory Palaces.” (Psalm 45:8) The time of this Revelation is still in the future, but not for long. I would not miss it for the world.