Revelation 4 and 5

Chapter 4

Chapter 4 begins the second vision. The vision of chapters 4 and 5 sets the foundation for all that follows up through chapter 16. Here is what is contained in the second vision:

Chapter 5 – The Lamb is given a scroll with seven seals.
Chapter 6 – The seals with their judgments are broken.
Chapter 8 – The Angels blow trumpets that will unleash judgments.
Chapter 12 – There are seven symbolic histories.
Chapter 15 – The angels pour our seven bowls of God’s wrath.

This is the scene of the Heavenly Throne Room.

Revelation 4:1 starts with, “after this,” which indicates John is seeing another vision after seeing the first vision of the seven churches. John sees an open door to Heaven. This was promised to the church in Philadelphia, an open door to Heaven that cannot be shut. The first voice he hears is like a sounding trumpet; this is Christ’s voice. He says, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.” John says, “Immediately I was in the Spirit,” indicating John is seeing another vision. He sees a throne in Heaven with one sitting on the throne:

(Revelation 4:2-6 NASB) Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. {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. {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. {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; {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. …

Jewels are used to describe the one who sits on the throne. Jasper is thought to be a diamond or something like a diamond. It is brilliant, dazzling, and represents God’s glory. Sardis is green and represents the rainbow. This means God’s judgments will be tempered with mercy, in remembrance of the Noahic Covenant. It also indicates that the recreation has started. Just as the rainbow with Noah indicated the start of the recreation of the world after the flood, so it indicates now that the new creation has begun.

There are 24 elders and four living creatures. This is a marvelous scene of worship. Many of the churches were under persecution. They must have been comforted in what John saw, that there is a throne in heaven. There is one who is seated upon it, who made all things and rules all things. God rules over all events.

There are many things that are mysterious and awesome. While many things are mysterious, there are allusions to the Old Testament prophets.

Isaiah 6: Isaiah’s call as a prophet:

(Isaiah 6:1-4 NASB) “In the year of King Uzziah's death, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. {2} Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. {3} And one called out to another and said, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory." {4} And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke.”

This passage in Revelation chapter 4 inspired Reginald Heber, an Anglican Minister, to write “Holy, Holy Holy” in 1826:

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!

Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore Thee,
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,
Who wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.

Holy, holy, holy! though the
darkness hide Thee,
Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see;
Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee,
Perfect in power, in love, and purity.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All Thy works shall praise Thy Name, in earth, and sky, and sea;
Holy, holy, holy; merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!

Another allusion is:

(Ezekiel 1:4-11 NASB) And as I looked, behold, a storm wind was coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing forth continually and a bright light around it, and in its midst something like glowing metal in the midst of the fire. {5} And within it there were figures resembling four living beings. And this was their appearance: they had human form. {6} Each of them had four faces and four wings. {7} And their legs were straight and their feet were like a calf's hoof, and they gleamed like burnished bronze. {8} Under their wings on their four sides were human hands. As for the faces and wings of the four of them, {9} their wings touched one another; their faces did not turn when they moved, each went straight forward. {10} As for the form of their faces, each had the face of a man, all four had the face of a lion on the right and the face of a bull on the left, and all four had the face of an eagle. {11} Such were their faces. Their wings were spread out above; each had two touching another being, and two covering their bodies.

(Ezekiel 10:1-14 NASB) Then I looked, and behold, in the expanse that was over the heads of the cherubim something like a sapphire stone, in appearance resembling a throne, appeared above them. {2} And He spoke to the man clothed in linen and said, "Enter between the whirling wheels under the cherubim, and fill your hands with coals of fire from between the cherubim, and scatter them over the city." And he entered in my sight. {3} Now the cherubim were standing on the right side of the temple when the man entered, and the cloud filled the inner court. {4} Then the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub to the threshold of the temple, and the temple was filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with the brightness of the glory of the LORD. {5} Moreover, the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty when He speaks. {6} And it came about when He commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, "Take fire from between the whirling wheels, from between the cherubim," he entered and stood beside a wheel. {7} Then the cherub stretched out his hand from between the cherubim to the fire which was between the cherubim, took some and put it into the hands of the one clothed in linen, who took it and went out. {8} And the cherubim appeared to have the form of a man's hand under their wings. {9} Then I looked, and behold, four wheels beside the cherubim, one wheel beside each cherub; and the appearance of the wheels was like the gleam of a Tarshish stone. {10} And as for their appearance, all four of them had the same likeness, as if one wheel were within another wheel. {11} When they moved, they went in any of their four directions without turning as they went; but they followed in the direction which they faced, without turning as they went. {12} And their whole body, their backs, their hands, their wings, and the wheels were full of eyes all around, the wheels belonging to all four of them. {13} The wheels were called in my hearing, the whirling wheels. {14} And each one had four faces. The first face was the face of a cherub, the second face was the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.

Most striking is the description of the four living creatures. In Revelation one is like a man, one like an ox, one like a lion, one like an eagle. In Ezekiel, the four living creatures have four faces, each face being one of the faces of the creatures. Also, the throne in Ezekiel has wheels. The temple had been destroyed, the presence of God moves, so the wheels are appropriate. The vision in Ezekiel seems to be centered on the earthly Temple, but in Revelation this is the heavenly temple or throne room.

There is something like a sea of glass at Mount Sinai:

(Exodus 24:9-10 NASB) Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, {10} and they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself.

The sea of glass could be the laver of Solomon's Temple, and/or also represent the "congealed" Red Sea when Israel crossed. A stormy sea was thought to represent evil, and a peaceful sea is God's dominion over the evil sea (as Christ had dominion over the storm in the Sea of Galilee).

Who are the elders? Why 24? The elders could be angels, humans, or represent humans. These could be angels that represent human, representing the twelve tribes (the Old Testament church) and the twelve apostles (the New Testament church). So the elders seem to represent the entire redeemed of humanity from the Old Testament through the New Testament age and beyond.

In the Old Testament there is a Divine council

(Jeremiah 23:16-18 NASB) Thus says the LORD of hosts, "Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are leading you into futility; They speak a vision of their own imagination, Not from the mouth of the LORD. {17} "They keep saying to those who despise Me, 'The LORD has said, "You will have peace"'; And as for everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart, They say, 'Calamity will not come upon you.' {18} "But who has stood in the council of the LORD, That he should see and hear His word? Who has given heed to His word and listened?

(1 Kings 22:19-22 NASB) And Micaiah said, "Therefore, hear the word of the LORD. I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left. {20} "And the LORD said, 'Who will entice Ahab to go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?' And one said this while another said that. {21} "Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD and said, 'I will entice him.' {22} "And the LORD said to him, 'How?' And he said, 'I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' Then He said, 'You are to entice him and also prevail. Go and do so.'

(Job 1:6 NASB) Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.

The 24 are wearing crowns, white clothing, and sitting on thrones. All three of these things were promised to those who conquered in Revelation chapter 3.

Does this mean the church is raptured? No. The twenty-four elders is a symbolic number representing the council, the rulership, of the redeemed – not the entire redeemed itself.

What about the four living creatures? There is a correspondence with the seraphim in Isaiah chapter 6 who cry, “Holy, Holy, Holy,” and a correspondence with Ezekiel chapter 10 to the cherubim. These are probably the same beings. On top of the Ark of the Covenant, above the mercy seat, where the cherubim. The Old Testament temple was to represent the heavenly scene.

Why four? There are the four corners of the earth, the four winds. The faces represent the whole order of animate creation.

Lion – the wild beasts.
Calf or ox – the domesticated beasts.
Eagle – the birds.
Man – Man, who is given dominion of the earth.

An aside -- there is a tradition the four Gospels, Ireanaus:
John Eagle
Matthew Man
Luke Ox
Mark Lion

What do the elders and living creatures. They sing 24-hours Holy, Holy, holy. The elders fall in worship and cast their crowns, indicating their kingship and how they owe everything to Christ.

This brings to mind another worship song by Pauline M. Mills (1963):

Thou art worthy, Thou art worthy
Thou art worthy, O Lord
To receive glory, glory and honor
Glory and honor and power
For Thou hast created, hast all things created
Thou hast created all things
And for Thy pleasure they are created
Thou artworthy, O Lord

Chapter 5.

John is seeing something in heaven that did not happen before. The scroll is given to the Lamb. The Lamb is a new identity for Christ in what he accomplished on the cross.

Some translations use “book”, others use “scroll”. The Greek word is biblion, which means writing. Some scholars say this is a codex, which is the precursor to the modern style of book. It turns out that the Christian community was the one who popularized the codex in the first century. Whether it is a codex (book) or a scroll will effect how this scene is played out in some of the minor details. If it is a scroll, the contents of the scroll cannot be read until all the seals are broken. If it is a codex, seals could be arranged in a way so that parts of the book are opened, as the seals are broken. However, with a scroll, the seals can have summary information on the contents of the scroll. Breaking a seal would reveal the summary information. It was not unusual for summary information to be placed on seals of legal Roman documents. In fact, if this is a scroll, which most commentators seem to think it is, there are two types of Roman legal documents that bear striking resemblance to this depiction in Revelation 5.

The first document is a will. A Roman will had the following characteristics:
(1) The contents of the will were summarized on the back.
(2) A will had to be witnessed and sealed by seven witnesses.
(3) Only on the death of the testator could a will be unsealed and the legal promise of the inheritance executed.
(4) A trustworthy executor would put the will into effect.

The scroll in Revelation 5 is written on both sides (an opisthograph). This was not normal, scrolls were usually written on one side.

Others have seen this taken the form of another common Roman late first century legal document, a doubly sided contract or deed. Such a document would be written on the inner pages, which were then folded and sealed with seven seals. The contents would be written on the outside in summary or in full. The document was to be unsealed when the inner contents were to be executed.

What does the scroll contained? There are various suggestions:
(1) Leon Morris, book of human destiny.
(2) The little scroll that is handed to John later, that is sweet to eat but is later sour to the stomach.
(3) Plan of judgment or redemption, the rest of the prophecy that Revelation contains.
(4) The Lamb’s Book of Life. The scroll is given to the Lamb, who is the only one worthy to open it. The Lambs Book of Life is mentioned in Revelation 13:8; 21:27, and other times mentioned as just “The Book of Life”). The Lamb, whose book this is, has died. This brings the book into effect. The will tells what’s to be done with the Lamb’s inheritance.

Opening the seals would not represent what is written in the scroll. The judgments happen before the book is open, before the contents can be read.

The lion that is also the lamb. The Lion of the Tribe of Judah goes back to Genesis 49:

(Genesis 49:8-10 NASB) "Judah, your brothers shall praise you; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father's sons shall bow down to you. {9} "Judah is a lion's whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He couches, he lies down as a lion, And as a lion, who dares rouse him up? {10} "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes, And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

This depicts the power and royalty of Judah. Christ is the root of David:

(Isaiah 11:1-2 NASB) Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit. {2} And the Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

(Isaiah 11:10 NASB) Then it will come about in that day that the nations will resort to the root of Jesse, Who will stand as a signal for the peoples; And His resting place will be glorious.

When Judah was carried off into captivity, the Davidic king was no longer. But God promises there will be a shoot that will grow off the stump. Christ is not just the branch of David, but also the root of David. Christ is the source of David.

John is told that the conquering lion is worthy, but John turns to see the conquered Lamb. When Christ takes the scroll, the 24 elders and living creatures fall down and worship. Note the harps and incense in the description, these indicate worship. The incense represents the prayers of the saints.

The song in Revelation 5:9-10 follows the Exodus theme.

This brings the initial vision of the second vision to a close. This vision sets the stage for Revelation 6-16.