The Revelation of St. John the Divine: Part 4 of 15 The Vision of the Heavenly Throne Room

After seeing a magnificent vision of the risen and glorified Son of Man, John is taken to heaven “in the Spirit” to stand before God’s throne.   This is the central vision in the entire book of Revelation, the vision of God enthroned in glory surrounded by His heavenly court. The prophets Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel experienced similar visions. The present and eternal reality of this vision extends to the end of the book of Revelation. Facing discrimination, persecution, and even death for their faith the Christians in these seven churches were tempted to doubt that God was really in control. By all appearances He seemed to have abandoned them to Satan and his forces in this world. But God sits enthroned as Lord of heaven and earth and holds the scroll of His judgment upon the earth in His right hand. No one is worthy to open the scroll and break its seven seals except the Lamb who was slain.

Key Terms:

The Rainbow: The rainbow functions like a yardstick showing the cosmic dimensions of God’s throne. Ezekiel similarly describes the brightness surrounding God’s throne (Ezekiel 1:28). The rainbow is also reminiscent of God’s covenant with Noah (Genesis 9:13-17).

The Twenty-four elders: The twenty-four elders represent God’s saints of both the Old and New Testaments. The number twenty-four may come from adding together the twelve patriarchs representing the saints of the Old Testament and the twelve apostles representing the saints of the New Testament.

The Four living creatures: These angelic beings represent the totality of God’s creation having the face of a lion, an ox, a man, and an eagle, respectively. They stand closest to God’s throne and lead the heavenly host in ceaseless praise of God and the Lamb.

The Scroll: The scroll, written on front and back and sealed with seven seals, contains the prophetic message of God’s judgment upon the world that constitutes the rest of the book of Revelation (Cf. Ezekiel 2:9-10).

The Lamb: In a twist of irony, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root of David who has conquered is a Lamb standing as though it had been slain. Christ conquers through dying (Hebrews 2:14). John the Baptist called Jesus “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29, 36) and Peter calls Jesus “a lamb without blemish or spot” i.e. an acceptable sacrifice for sin (1 Peter 1:18-20).

 Outline:

I.          The Throne in Heaven (4:1-11)

1. The One seated on the throne
2. The twenty-four elders seated on twenty-four thrones
3. The four living creatures
4. Worship of Him who sits on the throne
   1. The eternal hymn of the four living creatures
   2. The eternal hymn of the twenty four elder

II.         The Scroll and the Lamb (5:1-14)

1. The scroll sealed with seven seals which no one was found worthy to open
2. The Lamb standing as though slain
3. Worship of the Lamb
   1. The new song of the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders
   2. The song of the angels
   3. The song of creation

Questions:

1. Compare Revelation 4:1-11 to Isaiah 6:1-8; Daniel 7:9-10; and Ezekiel 1:4-28. What similarities and differences do you see between these visions?

2. Imagine you were a member of one of the seven churches to which John wrote. How would this description of God enthroned in Heaven encourage you as you faced persecution? How does it encourage you at times when God appears to be absent in this world e.g. times of war, times of severe illness, times of death, etc…?

3. “With angels, archangels, and all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious Name saying, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of Sabaoth…’” What does this say about our gathering for worship “on the Lord’s Day” in light of Revelation chapters four and five? What is really going on here? How would this truth be of comfort to the persecuted Christians to whom John was writing? How is this of comfort to you?

4. Jesus Christ, the Lamb who was slain, is enthroned at the right hand of the God the Father. He alone is worthy to open the scroll and break its seven seals. Why is He alone worthy? How did He conquer sin, death, and Satan? How, then, do we as Christians conquer sin, death, and Satan? (Cf. Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21)

Tags: 24 Elders, Ancient of Days, Four Living Creatures, Lamb, Lion of Judah, Rainbow, Revelation, Revelation 4, Root of David, Scroll, Seven Seals, Tris Hagia, Worship