Sermon on Rev 4-5 for Pilgrim Church 20/2/22
In chapters 2&3, the focus is on the churches in Asia. But in chapter 4, John is not focusing on the earth anymore or on what is going on in the churches. He experiences something else. “After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this’” (Rev. 4:1 NIV). In the power of the Holy Spirit, John saw a vision of heaven, particularly the throne room. Worship is taking place in heaven of both God and the Lord Jesus. This worship is constant and all encompassing. To pre-empt the conclusion, I will say that, no matter what trials the church is experiencing on earth, God is in heaven and he is on the throne. No matter that the church is persecuted by the people of the earth, Jesus Christ is continually exalted in heaven and he will prevail over all because he alone has died to redeem lost sinners and has been raised from the dead.
In each city of the Roman Empire there was an Imperial Cult in which people worshipped the living emperor as well as dead emperors, who had been deified, that is, they were regarded as gods. This was strongest in Roman Asia, where people enthusiastically worshipped the emperor. Emperors had their subjects shout acclamations of praise to them, often for hours. Christians were regularly persecuted because they did not sacrifice to the emperor. This meant that they were thought of as disloyal to the empire. Jews were excused of having to sacrifice to the emperor on the condition that they prayed to their own God for the emperor. But by this point, Christians were not considered part of the Jewish religion. What this meant for the Christians was that they were surrounded by false worship and demands to sacrifice to a man as if he were a god. There was constant pressure from society to join in with this. Consequently, seeing into heaven, where the true God and the Lord Jesus are constantly worshipped would have been an incredible encouragement to resist the pressure. The opposition was temporary and the scene in heaven represents what is eternal. Therefore, it makes no sense to yield to the temporary authority of the emperor and the governments under him.
The last promise Jesus gave to the church in Laodicea is “To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.” These chapters expand on how Jesus shares the throne with his Father. They provide comfort to the persecuted church and strength that they may also be victorious through dying and share Jesus’ throne.
Let’s take a look at what is happening in heaven.
4:1 After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. 3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. 4 Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. 6 Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the centre, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. 7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: “‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come.” 9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honour and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: 11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” (Rev. 4:1-11 NIV).
Chapter 4 is all about the throne of God (the Father) in heaven. Some of the images in this chapter will sound familiar because they are like some found in OT books. In Isaiah 6, Isaiah describes what he saw of God’s throne. His description is of is a throne and angels, and those angels cry out, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty.” Ezekiel also had visions of heaven. In chapter 1 he describes four living creatures with four faces and four wings. Then Ezekiel describes the throne of God, which is covered in a rainbow and the glory of God.
I will explain some of the symbols in this chapter. The different precious stones mentioned in Revelation 4 are part of the High Priest’s garment. What he entered the holy of holies, the High Priest wore twelve precious stones on his shoulders to represent the tribes of Israel. But this vision shows that the precious stones are mere symbols of the God of Israel, present in heaven. There is a rainbow encircling the throne. This is a reference to the rainbow which God gave Noah as a sign of his covenant. The one who sits on the throne in heaven is still the covenant God, the God who keeps all his promises to the people he is in covenant relationship with.
There are many different ideas about who the twenty-four elders are. I am in favour of the idea that the twenty-four elders are representative of the twelve patriarchs of Israel and the twelve apostles, who in turn represent the whole people of God. Jesus promised the apostles that they would sit on twelve thrones with him (Matt 19:28; Luke 22:30). Most importantly, the twenty-four elders are dressed in white, the colour of victory or conquest. They are part of those who have overcome (see the promise of chapters 2-3). They also have crowns of gold, probably representing the reward of being in God’s throne-room. And yet, they don’t receive worship or detract from the worship of God. Instead, they cast their crowns before the throne of God. in verse 10, “the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: ‘You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being’” (Rev. 4:10-11 NIV). Worship is totally on God and not on creatures or humans or even the patriarchs and apostles. The Creator God is the only one who is worshipped.
The flashes of lightning and thunder remind us of the awesomeness and scary power of God, who sits on the throne. The seven lamps make you think of the menorah in the temple, which was never left to go out. It was continually fed with oil by the priests. In Zech 4 the lampstand represents the Holy Spirit. This chapter of Revelation says the same thing, at least it calls the lamps “the seven spirits of God”. The sea of glass may be about God’s transcendence, that is, he is set apart from all other beings. The four living creatures represent all of creation since four is the number of the created world. The eyes represent the fact that they are able to see all of God’s glory and power and holiness because they worship in heaven.
As I said, many of these things appear in OT visions. However, instead of these old covenant symbols and visions, John seems to have gone into heaven, where God resides and rules from. His vision of heaven is different from what was given in the Old Testament because it goes even further. In particular, the Old Testament does not show us the worship of Jesus Christ.
In chapter five, something unexpected happens. “Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” 3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it” (Rev. 5:1-3 NIV). In the future I will consider the significance of the scrolls. For now, I can say that they have significance that only God can reveal. The scrolls that God has cannot be opened. It seems like an insurmountable problem because no one is worthy, “one in heaven or on earth or under the earth”. Those three locations cover everything that is. We know the one who is worthy is God, because this is what the twenty-four elders say. The lack of someone worthy upsets John.
But then a person is found who is able to open the scrolls. “Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”” (Rev. 5:5 NIV). This is what we would expect. If anyone could open the scrolls it would have to be someone powerful. The Lion of the tribe of Judah sounds very powerful. The Lion of Judah is a scary image taken from Jacob’s blessing of his sons. “You are a lion’s cub, Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness– who dares to rouse him?” (Gen. 49:9 NIV). What comes next is very surprising.
“Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the centre of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne.” (Rev. 5:6-7 NIV). A slain lamb is not powerful at all. A lamb is nothing compared to a lion. He is very weak, especially since he has been slain. And yet this Lamb has seven horns and seven eyes. Horns symbolise strength, so seven horns imply perfect strength. A powerful slain Lamb is not what we would expect at all. Eyes are symbolic of vision and therefore knowledge. Thus the Lamb knows all because the eyes are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. There is nothing hidden from the sight of the Lamb upon the throne. It is this unexpected entity who takes the scroll from the right hand of God, with the expectation that he will open the scroll, which he does in chapter 6.
Now there is another surprise. The living creatures and the elders worship the Lamb, just as they worshipped the “one who sits on the throne” in chapter 4. You won’t find that scene in the OT visions of heaven. We know that there is only one God and he alone deserves worship. Therefore, it is radical to see the worship of the Lamb.
The good news for the Christians on earth in the midst of persecution is that the twenty-four elders each have a harp and a golden bowl of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. The altar of incense is described in Exod 30:1-9. Only specific kinds of incense were burned on this altar. It was placed in front of the veil which separated the holy place from the Most Holy Place in the tabernacle. In other words, it was very close to the presence of God. Although the suffering church is not yet in heaven, they participate in the worship of the Lamb through prayer. The prayers of the church go up before the Lamb. Surely, other forms of Christian worship on earth go up to join in the heavenly worship. In this way, the church is not far from the presence of God and of the Lamb, not far from the heavenly assembly.
The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders sing a new song. A new song in the OT is a response to God’s new acts of salvation. This new song explains why the Lamb is worthy, just as God is worthy (4:11). “And they sang a new song, saying: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth’” (Rev. 5:9-10 NIV). It is precisely because the Lamb has died that he is able to open the scrolls. The secret to his power is his death on behalf of sinners. The one who triumphed, the one who was victorious (5:5) is victorious because of his death. This is hardly what anyone would expect of a conquering king. But this is also what the persecuted Christians are themselves experiencing, suffering and sometimes death for their testimony to Jesus. The means of victory for Christians is suffering and even death, quite contrary to the world’s understanding of victory.
The circle of worship in heaven is very large. Notice that the ones for whom the Lamb died are from “every tribe and language and people and nation.” He is the Jewish Messiah but he died for the whole world and saints from the whole world worship before his throne.
As chapter 5 continues the circle of worship gets larger. Angels join in the worship. “Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they were saying: ‘Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and praise!’” (Rev. 5:11-12 NIV). Ten thousand times ten thousand is probably a way of saying that they are uncountable because there are so many of them. Effectively, the whole of heaven joins in with worshipping the Lamb. What they say to the Lamb is very similar to the worship of God in chapter 4.
“Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: ‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honour and glory and power, for ever and ever!’” (Rev. 5:13 NIV). Every creature in heaven, on the earth and under the earth and on the sea join in the worship. These are the same people who were unable to open the scrolls (5:3). Possibly this last bit is forced worship like conquered peoples in war. The saints have already been mentioned and the people on the earth in Revelation are the people opposed to Christ. If so, it would imply that the kings of the earth who demand worship from the persecuted Christians will ultimately be worshipping the true God. There is a certain irony to this picture.
The Christians have been rejected and mocked, by both Jews and Greeks, because they worship a man who was crucified. The Jews thought that a crucified man was cursed by God and what good is a cursed messiah. The Gentiles thought the cross was simply foolishness. But the fact that this Lamb of God is reigning in heaven and receiving worship from every possible kind of thing—creation, leaders, angels, and everyone in every sphere of creation—means that the Christians experiencing persecution are right to hold fast to their confession. It makes no difference what others think of Jesus because the ones given a glimpse into heaven know that Jesus is exalted there above all, above the rulers of the earth, above those who killed him, and above their persecutors. He is fully equal with God the Father as demonstrated by the parallels in chapter 4 and chapter 5. These things give comfort and strength to us also.