The HEavenly Throne
Revelation 4
Main Idea: We are invited to behold the holy, transcendent, and sovereign Lord, enthroned in heaven, worthy of endless worship.
I. The Door Opened (4:1-2a)
The Apostle John sees a “door standing open in heaven” (cf. 3:20), with an urgent invitation (‘like a trumpet’) to enter and see the next vision from the Lord. The emphasis shifts from the persecuted, struggling, and fledgling church on earth to the glorious ‘unveiling’ (‘apocalypse’) of heaven, previously hidden and unseen (cf. Isa. 6, 2 Ki. 6, Acts 9 & 10).
Through this open door, John is ushered into the spiritual, timeless dimension of God’s heavenly throne room; this throne is the central image of this section, referenced 17x in Rev. 4-5. As John attempts to describe the truly indescribable, he uses imaginative, symbolic imagery that is steeped in Scripture (such as Ezek. 1, Isa. 6, Dan. 7).
“Through John’s written account of his vision, you and I get to see into the heart of ultimate reality in the timeless presence of God and his heavenly court. We get to see into heaven as it has been and is since the resurrection and ascension of Jesus to the Father’s right hand. We’re invited to see the celebration that is taking place right now in heaven. We get to see what is at the center of heaven around which everything revolves… In the heart of ultimate reality, we see, along with John, what is most important, what really matters. We see what suffering Christians of John’s day needed to see. We see what struggling believers of every age have needed to see – God on the throne of the universe.”
~ Nancy Guthrie, Blessed: Experiencing the Promise of the Book of Revelation
II. The Throne Occupied (4:2b-8a)
John is unable to describe the one seated on the throne, so he describes everything going on around this central reality in a concentric pattern:
Bright, Majestic, Glory (4:3; cf. Ezek. 1:26-28)
‘Jasper’ and ‘carnelian’ were gemstones that would reflect and intensify glorious light; they were found in the ephod of the high priest (Ex. 25:7) and in the foundation of the new Jerusalem (21:20)
The encircling ‘rainbow’ is a radiant reminder of the Noahic covenant and God’s glorious grace
Heavenly Beings (4:4, 6b-8a)
The 24 elders represent the people of God (cf. 21:12, 14); they are seated on their own thrones, clothed with white garments (righteousness) and golden crowns (royalty)
The 4 “living creatures” (cf. cherubim in Eze. 1:5, 10:15) represent the best and most powerful of the created world: a lion as the noble king of the wild animals, an ox as the mightiest of the domesticated animals, a human as the wise and crowning glory of creation, and an eagle as the most swift and majestic of the flying creatures. These creatures have six wings (cf. seraphim in Isa. 6:2) and were covered with “eyes” as the all-seeing agents of God
Holy Separation (4:5-6a)
From the throne came flashes of lighting and rumbles / peals of thunder (cf. Ex. 19:16-19), showcasing the awesome terror of God’s glory
Before the throne are “seven torches of fire” and the “seven spirits of God” (the Holy Spirit), signifying God’s holy, blazing presence
A “sea of glass” lies between the throne of the Lord and the rest of the heavenly creatures, distancing him from the others, and continually reflecting his glory back on himself
We keep trying to fill [earth] with monuments to our own glory—kingdoms, businesses, hit songs, athletic victories, and other mechanisms of self-salvation. But the truth is better than all that. Created reality is a continuous explosion of the glory of God. And history is the drama of his grace awakening in us dead sinners’ eyes to see and taste to enjoy and courage to obey.
~ Ray Ortlund, Isaiah: God Saves Sinners
III. The Worthy One Worshipped (4:8b-11)
The scene of heaven is full of worship, as the creatures “never cease” to praise the One seated on the throne and the elders cast their crowns before him. Their worship focuses on the Lord as:
The thrice “holy” and eternal one (cf. Isa. 6:3)
We must not think of God as highest in an ascending order of beings, starting with the single cell and going on up from the fish to the bird to the animal to man to angel to cherub to God. God is as high above an archangel as above a caterpillar, for the gulf that separates the archangel from the caterpillar is but finite, while the gulf between God and the archangel is infinite.
~ A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy
The Creator of all (Rom. 1:21, Isa. 55:12, Ps. 19:1)
The ruling & reigning King of the universe
Though the Emperor Domitian insisted on being addressed as ‘lord and god’ while seated on the Roman throne, there is only one true “Lord and God” who is seated on the heavenly throne of the universe, with the earth as his footstool (cf. Isa. 66:1).
By ascribing worthiness to God, [the hymns] are intended to change the way people live in the present. They praise God for his majesty, his beauty, his greatness, his justice, his sovereignty, and his redemption… they significantly help believers endure suffering and resist compromise so that they will be witnesses in the world. The hymns, by praising God and the Lamb, show that the loyalty of believers isn’t to the emperor but to the one true God and to the Lamb. Those who are full of praise and gladness, those who see God and the Lamb in all their majesty and beauty, are fortified in their daily lives. We could say that the hymns bring heaven to earth by reminding the saints of what is happening in God’s throne room... The hymns remind readers and hearers, amid the sufferings and tensions of life, that the purpose of life is doxological.
~ Tom Schreiner, Revelation (Baker Exegetical Commentary)
