Revelation 4:1-11

Revelation
The Lamb of God: On His Throne And Among His People
Holy, Holy, Holy
Revelation 4:1-11
- Before you read Revelation 4, take time to be still before the Lord. Several people could offer 1-2 sentences of worship and praise in prayer. When you have taken a few minutes to worship, try to put yourselves into John’s shoes and then read Revelation 4 together – the whole chapter.
- After reading and standing with John vicariously, what emotions are you dealing with?
- What struck you the most deeply?
- Who do you want to tell?
- After discussing the text, read Ezekiel 1 – again, the whole chapter. This will take some time but read it anyway. Stop along the way and make the connections with Revelation 4.
- There is no question in heaven about God’s power and glory and sovereignty. Why do you suppose we doubt this so much when pain and uncertainty become our companions in life? Is there an area where you are not trusting God as you should for which you would be willing to ask the group to pray on your behalf?
- How should the worship of God in heaven that we have read about inform our worship on earth? What, about today’s text, excites you when you think of eternity with the Lord?
- The worship of God seems to be continual in heaven. Why do you think God gave us so many interests and responsibilities on earth? Do you think we will have work to do in the new heavens and new earth? What do you suppose that continual worship will look like for us in heaven?
- I am going to go out on a limb here and guess that our present lives are imbalanced, with worship not being a personal priority. How can we encourage one another to turn this around?
Extra Notes
Habakkuk 2:20 . . . the Lord is in his holy temple;
let all the earth keep silence before him.
Louis Brighton: There are four extended descriptive visions of God’s enthroned glory in Scripture:
- Ezekiel 1:4-28 (cf. 8:1-3; 9:3: 10:1-22)
- Isaiah 6:1-8
- Daniel 7:9-10
- Revelation 4:1-5:14
The Difficulty of Fully Grasping the Meaning of Apocalyptic Language
From the Sermon: Years ago, I heard D.A. Carson speaking about the challenge it must have been for the Apostle John to communicate through words on a scroll what he saw in Revelation 4, 5, and beyond, to readers of the 1st century – and, we can say, to readers in the 21st century, as well. Imagine you were given the task of going to the most remote jungle on planet earth with people who had never had contact with the outside world – and explaining electricity and its benefits to them. It is not that they are unintelligent people, but they have never been taught science, nor have they experienced indoor lighting and central heating. You might say something like, “You see the vines running along these trees? It is like lightening striking a tree that catches fire, then the fire runs along the vines and into your hut – but it is not really fire and it is not really a vine; it is only like a vine. And the hut doesn’t burn down because it is only like fire. There is light like the sun inside your hut, and at nighttime you don’t need to make a fire to be able to see.”
So how is our explanation going? So far, we have said nothing about the atomic or molecular nature of matter, electrons, units of measure, watts, theories of resistance, volts, or anything like that. Is it that these people are slow, mentally? No! If they were privileged to receive the education that we have received, they might well exceed us! But they have no categories, so we are reduced to metaphors and similes – electricity is like a fire, running on hard things like a vine, and the little round thing in the house is like the sun.
One of the benefits of apocalyptic language is that it gave authors a tool to take a stab at describing the indescribable. One of our challenges in deciphering what has been written is to know what is literal and what is symbolic. We will encounter that today in the throne room of God. Even with the challenges, it is far better that we have been given the book of Revelation than not.
The Rapture
These notes were to be included in the sermon but were shifted here for time and a spirit of worship in the service. Do not be discouraged if you read these notes and do not fully understand. You must begin somewhere in developing a system that will help you understand eschatology. The rapture is one of the most hopeful, yet also one of the most controversial aspects of eschatology. When will Jesus come for his people? Will it be before the tribulation, the middle of the tribulation, or at the end of the tribulation when Jesus gathers his people to himself and separates the sheep from the goats (Matthew 24-25)? Will there even be a tribulation as we might have learned it? That is another topic for another day. Sunday’s sermon from Revelation 4 should lead us to worship in unity, not to pick at secondary details about which we cannot be 100% certain. Revelation 4:1-2 requires us to think more deeply about the rapture, though, so this space is where we can consider different views without distracting from Sunday morning worship.
If you think of Revelation as linear, or as written on a timeline, then you might well take Revelation 4:1 as pointing to a pre-tribulation rapture. If you hold this position, then you believe that Christians will be in heaven while God deals with his people, the Jews, during the tribulation. Many people see John being called to heaven as a picture of the rapture, but some also see the timing of the rapture in this text as given here because of its location in Revelation. The understanding is that the first three chapters of Revelation represent the church age, Revelation 4 and 5 consist of an amazing vision of God’s glory and Jesus’ exalted and glorified position over all creation and all created beings. Revelation 6:1-19:10 represents the tribulation on earth that coincide with activities in heaven. Jesus returns to judge the earth in the second half of Revelation 19. The millennium and Great White Throne Judgment (for unbelievers) occur in Revelation 20, and Revelation 21-22 describe the new heavens and the new earth.
Before I go any further, let me say something to those of you that are relatively new to Grace. We understand doctrine to be in two primary categories, although some theologians speak of three tiers of doctrine. We would not quibble at all about three tiers, but ultimately, we think of close-fisted doctrines and open-handed doctrines. Some truths are beyond debate for us, and thus we hold them tightly, with a closed fist. The Trinity. The divinity of Jesus, which is assumed in the doctrine of the Trinity. Salvation by grace through faith. The authority of Scripture. The Second Coming of Christ. These are close-fisted positions we take. We will not budge on our primary beliefs.
Other positions we hold with an open hand, such as the use of spiritual gifts, the mode of baptism – and the details of Jesus’ return. These are the sorts of differences that exist between Baptists and Presbyterians and Charismatic denominations that all fall under the umbrella of orthodox Christian beliefs, which means that these open-handed differences do not mean that some are saved, and some are not.
When we get to chapter 6 in the New Year, I will present four different major views that people hold for how Revelation should be interpreted. If you have an English Standard Version Study Bible, you will be able to get a head start by reading the introduction to Revelation. If you have only been taught one position, regardless of what your position is, you might be surprised to discover that there are a lot of conservative orthodox Christians who understand Revelation and the events leading up to Jesus’ return differently than you do. In fact, all four views are held by people in our church.
All of that to get to whether Revelation 4:1-2 indicates that the church will be raptured out of the world before the tribulation. I understand how you could connect Revelation 4:1 and 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.
Revelation 4:1 After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had 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 behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne.
1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
I see that connection, but the connection between 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 with Matthew 24:29 is more compelling to me.
Matthew 24:29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
While we cannot know for sure the significance of Revelation 4 in God’s timeline of judgment near/at the end of the world as we know it, and though we cannot know for sure when 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 occurs (pre, mid, or post tribulation), we know that Matthew 24 prophesies Jesus’ Second Coming at the end of a time of great tribulation on the earth. The people on the earth will mourn because they have opposed Jesus and they will see him in his power and glory. All of God’s people are gathered together, both in 1 Thessalonians 4 and Matthew 24. There is a trumpet in both – and a voice like a trumpet in Revelation 4.
The similarities between Matthew 24 and 1 Thessalonians 4 have led me to believe that these are pointing to the same event. The cry of command in 1 Thessalonians 4 could very well be a war cry, which would be more consistent with Jesus’ return to judge his enemies and save his people than it would be with a secret rapture.
I hope that I am wrong! I hope that Jesus will return before the tribulation, but when has God delivered his people from trials, even unto death? He surely has, sometimes. We hear missionary stories that sound a lot like Peter being let out of prison by an angel (Acts 12) from countries around the world. We have also heard of torture and martyrdom for many who stood firm for Jesus. No wonder Jesus will return with a cry of command, whether it is from the Savior or from his angels!
See also 1 Corinthians 15:51-57
G.K. Beale: The twenty-four elders specifically represent redeemed humanity’s purpose to praise and glorify God, which is actually carried out, not only by them in heaven, but also by the true community of faith on earth.
The hymns make explicit the main point of the vision and of the whole chapter: God is to be glorified because of His holiness and sovereignty.
OT Passages that Connect with Revelation 4:1-11
Daniel 2:27 Daniel answered the king and said, “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, 28 but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days.
Psalm 104:1 Bless the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, you are very great!
You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
2 covering yourself with light as with a garment,
stretching out the heavens like a tent.
Ezekiel 1:26 And above the expanse over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness with a human appearance. 27 And upward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were gleaming metal, like the appearance of fire enclosed all around. And downward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness around him. 28 Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around.
1 Kings 22:19 And Micaiah said (to King Ahab – read 1 Kings 22:1-40 for the full context), “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left; 20 and the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said one thing, and another said another. 21 Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ 22 And the Lord said to him, ‘By what means?’ And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.’ 23 Now therefore behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the Lord has declared disaster for you.”
Moses, after the reading of the 10 Commandments to the Israelites:
Exodus 20:18 Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off 19 and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” 20 Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.” 21 The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.
Zechariah 4:2 And he said to me, “What do you see?” I said, “I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it, and seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it. 3 And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.” (See Revelation 11:3-4 – the olive trees)
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