Revelation 4 - A Glimpse at God’s Throne
Today we often hear, “Christ is King,” and that’s true. But what does it mean? How does it impact our lives, now and for eternity? If we had even a glimpse of heaven - God’s throne - we too would lay our crowns at Jesus’ feet and fear the LORD. Fear of the LORD is the beginning of understanding. In chapter four Jesus is showing John so that John in turn can write down what is revealed in the spiritual realm. It’s a message to the church in the first century. And it is a message to the church for all time. It is a message on the one hand to remind us not to worry - we can be confident in Christ. But it is also a stern warning that the spiritual battle is real and that we must not only have faith in Christ but put it into action as faithful servants of the King.
John was told that he must trust in the Father (the One on the throne) and also in the Son of God (Christ the King). God requires that we abide in His love daily and obey His commandments. God reveals His ways to His dear children because He loves us and it gives Him joy (John 15:9-11).
We don’t pretend to know it all. Indeed, no one can. But we are commanded to grow in our understanding of the mystery of Christ and to proclaim it clearly to the world. We boast in nothing but the Cross of Christ (Galatians 6:14). And in this terribly long blog (sorry Gents, but I know you theologians will correct me on all my errors) I hope to explain a little of what God has been reinforcing for me over the last few years.
May God Almighty, who graciously unites us with His Son in His death also assure us of our unity in the likeness of the Son’s resurrection (Romans 6:5).
In Revelation chapters seven through 11 we will hear of God’s first-century judgment of the people who rejected Jesus, the Jewish people of the old covenant. In chapters four and five John writes about being lifted into heaven seeing the throne room of God and seeing Jesus reign.
God has mysteries (such as the hour of His final return to earth and judgment day) that are sealed - we simply cannot know the hour (Daniel 12:4) until the hour arrives. But with this sealed book that we’ll read about shortly in chapter five, it’s different. It will indeed be opened by the King in John’s lifetime just as Jesus said would happen. John and anyone with ears to hear can listen to the book opened and the King’s judgments executed. The old covenant is abolished. The new covenant is established by the only One worthy to establish it, the King, the Lamb of God.
John, the beloved Apostle of Jesus Christ had been exiled to the island of Patmos for preaching the word of God and for his testimony about Jesus (1:9). John was worshiping in the Spirit when suddenly Jesus spoke to him with a loud voice and commanded John to write down a message to seven churches in seven specific cities. The Apostle John is commanded to write down exactly what he’s seen (as hard as it was to describe as it was in the spiritual realm). It was a message of what was happening and what would soon occur.
It’s okay, nay, imperative, that we humbly acknowledge the challenge of understanding the meaning and message of Revelation. I recall years ago listening to The Bible Answerman on AM 640 as I drove around Calgary. Hank Hanegraaff would say that he’d been studying Revelation for decades and that he was still not prepared to share his views on eschatology for he wanted to lean on both Church history and good principles of Biblical interpretation. (Hank finally did write down his views in The Apocalypse Code - Find out what the Bible Really Says About the End Times and Why It Matters Today (2007)). That book by Hanegraaf together with Victorious Eschatology - A Partial Preterist View (Dr. Harold Eberle and Dr. Martin Trench (2022)) - present a fair explanation of various interpretations of Revelation. In addition to reading scholarly articles (just go onto Google Scholar and search when was Revelation written and you can quickly get into the Greek grammar issues showing why Irenaeus is so often misquoted as saying Revelation was written 25 years after the destruction of Jerusalem when in fact he says nothing of the sort). But the biggest impact on my understanding of eschatology has been through growing in Christ and studying His word. God's word never comes back void.
God wants every believer to grow. He wants us to understand. If you have ears, Jesus expects you to hear. But, like Hanegraaff, Martin Luther, and many before all of us, we must humbly approach God’s word. Never think too highly of yourself. And never forget that God needs the advice and counsel of no man (God does not need a General Counsel!) (Romans 11:33-36). And God’s ways are impossible for us to understand fully.
So, we must earnestly and humbly seek God - the One who sits on the throne that John sees in this ancient vision of heaven. We must approach the throne of God with fear and holy reverence. God is both kind and severe (Romans 11:22). We must beware of false teachers and our sinful nature. We study so that we can better understand God and turn good doctrine into good deeds - and, like a mirror, such deeds honor and reflect God’s word and His way.
As we approach Revelation I humbly suggest that we seek not only more understanding from God but also more righteousness, holiness if you will. Stay away from covetousness - our life is not defined by the abundance of our possessions (Luke 12:15). Get on mission and stay focused - saving souls and making disciples. May we be concerned with genuine faith in God, honoring Him, and understanding His ways. Don’t be so defensive of your tribe, camp, and your theological position that you fail to hear and grow in Christ. Jesus requires that we have a growth mindset. We don’t stop learning and growing - that’s the Christian way.
We test doctrine and our understanding of the end times not to see if it aligns with a system of theology, but to see if it aligns with God’s word. Our motivation matters to God. When our motives are pure God will use us more effectively (2 Timothy 2:21). We must keep our lives free from the love of money (Hebrews 13:5) and worldly accolades. As we are reminded in Romans 16:18, many so-called teachers are not serving Christ our Lord, but are rather serving their own personal interests. In approaching eschatology, be bold for Christ. Yes, it can be awkward and intimidating to go against a so-called consensus. Speak the truth in love, for we know that it is the God of peace that we must please - and it is God alone who crushes Satan (Romans 16:20).
Very briefly (this is too long of a blog and again I apologize) some read Revelation and think all of it is about them (self-centered blokes) and that nearly all events from chapter four onward are to be fulfilled in the future - they'll be quick to tell you the 88 reasons why Christ must return by 1988). These futurist teachers (including those disciples of John Nelson Darby’s teaching) tell us that chapters 4-18 of Revelation are about a future judgment of Jews and the world and that the Church will be gone at that time because of a secret return of Jesus before his final return where the church will be removed from the earth. The futurist view (my former understanding) is tantalizingly creative, but it contradicts all early church teaching, logic, common sense, and, Jesus Christ’s clear prophecy and instruction. Chapter four obviously says nothing about the rapture or the church - but that won't stop those who claim that chapter four is all about a future rapture.
The next camp is the historicists who have some overlap with the futurists, and they interpret Revelation as a prophecy of church history from John to the end of the world (an obviously overly simplistic definition - and there is a lot that I like about that camp). Next are the idealists, in their camp, they see Revelation as neither past nor future, but rather a parable for all times and places as an ever-present battle between good and evil (this camp is true(ish) in my humble opinion - but it is also a cop-out, a lazy punt that fails to hear and honor the first 1850 years of Church understanding of eschatology, history, and mission).
Lastly are those that understand the book of Revelation as prophecy mostly about events fulfilled in the first century. This camp sees Revelation as written early and directed at both the seven churches identified in chapters two and three and to all the churches who were waiting for Jesus' prophecy to be fulfilled. Jesus said (and we take Him at His word), “I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down” (Matthew 24:2; Mark 13:2, and Luke 21:6). It is okay (indeed, I encourage it) for you not to be in a “camp.” It is also okay for you to be in one. But be mindful that we must grow in our understanding. Be of the mindset that you are testing everything according to Scripture. Trust the Holy Spirit to teach you and give you ears to hear.
The way we interpret Revelation including when we think the vision was given to John and written down (before the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 or about twenty-five years later) then impacts the way you see later prophecy about Jesus' return to earth and final judgment of mankind before the new heavens and new earth.
As you likely know there is only one direct reference in the entire Bible (Revelation 20:4) to the thousand-year reign of believers with Christ. Some (Premillennialists) teach that Christ will return to earth before the thousand-year reign (the millennium). There are two types of premillennialism: historical premillennialism and dispensational premillennialism. The historicists believe that Christ will return at the end of the “great tribulation.” They say the church will go through this time of trouble but endure and then greet Christ when He returns. The John Nelson Darby followers believe that the church will not endure the great tribulation. They are committed to the belief that Christ will remove the church from the earth before that time of trouble then Christ will come again for a second/third time and then there will be a thousand-year reign. It's a relatively new interpretation, but that's how they understand Revelation 20:4. Amillennialists believe (if I get it correctly) that the millennium is a thousand-year figure of speech that means not one actual period but rather the period from Christ’s ascension into heaven when Satan’s power is restrained (i.e., this period we are living in now, or the church age) and it ends with the Final Judgment at the second (and final) coming of Jesus. The last camp (keep in mind I’m just a Saskatchewan farm boy) is postmillennialism. Postmillennialism is the belief that there will be a period of great peace and security when the gospel has spread throughout the world and Christ reigns spiritually through his people (it is a time after the great tribulation and it lasts until the final return of Jesus Christ).
I know you theology types know all that but it is good for the rest of us to process the competing views as it all impacts our perspective and our faith in the King and His character and ways.
Chapter four of Revelation doesn’t mention the church - in stark contrast to the first three chapters of Revelation which are directed to specific churches (those chapters also have general application to all of us believers who hear the word of God and are to understand its meaning). Revelation Four has John in the Spirit taken up to heaven and getting a glimpse of the power and the authority of God and the reverence and homage paid to Jesus by the twenty-four elders who fell down in worship and lay their crowns before the throne worshipping our God (4:11). Chapter Four sets the stage before the great judgment that would soon happen (i.e., in the first century). Jesus calls his beloved friend up to heaven to see what must soon take place (1:1 and reiterated by Jesus in 1:3). Chapter four shows us that in the spiritual realm, there is a real heaven and a real King who sits upon the Throne. There are many spiritual beings and thrones of the elders who sit around the throne of the King. There are signs of power and authority (flashes of lightning and thunder) and characteristics of purity and righteousness (gemstones and an emerald circle).
John was taken up to heaven to see an important spiritual vision. Jesus wanted John to see what would soon take place and He wanted John to tell the early church so that they would be prepared and so that they would understand. Jesus also wants believers for all times to understand. Jesus' prayer is for us to be unified and aligned in purpose, confident in the promise of Jesus' final return. I care nothing about being right and having a nice system of theology. Our job is to rightly discern Scripture and to ensure that we don't take one proof text (or in the case of Irenaeus take one external text and misapply it to prove a system). Here's my view: all of the imagery of Revelation is not fulfilled in the first century. I do believe that most of it is directed at the great tribulation that would come in AD 70. But Revelation also predicts and promises future events where Jesus himself will come down from heaven and then God will dwell with His people forever (Revelation 21:3).
Each of us will be resurrected and judged according to our actions during this brief life (Revelation 20:13). But don’t think for a second that all the events of Revelation are about some far-off two or three-thousand-year period past Jesus' prophecy. When Jesus spoke to the seven churches he said that he would keep them from the hour of trial that was about to come upon them. Soon means soon and near means near. Just like all means all and that's all, all means. Jesus said, “Do not seal up the word of the prophecy of this book, because the time is near” (22:10).
We are commanded in Scripture not to follow false teachers who cook up all sorts of stories about 88 reasons why Jesus must return by 1988 - and so on. Peter said the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men (2 Peter 3:5-7). And Peter said that the day of the Lord will come like a thief (i.e., no one knows when it will happen). God’s promise is that we can be sure that we will receive new heavens and new earth and that it will follow immediately after Jesus returns on Judgment Day (2 Peter 3:10-14).
We know that John lived to a ripe old age (almost 100). But don’t confuse John living during the reign of Domitian (AD 81-96) with John writing Revelation during that late stage of his life when he likely could not see or even write. The oldest versions of the Bible (the Syriac Version of the NT written with copies that we can see today of AD 170) have written on the title page of the book of Revelation the following: “The Revelation which was made by God to John the Evangelist in the island of Patmos, into which he was thrown by Nero Caesar” (Eberle and Trench, 2022). I find it compelling that the Muratorian fragment (the earliest list of the NT canon includes Revelation as a book of the New Testament. Yes, John was imprisoned many times as we see in the Book of Acts (4:3 and see 2 Corinthians 11:23-24). We also can read the early writings of Epiphanius (c. 315-403) that explain John was also imprisoned under Emperor Claudius (AD 41-54). John was an equal opportunity evangelist - he had no problem offending Claudius, Nero, and Domitian. Futurists rely on one non-biblical writing of the Bishop of Lyons (Irenaeus) that can be interpreted to say that either John or John's apocalyptic vision was seen toward the end of Domitian's reign. Those who take that to mean that Revelation was written late take such a weak interpretation above the internal text of Revelation itself (especially Revelation 11 which shows the Temple was extant when the vision was given) and they want us to discount the ancient writers who make clear that John was boiled in oil (and suffered nothing) and was banished to an island (during Nero’s rule) (Hanegraaff, 2007). The most compelling argument for me (in addition to the Syriac Bible reference above and the grammar issue with Irenaeus) is the internal text of Revelation. The futurist is committed to his dogma and does not want us to note the obvious (that John was instructed to measure the Temple (i.e., the Temple still existed during Nero’s reign) (Revelation 11:1). They say don't believe your plain reading of Revelation and ignore the earliest written Syriac Bibles. If John was writing after all the stones of the Temple were thrown down it is impossible in my estimation that John would not reference Jesus' fulfilled prophecy.
I'm open to good arguments to the contrary, but I'm firmly in the camp that Revelation (just like all of the NT) was written early. In Revelation Jesus commanded his dearly loved apostle to hear, see, and write what Jesus would show him. I have little doubt that Revelation was written early and that chapter four is nothing about the rapture of the church and everything about John being taken up to heaven for a glimpse of the power and majesty of our holy and powerful Lord Jesus Christ before the King opened and executed His judgments.
There are many things that we will never see. Yet we have faith: the reality of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). To please God we must have faith (Hebrews 11:6). Lord Jesus, You have written Your laws on the hearts of those in the Kingdom of God. You reign. Today and always. We know You never change and that You reward people according to what we do and the fruit of our deeds (Jeremiah 32: 17-19). Increase our faith in You I pray. Amen.
All glory, honor, and power are to Jesus Christ. The Lamb of God was slaughtered for the sins of man. We hear in Romans 9 that the Jewish people were God's chosen adopted children. God revealed His glory to them. They had the privilege of worshipping God - and receiving His privileges. And the Lamb of God, as far as His human nature is concerned, was an Israelite (Romans 9:5).
God fulfilled his promises to Israel in the coming of the Son of God (His birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven). God is more than patient and fair. God is just. God desires a people that love and obey Him - a faithful Bride. In Romans Paul quotes Hosea. He says, "Concerning the Gentiles, God says in the prophecy of Hosea, 'Those who were not my people, I will now call my people. And I will love those whom I did not love before'" (Romans 9:25).
Those who love trust and obey the Great Rock (Romans 9:32-33) are God's people. Rejoice, for the Lamb calls us children of the living God! We can gain insight from Romans 9 as it aligns with what God was about to show John in the spiritual realm in chapter four. Paul explains why the Israelites despite trying hard to keep the law, never succeeded because they did not trust God (Romans 9:32). Not only did they not trust Jesus, but they rejected Him and crucified Him.
Paul explains, "And concerning Israel, Isaiah the Prophet cried out, 'Though the people of Israel are as numerous as the sand of the seashore, only a remnant will be saved. For the LORD will carry out his sentence upon the earth quickly and with finality.' And Isaiah said the same thing in another place: 'If the LORD of Heaven's Armies had not spared a few of our children, we would have been wiped out like Sodom, destroyed like Gomorrah.'" (Romans 9:27-29).
Christ Jesus, the Lamb "accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in Him are made right with God." (Romans 10:4).
There is only one way to be saved, by hearing the Good News of Jesus Christ and calling on His name (Romans 10:13). Paul tells us that God was not unfair to the people of Israel for they indeed were given the opportunity to trust Jesus. Paul asks the question of whether the people of Israel actually heard the message? And Paul gives the answer: "Yes, they have: 'The message has gone throughout the earth, and the word to all the world.' But I ask, did the people of Israel really understand? Yes they did.'" (Romans 10:18-19).
God does not reject people. People reject God. Branches are broken off of the tree of God because the people don't believe in Christ (Roans 11:20). God loves all people and desires all people to accept His merciful grace and believe in Christ. Ond Day the King will return. That will happen after the "full number " of Gentiles come to Christ (Romans 11:26). We must align Scripture with Scripture and have ears to hear as we read Revelation.
Lord Jesus, thank you for this day. Please bless and embolden your dear children to seek after You today, to put faith in Christ into action as we eagerly await Your return. Amen.
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