The first verse, already quoted, shows John summoned up through an opened door into heaven. The whole scene is changed. In spirit he is no longer in Patmos, hearing Christ’s judicial estimate of the Church down here, but in heaven, beholding the development of events preparatory to His taking His earthly kingdom. This is the place from which the believer will look on during that “hour of temptation which will come upon all the world.” John therefore is translated to the sphere of observation from which the Church will behold the judgments of that dreadful time. This surely suggests that the events which He describes are these judgments.
Why then, it may be asked, is nothing said about the rapture of the Church? Because in the Revelation the Church on earth is regarded, not in its privileges and hopes, but in its responsibilities and failure. Moreover prophecy is not a continuous narrative, but a succession of scenes often widely separated in time and circumstances. So it is here. The book reveals Christ acting as judge. His judicial estimate of Christendom, or the professing Church, comes first; then follow His judgments poured forth upon the earth after the true Church, His body, has been removed. There is no room for the “blessed hope” in this scheme. We see that the Church, the whole body of’ real believers, is gone, but must learn from other Scriptures how it has been taken away.
“And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. And He that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone; and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald” (Rev. 4:2, 32And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. 3And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. (Revelation 4:2‑3)). This is God seated on the throne. The jasper is called “a stone most precious” (Rev. 21:1111Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; (Revelation 21:11)), and the idea suggested by both gems is that of dazzling glory. It is a session of judgment; for “out of the throne proceeded lightnings, and thunderings, and voices” (Rev. 4:55And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. (Revelation 4:5)). Still it is encircled with a rainbow, the token of God’s “everlasting covenant” with creation. (Gen. 9:1616And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. (Genesis 9:16)). When Ezekiel beheld God about to give up Jerusalem to desolation, he saw “the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain” (Ezek. 1:2828As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake. (Ezekiel 1:28)). So here, again, God shows that in judgment He remembers the covenant He has made with the earth. The emerald may be emblematic of the preciousness of the covenant in His sight, or its greenness may indicate the refreshing rest brought to the eye when wearied with the vision of the impending judgments.
Surely it brings cheer to the heart while traversing the dark gulf of gloom through which this book carries us, to look up and see that it is all spanned by the rainbow arch of God’s unfailing covenant with the world. God will be glorified and Christ receive His rights even in this scene, and in this the believer’s heart can rejoice. But the covenant indicated by the rainbow is a covenant with the world, not with the Church, and its appearance now in connection with the throne indicates that God is not acting in relationship with the Church, but with the world, where Israel is always the central object.
“And round about the throne were four and twenty seats [or thrones]: and upon the thrones I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold” (Rev. 4:44And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold. (Revelation 4:4)). Who are these elders? They are not angels; for in the next chapter the angels stand “round about the throne and the living creatures and the elders,” singing quite a different hymn of praise from that in which the elders had previously joined. (Rev. 5:1111And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; (Revelation 5:11)). Their number is symbolic, and clearly refers to the four and twenty courses of priests instituted by David. Their “white raiment” is the clothing promised to the overcomer, and afterward used as emblematic of the “righteousness of saints” (Rev. 19:88And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. (Revelation 19:8)). So, too, the thrones on which they are seated and the golden crowns they wear are both promised to believers; and their rank, as assessors with God in this scene of judgment, is suited to the saints who “shall judge the world” (1 Cor. 6:22Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? (1 Corinthians 6:2)). All this suggests that we have, under the figure of these elders, the class which raised the song before recorded, “Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto His God and Father; to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (Rev. 1:5, 65And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, 6And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. (Revelation 1:5‑6)).
Not only, then, have we no mention of the Church on earth, not only have we John looking down from the place whence believers will witness the judgments which follow the taking of the Church, but we have a company in heaven answering in every respect to the position which raised believers will occupy. Moreover the work in which God is here engaged-judgment qualified by the recollection of His covenant with the earth, corresponds, not with His present ways of grace, but with what is foretold of His acts when the day of grace is ended, and He resumes His dealings with the world preparatory to the establishment of the Messianic kingdom. All this shows that the scene here is one which follows the coming of Christ for His saints, and that the elders in heaven represent believers who are then taken up and changed into His own likeness.
The throne and its surroundings are then described: “And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal” (Rev. 4:5, 65And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. 6And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. (Revelation 4:5‑6)). Here the lightnings and thunderings show the throne to be a throne of judgment. The Spirit is seen in His manifold activity in judgment, symbolized by the “seven lamps of fire,” in connection with the throne. The “sea of glass like unto crystal” typifies fixed purity, in contrast with the sea of water in the court of the temple. On earth there was need of purifying; in heaven there is not, so that the sea is no longer of water, but of crystal-that “terrible crystal,” spotless purity of holiness, on which Ezekiel saw the throne of God standing. (Ezek. 1:22, 2622And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature was as the color of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above. (Ezekiel 1:22)
26And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. (Ezekiel 1:26)).
But besides the lamps of fire and the sea of glass, “in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts [or living creatures] full of eyes before and behind. And the first living creature was like a lion, and the second living creature like a calf, and the third living creature had a face as a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. And the four living creatures had each of them six wings; and they were full of eyes about and within; and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come” (Rev. 4:6-86And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. 7And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. 8And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. (Revelation 4:6‑8)). These living creatures resemble in part the seraphim whom Isaiah saw above the throne of the Lord, having six wings, and crying, “Holy, holy, holy” (Isa. 6:1-31In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. 2Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. (Isaiah 6:1‑3)); and in part the living creatures of Ezekiel’s vision, where the same emblems, of the lion, the ox, the man, and the eagle, also appear, and where the wheels which move with them, are “full of eyes round about” (Ezek. 1) They are “in the midst of the throne,” as well as around it, seeming to show that they are rather symbols of God’s ways in providence and judgment than separate beings. They are full of eyes, before and behind, around and within, indicating perfect knowledge and intelligence. The man, the ox, the lion, and the eagle show the four chief types of the living creation in which God has displayed His power, and may perhaps also signify the intelligence, the utility, the power, and the swiftness of His judgments. In their wings we see the rapidity with which His purposes are carried out, while they are the unwearied proclaimers of that holiness which marks all His ways.
On both the occasions when these living creatures were formerly seen, God was acting in judgment. On both occasions the place of His appearance was the temple at Jerusalem. And on both occasions the declaration of His purposes concerning Israel, as the center of His schemes of earthly government, was the object with which He thus revealed Himself. The glory in which He is here beheld is therefore a glory connected with Israel. Isaiah had been told that the desolation of Jerusalem was impending, and Ezekiel saw the glory quit the temple and city before the Gentile domination began. Afterward, in the prophecy of the Messiah’s reign, and the restoration of Jerusalem, the same glory, “even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city” (Ezek. 43:33And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city: and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face. (Ezekiel 43:3)), returns and takes its abode in the rebuilt temple. All this shows that we have here the revelation of God’s ways, not about the Church, or the present dispensation, but about Israel and the coming age, when God resumes the execution of His purposes concerning the government of the world.
The same thing is signified in the use of the title, “Lord God Almighty.” These are names recalling God’s covenants with Abraham and Israel, and relating to His government of the world. They are used, as consistent with the general character of the book, in the first chapter. They are then entirely dropped during the addresses to the seven churches. After the close of these addresses they are resumed, and henceforth kept up to the close, showing that we have entered upon an epoch quite different from that of the Church.
The proclamation of God’s holiness draws forth the worship of the elders. “And when those living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him that sat on the throne, who liveth forever and ever, the four and twenty elders fall down before Him that sat on the throne, and worship Him that liveth forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created” [or “were and have been created”]. (Rev. 4:9-119And when those beasts give glory and honor and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, 10The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 11Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. (Revelation 4:9‑11)). This is not worship addressed to the Father, but to the God of creation and providence. In this chapter Jesus is never separately named or seen. Yet in creation He is the person of the Godhead who actively works; for “all things were created by Him and for Him; and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist” (Col. 1:16, 1716For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. (Colossians 1:16‑17)). It is not, then, the Father, as distinct from the Son, that is here the object of adoration, but God, the Creator, including Father, Son, and Spirit. All creature glory is merely derived, and the elders, though crowned, and even associated with God in judgment, fall down and worship the ever-living One, casting their crowns before the throne, and owning that He only is worthy of honor, glory, and power; for by Him and for Him all things exist and were created.