Chapter Four

It would be very difficult to stress too much the purpose and the organization of the book of Revelation.

The book was written to encourage Christians who were facing, or would soon face, extreme persecution. Understanding this fact, along with applying this understanding, will eliminate most of the problems that arise from a study of this book.

No book can match the organization of Revelation. Take another look at the outline. Notice that every section begins with a vision. These visions help carry out the purpose of the book: to encourage Christians.

Chapters four and five form the vision at the beginning of the second section. Both chapters take place in the same location: heaven

Chapter four focuses on God in heaven. What strength this provides for Christians! (Chapter five will focus on the Lamb in heaven, another source of great encouragement.)

Do not forget that prophetic language as used here is intended to express impressions. Its purpose is NOT to convey a literal situation. John did not hear a trumpet in verse one. "Like the trumpet" was the best that John could do in recording what he had heard.

This kind of language is used for two reasons. First of all, there is no other choice. Descriptions of heavenly images are limited to earthly vocabulary. In addition, this type of language has a distinct advantage. Where descriptive prose may take pages to communicate an idea, imagery can usually convey much more with much less.

"Though our sins be as scarlet, they can be as white as snow." We can elaborate for hours on the deep meaning of this statement. But we can never improve on it. Less says so much more, because a description is also limiting.

The description of God on the throne is an attempt to explain an unexplainable heavenly site (and sight) with human words. How frustrating this must have been for John!

God is said to be like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance. Both can be translucent or even transparent. Both are generally thought of as being red, although this "jasper" (iaspis) may be identified with a green stone. The rainbow (or halo) around the throne is like an emerald in appearance. Of course, there is little physical similarity between a rainbow and an emerald. One contains an entire spectrum of color, the other is green. But both are beautiful. Both can glow with light. Immense value can be ascribed to both. We must never lose sight of the fact that John is painting a picture with words.

There were 24 elders around the throne. Perhaps this represents 12 from the Old Testament (tribes) and 12 from the New Testament (apostles): in short, representatives of all of God's people. Or maybe it has something to do with the old system of conducting worship in the temple, as explained in 1 Chronicles 24.

Verse five recalls the scene at Mt. Sinai. There is no need to guess at the meaning of the seven lamps. The verse says they are the seven (complete) Spirits of God. Notice how this appears again in the next chapter in relation to the Lamb (5:6).

This sea of glass like crystal is interesting. Here the sea stands between John and the throne. In 15:2 the people of God are standing ON the sea. A sea is mentioned again in 21:1, where we learn that ''there is no longer any sea.'' Hopefully it is not stretching things too far to think of the sea in 21:1 as the same sea of the other two passages.

If a sea represents a separation, we would find this being eliminated as the book progresses. Wouldn't this provide great strength and encouragement?

A study of Ezekiel (1 and l0) will help us understand the picture here. These are the cherubim. We do notice some differences which help us understand once more that both pictures are human attempts at describing heavenly beings. In Ezekiel, the cherubim have four wings each. In Revelation they have six. In Ezekiel each has all four faces (man, lion, bull, eagle). In Revelation one has the face of a lion, another of a calf, another of a man, and the other of an eagle. The point is not how many faces they have, but rather what they represent.

To get a more complete idea about the cherubim, we might consider some of the other passages where they are mentioned:
Genesis 3:24
Exodus 25:18-22
Exodus 26:1,31
Numbers 7:89
1 Samuel 4:4
2 Samuel 6:2
1 Kings 6:23-35
1 Kings 7:29,36
Psalm 80:1
Psalm 99:1
Isaiah 37:16

Without wanting to be disrespectful, we might observe that the cherubim are God's watchdogs. They guard the entrance to the Garden of Eden. They look down at God's Law and then look outward to carry out the consequences promised for disobedience. (Fortunately for the Israelites, blood was placed on the mercy seat once a year to symbolically block the line of vision between the cherubim and the tablets of the Law.)

The 24 are wearing crowns (stephanos), but who earned them? The elders know, as represented by their act of throwing the crowns before the throne.

Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission."