John is about to take us on a trip to heaven. He's going to show us what we will see when we first get there.. We can only imagine what this must have been like for John. Since we cover almost all of Chapter 4 here, we need to get right into the text:
2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. 3And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald. 4Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads. 5And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. 6Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. 7The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. 8The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!”9Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying:
11“You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.”
The God we worship is so mighty that nothing in the world compares. While God has given us a glimpse of His Throne Room before, through others, now John will attempt also to give us a picture of what we will see when we reach heaven someday.
1 Kings 22:19 says:
Then Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by, on His right hand and on His left.
Isaiah said this in 6:1-4:
1In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!”
4And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.
We see John filled with the spirit in a new and powerful way. He's been given an invitation to a special place; the Throne Room of God. He wants us to look closely (behold) as he begins to put the focus on this Throne mentioning it some 13 times in just this chapter alone. This is important and not to be overlooked as a piece of furniture but instead as a source of power. He's trying here to describe God's majesty and power the best he can using the word "like" many times. This God is not a man like us. He is spirit; a being; totally unlike us. The best John can do is compare all this to what he does know and is familiar with.
We see two precious stones mentioned. The first, Jasper, is a clear white-colored type of stone. This stone would reflect the light coming from all around the Throne everywhere. It would be like a bright white color. In the OT we are told God's brightness is called the Shekinah Glory. Back then, you didn't get too close, even stepping back in awe of the Holiness of God. Here we see the holiness of God described in the colors he represents. The Sardius stone is a deep red like a ruby red in color and may stand either for his redemption or his judgment depending on which side of God you're on. For the believers they would see his redemption and for the unbelievers judgment.
The rainbow around the Throne was more like a circle instead of the half circle we usually associate with rainbows. Many think this represents God's mercy because of his promise not to destroy the earth again. So his all encompassing mercy is completely surrounding His Throne.
In all these colors we see the attributes of God. We see his holiness, redemption, judgment and mercy. Timothy said this in 6:16:
who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen
Next John's focus is on the elders. There are 39 different interpretations for these elders so said one commentator. Are they human or angels? We need to break it down. We see there are 24 of them. I believe they are humans, because of the characteristics associated with them. First he calls them Presbyteros which always speaks of older men. They are wearing crowns (Stephanos) not worn by angels. Many believe they represent all mankind. Some think they are the 12 Tribes of the OT and the 12 Apostles of the NT. Some believe they are the Levitical Priests because 24 was the representative number of them. The Priests represented Israel before God. Yet some believe somehow these elders represent the church alone.
We see their main function, whenever they are mentioned, (many times) and that was to lead worship of God. I'm not sure we can be dogmatic enough to say for sure who exactly they are only that they do represent mankind.
Now on top of the colorful light show we read there is noise associated with the Throne Room as we can almost hear the thunder and voices that John heard. This is similar to what the people of Moses' day experienced when he went up to Mount Sinai to meet God (Exodus 19:16). In both the OT and the NT we see that God is displaying his power so they, and we, will know of His mighty power and His majesty.
Whenever God's Throne is mentioned, it seems we read about the seven Spirits of God. Seven represents both perfection and completion.
As far as the sea of glass, this is a hard one to nail down. We know in heaven there is no sea as John writes about this later on. In Ezek 1 we read about the firmament above the angels and below the Throne. It seems as tho this could be connected but am unsure about exactly how this all fits. This sea of glass would be quite something in a room filled with light as it reflected the Glory of God. I imagine this glass would make it all seem quite overpowering; and would be just overwhelming to witness.
The four creatures around the Throne are interesting to say the least. My how this must have affected John. It would me. I'd be shaking hard in my L.L. Beans. These creatures are nothing like we've ever experienced in this life. If these are the same creatures as in Ezekiel they are moving all around. Notice how they have eyes all over their bodies. Eyes within? Eyeballs on wings? What's the purpose of all these eyes? This would most likely speak to the watchfulness of who God is.
These creatures are part of worship. In Ezekiel they are called Cherubim. They are in close proximity to God. Funny these angels are not what we normally see represented around here.
Some think these four represent the four gospels or maybe creation itself, but it makes more sense with the context to see they represent God's character or attributes. John describes the first "like a lion." This could represent his power/rule. The second is "like a calf or ox" and would represent strength/service. The third creature "like a man" would describe God's intellect/reason. The fourth creature, "like an eagle" speaks of God's speed/swiftness.
So in this whole chapter we see many attributes of God. We see his holiness, mercy, redemption, judgment, power, strength, intelligence, and swiftness. All this speaks of God who is still so much more than we can even imagine.
Notice these creatures worship God continually without rest day or night. We see they use a trisagion here in their usage of the same word (holy) three times. One time is descriptive, two times would be emphasis, but three times superlative. Nothing is more holy than God. Nothing. He is the Lord God Almighty (all powerful) and he can do it all. Problems? Take it to the Throne Room. He was, is, and is to come means he's eternal with no beginning. God has always been eternal and always will be. Why wouldn't we bring everything to a God like this? They are singing a creation hymn here.
We see the creatures lead the worship and as they do, the 24 elders fall down in their worship of God. This is what worship is all about. It doesn't start and stop on Sundays. It's by his will they can even worship him. It's his power that creates life in us yet we walk around like we own the planet. Yes God gave us dominion, but it all starts with God. God created all from nothing. Not us.
1 Chronicles 17:20 says:
“O Lord, there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears.
Think of God as highly as you can. He's higher than that. King Nebuchadnezzer thought he was big stuff until God put this King in his rightful place. God brought him lower than low to show him who the real King was, Daniel 4:34-25.
Look at the response of the elders here. Falling down is the proper response. They didn't trip but were brought to a position of recognition as they sang. They were in complete and humble submission.
Martin Luther used to get down prostrate in front of God. He couldn't get low enough. He would make a hole in the dirt and put his face in it to show how completely vulnerable he really was. Maybe we should put our face to the floor and think about God once in a while. It would many of us a world of good if we're willing to humble ourselves this way.
Two things we see here. First we see true worship. They were filled with thankfulness, praise, honor and exaltation to the God they honored and loved. Next they cast their crowns at His feet. All they had, they gave back to him. Why? Because everything comes from him. What are we holding back from God? Our time? Money? Our families?
Thirteen times here the Throne is mentioned. Who is on your Throne? You? Or God? You can tell by how much you:
trust
submit
control
obey
How is your worship of God? 1 Chron 29:10-20.