Introduction
A distinct section of this book commences with this chapter. When John was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, he was commanded to “write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter,” or more accurately, “the things which shall be after these” (Ch. 1:19). The first chapter contains the things he saw, the second and third chapters comprise “the things which are;” that is, the whole church period, and in Revelation 4 we enter upon the things “after these”; that is, after the church period on earth. This interpretation is borne out by the language employed in the first verse of our chapter: “Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter” (Ch. 4:1); literally, “after these,” the very words found in Revelation 1:1919Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter; (Revelation 1:19). To miss this divine division of the book is to lose the key to its understanding.
Two prefatory remarks must be made to enable the reader to commence intelligently the study of this part of the inspired Word. The first is, that while we have no account here of the rapture of the saints, of the church being caught away to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thess. 4), the church is yet seen in heaven. It is quite true that the twenty-four elders may include other saints than members of the body of Christ (this will be explained afterward); but the church, if with others, is represented by the elders, and is therefore no longer on earth. It does not fall in with the purpose of this book to state the period of, or to describe, the rapture; it is nevertheless supposed. Laodicea might be still on earth, whatever the name she may have assumed, when the fourth chapter opens all true believers (Christians), are above, with the Lord.
The second thing to be observed is that John’s point of view, standpoint, is changed. In Revelation 1 he is on earth and he saw in a vision Christ, “like unto the Son of Man,” (Ch. 1:13) on earth in the midst of the seven churches examining, judicially examining their state, and setting forth in the seven epistles His infallible judgment of their condition, together with suited encouragements, warnings, and promises. Here John beholds “a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither.” (vs. 1) It is from heaven, the only true place of vision, he is to view and describe the events which are to take place on the earth.
It may further be remarked that both Revelation 4 and 5 form a kind of introduction to the various actions and judgments afterward recorded, laying as it were the foundation on which all proceeds, or giving the ground on which God resumes His dealings with the earth, both with Israel and the Gentiles, in judgment.
The moral connection between verses 1 and 2 is exceedingly beautiful. John had received the command, “Come up hither” (vs. 1); and He who gave the command bestowed, as ever, the requisite power for compliance with it. He tells us, “And immediately I was in the Spirit.” (vs. 2) This expression will indicate, as pointed out in Revelation 1, that John, similarly to Paul in 2 Corinthians 12, was rapt away in the power of the Spirit, from earth and earthly scenes, and for that time he was so characterized by the Spirit that he would be unconscious of bodily existence. Whether in the body or out of the body he would not know, and thus there would be nothing to impede his reception of these divinely given visions. He was in this way qualified to become the vessel of these revelations.
Thereon he proceeds to describe what he saw: “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” (vss. 4:2-3).
The first thing that John saw, when in the Spirit, was a throne. Our translation does not exactly express the sense of the original. It is not that a throne was “set” for the occasion, as might be supposed, but rather that a throne “stood” in heaven; and it was the throne as standing there that met the gaze of John. The idea of government is necessarily associated with a throne. The government of the earth, from the day that judgment had been executed upon the kingdom, the metropolis of which was Jerusalem, had been committed to the Gentiles. (See Dan. 2.) But God never abdicated His rights or ceased to govern by His providence the nations of the earth (Dan. 4:24-3524This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the most High, which is come upon my lord the king: 25That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. 26And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule. 27Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity. 28All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar. 29At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. 30The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty? 31While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. 32And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. 33The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws. 34And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honored him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: 35And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? (Daniel 4:24‑35)). He had retired from His throne in the midst of Israel, but His throne was fixed in heaven, and from that throne He not only “ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will,” (Dan. 4:3232And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. (Daniel 4:32)) but also as a consequence He held those to whom He had committed the government responsible to Himself. If Israel had failed, and if, with greater privileges, greater light and more power, the church has failed as God’s witness and light-bearer on the earth, so also have the Gentile depositaries of power. In Revelation 23Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. (Revelation 3:3) and 3 we have seen Christ judging the church, and we have heard His final sentence—that He would utterly reject it as His vessel of testimony. In this chapter the preparation for the judgment of the world—the nations— comes before us, and hence the first thing noticed is God’s stable and righteous throne.
There is also one sitting on the throne, and His appearance, the apostle tells us, was “like a jasper and a sardine stone.” (vs. 3) In Revelation 21 we read that the New Jerusalem, when she descends out of heaven from God, has “the glory of God,” (vs. 11) and that her light—that is, the light of this glory—is “like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone” (Rev. 21:10-1110And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, 11Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; (Revelation 21:10‑11)). It is interesting also to notice that in the breastplate of the Jewish high priest the sardius (sardine) was the first and the jasper the last of the precious stones (Ex. 2810Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth. 11With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the children of Israel: thou shalt make them to be set in ouches of gold. (Exodus 28:10‑11)), these two including, as it were, all the rest. (Both are also found in the twelve foundations of the heavenly city; but here the jasper comes first [the glory being at the beginning, so to speak, instead of at the end, as in Judaism] and the sardius is the sixth.) More cannot be said than that these two stones are divinely chosen as emblems of the glory of God, as displayed in His righteous government according to what He is; for it is this glory John was permitted to behold.
The next feature is the “rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.” (vs. 3) How gracious of God to remind His servant, just as He is about to unfold the long series of judgments wherewith He will smite the earth, of His everlasting covenant with this creation! (Gen. 9.) In the midst of His wrath He will remember mercy. This rainbow too is in appearance like unto an emerald; this may signify the fact that the issue of all God’s dealings with the world will be seen in the eternal freshness and beauty of that new earth, together with the new heavens, of which John speaks in Revelation 21.
Another thing the apostle pauses to describe before proceeding, “And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: [The word is really thrones, and not “seats.”] and upon the thrones I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold” (vs. 4). Who then are the elders? Two things mark them—white raiment and crowns of gold. The first of these things speaks of their priestly character (Ex. 28:39-4339And thou shalt embroider the coat of fine linen, and thou shalt make the mitre of fine linen, and thou shalt make the girdle of needlework. 40And for Aaron's sons thou shalt make coats, and thou shalt make for them girdles, and bonnets shalt thou make for them, for glory and for beauty. 41And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office. 42And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach: 43And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they come in unto the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place; that they bear not iniquity, and die: it shall be a statute for ever unto him and his seed after him. (Exodus 28:39‑43)), and the second as plainly tells of their royal dignity. In one word, they are those who through association with Christ (though not yet in display) are kings and priests. John himself, when he breaks forth in adoration in the name of the saints, uses these two terms. (We do not here enter upon the question of readings, whether “kings” or “kingdom” is to be preferred. The truth remains the same [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)].) The reason for the number twenty-four is found in 1 Chronicles 24:1-41Now these are the divisions of the sons of Aaron. The sons of Aaron; Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 2But Nadab and Abihu died before their father, and had no children: therefore Eleazar and Ithamar executed the priest's office. 3And David distributed them, both Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, according to their offices in their service. 4And there were more chief men found of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of Ithamar; and thus were they divided. Among the sons of Eleazar there were sixteen chief men of the house of their fathers, and eight among the sons of Ithamar according to the house of their fathers. (1 Chronicles 24:1‑4). When David distributed the priests into courses he found there were twenty-four heads of the priestly families, and hence there were that number of courses; and these twenty-four heads were consequently representative of the whole priesthood. In like manner the twenty-four elders (the principle being known in Scripture) are taken to represent not only the saints of this period, but also the saints (all who are Christ’s) who share in the first resurrection. For it should ever be borne in mind that, while only believers since Pentecost are members of the body of Christ, He will yet call out of their graves on His return all the saints of every previous dispensation.
It should moreover be noted that the elders are “round about” the throne. The word given here as “round about” (vs. 3) is not the same as is translated in the same way in verse 6. The following note will explain the difference: “I use ‘round’ (the word in verse 4) for what is connected with anything—I do not say united to—as a center, as the tire of a wheel; ‘around’ (the word in verse 6) for what is standing as a circle outside, around anything.” It follows that more than any the elders are more intimately connected with the throne; and remembering that they themselves are seated on thrones, we understand at once the wondrous position of favor and exaltation which they occupy in this scene. This would be unintelligible to us did we not know that, according to the counsels of our God, we have already been brought, through the death and resurrection of Christ, into the acceptance of Christ Himself before God.
And it is this fact alone that explains to us the possibility of the elders sitting in peace around what is really a throne of judgment, and while there proceeded out of it “lightnings and thunderings and voices,” (vs. 5) ever in this book the heralds and accompaniments of the display of God’s judicial power. (See Rev. 10:33And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. (Revelation 10:3); Rev. 11:1919And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail. (Revelation 11:19); Rev. 16:1818And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. (Revelation 16:18); and more.)
There were also “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” (vss. 4:5-6). The number seven characterizes the Holy Spirit in this book (see Rev. 1:44John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; (Revelation 1:4); Rev. 3:11And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. (Revelation 3:1); Rev. 5:66And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. (Revelation 5:6)), symbolic, that is, of the fullness or plenitude of the Spirit’s power in the connection indicated. In the next chapter, the Lamb is said to have “seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth” (Ch. 5:6)— a figure expressive of perfect intelligence in the government of the earth according to God. But here it is seven lamps of fire burning, not on the earth, but before the throne. Fire expresses, consistently, the holiness of God in judgment, and we learn therefore that the judgments; which God is about to execute will be in the perfection of the power of the Spirit, according to the immutable standard of the holiness of the divine nature. What a difference from the present power and activity of the Holy Spirit in the church, or from His power in testimony to the world through the gospel! This feature alone should have preserved any from confounding “the things which are” with the “things after these.”
With respect to the sea of glass like unto crystal, it has been significantly remarked, “No altar of sacrifice is in view, as if it were a time of approach; the brazen laver has glass instead of water. It is a fixed, accomplished holiness, not a cleansing of feet.” The door indeed has been shut (Matt. 25), the Holy Spirit has departed with the church, and consequently is above, and not below; and the interval between the rapture of the saints and the appearing of Christ in glory is therefore for the prophetic world marked, not by grace, but by judgment.
Revelation 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)
Another thing meets the eyes of the rapt apostle: “And in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. And 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. And 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” (vss. 6-8). (The four “beasts” is entirely different from that translated “beast” in Revelation 13. In these cases it is properly “beast,” setting forth the embodiment of the evil energies of man; but in our chapter it is simply living things or creatures; and thus “living creatures” [as in Ezekiel 1] will be used in speaking of these cherubic forms of existence.)
The reader will be interested to compare these living creatures and those in Ezekiel 1 with the seraphim in Isaiah 6, with the cherubim in the tabernacle and temple, and also with the cherubim in Ezekiel 10, and in noting their characteristic differences. The following remarks will aid in the examination: “They [the living creatures] have some of the characters of the cherubim, some of the seraphim, but somewhat different from both. They were full of eyes, before and behind, to see all things according to God, and within; having also six wings, perfect in inward perception, but given perception, and in the rapidity of their motions. They embraced also the four species of creation in the ordered earth—man, cattle, beast of the field, fowl of the air—these symbolizing the powers or attributes of God, themselves worshipped by the heathen, here only the instruments of the throne. Him who sat on it the heathen knew not. The intelligence, firmness, power, rapidity of execution which belong to God were typified as elsewhere by them. They are symbols. Divers agents may be the instruments of their activity. But though there was the general analogy of the cherubim—judicial and governmental power—these had a peculiar character....The symbols used here become clearer through these cases [in the tabernacle, Isaiah, and Ezekiel]. The living creatures are in and around the throne; for it is a throne of executory judgment, with the attributes of cherubim united to it. But it is not, as in Israel, mere earthly providential judgment—a whirlwind out of the north [Ezek. 1:44And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire. (Ezekiel 1:4)]. There is before us the government of all the earth, and executory judgment according to the holiness of God’s nature” (Synopsis, J. N. Darby, 5:519-521).
Such are the living creatures; and their occupation, as given here, is that of incessant praise— praising God according to the revelation of Himself in the Old Testament—namely, as “Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come;” (vs. 8) the eternal God, who ever is—and embracing all the past, and all the future in His ever-present and blessed existence. It is to Him the living creatures unceasingly cry, Holy, holy, holy. They celebrate what He is in Himself.
When, moreover, they “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” (vss. 9-11). It has been remarked “that the living creatures only celebrate and declare; the elders worship with understanding.” All God’s works will praise Him; but it is only the redeemed who have the mind of Christ and can, through the Holy Spirit, enter into and have fellowship with the things of God, whether in grace or in judgment. When, therefore, God is praised by the living creatures, the elders “are all activity, own all glory to be His, are prostrate on their faces, and cast their crowns before Him, more blessed in owning His glory than in having their own.” And the last words of their adoration show clearly the ground taken in this chapter. They praise Him as the Creator, and express their sense of His consequent sovereign claims over all His creatures. It was His will alone that called them into being, and it was by reason of His will alone they continued to exist. Thus, dependent on their Creator, they are surely amenable to Him for judgment.