Show Notes
Revelation 4
Pastor Christopher Chelpka
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Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Let's pray.
[00:00:02] Our Heavenly Father, we do give you all glory and honor and praise as we consider the works of your hands and the word that is spoken in creation and in new creation, where your Holy Spirit makes alive.
[00:00:17] Lord, we ask that you would give us the illumination of the Spirit, that you would allow us to see with his eyes the truths of the Gospel, the things of God, that we might know and believe the truth about you, our triune God, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, we ask that you would bless us as we hear your word, read and preached, that you would transform us and change us by it. We pray also for your church throughout the world, in our own city and state, our presbytery, and everywhere, Lord, where your word is going forth. We ask that you would be with your people and with your ministers on this day, and that your good work would be done.
[00:01:09] We pray this in Jesus name. Amen.
[00:01:16] Let's be seated. Please turn our attention to Revelation 4 and also 5 this morning. 4 and 5.
[00:02:02] Before I read, I want to give you just a little bit of an introduction so that we can situate ourselves.
[00:02:10] Revelation is one of these books that holds together in very tight ways.
[00:02:18] And it can be easy because of the number of images and all that's going on.
[00:02:24] It can be easy to get a little bit lost, especially if you haven't heard what happened recently.
[00:02:31] And so I want to just orient us a little bit to what's going on in the book before I read Revelation 4:5.
[00:02:41] First, if you look at Revelation chapter one, you'll see in verses 10, 10 through 12 there, that John, he's in the Spirit on the Lord's day. And he hears something, a loud voice.
[00:02:56] A loud voice like a trumpet.
[00:02:59] So this is how things begin. And what he hears is this voice saying, write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches. And then he lists the churches.
[00:03:11] So he hears something. He hears a command to write what he sees in a book and to send it to the seven churches.
[00:03:20] Then a visual thing happens. In verse 12, he turns to see the voice that was speaking to him. And on turning, he sees these seven golden lampstands, with lamps on those lampstands. And in the midst of them, one like the Son of man. And then we have this description of Jesus in his power and his glory and his judgment, this one who walks among his churches and speaks about him, about himself as he writes.
[00:03:54] So then the words that go to the seven churches are what we have in Revelation 2 and 3. So remember, Jesus says, I'm going to tell you this, I want you to write it and to send it out.
[00:04:06] And he does that.
[00:04:12] In chapters two and in chapters three.
[00:04:15] Well, note one thing, though. In verse 19, he gives another command to write. And he says, write. Therefore, the things that you have seen, those that are, and those that are to take place after this. So three things. The things that you have seen, those that are, and those are the take place after this.
[00:04:35] So the things that he has seen is what's happening right now. This vision of Jesus among the seven lampstands, the things that are, refer to the current context of the churches which he is writing to. Revelation 2 and 3.
[00:04:50] And now today we come to this third section of that. Jesus tells him to write the things that are to take place after this. After the time in which.
[00:05:02] After the time in which he's writing, roughly speaking.
[00:05:06] And so then we come to chapter four, which is where we are today.
[00:05:10] So he receives these letters to the churches, he writes down each one of them, and then we have this in verse four, or, sorry, verse one.
[00:05:19] After this, I looked, and behold a door standing open in heaven.
[00:05:27] So he has this vision of Jesus among the seven lampstands.
[00:05:31] Jesus tells him to write these seven letters, and now he sees a door standing open in heaven.
[00:05:38] All right, let's give our attention to God's word.
[00:05:44] After this I looked, and behold a door standing open in heaven.
[00:05:49] The first voice which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.
[00:05:59] At once I was in the spirit. And behold, a throne stood in heaven with one seated on the throne.
[00:06:06] And he who sat there had the appearance of Jasper and carnelian. And around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald.
[00:06:16] Around the throne were 24 thrones.
[00:06:19] And seated on the thrones were 24 elders clothed in white garments with golden crowns on their heads.
[00:06:26] From the throne came flashes of lightning and rumblings and peals of thunder. And before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God.
[00:06:41] And before the throne there was, as it were, a sea of glass like crystal.
[00:06:50] And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind.
[00:06:57] The first living creature like a lion.
[00:07:00] The second living creature like an ox.
[00:07:03] The third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight.
[00:07:10] And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within and day and night. They never cease to say, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come.
[00:07:31] And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne who lives forever and ever. The 24 elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever.
[00:07:46] They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.
[00:08:04] Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back sealed with seven seals.
[00:08:14] And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?
[00:08:23] And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to to open the scroll or to look into it.
[00:08:34] And I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it.
[00:08:40] And one of the elders said to me, weep no more.
[00:08:44] Behold the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David has conquered so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.
[00:08:54] And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders of I saw a lamb standing as though it had been slain with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
[00:09:10] And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne.
[00:09:16] And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp and golden bulls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
[00:09:29] And they sang a new song, saying, worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain and by your blood. You ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. And you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God. And they shall reign on the earth.
[00:09:51] Then I looked and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders, the voice of many angels numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.
[00:10:15] And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea and all that is in them saying to him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever. And the four living creatures said, amen. And the elders Fell down and worshiped.
[00:10:38] Amen.
[00:10:56] We live in a world with lots of irony, cynicism.
[00:11:07] We live in a time that has trouble taking things seriously without sort of sidestepping it and being a little bit funny, Without covering or protecting ourselves in some way.
[00:11:27] There's none of that in Revelation 4 and 5, Revelation 4 and 5.
[00:11:38] And much of this book and much of the Scriptures, to be honest, come to us in a way that is not ironic and half given.
[00:11:52] But we are confronted with the throne room of heaven, period.
[00:12:01] And what is there? How do you react to that?
[00:12:07] What do you say?
[00:12:09] What do you do?
[00:12:15] As John receives this vision, he at one point weeps, and he sees not only image of God, but he sees these creatures around the throne.
[00:12:39] And they are intense, overwhelming, amazing, splendid, majestic, and they are worshiping God.
[00:12:54] The magnificence of the throne, which is just the throne, the magnificence of God who is seated on the throne, is amplified by this, by these voices and creatures.
[00:13:16] What John sees is a lot like what Isaiah sees in Isaiah chapter six, what Ezekiel sees in Ezekiel chapter one.
[00:13:25] And these other prophets of the Lord are caught up into the heavenly places and given a vision of heaven.
[00:13:33] Very similar images, very similar intensity.
[00:13:40] On the one hand, you almost want to look away as you feel your own unworthiness to receive these things, to hear them, to know them.
[00:13:52] On the other hand, it's so amazing and so beautiful and so awesome that you want to look.
[00:14:01] And of course, it's being given to us to see. This is the book of Revelation.
[00:14:08] God is revealing these things to us so that we would know something about him, about ourselves, and about the things that are and are coming. And as he says in verse 2, as Jesus says, come up here and I will show you what must take place after this, after these letters to the seven churches.
[00:14:35] So let's walk through a little bit and meditate on what it is John sees.
[00:14:43] Well, as I said, he first hears something. Before he sees something, he hears a voice, and he identifies the voice as the one who was speaking to him like a trumpet before. Right? So it connects back with chapter one.
[00:14:57] This is, of course, Jesus, as we come to know from chapter one.
[00:15:00] And then he says, come up here with this open door, and I will show you what must take place after this, referring back to chapter 119, John emphasizes that, again, he is in the spirit.
[00:15:15] And behold, a throne stood in heaven.
[00:15:18] Whenever you hear this word behold in scripture, it's like, pay attention. Something is now in front of you, kind of like that. And so that's what happens. There is this thing that he sees suddenly.
[00:15:33] Behold a throne stood in heaven and one seated on the throne.
[00:15:39] Now, of course, we come to see that this is God for one. We know it is him because he is worshiped as God.
[00:15:49] But also these images of light. I want you to notice something about the image that God reveals to us of himself here in chapter four.
[00:16:03] There's no body, there's no sense of his height or his shape or anything like that.
[00:16:17] It's all described in terms of light and sound, light and colors and movement.
[00:16:27] He who sat there, John says in verse three, had the appearance of Jasper, likely a greenish material, carnelian, likely a reddish material and possibly translucent as well.
[00:16:43] He who sat there on this throne had the appearance of Jasper and carnelian. These like this glowing green with some red.
[00:16:52] And around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald.
[00:16:59] How are you? What do you imagine?
[00:17:03] It's hard to. It's hard to describe other than just to read it.
[00:17:10] But it's intense, isn't it?
[00:17:13] John sees these.
[00:17:15] Something he describes as these precious stones, this rainbow, this greenish rainbow surrounding of the throne. What he sees is glorious, beautiful, colorful light just shining.
[00:17:34] That's what he sees of the one who is on the throne.
[00:17:38] This is an amazing thing and it happens throughout scriptures a lot. When God reveals himself, a theophany, a vision of God, you don't see God.
[00:17:52] He veils himself in light.
[00:17:58] Whether it's up on Mount Sinai or the pillars of fire that led Israel through the wilderness or the burning bush, or these images in heaven of God's burning, shining, beautiful brightness.
[00:18:16] We come to see and fall on our knees before the light of God, seeing him or this image of him, but never him, for he is invisible.
[00:18:33] That's the throne.
[00:18:36] And John's just getting started in describing his vision. Around the throne were 24 elders.
[00:18:44] And seated on these thrones are 24 elders in white garments with golden crowns on their heads. This is.
[00:18:53] I'm drawing from images, actually. I'm going to correct that in a second, but I'll finish. It's drawing from images that we see in the Old Testament. With the Tabernacle, for example, is one of these images, the Tabernacle with the Lord. The Lord and his holy place, the throne of God, also with images of angels, angels of Cherubim and Seraphim and these images of God. And around the tabernacle would be the tribes of Israel, situated three on each side here doubled to 24.
[00:19:26] And there's different interpretations of what these 24 elders are. Perhaps a symbol of the apostolic age and the new Covenant age with the tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles.
[00:19:38] Another possible reference for this are simply the other angels, leaders, commanders of some sort, sitting on these thrones, much like the creatures that are around the throne directly.
[00:19:57] Either way, we see that these are creatures, magnificent, royal in their own right, seated on thrones, golden crowns on their heads. And they are not the king.
[00:20:10] They are not the king. They are surrounding these kings. He is our Lord, is the King of kings. And from him, in addition to this, this greenish.
[00:20:22] This greenish, colorful light and rainbow come forth flashes of lightning and rumbles of peels, of thunder, and then more light images as we read of the seven torches of fire, the seven.
[00:20:35] A spirit of God.
[00:20:38] A reference that comes up again in Revelation 5, verse 6, where the seven spirits are referred to as like eyes.
[00:20:47] This refers to the fullness of the Holy Spirit, of the Lord God, who goes out into the world and sees and judges and knows.
[00:20:58] Perhaps a connection with Genesis chapter one and the seven ways in which the Lord sees and he saw. And it was good. And he saw, and it was good. And he saw it was good.
[00:21:12] There's a way in which God exercises his judgments on the world in seeing and in knowing.
[00:21:21] These seven lights, these seven flames representing the Holy Spirit and image of the Holy Spirit are there, Are there with the throne.
[00:21:34] And then in verse 6, before the throne, there was, as it were, a sea of glass. An image that's going to come up again at the end of Revelation, when this crystal clear pavement on which the city is built, this is unlike the seas of our world, which are always turning and roiling, often representing chaos and destruction.
[00:22:00] Here the sea is perfectly calm, just as our Lord Jesus was able to calm the sea here in heaven. The sea is so calm, it's like glass, like crystal.
[00:22:19] Around the throne are these four living creatures.
[00:22:22] They're different images, representing different aspects of creation, full of eyes, also having the power of seeing. And what do they say? They never cease to say, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come.
[00:22:42] And so here we have at the beginning of this, of Revelation and the beginning of a section which will be the loosening of these seals and the revelation of God's judgments on the world, culminating in, in his final judgment and the salvation of his people.
[00:23:00] Before we get to all of that and the opening of the seals, we start with this vision of God.
[00:23:08] And this vision of God is not an interesting philosophical description.
[00:23:15] It's not a formula.
[00:23:18] It is a picture and an image of worship.
[00:23:22] And we never really know God.
[00:23:25] We should never really know God in any other way than to know him in a way that demands our worship.
[00:23:34] If we are thinking of God in any other way, in any way that allows us to sort of hold him apart and set him over there, we don't know who he is.
[00:23:45] We are making an image of him that we can control and manage.
[00:23:51] Our God, when He reveals Himself, is to be worshipped as these majestic, amazing creatures are doing. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come.
[00:24:07] This is just the beginning, and I think I'm going to need to move faster.
[00:24:14] What we see then from this point on is a crescendo of praise as John's vision, as he is, the vision opens up and the frame widens. It gets bigger and bigger and bigger and louder and louder and louder as the praise of God is amplified in heaven. Because in verse nine, it says, whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him, the 24 elders fall down and worship him. And they say in verse 11, worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.
[00:24:59] Now, before we get to the crescendoing, praise something, or a more crescendo of that praise something happens.
[00:25:07] At this moment, the right hand of him who's seated on the throne, in the right hand was a scroll.
[00:25:18] Now Ezekiel is given a scroll. It is the contents of what he is supposed to preach. He's called to eat it, called to eat it, to digest it.
[00:25:30] Here there is a problem.
[00:25:33] The scroll is sealed and nobody is worthy to open it.
[00:25:40] You know what seals do, right? If you seal an envelope, it is to protect the contents, the privacy in particular, of the contents of your letter. And you put it in the mail. And if you get a letter with a broken seal, you say, who opened this?
[00:25:56] Right? You might say, no one was authorized to open this.
[00:26:03] Well, this is true in this case, but only it's a little bit different in that the only one that's authorized to open it is the one who wrote the thing.
[00:26:16] This is kind of like one commentator pointed this out to me. This is sort of like the seal that was put on Jesus's tomb.
[00:26:24] When he was placed in the tomb and the seal was put on it, the only one who was allowed to break that seal is one who was authorized to open it, right? Which, of course, the Lord was more than authorized to open the seal of the tomb.
[00:26:39] Something similar like that has happened here. This is the word of God, and only someone authorized by God can open it.
[00:26:50] And this is important because John is supposed to proclaim these things, and something is to be revealed in these things. There is something that needs to be said, something that needs to be shown, and it will be shown.
[00:27:05] But what's the missing piece?
[00:27:08] We have something that needs to be shown. It's sealed with seven seals. And the problem, a mighty angel proclaims in verse two is that no one is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals.
[00:27:21] No one is worthy.
[00:27:23] Not these six creatures around the throne, not the 24 elders in heaven with golden crowns on their head who are worshiping and praising God. None of them are worthy, no, none of them are worthy to open its seals. In fact, John says, no one in heaven, of all the myriads of myriads of angels, a myriad, by the way, is 10,000.
[00:27:52] So 10,000 times 10,000 is a hundred million, 100 million angels.
[00:27:59] And these special ones around the throne of God, this council of God, and no one's able to open it.
[00:28:08] John feels the pressure of this. He feels the weight of this, the importance of this, the dilemma of this. And he begins to weep loudly in verse four.
[00:28:21] And one of the elders speaks of the word of the Lord and says, weep no more.
[00:28:28] Behold. Right? Remember that word. Behold.
[00:28:31] There's something to pay attention to that we hadn't seen before, something new on the scene in the picture. Behold, the lion of Judah, the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered so that he can open the scrolls and his seven seals.
[00:28:48] And then we have another image of the Lord Jesus.
[00:28:53] And this one has more shape. It's not just light shining, but he sees a particular structure, a particular shape, and it's a lamb.
[00:29:04] It's an interesting image, right? Having been just told, behold the lion of Judah, and then a lamb.
[00:29:15] It encourages us to read the Scriptures in this way, to, when we think about the work of the Lord Jesus in his power and in his glory, to always remember that when he came, he came as a lamb, lowly, gentle, and a sacrifice for sin.
[00:29:36] And indeed, he gave himself as a sacrifice for sin, as we see here he was standing, but as though the lamb had been slain.
[00:29:48] This is why Jesus is described as the risen lamb.
[00:29:52] This is where we get this from. This is why Jesus is described as the risen lamb. It's why he is described as the one who has conquered and the one who is worthy.
[00:30:05] And why Is he worthy? He is worthy, as they will sing in verse nine, because he was slain. And by his blood. He ransomed people for God, for every tribe, tongue, language and nation.
[00:30:19] And you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God that they shall reign on the earth.
[00:30:25] Jesus came into this world and took on human flesh according to the will of God to receive a kingdom, to create a people, and to do so through the shedding of his own blood so that we can be a part of that kingdom. And that's exactly what he did. And that's why he says right before his death that he finished and fulfilled all that the Father had given him. And he says, now glorify your Son.
[00:30:55] And he was indeed glorified.
[00:30:58] Here he is, not hanging on a cross, not buried in the tomb, not even on the earth, but risen in heaven at the right hand of God.
[00:31:14] And more than that, receiving the very worship of God that God is receiving.
[00:31:24] Worthy is the Lamb. We read in verse 11 to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory.
[00:31:32] Blessing.
[00:31:34] And then both the one who sits on the throne unto the lamb. In verse 13, there's praise to him who sits on the throne. And to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever. Jesus is God.
[00:31:47] Jesus deserves and receives and must receive the worship and the glorification that is due to God because He is God.
[00:32:04] So they sing this song. The 24 elders fall down before the Lamb, each holding a harp. This is verse 8 of chapter 5. Golden Bowls of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
[00:32:16] And here now we are brought into this picture.
[00:32:20] Our prayers going up before the Lord. Going up before the throne of God, like incense in the holy temple.
[00:32:30] Being received by God, being a part of the worship of God. Do you think of your prayers like that?
[00:32:37] You should.
[00:32:40] The prayers of the saints and the elders sing this song that I read in verses 9 and 10. And then he zooms out and he sees not just the throne and the Lamb and the Spirit, and not just the 24 the creatures and the peels of thunder and the lightnings. And then he. And then the 24 elders around the throne. But now he zooms out again in verse 11. And he hears around the throne and around the living creatures and around the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands.
[00:33:16] A vast number of angels, perhaps similar to what the shepherds saw in the field when the birth of Jesus was announced to them, when good news of great joy was proclaimed.
[00:33:38] Worthy they proclaim as the Lamb who was slain. If it was loud before, I would guess it's getting pretty loud.
[00:33:50] And then, as if that weren't enough, we have one final extension to all of this. In verse 13. And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in sea, and in all that is in them, saying to him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever.
[00:34:14] And the four living creatures said Amen. And the elders bowed down and worshiped.
[00:34:26] And then we read which we'll come to next time in chapter six.
[00:34:32] Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals.
[00:34:38] And it begins, and it begins the opening of the seals. One by one by one.
[00:34:49] We'll get there next time.
[00:34:51] But before we get there, before the judgments of God are revealed, before the scroll is revealed, before God's plans for on earth and God's plans for what he will do in heaven are revealed, we begin by knowing Him.
[00:35:10] What we have here is a prelude to several visions of judgments ending in the final judgment and a picture of the Church of God's people triumphant and glorified.
[00:35:24] Just as the first chapter of Revelation establishes this central thing of God, our God, revealing himself.
[00:35:35] And just as each of the letters to all of the seven churches begin with a description of God, a description of Christ who reveals himself to the church.
[00:35:46] Again, God emphasizes that before we receive his judgments, we must know from whom they are coming.
[00:35:55] These are not just interesting curiosity things about the future. This is the word of the Lord which being proclaimed to the people.
[00:36:06] The word of the Lord that is effective and powerful. The word of the Lord coming from our God, who is the complete and perfect and infinite picture of power and glory and honor and praise and majesty.
[00:36:21] Amen.
[00:36:28] All of the things that are in our lives, all of the things that are in this world that have happened and will happen, begin and end in this one. The triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who rules from his throne in heaven.
[00:36:49] This is the image of the One who does not lie.
[00:36:54] This is the image of the One who understands everything that happens in this world and all of our tribulations and challenges in life, who understands perfectly that he has put us here and given us a commission to witness to him, and who knows exactly how hard it is and knows exactly the troubles that are coming.
[00:37:19] This is our God.
[00:37:23] If your Christianity or your non Christianity is disconnected from the God who is revealed here, triune and glorious, if you are disconnected, if your faith is disconnected from the Lamb who was slain, the lion of Judah, who brings all things to pass because he is worthy, and who is worthy by shedding his blood and redeeming a people for himself.
[00:37:56] If this God is not a part of your lives and is disconnected and separate, you need to fall on your knees today and repent and worship.
[00:38:14] To proclaim with everything in heaven and on earth and under the earth, to him who sits on the Lamb, and to on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever. These are not just words for us to hear. They are words for us to say.
[00:38:34] We must say them because our chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. Not because we wrote it in a catechism, but because this is who God is.
[00:38:51] And if he is your Lord, then we must take every thought and feeling, every hope, every dream, everything that is happening in our lives, every question, every difficulty, and entrust it to him.
[00:39:11] Entrust it to him who has all wisdom and power and glory and might, and who has promised for his people to redeem them, to save them, and to accomplish all things through the Word and through the Spirit.
[00:39:33] May we always worship God.
[00:39:37] Let's pray.
[00:39:40] Our Heavenly Father, we bow our hearts down before you and we proclaim that you are holy, holy, holy.
[00:39:48] You created all things, and by your will they existed and were created. Hear our prayer, O Lord. Through the work of and through the intercession of the blood of the Lamb, in whom we are perfected and strengthened, in whom we have your name and become worthy to receive these things and believe them.
[00:40:15] Lord, we ask that you would give to us understanding.
[00:40:23] Not so that we might merely assent to these truths, so that we might worship accordingly. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen.
