Revelation 4:1-11

As we follow Christ in a wicked world, we may feel oppressed and even persecuted for our faith. This struggle intensifies when the power structures of this world line up against us, inflicting suffering and making our life difficult from a governmental, economic, and social dimension. This was the quandary for many believers living under the Roman Empire in Asia Minor and it was true for the Apostle John on Patmos Island, too.

To encourage John to persevere, Christ appeared to him in an exalted, glorified way in Rev 1:9-20. Then he appeared again in Rev 4-5, but this time he invited John to see his glory not just on earth but in heaven.

A Divine Invitation (Rev 4:1)

John has already received a commission to write Revelation (Rev 1:1-8), encountered the exalted Christ (Rev 1:9-20), and received messages from Christ for seven churches in Asia Minor (Rev 2:1-3:22). “After these things” tells us what John saw next.

Once again, John heard words from Christ himself with the “trumpet-like” voice of his opening vision of Christ (Rev 1:10). This voice invited him to transfer his attention from earth to heaven – from his imprisonment and hard labor on Patmos and the struggle of churches in the Roman Empire to the throne room of God.

From this heavenly vantage point, Christ would reveal to John things that would happen in the future (“which must take place after this”). These things refer especially to the extended series of divine judgments described in Rev 6-16, but also to the climactic events of Rev 17-22. Before he reveals these events to John, though, Christ provides him with a glimpse of God’s throne room in heaven from which all of these events will unfold.

God on the Throne (Rev 4:2-3)

Christ did not transport (or teleport) John to heaven in a physical sense but in a spiritual sense reserved for men God commissioned to write inspired, prophetic Scripture (i.e., Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Paul, John). This prophetic vision began with a clear focus on the throne of God, and this throne refers not only to the throne but to the entire throne room.

Of course, the most important detail in this heavenly scene is God himself. In Rev 4, God the Father is in focus, then in Rev 5, Christ is in focus. Both chapters also feature God the Spirit (Rev 4:5; 5:6).

In the opening stage of this vision, John focuses on the majestic glory of God. He compares God’s appearance to jasper and sardius stones, which are difficult to identify. Both are precious stones but these names refer to a variety of possibilities. What’s more, John did not see these stones as such but chooses them because they resembled what he says. What he actually saw was “like” them or “similar” to them in appearance. John may be describing a range of colors such as reddish-browns, oranges, and greens.

The greenish hue especially stands out due to the “emerald rainbow” encircling the throne. This rainbow resembles the rainbows we see in the sky today because both are round and circular manifestations of light. This heavenly rainbow is unique, though, because of its bright green color, as the rainbows we see on Earth are multicolored.

We should be cautious to assign symbolic meaning to any of these visual descriptions. Instead, we should do our best to visualize these colors and descriptions in our minds so we can imagine what John saw most accurately.

The Heavenly Council (Rev 4:4, 10)

The next thing that captured John’s attention was a string of twenty-four other thrones situated next to each other around the throne of God. These may be twelve thrones extending in a row to the left and right or they may be a continuous series of thrones arranged around God’s throne in a circle.

Upon these thrones, John saw what he describes as elders who wore white robes and golden crowns. Beyond these basic details, John identifies these elders no further.

• Some suggest these beings represent the Old (OT) and New Testament (NT) people of God, corresponding somehow to a combination of the twelve tribes of OT Israel and the twelve NT apostles of Christ.
• Others suggest these elders represent Christians, esp. martyrs, due to their white robes and golden crowns, things promised to believers by Christ (Rev 2:10; 3:11, 18, 21). Yet neither white robes (1:14; 3:4-5; 6:11; 7:9) nor golden crowns (6:2; 9:7; 12:1; 14:14) are reserved exclusively for believers, as they appear on Christ, other angelic beings, and even demonic beings, too. Furthermore, John portrays these elders elsewhere in Revelation as a different set of beings from believers who are either martyred (Rev 7:13-14) or deceased (Rev 14:1-3).

While either of these interpretations is perhaps possible, it seems best to identify these elders are members of a heavenly council of angelic beings. This approach borrows from the way that elders functioned in Jewish communities, as a group of men who provided input, counsel, and guidance for a community. It also fits well with how Scripture portrays God’s heavenly throne room elsewhere (see Psa 89:7; Isa 24:23).

The Throne Room Itself (Rev 4:5-6)

After introducing God’s heavenly council, John further describes the throne room itself in an auditory and visual way. From the throne, encircled by an emerald glow, came lightning flashes, rumbles of thunder, and sounds of voices (more about these voices later). Knowing this, it’s safe to say that God’s throne room is not a quiet place.

Situated prominently somewhere in front of the throne John saw seven lamps – torches lit with fire – burning brightly. These torches display the “seven Spirits of God,” which we have previously identified as the Spirit of God himself (Rev 1:4).

John described the front area of this throne room as something “like a sea of glass similar to crystal.” This doesn’t mean it was a sea, or glass, or crystal but only that these were the best words John could use to describe this otherworldly phenomenon. Whatever this expanse may be, it was vast and clear demonstrating God’s immense separation from the rest of creation and the absolute purity of that place.

Four Heavenly Creatures (Rev 4:6-9)

John’s eyes turn next to four other angelic creatures who are more fascinating than the twenty-four elders from a visual standpoint. Used together, in the midst and around tell us that these four creatures appeared somewhere close to the throne. These creatures shared some unusual features:

• They are covered by many eyes in every place and from all directions. Why so many eyes? We can’t say for sure but perhaps to ensure they saw as much of the glory of God as possible for inspiring as much praise as possible.
• Each resembled a creature we’re familiar with on Earth. One resembled a lion, one an ox, one a human (esp. in the face), and one a flying eagle. This description resembles one given by Ezekiel (Ezek 1:10), only in that OT instance we learn that the creatures have all four faces at once. To reconcile these descriptions, perhaps we should conclude that Ezekiel saw all sides and John only saw one of each.
• Each creature had six wings, resembling the angelic creatures Isaiah describes in the OT when he saw the throne of God (Isa 6:2). According to Isaiah, these creatures used two wings to cover their face, two to cover their feet, and two to fly.

As with the stones John used to describe the appearance of God on his throne, we should be cautious not to inject dogmatic symbolic meanings into our interpretation of these four creatures. Instead, we should do our best to visualize the scene as John describes it recognizing that even he struggled to explain what he saw, doing his best by borrowing from familiar creatures on Earth.

These four angelic creatures together with the twenty-four elders (also angelic creatures of a different kind) stir our imagination and pique our interest in the heavenly realm. They also remind us that we serve a creative God and, like our terrestrial world, the heavenly world he made also features a remarkable variety.

What’s most important here is not figuring out some symbolic meaning for these four distinct faces and creatures but rather hearing what they said.

Words of Reverence and Worship (Rev 4:8, 11)

The words announced by these angelic creatures emphasize three important attributes of God, his holiness, omnipotence, and power.

• Regarding his holiness, these creatures resemble the angelic creatures seen by Isaiah in this important way – they announce, “Holy, holy, holy.” According to John, they spoke these words, and according to Isaiah, they called them out loudly (Isa 6:3). Holiness describes God as being set apart from his creation. As such, he is untouched by the wickedness that pervades our world and our fallen nature, which ensures that he is perfectly sinless and completely reliable in justice, unlike other corrupt judges and rulers. That the angels repeat this three times underscores God’s perfect, unmatched holiness. He’s not “kind of” or just more holy than others, he is perfectly holy in every way.
• Regarding his omnipotence, these creatures also resemble the angels seen by Isaiah. Here they call God the “Almighty,” which is the same concept as what Isaiah calls “the Lord of hosts.” This description reminds us that God commands a countless host of heavenly, angelic armies (which becomes obvious as the scroll of Revelation unfolds). This fact upholds God’s absolute, undefeatable dominion and sovereignty over all things.
• Regarding his eternality, these creatures describe God as the one “who was and is and is to come,” something John has already mentioned in this book (Rev 1:4, 8). This description also reminds the reader of how God revealed himself to Moses (Exo 3:14). Such a reminder is remarkable because, in Exodus, God revealed himself to Moses as the eternally existent, self-sufficient, and therefore preeminent God as the basis for his impending deliverance of Israel from oppression by Egypt, the superpower of that day. Here God is revealing himself to John as in the same way as the basis for his impending deliverance of the church from oppression by Rome and the major superpowers of our day.

John says that these angels “do not rest day or night” in making these announcements of praise for God. This does not mean that they do this incessantly as in every moment of every day, but rather that not a day goes by and they do not say these things. Even so, this is just one of the things that they say and do. For instance, in Rev 6 they summon the angelic riders to go out into the world to spread God’s judgment (Rev 6:1, 3, 5, 7).

Whenever these angels announce the greatness of God, John tells us that something else occurred – God’s entire angelic council left their thrones to fall prostrate in worship before him. Each time they did so, they would do two things: cast their crowns towards his throne and offer their own words of praise.

Regarding their “casting crowns,” we should note that this is where the popularized concept of “casting our crowns at Jesus’ feet” comes from. It’s fascinating to observe, however, it is not we who are doing this but the members of God’s angelic council. This realization does not mean that we should not respond the same way but it does challenge us to ensure that we understand the Bible correctly. How many other ideas do we believe are taught in Scripture which are not quite as we’ve assumed?

The phrase “give glory and honor and thanks” does not mean that God’s heavenly council in any way adds to God’s glory and honor” or that they somehow contribute to his character. God is perfectly and eternally holy and good and no one can increase his glory. Instead, this is a phrase that means to acknowledge what is already true, which in this case is that God alone is worthy to receive all praise. This was contrary, of course, to the kind of praise that the Caesars of Rome required, causing so much hardship for those who followed Christ.

Why is God worthy of such unqualified praise? For the most basic and profound of reasons – because he created all things into existence for his own purposes and pleasure. God does not exist for us; we exist for God. Because he created us, he deserves our praise. Because he created everything else, he deserves our praise. Salvation and redemption aside, even the angelic creatures of heaven understand this from what they see and know about God. He deserves complete and never-ending praise.

Key Takeaways

This scene continues in Rev 5 when John shifts his focus from God the Father to God the Son, from the praise of God to the judgment of God. Yet before we move on, how should we respond to these initial observations by John of God’s heavenly throne room?

Marvel at the majesty of God.

Like John and the twenty-eight creatures, take time to see and savor the scene at God’s throne. Envision in your mind’s eye what John saw. Focus first on the dazzling, sparkling throne with our glorious God upon it, encircled by a glowing green halo of glory. Observe the somber angelic council sitting around him, the fiery presence of the Holy Spirit, and the vast expanse of crystal-clear space beneath it all. Let the thunder and lightning jolt your senses and listen closely to the loud heavenly voices announcing God’s unmatched character and unrivaled glory. Take it all in like a child seeing Niagara Falls or the Grand Canyon for the first time. If angels marvel at the majesty of God, so should we.

Bow before the sovereignty of God.

As we marvel at the majesty of God, we should bow like the elders before the sovereignty of God. No throne rooms, executive offices, legislative halls, or courtrooms come anywhere close to rivaling the authority and power of our God.

As Psa 115:3 says, “Our God is in heaven; he does whatever he pleases.” Even his heavenly counsel and the countless armies of angelic beings do whatever he commands and does not question him. Whatever the superpowers of this world have planned, they are like ants on an ant mound to our God and our suffering for him is no trouble at all.

As Psa 2:4-5 says, “He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord will have them in derision. Then he shall speak in his wrath, and distress them in his displeasure.” Psa 2 goes on to say, “Be wise, O kings; be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in him” (Psa 2:10-12).

This section, Rev 4-5, sets the stage for a series of judgments through which God will pour out his wrath on the wicked and rebellious world. Though his judgments will seem cruel and harsh, we must know beforehand that they are just and righteous in every way.

For those who follow Christ, we should also know that no matter how much we may suffer for following him and for refusing to bow to the gods and ungodly forces and pressures of this world that rise and fall, we serve a higher power than the kings and judges of this world. We serve the God of heaven who is holy, omnipotent, and eternal.