Originally posted 6/11/17 for WAMC men’s class. Sorry, didn’t take time to clean up formatting…hope it can be useful…
Today marks a transition in John’s vision, in that he is now officially invited UP into heaven. He is now in the Spirit (again?). He is also, “in the Spirit on the Lord’s day” in Rev 1:10. I might be making too much of this, but it feels really important to emphasize this as we try to grasp the imagery of this chapter and probably the rest of revelations. Although I am a spiritual being, I mostly aware of my physical side and can almost only think in those terms.
I think the writers of Scripture must have struggled to know how describe the visions they saw of spiritual things in earthly terms. Ezekiel 1 has a very tries to describe God and the throne room as well, and I thought it was interesting how careful he was to use terms like, appearance of, like, resembled, etc. In today’s lesson, John barely describes God at all. Instead, he seems to describe the phenomena around God that shows who he is.
Does God have arms? Does he look like a man? (e.g 1 Kings 8:42; Eze 1:26) These are anthropomorphic (meaning human characteristics) Why do we use those terms to describe God, who is a Spirit? Does he need hands to be able to accomplish his purposes on the earth? Do the 4 beasts need eyes all over in order to see everything? (I believe they had these eyes, as described, but I think this was more symbolic of their purpose then function??).
For me, the point of bringing this up is to say that I think the “physical” phenomena here are (primarily?) representations of a deeper spiritual reality.
According to Osborne: This chapter has three primary purposes: (1) to ground our own liturgical worship in the heavenly worship of the celestial beings; (2) to contrast the magnificence of God with the earthly “glory” of Caesar and all earthly rulers; and (3) to show that the judgment of God (chaps. 6– 20) is grounded in his holiness and redemptive work (chaps. 4– 5). God is creator of all and as such is sovereign over all. Whenever people choose to worship the creature (as in the imperial cult) rather than the Creator, it is blasphemy and must lead to judgment. Osborne, Kindle Locations 5610
I think it’s worth noting that the throne room scene, according Osborne, “is a kaleidoscope of OT images, with no single one dominant. Perhaps the most pervasive image is that of Ezek. 1: 4– 28, the “throne in a whirlwind” vision, but important parallels are also found with the throne room of Isa. 6: 1– 4 and the throne scene of Dan. 7: 9– 10.” Kindle Locations 5181
The first thing John sees when he “arrives” in heaven is a throne…with one seated on the throne (Rev 1:2). God’s throne seems to be a central theme of this chapter, certainly (occurs 13 times!), but also for the whole book. Most of the phenomena in the chapter are described in their relation to the throne (not to God??!) I struggled a bit with this…shouldn’t John’s encounter with God’s majesty focus on God himself instead of what it looked like? Why did the elders cast their crowns before the throne instead of to God directly?
Part of the answer for me is what I was trying to describe before, in that what was going on in the throne room is perhaps really a description of God Himself. I believe God was sitting on a throne in heaven, but does He need a throne to exert his sovereign will? Isn’t it more a symbolism of his majesty and sovereignty to his subjects? What is the significance of a throne? Osborne states a throne became a symbol for the sovereign majesty of the king. It signified both rule and judgment. Kindle Location 5256
BTW, define sovereign/sovereignty. This is a central concept of who God is in this chapter.
- possessing supreme or ultimate power. 2. a self-governing state.
God’s Appearance:
- Appearance of jasper and carnelian
- Rainbow around the throne
Throne Room:
- 24 thrones and elders around THE throne
- Clothed in white garments
- Wearing golden crowns
- Lightening & thunder from the throne
- Seven torches of fire before the throne (the seven Spirits of God)
- Sea of glass before the throne
- Four creatures around the throne
- Full of eyes
- Like a lion, ox, man, flying eagle
- Six wings
- Full of eyes (repeated)
- Worship God day and night (unceasing)
Evaluation:
- In lieu of describing God directly, I think I would take throne room scene as a whole as a description of God. According to Matthew 6:10, God’s will is followed absolutely in heaven. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. I think that is a major point of this scene.
The Elders:
The key is the function of the πρεσβύτεροι (presbyteroi, elders) in the book. Their primary role is that of worship (5: 14; 11: 16; 19: 4) and praise (4: 11; 5: 9– 10; 11: 17– 18; 14: 3; 19: 4). In addition, they serve as intermediaries and interpreters (5: 5; 7: 13– 17). A close examination of these texts shows a distinct differentiation between the elders and the saints. In 5: 8 they hold golden bowls that contain the prayers of the saints; in 7: 13– 14 one of them explains who the victorious saints are; in 11: 18 they thank God for rewarding the saints; in 14: 3 the 144,000 sing “a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders”; and in 19: 4 they join the heavenly chorus. The elders are seated on thrones (4: 4; 11: 16), while the saints stand before the throne (7: 9). From this evidence it is more likely that these are heavenly beings who reign with God and are part of the retinue surrounding his throne. Moreover, since “all the angels” also stand before the throne (7: 11), these must be celestial beings with a ruling function….
On the whole, I conclude that the elders were a ruling class of heavenly beings who encircled the throne and led heavenly praise, thus exhibiting a priestly role. Osborne, Kindle Locations 5340-5357 (emphasis mine)
The Beasts:
Still others believe they represent the whole of animate creation (Swete, Ladd, Mounce, Harrington, Wall, Roloff, Giesen, Beale), perhaps detailing what is noblest, strongest, wisest, and swiftest in God’s creation. This seems to be the most viable option, and it avoids the tendency to allegorize the four overmuch. However, there is too little evidence to be certain. Osborne, Kindle Locations 5442
- In essence, all we can know for certain is that they represent the highest order of celestial beings, perhaps angels,[ 28] and lead in worship and judgment. Building on the cherubim and seraphim of Ezekiel and Isaiah, they go beyond those figures in their participation in divine justice. Once again we see that the throne room of this chapter, centering on worship and glory, prepares for the judgment theme in the rest of the book. Of the options above the most likely is the last. While these four transcend nature in one sense as heavenly beings (cf. 5: 13), they also represent the whole of the created order as they stand before God. Osborne, Kindle Locations 5454
The Worship:
- The beasts say: “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” (Rev 4:8)
- Lord God Almighty/Lord of Hosts/Lord of Sabaoth refers to God’s sovereign rule over all. According to Osborne, is one of John’s most frequently used titles for God in Revelations (Kindle 5493).
- This (statement?) includes glory and honor and thanks (Rev 4:9)
- To him who is seated on the throne
- Who lives forever and ever (repeated from their statement)
- Then the elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne (repeat) and worship him who lives forever and ever (3rd repeat).
- Cast their crowns before the throne
- Say:
- Worthy are you our Lord and God
- To receive glory and honor and power (repeat from beasts w/ exception of power vs thanks).
- For you created all things
- And by your will they existed
- And were created (repeat)
Evaluation of the worship:
To me, the statement, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, is the central assertion of the chapter, perhaps of the whole book. When Scripture repeats itself, it means to really take note, and when it repeats itself three times, it must be of utmost importance! This is the worship given to God throughout all eternity, so it must be significant!
I really struggled with wrapping my mind around what the beasts were offering here by venerating God as holy. What does holy even mean?
G0040 Hagios
sacred (physically, pure, morally blameless or religious, ceremonially, consecrated): — (most) holy (one, thing), saint.
AV (229) – holy 161, saints 61, Holy One 4, misc 3;
most holy thing, a saint
A word search of Hagios in the NT didn’t help me that much. Predominantly used in the name of the Spirit (Holy Spirit), and the term saints (e.g. Eph 1:1,2). Also a few other miscellaneous uses (obviously today’s lesson).
“but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy” (1 Pet 1:15-16) and God through Moses tells the children of Israel that they must be “’Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy” (Lev 19:2)…. Hebrew word for holy is “qodesh” and means “apartness, set-apartness, separateness, sacredness” and I would add that it should also be “otherness, transcendent and totally other” because God is totally above His creation and His creatures, including us. Holy has the idea of heaviness or weight of glory. In the New Testament, the word for holy is “hagios” and means set apart, reverend, sacred, and worthy of veneration.” This word applies to God because God Himself is totally other, separate, sacred, transcendent, reverend, and set apart from every created thing. Jack Wellman Patheos.com
The other significant portion of worship is the final statements, that God created everything, He keeps it existing, and it was all created for His pleasure. (I don’t even have time to delve into that text).
Our response should be of worship. To the persecuted church, boldness!