REVELATION 4-6
SEGMENT III
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We know from previous study, that this great convocation was assembled in Heaven in 1798. The Father predetermined the date of these meeting thousands of years before it occurred; He aligned this convocation in Heaven with the fall of the papacy so that at the appointed time of the end, students of prophecy could determine the timing of this meeting even though the meeting was not observed by anyone on Earth.

Daniel saw “thrones set up” for this occasion, and the prophet John saw the same event. Daniel was zoomed upward to Heaven and forward in time to witness an awesome meeting where John also saw thrones set up for this occasion! “After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in Heaven.  And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.’ At one I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in Heaven with someone sitting on it….Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads.” (Revelation 4:1,2,4) Of course, John could not know the timing of what he saw. He simply says, “At once I was in the Spirit…” We now know that Daniel and John were zoomed forward in their visions to see things that would take place thousands of years later, and neither man understood the timing of what he was shown. The privilege of understanding the timing of Revelation 4-6 occurs after the book of Daniel is unsealed.

When John arrived in Heaven, he was awed by the things he saw. “And immediately I was in the Spirit; 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 the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.  And round about the thrown were four and twenty seats: upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.

“And out of the throne proceeded lightings and thundering and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits [the seven brilliant angels that stand before God] of God. And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto a crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts [strange looking creatures] 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 like 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.

“And when those beasts [creatures] give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, the four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat upon the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever 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.’” (Revelation 4:2-11, KJV, insertions mine)

The description that John gave is not hard to figure out. He saw the Father sitting on an exalted throne. He saw twenty-four human beings (elders) wearing golden crowns and they were sitting around the Father. He saw the seven angels (seven living beings or spirits) who stand before God (Revelation 8:2; Revelation 15:1; Hebrews 1:14) And he saw four living creatures standing around the throne. Of course, John noticed “ten thousand times ten thousand” angels attending the meeting. (Revelation 5:11) For many people, the four living creatures are a mystery, so a few words about them may be helpful at this point.

The Four Living Creatures

The four living creatures in Revelation 4 represent the third member of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit. The definition may come as a surprise at first, but the third rule of apocalyptic prophecy produces the result! Rule three states, “Apocalyptic language can be literal, symbolic or analogous. To reach the intended meaning of apocalyptic prophecy, the student must consider: (a) the context, (b) the use of parallel language elsewhere in the Bible, and (c) relevant statements in the Bible which define the symbol if an element is thought to be symbolic.” Because we have to follow valid rules of interpretation to arrive at the intended meaning of prophecy, we have to consider the five specifications that John gives about the living creatures:

1.      There were four living creatures surrounding the throne.

2.      Each creature had six wings.

3.      Each creature was full of eyes.

4.      Each creature looked like a lion, a calf, a man and a flying eagle.

5.      The four creatures never rested from giving praise and glory to God.

Before we try to reach a conclusion with these specifications, Rule Three says we need to consider the use of parallel language in the Bible. Consider the words of Ezekiel because he saw the four living creatures as well! Notice the ten specifications given in Ezekiel 1 and 10:

1. There were four living creatures having the appearance of a man. (1:5)

2. Each living creature had four faces, four wings and four hands. (1:6,7)

3. Each living creature had the faces of a lion, ox, man, and eagle. (1:10)

4. The four living creatures appeared to be on fire. Lightning flashed from the four living creatures. (1:13)

5. The four living creatures traveled at the speed of light. (1:14)

6. Above the four living creatures was a great expanse that looked like a sheet of ice. (1:22)

7. A glorious throne rested in the middle of the sparkling expanse. (1:26)

8. The bodies of the four living creatures were covered in eyes. (10:12)

9. Four dynamic whirling wheels were located beside each creature. (1:15, 16; 10:16)

10. The power of the four creatures came from the four wheels. (1:20; 10:17)

Even though there are slight variations in the descriptions of John and Ezekiel, I have no doubt that these men were shown the same thing from two different perspectives. By giving different people different views of the same things, God expands our understanding of a subject. This is why there are four gospels! The perspective of Matthew is not sufficient. We need the perspectives of Mark, Luke and John to better understand the ministry of Jesus on Earth. For that matter, where would Christians be today without the perspectives of Paul?

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