Revelation 4:1

Heaven opened Chap. Rev_4:1-9

1. I looked] Better, I beheld, and lo! as Rev_5:6; Rev_5:11 &c.; Dan_7:6; Dan_7:11 &c. The purport of the word is rather that he continued looking at what he had seen before, than that he looked in another direction. There is a transition: henceforth he goes to another point of view, and sees no more the Son of Man in the midst of the seven candlesticks: but the transition is not indicated in this word.

[was] opened] The participle is used without any verb: he saw the door standing open, he did not see the fact of its opening.

[was] as it were] Here the insertion of the verb is even more misleading. The true construction and sense is, “Behold a door set open in Heaven, and [behold] the first voice which I had heard, as of a trumpet [Rev_1:10] saying.…”

which said] The participle does not agree with the substantive “voice,” and perhaps we ought to render “one saying.”

hereafter] Lit., after these things, as in Rev_1:19 : i.e. after the state of things described in the Epistles to the Seven Churches. See note l.c.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

1 After this I looked, and, behold, 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, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.

Ver. 1. A door was opened in heaven] That is, preparation was made for the manifestation of more heavenly mysteries.

Was as it were of a trumpet] To reuse and raise up his attention. For it might fare with him as with a drowsy person, who though awaked, and set to work, is ready to sleep at it. Compare Zec 4:1.

Come up hither] Not by local motion, but by mental illumination.

I will show thee] That thou mayest show the Church, that they have a most glorious and almighty deliverer.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rev_4:1-11

Behold, a door was opened in heaven.

The open door

I. The open door.

1. The place where the open door was seen: In heaven. This implies several important things.

(1) The changed sphere of operation.

(a) The golden lampstands represented Churches, not in heaven, but on earth.

(b) The seven stars represented the pastors of those Churches.

(c) Now the seers attention is called from the condition of things on earth to a condition of things in heaven. This is fruitful of suggestion.

(2) That the door is represented as open is noticeable.

(a) That now, for the first time, heaven is to be laid open to saints on earth.

(b) That now these heavenly things, as here revealed, should be prayerfully pondered: an open door, ever inviting entrance.

(3) Though this is a vision of the heavenly world, the objects seen are symbols; the things symbolised are as real as heaven itself is real.

II. The invitation: Come up hither.

1. The authoritative character of the invitation. The speaker is no less than the risen Lord.

2. The distinguished honour of the invitation.

3. The gracious purpose of the invitation.

(1) These things contain the substance of the Divine purposes concerning the destiny both of the people and the enemies of God.

(2) These purposes had never been disclosed till now.

(3) They are purposes in which all Gods people should take a lively interest.

III. The seers transformation.

1. Its suddenness.

2. Its significance.

IV. The sublime vision. Practical lessons:

1. The great importance of the study of the laws of prophetic symbols.

2. The symbols of this chapter are not only interesting as throwing light on the place this chapter occupies in the prophetic scheme of this book, but they are also full of practical value.

(1) They should impress us profoundly with the-awe-inspiring presentation of the majesty, sovereignty, and holiness of God, whose name we should revere.

(2) They should deeply impress us with the Divine activity, and the multiplicity of Divine agents in the bringing about the Divine purposes concerning the children of men.

(3) They should impress us with the faithfulness of God, and the sure reward of those who love and serve Him on earth. (D. C. Hughes, M. A.)

A door opened in heaven

I. A door of intercourse between God and man. A door of intercourse was virtually opened in the covenant of grace, when the sacred persons of the Divine Trinity entered into solemn compact that the chosen should be redeemed, that an offering should be presented by which sin should be atoned for and Gods broken law should be vindicated. In that covenant council chamber where the sacred Three combined to plan the salvation, a door was virtually opened in heaven, and it was through that door that the saints who lived and died before the coming of Christ passed into their rest. But the door was actually and evidently opened when our Lord Jesus came down to the sons of men to sojourn in their flesh. There is no little comfort in the belief that heavens gates are opened, because then our prayers, broken-winged as they are, shall enter there. The ports of the glory-land are not blockaded; we have access by Jesus Christ unto the Father; and there is free trade with heaven for poor broken-hearted sinners.

II. A door of observation.

1. A door is opened in heaven whenever we are elevated by the help of Gods Spirit to high thoughts of the glory of God. Sometimes by investigating the works of nature we obtain a glimpse of the infinite. More often by beholding the grace and mercy revealed in Jesus Christ our hearts are warmed towards that blessed One who made us, who sustains us, who redeemed us, to whom we owe all things.

2. A door is opened in heaven whenever the meditative spirit is able to perceive Christ Jesus with some degree of clearness.

3. We sometimes get a door opened in heaven when we enjoy the work of the Holy Spirit in our souls.

4. A door is often opened in heaven in the joys of Christian worship. Yes, but if it be sweet to-day to mingle now with Christians in their praise and prayer, when we are so soon to separate and go our way, how passing sweet that place must be where the saints meet in eternal session of worship, the King ever with them, etc.

5. Another door is opened in heaven in the fellowship which we enjoy with the saints on earth.

6. A door has often been opened in heaven to us at the communion table. Astronomers select the best spots for observatories; they like elevated places which are free from traffic, so that their instruments may not quiver with the rumbling of wheels; they prefer also to be away from the smoke of manufacturing towns, that they may discern the orbs of heaven more clearly. Surely if any one place is fitter to be an observatory for a heaven-mind than another, it is the table of communion.

7. Another door that is opened in heaven is the delights of knowledge. The philosopher rejoices as he tracks some recondite law of nature to its source; but to hunt out a gospel truth, to track the real meaning of a text of Scripture, to get some fresh light upon one of the offices of the Redeemer, to see a precious type stand out with a fresh meaning, to get to know Him and the power of His resurrection experimentally; oh! this is happiness.

8. Another door of heaven may be found in the sweets of victory. I mean not the worlds victory, where there are garments rolled in blood, but I refer to victory over sin, self, and Satan.

III. A door of entrance. Christian, the message will soon come to thee, The Master is come, and calleth for thee. Soon, I say, that door will open; surely you do not want to postpone the day. What is there amiss between you and your Husband that you wish to tarry away from Him? (C. H. Spurgeon.)

A door in heaven

I. The nearness of the heavenly world. We are at its door. Heaven is simply that which is heaved up. An uplifted life. We are always on the threshold of the pure, the noble, the blessed.

II. The possible revelation of heaven. It is not merely near and closed against us. It is near, and may be known. A door into it may be opened.

1. The Bible is such a door.

2. The death of good men is such a door.

3. The life of Christ is such a door.

4. Our own best experience is such a door. (D. Thomas, D. D.)

Heaven near, though hidden

This passage derives intense interest from its position as well as from its terms; for it occurs at the close of one group of scenes and at the beginning of another. My text, then, forms the transition between the earthly and the heavenly pictures. There is something striking, surely, in this sudden contrast, for the former chapters contain the most emphatic references to this present life of conflict and of sadness. They speak to those whose dwelling is where Satans seat is; they speak of their labour and their patience, their tribulation and their poverty. Watch, repent, hold fast, overcome, are the solemn, stirring words urged repeatedly on those addressed. How well we can understand their position, for it is our own I Instructed by the glorified Son of Man, the apostle saw and wrote those things. But after this, he says, I looked, and behold, a door was opened in heaven, and through that open door he saw a sight how different. In place of the strife and tears and guilty stains which he saw before there was perfect splendour, sanctity, and bliss. He saw Gods throne with its rainbow emblem of mercy, etc. How complete the contrast between that world above and this world below, described before. I propose now to regard this transition passage as suggesting some relations between these two separated worlds.

I. The division between earth and heaven.

1. The fact that heaven and earth are divided by so wide a gulf seems to me cue of the strangest facts in our experience, though long habit prevents the strangeness from striking us so much. We should have expected the very opposite. Comparatively few cross the Atlantic to America, yet, though we may never see it, we require no act of faith to realise its existence and condition. But the world of heaven is so far removed beyond the range of our knowledge that we have need of faith to be convinced even that it exists. The material universe has been called the garment of God, and so far it reveals Him; but it hides Him too. Little can be said in explanation of our exclusion from all direct knowledge of the unseen world and God; but that little springs out of the very things which make it strange. If heaven were not invisible, if God sometimes appeared, the chief trial of our present life would be removed, and we should have perfect assurance instead of wavering faith. Our life, in fact, would cease to be the discipline which it is at present. His wisdom appoints that we walk by faith, not by sight; no wonder, then, that all the arrangements of our life are in keeping with this purpose. Moreover, to this separation of earth from heaven we may observe several analogies, e.g., as a thoughtful writer has pointed out, the material universe might have been one great plain allowing of the freest intercourse between its countless inhabitants, instead of which it is broken up into myriads of globes, divided from each other by abysses of space impassable to those who inhabit them. We are separated from the dwellers in Jupiter or Sirius (if such there are) as completely as we are separated from the dwellers in heaven. And note how the same policy is carried out even on earth. Two-thirds of the surface of our globe is water; vast oceans separate us from the inhabitants of America or Japan almost as entirely as if they lived on another planet. Nay, the majority of even English people are and will remain perfect strangers to us. Moreover, the periods of time contribute to this end as well as the expanse of space, for how entirely we are cut off from intercourse with those who lived in the past, and we are still more completely divided from future generations, and we come into contact with only a few of the people who are now living. Now these facts show that it is Gods will to break up His vast family into little groups, in order, perhaps, that each individual may, in comparative seclusion, be tried by the mystery of existence, instead of finding many of its problems solved by the combined experiences of all. All this is in keeping with the strange division between heaven and earth.

II. The connection between earth and heaven. One point of connection between the two, which at least helps to make heaven seem nearer to us, is that life in heaven, just as much as our life here, is proceeding now. We cannot see, indeed, that bright and holy world for which we yearn, as we should like to do, but there are those who do see it, who do enjoy it now. Their bliss is a present feeling arising from the presence of God now. Their endless life runs along a parallel course to our transient life. The present, which we call time, they call eternity. We cannot see them or hear of them, for there is a great division between earth and heaven, but there is a real connection, too, since those we love are present with the Lord, and are now receiving and returning the love of Christ, whom they see as He is. But there is a deeper lying connection between the two than this. We mourn over Gods absence from our earth, but what would earth be without Him? In Him we live, and move, and have our being. And the angels from whom we are so divided, Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister to them who shall be heirs of salvation? So far from being independent of and forgotten by God, it is true rather that all we see and all we are was made and is upheld by Gods ever present power, and the ministrations of His angels. And if natures laws are Gods will, it may be said also that human history is the evolution of His providence. Individuals and nations, with all their wild and reckless freedom, do but accomplish what Gods hand and Gods counsel determined before to be done. We may trace this on the large scale when we note, in the Bible history, how Gods purposes have been wrought out by men, though we often cannot trace it in the narrow region of our own observations. But if God is present in the great, we may be sure He is present in the little, of which the great is made up. In history and in nature, too, we see effects, an endless tangled chain of them, but causes we do not see and cannot find out. Causes, forces, are beyond our reach, for there is a great division between earth and heaven. Ours is a God who hides Himself. But as we must believe that without these indiscoverable forces the universe would cease to be, so we believe that all depends upon the unseen God. Earth and heaven, then, are divided by a gulf we cannot pass, but the connection between the two is nothing short of complete dependence.

III. The door is set open between earth and heaven. The division is maintained between the two in order that our discipline may not cease. But sometimes the door is opened that our faith may not fail. That has happened at those sundry times and in divers manners when God spake unto the fathers by the prophets. And in later days there was a still more wonderful exception. The door was opened wider, and, attended by a train of angels singing glory in the highest, the Son of God passed through, and dwelt among us, and men beheld His glory. And whenever a Christian pilgrim reaches his journeys end, then, too, it may be said that the door between earth and heaven is set open to let the wanderer pass into his home. How close, then, heaven is to earth in spite of the separation, for at any moment the transit may be made. In yet another sense we may say that to us on earth a door is opened in heaven, and that is when we worship. The prayers and praises to which we give utterance on earth pass that strange division between earth and heaven which we cannot cross, and mingle with the nobler worship of the temple above, making us one with friends already there. (T. M. Herbert, M. A.)

The heavenly vision of the soul

I. The soul has the ability to perceive heavenly visions.

1. Man has the ability to look into the world around him--in nature, in society, in the nation.

2. Man has the ability to look into the world within him. It would be well for the moral life of men if they would enter more frequently into the chamber of the heart, and inspect the sentiments and energies reigning there.

3. Man has the ability to look into the world before him. This is his noblest ability. It brings into requisition the keen eye of a Divinely-enlightened soul. This vision is sublime, captivating, inspiring, elevating.

II. The soul has the opportunity to perceive heavenly visions. God allows man to gaze into the mysteries of the life above. Kings do not often give men free access to their presence-chamber. Here we see the love of God, in that: He reveals the unseen to the race; His wisdom in that He casts a little light upon the problems of futurity. This opportunity is the most frequently given:

1. To men in lonely sorrow (Rev_1:9, Eze_1:1). Men can see a long way through tears.

2. To men in humble duty (Mat_3:16).

3. To men in dying circumstances (Act_7:55).

III. The soul is called by many voices to rise to heavenly vision.

1. It is called by the voice of God as heard in Scripture; by the voice of Christ, whose earthly life was one continued gaze into heaven; by the Holy Spirit, who purifies the life of the soul that it may be capable of celestial vision.

2. The soul must ascend to heavenly vision. Elevated above flesh, above the world, above reason, even to faith.

IV. The soul obtains its truest knowledge of future destinies from its heavenly vision.

1. From the heavenly vision men learn that all human events are under the wise providence of God.

2. From the heavenly vision men learn wisely to estimate the passing events of life.

3. From the heavenly vision men learn calmly to wait the destinies of the future. Lessons:

(1) Learn in all things to look heavenward.

(2) Seek to rise morally to the level of heavenly vision.

(3) Learn to read history in the light of clear prophecy. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)

Heaven near

1. The reality of a heavenly world, and of its concern and connection with this. That world has its inhabitants, its plans and its purposes, its presences and its agencies, even like this. The subjects of its chief deliberations are the interests and the fortunes, the events and the destinies, of this lower world.

2. What an astonishment would it be to any one of us, to see that door into heaven suddenly opened! Oh, what a marvel, what a confusion, what a discomfiture, must it be to a worldly man or to a sinner to find at the moment of death that this thing which we have so long seen and handled, in which we have so long lived and moved, was not, after all, the whole or the chief part of that which is!

3. To Christian persons, to those, that is, who mourn for sin, and renounce and forsake it, and trust in Christ only, and pray for the grace of the Holy Spirit to make them and keep them His, it ought to be and will be a real comfort to remember that just inside that door there is a heaven, and a throne set, and a God seated thereon, and a holy and loving council gathered, and plans under preparation for purposes of good to the poor struggling and suffering people below; and that round the throne is the covenant bow, promising evermore a clear shining after rain, and pledging the very faithfulness of God to their final rescue and deliverance.

4. Life and death, things present as well as things to come, accident and disease, want and age; yes, things more outward still, the bread and the water, the fire and the covering, the judgments of sword and famine and pestilence, the mercies of dew and rain and fruitful seasons; all are Gods, all are Christs; and if Gods, if Christs, then the Christians too (1Co_3:22-23). Oh, what an antidote to lifes cares, for those who can use it l It springs from the fact that creation itself, in all its parts, rational and irrational, has its representatives before the throne in heaven, and ascribes the glory, the honour, and the strength to Him who sits upon the throne.

5. But if the thought of the four living beings which typify creation has something of comfort for us in reference to the world above, how much more that of men of our own flesh and likeness, who are already clad in the robes of priesthood, and admitted to the sight of God and to the ministrations of the heavenly temple! That world is not all peopled with strange and unknown forms.

6. Are our faces and our feet set heavenwards? (Dean Vaughan.)

Heavenward

1. After the first vision, John gets a second, which shows that God continues and multiplies His favours on the godly, who make a good use thereof, and are desirous of more.

2. He looked, and was not disappointed; neither shall any be who looks up to God for grace, or growth of heavenly knowledge.

3. He could not see till a door was open to him; neither will we ever see heavenly mysteries till the Lord opens the door of our mind and heart (Luk_24:45; Act_16:14).

4. This and the other visions were seen in heaven; which shows that all that falls out on earth is first decreed in heaven, and the future to us is ever present to God.

5. The first voice that talked with John was as a trumpet; and so is the trumpet of the law the first voice that talks with a sinner for his conversion (Isa_58:1).

6. John is bidden come up thither; to show that the knowledge of heavenly things requires a heavenly and elevated mind.

7. This also shows that we should have Gods warrant for all our doings, and be bidden do what we do.

8. God only is able to foretell all future things, because He is omniscient, and determines the event thereof, which is a great comfort to His own elect; therefore it is said here, I will show thee, etc.

9. This also is for their warning, that trials and troubles must be; and also for the comfort, that their delivery must be, and shall be in like manner. (Wm. Guild, D. D.)

The vision of the throne

I. The time, and manner, in which this second vision was given to John.

1. The time. After this I looked. He looks up for a vision. He is prepared and looking for a further revelation. Those who have seen heavenly things once will look twice. Oh, how much nearer than we commonly imagine, faith borders upon sight, and the spiritual upon the heavenly state!

2. The manner in which the vision was brought under the notice of John.

(1) He saw a door open in heaven. He says not an open door merely, but a door that had been opened. It had not been always open. It had been once closed. A door opened in heaven signified to John that more of the counsels of heaven were about to be revealed. The door of the Church was closed against him, the door of ministerial usefulness was closed, the door of liberty, and every door of human hospitality, but a door was opened in heaven. In proportion as the people of God are precluded from the world, they have intercourse with heaven. They find readiness of access above, when hemmed in around; as water pressed on all sides rises in a fountain. To Isaiah visions were given in affliction, to Jeremiah in prison, to Ezekiel in captivity, to John in exile. This appearance to John may have been emblematical, in some degree, of renewed supplies of the Spirit of prophecy. In allusion to the manna which descended round the camp of the Israelites, God is said to have opened the doors of heaven. In Malachi you have these words: Prove hie now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing. Compare this with the heavens opened, and the Spirit descending upon Christ at His baptism, and the descent of the Spirit upon the apostles and.the primitive. Churches.

(2) John informs us of what he heard. The tones of this voice were encouraging to John, and expressive at once of its design.

(3) John tells us what he felt on this occasion. Heaven is first opened by God to sinful man. It is opened by His mercy, not by our prayers. We love Him because He first loved us. Having opened a door He invites us to come, and promises rich manifestations of His wisdom and grace to our souls. But how can we come to Him? How rise to the door of heaven? By the power that invites us. The invitation guarantees the ability to act, and the promise ensures success.

II. The first two objects in this vision. (G. Rogers.)

The vision of the throne

I. The opening of the scene.

II. The Divine throne.

1. The nature of the throne. There is a manifold throne attributed to God: there is a throne of grace and mercy, of glory and majesty, of dominion and sovereignty.

2. The properties of the throne. These are great and manifold. It is a throne high and lifted up; it is Divine, supreme, and universal; it is infinite, eternal, and immutable; it is from everlasting to everlasting; it is eternal in its date, and endless in duration; it has neither beginning nor end, succession nor change.

3. The position of the throne. It is set in heaven. The throne of judgment, the great white throne, is placed in the clouds; the throne of grace is erected in the Church; the throne of glory is placed within the vail; the throne of the universe is placed in the heavens (Isa_66:1).

4. The stability of the throne. It is established in the heavens. It is ordered and arranged, guarded and disposed by infinite wisdom and unerring skill. It is firmly fixed, stable, and immutable.

III. The possessor of the throne: One sat upon the throne. He sits on the throne, in a state of deep repose, undisturbed felicity, and eternal blessedness.

IV. The majesty of the throne. This is represented by two sacred emblems--sitting and similitude. He sat upon the throne, and He was to look upon like three sacred stones.

1. Here we behold the fulness of the Divine perfections. He is possessed of infinite, eternal, and immutable excellence--He is the source, the centre, and the sum of all worth and glory.

2. Here we behold the variety of Divine perfections: I am the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, etc.

3. Here we behold the unity of Divine perfection. All these perfections are displayed in Immanuel, who is the image of the invisible God.

V. The mercy of the throne.

1. The history of the rainbow is very remarkable. We first find it in the clouds; then established in the heavens, as the faithful witness of Gods eternal truth (Psa_89:39). It forms the glorious diadem of the angel of the covenant (Rev_10:1.); and in the verse before us it forms the gracious canopy of God the Fathers throne.

2. The rainbow round the throne was the blessed symbol of Gods glory and perfections; it was the token of His love, the emblem of His mercy, and the pledge of His faithfulness, His counsel and His covenant.

3. The position of the rainbow: The rainbow was round about the throne. It surrounds the seat of Divine majesty, above, below, and on every side. The majesty of Deity, the glories of the Godhead, and the splendours of the Trinity all beam benignantly through the rainbow of the covenant.

4. The likeness of the rainbow: It was in sight like unto an emerald. Amid the varied hues blended in the rainbow, green is the prevailing; and the colour of the emerald is a deep, living green.

(1) The comparison implies the beauty of the covenant. God beholds His people enrobed in all the beauties of the rainbow, and the deep, living loveliness of the glowing emerald.

(2) It also implies the riches of the covenant.

(3) It likewise supposes the perpetuity of the covenant. The rainbow, like the emerald, is ever fresh and green.

(4) The comparison teaches the unity and variety of the blessings of the covenant.

VI. The attendants on the throne.

1. Their names. They are called elders. This is the sign of their age, their honourable office, and dignified condition; their wisdom, experience, and venerable character.

2. The number of the elders: They are four and twenty. There is an enlargement of the Church implied in the number. He was then the God of Israel, but He is now the God of the whole earth.

3. Their posture and position: There were four and twenty seats. The saints sometimes stand; but here the elders sit, the emblem of dignity and undisturbed felicity, dominion and authority, rest and holy happiness, and their great reward.

4. Their glorious clothing: They were clothed in white raiment. White robes are beautiful, they are Zions loveliest garments--white robes are excellent, they form the best robe--white raiment is resplendent, it is both white and shining.

5. Their golden crowns: They had on their heads crowns of gold.

VII. The terrors of the throne. (James Young.)

The first voice … as it were of a trumpet.

Trumpet voices talking with us

I. Revelations are made to us of great and solemn realities. What a world this would be if there were no voices from heaven, no Divine utterances, no spiritual revelations, to meet our needs and our questionings! We have a gospel not of figures but of facts, a gospel symbolised by the priest blowing the trumpet over the sacrifice, by the blast of the trumpet through the length and breadth of the land, ushering in the year of jubilee, by the great trumpet which was blown, that men in exile and ready to perish might return to their own land.

II. The revelations made to us are present and personal We hear a voice talking with us (Heb_1:1-2). The voice of Christ is reproduced in every believing and loving heart. His words do not die, they are still spirit and life. Revelation is not a dead, imprisoned truth, but a living fountain, the streams are as bright and pure as they were yesterday.

III. The revelations to which we listen are often trumpet-toned. Those voices have been trumpet-toned that have uttered great truths in this world; truths that yet live in it, speak in it, rule in it. Those voices have been trumpet-toned that have uttered the watchwords of liberty, that have raised the war-cry round which men have rallied, and which have stirred their souls like the blast of a trumpet. The voices that come to us in revelation are trumpet-toned, in their earnestness, in their importance. In our personal history there have been dispensations of Providence, that have been as the voice of a trumpet talking with us. How clear and distinct the voice that came to us in the season of sickness, in the hour of temptation, when death entered our home, etc. There is a sense in which we find it true, that the first voice we hear is as of a trumpet talking with us. We hear the awful words of the Divine law in the depths of our souls, and are convinced of our sinfulness and become conscious of our unrighteousness.

IV. These revelations conduce to our spirituality. Immediately I was in the Spirit. A man must be in the Spirit to see the glory that streams through the opened door in heaven, to see the throne and Him that sits on it, to see the sign of the covenant of peace, etc. If the windows of our hearts are opened towards Jerusalem, we shall sometimes see the light and glory of that golden city. The design of the sanctuary, of the Sabbath, of ordinances and sacraments, is our spirituality. (H. J. Bevis.)

Come up hither.--

An invitation to glory

I. The place to which we are invited--hither. Geographers, geologists, and travellers have described the earth, its islands, continents, mountains, rivers, plains, and products; but heaven is a domain beyond all merely scientific research. What we know of it is from revelation alone.

1. It will be a place exempt from ignorance. Seated there, we shall know as we are known; our views of things will not be as through a glass, darkly, but face to face, and in the highest sense we shall have an unction from the Holy One, and know all things.

2. It will be free from all kinds of evil.

(1) No slavery will be there. All its sons, of whatever clime, are freeborn. All are without shackle, brand, or chain. All walk at liberty.

(2) No sin will be there. The imagination will never conceive an unholy thought, the lips never utter a corrupt speech, nor the judgment, the conscience, the will stoop to an unholy action.

(3) No famine will be there. The bread is enough and to spare. The supply of fruit from the tree of life is constant and abundant.

(4) No tears, sorrows, pains, or death will be there.

3. Then there is nothing wanting to complete its happiness.

(1) There are great possessions.

(2) The society there is most blessed.

(3) The joys there are lasting.

(4) The life there is everlasting.

II. The invitation itself--come up hither.

1. There is a way to reach this place.

(1) What road to heaven is wrong?

(a) Sin is the wrong road.

(b) Self-righteousness is the wrong road.

(2) What road is right? In Virginia, in South America, and other parts, there are natural bridges of solid rock, whose stupendous arches join mountains together, and make a path firm and safe over the rolling rivers and dashing torrents beneath them. But there is no natural bridge to heaven. There was once, but man broke it down by sin. But there is still a path for man, formed by the Son of God--a path formed by His blood and righteousness. Along this path our pious fathers travelled and never found it give way, nor shall we. It is the path that leads from guilt to mercy, depravity to holiness, earth to glory.

2. Then the invitation also implies you cannot reach the place unless it be obeyed. Heaven in the gospel is set before men as an open door. It is not Christ that closes it, but unbelief. Let this be gone. (S. Fisher.)

Element of the ideal

The standpoint from which God views everything is vastly different from that which men commonly regard as their standpoint. God is for quality, clearness of vision and fundamental principles; man too often for mere quantity, haphazard vision, superficial estimates. God is ever seeking to draw man up to His level, man thinks to reduce the things of God to his convenient level, from which he hopes, without much trouble, or even thinking, to form some opinion or gain some knowledge of that which, in the deeper moments of his nature, he knows to be of vital and eternal importance. The higher the standards are the more must energy strive to reach them. It is a vastly different thing to brave the Matterhorn or Mont Blanc, or those gigantic mountains which rear their heads heavenward and lose their summits in the clouds. Climbing them means the hardest kind of toil and steadfast courage. Our standards determine the height of our aspirations, our aspirations press us on in the climbing and furnish the impetus to the outreach of our faith and courage, hut they must be fed by God, who leads us to His own standard and bids us look up and beyond, even beyond the material, into the realms of the spiritual, with a faith that does not shrink from the lessons such leadings bring. The question of questions is, Do we see, do we behold these high level truths of God? or have we so little interest in beholding that we skim them over, as we do the pages of a book that has proved uninteresting? John says, After this I looked and, behold. God can never do anything for a man who is blind, unless open his eyes; but God will not do anything for a man who wants to be blind. Looking shows desire. Beholding suggests power. John saw, and behold a door was opened in heaven and the first voice which he heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with him, which said, Come up hither and I will show thee things which must be hereafter. That seems to us to be a beautiful but exceptional sight. Picture Johns lonely exile life on Patmos. There did not seem to be much for him to live for, shut out and away from the busy work of life, and perhaps we have a theory that God was very gracious to him for that very reason. But such visions always come to souls that can see--long to see--and needing the blessing of such a vision. Whatever the outward life, the inner life is the condition of beholding. Lives need to be broadened and exalted. Heaven is not only to make life more tolerable, but life is to determine heaven. The vision came not to the place, but the soul, and was determined not by the meagreness of the surrounding, but by the condition of the heart-life of him who beheld. By every analysis we are to know, then, that life is not in itself either omnipotent, or satisfying, or self-sufficient, nor has it any high standard, nor is it enough to be merely practical--doing without seeing, deeds without visions. God gives us to see what we are, in order that we may see by the aid of this revelation what we may become. Ignorance is simply fatal to all progress and enlightenment. And immediately I was in the spirit, John says. The thought for us is this: the power that exalts life is of God and comes from above. Look above, then, though you walk the earth. Open your heart and mind and soul to the unseen realities of the eternal. Higher and higher we must go and grow, like the vine upon the trellis, abiding in the branch, lifting its myriad shoots towards the summer shining and the clear, pure air. From His standpoint, God will give us to see what must be hereafter. Our privilege is to hear Gods blessed invitation, Come up hither, higher, to higher altitudes, with waiting, expectant attitude. God help us to break the spell that keeps us down; God help us to unlock the bolts that shut us in; God help us to fling aside the shutters that keep us in the dimness; God help us to be as free as His truth makes us, and then, when we truly behold, how beautiful everything will grow. Just as the little child, long blind, having at last her sight restored, said to her mother, as she looked for the first time upon the beauty of nature, How beautiful! Why didnt you tell me how beautiful everything was! The element of the ideal must occupy a large place in our practical life if we are to grow at all strong, buoyant, and symmetrical. Visions are not mere air castles. Some one has said, All men who have shown our race how great things are possible have had their inspiration in dreaming of the impossible. The vision changes and goes on changing, adapting itself to our need and our life, but the reality always remains. Visions, therefore, are the wings which bear us upward and aloft. You do not have to teach a bird how to fly. The soul, saved by the power of the Divine Christ, rises because it can; it ascends because it has within it the irresistible yearning to do so, and faith and hope give impetus. This is the revelation which is constantly coming to your life, to my life. God help us, above all, to be in the Spirit, as in meditative quietness of life we steadfastly watch for and behold the visions that come to us. The cross and visions of the Christ are the inspiring themes of the Christian life. Life is truly potent, as we see its lines shaped according to the Cross of the Lord Jesus, as the symbol of our salvation and the standard of our service. Look and live, then live and look, is the whole of the Christian life. Let us not be satisfied with plodding, but let us be climbing. Let our lives take on daily newer beauty, the beauty of holiness, which is the adornment of righteousness. (C. E. Eberman.)

Soul elevation

Of course it was not the bodily senses of John that were thus addressed--not the body that was commanded to ascend. His outward eye saw not the material heavens open. Elevation of soul, then, is our subject. What is it? First, is it the elevation of sensuous excitement? The souls of all men have great variation of mood. Sometimes they are buoyant and sometimes sluggish. Such souls often soar aloft on the pinions of an excited imagination, but in their own fancy they indulge in a hind of spiritual reverie, and find a heaven for the hour upon the mountain heights of their own creation. But this is not what we mean by elevation of soul. Secondly, is it elevation of intellect? Is it the elevation which arises from study and culture? This is important, this is essential to soul elevation; but this is not it. Some of the greatest and most cultured intellects have often been found in alliance with souls deeply sunk in passion, depravity, and vice. It may be represented as consisting in three things:

1. An uplifting sense of the Divine favour.

2. An uplifting sense of moral right.

3. An uplifting sense of the spiritual world.

I. That soul elevation is attainable. The apostle saw a door open in heaven. Christ is this door. By His teaching, His death, and His ascension, He has opened the new and living way for man into the holy of holies.

1. He is the exclusive door for mans spiritual elevation.

2. He is the door for mans spiritual elevation, and mans only.

3. He is the door for mans spiritual elevation available only for him on earth.

II. That soul elevation is obligatory. Come up hither.

1. I hear this Divine command sounding in the starry firmament. The great universe is the domain of mind. Come up hither, immortal man, wing your flight from orb to orb, system to system; count our multitudes, mark our movements, gauge our dimensions, bathe in our brightness, rise beyond us, scale the wondrous heavens still far away, revel in the Infinite, be lost in God!

2. I hear the Divine command sounding through the biography of the sainted dead. Our nature speaks from heaven. There are the voices of the goodly fellowship of prophets and apostles, of the glorious army of martyrs and confessors, etc. There are the voices of our favourite authors, the sacred poet, the holy sage and the learned divine.

3. I hear this Divine command sounding through the gospel of Christ.

4. I hear this Divine command sounding in the depths of our higher nature. Reason and conscience unite in urging us to ascend, etc.

III. That soul elevation is desirable.

1. Mans happiness is greatly dependent upon bright prospects of the future.

2. Those bright prospects are secured by soul elevation. (Homilist.)

The upward call

Suppose that I had gone away from here for years, and came back to find my daughter living in some low, obscure place, bound out to hard labour. Suppose my son were in another place, half-clothed, half-fed, and suffering all manner of ill-treatment. And thus with all my children. What should I be likely to do? Should I not at once set about lifting them out of such situations, and getting them up where I was? I should say to them, Come up, my children; you were not born to live down there. Your place is where I am. Come up here to me; here is where you belong. Well, this is what God is doing to men. He has a few, a very few, children living in the high places of spiritual life--those regions of hope and love where He Himself dwells. Come up hither--come up into the region of warmth and love, where your Father dwells. You were not made to live down there. This is where you belong. Come up hither. (H. W. Beecher.)

Heaven our home

It is said of Anaxagoras, the philosopher, that one night when in the act of studying the stars, his countrymen came to confer upon him an inheritance, in token of their appreciation of his genius. His reply was, I wish it not--these heavens are my country. Can we say the same in a grander, Diviner sense?

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rev 4:1. The former vision which John saw, contained in the foregoing chapters, represented the state of the church at the time when the vision was given, or the things that then were, (Rev 1:19,) and gave suitable directions to the churches, with their pastors, to encourage their faith and patience, and excite them to constancy and perseverance. Now the apostle records a second vision, in which the things were revealed to him that should be afterward, namely, to the end of time: or the things which were to come to pass, in successive order, from the time of the vision till the mystery of God should be finished. In order to raise the greater attention of the church, and to represent the certainty and great importance of the things revealed, both to the glory of God and the salvation of mankind, God himself is represented as seated on his heavenly throne, in the midst of his saints, and the whole general assembly of his church, and the glorious majesty and infinite perfections of God are set forth by very lively, expressive, and beautiful images, together with the high regard which the churches ought always to have for the counsels, designs, and dispensations of divine providence, declared and published in so solemn a manner.

After this — That is, after I had seen the foregoing vision, and had written as I was directed, the seven letters to the seven churches, from the mouth of Christ; I looked — Being directed so to do; and, behold, a door was opened in heaven — So it appeared to me, and hereby I understood that other heavenly discoveries, such as had not been made before, were about to be communicated to me, and that I should obtain a further insight into the divine counsels. Other openings like that here spoken of are successively mentioned. Here a door is opened; afterward, the temple of God in heaven, Rev 11:19; Rev 15:5; and, at last, heaven itself is opened, Rev 19:11. By each of these openings, St. John gains a new and more extended prospect. He saw and heard, and then, it seems, immediately wrote down one part after another. By the particle and the several parts of the prophecy are usually connected: by the expression after these things, they are distinguished from each other, Rev 7:9; Rev 19:1; and by that expression, And after these things, they are both distinguished and connected, Rev 7:1; Rev 15:5; Rev 18:1. And the first voice which I heard — Namely, that of Christ, (afterward he heard the voices of many others,) was as it were of a trumpet talking with me — There may probably be an allusion here to the custom of the Jewish Church, in which, upon opening the gates of the temple, the priests sounded their trumpets to call the Levites and priests to attend to their several offices; which said, Come up hither — Not in body, but in spirit, which was instantly done; and I will show thee things which must be hereafter — To such things, then future, the whole subsequent prophecy refers.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

PART SECOND.

THE THEOPHANIC APOCALYPSE.

The Theophany in divine royal state, Rev_4:1-6.

The scene of the Apocalypse opens with a presentation of GOD enthroned, surrounded with his glorious Court of ministers, seated for the purpose of opening the predictive seals from which are presented the pictorial phases of the Messianic dispensation. He who as omnipresent fills all space, selects a point of manifestation, and puts on a semblance of finite personality in order to disclose a view of a special futurity. This is a throne, not of judgment but of REVELATION. Through the entire series of seals the dark side of future history is indeed symbolized; yet is this dark side gloriously contrasted with the bright side in chapter 7. So that the chapters of the seals and of the sealing—namely, the sixth and seventh—are to be read as one contrastive picture.

1. After this—Rather, after these things; that is, the revelations of the entire previous chapters. There has been a brief cessation of the state expressed by the phrase in the Spirit, Rev_1:10; which state is now resumed in Rev_4:2. In that interval the seer is merely susceptible to impressions from the spiritual world, but not receiving them until the door opened appears; the entering of which is becoming in the Spirit. This inspired visional state continues uninterrupted through Parts Second and Third.

Behold, a door was opened—Rather, there was an opened door. The door was already open when the seer’s eye first rested upon it. It was the symbolic entrance into the heaven of symbolic exhibition. For the scope of that heaven see note to Rev_4:11. Dusterdieck denies that the door implies a temple, but rather God’s residential house. Our own view is, that the door implies that we in this physical world are outside, and that there is an inner, more real world, into which the spirit can be made to enter, where the limitations of sense and matter may be diminished and even fully removed, and the truths of eternity may be cognized. We attain this spiritual scene through the door of death: John entered it while in the body, yet being in the body he entered it only so far as to be capable of cognizance of truths through divinely-presented figures and sounds.

Dusterdieck thinks that there is a clear distinction made by St. John between the formula After these things I saw, and, And I saw; the former being the introduction of a new scene, the latter an additional phase or point of the same scene. The distinction, however, cannot be very broadly made. The former phrase is used in Rev_7:1; Rev_7:10, but at Rev_4:10 there is certainly a continuance of same scene. Same phrase at Rev_15:5; Rev_18:1. And I saw, is used Rev_5:1; Rev_5:6; Rev_5:11; Rev_6:1; Rev_6:5; Rev_6:8-9; Rev_6:12; Rev_8:2; Rev_8:13; Rev_9:1; Rev_10:1; Rev_13:11; Rev_14:6; Rev_14:14; Rev_15:1-2; Rev_17:6; Rev_19:11; Rev_19:17; Rev_19:19; Rev_20:1; Rev_20:4; Rev_20:11; Rev_21:1. Rev_13:1; Rev_17:3, introduce a new scene with, And I saw.

Behold… the first voice which I heard—Rather, Lo, the voice which I heard at first; namely, at Rev_1:10. The same unknown voice that introduced St. John to the Christophany, introduces him now to the Theophany.

Come up hither—Ascend from the earth’s surface, at least in spiritual conception, and enter the scene of show.

Which must be—A compound necessity is implied in this must be. They must be, partly because there will be free agents who will bring them into existence, and this is a dependent necessity, dependent on the free will of the agent possessing power to do otherwise. They must be, also, because the free nature of the agent and his free act being foreknown and assumed, the divine will has determined its own infinitely wise action in reference thereto. There is no absolute predestination in all this, except that divine predetermination to act wisely in view of the freedom. See notes on Romans 9.

Hereafter—Literally, after these things; the these things differing from the these things in the first clause of the verse, and meaning the things of the present time.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

AN INTRODUCTORY THEOPHANY

CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES

Rev_4:1. Saw.—Observed, not specially “looked up.” Opened.—Set open. Trumpet.—Rev_1:10. Which said.—The voice is put for the person speaking.

Rev_4:2. In the spirit.—Implying a rapt state of mind, absorbed wholly in the things now unfolded. Compare St. Peter’s “trances,” and St. Paul’s “visions.” “It is implied that he was caught up through the open door into heaven, and saw what was going on above.” Compare the conception of Dante’s poem. Throne.—See 1Ki_22:19. A similar description of the throne of God may be found in the book of Enoch, xiv. 17–23. See also Ezekiel 1; Daniel 7. He who sat on the throne is not named (see Jewish reticence in relation to the sacred Name), but “He is kept before us in the whole book, to remind us that the great world-drama moves forward ever under the eyes of the ruling One.

Rev_4:3. Jasper.—The ancient jasper was the translucent stone now known as chalcedony, a dark, opaque green (Exo_28:20; Rev_21:19). This colour is, however, unsuitable as a description here. In the later reference the jasper is spoken of as “clear as crystal,” and then the brightness of the jasper blends with the red glow of the sardius, which is a red carnelian, fiery in colour. Together the images denote the powerful splendour which beamed from Him who sat on the throne. Compare Eze_1:26-27. Rainbow.—Symbol of Divine mercy, beautiful in itself, and veiling the splendour. Emerald.—Green. “The iris is compared to it here, because the modified and mild colour of green apparently predominates in the rainbow.” Ancients felt very strongly the relief given to the eye by looking at it.

Rev_4:4. Elders.—“The representatives of Christ’s Church and people—of those whom Christ calls His friends” (Joh_15:15). Two sets of twelve. The Christian Church of St. John’s day was a Jewish Christian Church. The two sections are represented in the one set of elders: not Jews and Christians as distinct bodies. White.—Note the importance of this symbol of purity throughout the book. “They are the glorified embodiment and representatives of the people of God.” (Stuart prefers to explain the number by the division of the priesthood into twenty-four classes which David made.) Crowns.—With the robes denoting their king-priestly character.

Rev_4:5. Proceeded.—ἑκπορεύονται, continually proceed. See the associations of the giving of the Law on Sinai (Exodus 19). Thunder and lightning are our most impressive nature suggestions of the Divine majesty and power. “By these are signified the instructions of God’s law, the encouragement of His promises, and the warnings of His judgments.” Lamps of fire.—I.e. seven resplendent, glorious beings, all radiant, like burning torches, or lamps. Or it may be a symbol of the Divine Spirit, whose sevenfold gifts are spoken of.

Rev_4:6. Sea of glass.—Figure from the “sea” that was in front of Solomon’s temple (1Ki_7:23, etc.). This temple has a real sea in front of it. It is suggested that fickle, movable waters represent the unguided, unreasoning, and unprincipled thoughts of men. By analogy, the calm, glass-like sea represents those counsels of God, those purposes of righteousness and love, often fathomless, but never obscure, always the same, though sometimes glowing with holy anger, like unto crystal, resplendent and pellucid. The pavements, or, as we say, floors, of palaces and elegant houses of the East are constructed with expensive and splendid materials. Here the idea is that the pavements or floors are all of precious and diaphonous stones, appearing to him who should walk upon them pellucid, like the waters of the ocean. In the Koran, Belkis, the Queen of Sheba, is represented as supposing the pavement on which she walks in the audience-hall to be a sea (Moses Stuart). Four beasts.—Living beings. Their position in relation to the throne is not clear. They were either the supports or ornamentation of the throne. Full of eyes.—Teeming with. Easterns indicate greatness and variety of power by multiplying representations of the organ. (Curiously enough, the Fathers regard these beasts as representing the Four Gospels, which had no recognised existence in St. John’s day). Perhaps they represent animate nature. But it is more probable that, as they take precedence even of the crowned elders in their ceaseless worship, they represent redeemed humanity, Birks says: “They seem to represent four distinct classes, each federally united among those blessed saints who occupy the foremost places in the kingdom of glory.” For Stuart’s view see “Suggestive Notes.”

Rev_4:7. “Four beings hold a primacy in the world: among created beings, man; among birds, the eagle; among cattle, the ox; among untamed animals, the lion. The characteristics of these four chiefs of creation unite to make a perfect picture of the spirit of true service, which should be brave as the lion, patient as the ox, aspiring as the eagle, intelligent as man.” The number four is, in the Apocalypse, almost always associated with the earth.

Rev_4:8. Six wings.—Compare Isa_6:1-4. Full of eyes.—Compare Eze_1:18; Eze_10:12; Zec_3:9. Multiplicity of eyes may symbolise vitality and vigilance. Within.—This may mean, inside their wings; and these eyes were seen when the wings were spread. Almighty.—Heb. in Isaiah, “God of hosts.”

Rev_4:9-10. Beasts give glory.—The idea of this and the following verse is, that when the redeemed Church realises the voice of creation in its worship, it reverently joins in the worship. “All Thy works praise Thee in all places of Thy dominion, and Thy saints shall bless Thee.” See the ascriptions of praise to Jehovah in 1Ch_19:10-13; Psa_96:2-3; Psa_96:7-10. Cast their crowns.—Alford compares Tacitus, Ann., XV. 29:3, 6, where Tiridates lays down his crown before the image of Nero, as a token of homage for his kingdom. The future tenses, “shall worship,” “shall cast,” indicate what is often and customarily done in heaven. Simcox suggests that the tenses in this book may be accommodated to the rules of Hebrew rather than of Greek grammar.

“Thus concludes this magnificent exordium to the principal visions of the book. Chap. 5 is intimately connected with it, but it is rather to be regarded as a special proem to chap. 6–11, than as a proem to the book at large. The impressive nature of the scene presented in chap. 4 cannot but strike the mind of every intelligent reader. The holy seer was duly prepared, by such an august vision, for the disclosures which follow, and the mind of the reader can hardly fail to be prepared, also, to look for them with deep interest. It cannot escape even the most unobserving, how greatly this whole scene resembles the inaugural theophanies in Isaiah 6 and Ezekiel 1” (Stuart).

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Rev_4:1-11

The Eternal Throne and its Surroundings.—From the very first, and still, there will be found a side of peril in the very intensity with which the Lord Jesus Christ is presented to us. He may take our attention off from God, and seem to stand in front of Him. Our Lord Himself recognised this possible evil, during His earthly life. He might absorb too fully the interest of His disciples, and therefore we find Him, in His conversations with them, constantly putting His Father, as it were, in front of Himself. The apostles show precisely the same anxiety. They will not let the interest of men stay with Christ. He leads men to God. By Him they believe in God. Remembering how jealous the Jews were of the primary truth of the Divine unity, we can easily see that it would have been a fatal objection to Christianity if it could be reasonably shown that it put Christ in the place of God. Essentially Christ is God; but revelationally, and for particular purposes of manifestation, He is apprehended as the Son of God, and as Son, He must not be confused with the Father, or, in any sense, put in His place. This important distinction explains this introductory vision of the eternal glory of God. The seer has brought the Lord Jesus Christ vividly before us as the Living, White One. He is going to deal with the present activities of that Living One in the Church, and in the world in which His Church is set. He will be filling all our thoughts with Christ. But there must be no possibility of mistake, no possibility of our even seeming to put dishonour on God, or showing Him any slight, or failing to recognise His supreme relations with the actual, present work of Christ. So the vision of this chapter is given, and God is seen receiving the absolutely sole worship of the representatives of all creation, animal and human. He is God alone. Heaven is visioned as the sublime palace of the eternal King, and a door is set open so that we may enter the audience-chamber; and we may well be awed by the magnificence, the sublimity, of the scene.

I. The throne.—To this much attention is given in Eastern Kingdoms. (For Solomon’s throne, see 1Ki_10:18-20). The stability of this throne is even more impressive than its splendour. However shifting and changing may be the panorama of events recorded in this book, that throne remains the same. Heaven and earth may pass away. That throne abides. It cannot be moved, because “righteousness and judgment are its habitation.” Carefully observe that no attempt is ever made in Scripture to describe Him who sitteth on the eternal throne. He must ever simply be to us the “I AM.” “Existence—uncaused, independent existence.”

II. The supports of the throne.—The four living creatures, as the representatives of all creation. The honour and dignity of God is the supreme concern of every living thing. His throne is upheld by their needs, which God alone can meet; by their trustings, which are its buttresses; and by their service in their spheres, which witnesses to their Master.

III. The front of the throne.—Two ideas are suggested in connection with the sea of glass.

1. The shining pavement is like solidified water.

2. The brazen sea, in front of the temple, indicated the need for purity in all who came to worship. The former idea is the more probable one, and only a figure of magnificence is intended. Or the idea of waving sea, settled into glassy stillness, may suggest the sublime peace of God’s eternal presence. “Where, beyond the voices, there is peace.”

IV. The courtiers.—Four and twenty elders. Officers were always in the royal presence at Eastern Courts, and these often represented the provinces of the country, or dependent nations. The elders stand for the Church as at present redeemed. The full chorus of creation rises now to God; but the full chorus of humanity does not rise yet. It is but the chorus of a portion.

V. The worship.—The point to notice is, that God’s praise is begun by creation; taken up and ennobled by the redeemed Church, but perfected only when all are redeemed, and the completed Church can join the song of Nature, and so all the earth “praise God.”

SUGGESTIVE NOTES AND SERMON SKETCHES

Rev_4:1. An Anticipative Triumph-Song.—The fourth and fifth chapters are to be regarded as a song of triumph sung even before the contest begins, and conveying to us an assurance of what will be the issue. It will not be forgotten that this is elsewhere the manner of St. John. Before the great contest delineated in the fourth gospel, which begins at chap. 5, we have the victory of the Redeemer over Nicodemus, the woman of Samaria, and the Galilean nobleman. When speaking, in his first epistle, of the struggles of Christians with the world, St. John uses the words, “And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” (Rev_5:4). He does not speak of the weapons with which the Christian soldier prepares himself for the battle, but of the “victory” with which, as if it were his armour, he is, from the first, equipped. In other words, it is St. John’s manner of thought to sing his song of triumph before the fight begins, and that is exactly what he does in the fourth and fifth chapters of the Apocalypse.—W. Milligan, D.D.

A Vision of the Glory of God.—The fourth chapter is a vision of the glory of God. His throne is supported by four living creatures, and twenty-four elders fall down before it. These are the representatives of Nature and of the Church. The former represent the forces of nature, which, in the ancient religions, sat upon the throne, personified in the Pagan deities, but which, in the monotheism of the Bible, play a more modest part, and are employed in bearing up the throne of God—that is to say, in establishing His kingdom. They are represented by the four living creatures which are supposed to be the chefs d’œuvre of the animal creation—the lion, the bull, the eagle, and man. The twenty-four elders represent the Judæo-Christian and the Gentile Church, twelve for each of these two moieties of the primitive Church, in conformity with the types of the twelve patriarchs, the twelve tribes, and the twelve apostles.—F. Godet, D.D.

Rev_4:3. The Rainbow Symbol.—The discovery made of the Divine mercy in the covenant of grace refreshes the mind as the green relieves the eye from the fatigue and glare of other colours. “In the arched iris spanning the Divine throne the ancient Church beheld an emblem of the Divine severity, blended with love; in it she saw the dark showers of His judgments, gilded by the bright beams of His mercy. The heavenly Bow spake to her of the Deluge, the shipwreck of the world for sin; it spake to her also of calm and sunshine after the storm.”—Wordsworth.

Being in the Spirit.—He was in a rapture, as before (Rev_1:10), whether in the body or out of the body we cannot tell; perhaps he himself could not: however, all bodily actions and sensations were for a time suspended, and his spirit was possessed with a spirit of prophecy, and wholly under a Divine influence. The more we abstract ourselves from all corporeal things the more fit we are for communion with God; the body is a veil, a cloud, and a clog to the mind in its transactions with God. We should, as it were, forget it when we go in before the Lord in duty, and be willing to drop it, that we may go up to Him in heaven.—Matthew Henry.

Eastern Abstraction.—It is well to remember that Easterns have a power of mental abstraction—of separating themselves for a time from their bodies—which is quite inconceivable to Westerns. Illustrate by the experiences of Yogis, Brahmans, Buddhists, and even Dervishes.

Rev_4:6. The Throne and the Living Creatures.—The whole imagery is to be conceived of thus: The throne on which the Divine Majesty is seated rests upon four living creatures, who form its animated and moving basis. Instead of being like the throne of earthly kings, i.e., resting upon inanimate and lifeless substances, its support is constituted of living, moving, rational creatures, ever watchful, and ever ready to move, as Ezekiel says, like “a flash of lightning” (Eze_1:14). These living creatures are represented as endowed with forms which are symbolical and highly significant. They are “full of eyes”; i.e., they are ever wakeful and watchful, looking every way, seeing everything, and ready to move in any direction. They are, taken as a whole in respect to their ultimate design, symbolic of the all-pervading power, providence, and government, of God, who uses them as His instruments. The first has the appearance of a lion; and the lion is the king of wild beasts, and an image borrowed from him is indicative of power, strength, sway. The second is like to an ox; and this is the most valuable of tame beasts, and the image of patient and useful labour. The third has the face of a man; and this is indicative of reason and intelligence. The fourth is like to an eagle; and this indicates velocity, and far-sighted and penetrating vision. The special meaning of these symbols is not to be applied immediately, or directly, to the attributes of God Himself, but to be regarded as primarily indicative of powers possessed by the ζῶα. Yet the ζῶα thus constituted, are themselves symbolic of the attributes of the Godhead. These living bearers of the Almighty’s throne, as the author represents the matter, serve Him with great power, with patient obedience, with quickness of intelligence and reason, and with a rapidity and perspicacity which may indeed be compared to that of the eagle, but of which this king of birds is, after all, only a faint image. The same may in truth be said of all the other symbols; but then, imperfect as they are, they are the best which the natural world could afford, and are therefore chosen by the author with good reason. The ultimate meaning is: God is everywhere present, and executes His purposes by an agency powerful, wise, unremitted, and speedy whenever speed is required.—Moses Stuart.

Rev_4:8. The Unity of God.—God is one. The unity of any being contains two ideas.

1. Oneness in number, whereby it is parted from all other beings without itself.

2. Oneness within itself, as opposed to every other compound.—Bishop S. Wilberforce.

The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.

SECTION SECOND

The Seven Seals

Rev_4:1 to Rev_6:17

A.—IDEAL HEAVENLY WORLD-PICTURE CONCERNING THE SEVEN SEALS. STAND-POINT OF THE SEER IN HEAVEN. THE HEAVENLY WORLD AS THE ARCHETYPE AND FINAL GOAL OF THE EARTHLY WORLD

Rev_4:1 to Rev_5:14

a. Translation of the Seer to Heaven

1After this [these things] I looked [saw1], and, behold, a door was [om. was] opened [set open] in heaven: and the [that] first voice which I heard was [om. was] as it were of [om. it were of] a trumpet talking [speaking] with me; [,] which said [saying2], Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be here 2after [after these things]. And [om. And3] Immediately I was in the Spirit [spirit]

b. The Throne, the Sitter thereon, and His Government

And, behold, a throne was set [stood4] in heaven, and one sat on the throne [upon the throne5 one sitting]6 3And he that sat [the one sitting] was [om. was7] to look upon [in appearance] like a jasper and a [om. a] sardine stone: and there was [om. there was] a rainbow round about the throne, in sight [appearance] like unto 4[om. unto] an emerald. And round about the throne were [om. were] four and twenty [twenty-four8] seats [thrones]: and upon the seats [thrones] I saw [I saw]9 four and twenty [twenty-four8] elders sitting, clothed in white raiment [garments]; and they had [om. they had10] on their heads crowns of gold [golden crowns]. 5And out of the throne proceeded [go forth] lightnings and thunderings and voices [voices and thunders]:11 and there were [om. there were] seven lamps of fire burning 6before the throne,12 which are the13 seven Spirits of God. [;] And [and] before the throne there was [om. there was-ins. as it were] a sea of glass [glassy sea]14 like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were 7[om. were] four beasts [living-beings15] full of eyes before and behind. And the first beast [living-being] was [om. was] like a lion, and the second beast [living-being] like a calf [bullock16] and the third beast [living-being] had [having] a [the] face as17 [ins. of] a man, and the fourth beast [living-being] was [om. was] like a 8flying eagle. And the18 four beasts [living-beings] had each of them [each one of them having]19 six wings [ins. apiece20] about him [om. about him]21; and they were [om. they were—ins. round about and within were]22 full of eyes within [om. within]: and they [om. they] rest [ins. they have] not [ins. by] day and [ins. by] night, saying, Holy, holy, holy,23 Lord God [ins. the] Almighty [or All-ruler24], which [who] 9was, and [ins. who] is, and [ins. who] is to come [cometh]. And when [whensoever] those [the] beasts [living beings] [ins. shall] give glory and honor and thanks to him that sat [sitteth] on [upon] the throne, who [to him that] liveth for ever and ever [into the ages of the ages], 10the four and twenty elders [ins. shall] fall down before him that sat [sitteth] on [upon] the throne, and [ins. shall] worship him that liveth for ever and ever [into the ages of the ages], and [ins. shall25] cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 11Thou art worthy, O Lord [our Lord and God],26 to receive [take] [ins. the] glory and [ins. the] honor and [ins. the] power: for thou hast created [didst create] all things, and for thy pleasure [on account of thy will] they are [were27] and were created.

Rev_5:1-14

c. The Sealed Book of the World’s Course. Lamentation and Comfort touching the Sealed Book with the Dark Enigmas of the World’s History

1And I saw in [upon] the right hand of him that sat [sitteth] on [upon] the throne a book [scroll] written within and on the back [or, without28] side [om. side], sealed [ins. up] with seven seals. 2And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with [in29] a loud [great] voice, Who is [Isaiah 30] worthy to open the book [scroll], and to loose the seals thereof [of it]? 3And no man [one] in heaven, nor in [upon] earth, neither [nor] under the earth, was able to open the book [scroll], neither [nor even]31 to look thereon [upon it]. 4And I wept much,32 because no man [one] was found worthy to open and to read [om. and to read]33 the book [scroll], neither [nor even] to look thereon [upon it]. 5And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion [ins. that is]34 of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath [om. hath] prevailed [conquered] to open35 the book [scroll], and to loose [om. to loose]36 the seven seals thereof [of it].

d. The Lion as the Lamb

6And I beheld [saw], and, lo, [om., and, lo,]37 in the midst38 of the throne and of the four beasts [living-beings], and in the midst of the elders, stood [om. stood] a Lamb [ins. standing], as [ins. if39] it had been [om. it had been] slain, haying seven horns and seven eyes, which40 are the seven Spirits of God sent forth41 into all the earth. 7And he came and took the book [om. the book42] out of the right hand of him that sat [sitteth] upon the throne.

e. Worship of the Lamb

8And when he had taken the book [scroll], the four beasts [living-beings] and [ins. the] four and twenty [twenty-four] elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one [each] of them [of item] harps43 [a harp], and golden vials full of odours [incense],which are the prayers of [ins. the] saints. 9And they sung [sing] a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book [scroll], and to open the seals thereof [of it]: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed [didst buy] us [or om. us44] to God by [with] thy blood out of every kindred [tribe], and tongue, and people, and nation; 10And hast made [didst make] us [them45] unto our God46 kings [a kingdom47] and priests:48 and we [they] shall49 [or om. shall] reign on [upon or over]50 the earth. 11And I beheld, and I heard [or ins. as51] the [or a] voice of many angels round about [around52] the throne, and the beasts [living-beings], and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand [myriads of myriads], and thousands of thousands; 12Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was [hath been] slain to receive [take] [ins. the] power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. 13And every creature which [that] Isaiah 53 in heaven, and on [upon] the earth,54 and under the earth,55 and such as are in [upon56] the sea, and all [things57] that are in them, heard I saying, [ins. To him that sitteth upon the throne and to the Lamb, be] Blessing [the blessing], and [ins. the] honor, and [ins. the] glory, and [ins. the] power [might], be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb [om. be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb] for ever and ever [into the ages of the ages]. 14And the four beasts [living-beings] said, Amen. And the four and twenty [om. four and twenty]58 elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever [om. him that liveth for ever and ever]59.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

[Preliminary Note On The Symbolism Of The Vision]

By the American Editor

[The question—What did the Apocalyptist behold?—is one of great interest and importance. It is almost universally admitted, that he did not look upon the real Heaven and real angels. The scene he beheld was symbolic. But what is a symbol? What are the classes of symbols? What relation do they bear to the objects symbolized?

It is not designed in this note to discuss the whole subject of Symbolism. For this, the writer does not feel himself to be, at present, prepared; neither has he time or space for so great a work. He would, however, present certain views which may prove helpful to a more thorough appreciation and understanding of the Apocalypse than at present obtains, and which also may be of use as preparatory to that complete discussion of the entire subject, which, in the not distant future, must be made.

A Symbol may be defined to be a substantial (real or apparently real) sense image of some other object. Ordinarily, in the enumeration or classification of symbols, not only are substantial objects given, but also attributives (such as acts, effects, relations, etc.), and chronological periods and numbers. These latter, for scientific purposes, are better classed as symbolic attributives, periods and numbers, contemplating under the term Symbol only substantial (real or apparent) objects.

Symbols are of two essentially distinct classes, viz.: material and visional. The former are material things, such as the Tabernacle, the Mercy-Seat, the Candlestick, and the Cherubim of the Tabernacle, the Water of Baptism, and the Bread and Wine of the Lord’s Supper. Visional Symbols are those images, having the appearance of substantiality (simulacra), beheld in ecstatic vision. The latter were the objects beheld by the Apocalyptists (Daniel, Ezekiel, John), and concerning these alone is it designed, in the present note, particularly to treat. It is here proper to remark, however, that whilst scientific arrangements of these two classes of symbols based on their nature will be somewhat different, those based on a consideration of their relations to the ultimate objects represented will be precisely similar, as will appear.

As has just been hinted, Symbols may be classed on two essentially distinct principles: first, in respect of their nature; and, secondly, in respect of their relations to the ultimate objects symbolized.

The former, which, so far as the writer is aware, is the only classification that has been attempted, is exceedingly important; it is absolutely essential to a complete presentation of the subject of Symbolism. The following, adapted to meet the special views of the present writer, from Winthrop’s Essay on Prophetic Symbols, pp. 16 sqq. (and therein credited to Lord’s Theological and Literary Journal, Vol. III., pp. 688 sqq.), is presented for consideration.60

I. Living Conscious Agents.

1. Intelligent, (1) the Ζῶα, Rev_4:6; Rev_4:8-9; (2) Angels; (3) Men, etc.

2. Unintelligent, (1) Brutes; (2) Monster Animals.

II. Dead Bodies, such as the slain witnesses. Rev_11:8-11.

III. Natural Unconscious Agents or Objects; as the earth, the sun, the moon, stars, mountains, etc.

IV. Artificial Objects in Ordinary Use: as candlesticks, crowns, swords, harps, etc.

A still more important classification, however, is to be made in respect of the relations existing between the symbol and the ultimate object symbolized. The following, which does not profess to be more than tentative, is presented for consideration.

The symbols (simulacra) beheld by John and the other Apocalyptists are at once divisible into two classes: Immediate and Mediate. The former immediately represent the ultimate object contemplated, as the simulacra of Heaven, the Elders, the Angels; the latter represent the ultimate through the medium of some other object, as Christ is represented by the Simulacrum of a Lamb, and a church by that of a candlestick. This distinction is clearly implied in the narrative of John. Sometimes he wrote as though he directly beheld the ultimate objects; he saw Heaven, the Throne, and Him who sat thereon, and the Angels: and again he wrote, not as beholding the ultimate, but some object that represented it; he saw, not Jesus, not the Holy Spirit, but a Lamb representing the former, and Seven Lamps the latter. In the descriptive language of the Apocalyptist, the simulacra, which formed the common elements of the entire vision, were, so to speak, eliminated, and he wrote as though he directly beheld the things which the simulacra represented,—sometimes the ultimate object, sometimes the intermediate object that denoted the ultimate. In the former case, the eliminated simulacra were immediate; in the latter, mediate. In reference to the latter class, we occasionally find the Seer interpreting the symbol as in Rev_1:20, “The seven stars are (i. e. represent) the Angels,” etc. This was not always done, because, generally, it was unnecessary, as in the case of the Lamb slain representing Christ. It was done, however, with sufficient frequency to indicate the law.

Immediate symbols are divisible into two orders, viz.: (1) Similar, where the form of the simulacrum corresponds with that of the ultimate, as where the simulacrum of a man symbolizes a man; (2) ideal, where the form is not an image of the form of the ultimate, but is an ideal image (not, however, a likeness of some other known object) expressive of the qualities of the ultimate, as the (probably) ideal simulacra of the angels.

Mediate symbols may be divided into three orders, viz.: (1) individual, where the simulacrum indicates an individual ultimate, as where the Lamb indicates Christ; (2) classical, where it indicates a class of individuals, substantial entities regarded as one whole, as where the simulacrum of a candlestick symbolized a church, and that of a woman, the universal Church; (3) aberrant, where the simulacrum (always apparently substantial) indicates as its ultimate, not a substantial, but an ideal entity, as where the simulacrum of a sword indicates justice; and that of a horseman, war or pestilence.

From the preceding classification we deduce five orders of symbols, which may be designated with sufficient clearness as follows: I. Immediate-similar; II. Immediate-ideal: III. Mediate-individual; IV. Classical; V. Aberrant.61

All the attributives of symbols (qualities, actions, relations to other symbols, etc.) are themselves symbolic, i. e. they represent some attributive of the ultimate object. They are of two kinds: Similar and Ideal. Similar, when some similar attributive is denoted, as where the walking, standing, speaking, of the symbol denotes that the individual symbolized walks, stands or speaks; Ideal, when something dissimilar is indicated. Thus the opening of the Seven Seals by the Lamb is Ideal; it denotes, not an actual opening of seals by Christ, but a disclosure of the previously concealed purposes of God. It may be observed that this division is analogous to the general divisions of the symbols themselves, given in the preceding foot-note. It may also be remarked that in the case of Classical and Aberrant Symbols, all the attributives are necessarily Ideal.

Numbers as applied to symbols, whilst they cannot properly be classed as attributives, have a like division. They are either Similar, denoting a like number as applied to the ultimate, or Ideal. Chronological periods may be in like manner divided.

One important fact in reference to Visional Symbolization should here be distinctly noted, as its non-recognition has resulted in much confusion. A simulacrum may immediately represent a Material symbol. Thus, for instance, in the real world, a throne is a real thing, even though it be at the same time a Material Symbol of established sovereignty. Now in the Visional symbolization of a palace and its furniture, the simulacrum of the throne would be an Immediate Symbol: it would designate a really existent substance. The throne in the palace would be a Material Aberrant symbol indicating sovereignty. The simulacrum of that throne would be a Visional Immediate symbol representing, primarily, a real throne. Such a Visional symbol, it should be remarked, would legitimately suggest that which the Material Symbol represented, and, under certain circumstances, might be designed to suggest it. From these observations it follows that a Visional Symbol may perform the double office (1) of immediately symbolizing a Material Symbol as a substance, and (2) of aberrantly representing that which the Material symbol was designed to set forth.

The effort will be made to apply the principles set forth in this Note in additional notes and comments throughout the remainder of the Commentary.—E. R. C.]

SYNOPTICAL VIEW62

Chs. 4 and 5

The Seven Seals

The Vision of the Seven Seals embraces the history of the world,63 reposing upon the foundation of the Divine counsel and government. This history is represented in its constant gravitation toward the end. It is, on the one hand, in its fearful form, the riddle of all riddles, a book sealed seven-fold; but, on the other hand, unsealed by the Lamb of God, by Christ and the spirit of His cross, it appears as the foundation of the Church’s history, as the history of the Kingdom of God [Church]. Its Sovereign Ruler is the Rider on the white horse,64 behind Whom the other terrible horsemen must ride as esquires. It is thus dynamically governed by the Christian idea or, rather, the personal Christ; its object being the renewal of mankind by the connection of all human suffering with the redemptive crucial suffering of the Lamb. The Lamb, as It had been slain, is the central Personality, in the infinite life-giving operation of Its central suffering. As is the relation of the Logos to the world, of Christ to the human and spiritual world, so is the relation of Christ’s suffering to all the sufferings of humanity, down to the very depths of Sheol [Hades]. Accordingly, the vision, in respect of the celestial foundation which it constitutes, is the archetype of the world’s history—not its precursive counterpart, in accordance with Jewish ideas. See Düsterdieck, p. 211. The picture of the world’s history, again,—especially its history in New Testament times—ch. 6., is the foundation of external Church history, in respect of its eschatological bearings; whilst the Church, in respect of its inner relations as exhibited in the seven Churches, is the ideal prius65 of world-history. On the seven seals rest the seven trumpets; on these, the seven thunders, and against these last, the opposition of the seven-headed dragon rears itself, calling forth, in its turn, with its two seven-headed [?] Antichristian organs, the seven anger-vials of judgment; the vials of anger being, as the end of the old world, the preliminary condition of the new.

The effort to decide whether John beheld the whole series of visions in an unbroken succession, or whether prophetic sight ceased between the individual visions, and he set down by parcels that which he had seen only in part (Bengel and others), is the result of a rather literal conception of the Apocalypse. The latter view overlooks the grand unity of the vision in its totality, a unity which is even distinctly expressed in chap. 1. and without which the lively connection of the whole could be comprehended only through the assumption of immediate inspiration. On the other hand, the opposite theory ignores the freedom of the symbolic expression; in accordance with which the conception, given in its fundamental outlines on one Sunday, might be further developed in, with and amid its setting forth in writing, being continually accompanied by prophetic evidence.66

The sublime Heaven-scene of chs. 4 and 5., introduced by the words, μετὰ ταῦτα εἶδον, is the type of all subsequent Heaven-scenes. And like the rest, it is, as a Heaven-picture, the preliminary condition of the earth-picture; in the sense, that is, of an absolute Providence of the Personal God—a Providence overruling the progress and development of freedom in the world, in their human and demonic aspects, in the might of light and right (Urim and Thummim), in order to the carrying out of judgment to the victory of salvation.

Single Features of the Heaven-Scene

The Open Door in Heaven is the full unfolding of the Apocalyptic revelation even unto its deepest heavenly foundation. In the first stage of vision, Christ came to the Seer on earth, clarifying the condition of the Seven Churches, already historically familiar to John, into a type of all future fundamental forms of the Church. In this new stage of vision, Christ transports John to Heaven itself: this higher power of vision is signalized by the words: Immediately I was in the spirit.

The Throne of God needs no explanation: it denotes the absolute firmness of His government.67 He sits upon the Throne—an expression of His glorious assurance of victory. He sits upon the Throne as the Unique One, the Mystery of mysteries; and yet recognizable as the exalted Personality. He is also more particularly characterized by His symbolic appearance. The jewels, as such, denote the most noble life, light and imperishability in one. If we suppose the sardius, as the carnelian, the flesh-colored stone, to be expressive, not of the divine penal righteousness—indicated by the hue of fire—but of God’s eternal relation to humanity through Christ, it is probable, that the jasper is significant of the Divine Essence in the abstract, in its symbolical appearance everywhere manifest as essential light; and according to this, the diamond,68 and not the ordinary jasper, is undoubtedly intended.

The Rainbow, whose arch surrounds the Throne, is indicative of the fundamental tone of God’s government; judgment issuing in salvation—covenant faithfulness, an attribute previously expressed by the rainbow of Noah. Amongst the colors of this rainbow, emerald [green] is pre-eminent; and it is to this that it is likened [ch. Rev_4:3]; Divine promise demands human hope.

The Occupant of the Throne is immediately surrounded by the twenty-four Elders, the ideal representatives of the Old and New Testament Theocracy, human spiritual princes; in respect of their symbolical number;69 representing the ramifying foundations of the Old and the New Covenant in the adornment of their heavenly perfection—clothed in white raiment; and by their golden crowns—the sign of their imperishable royal freedom [and authority], won by surrender to God—attested in God as His heroes (Israel=combatant of God).

Before the Throne the whole governance of God is manifest. His alternate operations are lightnings, and voices, and thunders; lightnings of heavenly wonders, forming epochs on the earth; voices, in which the fundamental idea of these lightnings becomes manifest; and far-reverberating thunders, as periods of the rejuvenescence, extension and development of the Kingdom of God [Church].

These operations are conditioned, however, by the Seven flaming Lamps [Torches] before the Throne, the Seven Spirits of God, as Fundamental Forms of the personal and permanent Life-Revelation of God in His Logos or the eternal Christ, or as the Seven Fundamental Forms of the revelation of the Holy Spirit (see Isaiah 9)70

In pursuance of this manifestation of God, the ideal world is spread out before His Throne;—a sea, clear like crystal; infinitely swelling and agitated life; yet in its appointedness harmonizing with the Divine will—as in crystal life is fixed and transparent, like light; infinite liberty in infinite appointedness.

The foundation of the operations of God in the moral kingdom before the Throne are the four Life-forms (beasts) [Living-beings] about the Throne; the four Fundamental Forms of Divine Governance in the universal world generally—also in the creatural world.71 For the number of the world is four; the number of the Kingdom of God is seven (see below, on the four beasts [Living-beings]). These Life-forms are full of eyes before and behind (as also within and without, see Rev_4:8). That is, the Divine Governance is a thoroughly conscious rule; an absolute looking back upon the foundations and events of life, an absolute looking forward to the aims of life and their preliminary conditions; a perfect insight into the profoundest vital causes, as well as a perfect outlook upon the uttermost vital phenomena. A figure of omniscience in its undying motion over the world, in the consciousness of the Divine Governance. The lion appears in this figure as the mighty governance which overcomes all things, the dynamical principle in its irresistible forth-breakings. The bullock or ox appears as the principle of all sacrifice in the world, the principle of suffering in the creatural life (monstrously perverted into a conflict for existence). The human face represents the principle of humanity, relatively pervading the whole world; this Life-form is expressive of the concentration of the infinite in a likeness of the most conditioned finite life. The flying eagle appears as that ideal tendency toward some central sun which not only pervades the planets and comets, but is expressed in the motion of our sun itself; that tendency which is the mystery of all motion—a mystery manifested in its most peculiar essence in the higher tendency of the spirit-world toward the Sun of all life (I go to the Father). In a more general sense, however, motion is the property of all four Life-forms [Living-beings]. Each has six wings; for six is the number of restless activity in Heaven, of restless labor on earth, of restless self-frustration in the abyss. Hence it is said: the beasts [Living-beings] have no rest day and night. Their non-repose, however, consists in the festal work of glorifying God. They glorify Him as the thrice Holy One, Who preserves the purity of His own personality, and works unto purification in all His providential operations throughout the creatural and spiritual world. As the Holy One, He is the All-Ruler, Who repels every temptation to an impersonal line of conduct. And at the same time He is Jehovah (Who was, etc.), Whose covenant faithfulness aims in all ages at the establishment in love of a pure life-kingdom of personal beings.

Now follows the representation of an antiphony between the beasts [Living-beings] and the Elders. The beasts [Living-beings] have the initiative; for the adoration of the human spiritual princes, the Elders, rests upon the Fundamental Forms of the Divine rule in the world; that Divine Governance which actually redounds to the praise and glory and thanks of Him that sitteth upon the Throne, Who liveth for ever and ever. The Elders fall down before the Throne in humility and reverence, and worship; they cast their crowns at God’s feet as a sign that unto Him alone belongs honor, and utter their doxology. It agrees with the doxology of the beasts [Living-beings], with the exception that in the case of the Elders we have δύναμις instead of εὐχαριστία, thanksgiving resolving itself into a glorification of the Divine almighty power. But the Elders further give the reason of their praise, and it is noteworthy that they speak of an ideal existence of things preceding the actual creation of them.

This vision of God’s glory in His government, of the world constitutes the general basis of the special vision of the world’s history. The history of the world is embraced in a book-roll [scroll] in the hand of God; the leaves of which are sealed with seven seals. The book [scroll] must, doubtless, contain seven leaves; otherwise all the seals would of necessity be loosed at once.72 At every new leaf of the roll, a fresh seal is encountered; but if the leaf be unrolled, it is found to be written upon both sides. Thus, in God’s sight, the history of the world is complete, like a book [scroll]. Its course is septenarious, for its design is holy. But it is a sealed book [scroll]; its whole contents are made up of perplexing and disturbing enigmas. And no being is able to unravel this fearful history, to throw light on the gloom-enwrapped fate of the world. None in the angelic world is able to do this, none in the human world, none in the world of departed souls. Not one can so much as try to look upon the book, to examine whether he can open it. The cry of the strong angel is not simply dramatic; it must be made evident that no spiritual power would have solved the riddle of the world’s history, if Christ had not solved it with His cross.

And I wept much, says the Seer. A simple yet sublime expression of the feeling and thought of what the world’s history would be, had not Christ’s cross and victory unveiled it.73 The weeping Seer is comforted by one of the Elders (for the redemption belongs to humanity), who points him to the glorious victory of Christ (Rev_5:5). The cross must, of course, be perfected in the resurrection; the Lamb that was apparently overcome must be manifested as the triumphant Lion, for only thus might He loose the seals of the world’s history. As the Lion of Judah, Christ possessed the lion nature in the highest sense, as the Master of self-denial and self-conquest (Gen_44:33-34); and the depths of His royal essence are expressed in the announcement that He is the Root of David, the truly real fundamental idea and fundamental impulse of Davidic glory in the centre of humanity.74 This Root is significant of the deepest human cause of life; this Lion denotes the most spiritually mighty human appearance. Then the new wondrous vision within a vision is prefaced by the words: I beheld, and lo!

In the midst of the Throne, i. e., directly in front of God, surrounded by the circle of beasts [Living-beings], and by the circle of Elders, there appears a Lamb, as it had been slain—the Man, with the lineaments of absolute patience and the traits of mortal suffering—suffering surmounted, it is true, yet in its effects enduring forever. The attributes of the Lamb, symbolically defined, are seven horns, the sum of holy powers (Mat_28:18), and seven eyes, the seven Spirits or spiritual manifestations of the one Spirit of God, which are continually going forth from the Lamb into the world. This apparition comes and receives the book [scroll] from the right hand of God. Two things are indicated here: first, the self-presentation of the Lamb upon the summons of the angel; secondly, the fact that He is really to loose the seals. And hence the grand chorus of praise is not postponed until after His action. In reference to His work, the Elders need not await the doxology of the Divine powers of the world. A new song bursts forth from beasts [Living-beings] and Elders in one grand unison. This song relates to the new creation, the redemption. The redemption [Erlösung] is the loosing [Lösung] of all seals, and the Redeemer [Erlöser] alone is worthy to perform this work. The beasts [Living-beings] and Elders base their praise upon the Redeemer’s death on the cross (slain), and the effects of that death. He thereby out of all peoples bought a people for God, the New Testament people of the peoples, making of them a Kingdom of Priests who, in dynamical operation, even now, in all their yielding, nay, by means of the same, reign on earth. This song of praise in the centre of the heavenly congregation, is echoed in a grand antiphony betwixt the angelic world, on the one hand, and the creatural world, on the other. The doxology of countless angel hosts, forming the remoter circle round the beasts [Living-beings] and Elders, comes first. Their homage is sevenfold, in harmony with the holy throng. The worship of the creatures is fourfold, in accordance with the number of the world. We have here an antiphonal song of praise from all beings, reminding us of Psalms 145.

In a didactical aspect, the song is expressive of the fact that the effect of Christ’s triumph pervades the entire world of spirits, on the one hand, as an extension of His glory (Ephesians 1; Philippians , 2.); and that, on the other, it ushers the whole creatural world into the process of glorification, to be consummated in the Palingenesia (Romans 8). The four Life-forms or beasts [Living-beings] can only say Amen to this, for therein is the effort of their governance fulfilled. But for the Elders; this blissful contemplation is an incentive to unutterable prostration and worship.

EXPLANATIONS IN DETAIL

Rev_4:1. Compare the introductory remarks by Düsterdieck, p. 211. Especially the distinction between the Jewish view of the heavenly preludes (a Divine council with the angels) and the Christian idea. Also the difference of the formulas: μετὰ ταῦτα εἶδον and καὶ εἶδον.75

On the disputed question as to whether John always beheld and wrote down the visions separately, see above [p. 147]. The literal conception is pressed on either side.

[After these things.—The reference here is to the order of the visions. It does not necessarily follow that the events symbolized were to be subsequent to those previously set forth.—E. R. C.]

[I saw, “not I looked, as in the E. V; not the directing of the Seer’s attention, which discovers the door to him, but the simple reception of the vision which is recorded.” Alford.—E. R. C.]

A door set open in Heaven.—Explanations: Heaven is conceived of as a vault; as a Temple; as the Palace of God (Düsterd.). In accordance with the connection, however, the door here denotes the disclosure of the highest revelation, and, hence, the insight of John (De Wette). The voice is expressive of the heavenly inspiration and legitimation of this view. It distinguishes the real ecstasy of the Seer from an enthusiastic and fanatical exaltation.

[Set open.—“Observe here the perfect participle, the door had been opened and was standing open. The veil of the heavenly Holy of Holies had been removed by Christ (Heb_10:19-20), and Heaven was laid open to the view.” Wordsworth.—E. R. C.]

[The Apocalyptist saw Heaven, i. e., he saw an Immediate symbol thereof. As to the fact that Heaven is a place, there should he no doubt. It is, indeed, unquestionable that the term Οὐρανός is sometimes employed to denote the sky, as in Mat_16:2-3, and sometimes so used as to be consistent with the idea of a mere state, but it is also again and again employed in the didactic Scripture, as indicating a glorious and blessed place, where God specially manifests His glory, to which the Saviour ascended after His resurrection, and which is to be His abode until His second appearing in glory. (Comp. Act_1:10-11; Act_3:21; Act_7:55-56; Rom_10:6; 2Co_12:2; 1Th_4:16, etc. See also the Excursus on Hades, p. 364). It can scarce be supposed, however, that the symbolic display of the vision took place in this central home, this Holy of Holies, of the universe. This supposition is not required, as some may suppose, by the language. It is manifest that, throughout the Book, the Seer employs similar expressions where the object of vision was not the thing described, but a simulacrum thereof, as in Rev_13:1, where he declares that he “saw a beast rise up out of the sea.” And still further, precisely the same form of expression is employed, Rev_21:1 (“I saw a new Heaven and a new earth”), when the real objects referred to were not, at the time of the vision, existent—all that he could then have beheld were their simulacra.

But was the symbol similar or ideal? On this point it is impossible to speak with certainty; and, perhaps, it is improper in any degree to speculate. It may be remarked, however, that it by no means follows (as some seem to suppose) from the fact that the complex symbol beheld by John resembled the Tabernacle as to form and arrangement, that it must have been purely ideal. On the contrary, it is not improbable that the Tabernacle—the earthly dwelling-place of Jehovah, fashioned by Moses after the pattern shown him in the Mount (Exo_25:40; Exo_26:30)—may have been a material symbol of the Heavenly Temple, not only Immediate, but, so far as the earthly can resemble the heavenly, similar.—E. R. C.]

Rev_4:2. Immediately I was in the spirit,—Ἐὐθέως, without a conjunction, forcibly expresses the instantaneous translation of the Seer, thus denoting a high enhancement of the first stage of visionary sight. The text, therefore, forms a new step in comparison with the first I was in the spirit, Rev_1:10.76 The prototypes of this visionary celestial Throne-picture, 1Ki_22:19; Isaiah 6.; Ezekiel 1.; Dan_7:9, have been perverted by the Jews into monstrous allegories. See Düsterdieck, p. 214, the extract from the Pirke, R. Elieser, as given by Schöttgen. “A dextris ipsius est vita, a sinistris mors.” This recalls a kindred idea of Milton’s.

The θρόνος ἔκειτο is interpreted in a variety of ways (breadth of the Throne, Bengel; its resting upon the cherubim (!), Hengsten.) The fact of its establishment in the highest sense is doubtless enwrapped in the κεῖσθαι.77

Upon the Throne One sitting.—Not an indefinite designation, but an expression of the loftiest mystery. The Jewish dread of uttering the name of Jehovah (Ewald and others) can hardly have any application here, since the Seer has several times given utterance to that name in a developed form. Herder’s explanation is irrelevant: “the soul has no image, language no word whereby He may be called.” According to Düsterdieck and some elder commentators, He who sits upon the Throne is not the Triune God, but the Father. This is a misapprehension of the symbolical nature of the distinctions. [May there not be an allusion here to a visible Manifestation of the Glory and Presence of Jehovah similar to the Shekinah, which, in the Tabernacle, beamed from the Mercy-seat (the Throne), from between the Cherubim? For comments on the Throne, see p. 147.—E. R. C.].

Rev_4:3. Like a jasper stone.—See the Introduction, pp. 20, 21 [and also p. 148]. The true jasper is sometimes greenish, sometimes of a reddish hue, but not τιμιώτατος and κρνσταλλίζων, as this jasper is described, Rev_21:11. Hence those exegetes who apprehend the word as expressive either of the ordinary jasper, or of a peculiar and unknown sort, are justly opposed by those who are of opinion that the diamond is intended. See Düsterdieck, pp. 216, 217. Compare likewise the various interpretations of the Stones as there given.

And a rainbow.—It is a mooted question whether the iris is to be apprehended as a rainbow, or merely as a bow; whether it encircled the Throne vertically or horizontally. As the light of the sun is refracted in its journey toward the earth, so the refraction of absolute Light can be conceived of only in its direction toward the world, i. e., toward the Seer primarily. Yet the bow, as a bow, can appear only in a vertical form. Green, the color of promise, is a dominant color even in the real rainbow, and it is not without reason that Ebrard (p. 222) and others have apprehended it as forming an antithesis to the hues of the precious stones which denote attributes of the Divine Essence itself. It is not indicated, however, that this circular radiance has its origin in the lustre of the jewels. It is possessed of an independent symbolical meaning; the revelation of God in the world is always, conditionally, at the same time a concealment. A tempering of the Divine radiance (Züllig) lies in the colored appearance of the Divine manifestation, whether a pillar of fire, a pillar of cloud, or a cloud is the instrument of presenting the highest glory to the gaze of imperfect human beings. The bow can, of course, be no true rainbow, since the most sublime refraction of light is intended here; though it cannot be concluded that John had a distinct idea of a heavenly ether in contra-distinction to the grosser atmosphere of earth.

[“The rainbow, composed by the joint influences of shower and sunshine, is an emblem of Divine severity, blended with Divine love; a symbol of the dark shower of Divine judgment illumined by the bright beams of Divine Mercy. Comp. the vision of Eze_1:28. The Bow is a record of the deluge, in which the world was drowned for sin, and speaks of sunshine after storm; and of the Divine Promise that the world should never more be destroyed by water; and yet it is also a silent memento of another judgment (see Gen_9:13-16, and 2Pe_3:7.” Wordsworth. The iris is but the manifestation of the different hues which perfect light assumes when in connection with gross matter. Since perfect light is the highest symbol of the Divine Excellence, what so significant of that excellence in its relation to the creature world (disintegrated, so to speak, into what we style different attributes) as the many-colored rainbow? Alford is of opinion that the entire bow was green—the shape, and not the prismatic coloring, being indicated by the term rainbow.—E. R. C.]

Rev_4:4. Twenty-four thrones.—According to De Wette, the twenty-four thrones must be conceived of as “a few degrees lower ” than the Throne of God. If we bring earthly ideas in play here, “a few degrees” would not be sufficient to indicate the distinction, The definition of the twenty-four Elders is an index to the ecclesiastical and theological stand-points of the different exegetes; they have been interpreted as follows: cardinals (Lyra); priests (Alc.); pastors (Calov.); true heads of the Church, and pastors (Vitringa); the crown of the human race (Herder the humanist); angels (Hofmann)—in accordance with an exaggerated Angelology. Rinck similarly; Old Testament dignities ([Würden=dignitaries?] Beng.); New Testament martyrs (Eichhorn); half, representatives of teachers, half, representatives of hearers (Volkmar; not quite democratic enough, since the hearers must necessarily preponderate over the clergy). The number of the Elders being composed of twice twelve, Bleek and others have groundlessly regarded it as indicative of a twofold representation of Jewish and Gentile Christians. Ebrard justly remarks, in opposition to this view, that such a division has no Biblical foundation; whilst Düsterd., on the other hand, erroneously cites Rev_7:4; Rev_7:9, in support of the same opinion, though the real antithesis in the passage quoted is—not Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians, but—the Church Militant, and the Church Triumphant. Yet Düsterdieck himself gives the preference to the preponderant interpretation of many commentators, according to whom the twenty-four Elders represent the Old and New Testament Church, or the Twelve Patriarchs of Israel, and the Twelve Apostles. De Wette shows a thorough misapprehension of the symbolism employed, in insisting upon the unworthiness of individual Patriarchs. And thus an adverse argument has been founded upon the names of the Twelve Apostles, Rev_21:14. In perfect analogy with this symbolism is the fact that the conquerors on the sea of glass sing “the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb.” By this, as well as by the twenty-four Elders, the complete harmony of the Old and the New Covenant is expressed. The fact that Jehovah is immediately surrounded by Elders, entirely corresponds with the symbolical significance of the theocratic Presbytery. The Elders represent the purest, richest, and ripest spirits in their Divine likeness and their acquaintance with the counsel of God. In this idea originated the Talmudistic Judaistic accounts of the Elders before the Throne of God (see Hengst., p. 270; Düsterd., p. 219).

[Düsterdieok thus writes: “The twenty-four Elders whom John sees sitting on the thrones which are placed around the Throne of God are the celestial representatives of the whole people of God, just as in Isa_24:23, Elders (Ancients) are conceived of as the earthly heads and representatives of the whole Church.”78 This view, which is confirmed by a comparison of Deu_31:28 with 30, does not exclude, but confirms, the further idea that the representative Elders were also (individually) chief Rulers in the Kingdom of God. The idea of superiority in rule was distinctly recognized by Jesus (see the Excursus on the Basileia ii. 2 (4), p. 99). The fact that these Elders are Rulers is set forth by their sitting on thrones and wearing crowns (see below). The suggestion of Barnes in explanation of the number of the Elders is worthy of consideration, viz.: that it was in reference to the twenty-four courses of the Jewish Priesthood (see 1Ch_24:3-18). On this view the twenty-four Elders are not only Superior Kings, but the Chief Priests, the Heads of the priestly courses of the glorified Israel.79—E. R. C.]

The white robes and golden crowns are not merely symbols of the martyrs or confessors in the narrower sense; they are expressive of perfect righteousness of life in its negative and positive aspects. [The crowns, doubtless, are significant of their kingly authority (see above; also additional comment on Rev_2:11)—E. R. C.]

Rev_4:5. And out of the Throne go forth lightnings.—[See Synoptical View, p. 148.—E. R. C.] According to Düsterdieck, the lightnings, voices and thunders symbolize the omnipotence of God, especially that almighty power which is exercised in judgments (similarly Hengstenberg [also Alford and Barnes.—E. R. C.]). This interpretation is connected with the one-sided apprehension of the precious stones as symbolizing the essence of God. This too special interpretation contrasts with the too general explanation of De Wette. “In Rev_4:5 the mighty and vital influence of God over nature is represented; in Rev_4:6-8 nature itself, or the realm of the living, is symbolized in the four cherubim; in Rev_4:9-11, finally, the harmony of creation and redeemed humanity is represented; and thus God, in His living activity and reality, is exhibited” (De Wette). Similarly Ebrard, who describes God’s Throne as a “laboring, effervescent volcano.”80

On theocratic ground the lightnings are still less a purely terrific conception than in the Scandinavian-Germanic mythology (the hammer of Thor). With reference to the lightnings of Sinai, comp. Deu_33:2-3. The Coming of the Son of Man shall be like a mighty flash of lightning. Thus the lightnings of the whole New Testament manifestation are for the defence of the faithful people of God, being terrible only to His foes, Zec_9:14. They are, therefore, wonders of revelation [Divine manifestation?—E. R. C.].

The history of Christ’s Baptism and Transfiguration demonstrates that voices are a sequence, in definite ideas and truths, of Divine revelations—revelations of salvation, in particular; in general, they are the first of the Divine forms of revelation. Even God’s voices, His revelation truths, have a judicial as well as an, evangelical side, Gen_3:10.

The last remark applies equally to the thunder. This denotes the grand effect of revelation [Divine manifestation] in judgment and deliverance. Thus the typical redemption of Israel was effected by a mighty thunder which, at the same time, brought down judgment on the head of Israel’s foes, Psa_77:18-19. Job finds his prostrating judgment, but also his reconciliation, in a grand thundering of God, chs. 38–40. As thunder accompanied the giving of the Law, so the voice which answered Christ’s prayer in the Temple, the prayer with which He consecrated Himself to death for our redemption, was accompanied by a tone as of thunder. And the more tremendous the wrathful judgment announced in the thunder, according to Jer_25:30, the more distinct is its proclamation of a now redemption for the people of God; comp. Joe_2:11. As Elijah, like Moses, was an Old Testament son of thunder, ascending to Heaven in a fiery storm, so two of the greatest Apostles of the New Testament were sons of thunder. And how glorious is the description of the seven-fold thunder of God in Psalms 29., the festal thunder-Psalm! This, therefore, is the sense in which we apprehend the thunders of God; they are heavenly, uncheckable, redemptive revelations, accompanied by judgments—in other words, reformations.

And seven Lamps [torches]81 of fire burning before the Throne.—[See Synoptical View, p. 148.—E. R. C.] We cannot refer the participle καιόμεναι to the preceding ἐκπορεύονται; for the Lights, as such, do not issue forth like lightnings, and the Spirits of God do not proceed from His Throne, but from Himself. By the Seven Spirits that, according to Revelation 1., stand between Jehovah and Christ, and, according to Rev_5:6, go forth into all lands, we understand the seven fundamental forms of the revelation of the Holy Ghost through Christ, according to Isa_11:1, or the seven archangelic forms of Christ.

[“These seem to represent the Holy Spirit in His seven-fold working: in His enlightening and cheering as well as His purifying and consuming agency. So most Commentators.”—Alford. The idea of the seven-fold influences of the Holy Ghost is thus set forth in the ordination hymn of the Church of England:

“Come, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire,

And lighten with celestial fire;

Thou the anointing Spirit art,

Who dost Thy seven-fold gifts impart.”

It may here be remarked, that in the view of the Am. Ed, (see Preliminary Note, p. 145 sqq.) the simulacrum of the Seven Lamps constitute one (compound) Mediate-individual Symbol of the Holy Ghost; the division being significant of His manifold energies, and the seven-fold division, of the completeness, the perfection of those energies.—E. R. C.]

According to De Wette, the Seven Spirits are significant of the Spirit of God as the principle of physical and spiritual life, through Whom the inner influence of God over nature and mankind operates. According to Ebrard, also, the Spirit of God, in all His distinct properties, is denoted, in so far as He rules over the creation. According to Hengstenberg, on the other hand, the πνρός—fire being invariably used in the Apocalypse to designate the Divine wrath (? comp. Rev_15:2)—here denotes the Spirit of God or of Christ with a limitation, i. e., “in so far as His operations are productive of ruin, are punitive, destructive.” To this view Düsterdieck justly opposes the remark, that the Apocalyptist is speaking of torches (λαμπάδες). This word is doubtless expressive of the enlightening effect of God’s Spirit.

The contrast between the lightnings, voices, thunders, which issue forth from the Throne, and the lights which are stationary before it, has been explained by De Wette in a manifold way. He suggests the dogmatical distinction of manifestations and inspirations, the distinction between the evangelical history and the outpouring of the Holy Ghost. The thunder slowly dies away in the great echoes of the world’s history; but the light [λαμπάς] becomes a morning star in the heart—in the realm of the interior history of the Kingdom, therefore; and when the Spirit can complete His judgment as the Spirit, that judgment becomes a redemptive judgment.

Rev_4:6. Before the Throne as it were a glassy sea [sea of glass].—[See Synoptical View, p. 148.—E. R. C.] The meaning of this is easily gathered from the two items, sea and crystal—national life and transparent, spiritualized creaturality. Hence the interpretation of Aretius comes very near the point: cœtus ecclesiæ triumphantis. Similarly Ebrard, p. 225. The interpretations—some of which are quite singular—of this passage are also, in many respects, characteristic. We cite some of them: Baptism (the baptismal basin); the Holy Scriptures; the perishable world; the smooth and shining heavenly pavement; the atmosphere; or more abstract conceptions (certa dei voluntas, etc.). See Düsterdieck, p. 223. In Rev_15:2 the crystal brightness of this sea is mingled with fire, or the appearance of fire, either because the victors have, in many ways, passed through the fire, or because the victorious Church contains the principle of the fire of the universal judgment. Düsterdieck, referring to Rinck, maintains that the crystal-like sea is identical with the crystal-like river of Revelation 22.; but this view is untenable. The purity, transparency, spirituality of this sea is doubly asserted when it is declared to be both glassy and like crystal. According to Hengstenberg, the crystal sea is another image of the judgments of God. “Opposed to the flood of human wickedness is the great flood, the broad ocean of Divine judgments.”

[The following from Alford is worthy of highest consideration: “Compare, by way of contrast, ἡ καθημένη ἐπὶ (τῶν) ὑδάτων (τῶν) πολλῶν, the multitudinous and turbulent waters, Rev_17:1. In seeking the explanation of this, we must first track the image from its Old Testament earlier usage. (He compares Exo_24:10; Eze_1:22, and Job_37:10). If we are to follow these indices, the primary reference will be to the clear ether in which the Throne of God is upborne; and the intent of setting this space in front of the Throne will be to betoken its separation and insulation from the place where the Seer stood, and, indeed, from all else around it. The material and appearance of this pavement of the Throne seem chosen to indicate majestic repose and ethereal purity. … It is the purity, calmness, and majesty of God’s rule which are signified by the figure.” Wordsworth, who adopts the idea that the sea of glass was symbolical of the glorified Church, thus writes: “Sea, in this Book, represents the element of tumult and confusion in this lower world (see Rev_13:1). But here, by way of contrast, there is in the heavenly Church a sea of glass, expressive of smoothness and brightness, and this heavenly sea is of crystal; declaring that the calm of Heaven is not like earthly seas, ruffled by winds, but is crystalized into an eternity of peace.”

Here, it may be asked, may not the glassy sea be an Immediate symbol, indicating a real pavement in the real Heaven spreading out before the Throne; but at the same time aberrantly significant of the unapproachable grandeur of Him who sits upon the Throne, and (perhaps) of the peace, stability, and brightness of His rule? Similar questions might be asked in regard to other symbols, which generally are explained as merely Aberrant.—E. R. C.]

In the midst of the Throne and round about the Throne four living-beings [Lange: life-forms].—[See Synoptical View, p. 148; and also Additional Note on the Living-Beings, by the Am. Ed., p. 161 sq.] According to Eichhorn, Ewald I., and Hengstenberg, “the hinder part (of the eagle, and the human figure, as well as the others?) of the four ζῶα lay under the Throne, whilst the upper portion of them projected from beneath it and rose above it.” “An idea which, for the sake of its unsightliness, if on no other account, should not be imputed to John. According to Ebrard, the Throne is transparent, and the ζῶα move within it and issue forth from it.” (Duesterd.) Idem: “One on each side of the Throne, and each in the middle of its respective side.” If the Throne be significant of the Divine sovereign rule, the beasts [Living-beings], as individual Fundamental Forms of this government, must issue neither from the foot nor from the summit of the Throne, but from its mid-height, as from the centre of the Divine governance; see above. According to Bengel and Hengstenberg, the four beasts [Living-beings] are emblems of nature or the earth, or of the creation, according to Düsterd.82 According to Ebrard, they are the creative powers of God Himself, by means of which He exercises a sovereign sway throughout creation (like the lightnings, etc.). Against Ebrard’s interpretation of the beasts [Living-beings] as representatives of the fourfold powers of God, see Düsterdieck, p. 228. The contrast, moreover, is by no means clearly defined.

The germ of the representation of the four Fundamental Forms of Divine Providence is contained in Gen_3:24. It is a view which, in constant process of development, runs through the whole of the Sacred Writings; see Exo_25:18; Psa_18:10; (comp. Psa_104:4; Isa_6:2); Psa_99:1; Eze_1:10., etc. Riehm, De natura et notione Cheruborum, 1861. Lämmert, Die Cherubim der Heiligen Schrift, Jahrbb. für deutsche Theologie, 12, 4, p. 587. The latter starts from the passage Heb_9:5, from the term Cherubim of glory. He beholds in the figure of the Cherubim “symbolical representations of the sovereign glory of God, keeping His holy law, overthrowing all that is hostile to Him, but rescuing all that have His laws before their eyes.” The explication of the beasts [Living-beings], p. 615, reminds us of Ebrard’s interpretation; it offers no inducement to us to depart from our own view as given above. We, therefore, regard the ox as expressive of the spirit of sacrifice; the lion as expressive of the spirit of irruptive victorious courage; the human figure as expressive of the spirit of human and humane sympathy; and the eagle as expressive of the spirit of ideality, of striving after the realization of the ideal (see Leben Jesu, I., p. 234; Dogmatik, 603).

Different interpretations: The four Evangelists (whose attributes they certainly are, but not their original symbols); the four cardinal virtues; the four patriarchal churches; the four greatest fathers of the Church; the four mysteries of faith, etc. The quaternary is manifestly the number of the world. The six wings likewise demand consideration; the eyes, all about, as well as within (directed inward); the restless motion, by day and by night, in eternal praise of the thrice Holy One. The senary of the wings is six in a good sense; restless activity which in its unity makes up the festal septenary (see Joh_5:17). The wings are symbolical of the absolute motion of the Divine governance toward higher and highest goals. The eyes represent the omniscient rule of Divine Providence, immanent in the life of the world, conscious on all sides. With an absolute round-look corresponds an absolute in-look, expressive of the contemplative concentration and unity of the Divine omniscience. According to Hengstenberg, the eyes are expressive of the permeation of the whole world by spirit; according to Düsterd., they are significant of wakefulness by day and night (of creatural beings?83); whilst the wings, as he thinks, denote the dependence and subjection of the creature. The praise continually offered by the four Life-forms, the Trisagion, reminds us of the song of praise of the Seraphim (Isaiah 6), though it does not follow from this that the Cherubim and the Seraphim should be identified, as Lämmert thinks. These two symbolical angelic groups are undoubtedly connected; yet they also form an antithesis (Psa_104:4). See Com. on Genesis, p. 241 sq. [Am. Ed.]). Their hymn is expressive of the fact that the governance of God, in all its forms, redounds to His praise; to the praise of the glory, the glorious personality of God, Who is Jehovah, in an involved84 expression (Who was etc.), and Lord of Hosts (Sabaoth), as the All-Ruler, in an involved expression also.

Rev_4:9-11. [See Synoptical View, p. 148 sqq.], “With the representatives of the creation, the four beasts [Living-beings], the twenty-four Elders, the representatives of redeemed humanity, unite in the praise of God” (comp. De Wette, Hengstenberg, Ebrard). The contrast here presented, however, is not that of creation and redemption; neither is a union of voices intended. On; the contrary, the actual eulogy of God in the Forms of His government, wakes the antiphony of praise on the heights of the human spirit-world. The future, ὅταν δώσουσιν, is declared by some commentators to be a pure future; whilst others apprehend it in a frequentative signification—when they, or as often as they. [This latter view is adopted by Wordsworth, Alford, Barnes, etc. See Winer, § 42, 5.—E. R. C. ] The relation of priority, as pertaining to the song of praise of the Life-forms [Living-beings], is, however, also enwrapped in the term. They must strike the first notes. It is doubtless indicated, moreover, that there are particular epochs of praise.

Rev_4:9. Give is a genuine theocratic term: to return that which is beheld or experienced, to its Author, as a spiritual sacrifice.

Glory and honor.—Düsterdieck: Recognition of the glory and honor peculiar to the Lord, “whilst καὶ εὐχαριστίαν denotes directly, without metonymy, the thanks (Hengstenberg) offered by the creature.” This under the supposition that the ζῶα are creatures. If, however, they be Ground-forms of the Divine glory or δόξα in its governance, τιμή may denote the objective side of this governance over human souls, and εὐχαριστία its subjective side in human souls. Comp. the Doxologies, Rev_5:12-13; Rev_7:10; Rev_7:12; Rev_10:6.

To Him that sitteth upon the Throne.—In face of all the terrors of the last times, the Spirit of this prophecy is not afraid that the Throne of God will ever totter. As God lives into the æons of the æons, i. e., into the great æons which are composed of lesser æons (analogue of the Heaven of Heavens), and lives absolutely, so He survives all enemies upon whom the first and second deaths shall prey.

Rev_4:10. The twenty-four Elders fall down—cast [down] their crowns.—An expression of enthusiastic reverence, prostration, self-abasement, in the recognition of the fact that to Him alone belongeth honor. [It is also expressive of their voluntary and grateful recognition of the fact that as Rulers they are subject to Him—that their authority is derived from, and continually dependent upon, Him.—E. R. C.]

Rev_4:11. [Thou art worthy to take.—“The original signification of the word (λαμβάνω) is twofold; one, to take, the other, to receive” (Liddell and Scott). Is not the fact that it was here used in the former of these senses, indicated by the exchange of δύναμις for the εὐχαριστία of Rev_4:9? Jehovah receives the thanks which His creatures give; He takes the power that can be given Him by none. So far as δόξα and τιμή are concerned, there is an essential glory and honor which He takes and holds, and there is also an ascriptive glory and honor which His creatures may give and which He receives.—E. R. C.]

The glory.—The Elders say: τὴν δόξαν κ. τ. λ., because they are responding in a degree to Rev_4:8 (Bengel and Dästerd.) They seem antiphonally to translate the εὐχαριστία into δύναμις; why is this? Duesterdieck: The representatives of the creature must necessarily and justly return thanks, but the Elders looked upon the work of creation with a certain objectivity. See against this view Rev_11:17. Even thanksgiving is a δύναμις given of God (da quod jubes).85 [See the preceding paragraph.—E. R. C.]

[For Thou hast created all things (τὰ πάντα=the all things, the universe).—The Elders here assign the reason why they esteemed Jehovah “worthy to take the glory, and the honor, and the power.” Κτίζειν, like the Hebrew ברא, which in the LXX. it is often used to translate, has not the distinctive meaning, to create ex nihilo; in 1Co_11:9, for instance, it manifestly has the signification: to form out of previously existing substance. It may, however, be restricted to the former meaning by the context, and this is clearly the case in this present instance—to make the all things, must mean to create them. And that this is the meaning, is confirmed by the following sentence (see below)—E. R. C.]

And on account of Thy will (not: by Thy will).—[“Because Thou didst will it, … they were, i. e., they existed, as in contrast to their previous state of non-existence, … and received it (existence) from Thee by a definite act of Thine, εκτίσθησαν.” Alford after Duesterd.—E. R. C.] It is the teleologically higher conception that all things have come into being in order to the fulfillment and glorification of the Divine will (Rom_11:36). “Ἦσαν is generally regarded as synonymous with ἐκτίσθησαν.” Düsterdieck makes this distinction: they were, and thus it is that they were—they were created. Almost the same idea again! Nic. de Lyra ingeniously distinguishes the eternal counsel of God and the actual creation. Grotius, with equal ingenuity, distinguishes birth and regeneration. Taking creation and redemption together, the doxology says: for the fulfillment of Thy will, they finally were, and were created (received their shape and impress) with a view to this ultimate design (see Romans 9., comp. also Ebrard, p. 231).

Footnotes:

[1]Rev_4:1. [B*. gives εἴδων.—E. R. C.]

[2]Rev_4:1. Instead of λέγουσα [Rec., P. א3a.], read λέγων, [with א.1 A. B*., Lach., Words., Alf., Treg., and Tisch.—E. R. C.]

[3]Rev_4:2. The καὶ before εὐθέως is not firmly established, according to א. A. [B*., etc.; P. gives it. Lach., Words., Alf., Treg., and Tisch., omit.—E. R. C.]

[4]Rev_4:2. [The original is ἔκειτο, the literal translation of which would be lay; the English idiom requires stood.—E. R. C.]

[5]Rev_4:2. Ἐπὶ τὸν θρόνον, comp. Düsterdieck, p. 209. [Rec., with P., gives το͂υ θρόου; א. A. B*., Lach., Words., Alf., Treg., and Tisch., τὸν θρόνον.—E. R. C.]

[6]Rev_4:2. [“This order is retained by the Latin and German Verss., Syr., It., Fr., S.,—Daub., Woodh., Sharp., Treg., Kenr.” (Alford). Dr. Lillie.—E. R. C.]

[7]Rev_4:3. Against the ἦν, before ὅμοιος [given by Rec., P. and Vulg.], Codd. א. A. B*.

[8]Rev_4:4. Each time εἴκοσι τέσσαρες without καὶ. It is a perplexing question whether the second twenty-four is connected with the thrones or with the elders. The thrones, however, have their number from the elders—not vice versâ. The τοὺς before the twenty-four elders [with B*.] would certainly be premature here. [The correct reading of this entire passage is exceedingly doubtful. The Rec. gives καὶ κυκλόθεν τοῦ θρόνου θρόνοι εἴκοσι καὶ τέσσαρες καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς θρόνους εἶδον τοὺς εἴκοσι καὶ τέσσαρας πρεσβυτέρους καθημένους. All the authorities omit καί before τέσσαρες in both instances, and also εἴδον. In the first sentence Lach. and Tisch., with א. and A., give θρόνους, Words., Alf., Treg., with B*., give θρόνοι. Words., Tisch., and Treg., with B.*, give the second clause as the Rec., with the omission of εἶδον and καὶ (Treg. and Tisch., also with P., omit the second τοὺς); Lach. and Alford, with A., read ἐπὶ τοῦς εἴκ. τέσσ. θρόνους πρεσ.καθ. Cod. א. omits all the words between ἐπὶ and τέσσαρες inclusive. In the judgment of the Am. Ed. the reading of א. is to be preferred; in the face of the great critical authorities on the other side, however, he cannot venture to remove this clause from the text. The reading of Tregelles (which Lange supports) is adopted in the translation.—E. R. C.]

[9]Rev_4:4. [“All the recent editors reject εἶδον on the authority of A. B., … I recommend that this reading be followed, but, in order to mark the change of construction, would leave I saw in italics, as a supplement, extracted from the ἰδού of Rev_4:2. See Win. § 64, 3, 1.” Dr. Lillie’s Notes, etc.—E. R. C.]

[10]Rev_4:4. The ἔσχον before ἐπὶ τ. κ. unfounded. [It is omitted by א. A. B*. P., and critical authors generally.—E. R. C.]

[11]Rev_4:5. [The order φωναὶ καὶ βρονταί is given by Lach., Words., Alf., Treg., Tisch., in accordance with א. A. B*. P.—E. R. C.]

[12]Rev_4:5. [Alford brackets αὐτοῦ after θρόνου, in accordance with B*. Lach., Treg., and Tisch., omit with א3a. A. P.—E. R. C.]

[13]Rev_4:5. [Alford brackets τὰ in respect of its omission by B*.; Lach., Words., Treg., Tisch. give it with א3a. A. P. and Rec.—E. R. C.]

[14]Rev_4:6. [“The adjective is retained here by Latin and German Verss., Dt.; Wakef., Woodh., etc. (Comp. Horace, Carm. IV. 2, ‘Vitreo . . Ponto;’ and Milton, P. L. VII. Rev 619: ‘The clear hyaline, the glassy sea’).” Dr. Lillie’s Notes, etc.—E. R. C.]

[15]Rev_4:6. [“The E. V. ‘beasts’ is the most unfortunate word that could he imagined. A far better one is that now generally adopted, ‘living-creatures;’ the only objection to it being that when we come to Rev_4:9; Rev_4:11, we give the idea, in conjoining ‘living-creatures’ and created (ἔκτισας), of a close relation which is not found in the Greek.” Alford.—E. R. C.]

[16]Rev_4:7. [“Μόσχος is not necessarily to be pressed to its proper primary meaning, as indicating the young calf in distinction from the grown bullock; the LXX. use it for an ox generally, in Exo_22:1; Lev_22:23; also Exo_29:10, and Gen_12:16.” Alford.—E. R. C.]

[17]Rev_4:7. The reading ὡς ἀνθρώπου, in accordance with A., etc. Cod. א. reads otherwise still. [Cod. א. reads: ὡς ὅμοιον ἀνθρώπου; Wordsworth, with B.*, omits ὡς; Alford brackets; Lach., Tisch., and Treg. read with A.—E. R. C.]

[18]Rev_4:8. [B*. and Rec. omit τὰ.—E. R. C.]

[19]Rev_4:8. The reading: ἓν καθ̓ ἓν αὐτῶν ἔχον. [Lachmann, as Lange, Alford, and Tisch., give ἓν καθ̓ ἓν αὐτῶν, with A. P.; (B*. also gives ἓν καθ̓ ἓν, but omits αὐτῶν); Wordsworth follows the Rec., ἓν καθ̓ ἑαυτὸ; Tregelles, with א. and Vulg., gives ἓν ἕκαστον αὐτῶν. Alf., Treg., and Tisch., with A., give ἔχων; Lach. and Words., with B*., ἔχον; א. Rec. Vulg., εἶον. The readings of Treg. are adopted in the translation.—E. R. C.]

[20]Rev_4:8. [For the force of ἀνά, see Winer, § 49. b.—E. R. C.]

[21]Rev_4:8. [There is great difference amongst critical editors as to the connection of κυκλόθεν. Treg. agrees with Rec. in connecting it with the preceding πτέρυγας ἓξ; Lach., Words., Alford, Lillie, Tisch., with Vulg. and Lange, connect with καὶ ἔσωθεν. Lillie thus supports the latter arrangement (Notes, etc.): “(1) Assuming ἔχον or ἔχων and γέμουσιν to be the true readings, the structure of the whole verse is simplified; (2), the other arrangement does not harmonize with the cherubic appearances before referred to, Rev_4:7; (3), and might have precluded the Seer’s minute observation of the other features (Rev_4:6-7), which first caught his eye; while, (4), the construction proposed is apparently required by the ἔμπροσθεν and ὄπισθεν of Rev_4:6; and, (5), is that adopted by Vulg., Fr., S.; Grot., Hamm., Beng., Sch., Wordsworth.” Cod. B*. has, after κύκλοθεν, καὶ ἔξωθεν.—E. R. C.]

[22]Rev_4:8. [For the unauthorized γέμοντα of the Rec., all the modern critical editors, with א. A. B*. P., Vulg., etc., read γέμουσιν —E. R. C.]

[23]Rev_4:8. [The ἅγιος occurs nine times in B*., and eight times in א1.—E. R. C.]

[24]Rev_4:8. [See Additional comment on Rev_1:8, p. 93.—E. R. C.]

[25]Rev_4:10. [Lach., Words., Alf., Treg., Tisch. give βαλοῦσι (ν) with א**. A., Am., Fuld.; βαλλοῦσι is given by א*. B*.; Vulg. (Cl.) reads mittebant.—E. R. C.]

[26]Rev_4:11. According to A. B*., etc. [Lach., Words., Alf., Treg., Tisch., with א. A. B*., read ὁ κύριος καὶ ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν (א. prefixes κύριε, and B*. subjoins ὁ ἅγιος); P. gives κύριε ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν. Lange translates: our Lord and our God.—E. R. C.]

[27]Rev_4:11. [The Rec. εἰσι agrees with P. Lach., Words., Alf., Treg., Tisch., with א. A. B*., give ἦσαν. B*. gives οὐκ ῆσαν; on this Alford remarks: “The remarkable reading οὐκ ἦσαν is worth notice, ‘by reason of Thy will they were not, and were created,’ i. e., ‘they were created out of nothing.’ But besides the preponderance of authority the other way, there is the double chance that οὐκ may have arisen from the preceding ου(σου), and that it may have been an escape from the difficulty of ἦσαν.”—E. R. C.]

[28]Rev_5:1. The reading: ὄπισθεν. so far as the sense is concerned, the same as ἔξωθεν. [Lach., Words, Alf., Tregelles, Tisch., with א. A., give ὄπισθεν; ἔξωθεν is given by B*. P., Vulg., etc.; the reading: ἔμπροσθεν καὶ ὄπισθεν in א, Origen, etc.—E. R. C.]

[29]Rev_5:2. In accordance with A. B*. [א.], etc., ἐν(φωνῇ). [So also Lach., Words., Alford, Treg., and Tisch.; Rec. with P., Vulg., etc., omits ἐν.—E. R. C.]

[30]Rev_5:2. The ἐστιν after τίς omitted, which throws a stronger emphasis on ἄξιος. [It is omitted by critical editors generally, in accordance with א. A. P.. etc.; Rec., with Vulg., inserts it before ἄξιος, and B*. after that word.—E. R. C.]

[31]Rev_5:3. [Wordsworth and Alford give οὐδε three times; Lachmann and Tregelles give οὐδέ οὐδέ, οὔτε, with A.; Tisch., with B*., gives οὔτε thrice; and א., οὔτε twice, omitting the intermediate. See also Winer, § 55 b. (d.)—E. R. C.]

[32]Rev_5:4. Πολύ instead of πολλά, in accordance with B*. [πολυν], א. [P.], etc.

[33]Rev_5:4. Καὶ ἀναγνῶναι is omitted. [So Lach., Words., Alford, Treg., Tisch., with א. B*. P., etc.—E. R. C.]

[34]Rev_5:5. The ὤν is omitted. [So all the recent critical editors, with א. A. B*. P., etc.—E. R. C.]

[35]Rev_5:5. The reading ἀνοῖξαι, in accordance with A. [א.] and many others, against ἀνοίγων [B*.].

[36]Rev_5:5. [Lach., Words., Alf., Treg., Tisch., with A. B*. P., Amiat., etc., omit λῦσαι, which is given by Rec., א., Vulg. (Cl.).—E. R. C.]

[37]Rev_5:6. The clause καὶ ἰδού, supported by B. [?], etc., is also supported by the context. The Seer wishes to prepare his readers for an unexpected, great and new vision. It seems most hazardous to erase the two words. [B*. does not support the clause. It is omitted by Lachmann, Wordsworth, Alford, Tregelles, Tisch., with א. B*. P., etc. A. and Vulg. give it.—E. R. C.]

[38]Rev_5:6. [Lange translates: “the middle point.” Alford translates: “the midst,” commenting: “the words seem to indicate the middle point before the throne.”—E. R. C.]

[39]Rev_5:6. [For the translation as if, see Robinson under ὡς, B. a; Kühner, § 312, 6.—E. R. C.]

[40]Rev_5:6. Unimportant variations, see in Düsterd. [א. A. and Vulgate give οἱ; Tischendorf, with B*., gives ἁ.—E. R. C.]

[41]Rev_5:6. The reading ἀποστελλόμενα has B., and the sense, in its favor. [So Wordsworth; Alford and Tischendorf read ἀπεσταλμένα, with א.; Lach. and Treg., ἀπεσταλμένοι, with A.—E. R. C.]

[42]Rev_5:7. Without βιβλίον. [Lach., Alford, Tregelles, and Tisch., with א. A., omit τὸ βιβλίον; Wordsworth gives it; B*. gives τήν.—E. R. C.]

[43]Rev_5:8. [Modern editors, with א. A. B*. P., give κιθάραν.—E. R. C.]

[44]Rev_5:9. Against the insertion of ἡμᾶς are Cod. B. [?], etc. Still more opposed to it is the context, for ἡμᾶς would refer to the living-beings as well as to the elders. Hence we should read αὐτούς in Rev_4:10 also, in accordance with Codd. A. B., etc. [Lachmann, Wordsworth, Alford, and Tisch., with A., omit ἡμᾶς; Tregelles, with א. B*. P., Vulgate, etc., gives it. It is marked above as doubtful.—E. R. C.]

[45]Rev_5:10. [Critical editors, with א. A. B*., give αὐτούς.—E. R. C.]

[46]Rev_5:10. Τῷ Θεῷ ἡμῶν, omitted by A., is probably connected with the foregoing variations. [Lachmann and Alford, with A., omit; Wordsworth, Tregelles, Tischendorf, with א. B*. P., Vulg., etc., give the expression.—E. R. C.]

[47]Rev_5:10. Βασιλείαν. [Lachmann, Alford, Tregelles, and Tisch., with א. A., give βασιλείαν; Words., with B*., etc., reads βασιλεῖς.—E. R. C.]

[48]Rev_5:10. [Cod. א. reads ἱερατείαν.—E. R. C.]

[49]Rev_5:10. Βασιλεύουσιν. [Lachmann, Wordsworth, Alford, Tregelles, with A. B*., read as Lange. Tischendorf, with Cod. א., Amiat., Fuld., Tol., Harl., gives βασιλεύσουσιν; the Vulgate (Clem.) requires βασιλεύσομεν. The weight of ancient authority seems to me to be about equally divided between the present and the future forms; the condition of those who utter the song (in heaven), together with the promise to the saints of future authority upon and over the earth, in my judgment, require the future.—E. R. C.]

[50]Rev_5:10. [For the force of ἐπί with the gen., see Winer, § 47, a.—E. R. C.]

[51]Rev_5:11. [Tregelles and Tischendorf, with א., give ὡς before φωνήν; Lachmann and Wordsworth, with A. B*. (corr.), P., Vulgate, etc., omit; Alford brackets.—E. R. C.]

[52]Rev_5:11. [Recent editors, א. A. B*. P., Vulgate, etc., give κύκλῳ.—E. R. C.]

[53]Rev_5:13. Without ἐστιν. [Lachmann, Wordsworth, Alford, Tregelles, Tischendorf, with א. A. B*., omit ἐστιν after ὅ (א. τό); Tregelles and Tischendorf omit it also after θαλάσσης with א.; Lachmann and Alford give it in the latter place with A. B*. P.; Wordsworth, with B*. P., reads ἅ ἐστι.—E. R. C.]

[54]Rev_5:13. [Recent editors, with א. A. B*. P., etc., give ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς.—E. R. C.]

[55]Rev_5:13. [א. omits ὑποκάτω τῆς γῆς, which is given by A. B*., Vulgate, etc.—E. R. C.]

[56]Rev_5:13. [Recent editors give ἐπὶ τῆς θαλάσσης, with A. B*. P.; א. and Vulg. give ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ.—E. R. C.]

[57]Rev_5:13. [Lachmann, Alford, Tregelles, Tischendorf, with א. P., read πάντα; Wordsworth and Lange read πάντας, with Vulgate; (Tregelles claims A. for πάντα, Alford cites it as reading πάντας); B*. reads πάντα καὶ πάντας.—E. R. C.]

[58]Rev_5:14. [Εἴκοσι τέσσαρες, which is supported by the Vulgate (Clem.), etc., is omitted by critical editors, with א. A. B*. P., Amiat., Fuld., etc.—E. R. C.]

[59]Rev_5:14. This addition is not based even upon minuscules.

[60][This table was prepared with special reference to Visional symbolization. It should be noted, however, that in form, it presents a classification, not of Visional Symbols themselves, but of the apparent elements thereof; by the Visional Symbol must be understood the simulacrum of the thing specified therein. With certain modifications the table may be regarded as presenting a classification of Material Symbols. These are of two distinct, though parallel, orders: the first, embracing those real existencies that are themselves employed as Symbols—as the lamb of sacrifice, the bread of the Lord’s Supper; the second, consisting of material images (of real or ideal existences) that are thus employed—as the image of the flying fiery serpent, the Cherubim of the Tabernacle. The above table presents a complete classification of the first of these orders, in so far as it is a classification of real existencies that have been employed as Symbols; it bears to the second order a relation precisely similar to that which it bears to Visional Symbols.—E. R. C.]

[61] [These orders may be more scientifically deduced as follows: There are four general respects in which every symbol is related to its ultimate object, viz.: as to (1) manner of representation, (2) correspondence of nature, (3) form, (4) number; and in each of these respects it must be related in one of two alternative modes. Its relation must be in view of (1) manner of representation, either Immediate or Mediate; (2) correspondence of nature, either Correspondent or Aberrant; (3) form, either Similar or Ideal; (4) number, either Individual or Classical. From a combination of these general divisions there would result, theoretically, sixteen distinct orders of symbols. Several of these, however, would be impossible of realization. Thus a symbol at once Aberrant (i. e. differing in nature from its object) and Natural (i. e. similar in form) is inconceivable. And of those that are possible of realization, several have no exemplification in the Scriptures. The five orders given above (all of which are exemplified in the Apocalypse) are here reproduced an enumeration of the general divisions to which each belongs being given in the parenthesis.

I. Immediate-similar (Immediate, Similar, Correspondent, Individual).

II. Immediate-ideal (Immediate, Ideal, Correspondent, Individual.

III. Mediate-individual (Mediate, Ideal, Correspondent, Individual).

IV. Classical (Mediate, Ideal, Correspondent, Classical).

V. Aberrant (Mediate, Ideal, Aberrant, Individual).—E. R. C]

[62][Additional comments, save in a few special instances, are reserved for Explanations in Detail, on pp. 150 sqq.—E. R. C.]

[63][If by world is meant the present œon or dispensation, extending to the Second Advent and the complete establishment of the Basileia, this statement is manifestly true, since the seventh seal includes the trumpets and the vials. If, however, by world is contemplated the earth, as the scene of life and activity, the statement cannot be accepted. See Introduction by the American Ed. also Lange on Rev_1:1, p. 156—E. R. C.]

[64][For other interpretations of the Rider on the white horse, see Comm. on Rev_6:2, p. 171.—E. R. C.]

[65][Lange reproduces this term from the Latin. As there was no German word that could express his idea, it is hardly possible that an English term can be found.—E. R. C.]

[66][It is somewhat difficult to determine from this passage what view Lange adopts. The most natural hypothesis seems to be that John beheld the visions like the unfoldings of a panorama (see the frequent recurrence of the phrase μετὰ ταῦτα εἶδον, Rev_4:1; Revelation 7; Rev_1:9; Rev_15:5; Rev_18:1; Rev_19:1, and similar expressions through the Book); and that he wrote as he beheld, or in the possible intervals of vision (see Rev_10:4, where it is recorded that after hearing the thunders, he was about to write, but was forbidden). The latter part of this hypothesis is not inconsistent with the idea that, after the completion of the entire vision, he wrote at leisure a full account of what he had seen and heard, on the basis of the notes he had previously taken.—E. R. C.]

[67] [See Preliminary Note on p. 145 sqq., especially the concluding paragraph on p. 145.

[Is not this symbol, primarily, significant of a Throne in Heaven—some glorious seat in the Heaven of Heavens where Jehovah specially manifests His glory? Secondarily, it is indicative not merely of the “firmness” of the Government of God, but of the fact thereof. The Throne—the visible seat of the Sovereign—is the symbol of established government. On earth Jehovah now governs, and the fact becomes evident to those who wisely consider; but it is not patent: it is in measure hidden beneath the veil of what we style the laws of nature. In Heaven, however, it is immediately manifest that He upholds those laws, and governs in, and through, and above them.—E. R. C.]

[68][So also Ebrard conjectures. Wordsworth thus writes: “The Jasper (says Victorinus) is like water; the Sardine is like fire: and thus these stones seem to represent God’s Majesty and Justice as seen in His judgments—that of the flood, and that of the fire of Sodom and of the Last Bay. Or, rather, the union of these two colors; the one of a brilliant and lively hue; the other of a deeper, fiery and darker hue, may perhaps be designed to symbolize the union of Mercy and Glory, with Justice and Majesty in the Godhead, especially in the Gospel dispensation (Rom_3:26). Similarly there is a combination of brightness and fire in Ezekiel’s Vision (Eze_1:4), which also displays the Rainbow (Eze_1:28).”—E. R. C.]

[69][See additional comment under Rev_4:4, p.152.—E. R.C.]

[70][See on Rev_1:4, p. 91—E. R. C.]

[71][See on Rev_4:6, p.154—E. R. C.]

[72]Not necessarily. A roll might receive seven seals on either of the flat ends, each seal holding together the edges of a number of the revolutions of the parchment. In such case all the seals would be visible, and any one might be broken without breaking the others. Of course, in the unrolling, the seal nearest to the circumference would have first to be broken, and so on toward the centre. Nor would there be any difficulty in reading such a roll, written within and without, if the writing were in transverse columns, from edge to edge—the entire scroll being turned (longitudinally) when the bottom edge was reached. In this case the portion read would have to be re-rolled in one hand, as the unread portion was unrolled in the other.—E. R. C.]

[73][Does not the explanation take for granted that the Seer understood something of the future history before the unrolling? Alford’s explanation, in which he agrees with Lyra, seems to he better: “It had been promised to him, ch, Rev_4:1, that he should be shown future events; and now it seemed as if this promise were about to be frustrated by the lack of one worthy to open the Book, … and his tears burst forth in the earnestness of disappointed desire after the fulfillment of the promise.”—E. R. C.]

[74][See on Rev_5:5, p.167—E. R. C.]

[75] [The passages in Düsterdieck specially referred to are as follows:

“On comparing the description, Revelation 4., with Rabbinical conceptions, such as More Nevoch., II.6; ‘Non facit Deus quicquam, donec illud Intuitus fuerit in familia superiori,’ and Schir Haschirim R. fol. 93; ‘Non facit Deus quicquam, nisi autea de eo consultaverit cum familia superiori’ (in Wetstein), we can not overlook the essential difference consisting in the fact that the Johannean view is a pure development of Old and New Testament fundamental truths, whilst the Rabbins had but a corruption of those truths (contrary to Wetst., Eichh., Heinr., Ew., el al.) For the familia superior, which is represented by the Rabbins as taking part in the council of God, has. according to John, but to worship God and to magnify the counsel together with the works of God; and the visions beheld by John, in which the things to come are prefigured to him, being in the spirit, are by no means that heavenly prelude of earthly events which the Rabbins conceive of (comp. Wetst.: ‘Ex mente Judæorum, quæ in terris eventura sunt, in cœlo coram consessu angelorum prius manifestantur atque repræsentantur’).”

“The formula μετὰ ταῦτα εἶδον marks the beginning of a new vision, and that a greater or more important one (chs. Rev_7:1; Rev_7:9; Rev_15:5; Rev_18:1), whilst the formula καὶ εἶδον introduces the manifold individual features which present them selves in the course of a greater main picture (Rev_5:1; Rev_5:6; Rev_5:11; Rev_6:1; Rev_6:5; Rev_6:8-9; Rev_6:12; Rev_8:2; Rev_8:13, et al.”)—E. R. C.]

[76][See on Rev_1:10, p.103.—E. R. C.]

[77][See foot-note, † p. 147.—E. R. C.]

[78][Düsterdieck also quotes, as bearing upon the passage cited from Isaiah, the following passages quoted by Schöttg, and Hengst. from Tanchuma (fol. 48): “Tempore futuro Deus S. B. gloriam senioribus tribuit. Dixerunt quoque Rabbini nostri: faciet sibi Deus S. B. consessum seniorum suorum.” Also the following in reference to Dan_7:9 : “Tempore futuro Deus S. B. sedebit et Angeli dabunt sellas magnatibus Israelis, et illi sedent. Et Deus S. B. sedet cum senioribus tanquam princeps senatus et judicabunt gentiles.”—E. R. C.]

[79] [In the Additional Comments above, the Am. Ed. has written as adopting the generally accepted view that the Elders belong to the glorified Church, He would, in this place, deferentially suggest for consideration another hypothesis. The evidence for the current view rests solely on the formerly accepted text of the doxology in which the Living-beings and the Elders are represented as uniting (Rev_5:10-11). Criticism has shown that, in this instance, the text of the Recepta is specially corrupt; it has established the fact, that the ἡμᾶς and βασιλεύσομεν of Rev_4:10 are corruptions of αὐτούς and βασιλεύσουσιν (or βασιλεύουσιν), and has rendered probable (certain in the opinion of Lange, Alford and Tischandorf) the further fact, that the ἡμᾶς of Rev_4:9 is an interpolation. It is well nigh certain (from textual criticism alone) that the doxology was raised in view of the general fact of redemption, and not of the personal redemption of those who united in it—that it affords no evidence that any who joined in its utterance were themselves the subjects of redemption. Apart from this doxology, there is no evidence that the Elders were in any way connected with the Church; on the contrary, all the indications of the Apocalypse are opposed to the idea. Although they are several times mentioned, it is never as representing the redeemed, as being amongst them, or as joining in their hallelujahs. When they are represented as sitting on thrones, the souls of the martyrs—certainly the noblest portion of the redeemed, even if that throng were not intended to represent the whole body of the saved—were beneath the altar (comp. chs. Rev_4:4 with Rev_6:9). And where, if not amongst the martyrs, are the Princes of the glorified Israel to be sought? When the great multitude of the redeemed stood before the Throne and raised their hallelujah, the Elders stood, not with them, but with the Living-beings and the Angels, offering a separate worship and uniting in a separate hymn of praise (Rev_7:9-12). On this august occasion one of the Elders is represented as addressing the Seer, not as a representative of the glorified Host, but as a spectator of their glory; and as a mere spectator (he spoke of them, not of us), he gave information concerning their past and future history (Rev_7:13-17). In the doxology that burst forth from the Living-beings and the Elders immediately on the announcement of the complete establishment of the Kingdom of the Messiah on earth, there was no allusion to any personal participation in the rewards that should be bestowed on (human) prophets and saints (Rev_11:15-18). Again, when the Lamb at the head of the hundred and forty-four thousand stood on Mount Zion (where should the Princes of Israel have been but with that company?), the Elders and the Living-beings stood apart by the Throne, and before (not by) them the new song of the redeemed was sung (Rev_14:1-5).

The writer would ask, Do not these facts go far to confirm the independent conclusions of criticism as to the true text of the doxology in Rev_5:10-11? And do they not tend to establish the conclusion, that the Elders were not Princes or representatives of the glorified Church, but Princes of the heavenly hosts—of unfallen spirits? And it may also be asked, if this view does not give a unity to this Heaven scene, and to all the scenes of the Apocalyptic visions, entirely lacking on the hypothesis generally accepted.—E. R. C.]

[80][The following view of Wordsworth can hardly be accepted as a complete explanation: “This adjunct (thunders) confirms the opinion that St. John is here speaking of God’s word. Thunder is the voice of God. St. John himself, as a preacher of God’s word, was named by Christ ‘a son of thunder.’ ”—E. R. C.]

[81][“Seven torches of fire: λαμπάς in this Book does not mean a lamp (see Rev_8:10), but a torch (comp. Joh_18:3); and these seven torches or flambeaux of fire burning before the Throne are contrasted with the Star which fell as a torch from Heaven (Rev_8:10); comp. Wetstein I., p. 507; and Trench, Syn. N. T., p. 193.” Wordsworth.—E. R. C.]

[82] De Wette: These four creatures, as pre-eminent, the first two for strength, and the two others for knowledge, are representatives of all creatures (creatures—that rest not day or night?).

[83][Yes. Comp. Rev_7:15, where the redeemed are represented as serving by day and by night (i. e., continually) in the Temple. To the blessed spirits, braced by the atmosphere of Heaven, perpetual service is perpetual rest.—E. R. C.]

[84][Mathematically involved. E. R. C.]

[85][The prayer of Augustine (Confess., Lib. 10:29): “Da quod jubes, et jube quod vis.”—E. R. C.]

SPECIAL DOCTRINO-ETHICAL AND HOMILETICAL NOTES (ADDENDUM)

Section Fourth

Second Grand Vision. Heaven-picture of the Seals. (Chs. 4, 5)

General.—a. Translation of the Seer to Heaven. A vision within a vision, at the same time denoting a momentary translation into the light of the consummation.—The import of Heaven in the whole of Sacred Writ, from Gen_1:1 throughout, is at once cosmical and spiritual. Heaven is, so to speak, the plastic symbol of religion, and especially of Christianity. God’s Kingdom, a Kingdom of Heaven.

b. The Throne, the Sitter thereon, and His Government. The Throne indescribable. The figure of the Enthroned One is—and justly—not depicted, but only symbolized, approximately, by precious stones, having the hue of light and life.—The rainbow, or the glory of the Godhead, visible, in the chromatic, seven-fold radiance of revelation, to the spirit-world.—The twenty-four Elders on their thrones, or the elect in the lustre of perfect fellowship with God.—The white robes of consummation.—The ground-forms of Divine revelation: Lightnings, voices, thunders; see Exeg. Notes.—The Seven Spirits of God, under the figure of eternally burning Lamps [Torches], symbols of the eternal living unity of light, life and love.—The glassy sea and the four Life-forms; see Exeg. Notes.—God’s governance under the figure of these Life-forms.—The second doxology (Rev_4:11) a development of the first (Rev_1:6)—an expression of the ever richer revelation of God.

c. The Sealed Book of the Course of the World. Lamentation and Consolation. The course of the world as a completed book, or the counsel of God. As a sealed book, or the nocturnal gloom of worldly history. As a terrible book, in the apparent impossibility of unsealing it. As a book full of wonders of salvation, destined to be opened by the Lion of Judah in His victory. Christ the Crucified and Risen One, the Opener, Explainer and Transfigurer [Erklärer und Verklärer] of the book with seven seals. The seals of guilt [Schuld=indebtedness to justice], of imputation of guilt, of judgment, of the curse, of death, of the fear of death, and of despair—how Christ looses them and resolves them all into deliverance and mercy, through His redemption. Even the Gospel is to the unenlightened world a dark book of fate, but through the enlightenment which proceeds from Christ, even the dark destiny of the world shall itself become a Gospel.

d. The Lion as the Lamb. The unity of Lion and Lamb, or the absolute victorious power of perfect love and suffering. Divine omnipotence and Divine endurance in their general unity as exhibited in the history of the world, and in their concentrated unity as exhibited in Christ. The Lamb, the centre of all life, (1) of the Throne of God, (2) of the four ground-forms of His governance, (3) of the chosen presbyters of the Old and the New Covenant.—The symbolic appearance of the Lamb, see Exeg. Notes.—As it had been slain, or the infinite import of the historic phase of Christ and Christianity. Christ has taken the office of solving the riddle of worldly history from the hand of the Father.

e. The Cultus of the Lamb. The third doxology, or the New Song: the type of Christian cultus. An antiphony between the beatified human world and the holy angel-world; a symphony of all good spirits and all creatures, to the praise of the Lamb and the glorification of the all-ruling God.

Special.—[Chs. 4–5.] The great vision of the Providence of God.—[Rev_4:2-3.] The power of Providence: God on His Throne; [Rev_4:4.] the aim of Providence: consummation of the spirit-world, represented by the twenty-four Elders; [Rev_4:5.] operations of Providence: manifestations of the Spirits of God; [Rev_4:6.] the work of Providence: the glassy sea, the billowy and yet transparent history of the world; [Rev_4:6-8.] the organs of Providence: the four Life-forms, or ground-forms of the Divine governance; [Rev_4:8-11.] gloriousness of Providence: its result a continuous doxology; [Rev_4:1] idea of Providence: the sealed book. [Rev_4:2-3.] Terrors and obscurities of the government of Divine Providence.—[Rev_4:4.] The weeping geniuses of humanity.—[Rev_4:5.] Weep not. How many times these words appear in the New Testament, like fear not, or be of good cheer, and similar heavenly words of encouragement.—[Rev_4:5-6.] The light and all enlightening centre of Providence: Christ as the Lamb and the Lion.—Christianity, or the Death and Resurrection of Christ in their infinite operation.—The Redemption [Erlösung] as the solving [Lösung] of all riddles of worldly history, of humanity and of the world.—The Elders, appearing, in their attributes, as heirs of perfect communion with God, as the trusted witnesses of His rule.—A Presbytery of God: Christological idea of men who are in affinity with God. and who, through Christ, are elevated into the position of heirs of God.—[Rev_4:8-11.] Third and completely developed doxology.—Every delineation of the Lion is false, which does not, at the same time, permit the Lamb to be clearly recognized. Every delineation of the Lamb is false, behind which the Lion vanishes. Only the Spirit of Christ can grasp this great contrast as a living unity. As so entirely a unity, that the Lion were not without the Lamb’s nature, or the Lamb without the Lion’s nature.—How Holy Scripture is reflected in the ideal Books which we meet with in the Apocalypse. There are few essential relations at the basis of the Bible which do not here appear in the form of Books.—The Christian cultus, reposing in its truth upon the heavenly cultus of all beings.—Sacred songs and new songs.—All sacred songs are outgushes of the one celestial New Song.—To the song of praise of creation and providence (Rev_4:11) is added the song of praise of redemption (Rev_5:9).—The ground-form of worship an antiphony, in which spirits occupying different stand-points exchange their blessed views.—The Amen in the synagogue and in Christian worship.

Starke: Quesnel: One who would know the mysteries of Heaven, must be free from earth.—The Elders: This figure here, as in the whole of this vision, is taken from the Temple at Jerusalem, David having instituted twenty-four orders of priests; these held their councils in the outer court of the Temple, the High Priest sitting in the midst upon his seat, and the four and twenty priests or elders sitting in a half-circle around him and before him on their seats. (The Seer has himself, Revelation 21., suggested, as the import of the Elders, the twelve heads of the Tribes of Israel and the twelve Apostles; the appointment of the orders [or courses] of priests, however, is itself connected with the original duodecenary.)—The office of the Elders—nay, of all believers—is to comfort the mourning from God’s Word and not to leave them without encouragement (Isa_40:1). He who would emphatically comfort another, must have sufficient grounds for his consolation to rest upon (Joh_16:33).

Thomas Newton, Dissertations on the Prophecies, London, Dove (p. 528): Most of the best commentators divide the Apocalypse or Revelation into two parts—the book, βιβλίον, sealed with seven seals, and the little book, βιβλαρίσιον, as it is called several times. But it happens, unluckily, that according to their division the lesser book is made to contain as much as, or more than, the larger; whereas, in truth, the little book is nothing more than a part of the sealed book, and is added as a codicil or appendix to it.

De Rougemont, La Révélation (see p. 73): Le trône était environné d’ un arc-en-ciel, qui avail la couleur de l’ éméraude. L’ arc-en-ciel est le signe de l’ alliance de Dieu avec l’ humanité tout entière, issue de Noé, et il annonce ici que les révélations subséquentes auront pour objet l’ histoire future des nations. L’ éméraude est verte, et le vert est la couleur de l’ espérance.

H. W. Rinck (see p. 73): Die Zeichen der letzten Zeit.—And I wept much, etc. John had a priestly heart, he was a fellow-partaker in the Kingdom of Christ (Rev_1:9); the Kingdom of God was more to him than his life—“If I forget thee, let my right hand be forgotten” (Psa_137:5 [G. V.]) was the key-note of his soul more truly than it was that of the Babylonish captivity;—he longed for the establishment of Jesus’ Kingdom on earth more than did Daniel for the re-establishment of Jerusalem and Israel (Daniel 9). Such being his feelings, we can understand the tears that he wept because none was found worthy to open the Book of the Future.

Literature. Roffhack, Schöpfung und Erlösung nach Offenb. 4 u. 5., Barmen, 1866.

[From M. Henry: Rev_4:1. Those who well improve the discoveries they have had of God already, are prepared thereby for more and may expect them.

Rev_4:8-9. Note here the object of adoration: 1. One God, the Lord God Almighty, unchangeable and everlasting; 2. Three Holies in this one God, the Holy Father, the Holy Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Rev_4:10-11. Observe, 1. The Object of worship—the same as in the preceding verses. 2. The acts of adoration: (1) They fell down before Him that sat on the Throne; they discovered the most profound humility, reverence, and godly fear. (2) They cast down their crowns, etc.; they gave God the glory of the holiness wherewith He had crowned their souls on earth, and the honor and happiness with which He crowns them in Heaven. (3) The words of adoration: Thou art worthy, etc.; a tacit acknowledgment that God was exalted far above all blessing and praise; He was worthy to receive glory, but they were not worthy to praise, nor able to do it according to His infinite excellences. 4. The ground and reason of their adoration, which is three-fold: (1) He is the Creator of all things, the first Cause. (2) He is the Preserver of all things, and His preservation is a continual creation. (3) He is the final Cause of all things; for Thy pleasure they are and were created.—Rev_5:5-6. Christ is a Lion, to conquer Satan; a Lamb, to satisfy the justice of God.—He appears with the marks of His sufferings upon Him, to show that He intercedes in heaven in the virtue of His satisfaction.

Rev_4:8-11. It is just matter of joy to all the world, to see that God does not deal with men in a way of absolute power and strict justice, but in a way of grace and mercy through the Redeemer. He governs the world, not merely as a Creator and Lawgiver, but as our God and Saviour.—Here observe, 1. The object of worship—the Lamb. It is the declared will of God that all men should honor the Son as they honor the Father; for He has the same nature. 2. Posture of the worshippers—they fell down before Him; gave Him not an inferior sort of worship, but the most profound adoration. 3. The instruments used in their adoration—harps and vials; prayer and praise should always go together. 4. The matter of their song. (1) They acknowledge the infinite fitness and worthiness of the Lord Jesus for the great work of opening the decrees and executing the counsel and purposes of God; Thou art worthy, etc.; every way sufficient for the work and deserving of the honor. (2) They mention the grounds and reasons of this worthiness.

Rev_4:9. Christ has redeemed His people from the bondage of sin, guilt, and Satan; redeemed them to God; set them at liberty to serve Him and to enjoy Him.

Rev_4:10. He has highly exalted them. When the elect of God were made slaves by sin and Satan, in every nation of the world, Christ not only purchased their liberty for them, but the highest honor and preferment, making them kings, to rule over their own spirits, and to overcome the world and the evil one; and priests, giving them access to Himself, and liberty to offer up spiritual sacrifices. And they shall reign on the earth; they shall with Him judge the world at the great day.—From The Comprehensive Commentary: Ch. 4. The Lord Jesus, “having overcome the sharpness of death, hath opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers;” and if we look unto Him by faith, and obediently attend to His voice, whilst He calls us to “set our affections on things above,” we shall, by the teaching of the Holy Spirit, behold the glory of our reconciled God on His “throne of grace;” be encouraged by the engagements of His everlasting covenant, and draw nigh in humble boldness with our worship; notwithstanding the terrors of His justice, and the awful curses of His broken law. (Scott.)—Rev_5:9. Redemption by the blood of Christ (mark it well, O my soul!) is the ground-work of the majestic, triumphant song of praise in heaven; and a disposition to join in it, our chief capacity for, and actual happiness in, time and eternity. (Adams.)—From Vaughan: Chap. 4. We may learn hence the reality of a heavenly world, and of its concern and connection with this;—facts full of confusion and discomfiture to the worldly and sinners, but of comfort and encouragement to the Christian.]

Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

III. THE THINGS WHICH ARE AFTER THESE, THE END OF THE AGE,

THE CONSUMMATION, AND FINAL MESSAGES (4-22)

CHAPTERS 4-5

1. The open door and the vision of the throne (Rev 4:1-3)

2. The twenty-four elders and the throne (Rev 4:4-5).

3. The four living creatures and the worship (Rev 4:6-11)

4. Who is worthy to open the book? (Rev 5:1-3)

5. The answer (Rev 5:4-5)

6. The vision of the Lamb (Rev 5:6-7)

7. Worship and praise (Rev 5:8-14)

Rev 4:1-3.

The scene changes suddenly. We are no longer on earth but are transported into heaven. The true Church is gone and the apostate Church, while still on earth to pass into the judgments of the great tribulation, is no longer owned by the Lord and, therefore, not mentioned. That is why the word “church” disappears entirely from the book after the third chapter. The open door and the voice which calls “come up hither” and John’s presence in glory in the spirit, clearly indicate symbolically the fulfillment of 1Th 4:15-17. That for which the faithful remnant waited, the blessed hope of the Church, has suddenly come to pass. The departure of the true Church from the earth will be as sudden as its beginning (Act 2:1-2).

John’s first vision in heaven is the established throne, the sign and symbol of the universal government of God. While thrones on earth begin to totter and to fall and man’s day closes in the predicted upheavals, there is a throne which cannot be affected or disturbed. Yea, He who sitteth there and looks down upon earth and sees man’s rebellion and madness laughs at them and holds them in derision (Psa 2:4). The occupant of the throne was to look upon like a jasper (rather the diamond) and a sardine stone. Our Lord and the glory of His person are symbolically represented in these stones. His glory in the brilliant stone, His redemption work in the blood-red sardine. The rainbow in emerald-green tells us that in the judgment about to come upon the earth mercy will also be remembered. It is the covenant sign. Though judgments come, yet mercy is in store for Israel and the earth.

Rev 4:4-5.

Who is represented by these twenty-four elders? They cannot be angels. Angels are never seated upon thrones (not seats, as in the Authorized Version), nor are they crowned, nor can they sing redemption’s song as the elders do. There is only one possible meaning. They represent the redeemed, the saints in glory. They are priests (clothed in white) and they are kings (crowned); they are the royal priesthood in the presence of the throne. And why twenty-four? It points us back to the work David did for the temple. He appointed twenty-four courses of the priests (1Ch 24:1-31). Twice twelve would suggest the saints of the Old and New Testaments.

There were lightnings and voices and thunderings. This is repeatedly stated. See Rev 8:5; Rev 11:19; Rev 16:18. It is the symbol of God’s throne in its judicial aspect.

Rev 4:6-11.

The sea of glass is a reminder of the great laver in Solomon’s temple in which the priests had to wash. Now it is solidified because no more water is needed for the cleansing of the saints. The word “beast” should be changed to “living creatures” or “living ones.” They are not symbolical of the Church, or a special class of saints, but they are the same supernatural beings seen in the Old Testament and always in connection with the throne and the presence of Jehovah. They are the cherubim of Ezekiel’s great vision, chapters 1 and 10. Their constant cry, “Holy, Holy,” reminds us of the seraphim also (Isa 6:1-13). The worship here is the worship of Him who is the creator.

Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Vision of God’s Throne of Majesty and Glory. Rev 4:1-11

The throne and the seat of the elders:

v. 1. After this I looked, and, behold, 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, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter.

v. 2. And immediately I was in the spirit; and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and One sat on the throne.

v. 3. 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.

v. 4. And round about the throne were four and twenty seats; and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.

v. 5. And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices; and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God.

The first vision of John was full of comfort for all believers, since it showed how faithfully the Lord watches over His Church, and that His concern for her will not cease until the great day of the revelation of His glory. But in the second vision the Lord dispenses comfort just as bountifully. John relates: After this I saw, and, behold, a door opened in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard like a trumpet speaking with me, saying. It seems that after the transport and ecstasy of the first vision there was a slight pause, signifying that a new revelation was now forthcoming. John was again given the privilege to see some of the mysteries of God and of the future, and to transmit them to us. He did not open the door in heaven himself, but it was opened to him, because to him the Lord intended to vouchsafe this grace of revealing the future to him and of showing him the glory of the divine majesty. The voice like the sound of a trumpet which he had heard at the beginning of the first vision, chap. 1:10, was again in evidence, speaking to John and directing his actions: Come up here, and I shall show thee what is bound to happen after this. What John the seer saw and what he afterward described was not the outcome of his own speculation and inquiry, but the result of revelation only. He was called by God to approach and to be a witness, but not to enter.

The beginning of the vision: At once I was in the spirit; and, behold, a throne was placed in heaven, and One was sitting on the throne, and He that was sitting was in appearance like a jasper and sardius, and a rainbow encircling the throne in appearance like an emerald. The ecstasy which was worked by God, which, as it were, separated the mind from the body for the time being, took hold of John again and transported his spirit to the open door in heaven. The imagery of the vision, although expressed in the figures of speech which will best describe the marvelous atmospheric coloring of a gorgeous sunset sky, nevertheless merely indicates the greater glory which no human words can adequately portray. The first object that struck John was a magnificent throne placed in heaven. The name of Him that sat upon the throne is not mentioned, for His majesty transcends human conception and human language. It was the everlasting, almighty Lord, who has prepared His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom rules over all, Psa 103:13. His appearance was such as to make Him resemble the precious stones jasper and sardius, the jasper being clear as crystal, to indicate the sublime beauty of God, and the sardius being a semitransparent, ruddy gem, to picture the unsearchable depths of His love. A rainbow, the symbol of God’s covenant with man, a reminder of His kindness and benevolence, encircled the throne. The peculiarity of this rainbow was this, that it was like an emerald, thus making the green stand out among the prismatic colors, as a symbol of God’s kindness and as a token of hope. Altogether, the majesty of this appearance is not one to terrify us, but to remind us of the covenant of grace which He made with us in Christ Jesus, which is shining before us as a beacon light unto eternal hope.

Although the Lord was the central figure in the picture. He had chosen others to share His glory: And round about the throne twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones twenty-four elders seated, clothed in white garments, and on their heads golden crowns. On the great day of the final revelation of God’s glory He shall select witnesses and partakers of this glory. As in the Old Testament twenty-four orders of priests had charge of the Temple-service, 1Ch 25:5-7, so the twenty-four elders in this picture are a type, they represent the royal priesthood of the believers. The Church of all times has its place with God, with the Father, in His immediate vicinity, in the most intimate fellowship with Him. The believers, as here represented by the twenty-four elders, are cleansed with the blood of Christ and clothed with the white garment of His righteousness. And as the reward of grace God has promised to them, and will eventually give them, golden crowns upon their heads, the immortal and unfading glory of heaven. This crown of glory will complete the accession of every believer to the kingship to which he has been an heir by faith.

The impression of awe, which is secondary in the entire description, is now stressed: And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and voices and thunders; and seven torches of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. It is the loving and merciful God that sits upon the throne of glory, but also the just and holy Lord. This is brought out by the description of the noises that John heard, like those of a fierce and terrifying thunderstorm. Flashes of lightning went out from the throne, and the shrieks and the loud blasts of the roaring storm and the peals and mutterings of thunder, all of which proclaimed aloud wrath and judgment and destruction, the almighty power of God in carrying out His sentences. At the same time, however, the lamps, or torches, of the sevenfold Spirit of God were quietly burning before the throne. The Spirit of God, working through the Gospel of the love of God in Christ, comes to us with His illuminating power, and gives us, and sustains in us, the light and the warmth of true spiritual life. Though God is terrible in His justice, yet the Pentecostal fire of His grace and love is a source of light and life to all that receive Christ Jesus as their Savior.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rev 4:1

Heaven Near, though Hidden.

Note:—

I. The division between earth and heaven. The fact that earth and heaven are divided by so wide a gulf seems to me one of the strangest facts in our experience, though long habit prevents the strangeness from striking us so much. We should have expected the very opposite. Allowing that men are unfit to enter heaven, yet it would have seemed most natural that we should have had the full evidence about it which direct communication could have given. Comparatively few cross the Atlantic to America, yet, though we may never see it, we require no act of faith to realise its existence and condition; but the world of heaven, the home of God, is so far removed beyond the range of our knowledge that we have need of faith to be convinced even that it exists, of faith which, though based on reason, sometimes fails. If only we could identify heaven with some distant star, that would be a handle for our confidence as we caught its glimmer in the night; but even such a satisfaction is withheld. Where heaven is, where God is, even that God is, we cannot demonstrate by our reason. God has so cut us off in space, in our little island world, from the rest of His dominions that we cannot cross the ocean or read or hear of others reaching His eternal shore.

II. The connection between earth and heaven. One point of connection between the two which at least helps to make heaven seem nearer to us is that life in heaven, just as much as our life here, is proceeding now. We think of heaven too much as a future state; we should remember that to countless multitudes it is a present state. Heaven is not a dim and distant promised vision merely which God may not call into existence for unknown ages yet; heaven is an actual, living world, whose inhabitants are conscious at this moment of life and joy. Its worship is ascending now to God. His servants there are busy with their noble work; their bliss is a present feeling arising from the presence of God now.

III. The door is set open between earth and heaven. The division is maintained between the two in order that our discipline may not cease. But sometimes the door is opened that our faith may not fail. That has happened "in those sundry times and divers manners when God spake unto the fathers by the prophets." The revelations they received of God and of man’s destiny were glimpses through a door opened in heaven, and were exceptions to the seclusion which God maintains; to them He broke the silence. A door was set open in heaven also when the Son of God passed through. And whenever a Christian pilgrim reaches his journey’s end, then, too, it may be said that the door between earth and heaven is set open to let the wanderer pass into his home.

T. M. Herbert, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxv., p. 395.

References: Rev 4:1.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xv., No. 887; H. J. Wilmot-Buxton, The Life of Duty, vol. ii., p. 1; Homilist, 2nd series, vol. ii., p. 367; A. P. Peabody, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xii., p. 70; Talmage, Ibid., vol. xiv., p. 202.

Rev 4:2

The Revelation of the Triune God and its Diffusion.

I. The form which both Prophet and Apostle saw seated on the heavenly throne was of a clear, brilliant flame colour, partly red like the sardine, or, to use a modern term, the carnelian, and partly of the lighter hue of yellow amber. The truth symbolised in this appearance is thus set forth in plain terms by the Apostle to the Hebrews: "Our God is a consuming fire." The first attribute under which God presents Himself to a soul which He proposes to renew and sanctify is that of transcendently clear and brilliant holiness; He will be known in the first instance as a God with whom moral evil cannot dwell, who cannot endure, in those who approach to Him, a single stain of impurity. We cannot but grant that, awful as the spotless perfection of the Divine character is to a sinner’s gaze, it is yet exceeding brilliant and glorious. The jasper and the sardine stone, although the infirm eye of man cannot bear to gaze upon them when they flash and kindle up in the sunlight, are yet of a hue exceedingly beautiful and brilliant.

II. It is the Mediator between God and man, even the Lord Jesus Christ, "which is our hope," who is here symbolised to us under the lovely and appropriate emblem of an emerald rainbow. What sweet refreshment to the aching eyeballs to rest for a while upon an emerald green, the very colour which, when the power of sight is enfeebled, is calculated to preserve it! In the existence of light, the existence of the rainbow is involved; for what is the rainbow but light reflected from the raindrops? And what is the Lord Jesus, considered as a Divine Person incarnate, but God reflected in the infirm medium of a manhood pure as crystal?

III. "Seven lamps of fire burning before the throne." Fire, we know, is a constant emblem of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is that Person in the Triune Jehovah whose office it is to sanctify the mind of man, not of one man, but of many, to abide in the Church, yet not in one local Church, but in all the branches of the Church universal. Contemplated in His office character as distinct from His essence, He is multiform; and to His multiformity the text certifies.

E. M. Goulburn, Occasional Sermons, p. 267.

Rev 4:3

The Throne and the Rainbow.

Look—

I. At this wonderful throne. Of course we understand such a thing to be the symbol of government, of the Divine government in the universe, for that Being on the seat of royalty is God. But what do the other emblems mean? The whole chapter seems to glitter with a blaze of precious jewels, some of them with strange names. (1) The exalted monarch is said to be like a jasper and a sardine stone. I find the soberest commentators agreed in declaring that what is here called jasper must be the diamond, and the sardine is only what we call a carnelian, that is, a flesh-coloured gem in hue, as the name signifies. And hence these expositors would have us believe that this personage, with a Divine brightness and a human expression, is none other than the Lamb in the midst of the throne. (2) The attendants. The very nobles are crowned, and wear royal raiment; their ordinary seats are thrones. (3) This vision teaches that earth can always and everywhere be seen from heaven. (4) Observe once more, this is an unimpeachable government. These living creatures are worshipping while watching.

II. The rainbow. This represents a covenant, as the other represented a rule. (1) The ancient covenant has in it the promise of the covenant of grace. (2) Its appearance just here in John’s vision is welcomed more for its graciousness than for its antiquity. (3) Observe how well this vision teaches us that God’s covenant is completed. This rainbow is a circlet; it goes around the throne. (4) The covenant is abiding; it will stand for ever. (5) This covenant is to each of us individual and personal.

III. Note the collocation of the two symbols. (1) God’s promise surrounds God’s majesty; (2) God’s grace surrounds God’s justice; (3) God’s love surrounds God’s power; (4) God’s glory surrounds God’s children.

C. S. Robinson, Sermons on Neglected Texts, p. 297.

Rev 4:3

I. The rainbow. We are all familiar with it as a natural phenomenon. (1) In the Bible history it proclaimed the fact of the Divine reconciliation; (2) it intimated that providence is administered under the reign of grace; (3) the grand purpose of the rainbow was to seal or ratify the covenant of God.

II. The position of the rainbow. The rainbow is round about the throne, not above, as dominating, or upon, as occupying, but round about, as encompassing the throne; and in this regard its position is as significantly instructive as it is itself. (1) It evidently carries us up to the Divine origin of the covenant; (2) it intimates that the Divine majesty rules in the covenant throughout; (3) it assures us that the covenant will never pass from the Divine remembrance.

III. The aspect of the rainbow, the natural rainbow round about the throne, here said to be in sight like unto an emerald. Observe why this rainbow has so much in it, not of heaven’s, but of earth’s, colour, not sky-blue, but emerald green. (1) It indicates that there is a refreshing beauty in the covenant which is never wearisome to look at; (2) it may be held to indicate that there is an essential unity in the covenant, whatever variety may circumstantially distinguish it; (3) the everlasting duration of the covenant may be said to be shadowed forth in the emerald aspect of the rainbow round about the throne. For the green of the emerald is as an unfading hue.

E. Thomson, Memorials of a Ministry, p. 208.

References: Rev 4:4, Rev 4:10, Rev 4:11.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. viii., No. 441; Ibid., Evening by Evening, p. 255.

Rev 4:8

New Year’s Day.

There is something exceedingly solemn in the opening of a new year. At such times more than others, when even the trifler is visited for an instant by serious thought, does the Christian love to trace the hand of God in the Church and in the world, to abstract himself from the whirl of business, and politics, and controversy, and calmly answer the important question, "Where am I, and whither tending?"

I. The words of the text form part of the ascription of praise uttered in heaven by the four living creatures, who symbolise, as I believe, the creation of God. They express a sense of the holiness and eternity of the Almighty, that He is essentially pure, and just, and merciful, and that His being and operations extend through past and present and to come. Now just such a sense of the holiness and providence of God befits us at the opening of another year of our lives. To have a firm persuasion that He is a pure, and just, and merciful Being, to trace His operations as such in this His world, is the most precious result of human knowledge and the highest triumph of the intellect of man. And as this view of the world is the highest result of wisdom, so is it likewise a cause of abundant consolation to the believer in Christ. It furnishes to him the comforting assurance that all things are working together for good, that the Lord reigneth, be the earth never so unquiet; and every onward step in the advancement of man, while it elates others with unbecoming pride, fills him with humble joy.

II. At present much of what God has done is unintelligible to us; more of what He is doing, seeing that we ourselves are a part of it, is hidden from us; and what He will do and bring on the world, who shall presume to say? But let us remember that to His people, those who in their hearts and lives serve and love Him, a day will come when, gifted with nobler faculties, breathing a purer air, and gazing with a keener vision, they will trace all His dealings with men in their completeness, and confess that He hath done all things well. Then the blurred and blotted map of the world’s history will be restored, the vacant regions of human memory filled up, every corner of darkness and mystery lit with the beams of the Sun of light and righteousness.

H. Alford, Quebec Chapel Sermons, vol. i., p. 1.

Rev 4:8

(with 1Jn 5:20)

Preached on Trinity Sunday.

To-day we are called upon to keep the festival of revelation. Every other great festival of our Church commemorates a fact through which God has been pleased to teach men something of His purpose of love; Trinity Sunday encourages us to reflect for a brief space on that final truth, most absolute, most elementary, most practical, which gives unity and stability to all knowledge. The view of the Divine nature which it offers for our devout contemplation is the charter of human faith.

I. The conception of the Triune God is not given to us first in an abstract form. The abstract statement is an interpretation of facts, a human interpretation of vital facts, an interpretation wrought out gradually in the first years of the Church, and still mastered gradually in our individual growth. We are required each, in some sense, to win for ourselves the inheritance which is given to us, if the inheritance is to be a blessing. We learn through the experience of history and life how God acts, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and by the very necessity of thought we are constrained to gather up these lessons into the simplest possible formula. So we come to recognise a Divine Trinity, which is not sterile, monotonous simplicity. We come to recognise One in whom is the fulness of all conceivable existence in the richest energy, One absolutely self-sufficient and perfect, One in whom love finds absolute consummation, One who is in Himself a living God, the fountain and the end of all life.

II. The conception of the Triune God illuminates the idea of creation. It enables us to gain firm hold of the truth that the learning which we observe under the condition of time answers to a Being beyond time; that history is the writing out at length of that which we may speak of as a Divine thought. The same conception illuminates the idea of the Incarnation. It enables us to see that the Incarnation in its essence is the crown of the Creation, and that man, being made capable of fellowship with God, has in his very constitution a promise of the fulfilment of his highest destiny.

III. This truth is not speculative, but practical. The Chris tian conception of God is the translation into the language of thought of the first Christmas, Easter, and Whitsuntide. By our faith in these facts we confess that the Divine life has been united with human life. We confess, even if we do not distinctly realise the force of the confession, that the Divine life is the foundation and the end of human life. And we live, so far as life deserves the name, by this faith by which consciously or unconsciously we are stirred to toil and sustained in sacrifice.

Bishop Westcott, Oxford Review and Journal; May 24th, 1883.

References: Rev 4:8.—F. W. Farrar, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxxiii., p. 357. Rev 4:10.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xix., No. 1002; Homilist, 1st series, vol. vi., p. 425. Rev 4:10, Rev 4:11.—M. Dix, Sermons Doctrinal and Practical, p. 145; Preacher’s Monthly, vol. v., p. 286. Rev 4:11.—Homiletic Quarterly, vol. ii., p. 12. Rev 5:1-10.—Ibid., vol. i., p. 417. Rev 5:4, Rev 5:5.—A. James, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxix., p. 21. Rev 5:5, Rev 5:6.—Homiletic Quarterly, vol. ii., p. 414.

The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Division 2. (Rev 4:1-11; Rev 5:1-14; Rev 6:1-17; Rev 7:1-17; Rev 8:1-13; Rev 9:1-21; Rev 10:1-11; Rev 11:1-19; Rev 12:1-17; Rev 13:1-18; Rev 14:1-20; Rev 15:1-8; Rev 16:1-21; Rev 17:1-18; Rev 18:1-24; Rev 19:1-21; Rev 20:1-15; Rev 21:1-27; Rev 22:1-21.)

Things that come to pass after these. The salvation of Israel and the earth.

We are but following the division of the book, which the Lord’s own words imply, into "the things that are," and "the things that are about to be after these." It is not "hereafter," as in our common version; which might be indefinitely, at some future time. The words intimate a connection between the two parts of Revelation such as we should naturally suppose, at least if the epistles to the churches are in themselves prophetic. Even if it were not so, and the addresses simply had to do with existing churches of the time of the prophet, yet we should see no reason for any great break, although the coming to pass "after these" would, as such, naturally lose much of its significance. But if, as we may be well assured from the introduction to the whole book, all of it is a prophecy, and if we have found this confirmed in the application, as we surely have; if these addresses carry us down, therefore, until the coming of the Lord, which is more and more pressed upon us as we reach the end, then the things that follow:are, of course, things taking place after the removal of the Church, as already implied in the Lord’s promise to Philadelphia. What we must expect, therefore, if these things are so, is that entire change as to things on earth which would result from the Church being absent from it; which would mean the taking up afresh of Israel, and with Israel the earth once more.

The Church is heavenly. It is a gathering out of the world, which does not affect, at least savingly, the world as such. As we have seen, also, the Lord’s coming for His people is spoken of as the promise of the Morning Star, which does not bring the day to the earth, although it heralds the approach of it. We have but to look at the Old Testament prophecies in order to see that for the blessing of the earth Israel must be blessed, as Hosea distinctly says (Hos 2:14-23) that the Lord "will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably to her, and give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor" (the place of judgment) "for a door of hope; and she shall sing there as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt. And it shall be at that day, saith the Lord, that thou shall call Me Ishi" (my husband), "and shalt call Me no more Baali" (my lord); "for I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name." We see that this is absolute assurance of their being brought back into relationship with God abidingly, and into a nearer relationship than they have ever known before.

The prophet goes on: "And in that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely. And I will betroth thee unto Me forever; yea, I will betroth thee unto Me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving-kindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto Me in faithfulness, and thou shalt know the Lord." Nothing can possibly be more decisive than this is, and there follows the general blessing for the earth resultant: "And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the Lord, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth; and the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel. And I will sow her unto Me in the earth" (the application of that name Jezreel, which means "the seed of God," or "God shall sow"); "and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not My people, Thou art My people; and they shall say, Thou art my God." It is not possible, one would say, to pervert this in the way which has been so common -reading "the Church" instead of "Israel"; and this is the language of the Old Testament generally. Thus Isaiah says (chap. 27: 6): "He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit." These are the promises which the apostle to the Gentiles has told us distinctly (Rom 9:3-4) belong to his brethren, his kinsmen according to the flesh, (not Spirit) who are Israelites and they assure us not only of the conversion of Israel, but of their distinctly being reinstated in the place of peculiar blessing, and being made instrumental to the blessing of the whole earth. Thus Israel becomes Jezreel, "the seed of God."

This, then, is the character of things that we must expect in the prophecies to follow this. The Church is no more seen upon earth, but we have, in a remarkable introduction to the things that follow, the picture of the redeemed in heaven occupying already their thrones as kings and priests to God, from whence we see them issuing in the nineteenth chapter, in the train of the white-horsed Rider; that is, accompanying Christ when He comes to the earth in judgment. The whole character of the intermediate time will be in harmony with this. The Church gone, there will only remain, as representing the one Christian profession, Babylon the Great, in full reality then "the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth."

Subdivision 1. (Rev 4:1-11; Rev 5:1-14; Rev 6:1-17; Rev 7:1-17; Rev 8:1-5.)

The sources of power.

The first subdivision carries us to the end of the opening of the seals, which therefore fully opens the book. All prior to this must therefore be of an introductory nature. The book is not fully open until every seal is broken. He who opens them is in heaven, the Object of all the worship there; and it is heaven that now manifestly rules upon earth. God, of course, has never given up His throne, and could not do so. Nevertheless, He has permitted things, apparently, to go on as if He knew nothing of what was doing there. According to the parable in the Gospel of Mark (Mar 4:26-29), "So is the kingdom of God as if a man should cast seed into the ground, and should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. . . . But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come." The change which takes place now indicates that the harvest of the earth is at hand. The power which governs all is distinctly shown as being in heaven. The evil may assume, and does assume, a more malignant character even than before, but there goes forth now judgment that is to arrest it, at the call of the cherubim, the executors of the government of God on earth.

Section 1. (Rev 4:1-11; Rev 5:1-14.)

The opening of divine counsels by the Lion of Judah in the midst of the throne.

It is in perfect correspondence with all this, that when we look at the One by whom the book of the divine counsels is now opened, we find, in Him who is in the midst of the throne of God, the Lion of Judah; a significant term, which as applied to Christ can hardly be missed. Judah’s Lion has risen up. Christ is taking a place in relationship to Israel; and "the times of the Gentiles" are necessarily come to an end.

This is a most important change: for when God gave up His manifest throne in Israel, and Ezekiel had seen the glory finally leave the city, Daniel (who was contemporary of Ezekiel) next represents to us the transference of power to the Gentiles, Nebuchadnezzar being distinctly given title over the earth, a title which the successive empires that the prophet sees following the Babylonian inherit from him. This gives us "the times of the Gentiles;" God being now spoken of in Daniel as "the God of heaven," as one who had left the earth, so to speak -as driven out by the sins of His professing people. This is coincident, as the Lord shows us, with the treading down of Jerusalem (Luk 21:24). Jebuzite feet are again upon her: "And Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled." Immediately after this, the Lord speaks of "signs in the sun and in the moon and in the stars, and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; . . . men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth;" and then they are to "see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory." Power is now in the hands of One who is truly the King of kings, and this of necessity shows us how we are to take the sealing of the 144,000 of all the tribes of the children of Israel; and the view of the Gentile company following in the same vision only makes their Israelitish character stand out the more completely. The Church, in which there is neither Jew nor Gentile, is passed from the earth, and the old distinctions are obtaining again. One may say that as it is the Lion of Judah who opens the seals, and therefore gives us to realize these counsels of God, so it is only as we discern the Lord in this character here that the book will practically open to us -that we shall be able to see what is being put before us.

1. The first thing now before us is the throne of God; not indeed as it was in Israel, but the higher throne, in heaven. It is seen as manifested in necessary righteousness, therefore in judgment, because of the condition of the earth, but yet girdled with the bow of promise, which limits the judgment, and shows the blessing which is to result from it.

(1) "After these things," says the apostle, (using the very words which remind us of that division of the book which has been already given) "I saw, and behold, a door opened in heaven; and the first voice which I heard as of a trumpet speaking with me, saying, Come up hither, and I will show thee what must take place after these things." This is something which in all Scripture we have not had before -not only a door opened in heaven, but the prophet called up there, in order to see from that point of view (from whence alone things can be fully comprehended) what is now going to take place. Heaven has been opened before this. Enoch and Elijah went there of old, and the assurance of this has been given for the comfort of many generations since; but there was but the fact that they had gone there. No voice came back from heaven as the result. When everything had gone utterly to wreck in Israel, and Ezekiel was given to see the end in judgment, "the heavens were opened," says the prophet, and "I saw visions of God;" but he was not called up there; and the glory which he saw come forth went back without any new revelation of the place from which it came.

When our Lord was born the heavens were again opened, characteristically now to simple shepherds in the field, and the angels celebrated openly that good pleasure of God in men which has ever since characterized the revelation for us.

When, after His resurrection, the Lord went up, it was revealed that now a Man sat upon the right hand of God. Henceforth an opened heaven is that which is peculiarly characteristic of the present blessing. Stephen, under the stones of his persecutors, is given to see heaven opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God -a glorious gleam of brightness which transfigures, as well it might, his dying face.

Still, there is a certain reticence. No one who has been there comes back; until Paul, the apostle of the mysteries, can at last tell us of his being caught up (2Co 12:1-21). He knows not, indeed, "whether in the body or out of the body," but he has been there, and heard "unspeakable things," which it was not lawful for him to utter. The vision, whatever it was, is for himself alone. He has not been there as a prophet, but simply as a man in Christ. The blessing of it, no doubt, is in some sense for us, but it is equally plain that there is no communication. But now there is a prophet caught up, whose lips are no longer to be sealed. We are, so to speak, to be transported with him into that blessed place into which he goes. We are permitted at last, as we may say, to breathe the atmosphere of heaven, and to hear the voices of its inhabitants. But there is more than this, and we have a fuller interest in it, as we are directly shown.

John has already spoken of himself as in some sense the representative of the Church at large. He is the recipient, as we know, of this divine communication to Christ’s servants, and he associates himself with these as their fellow-servant, and partaker with them in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Christ. It is John, let us remember also, of whom the Lord had said, in contrast to what He had announced to Peter, "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?" They could not read this enigma, and thought evidently that the Lord had said that that disciple should not die; a mistake against which he himself immediately cautions us. Nevertheless, in some sense John was, as we see, to go on to the coming of the Lord. He is the one who is given here to anticipate that blessed time; thus in his own person again, as it were representing that Church which abides on earth as a company waiting for the Lord, against which the gates of hades cannot prevail, but which is to be caught up to meet Him -the antitypical Enoch of this later time. In fact, everything reminds us here of how the Lord will take His own to Himself. It is "a voice of a trumpet" speaking with him, that calls him up, the anticipation of that last trump which will awaken the sleeping saints, and call the living, with them, to their meeting with the Lord. It need be no wonder, then, if, when he is there, he finds himself as it were part of a company of redeemed, who are there also with him.

There is, indeed, no direct prophecy of that wondrous event which the apostle has described for us in the first epistle to the Thessalonians. There is a certain mystery attaching to it all, a mystery which we are called upon, as it were, to consider and penetrate; for all God’s parables and deep sayings are to furnish us with wisdom -not to take wisdom from us. We are left to a certain exercise about them, which is meant as a test for the state of soul in which we are, and without which Scripture will never have the blessing which God designs for us from it. No doubt also, in this way, a certain latitude, if one may so say, is permitted to us, which leaves room for that historical application to Christian times of the things which are before us here, which we shall have more to consider in the future, but which already has been spoken of as something naturally to be expected from what is inherent in the character of prophecy itself; the things that are around us being in this way the foreshadowing, with a necessary limitation, of the things to come -a foreshadow that should have true interest for us, limited as it necessarily must be; for, as with Israel’s shadows, we must not be allowed to mistake the shadow for the substance. It cannot even be the perfect image of the things therefore, -but we shall have to speak of this more at another time.

What we see here is simply the prophet caught up, and with no idea, such as in the case of the apostle Paul is suggested, of a possible bodily taking up into these heavenly scenes. This, for us at least, is not needed. It is what he saw and heard that we are to be occupied with; and as to the manner of it, it is sufficient to say, as he says here, "Immediately I became in the Spirit." But he had already said this in connection with his first vision, which was upon the earth; the being in the Spirit simply assuring us that the Spirit was, as it were, eyes and ears to him, so that all was definitely secured and perfect. What he was as man was to be no hindrance to this. When God would reveal, He takes perfect care that no "human element" entering in shall mar the revelation. John became then in the Spirit. It is evidently a new beginning of his being so. It is an entirely new series of visions that he is to behold; and immediately there is before him a throne set in heaven, and One sitting upon the throne.

In Scripture the introduction to a book, or to any part of a book, will be found to give the character of that which follows. In this way we are helped to seize the central point, that point of view which, when we have it, puts other things in proper connection with it. Here, a throne set in heaven is characteristic of the whole book, but more especially of that part upon which we are entering now. Revelation, as a fifth part of the New Testament Pentateuch, is necessarily that which gives us the divine ways in government; and if we divide this number 5 into its two parts, we have, as must be quite familiar to us, 4+1, the number of the creature with the number of God; the weak, therefore, with the Strong; which gives us necessarily responsibility to God on the one hand, as it declares on the other the power of that government with which this responsibility has to do. But everything is characterized by the throne here. God Himself, although spoken of as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, does not appear even once as our Father." It is not, of course, that He is not fully this, but we are in a different line of things from what this would speak of.

We therefore naturally come into the Old Testament connections; for the government of God is that of which the law necessarily speaks. Thus we find God as Jehovah, the One who is, and was, and is to come, which is but the interpretation of that name. So, also, He is the Almighty, as He declared Himself to Abraham, power being the first and necessary thought in connection with all real sovereignty. Again, as we shall find, it characteristically that the white raiment of the saints is not that of which we habitually think -our righteousness in Christ, or Christ our righteousness -but it is a righteousness governmentally awarded, and the robe requires to be washed -washed in the blood of Christ -in order that it may be the pure white needed for the presence of God. Everything is in character thus from beginning to end, even in that where we should least expect to find it, in that final city of God in which we shall find indeed our home, the central blessedness of the Father’s house; and yet the thought of government is everywhere in it. The measures and numbers attaching to the city all give us the 12 which speaks of manifest divine government; and here we have not children with the Spirit of adoption, but worshipers praising, and servants serving. Of course this is all in perfect harmony with that place of near relationship which, in His goodness, God has given us. We worship the Father; and service is that which belongs in the fullest way to children. Nevertheless, the line of things which is before us is quite distinct.

A throne, then, is set in heaven, and One sits upon the throne; with a certain necessary mystery as to Him, for here is One dwelling in the light unapproachable, who in His innermost glory no man hath seen or can see. Yet there are images which convey to us what we may realize as to Him; and to us it is perfectly natural that these images should speak of Him as redemption has declared Him. This is what seems to be the thought of the jasper and the sardine stone. Gems, as we have seen in the high priest’s breastplate long since, are pictures to us of God in His various attributes, so far as He can be displayed to us; and the names written upon these stones, the names of His people, show in what connection He has manifested Himself. The jewels are the lights of Him who is the Father of lights, in the perfect ray of light itself too bright for us, but tempered in a way which brings out glories that would otherwise be hidden; the many-hued manifestation of the light -the light spread before us in its component rays. As it is to man the revelation is, so that this may be perfect as possible, it is in man that the revelation is, and Christ is therefore the blessed revealer. It is of this revelation of God in Christ, as it would seem, that the jasper and the sardine speak; for the jasper does not seem to be what we ordinarily call this. Its light is not as it is spoken of here (Rev 21:11), "clear as crystal," which scarcely suits its banded appearance. Ebrard has therefore suggested the diamond, which seems most perfectly to suit what is said of the jasper here. It is indeed, like the crystal light itself, as suited as we could imagine to that which is said to image the glory of God. But there is another character of the diamond which seems to have escaped notice, and yet it gives us, as it were, the very heart of the matter. The diamond, as is well known, is crystallized carbon, which we find, in the pure form, as graphite, the black lead of our pencils.

Carbon exists in these opposite conditions. In one form the symbol of divine glory, it might in the other be naturally the symbol of sin and evil. These two things, moreover, God’s grace has shown us to be in strange and intimate connection with one another; for how could God’s grace display itself other than in connection with sin and evil? And it is striking to find here also that carbon is an element characteristic of all organic products, so that organic chemistry has been called "the chemistry of the carbon compounds." It is thus in beautiful connection with living forms as we see them around us, even as God has brought for us life out of death, and wrought in the transformation of our ruined humanity that which is the brightest display of divine glory. Christ is Man, the highest possible type of manhood; and while in Him the thought of evil is absolutely excluded, yet is He "the Seed of the woman;" and God has in this done what was possible to Him alone, and brought "a clean thing out of an unclean." But more than this, for here is one who has emptied Himself of that which was properly His, "the form of God," to assume the form of a servant, and to be made in the likeness of men. He too has been in the darkness of death, and come up out of it to be thus the glorious Light of redeemed men forever -the display also of God, in the love which brought Him down, and which has prepared for Him also a body, the sign of that perpetual service to us which He has taken up. Of the depths to which He has descended the sardine stone reminds us by its ruddy hue; and thus, in the combination of the jasper, or diamond, and the sardine stone, we have, indeed, God manifest as nowhere else we could find Him: for if this seem for a moment to be Christ rather than God, or, let us say, the Father, yet, as we know, it is not Christ’s own love simply that has been displayed to us, but the Father’s love who sent Him, "Who spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all." This, one might even say, the jasper and the sardine stone must needs be intended to convey to us; for what other manifestation have we of God than that which we have seen in Christ? He is "the Image of the invisible God," who is at the same time "the First-born of all creation," the One in whom appears the true creation of God, never more to be marred by sin or failure, but abiding in Him who is the centre and glory of it, who is "all and in all."

Here, then, is the "appearance" of the One who sits upon the throne; and suitedly the next thing that we read is that about this throne there was "a rainbow, in appearance like unto an emerald." Here, again, we are reminded of the ruin of humanity -reminded, in fact, of the Flood, after which God used the bow as a token that it should recur upon the earth no more -this by His grace alone; and here the bow is but the glory of the light displayed in that which was the storm of judgment, but which is now destined but to refresh and fertilize the earth. It is a promise for the earth that we rightly read in it. Judgment is about to be poured out, but it is a judgment, not to destroy the earth, but to destroy those that would destroy it -a judgment to salvation; and here the character of what is coming before us is shown at once. Israel on the earth is necessarily connected with it, for with blessing for the earth, as we have already seen, the blessing of Israel is an ordained necessity. This is what all the power of the throne is set in motion to accomplish now.

(2) But it is not the one throne that is before us simply. There are thrones around the throne; and here at once we come again to what is of central importance for the understanding of what follows. In the common version we find, perhaps, an illustration of the strange way in which even Christians hesitate fully to believe the grace of God. The translators have put "seats," although there is no possible doubt as to the meaning of the word; and there is a similar illustration, as one may surely think, in the view of many, that those who fill these thrones are angels rather than saints. Yet everything here decisively declares that they are saints, and saints alone, who are intended. The very word "elders" naturally implies this. The elders in Israel were the representatives as well as the judges of the people, representing God indeed in that judgment which they exercised for Him, so that, as we know, and as the Lord argued with the Jews, they were even called "gods," as those to whom the word, that is, the commission, of God had come. As His representatives, they are identified with Him. Here, of course, everything is in a higher sphere, but we see upon these elders the white garments which are afterwards interpreted to us as the "righteousnesses of the saints;" and while their golden crowns proclaim them kings, their number seems designed to speak of the priestly courses, which were twenty-four in Israel, as their priestly connection afterwards confirms; and it is in their song of praise that we hear the explanatory words as to the redeemed, "Thou hast made them to our God kings and priests, and they shall reign over the earth" (Rev 5:10).

Thus there is no room for doubt as to who are represented by the crowned elders here; and these thrones and crowns certify to us also another thing -that these are saints, not only redeemed, but glorified. They are not spirits simply in happiness, as "absent from the body and present with the Lord," but they are saints risen and glorified; for these crowns speak of their reward having come, as it comes for us all together; not singly and individually, as the Lord calls away His own by death, but all together; as the apostle wishes for the Corinthians that they did reign, that the apostles themselves therefore might reign also.

It is less certain as to what their number indicates, which, one would say, should be certainly symbolic. As 24 it would most naturally seem to yield two twelves, the number of manifest rule, which we see in the 12 apostles, and in the 12 tribes of earth’s royal people. The two twelves, therefore, may speak to us of a double company, of the saints of the Old Testament times and of the New, reigning together now in a common kingdom, while at the same time they are distinct as companies, "the Church of the first-born ones, whose names are written in heaven," as the apostle gives them (Heb 12:23), and the "spirits of just men made perfect:" not merely spirits now, for they could not be perfected apart from resurrection, but such as had as a company passed through death, as with the Church, as a whole, it will not be. Here are certainly two companies shown us who reign here together, although the distinction between them is not noticed here. It is not in the line of truth with which we are to be occupied.

Daniel has already shown us these thrones set, when the Son of man comes to take the kingdom (Dan 7:9). Our common version has "cast down," but it is allowed that "set" is the proper rendering. But Daniel sees no occupants for these thrones. That remains as a secret hereafter to be revealed. We are in the complete and final prophecy here, which gathers up all these intimations, and makes plain to us their full significance. Here, it is now quite manifest what has taken place. The trumpet-voice which called the seer up to heaven was indeed representative of that which will soon gather all the saints. He who said to Philadelphia, "Behold, I come quickly," has in fact now come; not yet manifesting Himself in the clouds of heaven so that every eye should see Him, but to His own simply, who, by grace, have been waiting for Him. It is strange how persistently still the mass of commentators refuse to acknowledge this, and see in these crowned elders but an anticipation of what was in the far-off distance yet -a vision, for instance, such as we find in the company gathered out of every nation and with their palms before the throne, which is plainly-anticipative. Now these two visions are in fact identified, although it is distinctly said of the latter one that it is of those who come out of the great tribulation, as the mass of the saints here most certainly do not, while it is one of these very elders who explains to the seer as to the company at whom he is looking. And this in itself lets us know that the vision of the elders is not in that way anticipative: for the presence of the elders is seen through the after-prophecy: they worship when the seventh trumpet sounds; the new song, which the 144,000 alone can learn, is sung in their presence; and when great Babylon is judged, they fall down once more before the throne, saying, "Amen, halleluiah."

Thus they are an abiding reality all through this long reach of prophecy; and we must accept the view of glorified saints, risen therefore with Christ and reigning, all through the time of which the prophecy speaks. Even this is only one of the intimations, however important an one, of what is here before us. Christianity upon earth is at an end, and we are in what the Lord calls, in the prophecy upon the mount of Olives, "the end of the age;" that is, as we have seen there, the end of the Jewish age, (Christian age there is really none) -the broken-off last week of those seventy determined upon the city and people of Israel, at the end of which their full blessing is to come. The tokens of this are all around us at every step as we proceed, and it is only an utter confusion between the Jew and the Christian, between the earthly and the heavenly, between suffering and reigning, between "the kingdom and patience" of Christ and His kingdom and glory, that can cause any possible mistake as to what is so abundantly manifest.

(3) We are turned back now to look at the supreme throne itself, and we see proceeding from it lightnings and voices and thunders. The character is manifestly one of judgment, but we have been permitted to see, first, the bow of promise over it. The voices give character to what is here: the lightnings and thunders are interpreted by them. They are no longer simply providences, which we may be wholly unable to interpret. Their purpose is becoming more and more ’manifest. Then there are "seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God." They are the different operations of the Spirit in that perfection which must necessarily attach to these. They carry us back in thought to the sanctuary-lamps, but which are connected with the central stem, which speaks of Christ Himself maintaining the divine light for men, as we see Him, though in other connection, in the eleventh of Isaiah (ver. 2), where we have exactly the candlestick: three pairs of branches, and the central stem, "the Spirit of Jehovah," Israel’s covenant-God, being the lamp upon this; while "the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord," give us evidently the three pairs of branches. These all rest upon the One who comes forward to take the kingdom, "with righteousness" to "judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth." It is added, "He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked one." It is evident how near we approach in that to what we find here. The seven spirits are before the throne. They act in connection with divine government, giving effect to the counsels of God concerning Christ, and for the bringing in of blessing upon the earth. These operations of the Spirit are as "lamps of fire" illuminating the scene, which otherwise, if we think of the earth, is in darkness; and it is the earth, of course, that is contemplated here, although the lamps burn before the throne in heaven. Thus we see clearly the character of what is before us.

(4) But there is yet more to be seen. Before the throne there is a sea of glass like crystal. This is evidently intended to remind us of the brazen sea in the earthly temple, but which was for purification. Here purification is accomplished. It is not a sea of water any more, but filled with that which is the image of perfect purity. In the after-vision, those that have gotten the victory over the beast and over his image stand upon the sea of glass, having the harps of God. Purification for them plainly is accomplished: they stand in triumph upon the sea. But they are not upon it yet, as we contemplate it here. Their purification upon earth has yet to be accomplished. At present the significance is necessarily for those who have reached it, the heavenly saints themselves, for whom the world-trial is over and sanctification perfected.

And now, in the midst of the throne, and around it, are seen "four living beings full of eyes before and behind." The translation "beasts," as in the common version, is plainly wrong and misleading, the human element here being degraded to the bestial, for the third living being has the face of a man. The word, although applied constantly to animals, simply means (as the word animal itself does) "a living being." In these we find the four divisions of nature as Scripture presents them: the wild beast in the lion; cattle in the ox; one with the face of a man, the form not being given; and the last, the flying eagle, the prince of the birds of the heaven. We necessarily connect them with the similar figures in Ezekiel, connected also with the throne of God, and which are cherubic: remembering the cherubim also upon the veil, the figure of Christ’s humanity, we should have no difficulty in seeing their typical resemblance to what is presented of Christ in the four Gospels. This has been already before us in looking at the Gospels themselves. Christ is He into whose hands divine government is entrusted, and therefore the connection of these symbols of it with the veil. But the cherubim speak of divine government, no doubt, as identified with the instruments used of God, in whose hand all things are, and who works out His purposes by means of whatever instrumentality He pleases. In Ezekiel we find, accompanying the cherubim, wheels within wheels -the wheels of the chariot of deity, which present, after the manner of Ecclesiastes, the course of things continually revolving; the history, as men say, that repeats itself with the generations of men, yet never returns to just what it was before, the course being ever onward. This is because it is God who is controlling it, and there is in it divine meaning and purpose, even while necessarily the creature is put into his place as such; man, if you look at him in himself, but vanity, and yet God working throughout that which is not vain, and of which eternity will proclaim the wisdom.

But the wheels are not seen in Revelation: we have simply the cherubic beings, the coursers of the chariot. And here, as we look at them, we see evidently that they show us the character of this government which God is exercising; the order itself being also significant, and indeed that which, as connected with Christ, we find in the Gospels. For the first being, like a lion, represents, as is plain, that power which is the first requisite to any government at all, the "lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any" (Pro 30:30). But this needs guarding against thoughts which might attach to it, for the lion is a beast of prey pure and simple, and his rush and spring are little characteristic in general of the government of God, although there are crises, as we know, which may be better represented by it. But here, the second living being, the patient ox, comes in, in which strength is imaged also, but strength devoted to service and working in the interests of man; and thus the rule of God is service also, and in man’s fullest interests, as we are sure. The hands that hold it now are human also, and the hands of the perfect Servant who has served us well, and whose humanity is the pledge that He will serve us ever. The third living being has therefore the face as of a man. The face is that in which you read both intelligence and heart, and God has in Christ come near us after this manner. A man’s face may, after all, hide the secrets of his heart; but here is One with whom there is no hiding, who seeks to be known by men, and to make God known; God being indeed manifest in flesh as nowhere else, come to be so near to us, so tender in condescending grace. Yet here also the fourth living being adds what we must not, and cannot, forget -the inscrutability oftentimes of perfect wisdom; ways that in one sense are open to us, and yet everywhere beyond us: this is the thought of the flying eagle. "The way of an eagle in the air" is one of the four things which the wise man declares "too wonderful" for him (Pro 30:18-19). The eagle naturally reminds us of judgment also, and that "wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together:" a scripture which applies to the very time before us, when the instruments of God’s judgment will cleanse the earth from all its defilement, and by the very ban upon evil consecrate it to God. But the eagle is associated by God Himself with much more tender thoughts. "I bare you on eagles’ wings," says the Lord to Israel (Exo 19:4), "and brought you to Myself;" and again (Deu 32:11), "As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: so the Lord alone did lead him." The flying eagle naturally connects with such passages as these, and there is no contradiction in any of them; God’s judgments also being under the control of and working out the purposes of His love -love to which judgment is at the same time a necessary and yet a "strange act."

Here then, plainly, are characteristics of divine government,* while the whole make us think, of necessity, of how God uses the creatures He has made, aye the dumb creatures, and much more those who were created in the image of Himself, to accomplish His purposes. These living beings have each one of them six wings, the number of full and, indeed, unresting activity, while they are "full of eyes around and within." Divine omniscience is in them, although this does not mean that the instruments themselves possess it, though as instruments they manifest it. Thus the instincts of the animal creation generally manifest a wisdom higher than what is really in them, and so will all God’s instruments which work out His purposes, guided (as we see in inspiration) better than they know. And as they rest not, so they cease not day and night saying, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come." The day and night are evidently from the earthly standpoint, for in heaven there is no night; but we have to do with the government which is over the earth, where day and night exist, but where the night as well as the day, the darkness as well as the light, speak in the ears of those that hear, of the holiness of an almighty God, the perfect Master of all, and the Unchangeable. Well then may it be that when these living beings give "glory and honor and thanksgiving to Him that sitteth upon the throne," the living God throughout eternal ages, the redeemed fall down before Him that sitteth upon the throne, and worship, and cast their crowns before the throne, -crowns that they have received from Him, -saying, "Thou art worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy will they were, and were created." What a rest for the heart as we go on to consider events, often so terrible in themselves, which are now to follow! The absolute sovereignty of God from which, alas, men so often shrink, is nevertheless what is the salvation of all. There is nowhere any mere drift. He who has given Christ for men is making all things work together for good in the accomplishment of His perfect will.**

{*As has been frequently noticed, these living creatures correspond in significance closely to the four Gospels, which set forth Christ. All judgment is committed to Him, and each Gospel presents Him in a character suited to the features of one of these living creatures. Thus in Matthew, the Gospel of the Kingdom, we see Him as the Lion of the tribe of Judah; in Mark, the Gospel of the perfect Servant, we see Him as the patient ox serving God’s will and man’s need; in Luke, we see the face of a Man, for it is the Gospel of the Son of man; and in John, the heavenly Gospel, we see the soaring eagle. -S.R.

**It is also of the greatest importance to see that creation exists for God’s glory, and not primarily for the creature’s happiness. Where this latter is considered as its end, men spend their lives in the vain pursuit of that which can only be had in full subjection to God. How the restless ways of men would be stilled, how selfishness would cease, were men to seek God’s will and glory! Need we add, in the words of our Lord, that "all these things" -happiness, peace, prosperity -would be "added unto" us? -S.R.}

2. The ground of praise, as we see in the worship of the elders, has been hitherto creation. "Thou hast created all things" is the word; but we have now what is clearly different from this. A book, hitherto unnoticed, is seen in the right hand of Him that sitteth upon the throne, "a book written within and on the back, and sealed with seven seals." This book only One is found worthy to open; and when we look at Him, He is plainly revealed as the Lamb of sacrifice -the Redeemer therefore of His people. It is the Redeemer who alone can be the opener of the seven-sealed book. But what is intended by this? It is natural for us to think, especially in connection with the character of Revelation as a whole, that we have here the book of God’s counsels, which, opened, shows us what is now coming, and to what the present action of the throne is directed. It is taken by some, however, as being rather the Lamb’s title-deeds to the inheritance, and we are referred to the fact that such a sealed book was put into the hands of the redeemer of an inheritance, with the names of the witnesses written upon the back. It is said that any other thought is unworthy of what we find here -the tears of John when for the moment no one is found worthy to open the book; while it is plain that Christ was at all times the Revealer, and John could surely not be ignorant of this.

Redemption is of course, and rightly, considered to be the actual bringing out of the inheritance from under the power of the enemy, and from all the state of alienation into which it has got; and thus it is the Lion of the tribe of Judah who prevails to open the book. Power is now about to accomplish what divine grace has laid the foundation for. We are told also that when the Lamb takes the book, the song that is sung in heaven is not the song of praise for revelation, but for redemption, and that the redemption goes forward with the breaking of the seals step by step. This view of redemption is certainly according to Scripture, and that it is redemption which is in progress here; but it does not follow any the more that the book speaks of the title-deeds to the inheritance, and it seems late indeed in the history to have such title-deeds brought forward now. Moreover, that John should not know to whom these title-deeds belong is as incredible as anything. Such books moreover, in which the writing overflowed upon the back, were not unknown, outside of such title-deeds as are referred to. No doubt what opens this is not mere words, but deeds, which alone will make everything plain, clear up all the difficulties of unfulfilled prophecy, and show us the complete thoughts of God as they have never been seen before. In fact, when the seals are opened there is no proving of title or declaration of it: but the redemption itself proceeds by orderly steps to its completion. Not till the seals are all broken is the book fully opened, and this is of importance as to what is contained under the seals themselves, which are clearly thus introductory, rather than giving the details of redemption.

(1) But we have to notice first, what is emphasized by the structure, that it is "the Lion of the the tribe of Judah, the Root of David," who prevails to open the book. It is astonishing how little such a title as this seems to have impressed the mass of the interpreters of Revelation; but the lack of discernment as to Israel’s place in prophecy, and that, as the apostle has said, to Israel belong the Old Testament promises, has resulted in a generalization of such things in a way that has blurred all distinctness of vision. Judah’s Lion has thus been separated from Judah. It speaks of power which is in the Lord’s hand to execute the purpose of redemption, no doubt; but the Church is looked at as the inheritor of all such promises, and prophecy has been made, as we have often said, so much a matter of private interpretation, each one taken so apart from the whole mind of the Spirit as revealed in those who spake by Him, that of necessity any application may be accepted which may seem competent to be the fulfilment of what is in it. On the other hand, when we remember that we are at the end of the addresses to the Church -that the whole place of vision has been now removed from earth to heaven, -and that there the saints are upon their thrones around the throne of God, -that the rainbow also around the throne is prophesying of a salvation by judgment of the earth itself, -how plainly significant it is that we should find here just "the Lion of the tribe of Judah" coming to the front, and power put into His hand!

Israel and the earth are in the closest possible connection with one another. No blessing for the earth can be until Israel is blest, and thus the conqueror-King of Israel as seen here is every way significant. It is true that we do not stop with this. We are reminded of David and of the promises to him; but here is not merely David’s Son and Heir, but "the Root of David," which speaks of the One who, while truly David’s Son, is no less David’s Lord. He is the Root from whom David and the promises to him alike spring; and how competent are the elders now to point to the One who has taken the set time, and comes forward to fulfil purposes wider than those revealed in the present gospel, which, however presented to men as a whole, the earth at large will never receive. As we find in the second psalm, against the One whom God has declared His Son, against Jehovah and His anointed, alike, "the kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together;" and this spirit of rebellion, vain as it is, will not be ended until the Shepherd of Israel comes forth with His iron rod. Then, when the heathen are given Him for His inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for His possession, He shall tend them (as the word is) with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. How different from that overspreading of the earth with the gospel to which men, after all these centuries of delay, are still looking forward! After all, it is the only way in which the blessing can come, and the present time of grace and forbearance is just that which perfectly demonstrates this. Till then, spite of the gospel of peace, peace there is not; and the only word possible on God’s part is that through the prophet: "I will overturn, overturn, overturn, until He comes whose right it is, and I will give it Him." Christ must come to put down all rule and all authority and power, and all enemies shall then be put under His feet. The time at which we have arrived here is as evident therefore as can be. Here, however, the hands that rule are human hands: yet they are capable of acting in far more than human power. In Him at last judgment shall return to righteousness; and the rod of power which, out of His hands, has assumed the serpent form, now that He puts forth His hand to grasp it, is to return obediently to Him.

(2) The seer turns to behold the Lion of Judah, and He beholds, in fact, a Lamb; nor merely a Lamb, but One that has been slain -One who has been dead, yet lives, and is in the midst of the divine throne, and of the four living beings and of the elders, the Centre of all. The word for Lamb is significant. It is not the ordinary one, but a diminutive; instead of amnos, it is arnion -One who has been belittled and rejected by man, although here with all power as His. Here is His title to be the Redeemer, that He is the Lamb, the slain Lamb, but the slain Lamb risen; His work therefore accepted of God, and the seal upon man’s fallen condition broken at last and forever; death yielding to resurrection. He has therefore the seven horns, which speak of complete power, and the "seven eyes which are the seven spirits of God sent into all the earth," perfect in omniscience and executive ability. The whole earth is before Him as come into it in humiliation; He has learnt, as man, the whole condition of things; and as man, therefore, and the Son of man, judgment is committed to Him. In this character it is that He takes the book out of the right hand of Him that sits upon the throne. He is the Son-servant of that throne. He is the One who, having done the will of God Himself alone, in the infinite depths of darkness, comes forth still to do the will of His Father upon the throne; and thus all things are put into His hand to give the universe its final adjustment, never to be disturbed again. He is the "Father of Eternity," the King of kings and Lord of lords.

(3) When He takes the book, the four living beings and the throned elders fall before the Lamb and worship. They are united together here, and in a song in which no angel joins or can join. It is most significant, the union of these in this praise in which inanimate creation itself, as betokened in the harp, yet can unite, touched by the hand of him who was placed originally as lord over the earth, but who has hitherto brought how much else beside music out of it! Now he has at last come back to the original purpose of God with regard to him, and with songs sweeter and more wonderful than creation itself could furnish. The angels, as already said, have no place here. Although it be most contrary to the thoughts entertained of them, we never hear of the angels singing. They have not in their song the deep notes necessary for this; nor can they (still more strange as it may seem to us) rise up to the high ones which grace is teaching us. They "behold in the Church the manifold wisdom of God," and "see the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." The angels we find in a circle outside the singers here, and therefore necessarily apart from them.

The four living beings are plainly, as we see now, not angels, but men; that is to say, the government of God of which they speak is now according to that which Scripture fully declares shall be in the hands of men: "To the angels hath He not put in subjection the world to come whereof we speak;" but it is man -made, indeed, a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death -who is in this way crowned with honor and glory, and set over the works of God’s hand. Christ is in the midst of the throne. He reigns, and reigns as man; but thus also His people reign with Him. The cherubic figures are no class distinctly; they are not necessarily angels or men. They speak of administration, of government which may be in the hands of either: it has been in the hands of angels, as we see most plainly in the book of Daniel, while now in the world to come it is in the hands of men; and thus we have in the song that is sung now, "Thou hast made them to our God kings and priests; and they shall reign over the earth." The editors have decided that it is not "we shall reign," as in our common version, but "they." But that does not mean that these are speaking of others than themselves. They are not speaking of all redeemed men, for it is not of all redeemed men that it could be said, "They shall reign over the earth;" nor could it be said of all, "Thou hast made them kings and priests to God." In the elders, on the other hand, we see clearly such. They are all enthroned; and now we find them with the golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of saints; but in this case they speak generally: "Thou hast purchased to God by Thy blood men of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, . . . and they shall reign."

Thus the time at which we have arrived should be perfectly clear. These are heavenly saints, seen as about to enter on their reign over the earth; and in their character as priests it is that they have the golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of saints. It is not said that they are offering them. In fact, at this moment they are in another attitude; but this seems to be given as a mark of the period which is now beginning, and of the company before us. Observe, however, that they are never looked at as themselves interceding, nor do they add anything to the prayers with which they are charged. They have no supererogatory merits to give efficacy to what they present, and the prayers themselves are the incense; not incense is added to them, although it may well be (perhaps we should say must be) that the incense is the sweet savor of Christ discerned in these which are the fruit of His work; but it is plain that these priestly ones cannot add this to them.

The song that they are singing is a new song; not because Christ is to them a new person, or that they have made new discoveries as to Him, or as to His work, but redemption is now at last for them accomplished, and it is this they celebrate, or rather the person who has accomplished it. Worthy is He to take the book of God’s counsels, and open it fully out, the execution of them all being absolutely in His hands. And if He is assuming a character as the Lion of Judah in which they are not so immediately in personal relation to Him, their joy in Him will lack nothing on that account. They are those of whom He said upon earth, "I have not called you servants, but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard of My Father I have made known unto you" (Joh 15:15).

(4) The praise of the redeemed is echoed now by the praise of all creation. Not only is there sympathy with the blessing of others, but this redemption has much to do with the blessing of those who are, in a sense, altogether outside it. We know that the angels are deeply interested spectators of what is now going on. They are learning, not merely of that grace to others which redemption shows, but they are learning for themselves, in this way, the depths of the heart of God as otherwise they could not know them. Yet the power of the redemption is seen in the place of the redeemed. The angels are not only around the throne, but around the living beings and the elders, thus in a distinct circle: naturally an astonishing thing for us who know that by creation they are nearer to God than we -"angels that excel in strength, that obey His commandments, hearkening to the voice of His word;" and moreover, beings who have never fallen, never lost the place, therefore, which they had by creation. How is it possible, we might ask, that sinners, though delivered from their sins and brought to God in righteousness, can have a nearer place than these unfallen beings? Such a view has been denounced, moreover, by Christians themselves, as the mere haughtiness of human imagination. But on the other hand, what is forgotten by those who take this ground is that which gives the only right point of view. This nearness and exaltation for the redeemed is a testimony not to them, but to the Redeemer. It is the value of His work which they thus enjoy, as it is here the worthiness of the Lamb slain that the angels proclaim: "Worthy to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing." And this Lamb, who is He but the One who has Himself been pleased to come down into the creature-place, Himself to take up manhood, not because it was near enough to Him, so that there would be little distance traversed to take it up, but the very contrary. He has reached out, and is reaching out, to that which was in the lowest place and farthest distance, and in that way has acquired a glory to Himself also which is just the glory of this unspeakable grace. The lower His love has descended, the more it has displayed the innermost nature, the heart of God; and in this display all nature is now therefore glowing with the light of it. Thus the song of the redeemed which the angels cannot sing, the harp in their hands, the response of inanimate nature itself as touched by their hand -all this proclaims now the glory of Christ, the glory of Him for whom as well as by whom all things were created.

Therefore the response of creation in its widest extent follows now: "And every creature which is in the heaven, and upon the earth, and under the earth, and upon the sea, and all things in them, heard I saying, To Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, be blessing, and honor, and glory, and might, unto the ages of ages." It is evident that the praise here is not simply human; it is like the praise-bursts of the Psalms: "Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills be joyful together before the Lord; for He cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall He judge the world, and the people with equity" (Psa 98:7-9). That is now to be attained for which "the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth. . . . Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God" (Rom 8:19-22). More and more, therefore, is it confirmed -if any confirmation were needed -that it is the time of the glory of the children of God, of their manifestation in their own ’proper character, that is now come. The government of God, as represented by the four living beings, confirms it with their Amen; and the elders, prostrate in the homage of their hearts, fall down and worship.

The Revelation of John

F. W. Grant, The Numerical Bible (4th ed., 1903) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

CHAPTER I I I.

ANTICIPATIONS OF THE CHURCHS VICTORY.

Rev_4:1-11; Rev_5:1-14.

WE have seen in considering the first chapter of the Apocalypse that the book as a whole is to be occupied with the Churchs struggle in the world; and in the second and third chapters the Church herself has been placed before us as she occupies her position upon the field of history. But the struggle has not yet begun, nor will it begin until we reach the sixth chapter. Rev. 4 and 5 are therefore still to be regarded as in a certain measure introductory. They form a separate - the third - section of the book; and the first questions that meet us in connection with them are, What is their relation to the main purpose of the author? What is their leading conception? and Why are they placed where they are?

In answering these questions, we are aided by the strictly parallel structure of the fourth Gospel. The Prologue of that book, contained in Joh_1:1-18, suggests the object which the writer has in view. The next section - Joh_1:19-20, Joh_2:1-11 - places before us the Redeemer whose glory he is to describe. The struggle of the Son of God with the world does not begin till we come to chap. 5. Between chap. 2:12 and chap. 4:54 there is thus a considerable interval, in which we have the cleansing of the Temple and the victory of Jesus over the unbelief of the Jew Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman, and the kings officer of Galilee, who was probably a Gentile. In this intervening space the leading thought seems to be that of victory, not indeed of victory in the struggle, but of victory which prepares us for it, and fills the mind with hope before it begins. In like manner the two chapters upon which we are about to enter are occupied with songs of victory. Catching their spirit, we shall boldly accompany the Church into the struggle which follows, and shall be animated by a joyful confidence that, whatever her outward fortunes, He that is with her is more than they that be with her enemies.* (*Comp. 2Ch_32:7-8)

While such is the general conception of the third and fourth chapters viewed as one, we have further to ask whether, subordinate to their united purpose, there is not a difference between them. Such a difference there appears to be; and words of our Lord in the fourth Gospel, spoken upon an occasion which had deeply impressed itself upon the mind of the Evangelist, may help us to determine what it is. In the fourteenth chapter of that Gospel Jesus encourages His Apostles as He sends them forth to fight His battle in the world. "Let not," He says, "your heart be troubled: believe in God, believe also in Me." The section of the Apocalypse upon which we are about to enter embraces a similar thought in both its parts. Chap. 4. conveys to the Church the assurance that He who is the ultimate source of all existence is on her side; chap. 5, that she may depend upon Christ and His redeeming work. The two chapters taken together are a cry to the Church from her glorified Head, before she enters; into the tribulation that awaits her, "Let not your heart be troubled: believe in God, believe also in Me."

"After these things I saw and, behold, a door opened in heaven, and the first voice which I heard, a voice as of a trumpet speaking with me, one saying, Come up hither, and I will show thee the things which must come to pass hereafter. Straightway I was in the Spirit: and, behold, there was a throne set in heaven, and One sitting upon the throne; and He that sat was to look upon like a jasper stone and a sardius; and there was a rainbow round about the throne, like an emerald to look upon. And round about the throne were four-and-twenty thrones: and upon the thrones I saw four-and-twenty elders sitting, arrayed in white garments, and on their heads crowns of gold. And out of the throne proceed lightnings and voices and thunders. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God (Rev_4:1-5)."

The first voice here spoken of is the voice of Rev_1:10 : "And I heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet;" and it is well to remember that that voice introduced the vision of a Son of man who, while both King and Priest, was King and Priest in judgment. It is impossible to doubt that the sound of the same voice is intended to indicate the same thing here, and that the King whom we are about to behold is One who has "prepared His throne for judgment."* (* Psa_9:7)

The Seer is introduced to a scene which we first recognize as the glorious audience-chamber of a great King. Everything as yet speaks of royalty, and of royal majesty, power, and judgment The jasper stone as we learn from a later passage of this book, in which it is said to be "clear as crystal,"1 was of a bright, sparkling whiteness; and it fitly represents the holiness of Him of whom the seraphim in Isaiah cry one to another, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts,"2 and who in this very chapter is celebrated by the unresting cherubim with the words, " Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord, God, the Almighty, which was and which is and which is to come." The sardius, again, was of a fiery red colour, and can denote nothing but the terror of the Almightys wrath. Out of the throne also - not merely out of the atmosphere surrounding it, but out of the throne itself - proceed lightnings and voices and thunders, always throughout the Apocalypse emblems of judgment; while the use of the word burn in other parts of the same book, and the fact that what the Seer beheld was not so much lamps as torches, leads to the belief that these torches as they burned before the throne sent out a blazing and fierce rather than a calm and soft light. It is true that the rainbow round about the throne points to the Divine covenant of grace and promise, and that its emerald greenness, absorbing, or at least throwing into the shade, its other and varied hues, tells with peculiar force of something on which the eye loves, and does not fear, to rest. But the mercy of God does not extinguish His righteousness and judgment. Different as such qualities may seem to be, they are combined in Him with whom the Church and the world have to do. In the New Testament not less than in the Old the Almighty reveals Himself in the awakening terrors of His wrath as well as in the winning gentleness of His love. St. Peter speaks of our Lord as not only the chief corner-stone laid in Zion, elect, precious, so that he that believeth on Him shall not be put to shame, but as a stone of stumbling and rock of offence;3 and when the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews gives us his loftiest description of the privileges of the Christian Church, he closes it with the words, "Wherefore, receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us have grace, whereby we may offer service well-pleasing to God with reverence and awe: for our God is a consuming fire."4 So also here. Would we conceive of God aright, even after we have been brought into the full enjoyment of all the riches of His grace and love, we must think of Him as represented by the jasper and the sardius as well as by the emerald. (1 Rev_21:11; 2 Isa_6:3; 3 1Pe_2:6-8; 4 Heb_12:28-29)

The four-and-twenty elders occupying thrones (not seats) around the throne are to be regarded as representatives of the glorified Church; and the number, twice twelve, seems to be obtained by combining the number of the patriarchs of the Old Testament with that of the Apostles of the New.

The description of the heavenly scene is now continued:

"And before the throne, as it were a glassy sea like onto crystal and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, four living creatures full of eyes before and behind. And the first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face as of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. And the four living creatures, having each one of them six wings, are full of eyes roundabout and within; and they have no rest day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord, God, the Almighty, which was and which is and which is to come (Rev_4:6-8)."

Up to this point we have been beholding a royal court; in the words now quoted the priestly element comes in. The glassy sea naturally leads the thoughts to the great brazen laver known as the brazen sea which stood in the court of Solomons temple between the altar and the sanctuary, and at which the priests cleansed themselves before entering upon the discharge of their duties within the precincts of Gods holy house. The resemblance is not indeed exact; and were it not for what follows, there might be little upon which to rest this supposition. We know, however, from many examples, that the Seer uses the figures of the Old Testament with great freedom; and as the Temple source of the living creatures next introduced to us cannot be mistaken, it becomes the more probable that the brazen sea of the same building, whatever be the actual meaning of the figure - a point that will meet us afterwards - suggests the "glassy sea."

When we turn to the "living creatures," there can be no doubt whatever that we are in the midst of Temple imagery. These, are the cherubim, two of which, fashioned in gold, were placed above the mercy-seat in the holy of holies, so that, inasmuch as that mercy-seat was regarded as peculiarly the throne of God, Israel was invited to think of its King as "sitting between the cherubim."1 These figures, however, were not confined to that particular spot, nor were they fashioned only in that particular way, for the curtain and the veil which formed the sides of the Most Holy Place were wrought with cherubim of cunning work,2 so that one entering that sacred spot was surrounded by them. In the midst of the cherubim spoken of in these verses we are thus in the midst of Temple figures and of priestly thoughts. It is impossible here to trace the history of the cherubim throughout the Bible; and we must be content with referring to two points connected with them, of importance for the interpretation of this book: the representative nature of the figures and the aspect under which we are to see them.3 (1 Psa_99:1; 2 Exo_26:1; 3Comp. Bible Educator, vol. iii., p. 290, where the writer has discussed this subject at some length.)

As to the first of these, the human element in the cherubim is at once intelligible. It can be nothing but man; while the fact that they occupy so large a position in the most sacred division of the Tabernacle is sufficient to prove that man, so represented, is thought of as redeemed and brought to the highest stage of spiritual perfection. The other elements referred to certainly do not indicate either new qualities added to humanity, or an intensification of those already possessed by it, as if we might cherish the prospect of a time when the physical qualities of man shall equal in their strength those of the animals around him, when he shall possess the might of the lion, the power of the ox, and the swiftness of the eagle. They represent rather the different departments of nature as these are distributed into the animate and inanimate creation. Taking the "living creatures" together in all their parts, they are thus an emblem of man, associated on the one hand with the material creation, on the other with the various tribes of animals by which it is inhabited, but all redeemed, transfigured, perfected, delivered from the bondage of corruption, and brought into "the liberty of the glory of the children of God."* They have a still wider and more comprehensive meaning than the "twenty-four elders," the latter setting before us only the Church, but the former all creation, glorified. (* Rom_8:21)

The second point above mentioned - the aspect worn by the living creatures demands also a few remarks, for the view commonly entertained upon it seems to be erroneous. Misled by the mention of the calf, which is supposed to be the ox, and not the bull-calf, interpreters have allowed the mode in which they understood this particular to rule their interpretation of the others. It has been regarded as the emblem of endurance and of patient labour rather than of power and rage; while, following the same line of thought, the eagle has been treated as the king of birds soaring in the blue vault of heaven rather than as hastening (like the vulture) to his prey.1 The whole conception of the cherubim has thus been modified and shaped in the minds of men under a form altogether different from that in which it is really presented to us in Scripture. The cherubim of the Old Testament and the "living creatures" of the New are supposed to represent "majesty and peerless strength," "patient and productive industry," and "soaring energy and nimbleness of action." In reality they rather represent qualities that strike terror into the hearts of men and suggest the idea of an irresistibly destructive force. With this view all that is elsewhere said of them corresponds. They are not simply spoken of as partakers of the favor of God. They are instruments in the execution of His wrath. When our first parents were driven from the garden of Eden, they were placed "at the east of the garden," along with "a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life."2 When we are introduced to them in Ezekiel, it is said that "their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning."3 Similar associations are connected with them throughout the Apocalypse. The opening of each of the first four seals, the four that deal with judgments upon the earth, is immediately followed by a voice, "as it were the noise of thunder," from one of the four living creatures, saying, Come.4 One of them gives to the seven angels "seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God."5 And after the destruction of Babylon, when her smoke is ascending up forever and ever, and the voice of much people in heaven calls for praise to Him who hath avenged the blood of His servants at her hand, they "fall down and worship God that sitteth on the throne, saying, Amen; Hallelujah."6 There can be little doubt, then, as to the meaning of these four living creatures. They are sharers of the Almightys holiness, and of that holiness in its more awful form, as a holiness that cannot look on sin but with abhorrence. They are the vicegerents of His kingdom. They are assessors by His side. Their aspect is not that of the sweetness associated with the word "cherub," but that of sternness, indignant power, and judgment. Thus also it is that in the Tabernacle they looked toward the mercy-seat.7 By what they saw there they were restrained from executing wrath upon the guilty. That mercy-seat, sprinkled with the blood of atonement, told them of pardon and of a new life for the sinner. Their sternness was softened; mercy rejoiced over judgment; and the storm-wind upon which God flew swiftly, when "He rode upon a cherub, and did fly,"8 sank into a calm. (1 Job_9:26; 2 Gen_3:24; 3 Eze_1:13-14; 4 Rev_6:1; Rev_6:3; Rev_6:5; Rev_6:7; 5 Rev_15:7; 6 Rev_19:4; 7 Exo_25:20; 8 Psa_18:10)

The Seer has beheld the audience-chamber of the Godhead in itself. He has seen also the Divine Being who is there clothed with majesty, and those who wait upon Him. He next passes to another thought:

"And when the living creatures shall give glory and honour and thanks to Him that sitteth on the throne, to Him that liveth forever and ever, the four-and-twenty elders shall fall down before Him that sitteth on the throne; and shall worship Him that liveth forever and ever, and shall cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive the glory and the honour and the power: for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they were, and were created (Rev_4:9-11)."

In his beautiful comments upon the Revelation Isaac Williams says, "The four living creatures, or the Church of the redeemed, give thanksgiving to God for their redemption; and then the twenty-four elders fall down and attribute all glory to God alone, inasmuch as prophets, Apostles, and all the ministering priesthood, rejoicing in the salvation of the elect, attribute it not to their own instrumentality, but to God." (The Apocalypse, with Notes and Reflections, p. 69). In thus interpreting the passage, however, that commentator can hardly be regarded as correct. It is true that the living creatures are the representatives of redeemed creation, and the twenty-four elders representatives of the glorified Church. But in the song of praise here put into their mouths they have not yet advanced to the thought of salvation. That is reserved for the next chapter. Here they think of creation, with all its wonders; of the heavens which declare Gods glory, and the firmament which shows forth His handiwork; of sun, and moon, and stars in their manifold and resplendent glories; of the mountains and the valleys; of the rivers and the fountains of waters; of the rich exuberance of vegetable life, which covers the earth with a gorgeous carpet of every hue; and of all those animals upon its surface which "run races in their mirth: "and for them they praise. To God all creatures owe their origin. In Him they live, and move, and have their being. Because of His will they were let the reading be considered and remembered: "were," not "are" because of His will they were in His idea from eternity; and when the appointed moment came, they were created. Where fore let them praise. We are reminded of the Psalms of the Old Testament, though it is ours to put into their words a still deeper and richer meaning than they possessed when first uttered by the Psalmist: -

Praise ye the Lord.

Praise ye the Lord from the heavens:

Praise Him in the heights.

Praise ye Him, all His angels:

Praise ye Him, all His host.

Praise ye Him, sun and moon

Praise Him, all ye stars of light.

Praise Him, ye heavens of heavens,

And ye waters that be above the heavens.

Let them praise the name of the Lord:

For He commanded, and they were created

He hath also established them forever and ever:

He hath made a decree which shall not pass away.

Praise the Lord from the earth,

Ye dragons, and all deeps:

Fire, and hail; snow, and vapour;

Stormy wind fulfilling His word:

Mountains, and all hills;

Fruitful trees, and all cedars:

Beasts, and all cattle;

Creeping things, and flying fowl:

Kings of the earth, and all peoples;

Princes, and all judges of the earth:

Both young men, and maidens;

Old men, and children:

Let them praise the name of the Lord:

For His name alone is exalted;

His glory is above the earth and heaven.*

(* Psa_148:1-13)

Such then in Rev. 4. is the call addressed by the Seer to the Church before she enters upon her struggle. a call similar to that of Jesus to His disciples, "Believe in God."

The fifth chapter continues the same general subject, but with a reference to Christ the Redeemer rather than God the Creator:

"And I saw in the right hand of Him that sat on the throne a roll of a book written within and on the back, close sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a great voice, Who is worthy to open the roll, and to loose the seals thereof? And no one in the heaven, or on the earth, or under the earth, was able to open the roll, or to look thereon. And I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open the roll, or to look thereon. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion that is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath overcome to open the roll, and the seven seals thereof (Rev_5:1-5)."

We can easily form to ourselves a correct idea of the outward form of the symbol resorted to in these words. The same symbol is used by the prophet Ezekiel, and in circumstances in some respects precisely analogous to those of the Seer. Ezekiel had just beheld his first vision of the cherubim. "And when I looked," he says, "behold, an hand was put forth unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein; and He spread it before me; and it was written within and without."* In both cases it is not a "book," but a roll, like the sacred rolls of the synagogue, that is presented to the prophets eye, the difference being that in the Apocalypse we read of the roll being close sealed with seven seals. This addition is due to the higher, more sublime, and more momentous nature of the mysteries contained in it. That it is written within and on the back, so that there is no space for further writing, shows that it contains the whole counsel of God with regard to the subject of which it treats. It is the word of Him who is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last; and the seven seals are so fastened to the roll that one of them may be broken at a time, and no more of the contents disclosed than belonged to that particular seal. What also the contents of the roll are we learn from the contents of the seals as they are successively disclosed in the following chapters. As yet the Seer does not know them. He knows only that they are of the deepest interest and importance; and he looks anxiously around to see if anyone can be found who may break the seals and unfold their mysteries. No such person can be discovered either in heaven, or on the earth, or under the earth. No one will even dare to look upon the roll; and the sorrow of the Seer was so deepened by this circumstance that he wept much. (* Eze_2:9-10)

At that moment one of the elders, the representatives of the glorified Church, advanced to cheer him with the tidings that what he so much desired shall be accomplished. One who had had a battle to fight and a victory to win had overcome, not only to look upon the roll, but to open it and to loose the seven seals thereof, so as to make its contents known. This was the Lion that is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David. The description is taken partly from the law and partly from the prophets, for is not this "He of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write"?l; the former in the blessings pronounced by the dying patriarch Jacob upon his son Judah: "Judah is a lions whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as a lioness; who shall rouse him up?"2; the latter in such words as those of Isaiah, "And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a Branch out of his roots shall bear fruit;"3 while, in the language alike of the prophet and of the Seer, the words set forth the Messiah, not as the root out of which David sprang, but as a shoot which, springing from him, was to grow up into a strong and stately tree. In Him the conquering might of David, the man of war, and of Judah, "chosen to be the ruler,"4 comes forth with all the freshness of a new youth. He is "the mystery which hath been hid from all ages and generations, but now hath been manifested to the saints."5 In Him "the darkness is passing away, and the true light already shineth."6 "After two days will He revive us: on the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live before Him. And let us know, let us follow on to know, the Lord: His going forth is sure as the morning; and He shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter rain that watereth the earth."7 Thus then was it now. Like Daniel of old, the Seer had wept in order that he might understand the vision; and the elder said to him, Weep not. (1 Joh_1:45; 2 Gen_49:9; 3 Isa_11:1; 4 1Ch_28:4 5 Col_1:26; 6 1Jn_2:8; 7 Hos_6:2-3)

The eagerly desired explanation follows:

"And I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb standing as though it had been slaughtered, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. And He came, and He hath taken it out of the right hand of Him that sat on the throne (Rev_5:6-7)."

A strange and unlooked-for spectacle is presented to the Seer. He had been told of a lion; and he beholds a lamb, nay not only a lamb, the emblem of patience and of innocence, but, as we learn from the use of the word slaughtered (not "slain," as in both the Authorized and Revised Versions), a lamb for sacrifice, and that had been sacrificed. Nor can we doubt for a moment, when we call to mind the Gospel of St. John and its many points of analogy with the Apocalypse, what particular lamb it was. It was the Paschal Lamb, the Lamb beheld in our Lord by the Baptist when, pointing to Jesus as He walked, he said to his disciples, "Be hold the Lamb of God,"1 and again beheld by the writer of the fourth Gospel on the Cross, when in the fact that the soldiers broke not the legs of Jesus, as they broke those of the malefactors hanging on either side of Him, he traced the fulfillment of the Scripture, "A bone of Him shall not be broken."2 This therefore was the true Lamb "that taketh away the sin of the world," the Lamb that gives us His flesh to eat, so that in Him we may have eternal life.3 (1 Joh_1:36; 2 Joh_19:36; 3The point now spoken of has been doubted. A full discussion of it by the present writer will be found in The Expositor for July and August, 1877)

The Lamb has seven horns, the emblem of perfected strength, and seven eyes, which are explained to be the Spirit of God, sent forth in all His penetrating and searching power, so that none even in the very ends of the earth can escape His knowledge. Further the Lamb is standing as though it had been slaughtered, and there never has been a moments hesitation as to the interpretation of the figure. The words "as though" do not mean that the slaughtering had been only in appearance. It had been real. The Saviour, pierced with cruel wounds, "bowed His head" on Calvary, "and gave up His spirit."1 "The first and the last and the Living One became dead,"2 and had been laid in the tomb in the garden. But He had risen from that tomb on the third morning; and, "behold, He is alive for evermore."3 He had ascended to the right hand of the Majesty on high; and there He "stands," living and acting in all the plenitude of endless and incorruptible life. (1 Joh_19:30; 2 Rev_1:18; 3 Rev_1:18)

One thing more has to be noticed: that this Lamb is the central figure of the scene before us, in the midst of the throne and of the living creatures, and of the elders. To Him all the works of God, both in creation and redemption, turn. To Him the old covenant led; and the prophets who were raised up under it searched "what time or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did point unto, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that should follow them."1 From Him the new covenant flowed, and those who under it are called to the know ledge of the truth recognize in Him their "all and in all."2 The Lamb slaughtered, raised from the grave, ascended, being the impersonation of that Divine love which is the essence of the Divine nature, is the visible centre of the universe. He is "the image of the invisible God, the First-born of all creation: for in Him were all things created, in the heavens and upon the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things have been created through Him, and unto Him: and He is before all things, and in Him all things consist And He is the Head of the Body, the Church: who is the Beginning, the First-born from the dead; that in all things He might have the pre-eminence. For it was the good pleasure of the Father that in Him should all the fullness dwell; and through Him to reconcile all things unto Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things upon the earth, or things in the heavens."3 (1 1Pe_1:11; 2 Col_3:11; 3 Col_1:15-20)

Such is the Lamb; and He now comes, and hath taken the roll out of the right hand of Him that sat on the throne. Let us note the words "hath taken." It is not "took." St. John sees the Lamb not only take the roll, but keep it. It is His, His as the Son, in whom dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; His by right of the victory He has won; His as the First-born of all creation and the Head of the Church. It is His to keep, and to unfold, and to execute, "who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen."* (* Rom_9:5)

Therefore is He worthy of all praise, and to Him all praise is given: -

"And when He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the four-and-twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having each one a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, Worthy art Thou to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for Thou wast slain, and didst purchase unto God with Thy blood men of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation; and madest them to be unto our God a kingdom and priests: and they reign over the earth (Rev_5:8-10)."

It is not necessary to dwell upon the figures that are here employed, the harp, as connected with the Temple service, being the natural emblem of praise, and the bowls full of incense the emblem of prayer. But it is of importance to observe the universality of the praises and the prayers referred to, for as the language used here of these men of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, when they are said to have been made a kingdom and priests unto our God, is the same as that of Rev_1:6, we seem entitled to conclude that, even from its very earliest verses, the Apocalypse has the universal Church in view.

The song sung by this great multitude, including even the representatives of nature, now "delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God,"* is wholly different from that of chap. 4. It is a new song, for it is the song of the "new creation;" and its burden, it will be observed, is not creation, but redemption by the blood of the Lamb, a redemption through which all partaking of it are raised to a higher glory and a fairer beauty than that enjoyed and exhibited before sin had as yet entered into the world, and when God saw that all that He had made was good. (* Rom_8:21)

The song was sung, but no sooner was it sung than it awoke a responsive strain from multitudes of which we have not yet heard: -

"And I saw, and I heard a voice of many angels round about the throne and the living creatures and the elders: and the number was ten thousands of ten thousands, and thousands of thousands; saying with a great voice, Worthy is the Lamb that hath been slain to receive the power, and riches, and wisdom, and might, and honour, and glory, and blessing (Rev_5:11-12)."

These are the angels, who are not within the throne, but round about the throne and the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders. Their place is not so near the throne, so near the Lamb. "For not unto angels did He subject the inhabited earth to come, whereof we speak."1 He subjected it to man, to Him first of all who, having taken upon Him our human nature, and in that nature conquered, was "crowned with glory and honour," but then also to the members of His Body, who shall in due time be exalted to a similar dignity and shall reign over the earth. Yet angels rejoice with man and with creation redeemed and purified. They "desire to look into"2 these things: "There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth."3 He who was God manifested in flesh "appeared" after His resurrection "to angels;"4 and, although they have not been purchased with the blood of the slaughtered Lamb, their hearts are filled with livelier ecstasy and their voices swell out into louder praise while the "manifold wisdom of God is made known" to them in their heavenly places.5 (1 Heb_2:5; 2 1Pe_1:12; 3 Luk_15:10; 4 1Ti_3:16; 5 Eph_3:10)

Even this is not all. There is a third stage in the ascending scale, a third circle formed for the widening song:

"And everything which is in the heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and on the sea, and all things that are in them, heard I saying, Unto Him that sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb, be the blessing, and the honour, and the glory, and the dominion, forever and ever (Rev_5:13)."

What a sublime conception have we here before us! The whole universe, from its remotest star to the things around us and beneath our feet, is one, one in feeling, in emotion, in expression; one in heart and voice. Nothing is said of evil. Nor is it thought of. It is in the hands of God, who will work out His sovereign purposes in His own good time and way. We have only to listen to the universal harmony, and to see that it move us to corresponding praise. It did so now: -

"And the four living creatures said, Amen. And the elders fell down and worshipped (Rev_5:14)."

The redeemed creation is once more singled out for special mention. At Rev_4:8; Rev_4:10, they began the song; now we return to them that they may close it. All creation, man included, cries, Amen. The glorified Church has her heart too full to speak. She can only fall down and worship.

The distinction between chap. 4 and chap. 5 must now be obvious, even while it is allowed that the same general thought is at the bottom of both chapters. In the one the Church when about to enter on her struggle has the call addressed to her: "Believe in God." In the other that call is followed up by the glorified Redeemer: "Believe also in Me."

Having listened to the call, there is no enemy that she need fear, and no trial from which she need shrink. She is already more than conqueror through Him that loved her. As we enter into the spirit of these chapters we cry, -

"God is our refuge and strength,

A very present help in trouble.

Therefore will we not fear, though the earth do change,

And though the mountains be moved in the heart of the seat;

Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.

There is a river, the streams whereof make glad the city of God,

The holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High.

God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early. The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved;

He uttered His voice, the earth melted.

The Lord of hosts is with us;

The God of Jacob is our refuge."* (* Psa_46:1-7)

William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.

4:1–5:14 This section introduces the visions and judgments to come. John presents God in his heavenly court—the scene of the drama of Revelation (4:1-11)—and the Lamb, who has a central role (5:1-14). John contrasts the majesty of God with the so-called majesty of Caesar. God’s power and splendor is unequaled by the ceremonial court of any earthly ruler.

4:1-11 The description of God’s throne room stretches the imagination. It builds on the visions of Isa 6:1-4, Ezek 1:4-28, and Dan 7:9-10, where God is seen enthroned in power and majesty. God’s throne dominates Revelation, and the worship in the rest of the book flows from this scene. God’s magnificence, grace, and glory are fundamental to the church’s worship.

4:1 Then . . . I saw: This introductory phrase (see also 7:9; 15:5; 18:1; cp. 19:1) does not signal chronological sequence but the beginning of a new visionary experience. • Come up here: The voice of the Lord invites John to look at things from God’s perspective.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Rev 4:1. Μετὰ ταῦτα, after these things) In this passage there is a great division of interpretations into two paths. For the question arises, Whether the event of the seals began immediately after the writing of the book, or whether it is still altogether future? The celebrated D. Lange, besides others, maintains the latter opinion; the former is plainly shown even by the particle, after these things, repeated in this verse. The former expression (after these things) connects the vision [with what has preceded], the other connects with the same the result itself. After these things, that is, after those things, which ARE, which relate to the seven churches and their angels, must come to pass the things, which the Lord will now show. The past and the present and the future, Rev 1:19 (from which verse the expression, after these things, is here repeated), comprise the whole of the book which follows: and, as the past and the present are so joined together, that the present, in Rev 1:11, what thou seest, passes into the past, which thou sawest, Rev 1:20; and again the past, which thou sawest, passes into the present, are, are, in the same verse; so the present and the future immediately cohere, without any hiatus, and the connection between the past and the present is only subservient to the connection between the present and the future. Not only is there no trace of delay from the age of John until the last times, but delay is even openly excluded. Future things, the quick approach of which is evidently declared, Rev 1:1; Rev 22:6, are closely connected with the present by the expression, after these things.

D. Lange so explains the particle, after these things, that, according to the prophetical meaning of the seven epistles, after the lapse of the same number of periods of the Church, the seals are completed, etc. Comm. Apoc. f. 62, 73. I reply: I. We have refuted such a prophetical meaning of the seven epistles, in ch. Rev 2:1. II. If the historical meaning of the epistles is preserved, the particle, after these things, has its limits within the events of the churches in Asia; and this would be the case, even if these churches had a prophetical meaning affixed to them. III. If they were periods, they would not be interrupted by the destruction of the Whore and the Beast, as D. Lange imagines, but they would rather extend beyond the millennium and the short time of the loosing of Satan to the end of the world, together with the time of the Church itself being a wayfarer, the change in the condition of which he also makes too great in the millennium (see below, on ch. Rev 19:11, Rev 21:2), and thus they would run out beyond the seals, and trumpets, and vials. He says, that the CHIEF subject of the Apocalypse is the mystery of the last times, ch. Rev 10:7, Rev 11:15, and following verses. See Comm. Apoc., fol. 5; Hermen. Einl., p. 27. It easily happens, that when any truth is gladly received, it is too eagerly declared, and carried beyond its proper limits. Thus this celebrated man takes the millennium for the half-hour during which there was silence in the seventh seal, the former seals being thus very much crowded together, and all the trumpets being accommodated to this: then, having stated his opinion respecting the mystery of the last times, as the chief subject of the Apocalypse, he presently afterwards assumes, and continually takes it for granted, as though it were demonstrated: fol. 9, and 11 at the beginning. This is the hinge of the Apocalyptic system made up by this most celebrated commentator. But by such a method that CHIEF point is extended too much. That is no doubt the subject of the Apocalypse, from the passages quoted (since it is there set forth as such), thenceforward even to the end of the book: but the very words of the text extend the subject of the preceding chapters to a much wider range than he supposes. In them there is no beast, no whore: it is not until after ch. 10 that they come forth upon the stage, and that too after an interval. Wherefore the beginning of the judgments upon the antichristian enemies ought not to be reckoned from the seals themselves. See this treated at greater length on ch. Rev 6:2, Rev 11:15.

In the same place he so divides the chapters of the Apocalypse, that almost all are deferred to the future. We thus arrange them:—

Chap. 1. 2. 3.

contain the Preparation.

4. 5.

the Proposition.

6–9.

are fulfilled, as is shown, without any violence.

10–14.

are in course of fulfilment, and have been for some time, as is proved by suitable arguments.

15–19.

exhibit things about to take place shortly.

20–22.

look to things more distant.

Whoever has the power, let him subject to the most severe laws of DEMONSTRATION both his treatise and mine.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rev_4:1. Μετὰ τοῦτα εἰδον. The formula marks the entrance of a new vision, and that, too, a greater or more important one,[1649] while the formula ΚΑῚ ΕἾΔΟΝ introduces the various individual features represented in the course of a larger main picture.[1650] The formula ΚΑῚ ΕἾΔΟΝ, Rev_13:1 and Rev_17:3, stands at the beginning of an entirely new important division, and is therefore regular, because in both passages the opening of a new scene is indicated by the entire preceding verse, which in a measure prevents there the ΜΕΤᾺ ΤΑῦΤΑ. But since by the ΜΕΤᾺ ΤΑῦΤΑ the vision now following is distinguished from what is completed in Rev_3:22,the ΤΑῦΤΑ referring back to the entire vision in Rev_1:10 to Rev_3:22,it is in no way indicated that between Rev_3:22 and Rev_4:1 there is a space in which John was not in the Spirit, but in his ordinary consciousness, and perhaps penned the seven epistles. Thus Beng.: John always comprehended one part after another in sight and hearing, and immediately wrote it. Cf. also Aret., Grot., Calov., Hengstenb.; and, against the latter, Ebrards correct protest. Even De Wette, who nevertheless correctly acknowledges that John is already (Rev_4:1) in Spirit, viz., from Rev_1:10, fixes the committing of the seven epistles to writing between Rev_3:22 and Rev_4:1. But nowhere in the course of the entire revelation (Rev_1:10 to Rev_22:16) is any temporary return from the ecstatic condition to ordinary consciousness conceivable, and therefore a partial noting-down is nowhere possible. The ΕἾΔΟΝ, Rev_4:1, undoubtedly indicates that the being in Spirit beginning with Rev_1:10 continues unbroken;[1651] and from Rev_4:1 to the close of the entire revelation, an interruption of the ecstatic consciousness can nowhere be admitted, since the vision which follows always is developed from that which precedes.[1652] There is only one being in Spirit,[1653] in which John beheld the entire revelation with all its changing, yet coherent, scenes.

ΘΎΡΑ ἨΝΕῼΓΜ. ἘΝ Τ. ΟὐΡΑΝῼ. The opening of heaven[1654] is explained by means of a door, from the fact neither that heaven is regarded a firm arch,[1655] nor that John is to enter heaven,[1656] nor that heaven appears as a temple;[1657] but that heaven is the house,[1658] the palace of God (in which he is enthroned, Psa_11:4; Psa_18:7; Psa_29:9).[1659]

Ἡ ΦΩΝῊ, Κ.Τ.Λ. Not the voice of Christ,[1660] who indeed had spoken (chs. 2., 3.)[1661] after the first voice,[1662] but the voice first heard, which already (Rev_1:10) is no further defined, and here also cannot be further designated than as it is identical with the former.

ΛΈΓΩΝ. The construction according to sense[1663] is especially easy with the ΛΕΓΩΝ[1664] introducing the direct address.[1665]

ἈΝΑΒΆ. With respect to the form, cf. Act_12:7; Mar_15:30 (var.); Eph_5:17. Winer, p. 76. John ascending to heaven and to the things there to be seen, through the door opened on this account, which he beheld in Rev_4:1, is immediately present in spirit[1666] at the significant representation of that which is henceforth to happen.[1667] Klief., in violation of the context, asserts that a more elevated station is meant, from which John could look as well through the opened door into heaven, as also to a greater distance upon earth.

καὶ δεἰξώ, κ.τ.λ. Thus the heavenly voice speaks, although the person to whom it belongs cannot be more definitely known,as in later visions, where, however, the same angel does not everywhere appear as interpreter, and show,because the voice sounds forth in the name of the personal God himself, who, nevertheless, is efficacious beneath the one who shows (Rev_1:1), and causes also the prophet to be in the Spirit (cf. Rev_4:2).

ἃ δεῖ γεν. Cf. Rev_1:1.

μετὰ ταῦτα, as Rev_1:19.

[1649] Rev_7:1; Rev_7:9, Rev_15:5, Rev_18:1.

[1650] Rev_5:1; Rev_5:6; Rev_5:11, Rev_6:1; Rev_6:5; Rev_6:8-9; Rev_6:12, Rev_8:2; Rev_8:13, Rev_9:1, Rev_10:1, Rev_13:11, Rev_14:6; Rev_14:14, Rev_15:1-2, Rev_17:6, Rev_19:11; Rev_19:17; Rev_19:19, Rev_20:1; Rev_20:4; Rev_20:11, Rev_21:1.

[1651] Rev_4:2 does not contradict this, if only we do not, like Hengstenb., identify the being in Spirit and in heaven.

[1652] Cf. Introduction, p. 12 sqq.

[1653] Rev_1:10.

[1654] Cf. Eze_1:11; Mat_3:16; Act_10:11.

[1655] Heinr.

[1656] De Wette. Cf. Grot.

[1657] Vitr., Züll.

[1658] Gen_28:17.

[1659] Cf. Eichh.

[1660] Hengstenb., Klief., etc.

[1661] Cf. Rev_1:17 sqq.

[1662] Rev_1:10.

[1663] Cf. Rev_4:8; Rev_11:15; Rev_19:14; Eph_4:18; Mar_9:26. Winer, p. 489.

[1664] לֵאמֹר.

[1665] Cf., besides, Winer, p. 560.

[1666] Cf. Rev_4:2.

[1667] Cf. καὶ δείξω, κ.τ.λ.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rev 4:1 . μετὰ … ἰδού introducing as usual in an independent clause (instead of a simple accus., Vit. ii. 8 f., 31, 173, 174, to which he reverts in Rev 4:4 ) some fresh and weighty revelation; lesser phases are heralded by the simpler καὶ εἶδον . The phrase indicates a pause, which of course may have covered days as well as hours in the original experience of the seer, if we assume that his visions came in the order in which they are recorded. He is no longer in the island but up at the gates of heaven. In his trance, a heavenly voice comes after he has seen not heaven opened (the usual apocalyptic and ecstatic symbol, e.g. Act 10:11 = a vision, Rev 11:5 , Eze 1:1 , Mat 3:16 , Ap. Bar. xxii. 1) but a door set open (ready, opened) in the vault of the mysterious upper world which formed God’s house. Then follows the rapture (which in Rev 1:9 precedes the voice). The whole vision is composed by a man familiar with O.T. prophecy, in Semitic style: short clauses linked by the monotonous καί , with little or no attempt made at elaboration of any kind. Traits from the theophany of God as a monarch, surrounded by a triple circle ( cf. the triple circle surrounding Ahuramazda), are blended with traits drawn from the theophany in nature. The ordinary Jewish conception (Gfrŏrer, i. 365 f.) tended to regard God as the royal priest, to whom angels rendered ceaseless levitical praise and service ( cf. Revelation 4-5), or as a glorified rabbi whose angels act as interpreters of the heavenly mysteries for man ( cf. Rev 10 and apocalyptic literature in general with its angelic cicerones). In the seven heavens of Chagiga, 12b , the third is the place where “the millstones grind manna for the righteous” (Psa 78:23-24 , cf. Rev 2:17 ), whilst in the fourth are the heavenly Jerusalem ( cf. Rev 21:10 ) and the temple (Rev 15:5 f.) and the altar (Rev 8:3 f.) where the great prince Michael offers an offering, but in the fifth the ministering angels, who sing God’s praise by night, are silent by day to let Israel’s adoration rise to the Most High (see on Rev 4:8 ). ἀνάβα ὧδε ( cf. the common phrase, ἀναβαίνειν εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν , of penetration into heavenly mysteries), from Exo 19:16 ; Exo 19:24 , φωνὴ τῆς σάλπιγγος ἤχει μέγα … εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῷ Κύριος … ἀνάβηθι . As in the O.T. the revelation is vouchsafed spontaneously, whereas in Iranian theology ( e.g. , in the Vendidàd) “it is the wish of man, not the will of God, that is the first cause of the revelation” (Darmesteter, S. B. E. iv. p. lxxxv.). The seer does not enter the door till he is called; to know the divine will is the outcome of revelation, not of inquiry or speculative curiosity (similar idea in 1Co 2:9 f.). Enoch (xiv. 9 f.) also does not enter the palace of God with its fire-encircled walls, but sees through the open portals “a high throne, καὶ τὸ εἶδος αὐτοῦ ὡσεὶ κρυστάλλινον … καὶ ὄρος χερουβίν … and from underneath the great throne came streams of flaming fire so that I could not look thereon. And the great Glory sat thereon and his raiment shone more brightly than the sun and was whiter than any snow.” He is finally called by God to approach but not to enter. Cf. Ap. Bar. Lev 11 , Test. Levi. v., “and the angel opened unto me the gates of heaven, and I saw the holy One, the Most High, seated on the throne”.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rev 4:1-9. HEAVEN OPENED

1. λαλούσης. א reads λαλοῦσαν.

λέγων. With א* AB2; Text. Rec[144] reads λέγουσα with אcP 1.

[144] Rec. Textus Receptus as printed by Scrivener.

1. μετὰ ταῦτα. This seems to be a new vision rather than a continuation of what goes before. From Rev 1:13 onwards the Seer has been in spirit in the Heavenly Tabernacle listening to the Heavenly High Priest: now he is for a moment on earth again with heaven far above him.

εἶδον καὶ ἰδού. “I beheld, and lo!” as Rev 5:6; Rev 5:11 &c.; Dan 7:6; Dan 7:11 &c. It is not, of course, implied that he changed the direction of his gaze.

ἠνεῳγμένη. The participle is used without any verb; he saw the door standing open, he did not see it opened.

ἡ φωνὴ ἡ πρώτη ἥν ἤκουσα ὡς σάλπιγγος λαλούσης μετ ̓ ἐμοῦ. See Rev 1:10 n. The true construction and sense is, “Lo a door set open in heaven, and [lo] the first voice which I had heard as of a trumpet talking with me.”

λέγων. The participle does not agree with the substantive “voice,” and perhaps we ought to render “one saying.” See Rev 1:10 n.

μετὰ ταῦτα. Lit., “After these things,” as in Rev 1:19: i.e. perhaps after the state of things described in the Letters to the Seven Churches. See note l.c.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ch.

4:1-11.] The vision of God’s presence in heaven. “Decrees respecting the fortunes of the future rest with God, and from Him comes the revelation of them through Jesus Christ. Hence the Revelation begins with the imparting to the Apostle, through Christ, of the vision of God’s presence.” De Wette.

1.] After these things (μετὰ ταῦτα (or τοῦτο) is a formula frequently occurring in this book, and no where indicating a break in the ecstatic state of the Seer, but only the succession of separate visions. Those are mistaken, e. g. Bengel, Hengstb., who imagine an interval, here and in the other places, during which the Seer wrote down that which had been previously revealed to him. The whole is conceived as imparted in one continuous revelation consisting of many parts. See below on ver. 2) I saw (not with the bodily eye, but with the eye of ecstatic vision, as throughout the book. He is throughout ἐν πνεύματι. It is not I looked, as in E. V.: not the directing of the Seer’s attention which discovers the door to him, but the simple reception of the vision which is recorded), and behold, a door set open (not, was opened (ἠνοίχθη) as E. V., which gives the idea that the Seer witnessed the act of opening. For the same reason the word “opened” is objectionable, as it may be mistaken for the aor. neuter) in heaven (notice the difference between this vision and that in Eze 1:1; Mat 3:16; Act 7:56, Act 10:11. In those, the heaven itself parts asunder, and discloses the vision to those below on earth: here the heaven, the house or palace of God (Psa 11:4, Psa 18:6, Psa 29:9), remains firmly shut to those on earth, but a door is opened, and the Seer is rapt in the Spirit through it. Henceforth usually he looks from the heaven down on the earth, seeing however both alike, and being present in either, as the localities of his various visions require), and the former voice (much confusion has been introduced here by rendering, as E. V., “the first voice which,” &c., giving the idea that ἡ πρώτη means, first after the door was seen set open; whereas ἡ φωνὴ ἡ πρώτη is the voice which I heard at first, viz. in ch. 1:10) which I heard (aor. at the beginning) as of a trumpet speaking with me (viz. ch. 1:10. ὡς σάλπ. κ.τ.λ., is not predicative, “was as …” as E. V. and Treg. The construction simply is—“behold, a door … and the voice …,” both θύρα and φωνή dependent on ἰδού.

The voice is not that of Christ (as Stier, Reden Jesu viii. 93, 207 ff.: Reden der Engel, p. 242,—and al.), but of some undefined heavenly being or angel. As Düsterd. observes, all we can say of it is that it is the same voice as that in ch. 1:10, which there, ver. 17, is followed by that of our Lord, not ὡς σάλπιγγος, but ὡς ὑδάτων πολλῶν, as stated by anticipation in ver, 15), saying (Heb. לֵאמֹר. The gender is placed, regardless of the ordinary concord, with reference to the thing signified: so in reff., and even sometimes in the classics; cf. Xen. Cyr. i. 2. 12, αἱ πόλεις … ὡς παύσοντες. See more examples in Winer), Come up hither (viz. through the opened door), and I will shew thee (it is surprising how Stier can allege the δείξω as a proof that the Lord Himself only can be speaking: cf. ch. 21:9, 10, 22:8, 9, which latter place is decisive against him) the things which must (of prophetic necessity: see reff.) take place after these things (ταῦτα, the things now present: as in ch. 1:19, but the ταῦτα not being the same in the two cases. So that μετὰ ταῦτα has very much the general meaning given by the “hereafter” of the E. V.).

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Hereafter followeth the second part of this book, altogether prophetical, foretelling those things which were to come, as was said before, Rev. 1:19. This is divided into two histories: one common unto the whole world, unto Chapter 9: and another singular of the Church of God, thence unto chapter 22. And these histories are said to be described in several books, Rev. 5:1 and 10:2. Now this verse is as it were a passage from the former part unto this second: where it is said, that the heaven was opened, that is, that heavenly things were unlocked, and that a voice as of a trumpet sounded in heaven to stir up the Apostle, and call him to the understanding of things to come. The first history hath two parts: one the causes of things done, and of this whole Revelation, in that and the next chapter. Another of the acts done, in the next 4 chapters. The principal causes according to the distinction of persons in the vanity of divine essence, and according to the economy or dispensation thereof, are two. One the beginning, which none can approach unto, that is, God the Father, of whom is spoken in this chapter. The other, the Son, who is the mean cause, easy to be approached unto us, in respect that he is God and man in one person: of whom, Rev. 5.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

We have here an account of a second vision with which the apostle John was favoured: After this, that is, not only "after I had seen the vision of Christ walking in the midst of the golden candlesticks," but "after I had taken his messages from his mouth, and written and sent them to the several churches, according to his command, after this I had another vision." Those who well improve the discoveries they have had of God already are prepared thereby for more, and may expect them. Observe,

I. The preparation made for the apostle's having this vision.

1. A door was opened in heaven. Hence we learn, (1.) Whatever is transacted on earth is first designed and settled in heaven; there is the model of all the works of God; all of them are therefore before his eye, and he lets the inhabitants of heaven see as much of them as is fit for them. (2.) We can know nothing of future events but what God is pleased to discover to us; they are within the veil, till God opens the door. But, (3.) So far as God reveals his designs to us we may and ought to receive them, and not pretend to be wise above what is revealed.

2. To prepare John for the vision, a trumpet was sounded, and he was called up into heaven, to have a sight there of the things which were to be hereafter. He was called into the third heavens. (1.) There is a way opened into the holiest of all, into which the sons of God may enter by faith and holy affections now, in their spirits when they die, and in their whole persons at the last day. (2.) We must not intrude into the secret of God's presence, but stay till we are called up to it.

3. To prepare for this vision, the apostle was in the Spirit. He was in a rapture, as before (Rev 1:10), whether in the body or out of the body we cannot tell; perhaps he himself could not; however all bodily actions and sensations were for a time suspended, and his spirit was possessed with the spirit of prophecy, and wholly under a divine influence. The more we abstract ourselves from all corporeal things the more fit we are for communion with God; the body is a veil, a cloud, and clog to the mind in its transactions with God. We should as it were forget it when we go in before the Lord in duty, and be willing to drop it, that we may go up to him in heaven. This was the apparatus to the vision. Now observe,

II. The vision itself. It begins with the strange sights that the apostle saw, and they were such as these: - 1. He saw a throne set in heaven, the seat of honour, and authority, and judgment. Heaven is the throne of God; there he resides in glory, and thence he gives laws to the church and to the whole world, and all earthly thrones are under the jurisdiction of this throne that is set in heaven. 2. He saw a glorious one upon the throne. This throne was not empty; there was one in it who filled it, and that was God, who is here described by those things that are most pleasant and precious in our world: His countenance was like a jasper and a sardine-stone; he is not described by any human features, so as to be represented by an image, but only by his transcendent brightness. This jasper is a transparent stone, which yet offers to the eye a variety of the most vivid colours, signifying the glorious perfections of God; the sardine-stone is red, signifying the justice of God, that essential attribute of which he never divests himself in favour of any, but gloriously exerts it in the government of the world, and especially of the church, through our Lord Jesus Christ. This attribute is displayed in pardoning as well as in punishing, in saving as well as in destroying sinners. 3. He saw a rainbow about the throne, like unto an emerald, Rev 4:3. The rainbow was the seal and token of the covenant of the providence that God made with Noah and his posterity with him, and is a fit emblem of that covenant of promise that God has made with Christ as the head of the church, and all his people in him, which covenant is as the waters of Noah unto God, an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure. This rainbow looked like the emerald; the most prevailing colour was a pleasant green, to show the reviving and refreshing nature of the new covenant. 4. He saw four-and-twenty seats round about the throne, not empty, but filled with four-and-twenty elders, presbyters, representing, very probably, the whole church of God, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament state; not the ministers of the church, but rather the representatives of the people. Their sitting denotes their honour, rest, and satisfaction; their sitting about the throne signifies their relation to God, their nearness to him, the sight and enjoyment they have of him. They are clothed in white raiment, the righteousness of the saints, both imputed and inherent; they had on their heads crowns of gold, signifying the honour and authority given them of God, and the glory they have with him. All these may in a lower sense be applied to the gospel church on earth, in its worshipping assemblies; and, in the higher sense, to the church triumphant in heaven. 5. He perceived lightnings and voices proceeding out of the throne; that is, the awful declarations that God makes to his church of his sovereign will and pleasure. Thus he gave forth the law on mount Sinai; and the gospel has not less glory and authority than the law, though it be of a more spiritual nature. 6. He saw seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are explained to be the seven Spirits of God (Rev 4:5), the various gifts, graces, and operations of the Spirit of God in the churches of Christ; these are all dispensed according to the will and pleasure of him who sits upon the throne. 7. He saw before the throne a sea of glass, like unto crystal. As in the temple there was a great vessel of brass filled with water, in which the priests were to wash when they went to minister before the Lord (and this was called a sea), so in the gospel church the sea or laver for purification is the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, who cleanses from all sin, even from sanctuary-sins. In this all those must be washed that are admitted into the gracious presence of God on earth or his glorious presence in heaven. 8. He saw four animals, living creatures, between the throne and the circle of elders (as seems most probable), standing between God and the people; these seem to signify the ministers of the gospel, not only because of this their situation nearer to God, and between him and the elders or representatives of the Christian people, and because fewer in number than the people, but as they are here described, (1.) By their many eyes, denoting sagacity, vigilance, and circumspection. (2.) By their lion-like courage, their great labour and diligence (in which they resemble the ox), their prudence and discretion becoming men, and their sublime affections and speculations, by which they mount up with wings like eagles towards heaven (Rev 4:7), and these wings full of eyes within, to show that in all their meditations and ministrations they are to act with knowledge, and especially should be well acquainted with themselves and the state of their own souls, and see their own concern in the great doctrines and duties of religion, watching over their own souls as well as the souls of the people. (3.) By their continual employment, and that is, praising God, and not ceasing to do so night and day. The elders sit and are ministered unto; these stand and minister: they rest not night nor day. This now leads to the other part of the representation.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

CHAPTER IV.

John sees the throne of God in heaven surrounded by twenty-four

elders; and four living creatures, full of eyes; which all

join in giving glory to the Almighty, 1-11.

NOTES ON CHAP. IV.

Verse 1. A door was opened in heaven] This appears to have been a visible aperture in the sky over his head.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(1) After this (better, these things) I looked (literally, I saw; not “I looked,” as though the prophet turned his gaze then towards it), and, behold a door was opened (or, set open) in heaven.—He did not look and see a door opening; he saw, and lo! the door stood open. There are differences as well as similarities between this vision and others where glimpses into heaven were given to prophets and saints. In Ezekiel’s vision, and in the scene of Mat_3:16 (comp, also Act_7:56; Act_10:11) the heavens divide; in this a door stands open. The way into the presence of God lies open (Heb_10:19-20); all who have faith may enter; in the minds of such the thoughts of the heavenly will mingle with the sorrows of the earthly, and the calm of security will be theirs (Psa_46:5). But the scenes of earth’s troubles will always be dispiriting to those who cannot reach the heavenly view-point.

And the first voice (or, behold, the first voice) which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; (even one) which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee (the) things which must be hereafter.—The first voice here spoken of is the voice which the Apostle had heard in the opening vision (Rev_1:10); he heard, and recognised that trumpet-like voice again. It is strange that any should have maintained that this is not the voice of Christ. It is admitted that it must be the same as the voice of Rev_1:10; but it is said that the voice of Christ is heard afterwards (Rev_1:15), not as a trumpet, but as the voice of many waters. The answer is simple; the voice of Christ has many tones; and the voice like a trumpet said, “I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.” (See Rev_1:10-13.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

After this I looked,.... After John had seen the vision of Christ, in the midst of the golden candlesticks, with seven stars in his right hand; after he was bid to write what he had seen, and what were, and should be hereafter; and after he had by order written the seven epistles to the seven churches, he looked about him to see what else he could, having his desires and expectations raised of seeing more, and other things, for the eye is never satisfied with seeing; though this is to be understood, not of looking with the eyes of his body, but with the eyes of his mind; of his beholding things in a visionary way, as the prophets did, whence they are called "seers", and their prophecies "visions": how long this was after the first vision is not certain, it may be but a few minutes; and it is to be observed, that as the first chapter of this book, with the vision in it, is the preface or introduction to the church prophecy delivered out in the seven epistles; so this and the following chapter, with the vision therein, contain the preface or introduction to the book prophecy exhibited in the opening of the seven seals of the sealed book:

and behold, a door was opened in heaven: not in a literal sense, as the heavens were opened at Christ's baptism, and at Stephen's martyrdom, but in a figurative sense; and the phrase is to be understood of a discovery of things that were, or were to be in the church of God, which in this book is oftentimes signified by "heaven": and it must be conceived as done in a visionary way, just as Ezekiel, in the visions of God, was brought to Jerusalem, and the temple there, and in at a door was shown all the abominations committed in the court and temple; so John, in a visionary way, through an opened door, had a scene of things in the church presented to him, as follows:

and the first voice which I heard was, as it were, of a trumpet talking with me; this voice is not called the first voice with respect to any other voices that were to follow; but it designs the former voice, the voice that John heard behind him, when he saw the first vision; and this, as that, was clear, loud, and sonorous as a trumpet, so that he thoroughly heard, and rightly understood what was said; it was the same Person that made the following representation of things as did then, even he who is the Alpha and the Omega, the Lord Jesus Christ, the author of the whole revelation; the "first" is left out in the Arabic version: the allusion is to the blowing of trumpets at the opening of the door of the temple;

"every day there were one and twenty soundings of a trumpet in the temple, three , "at the opening of the doors", and nine at the daily morning sacrifice, and nine at the daily evening sacrifice (f).''

And one of them was called the great door of the temple; and he that slew the daily sacrifice, did not slay till he heard the sound of that door when it was opened (g); so here at the opening of the door in heaven, in the church, of which the temple was a type, the voice of the Son of God is heard as the sound of a trumpet, talking loudly and familiarly to John:

which said, come up hither; from the isle of Patmos, where he was, up to heaven; not into the third heaven, where Paul was caught up, but rather up into the Gospel church, the Jerusalem which is above; though this, as before, is to be understood in a visionary way, in like manner as Ezekiel was lifted up by the Spirit between the earth and the heavens; and so John, in a vision, was called up from Patmos into the air, where he had a representation of the church made unto him:

and I will show thee things which must be hereafter; in the world, in the Roman empire, and in the church of God, to the end of the world; not but that there were some things shown him, as before, in the church prophecy, which had been, and were, and which was done to give him a complete view of things from first to last: and these things were shown in the following visions of the seals, trumpets, and vials, and by the Lord Jesus Christ, who talked with him, and to whom this revelation was given to show unto his servants; and it was of things that "must" be, because determined and resolved upon in the unalterable purposes and decrees of God.

(f) Misn. Succa, c. 5. sect. 5. (g) Misn. Tamid, c. 3. sect. 7.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

After this - Greek, “After these things”; that is, after what he had seen, and after what he had been directed to record in the preceding chapters. How long after these things this occurred, he does not say - whether on the same day, or at some subsequent time; and conjecture would be useless. The scene, however, is changed. Instead of seeing the Saviour standing before him Rev. 1, the scene is transferred to heaven, and he is permitted to look in upon the throne of God, and upon the worshippers there.

I looked - Greek, “I saw” - εἶδον eidon. Our word “look” would rather indicate purpose or intentions, as if he had designedly directed his attention to heaven, to see what could be discovered there. The meaning, however, is simply that he saw a new vision, without intimating whether there was any design on his part, and without saying how his thoughts came to be directed to heaven.

A door was opened - That is, there was apparently an opening in the sky like a door, so that he could look into heaven.

In heaven - Or, rather, in the expanse above - in the visible heavens as they appear to spread out over the earth. So Eze 1:1, “The heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.” The Hebrews spoke of the sky above as a solid expanse; or as a curtain stretched out; or as an extended arch above the earth - describing it as it appears to the eye. In that expanse, or arch, the stars are set as gems (compare the notes on Isa 34:4); through apertures or windows in that expanse the rain comes down, Gen 7:11; and that is opened when a heavenly messenger comes down to the earth, Mat 3:16. Compare Luk 3:21; Act 7:56; Act 10:11. Of course, all this is figurative, but it is such language as all people naturally use. The simple meaning here is, that John had a vision of what is in heaven as if there had been such an opening made through the sky, and he had been permitted to look into the world above.

And the first voice which I heard - That is, the first sound which he heard was a command to come up and see the glories of that world. He afterward heard other sounds - the sounds of praise; but the first notes that fell on his ear were a direction to come up there and receive a revelation respecting future things. This does not seem to me to mean, as Prof. Stuart, Lord, and others suppose, that he now recognized the voice which had first, or formerly spoken to him Rev 1:10, but that this was the first in contradistinction from other voices which he afterward heard. It resembled the former “voice” in this, that it was “like the sound of a trumpet,” but besides that there does not seem to have been anything that would suggest to him that it came from the same source. It is certainly possible that the Greek would admit of that interpretation, but it is not the most obvious or probable.

Was as it were of a trumpet - It resembled the sound of a trumpet, Rev 1:10.

Talking with me - As of a trumpet that seemed to speak directly to me.

Which said - That is, the voice said.

Come up hither - To the place whence the voice seemed to proceed - heaven.

And I will show thee things which must be hereafter - Greek, “after these things.” The reference is to future events; and the meaning is, that there would be disclosed to him events that were to occur at some future period. There is no intimation here when they would occur, or what would be embraced in the period referred to. All that the words would properly convey would be, that there would be a disclosure of things that were to occur in some future time.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

No sooner had St. John received in the preceding vision the documents he was to transmit to the seven Churches of Asia [Asia Minor], when, behold, a new scene displays itself. Heaven opens, and St. John is invited up thither by the voice which had spoken to him before, and is told he shall see what is to happen in future ages. On a sudden appears a throne, and the Almighty himself seated upon it. The rainbow which surrounds the throne, denotes the covenant of reconciliation and peace between God and man. (Walmesley) --- Behold a door open. Here begins what may be looked upon as a second part of the Apocalypse, and from hence to the two last chapters are contained wars and victories of the Church over all its enemies, the devil, Jews, heathens, and heretics. --- These visions are so differently expounded, when applied to different events, that this alone may convince us how uncertain are those various interpretations. The servants of God are taught that they must expect to meet with many trials, afflictions, and persecutions; but this ought to be a great subject of consolation to the faithful, that they are assured of victory if they fight manfully, and of a recompense of endless happiness for their short labours. Such visions and majestic descriptions shew that St. John was inspired by the same spirit of God, as the ancient patriarchs and prophets. --- I will show thee the things which must come to pass hereafter; i.e. after the things already revealed concerning the seven Churches, and therefore after the destruction of Jerusalem, which was about twenty years before St. John wrote this Apocalypse. (Witham)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

After this; after I had the first vision, mentioned Rev 1:1-20, and had written what it was the pleasure of God I should write to the churches, in a book, perceiving the way God designed to reveal himself to me was by vision.

I looked; I looked again, hoping and being desirous to see something further as to the mind of God.

And, behold, a door was opened; I saw the heavens opened, as Mat 3:16; Act 7:56.

In heaven; he, doubtless, meaneth the third heavens. Such a vision, as to this particular, John had at Christ’s baptism, Mat 3:1-17, and Stephen when he was stoned. He also heard the voice of one speaking aloud to him, like the voice he heard, Rev 1:10;

which said, Come up hither, into heaven, the new Jerusalem which is above; as the old Jerusalem stood upon a hill, or rising ground, so as they who went thither are constantly said to go up, Isa 2:3; Act 11:2; Gal 1:17,18; 2:1.

And I will show thee things which must be hereafter; not which have been, (for to what purpose had that been)? But which shall happen hereafter both to my church and to her enemies: from which it appears, that God did not here show his prophet the destruction of Jerusalem, for that was already past, in the time of Titus Vespasian the Roman emperor, about the year 69, or 70, after the incarnation; this (as all confess) was in Domitian’s time, about the 11th or 12th year of his reign, about twenty-six or twenty-seven years after that was past, which makes the notion of two late annotators very strange.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The Glory of God

The Church has been encouraged in the midst of her tribulation and temptation by the vision of the presence and support of Christ. Now (Revelation 4, 5) a further series of visions begins, in which are shown, under figures, the forces by which the life of the Church is affected, or, in other words, those who are for her and those who are against her. She is shown God and the Lamb, and she is shown the devil, the beast, the false prophet, and the apostate city. Then she is shown the victory of Christ, and the eternal defeat of the powers of evil.

In Revelation 4, for the comfort of the Church, the greatness and majesty of God the Father is shown in language adapted from Isaiah 6 and Ezekiel 1, 10. He is portrayed, on His heavenly throne, sitting 'above the water floods,' surrounded by beings representative of the angelic creation and of the Church. These beings ceaselessly watch Him to do His will, and worship Him as Creator.

We are not to understand the imagery as literally descriptive of heaven, but as pictorial symbols of spiritual things: see on Rev_5:5-7.

1. First voice] i.e. the voice of Rev_1:10.

3. Jasper] i.e. according to some, the diamond; but according to Flinders Petrie (HDB. 'Stones, Precious'), the green jasper: cp. Rev_21:11. The diamond would be emblematic of God's purity, the green jasper of His mercy. Sardine stone] RV 'sardius,' i.e. according to F. P., red jasper; emblematic of God's judgments.

Rainbow] the sign of mercy: cp. Eze_1:27.

Emerald] F. P. thinks the word translated 'emerald' means rock crystal, which could show a rainbow of prismatic colours.

4. Seats] RV 'thrones.' Elders] either representative of the Church of both dispensations (OT. and NT.); or, as some think, angelic beings: cp. Isa_24:23; Col_1:16.

5. Lightnings, etc.] signifying awe-inspiring majesty and power: cp. Exo_19:16. Seven Spirits] see on Rev_1:4.

6. There was a sea of glass] RV 'as it were a glassy sea,' perhaps representing the waters that were above the firmament, Gen_1:7. Over this the throne of God is looked upon as set: cp. Eze_1:22. In the midst of, etc.] i.e. probably, supporting the throne. Beasts] RV 'living creatures': cp. Eze_1:5. in Eze_10:1-20 identified with the 'cherubim.' The 'cherubim' seem to have been emblematic of the forces of nature, especially of the storm-cloud: cp. Gen_3:24; ('sword' perhaps = 'lightning'), Psa_18:10. 'To the Heb. poet the cherubim are not only the attendants of Jehovah, but the bearers and upholders of His throne. The thunderclouds are the dark wings of these ministers of God: cp. 2Ki_19:15; Psa_80:1; Psa_99:1; Isa_37:16... In later Jewish theology the cherubim take their place among the highest angels of heaven' (HDB.). Full of eyes] symbolising their unceasing watchfulness: cp. Eze_10:12.

7. Beast] RV 'creature.' The four creatures were anciently taken as emblems of the four evangelists.

8. Beasts] RV 'living creatures.' Rest not] RV 'have no rest'; cp. 'watchers' as title of angels, Dan_4:13. Holy, etc.] see on Rev_1:4 and Rev_1:8; Isa_6:3.

9. Those beasts] RV 'the living creatures.' Give] RV 'shall give,' i.e. whenever they give.

11. Hast created] RV 'didst create.' For thy pleasure] RV 'because of thy will.' Are] RV 'were,' i.e. existed 'in His idea from all eternity; and when the appointed moment came, they ere created' (Milligan).

J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

This is the commencement of the second great division, which embraces Re 4-22:5, that in which the revelation, properly so called, takes place. Revelation 4 and 5 contain the first of the seven visions, which is itself a prelude to the rest.

After this; or, after these things (meta tauta). There is no good ground for supposing, as some do, that, after the events narrated in Revelation 3, an interval occurred in the visions, during which St. John possibly wrote down the matter contained in the first three chapters. Nor is there any justification for assigning what follows to a time after this world. It would be pressing tauta very far to make it apply to these present things of the world; and meta tauta certainly need not mean "the things after this world." The expression is used here in its ordinary, natural sense: "After having seen this, I saw," etc.; introducing some new phase or variety of spectacle. I looked; or, I saw (eidon). No fresh act of looking is signified. I saw in the Spirit, as formerly. (Rev_1:10, Rev_1:12) And, behold, a door; or, and, behold, a door, and the first voice. Such is the construction of the Greek. Was opened in heaven; or, an open door, in heaven. St. John did not see the action of opening the door, but he saw a door which had been set open, through which he might gaze, and observe what passed within. Alford contrasts Eze_1:1 Mat_3:16 Act_7:56 Act_10:11, where "the heaven was opened;" and supposes that the seer is transported through the open door into heaven, from which position he sees heaven, and views all that happens on the earth. Victorinus aptly compares the open door to the gospel. And the first voice which I heard, as it were, of a trumpet talking with me. Omit the "was" which follows, as well as the colon which precedes, and repeat "a voice," as in the Revised Version: And, behold, an open door in heaven, and the first voice which 1 heard, the voice which was, as it were, of a trumpet. The voice signified is not the first, but the former voice; viz. that already heard and described in Rev_1:10. The possessor of the voice is not indicated. Stier ("Reden Jesu") attributes the voice to Christ; but it seems rather that of an angel, or at any rate not that of Christ, whose voice in Rev_1:15 is described as "of many waters, "not as" of a trumpet." Which said. The voice (fwnh) becomes masculine (legwn). Though whose voice is not stated, yet the vividness and reality of the vision causes the writer to speak of the voice as the personal being whom it signifies. Come up hither. That is in the Spirit for the apostle "immediately was in the Spirit" (ver. 2). He was to receive a yet higher insight into spiritual things. (cf. 2Co_12:2, where St. Paul was "caught up into the third heaven And I will show thee. It is not necessary, with Stier (see above on ver. 1), to infer that these words are Christ"s. Though from him all the revelation comes, he may well use the ministry of angels through whom to signify his will. Things which must be hereafter; or, the things which must happen hereafter. The things which it is right should happen, and which, therefore, must needs happen (dei). "Hereafter" (meta tauta); as before in ver. 1, but in a somewhat more general and less definite sense at some time after this; but when precisely is not stated. The full stop may possibly be better placed before "hereafter;" in which case "hereafter" would introduce the following phrase, exactly as before in this verse. There is no "and;" kai , though in the Textus Receptus, is omitted in the best manuscripts.

Things which must be hereafter.

However nearly expositors may approximate in their interpretation of the Book of Revelation up to the close of the third chapter, yet, when the "things which must be hereafter" begin to be unfolded, they part company, and diverge into so many different paths and bypaths, that it will not be possible for us to trace out all of them. Nor is it desirable. Our purpose is a purely homiletic one, viz. to unfold the principles of the Divine method and government, so as to help those who minister to the instruction and building up of the people of God. In this section of the Commentary we do not intend to turn aside to discourse on individual texts, however attractive and beautiful they may be, but to open up the plan of God as it is laid down in the Apocalypse; yet not so as to minister to an idle and peering curiosity, but so as to inform the understanding, establish the faith, and animate the hope of believers. It has been our conviction now for twenty years (a conviction deepened by each successive study of this wondrous book) that if men will but note its silence as well as its speech what it withholds as well as what it unfolds if they will refrain from filling in chasms that the book leaves, and will aim at seizing the principles involved, rather than at fixing details and dates of events, there is no book in the Word of God that will be found richer in spiritual food, or clearer in its heavenly light! There are several leading schemes of interpretation of the book. There is:

1. The preteritist; which regards the book as indicating events which have passed long ago; which closed with the destruction of the Jewish city, temple, and polity, and with the setting up of the Christian Church it being "the holy city new Jerusalem.

2. The extreme futurist. Whereas according to the first everything has happened which is here recorded, according to the second nothing has yet occurred. Even the seven Churches are seven Churches of Jews to be formed alter the first resurrection, and all that is in the rest of the book is to follow on from thence. Between these two extremes there are, however, three others; the greater number of interpreters belonging, in fact, to one or other of these three.

3. Some regard the book as virtually a progressive history, dating from the imprisonment of St. John in Patmos under the Emperor Domitian. In their view the seven seals, vials, and trumpets indicate a triple series of events which may be either consecutive or simultaneous. In both cases, however, the interpretation is adopted of "a day for a year.

4. Others, again, regard the book as including a symbolic representation of things occurring on earth at the time of the apostle; and in addition thereto, a symbolic representation of events extending over twelve hundred and sixty days, which will usher in the coming of our Lord.

5. A fifth and rapidly increasing school of expositors adopt what is called (and rightly) the spiritual interpretation of the book; i.e. instead of fixing this or that earthquake, pestilence, or famine as the one specially referred to, they hold "that this book of sublimity contains a pictorial representation of events which commenced at the Christian era, and will run on to the end of the world." So also Godet remarks, concerning the six seals, that they represent, each of them, not a particular event, but "the categories of the principal judgments by which God supports, throughout all time, the preaching of the gospel." The spiritual interpretation is that to which for many years past we have felt ourselves shut up, and we are glad to find it adopted by Dr. Lee in his exposition. He says, "The imagery of the book describes, in accordance with the whole spirit of prophecy, the various conditions of the kingdom of God on earth, during its successive struggles with the prince of this world;" and again, "The "spiritual" application is never exhausted, but merely receives additional illustrations as time rolls on, while the "historical" system assumes that single events, as they come to pass in succession, exhibit the full accomplishment of the different predictions of the Apocalypse." Hence, at this stage of our unfolding of the plan of the book, we would lay it down as the basis of our exposition that, without attempting (for reasons yet to be given) to indicate anything like an estimate of the time over which our dispensation has to run, we shall find in this book, from beginning to end, such a disclosure of the principles and methods of God"s working, in bringing about the second coming of the Lord, as may well fill us with holy awe, while we are contemplating the character of the scenes through which God"s Church must pass on her way to her destined glory! It will spare us much useless labour if we note what God has not said in this book, as well as what he has said; e.g.

(1) We have few definite marks of time. We have, of course, the point of commencement, viz. the exile of John in Patmos in the reign of Domitian, and we have also at the end the new Jerusalem in its glory; but for estimating the duration of the whole period, and for its division into periods of years, we have, practically, no data at all.

(2) We have few marks of place. We are not told whether the opening of this seal or that is to find its sphere of fulfilment over the Roman empire, or within the Jewish state, or over the wide world, or, if over a portion of it, what that portion is.

(3) Nor have we any marks to show us whether the seven seals, vials, and trumpets represent seven distinct series of events, or, if so, whether they are synchronous or consecutive, nor, in either case, over what time each one lasts, nor whether there is any space between one and the other; nor, if there be, how much it is. For aught we know, they may even lap over, one on to another. Now, when all these points are left open in the sacred Word, it seems to us to be going far beyond the limits of a proper reverence for God"s Word, to assign definitely this or that figure to this or that special event, time, and place, when the figure alone is employed, and neither time nor place indicated at all. If, e.g., there is a series of symbols indicative of famine, if this book says nothing as to where or when the famine is to be; and if, moreover, in this the Apocalypse agrees exactly with our Lord"s words, that there should be "famines... in divers places" ere the end shall come, we cannot venture to say that it refers to this or that famine, but simply that on this globe, which is the Lord"s, and which is being prepared for his second coming, famine is one among the many incidents which our God foresees and controls, and which he will make subservient to the bringing-in of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. It may be urged by way of objection: "If so much is unsaid, and therefore uncertain, all is uncertain, and the book is useless. Not so; there is very much that is fixed and clear; very much more, indeed, on the principle of interpretation for which we contend, than on any other; and not only so, but the value of the book is, to us, immeasurably greater. Let us, then, now lay down some definite propositions, which may prepare our way for the further unfolding of this book.

I THERE IS IN THE ROOK A CLEAR GENERAL PLAN. Its keynote is, "Behold, I come quickly." Its disclosures end with the in bringing of the new heavens and the new earth. Its historic starting point is the exile of the beloved apostle. Its conception is that all forces in nature, incidents in history, and movements of providence, are preparing the way of the Lord. The standpoint of the apostle is not earth, nor is it heaven. He is caught up in the Spirit. Looking down, he sees earth in trouble and storm; looking up, he sees heaven in glory and rest. And if we look behind the symbolic drapery of the book, we shall find in each paragraph or section some principle indicated which will give us a clue to the higher spiritual meaning of the whole. Historic incident is among things "seen and temporal;" principles are among things "unseen and eternal." If we can seize hold of these, and thereby get some clearer view of the methods of God"s working, we shall look with a far more intelligent gaze on "the ways of God towards man.

II THE UNFOLDINGS OF THE BOOK AS TO THE CONFLICTS OF EARTH ARE A GREAT STAY TO OUR FAITH. Suppose we were without the Apocalypse: when we look over all the desolations of earth, and think of the slow progress Christianity makes, should we not be often ready to despair? But when the conflict in all its fierceness and wildness is set forth here, we can refer to our chart, and say, "We were told of it beforehand." We understand the Master"s words, "Now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe." Without this book "the events of Christian history would be to us shortsighted creatures a very serious and painful obstacle to faith; but by the help of this book these very events confirm our faith.

III THE ISSUE OF THE WHOLE IN THE GLORY OF THE NEW JERUSALEM IS A STIMULUS TO OUR HOPE. However dark the passage, the end of it is light and glory. The King shall yet reveal himself as King of kings and Lord of lords. This is emphatically "the blessed hope." It revives our courage by the way.

IV CERTAINTY AS TO ISSUE, BUT UNCERTAINTY AS TO TIME, IS THE ONLY CONDITION OF OUR LIFE WHICH IS CONSISTENT WITH THE DUE PERFORMANCE OF EVERYDAY DUTY. To know the moment when the stop should be put on all things would paralyze human exertion. Not to know that "all is working for good" would be the death blow to our joy in the Lord. The blended certainty and uncertainty are the very best conditions for us, the most calculated to lead us to watch and pray that we may "be ready," and may not be ashamed before Christ at his coming.

Ver.1-Rev_5:2, Rev_5:11)

2. The four and twenty elders are there. (Rev_4:4 Rev_5:8, Rev_5:11)

3. Four living ones are there, in the midst of the scene, between the throne and the crystal sea: one like a lion; the second like a calf; the third having the face of a man; the fourth like a flying eagle. In Ezekiel"s vision each one had four faces; here: each has one face, each one has six wings about him. So in Isaiah"s vision, with twain they covered their face, in holy awe; with twain they covered their feet, in token of humility; and with twain they flew, in token of obedience. Each one, moreover, is full of eyes before and behind the symbol of the keen penetration of perfected intelligence. Surely we have, in these unusual forms, representations of the highest advance of creaturely existence; in which the several features of knowledge, excellence, and strength, which here are severed, are there joined in one. They worship before the throne. Worship and work mark the highest orders of created being as well as the lower.

4. Nor are these all. There is an innumerable host: "myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands," representing the vast company in the realm of life, where "they cannot die any more.

5. We have yet to behold One around whom all the heavenly hosts gather in worship; but he comes in view as the Object of adoring song. He is "the Lamb as it had been slain." His glory we shall view as we proceed to study

III THE FIVE SONGS. Too seldom is the grand progression of song noticed, as recorded for us by the apostle.

1. First, the Trisagion, or song of praise to the thrice-holy God (ver. 8). This song is sung by the four living ones. The higher orders of created existence, with their vast powers of spiritual discernment full of eyes see infinitely more glory in the great eternal God than we can with our feeble powers and in this land of shadow and of care. They adore him for what he is; the perfection of his holiness is the delight of their souls. A diseased eye dreads the light in which a healthy one rejoices. Sinful men dread God"s holiness; perfect beings find in it the inspiration of their praise.

2. Secondly, the song of creation. (Vers. 10, 11) It is not only what God is that fills holy beings with rapture, but also what God does. The work of his hands in creation fills them with delight. And the higher beings rise in the scale, the more delight will they have in aught that reveals God. An angel could see more of God in a blade of grass than an uncultured soul could do in a blazing star. Thou createdst all things." Whether they know what were the Divine methods of creation, we cannot say. The fact that God did all is that in which they glory; and also the fact that he did all by his own will, and for his own good pleasure. But the grand unfolding of heaven"s song is far from complete as yet. The theme is continued in the fifth chapter.

HOMILIES BY S. CONWAY. Vers. 1-11. The high court of heaven.

If the portions of this book hitherto considered have had their difficulties, those on which we now enter are far more beset therewith. But the solemn sanctions given to the reading and study of this book send us, in spite of its difficulties, to the earnest examination of its sayings, certain that in them, even in the most mysterious of them, there lies a message from God to our souls. May he be pleased to make that message clear to us. This fourth chapter gives us the first part of the vision of what we have ventured to call "the high court of heaven." The next chapter reveals more. But in this part note

I THE VISION ITSELF. St. John begins his account of it with a "Behold." And well may he do so. He repeats this when he sees the "throne" and him that sat upon it. Again in Rev_5:5, when he sees Jesus, the "Lamb as it had been slain." And if in like manner this vision come to us, we shall be filled, as he was, with wonder, with adoration, and awe. St. John saw:

1. A door set open in heaven. The sky was parted asunder, and in the space between, as through a door, he witnessed what follows.

2. The throne and its Occupant. He could see no form or similitude, any more than Israel could when God came down on Mount Sinai (cf. this vision and that, Exodus 19). All that St. John saw was one "like unto a jasper stone and a sardius." The pure, perfect, flashing whiteness, as of a diamond, but with the carnelian redness, the fiery gleams of the sardius. (cf. the "sea of glass mingled with fire," Rev_15:2) Such was the Being who sat upon the throne that throne, probably, as that which Isaiah saw (Isaiah 6), being "high and lifted up," some stately structure befitting so august a court.

3. The rainbow, overarching the throne, the mild and beautiful green, emerald-like rays predominating amid its seven-hued splendour. Then:

4. The assessors of him that sat upon the throne. On either hand of the throne were twelve lesser thrones twenty-four in all; and upon them were seated twenty-four elders, clad in white robes, and with crowns of gold on their heads.

5. Then in the space before the throne were seen seven burning torches. Not lamps, like those that symbolized the seven Churches, and which were after the manner of the seven-branched lamp which stood in the holy place in the ancient temple; but these were torches rather than lamps, destined to stand the rude blasts of the outer air rather than to gleam in the sheltered seclusion of some sacred edifice.

6. Then further off, beyond that central space, was the "sea of glass," like crystal. Clear, bright, reflecting the lights that shone upon it, but not tempest-tossed and agitated, unstable and ever restless, like that sea which day by day the exile in Patmos beheld barring his intercourse with those he loved, but calm and strong, firm and restful, such was this sea. Then, also in the central space, or probably hovering, one in front, one on either side, and another at the rear of the throne, were:

7. The four living ones. The "four beasts," as, by the most melancholy of all mistranslations, the Authorized Version renders St. John"s words, appear here to occupy the same relation to the throne as did the cherubim which were upon the ark of God in the Jewish temple. Strange, mysterious, unrepresentable, and indescribable forms. As were the cherubim, so are these; their faces, their eyes with which it is said they "teem," so full of them are they and their six wings, are all that we are told of; for the lion and ox-like aspect, the human and the eagle, tell of their faces rather than their forms, and do but, little to enable us to gain any true conception of what they were. Such were the mysterious beings whom St. John saw in immediate attendance on him who sat upon the throne; and as such, standing or moving around or hovering over the throne, we cannot certainly say which. And all the while there were heard, as "in Sinai in the holy place," voices, thunderings, and lightnings, proceeding from the throne. Such was that part of the vision with which this chapter is occupied. As we proceed we find the scene is enlarged, and more Divine transactions take place thereon. But now note

II THE MEANING OF THIS VISION. And:

1. The door set open in heaven. This tells, as did the vision of the ladder Jacob saw, of a way of communication opened up between earth and heaven.

2. The throne and its occupant. "The whole description is that of a council in the very act of being held. It is not to be taken as a description of the ordinary heavenly state, but of a special assembly gathered for a definite purpose". (cf. 1Ki_22:19) And this symbol, which mingles reservation with revelation, and conceals as much as it declares, bids us think of God in his majesty, glory, supremacy, and as incomprehensible. "Who by searching can find out God?" It is a vision of the great God we know that; but of his nature, substance, form, and image it, tells us nothing, nor was it intended that it should. But many precious and important truths concerning him it does tell. Of his awful glory, of his unsullied purity and spotless holiness, of the terror of his vengeance, of his interest in our concerns, of the worship and adoration of which he is worthy, and which he ever receives; of the character, condition, and service of those who dwell in his presence; of the ministers he employs; and much, more.

3. The fail, bow overarching the throne. This is the emblem (cf. Gen_9:12-16) of God"s gracious covenant which he hath established forevermore. And it told to St. John and to Christ"s Church everywhere that, awful, glorious, and terrible as our God is, all that he does, of whatsoever kind, is embraced within the mighty span of his all-o"erarching grace. The Church of Christ was to pass through some dreadful experiences, to endure fearful trials, and they are not ceased yet; but she was to look up and see that all God"s ways, works, and will were within not without, beneath not beyond, because and not in spite of, his all-embracing love. All were to find shelter, expanse, and explanation there. It was a blessed vision, and, unlike the ordinary rainbow, may it ever be seen by us, and its teaching believed.

4. The four and twenty elder"s. These represent the whole Church of the Firstborn, the blessed and holy ones whom God hath made kings and priests unto himself. Their white robes tell of their purity, their victory, their joy, as white robes ever do; and their golden crowns, (cf. Exo_39:30) the peculiar possession of the priest of God, tell of their high and holy functions in the presence of God. The priest"s office was to intercede with God for man and with man for God, to he as was he, the great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ in sympathy alike with man and God, seeking to unite man to God, even as God was willing to unite himself with man. But seeing them there, associated with God, does it not tell that the holiest and most blessed of the saints know and approve of all he does? This is why the saint"s are so blessed, because they do so know God. They understand what he does, and why; and hence those dark facts of human life which so bewilder and distress us cause no distress to them; for they, whilst in deep love and sympathy with us who are left sorrowing here below, have come to know, as here they could not, and as we cannot, the loving and holy wisdom and the omnipotent grace which are working in and through all these things. If, then, those who know are of one mind with God in regard to them, surely we may learn therefrom to "trust and not be afraid.

5. The torches of fire. These are said to be "the seven Spirits of God the holy and perfect Spirit of God in the varied diversity of his operations. (1Co_12:4) The witness of the Spirit as well as of the Church to the ways of God is shown. He too, as well as they, testify that God is holy in all his ways and righteous in all his works.

6. The sea of glass. If it were merely the sea that was seen here, we should regard it, as many do, as the symbol of the depth and extent of the judgments of God. (cf. Psa_77:19) But it is a sea of glass, like crystal, and its clear calmness, its firm strength, its perfect stillness for we are told (Rev_15:2) that the redeemed "stand upon" it all this reminds us of the results of God"s holy rule. "Thou rulest the raging of the sea, the noise of their waves, and the tumults of the people". (Psa_89:9 Psa_65:7) Here, then, is another witness for God and his ways the progress of peace on earth, concord amongst men; the orderly, quiet, and undisturbed life; the security and peace which are amongst the marked results of the progress of the kingdom of God in the world. Let the results of missionary enterprise amid savage peoples now civilized and at peace attest this.

7. The four living ones. The meaning of this part of the vision is not clear or certain. All manner of opinions have been held. We regard them as answering to the cherubim of the Old Testament, and they are apparently the representatives of those who stand nearest to God, and by whom he mainly carries on his work. Hence the chief ministers of the Church of God prophets, priests, evangelists, and apostles. The ancient Church very generally regarded these "four living ones" as the representatives of the four evangelists, and in many a picture, poem, and sculpture this idea is portrayed. But we prefer to regard them as part of the symbol, and not the whole. And the different creatures which are selected for these four are the chiefs of their several kinds: the lion amongst beasts, the ox amongst cattle, the eagle amongst birds, and man amongst all. And these several creatures tell of the main qualifications for the ministry of God: courage and strength, as of the lion; patient perseverance in toil, as of the ox; soaring aspiration, "to mount up on wings as eagles," heavenly mindedness; and intelligence and sympathy, as of the man. Ministers so qualified God chiefly uses in his great work. Their wings tell of incessant activity; their being "full of eyes," of their continual vigilance and eager outlook on all sides, their careful watch and ward in the Divine service. Such are his ministers. It is said they represent the whole sentient creation of God. But we find them told of here as leaders of worship, as singing the song of the redeemed, (Rev_5:9) with harps and golden censers "full of odours, which are the prayers of saints." They say, "Thou hast made us kings and priests," etc. Surely all this belongs more to human, redeemed ministries than to vague abstractions, such as "representatives of creation." And if so, then such being the ministers of God is a further reason for the trust, the confidence, and the assured hope of the Church of God in all ages. And titan all are heard as well as seen, and that which we have is the Trisagion, the Ter-Sanctus, the "Holy, holy, holy," which Isaiah heard when in the temple. He also saw the vision of the Lord of hosts. And the uplifting of this holy song serves as the signal for the yet fuller outburst of praise which the twenty-four elders, rising from their seats and reverently placing their crowns of gold at the Lord Jehovah"s feet, and prostrating themselves before his throne, render unto him that sitteth upon the throne, saying, "Worthy art thou," etc. (ver. 11). The vision is all of a piece. It strikes terror into the hearts of God"s adversaries, as to compare great things with small do the pomp and paraphernalia of an earthly tribunal strike terror into the heart of the criminal who is brought up to be tried, and probably condemned, at its bar; but fills with holy confidence the hearts of all God"s faithful people by the assurance of the holiness, the wisdom, the love, and might of him that ruleth over all, and in whose hands they and all things are.

III ITS GENERAL INTENT AND PURPOSE. Beyond the immediate needs of the Church of St. John"s day, surely it is designed to teach us all:

1. The reality of the heavenly world. The seen and the temporal do not a little dim and often shut out altogether the sight of the unseen and eternal. It is difficult to realize. Hence whatever tends to bring to bear upon us "the powers of the world to come" cannot but be good. And this is one purpose of this vision.

2. Another is to awaken inquiry as to our own relation to the judgment of God. How shall we stand there, abashed and ashamed, or bold through the atoning sacrifice of Christ which we have believed and relied upon? How shall it be?

3. To excite desire and aspiration after participation in its blessedness. Hence the door is set open in heaven, that we may long to enter there, and resolve through Christ that we will. "What must it be to be there? that is the aspiration which such a vision as this is intended to awaken, as God grant it may. S.C.

HOMILIES BY R. GREEN Vers. 1-6. The Divine government symbolized.

In the forms of earth the formless heavenly things are represented the Divine government which in our thoughts is so often restricted to the conditions of human government. It is needful to remind ourselves that when we have conceived the most lofty notions of the Divine rule, we are infinitely below the real and actual. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

I THE THRONE SYMBOLICAL OF THE DIVINE GOVERNMENT. A government by law and authority.

II THE OCCUPANT OF THE THRONE, whom no man hath seen nor can see, represented as "like a jasper stone and a sardius," symbolical of essential holiness and punitive justice. Symbols have but their limited teaching. Here the two aspects of the Divine Name represented which the circumstances of the Church needed persecuted, suffering. The detente of the holy ones by the holy God; the punishment of the enemies of truth, who are enemies of all who love the truth. "I will repay, saith the Lord.

III THE DIVINE THRONE ENCOMPASSED BY SYMBOLS OF COVENANTED MERCY. "The rainbow symbol of grace returning after wrath.

IV THE DIVINE THRONE ENCIRCLED BY THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE CHURCH.

1. The high honour to the Church.

2. Divine recognition of.

3. Utmost glory of: they sit on thrones fulfilment of many promises.

4. Their character purity, indicated by "white robes.

5. Their kingly honour: "on their heads crowns of gold.

6. The universality and unity of the Church represented in the "four and twenty ciders twelve tribes of Israel," "the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

V THE SYMBOLS OF THREATENED JUDGMENTS PROCEEDING FROM THE THRONE are "lightnings, and voices, and thunders," all effected by the manifold operations of the Holy Spirit of God lamps of fire.

VI THE DEPTH AND PURITY OF THE DIVINE ADMINISTRATION SYMBOLIZED in "a glassy sea like unto crystal." Thy judgments are a great deep.

VII To THE RIGHTEOUSNESS, JUSTICE, WISDOM BENIGNITY, OF THE DIVINE GOVERNMENT ALL CREATURE LIFE BEARS WITNESS. Thus the four living creatures. R.G.

HOMILIES BY D. THOMAS Ver. 1. Man"s higher sphere of being: (1) Humanly accessible.

"After this I looked, and, behold, 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, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter." Disrobe this chapter of its strange metaphorical costume, brush away all the symbols, and there appears a supermundane world, here called heaven man"s higher sphere of being; a world this, unseen by the outward eye, unheard by the outward ear, untouched by the tactile nerve, lying away altogether from our five senses. That such a world exists is, to say the least, highly probable, if not morally certain. Universal reason conducts to the belief in, and the universal heart yearns for, such a scene. He who is so thoroughly acquainted with the universe as to be incapable of a mistake, so inflexibly sincere as to be incapable of deception, has said, "In my Father"s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you." I may observe, in passing, that from the first verse of this chapter to the first verse of the eighth chapter inclusive forms an interesting paragraph of thought for suggestion. Now, this supermundane world, or man"s higher sphere of being, we have here presented in two aspectshumanly accessible and spiritually entered. Each of these we shall employ as the germ of a separate homily. In the text it appears as humanely accessible. Notice

I THERE IS A DOOR TO ADMIT. "A door was opened in heaven." What is the "door"? Christ says, "I am the Door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture". (Joh_10:9) He shall enter into this super-mundane world with absolute safety and abundant provision. He is "the Way." Christ"s absolute moral excellence makes him the Door of admission to all that is pure, beautiful, and joyous in the universe. "Beholding as in a glass the flee of the Lord, we are changed into the same image from glory to glory," etc. Two things may be predicated about this door.

1. It is transparent. He who looks into Christ"s character looks into heaven. In his spirit we see the light that animates all heaven, and the principles that set all heaven to music. He who knows Christ experimentally knows heaven, and no other.

2. It is ample. Millions have passed through it, and millions more will to the end of time; thousands are passing through it, and all the men of coming generations will find it wide enough.

II THERE IS A VOICE TO WELCOME. "And the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking speaking with me; which said one saying, Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be come to pass hereafter." Whither? Up the heights of the supersensuous universe, lying even beyond the stars. Thither in imagination we may ascend. Who, indeed, in the stillness of the night, has not heard as it were a "trumpet" coming down into his soul from those bright orbs which in teeming legions traverse the infinite fields above?

"Whoever gazed upon their shining, Nor turned to earth without repining, Nor longed for wings to fly away, And meet with them eternal day?

"Come up hither," they seem to say. Let not your minds be confined to your little, cloudy, stormy, perishing planet. Earth was only intended as the temporary home of your bodies, not the dwelling place of your souls. The great universe is the domain of mind. We roll and shine in our mighty spheres around you to win you away to the serene, the height, and the boundless. "Come up hither," immortal man, wing your flight from orb to orb, system to system; count our multitudes, mark our movements, gauge our dimensions, breathe in our brightness, rise beyond us, scale the wondrous heavens still far away, revel in the Infinite, be lost in God. But the elevation to which we are called is not local, but moral. "Seek those things which are above." What are they? Truth, rectitude, holiness, fellowship with the Infinite. Herein is true soul elevation. To this the "trumpet" bids us. Hear this trumpet from the infinite silences around you, from departing saints above you, from the depths of conscience within you, "come up hither.

CONCLUSION. Are we morally ascending? Then we shall experience three things.

1. Increasing dominion over the world.

2. Constant growth in moral force.

3. Augmented interest in the spiritual domain. D.T.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

We are now entering upon the main prophecy. The whole Revelation may be divided thus:- The first, second, and third chapters contain the introduction; The fourth and fifth, the proposition; The sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth describe things which are already fulfilled; The tenth to the fourteenth, things which are now fulfilling; The fifteenth to the nineteenth, things which will be fulfilled shortly; The twentieth, twenty-first, and twenty-second, things at a greater distance.

After these things - As if he had said, After I had written these letters from the mouth of the Lord. By the particle and, the several parts of this prophecy are usually connected: by the expression, after these things, they are distinguished from each other, chap. vii, 9; xix, 1. By that expression, and after these things, they are distinguished, and yet connected, chap. vii, 1; xv, 5; xviii, 1. St. John always saw and heard, and then immediately wrote down one part after another: and one part is constantly divided from another by some one of these expressions. I saw - Here begins the relation of the main vision, which is connected throughout; as it appears from "the throne, and him that sitteth thereon;" "the Lamb;" (who hitherto has appeared in the form of a man;) " the four living creatures;" and " the four and twenty elders," represented from this place to the end. From this place, it is absolutely necessary to keep in mind the genuine order of the texts, as it stands in the preceding table. A door opened in heaven - Several of these openings are successively mentioned. Here a door is opened; afterward, "the temple of God in heaven," chap. xi, 19; xv, 5; and, at last, "heaven" itself, xix, 11. By each of these St. John gains a new and more extended prospect. And the first voice which I had heard - Namely, that of Christ: afterward, he heard the voices of many others. Said, Come up hither - Not in body, but in spirit; which was immediately done.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Come up hither

This call seems clearly to indicate the fulfilment of 1Th 4:14-17. The word "church" does not again occur in the Revelation till all is fulfilled.

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

As if St. John had said, After my first vision was over, being desirous farther to understand and know the mind of God, I looked upwards to heaven, from whence divine revelations come, and it was represented to me as if a door were opened into the third heavens; and I apprehended, that I heard that former voice, which spake to me in the first chapter, now speaking to me again, namely, the voice of Christ, sounding like a trumpet in my ear, and saying, Come up hither, and I will show thee, or give thee a clear representation of, things that shall be hereafter.

Where note, 1. That such a soul as has tasted the sweetness of communion with Christ, does long for the farther and fuller enjoyment of him. After this I looked: it was a gracious vision he had of Christ in the first chapter, but it did only whet his desires after more communion with him, and clearer manifestations from him.

Note, 2. That the knowledge which advances and improves a man’s understanding on earth, comes all from heaven, thither we must look up, and from thence seek, if we will know the things of God: I looked, and behold, a door was opened in heaven.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

CELESTIAL THEATER

PAUL speaks of the third heaven. The firmament enveloping this earth is the first heaven, the astronomical universe is the second heaven, and the home of glorified saints and angels, in the presence of God, is the third heaven. The Apostle John stands on the lonely isle. After a night of prayer, he lifts up his eyes, looks through a door opened in the firmament, and contemplates the wonders of the Apocalyptic visions. Now the panorama begins to evolve. He beholds the glorified Savior sitting on His throne in the firmament, encircled by a rainbow, the symbol of the Messianic covenant, whose wonderful fulfillment is so vividly adumbrated in these panoramic prophecies. Here we find many dark segments in the rainbow of God’s providence. In this vision, we see the unbroken circle.

So be patient. In the glorious beyond, every segment which in this life has been darkened with sorrow, bereavement, and affliction, will become luminous with splendor, never to grow dim.

The twenty-four elders, representing the twelve tribes of the Old and the twelve apostles of the New Dispensation, and aggregately the Church of all ages, as the recipients and custodians of the redemptive scheme, symbolized by the rainbow, sit upon thrones in the glorified presence, clothed in white robes, symbolic of entire sanctification, with crowns upon their heads, representative of the glorious victory achieved by the saints in the cleansing blood. The lightning’s voices and thunders symbolize and proclaim the castigatory judgments of the Almighty against a fallen Church and a wicked world.

The seven lamps are the perfect fiery baptism of God’s people, the seven Spirits the Holy Ghost, and the sea of glass the imperturbable peace which reigns in the hearts of the wholly sanctified.

6. The “four beasts” should read four living creatures. I hope you will never read it “beasts” any more, as beast symbolizes carnality in the Bible, and these living creatures represent the glorified saints. The Greek word translated “beast” in this passage is zoo-on, from zaoo (to live), and simply means a living creature. The word translated beast in chapter 13 is theer, and always means a ferocious wild beast, like a lion or a bear, and is the constant symbol of human government, which always rules by brute force, while God rules in righteousness and love. These four living creatures typify sanctified humanity. One has the face of a lion, the other that of an ox; the third has the face of a flying eagle, and the fourth the countenance of a man. Thus the wonderful graces of full salvation, received in the experience of entire sanctification, make you courageous as a lion, suffering martyrdom in your tracks. You also have the perseverance of the old ox pulling at a gum stump all day; while you have the velocity of the flying eagle, hastening to the ends of the earth with the swiftness of the locomotive. Last year I traveled twenty-two thousand miles through Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, preaching and witnessing to this wonderful salvation. The human face emblematizes intelligence, as man is the most intelligent being on the earth. A good case of sanctification will give you more sense than anything else — not the learning nor the shrewdness of the world, but the wisdom that comes down from God, and will make you wise unto salvation. These living creatures have six wings. With two they cover their faces; symbolic of humility, the fundamental Christian grace. With two they cover their feet; symbolic of purity, the climax of all the Christian graces. And with two they fly. Thus we have joyfully symbolized the perfection of Christian character. Humility is the indispensable foundation, and purity the glorious superstructure. Then we must go on eagle’s wings to the ends of the earth, proclaiming the wonders of full salvation, and rescuing the perishing.

8. Here we learn that the constant shout of the four living creatures before the throne of God is “Holy, holy, holy.” Since these living creatures emblematize restored humanity, it follows, as a logical sequence, that the saints of the Most High are forever to ring out the shout, “Holy, holy, holy.” Therefore, we would better get the experience, begin speedily, and become experts before we go hence.

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Revelation Chapter 4

But we have to consider where the fourth chapter commences God’s ways. It does not follow necessarily that the assembly has been spued out of Christ’s mouth. It had been threatened; but the judgment on Sardis, or even on Thyatira, was not yet come. But it is after Christ has ceased to deal with the professing assembly as such, looking to it as His light-bearer before the world. What it may call itself still is not stated; He is not dealing with it. An open apostacy will come. Its date is not revealed; nor is it revealed as to the rapture. But I gather from 2Th 2:1-17, that the rapture will be before the apostacy. What we have stated then is, that it is after all dealing with the assemblies by Christ is closed that the subsequent dealings with the world in the Revelation begin. The assemblies are “the things that are ;” what follows, “the things after these.” Christ is not now seen walking in their midst; He is the Lamb in the midst of the throne. John is not occupied with seeing Him there, or sending messages to the assemblies, but is called up to heaven where all the ways of God are now carried on, and that towards the world, not the assembly. We have the throne too, not the long-robed priest. The kings and priests we read of in chapter 1 are now on high. Others may follow them; but they are in heavenly places, seated on thrones, or worshiping, or presenting their censers full of incense. On the other hand the Lord is not come to judge the world, but about to receive the inheritance. The saints then, who will be caught up to meet Christ, are seen only on high here; they belong to heaven, and are no longer dealt with on earth, but have their own place in heaven.

The connection between the two parts of the Apocalypse is this:-Christ, who was judging in the midst of the professing church, is now seen on high, opening the book of this world’s judgment, of which He is about to take the inheritance publicly. From this scene of judgment the saints are far. The apostle’s occupation with the assembly now ceases- an important point, for the Holy Spirit must be occupied with it as long as the saints are in it on earth;-and he is taken up to heaven, and there he sees and in covenant with creation, on a throne of government, with a rainbow round about it. The living creatures celebrate Him as the creator, the One for whom all things were created. The throne was not a throne of grace, but the signs of power and judgment broke forth from it; but around it those who represent the saints received at Christ’s coming, the kings and priests, are sitting on th rones in a circle round the throne. 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 cleansing of feet. The elders are crowned, the number twenty-four recalling the courses of the priests. The seven Spirits of God are there in the temple, not Christ’s to wield for the assembly, or sent out into the world, but the perfections in attribute which characterise the actions of God in the world. This it is bears light now into the world.

Besides these, four living creatures are there in the circle of the throne itself and around the throne. They may be viewed as forming the throne, or apart from it, though connected with it as a centre. They 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 willing having also six wings; perfect in inward perception, but given perception, and in the celerity 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, them selves worshiped 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 cherubim in the temple had two wings, which formed the throne; they looked on the covenant, and at the same time, as of pure gold, were characterised by the divine righteousness of the throne to be approached. In Ezekiel they were the support of the firmament above which the God of Israel was: it was a throne of executive judgment. They were like burnished brass, and like fire-a symbol we have considered already. They had four wings: two to fly with, two to cover themselves. From Eze 10:1-22 it appears they were full of eyes (“it is not said within”) it was to govern what was outside, according to God, not divine intelligence within. In Isa 6:1-13 the seraphim (or burners) have six wings as here; they are above the throne, and cry as here, Holy, holy, holy! They, with a burning coal, cleansed the prophet’s lips; they were above the throne.

The symbols used here become clearer through these cases. 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 earth]y providential judgment, a whirlwind out of the north. There is before us the government of all the earth, and executory judgment according to the holiness of God’s nature. [10] There is not only full perception of all, but intrinsic perception morally. It is no seat of gold to be approached, as in the tabernacle. The intrinsic holiness of God is applied to judgment. He is making good His nature and character in all creation. Providence would be no longer a riddle. It was not complex attributes unsolved, so to speak, though applied in special circumstances; each act would have its character.

Here too remark, it is not, as in the first chapter, the God who is, though embracing past and future, God in Himself; but the God of ages, “who was, and is, and is to come.” Still He has all Old Testament names: Jehovah, Elohim, Shaddai. His attributes now celebrate His full name, as the Holy One who lives for ever and ever-has no passing power or being, like man at his best estate, vanity And the saints here fall down before the throne, bow themselves before His place in glory, and worship Him in His endless bei ng, and lay down their given glory before His supreme and proper glory, ascribing all glory to Him alone, as alone worthy of it; but here, according to the nature of the celebration of it, the Creator for whom all things are. In all changes these remained true.

It will be remarked here, that the living creatures only celebrate and declare; the elders worship with understanding. All through the Revelation the elders give their reason for worshiping. There is spiritual intelligence in them.

Further, remark, that when thunderings and lightnings and voices, the signs of terror in judgment, go forth from the throne, the throned elders remain unmoved; they are on thrones around when the throne of judgment is introduced. This is their place before God in respect of judgment. Whenever He takes judgment in hand this is their position. They are part of the glory-assessors of the throne from which its terror goes forth. When He that sits on it is celebrated, they 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 possessing their own. We do not find the Father here; it is Jehovah. And indeed should we ask in whom He is personally displayed, it would be, as always, in the Son; but it is in itself simply the Jehovah of the Old Testament here.

Footnotes for Revelation Chapter 4

10: For the judgment at the end, though governmental, closing earth’s history, was not mercy so (cherubic), but according to God’s holiness and nature (seraphic), particularly as in Isa 6:1-13, a known God in Israel.

John Nelson Darby — Synopsis of the Books of the Bible: the New Testament (c. 1857–1862) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1–3. After this. “After these things,” as in the Revision. After the letters to the churches had been dictated. “The things which must be after this” are yet to be shown. I looked. Rather, “I saw in vision.” A door was opened in heaven. Heaven standing open so that the throne within could be seen. The first voice which I heard. The same voice that he had heard at first. See 1:10. Come up hither. Through the opened door. The things which must come to pass hereafter. Hence, we know that what John sees in the vision just opening belongs to events still future when he wrote.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

General Information:

John begins to describe his vision of the throne of God.

After these things

"After I had just seen these things" (Revelation 2:1-3:22)

an open door in heaven

This expression stands for the ability that God gave John to see into heaven, at least by means of a vision. (See: Metaphor)

speaking to me like a trumpet

How the voice was like a trumpet can be stated clearly. AT: "speaking to me loudly like the sound of a trumpet" (See: Simile)

trumpet

This refers to an instrument for producing music or for calling people to gather together for an announcement or meeting. See how you translated this in Revelation 1:10.

I was in the Spirit

John speaks of being influenced by God's Spirit as if he were in the Spirit. See how you translated this in Revelation 1:10. AT: "I was influenced by the Spirit" or "The Spirit influenced me" (See: Idiom)

jasper and carnelian

valuable stones. Jasper may have been clear like glass or crystal, and carnelian may have been red. (See: Translate Unknowns)

emerald

a green, valuable stone (See: Translate Unknowns)

translationWords

heaven

voice

like

trumpet

Holy Spirit

throne

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

After this [μετα ταυτα] . Rev., literally, after these things. Not indicating a break in the ecstatic state of the seer, but only a succession of separate visions.

I looked [ειδον] . Rev., better, I saw. Not of the directing of attention, but of the simple reception of the vision.

A door was opened [θυρα ανεωγμενη] . Rev., rightly, omits was. A door set open. The A. V. implies that the seer witnessed the opening of the door. In Heaven. Compare Eze 1:1; Mt 3:16; Act 7:56; Act 10:11. In all these heaven itself is opened.

Was. Omit. Render, as Rev., "a voice as of a trumpet."

A trumpet [σαλπιγγος] . See on Mt 24:31. Properly a war - trumpet, though the word was also used of a sacred trumpet, with the epithet iJera sacred.

Speaking - saying [λαλουσης - λεγουσα] . See on Mt 28:18. The former verb indicates the breaking of the silence, the latter the matter of the address.

Hereafter [μετα ταυτα] . Some editors connect these words with the succeeding verse, substituting them for kai and at the beginning of that verse, and rendering, "I will show thee the things which must come to pass. After these things straightway I was," etc.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.