Chapter 4.
A heavenly scene.
If you are a student of Revelation you are already familiar with this scene. If not, you can read it if you wish, but I’m going to tell you now what to notice. There are seven “actors” in this scene.
1. The one seated on a throne at the center of the scene. God, the creator.
2, 3, 4, 5. The four “living creatures” surrounding the throne. Identities yet to be determined.
6. Twenty four elders surrounding the throne. We count them as one. The humans.
7. The lamb that was slain. Christ.
This is not the order in which we will be considering these actors. It is the order in which they are presented to us. The one at the center of the scene and the object of everyone’s attention is God, the Creator. The four living creatures surround the throne, positioned between the humans and God. They worship the creator. The elders, 12 representing the old testament, the 12 tribes, and 12 representing the new testament, the 12 apostles, surround God and the living creatures, and worship God IN RESPONSE to the worship of the living creatures. The lamb is not precisely located, but is among them all.
In addition to the “actors,” there are certain “props” which appear regularly throughout Revelation. The emerald rainbow, the sea of glass, the seven lampstands, and, oh yes, the scroll.
The seven lampstands remind us of the seven churches which have just been given messages from Christ. To be precise, each letter is addressed not to the church but to the angel of each church. The lampstands also reach ahead to tell us that as our attention is drawn from heaven to earth three times, each journey will be comprised of seven steps.
The sea of glass isn’t defined, but if we pay attention we will notice it is experienced differently during our forays into the realm of time and space. We may have some idea of what it represents by the time our journeys are completed.
The emerald rainbow isn’t defined either, but lends its color to the whole scene. It is the main color of the Holy City as well, considering the color of the semi precious and precious stones described, and the leaves of the tree of life, which, if you think about it must quite fill the city.
And the scroll, the book of life! Who can open it? Only Christ, the Lord of Creation, who was with God, who was God from the very beginning. It is rolled and sealed closed with, of course, seven seals. As Christ breaks open the seals, one by one, we begin our journey from heaven, where all is one, and centered upon God, to the world of space and time.
At the end of each worldly tour we are returned to the heavenly scene, only to be introduced to the next pass through the world of space and time, the world of linear experience. I will give you one clue now to the understanding of how John is communicating with us. Each seal broken, each trumpet blown as the second journey is undergone, and each bowl of wrath associated with the third journey corresponds to a character present in the scene the heavenly creation. And the association with each of the seven things is the same in each series.
The first four seals, trumpets, bowls of wrath, are associated with the four living creatures. The fifth of each is associated with humans. The sixth of each deals with Christ, the Lamb, the Lord of creation. The seventh with God, the one seated on the throne.
Let’s see how that works and why it is worth our time and effort to understand it.
A heavenly scene.
If you are a student of Revelation you are already familiar with this scene. If not, you can read it if you wish, but I’m going to tell you now what to notice. There are seven “actors” in this scene.
1. The one seated on a throne at the center of the scene. God, the creator.
2, 3, 4, 5. The four “living creatures” surrounding the throne. Identities yet to be determined.
6. Twenty four elders surrounding the throne. We count them as one. The humans.
7. The lamb that was slain. Christ.
This is not the order in which we will be considering these actors. It is the order in which they are presented to us. The one at the center of the scene and the object of everyone’s attention is God, the Creator. The four living creatures surround the throne, positioned between the humans and God. They worship the creator. The elders, 12 representing the old testament, the 12 tribes, and 12 representing the new testament, the 12 apostles, surround God and the living creatures, and worship God IN RESPONSE to the worship of the living creatures. The lamb is not precisely located, but is among them all.
In addition to the “actors,” there are certain “props” which appear regularly throughout Revelation. The emerald rainbow, the sea of glass, the seven lampstands, and, oh yes, the scroll.
The seven lampstands remind us of the seven churches which have just been given messages from Christ. To be precise, each letter is addressed not to the church but to the angel of each church. The lampstands also reach ahead to tell us that as our attention is drawn from heaven to earth three times, each journey will be comprised of seven steps.
The sea of glass isn’t defined, but if we pay attention we will notice it is experienced differently during our forays into the realm of time and space. We may have some idea of what it represents by the time our journeys are completed.
The emerald rainbow isn’t defined either, but lends its color to the whole scene. It is the main color of the Holy City as well, considering the color of the semi precious and precious stones described, and the leaves of the tree of life, which, if you think about it must quite fill the city.
And the scroll, the book of life! Who can open it? Only Christ, the Lord of Creation, who was with God, who was God from the very beginning. It is rolled and sealed closed with, of course, seven seals. As Christ breaks open the seals, one by one, we begin our journey from heaven, where all is one, and centered upon God, to the world of space and time.
At the end of each worldly tour we are returned to the heavenly scene, only to be introduced to the next pass through the world of space and time, the world of linear experience. I will give you one clue now to the understanding of how John is communicating with us. Each seal broken, each trumpet blown as the second journey is undergone, and each bowl of wrath associated with the third journey corresponds to a character present in the scene the heavenly creation. And the association with each of the seven things is the same in each series.
The first four seals, trumpets, bowls of wrath, are associated with the four living creatures. The fifth of each is associated with humans. The sixth of each deals with Christ, the Lamb, the Lord of creation. The seventh with God, the one seated on the throne.
Let’s see how that works and why it is worth our time and effort to understand it.