Please open your Bibles to the book of Revelation. Revelation chapter 4 verses 1 through 11. Next couple of weeks we're going to be looking at Revelation 4 and Revelation chapter 5. This is a passage we come at with great joy, but with great trembling. As we will see, the very throne room scene. that John the Apostle sees. So let's go to Revelation chapter 4 beginning at verse 1. Here's the Apostle John speaking. He says, After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, Come up here. And I will show you what must take place after this. At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. And he who sat there had the appearance of Jasper and Carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders clothed in white garments with golden crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God. And before the throne there was, as it were, a sea of glass, like crystal. Around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. The first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. The four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come. And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who is seated on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne saying, worthy are you our Lord and God to receive glory and honor and power for you created all things and by your will they existed and were created. Father, I pray as we consider this most awesome vision, you would give us understanding, that you would encourage us with this passage. And it's in the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. consider this most astounding picture presented in Revelation 4, we need first to consider the original audience to whom the Apostle John is writing. It's really important to understand what's going on in the book of Revelation. John is writing to the church sometime near the end of the first century AD. John himself has been exiled to the island of Patmos off the coast of modern-day Turkey. It's a small island, small rocky outcrop about eight miles in length and four miles in width. And this was not an island for a vacation. This was not a Mediterranean cruise that John was on. The Romans used this island as a labor camp. And it's quite possible that John had been consigned to hard labor in the stone quarries at Patmos. The church itself at this time was under persecution. Domitian, who ruled Rome from 81 to 96 AD, according to some historians, heavily persecuted Christians toward the end of his reign. Now others disagree with that. They say, yes, it wasn't a heavy persecution. However, it appears there were localized persecutions. And there was the rise of the cult of the emperor that you need to worship Domitian and the other Roman rulers. And there was pressure on the church to conform to local gods, to worship the ruler and the other gods of Rome. I would argue that the first view is probably more correct, that there was great persecution occurring of the church at this time. These were despairing times for the church, for the young church. And this is what theologians call the church militant. And that refers, that phrase, church militant, refers to the whole body of believers in the world who must contend with persecution and must contend with suffering and adversities and temptations and heresies. This is to whom John is writing, the church militant of the first century AD. Now, let's turn to our text and see how he encourages the struggling church of his day. The setting of his vision that he has in chapter 4 begins in verse 1. It says this, John, this is autobiographical, he says, After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this." So John is having a vision, and what he sees is an open door into heaven. Now, the person who ends up talking to him says, Come up here, so we have to have a view that this door is like at the top of a huge doorstep or something. It's up there. He looks up and he sees this door in heaven. And this voice calls to John. He says, come up, come up to the door and through the door and look into heaven. At this point, We ought to have great joy, but also ought to tremble. What is it that John is going to see? The one who calls him has been seen before in the book. Look what John says there. And the first voice which I had heard speaking to me, like a trumpet, Now, what that refers to is back to chapter 1 of Revelation. You'll turn back there in your Bibles. Chapter 1, beginning at verse 10. I'm going to read a lengthy section here. It identifies who this speaker is, who's telling John to come up and look into heaven. Beginning at verse 10, John says this, I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet. saying, write what you have seen in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus, and to Smyrna, and to Pergamum, and to Thyatira, and to Sarnas, and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea. Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white like wool, as white as snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars. From his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead, but he laid his right hand on me, saying, Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold, I am alive." That's who's speaking to John in Revelation chapter 4 and telling him to come up and look through the door. and look into the very throne room of God. This is Jesus who calls John and ushers him into the very throne room of the Lord. And the text says that Jesus' voice is like a trumpet. Which is real interesting because that idea in the Bible, one of the primary purposes of a trumpet blaring forth was to call people to worship. So every Sabbath, on top of the temple mount, the trumpeters would blare forth to come to the temple, come to the throne room of God, come to where God meets with His people to worship Him. And that's what John hears, this trumpet blaring forth of the voice of Jesus calling him to see worship. This entire opening scene is staggering, isn't it? It's breathtaking. It's awe-inspiring. But you ain't seen nothing yet. Because now as he enters through the door, what is it that he sees? Look at verse 2. At once I was in spirit and behold a throne stood in heaven with one seated on the throne. John is in the Spirit, and Jesus ushers him into the throne room of the heavenly palace of the King. John immediately sees the throne, and he sees that the throne is not empty, but there is one who is sitting on the throne in a kingly pose. As he's writing to this church of the first century, who's undergoing persecution, the church militant, what he sees is God is on the throne of the universe. No matter what you're facing, no matter what hardship, no matter what persecution, no matter what adversity, God sits in throne. That throne is not empty. There is one on that throne. And note here, I think it's important for us to see that John does not name the king that is on that throne. He does not describe the physical features of the king on that throne. He gives no name, he gives no description out of reverence for the one who is on that throne. Words cannot describe who is on that throne. But, even with the vagueness that we see here in John's description, it's clear that through this entire chapter, it is the throne and the one sitting on the throne that is the focus of everything. It's the first thing he sees as he comes through that heavenly door, in the throne room of the palace of the great king, he sees the throne with the king sitting upon the throne. That is the focus of this entire chapter. All eyes are drawn to the King in His sovereign Lordship. Now note what John says, what he does describe, beginning at verse 3. He said, and he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. Again, John provides no description of the very features of the king on the throne, but in his vision, what he sees is a majesty of very precious stones that have a vivid variety of colors. That's what he describes for us. First he says he sees the jasper. This is a precious stone that is normally translucent or opaque. Some have argued that this is perhaps diamonds that John is seeing and describing for us. The carnelian that he talks about is another very precious gem that is red or ruby colored. The emerald is a transparent, bright green, precious stone, and then on top of that, what does John see over the throne, is that it's encircled by a rainbow, an arch of various glowing colors. Of course, the rainbow reminds us, or should remind us immediately, of the seal of the covenant that God gave to Noah after the flood. Here is the God of the covenant. Here is the God of covenant loyalty. Here is the God who keeps covenant with his people. This part of the scene we're looking at It presents and displays a transcendent beauty. A shining brilliance and luster. The picture that John is presenting is the very majesty of God. The very majesty of God. In all His glory and His holiness. That's not all John sees. In verse 4, around the throne were 24 thrones. And seated on the thrones were 24 elders, clothed in white garments with golden crowns on their heads. So John sees 24 other thrones. These are secondary thrones. You've got the throne in the middle, and then you've got surrounded, I picture 12 on each side. 24 other thrones surrounding the throne of the king, and these thrones are not empty either, but there are 24 elders on the thrones. Now, who are they? Well, later in the book of Revelation, chapter 21, there's a description of the new city of Jerusalem. And the city has twelve gates and it has twelve foundations. And names are given to the twelve gates and names are given to the twelve foundations. On the gates are the names of the twelve sons of Jacob, the ancestors of the twelve tribes of Israel, and on the foundations are the names of the twelve apostles. And what we understand when we see that, that now we have 24 thrones surrounding the great throne of the king, 12 of them are for the progenitors of the tribes of Israel, the other 12 are the apostles, the progenitors of the church. What do we understand here is these 24 represent all of God's people throughout the ages. And note how they appear. They're all clothed in white garments. What does that symbolize? Let's go back a chapter. Chapter 3, verse 5. Just one verse here gets right at the heart of it. Chapter 3, verse 5 says this, The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments. And I will never blot out his name of the Book of Life. Clothed in white garments that indicate righteousness, that these garments have been washed in the very blood of the Lamb and are white as snow. And they are each wearing a golden crown that of course represents their honor and their authority as the fathers of the Church throughout the ages. Now John continues with his description in verse 5, look what he says, from the throne, speaking of the throne of God, came flashes of lightning and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire which are the seven spirits of God. Now the first half of this verse, is reminiscent, I understand it, as on the top of Mount Sinai. Go back sometime to Exodus chapter 19, verses 16 through 19, the things that are described here, the flashes of lightning, the rumblings, the peals of thunder, the voice and the trumpet going forth, that's what happens in Exodus chapter 19, which shows the very presence of God on Mount Sinai to His people. Here, we're seeing the very presence of God before his people as well. Now John also says that in front of the throne are seven torches of fire that represent the seven spirits of God. We're into one of these revelation problems here, exactly what does that mean? We get a lot of that. Seven in the Bible, of course, is a number that indicates completion or fullness or wholeness. And so many commentators believe this is a metaphor of the Holy Spirit in its fullness. The Holy Spirit in its fullness, the plural there, the plurality represents the various gifts, graces, and operations of the Holy Spirit of God among the people of God. And if they're correct, and I believe they are, what we see here is the Trinity is represented in this entire scene of Revelation chapter 4. It's Jesus who ushers John into the throne room. The Father is the one on the throne, and the Holy Spirit is before the throne. This, again, is a grand Trinitarian scene. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And finally, What else does he see? Verse 6, And before the throne there was, as it were, a sea of glass like crystal. The front of the throne is a sea of glass like crystal. Crystal at that time was a very expensive and rare glass in first century Palestine. Therefore, it, like the other materials that we talked about, the jasper and carnelian and so forth, it reflects the wonder of God's throne room. Okay, so that's the description. Oh my. Joy, yet we tremble. Now, what's going on in the throne room? What is happening in the throne room? Well, let's begin by looking at second half of verse 6 into verse 7. Tell us what's happening. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. The first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. So John sees four living creatures. These are not the first time we see these four creatures in the Scriptures. These creatures are representative and reminiscent of the four cherubim in the book of Ezekiel. I'm not going to go there now, but sometime today, go read Ezekiel chapter 1. And you'll see that it's these four cherubim that carry the very ark of God. God descends and dwells upon the ark of the covenant. It's these cherubim. that carry the ark. They indicate the very presence of God. These are the angels who carried forth the glory of the Lord in the Old Testament, especially in the book of Ezekiel chapter 1 and chapter 10. Okay, so what are they doing? Here are the angelic hosts. What are they doing? Verse 8. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come. What are they doing? They have continual employment of worshiping God. The praise of Yahweh on His throne. And see what they say in their worship. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God. Have we seen that before? Yes. In Isaiah chapter 6, sometime read that today, where the great throne room scene, where Isaiah sees God upon his throne, sees the chair of him flying around the throne, and what are they saying? Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. It's to remind us of that scene, that the angelic hosts, they fly around the throne of God, singing forth these very words of praise and worship. Thus we see a picture of the worship of God by the heavenly host. It's a display of worship that is centered and focused upon the Lord. Worship is all about Him. We often hear people say that worship for the church is not defined in the Bible. Really? Look what we see here. And it's not merely the angels who worship. Look at verses 9 and 10. And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the 24 elders fall down before Him who is seated on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever. And they cast their crowns before the throne. As the angelic host renders their worship, the 24 elders who again represent the true church, they represent God's people, they fall down before the king on his throne in an act of submission and adoration. And then they take their crowns and they cast them eagerly before the throne of God. This is a recognition, isn't it, by the church, by the elders, that the crown that they have is infinitely less glorious than the crown of God. And the elders, they do this with humility, with reverence, with awe, with fear. As Matthew Henry said, it is their glory. to be glorifying God. I was reading a story about Queen Victoria who listened to a sermon on Revelation chapter 4 that brought tears to her eyes and she said to the preacher, because of what you said about the coming again of the world's rightful king, I wish still to be here when he returns. that I might lay my crown at his blessed feet." Now, not only do the elders fall down in worship and cast their crowns before the throne, they also speak, in verse 11, the elders who represent the church, who represent the people of God, proclaim these words of adoration, worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory, honor, power, for you created all things, And by your will they existed and were created. The elders mention three things, three reasons for adoration. The one on the throne is the creator of all things. The one on the throne is the preserver of all things. And the one on the throne is the final cause of all things. In other words, He is the most sovereign God, the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and Potentate of Potentates. To Him be all glory and honor as He sits enthroned over the universe. Amen and Amen. And thus we see, through the vision of John, a picture of the church triumphant, the church in glory. And remember, John is writing to a first century church under persecution. He's writing to the church militant. He's writing to them to encourage them so that they would see, they would truly see, and they would know what is coming, and they would be encouraged by that, that there is a church triumphant. Now what we need to also understand is that John is writing this vision for us. For we are yet the church militant. Believers who must contend with suffering. who must contend with adversities and persecution, who must contend with a broken world. And yet the Apostle gives us great hope, doesn't he? He instills in us a longing and a yearning for the Church Triumphant. We should also be struck in this passage by the reality that there is a church triumphant. There is the very throne room of God. 1 Peter, Peter says this, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ according to His great mercy. He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. So, be encouraged. in your pilgrimage. There is a glorious heavenly city to which we are journeying. Amen and Amen. Please pray with me. Most Heavenly Father, I pray that we wouldn't lose sight of the heavenly city. We get so involved with the earthly city that we forget the reality of this wondrous place that is imperishable and will never fade away, purchased for us by the blood of Christ. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.