Title: Throne of God (Revelation 4:1-11)
Contents
Chapter 4 of Revelation begins with the content of ‘things to come’. Especially in Revelation 4, there is a scene where Jesus summons John. After hearing the contents of the letter to the seven churches in Asia, John looked up. And I hear a voice from heaven saying, “Come up here.” With that in mind, dispensationalist eschatologists dress up as a ‘rapture theory’. Of course, that's not the case for all Christians. It is the view of only the individual John ascending to heaven under the inspiration of God.
Here we need to revisit the sequence of revelations that John received. The first thing John saw was the figure of the Lord walking among the candlesticks. That's what John saw. It was a revelation of great comfort to the church at the time. Second, what John saw was “what is now,” showing the spiritual reality of the seven churches in Asia. This phenomenon had to be understood from the perspective of universality that can exist in any era. Third, what John saw was 'things to come,' that is, the scene of being called by the Lord to go up to the kingdom of God to worship God, the Lamb who will judge the world in the future, Jesus Christ, and what he saw and heard about the events that will take place at the end of the world. that was recorded.
The first thing John saw in Revelation 4 was the throne of God (Revelation 4:2-6). The brilliance of God seated on the throne shone like jasper and chrysanthemum, and in front of the throne was a sea of glass like crystal. It can be seen that the throne of God is adorned with various jewels. We must remember that the gold and silver jewels that we value the most in this world are only materials that pave the way for the throne of God.
The second thing John saw was the 24 elders sitting around the throne of God, wearing white robes and crowns of gold on their heads. You don't have to ask who they are or where they stand. Because there is absolutely no intention behind it.
The third thing John saw were the cherubims, the seraphic angels (Revelation 4:7-11). Those seraphs are already living creatures mentioned in Ezekiel 1:1-28, 3:13, 10:15-20. Some scholars interpret the four seraphs as the Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel of Mark, the Gospel of Luke, and the Gospel of John the eagle. It should be clearly understood that this is an entirely baseless interpretation. John was moved by the Holy Spirit in ecstasy and saw God seated on the throne, and saw 24 elders around the throne, and there were cherubim praising God. It was the appearance of worshiping God (Revelation 4:9-10). That was what heaven looked like.
“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power, for you created all things, and by your will they exist and were created (Revelation 4:11).