Throne and Cosmos
The image of the Throne presents the reader with God reigning over all things at the center of the Cosmos – Revelation 4:1-11.
The vision of the
“throne” is the theological center of the book and sets the stage for
all that follows. In chapter 4, John sees the divine “throne” and the “One
Who Sits on it” reigning from the center of the Creation, and in chapter 5,
he sees the “slain Lamb” take the “sealed scroll” from the “throne”
and all creation declare him “worthy” to break its seals and open it.
The vision includes verbal links to the seven
letters sent to the “churches,” and the final verse of the seventh letter serves to transition the narrative from the “seven churches”
to the portrait of the “throne.”
This next vision unveils the true nature of
the conflict in which the “churches of Asia” find themselves and the
sovereignty of the “Lamb” over all things. The “throne” is the
central feature of the first half of the vision and the “Lamb” of its second
half.
In the first vision, John “came to be
in spirit,” where he saw things that concerned the “seven churches”
and their struggles. Likewise, in chapter 4, John “came to be in spirit,”
only this time, he found himself before the “throne.”
HE WHO OVERCOMES
The first vision ended with the promise that all
“who overcome” will reign with Jesus, just as he overcame and sat on his
Father’s throne. In the vision of the “throne,” the reader discovers
when and how Jesus was enthroned:
- (Revelation 3:20-21) – “Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hears my voice and opens the door, I will come to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. I will give to him who overcomes to take his seat with me in my throne, just as I also overcame and took my seat with my Father in his throne.”
The promise to fellowship with anyone who “opens
the door” anticipates the image of an “opened door” in
heaven at the start of the next vision. Likewise, the declaration that Jesus “overcame”
(nikaō) and received sovereignty is echoed in the image of the “Lamb”
who “overcame” (nikaō) and assumed sovereignty over
the Creation.
The exaltation of the “Lamb” is the result of his self-sacrificial death, and he summons his followers to “overcome” in the same paradoxical manner.
The past tense verbs demonstrate that his
victory and enthronement occurred at a point before John received his visions -
(“as I also overcame”
- Revelation 3:21, 5:5-6).
- (Revelation 4:1-2) – “After these things I saw, and behold, a door set open in heaven; and the first voice that I heard as of a trumpet speaking with me, saying—Come up hither, and I will point out to you the things which must needs come to pass. After these things, straightway, I came to be in Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, and upon the throne one sitting.”
John saw the opened door “after these
things,” a reference to the things that he saw in the preceding vision.
THE THRONE
The same trumpet-like voice that John heard
on Patmos now announces that he is about to be shown “what things must
come to pass” (ha dei genesthai meta tauta).
The same clause is found in the first verse
of the book (the “revelation” by Jesus to show his servants “what
things must soon come to pass”), and again, it echoes the declaration by
Daniel to the king of Babylon regarding his dream of a great image - (Daniel
2:28).
- (Revelation 4:3-8) – “And he that was sitting was like in appearance to a jasper stone and a sardius, and a rainbow round about the throne, like in appearance unto an emerald, and round about the throne were four and twenty thrones; and upon the thrones, four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and upon their heads crowns of gold. And out of the throne are coming forth flashes of lightning and voices and claps of thunder. And seven torches of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God; and before the throne as a glassy sea, like unto crystal. And in the throne, and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes, before and behind; and the first living creature like unto a lion, and the second living creature, like unto a calf, and the third living creature has the face as of a man, and the fourth living creature like unto an eagle flying.”
The “throne” is described with
language from Exodus, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Zechariah.
Its splendor is likened to jasper, sardius, and emerald-hued rainbow, the same
precious stones that were embedded in the breastplate
of the high-priest, and they anticipate
the twelve stones seen later in the city of “New Jerusalem” - (Exodus 28:17-20, 29:13, Revelation
21:11-19).
The “rainbow” encircling the “throne”
reflects images from Ezekiel when God’s glory had “the appearance of
the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain.”
THE ELDERS
The multiple “thrones” point to
the participation of the twenty-four “elders” in the government
of the Creation. Each “elder” wears a golden “victor’s wreath” or
stephanos, and that suggests they are human beings, saints who have “overcome”
- (Ezekiel 1:28, Revelation 2:10, 3:11).
Elsewhere, the “elders” praise God,
adore the “Lamb,” interpret visions and offer up prayers. They are
arrayed in “white garments” that signify victory and purity. Their
activities and dress reflect their priestly functions.
The number twenty-four corresponds to the “names
of the twelve tribes of Israel…and the twelve names of the twelve apostles of
the Lamb” in “New Jerusalem.” Thus, the twenty-four “elders”
represent the covenant community from both eras, now arrayed collectively in
priestly apparel before the Throne - (Revelation
21:11-14).
THE SEVEN SPIRITS
The “seven torches of fire burn before
the throne are identical to the seven “spirits of God” from the salutation.
The image echoes two Old Testament passages:
- (Ezekiel 1:13) - “The likeness of the living creatures was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches.”
- (Zechariah 4:2-3, 10) - “Behold, a golden lampstand…and its seven lamps…these seven are the eyes of Yahweh running to and fro throughout all the earth.”
The “torches” indicate a temple
setting. In the Tabernacle, the gold-plated seven-branched
lampstand stood lit before the “holy of holies.” No corresponding lampstands
are mentioned.
“Torch” translates lampas,
the actual light or flame that sat on a stand. The “seven torches” may
symbolize the seven lights that sat on each of the “seven lampstands” - (Exodus 25:31-37, 26:35, 27:20, Revelation 1:12-20).
The “flashes of lightning and voices
and claps of thunder” recall the story of God descending on Mount Sinai,
accompanied by thunder, smoke, and flashes of lightning. The same God who
delivered Israel from Egypt was about to deliver His redeemed people from bondage
in another “Egypt” - (Exodus 19:16).
The “glassy sea like crystal”
is based on the opening vision in Ezekiel when the prophet saw “over
the head of the living creature the likeness of a firmament, like the terrible
crystal to look upon, stretched forth over their heads.” Its significance
does not become apparent until later in the book - (Ezekiel 1:22, Revelation
15:1-2, 21:1).
The “glassy sea” represents the
source of evil and is virtually identical to the “abyss.” It is before
the “throne” because the sovereignty of God extends even over the forces
of chaos. It is clear like “crystal” because the “One who Sits
on the Throne” has calmed its chaotic waters, at least for a time.
- (Revelation 4:8-11) – “And the four living creatures, each one of them have severally six wings, round-about and within, full of eyes; and they cease not day and night, saying, Holy! holy! holy! Lord God, the Almighty, Who was and Who is and Who is coming. And whenever the living creatures shall give glory and honor and thanksgiving to him that sits on the throne, to him that lives unto the ages of ages, the four and twenty elders will fall down before him that sits on the throne, and do homage unto him that lives unto the ages of ages, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Worthy are you, O Lord, and our God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power: because you created all things, and by your will, they were and were created.”
LIVING CREATURES
The worship activity interprets the vision.
God reigns supreme over the Cosmos, and nothing is hidden from His sight.
Each living creature is “full of eyes,
before and behind,” signifying the omniscience of the “One on the throne.”
The number four represents the entire earth (the “four corners of the earth”).
The four creatures’ features represent humanity (“a man’s face”), wild animals (“lion”), domesticated animals (“ox”), and beasts of the air (“flying eagle”). Collectively, they portray all animate life acknowledging the sovereignty of God.
The living creatures stand at the four
corners of the “throne.” Though they are not called cherubim, in the
ancient Tabernacle, images of cherubim appeared to hover above the
mercy-seat on top of the Ark of the Covenant, which was Yahweh’s “throne”
- the place where His glory manifested “between the cherubim” - (1
Samuel 4:4).
God is the one who “lives to the ages of
the ages,” an allusion to the declaration by Nebuchadnezzar when he acknowledged
God’s dominion over all creation:
- (Daniel 4:34) - “I lifted up my eyes to heaven and my understanding returned to me, and I blessed the Most-High, and I praised and honored him who lives unto the ages, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation.”
On cue, the twenty-four “elders” worship God, representing the redeemed community in worship. The “casting of crowns” before the “throne” demonstrates their submission to God, and they declare why He is worthy: “He created all things and by reason of His will they were created.”
They also declare His holiness (“holy, holy, holy”), omnipotence (“Lord God, the Almighty”), everlasting nature (“who was and is and is coming”), and ownership of all things (“because You created all things”).
The presence of the “glassy sea” shows that evil is still present in the Creation. Nonetheless, it is contained, and therefore, unable to exert influence without the consent of the “One Who Sits on the Throne.”
How could God maintain His holiness, complete His redemptive purposes, and assert His sovereignty when the world was still infested with evil and chaos? The second half of the vision will now answer that question.
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