(The
objective of these ‘Frameworks' is to provide an easy-to-read
layout of the text in order then to use these individual verses
for verse-by-verse study or meditation. To focus each
verse we have also added in italic a description of what is happening)
To
go to Ch.5 CLICK HERE
FRAMEWORKS:
Revelation 4: The Throne Room of Heaven
v.1
Taken into Heaven
v.2,3
The Occupant of the Throne
v.4,5
Other Thrones
v.6-11
The Four Creatures
v.1
Taken into Heaven
v.1
(John is called
into heaven) After this I looked,
and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the
voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come
up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”
v.2,3
The Occupant of the Throne
v.2
(overwhelmed
by the Spirit he sees the throne in heaven) At
once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in
heaven with someone sitting on it.
v.3
(multicoloured
like strikes him) And the one
who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow
that shone like an emerald encircled the throne.
v.4,5
Other Thrones
v.4
(but around
the throne are twenty four other thrones with leaders on them)
Surrounding the throne were twenty-four
other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They
were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads.
v.5
(from the throne
comes light and power and before it is the Holy Spirit) From
the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder.
In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the
seven spirits of God.
v.6-11
The Four Creatures
v.6
(the throne
is surrounded by purity) Also
in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass,
clear as crystal.
(close
in to the main throne are four all-seeing creatures) In
the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and
they were covered with eyes, in front and in back.
v.7
(they each have
different characteristics: royalty, servant heartedness, humanity,
visionary) The first living
creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third
had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle.
v.8
(having wings
suggests they are seraphim [senior angels Isa 6:3] Their role
is to remind us to give honour to God. It is their instinctive
response to being close to Him.) Each
of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with
eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never
stop saying: “‘Holy, holy,
holy is the Lord God Almighty,' who was, and is, and is to come.”
v.9,10
(as they lead
the way, so to speak, the elders join in) Whenever
the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits
on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four
elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship
him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before
the throne and say:
v.11
(they submit
to the throne and worship God) “You
are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and
honor and power, for you created all things, and by your
will they were created and have their being.”
[Comment:
Chapters 4 & 5 go together in that they both reveal
the central characters in the throne room of heaven. However chapter
4 focuses on God the Father alone and the worship that is given
to Him by those closest to Him]
FRAMEWORKS:
Revelation 5: The Lamb of God
v.1-4
The Scroll that causes Anguish
v.5-7
The Uniquely Worthy One
v.8-10
The Song of the Creatures & Elders
v.11-12
The Song of the Angelic Host
v.13-14
The Song of all Creation
v.1-4
The Scroll that causes Anguish
v.1
(John sees a
scroll on God's hand, sealed with seven seals) Then
I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll
with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals.
v.2
(The question
is raised, who can open this scroll (which eventually seems to
be the scroll of the end time events, i.e. who can oversee the
end time events?) And I saw
a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to
break the seals and open the scroll?”
v.3
(although God
holds it there is an expectancy that someone else will undo the
scroll but there seems no one worthy of that role) But
no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the
scroll or even look inside it.
v.4
(John senses
the anguish of the moment) I
wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open
the scroll or look inside.
v.5-7
The Uniquely Worthy One
v.5
(an angel reassures
him, the king from the tribe of Judah has triumphed and is worthy)
Then one of the elders said to me,
“Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of
David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven
seals.”
v.6
(then he sees
a lamb with marks of death on it, a supreme ruler [7 horns] and
all-seeing [7 eyes]) Then I
saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center
of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the
elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the
seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
v.7
(the Lamb takes
the scroll from the Father [who permits him to take it])
He went and took the scroll from
the right hand of him who sat on the throne.
v.8-10
The Song of the Creatures & Elders
v.8
(now the worshippers
of God worship the Lamb) And
when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four
elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they
were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers
of God's people.
v.9
(they sing of
his triumph…) And they sang
a new song, saying: “You are
worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because
you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God
persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
v.10 (…
redeemed people) You have made
them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and
they will reign on the earth.”
v.11-12
The Song of the Angelic Host
v.11
(then all the
angelic hosts of heaven join in) Then
I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands
upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled
the throne and the living creatures and the elders.
v.12
(they too honour
the Lamb) In a loud voice they
were saying: “Worthy is the
Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom
and strength and honor and glory and praise!”
v.13-14
The Song of all Creation
v.13
(then every
being in creation join in worship God and the Lamb) Then
I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth
and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To
him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and
honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!”
v.14
(including those
closest in) The four living
creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.
[Comment:
Chapter 5 flows on from chapter 4 and reveals the Redeemer
of the world, the lamb of God. See also Jn 1:29,36, 1 Pet 1:19.
In the chapters that follow it is the Lamb who is emphasised,
a constant reminder that the Redeemer is the one who oversees
the ongoing events of the End Times.
Interpretation:
Note in what follows there are differences in interpretation [because
it has not been made clear]
-
as to whether the events that occur are one long continuous flow
or whether the different ‘approaches' or descriptions of what
is happening are repeats of the time thing.
-
as to what is literal and what is allegorical (we suggest probably
a combination of both.
The
thing to hold onto, whatever approach we take is that these End
Times judgments are all under the hand of the Lamb of God, the
Son of God who lived and died and rose again to redeem us. He
alone is worthy. He is in control throughout as 1 Cor 15:24,25
indicates, he IS reigning [ruling] throughout the last days history,
which includes today!]