Overview
The vision of the seven seals begins in Revelation 4 with a description of God’s throne room.
John was on earth in Revelation 1-3, and Jesus dictated seven letters to the seven churches. In Revelation 4, he is called up to God’s throne room. He did not see with his literal eyes, but God gave him images and voices directly in his mind.
The first thing that John saw was God’s throne. “Throne” is the main word in chapter 4. Everything in this chapter happens in and around the throne.
He also saw one sitting on the throne. To sit on the throne means to have the right to rule. Revelation 4 depicts the governing center of the universe, and the throne symbolizes God’s authority to rule the universe.
These visions describe God in human terms, but God cannot be seen. He does not exist somewhere in the universe. The universe exists somewhere within Him.
John saw 24 elders sitting on 24 thrones around God’s throne. They represent the human race from both Israel and the Church.
John also saw the seven Spirits of God before the throne, represented as seven lamps. The number seven is symbolic and means God’s Spirit is always present.
The four living creatures in and around the throne are covered with eyes, symbolizing that they see everything that happens on Earth.
Chapter 4 does not describe a specific event or a specific point in time but is a timeless description of God’s throne room. Jesus is not present in the throne room in this chapter.
4:1
| After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.” |
After these things
This phrase often introduces a new vision (e.g., Rev 7:1, 9). “These things” refer to the seven letters to the seven churches, as contained in chapters two and three (cf. Rev 1:19).
Behold a door standing open in heaven.
John did not look with his literal eyes but in a vision. In his mind, he is no longer on Patmos but at the gates of heaven.
The first voice … like … a trumpet
This is Jesus’ voice, which John previously heard as a loud voice, “like the sound of a trumpet” (Rev 1:10). When John turned to see who was speaking, he saw a vision of the Son of man among the seven candlesticks (Rev 1:12-18). [Show More]
Come up here.
The voice invites John into heaven. In the first three chapters, John met Jesus on earth, for Jesus was standing between the candlesticks, symbolizing the seven churches (Rev 1:20). The seven letters (chapters 2 and 3) were also addressed to seven churches on earth. But now, the scene changes from earth to heaven.
What must take place after these things
While “these things,” referring to chapters two and three, describe John’s time, “what must take place after these things” are events that are largely in his future.
4:2
| Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. |
Immediately, I was in the Spirit
John does not enter heaven physically; he is carried in vision by the Spirit into the heavenly places. [Show More]
A throne was standing in heaven
The first thing that John saw was God’s throne. “Throne” is the main word in chapter 4. It appears fourteen times in the eleven verses of the chapter. Everything in this chapter happens in and around the throne. [Show More]
The term “throne” is drawn from the governmental language of the time. The person who sits on a throne has the legal authority to rule. Revelation 4 depicts the governing center of the universe, and the throne symbolizes God’s authority to rule the universe. He has that authority because He created all things (Rev 4:11). [Show More]
One sitting on the throne
The One sitting on the throne is not named, but Revelation distinguishes between “Him who sits on the throne” and Jesus Christ (cf. Rev 5:5-7, 5:9, 5:13; 6:16). The “One sitting on the throne,” therefore, is God the Father. Since He sits on the throne, He has the ultimate authority.
4:3
| And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. |
Like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance
Revelation 1 describes Jesus in much detail (Rev 1:13-18), but there is a vagueness in this description of God. Other throne visions are more specific. [Show More]
These visions describe God in human terms, but God cannot be seen (John 1:18). He “alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see” (1 Tim 6:16). God does not exist somewhere in the universe. The universe exists somewhere within Him. He exists everywhere and cannot be limited to a specific location. He may appear in a theophany (an appearance), but a theophany is only a faint reflection of His real complete Being.
A rainbow around the throne, like an emerald
It is unclear whether the rainbow was horizontally around the throne or a half-circle vertically arched above the throne, as rainbows are on Earth. [Show More]
4:4
| Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads. |
Like the rainbow in the previous verse, the 24 elders are “around the throne,” which should be taken in a horizontal sense. [Show More]
The 24 elders are people.
They are people and not angels because, in Revelation, only God’s people are numbered as 12 (24=2+12), are called elders, are dressed in white garments, have stephanos crowns on their heads, and sit on thrones. Their thrones symbolize that the elders share in God’s rule of the universe. It is wonderful to think that human beings who love other human beings like themselves represent humanity in the control room of the universe.[Show More]
They are from both Israel and the Church.
The article on the 24 elders also shows that the 24 elders represent God’s people from both the time before and after Christ. In other words, they are from both Israel and the Church. Revelation merges the Church into Israel. [Show More]
4:5
| Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. |
Lightning, sounds, and thunder
Lightning, sounds, and thunder also accompanied the Old Testament theophanies (appearances of God). [Show More]
This series of lightning-sounds-thunder is repeated three more times in Revelation, but later instances add an earthquake and great hail. [Show More]
Since the “lightning and sounds and peals of thunder” happen in the air, and since they come out of the throne, they probably represent God’s decisions and utterances. The “earthquake” and “great hail,” on the other hand, are things that happen on earth and, therefore, probably represent the earthly consequences of God’s decisions.
Seven lamps of fire … seven Spirits of God
The concept of “seven lamps of fire” recalls the Hebrew sanctuary, where seven lamps of fire were constantly burning (Exodus 25:37).
“The seven Spirits of God” are located before God’s throne, apparently subordinate to the “One sitting on the throne” (Rev 4:2).
God does not literally have seven Spirits. The number seven has to do with time and should be understood as the completion or perfection of time—the full period. The seven Spirits of God can be understood to mean that God’s Spirit is always present. [Show More]
4:6
| And before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. |
Sea of glass
It is not a real sea of glass but “something like a sea of glass.” John is doing his best to describe his vision of the heavenly in human terms. [Show More]
In the center and around the throne
It is not clear what this means. It could mean that the four living creatures move around. On the other hand, since they are always near the throne (Rev 4:6; 5:6; 7:11; 14:3), it could also mean that they are in the center of the circle of elders, between the circle of elders and the throne. Nevertheless, since they are always near the throne, they seem to be intermediaries between God and humanity, represented by the 24 elders.
Four Living Creatures
While the twenty-four elders represent the human race before God, the four living creatures represent the angelic portion of God’s kingdom. [Show More]
Both Revelation 4 and the throne vision of Ezekiel 1 have:
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- Four living creatures (Ezek 1:5; Rev 4:6);
- With faces like a lion, ox, man, and eagle/vulture (Ezek 1:10; Rev 4:7);
- Full of eyes (Ezek 1:18; Rev 4:6); and
- A rainbow surrounding the throne (Ezek 1:28; Rev 4:3).
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In both, the four living creatures are especially close to God. In Ezekiel, they are the bearers of God’s throne chariot. [Show More]
Such living creatures are also mentioned in Ezekiel 10, Isaiah 6, and the apocryphal book of Enoch. [Show More]
Full of Eyes
They were “full of eyes in front and behind” (Rev 4:6). This is not to be taken literally but symbolizes knowledge of all things. The number four represents ‘the whole earth’ (cf. Rev 7:1; 14:6). The four living creatures, therefore, see everything that happens on earth, symbolizing God’s omniscience. He knows everything that can be known.
4:7-8
| 7 The first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. 8 And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.” |
Lion, calf, man, and flying eagle
These images symbolize endurance, perseverance, strength, and speed. Relative to the animals, the “face like a man” implies intelligence.
Six wings
Since the living creatures of Ezekiel 1 had four wings each, the six wings of the living beings in Revelation recall the six-winged cherubim of Isaiah 6; two wings were used to cover their faces, two wings to cover their feet, and two were used to fly (Isaiah 6:2).
Eyes around and within
In verse 6, four living creatures were “full of eyes in front and behind.” In the current verse, the eyes are “around and within,” which is difficult to visualize. Nevertheless, the meaning is that the vision of these living creatures is not impeded in any way. God created them with the highest possible alertness, perception, and knowledge.