SURVEY OF CHAPTERS 4 AND 5

[McGuiggan: Chapters 4-5 begin the apocalyptic section of the book – in earnest. (Remember that “apocalyptic” means an unveiling or uncovering, a revealing. It denotes speech made up of symbols.) They are chapters loaded with comfort for people who were to see the beginning of a persecution which would stretch over two centuries. They show God to be on the throne and (in Christ) to be in love with them.]

The first three chapters, as I said, deal primarily with the seven churches, but the real drama of Revelation begins in chapter 4, verse 1 [“After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, ‘Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.’”]. Here John sees a most encouraging scene depicting the awesome and majestic power of God. He gets a look—he’s beckoned to “Come up here” and take a look! There is an open door that is depicted there that John is shown. It’s a wide-open door into Heaven. He gets a look into the heavenly realm, and he sees One sitting on the “throne.”Jehovah is on the “throne” of glory [verse 2: “Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne.”], and there is a “rainbow” over the throne [verse 3: “And He Who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald.”]. This is a clear portrayal of the access Christians have to Heavenly power. Though the saints on earth, to whom this revelation was originally sent, met virtually nothing but closed doors—shut doors, if you will—here they are seeing a wide-open door into the halls of Heaven where a gracious Father always is looking out for them. Later we’ll see in chapters 5 and 8 that the prayers of the saints came into the Heavenly realm as a sweet incense before the Father, perhaps through this open door. [Revelation 5:8: “Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.”]

The language of Hebrews 4:16 [“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”] and 1 Peter 3:10 through 12 [“For ‘He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil.’”] tells us to pray fervently, pray even “boldly” in our time of need, for God’s ears are open to the pleas of the righteous. Think about these early Christians—these first century saints—as they suffered, as they were lifting their prayers up, and wondering, perhaps: “Where are these prayers going?” “Are they having any effect?” “Are they doing me any good?” And then they read these Words in Revelation and they see this open door into Heaven, through which their prayers may flow.

We think, perhaps, about the rainbow that is depicted there over the throne. We remember from Genesis, chapter 9, when God placed the rainbow in the sky as a sign that He would never again destroy the world with water. But there is also an implication there having to do with evil and wickedness. What was it that prompted God to destroy the world at that time? Well, it was the sinful nature of the people. It was the extreme wickedness and evil that was going on. So there may be some additional symbolism here for us to see in Revelation, chapter 4 [verse 3], as we consider the rainbow over the throne.

In chapter 5, we have sort of a bitter-sweet picture in this apocalyptic language. In the “hand of Him Who sat on the throne” was a book that was “sealed” seven times [verse 1: “And I saw in the right hand of Him Who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals.”]. This indicates that the book was official—it was important—and, as a matter of fact, it will be seen that it was full of the wrath of God, and of the future hope of the faithful ones. We see that there is only One Who is in a position—Who is capable—Who is worthy and meritorious enough—to open those seals and to reveal what’s in the book. He is both a “Lion” and a “Lamb,” [verses 5-6: “But one of the elders said to me, ‘Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.’ And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.”].

Chapter 5, verse 12 has that great statement, “Worthy is the Lamb,” a statement that we think about and hear again and again. One author observes and says that in many ways, chapter 5,verses 12 through 14 is the “pivotal passage” in Revelation [“saying with a loud voice: ‘Worthy is the Lamb Who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!’ And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: ‘Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him Who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!’ Then the four living creatures said, ‘Amen!’ And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him Who lives forever and ever.”]. We could look back at the text in Daniel, chapter 7, for example, and in Psalm 24, and we can see a parallel here. [See specifically Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14; Psalm 24:7-10.] Not only is He the “Lion,” not only is He the “Lamb,” but He is also the “King of kings,” and “the Lord of lords,” [see Revelation 14:17 below].

The whole point to this section is to prove that the crucified Savior is much more powerful in time and in eternity, as compared to those who put Him to death. To die in Christ is far better than to live in sin. In fact, one of the “beauty spots” of the whole Bible is Revelation 14, verse 13, “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord…that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.” [“Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, ‘Write: “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.”’”]