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FAITH Baptist Church
1401 Shaw Avenue, Niles, Ohio 44446
(330) 652-8151
10:00 a.m. Sunday School
11:00 a.m. Morning Worship
6:30 p.m. Evening Worship
6:30 p.m. Wednesday Services
Pastor Lenny Towle, with wife, Mrs. Amy Towle
CHAPTER 4
VERSE 1 : (Chapter 4)
The Heavenly Scene
"After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter."
This verse starts with "After this". After what??? After the church ages. John had finished writing down everything regarding the seven church ages. John looks up. The Church Age has come to an end. Now John sees "a door was opened in heaven". This was not just an ordinary door. It was a door that was open.
The Angel talks to John. John recognizes the Angel's voice. John says it is "the first voice which I heard". God calls us through His Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes into our hearts when we ask the Lord to save us. The Holy Spirit is the One Who guides us: "Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth ... He will shew you things to come" (John 16:13).
It is the same voice that directed John on writing down about the seven church ages. John says the Angel's voice sounded like a "trumpet talking" to him. That's pretty loud. This Angel invites John to "Come up hither". The Lord's own words say: "Come unto me," (Matthew 11:28). The Angel says, "I will shew thee things". God is revealing this room to us. God used John to show the world what is going to happen. God had John write it down in His Word, the Bible. We are about to peek into this room. It is totally amazing!
VERSE 2 : (Chapter 4)
The Heavenly Scene
"And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne."
First, John says "immediately I was in the spirit". John was transported from the earthly realm to the spiritual realm. At the event of the Rapture, we will immediately be transported from this earthly home to our heavenly home. "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." (1 Corinthians 15:52). Remember we studied this in Revelation 3:10.
There are three examples that I can recall that demonstrates a type of the Rapture. They are:
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1. Enoch: (Genesis 5:24) "And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him."
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2. Elijah: Elijah was walking and talking to Elisha: "And it came pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven." (2 Kings 2:11)
3. Jesus: (Acts 1:9) "And when He had spoken these things, while they beheld, He was taken up; and a cloud received Him out of their sight."
The next part we see in Verse 2 is that John saw "a throne was set in heaven". Let's put Verse 1 and 2 together for a moment so we can get a better mental picture. Imagine John standing on the Isle of Patmos. He first hears a very loud 'trumpet'. He realizes it is the Lord speaking to him. John obeys and writes everything down about the seven church ages as instructed by the 'Angel'. After he finishes writing about the church ages, John looks up. To his amazement, he sees a door open in Heaven. Put yourself in John's shoes. How would you feel? What would you think?! Seeing a door in Heaven is amazing enough, but the door opened. (See verse 1 above of Chapter 4: "a door was opened".) It was not an open door at this time. John saw the door open. I don't know about you, but not knowing what is behind a door can be frightening. I imagine a door that is seeping around the seams with bright beams of extreme light trying to break through. Perhaps like the world's largest welder being used, and you need strong protective eyewear just to enter the room where the welding is being done.
So here is John, seeing this. Witnessing the over-powering light pushing against the heavenly door. And if this isn't enough, the Lord calls: "Come up hither, and I will shew thee things" ! I'm not sure if I would want to approach that door, let alone see these "things"! In my mind, this would be quite terrifying. I would definitely be scared. But the Angel is a comfort. He says that He will show John these things. In other words, the Lord will be right there alongside John explaining these "things which MUST be hereafter." (Verse 1). And "immediately" John was escorted to the Heavenly Door.
When the door opened, this is what John saw: "a throne was set in heaven". This throne is the most majestic throne ever imaginable in the whole universe. This throne displays divine power and rule. Rule over everything. Everything on earth and everything in Heaven. We have all seen judges, even on tv. Courtrooms are to be respected. We are never to disrespect the judge especially when he is seated in his courtroom. What he says in his courtroom is enforced. There is a certain amount of fear and respect. The courtroom itself does not necessarily hold the respect, it is the judge himself. John saw the 'Judge' of Heaven sitting on His Heavenly Throne, "and one sat on the throne". John is seeing the King of kings, the Judge of all judges. He sees God Almighty. The very next verse describes our Judge and King.
VERSE 3 : (Chapter 4)
The Heavenly Scene
"And He that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald."
In this heavenly scene, we get a glimpse of an appearance of the Lord. John equates Him to pure gems; He "was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone". Many scholars differ about the Jasper. The Hebrew word, Yahalom means a diamond and appears to be connected to the word hallamish meaning a flint, a very hard rock, and possibly white. Diamonds are known for their hardness. The Aramaic word Peshitta is also translated as a "diamond". And lastly, there is a Spanish Jewish scholar named Abraham ibn Ezra, that said 'Yahalom' (jasper) was a white stone. We have three different areas of expertise, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Spanish Jewish, suggesting that a jasper was a white color diamond. The diamond jasper here in our verse represents the purity, holiness, and judgment of God. Jeremiah 17:1 reads: "The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond: it is graven upon the table of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars;" Only Jesus, the Diamond, can write upon our hard, sinful hearts. The diamond shines brighter than any other gemstone. The Lord outshines everything.
The sardine stone is described as a blood-red color. This represents the precious blood that our Saviour shed on Calvary. It is very appropriate that John defined our Lord as being most precious, shining above all with the hardness to judge all; yet, merciful to those who will accept His blood to cover their sins.
The beauty of the Diamond and Sardine Gem is enhanced by the spectrum of continuous Light of the rainbow encircling God's throne: "and there was a rainbow round about the throne". The beauty is indescribable!
The rainbow is not an arch. It is actually a full circle ... a ring. It's a beautiful ring comprising of seven main colors. Each color gently fades into the color next to it. The rainbow encircles "round about the throne" of God. Just as God has no end, so the rainbow has no end. It is continuous. It has no end. This indicates that God's promise to never send a flood again, to destroy all mankind, will never end. This promise is found in Genesis 9:11-16: "And I (God) will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I wll look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth."
These verses in Genesis reveal to us why there is a rainbow. God put the rainbow around His throne and around the earth as the remembrance of His promise to us. So when you look upon a rainbow, remember God made a promise to us forever. Thank Him.
Some people may think within themselves that there are still floods on our earth. True, but no flood will ever come that will wipe out the entire human population. God used the flood waters in Noah's time because "God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart." (Genesis 6:5-6). Even today, we grieve God's heart. Yet, God promises to never wipe out all of mankind by using a worldwide flood. I cannot comprehend God's patience with us. When we look at the rainbow, let us remember the Lord's judgment on the earth. Remember, His great grace to us today and remember to thank Him. I truly hope that you have accepted the Lord into your heart and that you will endeavor to have the righteous thoughts that God watches for. The fire is coming.
The last part of our verse here, Verse 3, says: "in sight like unto an emerald." An emerald is a beautiful lush green gem. There is not a gem that is greener. The emerald has the characteristic of comfort. It is so fitting that God would have emerald green near the rainbow as a comfort. A comfort to Him as He looks down upon our earth and watches all the evil taking place, and a comfort to us. The Lord is our Comforter. So when you look around you and see heartaches and troubles, think on God sitting on His majestic throne, looking at the same rainbow that you see, and reach up to Him.
VERSE 4 : (Chapter 4)
The Heavenly Scene
"And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold."
As we peer into the majestic throne room of God, we can see through this scripture that there are 24 seats around God's throne. Notice here, that at this time, they are called 'seats'. This was written so we would be certain that God only occupies His throne.
The Lord does not just leave us hanging, nor does He want us to think that these 'seats' are empty. God reveals to us that the seats are occupied. He tells us that there are "four and twenty elders sitting". These are not just 24 old men. God's Word gives indication of who these 24 elders are. First, an 'elder' in the Bible usually referred to Jewish rulers. We see this in the Old Testament in Ruth 4:2, Exodus 3:16, and Leviticus 4:15. In the New Testament, we also see that elders were the rulers and leaders in Acts 11:30; Matthew 15:2, Luke 7:3 and there are a lot more verses.
In the Old Testament there were 12 Jewish tribes, rulers. These twelve tribes are the twelve sons of Jacob. This is vital because God kept His promise of the Messiah through the tribe of Judah.
Here is a chart that shows the 12 Tribes of Israel. Each tribe was a son of Jacob. Each tribe has it's own. special color stone. The twelve precious stones were inlaid on the breastplate that the high priest wore. Each stone on the breastplate was inscribed with the name of it's tribe. Now, if you cross reference this information with Revelation 21:12, which is describing New Jerusalem, it tells us that there are 12 gates and each gate is named after each of the twelve tribes of Israel. So here we have 12 of the 24 elders that are sitting on these "seats".
Now we are going to discover the other 12 elders! Look at Revelation 21:14:
"And the wall of the city (New Jerusalem) had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb."
According to Revelation 21, we have verification that the 12 tribes of Israel are represented on the 12 gates in New Jerusalem with their colored stone on each gate. We also have verification that the 12 apostles are 12 foundations, and each foundation has the name of each apostle that Jesus had hand picked Himself.
So when you add 12 plus 12, it equals 24. The "four and twenty elders" . Jesus said this to His twelve apostles in Luke 22:29-30: "And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath apointed unto me; That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel."
All 24 of these "elders" will be "clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold." What a scene! There is much more to see in this Heavenly room; lightenings, thunders, and four creatures!! Keep reading!
VERSE 5 : (Chapter 4)
The Heavenly Scene
"And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God."
We know that thunder and lightning precedes a storm. God Almighty is showing us here that there is coming a very serious storm. God is announcing the storm of all storms. The storm is about to begin and this storm is going to last seven years.
God is showing us in this verse that the storm is coming directly from His throne. Psalm 144:5-6 says: "Bow thy heavens, O LORD, and come down: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke. Cast forth lightning, and scatter them: shoot out thine arrows, and destroy them."
God is revealing to us what He is going to do. Look ahead at Revelation 16:18: "And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great." This is going to be one frightening storm. Thunder is regarded as Jehovah's voice and divine power. "And the LORD shall cause His glorious voice to be heard, and shall shew the lighting down of His arm, with the indignation of His anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones." (Isaiah 30:30).
Proverbs 9:10 says: "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom". Wisdom starts with asking Christ into your hearts and for forgiveness of sins. It would be very wise to be saved now instead of having to face His wrath.
The second part of Revelation 4:5 says: "and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God." The Lord reveals to us right away that these seven lamps of fire are the seven Spirits of God. We read about the seven Spirits first in Revelation 1:4b: "from the seven Spirits which are before His throne". (You can review this in our previous study of Revelation 1.) We also learned in our previous study that, at the end of every church age, God said: "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches."
I believe that these seven Spirits are indeed the same seven Spirits of God which God used for each one of the church ages. Remember what God said to each church age? "Hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." So taking the whole picture in, we can see the seven Spirits of God with each church age. We see the seven Spirits of God around His throne in our current verse (Revelation 4:5), and we will see these seven Spirits of God in Revelation 5:6b sent forth into all the earth: "which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth."
In conclusion to this verse, we see the seven Spirits of God:
1. With the seven church ages - Chapters 1-3;
2. Before the throne of God - Revelation 4:5;
3. Sent forth into all the earth - Revelation 5:6
VERSE 6 : (Chapter 4)
The Heavenly Scene
"And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind."
In front of God's throne is a sea of glass as beautiful as a crystal. A single crystal has atoms in a near-perfect periodic arrangement. It is composed of many microscopic crystals. They are also known as types of glass. Polycrystals are rocks. Jesus is our Rock. He is pure crystal. We must stand upon His salvation alone.
Picture the throne of God facing this beautiful sea of glass. Glass is clear. You can see through it. God is on His throne in Heaven. He faces this sea of glass. There are three verses in Revelation to show that it is the saints that come through the Great Tribulation that will be standing on this sea of glass before God's throne. These Tribulation saints will be before God's throne throughout eternity.
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Revelation 15:2 says: "And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God." These saints had gotten victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark. These Tribulation saints will be standing on God's sea of glass before His throne.
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Revelation 7:14-15 states: "...These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple: and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them."
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Revelation 20:4 shows us this same scene in Heaven: "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them (these are the 24 elders sitting), and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years."
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People who get saved during the Great Tribulation will endure unimaginable tortures from Satan himself. Yes, we that are alive now may endure hardships, famines, tortures, and even death but those will not be able to be compared to the horrific trials that the tribulation saints will face. It is very important for people to be saved now. Remember, if you do not accept Christ as your Saviour now, you will not be part of the Rapture. You will not be spared from the Great Tribulation. And you may never get saved because Satan will be on the loose. His power is greater than yours. It is only by God's magnificent grace that some people will be saved during the Great Tribulation.
The last part of our verse here says: "and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind". These beings are noted for being "full of eyes before and behind". This means they have many, many eyes all over them. This gives them great ability to see in every direction. The Bible tells us in 2 Chronicles 16:9: "For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth". God says in Jeremiah 16:17: "For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes." Everything you and I do, God sees. Nothing is hid from Him, even when we try to hide it.
In the next few verses, God is going to describe what these beasts look like ...
VERSE 7 : (Chapter 4)
The Heavenly Scene
"And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle."
The Lord is very detailed. He wants us to be clear on what He is sharing with us. Remember, we are studying Revelation = to reveal. To reveal what? We answered this in Revelation 1:1: "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass". The whole Bible was written from Genesis to Revelation to give glory and honor to the Lord Jesus Christ. These four same beasts were mentioned way back around BC 595 in the book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel 1:10 says: "As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox (calf) on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle." Ezekiel was written about 700 years before the book of Revelation!
These four beast, that surround the throne, give honor to God the Father. These four beasts represent the attributes of Jesus Christ. It is the Lord Jesus Whom Revelation reveals. Here, in these four creatures, we will see the Lord Jesus represented. Let's look at each beast.
"The first beast was like a lion". It says, like a lion. One of our Saviour's attributes is that He is referred to as The Lion. The Lord Jesus is referred to as "the Lion of the tribe of Juda" in Revelation 5:5.
Here are some characteristics of
Jesus as the Lion:
1. Bravery ... He is brave. There is no one stronger than the Lord (Psalm 24:8)
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2. The Hunter ... The Lord Jesus hunts for lost souls. (Luke 19:10)
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3. Willing to Fight ... He fought Satan in the wilderness (Mark 1:13)
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4. Protective ... Jesus is our hiding place and Shield (Psalm 119:114)
Image by Wirestock on Freepik
We go on to read in our verse "and the second beast like a calf". Keep in mind the words "like a". These beasts represent all the attributes of Jesus Christ. They are not a calf or a lion as we humans may picture them. Remember also that all four of these beasts are "full of eyes". They see everything.
A calf is the young of a herd. It feeds on milk and branches of trees. It is kept in a stall to fatten it up. A calf is offered in sacrifice when it is a year old. It is considered a delicacy. The calf was also worshipped.
This is the earthly picture of Christ as the Calf:
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1. He was the young of the herd. He came as a babe in a manager and He was only 12 years old when He was in the Jewish temple with the elders asking them questions (Luke 2:46-47).
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2. He feeds others on the "milk of the Word" (1 Peter 2:2 & 2 Timothy 2:15).
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3. Jesus endured the "branches" of the tree as they whipped Him (Matthew 27:30).
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4. He was imprisoned and He grew closer to His Heavenly Father (John 18:28).
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5. As a calf was sacrificed, Jesus was sacrificed for our sins (Isaiah 53:7).
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6. He is a 'delicacy', especially to God the Father when God said: "This is my beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:17) Jesus should be a delicacy to us!
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7. A calf was worshipped. Jesus will be worshipped by everyone, whether people want to or not. Philippians 2:10 says: "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;"
"And the third beast had a face as a man". Jesus refers to Himself as "Son of Man" (Matthew 8:20 & 20:28). The Lord uses this title in all four gospels and "Son of Man" appears over 107 times in the Hebrew Bible. The Jews in Jesus' day understood that the title, "Son of Man", means the Messiah. When Jesus called Himself "the Son of Man", He was assuring the Jews that He is the Messiah prophesied throughout the Old Testament.
"Son of Man" illustrates the Lord God in human form. He came from Heaven, and was born and laid in a manager. This shows forth the Deity of our Lord. "God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of anagels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." (1 Timothy 3:16).
The "Son of Man" came to this earth to die on the cross for our sins. He died for everyone, but only those people who receive Him into their hearts will go to Heaven. When Jesus was crucified on the cross, there were two thieves crucified on each side of Him (Luke 23:39-43). Luke calls these two men, 'malefactors' (verse 33 of Luke 23). These two men were 'bad' men in society. They were receiving capital punishment. They were given the death penalty. They were on death row. These two men were crucified alongside of Jesus - the one man on Jesus' right side, and the other on the left side of Jesus (Luke 23:33). This is why you may see three crosses sometimes at different places. One of these two men went to Heaven and the other did not. Why? The Bible tells us in Luke 23. The man on the right side of Jesus acknowledged his sins and asked Jesus to forgive him. Jesus replied to this man "Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise."
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The other man did not go to paradise because he did not ask Jesus to forgive him of his sins. If people do not ask Christ to forgive them of their sins, then they cannot go to 'paradise'. There is only one other place for them to go, and that is downward. Jesus preached more on Hell than He did on Heaven because He tries to warn people about it. God doesn't want anyone to go there. But it is totally up to each individual.
"and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle." An eagle is known for it's ability to soar to great heights with strength and grace. An eagle has keen vision. It can see miles beyond our immediate area. And an eagle can skillfully navigate through turbulent winds.
The Attributes of Jesus like an eagle:
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1. Jesus provides strength and grace. "And God is able to make all grace abound toward you;" (2 Corinthians 9:8)
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2. The Lord sees beyond our immediate areas. He sees everything. (Hebrews 4:13) "...all things are naked and opened unto with the eyes of Him with Whom we have to do."
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3. Jesus navigates us through turbulent winds of time. "He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust:" (Psalm 91:4)
The four gospels, the first four books of the New Testament, also reveal these attributes of Christ:
Matthew - King of kings; Mark - The Servant; Luke - Son of Man; John - Son of God.
VERSE 8 : (Chapter 4)
The Heavenly Scene
"And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come."
Here is a description of the creatures that God has around His throne. These are creatures that God created. The Lord is revealing to us how majestic His throne room is. These creatures have a very special job. They can see everywhere and they never sleep. They continually give glory and honor to God Almighty. These creatures sing HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, day and night. We need to sing and give glory and praise to God day and night.
Let's think a little bit more on these four creatures. These creatures each have six wings. The six wings can remind us of the six days in which God created the heavens and the earth. Yes, they sing out the Trinity of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, but let's look at the number of the creatures - four. Here are a few thoughts on the number four for you to ponder:
1) On the fourth day of creation (Genesis 1:14-19), God created our solar system which constitutes our four seasons.
2) The four directions - North, East, West, and South - spell out the Good NEWS of the Gospel of Christ.
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3) Psalm 107 contains the phrase, "Oh that men would praise the Lord" four times.
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4) There were four main types of sacrifices in the Old Testament - burnt offering, sin offering, trespass offering and peace offering (Leviticus Chapters 1 - 7).
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5) When Jesus was crucified, the Roman soldiers divided His clothes into four parts (John 19:23).
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6) Lazarus was raised from the dead on the fourth day (John 11:39).
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7) There are four Gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke & John - all tell of how Jesus gave His life for all who will receive Him, the Messiah.
Now, let's put these seven points together. God created everything precisely. Any time during the four seasons is a great time to accept Christ as your Saviour (2 Corinthians 6:2). God tells us the Good NEWS of His Salvation - North, East, West, South = NEWS. Look around you (John 1:3; Romans 1:20). "Oh that men would praise the Lord" Jesus became our Sacrifice. He was crucified for us and gave His all, even the clothes on His back. Jesus was definitely resurrected from the dead and was seen by over 500 people that day (1 Corinthians 15:3-7 "...Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that He was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, He was seen of above five hundred brethren AT ONCE") All this Good NEWS in found in all four of the Gospels. And this is why the four creatures sing HOLY, HOLY, HOLY!
Now we are going to see what happens when these four creatures sing HOLY, HOLY, HOLY ...
VERSE 9 : (Chapter 4)
The Heavenly Scene
"And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to Him that sat on the throne, Who liveth for ever and ever,"
These beasts here are referring to the four creatures in the previous verse, verse 8. Not only do these four creatures sing HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, but they also "give glory and honour and thanks" to God. Do you? How often do you thank God? 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says: "In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." Psalm 136:26 says: "O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for His mercy endureth for ever." We do not give enough thanks to our heavenly Father. How about giving Him glory and honour? Do you honour Him in all you do? How about glory? Do we give God glory or do we say we did it ourselves? Do we think we solve our own problems? Do we brag that we will pull up our shoelaces and march on? How sad. God says in John 15:5: "...for without Me ye can do nothing". It is really tragic that most people think they can 'fix' things themselves. Even on the news, when there is an earthquake or some 'natural' disaster, people boast 'we will all work together and fix it'. That's pride and that is leaving God out. That is not honoring or glorifying Him. Why do you think all these 'natural' disasters are happening? It is not by global warming or coincidence; it is God trying to get people to call on Him.
God is on His throne, not us. We need to give Him honour, glory, and thanks, just like the four beautiful creatures. If we refuse to give God His honour down here on earth, we definitely will give Him honour when we meet Him face to face as He sits on His throne in judgment.
When these four beasts give glory and honour and thanks to God, look what happens in the next verse.
VERSE 10 : (Chapter 4)
The Heavenly Scene
"The four and twenty elders fall down before Him that sat on the throne, and worship Him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,"
When the four beasts sing HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, and give glory, honour, and thanks to God Almighty, those twenty-four elders that we learned about in verse 4 of this chapter (4), fall on their faces before God. They worship God. They give Him glory. They give Him honour. They thank Him!
Luke 17:12-17, Jesus documents what occurred when He went through Samaria and Galilee (verse 11). "And as He entered into a certain village, there met Him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when He saw them, He said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God. And fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?"
Every one of us has the leprosy of sin. Psalm 51:10 says: "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." When Jesus saves us, He cleans us like He did the ten lepers. However, only one gave Him thanks. Will you be like that one or will you be like the ten?
We also see what else these twenty-four elders did. Not only did they fall on their knees before God, not only did they give Him glory, honour, and thanks; but they "cast their crowns" before His throne. Their crowns were their most precious possession. They willingly cast them at the Lord's feet. Do you give your most precious possessions to the Lord? Do you lay everything you have at His feet? How many of us try to hold on to this world's goods? How many of us work harder for the paycheck than we do for our Lord? The Lord doesn't need your paycheck. God wants your most precious possession - the total surrender of your heart. Surrender your whole heart, your life, to Christ. He surrendered all His life for you.
VERSE 11 : (Chapter 4)
The Heavenly Scene
"Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."
This verse is what the twenty-four elders are saying as they fall before the Lord's throne. ONLY the Lord is worthy to receive glory, honour, and power. I think each and everyone of us have pride of some sort in our hearts. Jeremiah 17:9 states that: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked..." We should be asking God to cleanse this sin from us. Not one of us is worthy to receive any glory, honour, or power. Romans 3:23 states: "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God". ONLY God is worthy. Only the Lord is worthy "to receive glory and honour and power". In Chapter 5 we are going to see why the Lord is worthy.
This verse shows us exactly why God even created us. God created us for His pleasure. God created this world, the heavenly stars, this wonderful earth, all the plants and animals, and most of all, He created mankind. God created humans after His image! Genesis 1:26 verifies: "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness". This verse also shows the deity of God the Father and God the Son when He is talking and using the words "us" and "our". But let's focus on why God created us. He created us for His pleasure. He created us because He wants to have communion with us. Genesis 3:8-9 talks about God walking in the Garden of Eden in the evening. We see that God is seeking and calling to Adam. God does that to us today. He seeks us and He calls out to us. He wants us to have sweet communion with Him. That is why He created us.
In the very next verse, we are going to see events unfold in Heaven as they prepare for the judgments that will be shortly executed upon our earth. The rapture has already taken place. How will those who are left on the earth for the following seven years be behaving? Perhaps spiritually sleeping. Definitely under Satan's influence.
