Tyndale Open Study NotesRevelation 4

The description of God’s throne room is beyond what people can easily imagine. It continues the visions in Isaiah 6:1–4, Ezekiel 1:4–28, and Daniel 7:9–10, where God is seen on a powerful and majestic throne. God’s throne is a central theme in Revelation. The worship that appears throughout the rest of the book begins from this scene. God’s greatness, grace, and glory form the foundation of the church’s worship.

This section introduces upcoming visions and judgments. John presents God in his heavenly court, which is the setting for the drama of Revelation (Revelation 4:1–11). The Lamb also plays a central role (Revelation 5:1–14). John contrasts God's majesty with the supposed majesty of Caesar. God's power and splendor surpass any earthly ruler's ceremonial court.

• After this I … saw: This introductory phrase does not show the order of events (see also Revelation 7:9; 15:5; 18:1; compare 19:1). Instead, it signals a new vision that John receives.

• Come up here: The Lord’s voice invites John to see what will happen from God’s point of view.

By being in the Spirit, John could experience spiritual realities (see Revelation 1:10; 17:3; 21:10; Ezekiel 11:1). He could understand insights about God's presence, the heavenly realm, and God's plans in history.

Instead of creating a visual image of God (Exodus 20:4; Deuteronomy 4:15–19), John uses gemstones and the rainbow (Genesis 9:8–17; Ezekiel 1:28) to suggest God's qualities. The rainbow represents God's grace, reminding us of God's promise to Noah (Genesis 9:13–17) that he would never again flood the earth. However, in Revelation, the earth is destroyed by fire (Genesis 19:24–29).

The twenty-four elders on their thrones likely represent all of God's people. They may correspond to the twelve tribes of the old covenant and the twelve apostles of the new (see Revelation 21:12–14). Some people associate them with the twenty-four divisions of the Israelite priesthood (1 Chronicles 24:1–19).

In this vision, the elders speak and worship in an antiphonal way, which means that two groups take turns speaking or singing.

• The thunder that follows flashes of lightning is a call from God to pay attention (see Revelation 8:5; 11:19; 16:18).

• Before the throne burned seven torches of fire: In ancient times, people placed torches before rulers to show their authority. These torches with burning flames represent the perfect spirit of God.

• a sea of glass, as clear as crystal: The most noticeable part of ancient theaters was the bright mosaic floor where the orchestra performed. This design helped people see the scene clearly (compare Revelation 15:2–4).

• The four living beings represent all of creation.

• covered with eyes: This phrase likely means they had knowledge or understanding. In the ancient world, figures were often covered with a feature to highlight a quality (for example, statues of Artemis were covered with breasts to emphasize fertility). Compare Ezekiel 1:18.

These four creatures symbolize different types of beings:

• a lion represents wild animals,

• an ox represents domesticated animals,

• a human represents humanity, and

• an eagle represents birds (see Ezekiel 1:10).

These figures come from Ezekiel 1 (cherubim) and Isaiah 6 (seraphim). They likely represent the best of creation as worshiping God. Missing from this group of created beings are fish. Ancient people often connected fish with the dangerous or evil sea (see Revelation 21:1). Insects are also missing. In Revelation, insects are linked to locusts that belong to the evil kingdom (see Revelation 9:1–11).

• Day and night: The four beings continuously praised God's main qualities:

  • his holiness,

  • his power (the Almighty), and

  • his eternity (see study note on Revelation 1:4).

• Holy, holy, holy comes from Isaiah 6:3 and is the highest form of worship in Scripture. Repeating something two times shows strong emphasis. Repeating it three times shows the highest level of emphasis.

• The twenty-four elders, who speak in an antiphonal chorus (two groups taking turns), give a divine perspective on creation.

• One seated on the throne: This shows a common Jewish practice of not speaking God’s name directly.

• Worthy are You: This phrase is never used for God in the Old Testament. However, people in Rome often used it when they worshiped the emperor. In Revelation, it is clear that only God deserves worship.

• You created all things: Many people in the ancient world believed their gods were too busy to care about humans. But God is Almighty in a real and active way. He created all things and continues to rule as Creator and Lord. In Revelation, creation shows that God is in complete control of the world (see Revelation 3:14; 10:6; 14:7; 21:1).

• by Your will they exist and were created: God had a purpose for everything he made.