Pre-Introduction

We took some time to read Ezekiel 1 last Sunday. It would be good to keep that text in mind as we again read Revelation 4, but I will not read it again for the sake of time. Remember especially the four living creatures that Ezekiel saw in the vision: “As for the likeness of their faces, each had a human face. The four had the face of a lion on the right side, the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four had the face of an eagle. Such were their faces. And their wings were spread out above. Each creature had two wings, each of which touched the wing of another, while two covered their bodies” (Ezekiel 1:10–11, ESV).

Let us go again to Revelation 4. Last week we gave special attention to the inanimate things that John saw surrounding the glory of God in this vision. Today we will consider the living things: particularly the twenty-four elders, the four living creatures, and the seven spirits of God.

New Testament Reading: Revelation 4:1-11

“After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.’ At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, ‘Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!’ And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, ‘Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.’” (Revelation 4:1–11, ESV)

Introduction

There are three principles that I would like to draw from the text of Revelation 4 today.

One, we must again remember that there exists a heavenly realm that lies beyond the earthly realm that we can perceive with our natural senses.

Two, notice that the heavenly realm is not a fallen realm. In this un-fallen heavenly realm the worship and service of God remains the unceasing and all consuming activity of every living thing.

Three, notice that this un-fallen heavenly realm interacts continuously with the fallen earthly realm in the application of both redemption and judgment.

There Exists A Heavenly Realm That Lies Beyond This Earthly Realm

Let us return briefly to the first principle: We must again remember that there exists a heavenly realm that lies beyond this earthly realm. We can perceive the earthly realm with our natural senses. The heavenly realm is made known to us only through special revelation. It is true that we might observe the natural world around us and reason from what we see that there must be a heavenly realm, but it is God’s word that reveals reveals it to us most clearly. Revelation chapter 4, along with many other passages in this book and elsewhere in scripture, reveals something to us about how things are in the heavenly realm. We are to see it, therefore, with eyes of faith, trusting in what God has revealed to us.

Friends, the fact that we cannot perceive the heavenly realm with our natural senses does not make it any less real than the earthly things that we can see, taste, touch, hear and smell. The heavenly is indeed real and true. This is one of the most fundamental truths revealed to us in the book of Revelation. The book was given so that the people of God might cultivate a heavenly mindset.

When I exhort you to cultivate a “heavenly mindset” I am not only encouraging the Christian to live this life in preparation for the world to come, but also to live this life being mindful of how things are now in the heavenly realm. Can you see the difference between those two principles?

It is common, I think, for Christians to hear the exhortation, “be heavenly minded”, but upon hearing it to think, “yes, I must live this life in preparation for heaven, which is something I will taste in the future, that is, in the life to come.” Indeed, my exhortation to cultivate a heavenly mindset involves that – store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, brothers and sisters, where neither moth nor rust destroy, nor do thieves break in and steal – but it involves more than that. Not only are we to live for the world to come – that is, in preparation for life in the new heavens and new earth – but we are also to live according to how things are now in heaven – that is, in the realm that exists now where God sits enthroned.

It is evident that we use the word heaven in two different ways. Actually, we use it in four different ways if we include the ways in which we use it to refer to features in the natural world. One, we sometimes refer to the realm where the birds and airplanes fly as “heaven”.  Two, we sometimes refer to the realm where the stars and planets reside as “heaven”. Three, we use the word “heaven” to refer to that realm where God and his heavenly attendants dwell now – that realm that lies beyond our natural perceptions. When the word heaven appears in scripture it is most often a reference to that “heaven” – the heaven that exists now where God is enthroned and where those who have died in Christ are in the spirit as they await the resurrection of the body on that last day.

Four, we sometimes refer to the place where those who have faith in Christ will dwell with God for all eternity, after the return of Christ, the resurrection, and final judgment, as “heaven”. In this fourth sense the word “heaven” is used to refer to a future reality. Really we ought to refer to this thing – the future, final, consummate “heaven” – as the “new heavens and the new earth” . That is how it is described in Revelation 21. For at the end of time the division between heaven and earth will be no more. God will be with us in a most immediate way. Heaven and earth will become one.

When I exhort you to cultivate a “heavenly mindset” I am not only saying, “live your life being mindful of and in preparation for the new heavens and new earth which have yet to come”, but also, “live your life today being mindful of how things are now in heaven, where God, his attendants, and those who have died in Christ are ruling and reigning.” This is the kind of heavenly mindset that we need to cultivate! We are to see the world in these terms: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth! He has has always been enthroned in heaven – heaven is his throne and earth its footstool – he is enthroned now, and ever will be. This is the truth communicated to us in Revelation 4.  Indeed, the whole book was given so that God’s people might cultivate a heavenly mindset and, therefore, live life well in this world.

You’ve noticed, I’m sure, that I do not often preach practical sermons, but rather ideological ones.

It is not that I do not know how to preach practical sermons. I do! I could give you 10 steps to a healthier marriage right now! And it is not as if I don’t understand how much people like sermons like that. I get it. People like them very much. They tend to be easy to listen to – easy to understand and apply. And it is not as if I think sermons should be impractical. By no means! We must apply God’s word to our lives! The word is to have a transformational effect upon us. We are to be changed by it. The end goal of the study of scripture is always obedience to scripture – we are to put into practice the things that we learn. The issue is this: sermons that are all about practice are hollow. They lack the substance needed to bring deep and lasting change our lives.

If our practice – our way of life – is going to change us in a deep and lasting way, we need to be confronted with the ideas that are communicated in the holy scriptures. We must know what those ideas are, come to see them as true, and then live our lives according to them. This is why I preach ideological sermons and not practical ones.

But ideological preaching (I’ve made up that term – I’m not using it in a technical sense) is far from impractical. In fact, preaching that begins by teaching the ideas of scripture it is far more practical than practical preaching is! It is practical in a deep and substantial way. Ideological preaching seeks to transformation the believers’ way of life – their practice – through the renewal of the heart and the mind. When the truths of holy scripture are understood in the mind and believed in the heart, they will indeed transform the practice of the Christian as the Holy Spirit works.

Do you want a better marriage, friends? Then cultivate a heavenly mindset.  You say, but that has nothing to do with marriage! I say, that has everything to do with marriage! True, husbands need to learn to live with their wives in a tender, considerate, and understanding way. True, husbands need to learn to speak kindly to their wives (look, I’m getting practical now). True, husbands must learn to take seriously their God given responsibility in the home as leaders within it. True, husbands should serve their wives, giving themselves up for them daily (what do we have now, four of ten secrets to a healthy marriage?). True, husbands must learn to humbly and sincerely repent before God and their wives when they have done wrong. All of these things are true, and they need to be applied practically from day to day (some men need to learn these truths and also how to apply them – practical instruction is indeed needed and is of some value).  But I am also convinced that a husband will not do any of these things (at least not for long) unless his mind and heart have been transformed by the word of God and the Holy Spirit.

Let me illustrate. I’ve notice that there is a growing interest in old traditional trades like blacksmithing. There’s a show on television called “Forged in Fire”, or something like that. I’ve noticed other series’ too with the same theme. I get the appeal of it. It’s enjoyable to watch a craftsmen work. It’s refreshing in our modern and industrial age to watch someone produce something beautiful or functional with their hands in an artistic and skillful way.

It seems to me that there are two qualities needed to be a truly skilled craftsmen; one internal quality and the other external. A craftsman, first of all, needs to have a knowledge of and a love for his craft. That is the internal quality needed. And secondly, the craftsmen needs to develop practical skills to work with his tools. That is the external quality needed. The knowledge and love for the craft reside internally within the heart and mind. The skills in working with the tools develop as the man learns to use his hands to effectively put into practice the knowledge and passion that resides within him.

Preaching that is obsessed with the practical but to the neglect of the ideological or theological can be compared to putting a hammer in an untrained child’s hands and setting him in front of anvil and forge. Can you picture him there? Does he have the tools of a craftsmen? Yes, you’ve given him the tools! But does he have the mind and heart of a craftsman. He does not.  He is yet untrained and unconverted. Without a doubt he will pretend to be a craftsmen for a time. He will play blacksmith. He’ll pound on a few things and make a real ruckus, but he will not produce anything of lasting value. He’ll quickly loose interest and move on to other childish things. Why? Because you’ve given him the tools but have not yet filled his mind with knowledge nor won his heart.

Friends, living a godly life is an art. To do it consistently well we must know what is true, believe what is true, and then live our lives accordingly.

I say all of this to encourage you not to grow weary as we consider passages of scripture that are intended to impact your way of life by, first of all, changing the way that you think. There will be times when the main points of the sermon will be, “do this, or do that” because the text of scripture is indeed compelling us to do something. But there will be other times when the main points will be “see this, remember that, think in this way, understand this, or believe that.” Friends, these ideological sermons, as I have called them, have the potential to be deeply practical if we would only believe these things deeply and labor to live accordingly.

Friends, remember that there exists a heavenly realm that lies beyond this earthly realm. God is enthroned there. He is the sovereign King of the universe, and he is judge. This truth should have a profound impact upon husbands and wives, parents and children, employers and employees, students and teachers, young and old. What could possibly impact our lives more than know that God sits enthroned in the heavenly realm?

This Heavenly Realm Is Not A Fallen Realm

The second principle to draw from Revelation 4 is this: notice that this heavenly realm is not a fallen realm. In this un-fallen heavenly realm the worship and service of God remains the unceasing and all consuming activity of every living thing.

Remember that chapters 4 and 5 of Revelation go together and they are peppered with accounts of praise. There are five songs sung in these two chapters. The first is found in 4:8. The praise is directed towards God and is sung by the four living creatures. The second is in 4:11. It also is directed towards God but is sung by the twenty-four elders. The third in 5:9-10 is directed towards Christ and is sung again by the twenty-four elders. The fourth song is found in 5:11-12. It is again directed towards Christ, but is sung by the four living creatures who are then joined by the twenty-four elders and “many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands” (Revelation 5:11, ESV). The fifth song is found in 5:13. John “heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, ‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” And the four living creatures said, ‘Amen!’ and the elders fell down and worshiped” (Revelation 5:13–14, ESV).

This heavenly realm is un-fallen. In this un-fallen heavenly realm the worship and service of God remains the unceasing and all consuming activity of every living thing.

You may be thinking to yourself, but wasn’t there a fall in this heavenly realm among the angels  before there was a fall in the earthly realm affecting all of humanity? Indeed there was. But the fallen angels were immediately expelled from this heavenly realm and condemned. 2 Peter 2:4 says, “For…God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment” (2 Peter 2:4, ESV). Do you see that no mercy was shown to the angels when they fell? There was and is no plan of redemption for them. There is no redemptive history to unfold. Heaven is not a realm that is fallen where the process of judgment and redemption is unfolding progressively. Earth is that way. Heaven is not. Only the elect angels belong and remain there.

When Paul exhorted the young pastor Timothy to rebuke the unruly in the church he did so by reminding him that heaven is watching. Listen to what he said: “As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear. In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality” (1 Timothy 5:20–21, ESV). Timothy was exhorted to do his job as a pastor being ever mindful of the fact that heaven is watching. And who is looking down upon us from this heavenly realm? God, Christ Jesus, and the elect angels are.

Everything is in perfect order in this heavenly realm. The worship and service of God remains the unceasing and all consuming activity of every living thing. Do you remember the sea of glass that John saw before God’s throne? That tranquil sea is, in part, symbolic of this very fact. There is no turmoil in heaven. God is enthroned there. He is worshiped and served as he ought to be. That will never end. The angels that are there are elect angels. They will not fall. They will serve him and worship him faithfully forever and ever.

Who are the twenty-four elders that John saw worshipping before the throne? The answer is that they are angels who stand for, represent, and serve God’s elect who are on earth in every age.

Notice the number of them. They are twenty-four in number. Remember that there were twelve tribes in Israel and twelve apostles. The number twenty-four is certainly meant to symbolize this group – all of God’s redeemed under both the Old and New Covenants.

Notice what they are called – elders. Typically, the title elder is used to refer to leaders who are human, and not angelic.

Notice how they are dressed. They are said to be wearing the garb that was promised to Christians who overcome in the letters to the churches. To the Christians in Smyrna, for example, Christ said, “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10, ESV). And to the Christians in Sardis Christ said, “The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels” (Revelation 3:5, ESV). Here these elders are said to be “clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads” (Revelation 4:4, ESV).

Notice where these elders are sitting. They are seated on thrones, ruling and reigning with God and with Christ. Is this not what Christ promised to the Christian who overcome? To the Laodiceans Christ said, “The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne” (Revelation 3:21, ESV).

All of these observations have led some to conclude that these twenty-four elders are not angels, but are in fact the souls of believers (perhaps leaders) who have died and are with the Lord in heaven now. I understand why they come to that position Indeed, there are many factors compelling us to identify the twenty-four elders with God’s people. The number of them, their title, how they are dressed, where they are said to be sitting, all compel us to identify these beings with God’s redeemed – the elect from every age – under the Old and New Covenants.

But it cannot be, for clearly these twenty-four elders are distinguished from redeemed humanity and are more closely identified with angels as the book of Revelation unfolds. I cannot demonstrate this to you now because of time constraints, but a simple word study that examines the usage of the word “elder” in the book of Revelation would prove the point. These are angelic beings. The twenty-four elders are, therefore, angels who stand for, represent, and serve God’s elect – God’s redeemed people on earth – in every age.

This idea that there are angels  – ministering spirits – that correspond to the redeemed on earth should not surprise us. Remember that every one of the letters written to the seven churches was addressed, not to he church itself, but “to the angel” of each particular church – “to the angel of the church in Ephesus write…”, and “to the angel of the church in Smyrna write…”, and so on. The writer to the Hebrews when speaking of angels says, “Are they not all ministering spirits sent out [by God] to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation [the redeemed]” (Hebrews 1:14, ESV)? These are the angels that John saw in his vision represented by the twenty-four elders seated on the twenty-four thrones.

And who are the four living creatures that John saw worshipping before the throne? The answer is that they too are angels, but they represent all of creation and serve God in his interaction with the whole created world. So we have heavenly representation for the redeemed, and we have heavenly representation for all of creation.

If you pay attention to the activities of the four living creatures throughout the rest of the book of Revelation you will find that they are active in carrying out the judgments of God upon the whole earth. This can be seen in chapter 6 and also 15:7.

Notice the appearance of the creatures. John says they were,

“…full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within…” (Revelation 4:6–8, ESV)

The many eyes signify divine omniscience. God’s judgments are perfect because he sees all things with perfect clarity, even the intents of the heart. The living creatures administer God’s judgments justly because they do so according to the command of the omniscient God.

In the vision John saw that each of the four heavenly creatures had the face of an earthly creature – a lion, an ox, a man, and an eagle. This also supports the idea that these living creatures represent and minister on behalf of God in his created world.

The faces of the animals also likely symbolize something of the qualities of God’s judgments. His judgments will come swiftly, like an eagle in flight; with power, like that of an ox; with fierceness, like that of a lion; and according to wisdom, like that of a man.

It is very important to notice that the four living creatures that John saw in his vision are both similar and dissimilar to the four living creatures that Ezekiel saw in his vision. The similarities are so numerous (same number of creatures, same faces, similar position before God’s throne) that you cannot deny that they make reference to the same thing. In other words, what John saw is what Ezekiel saw. But the dissimilarities keep us from making a serious interpretive error. In Ezekiel’s vision each creature had four faces, one of the animals faces on each side, the numbers of the wings differ, etc. It would be a mistake to assume that this is really what angels look like. It would be a mistake to assume that John and Ezekiel were taken up to heaven with a camera and they took a picture of how things look there. No, they saw visions of haven, and those visions were symbolic in nature. Angels really look like angels, and not oxen or eagles or lions or men. Jesus the Christ looks like Jesus the Christ, and not a lamb slain with seven horns and seven eyes (Revelation 5:6). This was a vision that John saw and the things that he saw were symbolic.

The elders and the living creatures represent angels. And their appearance communicates truth to us about the, namely, that in heaven there are angels who worship and serve God. Particularly they serve God by ministering to his redeemed (symbolized by the twenty-four elders) and also carrying out his judgments upon the earth (symbolized by the four living creatures.

Friends, you are seeing that interpreting the book of Revelation constantly well requires mental discipline. This is true for all interpreters, but especially for those of us who grew up with the futuristic and hyper-literalistic view of the book of Revelation.

Many of us grew up being taught that Revelation 4:1 and onward describes things that will happen yet in our future. I’ve tried to demonstrate that this is not at all true. The content of the book of Revelation is not organized chronologically from beginning to end, but rather it recapitulates, telling the story of God’s redemption and judgment over and over again from different vantage points. It is not mainly about the future, but it is about the past, present and future. I think I have demonstrated this effectively in past lectures and sermons, but if you are still unconvinced then I would simply ask you to explain why the birth of Christ is described in 12:1. I could ask you to explain many other instances of recapitulation, but this one seems to be most clear. The birth of Jesus Christ is described in the middle of the book of Revelation. The book is not mainly about the future, but it is about the past, present, and future. It is not organized chronologically, but it recapitulates again and again, painting a picture of how things will go in these “last days” (the time between Christ’s first and second comings). You might be growing tired of hearing me say this, but the repetition is needed lest we fall back into our futuristic mindset.

Also, many of us grew up being taught that we are to interpret the book of Revelation literally whenever possible. I’ve also tried to demonstrate that this is not true. The book is filled with symbolism. It’s genre is apocalyptic and prophetic. Much of the book is a record of visions that John was shown. Truthfully, if we interpret the book literally whenever possible then we will make the book to contradict itself. I might simply ask the question, what does Jesus look like now that he is in heaven? Does he look like the son of man described in Revelation 1 or the lamb that looked as though it had been slain in chapter 5. If what what John describes to us is to be taken literally, then we have a contradiction. It is far better to recognize that truths about our risen and ascended Lord are communicated to us in both chapter 1 and 5, but in a symbolic and nonliteral way.  Jesus does not really look like the figure in chapter 1 or 5. This is an obvious example, but I mention it to illustrate the principle.

Brothers and sisters, these visions are filled with symbolism. But please remember that to say something in the text of scripture is symbolic does not make it any less real or true. It simply means that we must get to the truth by properly interpreting the symbolism. Are there really angels in heaven? Yes! And do they represent us and minster to us on God’s behalf? Yes! How do we know that is real and true? Because of what John saw and the obvious symbolism contained within the vision. I suppose God could have simply said in a direct way, “Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation”, just as he did through the writer to the Hebrews. But we are not in Hebrews, we are in Revelation. And in Revelation truthes are not just explained to us, they are shown! And I, for one, am glad for it, because the images we see are vivid and bright and most descriptive. We simply need to develop mental discipline while we study this book being ever mindful of where we are – in the book of Revelation, which is prophetic and apocalyptic literature. It communicates truth in it’s own unique way.

Brothers and sisters, remember that the heavenly realm is not a fallen realm. In this un-fallen heavenly realm the worship and service of God remains the unceasing and all consuming activity of every living thing.

This Un-fallen Heavenly Realm Interacts Continuously With The Fallen Earthly Realm In The Application Of both Redemption And Judgment

And lastly notice that this un-fallen heavenly realm interacts continuously with the fallen earthly realm in the application of both redemption and judgment.

To put it another way, things are indeed perfect in the heavenly realm, but the way things are also reveals that things are far from perfect in the world in which we live.

Consider this, if there were no fall on earth – if man did not fall frm his state of innocence into a state of sin – would John have seen the ominous and threatening thunder and lighting of judgment preceding from the throne of God. No! There would have been nothing to judge. Would he have seen the rainbow of mercy? No. Mercy is need only because we have sinned. And would there have been need of angels who represent and support the redeemed? No, without the fall there would be no need for redemption. And what of the four creatures who will take part in calling forth the judgments of God? Though they would have existed as elect angels , the would not have that task, for there would have be nothing on earth to judge.  The point that I want to make is that the vision John saw in heaven reveals much to us, not only about how things are there, but also here.

You and I live in a fallen world. But it is not a forsaken world. It is a fallen and sinful realm, but it is a realm in which the God of heaven along with his heavenly attendants are at work. They are applying both redemption and judgment continuously and will do so until the new heavens and new earth are ushered in. God is active in redeeming a people for himself, and will support them and keep them to the end. God is also active in judgment. He judges now, and will judge finally in the end. Do you want to know what the book of Revelation is all about, friends? It is about that! It tells the story of redemption and judgment in a most colorful and vivid way.

Application

Let us apply these truths by way of conclusion.

One, know that heaven is not in turmoil. friends. God is is not frustrated or confused. That should bring peace to our lives as we sojourn in this chaotic world.

Two, take comfort in the fact that God is with us. His elect angels minster to his elect people. But notice one more feature in this vision. “Before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God” (Revelation 4:5, ESV). When we compare this passage to Zechariah 4 it is undeniable that this is a reference to the Holy Spirit. There is, in reality, one Holy Spirit and not seven. Then why the does the text say seven? It is symbolic, of course. True, seven is the number of perfection – the Holy Spirit is perfect in every way. But notice also that the number here corresponds to the number of churches addressed in this book. There are seven churches and seven spirits of God before the throne. The meaning is this – God is with all of his redeemed by the power of the Holy Spirit. You are not alone. Christ told his disciples,

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also… If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. ‘I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you’” (John 141-3; 5–18, ESV).

Three, let us order our lives here on earth according to what is real in heaven. In particular, let us gather faithfully to worship on the Lord’s day, which is the Christian Sabbath, knowing that when we do we join in with the heavenly chorus who worships God continuously. Our worship here on earth correspond to the worship in heaven. We show, though our keeping of the Christian Sabbath and by our worship of God, that we are, first of all, citizens of heaven who are sojourning here for a time.

Lastly, I would call all who can hear these words to repent and trust in Christ for the forgiveness of sins. Indeed, or sins make us worthy recipients only of God’s judgment. But through faith in Christ we have the forgives of sins.