Revelation 4:4,6)
"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. 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"
We now approach one of the difficult passages for which the Revelation is notorious. In it we meet twenty-four elders and then four living creatures; and we have to try to identify them. The likeliest explanation is that the twenty-four elders are the symbolic representatives of the faithful people of God. Their white robes are the robes promised to the faithful (Rev. 3:4), and their crowns are those promised to those who are faithful unto death (Rev. 2:10). The seats around the throne are those which Jesus promised to those who forsook all and followed him (Mat. 19:27-29). The description of the twenty-four elders fits well with the promises made to the faithful. We must remember that this is a vision, not of what yet is, but of what shall be; and the twenty-four elders stand as representatives of the whole Church which one day in glory will worship in the presence of God himself.
The voices are the voices of the thunder; and thunder and lightning are often connected with the manifestation of God. In the vision of Ezekiel lightning comes out of the fiery haze around the throne (Ezek. 1:13). The Psalmist tells how the voice of the thunder of God was heard in the heavens, and the lightnings lightened the world (Ps. 77:18). The seven torches are the seven Spirits of God. We have already met the seven Spirits before the throne (Rev. 1:4; Rev. 3:1). The "glassy sea" has exercised a strange fascination over the minds of many people. There was something which was beyond all description, but which could be only like a great sea of glass.
It appeared like a sea - stretching afar. It resembled, in its general appearance, glass; and this idea is strengthened by the addition of another image of the same character; that it was like a crystal, perfectly clear and pellucid. This would seem to be designed to represent the floor or structure on which the throne stood. So Maybe what we see in John's vision is that the empire of God is vast, as if it were spread out like the sea; or, it may be symbolic of the calmness, the satisfied complacent of the divine administration; like an undisturbed and unruffled ocean of glass. Perhaps, however, we should not press such circumstances too far to find a symbolical meaning.
Here we come to another of the symbolic problems of the Revelation. The four living creatures appear frequently in the heavenly scene: So let us begin by collecting what the Revelation itself says about them. They are always found near the throne and the Lamb (Rev. 4:6; Rev. 5:6; Rev. 14:4). From all this one thing emerges clearly; the cherubim are angelic beings who are close to God and the guardians of his throne. They have six wings and they are full of eyes (Rev. 4:6; Rev. 4:8). They are constantly engaged in praising and in worshiping God (Rev. 4:8; Rev. 5:9; Rev. 5:14; Rev. 7:11; Rev. 19:4).
They have certain functions to perform. They invite the dreadful manifestations of the wrath of God to appear upon the scene (Rev. 6:1; Rev. 6:7). One of them hands over the vials of the wrath of God (Rev. 15:7). There can be little doubt that we find the ancestors of these living creatures in the visions of Ezekiel. They are clearly part of the imagery of heaven; and they are not figures whom the writer of the Revelation did not create.
The lion symbolizes the powerful and effective working of the Son of God, his leadership and his royal power. The ox signifies the priestly side of his work, for it is the animal of sacrifice. The man symbolizes his incarnation. The eagle represents the gift of the Holy Spirit, hovering with his wings over the Church.
Here is the sleepless praise of nature; "Man rests on the Sabbath, and in sleep, and in the end in death, but the course of nature is unbroken and unbroken in praise." There is never any time when the world God made is not praising him.
It praises his omnipotence: God is the Almighty. The people to whom the Revelation was written are under the threat of the Roman Empire, a power which no person or nation had ever successfully withstood. Think what it must have meant to be sure that behind them stood the Almighty. The very giving of that name to God affirms the certainty of the safety of the Christian; not a safety which meant release from trouble but which made a man secure in life and in death.
It praises his everlastings: Empires might come and empires might go; God lasts for ever. Here is the triumphant affirmation that God endures unchanging a midst the enmity and the rebellion of men. We have seen that the living creatures stand for nature in all its greatness and the twenty-four elders for the great united Church in Jesus Christ. So when the living creatures and the elders unite in praise, it symbolizes nature and the Church both praising God.
The elders cast their crowns before the throne of God. In the ancient world that was the sign of complete submission. The picture looks on God as the conqueror of the souls of men; and on the Church as the body of people who have surrendered to him. There can be no Christianity without submission. God is The Creator! It is through his will and purpose that all things existed even before creation and were in the end brought into actual being. Man has acquired many powers, but he does not possess the power to create. He can alter and rearrange; he can make things out of already existing materials; but only God can create something out of nothing. Everything in the world belongs to God, and there is nothing a man can handle which God has not given to him. God Is The Almighty.
Amen!!
Reading: (Rev. 4:4-12)
Ref: (HGSB, BSB)
(C. Larkin)
May God Bless You
And Your Family
Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.
The Cross life Ministry
No comments:
Post a Comment