The American Wisdom Series 
 http://www.americanwisdomseries.com

Presents the Tell it like it is! series of studies:

Revelation 2:17  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

John 15:26
But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

John 16:13-14
[13] Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. [14] He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you

This Bible Study was originally written by Roger Christopherson, 
 published at http://www.theseason.org/.

Without the leading by the Holy Spirit, there is no understanding of the truths, for all the truth of the Scriptures are revealed to us by God's Spirit.

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Now here is our revised study of: Christopherson's Revelation chapter 4

REVELATION

Chapter 4

"John's First Vision in Heaven"

The book of Revelation means to reveal. This book is to unveil the events that are to occur at the close of this earth age, that take us into the Millennium kingdom and beyond. Even to the eternal kingdom, when we will be present with all three offices of the Godhead.

There are many doctrines that have slipped into today's body of Christian believers. 

This fourth chapter gets into one of the most damaging of all of the false teachings. 

That is, because it is totally misleading.
Unfortunately it is taught in most Protestant churches; By teachers, evangelist, and so forth; as they try to make the first two verses of the fourth chapter fit into their "rapture doctrine".

In many studies, of the book of Revelation, the author's of those studies use this fourth chapter of Revelation to show, as evidence, that the church will be gone during the great tribulation. 

They say "the rapture" as they call it, will have taken place and the church is no longer present on earth, after the churches are talked about in chapter three.

Revelation 4:1 "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; Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter."

"After this", is after the vision of the seven churches, talked about in the first three chapters, have been instructed; in which two of those churches were on the right track, and of the other five churches Jesus was displeased with. Two churches had the doctrines of Christ in them, and they knew who the "Kenites" are, and where they came. They knew the Kenites were of the synagogue of Satan and claimed to be Jews, when in fact they were lying and not Jews at all.

Jesus said, if you understand what the churches of Smyrna and Philadelphia understood, and followed it, it is worth a crown of life to you.

This chapter starts out, "After this [after the messages to the churches] I looked, behold a door was opened in heaven:" 

This door is not on earth 
where the seven churches are,
but in heaven.

John is being carried from the Isle of Patmos to a specific time, or "earth dispensation" in the heavenlies.

The key to understanding when this time period was given in Revelation 1:10. "I was in the spirit on the Lord's day:" This is not in reference to a Saturday or Sunday.

This is a record given,
by Jesus, to John,
of events that will happen just before,
or following that day, "the Lord's day".

Jesus took John, not physically, but "in the spirit" to witness "that day" which was still future.

"The first voice which I heard..." Who is this "I" in verse one? 
Of course it's John, the one writing this. 

Have you ever heard John referred to as "the Church"? Absolutely not. There is no church in heaven; not at this point. However, there will be, for heaven is where ever God is, and at the appointed time He is coming here to earth. Then there will be one church, one gathering place where the called-out ones shall meet.

"...I heard as it were of a trumpet"; [This is the last trumpet] "...talking with me,".

The voice here is not speaking to the church, but it is directed to John. "Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be here after." That refers to the "day" that is after our subject, "The Lords Day". "I will shew thee [John, singular]", transporting John and John only, in the spirit to this certain place in heaven.

There is no church in this verse going anyplace. 

There is only John being taken to heaven "in the spirit", and hearing a voice like a trumpet calling him up. 

John was taken from 90 A.D. to a time beyond this year, 2000 when all these things John was shown, will happen; for we are now living in the final generation when these things will come about. 

The whole purpose for John being shown this and writing this entire book of Revelation is to warn the people of our generation, of the great deception the false-christ, Satan, the spurious messiah, sometimes called the antichrist, and his system would bring upon the earth before Jesus Christ's return.

American Wisdom Series Editor's Note: (sometimes called the antichrist, by some people but never in the Bible have I found Satan called that; But I guess it's ok if people call him that, he certainly is anti-christ)

We are living in the generation of the "parable of the fig tree" and that is why Jesus told us to learn it, so that we would not be deceived.

This fourth chapter then tells us what is going to happen after this generation on the "Day of the Lord" in heaven.

Revelation 4:2 "And immediately I was in the spirit; and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne."

Revelation 4:3 "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."

We know the "jasper stone" is green, and the "sardine stone" is red; So what is being said here?

A priest's breast plate has twelve stones in it. 
The jasper stone and the sardine stones are the last and the first stones on his breast plate. 

Why then does John see the last stone first, and then the first stone last?

Because: It's the last ones, of us, who will pass through this earth age, that are to be the first to see with their eyes these events that transpire.

Whereby, they can see and understand our Father's will and wish.

Any time a light shines through a prism you can see a rainbow of colors. The rainbow is the description of the radiance of the Glory of God. This is brought to light in Revelation 10:1, that time when the rainbow is worn as a crown of glory, when Jesus Christ's return to earth. It represents the full spectrum; the full pattern of the Godhead.

Revelation 4:4 "And round about the throne were four and twenty seats [thrones]: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold."

There is no way to document this, except in comparison of other Scripture, and the assumption is that God will put certain people in higher esteem than others in His kingdom. It's possible that these twenty four elders were the twelve patriarchs, or heads of the tribes of Israel, for in the seventh chapter the importance of these patriarchs will become clearer. 

The other twelve, being the Apostles. We better not leave Judas out, since we must remember that upon repentance all sinful acts are forgiven, and blotted out. Judas the Apostle did give the money back and repented in sorrow. 

So here we have twenty four elders sitting clothed in "white raiment."

In the study of the third chapter we saw that "white raiment" are the religious acts of the saints; [Revelation 3:18], and upon their heads were their crowns of life.

Revelation 4:5 "And out of the throne proceeded lightning and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God."

What are these seven spirits? God had seven angels over the seven churches, when the seven churches were being spoken to; however, we will cover these seven spirits in detail in the next two chapters.

Revelation 4:6 "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 [living creatures] full of eyes before and behind."

The "throne of God" is pure. This "sea of glass" represents purity; with no flaws. 

The beast is a good way to classify something that man has no reference to. The word for "beast" in the Greek is "zoon", or "zoa", which means "living ones". The "zoa" are the cherubims of Genesis 3:24. In Ezekiel 1:5-14, they are the protective cherubims of God's throne. Basically these four creatures do not have free will, for their duty is solely to protect and to guard.

Revelation 4:7 "And the first beast [creature] 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."

As you think of these four beasts that John is seeing in his vision, think also of the zoa, or cherubims of Ezekiel 1:10. In Numbers 2:2 we see that each night when the different tribes camped, they set their standards, or banners before themselves. That standard meant something, and represented that tribe with the banner set before them.

The standard of the United States is the "Stars and Stripes". These beast-like figures are the standards of the four beasts. When the Israelites camped, the flag with the Lion was always before Judah to the east. On the south was the tribe with the "man's face" on the flag, Reuben; for he was the firstborn. To the west was the "ox", representing Ephraim, and Dan's banner was on the north side with "the eagle".

God's order to the tribes was that they put those banners in their place of encampment, and this is what the book of Numbers is all about. These four tribes were the protectors of the whole camp of Israel, all the tribes. They were the protectors of the nation and the throne, and God was their only King. In fact in eternity, the "zoa" are never mentioned. They are mentioned only to John here, and this is the last time we will read of them.

Revelation 4:8 "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."

With these eyes they could understand clearly. It wasn't necessary for them to rest, because these "zoa" were created such as they were by God. This is their duty; they are to have a continual watch. And as they keep their watch, they are continually give praise to our Heavenly Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

"Which was", calls attention that Christ the Son was in the first earth age, prior to the destruction of Genesis 1:1-2. "Which is"; He is the Son of God that was born, lived, and died in this earth age. "And yet to come", is that time coming very shortly when Jesus will return at the seventh trump to establish His kingdom on earth.

Revelation 4:9 "And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,"

Christ is the source of our power that allows us to live forever and ever.

Revelation 4:10 "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,"

The power that is in their crowns, their authority, and all that they have are cast before the throne of God in humility, showing that all power and authority that exists comes from the Father.

Revelation 4:11 "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 is what these voices of the four beasts, and the twenty four elders said. They recognized that all glory is of God, and belongs to Him. Our God is the God of the Universe, for it is God that created all things. When God created mankind, our sole purpose of existence, at any age or time, was and still is for His pleasure.

When we see people use God's name in cursing, think of how it must hurt him, but it also shows how much He must love His creation [man], for He gave his own Son to redeem man from his sins. God allowed a way for all men to come back to Him through the blood of His Son, shed on the cross, and man's humble repentance.

In ignorance we sin, and in love God forgives us through His son's name, who gave His all for us. 

He left His place in glory to be born of the Virgin Mary.
He grew from a baby to manhood, and saw the same temptation you and I see. 

Then Jesus went to the cross gladly to fulfill Scripture, and complete His Fathers plan; and the plan of redemption was finished on the cross.

My fellow Christian, that is why Jesus Christ and the Heavenly Father deserve our love and praise; and that is why John saw in heaven this enormous praise given to Jesus Christ. 

If you don't understand this then you are spiritually out of touch, and need to humbly yourself and seek Him in prayer, and in His Word. 

All things were, and are created for God's pleasure, and that includes you and me.

American Wisdom Series Editor's Note:: We are going to stop here in this "Revelation of Jesus Christ" study to review some commentary from chapter 4 in an earlier study we published on the "Revelation of Jesus Christ."  I don't believe you will find much difference in the general opinion of these 2 authors, but to read another person's perspective of events that did and will take place may prove helpful in our understanding of Jesus' revelation. Also, our introduction #9300 was taken from this earlier study so keep your eyes open for study tips and rules to help simplify your grasp of Jesus' end time revelation.

Revelation Chapter 4 

We have just completed "seeing" what is happening on EARTH and in the seven churches on the day of Lord, the first day of the Millennium, a time even yet future.

Now we are going to "see" what is happening in HEAVEN at that same time. We are going to actually see the throne of Almighty God and what is transpiring beyond the veil that separates the two dimensions, flesh and spirit, "behind the scenes" so to speak.

John will be describing as best he can the things which he sees, once again painting a PICTURE in our minds using symbols and vivid imagery.

What a privilege and an honor it must have been for this one, John, to be used as the instrument who would see and record for his fellow servants the "things that must shortly come to pass" (Rev. 1:1).

So here it is, an Open Door in Heaven. Let us put our "ears" on and open our "eyes" and enter in with our brother John.

Notice that the first voice John hears in heaven was the same first voice he heard on earth, as of a trumpet, which, by the way, even in the Old Testament is connected with War and the Day of the Lord (Zeph 1:14-16). Here is a reminder of what John heard on earth:

Now also visualize in your mind's eye a beautiful rainbow glowing about the throne with its magnificent prisms of light beaming forth. You are "seeing" the "shekinah glory" of Almighty God.

Got the PICTURE so far? Now keep this scene in your mind as we read about another servant of God who ALSO SAW His throne, when God Himself paid Ezekiel a visit in His vehicle, with His throne aboard (read the entirety of Chapter 1 of Ezekiel). Live Link to- Ezekiel chapter 1 

Remember when we started studying this great Book of the Unveiling that we discussed how easy it is to understand if you have read the rest of the Bible before you read the last chapters? Can you begin to see why with this example?

Now to the stones. Did you know that there were Twelve Stones, gems, in the breastplate of the Levitical Priests, each one each representing one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel? The jasper and the sardine (sardius) stone are the last and the first stones in the breastplate, respectively. So we see the first and the last, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, once again.

These two stones, the jasper and the sardine, also represent Benjamin and Reuben. It is interesting that the younger is put before the elder once again, as we see so many times in scripture.

Below are the names of the stones, as they appear in the Authorized and Revised Version and as marginal readings: (Exod. 28)

Who are they? Well, John doesn't exactly tell us, but if we've read the rest of the Book, and in as much as the gemstones in the breastplate, representing the 12 Tribes, are mentioned, then we are left to conclude that 12 of them are the 12 Patriarchs of the Old Testament. The other 12 would most likely be the 12 Apostles of the New Testament, the founding pillars of the NT Church. The number "12" in Biblical numerics represents "Governmental Perfection" (see appendix 10 of the Companion Bible).

So all the board members are present and accounted for.

The seven lamps are the seven Spirits of God. They will be mentioned again, even individually, at which time we'll learn what they are and discuss them in greater detail.

Uh, oh! Four beasts with lots of eyeballs all over them! Good grief! Everything was looking so good and beautiful and even made a lot of sense. So, where'd the monsters come from?

Actually, this is an example of how the Biblically illiterate think, which unfortunately includes many of those ministers whom Christ warned would come in His name and deceive many. That should come as no surprise! You've read about the seven churches, so you know they've infested five of them with their deception, false teachings, and ignorance.

Therefore, next we will learn who these beautiful "living beings" are who reside at the very throne of our Father. We will also learn that they are described elsewhere in God's Word and that their appearance is so familiar to a student of the Word that sometimes they forget how aghast the unlearned become when they read without foundation.

Please stick around. It's a fantastic trip into the heavens. He who gave us the key of David has left the portal into the other dimension wide open for us.

While exiled on the Isle of Patmos for preaching the Word of God, John was transported through time, in the spirit, to the Lord's Day, the first day of the Millennium, a time yet future but very near. After seeing and recording what Jesus Christ had to say to the seven churches here on earth, he was then taken to heaven to see for us what was happening there.

So John has been describing heaven for us, the very throne of God Almighty, with what looked like a sea of glass before it and the "shekinah glory", the beautiful multi-colored flashing rainbow surrounding it. There were 24 elders seated around the throne and John had just begun to tell us about the four living beings present at His throne.

Let's review verse six:

And once again, there is nothing really new described here by John, for we have record of these entities elsewhere in God's Word. Their first mentioned way back in the Book of Genesis, for these "zoa" are the cherubim of Genesis 3:24 that were placed at the east of the garden of Eden to prevent access to the "Tree of Life", i.e. they were guards whose purpose was to protect.

Let's read one more verse describing the "zoon".

The phrases "full of eyes before and behind" and "full of eyes within" come from a figure of speech which has lost its meaning in the translation from Greek into English. It simply means that they looked all around, a thing which guards do. It is much the same as the "flaming sword which turned every way" in Genesis 3.

We've discussed figures of speech in previous studies. In English, for example, when a person dies we might say "he kicked the bucket". That is a figure of speech that has nothing to do with buckets. It means he died. But such is not a figure of speech in French. So if we translate "kicked the bucket" into French, the Frenchman would never think of death (except dying while trying to figure out why some poor Christian would be kicking buckets around).

Now let's go back in time about 2500 years (2 1/2 days as God reckons time) to the prophet Ezekiel. God Himself visited Ezekiel. That's right! God came to Ezekiel in a vehicle escorted by four other vehicles. Ezekiel describes these vehicles as "flying wheels" that looked like "highly polished spectrum metal".  And guess what? Aboard the mother ship was the throne of God and He who sits thereupon. Here's part of Ezekiel's account:

Here's how the Living Bible translates this verse:

And now here is a more detailed description of the four living beings Ezekiel saw, way before John saw them in Revelation.

Let's now go back even farther in the Word, to the Book of Numbers, chapter 2, and understand what these symbols are. If you are fortunate to have a Companion Bible, on page 181 you will find a diagram of the encampment of Israel as they wandered in the wilderness of Sinai. Each of the Twelve Tribes had its own standard, i.e. flag, which went before them.

Look! The standard of Judah is the lion, the standard of Reuben is a man, the standard of Ephraim is the bull, ox, and the standard of Dan is the eagle.

The encampment from the Book of Numbers:

                                                      (N)

Have you hugged you Father today?

Did you ever wonder what heaven looked like? We've been shown so many fluffy clouds with angels in white flowing gowns strumming golden harps that it's hard sometimes to get that picture out of our minds. You might say our minds have been "clouded" by the traditions of men.

But John, who writes from first hand experience having BEEN THERE in spirit, has just described a magnificent palatial chamber with a floor resembling a sea of glass like crystal before the very throne of Almighty God, in heaven. The brilliance of the "shekinah glory", as the beautiful prisms of light from the rainbow around the throne flash as lightning, is a sight to behold. Standing guard at the throne there are four mighty cherubs, zoon, with the likeness of the lion, the ox, the man, and the eagle, which are the four (E, W, S & N) major standards of Israel. And He who sits on the throne can only be compared to dazzling translucent gemstones and when He speaks His voice is as the mighty thunder of many waters. Then we see seated around that awesome throne of our Father 24 elders, people we know, the 12 Patriarchs and the 12 Apostles, all in white raiment wearing crowns of gold. Got the PICTURE?

Have you ever wondered what heaven looked like? Wonder no more!

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