Chapter Four

Vision of the heavenly throne, its external surroundings, the 24 elders surrounding it, and four creatures with four faces: lion, ox, man, and eagle. Perpetual praise and thanksgiving (1–11).

Revelation 4:1. After these things I looked, and behold, a door was standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things. Beginning with chapter 4 and continuing through Rev 22:6 is the second part of the Apocalypse, the revelation of which is obtained partly while the gates of heaven were open and partly while heaven itself was open. This part contains a series (or five orders) of phenomena which pictorially and symbolically depict the eschatology of the world and the church. The expression “after this” can be regarded as the customary transition of the Apocalypse to what follows and represents an indefinite indication of time. “I looked” indicates the unexpectedness of the appearance of the object and the absence of connection with the previous field of vision and can be rendered: I was in a state of vision. The evangelist John in his state of excitement was presented with heaven with an open door, with an opening accessible to his gaze (and spirit) to heaven, to ascend to which the mysterious voice was inviting him. The voice is “the first” one; therefore, the speaker here can naturally be understood as the same Jesus Christ (Rev 1:10-15) as the mediator of the revelation. The sound of the voice, according to its power, was like the sound of a trumpet. The voice commands John to ascend here. Comparing this expression with Rev 11:12, one must acknowledge that John was indeed spiritually caught up to heaven.

Revelation 4:2. Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, there was a throne set in heaven, and One sitting on the throne; Revelation 4:3. And the One sitting was in appearance like jasper and carnelian stone; and a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald. The expression “at once I was in the Spirit” clarifies the previous statement, making clear that this was not a bodily ascent but a spiritual one, a higher state of ecstasy. The one sitting on the throne is not called by name, because the holy John wants to point to the first person of the Holy Trinity, God the Father in his distinction from Jesus Christ (Rev 5:6) and from the Holy Spirit (Rev 4:5). Assuming the indescribability and incomprehensibility of the Godhead, the holy John depicts the one sitting as in appearance resembling jasper and carnelian stone. By the rainbow around the throne is meant not a rain-cloud rainbow, as it was not composed of seven colors but of one—the emerald color; it was a circular refraction of the rays of the brilliance of jasper and sardonyx and had a greenish color (emerald).

Revelation 4:4. And around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and on the thrones I saw sitting twenty-four elders clothed in white garments, and they had crowns of gold on their heads. Who the elders were who surrounded the throne is answered differently by interpreters. Based on the fact that these elders sitting on thrones were dressed in white garments as a sign of their holiness and innocence (Rev 3:4), and on their heads were gold crowns serving as a symbol of victory reward (Rev 2:10), one must come to the conclusion that under the 24 elders must be understood not any definite classes of persons (such as patriarchs and apostles), but actual representatives of all glorified humanity, both of the Old Testament and of the New Testament. These elders are actual persons, chosen ones from among the glorified (Rev 5:9), to be the expressers of the service of people to God and of God’s love for people.

Revelation 4:5. And from the throne came forth lightnings and thunders and voices; and seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God; By voices here it is more correct to understand not articulate human voices but generally sounds, generally noise as the manifestation of constant movement, constant life. By the seven lamps, just as in Rev 1:4, there is contained an indication of the third person of the Holy Trinity—the Holy Spirit, who acts in the world as the distributor of gracious gifts.

Revelation 4:6. and before the throne was a sea of glass like crystal; and in the midst of the throne and around the throne were four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind. In the general description of the divine throne, the glassy sea must be attributed to the furnishings of the throne. It must constitute an essential feature of the general characterization and is a phenomenon similar to the rainbow, equally necessary. This is a medium not like our air and not like the sea. But undoubtedly something quite real, as real as the throne itself and all its surroundings were. “In the center” cannot be understood literally in the sense that the creatures were on the very throne: the throne was occupied by the one sitting on it. The concept of “in the center” must be brought close to the concept of “around.” One must imagine that the creatures, being between the thrones of the elders and the throne of the one sitting, some were behind and in front of the throne (in the center), while others were on its sides. Who were the creatures? They are called creatures (not beasts), that is, living beings, and this can be connected with the concept of humanity, which is also a living being. In any case, they are independent living beings, persons. The creatures are covered with eyes in front and behind, that is, one must acknowledge that the holy John saw them having many eyes both in front and behind. This points to the purity and loftiness of their nature.

Revelation 4:7. And the first living creature was like a lion, and the second living creature like an ox, and the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. The creatures seen by John, though reminiscent of the creatures of the prophet Ezekiel (Ezek 1:4-8), differ in the most essential respect. Though they are also four, there each was a combination of four; here each is independent. Therefore, one can assume that the apocalyptic vision was not borrowed or reworked from the vision of the prophet Ezekiel but was completely independent. Since John himself is silent about the figures of the creatures, probably because he himself did not discern them clearly, one must think that the figures in the vision do not have special significance, and only their resemblance to four classes of living beings—God’s creatures—is important. These creatures, the first—the lion—is the expression of power; the second—the ox—of nourishment; the third—humanity—of reason; and the fourth—the eagle—of loftiness.

Revelation 4:8. And each of the four living creatures had six wings all around, and inside they were full of eyes; and day and night they do not cease, saying, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and is and is to come. In Ezekiel’s vision the creatures have four wings each, and therefore the six-winged creatures of the Apocalypse are more like the seraphim seen by the prophet Isaiah (Isa 6:2), who had six wings each. The creatures covered themselves with their wings, covering completely, so that their figures, except for their heads, were invisible to the seer, and the purpose of the wings was thus to hide the figures of the creatures. The word “inside” must be given the meaning of indicating the circumstance that John saw eyes under the wings covering the bodies of the creatures. This means that the creatures of the Apocalypse, like the creatures of the prophet Ezekiel, had eyes not only on their faces in front and behind but their entire bodies were covered with eyes: they were many-eyed. The purpose of the creatures was the same as for the seraphim in the vision of the prophet Isaiah (Isa 6:3). They sing almost the same thing, and the difference in the content of their praise consists in its greater fullness. The creatures of the Apocalypse constantly praise not only the holiness of the Lord as the all-powerful ruler of the world but also as the Almighty. The epithet “who was, and is, and is to come” speaks not of the Trinity of the Godhead but of the fact that the Lord, having revealed himself in the Old (who was) and New (is) Covenants, will reveal himself as the rewarder at the end of the world (and is to come). Thus in these four creatures can and must be seen the bodiless powers surrounding God’s throne. They are completely special (neither seraphim nor cherubim) heavenly powers, which only the holy John saw, and for which he gave no other name but creatures, living beings by preeminence—the first creations of the Lord God.

Revelation 4:9. And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to the One sitting on the throne, to the One living forever and ever, Revelation 4:10. the twenty-four elders will fall down before the One sitting on the throne, and will worship the One living forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Revelation 4:11. Worthy are You, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for You created all things, and because of Your will all things exist and were created. The words “whenever they give” are equivalent to: each time the creatures give, and indicate the repeatedness of actions. The song of angelic praise to the eternal was sung again and again. And each time it ended, the 24 elders sitting on their thrones would rise. They removed their crowns and laid them near themselves before the throne of God, and themselves bowed down before the one sitting. Their bowing was an expression of consciousness of the perceived greatness of God. And in their song they say that the Lord is worthy to receive not only the glory and honor given to him by bodiless powers but also power, that is, glorification of God’s omnipotence. * * * Kliefoth. Hengstenberg, Kliefoth. Ebrard. Ewald. Ewald, Ebrard.