The Adoration Of God The Creator: An Exposition Of Revelation 4

By David J. MacLeod

[David J. MacLeod is Dean for Biblical Studies, Emmaus Bible College, Dubuque, Iowa, and Associate Editor, The Emmaus Journal.

This is the first article in a three-part series on Revelation 4–5, “Worship in Heaven.”]

Christina Rossetti (1830–1894), Victorian poet and hymn writer, said, “Heaven is revealed to earth as the homeland of music.”[1] This is surely the testimony of the Book of Revelation.[2] “It is filled with the atmosphere of worship. It contains numerous hymns and dwells on the theme of adoration more than any other book of the New Testament.”[3] Commenting on the pervasiveness of worship in the book, Peterson writes, “Essentially, that is what Revelation is—an act of worship that calls others into the act of worship. On the first page we see John at worship, ‘I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day’ (1:10). On the last page, we see John, momentarily distracted by the angel, commanded back to the center: ‘Worship God,’ he is told (22:9). Between that first and last page we have scene after scene of robust worship—the sights and sounds pulling together everything in heaven and earth, in creation and Cross, in history and salvation—all involving us in worship.”[4]

What is true of the book as a whole is particularly true of chapters 4 and 5.[5] Koester notes that many readers “miss the importance of this passage. Seeking to learn ‘what must take place after this’ (4:1), they quickly move on to the seven seals in chapter 6, where portents of disaster loom large. When John sees ‘what must take place after this,’ however, the first vision consists not of disaster but of worship.”[6] John’s readers were confronted by two cultural conditions that are common today as well. They had teachers who were trivializing the gospel by aberrant teachings, promoting a kind of incipient Gnosticism (Balaam, Jezebel, and the Nicolaitans). And they were undergoing trials brought on by persecution from different sources. It is striking that in such a climate John called his readers (then and now) not to the wringing of hands but to “the main action, to the ‘God center.’ ”[7] He knew that believers immersed in worship would keep before them “the truth of the gospel,” namely, “that God in Christ rules and saves.”[8]

Chapter 4 marks the beginning of the third division of John’s three-part work.[9] Revelation 1:19 divides the book into three sections: (1) Chapter 1, “the things which you have seen,” that is, the glorified Christ inspecting His churches, (2) chapters 2–3, “the things which are,” that is, the churches—the Lord’s analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the seven churches of Asia Minor, and (3) chapters 4–22, “the things which shall take place after these things,” that is, the consummation—the eschatological events that surround the second coming of Christ.[10]

Chapters 6–19 describe the seven-year period immediately preceding the return of Christ that John called “the great tribulation” (7:14). Chapters 4–5 are “a kind of preface” to the description of that period of intensified conflict.[11] The two chapters go together, and they serve a twofold purpose. First, from a literary point of view, they tie the book together. They may be viewed as “the fulcrum of the Revelation.”[12] They give a fuller understanding of the

One who evaluated the seven churches, and they initiate the series of judgments leading up to the Lord’s second advent. They also designate the form of those judgments, namely, the seven seals.

Second, from a more practical point of view chapters 4 and 5 are designed to encourage God’s people. They remind readers that no matter how fearful or uncontrolled the forces of evil on earth may seem to be, behind the scenes God is on His throne governing His universe. The course of history is not determined by political power—either Rome in John’s day or Antichrist at the end. Rather it is controlled by the sovereign God who is in full command of the course of human affairs.[13]

The single motif that binds the chapters together is this: The God of creation is the God of redemption, who accomplishes His gracious will through the crucified and risen Christ.[14]

The Summons From Christ In Heaven (v. 1)

“The vision of the glorified Christ walking among the churches on earth is followed by a vision of the Court of heaven.”[15] John saw “a door standing open” in the vault of heaven so that he could pass through it and see the wonders of heaven. When he entered, he found himself in “a throne room in a heavenly temple.”[16] The word “heaven” (οὐρανός) is used in a variety of ways in the Bible. First, it can refer to the atmospheric heavens, that is, where birds fly (“the air,” Prov. 23:5; Rev. 9:2). Second, it can refer to the celestial heavens, that is, where the sun, moon, and stars are (Gen. 1:14; 15:5). Third, it can refer to the region where God is. Even here the Bible seems to make distinctions.17 There is the eternal abode of God, a place of perfection, the place to which Jesus ascended after His resurrection (Heb. 1:3; 4:14; 7:26). Then there are the angelic regions (the “heavenly places” of Ephesians 6:12), a place not without evil. This is the region where God on occasion takes His place in the midst of His angel rulers, hears their reports, and supervises their activities—a place where even Satan at present has access (Ps. 82:1; Job 1:6; 2:1; Rev. 12:10). It is probably to this place that John referred—a sphere of spiritual reality.

John saw “a door standing open in heaven” (4:1). Other doors have already been mentioned in Revelation, and they must not be confused with this door.18 There was the door of access to the messianic kingdom in 3:8, the door to the hearts of those in Laodicea in 3:20, and here the door of revelation. The voice John heard summoning him to come up through the door[19] was the voice of Jesus Christ (cf. 1:10), who told John that he would be shown “what must take place after these things.” It is clear from the phrase “after these things” (μετὰ ταῦτα) that the events in the following chapters will take place in the future. As Aune notes, John ascended to heaven to hear “the disclosure of God’s eschatological plan.”[20] It is appropriate, Mounce suggests, that John be called up to heaven because “a true insight into history is gained only when we view all things from the vantage point of [heaven].”[21]

The Throne Of God In Heaven (vv. 2–7)

The Throne (v. 2)[22]

John wrote, “Immediately I was in the Spirit.” John had already said that he was “in the Spirit” (1:10), that is, in a kind of prophetic ecstasy in which he received revelation. Now in 4:2 he was in a “fresh wave of ecstasy” that caught him up to heaven.[23] By saying he was “in the Spirit,” John let his readers know that what he wrote he learned under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.[24]

The first thing John saw in heaven was a “throne.” Of the sixty-two times the word “throne” appears in the New Testament, forty-seven are in Revelation. John’s readers were familiar with earthly thrones. The throne of Caesar had caused them much trouble. They were reminded here that God’s throne is above all others.

God’s throne symbolizes His absolute sovereignty over all things.[25] The psalmist wrote, “God reigns over the nations, God sits on His holy throne” (Ps. 47:8; cf. 103:19). When asked how he had come to write his oratorio Messiah, George Handel answered, “I saw the heavens opened and God upon His throne.”[26] Because God on His throne is sovereign believers have no reason to despair. “The sign of God’s sovereign power is the throne; for we are about to view God’s work, and God’s work consists in the fact that He reigns.”[27]

The Greek in verse 2 reads, ἰδοὺ θρόνος ἔκειτο (“behold, a throne being set”), that is, it was being set up as John watched[28] for a particular purpose, namely, to oversee the judgments recorded in chapters 6–19. Whatever throne of God is mentioned in the Scriptures—eternal, millennial, great white throne, the throne of chapters 4–5—it partakes of all the authority of the triune God because of the One who is seated on it.

The One Sitting On The Throne (vv. 2–3a)

John next saw “One sitting on the throne.” Unlike Daniel (in Dan. 7:9) John did not mention seeing particular elements of a human form.[29] Instead he got the impression of the brilliant flashing of gemlike colors.[30] He mentioned two gems in particular, the jasper (ἴασπις) and the sardius (σάρδιον). The identification of these stones is uncertain. In chapter 21:11 the jasper is said to be “very costly” and “crystal-clear.” It is probably like a diamond. The sardius was a blood-red stone named after Sardis near where it was found. The jasper may represent holiness and purity, and the sardius wrath or judgment.[31]

These two stones were among the twelve precious stones on the breastplate of Israel’s high priest (Exod. 28:17–21). Some commentators argue that the stones are intended to picture God in His relationship to Israel.[32] This has validity in that the following chapters do unfold God’s dealings with Israel. It should also be noted that the sardius was the first of the stones on the high priest’s breastplate, and the jasper was the last in the Greek rendering of Exodus 28:17–18.

The Rainbow Around The Throne (v. 3b)

John then noticed a “rainbow around the throne,” and the rainbow was “emerald” green. Some commentators say the rainbow was like part of a circle overarching the throne, and others say the word “around” (κυκλόθεν) means this was a complete circle, like a halo around a suspended throne.[33]

The rainbow would have reminded John and his readers of the covenant God made with Noah after the Flood with His promise never again to destroy the earth’s inhabitants in the same way. If the jasper stands for holiness and purity, and the sardius stands for wrath and judgment, then the emerald rainbow stands for mercy. Though the following chapters record God’s terrible judgment on unbelievers, one must not forget that He is also a God of mercy. “There is to be no triumph for God’s sovereignty at the expense of His mercy.”[34]

The Twenty-Four Elders Around The Throne (v. 4)

John then saw “twenty-four thrones” around the throne of God. On these thrones he saw persons he described as “elders” (πρεσβύτεροι). They were twenty-four in number, which suggests that they have a priestly role of some sort. In Old Testament times the priesthood of Israel was divided into twenty-four orders (1 Chron. 24:4; 25:9–31). Those John saw were dressed in “white garments” and wore “golden crowns on their heads” (Rev. 4:4). The crowns may suggest a judicial function. The elders prostrated themselves before God in worship (v. 10a; cf. 5:14; 11:16; 19:4) and cast their crowns before Him (4:10). They sang hymns of praise to God (v. 11; cf. 5:9; 11:17–18). They held harps and censers full of incense, which is said to represent the prayers of believers (5:8). Individual elders later spoke to John (5:5; 7:13), and one of them served as interpreter of a vision (7:14–17).35 The identity of the twenty-four elders is one of the significant interpretive problems in the Book of Revelation. One commentator lists twelve theories.[36]

The view that the elders are a redeemed company. Most modern commentators believe that the twenty-four elders are an exalted angelic order.[37] However, a strong argument can be made for identifying the elders as a redeemed company.[38] Some say they represent the saints of the Old Testament,[39] and others say they represent both Old Testament and New Testament saints, the number twenty-four being based on the twelve patriarchs and the twelve apostles.[40] Still others, the present writer included, say they refer to church-age saints, the number twenty-four suggesting the two elements that make up the people of God in this age,[41] that is, believing Israelites and believing Gentiles.[42]

This is a vision not of what yet is but of what shall be.[43] The picture here is of the yet-future time in heaven when the complete church will be glorified and in God’s presence.[44] The elders wear crowns and white robes and are enthroned.[45] “He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father” (1:6; cf. 2:10; 3:5, 21).

The following arguments favor identifying the elders as a redeemed company and not as angels.[46] First, this is the oldest interpretation, going back to Victorinus of Pettau (d. A.D. 304) in Pannonia (modern Hungary), the earliest commentator on Revelation.[47] In the history of the exegesis of the passage one can even say that this is the traditional interpretation.[48] Second, angels are never said to occupy thrones; they stand in God’s service.[49] God’s people, on the other hand, are promised thrones and governmental authority in the world to come (Matt. 19:28; Rev. 20:4).[50]Third, crowns are never ascribed to angels; they are rewards for church-age believers (cf. 1 Cor. 9:25; 1 Thess. 2:19; 2 Tim. 4:8; James 1:12; 1 Pet. 5:4). Incidentally the word for crowns in this verse is στέφανος, a victor’s crown, that is, a trophy won at the games.[51] It differs from the royal crown of governmental authority (διάδημα). Fourth, believers, not angels, are promised crowns (2:10; 3:11), a throne (3:21), and white garments (3:5, 18).[52] Fifth, the term “elder” was used to designate certain leaders among the people of God in both Old and New Testament times.[53] It is never used of angels in the Bible.[54] Sixth, in Matthew 19:28 and 1 Corinthians 6:3 judgment is carried out by the redeemed—even the judgment of angels. Such judgment is accomplished while these believers sit on thrones.

Seventh, in Revelation 5:9 the elders worship the Lamb because, they say, “You were slain and purchased us [ἡμᾶς] for God with Your blood” (italics added). This translation assumes the genuineness of the pronoun ἡμᾶς.[55] However, proponents of the angel view argue that ἡμᾶς should be omitted. For example Ladd wrote, “The Greek text behind the old King James Version [of Rev. 5:9] is defective.” The “us” in the KJV and the NKJV (“and have redeemed us to God by your blood”) is omitted by “practically all modern English translations.”[56] The New American Standard Bible, for example, reads, “You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe” (italics added). The chief argument for excluding ἡμᾶς is in verse 10, which reads, “You have made them [αὐτούς] to be a kingdom and priests to our God” (italics added). In this view the elders distinguish themselves from the redeemed. Thus, the argument goes, it would be awkward to identify themselves as the redeemed (by the use of ἡμᾶς) in verse 9.[57]

However, the case for including ἡμᾶς in verse 9 is much stronger than for its exclusion, and if ἡμᾶς is included the elders must be a redeemed company. It is not true that “most early N.T. mss. omit ‘us’ in v. 9, ” as the editors of The New Scofield Reference Bible assert,[58] for the great majority of manuscripts, versions, and church fathers include the word.[59] Codex Sinaiticus, for example, does include it.[60] The evidence against the inclusion of ἡμᾶς is largely internal, that is, it does not agree with the αὐτούς (“them”) in verse 10.[61]

The problem of the conflicting pronouns. Most commentators assume that the elders are speaking in Revelation 5:9. They sing a “new song” in which they worship the Lamb because He has “redeemed us to God.” The pronoun “us,” as already noted, clearly identifies them as a redeemed company, that is, human beings. It is also generally assumed that the elders are speaking in verse 10, but there they say, “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests.” This would suggest that they are praising the Lamb for the redemption of others. Therefore such praise could easily be interpreted as coming from angels. It is possible—the writer would say probable—that the word “us” was dropped from Alexandrinus in order to remove the conflict. But if “us” (ἡμᾶς) in verse 9 and “them” (αὐτούς) in verse 10 are both genuine, and if the elders are speaking in both verses, there does seem to be a conflict.

A proposed resolution to the problem. The most satisfying resolution to the problem—and one that is almost universally overlooked today—was offered long ago by Moses Stuart. He proposed that verses 9 and 10 contain responsive or antiphonal praise. He observed that in verses 9 and 10 two groups are worshiping God, the “four living creatures and the twenty-four elders.”[62] He suggested that in verse 9 the elders, a redeemed company, praise the Lamb for redeeming “us to God,” and in verse 10 the four living creatures, an angelic company, respond antiphonally with, “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests.”

The twenty-four elders, then, represent the church crowned or rewarded for her faithfulness and endurance (cf. 2:10; 3:5).[63] The white garments speak of the spotless holiness of Christ with which they are clothed (3:4–5, 18).

An argument for pretribulationalism. According to pretribulationalists the church will be raptured by Jesus before Daniel’s seventieth week begins. Pretribulationalists also believe that Revelation 6–19 is a description of that period of time. If the church is already enthroned in heaven in Revelation 4, then she will have been raptured before the tribulation period.[64] If the ἡμᾶς is genuine, as has been argued, then the twenty-four elders are a redeemed company (i.e., the church) already raptured and in heaven before the tribulation.[65]

The Lightning And Thunder From The Throne (v. 5A)

John’s attention then went back to the throne, from which he saw lightning flashing and heard thunder crashing. This is a reminder of Mount Sinai (Exod. 19:16–19), where thunder and lightning conveyed something of the awesome power and majesty of God. In the following chapters of Revelation thunder and lightning occur at the close of each series of divine judgments (8:1–5; 11:15–19; 16:17–18). In Revelation these occurrences speak not only of God’s power and majesty but also of His wrath and judgment.

The Seven Lamps Before The Throne (v. 5B)

Then John saw “seven lamps of fire burning before the throne.” The Greek word for lamps (λαμπάδες) differs from the lampstands (λυχνίας) used earlier in 1:12–13, 20; and 2:1. The seven lamps are identified as “the seven Spirits of God” (cf. 1:4). The reference is to the Holy Spirit, the words here picking up “the trinitarian greeting of Rev. 1:4–5.”[66] There is one Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:4), yet the seven lamps speak of the plurality of His functions (Isa. 11:2; Heb. 2:4; 1 Cor. 12:11; 14:32; Rev. 22:6).[67] In 4:5 “the seven Spirits” are by God’s throne, but in 5:6 they are “sent out into all the earth.”[68] God’s vengeance was seen as about to fall on the earth, and John was told in this awesome symbol that the Holy Spirit will unerringly search out the guilty and bring them to judgment.

The Sea Of Glass Before The Throne (v. 6a)

Next John saw before him a pavement of glass resembling an expanse of water. He was struck by what appeared to be “a sea of glass, like crystal” before the throne. This adds to the awesome splendor of the throne-room scene.

Commentators have suggested that the sea of glass symbolizes at least four things.[69] (1) Preciousness. Glass in the ancient world was dull and semi-opaque.[70] Glass as clear as crystal would be costly. (2) Purity. The light from the throne reflecting on the glassy sea would almost be too much for the eye to look at, like the purity of God. (3) Distance. The crystal surface would stretch out before the throne, creating for John a heightened sense of the transcendence of God.[71] (4) Peace. Later in the book the Beast will arise out of a sea to bring warfare and violence on the earth (13:1; 17:1). But the sea in 4:6 is flat and at rest. The world below is about to enter an agitated and troubled time. But the church will be in heaven in perfect harmony with God.[72] In his deep reverence for God John never dared be familiar with Him. He painted his picture in terms of light and distance.[73]

The Four Living Creatures Near The Throne (vv. 6b–7)

The next thing that caught John’s attention was “four living creatures,” who were “in the center and around the throne.” Their identity is another of the puzzles in this book. One writer lists twenty-one views.[74] They seem to be an exalted order of angels who lead the heavenly hosts in worship and adoration of God.[75] The four living creatures closely resemble the cherubs in Ezekiel 1:6, 10, 18, 22, 26; 10:20, 22. Yet they incorporate features of the seraphs in Isaiah 6, that is, they have six wings in contrast to the cherubs’ four. One should not make too much of these differences in that the cherubim are spirit beings. When visualized, they seem able to take a variety of forms.

The cherubs appear in significant places in the Old Testament: Cherubs prevented Adam and Eve from returning to the garden (Gen. 3:24). There were gold images of cherubs in the tabernacle on the lid of the ark of the covenant, which contained the Law (Exod. 25:18–21). Their images were woven into the veil of the holy of holies (26:31), and in Solomon’s temple they decorated the inner chamber (1 Kings 6:23–30). Josephus wrote they were affixed or engraved to God’s throne.[76]

John wrote that the four creatures were “in the center” of the throne. This expression is somewhat uncertain, but most commentators conclude that it means the creatures were “in the immediate vicinity” of God’s throne.[77]

The creatures were “full of eyes in front and behind,” which suggests vigilance and almost limitless powers of perception and discernment.[78] One was like a lion, the second like a calf, the third had a face like a man, and the fourth was “like a flying eagle.” Many of the church fathers believed that the four living creatures represent the Four Gospels (Matthew, the lion, Christ as king; Mark, the ox, Christ as servant; Luke, the man, Christ the man; and John, the eagle, Christ as God).[79]

In context (cf. Rev. 4:11), however, the four living creatures represent the whole order of animate creation.[80] Swete wrote, “The four forms represent whatever is noblest, strongest, wisest, and swiftest in animate nature.”[81] The lion is the king of the wild animals; the calf or bull represents the king of the domesticated beasts; the man is the king of all nature, to whom dominion of the earth was entrusted (Gen. 1:28); and the eagle is the king of the birds of the air. The symbolism is threefold. The cherubs guard the holiness of God, they execute God’s will in every realm of creation, and they represent the praise and adoration extended to God by His whole creation. The ceaseless activity of nature is a ceaseless tribute of praise, because He created it.

Each of Israel’s twelve tribes had a standard (cf. Num. 2:1–3, 10, 18, 25). When they camped around the tabernacle, the twelve tribes were divided into four groups of three tribes each. At the head of each division of three tribes was a lead standard or flag. According to Jewish tradition the green standard of Judah had a lion, the red standard of Reuben had the picture of a human head, the gold standard of Ephraim depicted the head of a calf, and on the red and white standard of Dan was an eagle. Some have therefore understood the “four living creatures” to be emblems of God’s protecting care and His blessing on every area of life.[82]

The Worship Of God In Heaven (vv. 8–11)

Worship By The Four Living Creatures (vv. 8–9)

Chapter 4 concludes with worship by the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders.[83] The four living creatures focus their praise on three attributes of God: His holiness, His omnipotence, and His eternality. In His holiness God differs from all created things. The Christians who first read this book were under the threat of the might of the Roman Empire. But God, who stood behind them, is the “Almighty” One. Because of Him His people are safe. Kingdoms like Babylon, Greece, Rome, and “Babylon the Great” of the end time (Rev. 17–18) come and go, but God and His kingdom will last forever. John said that “they do not cease” (lit., “they have no rest”) in this worship. This does not mean that worship is their sole activity. It means that it is their constant disposition; their every action is an expression of adoration.

Worship By The Twenty-Four Elders (vv. 10–11)

The people of God (the “elders”) prostrated themselves before God (“Him who sits on the throne”), worshiping “Him who lives forever and ever.” The Greek word translated “worship” (προσκυνέω) originally designated the custom of prostrating oneself before a person and kissing his feet or the hem of his garment.[84] In the Septuagint it was used to translate terms meaning “to bow,” “to kiss,” “to serve,” “to tremble,” “to worship.”[85] As used here, it speaks more of the inward attitude of reverence, respect, and obeisance than the outward gesture.[86]

The praise of the elders differed from that of the living creatures. The creatures spoke of God’s attributes, but the elders honored God for His works, specifically, the work of creation.[87] The elders represent a redeemed humanity, the church, and they gave thanks for God’s work of creation, the creation over which a redeemed humanity will have dominion in the world to come (cf. Heb. 2:5).[88] “Worthy are You,” the elders said. This is what worship is, namely, the ascribing of worthiness to God.

The elders refer to God as “our Lord and our God.” This would be striking to John’s first-century readers. Every year each Roman citizen had to go to an altar and burn a pinch of incense and say, “Caesar is Lord.” The emperor Domitian blasphemously claimed the title Dominus et Deus noster (“our Lord and God”). When each citizen did this, he received a certificate. Understandably, Christians refused this action.

The elders “cast their crowns before the throne,” thereby acknowledging that all they have and are they owe to God. When a vassal king placed his crown at the feet of his overlord, “it would signify the renouncing of his crown unto the disposition of his sovereign.”[89] In like manner the elders here cast their crowns before the divine throne.

Conclusion

Revelation 4 includes a number of important lessons and applications. First, God is the sovereign Lord of creation and history. The God of the Bible is not the deist’s God, a God who has no concern for His creation. He is the Lord of the universe. As is clearly implied in the praise of the creatures and elders, He has a purpose in His creation, and He will bring it to pass.[90]

Second, there is only one true Lord and God. The politics of John’s day required that the greeting, “Worthy are you,” be addressed to the emperor in his triumphal processions. And the expression, “our Lord and our God,” was used in emperor worship. For Christians, however, only the One on the heavenly throne is worthy. No other god, political leader, career, or occupation is worthy of that homage.

Third, the physical creation, no less than the new creation (the church), exists to praise God. Believers must not live as if this world belonged to the secularists and naturalists. Anything or anyone fulfilling the function for which it (or he/she) was created is praising God.[91] Every fresh discovery of physical science should deepen the adoration of believers.[92]

Fourth, worship is not something believers should need to learn in heaven. Spurgeon said that if believers want to be in heaven’s choir, they should learn the tunes down here.[93]

Fifth, heaven will not be boring. Too many people view heaven as an eternal camp meeting or perhaps a retirement home with endless shuffleboard. Others think that in heaven they will be like children enjoying themselves with Sunday afternoon games. Therein lies the problem: “enjoying themselves.” The Westminster Catechism does not state, “The chief end of man is to enjoy himself forever.” No, it says, “Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy Him for ever.”[94] In heaven believers will glorify and enjoy God forever.[95]

Notes

1. Christina Rossetti, quoted in R. H. Charles, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Revelation of St. John, International Critical Commentary (Edinburgh: Clark, 1920), 1:146.
2. Scholars have speculated about influences and intentions that led John to write Revelation 4–5. Six views have been proposed. First, John used sentences, hymnic fragments, and phrases taken from existing liturgical practices in the first-century church (John J. O’Rourke, “The Hymns of the Apocalypse,” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 30 [1968]: 399–409). Second, the pattern of worship described by John presupposes the type of worship practiced in the churches of Asia Minor and was borrowed from contemporary Jewish worship in the temple and synagogue (Otto A. Piper, “The Apocalypse of John and the Liturgy of the Ancient Church,” Church History 20 [1951]: 10–22). John presented his visions “against the backdrop or within the framework of the church liturgy of the latter years of the first Christian century” (Allen Cabaniss, “A Note on the Liturgy of the Apocalypse,” Interpretation 7 [1953]: 78–86). Third, the pattern of worship is derived from two traditions, namely, aspects of the imperial and ruler cults of the Hellenistic world and contemporary worship in synagogue and temple. In Revelation 4–5 “we have the earliest known form of a Christian service of worship, possibly the eucharist” (Lucetta Mowry, “Revelation 4–5 and Early Christian Liturgical Usage,” Journal of Biblical Literature 71 [1952]: 84). Fourth, John followed the apocalyptic visionary tradition of Ezekiel 1 in which the visionary experienced a mystical ascent to the heavenly throne room where he saw the throne chariot of God (Judith Kovacs and Christopher Rowland, Revelation, Blackwell Bible Commentaries [Oxford: Blackwell, 2004], 61–64). Fifth, John was indebted to Roman scenes of the emperor surrounded by his council and was not describing early Christian services (David E. Aune, “The Influence of Roman Imperial Court Ceremonial on the Apocalypse of John,” Biblical Research 28 [1983]: 5–26; and Ben Witherington III, Revelation, New Cambridge Bible Commentary [Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003], 113). Sixth, the elaborate liturgies of Christianity postdate the New Testament era. In the New Testament, worship services simply include preaching, the Lord’s Supper, fellowship, and prayer (Acts 2:42). In Revelation 4–5 John recorded an actual prophetic vision, “in the Spirit,” in which he described a scene that strikingly resembles that of Daniel 7. The hymns in these and later chapters are intended to interpret the eschatological events foreseen by John (Gerhard Delling, Worship in the New Testament, trans. Percy Scott [Philadelphia: Westminster, 1962], 44–48; Merrill C. Tenney, Interpreting Revelation [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1957], 36; David Peterson, “Worship in the Revelation to John,” Reformed Theological Review 47 [September 1988]: 67–77). G. K. Beale notes that Revelation 4–5 repeats fourteen elements from Daniel 7:9–27 (The Book of Revelation, New International Greek Testament Commentary [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999], 314–16).
3. Arthur W. Wainwright, Mysterious Apocalypse: Interpreting the Book of Revelation (Nashville: Abingdon, 1993; reprint, Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2001), 212. “One can state unequivocally that, except for the Epistle to the Hebrews, the Apocalypse of John is the most liturgical book in the NT canon” (Josephine Massyngberde Ford, “The Christological Function of the Hymns in the Apocalypse of John,” Andrews University Seminary Studies 36 [autumn 1998]: 207).
4. Eugene H. Peterson, “Learning to Worship from Saint John’s Revelation,” Christianity Today, October 28, 1991, 25.
5. The Book of Revelation has had a powerful impact through the medium of visual art as well as in Christian lectionaries, liturgies, and hymns. Wainwright demonstrates some of this influence in Mysterious Apocalypse, 211–22.
6. Craig R. Koester, Revelation and the End of All Things (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001), 72.
7. Peterson, “Learning to Worship from Saint John’s Revelation,” 24.
8. Ibid., 25.
9. “Chapter 4 begins a new major section of Revelation that extends to 22:5, although there are several obvious sub-sections in this material. This means that Rev. 4 is not simply one scene among others, but it is the initial scene in a new major section and constitutes, therefore, a major turning point in the text” (L. W. Hurtado, “Revelation 4–5 in the Light of Jewish Apocalyptic Analogies,” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 25 [1985]: 110).
10. Robert L. Thomas says that the threefold division of the book based on Revelation 1:19 “is the most natural understanding of the symmetrical grammatical construction of 1:19 and fits the contents of the Apocalypse quite well” (Revelation 1–7: An Exegetical Commentary [Chicago: Moody, 1992], 115). And John F. Walvoord wrote, “Though many outlines have been suggested for the Book of Revelation, none seems to be more practical than the threefold outline given here” (The Revelation of Jesus Christ [Chicago: Moody, 1966], 47–48).
11. William Kelly, Lectures on the Book of Revelation (London: Morrish, 1874), 93; and Robert H. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, New International Commentary on the New Testament, rev. ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998), 116.
12. G. R. Beasley-Murray, The Book of Revelation, New Century Bible (London: Oliphants, 1974), 108. Koester calls these two chapters “the heart of the book for here its essential revelation is to be found” (Revelation and the End of All Things, 71–72).
13. George Eldon Ladd, A Commentary on the Revelation of John (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1972), 70; and Mounce, The Book of Revelation, 116.
14. Beasley-Murray, The Book of Revelation, 108.
15. Henry Barclay Swete, The Apocalypse of St. John (London: Macmillan, 1906), 65.
16. Beale, The Book of Revelation, 315–16. The fact that Revelation, like the Epistle to the Hebrews, portrays heaven as the “true tabernacle” (Heb. 8:2) or temple is evident from several observations: (a) the allusion to the heavenly temple vision of Isaiah 6:1–4 in Revelation 4:8; (b) the frequent references to the temple or sanctuary (7:15; 11:19; 15:5, 8); (c) the reference to the ark of the covenant (11:19); (d) the appearance of the altar of burnt offering (6:9) and the altar of incense (8:3; 9:13; 16:7); (e) the reference to the seven lamps of fire (4:5) and the seven golden lampstands (1:12–13); and (f) the reference to other temple items such as bowls (15:7), smoke (15:8), and trumpets (8:2). See Ford, “The Christological Function of the Hymns in the Apocalypse of John,” 207.
17. G. H. Lang, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, 2nd ed. (London: Paternoster, 1948), 111–12; Michael Wilcock, I Saw Heaven Opened: The Message of Revelation, The Bible Speaks Today (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1975), 66; and Wilbur M. Smith, The Biblical Doctrine of Heaven (Chicago: Moody, 1974), 27–75.
18. Swete, The Apocalypse of St. John, 65; and Ladd, A Commentary on the Revelation of John, 71.
19. Chuck Smith, along with a number of other popular commentators, says that the words “Come up here” in 4:1 refer to the rapture of the church (What the World Is Coming To: A Commentary on the Book of Revelation [Costa Mesa, CA: The Word for Today, 1993], 45–46). The context makes clear, however, that this is not an explicit reference to the rapture. John was not actually physically relocated into heaven at this time but was spiritually translated by vision to see scenes of heaven. Actually John went back and forth between heaven and earth a number of times throughout the book (10:1; 11:15–19; 12; 14:18–20; Mounce, The Book of Revelation, 119). One may assume, of course, that the rapture has taken place before the events of chapters 4 and 5 transpire (Walvoord, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, 103; and Thomas, Revelation 1–7, 336).
20. David Aune, Revelation 1–5, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, 1997), 266.
21. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, 119.
22. On the Old Testament background to chapters 4 and 5 see John Sweet, Revelation, TPI New Testament Commentaries (Philadelphia: Trinity International, 1990), 115–16; and Beale, The Book of Revelation, 76–99, 319–69, esp. 366–69.
23. James Moffatt, “The Revelation of St. John the Divine,” in The Expositor’s Greek Testament, ed. W. Robertson Nicoll (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1910; reprint, Grand Rapids; Eerdmans, 1970), 5:376.
24. Beasley-Murray, The Book of Revelation, 112. “Revelation 4–5 find their place in this unfolding scheme by offering an authenticating vision of heaven which confirms that John speaks on divine authority” (Jonathan Knight, “The Enthroned Christ of Revelation 5:6 and the Development of Christian Theology,” in Studies in the Book of Revelation, ed. Steve Moyise [Edinburgh: Clark, 2001], 45).
25. “In the initial vision of chapter 4 the strongly theocentric character of John’s theology is conveyed by the central place given to the throne and by the fact that the throne appears in virtually every one of the succeeding chapters. The plot line of the book moves from the vision of the throne in heaven to the throne on earth (22:1). Opposing God’s rule is Satan. He has his throne (2:13; 13:2; 16:10) and he defends his sovereignty by going to war against the Lamb and His followers (11:7; 12:17; 13:7; 17:14; 19:19). The overriding theme of the book is theocracy: Who rules the world? To whom do people give their allegiance? By asserting God’s sovereignty John relativizes the claims made for the emperor [and the eschatological beast]” (R. J. McKelvey, “The Millennium and the Second Coming,” in Studies in the Book of Revelation, 89).
26. William Barclay, The Revelation of John, rev. ed. (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1976), 1:151.
27. Adolf Schlatter, Briefe und Offenbarung des Johannes, quoted in Beasley-Murray, The Book of Revelation, 112.
28. Joseph Seiss, Lectures on the Apocalypse, 9th ed. (New York: Cook, 1906), 1:242–43; Friedrich Düsterdieck, Critical and Exegetical Handbook to the Revelation of John, trans. Henry E. Jacobs (New York: Funk and Wagnalls, 1884; reprint, Winona Lake, IN: Alpha, 1980), 11:190; and Lang, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, 111–12.
29. “The throne itself is not described, neither is the person of the one sitting upon it.. .. Every trace of anthropomorphism has been cast off” (Ladd, A Commentary on the Revelation of John, 72).
30. Swete, The Apocalypse of St. John, 66; and Mounce, The Book of Revelation, 120.
31. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, 120; and Thomas, Revelation 1–7, 342–43.
32. Walvoord, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, 104–5; and James Allen, Revelation, Ritchie New Testament Commentaries (Kilmarnock, UK: John Ritchie, 1997), 166.
33. Isbon T. Beckwith, The Apocalypse of John (London: Macmillan, 1919; reprint, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1979), 497.
34. G. B. Caird, A Commentary on the Revelation of St. John the Divine, Harper’s New Testament Commentaries (New York: Harper and Row, 1966), 63.
35. Aune, Revelation 1–5, 288.
36. Paul S. Minear, I Saw a New Earth (Washington, DC: Corpus, 1968), 83. For detailed discussions see Charles, The Revelation of St. John, 1:128–33; Aune, Revelation 1–5, 288–91; and Smalley, The Revelation to John, 116–18. Of the many proposals Aune concluded, “No solution has found universal acceptance.” He added, “The literary function of the twenty-four elders within Revelation is far more important than any speculation regarding their supposed identity” (Revelation 1–5, 288). Aune discusses seven suggestions (to which the present writer has added an eighth, viz., the saints of the New Testament, that is, the church) and provides documentation of their proponents: (1) the heavenly counterparts of the leaders of the twenty-four priestly courses of the second temple period, (2) the twenty-four divisions of musicians, descendants of Levi, who prophesied with lyres, harps, and cymbals, (3) heavenly representatives of Israel and the church, (4) the saints of the Old Testament, (5) individual Christians who had sealed their faith through martyrdom, (6) angelic members of the heavenly court, and (7) figures from Jewish apocalyptic literature which were taken from astral mythology, such as the twenty-four Babylonian star-gods of the zodiac. Regarding this last proposal, that of Zimmern and Gunkel, Beasley-Murray asserted, “There is no evidence at all that Jewish apocalyptic knew of an angelic order of twenty-four in heaven” (The Book of Revelation, 115 n. 1). Caird argues that whatever one concludes about the identity of the elders, the significant thing is their function. “The elders are here in this vision of heaven solely in order that they may lay their crowns before the throne of the King of kings. They are but pointers to the central majesty” (A Commentary on the Revelation of St. John the Divine, 64).
37. Especially influential has been the essay of Ned B. Stonehouse, “The Elders and the Living Beings in the Apocalypse,” in Paul before the Areopagus (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1957), 88–108. See also Günther Bornkamm, “πρέσβυς,” in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, ed. Gerhard Friedrich, trans. and ed. Geoffrey W. Bromiley, vol. 6 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1968), 668; Theodor Zahn, Offenbarung des Johannes (Leipzig: Deichert, 1924–26), 1:323; Caird, A Commentary on the Revelation of St. John the Divine, 63; Ladd, A Commentary on the Revelation of John, 74–75; Beasley-Murray, The Book of Revelation, 113–14; Mounce, The Book of Revelation, 121–22; Jürgen Roloff, The Revelation of John: A Continental Commentary, trans. John E. Alsup (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1993), 69–70; Margaret Barker, The Revelation of Jesus Christ (Edinburgh: Clark, 2000), 123; and Osborne, Revelation, 228–30. Beale (The Book of Revelation, 322), Smalley (The Revelation to John, 116), and Ian Boxall (The Revelation of Saint John, Black’s New Testament Commentary [Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2006], 85) see an overlap between the angel and redeemed humanity views. They say the elders are angels who represent the entire community of the redeemed in both testaments. Smalley argues that this combined view “is in line with the biblical tradition which suggest[s] that every human being has a ‘guardian angel’ (cf. Tobit 5:1–22; Acts 12:15; also Matt. 18:10)” (The Revelation to John, 116).
38. Simon J. Kistemaker, Exposition of the Book of Revelation, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2001), 186–88; Witherington, Revelation, 117; George Wesley Buchanan, The Book of Revelation, 2nd ed. (reprint, Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2005), 153. Hurtado explains that the elders are “heavenly representatives of the elect. They are always distinguished from the angels (5:11; 7:11)” (“Revelation 4–5 in the Light of Jewish Apocalyptic Analogies,” 113).
39. Andre Feuillet, “The Twenty-Four Elders of the Apocalypse,” in Johannine Studies, trans. Thomas E. Crane (Staten Island, NY: Alba House, 1965), 183–214, esp. 194–214. Feuillet argues that the glorified men are best understood as the great heroes of the Old Testament, who are distinguished from New Testament saints (5:9–10; 15:2–4; 19:5–9). See also Sweet, Revelation, 118.
40. Philip Edgcumbe Hughes, The Book of the Revelation (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990), 72; and Louis A. Brighton, Revelation, Concordia Commentary (St. Louis: Concordia, 1999), 120.
41. The view that the elders include the church of the present age as well as the Old Testament saints is to be rejected. “Since the saints of the nation of Israel are not resurrected until the end of the tribulation (Dan. 12:1–2) and they are judged and rewarded as they go into the millennium [Ezek. 20:33–38; Amos 9:14–15; Rom. 11:25–26; Rev. 11:18] they are not seen in this picture” (Allen, Revelation, 168).
42. Swete, The Apocalypse of St. John, 68; and Jonathan Knight, Revelation (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic, 1999), 60. Generally those who hold this view believe the elders represent the church as a whole in her glorified state. Kuyper holds the unique view that the twenty-four elders are twenty-four individuals, specifically, “the outstanding figures among the spiritual leaders in Christendom” (Abraham Kuyper, The Revelation of St. John, trans. John Hendrik de Vries [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1963], 61).
43. Barclay, The Revelation of John, 1:154; and Swete, The Apocalypse of St. John, 68. As Knight correctly observes, however, heaven is not the ultimate destiny for the faithful. “John expects the kingdom of Christ to be an earthly one (20:4) and that it will be followed by the recreation of heaven and earth in which the barrier between the two different realms is removed (ch. 21)” (Revelation, 60). Cf. David J. MacLeod, “The Seventh ‘Last Thing’: The New Heaven and the New Earth (Rev. 21:1–8),” Bibliotheca Sacra 157 (October–December 2000): 444–45.
44. Kelly, Lectures on the Book of Revelation, 98–99; Walvoord, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, 106–7; and Allen, Revelation, 167–68. The elders represent the Christian elect in fulfillment of the “eschatological and salvific hopes of the writer and readers” (Hurtado, “Revelation 4–5 in the Light of Jewish Apocalyptic Analogies,” 116). Bietenhard emphasizes that Revelation 4 is an eschatological scene. “The throne vision stands at the commencement of the final judgment[s]” (Hans Bietenhard, Die himmlische Welt im Urchristentum und Spätjudentum [Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr, 1951], 62).
45. The fact that the elders are enthroned is out of keeping with the common “Jewish apocalyptic picture of heaven, in which God is seated and all other creatures there spend their whole time standing. These figures are thus given a status and honor denied to the highest angels.. .. The description of angels as ‘elders’ is without parallel in Jewish apocalyptic visions of the time” (Hurtado, “Revelation 4–5 in the Light of Jewish Apocalyptic Analogies,” 113).
46. Cf. Feuillet, “The Twenty-Four Elders of the Apocalypse,” 183–94; J. Massyngberde Ford, Revelation, Anchor Bible (New York: Doubleday, 1975), 72; and Allen, Revelation, 167.
47. Henry Alford, The Greek Testament, rev. Everett F. Harrison (reprint, Chicago: Moody, 1958), 4:596; and Kistemaker, Exposition of the Book of Revelation, 187.
48. Stonehouse, “The Elders and the Living-Beings in the Apocalypse,” 92.
49. That Paul in Colossians 1:16 refers to certain angelic beings as “thrones” means only, says Feuillet, that they are a class that served close to the throne of God (“The Twenty-Four Elders of the Apocalypse,” 185). Men and not angels are given authority to judge and sit on thrones (Rev. 3:21; 20:4). The redeemed are destined to rule over the world to come (Heb. 2:5), whereas angels are messengers who serve them (1:14). “These twenty-four elders are mentioned first for the simple reason that they are first in importance and in glory of all creatures in heaven (Gen. 1:26; Heb. 2:8)” (William Hendriksen, More Than Conquerors [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1967], 104, italics his).
50. The thrones in Matthew 19:28 are not the same thrones, to be sure, but they are analogous to the thrones of church-age believers (Alford, The Greek Testament, 4:596).
51. In the New Testament the word στέφανος is used of victory crowns or crowns of service (1 Cor. 9:25; Phil. 4:1; 1 Thess. 2:19; 2 Tim. 4:8; James 1:12; Rev. 2:10). Nowhere else in the Scriptures are angels (or Israelites) promised victory crowns. Proponents of the angel view assert that this argument is not conclusive in that the term στέφανος was used in classical Greek of a badge of office. However, New Testament usage suggests that the wearers of the στέφανοι are human beings.
52. Admittedly this argument is not conclusive in that white raiment is also spoken of as angels’ garb in Matthew 28:3; John 20:12; and Acts 1:10.
53. “The very word πρεσβύτερος in the comparative degree (an older man) rules out ‘angels’ of any order whatever since there is no suggestion in Scripture that they age as men do” (Allen, Revelation, 167).
54. Aune (Revelation 1–5, 290) lists Isaiah 24:23 as a possible exception, but that verse refers to the elders of Israel in the future millennial age (Alfred Martin and John Martin, Isaiah: The Glory of the Messiah [Chicago: Moody, 1983], 83; and John N. Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 1–39, New International Commentary on the Old Testament [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986], 456).
55. “There would need be little discussion of this exegesis, if we could read ἡμᾶς after τῷ θεῷ in the song of the elders in 5:9” (Feuillet, “The Twenty-Four Elders of the Apocalypse,” 183, n 3).
56. Ladd, A Commentary on the Revelation of John, 74.
57. The manuscript evidence in favor of excluding ἡμας has an “A” rating in Barbara Aland et al., eds., The Greek New Testament, 4th ed. (Stuttgart: United Bible Societies, 1993), 843. The third edition of this volume (1983) gives the same evidence a “C” rating (p. 848). Many textual scholars omit the word because it does not appear in Codex Alexandrinus.
58. E. Schuyler English et al., eds., The New Scofield Reference Bible (New York: Oxford, 1967), 1357 n. 3.
59. While almost all manuscripts have ἡμᾶς, they do not agree on where it should be placed. Some place it before τῷ θεῷ, while some replace τῷ θεῷ with ἡμᾶς. This variation looks suspicious to textual critics (e.g., Bruce Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, 2nd ed. [New York: American Bible Society, 1994], 666). Apparently a variety of scribes found the original omission jarring because they felt that the verb ἠγόρασας (“purchase”) needed an object. The present writer views the manuscript evidence in a different way. He would make the following observations. First, had the original manuscript lacked the pronoun, and had a later scribe been looking for an object, he would have used the pronoun αὐτούς from verse 10. Second, the omission of ἡμᾶς and the confusion over its correct position in later manuscripts is best explained by the scribes’ finding the juxtaposition of ἡμᾶς and αὐτούς disturbing, since they both seem to be used by the same group of worshipers. Third, the inclusion of ἡμᾶς is the more difficult reading in light of the use of αὐτούς in verse 10.
60. “The writer is aware that the English version omits ‘us,’ but since the discovery of [the] Sinaitic manuscript there can be no doubt that ‘us’ is the correct reading. The preponderance of evidence is overwhelming in favor of its retention” (Robert Cameron, “Revelation: An Attempt at a Sane Interpretation,” Watchword and Truth, July 1906, 178 n. 1). H. C. Hoskier notes that Codex Alexandrinus is far from perfect. After listing a number of its peculiarities, he cites “that huge blunder” of the omission of ἡμᾶς (Concerning the Genesis of the Versions of the New Testament [London: Bernard Quaritch, 1910], 1:392).
61. The pronoun αὐτούς in verse 10 is overwhelmingly supported by the manuscript evidence. It was replaced by ἡμᾶς in several of the versions and church fathers’ writings and also the Textus Receptus. Significantly αὐτούς is defended by Zane C. Hodges and Arthur L. Farstad, eds., The Greek New Testament according to the Majority Text (Nashville: Nelson, 1982), 739.
62. Moses Stuart, A Commentary on the Apocalypse (Edinburgh: Maclachlan, Stewart, 1848), 525. Stuart claimed that he had not found this view in any of the commentaries and that it was original with him. For similar responsive praise in the Bible see Psalm 24 and Isaiah 6:1–3.
63. Alford, The Greek Testament, 4:596.
64. Posttribulational writers who are futuristic and premillennial in their interpretation of the Book of Revelation have long acknowledged that if the twenty-four elders represent the church this would be a strong argument for pretribulationalism. Alexander Reese wrote, “That the opinion should arise that the Twenty-four Elders represent the saints risen and raptured, is natural enough in view of the ancient readings [τῷ θεῷ ἡμᾶς] of Rev. 5:9–10” (The Approaching Advent of Christ [London: Marshall, Morgan, and Scott, 1937], 91). And Ladd wrote, “If [ἡμᾶς] were a correct reading, the reasoning [in favor of pretribulationalism] would be sound” (A Commentary on the Revelation of John, 74). The case for pretribulationalism does not, of course, depend on identifying the twenty-four elders as the church. Thomas, for example, is a pretribulationalist who identifies the elders as angels (Revelation 1–7, 347–48).
65. Of interest is the fact that in the first generation of the debate over the pretribulational rapture both B. W. Newton and S. P. Tregelles, who defended posttribulationalism, argued for the inclusion of the ἡμᾶς in Revelation 5:9, whereas John N. Darby and William Kelly, who were pretribulationalists, argued for the exclusion of the ἡμᾶς (Benjamin Wills Newton, Thoughts on the Apocalypse, 2nd ed. [London: Partridge and Oakey, 1853], 54–55, 376–77; S. P. Tregelles, The Book of Revelation, Translated from the Ancient Greek Text, 3rd ed. [London: Samuel Bagster and Sons, 1881], xii–xiii, J. N. Darby, New Translation [London: Morrish, 1889], note on Revelation 5:9; and Kelly, Lectures on the Book of Revelation, 118–19). In short, each man rejected the reading that most favored his view on the rapture. Such honesty in handling the text should be emulated.
66. Sweet, Revelation, 118. Boxall identifies the “seven spirits” as “the seven angels of the Presence who attend on God and are sent out to perform his will on earth” (The Revelation of Saint John, 86; cf. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, 46–48, 122).
67. Beckwith, The Apocalypse of John, 499; Ladd, A Commentary on the Revelation of John, 25; and F. F. Bruce, “The Spirit in the Apocalypse,” in Christ and Spirit in the New Testament, ed. Barnabas Lindars and Stephen S. Smalley (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1973), 333–44.
68. Tatford, Prophecy’s Last Word, 78.
69. Swete, The Apocalypse of St. John, 69; and Barclay, The Revelation of John, 1:156.
70. Perfect glass is a relatively modern thing.
71. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, 123.
72. Thomas F. Torrance, The Apocalypse Today (London: Clarke, 1960), 36–37.
73. Barclay, The Revelation of John, 1:156.
74. Cf. R. C. H. Lenski, St. John’s Revelation (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1963), 179. See also Düsterdieck, Critical and Exegetical Handbook to the Revelation of John, 199.
75. Beckwith, The Apocalypse of John, 501; and Mounce, The Book of Revelation, 124.
76. Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 3.137.
77. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, 123. However, Robert G. Hall has argued that the phrase “in the center of and around the throne” means that the four living creatures were the components of the throne, that is, they were the throne (“Living Creatures in the Midst of the Throne: Another Look at Revelation 4:6, ” New Testament Studies 36 [1990]: 609–13). See also Wilfrid J. Harrington, Revelation, Sacra Pagina (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical, 1993), 80; J. Ramsay Michaels, Revelation, IVP New Testament Commentary Series (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1997), 93; and Buchanan, The Book of Revelation, 155.
78. Tatford, Prophecy’s Last Word, 78.
79. This interpretation goes back as far as Irenaeus (ca. A.D. 170). See Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.11.8, in The Ante-Nicene Fathers, ed. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson (1884; reprint, Grand Rapids; Eerdmans, 1993), 1:428.
80. Swete, The Apocalypse of St. John, 70; Hughes, The Book of the Revelation, 73–74; and Barclay, The Revelation of John, 1:158–59.
81. Swete, The Apocalypse of St. John, 70.
82. George Bush, Notes on Numbers (Chicago: Ivison and Phinney, 1858; reprint, Minneapolis: Klock and Klock, 1976), 28–29; C. F. Keil, The Pentateuch, in C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament, trans. James Martin (Edinburgh: Clark, 1875; reprint, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1956), 3:17; and Walter Riggans, Numbers, Daily Study Bible (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1983), 21–23.
83. Minear, I Saw a New Earth, 67.
84. The verb προσκυνέω (“to worship”) is used twenty-four times in Revelation, more than in any other New Testament book. “In a sense the theme of his whole prophecy is the distinction between true worship and idolatry, a distinction for which Christians in the contemporary situation needed prophetic discernment. The ‘eternal Gospel’ is summarized in the words, ‘Fear God and give him glory. .. and worship him’ (14:6), and the conflict between God and Satan takes historical form in the conflict of human allegiances manifest in worship. The Apocalypse divides mankind into the worshippers of the dragon and the beast (13:4, 8, 12, 15; 14:9, 11; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4; cf. the emphasis on idolatry in 2:14, 20; 9:20) and those who will worship God in the heavenly Jerusalem (7:15; 14:3; 15:3–4; 22:3; cf. 11:1). This contrast reaches its climax in the two visions of Babylon the harlot in 17:1–19:10 (where the metaphor of harlotry retains as its primary sense the Old Testament meaning of false worship; cf. also in 2:20–22, and Jerusalem the bride in 21:9–22:9, with its picture of the city in which God himself dwells as its temple (21:22) and his servants do him priestly service (22:3). The message of these two visions is emphasized by their parallel conclusions (19:10; 22:8–9), which enable John to end both with the injunction ‘Worship God!’ The angel’s refusal of worship reinforces the point: Do not worship the beast, do not even worship God’s servants the angels, worship God!” (Richard Bauckham, “The Worship of Jesus in Apocalyptic Christianity,” New Testament Studies 27 [1981]: 329, italics his).
85. Peterson notes that worship pervades the Book of Revelation (“Worship in the Revelation of John,” 68), as seen in these words: αἰνέω (“to praise,” 19:5), εὐχαριστέω (“to give thanks,” 11:17); εὐχαριστία (“thanksgiving,” 4:9; 7:12); εὐλογία (“act of praise,” 5:12, 13; 7:12); ᾄδω (“to sing,” 5:9; 14:3; 15:3); ᾠδή (“song,” 5:9; 14:3; 15:3); κράζω (“to cry out,” i.e., in praise, 7:10); δοξάζω (“to glorify,” 15:4; 18:7); δόξα (“glory,” 4:9, 11; 5:12; 11:13; 14:7; 16:9; 19:7); τιμή (“honor,” 4:9, 11; 5:12, 13; 7:12); ἄξιος (“worthy,” 4:11; 5:9, 12); ἀμήν (“Amen,” 1:6, 7; 3:14; 5:14; 7:12; 19:4); the cry ἀλληλουῒά (“Hallelujah,” lit., “praise Yahweh,” 19:1, 3, 6); and λατρεύω (“to serve,” 7:15; 22:3).
86. The word describes “the inner attitude of homage and adoration and not just the outward gesture” (ibid.). Cf. Walter Bauer, William F. Arndt, F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., rev. Frederick W. Danker (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 882–83; and Heinrich Greeven, “προσκυνέω,” in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, 6:759–60.
87. “Notwithstanding the message of God’s redeeming grace in Christ which is so prominent in this book, the doctrine of creation with the consequent notion of ultimate accountability to God is shown to be the fundamental reason for honoring God as God or worshipping him” (Peterson, “Worship in the Revelation to John,” 71, italics his).
88. “The idea of creation. .. provides the most fundamental, if not the most characteristic, definition of God in the Christian faith. Among all the activities of God, creation is that activity or attribute which sets Him apart as ‘God’ ” (Langdon Gilkey, Maker of Heaven and Earth [New York: Doubleday, 1959], 79).
89. Lang, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, 113. For an example of this in Nero’s day see Tacitus, The Annals, 15.29, trans. John Jackson, Loeb Classical Library (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1956), 4:260–61.
90. Beasley-Murray, The Book of Revelation, 109.
91. Barclay, The Revelation of John, 1:159.
92. Swete, The Apocalypse of St. John, 72.
93. Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of the Bible (reprint, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1981), 8:743.
94. The Larger Catechism, question 1, in Thomas F. Torrance, The School of Faith (London: Clarke, 1959), 185 (italics added).
95. “Joy is the serious business of heaven” (C. S. Lewis, Prayer: Letters to Malcolm [London: Fount, 1977], 95).