John Piper opens his book, The Supremacy of God in Preaching, striving to convince the reader that people need to see God’s greatness. Specifically, here’s what he writes:
Years ago during the January prayer week at our church, I decided to preach on the holiness of God from Isaiah 6. I resolved on the first Sunday of the year to unfold the vision of God’s holiness found in the first four verses of that chapter. . . . So I preached on the holiness of God and did my best to display the majesty and glory of such a great and holy God. I gave not one word of application to the lives of the people. Application is essential in the normal course of preaching, but I felt led that day to make a test: Would the passionate portrayal of the greatness of God in and of itself meet the needs of people?
I didn’t realize that not long before this Sunday one of the young families of our church discovered that their child was being sexually abused by a close relative. It was incredibly traumatic. They were there that Sunday morning and sat under that message. . . . Some weeks later I learned the story. The husband took me aside one Sunday after a service. ‘John,’ he said, ‘these have been the hardest months of our lives. Do you know what has gotten me through? The vision of the greatness of God’s holiness that you gave me the first week of January. It has been the rock we could stand on.’
The greatness and the glory of God are relevant . . . the supreme greatness of the sovereign God of grace. That is the deepest need. Our people are starving for God.1
It seems that in making such a statement, John Piper is merely agreeing with Jesus. After all, when you provide seven letters to seven churches, telling some of them that they live where Satan’s throne is, are going to be imprisoned and killed, need to resist the strong temptation all around them to compromise the faith, will have to suffer economically in their culture in order to hold fast to Christ, and need to persevere in doing these things, what do you give them to encourage them? What do you hold up before them to give them strength and let them know they will be okay, that all of their suffering is going to be worth it? Jesus’ answer is that you give them a vision of Revelation 4, which is itself a vision of the greatness, glory, and majesty of our great God. Jesus’ answer is to pull back the veil a bit, pull us into the very throne room of heaven, and point to the throne of the one who reigns over all, saying, “Look. Behold our God.”
And really that’s what I want us to do this morning – behold our God. If Jesus knew that the churches in the first century needed this vision in order to walk through some of the greatest trials in their life, then I believe that we too need this vision in order to walk through some of the greatest trials of our own – both the trials we’ve faced to this point and the ones to come. Therefore, I simply want to walk through the details of this vision, highlighting what this text shows us about God, and then I will end with a brief note on encouragement.
The text opens by John telling us that after Jesus gave him the content of the seven letters to the seven churches, John turned and saw a door standing open in heaven. That is, John saw a door that led into the very dwelling place of God. Then, John adds, “And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet [we’ll remember from chapter 1 that this is the risen and glorified Jesus Christ], said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this” (4:1).
Now, when Jesus says I’ll show you what must take place “after this,” he could mean that he’s going to show John what must take place in the coming days, that is the days that will fill the time from Pentecost until Jesus’ return. But he might simply mean that Jesus wanted to show John what must take place “after this” in the series of visions. That is to say, Jesus may well simply be saying, “Alright, you’ve seen and heard everything so far, let me show you what you’ll see next.”
And John tells us what he then saw, writing, “At once I was in the Spirit [probably then John was given some kind of Spirit empowered vision], and behold a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne” (v. 2). Now, from here, everything centers on what John saw as he beheld the one seated on the throne, and this is what I want us to see. So, let’s unfold it. First, John sees:
John says in verse 3, “He who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald.” Now, there are a couple of questions here, no doubt. The first of which is: What are these things - jasper, carnelian, and an emerald? Some of you may not know. Others may not. And second: Why does John see these things when he looks at our God, seated on his throne?
Well, these three items are stones which would have been some of the most glorious stones in the ancient world. We don’t know a whole lot about jasper. Some say it was a diamond. Carnelian was apparently a red stone. It too was glorious in appearance. And, finally, an emerald was green. And the rainbow, of course, we do know of and to this day stand in awe of its beauty and glory, don’t we?
Well, that brings us to the question, then, of why John saw these things – precious stones and a rainbow? I think the answer is probably best given by considering Ezekiel’s vision of the Lord that we heard read earlier in the service. He too saw some glorious metals and stones. He too saw a rainbow. And then he said this: “Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord” (Ezekiel 1:28). That is to say, I’m trying to describe more than can be captured by any description; words fail me.
I think that’s why John sees precious, glorious stones, and a glorious rainbow – because how do you communicate the majestic glory of one who is infinitely more glorious than anything we know? How do you describe the majestic glory of one who is described as wrapping himself in light? How do you describe the majestic glory of one who is beyond description? The answer it seems, for John, is that you see and describe the most glorious gems that you know of and one of the most majestic and glorious sites that fill our skies and say, “That’s as close as I can get to telling you that the one on the throne of majestic and glorious.” So, first, John sees the majestic glory of our God.
Second, as we see John’s writing, we can note:
Notice how everything that John sees surrounds and emanates from the throne. Listen to verses 4-6 and note how everything is described in relation to the throne. John writes, “Around the throne were twenty-four thrones . . . From the throne came flashes and lightning . . . and before the throne were burning seven torches . . .and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass . . . And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures.”
Do you see? When John looked into the throne room of heaven, there was no doubt about God’s centrality. What this means is that if God is central in heaven itself, then there can be no doubt that he is central on earth? If God is the one who rules over heaven, then there is no doubt that he rules on earth? He alone is central, and he alone must be central in our lives.
But it doesn’t stop there. John also sees:
As John continues to describe the scene, notice how he begins to see things that show a great separateness from himself and the throne. There doesn’t need to be a sign that says, “Don’t try to come close.” He says in verse 5-6a, “From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.”
Flashes of lightning and peals of thunder are awesome realities, aren’t they? I mean, perhaps in our day there is something that might rival the fearfulness and fearfully awesome display of lightning and thunder, but not in John’s day. Even in our own day, it’s an overwhelming, frightening, and awesome display isn’t it?
Just a few weeks back, I had been working on running some pipes off my gutters to a far away area that would carry the water away from my house. And the only way you can really test and see if these things are working is by going out there when it’s raining. So, I wondered out one night in the midst of a thunderstorm to check on these, and I remember kneeling down to examine the end of my pipe to make sure water was successfully running all the way to the end, when the sky lit up behind me. Kneeling there, I remember thinking, “Wow, that felt close,” and right as I finished thinking that, there was a loud boom that was so loud and so all-encompassing that I felt like it literally shook me, I stumbled a bit, and couldn’t even tell where the direction from where the sound came. It was like it was all around me. And even though I hadn’t examined the pipe as thoroughly as I wanted, I thought, “Everything looks great, and I’m running back inside.”
These displays of nature scream to us, “Back up. There’s something greater than you here. There’s something beyond you.” And that’s what John sees and hears coming from the throne. This was the same display that the Israelites saw when the Lord descended on Mount Sinai with flashes of lightning and peals of thunder, which made the Israelites tell Moses that they didn’t want to approach and hear from the Lord lest they die.
But it’s not just the lighting and thunder, but John says that the seven spirits of God were before the throne, which is a reference to God’s Holy Spirit. But look how the Spirit was pictured. John tells us, “Before the throne were burning seven torches of fire” (v. 5). Again, an image and force that moves us to keep our distance.
Finally, John tells us that there was a sea between him and the throne that was like crystal. In the ancient world, and to a certain extent today, the sea is a vast barrier between lands. To cross the sea is a challenge. Just recently the news reported that in a boating race on the sea, a boat was pretty much destroyed at sea, killing the sailors.
Every one of these images serves to separate John from the throne. It communicates God’s fearful transcendence. He is infinitely greater than us and above us and beyond us. There’s a reason why Isaiah’s response was to think he would die as he beheld God’s throne.
Yet John doesn’t stop there. He notes:
Not only is God at the center of all things and over all things in his majestic glory and fearful transcendence, but he is almighty. He is in control of all because he is all-powerful. As John continues the description, he begins to note the power of God. He writes in 6b-8, “And around the throne, on each of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”
You’ll remember seeing similar images in Ezekiel 1, when Ezekiel saw these cherubim, mighty angelic figures who surround the throne. And these creatures serve a couple of purposes. One of their purposes, it seems is to represent all of creation before God, which I’ll expand on more in a second. But another purpose, both here and in Ezekiel is to tell us something about God.
The reason there are four creatures, with four different faces is because each of them tell us something different about the sovereign power of God. The ox signifies the Lord’s strength. His sovereign power is obviously strong. The lion signifies royalty so that God reigns in power and strength as King. The eagle shows majesty but probably even more the note of God’s care. D. A. Carson has noted that the eagle was often referenced in this culture as displaying care because the mother eagle would teach the birds to fly by pushing them out on the nest. And on most occasions, this would end with the eaglet flying. However, there would be some occasions when the mother eagle had overestimated the eaglet’s readiness for flight, and after pushing it out of the nest it would become clear that the eaglet wasn’t going to fly. But instead of letting the eaglet crash to its demise, the father eagles would be flying nearby in order to swoop underneath the eaglet and bear it up on its own wings, which is why the Lord says to Israel in Exodus 19:4, “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.” Then, the face of the man signifies wisdom and intelligence.
So, when you put them together, God’s sovereign might is one that is powerful, royal, caring, and wise. But these creatures also, we are told, have eyes all over them, signifying the Lord’s omniscience. He sees all and knows all.
But John’s vision does not stop there. Finally, we see:
In verse 4, we were introduced to twenty-four elders. John writes in verse 4, “Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads.” Now, the question is, “What are these elders?” Are they people, human beings? Some have said yes, noting that they’re wearing the very things promised to the saints: white garments and crowns.
But I don’t think they are the saints. I think they’re actually some kinds of mighty angels. After all, in 5:8 and 8:3, we see the elders offering the prayers of the saints to God. This is a function of angels in this literary form of writing. And in 7:9-11, you’ll see that the redeemed saints, praising God, are separate from the elders. So, I think they’re probably angels.
However, most commentators agree that these twenty-four elders do represent the people of God throughout the ages in their worship before the throne. You’ll remember from week one of our study that the number 12 and multiples of 12 throughout this book represent the people of God. So, most commentators think the 24 elders represent the 12 tribes and the 12 apostles, or the people of God redeemed in the Old Covenant and in the New.
Moreover, the four living creatures, who have the role of picturing to us qualities of God, most agree, also serve to symbolize all of creation before God. That is, there’s a reason they are pictured in terms of animate objects in God’s creation – a lion, ox, eagle, and man – it’s because they symbolize all of God’s creation before his throne.
But then if the four living creatures symbolize all of animate creation and the twenty-four elders symbolize all of God’s redeemed people throughout the ages, then what are they doing? The answer is that they are worshiping God. We’re told in verse 8 that the four living creatures ‘never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come.’” Then, we are told, “And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crown before the throne, saying, ‘Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created” (vv. 9-11).
This God who sits on the throne is worthy of the worship of all of his creation, especially those he has redeemed. We were made to worship God. We were made to give our whole lives to him and for him in order that we might point to and call attention to his glory. That’s why all things and all people exist – to glorify God and enjoy him forever.
So, John sees this vision of the majestic glory of God, the utter centrality of God, the fearful transcendence of God, the sovereign might of God, and the all-encompassing worship of God. This is what Jesus wants him to see, after giving him the seven letters to give to the seven churches. So, let’s ask the obvious question: Why?
Why did the churches need this vision, and why do we need this vision of God? Here’s the answer, I think. Jesus has assured his people along the way that they are loved by God. We’re told that Jesus loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood in 1:5. The church in Laodicea was told as they were being disciplined, “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline,” meaning that they were being told, “I love you.”
But why should God’s love for us minister to us, and support us, and uplift us, and encourage us, and comfort us when we’re surrounded by all kinds of evil, are overwhelmed by so many things outside of our control, and are feeling crushed under all of it? The answer is that God’s love for us as his people should minister to us, support us, uplift us, encourage us, and comfort us because this is our God. The message of Revelation 4 to the struggling people of God is: Behold this is the God who loves you and is for you. And if that God, who sits on the throne over the world in his majestic glory, sovereign might, and fearful transcendence is for us, then who can be against us?
And it was that God who sent his Son, when we were still sinners, to take on flesh, live the perfect life we couldn’t, die to pay for our sins, and rise on the third day to triumph over Satan, sin, and death. This is why we should be encouraged. This is what we look to for hope and comfort to persevere when we don’t think we should go on. Look at Revelation 4 and behold our God, seated on his throne, and let us come adore him now as we worship him by coming to the table. Amen.