I’ve noticed as I’ve flipped through the pages of Scripture – our best resource about heaven – that its language is cryptic…The symbols Scripture uses of palms, crowns, streets of gold, and seas of glass are just that – symbols. They never quite satisfy our curiosity about heaven, and they’re not meant to. They are only shadowy images of the real thing.
(Joni Eareckson Tada, Heaven Your Real Home, Zondervan)
I give thanks to you, O Lord my God.
With my whole heart I will glorify your Name forever.
Psalm 86:12
In showing Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and John visions of heaven, what did God want them to understand?
Who or what really controls the course of history; the course of events in the world: kings, presidents, world leaders, news media, celebrity opinions, international corporations, international banking, biological forces, evolution, chemical reactions, Allah, Mother Nature?
In Revelation chapter 4, John is shown a vision. He is taken behind the curtain and shown a vision of the Throne Room of God and shown the reality behind all of history…
Revelation 4:1 After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.
In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying:
“‘Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty,’
who was, and is, and is to come.”
Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:
“You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being.”
Revelation 4:1 After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”
A door is opened and John sees the reality behind events — he sees the Throne of God, the place from which history and the world are controlled. All of life is to be understood from the heavenly perspective.
Christ explains to John the purpose of chapter 4. I will show you what must take place –these are things that must and will take place, not by chance, not by good fortune, not by the will of men, the will of evil forces, and not by bad luck. There is a divine plan for history and it begins in the Throne Room. God is sovereign over all of history.
Our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. Psalm 115:3
The Lord does whatever pleases him,
in the heavens and on the earth,
in the seas and all their depths. Psalm 135:6
The Lord Almighty has sworn,
“Surely, as I have planned, so it will be,
and as I have purposed, so it will happen…
This is the plan determined for the whole world;
this is the hand stretched out over all nations.
For the Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him?
His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back? Isaiah 14:24-27
Remember the former things, those of long ago;
I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me.
I make known the end from the beginning,
from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,
and I will do all that I please.’
From the east I summon a bird of prey;
from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.
What I have said, that I will bring about;
what I have planned, that I will do. Isaiah 46:9
Nothing holds back God’s hand. He speaks and it is done. When God plans something it cannot fail. We must never have preconceived notions about what is and is not possible. We should never think of this world as being in the control of Satan. The Throne of God is the center of the universe. If the Church doesn’t understand this truth, the Church will be weak, discouraged, disorganized, lack zeal, and be tempted to withdraw or compromise.
The Lord reigns, let the nations tremble;
he sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake. Psalm 9:1
Revelation 4:2 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.
In the Old Covenant, God, at various times, anointed select people with the Holy Spirit, Numbers 11:29, but now that Christ is enthroned and reigning, New Covenant believers have what Old Covenant believers could only dream and wish for: the Spirit has been given to all believers, Acts 2:17-21 Please don’t take that unbelievable blessing as mundane. Be amazed! Moses’ wish has now come true in you:
I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would place His Spirit on them. Numbers 11:29
Revelation 4:3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne.
John is seeing and describing God’s Throne Room in heaven. His description matches that of the Old Testament prophets who also had visions.
And above the firmament over their heads was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like a sapphire stone; on the likeness of the throne was a likeness with the appearance of a man high above it. Also from the appearance of His waist and upward I saw, as it were, the color of amber with the appearance of fire all around within it; and from the appearance of His waist and downward I saw, as it were, the appearance of fire with brightness all around. Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. Ezekiel 1:26
John was seeing the true Temple after which the earthly tabernacle was patterned. Exodus 25:40, Hebrews 8:1-2, 5
After Noah’s flood, God hung his war-bow up over his Throne. This rainbow symbolizes God’s Covenant of peace with Noah, in which God promised to restrain his wrath throughout all of history. All of history is possible only because of God’s restraint, restraining his wrath until his ends are accomplished on earth. In fact, God provides time even for those who are in open rebellion against him, even softening their hearts and leading them to repentance. Acts 14:15-17, Romans 2:4
Do you think that it is a coincidence that those following the deceiver use the rainbow sign of God’s Covenant Promise as the symbol of their pride rebellion?
Revelation 4:4 Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder.
Patterned after the heavenly Throne Room, in the Old Covenant there were 24 divisions of priests, I Chronicles 24:17-19, and 24 divisions of singers, I Chronicles 25. The picture of 24 worship leaders was an idea that the Jewish readers of Revelation would be familiar with.
Throughout the Scriptures men in leadership are referred to as elders.
Moses summoned all the elders of Israel… Exodus 12:21
Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu,
and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Exodus 24:9-11
See also: Numbers 11:16-17, I Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-9, Hebrews 13:17, and James 5:14-15.
In heaven they sit on thrones. Earlier in Revelation John taught Christians that they reign with Christ, Revelation 1:6, they wear crowns, Revelation 2:10 & 3:11, they have been granted kingly authority with Christ over the nations, Revelation 2:26-27, apostates will bow before them, Revelation 3:9, and they are, in fact, seated with Christ. Revelation 3:21
The elders are kings and priests sitting on the 24 thrones. Matthew 19:27-30 John brings together these two images of the Old Covenant to show us that the New Covenant Church, the New Jerusalem, the New Presbytery of Heaven is the representative assembly of the Royal Priesthood of the Church.
Revelation 4:5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God.
This is a reference to the sevenfold Holy Spirit from Revelation 1:4-5.
Revelation 4:6 Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.
In the earthly copy of the heavenly Temple there was a Laver, called a sea, which was a large bronze water basin for ceremonial washing. I Kings 7:23-26, Exodus 30:17-21
Ezekiel describes standing under the glory cloud of God and looking up through the sea before the throne and seeing four creatures, the Throne and the pre-incarnate Christ.
I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north—an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal, and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In appearance their form was human… Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was what looked something like a vault, sparkling like crystal, and awesome… Above the vault over their heads was what looked like a throne of lapis lazuli, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. Ezekiel 1:4-5, 22, 26
From our point of view here on earth, history looks like an unpredictable raging sea. But from the perspective of God’s Throne, history and all events are crystal clear because God has decreed all things.
Revelation 4:6 In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. 7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying:
“‘Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty,’
who was, and is, and is to come.”
This is exactly what Isaiah had seen in the Throne Room:
I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.” Isaiah 6:1-3
Holy, Holy, Holy: The end of all of God’s creatures, including those before the Throne, is to glorify God and enjoy him forever, praising him for his holiness, almighty power, and his eternity. (Westminster Confession of Faith Shorter Catechism Question 1)
Revelation 4:9-11 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:
“You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being.”
The heavenly praise does not end with the song of the living creatures. The twenty-four elders join in responsive praise, casting their crowns before the throne, thereby acknowledging that their authority and dominion come from God alone. They go on to praise him for his works in creation and history.
Remember when Christ taught his disciples how to pray in Matthew 6:10?
We are to ask God: Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
To that end Christ is revealing to his Church a heavenly worship service, teaching us how to worship God on earth as God is worshipped in heaven. We are not left to our own imaginations as to how to structure or not structure worship.
First, we see that worship is corporate, not individualistic. It is not internal, not a spectator event, not a performance. There is full participation of the heavenly beings.
Second, worship is a dialogue of responses. The Elders and living creatures are shown singing responses back and forth. Worship is a liturgy of prayers, songs, and Psalms. God speaks and man responds.
The Sunday worship… is God’s people coming into the palace for a formal ceremony before the Throne, an official audience with the King. We come to confess our faith and allegiance, to take solemn oaths, to receive forgiveness, to offer up prayers, to be instructed by God’s officers, to eat at His table, and to render thanksgiving for all His benefits; and we are to respond to all of this with music and singing.
(David Chilton, Days of Vengeance)
When we worship here on earth we are joining in with the heavenly host worshiping God in the throne room.
Ask yourself, how would you comport yourself if you were to be brought before an earthly king? Then remember this is no earthly king you come before in worship: this is the Creator of life and ruler of the universe!
The primary purpose of God showing his prophets visions of heaven, Isaiah 6:1-4; Ezekiel 1, 10; Daniel 7:9-14; and John in Revelation 4–6, is to let the world know that God is sovereign over all of creation.
So, back to the opening question, who really controls the course of history?
John saw the answer to that question in his vision.
Revelation 20:1-3 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.
As Christ had said:
I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. Revelation 1:18
And really this is why Christ came to earth. Christ appeared for this purpose, that he might destroy the works of the devil. I John 3:8
The ancient alien, rebel, Satan, who came to the Garden of Eden to extend his rebellion to earth has been bound to keep him from deceiving the nations. Christ’s death and resurrection wrested power from Satan. Because of Christ’s victory, Satan has lost his ability to keep the nations in darkness. They who were once blind have been brought out of darkness and into the light.
What is meant by Satan being bound? The answer is Satan’s being bound…refers not to his total activity being eliminated, we know that he fires fiery darts and he comes at us…and prows around like a lion…but he is bound, or as the Gospels say, he is cast down in two specific ways. First, he cannot deceive the nations, to gather them together to wipe out the Church, so the Church is invincible. And second, the nations will no longer be in the times of ignorance but will be responsive to the Gospel.
(Kevin DeYoung, clearlyreformed.org)
Christ had commanded:
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. Surely, I am with you always… Matthew 28:19-20
In binding Satan and restricting his power, Christ has ensured the successful spread of his Kingdom to all nations and peoples.
As Christians are obedient to Christ’s command, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded, Christ guarantees Satan’s defeat, ensuring that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10
As Christ taught in Revelation 12:11: the persecuted Christians conquered him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.
The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. Romans 16:20
Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7
I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. Acts 26:17
Christ, the Promised Redeemer, has completed his bloody sacrificial work on our behalf. As Daniel saw in his vision, Christ has ascended into heaven where he is now at God the Father’s right hand. Daniel 7:13 Like the prophets of old, all believers now have the Holy Spirit, the power of God living within us. We are not to fear men. We are to boldly live, worship, and proclaim the Good News, the love and salvation of Christ to those facing eternity in hell.
“We meet together as an assembly… that as an organized force we may assail God with our prayers. Such violence is acceptable to God. We pray for Emperors, for their ministers and those in authority, for man’s temporal welfare, for the peace of the world, for the delay of the end of all things.”
(Tertullian (155AD), The Writings of Tertullian)
The visions of heaven assure us that God is firmly in control. Whenever we have doubts or fear that the events of history are spiraling out of control, we can turn to the visions that God revealed to us to regain our balance.