Answered Scripture

Chapters 4 and 5 set the stage for the unfolding of God’s plan for judgment and redemption. These 2 chapters focus on the holiness of God, the worth of Yehoshua (the Lamb), and heavenly worship. I will just summarize these two chapters, briefly covering their imagery. They are still significant, so we don’t want to skip over them. The symbols found within these chapters will be explained in terms of their meanings.

Let’s begin with chapter 4. The subtitle in my Bible is “The Throne Room of Heaven.” After the messages to the seven churches, John has a vision of heaven. He is invited to see what must happen next. A door opens in heaven, and a voice like a trumpet tells him to come up. There, John sees a majestic throne with God seated on it. It’s described with imagery like jasper and carnelian, plus a rainbow like an emerald surrounds the throne. The deep green color of an emerald is reminiscent of vibrant nature and is associated with renewal, immortality, and the beauty of God’s creation. The emerald rainbow is a reminder of God’s covenant with Noah and His promise to refrain from destroying the earth with a flood, symbolizing divine mercy and faithfulness.

Surrounding the throne are 24 elders, dressed in white and wearing crowns. They are shown as falling down, worshiping, and casting their crowns before God, acknowledging Him as the Creator of all things. This reflects their complete obedience, surrender, and trust in God. There are also seven lamps representing the seven spirits of God that burn before the throne. It does not literally mean seven different spirits. Once again, the number seven represents the completeness/perfection of God.

A sea of glass, clear as crystal, is before the throne. This can reflect or symbolize purity, holiness, and the absence of chaos in the divine realm. It is a powerful visual representation of God’s majesty and perfection that characterizes heaven. It contrasts with the earthly sea, which often represents turmoil and unrest, highlighting the peace and order in God’s presence.

Chapter 4 also introduces us to the four living creatures. They have the faces of a lion, an ox, a man, and an eagle. The symbolism here is that the lion represents strength, courage, royalty, and power. The ox represents strength, service, and sacrifice. The man represents intellect, reason, and humanity, and the eagle represents speed, vision, and transcendence. These four creatures combined portray a complete picture of God’s attributes and dominion over all creation. They are seen in constant worship of God, proclaiming His holiness and serving as a reminder of His power and authority.

In chapter 5, we have two subheadings, “The Lamb Takes the Scroll” and “Worthy is the Lamb.” Here, John sees a scroll in God’s right hand, written on both sides and sealed with seven seals. Once again, the number seven represents completeness. As we get further into this subject, we will review each seal representing prophetic events that unfold before Christ’s second coming.

Continuing, we find a mighty angel asking who is worthy to open the scroll, and when there seems to be no one found, John weeps. One of the elders tells John not to weep, that the lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed and can open the scroll. Of course, we know that Yehoshua came from the family of David, the tribe of Judah. Next, John sees this worthy person as a slain lamb, standing at the center of the throne.

This lamb has seven horns and seven eyes, representing once again the completeness and perfection of God, using the number seven. Horns generally symbolize power and authority, particularly political or military power. They can also represent kings, kingdoms, or rulers. The number of horns often carries symbolic meaning, relating to completeness or a particular group of rulers. The seven eyes symbolize omniscience, divine knowledge, and understanding, representing Christ’s perfect and all-seeing knowledge.

The lamb takes the scroll, and the four living creatures and the 24 elders fall down and worship. They each hold harps and golden bowls of incense and sing a new song declaring the Lamb worthy because He was slain and redeemed us for God from every tribe and nation. The bowls of incense here represent the prayers of the saints. Then many angels joined in proclaiming: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain…” (verse 12). The expression “ten thousand times ten thousands…” has a symbolic representation using the number ten. In the Bible, ten often symbolizes completeness, law, and responsibility. It signifies a complete cycle or a perfect unit. So, in reference to the angels, they are in perfect harmony with God’s law and their responsibilities.

At the end of chapter 5, we see that every creature in heaven, on earth, under the earth, and in the sea is praising God on the throne and the Lamb. We could say that this represents the fulfillment of God’s plan. They confirm this by saying, “Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!” (Revelation 5:13).

Next time, we will get into the first six seals. That may have to be sectioned up because of the contents, but I’ll do my best to keep it short. Till next time…