Introduction: Have you visited a beautiful home and noticed a
partially open door? Did you want to peek inside? What pulled you to
look? That is how our study of Revelation this week begins! What we
will see inside is amazing! Let’s dive into our study of the Bible
and see what God has to teach us!
- An Entrance
- Read Revelation 4:1. Imagine you are the one standing
before the open door. What reasons would you have to enter
it? (Curiosity! I would not only want to see what is
behind the open door, I would want to hear “what must take
place after this.” Of course, John was also invited to
enter!) - Who is speaking to John? (We learned in our study of
Revelation 1 that the “loud voice like a trumpet”
( Revelation 1:10)is Jesus ( Revelation 1:12-13).) - Where is the “up” (“come up here”) that is behind the
open door? (We will learn next this is the throne
room of God.) - Read Revelation 4:2-4. What do we see after we pass
through the door and enter the throne room? (We see a
central throne and twenty-four other thrones.) - Who is seated on the center throne? (We are not told
who is on the central throne, but it would logically
be Jesus or God the Father because it is in the
position of highest authority.) - What circles this central throne? (A rainbow.)
- Why do you think the homosexual rights
movement adopted the rainbow as its
symbol? - Who is seated on the twenty-four thrones? (“Elders.”)
- Do we know who they are? (We are not told here.
Recall that there were twelve apostles and
twelve tribes in Israel. This may represent the
leaders of God’s people in the Old Testament
and the apostles in the New Testament.) - Read Revelation 4:5. I’m always interested in descriptions
of God’s throne that give us some practical insight. What
does electricity (lightening), rumbling and thunder
suggest about this throne? (It is a source of power. John
describes how things are powered in the future.) - What are the lamps? (We discussed this before. This
appears to be a description of the Holy Spirit.) - Read Revelation 4:6-8. There is something between the
center throne and the twenty-four thrones. What are these?
(Living creatures.) - These living creatures are covered with eyes. What do
you think that means? (This must be symbolic of
knowledge.) - Read Ezekiel 10:12-15. This is an excerpt from
Ezekiel’s vision. Who are these “creatures?” (They
are angels – Cherubim. Calling them “creatures” means
they could be anything. Unfortunately, I think
“creature” gives us a negative impression. In fact, I
believe these are special angels with characteristics
that are reflected in their face. They constantly
interact with God.) - Read Revelation 4:9-10 and compare Revelation 4:8. My wife
says that she would not want to be one of these
“creatures” because it would be the most boring job in the
world to constantly repeat “Holy, holy, holy” for all
eternity. Is that what you think is being described? (I
don’t think that is how this should be understood. If it
were, then the twenty-four elders would be constantly
falling down and getting up. That makes no sense. Instead,
I think the “never stop saying” means that they will
always remain faithful to God. They will always have an
attitude of praise to God. When they actually give praise,
the Elders join with them by kneeling before God. I
suspect these creatures have the best jobs in the
universe!) - Read Revelation 4:11. What is the basis for giving God
praise? (He is our Creator.) - What does this say about the theory of evolution? (It
is a central attack on the very reason why glory is
given to God in heaven. Does that give us greater
insight into the homosexual lobby adopting the
rainbow as its symbol?) - Does this reveal who is on this central throne? (Read
John 1:1-3. The “Word” if you continue reading this
chapter, is a reference to Jesus. Thus, John says
here that “all things were made” by Jesus. But, the
understanding that Jesus is sitting on this throne
runs into problems when we get to the next chapter.) - The Scroll
- Read Revelation 5:1. Do they practice environmental
conservation in heaven? (Notice that the scroll has
writing on both sides.) - I’m generally joking about “conservation” in heaven,
but why do you think John records this detail? (This
is further proof of the accuracy of his vision. He
notices small details.) - Why are there “seven seals?” (Seven is a perfect
number, thus this is perfectly sealed.) - Read Revelation 5:2-5. Who can open the scroll? (Jesus.
The commentators that I read agree that this is Jesus – as
will be confirmed as we continue to read.) - How do you explain the question of worthiness? If God
the Father is sitting on the throne and it holding
this scroll, how can He not be “worthy?” (Make a
mental note of this. We will continue to unravel
this.) - Read Revelation 5:6. Who is the Lamb? (Clearly this is
Jesus.) - How do you “stand” in the “center of the throne?” It
has already been described as a place to sit! (We
need to adjust our view of this throne. There are at
least two individuals on this throne. One is sitting
and One is standing. They are both God. The One
standing, Jesus, is in the center. We have a hard
time understanding the Trinity. My suggestion is to
consider this one more aspect of the Trinity.) - Does Jesus now have seven horns and seven eyes? How
can He look like a human and have these features? (We
are told that Jesus’ seven eyes are symbolic. They
are the Holy Spirit. Seven, once again, being the
sign of perfection. This likely means the seven horns
are also symbolic.) - Think back to the four creatures of Revelation
4:6-7 with all the eyes. Are these eyes also
symbolic? Is the whole description symbolic?
Meaning, they are not actually covered with
eyes and they do not actually have faces that
look like a lion, ox, human or eagle? (I think
they are all symbolic.) - What do these horns represent? (Let’s assume
this is not very complex. The horn of a
rhinoceros, the horns of a goat, or the antlers
of deer are all used as weapons. This tells us
that Jesus has perfect power. Compare Matthew
28:18.) - Read Revelation 5:7-9. Recall that I asked you to keep in
mind the “worthiness” issue? How could God the Father not
be worthy? How do these verses answer that question?
(Jesus is worthy because He defeated sin. He gave us the
opportunity for unmerited eternal life!) - Think about this scroll in the context of who is
worthy to open it. We will study the contents of the
scroll more in the next chapter, but what do you
think the scroll concerns? (We have a new future
opened to us. Instead of eternal death, Jesus opened
a future of eternal life for us. That means the
defeat of sin and death. Logically, the scroll is
about our glorious and victorious future. We now see
why Jesus is the only One “worthy” to open it,
because He unlocked it for us.) - Read Revelation 5:10. How else have we been benefitted by
Jesus? (We are all priests. This is a great breakthrough
in our spiritual standing, and our equality of standing
with each other.) - Worthy is the Lamb
- Read Revelation 5:11-14. Who is praising Jesus? (Everyone!
Note that they are also praising God the Father.) - Why is Jesus’ worthy? (He won the greatest battle of
the universe. He defeated sin by living a sinless
life on our behalf. He died for us and rose to
eternal life for us. He succeeded where Adam and Eve
failed. Praise Him!) - Friend, think about the praise we just discussed. Are you
ignoring what Jesus has done on your behalf? Have you
rejected Jesus? Or, have you believed that your works will
save you – which is another form of rejecting what Jesus
has done for us. Why not accept this wonderful gift and
join in the everlasting praise for our great God! - Next week: The Seven Seals.
