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."

This is another vision, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, from the Lord Jesus Christ. The voice John hears is the same that he heard in Revelation 1:10, which was the voice of Jesus.

Jesus' voice was like a trumpet: loud! "Anyone who has an ear to hear, listen up!" This is important information, and Jesus doesn't want us to miss it, or ignore it.

Jesus declares His purpose is to tell the future ("what must take place after this.")

2 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.

John was taken up into Heaven, in the Spirit, and saw the throne of God. Paul the Apostle had previously been taken up to Heaven, and he described his experience in 2 Corinthians 12:1-4...

• 1 ¶ I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord.
• 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows.
• 3 And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows—
• 4 was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell.

Someone was sitting on the throne! Who? We must look ahead to Revelation 5:6-7...

• 6 ¶ Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the centre of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
• 7 He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne.

If Jesus, the Lamb of God, is taking the book from the one on the throne, then the one on the throne must not be Jesus, but rather God the Father. What can we learn about the Heavenly Father from the following verses?

3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne.

• a. He looks like jasper. The jasper stone was as clear as crystal. Perhaps we would describe it as a diamond.
• b. He looks like carnelian (or ruby). The carnelian was ruby read.
• c. A brilliant emerald green rainbow encircled the throne.

Note: Jasper and Carnelian were the first and last of the 12 stones in the priest's breastplate in the Old Testament priestly religion. See Exodus 28:17-21...

• 17 Then mount four rows of precious stones on it. In the first row there shall be a ruby, a topaz and a beryl;
• 18 in the second row a turquoise, a sapphire and an emerald;
• 19 in the third row a jacinth, an agate and an amethyst;
• 20 in the fourth row a chrysolite, an onyx and a jasper. Mount them in gold filigree settings.
• 21 There are to be twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.

God identifies with His people. He is in their midst. Jesus presented Himself as in the midst of the seven churches. Here God the Father is presented as in the midst of His children. Jesus and the Father are one. Where one is, the other is also. They are one in thought, and in purpose, and in presence. You cannot have one without the other.

John 5:19 "Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise."

John 5:23 "That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him."

John 8:19 "Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also."

John 10:30 "I and my Father are one."

John 14:23 "Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him."

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.

Who are the 24 elders seated on 24 thrones? Twenty-four is twelve plus twelve. What do we find twelve of in the Old Testament? The 12 tribes. What do we find twelve of in the New Testament? The 12 Apostles. We what we have here are representatives of ALL OF GOD'S PEOPLE, both Old Testament believers and New Testament Believers.

The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ did not begin on the day of Pentecost in 30 AD. It began with the first person who ever was redeemed, and that was probably Adam.

As believers today in the Lord Jesus Christ we are in one body, the body of Christ, with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Daniel, John the Baptist, the Apostles, Polycarp the disciple of John, Augustine, Jerome, Calvin, Luther, John Wesley, Charles Spurgeon, D.L. Moody, and so on. We are one in the Lord, and we find that symbolized around the throne of God in Heaven.

The unity of believers of all ages in Christ is taught in many places in the Bible. For example:

• Romans 4:16-18
• Romans 11:17-24
• Ephesians 2:11-20
• Galatians 3:26-29

Here is Ephesians 2:11-20....

• 11 ¶ Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men)—
• 12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.
• 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
• 14 ¶ For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,
• 15 by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace,
• 16 and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.
• 17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.
• 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
• 19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow-citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household,
• 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.

Note: The Gentiles are not made into a separate new body called "the Church" as the Dispensationalists would tell the story. Rather, the Church already exists as Israel, and the wall that kept the Gentiles out is removed, and now the Gentiles are "fellow-citizens," i.e. they are absorbed into God's people and God's household. The Church is built on the foundation of the New Testament Apostles AND the Old Testament prophets.

5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God.

The lightning and thunder from the throne of God hark back to Mount Sinai, and the giving of the Law of God to the nation of Israel. In Exodus 19 we read:

• 16 ¶ On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled.
• 17 Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.
• 18 Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently,
• 19 and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him.
• 20 The LORD descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain.

The God we deal with in the New Testament is the same God as gave laws to Israel in the Old Testament. Even as God hated sin in the Old Testament, He still hated sin when Revelation was given to John, and He still hates sin today. An essential aspect of the Gospel is the preaching of repentance, along with faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. When we receive Christ as our Savior, we are not only saved from the power of sin, but we are saved from the wrath of God against sinners.

The seven lamps, as we discussed earlier in the Book of Revelation represent the Holy Spirit in all of His fullness. Here at the throne of God we are brought face to face with the Trinity. God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, and finally God the Son (the Lamb).

6 Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the centre, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and behind.

The Bible tells us that the earthly Tabernacle and Temple were made after the pattern of God's temple in Heaven. The throne of God in Heaven is represented by the Mercy Seat over the Ark of the Covenant. The altar of incense in the Tabernacle has a corresponding altar of incense in Heaven. The 7-branched lampstand in the Tabernacle is represented by the 7-fold Holy Spirit. The Sea of Glass in Heaven is represented on earth by the brass laver in the Tabernacle or Temple courtyard, where the priests of Israel washed their bloody hands after sacrificing the animals (See I Kings 7:23):

23 He (Solomon) made the Sea of cast metal, circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim and five cubits high. It took a line of thirty cubits to measure round it.

Note: The water of the earthly basin of water would have been tinged blood red. The water of the Heavenly laver is clear as crystal. Jesus shed His blood once for all, not over and over, and so the water stays perfectly clear and smooth.

The four living creatures are angels, similar to the Seraphim we read of in Isaiah 6:1-4:

• 1 ¶ In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.
• 2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.
• 3 And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."
• 4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

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 his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."

There are many theories about the meaning of the faces of the angels. No one has the answer for sure.

• Some say the lion represents kingly majesty.
• Some say the ox represents strength and patience.
• Some say the man represents intelligence.
• Some say the eagle represents speed and sight.

I am reminded of four attributes of God. The lion: God's sovereignty. The ox: God's almighty power. The Man: God's infinite intelligence. The eagle: God's instantaneous ability to be everywhere and anywhere. God is sovereign. God is omnipotent. God is omniscient. God is omnipresent. Perhaps these four angels are there to symbolize these four attributes of God.

No one knows for sure why they are covered with eyes. We see with our eyes. They have many eyes, so they see exceedingly well. What do they see? They are close to the throne, so they see God most of all. They are awed by what they see. They see NO SIN in God at all. And so they eternally cry out "Holy, Holy, Holy!"

9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honour and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever,
10 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:
11 "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."

The twenty-four elders, representing all the people of God from all ages, join the angels in worshipping God our Heavenly Father.

To cast your crown before the throne is to humble yourself, and acknowledge God's sovereignty over you. They worship God by ascribing to Him worthiness, especially for the fact that He is the Creator of all things.

CONCLUSION: Have we "cast our crowns" at God's feet? Do we gladly and worshipfully acknowledge His sovereignty over ourselves? Are we dazzled by the holiness of God? Do we understand that Jesus our Savior is ONE with the Father, and are we gladly worshipping Him? Are we longing to see the throne of God? All of these questions are brought to challenge us in Revelation Chapter Four.