Reviews and Views

Book of Revelation – Chapter 4

The future lies ahead for John and us who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. What comes next is an incredible view of heaven and the events that soon occur on earth’s inhabitants. 

Chapters 2 and 3 covered the letters to the seven churches that span the present age of grace in which we now reside. You will notice that the Church is not mentioned again in Revelation until the end of the book. That is because the Church is in heaven and not on earth.

After completing the history of the seven churches, John sees a door open in heaven. The door only opens twice in the book of Revelation. Verse 1 allows the saints into heaven as Jesus leads us home, also known as the Rapture. A second time, toward the end of Revelation, the Lord Jesus Christ leads the armies of heaven to earth to set up His millennium kingdom.

One may ask, “What is the Rapture?” It is the literal, visible, bodily coming of Jesus Christ to call out of this world, literally and bodily, every born-again believer; first the dead, then the living. Remember that no man can know the date or the time of this event. Do take notice that the dead in Christ shall rise first as told to us in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. Then all of us who are alive will be caught up into the sky to meet the Lord Jesus Christ in the twinkling of an eye.

There is a difference between the Rapture and the Revelation of Christ. This truth needs to be fully understood because it is the basis for understanding the Book of Revelation, prophetic truth, and the placement of signs. There are two aspects, or stages, in the process of Christ’s second coming. The first phase is the Rapture of the Church (described in chapter 4), which removes the believer from the Judgments of chapters 6 to 18. The second phase is called the Revelation (described in chapter 19), which restores the believer to earth as he returns with Christ to planet earth. The intervening chapters 6 through 18 will cover seven years called the Tribulation (or the time of Jacob’s trouble).

Earth’s inhabitants experience seven years of incomparable judgments immediately following the Rapture. These judgments end with the Battle of Armageddon when heaven’s door swings open a second time (chapter 19, verses 11-16) so that the believer may exit heaven with Christ for the return trip to earth. Wars stop, peace reigns, and the millennium kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ operate from Jerusalem.

What is meant by “the time of Jacob’s trouble?” The Church will not be on earth during the Tribulation hour. The Tribulation is Israel’s time of suffering. See Jeremiah 30:7 and Daniel 12:1. In Daniel 9:24, we read, “seventy weeks are determined upon thy people (Israelites) and upon thy holy city (Jerusalem).” The seven years of Tribulation is the final of the 70th week of Daniel 9. The Church, the bride of Christ, elected to be His sweetheart and wife for all eternity, is not in view during the Tribulation.

The future begins in Chapter 4 and Chapter 5. The starting point focuses on events in heaven, followed by what occurs on earth during the Tribulation in Chapters 6 through 18.

John focuses on the throne as he looks around now that he is in heaven. The throne is a throne of God’s governance. John uses jasper and sardine stone to describe what he saw. “Jasper emphasizes the hardness connected with the government of God. His laws are fixed and firm, unyielding and unrelenting” (John Phillips commentary, page 82). When Christ rules the earth, it will be with a rod of iron, symbolically hardness and unyieldedness. “The sardine stone suggests the holiness connected with the government of God, for Sardis is a deep, fiery, flashing red. It reminds us that ‘our God is a consuming fire’ (John Phillips commentary, page 82).

A rainbow encircles the throne that John describes like an emerald. The color has to do with the earth. The circle symbolizes perfection. God’s judgment will be flawless and also formal. Notice the 24 seats or thrones around God’s throne. We are witnessing a court in session. All things will be done orderly and decently. Coming is a fearful judgment with all the lightning and thundering and voices coming out of the throne. A sea of glass like a crystal was before the throne. God’s final judgment will be transparent and fixed. Peace and calmness surround the throne of God. The Church is at rest in heaven before the storm hits the earth. 

In describing the four beasts, John uses the words “like a” and “as a,” meaning that the descriptions are all symbolic and not literal. Most of Revelation is literal, but the symbolic will use these similar words for symbolic meaning. Chapter 4 ends in a glorious moment in heaven. The crowned saints lay their rewards at the feet of Jesus. They lay aside their rewarded glory to add to His glory. 

Next is Chapter 5 – the book with the seven seals.

January 11, 2024 - Posted by Bill Wyler | Culture, Last Days, Religion | Bible, Future, GOD, Israel, Truth