Four and Twenty Elders

And we're gonna read this again. We looked at several of these verses. I'll read the whole thing. It's hard to just start in one spot. After this I looked, and behold, a door was opened in heaven, and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me, which said, come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter. And immediately I was in the Spirit.

And behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone. And there was a rainbow round about the throne in sight like unto an emerald. And round about the throne were twenty and four seeds. or were four and 20 seats. And upon the seats I saw four and 20 elders sitting, clothed in white raiment, and they had on their heads crowns of gold. And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices, and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. And before the throne there was a sea of glass likened to crystal.

And in the midst of the throne and round about the throne were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. And the first beast was like a lion, the second beast like a calf, the third beast had the face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him, and they were full of eyes within, and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was and is and is to come. And when those beasts give glory and honor and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth forever and ever. The four and 20 elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth forever and ever, and cast their thrones before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

And what a glorious vision this was. A vision which we would not claim to have all the answers and explanations as to what all of these things that John saw had reference to. Nor do I think John did. Nor do I think any other man that's ever looked at this actually has any concrete knowledge of what any of this is. But I do know this, that it testifies to the glory that surrounds the throne of the one whom we worship in spirit and truth by his grace. And so that's, you know, this is what John saw.

I mean, as we said last week, he heard this voice of a trumpet talking to him. It's the same voice he heard in the first chapter. One trumpet sounded, and he heard the voice of the Lord saying to him, come up hither. And he would show him those things that were before him, those things that were coming to pass, those things that he wanted to show him. And he was in the spirit, and he said there was a throne set in heaven. There's one throne in heaven, and it's the throne upon which the true and living God sits in glory.

And that's what John saw. And he that sat there was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone. I don't know what a jasper or a sardine stone is. You know, it was something that John saw. And it was a glorious thing. It was a gem, something of great value. And that's the only way he could describe it, was what he saw. Do I think that any of these things, as we think of them in Earth, are actually those things that are there? No, I don't.

I think that what they are, is the vision that John had that the Lord showed him that John being a man and having this thing here, that's what he saw. And so we need to keep that in mind that what John saw are these things. Now, I don't expect that when the day comes that we come to stand before the Lord that we're gonna see what John saw in this vision. Because I think that the only thing that we're gonna see, and this is actually the only thing John saw, but the Lord gave him a panoramic view in such a way that he would describe it to us, is the glory of Christ. See, the glory of Christ is that which overwhelms us. And John, as the Lord directed him, described this to us, but in such way that no man can really draw a picture of this. I mean, if you sat down and tried to draw a picture of this, you couldn't.

But it's given to us in our limited manner, just like when the scripture speaks about there's a street of gold, in heaven, that's gold as clear as glass. Now, have you ever seen any gold clear as glass? No. What is that? I mean, is it gold like we know? I mean, could you go and cut you off a piece of this and take it somewhere and have it analyzed and they say, yeah, it's pure gold?

No, that's not what he's saying. but he's describing this avenue of entrance into the presence of God in the most glorious fashion in which he could even think to describe it. A street of gold, not streets of gold. You know, you hear that all the time. People talk about, well, you know, the streets of heaven are paved with gold. Well, the scripture never says that. John said he saw a street of gold. What is that street of gold?

It's Christ. It's Christ. And so when we see this, we must keep this in mind. Now there are things that we learn about this that are, you know, add to the glory of it. There was a rainbow around about the throne. What is a rainbow? Rainbow was a sign of the covenant. And the covenant surrounds the throne of God.

You see, it's the purpose of God to redeem his people. And the covenant is, he didn't, men think of a covenant as an agreement between two people. And it can be. You can enter into a covenant with somebody. But you see, the Lord has entered into a covenant with us, but it's not a covenant. that we had anything to do with. It's a covenant where he said, you are my children, and I love you, and I will give my son for you, even though you be sinners, unworthy of the least of my mercy. See, that's the covenant of God. The covenant of God is with men. He didn't say to men, now if you'll do this, I'll do this. No, God says, I. will redeem you. I will deliver you out of darkness and bring you into the light.

And so there was a rainbow. He saw this rainbow around the throne in sight like unto an emerald. Now, I mean an emerald as we understand what an emerald is, is green. And I mentioned this last week, and I don't know if there's any real, I mean, I wouldn't stand on a soapbox and say this is definitely what this means, but I found a blessing in considering it as they think of the four stones, or the 12 stones that were on the breastplate of the high priest when he went in to the Holy of Holies every year to make an offering of atonement. He had on this breastplate, and it had 12 stones, each one corresponding to one of the tribes of the nation of Israel. And the fourth stone on that breastplate corresponded to the fourth son, and it was an emerald. And the fourth one was, corresponded to the fourth son of Jacob. And the fourth son of Jacob was Judah. And Christ is indeed the Lion of the tribe of Judah. That's important. Why is it important? Because God said it was. He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah so that we might know and this is what John saw.

I mean the word of God's consistent from beginning to end. There's no loose ends. Now there are things we can't fully completely understand and we're looking at some of them. But we can be sure that all of this fits perfectly in that which God has intended men to see and know. And he says this, that was kind of about where we left off last week.

And he said, and round about the throne were four and twenty seats. And upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment, and they had on their heads crowns of gold. Now that's an interesting thing. Twenty-four seats around the throne of God. Now, if you look in the scripture, the number 24 is in the scripture numerous times.

And what I believe the reference, and again, I'm not saying these things are set in stone and this is the way you need to look at this, but I found this quite intriguing as I studied and thought about these things, that when David, set up the priests to minister in the tabernacle at that time, because that was before the temple was constructed. But the priests, let me get back in the right frame of mind here.

Aaron who was appointed the high priest under the law, he had four sons. And those four sons were to be the priests of God. And those four sons were Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. Now we know that Nadab and Abihu, they've offered strange fire before the Lord and the Lord killed them. And so that left him with two sons. And of those two sons, there were 24 offspring. One of them had 16. I don't remember which. I think Eleazar had 16 sons, and the other one, Ithamar, had eight. So that made 24 of those sons, and the Lord set up through David that there were 24 groups of priests that would minister in the tabernacle, and ultimately, as this worked out, in the temple to come.

But So, and the reason for that is a very practical one. These men, obviously if they had families and stuff, they couldn't be in, they're doing these things 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. So it says they did by course, so they each had probably, I'm not, I don't know, it doesn't tell us how long, but if there was 24 groups of them, then they, probably went two weeks, each group minister for approximately two weeks and then the other group came in and did that because they had to be there the whole time. And so it is that I thought about that, that here's these 24 priests. Now another time that there's 24 mentioned in the scriptures is that there were of the 12 tribes, that of the sons of Jacob that were set up out of the 12 tribes, there was a group of men set up to be guards over the palace where David was. And there were 12 of those groups and there were 2,400 men or 24,000 soldiers assigned to each one, out of each one of those tribes to guard the palace.

So that's 288,000, 12 times 24,000, and again, the same thing. They did that on a monthly rotation. Now, that doesn't mean anything on the one hand, except when we think about what are these 24 elders? Now, it seems to me that what is being pointed out here, these 24 elders represent the totality of the children of God, surrounding the throne of God. Now, why do I think that?

Well, number one, 24 of them is as these priests were set around there, the scripture says that we've been made kings and priests before God. We've been, what are they clothed with? They're clothed with white garments, clothed with the righteousness of Christ. And they have upon their heads as they sit upon these thrones, and they sit on these thrones, think about it, They sit there. Now, when you're sitting, are you doing anything? No, you're resting. You're in a resting position. You're not doing anything.

They sat on these thrones around the throne of God, clothed in white raiment, and they had on their heads crowns of gold. that the Lord had given them. And the amazing thing is, as you read, as we just read, in verse 10, they didn't wear these crowns. In other words, they had them on. In order for somebody to take a crown off and cast it at the feet of the Lord, they had to have it on. So the Lord gave them the crown, but they didn't want to wear it because they wanted to give him glory.

And so that's what it says here. Four and 20 elders fall down before him and sat on the throne and worship him and liveth forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. And then over in verse 12 of chapter five, It says, well, let's see here. In verse 11, it says, I beheld and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders and the number of them was 10,000 times 10,000 and thousands of thousands saying with a loud voice, worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and glory and honor, and blessing, and every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the sea, under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever. And the four beasts said, amen, and the four and 20 elders fell down and worshiped him that liveth forever and ever.

Now these are those that said, we are, you have redeemed us. And so I believe, dear brethren, that these 24 elders, clothed in white raiment, having on their head crowns of gold, Peter said, we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. The Lord has made us priests and kings before God. And just like David appointed those 24 groups of the priests to minister in the house of God, so are the people of God all made priests unto God.

And we worship him, we serve him, we're delighted to do so. What a glorious thing. And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunders, thunderings and voices, And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. Out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings. It didn't proceed out of the seats of the elders, it proceeded from the throne.

The power and fire and glory of God is not something that men can produce or even share in. but the Lord is pleased to bestow it. See, when the Lord sends men, how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except they be sent? See, unless the Lord sends his word, it doesn't make any difference what men set out to do. The power of the gospel is in the Lord himself, and he sends that forth through his people. as he sees fit, according to the good pleasure of his will, lightnings and thunders and voices.

And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. You remember when Moses made the tabernacle, later forced it into the temple, there were seven lamps that were always burning in the Holy of Holies, seven lamps. before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. Now, you know, this is kind of a, one of those things that makes people scratch their head, the seven spirits of God. Now, all spirits belong to the Lord. He made all spirits. just like he made all souls.

You know, I can't divide between the soul and the spirit, but the word of God can. And so, you know, these are mysterious things. Men say, well, you know, what is a soul? Well, I don't know what a soul is, but I know that man is a soul. He doesn't have a soul. He is a soul. Why'd I say that? Because the scripture says God made man a living soul. He breathed into him. He gave us breath. He gave us spirit.

Now, of course, people go shipwreck on that and try to make that into something that it's not. But be sure of this, that men are souls. The scripture says that if a man loses soul, He's lost everything. Now what does that mean? Does it mean that, well, his body's over here and his soul's over there? No, it simply means that if a man is bereft of that which God gives him, then he is going to perish. Without life, we cannot live. There's no such thing as an eternal soul.

There's such thing as eternal life. And the life that we have is in Christ. Christ is our life. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall we be like him. You see, that's the glorious thing, is that the Lord gives to his people eternal life. We don't gain it. There's no way that a man can get eternal life except the Lord gives it to him. But the glorious thing is that he does give it to us, to his people.

And that life manifests itself in a desire after him. See, a living soul desires Christ. That's just part of life. Just like a living man desires breath. You can't just stop breathing. Can you? I mean, you can hold your breath for a long time, but eventually, you will start breathing again unless the Lord takes it from you. The Lord gives you every breath that you have, and He's the only one that gives you that. He's the only one that gives eternal life in the same fashion.

So what are the seven spirits of God? I believe it just has reference to the fact that the Spirit of God is perfect in all things. I mean, remember the message is that there were seven churches. What were the seven churches? They're perfect, the perfect example of the church of God in its totality. And those seven messages that he gave to the seven churches are those messages brought by the seven spirits of God, the messengers to those churches, which is perfect. So just like this whole book is perfect in that it is the revelation of God which was given to Jesus Christ, that's what these seven spirits testify to the glory of God. You won't find that the Spirit of God ever speaks of any other but Christ. That's what the Lord told his disciples. He said, when he is come, what will he do? He will testify of me. He will not speak of himself, but he will glorify me.

Oh, what a glorious, perfect Spirit of God he has sent and given to us. What a glorious blessing it is. And who is the Spirit of God? The same one that gave it. Jesus Christ. He's not with us in the flesh, but He is definitely with us, is He not? How do we know that? He said, where two or more of you are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of you. How could He be in the midst of us? if it was not by His Holy Spirit. What a glorious thing that is. He is the Spirit of God.

And before the throne, and I know there's a lot of questions, people. I'm not trying to, when I get through with this, you'll be more confused than you were when I started. But the thing about this is, is that this is an unfolding picture that God is pleased to give to His people. And you can go back and read this five years from now and it'll still be just as glorious as it was when you first read it.

You can't ever get to the point, oh, well, we know all about that. See, some people study prophecy and they say, oh, well, we got it. We know it. Here it is. This is going to happen, that's going to happen. This is going to occur, and this country is going to invade that one, and helicopters are going to be flying around like locusts. You know, you're going to have all this stuff, and we know all how it is. Well, no, because you see, this is the unfolding of the glory of Christ. And you can't ever exhaust it, because every time you come back and look at it, you say, you know, that's something.

I remember reading one time a sermon by Charles Spurgeon years ago, read this, and the title of the sermon was A Picture Which No Man Can Paint. And that's what he was talking about, the glory of God. You know, you can paint the glory of a sunset, you can paint the glory of this idea, but you can't really capture the sunset, can you?

I mean, you can take a picture. I had a while back, I was coming down the road over here, and I've shown this to some of you. I took a photograph of it, but there was a rainbow, and you don't see this very often, but you could see the entire rainbow that went from one side all the way across, and it was huge, and it was beautiful. It was breathtaking, and I took a picture of it. But you know, I can go back and look at that picture, It's a picture, but it's nothing like actually seeing that rainbow.

And so it is with the glory of Jesus Christ. We can tell men of it. But until the Lord is pleased to show it to you, and you see it, you know, with the eye of faith, by the grace of God, you can't really see it. And so when you see these things, And we talk about the seven lamps and the seven spirits of God and the lightnings and thunders and voices coming out of the throne. I can't do that justice. But we can fall down and worship the one of whom it speaks about. The one who came, bled, and died for sinners. The one who is a covenant-keeping God. He said, I. will call you by my name. And if he calls you by his name, nobody can ever take that away. What a glorious thing.

Four and Twenty Elders

Sermon Transcript

About Mike McInnis

Comments

Joshua

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Music

Recent Comments

About

Legal

Subscribe

Account

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Recent Comments

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Collections

Music

About

Legal

Subscribe

Four and Twenty Elders

Sermon Transcript

About Mike McInnis

Comments

More from Mike McInnis

Related Sermons

Same Scripture

Articles by Mike McInnis

Joshua

Where this book stands in the tradition

Plato

Augustine

The Western Christian Tradition

This Book