Okay, the Revelation chapter
4. We're moving right along. In a couple of years we'll be
in chapter 22, Lord willing. So we'll just go a little bit
at a time. We're not getting in a big hurry. Revelation chapter
4. Today I'm taking the title from the words found in verse
1. After this, John said, I looked, and behold, a door was opened. A door was opened in heaven. A door was opened in heaven. We know that door is the Lord
Jesus Christ, don't we? We know the one who opens the
door because He is the way. We read in John chapter 10, remember? Our Lord said, I am the door,
by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved. He is the door. And then in John 14, he said,
I am the way, the truth, the life. No man comes to the Father
but by and through me. Now, remember who owns the door. Who controls the door. Look back
at chapter 3, verse 7. The door here is controlled because
of the one who owns the door. Revelation 3 verse 7, To the
angel of the church in Philadelphia write, These things saith he
that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David,
he that openeth, and no man shutteth, and shutteth, and no man opens.
Verse 8, I know thy works, behold, I have set before thee an open
door, and no man can shut it. He has the keys, he opens, and
no one can shut. When he shuts, No one can open
the door. He is the sovereign Lord who
controls all things in the matter of salvation and all providence.
The only reason the door is open to God's people is because Christ
Himself, through the blood and sacrifice of His own body, and
because of the righteousness He established for us, honoring
the law of God, has opened the door for us. We have an entrance. into God's presence, to the very
throne of God. What did we read in Hebrews 4.16? Let us therefore come boldly
unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and right
grace to help in time of need. We have a throne of grace because
the Lord Jesus Christ has opened the door to His blood sacrifice,
to His righteousness, to His obedience unto death. Therefore,
He said, Come, all you who labor heavy laden, come, I'll give
you rest. Now, in chapter 4 and chapter 5 of the Revelation,
we have a glorious true picture of our exalted God and Savior
sitting on the throne of majesty, absolute sovereignty. It's the
throne of His absolute dominion, and His throne is an eternal
throne. It has no beginning. It has no
end of this throne. Remember back in chapter 1, turn
over there. Chapter 1, verse 8, he says,
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, saith the Lord,
which is, and which was, and is to come, the Almighty God. That describes Him, and that
describes His throne of absolute dominion. We read in Psalm 90,
"...before the mountains were brought forth, O ever Thou hast
formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting,
Thou art God." He's God upon the throne. God who is God. Now as God who sits on the throne
as God, He controls everything that happens. You remember we've
read so many times in the book of Isaiah, he says, I am God,
beside me there is no other. I am the only just God and Savior. Beside me there is no other Savior.
There is no other just God. Now in these two chapters, Revelation
chapter 4 and Revelation chapter 5, we see all through these two
chapters, 17 times we read about the throne of God. In chapter
4 and chapter 5, 17 times He mentions the throne, the throne,
the throne of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the book of Revelation,
it's mentioned 27 times the Lord Jesus Christ in His
sacrificial character as the Lamb of God. Thirty-one times
it mentions the throne of God. So we see the whole book of Revelation,
what it's all about? The Lamb on the throne. Now here's a good example of
that. Turn to Revelation 5 verse 6. Revelation 5 verse 6, "...and
I beheld him low in the midst of the throne, and of the four
beasts, and amidst of the elders, the elders there represent the
church to the Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns,
all power, seven eyes, all knowing, which are the seven spirits of
God sent forth into all the earth, the Lamb upon the throne. When
He by Himself purged our sin, He sat down on the right hand
of the Majesty on high." What's He doing there? He ever lives
to intercede for us as our advocate. He's the mediator of that better
covenant we read about in Hebrews 8. One God, one mediator between
God and men, that is the Lord Jesus Christ. Those about the
throne, those redeemed by His blood, saved by His grace, called
out of darkness, they, before the throne of God, they worship
Him. Notice in verse 10 and in verse
11, of chapter 4. The four and twenty elders fall
down before Him that sat on the throne. Why did they fall down?
They worshiped Him. that live forever and ever. And
they cast their crown 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
they were created on the throne of absolute dominion. In that
day of eternal worship, we'll love Him perfectly, We'll see
Him face to face, truly worship Him as He's worthy of all worship,
honor, and glory. The Father seeketh such to worship
Him in spirit and in truth. Now, go back to verse 1, and
we'll look down through verse 5. And after this, after all
that John had been through, seeing in chapter 1 the revelation of
the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, hearing Those seven letters to
the seven churches. After this, John said, I looked,
and behold, a door was opened. A door was opened in heaven. The heavenly door, the heavenly
way. And the first voice which I heard was, as it were, of a
trumpet talking with me. I mean, me, John. And said, the voice said, Come
here, and I'll show you things that must shortly be hereafter. They must come to pass, and they
will come to pass. After this, after this, all that
John had experienced, the Lord was pleased to take John, as
Paul did, to the third heaven, to see this glorious, glorious
sight. And he said, immediately, I was
in the Spirit. Now, it's similar to what, hold
your place there, and find, you remember in our study in 2 Corinthians,
find chapter 12. It's similar to what Paul experienced
here. And I don't know how to explain
these things, but it said, the Lord said, come up hither, and
John said, I was immediately there. Where did he go? To the very presence of Christ
before the throne of God. 2 Corinthians 12, verse 1, It
is not expedient for me to doubtless to glory, I'll come to visions
and revelations of the Lord. I knew a man in Christ above
fourteen years ago, whether in the body I cannot tell, or whether
out of the body I cannot tell. God knoweth such a one caught
up to the third heaven. I knew such a man, whether in
the body or out of the body, I cannot tell. God knoweth."
Now, he's talking about himself. "...how that he was caught up,"
verse 4, "...into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which
is not lawful or possible for a man to utter." So, Paul had
a similar experience to what John here had on the Isle of
Patmos. The first thing revealed to John
is this door. I looked, and behold, a door
was open. And God called John from this
earth, through this door, into his very presence, through this
door. The only way to gain access under
the glorious presence of the thrice holy God is through the
Lord Jesus Christ. He is the way. He is the door. Neither is there salvation in
any other. You cannot climb up some other
way. It's not like some people say,
we're all going to the same place, we're just climbing up different
ways. No. The Lord Jesus Christ sits
upon the throne in heaven, and the only entrance into His presence
is through this door, and Christ Himself, He is the door. We only enter into His presence,
savingly, through the blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus
Christ. He said, come up here. John is
not only given a glorious sight of Christ the door, but also
ears to hear Christ the Word. He heard the voice of Christ
affectionately calling him to himself like the voice of a trumpet,
it says there. Like the voice of a trumpet.
Remember back in chapter 1, turn back there. In chapter 1, verse 10. It's the same voice. It's the same person. I was in
the Spirit. Revelation 1, verse 10. On the
Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet
saying, I'm Alpha and Omega, the first and the last. What
thou seest, write it in a book and send it to the seven churches.
And here we have it right here in front of us. I looked and
he said, come up hither. Come up here. You talk about
the irresistible call of God, the irresistible grace of God,
the effectual call of God. Our Lord Jesus Christ said to
John, you come here. What if John said, uh-uh, I don't
want to. No, this is the effectual, irresistible call of God. And when God calls, we come. He said, no man can come unto
me except my Father which sent me. Draw him, come up here, come
up here. This is the irresistible call
of God and we will answer. In the day of His power, His
people are willing. Willing. Aren't you glad He called
you? Aren't you glad you had ears
to hear His call? And eyes to see Him who is altogether
lovely? Come up here, and I'll show you
the last part of verse 1. He said, you come up here. You
come and sit with Me on the throne. We're seated together in the
heavenlies in the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember back in chapter
3, look at verse 21. Remember what He said back here?
To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne,
even as I also am overcome and am set down with my Father in
His throne. Come up here and I'll show you
things that must be hereafter." Now, that's pretty positive language.
I can't say to you, come over here tomorrow, I'm going to show
you what must happen. Now I can say that, it'd be just
a proud boast, because I don't control what happens tomorrow.
Now I might say Lord willing we'll do this, but God doesn't
speak that way. He said, I purpose it, I bring
it to pass, I will do it. I must show you things, I will
show you things that must be hereafter. Remember, our Lord
spoke that way in terms concerning His death. He said, I must go
to Jerusalem. I must suffer. I must lay down
my life. I must take it again that my
Father may be glorified. He must do all things because
all things are ordained and decreed of God from the beginning. Knowing
unto God are all His works from the beginning. He's going to
show us things that must come to pass. And we see that all
the way through the next chapters. Now, look at verse 2. Come up
here, and I'll show you, and immediately, well, there was
an answer to that call, wasn't it? Immediately, John writes
here, I was in the Spirit. I was in the very presence of
God. And behold, the throne was set in heaven, and one sat on
that throne. Christ called John, and immediately
he was in the presence of Christ. What a picture of what it will
be like when the Lord calls us to Himself. When we lay aside
this tabernacle of sinful flesh, to be absent from the body is
to be what? Present with the Lord. present
with the Lord. And what does he behold? He beholds
this throne of God. A throne was set. That means
the throne doesn't move. That means the throne doesn't
bury. That means the throne doesn't change. He said, I am God, I
change not. Therefore you sons of Jacob are
not consumed. The throne is set in heaven,
established upon the covenant of eternal grace, and the Lord
Jesus Christ occupies it. And we're seated in Him. We're
seated together in the heavenlies in the Lord Jesus Christ. The
throne of Christ here is a symbol of His absolute sovereign reign
and rule over all things in heaven. It's a symbol of His complete
power. It's also a symbol of His complete
deity. Who is the one who sits on the
throne? It's God. He's God. That's declaring His
power, and it's declaring His deity, isn't it? What do I mean
when we say that we believe in the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ? We're saying that He is God.
That's what this book teaches. The Word was made flesh and brought
among us, and we beheld His glory. God was manifest in the flesh.
His throne is an immutable, secure throne. He said, whatsoever I
please, that's what I do in heaven and earth and seas and all deep
places. We've studied this. Don't turn.
Let me read it to you. In the book of Psalms, we read
Psalm 93. The Lord reigneth. He is clothed with majesty. The Lord is clothed with strength.
Wherewith he had girded himself, the world also was established,
that it cannot be moved. Thy throne is established of
old from everlasting. Thou art from everlasting to
everlasting. He is God. Aren't you glad that
he tells us to come boldly to this throne of grace, that we
may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need? The
Lord Jesus Christ occupies this throne in a posture of ease and
accomplishment. It says there that he is set
down. He's sitting on the throne. Why
is he sitting down? You know, if you studied the
Old Testament tabernacle and all the pieces of the furniture
in the Holy of Holies and the Holy Place, there's not a chair
there. There's everything else there,
but not a chair. The Old Testament priest never sat down. His work
was never complete, never done. The Lord Jesus Christ, when He
shed His blood, made His atonement, fulfilling everything that is
pictured on the mercy seat, the Lord Jesus Christ went to glory
and sat down. He sat on Calvary Street, what?
It's finished! When He by Himself purged our
sin, He sat down. Sitting on the throne of God
signifies His redemptive work is what? Accomplished. Finished. It's done. It's over. You mean,
preacher, there's nothing for me to do? There's nothing for
me to bring? Nothing for me to add? Absolutely
nothing. You just mess it up. He performed
all things for us. God who has begun a good work
in you, He will finish it. Look to Him who accomplished
all things for us. And that's what saving faith
does is. Be sure you get this and hear this. No one disturbs
His rule. He's sitting on the throne undisturbed. He's not pacing the up in heaven,
wringing his hand, trying to decide, now what am I going to
do now? That didn't work out. What am I going to do next? No,
he sits in absolute control, dominion over all things. Of him and through him and to
him are all things, to whom be glory both now and forever. No one will impede or hinder
his will from being accomplished. He said these things must be. We worship the absolute sovereign
God. You know, the only place a sinner
will worship is at the throne of a sovereign God. And that's
what we do. We worship Him who is sovereign.
What you believe is determined by who you believe. What you
believe is determined by who you believe. If you believe that
God is God, that He is sovereign, that He's chosen a people that
accomplished all salvation, that's what you believe. Seated on the
throne. Now look at verse 3. And he that
sat was to look upon like a jasper, a jasper stone. like a sardine stone. And there
was a rainbow round about the throne in a sight like unto an
emerald." An emerald. Now, he mentions these three
stones, the jasper stone, the sardine stone, and the emerald
stone, and they're all symbolic of his throne, of his person
and his work. The perfection and beauty of
the Lord Jesus Christ are set forth In these three different
precious jewels, this forms the throne of God, like a jasper
stone. And this is all describing the
Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is glorious to look upon. His appearance is altogether
lovely. There's none like Him. His appearance is most exquisite,
gorgeous, like a bright luster of a diamond, crystal clear. The brilliance of a diamond.
Presenting His perfect, holy character. A jasper stone. He mentions that again over here
in Revelation 21. Turn over there. Revelation 21, verse 10 and verse 11. And He
carried me away in the Spirit to a great high
mountain and showed me that great city Revelation 21.10, Holy Jerusalem
descending out of heaven, having the glory of God and her light
was likened to a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear
as crystal. A bright, brilliant, shining
diamond describes his glorious character as God. And then mentioned second is
the Sardin stone, or the Sardis stone. This stone is known for
its ruby red color, or blood red color, representing the justice
of God, representing the holiness of God. But whenever I see that
written in Scripture, something indicating redness, the Red Sea,
or the red redeeming blood, I think of His blood that was shed for
us. When you cut yourself, what do
you see? You see red, I hope it's red
blood. It should be red blood. If you're
healthy it is. The Lord Jesus Christ with His
own blood, the ruby of His blood, the diamond of His character,
you see it's who He is. that gives power and glory to
what He did. It's just not some Jewish man
shed his blood. The Jewish man who died for us,
according to Scripture, is God. He bought us with His own blood. And the justice of God fell upon
our substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ, and was satisfied. God
made Him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be
made the righteousness of God in Him. We are redeemed with
the precious blood of Christ. Over in Hebrews chapter 9, it
talks more about our great High Priest who was passed into the
heavens, who is seated in the heavenlies. And then it says
there in chapter 9 verse 11 and 12 that He didn't bring the typical
animal sacrifices, did He? He brought His own blood. And
having obtained for us with His own blood, eternal redemption
for us with His own blood. He did it. He did it Himself. He bought us with His own blood. And then the third thing is this
emerald. This emerald stone. He said it's
a rainbow round about the throne of God in the sight like unto
an emerald. Now, remember, I don't know why
this thought comes to my mind, an emerald, you think of that
old movie we all watched when we were kids, Wizard of Oz. Wasn't there in that city, that
city called the Emerald City, and it was a bright, shining
city? Well, that's, I guess, a very
poor illustration of what he's talking about here. But around
this throne was a rainbow likened to an emerald stone. A rainbow. Now, you remember the rainbow
after the flood in Noah's day. God put a rainbow in the sky
reminding the people that he would not flood the earth again. And every time we see a rainbow,
sometimes we even see a double rainbow, don't we? You ever seen
those? A double rainbow. And every time we see that rainbow,
God says to us, when you see that rainbow, remember my covenant
that I made with you, that I will not flood this earth again and
destroy it like in the days of Noah. Well, that rainbow was
also a symbol of that eternal covenant of grace we have with
the Lord Jesus Christ. When God sees that rainbow of
His covenant love toward us, He said, I will not destroy my
people, no, not forever. He's made with us an everlasting
covenant ordered in all things and is sure. This rainbow around
the throne is symbolic of His covenant mercies to us. The rainbow
is a symbol to believers that His wrath toward our sin has
been satisfied, that in Christ right now, there is therefore
now no condemnation. God said, when I see that rainbow,
or when I see the blood, I'll pass over you. There's no condemnation
to those who are in the Lord Jesus Christ. The God of peace
who brought again from the dead that Lord Jesus Christ through
the blood of the everlasting covenant. Remember, in Revelation
13, verse 8, we're going to read about the Lamb slain before the
foundation of the world. There's a rainbow of mercy, a
rainbow of grace, a rainbow of love that we have in the Lord
Jesus Christ because of that sacrifice. Because He satisfied
God's law and justice for us. And therefore, no one can lay
anything to the charge of God's elect. It is God who has justified
us. It is Christ who was died, yea
rather is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God,
who is sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high. Now, look at verse 4. And round
about that throne, round about that throne were four and twenty
seats, twenty-four seats. And upon the seats I saw 24 elders,
clothed in white raiment, and they had on their head crowns,
crowns of gold, crowns of gold. Now, what is all this about?
Again, symbolic language. Around the throne, John beholds
24 seats occupied Not one seat empty. What does
the 24 elders represent? They represent all the redeemed
of God, all the elect of God, Old Testament, New Testament
believers, all the elect of God. Abraham, Noah, Paul, Peter, John,
all the elect of God represented in these 24 seats and 24 elders. They represent the whole elect
of God. The number 24, why not 23? Why not 25? Well, it's a multiple
of 12. You remember Jacob had 12 sons,
12 tribes of Israel. You remember how many apostles
the Lord had? 12 apostles. There's no mistake. the Lord
uses that number 24, representing all believers, all the elect
of God, whether Old Testament or New Testament, all redeemed
by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now notice this, there's
24 seats and 24 elders. All the seats are occupied. They're
all occupied. There's no vacant seats. Every
seat is taken. None for whom the Lord Jesus
Christ can perish. He will bring all the lost sheep
home. He will not lose. He said, all
that the Father has given to me, He said, they will never
perish. These 24 elders, notice this,
they're sitting, they're resting in the Lord Jesus Christ, and
they're clothed with a white raiment. Now, you know what that
means, don't you? That white raiment is of every
righteousness of Christ that believers are clothed with. They're
clothed with the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. We
read this once before, but look over here in chapter 7. One of the elders answered, verse
13, Revelation 7, What are these which are arrayed with white
robes, and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou
knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great
tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white
in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the
throne of God. Serve him day and night in his
temple, and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among
them. That white robe that these elders are clothed with is of
every righteousness of God given unto us in the Lord Jesus Christ. You see that? And notice something
else about these elders. They all had a crown. They all
had, and on their heads, crowns of gold. Now, you reckon all
24 of them had crowns of gold? You know they did. They were
all rewarded exactly the same. They're all blessed in the Lord
Jesus Christ with all spiritual blessing, called the crown of
life, called the crown of righteousness. Never one time in the Word of
God. A lot of people try to motivate in religious circles, they try
to motivate people by promise of reward or fear of punishment. God's people are motivated by
love. Not one time in the Scripture,
not one time in the Scripture do you ever read the word rewards
in reference to believers. Not one time. It's always reward,
singular. Because Christ is our reward. Christ is our crown. He's the crown of life, and He's
the crown of righteousness to us. Christ is our reward. These crowns represent the victory
the Lord Jesus Christ has given unto us. He's crowned us with
salvation. Now we crown Him with many crowns.
It says down here in verse 10, that we'll cast our crown before
His throne, worshiping Him. And when you have a crown on
your head and you bow, what happens? That crown comes off, doesn't
it? And we cast the crown at His feet, acknowledging that
salvation is of the Lord totally. Verse 5, and out of the throne
proceeded lightnings, thunderings, voices, and seven lamps of fire
burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God."
What is this all about here? Out of the throne proceeds lightning,
thundering voices. These are all symbols of the
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, that's the power of God unto
salvation. The gospels liken to lightning. Can you measure the power of
lightning? I mean, scientists study lightning
and that voltage, that voltage is unmeasurable. The power of
the lightning. Well, that's nothing compared
to the power of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And He
is enlightening us, enlivening us. Aren't you glad the lightning
of the gospel struck you? And it wasn't an accident either.
God directed the lightning of the Gospel to strike you in the
heart. And He turned the light on that you might see the Gospel.
He commanded the light to shine out of the darkness in our heart. Struck with the lightning. That's
what God does when He sends the Gospel out. And then thunderings. You ever been in a thunderstorm,
in a lightning storm? And you hear the rumble of that
thunder. I mean, you just feel it in your
bones, don't you? I mean, your whole body just
rumbles with the power of it. And again, this is talking about
the influence and the effectual power of the gospel. Paul said,
I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. It's the power of
God and the salvation. And then what are these voices
about? The Lord Jesus Christ had the
voice like a trumpet, distinct, singular. But here he's talking
about voices that come out of this throne. Well, I believe
these voices here are gospel preachers, ministers sent with
the gospel, with the word of truth. It's the voice of love,
mercy, Grace and pardon through the Lord Jesus Christ. It's the
Word they speak. It's the power of God unto salvation. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Word
is called quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword.
In Revelation 19, the Lord Jesus Christ is called the Word of
God. Voices. What are voices? You're hearing my voice, aren't
you? But what are you really hearing? You're hearing words,
aren't you? That's what these voices are,
the words of truth, words of love, words of grace, revealed
in the gospel. And then, through that, seven
lamps of fire. Now, we're going to see this
number seven. We've already seen it once or
twice. But this number seven here is
the number of perfection. Everything to do with God is
number seven. We read the number in the Revelation,
we're going to run into number six. Everybody's worried about
number six, six, six. What is six a symbol of? Man. What is six a symbol of? Failure. What is seven a number of? Perfection. God's Spirit, God's Holy Spirit
has absolute perfection The operation of God the Holy Spirit in revealing
Christ and quickening us and regenerating mercy is absolute,
complete, sure, and final. Final. When God saves a sinner
in the quickening power of God the Holy Spirit, He quickens
them, He raises them from the dead, He gives them life. Is
that life ever lost? Can that sinner ever be lost
again? God's raising from the dead. Will He lose that life? No, He saves us with an everlasting
salvation. He said, My sheep, hear my voice,
and I give unto them eternal life. Now what does that mean? What it said, eternal life. He
said, No man can pluck them out of My hand. My Father which gave
them Me is greater than all, and no man can pluck them out
of My Father's hand. Now verse 6, we'll see verse
6 down through verse 11 next week. And again, it talks about
the throne, and then it talks about these creatures. These beastly characters. These
beasts, these four beasts before the throne. What do they represent? They represent the servant of
the Lord Jesus Christ. They're bold like a lion. They're
meek like a calf, they have a face like a man, and they fly like
an eagle. They're swift to preach the gospel.
That's what that's all about.