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Many commentators view Revelation, chapter four, as prophesying future historical events. Understanding that John was taught through visions, and that the symbolic images in a vision can say much more than words, the following verses look very much like a symbolic vision revealing whom the coming Messiah is and his importance to God.
REVELATION 4:1–11
1 After these things I looked, and behold a door was opened in heaven, and the first voice which I
heard, as it were, of a trumpet speaking with me, said: Come up hither, and I will shew thee the
things which must be done hereafter.
2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and behold there was a throne set in heaven, and upon the
throne one sitting.
3 And he that sat, was to the sight like the jasper and the sardine stone; and there was a rainbow
round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.
4 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats; and upon the seats, four and twenty
ancients sitting, clothed in white garments, and on their heads were crowns of gold.
5 And from the throne proceeded lightnings, and voices, and thunders; and there were seven lamps
burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God.
6 And in the sight of the throne was, as it were, a sea of glass like to crystal; and in the midst of the
throne, and round about the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes before and behind.
7 And the first living creature was like a lion: and the second living creature like a calf: and the third
living creature, having the face, as it were, of a man: and the fourth living creature was like an
eagle flying.
8 And the four living creatures had each of them six wings; and round about and within they are full
of eyes. And they rested not day and night, saying: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who
was, who is, and who is to come.
9 And when those living creatures gave glory, and honor, and benediction to him that sitteth on the
throne, who liveth for ever and ever;
10 The four and twenty ancients fell down before him that sitteth on the throne, and adored him that
liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying:
11 Thou art worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory, and honour, and power: because thou hast
created all things; and for thy will they were, and have been created.
The Baptist sees a throne with someone seated on it. In a circle around the throne John sees twenty-four kings. Alongside the throne, he sees four living creatures. What the Baptist sees is a vision of the Most High God showing who and what God is. It is a theophany, a manifestation of God through visible symbols, to show what is not visible. The Father is the central person and appears in imagery already familiar to the Judean people as one whose face gleams like precious stones. Surrounding the Father is the Holy Spirit, shown symbolically as a group of kings who wear gold crowns. From the central throne come flashes of lightning, voices, and peals of thunder.
This vision is a mental image of God using symbols to get the details across. It is not actually what God looks like, because God does not look like anything. There is nothing visible about God. The Father does not look like a man seated upon a throne served and adored by heavenly beings. But there is something about the concept of a king who is worshiped and served by other kings that shows the dignity and majesty of the Father. The flashes of lightning, voices, and peals of thunder that come from the central throne show the Father's power. Many years earlier, lightning, thunder, and voices showed the Israelites God's power when God spoke on Mt. Sinai:
And now the third day was come, and the morning appeared; and behold thunders began to be heard, and lightning to flash, and a very thick cloud to cover the mount, and the noise of the trumpet sounding exceeding loud, and the people that was in the camp, feared (Exodus 19:16).
Using more imagery familiar to Judeans, the vision shows the Son or the Word as four living creatures that stand between the Father and the twenty-four kings. The four living creatures stand around the central throne, one on each corner. They are covered front and back with eyes and have six wings. Each one looks different: one looks like a lion, another like an ox, the third like a man, and the fourth like a flying eagle.
The Word does not look like four living creatures that seem so powerful, but there is something about the concept of such beings that shows the Word's power and ability. The ancient Hebrews, as well as other Middle-East peoples, had adapted the imagery of four mythical beings to represent their concept of unlimited power. There are four beings to show that the power extends to the four corners of the earth. The faces show the nobility, strength, wisdom, and agility behind that unlimited power; the wings show its speed; the ubiquitous eyes, its all-seeing and ever-present knowledge. These are the attributes of God. This is what comes out in the concept of the beings: the awesome majesty and power of God that resides in the Word. Here is similar imagery used hundreds of years earlier by the prophet Ezekiel:
And I saw, and behold a whirlwind came out of the north: and a great cloud, and a fire infolding it, and brightness was about it: and out of the midst thereof, that is, out of the midst of the fire, as it were the resemblance of amber: And in the midst thereof the likeness of four living creatures: and this was their appearance: there was a likeness of a man in them. Every one had four faces, and every one four wings . . . And as for the likeness of their faces: there was the face of a man, and the face of a lion on the right side of all the four: and the face of an ox on the left side of all the four: and the face of an eagle over all the four . . . And the living creatures ran and returned like flashes of lightning . . . And over the heads of the living creatures was a likeness of the firmament, as the appearance of crystal terrible to behold, and stretched out over their heads above . . . And above the firmament that was over their heads, was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of the sapphire stone, and upon the likeness of the throne, was a likeness as of the appearance of a man above upon it. And I saw as it were the resemblance of amber as the appearance of fire within it round about: from his loins and upward, and from his loins downward, I saw as it were the resemblance of fire shining round about. As the appearance of the rainbow when it is in a cloud on a rainy day: this was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the vision of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And I saw and I fell upon my face (Ezekiel 1:4–28 & 2:1).
This vision shows the Father who rules, carried about by the Son, or the Word, the person who has unlimited power, knowledge, and swiftness to do the father's will with the speed of lightning. Most of us know from our Christian faith that they are both the same God. But God's nature is so far superior to ours that we cannot understand how one being can be more than one person. The mystery of God's true nature is what makes these visions so difficult to interpret. It makes sense that the prophet who paved the way for God's chosen Messiah understood this relationship.
But there is more. The Holy Spirit is present in John's vision. The twenty-four kings praising the Father and the Son is a mental image of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit does not look like twenty-four kings because the Holy Spirit is a single person, but the mental image of many kings voicing homage and love for a superior king who has unlimited power and knowledge is a useful image. It gives clues about the relationship of the Holy Spirit to the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit loves and serves the Father and the Son. They in turn love and serve the Holy Spirit. The boundless love and happiness within them permeate all creation through the activity of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit moves humans to express the same love, happiness, praise, and adoration that flourish within God.
The image of twenty four kings points out this influence upon humans. The symbolism stems from the Israelite tradition of appointing twenty four priests to represent Israel in the Temple service (1 Chron. 24:19). It could reflect also the twelve tribal fathers of the first covenant through circumcision plus the twelve apostle fathers of the second covenant through baptism. The Son was promised to Israel, so Ezekiel saw a vision showing the Son's relationship to the Father. The Holy Spirit will shortly be promised to the baptized, so John (the baptizer) sees a vision showing the Holy Spirit's relationship to the Father and to the Son. The Son loves the Father and never stops singing songs of: "glory, and honour, and benediction to him that sitteth on the throne, (and he adores him) who liveth for ever and ever." And as he sings, the Holy Spirit joins in to worship the Father who is worthy: "to receive glory, and honour, and power: because thou hast created all things; and for thy will they were, and have been created."
REVELATION 5:1–7
1 And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne, a book written within and without, sealed with seven seals.
2 And I saw a strong angel, proclaiming with a loud voice: Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?
3 And no man was able, neither in heaven, nor on the earth, nor under the earth, to open the book, nor to look on it.
4 And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open the book, nor to see it.
5 And one of the ancients said to me: Weep not; behold the lion of the tribe of Juda, the root of David, hath prevailed
to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
6 And I saw: and behold in the midst of the thrones and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the ancients, a
lamb standing as it were slain, having seven horns and seven eyes: which are the seven spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth.
7 And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat on the throne.
The king representing the father holds a book in his right hand, a book written within and without and sealed with seven seals. This must be an important document because it is sealed. That is the way contracts or covenants were documented in biblical times. I think this document is a symbol of God's intentions in creating the human race and what God expects from us in return. Since it is a contract, someone else must open it and comply with its conditions. We should be able to do that. But as it turns out no one on earth, in heaven, or under the earth can open it. No angel, no human, no one can meet the conditions. But the lamb can. The lamb is Jesus.
Jesus is the "the lion of the tribe of Juda, the root of David." He is the Word made flesh. In our human flesh, Jesus will be slain. John sees him "standing as it were slain." After his death, Jesus, the lamb, will be taken bodily to heaven and will sit—in our flesh—at the Father's right hand, the rightful position of the Son, the executor of the Father's will. The lamb, Jesus, will, even in our flesh, be given what belongs to God: power, divinity, wisdom, strength, honor, and benediction. He lives in intimate union with God, so intimate that it is impossible to separate him from God, so much so that, in fact, he is God. John recognizes this in the lamb's seven horns and seven eyes, which he understands to be the seven spirits of God.
REVELATION 5:8–14
8 And when he opened the book, the four living creatures, and the four and twenty ancients fell down before the
Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints:
9 And they sung a new canticle, saying: Thou art worthy, O Lord, to take the book, and to open the seals thereof;
because thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God, in thy blood, out of every tribe, and tongue, and
people, and nation,
10 And hast made us to our God a kingdom and priests, and we shall reign on the earth.
11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne, and the living creatures, and the
ancients; and the number of them was thousands of thousands.
12 Saying with a loud voice: The Lamb that was slain is worthy to receive power, and divinity, and wisdom, and
strength, and honour, and glory, and benediction.
13 And every creature, which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and
all that are in them: I heard all saying: To him that sitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb, benediction, and
honour, and glory, and power, for ever and ever.
14 And the four living creatures said: Amen. And the four and twenty ancients fell down on their faces, and
adored him that liveth for ever and ever.
Jesus, the lamb that is worthy to open the book, is so highly worthy that the twenty four kings and the four living creatures worship him and repeat to him the prayers of saints. This shows that he is somehow united with the divinity of God. The sealed book covers the conditions of God's gifts to us humans. We exist. We have immortal souls. We are created in God's image. And we have one superlative thing outranking everything else God gave us: the gift of freedom. Freedom gives us the ability to act without compulsion to obey God, if we choose, or—God help us all—to disobey.
The human race could have been created to share in God's good works and yet be incapable of disobedience. People would be happy under those circumstances, but they would be different from us. If we freely and deliberately choose to obey God, we have a dignity unattainable by those who cannot choose. This is a priceless gift: probably the main reason we can claim that we are created in God's image. The sealed scroll symbolizes the terms and conditions of this precious gift. We may choose to disobey. If we choose to disobey, our choice will unleash horrors upon our fellow humans and ourselves because disobedience to God has horrifying effects. Once these horrors are set free, no human, no angel, no one in heaven (other than God), on earth, or under the earth can undo the resulting damage. No one, that is, except the Lamb. The Lamb is Jesus who is the promised Messiah. He is David's descendant and a human being like us. The Lamb, Jesus, is worthy to open the book and comply with the conditions.
However, Jesus the Lamb is also the Divine Son, the Word, the one who has power to do anything God cares to do. Together (because you cannot separate them: they are both the same person), this person, through his human nature, which John had already recognized before both of them were born (Luke 1:44), meets God's conditions. So at the beginning of human history, this person, through his divine nature, opens the contract and makes everything ready for us humans to obey or disobey as we exercise our freedom. Our disobedience will set into motion events that are contrary to God's decrees. Once in motion, these events will cause chains of additional events that have widespread, long lasting, and horrifying effects. As the scroll is opened and humans exercise their freedom, the Word calls forth the famous four horsemen. These are symbolic mental images used to personify the flow of natural consequences set in motion as humans’ exercise their private wills during the term of the contract.
This all started at the beginning, for in the beginning the first human beings God created disobeyed. It will run through this present life from the beginning to the end of time. God will then remake the world, rewarding and punishing all persons according to how they used their freedom during the term of the contract. Revelation chapters four and five were John the Baptist’s method of describing the coming Messiah and showing the relationship the Messiah has with God.
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