Bible Study Library

Dear Disciples:

We return to John’s description of the indescribable — Heaven and God’s throne. The Holy Spirit is there,  represented by seven blazing torches (or lamps) and is described as “the seven spirits of God” (4:5).

We’ll come across the number seven again in Revelation. As we’ve pointed out before, the Antichrist in 13:1 has seven heads and seven diadems. So please, remember that seven is not specifically a sacred number. What it represents is wholeness — many parts forming a unified whole (as God is).

The sea was like glass (it was not itself glass) in that it was as clear as crystal (4:6). This is described elsewhere in the Bible. For instance, at Mount Sinai Moses and company…

“saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself” (Exodus 24:10).

The context in Revelation does not offer any clue as to the symbolism of this crystal sea. It may represent God’s omniscience - His ability to see everything and know everything - but that is just guesswork. The crystal sea is mentioned only one other time in Revelation (15:2-3), but that context doesn’t help much either. Because of this, it may be best to just say that it has no particular significance other than to build a majestic picture of God.

The elder/spirits were “before” the throne. The four living creatures surrounded it. If you’ve read the prophecies of Ezekiel, you can’t help but notice the similarities between these creatures and the ones Ezekiel described. Take a look at the following passage, for instance:

“I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north–an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal, and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In appearance their form was that of a man, but each of them had four faces and four wings. Their legs were straight; their feet were like those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze. Under their wings on their four sides they had the hands of a man. All four of them had faces and wings, and their wings touched one another. Each one went straight ahead; they did not turn as they moved. Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a man, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle.” (Ezekiel 1:4-10)

These creatures are also similar to the seraphim of Isaiah 6:1-3:

“I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 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. And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”

As similar as they are, however, they are not exactly the same. For instance, Revelation’s and Isaiah’s creatures had six wings while Ezekiel’s only had four. Yet the faces John describes are exactly the same as the ones Ezekiel describes.

It disturbs some people that the visions are not exactly the same, as if somehow that speaks against the integrity of the scriptures. I find the differences between these visions to confirm the Bible’s integrity and the genuineness of John’s encounter. John would have been well aware of the visions of Ezekiel and Isaiah. If he wanted to fabricate a vision, he could simply have duplicated the features those prophets described. I mean, c’mon… If the visions had all been exactly the same, critics would have said John plagiarized them! God is limitless. We can’t box Him in. I find genuineness in both the similarity and the variety between the visions.

Assuming these are cherubim, their purpose is to guard the way to the tree of life (Gen. 3:24). The four heads (which are the same as Ezekiel’s cherubim) - lion, ox, man, eagle - seem to represent aspects of the natural order: wild animals, domestic animals, humans, and flying creatures.

All of creation acknowledges God and longs to be delivered from bondage to decay when the new heaven and earth are revealed (Rev 21:1). As Paul wrote:

“The creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.” (Rom 8:21-22)

Each creature was covered with eyes, probably showing God’s omniscience and unlimited intelligence as well. John says they were “in the midst of the throne,” which is non-specific. Ezekiel says they were below God’s throne and supported it. Their song is one of adoration for God as the Holy Eternal One; the 24 elders praised God in song for His powerful role as Creator.

In the first few verses of Chapter 5, John sees God (the one on the throne) holding a sealed scroll with writing on both sides.

It was uncommon to have writing on both sides of a scroll. They were usually just one-sided, though there were exceptions. This scroll had seven wax seals along its side. The seals prevented anyone knowing the entire contents without breaking them open. The seals are about to be broken.

Understanding the breaking of the seals is important to correctly understanding Revelation, because the story following in chapters 6-8 will revolve around them being broken. So let’s notice a few things:

• Each time one of the seals is broken, something major happens on the earth (we’ll explain these more as we go along):
  • 1: The first seal is somewhat vague (we’ll talk more about that)
  • 2: War
  • 3: Famine
  • 4: Pestilence
  • 5: Martyrdom
  • 6: The end
  • 7: What follows “The end”
• Do not confuse this scroll with the Book of Life. It’s a common jump at first because that is the scroll or book people are most familiar with in Revelation. But it would be entirely out of place in this context of God’s judgements against those on the earth.
• Surprisingly, John never describes the opening of the scroll, only the breaking of the seals.
• In Ezekiel’s experience, he was told to eat a scroll that also had writing on both sides. Eating the scroll gave him the “words of lament and mourning and woe” (Ezekiel 2:10) so that he could prophesy judgments against Israel.

The scroll is itself the stuff described in the rest of the book after the seals are broken (7:1-22:21), which are most definitely words of lament and mourning and woe. It is symbolic of the coming of the kingdom of God and God’s people inheriting that kingdom. This is also suggested by the fact that in the first century, a Last Will and Testament was written on a scroll, witnessed by seven witnesses, and sealed with seven seals. The coming judgments on the creation (which will bring about freedom from corruption and death) and the peace that follows are all part of our inheritance.

 In coming lessons we’ll see what happens as the seals are broken and the scroll opened. It’s going to get ugly. Real ugly. Just remember, if you’re a Christian you’re on the winning side. No matter what happens, you have the comfort of knowing that this world is not your home, life is  far bigger than what happens on this planet and in this time, and you will live forever with God for eternity — protected and safe in His arms. I’ll close by reminding us once again what Jesus promised John in the first chapter:

“Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it…” (Revelation 1:3).

Are you taking these things to heart? Are you being blessed?