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4:1-4 EVENTS WHICH FOLLOW THE RAPTURE 4:1 “...behold, a door was opened in heaven”/ A
door for passing from one place to another / John 10:9 / It is time for the
final call of the redeemed - the Church. There
are three doors in the revelation:
3:8 The Gospel witness
3:20 Opportunity for salvation
4:1 Removal of the
saved “trumpet”/ I Cor. 15:51-53 4:2 “immediately”/ the same time from earth to
heaven in an instant / I Thess. 4 4:3 “jasper and sardine stone”/ brilliance
and glory “rainbow”/ we see a semi-circle, a
reminder of the promise of Noah. In
Heaven it is a complete circle about the throne, a pledge of God’s
faithfulness 4:4 “twenty-four elders...clothed in
white...crowns of gold”/ who are they?
cf. 4:9-10 / It may be a picture of all believers who are kings and
priests before their God: I Pet. 2:4-5; Rev. 1:5-6 4:5 God is preparing to bring righteous judgment on a
sinful world / lightning /Ps. 29:3-5; Ex. 19:16-18 / God does not judge
the world today in the same way for He on a throne of grace / at the beginning
of the tribulation He is on a throne of judgment and it is “justice day” on
earth. “seven lamps of fire burning before the
throne”/ the seven spirits of God / characteristic of perfection - these
lamps show the righteous character of God to search out sins which are upon the
earth and to judge. Seven lamps is
characteristic of the Holy Spirit: Rev. 1:4; 3:1; 5:6 / seven fold fullness or
completeness: omniscience and omnipotence; also shows His judicial character:
fire - 2 Thess. 1:7-8. Holy Spirit:
A dove at Christ’s baptism, cloven tongues of fire at Pentecost, and seven
lamps in the Revelation. All these
are a means of informing men of His presence, normally invisible. 4:6 “sea of glass”/ fixed state of purity
and holiness, no need for the redeemed to be cleansed as in O.T. days “four beasts”/ zwa
/ living ones / in the midst and surrounding the throne / 20X in Revelation,
created being standing ready to serve God.
They were full of eyes to seeing all things with accuracy. 4:7
“first beast”/ Lion, Matthew, King - Judah
“second beast”/ Calf, Mark, Servant - Ephraim
“third beast”/ Face of a man, Luke, Son of God - Reuben
“fourth beast”/ Flying eagle, John, God the Son, Deity - Dan These were the tribes that pitched their tents on the four sides of the Tabernacle in the wilderness! 4:8 “Holy, Holy, Holy”/ Trinity - Isa. 6:3 / Sound praise and execute judgment before God’s wrath is poured out, His holiness is magnified - because sin must be judged 4:10 Laying aside their glory to give Him glory that He
alone is worthy to receive 4:11 Worship is not confined to praise, which is emphasis on His attributes |
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