Revelation 4

Context?

Vss. 1-6a
v. 1—When did John look up?
After what?
Where did he look?
What did he see?
Where did the door lead?
What does it mean that a door was standing open in Heaven? Eze. 1:1; Mk. 1:10; Jn. 1:51; Acts 7:56; 10:11
What did John hear?
Who spoke to him?
What did the voice sound like? Rev. 1:10
What did the voice say?
Where was here?
How was he to get there?
Why was he to go up there?
What was the voice going to show John?

v. 2—What happened next?
How long did it take?
What does it mean that he was in the Spirit? He uses the phrase which signifies receiving direct revelation from the Spirit (note Matthew 22:43-44). John experiences what all biblical prophets experience. By the Spirit they are brought into the presence of God to receive His Word. Hebrews 12:22-23
What did he see?
What is a throne? Psalm 45:6; 47:7-8; 103:19; Eph. 1:11
Where did the throne sit?
What or who was sitting on the throne?

v. 3—What did he look like?
Was it a he or a she or an it?
What is jasper? Carnelian?
What was around the throne?
What does a rainbow look like? Ez. 1:28; Gen 9:12-13
What did this rainbow look like?
How can a rainbow look like an emerald? Ex. 24:9-10; Ez. 1:26-27; 1 Tim. 6:16

v. 4—What was else was around the throne?
What were sitting on the thrones?
What do thrones signify?
Who were these guys? Rev. 7:4-8; 21:12-14; 1 Chron. 24, 25 Leaders of the people of God. What they do, we all do Heb 12:22-23
How can you have 25 kings?
Where was Jesus sitting?
What were the 24 elders wearing?
What were they wearing on their heads?

v. 5—What was coming from the throne?
Where in the Bible have we heard of lightening and thunder? Ex. 19:16-19. In this book lightening and thunder are connected to judgment Rev. 8:5; 11:19; 16:18; see also Psa. 18:6-15
What was before the throne?
What does it mean that it was before the throne?
What are the 7 torches?
Does it mean they represent the 7 spirits of God?
What are the seven spirits of God?
Where have we seen this before?

v. 6a—What else was there before the throne?
What is a sea? Ez. 1:4-5, 22, 26; 1 Kngs. 7:23-26
What does it mean that it was glass, like crystal sea?


Vss. 6b-11
v. 6b—What was around the throne on each side?
How many creatures were there?
Notice in the Bible the kinds of things that there are 4 of: corners of the earth (Isa. 11:12; Eze. 7:2; Rev. 7:1; 20:8), winds (Jer. 49:36; Eze. 37:9; Dan. 7:2; 8:8; 11:4; Zech. 2:6; 6:5; Matt. 24:31; Mark 13:27; Rev. 7:1), directions rivers from Eden that watered the whole earth (Gen 2:10) , etc.
What does it mean that there were living creatures?
What were they full of?
What does this mean?
Where else in the Bible have we seen this kind of description? Ez. 1:5, 6, 10; 10:20-22; Psa. 18:10; Rev. 6:1-7; 15:7
Where were all the eyes?

Michael Wilcock explains: “The cherubs of the Bible are very far from being chubby infants with wings and dimples. They are awesome creatures, visible indications of the presence of God. So when we are told (Ps. 18:10) that the Lord travels both on a cherub and on the wings of the wind, we may begin to see a link between the four living creatures of 4:6 and the four winds of 7:1. We might call these cherub—creatures ‘nature,’ so long as we remember what nature really is—an immense construction throbbing with the ceaseless activity of God…Perhaps their faces (4:7; Ezek. 1:10) represent his majesty, his strength, his wisdom, and h is loftiness, and their numberless eyes his ceaseless watchfulness over every part of his creation. It is appropriate then that there should be four of them, corresponding to the points of the compass and the corners of the earth, and standing for God’s world, as the twenty-four elders and stand for the church.”

Calvin—By these heads all living creatures were represented to us…These animals comprehend within themselves all parts of the universe by that figure of speech by which a part represents the whole. Meanwhile since angels are living creatures we must observe in what sense God attributes to angels themselves the head of a lion, an eagle, and a man: for his seems but little in accord with their nature. But he could not better express the inseparable connection which exists in the motion of angels and all creatures…We are to understand, therefore, that while men move about and discharge their duties, they apply themselves in different directions to the object of their pursuit, and so also do wild beasts; yet there are angelic motions underneath, so that neither men nor animals move themselves, but their whole vigor depends on a secret inspiration.”

Further he says, “all creatures are animated by angelic motion.”

Scripture teaches that God sustains life directly, not indirectly. There is no such thing as Nature.

The Zodiac: Constellations Ps 19:1-6; Job 9:7-9; 26:13; Amos 5:8; Num. 2 the arrangement of the tribes lines up with the Zodiac (which means ‘circle’); God’s heavenly host Deut. 4:19; armies are his earthly hosts Josh. 5:14. Stars fortold the birth of the Messiah Mat. 2:2; Num. 24:17; Isa. 60:1-3

v.7—what did the first living creature look like?
The second?
The third?
The fourth?
How do you imagine these creatures to be with their eyes all around?

v. 8—How many wings did each creature have? Isa. 6). The wings of the cherubim came to represent the shelter and protection God gives to His people. Ruth 2:12; Psalm 36:7; 57:1; 61:4
Where were their eyes? Ez. 1:18; 10:12
Within?
What did they do?
How often?

What were the living creatures saying night and day?
What is the Lord God almighty? Isa 6:3
What does the designation Lord mean?
God?
Almighty?
All of them together? Psa 47:8
When did he exist?
When will he exist?
For how long will he exist?
How is the universe, all creation to be living if this short hymn is true?
1. Because God is holy He cannot tolerate sin.
2. Because He is holy He cannot but hate sin with all His holy being (Psalm 5:4-6; 7:11).
3. Because God is holy He must punish sin fully. The wicked shall surely be destroyed.

v.9-10—What were the four creatures doing when they said this?
What happened when they gave glory and honor to the one seated on the throne?
What is glory, honor, glory and honor?
What does it mean that they fall down before him?
1. It implies their free submission to His rule over all.
2. It shows their complete indebtedness to Him. (Ephesians 2:8-9).
3. This indicates their whole-hearted devotion to Him and to His glory.
Why do the elders fall down before him?
Who are these guys?
What do they do while they are falling down, or when they fall down?
Is falling part of the worshipping?
Who are they worshipping?
What is the difference between this description of the one on the throne and what the four creatures say over and over again?
What else do they do as part of their worship?
Don’t their crowns get dents in them?
How do they continually fall and continually throw their crowns down?

v. 11—What do they say as they are falling and casting?
What does worthy mean?
Who is worthy?
Who is sitting on the throne?
What is he worthy to do?
What is glory, honor, power?
How does one give God glory, honor, power?
Why is he worthy to receive these things?
How did he create things?
What does it mean that by his will they existed and were created?