REVELATION SIMPLIFIED

 

CHAPTER 4.2

Gleanings from the Book of Revelation:

A Weekly Verse-by-Verse Bible Study Series

 

The

REVELATION TO JOHN

(The Apocalypse)

 

Chapter Four

 

 

Review

Before we approach the next verse, a consistent reminder must be reiterated: You are promised to be blessed by our Lord.

Revelation 1: 3 – Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

 

What John will transcribe in the next few verses is not prophetic, but a revelation - A mystery of and from God.

(Verse 2)

 

And immediately I (John) was in the spirit: and, behold, a Throne was set in Heaven, and One sat on the Throne.

 

The Holy Spirit now takes complete control over John so that he may see and record the most glorious illustration of Heaven and eternity. As believers in Jesus, the instant we are caught up together with the saints who are dead in Christ and meet the Lord in the air, we will enter through the open door to Heaven. What we are about to see is unfathomable, unbelievable, and awesome. Through God's revelation, you will have an eyewitness testimony into eternity.

 

John, now in the very presence of God, immediately observes and describes three things:

1.  Heaven

2.  A Throne

3.  Someone seated on the Throne

 

1. Heaven

Behold, a Throne was set in Heaven

 

Understanding Heaven

In biblical terms, the word Heaven is a plural noun and is always used in its singular form. At the very beginning of time, in Genesis Chapter 1, we read:

Genesis 1:1 - In the beginning God created the heaven[s] and the earth.

1.  Heaven - Hebrew: שׁמה, שׁמים, shâmayim, shâmeh [Strong's H8064], the second dual form of a singular noun, alluding to the clouds (the sky), and also includes a higher place where the celestial bodies revolve.

 

2.  Earth – Hebrew, ארץ 'erets [Strong's H776], primarily a ground or landmass: In this sense, uninhabited wilderness.

 

3.  Created – From the verb to create (bârâ'). Here, it expresses the idea of an absolute creation as He created the wind, out of nothing (ex nihilo).

Amos 4:13 - Look! The One Who crafts mountains, Who creates the wind, Who reveals what He is thinking to mankind, Who darkens the morning light, Who tramples down the high places of the land— the LORD (YHWH, Jehovah), the God of (hosts) the heavenly Armies is His name. (ISV)

 

The Three Heavens

As mentioned in our introductory material, there are three heavens (three layers figuratively speaking):

1. Heaven number one – The firmament, our earth's atmosphere, and climate, the visible sky, and clouds where the fowls or birds of the air fly.

Jeremiah 51:15 - He hath made the earth by His power, He hath established the world by His wisdom and hath stretched out the heaven by His understanding.

 

Isaiah 40:22 - It is He that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in.

 

Matthew 6:26 - Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

 

2. Heaven number two – The expanse of outer space, intergalactic, interstellar, and interplanetary space.

Psalm 8:3 – When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained.

 

Jeremiah 8:2 – Before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have…worshipped.

 

Genesis 22:17 – That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore.

 

3. Heaven number three - Known to the Hebrews as the Heaven of heavens: The habitation of God and the realm of faithful holy elect angels (sometimes called living creatures or the sons of God) which include:

1.  Archangels

2.  Cherubim

3.  Seraphim

I Kings 8:27, 30 - But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and Heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?... And hearken Thou to the supplication of Thy servant, and of Thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear Thou in Heaven Thy dwelling place: and when Thou hearest, forgive.

 

Heaven presently contains the departed saints:

2 Corinthians 12:2 - 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 an one caught up to the third Heaven.

 

Heaven (the third Heaven) is a real, literal place, not a spiritual concept, eternally existing in endless perfection having no beginning or end, without time or space.

What is Heaven?

1.  It is infinite

2.  It is invisible

3.  It always was

4.   It always is

5. It always will be

6.  It is a spiritual realm (another dimension, if you will)

7.  It encompasses the omnipresence of God

What Heaven is not:

1.  It is not the New Heaven of Revelation 21 and 22.

 

Facts about Heaven:

1.  It is the Lord's dwelling Place

Psalm 57:5 - Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens (the first and second heavens); let Thy glory be above all the earth.

 

Isaiah 57:15 - I dwell in the high and Holy Place.

 

Psalm 102:19 - For He hath looked down from the height of His Sanctuary; from Heaven (the third heaven) did the LORD behold the earth.

 

2.  It is up

Isaiah 63:15 – [LORD] Look down from (the third) Heaven, and behold from the habitation of Thy holiness and of Thy glory.

 

3.  It is God's Home

Luke 11:2 - And He (Jesus) said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy name.

 

John 14:2 – (Jesus said) In My Father's House are many mansions.

 

The door (cf. Revelation 4:1) - (a doorway into eternity) is opened into the third Heaven and it is accessible.

 

 

The second thing John observes is:

2. A Throne

Behold, a Throne

 

The Glorious Throne of God

The centerpiece of John's vision is the omnipotent God's Throne. The word throne appears at least 32 times in the book of Revelation. The Greek word thronos defines a stately potentate. The biblical usage generally represents:

1.  Power

2.  Government

3.  Honor

4.  Majesty

5.  Dominion

6.  Authority

7.  Judgment

a.  Punishment

b.  Praise - Bema Seat - victory crowns are awarded

 

Its appearance is of:

1.  Splendor

2.  Grandeur

3.  Brilliance

John's vision of the heavenly Throne is certainly not a piece of furniture as the human mind visualizes, as we will see in our next study.

 

 

Lastly, John sees:

3. Someone seated on the Throne:

 

And One sat on the Throne

 

The Godhead, the Triune God, Tri-unity, or the Trinity (not found in the Bible) is without distinction of Persons (three in one: three Persons – One God): The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost (Spirit). They are One and of the same substance. God has revealed Himself to us, only in and through the human nature of Jesus Christ, as the only begotten Son of the Father.

1 John 5:7 - For there are three that bear record in heaven, The Father, The Word (Christ, Logos), and The Holy Ghost (Spirit): and these Three are One.

Therefore:

1.  God is seated on the Throne

Psalm 47:8 - God (Elohim – The Almighty) reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the Throne of His holiness.

Note: The Hebrew word Elohim is the plural form of Eloah. It is used in Genesis 1:1 during the creation. Thus, at the very beginning, the mystery of the triune Godhead is indicated.

 

2.  Jesus is seated on the Throne

Acts 2:32-33 - This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, He hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.

 

Hebrews 12:2 - Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the Cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the Throne of God.

 

3.  The Holy Spirit is seated on The throne

2 Corinthians 3:17 - Now the Lord is that Spirit.

John 15:26; 14:26 - But when the Comforter (intercessor, advocate, paraklētos) is come, whom I (Jesus) will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit (Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit) of truth, which proceedeth (comes forth out of) from the Father,…whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things.

 

 

Extra Credit

Question:

Is not Jesus One and the same with God?

John 10:30 - I and My Father are One.

 

The distinction is this: Jesus shed His deity and put on humanity to be a blood sacrifice for the sins of mankind. The text below is one of the greatest unparalleled miraculous theological statements in the Bible regarding His first incarnation.

Philippians 2:5-11 - Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man,

He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

NOTE: This passage should be read between ten and twenty times. Further examination and research are not only suggested but highly recommended.

 

In the next studies, the Throne's appearance and activities that transpire around the Throne of God are revealed.

 

 

QUESTIONS:

1. Why does God give us a revelation of Heaven?

2. Describe the differences between the heavens.

3. What is (are) the primary function(s) of the Throne?

4. Who is seated on the Throne?

5. How is the Trinity relative to the Throne?

6. Where is Jesus in Chapter 4?

7. What sets Jesus apart from the Godhead?

 

 

If this study was a blessing to you, make it a blessing to others.

SAVE AND FORWARD THIS LINK

  http://breadoflifeministriesassoc.blogspot.com/