Sermon 2000 11 26

November 26, 2000 Before The Throne Revelation 4 & 5

Last Sunday we talked about the rapture, when it is going to be, and who it is going to be for. Today I want us to see what's going to happen right after the rapture. I'm sure there are a lot of things that will happen that the Bible doesn't mention, there are also certain things that it does mention, because God chooses what He wants us to know. As we go through this section today, there is a kind of really different emphasis on what's important. Chapters 4 and 5 are probably the first things that happen after we get raptured and see Jesus, and the Holy Spirit wants us to know what to expect and how to act. So today's sermon is not to make us great Bible scholars, or better spouses, or help us remember to take out the garbage, or check the gas gauge on the way to town. Today is for those of us that love Jesus, today is a preview of heaven's own worship and praise meeting, it is going to be the greatest worship meeting ever, and we're going to be in on it.

If you have your Bibles with you today, and I hope you do, turn to Revelation 4:1. First we will read through what we're going to cover today, and then go back and see just what it means to us.
:1 "After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
:2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
:3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a 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 I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.
:5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
:6 And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.
:7 And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.
:8 And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, LORD God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.
:9 And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,
:10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
Rev. 5:1 And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, 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 in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.
:4 And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.
:5 And one of the elders saith unto 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 beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been 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 upon the throne.
:8 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders 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 song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
:10 And hast made us unto our God kings 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 beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;
:12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.
: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, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.
:14 And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever."

There is a lot going on here. We know that all this happens sometime following the rapture, because the rapture happens right in the first verse: "After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter." Last week we showed that the rapture happens at or before the start of the tribulation, and this verse gives us even more of an insight into how that happens. Chapters two and three of Revelation were all about the church age, and here we see what happens after that, when that age is over, and Jesus comes for His church.

We read Paul's words last week in 1 Thessalonians 4 where he said that the Lord Himself would come for us with a shout, a voice of an archangel, and the trump of God, and here it is. Come up here! God takes John through space and time and shows him a preview of what will happen immediately after the rapture. The voice tells him: "I will show you things which must be hereafter." This fits in with what Jesus told John in chapter 1, verse 19: "Write the things which you have seen, the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter." Past, present, and future. This is after the time of the church on the earth, the church is not mentioned in the Book of Revelation again until the end of the book when the Lord Jesus returns in power and brings the church with Him. From here on in Revelation, all people referred to on the earth are unsaved gentiles, or gentiles that get saved and then normally get martyred, or Israelites. The church is not in here, it is off the earth, in heaven from the start of chapter 4 until the middle of chapter 19.

Verse 2: "And immediately I was in the spirit:" And then John goes on to describe what he is seeing in heaven. What does John mean by "In the Spirit?" We know what he doesn't mean. He is not having an out of the body experience like some people claim to have, let me explain what I mean by that. I know a woman who lives in the area, she is a self professed witch, she calls up and speaks to spirits, she uses a crystal ball. She claims to have had out of the body experiences where she has gone to other continents, and even gone to the moon. I believe that she is deceived, I believe that demons have deceived her into thinking that she has had these experiences, and she has not. The Apostle Paul speaks of an experience where he was taken into heaven, and he did not know if he was in the body or not, so we know that out of the body experiences may be genuine. I believe that the experience that Paul had, and the experience that John had should not be confused with the experience that the witch believes she had. Not all religious experiences are genuine, some religious experiences can be spiritual deceptions. Our only reliable standard is not our experience, but what the Word of God says.

Continuing in verse two, we read: "behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
:3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald."
John is in the presence of Jehovah God, and the sight was wonderfully glorious. The only way that John can compare the sight to anything he understands is to say that God reminded him of precious glittering jewels. A jasper stone was normally clear white, like a crystal or a diamond, and a sardine stone was a sardius stone, from the area around Sardis, and it was normally blood red. In modern language we would call it a carnelian. Apparently the appearance of God to John was something like a glittering, shining light of white and red colors. That description sounds terribly inadequate, and it is, but then the human imagination is inadequate to picture God anyway, so that's the best we can do. We also see a rainbow around the throne, the rainbow is mentioned only four times in the Bible, and each time it is mentioned, it's in association with God's judgement upon the earth. That starts in chapter six.

Verse 4: "And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold."
This is a place where we get into disagreement and controversy. Good Bible teachers come to different conclusions about who these twenty four elders are, and part of the problem has to do with who goes to heaven when.

Some teachers argue that the church, both living and dead, gets raptured before the tribulation, and then the Old Testament saints get resurrected at the end of the tribulation when Jesus comes in power. So they say these twenty four elders have to be from among the church since they are in at the beginning.

Other teachers say no, that the Old Testament saints went from paradise to heaven with Jesus when He rose from the dead. That could be; over in Psalm 68:18 it says "Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men." The thought is that a group of people were captured and held in an enemy stronghold, but now a stronger king has gone in and rescued them and brought them out, the captives of battle have been reclaimed. Paul quotes that verse in Ephesians 4:8, he applies it to Christ as a conquering king, and then he also adds: "(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)" Because Paul applies it in this context, there is reason to think that when Christ rose from the dead, when He returned from the paradise side of sheol, He brought the souls of those believers in Paradise with Him.

So it's a tossup as to just who the elders are. Some believe that they are the original twenty four patriarchs listed in Luke's Gospel, starting with Adam and including Pharez, others think it is the twelve sons of Jacob, plus the twelve Apostles, I don't know. Wait and find out, I'm not sure it makes all that much difference to us.

Verse 5: "And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God." This is easy, this is the Holy Spirit, symbolized or appearing as seven lamps, illustrating His perfection of knowledge, His perfect wisdom, and His perfect insight.
Verse 6: "And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.
:7 And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.
:8 And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, LORD God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come." These four beasts are the cherubims. Next to God Himself, these four creatures are apparently the most powerful beings in existence. The reason that the King James calls them beasts, is because they are so different from anything in our world, it is hard to know what to call them. There is no good descriptive word in our language. In the Greek, the word used here is "zoon", from which we get zoology, most other translations simply call them "living creatures." They are alive, they are intelligent, they are powerful, they are totally unlike anything we are familiar with. They are especially unlike the little fat cupid babies with wings that we find on Valentines day cards. Those babies are commonly called cherubs. If Lucifer was a cherub, and these four living creatures are cherubs, then cherub is not really a very good name for the little fat valentines cupid babies.

Something that I find interesting is that Ezekiel also saw the cherubims and described them very much like John does, and when we compare what John saw here with what Ezekiel saw, each cherubim shares the characteristics of the others. All four have one face like a man's, one like a lion, one like a calf, and one like an eagle. There are four cherubim before the throne of God, one is missing. Lucifer is the fifth cherubim, however he rebelled against God and is no longer included with the other four. I find it fascinating that each cherubim apparently has a particular ministry toward some aspect of God's creation, one for man, one for the domestic beasts, one for the wild beasts, and one for the flying creatures.
Which divisions of the earths creatures are missing? There are two, the fish of the sea, and the creeping things, insects, bugs, and serpents. It is interesting that in the future, when God makes a new heaven and a new earth, it will not have a sea. Perhaps there is some relation between there being no more sea and there being no cherubim having any characteristics relative to the fish world? We don't know, just something to think about.

How about the reptile world? Satan is called that old dragon, God cursed Satan in the garden of Eden, and changed him from one type of serpent into another type, and here before the throne of God, there is no longer any representative of the serpent or insect kingdom. Scorpions, snakes, serpents, are usually presented in Scripture as enemies of mankind, and it is significant that there is no comparable cherubim before the throne of God to represent that type of creature. Maybe when Lucifer left, that was the end of their representative? I find it interesting that man can tame and train birds, wild and domestic beasts, but cannot tame or train fish, reptiles, or insects. And they have no cherubim representing them. I don't know, just trying to get you thinking.

Obviously I'm about to get off in left field here, but if you are the sort of person who is interested in so-called "alien encounters", where demons impersonate extra terrestrials, I think it's significant how many so-called aliens have reptilian characteristics. I believe that part of the end time deception of Satan will involve so-called visitors from space to deceive the world, they are simply demons pretending to be technologically advanced races from other stars. Satan plans a huge end-time deception, I think this will be a big part of it, but they are not aliens, they are demons. The Lord Jesus told us "As it was in the days of Noah, so will it also be at the coming of the Son of Man." Fallen angels were active on the earth 4,000 years ago just before the flood of Noah, they are active now. Don't be deceived.

Verse 9: "And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,
:10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."
This is obviously what we would call a worship and praise meeting, I hope every one of you and your loved ones will all be there. For anyone alive at that point in time, not being there would be about the worst thing that could possibly happen. If you are not saved, you better get saved. If you have loved ones that are not saved, you better get serious about your witnessing.

Continuing in chapter 5, "And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?" This book was a scroll, and not just any scroll, this is the title deed to the earth. Adam forfeited it to Satan, God as the creator still has possession, but Jesus has won it back, and it about to take the ownership of it. The folks back in Bible days had a very clever way to make sure that no one could forge or steal the title deeds to their property, I want us to take a minute and see how that worked. Turn to Jeremiah 32, verse 9. Jeremiah says: "And I bought the field of Hanameel my uncle's son, that was in Anathoth, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver.
:10 And I subscribed the evidence, and sealed it, and took witnesses, and weighed him the money in the balances.
:11 So I took the evidence of the purchase, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open:
:12 And I gave the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, in the sight of Hanameel mine uncle's son, and in the presence of the witnesses that subscribed the book of the purchase, before all the Jews that sat in the court of the prison.
:13 And I charged Baruch before them, saying,
:14 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Take these evidences, this evidence of the purchase, both which is sealed, and this evidence which is open; and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may continue many days."
When they had an important document such as a title deed, they would have two copies, one was open for everybody to read, and the other one was sealed up with a wax seal, or else they could have just one scroll, and what was written on the outside described and set forth was written and sealed up on the inside. Such scrolls would obviously be kept in a secure place. When the time came to reclaim the deed, the claimant would present the open title, either the open scroll, or the outside of the sealed one, which had a summary of the deed written on it, and then in the presence of witnesses, he would open the sealed one, and the sealed one certified the open one, to prove that it was genuine. Here in heaven, there is a scroll, written on the outside telling what it is, who it belongs to, and the conditions of it's redemption, and then sealed up, waiting for the lawful owner to break the seals and claim the title.

Verse 3: "And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.
:4 And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.
:5 And one of the elders saith unto 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."
We have an awesome God. Jesus of Nazareth is my hero. He is the Captain of the Host. He is our champion. He is the winner of our battles. He is everything we could ever want or ever hope to be. He has prevailed and He did it on His terms. And He is worthy to take the scroll. That's why I personally think that this elder who speaks is one of the Old Testament saints that Jesus brought back up with Him when He went down to Sheol and preached to the spirits there. Because that old saint was there when Jesus rescued him from hades and carried him into the presence of God, and he knows from experience that if Jesus could do that, He can do it all. Amen?

Verse 6: "And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth."
I wonder just how it was that John saw Jesus here. Maybe sometimes he saw Jesus glorified, sometimes he saw Jesus like the passover lamb, and sometimes he saw Jesus so full of the power and wisdom and knowledge of the Holy Spirit that it was hard to really comprehend. Who can say for sure? Some day all of us will see Jesus that way. Awesome. Praise the Lord.

Verse 7: "And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne." This is the same thing that Daniel had seen 600 years earlier. Daniel described it like this: "One like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." This is Jesus reclaiming the title deed to the earth, and the time of restoration and judgement of all things is at hand.

Revelation 5:8 continues: "And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, -that's incense- which are the prayers of saints.
:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
:10 And hast made us unto our God kings 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 beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;
:12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing."
Something that never ceases to amaze me is that people are reluctant to speak up and praise God, or sing praises to God, or speak out in church, because they think that maybe they won't be real eloquent, or sound just right, or be cool, or they're self conscious, or whatever, but beloved, that's fixin' to change!
The day is coming that you will never again sit like a bump on a log when it's time to praise the Lord, or somebody asks for a word of testimony about Jesus, and you are sitting there trying to pass a brain stone and can't come up with anything, those days will be over!

Let me give you a suggestion: since everybody's going to be doing it, if you don't want to be out of shape, you might want to start practicing now, let me tell you why: Verse 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, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever." Beloved, if you don't get crackin' your dog might beat you to it! I don't know about you, but I'd be embarrassed to get to heaven and discover that my hamster was better at praising God than I was! Or my goldfish, because it also says: "such as are in the sea." I don't how it is going to work, I have no idea how the various creatures will be doing it, but you can take it to the bank, they will be praising God. I don't know how the whales, or the barracuda, or the starfish are going to do it, but I'm sure it will be great. And like I said, you might want to start practicing up.

Verse 14: "And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever." This is the greatest worship and praise meeting of all time, and that is what Christians are going to be doing that first day after we get raptured. Everybody else is going to be standing around the earth scratching their heads and wondering where all those obnoxious Jesus people went. Unfortunately, they will soon have much worse things to worry about.

And you don't want to be with them. Have you received Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord? Are you absolutely, positively sure that you are really trusting Him, that you aren't playing head games with yourself, or maybe trying to tell somebody else what they want to hear? It is way too important to get it wrong. Because once the rapture happens, if you get left behind, the biggest deception in history will be underway, Satan will pull out all the stops, and you won't even know what to believe. Assuming you lived long enough to even try to figure out what's happening, because they don't call it "the tribulation" for nothing.

Something else you need to know: there is no assurance that you even could get saved if you wanted to. Remember what happened to Pharaoh? When God sent a plague or two, Pharaoh repented, agreed to do what God wanted.. But then Pharaoh changed his mind, and hardened his heart, and resisted God.
Think about what happened next: Pharaoh hardened his heart, and then God encouraged him in his chosen direction. God hardened his heart as well. And he never repented. Many good Bible scholars believe that those who have heard the Gospel and rejected it before the rapture will not repent and get saved later during the tribulation. They believe that the people who get saved during the tribulation are those that have never heard the gospel before. But those that have previously rejected the Gospel will be deceived, and follow the antichrist.

I'm not sure if that's what happens. But I am convinced that it is a strong possibility, and the risk of it happening is too great to put off getting saved. God tells us "Behold now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation." Will you receive Jesus as your Savior today?