The Saints of God around God's throne

Revelation 4:4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads.

As we continue our tour of Heaven, we once again are observing the activity around the throne of God.  One of the marks of God's way of revealing truth in scripture is through what is termed "progressive revelation".  Simply put, God will reveal a truth or concept in general, and then bring that truth into sharper focus as one proceeds into the scriptures.  In today's blog we want to understand this important truth of God's people and their place in the Heavenly reality described by the Apostle John here in Revelation. 

How to begin identifying God's people around his Throne
The people in the above passage are given a title - the 24 elders.  Much ink has been spilt over who or what they represent in this chapter.  A combination of two views has helped me understand the place and role these 24 elders serve in the decidedly God-centered reality of Heaven.  Today we will attempt to identify them, since they provide the basis for understanding the role and activities of God's saints in Heaven - both now and into eternity.

God's people will serve Him around the throne
Unlike the popular ideas we have today of people floating on clouds in Heaven, doing absolutely nothing, the Bible portrays Heaven as a place of activity and excitement.  Identifying who the 24 elders are in Revelation 4 helps us to understand what believers can look forward to in Heaven.

As a Jewish writer, the Apostle John would had been very familiar with the writings of the Old Testament.  1 Chronicles 27 records the number of priests that served in the temple - the place of worship of the God of the Bible - during the reign of King David.  In that chapter, we discover that 24 sets of one thousand priests took their turn, performing their duties in the temple.  Many commentators through the history of the church have made the connection between that historical event and to what John is referring to here.  Christians in 1 Peter 2 are described as a "royal priesthood" and a "kingdom of priests".  So without a doubt, it would appear that these 24 elders provide a picture of the saints of God gathered around the throne.

The saints of God retain their individual, as well as corporate identies
But there is also a second view point which I believe also is valid enough in helping identify these 24 elders.  Many have taught that twelve of them are in reference to the twelve sons of Jacob - who were the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel in the Old Testament.  The remaining twelve might very well be the twelve apostles of Christ in the New Testament.  Scripture certainly confirms this idea.  Jesus discusses about the time when many will come and share at a table of a feast along with Abraham in the coming Kingdom.  Certainly the scripture throughout pictures the saints of God seated at a table with the Messiah in the coming age.  Thus what we have are 24 literal men who also represent what the saints of all ages will be doing around the throne. 

Having identified who the 24 elders most likely are, we will aim in tomorrow's blog to look a little more closely at what God's people can expect to be doing as they enjoy the glory of their God and King both before them and shining through them. 

The Heavenly Throneroom

Revelation 4:3 ¹ After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.” ² Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne.³ And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance.

As we continue our tour of Heaven in Revelation, we are brought to the throneroom where the God of Glory Himself is revealed.  As John is taken by the Spirit of God into this incredible place, the four underlined phrases in the text tells us four things about God's Eternal presence in Heaven.  As we have already said in previous blogs, Heaven is undoubtedly God-centered. This vision of John, stretching for two chapters, confirms just how God-centered of a place that Heaven is and will be.  Please note the four Eternal truths of God's character revealed in these first four verses:

1. Unendingly Holy.  The very first thing that John experiences in reference to the Heavenly throneroom is the sound of a trumpet.  The sound of a trumpet in the Bible is associated with God's revelation of Himself on top of Mount Sinai in Exodus 19, when He revealed the Law of God to Moses and Israel.  At the end of Hebrews 12 we read of that scene - that the mountain quaked, and shaked at the sound of the loud trumpet-call of God's voice.  The sights and sound was so terrifying that the Israelites, gathered around the base of Mount Sinai, begged Moses to speak to them, rather than God.  No doubt, God is unendingly Holy - whether he reveal Himself on earth or in Heaven.

2. Unquestionably Sovereign.  God is not only Holy, but Sovereign.  To be Sovereign simply means that God is in comprehensive control of all places at all times.  Again we are reminded of previous visions and revelations of God in scripture.  Isaiah, the prophet, saw God seated upon a throne.  Ezekiel, another prophet of Israel, saw God seated upon the throne with shining wheels.  Daniel, the prophet throne into a lions' den, sees God as the Ancient of Days in Daniel 7, seated upon His throne.  No matter what time we look at in redemptive history in the Bible, God is on His throne.  As Psalm 47:8 records - "God reigneth over the Heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of His holiness."

3. Undeniably Precious.  John sees in this vision a set of precious stones in the description of God's glory recorded in this chapter.  The use of rpecious stones in the Bible points to the goodness, the eternal value of God.  He is the Good God, worthy of our worship.  1 Peter 2:7 reminds us that this Lord, Jesus Christ, is precious to those who believe.  The presence of these stones hearken back as well to the precious stones worn by the High Priest as he represented the nation of Israel before the Holy presence of God.  God is so good as to provide for us Representation.  He has done so in the Person of the Eternal High Priest - Jesus Christ - who incidently is called the chief, precious cornerstone . (please compare 1 Peter 2:7)

4. Unfathomably Faithful.  The final detail we will focus on today is the rainbow situated around the throne.  Why a rainbow?  If you will recall what God revealed to Noah back in Genesis 9:12-16 - He revealed to Noah a Rainbow.  That Rainbow was a sign that God would never destroy the world with a flood of watery wrath.  Likewise all who by grace through faith trust in Christ as Savior, Lord and Treasure, have the promise that when they approach the throne - the blood of Christ shed for them will protect them from the coming firey wrath of God on this world. (please compare 1 Thessalonians 1:10 and 2 Peter 3)  He not only is faithful to our future, but also our present, for God has promised to never leave us nor forsake us.   

Jesus Christ, Heaven's Chief Beauty

Revelation 1:1a ¹ The Revelation of Jesus Christ....

As we continue to explore what Heaven is like in the book of Revelation, our line of vision is still arrested by the Person of Jesus Christ.  This is why I find it so remarkable that in the Bible, we find Heaven to be so God centered, and that its glory is Jesus Christ.  We witnessed yesterday the twin truths of Christ's full humanity and undiminished Deity.  As He exists and occupies the portals of glory, Christ is excercising three offices on behalf of the believer.  In Revelation 1:5-7 we find a description of these three offices:

1. Christ is our Prophet
Revelation 1:5a states - "and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead..."  A Prophet in the Bible functions to represent and explain God to the people.  Christ is described in this passage, as well as others, of His capacity and office as Prophet.  Hebrews 1:1-3 describes Him as the "radiance of God's glory, and the exact representation of His being".  That same text also explains how "in former times God spoke to us in many ways but in these last days He is speaking to us through Jesus Christ."  Now Christ never communicates anything apart of scripture - which testifies about Him (please compare John 5:39).  As God, Jesus Christ alone is qualified to reveal God in His fulness.  As man, He enables all true believers to know God and to interract with Him - since He Himself is God.

2. Christ our King
Revelation 1:5b continues -  "and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood . . ."  Now Christ is referred to as King - Ruler of the Kings of the Earth.  John here is demonstrating the authority and Majesty of Christ.  Stretching back into the Old Testament, Isaiah for instance in Isaiah 6 saw a vision of the True King, seated upon His throne.  Who was that King which He saw?  According to John 12:41 it was none other than Jesus Christ.  The John who wrote those words is now writing here, giving us a full length description of the King of Kings.

3. Christ our Priest
Revelation 1:6 says - "and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen."  This third office, that of our Priest, is also used to identify the saints.  Because Christ is our Chief Priest - our High Priest - all who are connected to Him by faith constitute a royal priesthood.  That simply means that the Christian has the right to represent people to God in prayer, since Christ most perfectly, and completely does that for Christians.  Just as a prophet represents God to the people, the priest represents the people to God - Christ our Highpriest, and Christians as "a kingdom of priests" serving un Him.

Thus we have witnessed Jesus Christ as God and man, as well as Prophet, Priest and King.  May your heart today desire to see Jesus Christ, and be with Him. 

Jesus Christ, the Darling of Heaven

Revelation 1:2 "who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw."

Who is Jesus Christ in Revelation?
We began yesterday with an overview of the five major chapters in Revelation that describe Heaven. Today we begin by noting the Darling of Heaven, Jesus Christ.  In the Bible some 200 names are used to describe Jesus Christ.  Amazingly, 40 such names are found here in one chapter, Revelation 1!  As we consider the 40 titles used by John in Revelation 1, five major themes emerge to describe the Darling of Heaven.  The first two themes speak to the dual nature of Jesus Christ as God and man, and the final three themes speak to the main offices  He occupies as he reigns at the Right Hand of God the Father.  Today we will note the themes of Christ's humanity and Deity in Revelation 1, with a focus on His three main offices tomorrow.

1. Jesus Christ's humanity in Revelation 1
When we begin at verse one, we discover that first name, "Jesus".  Clearly we are dealing with a revelation of a man, for in Matthew 1:21 that was to be his name given at His birth.  As you go down the chapter, we discover in verse 5 that for all true believers, their sins are washed in His blood.  When Jesus returns in Revelation 1:7, those who look upon Him will notice His nail pierced hands and feet. 

Clearly through the rest of the chapter, Jesus is someone you can see (Revelation 1:11), He has a hand (1:16), He was once dead, but now is alive (1:18).  Undeniably this Jesus is fully man, occupying and residing in Heaven.  However.....

2. Jesus Christ's Undiminished Deity in Revelation 1
This same Jesus, who is so much man, is unquestionably fully and completely God.  He states for instance in Revelation 1:8 that He is "Alpha and Omega". He is the origin of all things (Alpha) and He is the end of all things (Omega).  He is the Creator and Completor.  In that same verse He is called "The Almighty", a title given exclusively to the Lord in the Old Testament. 

In the remainder of the chapter, Christ is described as the "Son of Man", a title of Deity that is connected to Daniel 7.  There we see "The Son of Man" equated with the "Ancient of Days", clearly a reference to the Deity and power of God. 

No doubt about it, this Jesus Christ is so much man as if he were not God, and yet He is so much God as if he were not man.  When I behold his nail prints and wounded side, I see a man, a perfect man, my repesentative, in a glorified, resurrected body.  When I look into His eyes, I see uncreated flame, unending depths.  I see His glory, the glory of which He has shared with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit from Eternity.  Indeed, He is the Darling of Heaven, Jesus Christ - God and man!

A personal Tour of Heaven

Revelation 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John

Heaven's Featured Attraction
Out of all the books in the Bible, none gives us a more detailed picture of the reality of heaven than the book of Revelation.  Only the Bible can give you accurate, true descriptions of this place.  As wonderful as it is, and as true as it is that it is the destination of those who have by grace alone through faith alone trusted in Christ alone, the place is not the focus.  If anything, the Person of Christ occupies the central theme of Heaven.  Jesus Christ is indeed the darling of Heaven. 

With that said, I would like to take the next several blogs to explore Heaven, and understand how the Bible communicates the glory of God through the visions of John in Revelation.  My prayer is that you, dear believer, will find encouragement and hope as we look together at these exquisite chapters of God's word.  If you are reading this blog, and have never experienced salvation through Jesus Christ, my prayer would be that the Holy Spirit would so move in your heart to receive and embrace Heaven's treasure - Christ Jesus.

How Revelation Communicates the Reality of Heaven
Five chapters in Revelation deal with the subject and reality of Heaven.  In giving a broad sweeping glance of Revelation 1, 4, 5, 7, 21 and 22, we can note the following observations about Heaven:

1. Heaven is God centered.  Revelation 1 alone mentions some 40 names or descriptions of Jesus Christ.  In Revelation 4 and 5 we find the throne of God, and the Lamb, dominating the scene.  Revelation 7 depicts God being surrounded by His saints, and the angels, praising Him for salvation.  Then in Revelation 21 and 22 we see the new Heavens and the New earth, centralized around the uncreated glory of God.

2. Heaven's Glory is Jesus Christ.  In Revelation 21:23 we discover that the glory of God is the light of the Heavenly reality to come, and that Christ is described as the lamp. 

3. Heaven's pleasure is God's people enjoying their God.  In Revelation 4 and 5 we see the 24 elders, representative of the Saints of all ages, casting their crowns at the Savior's feet.  Throughout Revelation we find the saints of God singing songs of praise, doxologies, to the glory of God.  Heaven is far from boring.  It is unendingly joyful.  For the people of God, beholding one another, behold the glory of God in and through and among them. 

4. Heaven is a real place.  Heaven is not an ethereal dreamscape, floating on clouds.  It is a real place, being built by Jesus Himself (John 14:1-6).  The New Heavenly Jerusalem, described in Revelation 21-22, is enormous.  As it comes out of Heaven, its boundaries would be large enough to cover almost all of North America, however its height, 1500 miles, would extend out into space.  There is enough square footage in the New Jerusalem to hold literally billions of people.  And that's just the city, not counting what will be the New earth!

Tomorrow we will continue with our tour of Heaven.  May the Lord bless you dear reader this day. 

When Christians will defy gravity

Acts 1:9 - And when he (Jesus) had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

1 Thessalonians 4:17 - Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

What is the "rapture"

    We saw in the last blog the truth of resurrection.  The resurrection of believers at the end of the age occupies one of the eight "definites" outlined in part one of this particular blog series on eschatology.  As we consider the Lord's return, another doctrine surfaces that has connection to the resurrection of believers - namely the believer's catching away by Christ or what is called  "The Rapture".  The word "rapture" comes from a Latin term "rapturo", which in turn is a translation of the Greek word from the original language of 1 Thessalonians 4:17 - "to be caught up". 

The reality of the rapture

    Almost no one disputes the reality of the rapture or "catching away" of Christians at Christ's return.  With His return will come the total and unmingled wrath of God on this world.  1 Thessalonians 1:10 reminds us that Christians do not have to worry about enduring God's wrath.  Clearly the rapture, much like our physical resurrection, has direct connection to the Lord ascending into Heaven in Acts 1:9.  No doubt the miraculous ascent of Christ will be repeated corporately in the life of every Christian.  If a Christian has already went to be with the Lord, upon Christ's return, that saint will be resurrected in a new body and then raptured, followed immediately by the living saints' bodies being transformed and raptured.  1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 gives us the fullest treatment of this mass miracle.  Other passages too give hints to the details surrounding this event in passages such as Matthew 24; 1 Thessalonians 5; 2 Thessalonians 2 and 1 Corinthians 15:50-57.

The question about the rapture's timing and occurence

    As we can include this doctrine in the definite doctrine of the believer's resurrection, we do have one area of which there is no consensus - namely the rapture's timing.  If you will recall, we gave three categories of doctrine: definites, positions and opinions.  In regards to the timing of the rapture, we would have to state that a number of opinions exist as to when it will occur. 

Pre-trib, Mid-trib or post-trib?    

    Three major opinions exist as to when the rapture will occur.  Many Bible teachers point to a period of time in which God's wrath will be unleashed upon planet earth that is called "The Great Tribulation".  From texts such as Daniel 9:23-27, we come to realize that this period will last 7 years.  Questions of course center around whether or not the church will be raptured "before", "mid-way" or "towards the end" of this period.  The opinions are respectively referred to as "Pre-trib", "mid-trib" and "post-tribulationalism". 

   

    If space permitted, we could appeal to many texts to rally support for each of these opinions.  Being that the Lord has purposely inserted a "mystery" element into the chronology of prophetic events, piecing together the sequence of events on Bible prophecy can prove challenging.  The reader is encouraged to look at passages such as Matthew chs 13 and 24-25; Daniel 9:23-27; Jeremiah 30; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and ch 5; 2 Thessalonians 2 and Revelation 3,6,7,14 for further study.  I will let the reader determine from the scriptures where they fall on this issue.

Some further observations about the tribulation   

    The one thing all three opinions have in common is that all who engage in such a discussion are Pre-millennialists.  A-millennialists and Post-Millennialists tend to view the tribulation period as either having occured at the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 A.D or as a general reference to the "tribulation" all Christians suffer for Christ through the church's history.  Views such as these are called "Preterism" (which is a word meaning past) and use such texts such as Matthew 24 in an attempt to rally biblical support.  Though some respectable Bible teachers hold to these views, this author is not a preterist (believing that the tribulation occured in the past).  As always, our reasons for holding truth lies not in who holds them, but whether or not the Bible teaches such things.   

So why does the rapture matter?

    1 Peter 3:15 states - "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear".  The point of any definite doctrine, position or opinion on prophetic matters is to give reasons to the world why Christianity alone possesses hope for the here and hereafter.  Every Christian should have a good enough understanding of what they believe to help unbelievers see the hope of Christ.  This includes where one stands on the rapture. 

    Whether or not I believe the next big event is the rapture, the revelation of the anti-Christ or some major war does have immediate bearing on how I will live.  Being able to grapple with questions about the problem of evil and suffering, tsunamis and starving children are examples as to why it is our responsibility to live out our theology and have a living theology. 

Bible Prophecy and the resurrection

Philippians 3:10-11 -  "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;  ¹¹If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead."

Salvation or Christian faith in its three stages
    When we talk about salvation, it is common to speak of salvation occuring in a three-fold way: What happened in my human spirit at a point and time in the past - regeneration/conversion through faith; what is occuring as a process in my human soul right now - sanctification and what will occur in the future when my soul and spirit are untied with my transformed human body - glorification. 
   
  The first has to do with God convicting and quickening in my human spirit so that I by faith can see the awfulness of my sin and the awesomeness of Christ - thus SAVED FROM THE PENALTY OF SIN (Romans 5:1). 

    Following from this is the ongoing process of the Spirit making me more like Christ in my soul, and I co-operating with His work by prayer and the word in sanctifcation - thus SAVING ME GRADUALLY FROM THE POWER OF SIN (Romans 6:4-11; 8:1-5). 

    When we speak of what will occur when I as a believer go on to be with the Lord, salvation is then spoke of in future terms - whereby I WILL BE SAVED FROM THE PRESENCE OF SIN (Philippians 3:21; 1 Peter 1:9).  It is with this last stage of salvation that the idea of resurrection takes center stage.
 Resurrection was first revealed in the Old Testament
    The idea of resurrection was given by God to man almost immediately from the fall.  We see inklings of it in Adam's naming of Eve (life-bearer) in Genesis 3:20, indicating his reception of God's promise of salvation to her in Genesis 3:15.  Abraham of course is the first person credited in history for believing in it, since in placing Isaac on the altar he believed God could raise his son from the dead (Hebrews 11:19).  Job, the oldest book in the Bible, mentions the faith of Job in seeing God with his own eyes in resurrection (Job 19:25).  In prophetic scriptures such as Daniel 12:1-3 the resurrection forms the hub of events in the final judgment.    

Resurrection fully revealed in the New Testament
     The New Testament gives us a complete and detailed picture of what to expect at resurrection.  As much as this concept is used to illustrate what happens spiritually at conversion (see John 5:24-25; 1 Peter 1:3); our concerns here deal with the physical resurrection that every Christian can look forward to at Christ's return.  1 Corinthians 15:45-58 gives us the fullest treatment on the importance and explanation of the resurrection.  In other words, we can note five pairs of truths about the resurrection from 1 Corinthians 15:45-58....
1.  15:45-49 The believer's resurrection will be formed upon Christ's resurrection
2.  15:50-51  The believer's resurrection will involved being transformed from this decaying body into a non-decaying body
3.  15:52   It will be an instant event, not an ongoing process like our current sanctification
4. 15:52    The resurrection will occur instantly at Christ's return
5. 15:53   The resurrection will be taking the old and changing it into a new body
6. 15:53   The resurrection  will bring to pass the completion of salvation for every Christian
7. 15:54-55 The resurrection will signal that death is done for8. 15:54-55 The resurrection will signal that sin is done away
9. 15:57  It reaches back into our present to give us power for the Christian life
10. 15:58 It reaches back into our present to give us purpose for Christian service
When surveying the more than 40 passages that speak of resurrection in the New Testament, we can offer this conclusion about the doctrine of the resurrection for our Christian identity....
Resurrection is rooted in Christ's first work - the cross and empty tomb, reassures about Christ's current work - sanctification and renders proof of Christ's future work - His return