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Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke to me with the sound of a mighty trumpet blast. The voice said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after these things" - The open door [Rev 4:1 NLT]
The heavenly vision starts off with a trumpet-like blast. Many Bible scholars who believe in the "Pre-tribulation" rapture theory; believe that this is the trumpet call where God gathers all the Believers in Christ together. After all, we are told that the rapture takes place after the last trumpet call. Lets consider some evidences for the rapture occuring here.
As part of the church age; we have seen that in accordance with the scriptures of Revelation 3:10; the "faithful" believers would be kept from the period of suffering; which we know by now refers to the tribulation.
here is no coincidence; that these same followers were promised "an open door that no-one can close".
The statement "Come up here; and I will show you what must happen after these things"; has some interesting insights. In the opening vision; John was told to record a) The things he saw; b) the things that were; and finally; c) the things that are yet future. Now we see the same break in the scriptures; which seems to confirm; that the church is no longer present. We have already seen that both Revelation 2 and 3 covers the church age. Now, from this opening paragraph; the church is never again mentioned as an earthly institution.
For us to fully appreciate and understand these 2 key chapters in prophecy; we list the most important events that occur in this chapter. It would be a great idea to break here and first read both these chapters before we continue.
Please click picture to enlarge
We see quiet clearly that the lamb in the vision is no other than Jesus Christ. According to these scriptures; and of course; the gospels, he was slain so that man could be made right with God. God's own son; and part of the Godhead, was laid as a sacrifice so that the pinnacle of Gods creation could be reconciled back towards Him. He was the only One that could open the 7 seals; as He was the only One to pay the price for the sins of man.
According to this vision; around the throne of God there are 24 smaller thrones; each of these occupied by "elders". There are 2 main schools of thought as to who these elders are:
1) They are high ranking angels
Many believe that the 24 elders are very high ranking angels. The basis for the belief is that according to Jewish traditions, theirs a saying that the angels present the prayers of the saints to God. We see this happening later in Rev 5:8; where the 24 elders are holding golden bowls full of incense, which are prayers of the saints.
According to the book of Hebrews; with special reference to the tabernacle and its priests we see that the earthly tabernacle is based on the heavenly one. We recall that there were 24 classes of priests and 24 classes of Levites in this service. Psalms 89 : 7 :God is greatly to be feared in the congregation of the saints, (LITV) Wow, could this congregation of the saints or “the council of holy ones” as referred to in older Bibles, refer to these 24 elders ?
Well; that is the one interpretation ....
2) The 24 Elders are 24 special people from the Bible
This is not as far fetched as it initially sounds. We read in the same chapter some more information that helps us gleam as to their identity.
This seems to take away from the notion that the 24 elders are heavenly beings. We have already seen that the lamb was Jesus Christ in this vision. As Jesus was slain for the sake of man, these 24 elders were also redeemed by Jesus and are now ruling with Jesus as a result of what He did. Also notice that they are described as being dressed in white.
The white robe is symbolic for the righteous garments that are given to believers as soon as they believe in Jesus Christ.
As a result, although there is room for debate, the scripture strongly suggests that they are referring to human beings, rather than angels. Revelation closes off with the 12 tribes of Israel representing the gates to the eternal city and the 12 apostles representing the foundations of this city. This strongly suggests that 12 people of the Old testament as well as the 12 Apostles are those that sit on the thrones surrounding God.
The scripture immediately tells us what is representative of the 7 lamps of fire. These are the seven spirits of God. If we look at the older versions of the bible, and old testament scriptures it refers to the “sevenfold” spirit of God. Whilst there may be actually “ 7 “ spirits, this seems to mean that the “ 7 “ spirits of God are perfect and complete and is thus the Holy Spirit that came to the earth following Jesus’ crucifixion ... But notice something else.
These 7 lamps were initially on the earth according to the first 3 chapters of Revelation. Now we are told that they are in heaven under the control of the Holy Spirit. How did these churches get from earth to heaven. .... R
Remember Revelation 4:1 - An open doorway - Obviously this is only circumstantial, but don't loose sight of the small "coincidences" in prophecy - If Revelation is considered to be in logical order, this would mean that the rapture has already taken place; and at this stage, there are many Christians surrounding the throne. It also means that everything after 4:1, occurs after the rapture.
Ok, so we know that the 4 living creatures were described as : One like a lion One like a calf , One that had the face of a man , One like a flying eagle. They all had six wings They were worshipping God singing : “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God, the Almighty, who was and is and is to come.”
Now lets jump backwards into time around about the year 750 BC; and have a look at the book of Isaiah:
In the year that King Uzziah died, then I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up. And His train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphs. Each one had six wings; with two he covered his face; and with two he covered his feet; and with two he flew. And one cried to the other and said, Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah of Hosts; all the earth is full of His glory! [ Isa 6:1-3 NLT]
