Revelation Chapter 4
Showing all 11 verses for Revelation Chapter 4.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"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. "
"John sees a door standing open in heaven, and a voice like a trumpet invites him up to see what will happen after this."
There's a door standing open above your everyday concerns - I want to show you that your life is part of something far bigger than what's directly in front of you right now.
"And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. "
"John is immediately taken up "in the Spirit" - a Spirit-given visionary state, not a dream - and sees a throne in heaven with someone seated on it."
However chaotic your life or the world looks right now, there is a throne at the centre of reality that is never empty and never shaken - you can build your peace on that, not on how things currently look.
"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. "
"The one on the throne appears like brilliant, precious gemstones (jasper and sardine/carnelian stone), surrounded by a rainbow that looks like emerald - dazzling, indescribable glory rather than a human face or form."
Some things are too big for plain description - when you sense something greater than yourself, don't worry about explaining it perfectly. Let the wonder be wonder.
"And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders siting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold. "
"Around the throne are twenty-four smaller thrones with twenty-four elders seated on them, dressed in white and wearing gold crowns - likely representing the full people of God across both Testaments."
The place I'm preparing isn't a waiting room - it's a seat, a crown, a settled belonging. Whatever uncertainty you feel now about where you stand, I'm showing you where faithful people end up: honoured, not forgotten.
"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. "
"From the throne come flashes of lightning, rumbles of thunder and voices - signs of overwhelming power - and before it burn seven lamps representing the fullness of God's Spirit."
Real awe is healthy - don't be afraid to feel small in front of something genuinely bigger than you. It's not meant to crush you; it's meant to put your daily worries into honest proportion.
"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. "
"Before the throne is a smooth, glass-like sea, and surrounding the throne are four living creatures ("beasts" here means living beings, not monsters) covered all over with eyes."
Nothing about your life goes unseen - not to trap you, but because you are actually known, completely, by something that never looks away.
"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. "
"The four living creatures each look different: one like a lion, one like a young ox, one with a human face, and one like a flying eagle - together representing the height of strength, service, intelligence and majesty found across creation."
Every kind of created life, in its own way, points back to its maker - you don't need to be extraordinary to have a place in that picture; you just need to be genuinely what you were made to be.
"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. "
"Each creature has six wings and is covered in eyes, and they never stop declaring "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come" - ceaseless worship, day and night."
Worship, at its best, isn't a chore you perform - it's what naturally happens when you're paying full attention to something genuinely worthy of it. Find what deserves your undivided attention, and give it freely.
"And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, "
"Whenever the living creatures give glory, honour and thanks to the one on the throne, who lives forever."
Genuine gratitude is contagious - when you thank what's actually good in your life, it tends to pull others towards doing the same. Don't underestimate a simple, honest thank you.
"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, "
"The twenty-four elders respond by falling down before God and throwing their own crowns down in front of the throne, acknowledging his authority above their own."
Whatever status or achievement you hold, hold it loosely - the healthiest thing you can do with your own "crowns" is remember where they really came from, and be willing to lay them down.
"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. "
"The elders declare God worthy to receive glory, honour and power, because he created everything, and everything exists because he wanted it to."
You exist because something wanted you to - not because you had to prove yourself first. Let that settle something in you before you spend your whole life trying to earn a place that was already given.