/ 1 After this I looked, and, John 1:51 ..Hereafter ye shall see "things which must be hereafter": / behold, a door was opened in heaven open, and angels of God Thus begins the prophetic portion / heaven: and the first voice which ascending and descending upon the of the Revelation that details the / I heard was as it were of a trum- Son of man. final events that shall lead up to / pet talking with me; which said, Colossians 3:1-3&4 If ye then be the final triumphant victory when / Come up hither, and I will show risen with Christ, seek those the Lord reclaims the fallen earth. / thee things which must be here- things which are above, where Those who have read ahead will often / after. Christ sitteth on the right hand wonder why such a sequence of / 2 And immediately I was in the Ezekiel 1:26-28 And above the of God. events are necessary, why such / Spirit: and, behold, a throne was firmament that was over their Set your affection on things suffering and destruction is / set in heaven, and one sat on the heads was the likeness of a above, not on things on the earth. necessary for the earth to be / throne. throne, as the appearance of a When Christ, who is our life, reclaimed? But we are informed / 3 And he that sat was to look sapphire stone: and upon the shall appear, then shall ye also that these things "must be" and / upon like a jasper and a sardine likeness of the throne was the with him in glory. that it is only through these pre- / stone: and there was a rainbow likeness as the appearance of destined events that the final / round about the throne, in sight a man above upon it. triumph can take place. Our small / like unto an emerald. And I saw as the colour of earthly minds do not fully compre- / amber, as the appearance of hend the true nature of the / fire round about within it, centuries old battle that has been / from the appearance of his waging on earth and in heaven for / loins even upward, and from domination of the hearts and minds / the appearance of his loins of man. / even downward, I saw as it / were the appearance of fire, "A throne was set in heaven": / and it had brightness round A limited number of prophets / about. have been shown the heavenly scene / As the appearance of the bow in visions and their description / that is in the cloud in the of its beauty and majesty is again / day of rain, so was the appea- very difficulty to comprehend. / rance of the brightness round The true beauty is not in its / about. This was the appearance majestic appearance, but in the / of the likeness of the glory fact that the righteous Creator / of the Lord. occupies it. / / 4 And round about the throne were Isaiah 3:14 The Lord will enter Matthew 19:28 That ye which have "four and twenty elders sitting, / four and twenty seats: and upon into judgement with the followed me, in the regeneration clothed in white raiment" / the seats I saw four and twenty ancients of his people when the Son of man shall sit in There is no listing in the Word / sitting, clothed in white I Chronicles 24:4 ( in this verse the throne of his glory, ye also of the names of these elders, or / raiment; and they had on their the priesthood is divided into shall sit upon twelve thrones, even a good explanation of their / heads crowns of gold. 24 divisions, this was in the judging the twelve tribes of nature, except that they are true / 5 And out of the throne proceeded time of David) Israel. worshipers of the Creator. Many / lightnings and thunderings and Psalms 97:4-6 His lightnings Hebrews 12:9-10 ...we have had scholars assume that they once had / voices: and there were seven lamps enlightened the world: the earth fathers of our flesh which corr- an earthly existence since being / of fire burning before the throne, saw and trembled. ected us, and we gave them rever- clothed in white raiment is most / which are seven Spirits of God. The hills melted like wax at ence: shall we not much rather often symbolic of redeemed man. / the presence of the Lord of the be in subjection unto the Father We could make a list of saints / whole earth. of spirits, and live? that man would consider as being / The heavens declare his right- For they verily for a few days qualified as elder saints, such / teousness, and all the people chastened us after their own as Abraham, Moses, Enoch, Isaiah, / see his glory. pleasure; but he for our profit, Elijah, etc., but that would only / 6 And before the throne there was Psalms 80:1 ...thou that dwellest that we might be partakers of his be speculation. We are also not / a sea of glass like unto crystal. between the cherubim, shine forth. holiness. sure that these are the Apostles, / And in the midst of the throne, Ezekiel 1:5&10 Also out of the since they will set on thrones of / and round about the throne were midst thereof came the like- judgment during the regeneration, / four beasts full of eyes before ness of four living creatures. when the new heavens and the new / and behind. And this was their appearance; earth are in existence, and this / 7 And the first beast was like a they had the likeness of a man. event would seem to be prior to / lion, and the second beast like a As for the likeness of their the final regeneration. / calf, and the third beast had a faces, they four had the face / face as a man, and the fourth of a man, and the face of a "seven Spirits of God": / beast was like a flying eagle. lion, on the right side: and Once again our information is / they four had the face of an sketchy, many scholars conclude / ox on the left side; they four that this represents the holy / also had the face of an eagle. Spirit of God which has a seven / 8 And the four beasts had each of Isaiah 6:1-3 .. I saw also the fold nature (that number seven / them six wings about him; and they Lord sitting upon a throne, again). / were full of eyes within: and they high and lifted up, and his / rest not day and night, saying, train filled the temple. "four beasts" / Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Above it stood the seraphims: These four living creatures are / Almighty, which was, and is, and each one had six wings; with taken to be symbolic of four / is to come. twain he covered his face, and natures of the Lord as symbolized / 9 And when those beasts give with twain he did fly. Hebrews 1:8-10 But unto the Son he by their four separate appearances. / glory and honour and thinks to him And one cried unto another, saith, Thy throne, O God, is for Lion--majesty and omnipotence / that sat on the throne, who liveth and said, Holy, holy, holy, is ever and ever: a sceptre of right- Calf or Ox--patience and faith- / for ever and ever, the Lord of hosts: the whole eousness is the sceptre of thy fulness / earth is full of his glory. kingdom. Man--intelligence / 10 The four and twenty elders fall Thou hast loved righteousness, Eagle--supreme sovereignty / down before him that sat on the and hated iniquity, therefore God, Many scholars see these as the / throne, and worship him that even thy God, hath anointed thee four natures of the Savior as / liveth for ever and ever, and cast with the oil of gladness above thy presented in the four Gospels, / their crowns before the throne, fellows. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John / saying, And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning in that same sequence. / 11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to I Chronicles 29:11 Thine, O Lord hast laid the foundation of the / receive glory and honour and power: is the greatness, and the earth; and the heavens are the "for thy pleasure they are and / for thou hast created all things, power, and the glory, and the works of thine hands. were created" / and for thy pleasure they are and victory, and the majesty: for Hebrews 3:3&3-4 ...consider the As we experience many troubles / were created. all that is in the heaven and Apostle and High Priest of our on this earth and see many injust- / in the earth is thine; thine profession, Christ Jesus ices we often forget the reason / is the kingdom, For this man was counted worthy this fallen universe was created / Isaiah 43:7 Even every one that of more glory than Moses, inasmuch and that it is only for the pleas- / is called by my name: for I as he who hath builded the house ure of the Creator. His will be / have created him for my glory, hath more honour than the house. the final joy, glory, power and / I have formed him; yea, I have For every house is builded by honor. This time of trouble and / made him. some man; but he that built all the brief tribulation to come is / things is God. only to accomplish His purposes. / / / 1 And I saw in the right hand of Ezekiel 2:9-10 And when I looked, "a book ... sealed with seven seals" / him that sat on the throne a book behold, a hand was sent unto The great importance of this book / written within and on the backside, me; and, lo, a roll of a book is demonstrated by the uncontrolled / sealed with seven seals. was therein; I Timothy 6:14-16 ...until the weeping of the Apostle John when he / 2 And I saw a strong angel procl- And he spread it before me; appearing of our Lord Jesus thinks that no man was qualified to / aiming with a loud voice, Who is and it was written within and Christ: open the book. Many scholars see / worthy to open the book, and to without: and there was written Which in his times he shall this book as being of the same / loose the seals thereof? therein lamentations, and show, who is the blessed and nature as that of a title deed, / 3 And no man in heaven, nor in mourning, and woe. only Potentate, the Kings of a title deed to the fallen universe. / earth, neither under the earth, Daniel 12:8-9 And I heard, but I kings, and Lord of lords; As we will see the opening of the / was able to open the book, neither understood not: then said I, Who only hath immortality, seals by the only qualified One, / to look thereon: O my Lord, what shall be the dwelling in the light which no the Redeemer, starts the final / 4 And I wept much, because no man end of these things? man hath seen, nor can see: to events that will lead up to the / was found worthy to open and to And he said, Go thy way, whom be honour and power ever- final victory in which the "Lamb" / read the book, neither to look Daniel: for the words are lasting. Amen. returns the universe to a glorious / thereon. closed up and sealed till the condition of perfection. Possibly / 5 And one of the elders saith time of the end. II Timothy 2:8 Remember that Jesus this is the same scroll of Words / unto me, Weep not; behold, the Isaiah 11:10 And in that day Christ of the seed of David was that Daniel was informed was / Lion of the tribe of Judah, the there shall be a root of raised from the dead,... "closed up and sealed till the / Root of David, hath prevailed to Jesse, which shall stand for Luke 1:68-69 Blessed be the Lord God time of the end". / open the book, and to loose the an ensign of the people; to it of Israel; for he hath visited and / seven seals thereof. shall the Gentiles seek: and redeemed his people, / his rest shall be glorious. And hath raised up a horn of "hath prevailed to open the book" / Genesis 49:9 Judah is a lion's salvation for us in the house of Only the Lamb that had been slain / whelp: from the prey, my son, his servant David; for the sins of this universe is / thou art gone up: he stooped Acts 2:22-24 ...Jesus of Nazareth, found qualified to open the seals. / down, he crouched as a lion, a man approved of God among you Only one that has lived a perfect / and as an old lion; who shall by miracles and wonders and signs.. life and overcome all temptations / rouse him up? Him, being delivered by the deter- is qualified. But He is also the / 6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the Isaiah 53:7 He was oppressed, and minate counsel and foreknowledge Lion of the tribe of Judah, He / midst of the throne and of the he was afflicted, yet he of God, ye have taken, and by became as the sacrificial lamb, / four beasts, and in the midst of opened not his mouth: he is wicked hands have crucified and now he is ready to reign in power / the elders, stood a Lamb as it had brought as a lamb to the slau- slain: and majesty. All glory and power of / been slain, having seven horns and ghter, and as a sheep before Whom God hath raised up, having the ultimate victory will be His. / seven eyes, which are the seven her shearers is dumb, so he loosed the pains of death: / Spirits of God sent forth into all opened not his mouth. I Peter 3:12 For the eyes of the "having seven horns and seven eyes" / the earth. Zechariah 4:10 .. with those Lord are over the righteous, and Horns are representative of power / 7 And he came and took the book seven; they are the eyes of his ears are open unto their and eyes are representative of / out of the right hand of him that the Lord, which run to and fro prayers: knowledge. The Lamb has complete- / sat upon the throne. through the whole earth. Romans 5:8-9...Christ died for us, ness of power and knowledge since / 8 And when he had taken the book, Psalms 112:9 his horn shall be ..being now justified by his blood, the number seven represents compl- / the four beasts and four and twenty exalted with honour. we shall be saved from wrath ... eteness. / elders fell down before the Lamb, Psalms 33:2 Praise the Lord with I Peter 1:18-19 ...ye know that ye / having every one of them harps, harp: ... were not redeemed with corruptible "out of every kindred, and tongue, / and golden vials full of odours, Psalms 141:2 Let my prayer be things,... and people, and nation" / which are the prayers of saints. set forth before thee as But with the precious blood of The deceiver has tried to convince / 9 And they sung a new song, say- incense; ... Christ, as of a lamb without all mankind with many misconceptions / ing, Thou are worthy to take the Psalms 40:3 And he hath put a new blemish and without spot: such as that only people of a / book, and to open the seals there- song in my mouth, even praise Galatians 3:13 Christ hath redeemed certain genealogy can qualify, or / of: for thou wast slain, and hast unto our God: us from the curse of the law, that redemption can be earned, or / redeemed us to God by thy blood Psalms 49:15 But God will redeem being made a curse for us: for it that no human can possibly qualify. / out of every kindred, and tongue, my soul from the power of the is written, Cursed is every one However, the Word will be sufficient / and people, and nation; grave: for he shall receive me. that hangeth on a tree: to lead all mankind that are willing / 10 And hast made us unto our God Daniel 7:13-14 I saw in the night Luke 21:28 And when these things to accept the simple plan of belief / kings and priests: and we shall visions, and, behold, one like begin to come to pass, then look to redemption per the plan of God. / reign on the earth. the Son of man came with the up, and lift up your heads; for No other plan is valid. / 11 And I beheld, and I heard the clouds of heaven, and came to your redemption draweth nigh. / voice of many angels round about the ancient of days, and they Colossians 1:14 In whom we have "and every creature which is in heaven, / the throne, and the beasts, and brought him near before him. redemption through his blood, and on the earth, and under the earth, / the elders: and the number of them And there was given him even the forgiveness of sins: and such as are in the sea," / was ten thousand times ten thou- dominion, and glory, and a Hebrew 1:6 ..And let all the angels It is hard to imagine a praise / sand, and thousands of thousands; kingdom, that all people, of God worship him. celebration that spreads to include / 12 Saying with a loud voice, nations, and languages, should John 1:36 And looking upon Jesus as all creatures of God's created / Worthy is the Lamb that was slain serve him: his dominion is an he walked, he saith, Behold the universe, but that is what is / to receive power, and riches, and everlasting dominion, which Lamb of God! indicated. Imagine if you can, / wisdom, and strength, and honour, shall not pass away, and his Ephesians 1:6-7 To the praise of the all breathing creatures on the / and glory, and blessing. kingdom that which shall not glory of his grace, wherein he planet earth shouting the praise / 13 And every creature which is in be destroyed. hath made us accepted in the of the Lamb. The ultimate praise / heaven, and on the earth, and Daniel 7:10 A fiery stream beloved: celebration! / under the earth, and such as are issued and came forth from In whom we have redemption / in the sea, and all that are in before him: thousand thousands through his blood, the forgive- / them, heard I saying, Blessing, ministered unto him, and ten ness of sins, according to the / and honour, and glory, and power, thousand times ten thousand riches of his grace; / be unto him that sitteth upon the stood before him: the judgment I Peter 5:10-11 But the God of all / throne, and unto the Lamb for ever was set, and the books were grace, who hath called us unto his / and ever. opened. eternal glory by Christ Jesus, / 14 And the four beasts said, Amen. after that ye have suffered a while, / And the four and twenty elders made you perfect, stablish, streng- / fell down and worshiped him that then, settle you. / liveth for ever and ever. To him be glory and dominion for / ever and ever. Amen. / / Matters of Contention: / Hereafter: We are informed that from now on the subject matter of the Twenty four elders: Some scholars have concluded that these are in / book concerns things of the future. But not all scholars are fact angels. Some translations have the song being sung to / in agreement that all things are in the future from this time say "didst purchase unto God" instead of "hast redeemed us to / on, or possibly some of the prophetic happenings have occurred God". In which case it is not necessary for the elders to be / between the time of the writing and the present time. In fact redeemed humans and the entire multitude including the four / some scholars in the minority have concluded that most of the beasts (living creatures) could be heavenly creatures. This / prophecy was fulfilled in the early suffering of the church would also tend to discredit the theory that the elders repre- / and wars and plagues of that time period. However, the majority sent the resurrected church. Other scholars still contend / interpretation of today seems to be that the majority of the that being "clothed in white raiment" is a repeat of 3:5 / events have yet to be fulfilled. Nearly all scholars would "He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment" / agree that the final victory and the appearing of the new and they must then be redeemed humans. As stated earlier those / heavens and the new earth have yet to occur. that feel the elders represent the redeemed, would not agree as / The church: The first three chapters have concerned Jesus Christ and to who the elders are. Some would propose twelve elders from the / the church, now the topic has suddenly changed to visions of old testament prophets and the twelve Apostles. Others would / happenings in heaven and the church will not be mentioned or say that if it was necessary to know the names of the elders / referred to again until 19:7 when it appears as the wife of the they would have been listed, so why risk false conclusions by / Lamb. This has caused many scholars to infer that the church unnecessary speculation which has undoubtedly contributed / has been resurrected and is represented by the twelve elders greatly to the confusion that exists with the world concerning / that appear before the throne. However this must be inferred these prophecies. Why not be satisfied with the facts given? / and is not explicitly stated. If the church has been resurr- / ected, it is then required that the 144,000 sealed of the / tribes of Israel in chapter 7 and the "brethren, that should be / killed as they were" of 6:11 would be those that are redeemed / after the rapture of the church. Again this must be inferred. / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /