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 here-
after. And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a
throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. 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. (Revelations 4:1–3)
John sees a door opened into heaven, a new dimension. He
sees what is here all along, but now, his eyes are opened to it.
He sees a portal to a higher realm.
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I was told once when I pondered whether heaven was
some kind of a planet at one time, I was immediately told,
“Heaven is a place, not a planet.” I looked around and saw
nothing, but the voice was unmistakable. It was the same
singsong melodic voice I heard before when I talked to the
Angels Thomas, Samuel, and Elizabeth. Deep and soothing,
although it shook me to my very foundation.
Immediately, John enters the heavenly realm filled with
light and sees what he perceives as a throne shining like an emerald.
When one enters the realm of heaven, the first thing
noticed is it’s a world of light. All kinds of very bright colors that seem to change from green to blue to purple and so on.
They don’t stay the same, forever changing are these colors.
This is the dimension that creates ours. A world of light
which turns into matter. One mirrors the other.
Have you ever held up a crystal to the sunlight and
noticed its colors constantly changing? That’s what it’s like in the kingdom of heaven. Depending on your perspective will
depend on the colors you see, which are constantly in flux,
forever in motion.
This kingdom of heaven is eternally around us, we just
can’t perceive it unless we open our eyes, yet it’s always there.
John’s eyes were opened on this day, leaving the world of
darkness and entering into the world of light.
Imagine if you will, look at the source of all things which
is all light concentrated on a single throne. The throne of
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God which is at the center of this and every universe that
exists. All power and energy stemming from a single source.
This was the image to our friend John and from that source it permeates to all things.
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. (Revelations 4:4)
We’ve got a throne in the center and twenty-four chairs
around that. The Creator of all things, the Source, the Soul, is at the center surrounded by twenty-four physical beings. I’m sure you’re asking who these twenty-four are. Your guess is as good as mine. It could be prophets, priests, apostles, or saints.
Truly, I have no idea. John didn’t specify, he only called them elders, yet we have a few clues here given us.
They are clothed in white raiment with crowns of gold.
White robes are handed out to believers at the end of their
lives so we know that these are actual people who have lived.
They’ve been given a crown which means they will rule when
their time is at hand. They aren’t angels, they’re elders who’ve overcome this world. It’s my guess that they will be there with Jesus at his second coming to help establish a truly new world order which is to come and not the false one being prepared
for us on planet earth.
I find it amazing how often the number 12 is used in
scripture.
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Jacob had twelve sons which led to the twelve tribes of
Israel. Ishmael had twelve sons which created the Arabian
race. Jesus had twelve apostles which in turn created the
spiritual movement that over two billion people follow
today. There are twelve hours in the day and twelve at night, creating a twenty-four–hour day. There are twelve signs of the zodiac and so on with everything seeming to rotate in cycles of twelve.
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. (Revelations 4:5)
These seven lamps are the Holy Spirit. The source or the
soul which from it proceeds all things is in the center, and the spirit which emanates from that is the seven lamps of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is that which comes from the
source and connects to the body and mind, namely Jesus. The
divine aspects of God. The seven lamps are a conduit to all
things; without them, God is only a concept, with them, all
things are created.
Imagine if you will a power plant with seven conduits
leaving the middle of the plant and heading out to the whole world. One conduit going this way and one going that. The
source needs the conduits as a transference of power and the conduits need the source in order to give out everywhere.
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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. 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. 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.
(Revelations 4:6–8)
This is pure symbolism. The four beasts with six wings
and eyes before and behind symbolize the omnipotence and
omnipresence of God. The Creator sees all things, knows all
things, and is all things.
The four beasts being a lion, a calf, a man, and an eagle.
There has been wild speculation as to the meanings of these
beasts; therefore, I’ll add my two cents to the discussion.
Jesus has been called the “Lion of the tribe of Judah, the
root of David.” This is the royal genealogy of the Christ, to come from the kingly line of David which stemmed from
Judah’s tribe. This is the first aspect of the Christ, the lion represented by the royal line chosen by God.
Jesus has been called by John the Baptist, “the lamb of God
who comes forth to take away the sins of this world.” This was God’s sacrifice to redeem the world, to come into the flesh
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and show those the way to eternity. This is the second aspect of the Christ, the sacrificial lamb represented by the calf.
Jesus repeatedly called himself the Son of Man. The
firstborn of the flesh to achieve Christ consciousness. God, who became man, who became God. This is the third aspect
of the Christ represented by a man.
Jesus upon death of his physical body took on a new form
and achieved the resurrection. On the third day, he rose from the dead and, like an eagle, rose to heights up until that point had not been achieved by anyone else. The eagle symbolizes
the resurrection. This is the fourth aspect of the Christ
represented by an eagle.
The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Lamb of God, the son of Man, and the Eagle of resurrection, the four parts of our Lord, represented by the four beasts that surrounds the throne.
Notice it says, “Which was, and is, and is to come.” That,
my friends, is a clue to the identity of the Creator of all
things. Jesus was in the flesh, he rose from the dead, he is, and he will come again. This is the spiritual and true version of Jesus in the middle of the throne. As John says in his gospel,
“In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God,
and the word was God. Substitute Jesus for the word and
you’ll have it. Jesus in the middle of the throne and the four aspects of Jesus surrounding the throne in the form of the
four beasts. The whole complete Jesus on the throne with his four parts of himself surrounding him. It makes perfect sense to me anyway.
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In this vision, John is seeing Jesus in all his glory. Quite a bit different than the man he broke bread with at the
last supper.
And when those beasts give glory and honour and
thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for
ever and ever, 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, 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. (Revelations 4:9–11)
You’re going to have to stretch your minds for a minute
here, but think in terms of Jesus, the Creator on the throne and the different aspects of Jesus in the four beasts, worshipping the Creator with the twenty-four elders doing the same.
This is a scene of eternal worship. The creator of the entire universe at the center with all living things adoring the source of all things.
Notice it says for the Creator’s pleasure, all things are
created.
The Creator or the Source had to create everything or it
would only have a concept of itself, an idea. In the beginning, there was only the Source or the Soul. Then the Soul created the Holy Spirit which gave life to the physical or the flesh as it’s described by Jesus. It needed the physical to experience
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itself. Without the flesh for experience, there is only a concept of itself and what it is.
It asked the eternal question of “Who am I?” And it has
been answering that question ever since. The answer to the
question as given to Moses is “I am that I am.” Which is a
constant at the soul level but ever changing in the physical.
The Father, as Jesus called the source, or the Soul as the
word I use, created itself to experience itself.
The vision of the throne here is Jesus at the soul level. The one who broke bread with John was Jesus at the physical level.
Both parts of the same being, connected by the third part of that being, the Holy Spirit.