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Revelation: Lesson 9
The Throne Room of
God Revelation 4 Lesson 9 Questions First Day: Read Lesson 8 Notes. The notes and lecture fortify the truth of the passage for understanding and application to daily life. 1. How did the lecture help you comprehend God’s sovereignty in establishing His people and kingdom?
2. How did the notes fuel your faith in the promise of God’s new kingdom to come?
Second Day: Read Revelation 4:1-3.
John entered the throne room in heaven. The Throne in Heaven 4 After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. 3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. 3. Give details of John’s invitation regarding the open door. A voice like a trumpet tells John to come up and see things that will happen in the future.
4. a. How did John enter, and what did he see?
John was enveloped by the Holy Spirit and transported to heaven in state of spirit. It seems like only spirit can enter the realm of heaven. He saw a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. the one who sat on the throne had the appearance of jasper and ruby And rainbow surrounds the throne, looking like an emerald.
b. Who do you think was sitting on the throne, and why?
God the father was sitting on the throne.
c. What descriptive words did John use to attempt to create a picture of this scene? Metaphors
It is new and strange and new to me. I have a feeling of fear of God.
Third Day: Read Revelation 4:4-6a.
John described the throne room of God. 4 Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits[a] of God. 6 Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back.
6. Who surrounded the throne, and why might they have been wearing white and crowns? (There are various viewpoints.) 24 elders surrounded the throne of God. Wearing white and crowns to represent holiness and victory: White garments: Represented holiness Crowns: Represented victory and approval from Jesus at His judgment seat
The 24 elders represented the faithful community of believers who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and are now seated in heavenly places with Christ.
The 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles
This interpretation symbolizes the unity of the old and new covenants in Christ.
7. What sights and sounds were coming from the throne, and what does this tell you about God’s character? The flashes of lightning and rumblings and peals of thunder came from the throne indicate God's power, judgment, and glory. The thunders may express God's threats against the ungodly.
8. Other prophets received a vision of heaven. Give similarities to John’s vision from these accounts:
Exodus 24:9-11 9 Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up 10 and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, (a bright blue metamorphic rock) as bright blue as the sky. 11 But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank.
Isaiah 6:1-7 Isaiah’s Commission 6 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:
Lesson 9 “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” 4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. 5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
Ezekiel 1 Ezekiel’s Inaugural Vision 1 In my thirtieth year, in the fourth month on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles by the Kebar River, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.
2 On the fifth of the month—it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin— 3 the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, by the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians.[a] There the hand of the Lord was on him.
4 I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north—an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal, 5 and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In appearance their form was human, 6 but each of them had four faces and four wings. 7 Their legs were straight; their feet were like those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze. 8 Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. All four of them had faces and wings, 9 and the wings of one touched the wings of another. Each one went straight ahead; they did not turn as they moved.
10 Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a human being, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle. 11 Such were their faces. They each had two wings spreading out upward, each wing touching that of the creature on either side; and each had two other wings covering its body. 12 Each one went straight ahead. Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, without turning as they went. 13 The appearance of the living creatures was like burning coals of fire or like torches. Fire moved back and forth among the creatures; it was bright, and lightning flashed out of it. 14 The creatures sped back and forth like flashes of lightning.
15 As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground beside each creature with its four faces. 16 This was the appearance and structure of the wheels: They sparkled like topaz, and all four looked alike. Each appeared to be made like a wheel intersecting a wheel. 17 As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the creatures faced; the wheels did not change direction as the creatures went. 18 Their rims were high and awesome, and all four rims were full of eyes all around.
19 When the living creatures moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the living creatures rose from the ground, the wheels also rose. 20 Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, and the wheels would rise along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. 21 When the creatures moved, they also moved; when the creatures stood still, they also stood still; and
Bible Study Fellowship when the creatures rose from the ground, the wheels rose along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
22 Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was what looked something like a vault, sparkling like crystal, and awesome. 23 Under the vault their wings were stretched out one toward the other, and each had two wings covering its body. 24 When the creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings, like the roar of rushing waters, like the voice of the Almighty,[b] like the tumult of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings.
25 Then there came a voice from above the vault over their heads as they stood with lowered wings. 26 Above the vault over their heads was what looked like a throne of lapis lazuli, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. 27 I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. 28 Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him.
This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.
Fourth Day: Read Revelation 4:6b-8.
John saw four living creatures. Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. 7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: “‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’[b] who was, and is, and is to come.”
9. Describe the four living creatures surrounding God’s throne.
Each creature has six wings and is covered in eyes all over, front and back. The first creature resembles a lion, the second an ox, the third has a face like a man, and the fourth resembles a flying eagle.
10.Explain the following phrases in your own words:
Holy, holy, holy
Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come
God is completely free from sin and he is an eternal being.
11.a. What does it mean to praise God?
Praise refers to lifting God up. It is the joyful recounting of what God has done for us. Praise and Thanksgiving go hand in hand as thank God and offer appreciation for who He is. Praise is the acknowledgment of all the wonderful, righteous deeds of God. He is worthy of praise (Psalm 18:3).
Lesson 9 b. In what current situation might you praise God, and how? (See also 1 Chronicles 29:11-13; Romans 12:1-2; and Colossians 3:16-17.) 1 Chronicles 29:11-13 (creator and ruler of all things) 11 Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. 12 Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. 13 Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.
Romans 12:1-2 (Avoiding sin to be a living sacrifice)
A Living Sacrifice 12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Colossians 3:16-17 (sing praise songs and do everything with love to show our gratitude towards what God has done for us) 1. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Fifth Day: Read Revelation 4:9-11.
John saw and heard the 24 elders. 9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: 11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”
12.What did the elders do and say in response to the worship of the living creatures, and why? The 24 elders responded to the worship of the living creatures by falling down before God, casting their crowns, and saying, "Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive
Bible Study Fellowship glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.
13.a. What is the primary activity in John’s view of heaven?
John's vision of heaven, the primary activity is worshiping God and God's glory.
b. In what ways does John’s vision affect you personally?
I was in awe and have a feeling of fear of the Lord.
14.Write a personal prayer of worship to God, who sits enthroned in heaven.
Heavenly father, Thank you so much for creating me and giving me a chance to be part of your family. Thank you so much for loving me and saving me by sending your son and teaching me every single day to be more like you. Thank you so much for not giving up on me.
Sixth Day: Review Revelation 4.
God’s majestic glory inspires ceaseless worship. 15.What is the most challenging or inspiring truth about God and His throne room that you experienced as you studied Revelation 4 this week?
Passage Discovery (homiletics, word study, etc.) for Group and Administrative Leaders: Revelation 4.
