Revelation 1-3, despite its imagery, resembles quite a few other New Testament letters with its vision of Jesus and its warnings, exhortations and promises to the churches. Once we get past these first three chapters, however, we move into more symbolic realms where it is much harder to know how to interpret what John sees. The door standing open in heaven which marks the beginning of Revelation 4 reminds us of the invitation of God to all humanity (see also Rev 3:20); the vision which John attempts to articulate speaks of the glory of God and what is, perhaps, yet to come. We stand on holy ground here and do well to admit the limits of our understanding.
What is clear, however, throughout Revelation 4 and indeed throughout the whole Bible, is that God is always portrayed as being in control. He is still on the throne, a symbol of majesty and power. The dazzling jewels, the thunderous sounds, the shining rainbow and so on all remind us of God’s power and His faithfulness, for He does what He has promised (the rainbow reminds us of His covenant promises to Noah; the jewels remind us of the priest’s breastpiece, symbolising the twelve tribes of Israel and also the twelve apostles representing the New Testament church.) God’s magnificence and majesty ultimately are the focus of worship in heaven. Recently, at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, we saw something of majesty expressed through symbols (crown, orb, sceptre); here, we see how God is so much greater than any earthly monarch and how worship of Him forms the focus of heaven. Whilst we may debate and ponder the ‘timelines’ of Revelation and wonder about things such as the Tribulation and the millennial reign of Christ, what we must never lose sight of is God on the throne, God who created all things and by whose will they were created and have their being. (Rev 4:11)
