Opus 2026-249: Uncharted Revelation: Chants

My memory tells me there will be a lot of chanting going on.  I think I will try to gather them as we go.  In Chapter 4 we have two examples.  There is some theology in these chants.  The first centers on the holy and eternal nature of God.  

(Rev 4:8 KJV)  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.

There are only two places where you get the three holies.  The other is in Isaiah 6:3.  

Then we have a major reason to worship God.

(Rev 4:11 KJV)  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.

If you don’t know what the eys, wings and horns are all about then you can focus on the glories of our God.  I will join you there.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-162: Uncharted Revelations: Lessons in Geometry

I am still trying to visualize what is being described in Revelation 4.  After we get past the colors of God I start thinking like an interior decorator or a geometry major trying to look at how things relate to each other.  Maybe you need calculus to understand this.  

We  start with a throne located in heaven in verse 2.  That gets me looking up but that won’t work for long.  Then in verse 4 we have 24 thrones arranged “around” the throne.  I see them in a circle.  Around does not mean lined up in front.  Verse 5 has seven lamps in front of the throne.

Are you getting the picture?

Verse 6 adds the sea of glass,

(Rev 4:6 KJV)  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.

Different translations make different pictures but we will stick with the KJV.  Ignore the descriptions of the four beasts for the moment but ask yourself how they can be in the midst of the throne and around it at the same time.  Give up?  Me too.

Now drop down to verse 10.

(Rev 4:10 KJV)  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 elders are going to need to scramble.  They were all around the throne, now they are falling down in front.

Quite a picture we have.  I am not sure what theological significance it has but it would certainly make a good painting for your church foyer.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-152: Uncharted Revelation: God Colors

In verse 2 of Revelation 4 you come across a description of “one” who is sitting on a throne in heaven.  You assume it is God but don’t get a confirmation until the last verse in the chapter.  In verse 3 John tries to describe what he sees,

(Rev 4:3 KJV)  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.

We already went over the earlier description of Jesus which did not make sense and we will have more confusion on that later but close your eyes and think about the picture we have of God, I assume the Father, at this point.  I had to do some research because I had never heard of a sardine stone.  Fish, yes, stones no.  It might help to see modern translations changing it to sardius or camelian.  That gave me something to go on.  

The sardius stone is in a range from orange/brown to what I would call redish/chocolate.  That is an interesting way to describe God on the throne.  That made me check the other colors.  I thought of jaspar as green but it comes also in red, brown, blue and yellow.  Emeralds usually have some kind of blue to them.

So what does God look like?  Not a lot of detail but a lot of color.  He certainly doesn’t look like the vision on the Sistine Chapel.  I am afraid if the KKK ever read this with their brain turned on it would have ended up fried.

It may not make any sense but it is interesting.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-122: Uncharted Revelation: Change of Scene

As you begin reading chapter 4 you see something that will appear a number of times,

(Rev 4:1 KJV)  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.

Notice that twice in this verse it has a time element, a chronological order statement.  The NASB says “after these things” in both places.  It would seem to me that this should influence the school of interpretation you are in.  Of course, being Revelation and being apocalyptic literature, there seem to be few appeals to logic but this verse seems to put the rest of the book following the letters to the churches.

I rarely read the comments in my study Bible but in the letters to the churches I was curious about the idea that the different churches represent historical ages in the church.  It would seem that this simple statement of “after this” would make that interpretation impossible.

And of course, being prophecy, everyone has their own irrefutable opinion about whether the events in Revelation are in order or not.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-099: Reveling in Revelation

As I read in Revelation I see many pictures and explanations that really don’t make any sense to me.  One of them has to do with the throne.  Here is a sample,

(Rev 4:2 KJV)  And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.

I offer a question for you to ponder, “How big does a throne have to be in order for God to be comfortable on it?”  Overlook the clear statements of scripture that God is spirit, that He does not really have a body, that He is everywhere.  Set that off to the side.  Maybe we will look at that some other time.

I repeat my question, “How big does a throne have to be in order for God to be comfortable on it?”  You don’t need to have an answer.  I’m not sure there is one that you would accept if you are into prophecy.

I do have an answer.  You may not like it, but I have an answer.  The throne is figurative.  It is a word picture.  You can make it an allegory if you want, but it is not a literal throne.  The point of that picture is to lift up the majesty of God.  It is to remind us that He’s not just our buddy, but He is the creator of the universe and the judge of all mankind.

If you still insist on it being literal, then I might remind you that in order to be consistent it means you think God is a big chicken since Psalms tells us we can hide under his wings.  You can’t have it both ways.  Oh?  You do think God is big chicken.  Why does that not surprise me?

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-095: Why Bother Studying Revelation?

This is a real question for me.  It seems to me that too many people are consumed with studying Revelation and trying to figure out what all the symbolism means.  Or they take it literally and try to figure out exactly how to fit specific parts of the prophets into this account.

Why bother?

In spite of that I have been reading through Revelation and studying it a bit because I have a friend who thinks that this is the cats meow.  To him this is the whole purpose of life, knowing exactly how the end times fit together.  And I find it as I read, there are things that come out to me not because of prophecy, but because of inspiration.

As I start chapter 4, and you have all the strange beasts and the elders, I can read over that and not bat an eye.  But then I come to a passage like this it is different,

Revelation 4:8 (KJV) 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.

I really don’t care how many wings they had or which direction their eyes looked.  I will leave the deep, hidden meaning of those things to you to explain to me if you can keep me awake long enough to get me to listen.  However, what they had to say strikes a cord in my life.  Why?  Take a moment to look at the second half of that verse.  Do those words seem familiar to you?  They should.  You find them in one of the great hymns of the church.

And then, at the end of the chapter after more glorious information about the 24 elders, you find this,

Revelation 4:11 (KJV) 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.

That is something worth thinking about, studying and digging into the words used in relationship to each other.  It’s also worth repeating ourselves, and as you would probably guess these words appear often in songs or through music.

Why study revelation?  Things keep popping up.  They are not the things that my eschatological friends want me to find but they are the things God reveals to me.

Study on.

homo unius libri