The more I think about it the more I'm inclined to agree that what man thinks is important (gold, silver, keys, etc) the Word references to make a point in a way that those so encumbered might hear ... and yes, I am enjoying/learning from this.I have really enjoyed taking time to do this study and not be hurried with it, and have chosen to go off the hum-drum beaten path that a lot of Revelation studies usually take.
I have been reading a lot from academic scholars who research to the hilt about their subject.
It's a lot of reading but well worth it to find so much research done on ancient cultures.
As one scholar said, you have to immerse yourself into thinking like the people of that time, and in that time things like magic and divination were highly revered, and gods/goddesses and mystical spirit beings were the popular rock stars set on pedestals.
It was prevalent everywhere!!!
So try to envision the images that came to their mind when they were reading John's message and what they knew the symbolism was.
After all, even Israel (who had a very personal relationship with YHWH) were easily seduced and went whoring after other gods over and over and over and over and over again.
The allure was just too great for them to resist.
How seductive and tempting it all must have been to know that all you have to do is seek out and appease all those varied supernatural forces for "help".
You could do it right there in the town square and no one would bat an eye.
Invoke those mystical, androgynous, adulterous, thieving, deceptive, child murdering gods and goddesses and their magic potions. (You know, like the Democrats want you to hold in such a high regard these days.)
I believe it is one of the reasons that John delivers the warning to the churches.
Don't be lead astray, but remember who the real Most High is, the real beginning and end is, the real enthroned one in heaven is, the real holder of the keys is, etc.; because those others that claim the same will always be around to tempt you.
So stand firm and always remember those stories the fathers told about the power and riches and mercy of YHWH.
I hope you are enjoying this study as much as I am.
A Walk Through Revelation
- Thread starter fzappa13
- Start date
Revelation Chapters 4 & 5 go together since it opens the door to reveal the heavenly abode of God's throne room.
It must have been real trippy for John to see --- sparkling gems, rainbow, eyes, horns, fire torches, lighting, thunder, and the variety of strange celestial creatures all around.
And amongst it all was the slain Lamb standing [Rev 5:6] (a clear reference to His resurrection from death and hades --- was dead and now standing up).
The Lamb being the only one found worthy in all creation to open the scroll.
Scholars are divided on how John actually visualized Jesus.
Did John see Jesus as a man but described Him with the well know epitaph of the Lamb, or did John actually visualize a lamb?
If it was a lamb then how did He take the scroll? Did the little lamb clutch it with His teeth?
And how would He break the seals to open the scroll?
Did He paw at them with His little hooves?
We may not know exactly how John saw it, but we do know exactly who it was by the description John gives us.
Worthy is the Lamb!
Hallelujah!
It must have been real trippy for John to see --- sparkling gems, rainbow, eyes, horns, fire torches, lighting, thunder, and the variety of strange celestial creatures all around.
And amongst it all was the slain Lamb standing [Rev 5:6] (a clear reference to His resurrection from death and hades --- was dead and now standing up).
The Lamb being the only one found worthy in all creation to open the scroll.
Revelation 5:9-10
And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”
Scholars are divided on how John actually visualized Jesus.
Did John see Jesus as a man but described Him with the well know epitaph of the Lamb, or did John actually visualize a lamb?
If it was a lamb then how did He take the scroll? Did the little lamb clutch it with His teeth?
And how would He break the seals to open the scroll?
Did He paw at them with His little hooves?
We may not know exactly how John saw it, but we do know exactly who it was by the description John gives us.
Worthy is the Lamb!
Hallelujah!
Revelation 4 & 5
FOUR CREATURES FILLED WITH EYES
Revelation 4
(6) and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind:
(7) the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight.
(8) And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”
Old Testament scholar Dr. Daniel Block notes that the word translated “eyes” (ʿayin) in Ezek 1:17-18 “had been used earlier for ‘sparkle, gleam’ in Ezek 1:4 & Ezek 1:16 listed below, and this may point the way to its interpretation here. “Sparkling” and “gleaming” are of course familiar descriptions for stars throughout ancient literature.
Ezekiel 1
(17) When they went, they went in any of their four directions without turning as they went.
(18) And their rims were tall and awesome, and the rims of all four were full of eyes all around.
Dr. Block makes the important observation that the four faces of the living creatures in Ezekiel’s vision correspond to the four signs for the cardinal direction points on the circular cycle of the zodiac.
These "animal" images are the constellations on the zodiac cycle and they are full of gleaming stars (eyes).
As another scholar Dr. John Pilch also says:
This is one of the ways that the ancients described stars— specifically, constellations: creatures, “full of eyes.” And again, the terminology for eyes also being used for “gleaming and sparkling” in the same chapter of Ezekiel 1.
You say, “Well, in Ezekiel 1, they’re in the rims.” Right. Rims are what? Things that go in circles. Wheels go in circles. And the zodiac goes in a circle. The ancients called stars “eyes,” and thought them to be living entities. Constellated stars, called “full of eyes,” were perceived as animate beings like persons or animals. Since Ezekiel sees all four constellations moving at once, his vantage point was high above the entire cosmos (vv. 4–11).
The Hebrew term often translated “chariot(s)” is merkabah (plural: merkabot; you’ll find it in cf. Joel 2:5; Zech 6:1). Like typical ancient throne chariots known from sculpture and other art, Yahweh’s merkabah is surrounded and supported by cherubim. Since Yahweh’s merkabah is in the heavens, these cherubim are quite naturally part of the visual sky. Consequently, Ezekiel’s comments about the stars being in both the wheels through the heavens in their regular cyclic path (a “wheel”) . The “wheels within wheels” is a way of symbolically describing the stars (constellations) in their courses. Stars and constellations mark time. The messaging of Ezekiel 1 has a very specific aim. Ezekiel’s vision proclaims to the captives from Judah exiled in Babylon that the heavenly king who controls the cycles of time and history is not Marduk, the chief deity of Babylon at the time, but Yahweh.
That John uses the cherubim imagery and describes living creatures filled with eyes is significant. In his context and that of the eyes of Ezekiel], it seems pretty clear he’s describing constellations in the heavens – which of course is where God lives and is enthroned.
The messaging would be the same – God is in control of time and history. He and his council are about to make that quite clear as they render judgment throughout the rest of the book of Revelation.
As was told in Genesis 1:
Genesis 1
(14) And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years,
FOUR CREATURES FILLED WITH EYES
Revelation 4
(6) and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind:
(7) the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight.
(8) And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”
Old Testament scholar Dr. Daniel Block notes that the word translated “eyes” (ʿayin) in Ezek 1:17-18 “had been used earlier for ‘sparkle, gleam’ in Ezek 1:4 & Ezek 1:16 listed below, and this may point the way to its interpretation here. “Sparkling” and “gleaming” are of course familiar descriptions for stars throughout ancient literature.
Ezekiel 1
(17) When they went, they went in any of their four directions without turning as they went.
(18) And their rims were tall and awesome, and the rims of all four were full of eyes all around.
Ezekiel 1
(4) As I looked, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, and a great cloud, with brightness around it, and fire flashing forth continually, and in the midst of the fire, as it were gleaming metal.
Ezekiel 1
(16) As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like the gleaming of beryl. And the four had the same likeness, their appearance and construction being as it were a wheel within a wheel.
Dr. Block makes the important observation that the four faces of the living creatures in Ezekiel’s vision correspond to the four signs for the cardinal direction points on the circular cycle of the zodiac.
These "animal" images are the constellations on the zodiac cycle and they are full of gleaming stars (eyes).
As another scholar Dr. John Pilch also says:
This is one of the ways that the ancients described stars— specifically, constellations: creatures, “full of eyes.” And again, the terminology for eyes also being used for “gleaming and sparkling” in the same chapter of Ezekiel 1.
You say, “Well, in Ezekiel 1, they’re in the rims.” Right. Rims are what? Things that go in circles. Wheels go in circles. And the zodiac goes in a circle. The ancients called stars “eyes,” and thought them to be living entities. Constellated stars, called “full of eyes,” were perceived as animate beings like persons or animals. Since Ezekiel sees all four constellations moving at once, his vantage point was high above the entire cosmos (vv. 4–11).
The Hebrew term often translated “chariot(s)” is merkabah (plural: merkabot; you’ll find it in cf. Joel 2:5; Zech 6:1). Like typical ancient throne chariots known from sculpture and other art, Yahweh’s merkabah is surrounded and supported by cherubim. Since Yahweh’s merkabah is in the heavens, these cherubim are quite naturally part of the visual sky. Consequently, Ezekiel’s comments about the stars being in both the wheels through the heavens in their regular cyclic path (a “wheel”) . The “wheels within wheels” is a way of symbolically describing the stars (constellations) in their courses. Stars and constellations mark time. The messaging of Ezekiel 1 has a very specific aim. Ezekiel’s vision proclaims to the captives from Judah exiled in Babylon that the heavenly king who controls the cycles of time and history is not Marduk, the chief deity of Babylon at the time, but Yahweh.
That John uses the cherubim imagery and describes living creatures filled with eyes is significant. In his context and that of the eyes of Ezekiel], it seems pretty clear he’s describing constellations in the heavens – which of course is where God lives and is enthroned.
The messaging would be the same – God is in control of time and history. He and his council are about to make that quite clear as they render judgment throughout the rest of the book of Revelation.
As was told in Genesis 1:
Genesis 1
(14) And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years,
REVELATION 5
Since the Lamb is of the order of the priesthood of Melchizadek, it is not of the priesthood of the Levites who inherit no land.
This ransomed priestly kingdom of people from every nation will reign on the earth.
Only the Lamb is worthy to break the seals of the scroll written on front and back (imagery John takes from Ez.2).
Words of judgement against those that are rebellious.
Righteous judgement can only come from one who is righteous, the Lamb.
Revelation 5
(8) And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
(9) And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,
(10) and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”
Since the Lamb is of the order of the priesthood of Melchizadek, it is not of the priesthood of the Levites who inherit no land.
This ransomed priestly kingdom of people from every nation will reign on the earth.
Only the Lamb is worthy to break the seals of the scroll written on front and back (imagery John takes from Ez.2).
Ezekiel 2
(9) And when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, a scroll of a book was in it.
(10) And he spread it before me. And it had writing on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe.
Words of judgement against those that are rebellious.
Righteous judgement can only come from one who is righteous, the Lamb.
Summary of the phrase "in the spirit" which appears 4 times in Revelation
Scholars have contemplated that this phrase may be in similar fashion as when Paul describes being taken away in spirit (out of body experience) into the heavenly realm (2 Cor 12:1-6).
Most scholars agree that Paul is speaking of himself and will not boast of being given such a privilege, as if he is more special than other men.
Such an experience (in the spirit) would be hard to describe since we live as flesh in a material world and therefore do not have anything to compare such an experience with.
Rev 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
Rev 4:2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
Rev 17:3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
Rev 21:10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
Scholars have contemplated that this phrase may be in similar fashion as when Paul describes being taken away in spirit (out of body experience) into the heavenly realm (2 Cor 12:1-6).
Most scholars agree that Paul is speaking of himself and will not boast of being given such a privilege, as if he is more special than other men.
Such an experience (in the spirit) would be hard to describe since we live as flesh in a material world and therefore do not have anything to compare such an experience with.
COURT IN SECESSION (chapters 4 & 5)
CHAPTER 6 begins the evidence.
And they are all about to see the play book as proof that the one who is worthy, the Son of Man, will be longsuffering and will judge righteously.
7 seals, 7 trumpets, and 7 bowls are about to used to provoke repentance to come to the LORD.
And those that don't ---- their lack of repentance is the final evidence that when he judges them, they justly deserve it.
You will see many similarities to the 10 plagues of Egypt that were used of God to provoke the Pharoah to repent and let His people go as we go through the seals, trumpets, and bowls..
And other similarities to armies, famine, and death being used of God at other times for the same purpose.
But, as history repeats, we see that many choose to remain rebellious.
They will try to hide from the LORD and will not repent.
At the end of the seals they do not repent.
At the end of the seals they do not repent.
At the end of the seals they do not repent.
SEALS - no repentance
TRUMPETS - no repentance
BOWLS - no repentance
CHAPTER 6 begins the evidence.
And they are all about to see the play book as proof that the one who is worthy, the Son of Man, will be longsuffering and will judge righteously.
7 seals, 7 trumpets, and 7 bowls are about to used to provoke repentance to come to the LORD.
And those that don't ---- their lack of repentance is the final evidence that when he judges them, they justly deserve it.
You will see many similarities to the 10 plagues of Egypt that were used of God to provoke the Pharoah to repent and let His people go as we go through the seals, trumpets, and bowls..
And other similarities to armies, famine, and death being used of God at other times for the same purpose.
But, as history repeats, we see that many choose to remain rebellious.
They will try to hide from the LORD and will not repent.
At the end of the seals they do not repent.
At the end of the seals they do not repent.
At the end of the seals they do not repent.
SEALS - no repentance
Revelation 6
(15) Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains,
(16) calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb,
TRUMPETS - no repentance
Revelation 9
(20) The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk,
(21) nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.
BOWLS - no repentance
Revelation 16
(9) They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory.
(10) The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish
(11) and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds.
Right Divider
Body part
Who were "His people" in Egypt? (Hint: the nation of Israel).
That's no surprise... considering that the entire book of Revelation is about the finale of God's plans in the earthly realm where Israel is His prime nation.