God shows Himself this way. When He wants to make a certain statement, He shows Himself another way. I do not wear the identical outfit each Sunday or each Wednesday, you've noticed. Why would we expect God to wear the same outfit each time? There's no contradiction.
There's no loss of truth in any of this. It is for the Christian. to scrutinize the moment. Find out what as best we can. What is going on and why is God manifesting himself in this particular way?
Yeah. This is Cross-Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher, Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of Revelation. Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about Cross-Reference Radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching.
The Church in Heaven is the title of Pastor Rick's message, and today he'll be teaching in Revelation chapter 4. The last section dealt with were the church, the antecedent. The church. And so after the church age, that's how we get to these teachings, these doctrines, this particular doctrine of the rapture.
Now, again, there are Christians that are going to heaven who do not believe in the rapture of the church, or they put the church rapture sometime in the middle of the Revelation. And I'm not going to waste any more time on what they think. I'll spend it on what I uh believe corrects them. Uh an any anyway, and I will show you things which must take place after this. Explicitly telling us this is future.
So when I say to you, John is talking about predictive prophecy. This is the future now.
Well, where did you get that?
Well, that's where I got it, right there. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. Verse 7. Tells us what is holding back everything from entering into this next dispensation, this next period of time. What is keeping Antichrist from coming into power and the church from being taken off of earth?
Well, it's the Holy Spirit, 2 Thessalonians 2:7. Only He, and that pronoun is. the Holy Spirit who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. Until he withdraws the restraint. Because, of course, he's equal with God and he's never going to leave his creation.
But the idea is, again, he will not. Uh leave the church, he will withdraw it. He says here, well, he said to the churches, he said, I will give to you if they were obedient. And here he's saying to John, I will show you. And that leads to this chronological outline of things past.
Present the churches. and the future. Uh From chapter 4 and 5 forward.
Now, verse 2: Immediately I was in the spirit, and behold, a throne set in heaven. When one sat on the throne. That one, of course, is God. There is singular, but the triune. And from Beginning with verse 2.
Now he is in heaven. He is in the Spirit. He is not natural. And he indicates that. We look back at chapter 1, verses 10, 13.
And I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last. And what you see right in a book. and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia Ephesus, Smyrna, Progamas, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea.
Well, they're going to get that as we have gotten it also. The Holy Spirit. is purposely preserved these things For believers, for assembly of believers. The church. And behold, a throne set in heaven, of all the things in heaven to see.
all the spectacular stuff to catch the eye. The angels, the cherubs, the seraphim, the lightnings, the thunderings, the seven lamps that he's going to see. Of all those things, the first thing to catch his eye is the throne of God. And that's how it should always be for us. No matter what we go through, it is the throne of God, it is the presence and the power.
and the fact, the truth of God. The word Throne shows up fourteen times in these eleven verses. There's an emphasis. Placed on the throne of God as it should be. And the one who sat on the throne, of course, is God Himself, God Almighty.
The seat of God is the sanctuary of God. There's more to a throne than a seat. It is the authority. Whether God is sitting on that throne, that seat, or if he's moving about. Wherever he is, is the throne of God.
It is the sanctuary of God. And the prophets had things to say about this sanctuary of God, Jeremiah 17:12, a glorious. High throne. From the beginning is the place of our sanctuary. And Jeremiah prophesied in a time when people didn't like him.
Yet his eyes were always on the throne of God, and for him that was the sanctuary, that was the safe and holy place. Jeremiah declared that sanctuary is to be found in the throne room of God. Our blessings are found under God's rule. not our imagination. I know I referenced a Um book that I think May lead to heresy, if not it is heresy.
Imagining the God of heaven. We don't imagine the God of heaven. That is idolatry. We receive revelation, not imagination. And words are supposed to mean something, and preachers and writers of Christian material need to think about the words they use before they say them.
Now, I've never messed up. I've always spoken perfectly, so I'm condescending to those who are saddled with error. Of course I'm being silly. Uh-huh. But it takes effort to to be silly about myself.
Anyway, verse 45. Of Psalm. I'm just testing you. Psalm forty five, verse six. Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever.
A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom. The scepter is the power. It's the ability. He's not a figurehead. He's not a mascot.
He's God Almighty, and he's not there to do my will. He is not. A genie in the Bible. He is the creator. He is holy and sovereign, and compared to him I'm not even a speck.
And yet he loves me. and suffered and died on a cross To demonstrate in that while we were still sinners, Christ Jesus died for us, it tells us in Romans chapter 5. Continuing, verse 4. And he who sat there. was like a Jasper and a Sardis stone in appearance.
And there was a rainbow around the throne in appearance like emerald.
Well, it's not a rainbow. Yeah, it is. How God revealed himself to John. not how he always reveals himself to his servants. Ezekiel also describes Yahweh's glory, but in a different way.
In Ezekiel 1, Isaiah the prophet. describe the throne room of God in Isaiah 6. Moses describes the divine presence of God with precious stones in Exodus 24. The visions do not need to be reconciled. It doesn't have to they don't have to be identical.
God shows Himself this way. When He wants to make a certain statement, He shows Himself another way. I do not wear the identical outfit each Sunday or each Wednesday, and you've noticed. Why would we expect God to wear the same outfit each time? There's no contradiction.
There's no loss of truth in any of this. It is for the Christian. to scrutinize the moment. Find out what as best we can. What is going on and why is God manifesting himself in this particular way?
But there's no contradiction because Ezekiel saw something different from John and vice versa, though they all have similar elements. And that's only going to develop as we go through this, and that's why I'm bringing it up. The manifestations of God is not limited to matching visions.
Well, your vision didn't match my vision. Ezekiel said, you know, this is what I saw. And John would say, man, I saw some similar stuff, but I also saw. And all of it will be true. Upon the ephod of the high priest were twelve stones.
one representing each of the tribes of Israel. The first stone was Sardis. The last stone was Jasper. He is the alpha and the omega. He is the beginning and the end.
And if you have a Bible knowledge, these things begin to connect right away, effortlessly. And you can look that up to fact check me on, not now.
Well, Exodus 28 and Exodus 39.
So the significance would then be that God's people are upon the heart of the high priest Jesus Christ, God the Son. That is one of the significant findings that I think come out of this. The brilliance of the new Jerusalem also. Has Jasper associated with it, and it says it is clear as crystal.
So we try to find out, well, what breaks Brand of Jasper is this.
Well, we point to Revelation 21.11, where it tells us, clear as crystal, well, maybe this is then a diamond. The Sardis is likely in the red family, and of course, you have the green.
So these dominant colors, white. in a reddish colour. and this green, how are they playing off of each other? Are they creating a new primary color? We don't know.
John couldn't write everything that he saw. It was impossible. But he made a great attempt. And there was a rainbow around the throne of God. The God who judged the earth in Noah's Day.
That's what brings, you know, when you think of the rainbow, you say to yourself, well, it speaks of God's mercy. Yeah, but it also first. Speaks of his judgment. The rainbow speaks of the wrath of God. and to mess around with the rainbow.
is to taunt God, and to line yourself up for a judgment, you will not be able. endure. But you will suffer. It is the great tribulation that is about to fall on the earth. The rainbow is a reminder of God's wrath on the wicked, not on the righteous.
And because God says, I'm not going to judge the world with water again, does not mean He's not going to judge the world with something else. He says, in appearance like an emerald.
Now, the greens in the scripture. The best I can do is associate them with the care of God. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures.
Well, it's interesting, and one of the miracles of Jesus when he multiplied the bread and the fish. It's very clear The apostle says that they lie down on the green grass. And so I connect the dots and that gives me that picture of the care of God when I consider what's going on here. You can't get away from God's care for His people. And this rainbow's like a halo around the throne.
And I'm sure, John. John says, boy, if I could only have taken a picture. Verse 4 that didn't even that kind of he couldn't even phrase it that way. What could he say? If I could only have hammered out a relief, you know, maybe painted one.
Around the throne, verse 4. four now. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones. And the thrones I saw And on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting clothed in white robes. And they had crowns of gold on their head.
Well, gold and white do go well together. In fact, If any of you want to give me gold, I can prove that. Whenever the New Testament talks of elders, It means men who are leaders in some official capacity. And we have no right to abandon that teaching now that we're in the Revelation, unless it's explicitly stated otherwise. Tribal or ecclesiastical.
Whether it is the tribes of Israel or the pastors in the churches, they refer to the elders. or the leaders in Israel. These are representatives. of righteous groups. There are others that belong to them.
They are representatives of those groups. And I am convinced That these represent Old Testament and New Testament saints. Together in heaven. This is telling us, yeah, Moses is going to be where you're going. When you get to heaven, you're going to find the Old Testament saints there.
The number twenty-four representing this union.
Now again, some good commentators want to assign this to the angels, but you can't back that up. With Scripture, in fact, the evidence is contrary to that, and I'll come to that in a moment, but let's stay with the 12s and the 24s. The Old Testament saints Under the twelve tribes of Israel, There are twelve gates. In New Jerusalem. And there On those gates are the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.
Then the New Testament saints under the twelve apostles of the Lamb. There are twelve foundations to New Jerusalem. And of course, it is explicitly stated that these represent the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
So when I see the 12 Representatives of the tribes of Israel, the twelve representatives of the church, why would I? Veer off. From understanding the simple mathematics of 12 and 12 is 24, and there are 24 elders in the this throne room of God, in the court of God. These elders representing Old and New Testament believers. Incidentally, again, the term elder is never applied to any angelic being.
I do not believe all of a sudden it does. Angels have no crowns in Scripture. They occupy no thrones. But it is explicitly said that this will be for the redeemed souls. And you can look at Matthew 19, 28.
2 Timothy 4.8. 1 Timothy 5, 2 and 4. I know I'm going a little fast, but then you can. Watch the CD later on. And thumbs up it.
Luke chapter 22, verse 29. Jesus speaking, I bestow upon you, speaking to his apostles. A kingdom. Just as my Father bestowed one upon me, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And so there's the trend.
And it doesn't mean that there is not also the representation of the Old Testament saints. It just means that the New Testament apostles are going to be right there with them. And that's what we're looking at right here in chapter 4. It's happening. They had crowns of gold on their heads.
Now, this is not the diadem crown which belongs to the potentate, the ruler. This is Stephanos in the Greek, which is the wreath, but... is gold. It's a golden crown. It is the victor's crown.
That's the symbol behind this. Antichrists will also be wearing The Stephanus, the victor's crown, but he, of course, comes to deceive and to destroy. He is a counterfeit. Clothed with white robes, stained free from sin, incorruptible. And on the thrones I saw twenty four elders sitting.
So a jury of peers for humanity. If we can listen to the gospel and be saved, then no one has an excuse. is part of what is going on here.
So don't blame God. For giving you what you wanted all along, and that is a place without him. Verse 5, and from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne. Which are the seven spirits of God?
Now, John is not frightened by any of this. It is somewhat like a dream where you know what's going on and you know what things mean. But it's not a dream. This is a vision. He is awake, that's the difference.
When the prophets receive dreams, they're sleeping. And it's every bit a communication from God. In this case, it's a vision. He's awake. And it's equally as much a vision.
Uh but this And from the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices. Expressing the righteous indignation which is about to be unleashed on the earth. Because when we get done with chapter 5, we go right into the. With this the judgment. The coming storm.
Psalm 2 is about to happen. And you know, Psalm 2 is one: you messed with God, now He's going to mess with you back. The lightnings and the thunder, well, they come out of the throne itself, and it recalls Mount Sinai. Because there were lightnings and thunderings at the giving of the law, and the people were afraid. And Paul brings that up in Hebrews 12, that now we don't have to be afraid of the Lord.
as the John as the Jews were. Uh we have have a boldness to enter into the presence of Christ, of God, Christ, because of Christ. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne. Well, we know from study that seven is symbolic of completeness. You are complete in Him who is the head of all principality and power.
That's a scripture verse. Colossians 2.10. Because agnostics were coming in and whispering, you're not complete. We have a deeper knowledge for you. And Paul said, No, you're complete in Christ.
You don't need these phony balonies. And to this day, There are Christians that fall for it. They listen to people that have mingled in the world's teachings with Christ's teachings, and they get very uppity when you point it out to them. Fire, of course, is associated with the work of the Holy Spirit. He will baptize you with the Spirit and with fire.
Which are the seven spirits of God?
The point is God does not lack. The Spirit of God is complete. The Holy Spirit is here also. for the unbeliever. in this lifetime.
In this dispensation, the Holy Spirit is here for the unbeliever. Otherwise, how do they get saved? They get saved through the Holy Spirit or condemned by rejection, the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said that. Of this of the Holy Spirit, that he will convict the world of sin.
Of righteousness and of judgment. Why?
So they could repent. They won't all, but some will, and you're sitting right here, some of you right now. You've been convicted by the Spirit, and Jesus is your Lord. You understand the righteousness and the judgment to come. Enough of it.
Verse 6, Before the throne there was a sea of glass like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back.
Now remember, highly symbolic, and I'll point that out again in a moment from the scripture. This is the courtyard of God. and it is like a calm sea in heaven. Unlike the tossings and turnings of the wicked, that even Jude pointed out. There's no curse here.
To make things to disturb anything. And so this sea of glass, as some of you have been to sea and you know when there's no wind, it is like glass. You look out and say, I can't believe this is actually water, and it's like glass.
Well, this is going to be superior to that. Crystal. always speaks of purity. without wickedness. And in the midst of the throne and around the throne, verse 6, were four living creatures.
Now, a special order of created beings. Are invested in their God. They're at his throne. They're in this. As Something like, you know, skin in the game, but there's no suffering on this level.
They're just into God. And these combine the characteristics, according to what John is saying and what we know from Isaiah and Ezekiel. These are combining the characteristics of cherubim and seraphim. There are other created beings. I'm sure there are other created beings that aren't even mentioned in the scripture that when we get to heaven, We'll find out.
And we'll be surprised when we look at them, and they'll be surprised and disappointed when they look at you. Not me, of course. Mm-hmm. extraordinary angelic beings. These, cherubim and seraphim, used to enforce and to assist God.
In the context of his holiness, it was a cherubim that kept Adam and Eve out of the garden. We'll notice The absence of robots. In heaven. There are no robots worshiping the Lord, only living, intelligent creatures capable. of worship of love.
A free will. The number four that is mentioned here is indicative Of created order, and you can reference Revelation 7:1 and Jeremiah 49:36. But I'm on a clock here and I have to keep going. Yeah. Full of eyes in front and in back.
Well, the eyes speak of intelligence and personality. When you speak to somebody, their eyes are also saying things to you. You're listening to their words, but you're also noticing their eyes, especially If there's a scowl involved, or if when they have that look. Like they're thinking or reflecting or searching for the right answer. You know, this is the difference between texting somebody, not that texting is always bad, some of it is very good.
But to have the face-to-face, of course, what matches that? Even FaceTime won't even do that. The contours are missing. Anyway, able to reason, to think for themselves, to perceive, to ponder, to decide the eyes. The windows of the soul, isn't that?
I think it's the eyes and not the face. Either way, something's the window of the soul, and I'm going to assign the eyes. Yeah. Uh This has been Cross-Reference Radio with Pastor Rick Gaston. This program is a radio outreach of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville, in Mechanicsville, Virginia.
Pastor Rick has been teaching through the book of Revelation, but if you're interested in learning about a different book of the Bible, we have hundreds of past episodes available to listen to on demand. Just visit us online at crossreferenceradio.com and you'll find an archive of Pastor Rick's past teachings. While you're there, you can also find links to follow our program on your favorite podcast app, as well as links to get connected with us on Facebook and YouTube. There's also an interviews tab where you can learn more about Pastor Rick's heart for ministry.
Well, we hope you'll join us next time here on Cross Reference Radio. Hello.
