Revelation, chapters 4 - 8

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Chapter 4 Written by the apostle John (in addition to the Gospel of John); note that these 4 later books by John (1st-3rdJoh & Reve) were the only books written after Rome was destroyed-- all the books after the Gospels are listed/described on the HOMEPAGE

After this I looked, & there before Me was a door standing open in Heaven-- i.e., no knocking necessary, as in Reve 3:8 (in the message to Smyrna), as opposed to the knocking necessary for the lost, the politeness extended by God communicated to Laodicea (see Reve 3:20). And the same voice I had 1st heard speaking to Me like a trumpet (Reve 1:8,10) said, Come up here, & I will show You what must take place after this. At once I was in the Spirit, & there before Me was a throne in Heaven with someone sitting on it. This was likely GOD the FATHER's Throne; you know there are 2 separate thrones-- 1 for the FATHER, 1 for the SON. We just saw, in the message to Laodicea, Jesus saying, To Him who overcomes I will give the right to sit with ME on MY Throne, just as I overcame & sat down with MY FATHER on HIS Throne. But back to the idea that this is God the Father's throne, with GOD the FATHER sitting on it amidst 24 other thrones, etc.-- this ch. 4 is a relatively short chapter, & then in ch. 5 we see the Lamb introduced, standing at the center. And the 1 who sat there [God the FATHER] had the appearance of jasper & carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. Surrounding the throne were 24 other thrones, & seated on them were 24 Elders. They were dressed in white & had crowns of gold on Their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightening, rumbles & peals of thunder. Before the throne, 7 lamps were blazing. These are the 7 Spirits of GOD-- recall that in ch. 1 (very end) we saw that The 7 stars are the angels of the 7 churches & the 7 lampstands are the 7 churches. I.e., there we had 7 churches (lampstands) topped by 7 stars (angels of the churches); here we have 7 blazing lamps (no lampstands) that are 7 Spirits of GOD. Also before the throne was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. These 7 Spirits of GOD: the purpose of them being sent to the then/some existing churches-- Reve 5:6 (end) says they are the Spirits of GOD sent out into all the earth.

In the center, around the throne, were 4 living creatures, & they were covered with eyes, in front & in back. The 1st living creature was like a lion, the 2nd was like an ox, the 3rd had a face like a man, the 4th was like a flying eagle. Each of the 4 living creatures had 6 wings & was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day & night they never stop in the present saying: Holy, holy, holy is the LORD GOD Almighty, who was, & is, & is to come. Whenever the 4 living creature give glory, honor & thanks to HIM who sits on the throne & who lives for ever & ever, the 24 Elders fall down before HIM who sits on the throne, & worship HIM who lives for ever & ever. They lay Their crowns before the throne & say: YOU are worthy, Our LORD & GOD, to receive glory & honor & power, for YOU created all things, & by YOUR Will they were created & have their being.

Chapter 5 Written by the apostle John

Then I saw in the Right Hand of HIM who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides & sealed with 7 seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, Who is worthy to break the seals & open the scroll? But no 1: (1), in Heaven or (2), on earth or (3), under the earth [from the grave] could open the scroll or even look inside it-- v. 13 below adds a 4th, on the sea. I wept & wept because no 1 was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Then 1 of the Elders said to Me, Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David. HE is able to open the scroll & its 7 seals.

• Ref. the Lion of the tribe of Judah: Gen 49:9 says, You are like a lion's cub, O Judah; Hos 5:14 (God speaking, before the division/captures of  Israel into Assyria & Judah into Babylon) says, I will be like a lion to Ephraim, but like a great lion to Judah. I will carry them off, with no 1 to rescue them.
• Ref. the Root of David: Reve 22:16 (Jesus speaking of the O.T., Gospel & the then present times) says, I am both the Root & Offspring of David, & now the bright Morning Star.
• Ref. the bright Morning Star: Isa 14:12 says, How you have fallen from Heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, You who 1x laid low the nations; 2ndPet 1:19 says, the Day dawns & the morning star rises in Your hearts; Reve 2:26,28 (Jesus speaking to the church in Thyatira) says, to Him who overcomes... I will also give Him the morning star.

Then I saw a LAMB, looking as though it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the 4 living creatures & the Elders. HE had seven horns & seven eyes, which are the Spirits of GOD sent out into all the earth. HE came & took the scroll from the Right Hand of HIM who sat on the throne. And when HE had taken it, the 4 living creatures & the 24 Elders fell down before the LAMB. Each 1 had a harp & They were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. Incense appears 136x in the O.T.; in the N.T. it appears 9x: in Matt & Luke it is used when the birth of Jesus happened; it appears 1x in Hebr 9:4; in Reve it appears 4x-- here, 2x in ch. 8, & 1x in ch. 18. And They sang a new song:

• The 4 & 24 to the LAMB only: YOU are worthy to take the scroll & to open its seals, because YOU were slain, & with YOUR Blood YOU purchased men for GOD from every Jewish tribe listed in ch. 7 & the world: language & people & nation. YOU have Them to be a kingdom & priests as in Reve 1:6 to serve Our GOD, & They will reign on the earth.

Then I looked & heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, & 10,000 x 10,000. They encircled all: the throne & the living creatures & the Elders. In a loud voice They sang:

• The many encircling angels to all:  Worthy is the LAMB, who was slain, to receive power & wealth & wisdom & strength & honor & glory & praise!

Then I heard every creature in Heaven & on earth & under the earth & on the sea, & all that is in them [these 4], singing:

• Every creature to all:  To HIM who sits on the throne & to the LAMB be praise & honor & glory & power, for ever & ever!--not wisdom & wealth?

The 4 living creatures said Amen, & the Elders fell down & worshiped.

Chapter 6 Written by the apostle John

1. I watched as the LAMB opened the 1st of the 7 seals. Then I heard 1 of the 4 living creatures say in a voice like thunder, Come! I looked, & there before Me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, & he was given a crown, & he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.
2. When the LAMB opened the 2nd seal, I heard the 2nd living creature say, Come! Then another horse came out, a fiery red 1. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth & to make men slat each other. To him was given a large sword.
3. When the LAMB opened the 3rd seal, I heard the 3rd living creature say, Come! I looked, & there before Me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the 4 living creatures, saying, A quart of wheat for a day's wages, & 3 quarts of barley for a day's wages, & do not damage the oil & the wine!
4. When the LAMB opened the 4th seal, I heard the voice of the 4th living creature say, Come! I looked, & there before Me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, & Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a 4th of the earth to kill by sword, famine & plague, & by the wild beasts of the earth.
5. When HE opened the 5th seal, I saw under the altar the souls of Those who had been slain because of the Word of GOD & the testimony They had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, How long, Sovereign LORD, holy & true, until YOU judge the inhabitants of the earth & avenge Our blood? Then each of Them was given a white robe, & They were told to wait a little longer, until the # of Their fellow servants & brothers who were killed as They had been was completed.
6. I watched as HE opened the 6th seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, & the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, & every mountain & island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the generals, the rich, the mighty, & every slave & every free man hid in caves & among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains & the rocks, 'Fall on us & hide us from the Face of HIM who sits of the throne & from the wrath of the LAMB! For the great Day of THEIR Wrath has come, & who can stand.'
   • Now if I had to guess (just guess) about the openings of the seals:
     • the 1st 4 openings, in which the 4 living creatures invited John to 'Come!', describe portions of the earth in which the events are now randomly occurring.
     • The 5th seal opening describes the souls of the slain under the altar because of past testimony maintained-- as each of Them was given a white robe, & They were told to wait a little longer, until the # of Their fellow servants & brothers who were killed as They had been was completed.
     • And the events upon the opening of the 6th seal describe turmoil worldwide-- things never before experienced.
7. But about the opening of the 7th seal-- that is not described until ch. 8.

We shall see (next chapter) about the altar revealed upon the opening of the 5th seal. But 1st let me clarify what I meant above when I said, 'if I had to guess.' I did not mean I'm lacking confidence about God revealing to/through me; rather at this point I have no idea how much revealing there will be. The basic definition of the title of that book of the Bible: Revelation = a revealing (or better, a phenominal revealing). Recall back in Jude we saw, these dreamers pollute their own bodies, reject authority & slander celestial beings. But even then the good archangel Michael, when He was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him the devil, but said merely, "the LORD rebuke you!" I'm not about to join those who in the recent past have done entire teachings & made entire films about Revelation, replete with prophecies that proved to be false-- condemning themselves, yes, but more to the point slandering celestial beings! BTW, respecting celestial beings is hardly the same as worshiping them!

Chapter 7 Written by the apostle John

As I said, we shall see (this chapter now) about the altar revealed upon the opening of the 5th seal. True, we already saw about the 6th seal being opened (which describes the great tribulation, as cited below)-- but this chapter appears to go back to the 5th seal to describe/reveal the altar: 1st, its foundation, & then those in white robes.

After this I saw 4 angels standing at the 4 corners of the earth, holding back the 4 winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree-- see about the 6th seal opening (especially about the fig tree); note that below it is called the great tribulation. Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the Seal of the Living GOD. He called out in a loud voice to the 4 angels who had been given power to harm the land & the sea: Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until We put a seal on the foreheads of the Servants of Our GOD. Then I heard the # of Those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel-- 12,000 from each (see Part I, E E.4.d. & Part I, F F.6.b. for the land-area descriptions of these 12 tribes):

1. From the tribe of Judah,
2. from the tribe of Reuben,
3. from the tribe of Gad,
4. from the tribe of Asher,
5. from the tribe of Naphtali,
6. from the tribe of Manasseh,
7. from the tribe of Simeon,
8. from the tribe of Levi,
9. from the tribe of Issachar,
10. from the tribe of Zebulun,
11. from the tribe of Joseph,
12. from the tribe of Benjamin.

After this I looked & there before Me was a great multitude that no 1 could count, from every nation, tribe, people & language, standing before the Throne of GOD & front of the standing LAMB. They were wearing white robes & were holding palm branches in Their hands. And They [the great multitude] cried out in a loud voice: Salvation belongs to Our GOD, who sits on the throne, & to the LAMB. All the angels were standing around the throne & around the Elders & the 4 living creatures. They [the angels] in response fell down on their faces before the throne & worshiped GOD, saying: Amen! Praise & glory & wisdom & thanks & honor & power & strength be to Our GOD for ever & ever. Amen! Then 1 of the Elders asked Me, John, These in white robes-- who are They, & where did They come from? I answered, Sir, You know. And He said, These are They who have come out of the great tribulation; They have washed Their robes & made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore They are before the Throne of GOD & serve HIM day & night in HIS Temple; & HE who sits on the throne will spread HIS Tent over Them. Never again will They hunger; never again will They thirst. The sun will not beat upon Them, nor any scorching heat. For the LAMB at the center of the throne will be Their SHEPHERD; HE will lead Them to springs of Living Water. And GOD will wipe away every tear from Their eyes.

Chapter 8 Written by the apostle John

When HE the LAMB opened the 7th seal, there was silence in Heaven for ~ 1/2 hr. And I saw the 7 angels who stand before GOD, & to them were given 7 trumpets. Another angel, who had a golden censer, came & stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. Before, the altar was not described. The only thing golden: before any seals were opened back at the beginning of ch. 5, we have Then I saw a LAMB, looking as though it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the 4 living creatures & the Elders. HE had seven horns & seven eyes, which are the Spirits of GOD sent out into all the earth. HE came & took the scroll from the Right Hand of HIM who sat on the throne. And when HE had taken it, the 4 living creature & the 24 Elders fell down before the LAMB. Each 1 had a harp & They were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. Now we have, an angel, who had a golden censer go before the throne where there was a golden altar. The significance is that now we have a golden altar. The smoke of the incense went up before GOD from the angel's hand. These were not special prayers; they were any prayers of the any of the saints. But remember, all prayers are answered according to God's wisdom & timing! Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, & hurled it on the earth, & there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightening & an earthquake.

Then the 7 angels who had the 7 trumpets prepared to sound them.

• The 1st angel sounded his trumpet, & there came hail & fire mixed with blood, & it was hurled upon the earth. A 3rd of the earth was burned up, a 3rd of the trees were burned up, & all the green grass was burned up.
• The 2nd angel sounded his trumpet, & something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A 3rd of the sea turned into blood, a 3rd of the living creature in the sea died, & a 3rd of the ships were destroyed.
• The 3rd angel sounded his trumpet, & a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a 3rd of the rivers & on the springs of water-- the name of the star is Wormwood. A 3rd of the waters turned bitter, & many people died from the waters that had become bitter.
• The 4th angel sounded his trumpet, & a 3rd of the sun was struck, also a 3rd of the moon, & a 3rd of the stars, so that a 3rd of them all turned dark. A 3rd of the day was without light, & also a 3rd of the night.

As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other 3 angels!