The throne and the Lamb: worship in heaven

Revelation 4 and 5 form one scene, the heavenly throne room, and open the main series of visions in the book. They follow the letters to the seven churches in chapters 2 and 3, and the seven seals of chapter 6 follow them. The author is John, who writes from Patmos (1:9). He is traditionally identified with the apostle John, though some scholars distinguish them. The usual date is the reign of Domitian, about AD 95, with a minority preferring the late 60s. The first readers were Christians in seven cities of Roman Asia, under pressure from the cult of the emperor and the social cost of refusing it.

The setting matters for these chapters. Roman rulers took titles of divinity, and the Roman historian Suetonius reports that Domitian had letters issued in the name of 'our lord and god'. In that world, to say that someone else sits on the true throne and is alone worthy of worship was political as well as religious. These chapters answer the question any persecuted church asks: who is in control? John is invited through an open door to see: 'Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after these things' (4:1).

These chapters are apocalyptic vision, and the first rule is to read them the way their first hearers would, with the Old Testament in their ears. Almost every image comes from the Scriptures John's readers knew: the throne and the living creatures from Ezekiel 1 and 10, the 'Holy, Holy, Holy' from Isaiah 6:3, the council of thrones from Daniel 7:9-10, the sea like glass from Exodus 24:10 and the bronze sea of the temple (1 Kings 7:23), the scroll written on both sides from Ezekiel 2:9-10, and the Lamb from the Passover and from Isaiah 53:7. The images aim at awe before a holy God and confidence in his rule, more than at furniture details.

Second, notice what the text tells us about itself. Several of the symbols are explained within the passage. The seven torches are 'the seven Spirits of God' (4:5). The seven horns and seven eyes of the Lamb 'represent the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth' (5:6). The golden bowls of incense 'are the prayers of the saints' (5:8). When the text supplies the meaning, that meaning governs. Numbers are symbolic: seven for completeness, twelve for the people of God.

• Third, the structure turns on a contrast between what John hears and what he sees. In 5:5 he hears of 'the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David', but in 5:6 he sees 'a Lamb who appeared to have been slain'.
• The second image does not cancel the first. It shows how the Lion conquers: by sacrifice, and the rest of the book must be read with that in mind.

Revelation 4:1–3

John sees 'a door standing open in heaven', and the trumpet-like voice invites him to come up. At once he is 'in the Spirit', and sees a throne with someone seated on it. The vision gives no human shape to the One who sits there. He is described only by precious stones, jasper and carnelian (a deep red), which suggest radiance and holiness. A rainbow like an emerald encircles the throne, recalling the covenant sign after the flood (Genesis 9:12-17) and so mercy mixed with majesty.

Chapter 4:4–5

Around the throne are twenty-four other thrones with twenty-four elders in white, with golden crowns. The elders are best taken as representing the whole people of God, with the number suggesting the twelve tribes and the twelve apostles together; others take them as an exalted order of angels. White robes and crowns suggest victory and royal status. From the throne come lightning, rumblings and thunder, as at Sinai (Exodus 19:16). Before it burn seven torches, which the text identifies as the seven Spirits of God, the Holy Spirit in the fullness of his work (compare Zechariah 4:2-6).

Chapter 4:6–8

Before the throne is a sea like crystal, suggesting the distance between God and creation. Around the throne are four living creatures covered with eyes, like a lion, a calf, a man and an eagle in flight. They are drawn from Ezekiel's cherubim (Ezekiel 1:5-10; 10:14) and from the six-winged seraphim of Isaiah 6:2. Their eyes suggest watchfulness. Irenaeus in the second century connected the four faces with the four Gospels, a later application and not John's meaning. Day and night they never stop saying, 'Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come.' The threefold 'holy' is Isaiah 6:3. The title 'who was and is and is to come' repeats the form of 1:4, 8.

Chapter 4:9–11

When the creatures give glory, the elders fall down, cast their crowns before the throne and say, 'Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things.' The Greek word for worthy (axios) was used in public acclamation of rulers, and John uses it for the true Lord. The crowns cast down mean that the elders' authority is a gift from the Creator. The first song is about creation.

Chapter 5:1–5

In the right hand of the One on the throne is a scroll written on both sides and sealed with seven seals. A scroll sealed seven times is a fully secured document, taken to be God's plan for judgment and redemption. A mighty angel asks who is worthy to open it. No one in heaven, on earth or under the earth can. John weeps bitterly. An elder tells him to stop, for 'the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed', two titles from Genesis 49:9-10 and Isaiah 11:1, 10.

Chapter 5:6–7

John turns and sees a Lamb standing in the center of the throne, one that 'appeared to have been slain'. The Greek word for lamb is arnion, and the scarred Lamb stands, alive. It has seven horns (complete power) and seven eyes (complete knowledge), which are the sevenfold Spirit sent out into all the earth (compare Zechariah 4:10). He comes and takes the scroll from the right hand of the One on the throne. This is the central action of the vision.

Chapter 5:8–10

The creatures and elders fall before the Lamb, each with a harp and golden bowls of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. They sing a new song (compare Psalm 96:1): 'Worthy are You to take the scroll and open its seals, because You were slain, and by Your blood You purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.' The reason for the Lamb's worthiness is his death. The people he bought come from every nation, and he made them 'a kingdom and priests to serve our God', the title of Exodus 19:6, as in 1:6. The song says they will reign upon the earth (some manuscripts read 'we' for 'they').

Chapter 5:11–14

The circle widens: myriads of myriads of angels sing that the Lamb is worthy to receive sevenfold praise: power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory and blessing. Then every creature in heaven, on earth, under the earth and in the sea joins to say, 'To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power forever and ever!' The four living creatures say 'Amen', and the elders fall down and worship.

These chapters teach the lordship of God as Creator and ruler. The first song praises the One who created all things, by whose will they exist. This ties the book to Genesis 1: the God who rules history is the one who made the world. The holiness of God is the other note of chapter 4, with the threefold 'holy' of Isaiah 6, and chapter 5 gives the answer to how a holy God and a sinful world can be reconciled: through the Lamb.

They teach the doctrine of redemption in terms of purchase and priesthood. The Lamb's blood bought a people for God from every tribe, tongue, people and nation. This echoes the promise that all the families of the earth will be blessed through Abraham's offspring (Genesis 12:3). The redeemed are made a kingdom and priests, which carries Exodus 19:6 into the New Testament church (1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:6).

They also teach that power comes through sacrifice. The elder announces a Lion; John sees a Lamb. The conquering king of Genesis 49 and Isaiah 11 is also the suffering servant of Isaiah 53. The Trinity is implicit: the One on the throne, the Lamb, and the sevenfold Spirit.

The center of Revelation 5 is the Lamb. He is introduced in a double title, the Lion of Judah and the Root of David, both messianic, from Genesis 49:9-10 and Isaiah 11:1, 10. These point to the king from Judah and David's line. But what John sees is a Lamb that has been slain. The pattern of conquest by self-offering is exactly what the New Testament says of Christ: John the Baptist points to him as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29); Peter says believers were ransomed with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot (1 Peter 1:18-19); and Isaiah 53:7 describes the servant led like a lamb to slaughter. He is alive and standing, with the marks of his death.

The chapter also shows that the Lamb is worthy of worship. He takes the scroll from the hand of the One on the throne. The living creatures and elders fall down before him, as they did before the One on the throne, and the whole creation praises the One on the throne and the Lamb together. The Bible elsewhere allows worship only to God (Revelation 19:10; 22:8-9), and so the worship of the Lamb in 5:8-14 is among the strongest statements in the New Testament that Christ is divine. The same theme appears in Philippians 2:9-11, where every knee bows to Jesus.

The song gathers the gospel: he was slain, he purchased people for God by his blood, and he made them a kingdom and priests. The cross is not a defeat to be overcome but the means by which he opens the scroll and carries out God's purposes for history.