The throne and the Lamb: heaven worships the Creator and the Redeemer

Chapters 4 and 5 open the main body of the book after the letters. John is called through an open door in heaven, and the scene changes from the churches on earth to the throne of God. For readers in Asia, where the emperor was honoured as lord and god and his images, temples and festivals filled public life, a vision of the throne of the Creator, surrounded by worship that is given to God alone and then to the Lamb, set a different court over the visible one. The Roman imperial cult is the immediate rival. The book does not name it in these chapters, but the language of 'worthy' echoes the acclamations given to rulers on entering a city.

The visions of God enthroned in the prophets set the pattern. Isaiah saw the LORD high and lifted up (Isaiah 6), Ezekiel saw the chariot-throne in exile (Ezekiel 1), and Daniel saw the Ancient of Days with thousands upon thousands before him (Daniel 7). In each case God's rule is shown to a people who seemed to have lost control of history. Revelation 4 and 5 give the same assurance to a church under pressure: the throne is occupied, and events on earth are governed from it.

These chapters are apocalyptic vision and are read for what the images say and do.

• The first question for each image is where it comes from. Almost everything in chapter 4 is from Ezekiel, Isaiah and Daniel, and chapter 5 combines Genesis 49, Isaiah 11, Isaiah 53 and Daniel 7. John hears one thing and sees another: he hears 'the Lion of the tribe of Judah' and sees 'a Lamb who appeared to have been slain'.
• The second image reinterprets the first, and it is a key to the way the book uses symbols. Richard Bauckham has argued that the lion's victory is won by a lamb's death, and this is the pattern for how the Lamb's followers 'conquer'.

The scene also marks a pivot. 'After this' and the invitation 'Come up here' (4:1) begin the second large section of the book. The approaches differ on what the section is. Futurists, such as John Walvoord and Robert Thomas, read chapters 4 to 22 as events still to come, and dispensationalists read the call to John as a sign of the rapture, so that the church, named in chapters 2 and 3, is not mentioned on earth again until 22:16. Their strongest argument is that the word 'church' disappears in these chapters and the elders are crowned and seated in heaven before the judgments. Others, including historic premillennialists such as George Eldon Ladd, point out that John alone is called, that believers appear on earth later (7:9-14; 12:17; 13:7-10), and that 'saints' and 'servants' are used of the church. Preterists, such as Kenneth Gentry, read the scene as the heavenly basis for events in the first century, including the Jewish War. Historicists, such as Edward Bishop Elliott, read the seals that follow as successive periods of history. Idealists, such as William Hendriksen and G. K. Beale, read chapters 4 and 5 as the heavenly foundation for the whole age between the ascension and the return, since the Lamb has won authority to open the scroll.

The millennial views touch the song of 5:10, where the redeemed 'will reign upon the earth'. Premillennialists, such as Ladd, hear a reign on earth after Christ's return. Amillennialists, such as Anthony Hoekema, hear the reign of Christ's people now in heaven and finally in the new creation, and some manuscripts read 'they reign' in the present. Postmillennialists, such as B. B. Warfield, hear the gospel's triumph in history. Our understanding is that the text shows the throne occupied and the Lamb worthy, and that all the readings share that conclusion. The precise placement of the scroll's opening in time depends on the larger scheme.

Chapter 4, verses 1 to 6. The open door is a way into the heavenly reality, as in Ezekiel 1:1. 'At once I was in the Spirit' marks the prophetic state again. John sees no form of God, only 'someone seated', described in gems: jasper and carnelian, stones found in the high priest's breastplate (Exodus 28:17-20) and the foundations of the city in 21:19-20. A rainbow like an emerald, a ring of green, surrounds the throne, recalling the covenant sign after the flood (Genesis 9:13-16) and Ezekiel 1:28. It suggests mercy at the centre of majesty. Around the throne sit twenty-four elders in white with golden crowns. Their identity is debated. Some hold they are angels, a heavenly council. Many take them as representatives of the whole people of God, the twelve tribes and twelve apostles (compare 21:12-14). Others point to the twenty-four priestly divisions of 1 Chronicles 24. Dispensationalists often take them as the raptured church. White garments and crowns are promised to overcomers in the letters (3:5, 21), which favours the representative reading. Lightning and thunder come from the throne, the language of Sinai (Exodus 19:16). The seven torches are 'the seven Spirits of God' (compare 1:4). The sea of glass recalls the sapphire pavement under God's feet in Exodus 24:10 and the crystalline expanse of Ezekiel 1:22.

Verses 6 to 11. The four living creatures, with their lion, calf, human and eagle faces, are Ezekiel's four 'living creatures', identified as cherubim in Ezekiel 10:20, but with the six wings of Isaiah's seraphim (Isaiah 6:2). They are covered with eyes, which signify vigilance. Early Christian writers such as Irenaeus linked the four faces to the four Gospels. That is a later interpretation and not John's meaning. The creatures sing the thrice-holy hymn of Isaiah 6:3, adding 'who was and is and is to come'. The elders cast down their crowns, confessing that their rule derives from the Creator. The hymn grounds worship in creation: God 'created all things; by Your will they exist and came to be'.

Chapter 5, verses 1 to 5. The scroll in the right hand of God is written on both sides, like the scroll of Ezekiel 2:9-10, and sealed with seven seals (compare Isaiah 29:11; Daniel 12:4). Its contents are disputed. Some think it is the Old Testament covenant and its curses. Others see the title deed of creation, to be redeemed and restored. Many take it as God's plan for history, the purpose, judgment and redemption that the seals, trumpets and bowls unfold. Its two sides may signal fullness, as in a Roman will or contract. No one 'in heaven or on earth or under the earth' can open it. John weeps. One of the elders announces the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:9-10), the Root of David (Isaiah 11:1, 10), who 'has triumphed'.

Verses 6 to 10. John turns and sees not a lion but a Lamb 'who appeared to have been slain, standing'. The Greek arnion, a little lamb, appears about twenty-eight times in the book as its title for Christ. 'Slain' echoes the Passover lamb (Exodus 12) and the suffering servant compared to a lamb led to slaughter (Isaiah 53:7). The Lamb stands, alive. He has seven horns, complete power, and seven eyes, 'the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth', complete knowledge (compare Zechariah 4:10). He takes the scroll from the throne's right hand. Harps and golden bowls of incense, 'the prayers of the saints', come before him (Psalm 141:2). The 'new song' (Psalm 33:3; 96:1) declares that he is worthy because he was slain and 'by Your blood You purchased for God' people 'from every tribe and tongue and people and nation', a global people fulfilling Genesis 12:3 and Daniel 7:14. He has made them 'a kingdom and priests', the language of Exodus 19:6 (and 1:6), and 'they will reign upon the earth'.

Verses 11 to 14. The circle widens: myriads of angels, then 'every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea'. The sevenfold praise (power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, blessing) is complete. Then the last doxology joins the Lamb with the One seated on the throne, 'To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power forever and ever!', and the creatures say 'Amen'.

All the main readings agree on the heart of these chapters. God is the Creator and all things exist by his will (4:11). The Creator's purpose for creation moves forward through the Lamb who died, so the chapters join the two great works of God, creation and redemption, in one act of worship. The Lamb is worshipped with the One on the throne, and the Spirit appears as the seven eyes sent into all the earth, so the Trinitarian shape of the book is plain. The people of God are a worldwide people, purchased by blood, made a kingdom and priests, and destined to reign. These are the covenant promises of Genesis 12:3, Exodus 19:6 and Daniel 7:18, now seen fulfilled in a people from all nations. The prayers of the saints are before the throne, and later chapters show how they are answered (6:10; 8:3-5).

The chapters also give a theology of history. Human history is not self-explanatory. The scroll that no creature can open stands for God's purpose, and the opening by the Lamb says that the meaning of history is found in the cross and resurrection. Every reading of the seals that follow begins from here. Whether those seals describe the first century, the course of church history, the whole age, or a future tribulation, they come from the hand of the Lamb who has already conquered. This is the root of Christian hope about the end. The final events do not decide who rules. The slain and risen Lamb already rules, and the end reveals what the throne has long held.

What remains debated is the timing of the events the scroll unleashes, the identity of the elders, and the sense of 'reign upon the earth'. These divide interpreters who agree on the throne and the Lamb. The disagreement is real but secondary to the shared claim: the Creator is worthy, the Lamb is worthy, and creation will finally join in saying so.

Chapter 5 is among the most concentrated presentations of Christ in the Bible. He is the Lion of Judah, fulfilling Genesis 49:9-10, and the Root of David, fulfilling Isaiah 11:1, 10, so he is the promised Davidic king. He is the Lamb, whose death fulfils the Passover (Exodus 12; 1 Corinthians 5:7), the servant of Isaiah 53, and the Baptist's witness, 'Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world' (John 1:29). The two images are joined: he conquers by being slain. The Lamb who appears 'slain' yet standing is the crucified and risen Lord, who bears the marks of the cross in his glory (compare Luke 24:39; John 20:27).

He shares the worship of God. The creatures and elders fall before him, the heavenly host proclaims him worthy of power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory and blessing, and all creation gives praise 'to Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb'. In a book where angels refuse worship (19:10; 22:8-9), the Lamb accepts it. This is among the clearest statements in the New Testament of Christ's divine status in worship, and it parallels Philippians 2:9-11. He also brings people to God: his blood purchases, and his work makes them priests and a kingdom. Matthew 20:28 and Mark 10:45 state the same ransom. The scroll opens because he has done this work. The Lion's victory and the Lamb's death are one event seen from two sides.