Best Ever-Best Song Ever
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come
I’m trying something different. This is the first half of Monday Morning With Jesus. I’ll try to get the second half done tomorrow.
I love it when anything from Revelation gets worked into a lesson or a sermon. That happened Sunday. I'm just going to start right off with the scripture. It was not read immediately in the message. I'll point out where it was read. I'm also going to use the King James Version because I like how it reads better. If you haven't figured it out by now, you should have a copy of your favorite translation of the Bible handy when you read my writing. I love the King James Version and often use it instead of the NASB, but I understand many people don't like it. If you don't have a copy of the Bible in your favorite translation or don't know what your "favorite translation" is yet make that a personal task to accomplish as your top priority this week. This is the entire fourth chapter, by the way.
1After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
2And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
3And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.
4And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.
5And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
6And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.
7And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.
8And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.
9And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,
10The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
11Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
Revelation 4:1–11 (KJV 1900)
Before I go into the words, I think I should explain why I don't seek to "decipher" the Revelation to John. We are told no one will know when the last days have come. Here's a scripture for that one.
36 "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.
37 "For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.
Matthew 24:36–37 (NASB95)
We can seek for the signs and portents all we want but scripture tells us no one will be able to figure out when Jesus is coming back, when the "End Times" are upon us. I take that to mean it is a waste of time to look, but more importantly, why do we want to know that? I contend some people want to know because they want to know when to start cleaning up their houses, figuratively speaking. That, too, is the wrong approach. We should be about the work of God always.
42 "Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.
43 "But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.
44 "For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.
45 "Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time?
46 "Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes.
47 "Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions.
48 "But if that evil slave says in his heart, 'My master is not coming for a long time,'
49and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards;
50the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know,
51and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 24:42–51 (NASB95)
Be caught working, be caught being about the work of the Lord, do not get caught doing something else. If we make it part of our lives every day, it won't matter when Jesus is coming back.
The other reason I don't worry about it is because when He does finally return, everyone will know. We won't have to question or wonder; we'll know. That's in scripture, too.
23 "But take heed; behold, I have told you everything in advance.
24 "But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light,
25and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken.
26 "Then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.
27 "And then He will send forth the angels, and will gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven.
Mark 13:23–27 (NASB95)
What is listed above was predicted in the book of Daniel.
13 "I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him.
14 "And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away, And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.
Daniel 7:13–14 (NASB95)
And it was foretold to John by Jesus in Revelation.
7Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.
8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."
Revelation 1:7–8 (NASB95)
So, why spend my time researching and investigating something not even Jesus knew when it would happen?
36 "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.
Matthew 24:36 (NASB95)
If God alone knows when that day is coming, I don't need to spend my time trying to figure it out. I would rather put my time into something more productive, like writing. With that, let's dig into the words from the sermon.
The first word I marked to check was "trumpet." John remarks that the voice sounds as if it were a trumpet. The Greek word simply communicates the idea that the noise reverberates or vibrates like a trumpet, not that it was the sound of a trumpet. I wonder if that means it is simply a soundwave or transmission of some kind? Keep this soundwave or transmission idea in mind, as it will come together later.
The next word was "must be" from the end of verse 1. I was interested in what John was being told must come about. The events in the Revelation "must be," they must come about, but does the Greek word give us any hint about that? Not really. It essentially boils down to "necessary to come to pass," i.e., "must be."
Verse 2 has John go "in the spirit," and I wanted to understand what that transformation or transition might look like. This is the same Greek word, pneuma, used when discussing the Holy Spirit, but it doesn't use the article, which I've always used to denote divinity. It is simply a little 's' spirit.
Following quickly on that passage was "a throne was set in heaven" and I want to know what that looks like. This is a word I haven't looked at before, but it means a seat of power, a stately seat.
Greek Strong's Number: 2362
Greek Word: θρόνος
Transliteration: thronos
Phonetic Pronunciation: thron’-os
Root: from thrao (to sit), a stately seat ("throne")
Cross Reference: TDNT - 3:160,338
Part of Speech: n m
Vine's Words: Throne
Usage Notes:
English Words used in KJV:
throne 54
seat 7
[Total Count: 61]
from thrao (to sit); a stately seat ("throne"); by implication power or (concrete) a potentate:- seat, throne.
James Strong, "Θρόνος," Strong's Talking Greek and Hebrew Dictionary (WORDsearch, 2020).
Verse 3 has "jasper and sardine" used to describe how the person who sits on that throne looks. Clearly, we should understand those two descriptors. Jasper is a gemstone, usually red, yellow, and brown. You can read Wikipedia's entry on jasper HERE.
"Sardine" is a little more difficult. Both Greek words for jasper and sardine translate as gemstones of those names. However, in the case of sardine that's an older name no longer used like sardius, but instead is now called carnelian. In both cases, it appears the color red is what was meant. The Wikipedia entry for Carnelian has an entry about Revelation chapter 4 and this very entry. You can find that link HERE.
Verse 4 will be important later to the overall vision of what John sees going on here, but for now, the next word I circled was "elders." Who or what are these people considered? What makes them worthy to be arrayed around the one who sits on the throne circled by a rainbow of emerald radiating red (my interpretation of what it looks like?)
This word does have the article ho or ton (Strong's 3588) before it. The Greek word is presbyteros, which is the root of our word presbyter or presbyterian.
presbyter
prez-bi-ter, pres-
noun
1. (in the early Christian church) an office bearer who exercised teaching, priestly, and administrative functions.
2. (in hierarchical churches) a priest.
3. An elder in a Presbyterian church.
presbyterian
prez-bi-teer-ee-uhn
adjective
1. pertaining to or based on the principle of ecclesiastical government by presbyters or presbyteries.
2. (initial capital letter) designating or pertaining to various churches having this form of government and professing more or less modified forms of Calvinism.
noun
3. (initial capital letter) a member of a Presbyterian church; a person who supports Presbyterianism.
"Ecclesiastical government" seems the most appropriate. These elders are the 24 who administer Heaven under God's guidance. They are old as in from the beginning of time old, which lends them wisdom in governance over creation, Heaven, and Earth.
Verse 5 has imagery I hadn't considered until Pastor Palmer's sermon, but I will skip that for now. That will come in the next segment when we talk about the message. For now, it is the seven lamps of fire and seven spirits of God before the throne that concern me.
The Greek word behind "lamps" simply means a light as of fire. However, notes on the scripture add to it lightning and thunder, a bright burning coal, and great illumination beyond a normal "lamp." I take it to mean these "lamps" do more than just illuminate, though they also have that property. That is reinforced by the word behind "fire," which absolutely has the aspect of lightning to it.
Greek Strong’s Number: 4442
Greek Word: πῦρ
Transliteration: pyr
Phonetic Pronunciation: poor
Root: a root word
Cross Reference: TDNT - 6:928,975
Part of Speech: n n
Vine’s Words: Fire
Usage Notes:
English Words used in KJV:
fire 73
fiery 1
[Total Count: 74]
a primary word; "fire" (literal or figurative, specially lightning):- fiery, fire.
James Strong, "Πῦρ," Strong's Talking Greek and Hebrew Dictionary (WORDsearch, 2020).
The idea that these lamps have both illumination and "lightning" in them suggests to me some kind of weapon used either for offense or defense. I can see no other use for "lightning" in something that already provides illumination unless it is purely for show, which fits in with later.
The "seven spirits of God," the Greek word for "spirits," is again without the article (Strongs 3588,) which seems to indicate it is not of God but simply working for God. What I mean there is that the Holy Spirit is God, a part of Him, and just as divine as He is. These spirits seem to not be of God but in association with Him, like angles or the elders.
Verse 7 has the four beasts and what they look like. However, they are "like a" beast, meaning not actually a beast but like one. So, what are they? The word "beast" in Greek is zoon, which simply translates as a living thing but in an animal sense, such as a beast. However, this word is also associated with create, creation, and creator. These creatures are associated with God and are alive but are not things with a soul, such as human beings.
This bit will come later, but let's look at some aspects of the beasts these living creations are "like." The lion is known for its fierce roar, so it is loud. A calf is helpless and small, needing care. The third thing is a living creation that has a face "as a man," which means something similar to something with hair, ears, a nose, two eyes, and a mouth. The fourth flew with talons and a sharp pointed end like a beak.
All the beasts had six wings, full of eyes, and never rested continually making noise. Noise isn't really the right word, but the extruded sound. What they say/said we will get to in a moment because it is important. However, I bring up all these descriptions to set the idea of what they might look like later. I hope it will make sense then.
The noise they were making was the point of the sermon message. The living creatures constantly flying around the throne are praising God by saying, "Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come." Based on the opening passages of the Book of Revelation to John, I find that last bit informative.
1The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John,
2who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.
3Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.
4John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,
5and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood—
6and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
7Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.
8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."
Revelation 1:1–8 (NASB95)
We just identified who is sitting on that throne. It is Jesus, the Christ. He is the one who was, who is, and who is to come. He is God, the Almighty. He is the great I Am. The Revelation to John was given to him by Jesus and none other. God spoke these words.