b. Q = After what things? After the things of chapters 2-3, which were the things of the CHURCH!

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1 INTRO: I. The RAPTURE of the Church. (v. 1) A. (v. 1) 1. After this - Gr. meta tauta - after these things; hereafter a. Cf. Revelation 1:19 1) We are now in the 3rd division of the book. 2) Chapter 4 brings us now into the Future! b. Q = After what things? After the things of chapters 2-3, which were the things of the CHURCH! 1) Chapters 2-3 were the messages of Jesus to His Complete Church. a) NOTE: We saw how the letters to the seven churches were written to 7 actual, local churches, but it went beyond the local churches and was for all the churches of all time, thus the Complete Church. i. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches ii. And the number 7 is a symbolic number for completion, thus these messages were for the Complete Church during its History. 2) Chapter 4 now deals with those things AFTER the Church Age. a) Once the Church has completed its ministry and finished its course, then we come into Chapter I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a 1 of 11

2 trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. a. I looked I heard - John was an eyewitness of these things! (1:10) 2 of 11 b. We are told in the Scriptures that there will be a generation of believers that will not see death, but will be translated into their new bodies. 1) Cf. John 14:1-3 - Jesus said, Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. a) This is the first promise of Jesus returning for His believers! i. This passage does not reveal the time or circumstances which will be revealed later by the apostles. ii. NOTE: This passage tells us where Jesus will take believers to HEAVEN to be with Him!!! iii.key: Jesus was going to heaven to prepare a place for us, and He promised to take us to heaven to be with Him! b) Mansions refer to our new resurrected bodies! i. Cf. 2 Corinthians 5:1-8 - Paul the apostle, in his 2nd letter to the church at Corinth, said, For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon

3 with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. 2) Cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 a) caught up 1 Gr. ἁρπάζω harpazo to snatch out or away; seize by force; claim for oneself eagerly; raptured i. NOTE: Our English word Rapture comes from the Latin word rapio or rapere, which is the Latin translation of the Greek word harpazo! a. KEY: The word rapture is not in our English Bible, but it is in the Latin Vulgate Bible! b) The word RAPTURE has been used to describe this event where the Lord catches away His Church from the Earth. i. The more I look at the world around us, the more I am convinced that the 1 Word used 17x in N.T. = Matthew 11:12; 13:19; John 6:15; 10:12, 28-29; Acts 8:39; 23:10; 2 Corinthians 12:2, 4; 1 Thessalonians 4:17; Jude 23; Revelation 12:5 3 of 11

4 catching away of the Church is very near. 3) Cf. 1 Corinthians 15:50-58 a) mystery something previously hid, but is now being revealed. i. Q = Will people have time to repent later at the Rapture?... No! b) twinkle of an eye = the moment light hits your cornea, which is about 1 billionth of a second! i. Not the blink of an eye, that s about ½ a second, or milliseconds. ii. In other words, Jesus is coming in a twinkle, not a blinkle! a. By time you blink, you ve already been in a heaven a little while! 4) Concerning the Rapture of the Church, Jesus warned His disciples to WATCH and BE READY! a) Illust. - It s kind of like a woman that s pregnant! All the signs are there. The way she looks, it s going to happen almost anytime now! You just don t know the day or the hour, but all the signs are out! To try and convince her that she s not going to have a child is rather foolish! 5) As you look at the Book of Revelation as a Chronological Order, you would have to place the Rapture of the Church here in 4:1. a) NOTE: Though this verse does not teach the Rapture of the Church, this is where the Rapture would fit in Chronologically. 4 of 11

5 c. a door was opened in heaven 1) Cf. Revelation 3:7-8, 10 - There was an opened door for the Church, and Jesus promised to keep them out of the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. a) KEY: Jesus promised the Faithful Church that they would ESCAPE the coming judgment upon the earth. 2) Cf. Luke 21: Jesus said, And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. d. and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me 1) Cf. Revelation 1:10 - Jesus voice is as a trumpet! a) Trumpets are LOUD and DISTINCT! 2) Cf. 1 Thessalonians 4: For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. a) From that point on, we will forever be with the Lord! 5 of 11

6 i. We will not be sitting on clouds, playing harps, and being bored! ii. We will be in the heavenly scene, as we will see through the Book of Revelation, for at least 7 years, and then we will come back to the earth WITH Jesus at the 2nd Coming to reign with Him for 1,000 years! II.The THRONE of God. (v. 2-3) A. (v. 2) 1. And immediately I was in the spirit: a. I was in the Spirit - 1:10; 17:3; 21:10 1) Q = Is John referring to the Holy Spirit, his own spirit, or the realm of the spirit in contrast to the physical realm? a) The definite article the is not in the Greek text before the word spirit. b) The verb translated I was (ginomai) is better rendered I became indicating a change of condition. i. Lit. I became in spirit 2) KEY: John was brought into the spiritual realm, which is outside of time, thus could see future events that haven t happened yet as an eyewitness! a) Illust. - Back to the Future; Flash; etc. 3) NOTE: John s experience was spiritual, not physical! 2. and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, a. throne - used 61x in the N.T. 1) Used 46x in Revelation - 14x in this chapter alone! 6 of 11

7 b. Various THRONES in the Bible: 1)The FATHER S Throne in HEAVEN. a) Cf. Psalm 110:1; Matthew 5:34; Revelation 3:21; 5:6 2)JESUS Throne on EARTH. a) Cf. Revelation 3:21 i. The throne of HIS GLORY. (Matt. 19:28) ii. The throne of DAVID. (Isaiah 9:7; Luke 1:32) 3)The 12 thrones of the 12 APOSTLES, where they will sit and judge the 12 tribes of Israel. a) Cf. Matthew 19:28 4)The 24 thrones of the 24 ELDERS. (v. 4) 5)The GREAT WHITE THRONE where unbelievers will stand before God and be judged. a) Cf. Revelation 20:12 c. Q = Which throne is this one? 1) Notice the LOCATION: set in heaven 2) This is the THRONE OF GOD! a) NOTE: The 1st thing John sees in heaven is the CENTERPIECE, the throne of God! i. Cf. Psalm 11:4 - The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD'S throne is in heaven: ii. When you get to heaven, the first thing you will see is the Throne of God! 7 of 11

8 3. and one sat on the throne. a. sat - Gr. continual occupancy 1)KEY: God s Throne speaks of His SOVEREIGNTY! a) Cf. Psalm 103:19 - The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all. 2) NOTE: Before Jesus reveals to John all the horrific judgments that will take place upon the earth, He shows Him the reality of the GLORY, MAJESTY, AND SOVEREIGNTY, of Almighty God! 3) KEY: Like John, we are to look at the events in our lives here on earth through the centerpiece of heaven, the Throne of God! a)god IS ON THE THRONE!!! i. This is not cliché! This is reality! B. (v. 3) 1. And 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. a. We ll look more at this in another study! III.The IDENTITY of the 24 ELDERS. (v. 4) A. What We Know About the 24 Elders: 1. Their POSITION: sitting on thrones a. Cf. Revelation 1:6; 3:21; 11:16; 1 Corinthians 6:2-3 8 of Their CLOTHING: white raiment a. Cf. Revelation 3:5; 19:7-8

9 3. Their CROWNS: crowns of gold on their heads a. Cf. Revelation 2:10; 3:11; 4:10 b. NOTE: Only Church saints were promised crowns! c. KEY: The elders ARE (present tense) wearing crowns as they have already been given their rewards and ARE sitting on their thrones! 4. Their WORSHIP: Only the Church can sing that song in Revelation 5:8-9! a. Cf. Revelation 1:8; 4:10-11; 5:5-14; 19:4 5. Their DISTINCTION: a. Cannot be ANGELS. 1) Cf. Revelation 7:11 b. Cannot be TRIBULATION BELIEVERS. 1) Cf. Revelation 7:13-14 c. Cannot be the 144,000 JEWISH BELIEVERS. 1) Cf. Revelation 14:3 d. Cannot be ISRAEL. 1) Cf. Revelation 5:8-9; 7 & 12 9 of Their TITLE: 24 Elders a. The number 24 indicates a REPRESENTATIVE GROUP and A COMPLETED BODY. 1) Cf. 1 Chronicles 24 & priests & 24 singers in courses or divisions, thus representing the whole.

10 a) The 24 priests were the representative group of God to the nation, and the people to God. b) The 24 worship leaders were the representative group for the worship of the nation unto God. 2) NOTE: Some say that the 24 Elders are 12 from Israel (O.T.) and 12 from Church (N.T.). However, the text says 24! There is no justification for separating them! a) Actually, in 1 Chronicles 24, it is separated as 16+8, so to be consistent, you would have to separate these 24 the same way! But the Text doesn t give us any reason to separate them! It says 24! b. Q = In the Scriptures, who do ELDERS represent? 1)The Nation of ISRAEL. 2 a) Cf. Matthew 15:2; 16:21; 21:23; etc.; Acts 4:8; 22:5; 23:14; 24:1; 25:15 b) KEY: We will show in a minute that these Elders cannot be the Nation of Israel! (7 & 12; 14:3) 2)The Different CITIES. a) Cf. Judges 8:14, 16; 11:5, 7-11; 21:16; Ruth 4:2, 4, 9, 11; etc. 3)The CHURCHES. a) KEY: Elders are the representatives of the Church! 2 Exodus 3:16, 18; 4:29; 12:21; 17:5-6; 18:12; 19:7; 24:1, 9, 14; Leviticus 4:15; 9:1; Numbers 11:16, 24-25, 30; 16:25; etc.; Joshua 24:31; Judges 2:7; etc.; 10 of 11

11 i. Cf. Acts 11:30; 14:23; 15:4, 6, 22-23; 16:4; 20:17, 28; 21:18; 1 Timothy 5:17-19; Titus 1:5; 1 Peter 5: Their LOCATION: in HEAVEN a. NOTE: The Elders are only mentioned in Revelation 4-19, and they are in heaven! b. KEY: The Church will be in HEAVEN while the Judgments of the Day of the Lord are poured out on the Earth! 11 of 11