Insight from Revelation 4:<\/p>\n
In chapters 4 and 5, John moves from letters addressed to local churches located on earth to a vision of heaven and events taking place in the heavenly courtroom\/temple. The heavenly courtroom\/ temple is also pictured in Daniel 7 and Isaiah 6. These passages should be read carefully in connection with Revelation 4 and 5. Revelation 4 and 5 are key to understanding the entire book of Revelation. These chapters are about worship of God in heaven (chapter 4) and about God\u2019s plan to restore worship on earth (chapter 5).<\/p>\n
In Revelation 4, John is brought into the heavenly courtroom\/temple. John has been brought to this place so that he might, by writing his vision down, bring his readers to the same place! The readers have, by this vision, been brought into the very presence of God! They are able to see, very clearly, the holiness and splendor of God. God the Father is on the throne. The Holy Spirit is before the throne. Along with these two members of the Trinity are worshipers representing all of creation (angels, representatives of the saints, and representatives of creation). Jesus, however, the third member of the Trinity, is absent from this chapter. In one sense, the \u201cstory\u201d being told in Revelation does not move forward in Revelation 4. Worship is happening in heaven. This is the reality of heaven. All things in heaven understand their position. All things know who God is and worship him. There is no hint of rebellion in heaven. All of the citizens of heaven proclaim that God is worthy of worship (see verse 11). The reader does not sense any change in events on earth based on the events recorded in Revelation 4.<\/p>\n
But, with the exception of the churches, God is not receiving this worship on earth! The earth is in rebellion against God. Heaven and earth will not be separated like this forever. Something must be done so that God\u2019s will is done on earth in the same way that it is done in heaven (see Matthew 6:10). That is why the scroll in chapter 5 is so important. It contains God\u2019s plan to bring in everlasting worship. No longer will there be a hint of rebellion.<\/p>\n
A search is made to find one who is worthy to take the scroll containing the plan and to accomplish this task. After a long search, no one is found who is worthy for this task! John weeps and weeps because this means that God\u2019s plans will not be fulfilled. Earth will forever be in rebellion! But John\u2019s weeping is stopped by one of the citizens of heaven. He says that there is one who is worthy! It is a Lion\/Lamb (Jesus!). This Lion\/Lamb is the one who will bring God\u2019s plan to pass. He is the one who will end the rebellion on earth and cause worship to take place on earth as it is taking place in heaven. He is the one who ransoms people and makes them \u201ca kingdom and priests to our God\u201d (Revelation 5:10). He is the one who makes people who are, because of their right relationship with God, fit to \u201creign on the earth\u201d (Revelation 5:10).<\/p>\n
The fact that the church on earth is not mentioned in chapters 4 and 5 does not mean that it has disappeared from the earth and has been taken to heaven. The church is present on earth throughout the book of Revelation. John cannot focus on every detail at the same time. These two chapters are about events taking place in heaven, not events taking place on earth.<\/p>\n
While this vision is about events taking place in heaven, it is for the benefit of the churches on earth. The churches need to know what is happening in heaven. The truths outlined in these two chapters must be firmly planted in our minds, for they allow us to understand the events that are taking place on earth and to face the future with great faith.<\/p>\n
The judgments that are seen in later chapters of Revelation are all tied to events taking place in these two chapters. The truths outlined in these two chapters are the foundation of all of the events recorded in the entire book of Revelation.<\/p>\n
Like many of the prophets in the Old Testament, John has been given a vision of heavenly realities. These are the truths he needs to proclaim to the churches. This is more evidence that John should be seen as a prophet to the churches.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_crdt_document":""},"class_list":["post-4741","reading-plan","type-reading-plan","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/handstotheplow.org\/am\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reading-plan\/4741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/handstotheplow.org\/am\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reading-plan"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/handstotheplow.org\/am\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/reading-plan"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/handstotheplow.org\/am\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}