Revelation 4:1-7 comments: the Rapture?

4:1 ¶  After 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. 2  And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. 3  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. 4  And 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. 5  And 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. 6  And 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. 7  And 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.

Verse 1 of Chapter 4 is often linked with the doctrine known today as The Rapture which Biblically is called the Translation, which also means to transport something from one place to another. John, a type of the church, is removed to Heaven. But, in our time, when does that happen? This will be a question that must be answered. Rapture comes from a form of the Latin rapto, to seize violently and carry away, as in the Latin Bibles in;

Matthew 11:12  And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.

MAT11.12 a diebus autem Iohannis Baptistae usque nunc regnum caelorum vim patitur et violenti rapiunt illud.

  (2012-02-03). The Latin and English Parallel Bible (Vulgate and KJV) (Kindle Location 74453). Latus ePublishing. Kindle Edition.)

The Greek word harpazo for take it by force is also the word used in 1Thessalonians 4:17 as shall be caught up. This is not the general resurrection of the good and the bad spoken of by Daniel in 12:2. This is a forceful removal, a translation. All that being said, it is more important what the Bible says in English than in Latin or Greek. It is food for thought, though.

It is important to note that doctrine exists even if the majority of people do not understand or believe it. If it is true, it simply is, regardless of opinion. As an example, the early church was premillennial, in that they believed in chiliasm (kill e as um), believing that Christ would return to rule physically on earth for a thousand years. Historical writers like Will Durant, in his epic eleven volume The Story of Civilization noted this.

“The apostles were apparently unanimous in believing that Christ would soon return to establish the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.” (35)

With this belief came the understanding that the church itself, the people, would be removed or translated from the world before Christ’s return, based on several verses in the Bible beginning with Enoch being physically removed without dying. See Genesis 5:24;

24  And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.

Three times this translation of Enoch is mentioned in one verse;

Hebrews 11:5  By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

Three times; in Proverbs 25:7;  Revelation 4:1; and 11:12 the phrase come up hither, here, is used;

Proverbs 25:7  For better it is that it be said unto thee, Come up hither; than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen.

Revelation 4:1  After 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.

Revelation 11:12  And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.

Luke 17:34-36 and the passages in Matthew 24 but are often used as evidence of it;

Luke 17:34  I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. 35  Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 36  Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

 1Thessalonians 4:13-17;

13 ¶  But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14  For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15  For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16  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: 17  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. 18  Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

In the next letter Paul warns the Thessalonians that something has to happen before this. First there is a great falling away in the church, away from Christ, then the Beast is revealed. Ask yourself why some Christians say we will not see the Beast?

2Thessalonians 2: 1 ¶  Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 2  That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

3 ¶  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away [Jeremiah 37:13]  first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. 5  Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? 6  And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 9  Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11  And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12  That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Notice John the Baptist’s apocalyptic warning to the Pharisees and Sadducees and the Jews.

Matthew 3:7 ¶  But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8  Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: 9  And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. 10  And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 11  I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: 12  Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

And note Paul’s declaration to the church.

1Thessalonians 1:10  And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

Then, Revelation which is filled with statements of God’s wrath.

Revelation 6:16  And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:17  For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Revelation 11:12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them…18  And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.

Further evidence is supplied by the following verses. We shall not all sleep with sleep being used as a reference to death as in the narrative of Lazarus’ resurrection by Jesus in John 11. The time of the Rapture or Translation of the church is specifically said to be at the last trump.

1Corinthians 15:51 ¶  Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

Back to Revelation 11 and the timing of this at the last trump before the vials.

Revelation 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

There is a period of time in there where the translation or rapture occurs and the marriage supper of the Lamb and then the return of Christ with the glorified believers, both Jew and Gentile, all the church.

Hebrews 12:23  To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,…

Writings of early church leaders, some of disputed authenticity, others of uncertain translation and background texts, that have come down to us expressing belief in the premillennial return of the Lord include writings attributed to Papias, Shepard, Irenaeus, Lactantius, Victorinus, Cyprian, Ephraim the Syrite, Commodianus, Origen, Tertullian, and Justin Martyr. While some of them also include implications and clear statements that the church will not see the wrath to come but will be removed beforehand others are ambiguous and uncertain in meaning.

• Shepard of Hermas (apocryphal writing) 150 AD
• The writer, after escaping a huge terrifying beast with four colors on its head (white, red, black and gold), met a virgin in his vision. "like a bride going froth from a bride-chamber, all in white...I recognized from the former visions that it was the church." the virgin explained that she escaped destruction from the beast (the Great Tribulation) because of God's special deliverance. "Thou hast escaped a great tribulation because thou hast believed and at the sight of such a huge beast hast not doubted. Go therefore and declare to the Elect of the Lord His mighty deeds and say to them that this beast is a type of the great tribulation which is to come. If ye therefore prepare yourselves and with your whole heart turn to the Lord in repentance, then shall ye be able to escape it, if your heart is pure and blameless." After explaining to him that "the golden color stands for you who have escaped from this world," the virgin concluded her messages with, "Now ye know the symbol of the great tribulation to come. But if ye are willing, it shall be nothing."
   
• Victorinus 240AD
• Commentary on the Apocalypse 6.14 - "'And the heaven withdrew as a scroll that is rolled up.' For the heaven to be rolled way, that is, that the Church shall be taken away. "And the mountain and the islands were moved from their places." Mountains and islands removed from their places intimate that in the last persecution all men departed from their places; that is, that the good will be removed, seeking to avoid the persecution."
• Commentary on the Apocalypse 15.1 - "And I saw another great and wonderful sign, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is completed the indignation of God.' For the wrath of God always strikes the obstinate people with seven plagues, that is, perfectly, as it is said in Leviticus; and these shall be in the last time, when the Church shall have gone out of the midst."
   
• Cyprian 250 AD
• Epistle 55 - The Antichrist is coming, but above him comes Christ also. The enemy goeth about and rageth, but immediately the Lord follows to avenge our suffering and our wounds. The adversary is enraged and threatens, but there is One who can deliver us from his hands." It is significant that he did not write about enduring the persecution of the Antichrist. Rather, Cyprian promised that Christ "is One who can deliver us from his hands." 
• Cyprian Speaking of the immanency of the Rapture, he wrote, "Who would not crave to be changed and transformed into the likeness of Christ and to arrive more quickly to the dignity of heavenly glory." After telling his readers that the coming resurrection was the hope of the Christian, he points out that the Rapture should motivate us as we see the last days approaching. Cyprian says that "we who see that terrible things have begun, and know that still more terrible things are imminent, may regard it as the greatest advantage to depart from it as quickly as possible." Referring to his hope of the approaching Rapture, he encouraged his readers as follows: "Do you not give God thanks, do you not congratulate yourself, that by an early departure you are taken away, and delivered from the shipwrecks and disasters that are imminent?" Cyprian concludes his comments on the translation of the saints with these words: "Let us greet the day which assigns each of us to his own home, which snatches us hence, and sets us free from the snares of the world, and restores us to paradise and the kingdom" (Treatises of Cyprian - 21 to 26?).
   
• Ephraim the Syrian 373 AD
• On The Last Times 2 -  ...because all saints and the elect of the LORD are gathered together before the Tribulation which is about to come and be taken to the LORD...

Now, with regard to their looking for a future fulfillment of prophecy as found in the apocalyptic books of the Bible;

• Papias 70-155
• Fragment 6 - After the resurrection of the dead, Jesus will personally reign for 1000 years. He was taught this by the apostle John himself.
   
• Justin Martyr 110-165
• Dialogue 32 - The man of Sin, spoken of by Daniel, will rule two times and a half, before the second advent.
• Dialogue 110 - The man of apostasy, who speaks strange things against the Most High, shall venture to do unlawful deeds on the earth against us, the Christians.
   
• Irenaeus 178 AD
• Against Heresies 4.26 - Daniel the prophet says "Shut up the words, and seal the book even to the time of consummation, until many learn, and knowledge be completed. For at that time, when the dispersion shall be accomplished, they shall know all these things." 
• Against Heresies 5.25 - In 2 Thessalonians the falling away is an apostasy and there will be a literal rebuilt temple. In Matthew, 24 the "abomination spoken by Daniel" is the antichrist setting in the temple as if he were Christ. The abomination will start in the middle of Daniel's 70th week and last for a literal 3 years and six months. The little (11th) horn is the Antichrist.
• Against Heresies 5.26 - The Roman Empire will first be divided and then be dissolved. Ten kings will arise from what used to be the Roman empire. The Antichrist slays three of the kings and is then the eighth king among them. The kings will destroy Babylon then give the Babylonian kingdom to the beast and put the church to flight. After that they will be destroyed by the coming of the Lord. Daniel's horns are the same as the ten toes. The toes being part of iron and clay mean some will be active and strong while others weak and inactive and the kings will not agree with each other.
• Against Heresies 5.27 - In Matthew 24, the two men one taken and the other left does not refer to the rapture but second coming. They are taken to never ending fire.
• Against Heresies 5.30 - The Name of the Antichrist equals 666 if spelled out in Greek. Do not even try to find out the name until the ten kings arise. The Antichrist shall be from the tribe of Dan. That is why the tribe of Dan is not mentioned in the apocalypse. The fourth kingdom seen by Daniel is Rome. Titan is one Greek word that comes out to 666. The rebuilt temple will be in Jerusalem.
• Against Heresies 5.35 - The resurrection of the Just takes place after the destruction of the Antichrist and all nations under his rule. Many believers will make it through the tribulation and replenish the earth. In the resurrection we will have fellowship and communion with the holy angels, and union with spiritual beings. The new heavens and earth are created and then the new Jerusalem descends. These are all literal things, and Christians who allegorize them are immature Christians.
   
• Tertullian 190-210 AD
• Marcion 3.25 - Millennial rain, resurrection, and the New Jerusalem are literal. In the resurrection we shall then be changed in a moment into the substance of angels
• Marcion 5.16 - The Anti-Christ will be a real man and set in a real temple.
• Treatise of the Soul 1.50 Enoch and Elias will come back to die. They are the two witnesses of Revelation.
   
• Origen 230 AD
• Against Celsus 2:49 - Quotes Paul about the antichrist, as a literal person who works false miracles. 
• Against Celsus 6:45 - There is a literal future Antichrist coming. 
• Against Celsus 6:46 - The prophecies in 1 Thessalonians and Daniel are real prophesies about the end of the world. There will be a literal rebuilt Temple.
   
• Commodianus: 240 AD
• 35 - Resurrection is at the end of the 6000 years.
• 41 - Antichrist notes 
• 43 - End of the age
• 44 - The first resurrection. those who were not martyred under the antichrist will marry and have children during the 1000 years. no rains, snow, cold during the 1000yrs.
• 80 - Resurrection of the body will be when six thousand years are completed, and after the 1000 years when the world has come to an end.
   
• Lactantius 285 AD
• Divine Institutes 7:14 – 6000yrs till millennium.  (Some do not think Book 7 was really written by Lactantius.)
• Divine Institutes 7:16-17 – end times… very good…
• Divine Institutes 7:19 – 1st paragraph anti-Christ 4 battles??
• Divine Institutes 7:25 – 6000yrs, end of days is after the fall of Rome. The Sibyls agree.
• Divine Institutes 7:26 – After 100yrs (7000yrs) at battle of Gog the sun stands still for 3 days. Righteous hid in the mountains then come out, all evil is gone. No more nations. 7 years the woods are untouched. Burn arms of the nations.
• Epitome of  Divine Institutes 71 – the last times: - very good…
• Epitome of  Divine Institutes 72 – literal 1000yr reign.

·         Hippolytus; Fragment 8:
And what am I to say with respect to men, when the very elements themselves will disown their order? There will be earthquakes in every city, and plagues in every country; and monstrous thunderings and frightful lightnings will burn up both houses and fields. Storms of winds will disturb both sea and land excessively; and there will be unfruitfulness on the earth, and a roaring in the sea, and an intolerable agitation on account of souls and the destruction of men. There will be signs in the sun, and signs in the moon, deflections in the stars, distresses of nations, intemperateness in the atmosphere, discharges of hail upon the face of the earth, winters of excessive severity, different frosts, inexorable scorching winds, unexpected thunderings, unlooked-for conflagrations; and in general, lamentation and mourning in the whole earth, without consolation. For, "because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." By reason of the agitation and confusion of all these, the Lord of the universe cries in the Gospel, saying, "Take heed that ye be not deceived; for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them. But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not yet by and by." Let us observe the word of the Savior, how He always admonished us with a view to our security: "Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ." 

• Victorinus 240 AD
• Commentary on Revelation 2 - Allow fornication on a "pretext for Mercy," the name written on the white stone is "Christian" granting "unlawful peace" over new forms of Prophecy.
• Commentary on Revelation 4 - Rainbow above god's head is red and blue symbolize the judgments of water and fire. 24 elders are the 12 Apostles and 12 Patriarchs.
• Commentary on Revelation 6 - Heaven withdrawing like a scroll is the church taken away.
• Commentary on Revelation 7 - Angel ascending is Elijah. 7 angels (Shepards) are attack the antichrists kingdom. Babylon is the ruined Roman kingdom. Do not look to the order of Revelation, the vials and trumpets are the same events.
• Commentary on Revelation 11 - great wings given to the woman are the two prophets and those who help her.
• Commentary on Revelation 13 - 2nd beast is the false prophet.

This does not prove, of course, that the doctrine is true but just that it is not a new doctrine, either the premillennial view or the translation of the church, but that these early church leaders, the viewpoint of the Apostles who knew Christ, and the Scriptures can point in this direction.

The dominant viewpoint of the Roman Catholic Church after Augustine was that there was no millennium, in that references to a thousand year reign were allegorical and that the Roman church was ruling the world in Christ’s place as his proxy. The Reformation called that into doubt. The dominant viewpoint in early America up to the turn of the 20^th century among evangelical Protestants was called postmillennial, in that the church would rule the world with Christ reigning spiritually through it, as men became more righteous and more Christian in appearance and practice.

The American Theological Review, in 1859, said that postmillennialism, whereby a millennium would be set up and the religion of Christ would be everywhere and, “his spiritual reign would be universal,” and that would be followed by Christ’s physical return was the, “commonly received doctrine,” in the 1800’s. While admitting that this was not what the early church believed, as the early church said and we believe, He will return first to rule and then the millennium, the thousand year reign, will come, the author goes on to say that the early church was simply wrong.(36)

Christians today who do not believe in the Translation of the church, popularly called The Rapture, will say that preacher of the early 1800’s, John Nelson Darby, invented the doctrine. He did popularize it in a world that regarded evolutionary progress as truth and that mankind and Christians in particular were headed toward a Golden Age of righteousness and peace.(37)

But, he obviously did not invent the doctrine, merely gave it his own twist. As John Reeve wrote  two centuries before Darby’s, in the 1600’s, “Then shall the Elect, by the Decree or Voice of Jesus Christ, the Archangel, first appear out of the Graves, and, in the twinkling of an Eye, with all the Elect that are then living, as one Man, with a glorious Shout, shall, with distinct immortal Bodies, like unto their God, ascend to meet the Lord in the Air, and with him and his mighty angels, as swift as Thought, enter into that vast new Heaven and new Earth above the Stars….(38)

My intent here is not to approve of any preacher’s particular doctrines or idiosyncrasies or even personal opinions or heresies but simply to show that the doctrine was not invented by Darby, as some would say. Only the timing of when it would happen, before the Great Tribulation mentioned in Matthew and Revelation, during, or at the end of it were in contention among those that believed in it. Although I have not read his work there is supposedly another pretribulation rapture commentator named Morgan Edwards from the century prior to Darby.

Other references to the idea of the church being physically removed are from such diverse preachers and commentators as Jesuit priest, Francisco Ribera, in 1590, Puritan Cotton Mather in the 1600’s, and John Gill in the 1700’s.(39)  In the first decade of the 1700’s Matthew Henry even uses the phrase, “rapture in the clouds,” in his commentary on 1Thessalonians 4:17 which is so commonly free on the internet I don’t need to give you directions here.

Again, the issue is when that happens and how close it is to the general judgment of the dead. Darby’s view was that it must take place before the return of Christ. The Bible seems to indicate that then there is the thousand year reign of Christ and the general judgment follows.

My point in bringing all of this up is to only say that a doctrine can exist in the Bible and either be misunderstood, not be known by most believers, or that those against it or for it may misrepresent it to justify their own beliefs. The Jews believed that Israel would be restored to its past greatness, not seeing the Cross or the Resurrection of their Messiah. Many Christians believed they would turn the world over to Christian principles and values without Christ present. We must always remember that our understanding is incomplete until we stand before our Saviour.

 (35) Will Durant, “The Apostles: A.D. 30-95,”  The Story of Civilization:Volume 3, Caesar and  Christ (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1944), 575.

(36) Henry Boynton Smith, ”History of Opinions Respecting the Millennium,” The American Theological Review (Boston: Charles Scribner & Son, 1859), 642.

(37) J.N. Darby, “The Rapture of the Saints,” in The Heavenly Hope, or, What is the Hope of the Christian? What is the Hope of the Church? (Dublin: Dublin Tract Repository, 1844).

https://openlibrary.org/works/OL16305370W/The_Heavenly_hope_or_What_is_the_hope_of_the_Christian_What_is_the_hope_of_the_Church_A_letter_from_   

(38) John Reeve, “An Epistle to a Kinsman,” in Joyful News from Heaven (London: Francis Cosinet, 1658), 60.

https://openlibrary.org/works/OL245574W/Joyful_news_from_heaven_or_The_last_intelligence_from_our_glorified_Jesus_above_the_stars

(39) Mal Couch, ed., Dictionary of Premillennial Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1996).

The voice John heard sounds like a trumpet, which is shortened to trump elsewhere.

1Corinthians 15:52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

1Thessalonians 4:16  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:

Come up hither or come up here is said two other times in the Bible as such; Revelation 11:12 and Proverbs 25:7.

At this point there is no more mention of the church, named as such, in the Book of Revelation. This voice is going to tell John of things that are coming about hereafter, after the church is gone.

Verse 2 - In chapter one, verse ten, John was in the Spirit, uppercase S, which is the Holy Spirit of God. Here, in verse 2 he is in his own spirit and carried up. Paul saw the third heaven, as well, but was not sure if he was in his body or, presumably, in his spirit.

2Corinthians 12:1 ¶  It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2  I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. 3  And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) 4  How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

In any event, this is John seeing this for himself and it is not a vision shown to him in a trance or mystical state. He saw a throne in heaven that had someone seated on it.

Verse 3 – The image is one of a jewel-like beauty.

Exodus 24:10  And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.

Ezekiel 1:26 ¶  And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.

Verse 4 – Who are the twenty four elders? Are they the twelve Hebrew patriarchs and the twelve Apostles, including Paul? Or, are they, being elders, twenty four elders of the early church, representing those seven churches mentioned previously? If so, would Antipas be among them? We don’t know because the Bible doesn’t say and you can’t make an argument from silence. Here is evidence for at least twelve of them being Jewish.

Matthew19:28  And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Does this represent all Old Testament Jewish believers? And does the following mean that twelve of these elders represent all Christian believers?

2Timothy 4:8  Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

Crowns imply kingship and authority, the ability to judge.

1Corinthians 6:3  Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

Also, they are clothed in white raiment.

Revelation 19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

Verse 5 – Now, get the frightening picture here of lightning and thunder and voices coming from the throne. Note the repeat of this later in Revelation;

Revelation 8:5  And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.

…and in the parallel passage…

Revelation 16:18  And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.

…and see how God’s presence manifested itself to the Hebrews, escaped from Egypt…

Exodus 19:16 ¶  And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.

Exodus 20:18 ¶  And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.

The seven lamps in front of the throne are the seven Spirits of God.

Ezekiel 1:13  As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning.

Daniel 10:6  His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.

Revelation 3:1 ¶  And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.

Revelation 5:6 ¶  And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.

Notice that the spirits, lowercase s, in Isaiah 11:2, even if you could stretch it out to say there were seven, are attitudes, wisdom, and knowledge, not entity or entities.

Isaiah 11:1 ¶  And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: 2  And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; 3  And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: 4  But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.

God can send you a spirit, lowercase s….

Exodus 28:3  And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office.

Exodus 31:3  And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship,

…or the Spirit, uppercase S.

Judges 6:34  But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered after him.

John 14:17  Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

John 15:26  But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

Verses 6 – 8: In front of the throne was a sea of glass like a crystal. Can you picture it? Here are some other references to the terrible beauty of God’s throne.

Ezekiel 1:22  And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature was as the colour of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above.

Exodus 24:10  And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.

These four beasts with eyes in front and in back, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come, are like the four beasts referred to in Ezekiel’s two visions.

Ezekiel 1:4 ¶  And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire. 5  Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man. 6  And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings. 7  And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf’s foot: and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass. 8  And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings. 9  Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward. 10  As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle. 11  Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies. 12  And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went. 13  As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. 14  And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.

    15 ¶  Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces. 16  The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel. 17  When they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned not when they went. 18  As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rings were full of eyes round about them four. 19  And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. 20  Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, thither was their spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. 21  When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. 22  And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature was as the colour of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above. 23  And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward the other: every one had two, which covered on this side, and every one had two, which covered on that side, their bodies. 24  And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise of an host: when they stood, they let down their wings. 25  And there was a voice from the firmament that was over their heads, when they stood, and had let down their wings.

    26 ¶  And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. 27  And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. 28  As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.

Ezekiel 10: 1 ¶  Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubims there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne. 2  And he spake unto the man clothed with linen, and said, Go in between the wheels, even under the cherub, and fill thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubims, and scatter them over the city. And he went in in my sight. 3  Now the cherubims stood on the right side of the house, when the man went in; and the cloud filled the inner court. 4  Then the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the LORD’S glory. 5  And the sound of the cherubims’ wings was heard even to the outer court, as the voice of the Almighty God when he speaketh. 6  And it came to pass, that when he had commanded the man clothed with linen, saying, Take fire from between the wheels, from between the cherubims; then he went in, and stood beside the wheels. 7  And one cherub stretched forth his hand from between the cherubims unto the fire that was between the cherubims, and took thereof, and put it into the hands of him that was clothed with linen: who took it, and went out.

    8 ¶  And there appeared in the cherubims the form of a man’s hand under their wings. 9  And when I looked, behold the four wheels by the cherubims, one wheel by one cherub, and another wheel by another cherub: and the appearance of the wheels was as the colour of a beryl stone. 10  And as for their appearances, they four had one likeness, as if a wheel had been in the midst of a wheel. 11  When they went, they went upon their four sides; they turned not as they went, but to the place whither the head looked they followed it; they turned not as they went. 12  And their whole body, and their backs, and their hands, and their wings, and the wheels, were full of eyes round about, even the wheels that they four had. 13  As for the wheels, it was cried unto them in my hearing, O wheel. 14  And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of a cherub, and the second face was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. 15  And the cherubims were lifted up. This is the living creature that I saw by the river of Chebar.

Lion, calf or ox or cherub, eagle, and man’s are the faces of these creatures. There are two curious things here.  The first is that Satan was a cherub. The reference in the following verses begins talking about the King of Tyre likening him to Satan, which gives us more important information about Satan than it does Tyre’s king. This is a way the Bible uses one description to describe two individuals. You describe how one is like the other and you have a prophecy of both.

Ezekiel 28:11 ¶  Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 12  Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. 13  Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. 14  Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. 15  Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. 16  By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. 17  Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. 18  Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. 19  All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.

As you can see, Satan is a cherub, a living creature, in the form of a beast. He is, in Job, chapter 41, in another multi-layered description of a dinosaur, or dragon in pre-1800’s terminology, and a king over all the children of pride.

Satan is called a dragon as you can see by cross-referencing;

Isaiah 27:1  In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.

Revelation 12:9  And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Satan is a dragon, what we today call a dinosaur, in appearance, but can appear as an angel of light to deceive us.

2Corinthians 11:13  For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 15  Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

The second curious thing is that one of these creatures has the face of a man. So, God could have made a beast with a man’s face but instead He made man to be very different although made of similar materials. We live longer than most creatures. We take longer to mature. Most creatures have lived their life cycle long before we are adults. We are helpless physically and need to manipulate our environment to protect ourselves and make weapons to fight against other predators. Our brains consume 60% of our available energy, I’ve read, although I have not confirmed this and that’s why I’m not citing the source. Just putting it out there for conversation purposes.  Anyway, one of the prototypes for beasts has the face of a man. It is not the face of an ape as God could have said that easily.  We were originally made in God’s image, in His likeness, as Genesis 1:26.

Adam, being the first man, was a son of God. He was created to look like God.

Luke 3:38  Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.

Genesis 1:26  And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

After Adam’s sin mankind began to degenerate and Adam’s descendants were made in his image, lacking the perfection that God intended.

Genesis 5:3  And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:

From this scientific fact we can make a prediction. All humanity has and will experience genetic decay as long as we exist in this physical existence. I refer you to Alexey Kondrashov’s 1995 article in the Journal of Theoretical Biology entitled, “Contamination of the Genome by very Slightly Deleterious Mutations: Why Have We Not Died 100 Times Over?”(4) Another example is James F. Crow’s “The High Spontaneous Mutation Rate: Is it a Health Risk?” for the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. (5) There has been nothing since these papers to indicate the opposite idea, that mankind is genetically improving.

(4) Alexey Kondrashov, “Contamination of the Genome by very Slightly Deleterious Mutations: Why Have We Not Died 100 Times Over?” Journal of Theoretical Biology 175 (1995): 583-594.

(5) James F. Crow, “The High Spontaneous Mutation Rate: Is it a Health Risk?” Proceedings of the National Academy of Science Vol. 94 (August 1997): 8380–8386.

Image and likeness have to do with how you look, not your mental character or spiritual state. Adam walked upright like God.

Verse 7 shows God’s taxonomic classification; flying creatures, domesticated, wild, and man. Man’s connection to the other animals is through these living creatures.  All creatures were made after their kind as it says in Genesis.

Genesis 1:21  And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good…25  And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 6:20  Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.

Genesis 7:14  They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort.

Obviously, this is a very general classification and has nothing to do with the dozens of species that Darwin and modern scientists use to classify different living creatures. Much is made by the creationist minded and the fundamentalist about the phrase after their kind in Genesis 1:21,25; 6:20; & 7:14. The word kind contrary to what is said often, does not refer to an individual species, whichever of the many definitions of species you use (6), whether it be a local, isolated group of finches or something like the, “breed,” of Animal Husbandry’s dog breeding. (Although there are significant differences between breed and species they are also not from the same disciplines so the issue is basically one about definition of terms that refer to similar but not identical things.)

 One of the things Charles Darwin was against was the popularly preached by clerics and many pre-Darwin biologists view that every species of animal that existed in his day was said to have come down from an original ancestor just like them in a doctrine called, “the immutability of species.” If there are a hundred species of a type of bird today then those species would have existed back to Noah’s Ark, goes the idea. This is, of course, absurd as mankind created many breeds of dogs in the last two hundred years alone. If you regarded a breed and a species as having similar meanings but under different types of scientific disciplines, Zoology versus Animal Husbandry, then you can imagine speciation, the process where different breeds or species of dogs, cats, horses, or birds came about taking place rather quickly in history.

 But the word kind doesn’t mean species at all. It is more like a general type of creature. Many species of cats came from the first cat creatures on Noah’s Ark. The problem with evolution is that the cat never became a dog, the pea never became a chrysanthemum, and an ape-like creature never became a man. There is no evidence of such a thing occurring without twisting the evidence into knots and the whole popularly understood concept of evolution in that regard, called macroevolution, is a fairy tale for atheists and in complete opposition to the Bible and reality.

Modern taxonomic classifications of living things are purely man-made and are totally subjective to what man chooses to include as a characteristic of the creature being named. God classifies animals differently based on characteristics that would be understood by men without microscopes. For instance, fowls fly, so the bat is a fowl in Leviticus 11:19 and Deuteronomy 14:18 and the Hebrew could not eat fowl with certain characteristics. The words reptile and mammal were classifications created by man for his own convenience and study. The Bible speaks of beasts of the field domestic animals, and beasts of the forest wild animals. It speaks about animals in the way of their usefulness generally to agricultural man or military man, not their peculiarities to the curious, modern man. 

Trying to force man’s definitions of everything from beasts to sin on the Bible’s definitions is futile and arrogant. When you argue allowing your opponent to control the definitions of words you are surrendering all leverage to them. Finally, a whale is a large creature that swims in the sea and therefore can be called a great fish, because fish are creatures that swim in the sea. Compare Jonah 1:17 and Matthew 12:40. The order, Cetacea, for whales, is not a concern of the Bible. A whale simply signifies a Leviathan, a large creature which, like all creatures, came first from the sea and then from the earth. (Genesis 1:20-24) Human taxonomic classifications are different language for a different purpose.

Don’t read your own definitions, preferences, or opinions any more than your own personal fears, hatreds, or bigotry back into the Bible.

(6) John S. Wilkins, “A List of 26 Species “Concepts”, Science Blogs: Evolving Thoughts, http://scienceblogs.com/evolvingthoughts/2006/10/01/a-list-of-26-species-concepts/ (accessed 1.14.2015).