by Darrel Cline (darrelcline biblical-thinking.org)
Chapter # 4 Paragraph # 1 Study # 15 April 28, 2024 Broadlands, Louisiana (Download Audio)
I. This Chapter Is The Ultimate Background For All That Follows.
A. It is a vision of The Heaven as the initial presentation of the realm of Heaven (with its characteristics and significances) in respect to "what must take place after these things..." (4:1).
B. The relationship of "being in the spirit" to the summons to Heaven.
C. What John saw...
1. The "First" issue: he saw a throne...
2. The "Second" Issue: he describes the One sitting upon the "Throne of Heaven".
3. The "Third" Issue: the emerald "iris".
4. The "Fourth" Issue: the twenty-four thrones.
5. The "Fifth" Issue: "out of the throne proceed..."
6. The "Sixth" Issue: "seven lamps of fire..."
7. The "Seventh" Issue: "the sea of glass..."
8. The "Eighth" Issue: The Four Living Creatures.
9. The "Ninth" Issue: The Primary Activity Of The Four Living Creatures.
a. The "setting" of their activity: their general appearance.
b. The summons to "worship".
1) The words.
a) The three-fold ascription of "holiness".
(1) This ascription was made "notable" in Isaiah 6:3 and it rested upon 1:4 where Yahweh is called "The Holy One Of Israel".
(a) The context of these verses indicates the fault of the nation in turning away from Him and, consequently, in becoming "a people of unclean lips" in the face of Him being "The King, The Lord of Hosts".
(b) The roots of this word are found in an adjective that means "apartness" and, in the case of Yahweh, this concept is that of the first commandment written upon tablets of stone: Deuteronomy 5:7.
(c) The overall concept is most likely tied to the unity that exists in the Love of God so that we read "in Him is no darkness at all".
(2) That this ascription is repeated in a three-fold declaration as what appears to be the "call to worship" that will go out morning and evening (without interruption/rest).
b) The three-fold identity of The Holy One of Israel.
(1) He is "Lord God".
(a) According to Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:3, "...no one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except by The Holy Spirit.
(b) The meaning, then, is that true, heart-level, understanding of "Lord" is what is the Gospel requirement (as Paul said in Romans 10:9, and this harmonizes with Jesus' question in Luke 6:46 and with His declaration in Matthew 7:21-22).
(c) And the linkage here in "Lord God" has strong overtones of the exercise of power.
(2) He is also "The Almighty".
a) This is a descriptive title that derives from the idea that He "has all of the capacities necessary to martial His attributes to accomplish anything He has set Himself to accomplish (there is no competitor on this level; note 2 Thessalonians 2:8).
b) This is a necessary sub-set of "God" as The Executor of Power.
(3) He is also "He Who was and Who is and Who is to come".
a) This has overtones of the history of Jesus among men, but is ascribed to The One Who sits upon the Throne.
b) This is not only tied to "time" issues in respect to human history, but it is also a part of the mystery of the Trinity as addressed by Jesus in John 14:8-9.
2) The focus: 4:8, 9, and 10 all put the focus upon the reality that this "Lord God, The Almighty" is the only "one" whose "living" is from everlasting to everlasting: Micah 5:2.