The Bible says in
Revelation chapter 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.”
The book
of the Revelation of Jesus Christ is a gospel primarily for the church, the
believers in Jesus as opposed to the lost of this world. Revelation is written
too the 7 churchs. Truly there is only 1 church which consists of all those
whom have turned from their sins to Jesus Christ. But the number 7 is a special
number to God. There are seven continents. There are seven seas. There are
seven days in a week. There are seven Spirits of God. And by addressing the
seven churchs God is emphasizing that He is speaking too all believers,
certainly all believers in this age of the church because the age of grace is
the age of the church; the age of being separated from the world.
The Bible says in
Revelation chapter 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.”
What happened to the
apostle John while in prison around A.D. 96 is what is going to happen to all
the believers at the end of grace, at the last trump, in the twinkling of an
eye when Christ returns. Just like Enoch was translated that he should not see
death so too shall all the believers be at the end of the age of grace when
Christ raptures us.
This is what
Revelation chapter 4 and verse 1 is describing when it says, “a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I
heard was it were of a trumpet talking with me; which
said, Come up hither.”
A door symbolizes
opportunity. Jesus said in Revelation 3:7, “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write,
these things saith He that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no
man openeth;” Revelation 3:20, “Behold, I stand
at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will
come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.”
God is
the one who controls all things. God is almighty no man is, no angel is. The
first 3 chapters of Revelation talk about the church and then chapter 4 beings
in verse 1 by shewing things that will be hereafter. God is the one who opens
and closes the door of the beginning and the end of the age of grace. No one
else will no nation, no leader of any country, no fallen angel, no evil desire of mankind. The age of grace, the age of the
church shall continue on and on until God shuts the door of this age at the
last trump when He takes the church to heaven.
Persecution
of Christians will not end the age of grace. Sin will not end the age of grace.
God will end this age when He decides to close the door just as God decided to
open a door in heaven for the apostle John to look and behold the future.
In a way
it is natural for man to think about time. Even the wisest man other than
Jesus, King Solomon thought about time when he said in Ecclesiastes 3:1, “To every
thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”
In thinking about
time one of the best things to do is what the apostle John did and to behold
God’s plan for the future for mankind.
To truly understand anything about what is going to happen in the future
of this world one must look to Jesus to reveal it in His Word. And Jesus has
here in the book of Revelation.
Yes nations will rise
and fall. Just in the past 20 years nations have risen and fallen all over this
world. These things are of little consequence. What really matters in this
world is God’s plan for the future. The most important truth to understand about
the future at least the immediate future when it concerns the church and the
end of the age of grace at the rapture is what will be going on in heaven at
the throne of God. Because is what is talked about and described in Revelation chapter is Jesus
sitting on His throne.
Revelation 4:1-3
says, “Come up hither, and I will shew thee things
which must be hereafter. And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a
throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. 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.”
In
talking about the rapture, and what happens right
after the rapture of the church what is described in the book of Revelation is
not the world wide judgment of God poured out upon the earth but what is
described is Jesus Christ sitting on His throne.
Yes tis true there
are many important events which will occur in heaven during the seven years of
the great tribulation. But the first and most important event at the end age of
grace after the rapture of the Church is Jesus Christ sitting on His throne. The
rise of the antichrist is not important, what is important is Jesus sitting on
His throne.
Ezekiel 1:26-28 says,
“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. 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. 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.”
In heaven, there is a
throne and on that throne sits Jesus. Knowing that Jesus is sitting on His
throne even now tells us that God is in control both in heaven and in this
world regardless of any opposition towards the truth. When the age of grace ends and the church is
raptured to heaven Jesus will still be sitting on His throne, regardless of
what is happening on the earth at the beginning of the great tribulation.
In describing the
glory of the God of Israel, Jesus Christ, there are two details given, the
image of Jesus and a rainbow. What is
mentioned first is the image of Jesus Christ. “He that
sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine
stone.” A jasper is a diamond. And a sardine is
a deep red like a ruby: white and red or red and white. White is a color that
symbolizes the holiness of God. Red is a colour that symbolizes the love of
God. Jasper and sardine or you could say law and grace: holiness and law and
grace and love in the beauty of jasper and sardine.
When we see the face
of Jesus we will certainly see the Holiness of God, the law and grace of God,
the everlasting love of God in a way we can never see it or understand it in
His written Word.
Jesus sitting on His throne
with a rainbow above Him; the bow in the clouds is very important because a
rainbow symbolizes the faithfulness of God in keeping His promises. When we
think of a rainbow the story of Noah’s ark should come to mind.
Genesis 9:11-9:16, “And I will establish My covenant
with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off anymore by the waters of a flood;
neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me
and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations.
I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between
me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the
earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember My covenant, which is between me and you and every living
creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy
all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I
may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of
all flesh that is upon the earth.”
God loves to remember
His promises to mankind. God destroyed the world with a flood once. And He will
never use the waters of a flood again to judge this world. Yea, tis true there
is sorrow on the sea it cannot be quiet. But the sea shall never again become
the judgment of God. The rainbow of God’s promises is a rainbow of mercy and
grace and faithfulness and the love of God for all this
world.
In talking about the
bow which is over the throne of God Revelation 4:3 says, “in sight like unto an emerald.” An emerald is green colour. There is much green in the
world. Nature is very green. Grass is green. Leaves are green. In a way green
is the colour of grace. When we think of the grace of nature which freely grows
and gives life and beauty in the world we think of green. The promise of God’s
eternal grace is a very important detail to notice.
A rainbow has more than one colour to it.
Therefore an emerald rainbow has more than one shade or hue of green in it.
There is more to the grace of God than we know. Ephesians 3:9 says, “And to
make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery,
which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all
things by Jesus Christ.”
God is from
everlasting to everlasting. The name Jehovah means the eternally exist one so of
course God is always a mystery and of course there is thus a fellowship to that
mystery. Now in talking about the grace of God there is certainly a fellowship
to the mystery of the grace of God. There is a mystery to God’s grace because
there is always more to learn about the grace of God. There is a mystery to the
grace of God because there is always more grace that God will give out to His
children both today and in the future. God is Holy and does not change but God
can chose to increase His grace in a person’s life or in a nation’s life or in
the world depending upon how men respond to the truth of the Word of God.
In thinking of the
emerald rainbow of God’s promises of grace we should remember the bow in the
cloud. Genesis 6:8 says, “But Noah found grace in the
eyes of the LORD.” The rainbow is not a symbol of homosexuality but of
God’s promises of grace. Grace always means to not suffer the judgment of God.
It is always good to
find deliverance from the judgment of God for sin. This is why Jesus Christ
died on the cross for the sins of the world so that those who repent of their
sins to Jesus can find redemption and escape the eternal holy wrath of God. The
promise and the truth that God will not destroy the world with a world wide
flood as He did in the days of Noah is another example of the grace of God. The
world will never suffer the destruction of a world wide flood again. This is
grace. And to escape the judgment of God in the lake of fire through the blood
of Jesus Christ is also grace.
We live in the age of
grace. What God is doing in this world is a work of grace. The church is a work
of grace. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a work of grace. This work of grace
began with Jesus being born of a virgin and living a sinless life, giving us
the teachings of the New Testament, dying on the cross for our sins, and rising
from the grave defeating death. The work of God’s grace in this world in this
age of grace will end with the rapture of the church. This twinkling of an eye
is itself a work of the grace of God for all those whom shall not suffer
physical death just as Enoch did not.
“Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.” There is
always grace to be found in Jesus Christ. There is grace to be found in the
forgiveness of sins and in the eternal life of Jesus. Grace is what God gives
freely. And what gives freely is always good.
In thinking about the
emerald rainbow of God’s grace which is over His throne in heaven we should
realize the grace of God is eternal because it is an everlasting gospel. Part
of the fellowship of the mystery of the saints is in learning about the grace
of God. This is the age of grace. The work that God is doing in this world is a
work of grace. How many hues of green are in the emerald rainbow above the
throne of God? No one knows. What do we really know about the grace of God that
is found in Christ Jesus, the true grace? God children shall spend eternity learning
about the grace of God and increasing in the grace of God.
Jesus sitting on His
throne with a rainbow; these three colours: white, red, and green. And these
three gemstones: jasper, sardine, and emerald. Here in the
White, red, and
green: white… John 4:35, “Say not ye, There are yet
four months, and then cometh harvest? Behold, I say unto you, Lift up your
eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white
already to harvest.” Red: Isaiah
Psalms 23:1-3, “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to
lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth
my soul.”
White fields of
harvest, the sins of the world, and the red blood of Jesus, and the green
pastures of eternal life. Now think about these colours: red, white, and blue.
There is actually more than one place in the Bible where the colours red,
white, and blue are mentioned together. The Red, white, and blue is mentioned
in Esther chapter 1.
Esther 1:1-21, “Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, (This is
Ahasuerus which reigned, from
Where does the
In thinking about
half a time of grace and in thinking about the end of the age of grace and in
thinking about the red, white, and blue and two wings of a great eagle from sea
to sea think about the story of Esther. In this story the king had a great
feast, summoned all in the kingdom to the feast, and the queen refused to show
to the feast. This story is exactly the opposite of what is going to happen at
the end of the age of grace when Jesus Christ returns. When Jesus Christ
returns at the end of a half a time of grace, Jesus’ Christ’s queen the church
will with zeal and love welcome Christ coming to rapture all of the Christians
from this earth.
Esther 1:6, “Where were white, green, and blue…upon a pavement of red, and blue, and white…” Where
is the
In the story of
Esther chapter 1 king Ahasuerus bid all to his feast
and said, “that they should do according to every man’s pleasure.” The
Esther 1:6, “Where were white, green, and blue…upon a pavement of red, and blue, and white…” Perhaps
the
In being the president
of BDSM for this country and the World I Bruce Jason Creech pen name William
Edward Night would like to remind the
Proverbs
Jesus
loves the white, red, and green of heaven and the red, white, and blue of the
One day
the chaste virgin of the church will walk up and done amidst the stones of
fire, the sapphire stones which are beneath the feet of Jesus Christ because
Jesus hath put all things under His feet.
O! Yes
the beautiful women, the models and the supermodels of this world love to walk
up and down on the runway and cast their fashions and their graces and their
bodies. When O! When Church wilt thou run the way of Jesus Christ instead of
the way of your own pleasure in this half a time of grace?
Red, white, and blue: 50 stars and 50 states in a half a time of
grace before the church sees the white, red, and green of the glory of God in
the face of Jesus Christ.
Revelation 4:4 says,
“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 crown of gold.”
Now we come to the 24
elders. Perhaps in thinking about the 24
elders of the Bible, Christians of the
Revelation 4:4 says,
“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 crown of gold.”
Who are the 24
elders? At the beginning of the age of grace there were 12 apostles. Perhaps
here at the end of the age of grace there will be 24 elders. Perhaps they are
24 Christians from throughout all the church. I am inclined to lean towards the
idea that they are 24 Christians here at the end of the age of grace who walk
with God like Enoch walked with God and who watch and wait faithfully for the
return of Christ.
The fact that 24
elders are mentioned here is a very important detail. 12 and 24 of course makes
Christmas eve and we know that Christ was born on
Christmas. God is a give and God loves to receive gifts too. Perhaps the
greatest Gift to God here at the end of the age of grace will be the 24 elders
who give their lives to Jesus Christ and give their best to be a part of the
work of God’s grace in this age of grace.
Notice that the 24
elders are seated near the throne. In other words they are very close to Jesus
Christ. Of course a throne speaks of power and authority but more importantly
they are close to Jesus Christ.
Revelation 4:1-4, “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. And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set
in heaven, and one sat on the throne. 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. 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.”
Who are the 24
elders? In thinking about the details given in regards to the throne of God we
are reminded of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the holiness of God, the love of
God, and the grace of God. This is the age of grace. The work that God is doing
in this world is a work of grace more than ever since the creation of the
world. The age of the law was a work of law. The age of grace is a work of
grace. The age after the great tribulation when Christ rules with a rod of iron
will be a work of law and grace in an age of law and grace. But we live in the
age of grace. The everlasting glorious gospel work of Christ is a work of
grace. Perhaps the 24 elders who are mentioned here at the end of the age of
grace, who are here shown too be sitting near the throne, are 24 Christians who
have the most desire to serve Jesus Christ and accomplish His work of grace in
this age. Perhaps the 24 elders are the 24 Christians who know the most about
the word of God and who the do the most for the lost souls of the world and
building up of the faith of the church. Perhaps the 24 elders are those who
learn the most about God’s grace and who are the most thankful for the grace of
God. Perhaps the 24 elders are 12 pairs of men and woman who by the grace of
God promote the way of a man with a maid in marriage in this world instead of
homosexuality. God’s emerald rainbow is a rainbow of grace not of sodomy.
Seek that ye may
excel. The age of grace is sometimes called the last days in the Bible. Last opportunities
are always great opportunities when it is the opportunity to be a part of the
work of God in the world for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I Peter
In
the past 22 years whenever I have thought about the book of the Revelation of
Jesus Christ, the great tribulation and the judgment of God is what has mostly
been on my mind. But here in the book of Revelation what is first talked about
in regards to the end of the age of grace is not the judgment of God nor the
antichrist, but Jesus and His 24 elders. Here in the rest of chapter 4 we are
going to see that the 24 elders will be doing something very special for Jesus
before Jesus pours out His indignation upon all the nations of this world. They
are going to Worship Jesus Christ. They are going to praise Jesus. They are
going to cast their crowns before His feet and apparently they are going to do
this before all the host of heaven and apart from all
the rest of the heavenly host.
Seek
that ye may excel in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. None of us can ever be an
apostle because there were only 12 apostles. None of us can be Joseph the father
of baby Jesus or Mary the mother of Jesus. None of us can be an Old Testament prophet
such as Isaiah or Jeremiah. None of us will
be used to write or give a book of the Bible. But perhaps some of us can become
one of the 24 elders of the church. There is a great gospel work to be done in
this world still. It shall by the grace of God always be a prosperous journey
in the way world without end.
Revelation 4:9-11 says, “And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to
Him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, The 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, Thou 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.”
___________________________________________________
Copyright; 2013 by Bruce
Creech
All Rights Reserved