This transcript was generated by whisper.ai.

Welcome to day 3 of our look together through Revelation chapter 4. We're going
to focus on verses 4 and 5 today as we continue this experience, this worship
experience in the throne room of God. Yesterday we looked at the one on the
throne, one with the appearance of Jasper and Carnelian, and we looked at what
was encircling the throne, a rainbow, the character of God and the promise of
God seen in what John describes for us.

And now today as we continue through this chapter, in verse 4 we come to what is
surrounding the throne. Surrounding the throne are 24 elders. Let me read for
you verse 4.

Surrounding the throne were 24 other thrones, and seated on them were 24 elders.
They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. Here are 24
thrones around the throne, and on those thrones there are 24 elders.

Who are these 24 elders? There are two main views of this, and commentators down
through the centuries have not agreed. Some people believe that they are angels,
24 angels sitting around that throne who are empowered as messengers of God.

Others believe that they are believers, they are saints of God who have been
honored of God and are sitting around that throne. Now just to show you how
people don't agree on this, I was reading two major commentators about this just
recently, and one said that they had just switched from believing it was elders
around the throne to thinking that it was angels around the throne, that they
had to change their opinion after all these years. I read the next commentator
and they said, "I've just switched from believing it was angels to believing it
was believers after all these years.

" So we go back and forth in our opinions about this. I personally think it
points to people, God's saints. The idea of crowns on their heads just leads me
in that direction.

The fact they have crowns, how they're dressed, the way that they worship, it
makes sense also with the number 24, whether it's angels or believers, saints of
God who are being honored here. The number 24 is a very important number.
Remember there were 12 tribes of Israel, and remember there were 12 apostles.

So in 24, you get Israel, you get the Jewish nation, and you get believers. You
get the Christians. You get the whole people of God.

God's going to bring all of his people together in some way at the end of time
through Jesus Christ, through our belief in Jesus Christ. That's the only way
that we're brought together. But Paul tells us that there's going to be a great
number of Jewish believers at the end of time who come together to believe in
Jesus Christ.

So the 12 tribes, the 12 apostles, all brought together all of history in what
God is doing. There's also another possible explanation for the number 24, and
that is that there were 24 divisions of priests. Any Jewish reader would have
immediately known that.

Just when you hear the word 100, you might think there's 100 senators if you
happen to live in America. You know that number. 24 was the number of divisions
of priests.

So the idea of these that sat around the throne being the priests of God,
serving before God, at the temple of God, that's an attractive idea. That's
something we would have all known. David had divided the groups of priests into
24 so that they would not serve all at once, but they'd be represented one after
the other serving in the temple.

There was one high priest, but there were 24 orders of priests and 24 who served
as representatives of the whole before the temple. I like something in that
picture because that reminds me that these 24 elders are probably serving as
representatives of the whole. They're not the only ones who are being honored.

They're serving as representatives of all of the people of God who are being
honored. They're dressed in white. It's a symbol of God's holiness placed upon
their lives through Jesus Christ.

They're wearing crowns of gold. We're going to talk about those crowns later as
we walk through this chapter. The crown of life, the crown of righteousness
that's been put on their heads by the love and power of Jesus Christ.

This throne is a place of worship where those seated around the throne, their
lives have been changed because of God's plan, God's plan for salvation through
Jesus Christ. Their hearts are changed and their lives are renewed. And because
their lives are renewed, they're seated before this throne.

And notice they're seated in thrones. They are not only worshiping God. There is
some sense that they're reigning with God.

Now, I don't know all that this means. I must admit that this is something I'm
waiting to get to heaven to discover, to understand. But I do know that Jesus
taught that we will reign with God.

I do know that Paul taught that there is some sense in which we will reign with
God for all of eternity. We will worship Him. But the idea, the idea that
somehow we reign with Him, that's almost beyond explanation to me.

I don't know all that it means, but it does say something to me of the great
honor that has come into our lives because of Jesus Christ. The great joy of
being together forever in heaven, of reigning with Him in some way. It has
something to do with the responsibilities that we have in heaven, but it also
has something to do with the honor that Jesus Christ has put upon your life for
all of eternity in heaven.

This throne, it is a place of worship where we stand before Him in worship. It's
a place of awe. It's a place of God's promise.

On the throne, there's the one with Jasper and Carnelian circling the throne,
the rainbow surrounding the throne, 24 elders. And then we come in verse 5 to
what comes from the throne. From the throne come thunder and lightning.

Verse 5, the first part of the verse says, "From the throne come flashes of
lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. " If there's anything in your mind
that has this experience in the throne room as some small little intimate
experience, you've missed it. This is a place of grandeur.

This is a place of greatness. This is a place of God's glory. There's the 24
elders around the throne.

There is the bright beauty of the throne. But then from the throne there come
these flashes of lightning. There come these sounds of thunder peeling from this
throne.

Just imagine this moment. If you've ever been in a worship experience where the
music gets loud, but there's something about the loudness of it that lets you
experience the greatness of God. I know some of you don't like loud music.

That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about a different experience
where the loudness of the music, it draws you upwards to experience how great
thou art, how great God really is. If you've ever had the tiniest experience of
that, then you begin to understand what's happening in this throne room of
heaven, the greatness of who God is.

It's interesting that the flashes of lightning, the rumblings and the peals of
thunder, these are sights, these are sounds that are associated for any Jewish
reader, anybody who's read the Old Testament, with the giving of the law on
Mount Sinai. This is what happened when God gave the law to Moses. This was the
moment where they saw the power of God.

And throughout the Bible, even in people's lives today, lightning is often
associated with the judgment of God. You hear people say, "Hey, I'm going to be
struck by lightning if I say this, as if God's judgment is going to come down on
me. " Exodus 19 verse 16 says, "On the morning of the third day there was
thunder and lightning and a thick cloud over the mountain and a very loud
trumpet blast.

And everyone in the camp trembled. " When you hear of thunder and lightning, it
makes you feel that this throne, it's a place of beauty, but it's also a place
of judgment. It's a place where the judgment of God, God is the judge on his
throne, is very clear.

Many people don't like that. We live in a world today that's affected by this
idea of judgment in such a way that we sometimes are even uncomfortable with God
as the judge. We like to think of the throne of God as a place of grace, but not
of judgment.

But unless the possibility of judgment is real, what does grace even mean? It's
an empty thought. It's a meaningless thought.

Here's the truth of the matter. And it's interesting, even as I'm saying this
now, there's a storm in our area and there's thunder and lightning outside and
there is wind and there is rain hitting the roof where I'm speaking. This is
reminding me of the greater thing that's going to happen in this day.

It's a place of judgment because sin has torn God's world apart. It's torn your
life. It's torn people's lives apart.

So of course God judges sin. Whether it's fallen angels or fallen people or a
fallen world, of course God judges sin that tears apart his creation, that tears
apart his people. What kind of God would he be if he did not?

But that is not where he wants things to end with us. He wants our sin to be
forgiven. And the judgment for your sin fell upon his son, God himself in human
flesh, who gave his life for us on a cross.

The throne is a place of judgment. It's a place where we see clearly who God is.
But it's also a place of grace for all who've trusted in Jesus Christ.

If you haven't, trust him now. We want to stand together before that throne one
day. Trust him now.

I trust your forgiveness. I trust your grace. I don't want to depend on me being
good enough to stand in a place like this.

I'm not. I know it. I depend on your grace and forgiveness.

I want to begin to live the kind of life you made me to live, Jesus Christ. I
trust in you. Let's all pray together.

And as we pray today, just thank God for who he is. Thank him that this throne
is a place of worship where we're reminded that all through history, New
Testament and old, God ties it all together. And just say, thank you, God, for
who you are, and that all of history is tied together in you.

Thank you, God, for who you are, and that all of my life is tied together in
you. In Jesus' name, I thank you, amen. Join us tomorrow.

We're going to still be at the throne together.