Recap

So far in Revelation we've read through the messages to the seven churches. The final book of the Bible, Revelation is attributed to John, often thought to be the same author as John’s gospel. Rather than being read as a prediction of future events it can be read as a picture for all generations. Every generation faces wars, empires, and evil. Revelation pulls back the curtain to reveal the spiritual battle behind these earthly struggles. Its central question is simple. Will you choose the side of light and life, or darkness and death?

The letter began with an introduction, describing it as a revelation given to John by God through an angel for the seven churches in Asia. John introduced Jesus as the ruler of kings, who cleansed believers of sin through his blood and made them a kingdom and priests. He saw Jesus coming on the clouds, merging the language of the son of man and God from Daniel 7 into one.

John described seven golden lampstands, representing the churches, and seven stars, symbolising their angels. Jesus, portrayed as both human and divine, commissioned John to deliver messages to these churches.

The church in Ephesus was faithful but had lost its love for others. They needed to repent and reignite their mission to share the gospel. Smyrna, a poor and persecuted church, was encouraged to remain faithful for eternal life. Pergamum had resisted persecution but allowed corruption through immoral practices and false teachings. Thyatira struggled with similar issues, influenced by a false teacher described as Jezebel. Faithful believers were urged to hold firm.

Sardis was spiritually dead, needing to wake up and act on their faith. Philadelphia, a faithful church, was promised protection and the authority of God’s name. And Laodicea had become complacent, relying on wealth rather than Jesus. They were urged to recognise their spiritual poverty and seek renewal.

The messages highlighted the spiritual realities behind the struggles of each church. Christians were reminded that their actions and faithfulness mattered deeply. The call was to wake up, repent, and live in light of the spiritual battle and the hope of Jesus’ victory.

Revelation 4-6

After writing down the messages for the seven churches, the scene steps back as John sees the throne of heaven. We get typical throne room imagery that we saw in Ezekiel 1, Ezekiel 10, Isaiah 6:1-3, and Daniel 7.

Surrounding the main throne are twenty-four smaller thrones for twenty-four elders. These smaller thrones represent God’s divine council. They are ruling and leading with God. The passages that seem to be in play here are Exodus 24:9-10, Isaiah 24:23, and Daniel 7:9-10.

In Exodus 24, we have human elders joining Moses to enter into God’s presence. In Isaiah 24, we have God standing in glory before his elders who in that context are his divine council made up of spiritual beings. In Daniel 7, court is adjourned, thrones are brought forward, and judgement begins.

This mention of twenty-four elders here in Revelation is the merging together of spiritual beings and human beings into a new divine council. Twenty-four because it’s twelve of each. The exact number isn’t important.

What’s important is that God is promoting humanity back up to the role of divine council members. I say back up, because as humans were charged with filling the earth and subduing it back in Genesis 1:28, the plan was always that they would have been part of the divine council.

Continuing to fill out the throne room imagery, we have the living creatures from Ezekiel 1. These living creatures, along with the twenty-four elders, all worship and submit to God who sits on the throne.

John then looks next to the throne and sees a scroll with seven seals. This scroll is drawing on the imagery of Ezekiel 2:9–10, which had a scroll of lamentation, mourning, and woe. That scroll was to speak judgement over the Israelites. The context of this scroll in Revelation suggests that this scroll is going to lead to an ultimate judgement.

And so the question is asked, who is worthy of opening this scroll? Who can get this judgement started? But no one is worthy to open the scroll, so John weeps. But one of the elders then comes to John and encourages him that the lion of Judah, the king that is a descendant of David, is worthy and is here.

So John turns, expecting to see a conquering lion, and instead sees a slaughtered lamb. The lamb has seven horns. Horns often represent power and authority (see Deuteronomy 33:17, 1 Samuel 2:10, and Zechariah 1:18-21) and as seven represents totality and wholeness, this lamb has all authority.

And so the elders and living creatures now bow and worship the lamb declaring that it is through the blood of this lamb that he has made saints, holy ones, out of every trine and people group so they might be a kingdom and priests who reign on the earth.

This praise then spreads out to the surrounding angels and then all creation. All creation will worship the lamb.

We then move into the section of the book that looks at three sets of seven divine judgements, starting with the seven seals. Typically, people have read this as a chronological prediction of events, that there will be twenty-one judgements that will happen.

But we’ve already pointed out that Revelation can also be read as a pulling back of the curtain on the events that every generation faces. We’ll also see repeated themes and imagery in each of the three groups of seven. It seems better to read this not as twenty-one chronological events, but a repetition of the same cycle, the same key ideas in three different ways.

The lamb starts opening the seals and the first four all summon horses and riders. This drawing on the four chariot imagery in Zechariah 6. There they were patrolling the earth and bringing order. Instead, here these four horsemen are bringing judgement similar to the kind of judgement depicted in Isaiah 34. War, conquering, conflict, famine, pestilence, and death by wild animals.

Each of these are things that every generation experiences, and through this letter can see as part of ongoing judgement on a broken world.

The fifth seal is opened and John sees believers who were murdered for their faith, asking God how much longer will this go on before God judges the world. They are given white robes and told to be patient, for there are still more who will die.

In this, every generation who sees fellow believers who have died for their faith can know that this is still in God’s control. He knows what is happening, he cares for those who have been killed, and he’s still at work.

The sixth seal opens, and we get Day of the Lord imagery. Earthquakes, the sun darkening, the moon turning red, and starts falling from the sky. We’ve seen this in Day of the Lord passages before (see Isaiah 13:10–13; Isaiah 34:4; Joel 3:15–16; Habakkuk 3:6–11). This is it, the final judgement that has been waited for.

All the powerful and wealthy of the world, along with everyone else, hide in fear, recognising the great day of God’s wrath has come.

Psalm 39

This psalm is attributed to king David and is titled to Jeduthun. It falls into the category of lament, though this psalm is more abstract than previous lament psalms. Rather than being about a specific struggle, this psalm is a reflection on fleeting life is, leading the psalmist to confess their sin. 

Jeduthun was one of David’s lead musicians (1 Chronicles 16:41). Jeduthun’s name may also be similar to the Hebrew word for confession, and so it may also be a play on words. 

Psalm 39:1-3 - I am guarded before the wicked

Psalm 39:4-6 - My life is transient 

Psalm 39:7-9 - Deliver me from my transgression

Psalm 39:10-13 - Have mercy on me and hear me

The psalm opens with the psalmist talking to themselves. They had decided to keep quiet and keep to themselves. Life is too short and too difficult to warrant, drawing the attention of the wicked. 

Unfortunately, this didn’t last long for them. Though at first they kept silent, this only led to be more frustrated and angry with what they saw. This became like a fire building inside them.

So instead, they turn to God, asking him why life is so short. The unspoken question here is that it all seems so meaningless, where life is but a breath while the wicked seem to prosper.

Working through this thought, the psalmist is then led to repent, stripping everything back. God is their source of hope. In the midst of all this, their trust has to be found in him. They have become too focused on what the wicked were doing that they had failed to seek after God.

The psalmist now fully turns to God and asks for mercy. They ask God to forgive their distrust in his order, and to remain close.

The point of this psalm is to not get caught up in the mundane, or the business of life. Don’t despise any of it. Instead, allow life to find meaning in God.