Chapter 4. After the vision of Christ in chapter 1 and the messages to the seven churches in chapters 2–3, John is summoned by the same trumpet-like voice into heaven, where he is given a vision of the throne room of God.

Everything suggests brilliance, splendor, and majesty proceeding from the presence of God the Father on the throne. John is given a front-row seat to the unceasing praise God receives from all creation — from the four living creatures to the elders in white robes with golden crowns. Together they worship God, who is holy, sovereign, eternal, and the Maker of all things.

Brothers, this is the God we worship and serve. Let us not forget His majesty and splendor, and let us give Him the reverence and obedience our Creator and Sovereign deserves.

Chapter 5. In the throne room we encounter Jesus, the Lamb who was slain, the Lion of Judah, the only One able to bring the story of the universe to its end and secure the victory of the saints.

There is a scroll written on both sides — nothing is left out — sealed with seven seals, complete. It is held by God the Father in His right hand, the place of power and authority. A mighty angel appears and asks a question that reaches into every corner of the universe: who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?

There is only silence. The silence is broken by John, who begins to weep, perhaps thinking there may be no good end to the struggle between good and evil, no vindication for the saints, no hope of eternal salvation. The question lingers: is there no one worthy?

One of the twenty-four elders tells John that there is. Only one: the Lion of the tribe of Judah. He has triumphed. He is worthy to open the scroll and each of its seven seals.

John looks and sees a Lamb standing as though it had been slain. There is no mistaking who this is, for the praise that follows declares that this Lamb shed His blood to ransom people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. The Lamb has seven horns, representing perfect authority, and seven eyes, representing perfect knowledge and wisdom, and He sends out the Spirit into all the earth. He is a Lamb because of the atoning, sacrificial work He accomplished to redeem humanity for God.

In answer to the question echoing through the universe, Jesus answers not by receiving the scroll but by going to the throne and taking it from the right hand of the Father — as if to declare by His action, "I am worthy." The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders immediately fall down before the Lamb in worship. Their praise is no longer only to God the Father who sits on the throne; equal praise is now given to the Lamb. They are joined by myriads of angels in a unified chorus, and then by every creature in heaven, on earth, under the earth, and in the sea.

Brothers, this Lamb, this Jesus, has purchased us by His blood so that we might be a kingdom and priests to serve our God and reign on the earth. This is our certain future! Let us praise Him, worship Him, trust and obey Him. As we bide our time here until the end, let us be found faithful to live out all that God has created, called, and gifted us to do. And let us remember: we are already overcomers in Christ.

Chapter 6. Having heard the glorious praise of chapters 4 and 5, and learned that the Lamb alone is worthy to open the scroll, we now find distinct outcomes from each of six seals He opens.

The first four seals reveal four differently colored horses, each with a rider given authority — to conquer, to stir up violent conflict, to bring scarcity, and to kill by various means. The fifth seal reveals Christian martyrs crying out to God for justice and being told to wait. The sixth reveals cosmic, cataclysmic signs and then the reaction of rulers and people on earth trying to hide from the wrath of God.

It is difficult to pin down the precise identity of these horses and riders. One member of our study suggested parallels with major movements and powers in our own era; readers in every generation have found some such parallels, which is perhaps part of the point — that the astute and diligent student of prophecy in any age can say, as John did, "the time is near" (Revelation 1:3).

The vision of the martyrs is both sobering and encouraging. Whether past, present, or still future, it portrays suffering, death, and apparent defeat for Christians on earth. The victory and vindication await the end, when all who are to die in the Lord have died. Yet that victory is sure, as the signs in heaven and earth and the terror of the world's rulers reveal.

Brothers, John wrote of the "tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus" (Revelation 1:9). There is suffering now, but a kingdom awaits. We live in the in-between time, where patient endurance is called for. Let us then serve our God and Savior faithfully.

Chapter 7. Chapter 7 is a kind of intermission between the sixth and seventh seals — between the seal judgments and the trumpet judgments.

We are introduced to four angels with authority to harm the land, the sea, and the trees. They are held back until 144,000 from the tribes of Israel are sealed. We later learn more about this group (cf. Revelation 14:1–5): they are described as redeemed from the earth, undefiled, truthful, and blameless.

Then John sees a great multitude that no one could number, "from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages," standing before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches, giving glory to God and the Lamb for salvation. An elder reveals that these have come "out of the great tribulation" and have "washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (7:14). It is not stated whether all of them were martyred.

What is clear is that they will worship and serve God, and they will experience His protection, provision, and blessing. God will shelter them; they will never hunger or thirst; the Lamb will shepherd them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes (7:15–17).

Connecting this with Revelation 14:6, where an angel proclaims "an eternal gospel" to every nation, tribe, language, and people, some have suggested that the sealed 144,000 were witnesses during this period, leading to a wave of conversions and consequently to widespread persecution and martyrdom. These may be the fellow servants the martyrs of the fifth seal were told to await (6:11).

Chapter 8. The seventh seal brings out the seven angels with the seven trumpets. We are told that these judgments come in connection with the prayers of all God's people (8:3–4). I do not believe these are the typical prayers for blessing, health, and provision. They appear to be the kind of prayer recorded in Revelation 6:10: "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge?" They are prayers for vindication.

The angel who initiates the trumpet judgments combines the prayers of God's people with fire from the altar and hurls it to the earth. The fire seems to represent God's power, which in response to His people's prayers brings judgment on the inhabitants of the earth. Four trumpets follow, striking a third of the land, the sea, the waters, and the lights — partial but severe judgments, and not natural but supernatural in character.

Notice the escalation across the series. The proportions rise from a fourth (6:8) to a third (8:7–12) and finally to complete judgment in the bowls. The introductions intensify as well: before the seals, "flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder" (4:5); before the trumpets, the same plus an earthquake (8:5); before the bowls, the same plus a great hailstorm (11:19). And each seventh judgment appears to open into the next series.

At the end of the first four trumpets, an eagle cries, "Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth" because of the three trumpet blasts still to come (8:13). The first four were supernatural judgments using elements of the natural world; the next three involve spiritual and demonic forces. And as terrible as the first four were, in what follows "people will seek death and will not find it"; they will long to die, but death will flee from them (9:6).

Praise God for our salvation through Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away our sins! Brothers, we are meant to read these words and rejoice in God our Father and Christ our Savior. Let us live faithfully for Him.

AI-Expanded Reflection

Revelation 4–5 forms a single throne-room scene, and the comment rightly notes its two movements: chapter 4 praises God as Creator ("you created all things," 4:11; see #1959), and chapter 5 praises the Lamb as Redeemer ("you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God," 5:9; see #2150). Worship of the Lamb alongside the One on the throne is one of the New Testament's clearest affirmations of Christ's deity, and it culminates in 5:13, where every creature blesses both together.

On the interpretation of the seals, trumpets, and bowls, Christians differ widely. Futurists read them as describing a future tribulation period, as the comment does. Historicists have read them as a panorama of church history; preterists as largely fulfilled in the first-century Roman world; and idealists as symbolic portrayals of the conflict between God and evil throughout the age. The escalation the comment observes — a fourth, then a third, then completion — is recognized across these views, as is the repeated note that despite the judgments, "they did not repent" (9:20–21; 16:9, 11). The comment's pastoral conclusion is shared by all readings: the book was written to sustain patient endurance in suffering churches, with the Lamb's victory as the ground of hope.

One of the elders said to John, "Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah... has conquered," so that He can open the scroll and its seven seals. And John saw between the throne, with the four living creatures, and the elders "a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain," with seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth (a paraphrase of Revelation 5:5–6).

In John's Gospel, Jesus' forerunner declared, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29). Jesus became God's sacrificial Lamb to atone for the sins of everyone who would trust in Him for forgiveness. Yet this Lamb — slain, humble, meek, and willing to be the substitute for our sins — is now recognized by the elders before God's throne as "the Lion," with all the majesty, authority, power, and awe such an image conveys.

As Jesus was the only One who could save fallen humanity from eternal condemnation — the Lamb of God — so now He is the only One with authority to judge those who reject His salvation — the Lion. He first came as a suffering Servant; He comes again as sovereign Judge. This is just what He said in John's Gospel: "The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son" (John 5:22).

Friends, when we speak of the love of God and the meekness of Christ, some may confuse our language with weakness. When Christ is portrayed as a slain Lamb, some confuse the picture with frailty. But let us be clear that there is no weakness or frailty in Christ, for He shows the greatness of His strength in conquering death. No one took Jesus' life; He laid it down of His own accord and took it up again: "I lay down my life that I may take it up again." but He lays it down of His own accord, having authority to lay it down and to take it up again (a paraphrase of John 10:17–18).

The death of Christ must always be seen alongside His resurrection. Then Christ's death will not be seen as weakness but as strength, for He did not run from death, nor did death overcome Him; He embraced death in all its ugliness and fullness, and then overcame it, rising from the grave, never to die again.

We read in Revelation that Jesus will come as the Lion to judge — not only those who rejected Him, but even death and Hades, which will also be thrown into the lake of fire (cf. Revelation 20:14–15).

Friends, let us understand that the Lamb is the Lion. As much as the Lamb represents God's mercy and grace toward us who believe, the Lion represents God's holiness and fearful judgment toward those who do not. So we appeal to everyone to receive God's grace quickly and completely, while it may be found, for the prospect of God's holy and terrible judgment awaits anyone and anything that falls short of it.

As I look into this new year, my heart feels constrained within me as I consider the Lamb who was slain for my sins. In Him I feel the weight of my weakness, frailty, inability, and sinfulness. But then I see the Lion, who beckons me to follow Him. He has triumphed over my weakness and calls me to embrace His strength. So I follow the Lion, who is Christ triumphant. I can do all things through Him, because He strengthens me (cf. Philippians 4:13).

AI-Expanded Reflection

Revelation 5:5–6 contains one of the most striking reversals in Scripture, and it hinges on what John hears versus what he sees. He hears about a Lion; he turns and sees a Lamb — and not a majestic lamb, but one "standing, as though it had been slain," bearing the marks of its death. This is how Revelation teaches its readers to understand power: the Lion conquers as the slain Lamb. The word "conquered" (5:5) is the same word used throughout the letters to the seven churches for the one "who conquers," and in 12:11 believers conquer "by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony."

The Lamb imagery carries the whole book. He is worthy to open the scroll because "you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God" from every tribe and nation (5:9). The wedding at the end is "the marriage supper of the Lamb" (19:9), the city's lamp is the Lamb (21:23), and the river of life flows "from the throne of God and of the Lamb" (22:1). The comment's insight — that the Lamb is the Lion — is the heart of Revelation's vision, and it means that the God who judges is the same God who gave Himself for sinners.

"You created all things, and by your will they existed and were created" (Revelation 4:11).

The twenty-four elders praise God because He is the Creator of all things. God willed all things to exist, and what He willed became real. The King James Version translates the verse a bit differently: "for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."

One translation is not more correct than the other. However, what the King James brings out — which may be hidden in the language of more modern translations — is the nuance of the Greek words dia to, translated "because of" in the NIV, NASB, and others.

When dia is used with the genitive case, it suggests instrumentality ("through"). When dia is used with the accusative case, it suggests the ground or reason for something ("because of," "for the sake of"). It is this second construction that we find in this verse.

So while we understand that God's will was the instrument of the existence and creation of all things, this passage emphasizes not so much the instrument as the basis — the ground, even the reason — for the existence and creation of all things. This is implied in the NIV/NASB "because of," but stated more explicitly in the KJV's "for thy pleasure."

Friends, God did not simply will us to exist. He made us for the sake of His will. He created us for His pleasure. We were made not to serve our personal interests or even the interests of humanity. We were ultimately created to serve God's interests. This is why we were created and why we were saved: for the praise of His glory. Paul writes that in Christ we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, so that we who first hoped in Christ might be to the praise of His glory; and that those who heard the gospel and believed were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, "to the praise of his glory" (a paraphrase of Ephesians 1:11–14).

The expression "to the praise of his glory" is used three times in the first chapter of Ephesians (cf. Ephesians 1:6, "to the praise of his glorious grace"). In Greek as in Hebrew, threefold repetition suggests not simply emphasis but superlative emphasis, even the ultimate goal — as when Isaiah hears "holy, holy, holy" to express God's supreme otherness (Isaiah 6:3). This is why the Westminster Shorter Catechism begins with the answer, "Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever."

Friends, we exist to fulfill God's will. We were created to please Him. He made us and saved us for Himself, for the praise of His glory. To the degree that we embrace this reality, we fulfill our purpose, our calling, and our greatest achievement in life. This is my heartbeat for myself, my family, my house church, our martial arts organization, this web ministry, and whatever local church we finally find ourselves at home in.

So if you are suffering from the "woe is me's" this New Year, let me remind you that it is not about you. It is all about Him, to whom all creation declares, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty" (Revelation 4:8).

Let's simply get busy praising Him and giving Him all the glory in everything!

AI-Expanded Reflection

Revelation 4 is the throne-room vision that stands at the center of the whole book, and it comes before any of the judgments. Before John sees seals opened, trumpets blown, or bowls poured out, he sees the One on the throne, surrounded by a rainbow and ceaseless worship (4:2–3, 8). Everything that follows in Revelation — however chaotic it appears on earth — unfolds from that throne. For the first readers facing pressure from Rome, where emperors were hailed as "lord and god," the elders casting their crowns before God and declaring Him "worthy... to receive glory and honor and power" (4:10–11) made a direct claim about who truly reigns.

Chapter 5 then completes the picture. Chapter 4 praises God as Creator; chapter 5 praises the Lamb as Redeemer: the Lamb is worthy "for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God" (5:9). The comment's point — that we were both created and saved for God's glory — follows exactly the order of these two chapters. And the Westminster answer the comment quotes includes a phrase often overlooked: to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. God's glory and His people's deepest joy are not in competition; the worship around the throne is the happiest place in the universe.

Consider these parallels between Jesus' Olivet Discourse in the Gospels with the Seal Judgments of Revelation 6. Whether you see the Seal Judgments as past or future, the connection between the Gospel account and these judgments is unmistakable.

The "beginning of birth pangs" (Matt 24:8; Mark 13:8)

The first half of the Tribulation

• First Seal: Antichrists — Matt 24:4–5, Mark 13:6, Luke 21:8; Rev 6:1–2.
• Second Seal: War — Matt 24:6–7, Mark 13:7–8, Luke 21:9–10; Rev 6:3–4.
• Third Seal: Famine — Matt 24:7, Mark 13:8, Luke 21:11; Rev 6:5–6.
• Fourth Seal: Death — Matt 24:9, Mark 13:12, Luke 21:16; Rev 6:7–8.
• Fifth Seal: Martyrdom — Matt 24:9–13, Mark 13:9–13, Luke 21:12–19; Rev 6:9–11.
• Sixth Seal: Earthly & heavenly signs — Luke 21:11; Rev 6:12–17.

The "abomination of desolation" (Matt 24:15; Mark 13:14)

The middle of the Tribulation

(Notes on Revelation by Dr. Thomas Constable - link to full commentary)

AI-Expanded Reflection

The chart draws attention to an important connection between Jesus’ teaching about distress and the sequence of judgments in Revelation. War, scarcity, death, persecution, and cosmic disturbance belong to both presentations. Reading these passages together can help us recognize the continuity of the New Testament’s warning: upheaval does not invalidate Christ’s authority, and his people must resist deception while remaining faithful. The comparison becomes most useful when it leads us back to the actual wording and purpose of each passage.

One reference in the original chart requires correction. The fifth seal, concerning the slain witnesses beneath the altar, is Revelation 6:9–11. Revelation 6:12–17 describes the sixth seal and its cosmic disturbances. Keeping those references distinct matters because the fifth seal gives the persecuted a voice: they appeal to God for judgment and receive a promise while being told to wait. Their suffering is neither overlooked nor immediately ended. The corrected citation restores this particular emphasis to the chart. Revelation 6:9–11

Not every proposed correspondence has the same degree of certainty. The second and third seals plainly involve warfare and scarcity. Identifying the first horseman specifically with antichrists is an interpretive decision, since Revelation 6:1–2 does not explicitly give him that name. Similarly, the labels assigning events to the first half and middle of a tribulation period express the chronological framework used by the chart. Readers can recognize substantial thematic parallels while still examining whether that entire framework follows from the texts.

Luke’s ordering deserves particular care. Luke 21:12 introduces persecution as occurring before the previously mentioned events, which cautions against treating a side-by-side list as a perfectly synchronized timetable. Matthew 24 also warns that wars and rumors of wars do not themselves mean the end has arrived. The imagery of birth pains conveys distress within a larger movement toward fulfillment, but it does not authorize every generation to calculate dates from whatever crisis currently dominates public attention.

The practical center remains remarkably consistent across these passages. Jesus warns against being deceived, calls for endurance, and prepares disciples to testify under pressure. Revelation presents the Lamb as the one who opens the seals, placing the frightening visions within the authority of the crucified and risen Lord. This does not make suffering less grievous. It means that suffering does not have the final interpretive word. A sound use of the chart will therefore deepen alertness, courage, and care for persecuted believers, while resisting the temptation to replace discipleship with confident speculation about a schedule the passages do not uniformly specify.

You may not realize this, but interpretations of Revelation run the full gamut. Some believe nearly everything in the book was fulfilled in the first century, around the destruction of the temple in AD 70. Others have believed, and believe now, that we are currently living through the Great Tribulation described in chapters 6–18. Still others, among whom I count myself, believe the prophecies of this book are still future. While this last view is currently the most popular — aided by a well-known book and film series — it was by no means the popular view in times past. While eschatology was addressed at various points in church history, it was hardly the burning issue of any earlier period the way it became in the twentieth century. The major controversies over this book in our own time have revolved around methods of interpretation — whether to read it literally or figuratively — and around the dating of the book's authorship and the timing of the events it describes. The predominant theological terms concern two topics: the Great Tribulation (Revelation 6–18) and the Millennial Kingdom (Revelation 20). How you interpret these two events, and where you place them, largely determines your overall framework.

AI-Expanded Reflection

This comment deserves credit for doing something relatively uncommon in popular teaching on Revelation: naming its own interpretive position as one option among several rather than presenting it as the plain meaning of the text. The three broad approaches it sketches — roughly, preterist, historicist, and futurist — have each been held by serious, orthodox interpreters across church history, along with the idealist reading that treats the book's imagery as depicting the ongoing conflict between good and evil rather than a specific timeline. The historical observation is also accurate and worth sitting with: the intensity of contemporary interest in end-times chronology is genuinely unusual by the standards of most of church history, which suggests reading Revelation primarily as a puzzle to be decoded is a relatively recent habit rather than the historic Christian default.