Revelation Friday Night Bible Study 01AUG25 (Revelation 4:8-5:4)

 

  

Four Living Creatures Cont.

 “Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night, they never stop saying: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come.’ Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: ‘You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will, they were created and have their being’ ” (Revelation 4:8-11).

          The Apostle John describes seeing the four-living creatures as having six wings with eyes covering their wings. Biblical scholars often describe these four living creatures as being in the angelic class of Cherubim, who are the gatekeepers for the Lord and tasked with carrying out His will. The eyes covering their wings suggest their ability to see, comprehend, possess knowledge, and examine everything around them without missing anything, as nothing escapes the Lord. The Bible says: “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there” (Psalm 139:7-8). There is nothing that escapes the Lord.

                The Cherubim had six wings, which symbolize their humility before the Lord and their readiness for service to do the will of God in lifting man from trouble and providing relief. Their very wings carried out the Word of God, as heard in the sound of their wings by the prophet Ezekiel. The Bible says: “When the creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings, like the roar of rushing waters, like the voice of the Almighty, like the tumult of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings” (Ezekiel 1:24). The very movement of the angels was in sync with God’s will. This means that angels do not act on their own accord, but their actions align and are the very Word of God. All day and night, they worship the Lord by crying out holy, holy, holy. As they did this in John’s vision, the twenty-four elders also laid down their crowns to worship the Lord.

 

Praise and Honor Belongs to the Lord

 

Jesus fulfilled His mission on earth as a humble sacrifice. His mission was fulfilled when he died upon the cross. God gave Him the authority of King of kings and Lord of lords. He was the Creator of all things. All glory, praise and honor belongs to Him. The Bible says: “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:28-31). No one deserves more praise than our Lord. From the heavens above to the earth below, all creation must give God praise.

The Scroll

 “Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?’ But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside” (Revelation 5:1-4).

                                    The Scroll and the Lamb of God

 

John saw a scroll that was held in the Lord’s right hand. There was writing on both sides of this scroll, and it was secured with seven seals. It is important to note that whenever God writes something, it is of importance and with great detail. We can see this illustrated in the events that took place with Moses when he received the Ten Commandments from God that were written with His own finger. The Bible says: “When the LORD finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the covenant law, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God” (Exodus 31:8). The number seven, which was the sum of seals that were on the scroll, represents completeness. In the beginning, according to the account in Genesis, God created the whole world within six days. On the seventh day, He rested, and all the work that He had done was made complete. The Bible says: “Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done” (Genesis 2:1-3).

An angel made a cry out for someone who would be worthy to break open the seals on the scroll. However, there was no one found worthy to open the seals in Heaven or on the earth. John wept because of this. This lets us know that even in all the good that we think we do, we are not worthy within ourselves to do anything apart from the Lord. We are only found worthy of anything through the Blood of the Lamb. If it had not been for Jesus coming to die for our sins, we would have been eternally lost. The Bible says: “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. No one calls on your name or strives to lay hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us and have given us over to our sins. Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand” (Isaiah 64:6-8). These seven seals could not be opened by the angels or any ordinary human being because within them were future judgments and apocalyptic events that were to take place that only the Lord could render and release. It is important to know that while we serve a loving and forgiving God, there comes a time when His mercy and grace run out, as seen with the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. This also lets us know that the time of grace is coming to a close, which will be made evident with the opening of these seals. 

 

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