I have finished with the concepts seen in the seven churches
in Revelation. Let us look at Chapter 4, which begins with a scene in heaven.
We see a departure from what can be known about the churches on earth. What
takes place next illustrates what the Lord wants to reveal about those things
to come, and things in the heavenlies (not on earth). At this point in the book
of Revelation we are at the end of observable behaviors, and the beginning of
the unknown and the unseen.
Men have difficulty transitioning in their thoughts from the known to the unknown without either delving into the wrong spirit world, or entertaining their imagination. However, God has created our minds with some of His attributes. Nobility is one quality that we can share in common with Him. The Bereans, when presented the Gospel, received the news readily and then searched the scriptures. They were hungry to see if God’s word and the Gospel lined up. God calls this a “noble” way of thinking (Acts 17:11). We see God is willing to search things out also. When the Lord and his angels stopped in to talk with Abraham they were going on to Sodom next, to see if what was being said about the Sodomites was really true (Gen 18:21). The noble mind seeks to weigh the report that is given, whether it be the Gospel, or an accusation against evil men.
The Lord also asks us to “reason” with Him (Is 1:18), even though He has the superior knowledge. He is able to communicate with us because our minds can grasp what He is saying. We also can learn lessons not only through our own experiences, but also by observing what others have gone through (1 Cor 10:6 & 11).
Men have difficulty transitioning in their thoughts from the known to the unknown without either delving into the wrong spirit world, or entertaining their imagination. However, God has created our minds with some of His attributes. Nobility is one quality that we can share in common with Him. The Bereans, when presented the Gospel, received the news readily and then searched the scriptures. They were hungry to see if God’s word and the Gospel lined up. God calls this a “noble” way of thinking (Acts 17:11). We see God is willing to search things out also. When the Lord and his angels stopped in to talk with Abraham they were going on to Sodom next, to see if what was being said about the Sodomites was really true (Gen 18:21). The noble mind seeks to weigh the report that is given, whether it be the Gospel, or an accusation against evil men.
The Lord also asks us to “reason” with Him (Is 1:18), even though He has the superior knowledge. He is able to communicate with us because our minds can grasp what He is saying. We also can learn lessons not only through our own experiences, but also by observing what others have gone through (1 Cor 10:6 & 11).
God has created us with a marvelous mind, a great tool to work
with. However, there is much in scripture that points to the fact that God’s
mind is greater than ours. We do not
discipline our children like God disciplines us (Heb 12:10). We don’t know the
best outcomes to work for in our children and fall short of shaping and
preparing them. However, the Lord’s discipline is so excellent that it is able
to form us into His image. The Lord’s thoughts are higher than ours (Is 55:9),
and although He does not mind sharing them with us, they originate with Him,
and are not from our own minds.
There are countless illustrations of how great the Lord is,
and how wonderfully we are made. The reason I am writing about this is that we
have come to a transition in Revelation 4 that requires a leap beyond our usual
way of understanding things. God seeks to help us change from our finite minds
to His infinite way of thinking. It is not easy to let go of our personal
frameworks for understanding new things and putting them in perspective. We
need fresh inspiration that does not come from within us; it needs to be
imparted by God. The experiences we use to bring us understanding pertain to
this life on earth, and from Revelation 4 onward the Lord is showing us things
that happen in the spiritual realm.
Skipping past the description of heaven and the 24 elders, we come to these verses; “In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and back. . . . each of the four living creatures had six wings, and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who is, and is to come,’” (Rev 4:6b & 8). In speaking of this creature the Lord said that “the eyes that are everywhere” is a function of the mind we don’t have. Yet it is with Him, and He shows in this verse that it can be seen by men. He gives birth in the human mind to that which is spiritual, comparing spiritual with spiritual and illustrating spiritual things by physical things. God is showing us a glimpse of His mind which contains the glory of the knowledge of the Lord, therefore we hear “Holy, holy, holy.” That unchangeable, unspotted nature of God is living on, throughout the ages. Jesus “was” in the beginning, “is” now, and “is to come” to the earth once again.
It is because our minds are finite that we cannot take in all of the glory of the knowledge about God at once. Therefore God is laying a foundation in these verses about its existence (it is living), where it resides (with God) and its proximity to Man. This vision shows the 24 elders surrounded the throne, yet the “eyes that are everywhere” are in the inner circle; the center. The elders have a relationship with the “eyes that are everywhere”, or the mind of God. “Whenever the living creatures (‘the eyes that are everywhere’) give glory, honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne and who lives forever and ever, the 24 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,’” (Rev 4:9-11). Each holy thought from the throne causes the elders to worship God, laying all down for the superior worth of knowing Him.
We do not know the thoughts of God, except His Holy Spirit shares them with us (1 Cor 2:11b). We have an invitation from the Lord to see what our future is. He says “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this,” (Rev 4:1). The reason God shows us the living creatures is so that we would know we have a Helper, the Paraclete, the One Who will bring understanding; One Who will show us the purposes for which He speaks to us, and prepare us for all that is to come.
Skipping past the description of heaven and the 24 elders, we come to these verses; “In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and back. . . . each of the four living creatures had six wings, and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who is, and is to come,’” (Rev 4:6b & 8). In speaking of this creature the Lord said that “the eyes that are everywhere” is a function of the mind we don’t have. Yet it is with Him, and He shows in this verse that it can be seen by men. He gives birth in the human mind to that which is spiritual, comparing spiritual with spiritual and illustrating spiritual things by physical things. God is showing us a glimpse of His mind which contains the glory of the knowledge of the Lord, therefore we hear “Holy, holy, holy.” That unchangeable, unspotted nature of God is living on, throughout the ages. Jesus “was” in the beginning, “is” now, and “is to come” to the earth once again.
It is because our minds are finite that we cannot take in all of the glory of the knowledge about God at once. Therefore God is laying a foundation in these verses about its existence (it is living), where it resides (with God) and its proximity to Man. This vision shows the 24 elders surrounded the throne, yet the “eyes that are everywhere” are in the inner circle; the center. The elders have a relationship with the “eyes that are everywhere”, or the mind of God. “Whenever the living creatures (‘the eyes that are everywhere’) give glory, honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne and who lives forever and ever, the 24 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,’” (Rev 4:9-11). Each holy thought from the throne causes the elders to worship God, laying all down for the superior worth of knowing Him.
We do not know the thoughts of God, except His Holy Spirit shares them with us (1 Cor 2:11b). We have an invitation from the Lord to see what our future is. He says “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this,” (Rev 4:1). The reason God shows us the living creatures is so that we would know we have a Helper, the Paraclete, the One Who will bring understanding; One Who will show us the purposes for which He speaks to us, and prepare us for all that is to come.
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