Leithart
In Spirit, John ascends to the sky and steps through an open door into the throne room of God (Revelation 4). Like the hovering Spirit of Genesis 1:2, the Spirit that carries John unveils a sevenfold scene:
1) A throne and one sitting on it, Revelation 4:2b-3a.
2) An emerald rainbow around the throne, 4:3b.
3) 24 elders enthroned around the throne, 4:4.
4) Lightning, sounds, thunder, torches from throne, 4:5.
5) Before throne, a sea of glass like crystal, 4:6a.
6) Four living creatures, 4:6b-8a.
7) Worship of elders and creatures, 4:8b-11.
A few notes on this list. First, the list can be read in a 3 + 3 + 1 pattern, with 1-3 matching 4-6. The first and third focus on the throne itself – its occupant (section 1) and the phenomena that accompany it (section 4). The emerald surrounds the throne, and the crystalline sea stretches out before it; both are gemlike. The elders and the living creatures are both enumerated, and, other than the enthroned one, they are the only living beings in the scene. The seventh scene combines the whole: The elders and four living creatures worship before the throne.
Second, section 4 could be divided into two sections, grouping the lightning, voices, and thunder together, and the seven lamps forming a separate item. The Greek links the four phenomena more intimately. Literally translated, 4:5 says:
A. And out of the throne
B. coming
C. lightning
C’. and voices
C”. and thunder
C”’. and seven lamps of fire
B’. burning
A’. before the throne.
Grammatically, the seven lamps are merely the fourth item on the list. A fourfold list of throne phenomena makes numerological sense, matching the four living creatures and suggesting a link with a rectangular or square throne. It may be significant that the list contains seven words (lightning, sounds, thunder, seven, lamps, fire, burning), as indeed does the final clause of the verse (“which are the seven spirits of God”) that dangles outside the structure. In any case, these considerations indicate that verse 5 should be read as a unit.
With this in mind, we can link the seven features of the heavenly throne room with the days of creation. John is gripped by the Creator Spirit, and sees:
1) God Himself enthroned in heaven.
2) A firmament rainbow around the throne.
3) 24 elders on thrones, corresponding to the emergence of the throne-land from the waters on Day 3.
4) Sky phenomena, including seven Spirits that correspond to the seven planets.
5) A sea: Day 5.
6) Living creatures, three of which are land creatures.
7) An eternal round of worship, the sons of God singing together as they did on the first Sabbath when creation was completed.
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