Revelation Without Confusion
In The Window: The Simple Series A Narrative Commentary of the Concluding Book of Scripture
by
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Revelation chapter four is one of those unique, transcendent passages that can and should shape the thinking and awareness of every believer. The scene described in this masterful chapter is going on right now. The picture so ornately portrayed is rich with color and brilliance and definition and meaning. The colors, numbers, sounds, and imagery are intended to add a fullness to our understanding of not only what the room looks like but the emotions, passions, and intensity the room holds. With the information we are given, we can not only picture the scene, we can feel a part of it.
The first element of the landscape is the throne, but the throne itself is of so little importance it isn’t even described. The true beauty is in the One who sits on it. He is defined in terms John’s own life and experiences might have called to mind. Jewels have always been—across time and cultures—things of highest pure, rare, and compelling beauty. Throughout the Revelation, we must remember that John is being shown this vision. The words are not necessarily given to him, the picture is. He is being asked to essentially watch a movie and then put into words for others that which he has seen. The complication enters when what he sees, he hasn’t seen before. Try explaining an Apache helicopter to someone who has no concept of flight nor vocabulary to express it. This means that John likely used words and language and imagery that were familiar to him and to us to describe things that he had no other context for.
Enter jewels. John knew of the power, reputation, and allure of jewels and made it a habit of using various jewels to enable us to see more deeply into the fabric of his view. More than the arrangement, he describes the feeling.
The three jewels John uses to articulate the appearance of the One on the throne were jasper, which is a diamond, ruby or carnelian, and emerald. As he looked toward this immaculate Being enthroned before him, the scene was flush with the colors, brilliance, and beauty of these gems. The colors that would have radiated the setting would then have been the brilliant translucence of a diamond, the deep red of the ruby, and the rich green of an emerald. While these colors may quite certainly be literal, there is also a profound symbolic depth there too. We will see this throughout Revelation; God, like in all of life and history, is never just up to one thing. He is gloriously multifaceted, always doing innumerable things simultaneously. Revelation is no exception. He’s describing the setting, but He’s also enlightening us to the intent of that setting. I have no doubt that John saw an array of casting colors as he gazed on the One on the throne, but I also have no doubt that in those colors God wants us to see with more than our eyes; he wants us to comprehend with our hearts what those colors can tell us.
There are two possibilities as to why these colors permeate. There could certainly be more as well, but in God’s great comprehensiveness, all can be correct.
Ezekiel enlightens us to the first possibility. In chapter one of the book of Ezekiel, we hear his account of this room that he too was given a glimpse into. He describes the One on the throne as One who “looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from (the waist) down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him.”
A second possibility is equally apropos. Diamonds are about glory, opulence, and purity. They create a sense of luxury and royalty. The red ruby suffuses the scene in sacrifice. In the play Sweeney Todd, every time someone is killed the lights on the stage flash a deep red across the theater. Everyone knew when Sweeney had done it again. The blood of his victims cast a glow on us all. The red of the Father’s ruby essence is the picture of a God of sacrifice. It is a fundamental and innate aspect of His character. So much so the glow of His sacrificial nature literally casts a shade of red from His presence. The rainbow that encircles Him is said to be of only one color: green. All that surrounds Him is green. Green too has rich meaning. It’s the color of life. It bursts with animation and perpetuity and being. This true life, this fullness of that life, oozes from His very presence. The aura of this visual is bathed in glory, brilliance, sacrifice, and deep, rich, full, and true life. He is the very essence and root of all that is beautiful, all that is self-sacrificing, and all this is forever. As if the glimpse of the Father were not enough to fill one’s heart and mind to overflowing, the room holds more still.
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About the Book
Revelation has long been the black sheep of Biblical content. The imagery is far-fetched, the wording foreign and unclear, the message harsh. Nonetheless, as the final and culminating book of Scripture, it is of such enormous value that blessings have been promised to the one who simply concedes to having it read aloud to them. There is depth and beauty and a sweet message of hope here. There is warning and danger and a sad revealing of rebellion as well. There is understanding for both our own days as well as those to come. All this is not hidden or veiled from the everyday believer; with a calm and expectant countenance, we can find simplicity amid the imagery, clarity among the symbols, and direction abounding in the scenes.
Revelation Without Confusion is intended to be as clear as it is promoted to be. A simplified, yet deep look at the impactful, urgent, and God-inspired Word meant to be read, known, cherished, and understood by one and all. Written in a narrative manner, the reading is as simplistic as the explanations within.
About the Author
Jana is a prolific teacher, speaker, and student of the Word. She also manages various Christian ministries, leads short term mission trips, and maintains a variety of “real jobs” from accountant to confectionist. Her passion is the Church and the discipleship and maturation of believers. Jana has an amazing husband and two thriving young adult children.