NOTES for Откр 4:1-11
Immediately after receiving the message intended for the seven churches, the apostle sees himself standing before the Throne of glory (vv. 2-3). The image of a door opened in heaven (v. 1) needs no explanation; its meaning is entirely transparent. The expression "after this" draws attention to itself, because it makes clear that the events in view belong to the end times. After all, the seven specific churches addressed by the Savior in fact represented a living image of the universal Church in its earthly history. Now, as we can see, earthly history has ended, and what will precede the day of Judgment and the Savior's return begins to be revealed to the apostle. Already in the era of the later prophets, the revelation of the Throne of glory was perceived as a revelation of the Kingdom (Isa. 6:13). The Throne of glory is revealed to the apostle against the background of the menorah, the sacred seven-branched lampstand, like the one he had seen behind the Savior who had appeared to him earlier (v. 5; cf. Rev. 1:12-15).
As we can see, John was shown that heavenly sanctuary of which the Tabernacle and the Holy of Holies of the Jerusalem Temple were earthly prototypes. In this heavenly sanctuary there is also a council of elders, consisting, as we can see, of twenty-four people, and certain "living creatures" who worship God together with human beings (vv. 4-11). The number twenty-four should be regarded as symbolic. Like every number that is a multiple of twelve, it symbolizes the fullness of the people of God, and in the New Testament context also the fullness of the Church. As we can see, the heavenly Church, in the person of its council of elders, always remains at the throne of God. As for the "living creatures," these are the same beings whom Ezekiel saw carrying the chariot of Yahweh (Ezek. 1:4-13). Of course, in this case we are not speaking of animals as such, but of certain spiritual beings of an obviously nonhuman nature who perform certain service functions before God. Their faces recall divinity as it was understood in the pagan world: in Near Eastern religions, the symbols of the supreme deity included the bull, the lion, and the eagle, associated respectively with fertility, strength, and authority.
Evidently, all these powers do not disappear anywhere in the Kingdom; only their nature and functions change. Now their main purpose becomes not self-assertion, but service to God. The same applies to transformed humanity: it is no accident that one of the "living creatures" has a human face. This is how the Kingdom is revealed to John: the heavenly Church standing before the throne of God, worshiping Him together with the powers of the transformed cosmos.