Revelation 4

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Revelation 4
Revelation 3:19-4:3 on Uncial 0169 from the fourth century.
BookBook of Revelation
CategoryApocalypse
Christian Bible partNew Testament
Order in the Christian part27

Revelation 4 is the fourth chapter of the Book of Revelation or the Apocalypse of John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is traditionally attributed to John the Apostle,[1][2] but the precise identity of the author remains a point of academic debate.[3] This chapter contains an inaugural vision of heaven, portraying the throne room of heaven,[4] and the heavenly worship which the writer observes there.[5][6]

Text

The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 11 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are among others:[7][a]

Old Testament references

God on the Throne

God's sovereignty over all things is symbolized by the throne, which visions are found both in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament prophetic tradition (cf. 1 Kings 22:19—23) as well as in some Jewish apocalypses, and in this chapter (echoing Isaiah 6 and Ezekiel 1) is seen as "already fully acknowledged in heaven, and therefore as the true reality which must in the end prevail on earth".[6] Taken up into heaven, John can see that "God's throne is the ultimate reality behind all earthly appearances".[6]

Verse 1

After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven.
And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, "Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this."[10]

"After these things" refers back to "the entire vision in

Revelation 1:10 to Revelation 3:22".[11]

Verse 8

The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying:
“Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God Almighty,
Who was and is and is to come!”[12]

Verse 11

"You are worthy, O Lord,
To receive glory and honor and power;
For You created all things,
And by Your will they exist and were created."[15]

The depiction of God's sovereignty starts with him as the 'Creator of all things', then as 'Redeemer' to restore his universal sovereignty on earth (

Revelation 21:5).[14]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The Book of Revelation is missing from Codex Vaticanus.[8]

References

  1. ISBN 0802823882
    .
  2. ISBN 0781442281
    .
  3. ^ F. L. Cross, The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997), 45
  4. ^ Revelation 4:1–11: New King James Version
  5. ^ Revelation 4:1–11: New Revised Standard Version
  6. ^ a b c Bauckham 2007, p. 1292.
  7. ^ Elliott, J. K. "Revelations from the apparatus criticus of the Book of Revelation: How Textual Criticism Can Help Historians." Union Seminary Quarterly Review 63, no. 3-4 (2012): 1-23.
  8. ^ Claremont Coptic Encyclopaedia, Codex Vaticanus, accessed 29 September 2018
  9. ^ "Biblical concordances of Revelation 4 in the 1611 King James Bible".
  10. ^ Revelation 4:1 NKJV
  11. ^ Meyer, H. A. W., Meyer's NT Commentary on Revelation 4, accessed 15 October 2018
  12. ^ Revelation 4:8 NKJV
  13. ^ Bauckham 2007, pp. 1292–1293.
  14. ^ a b Bauckham 2007, p. 1293.
  15. ^ Revelation 4:11 NKJV

Bibliography

External links
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