Revelation 4:5

And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices; and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God.

The first vision of John was full of comfort for all believers, since it showed how faithfully the Lord watches over His Church, and that His concern for her will not cease until the great day of the revelation of His glory. But in the second vision the Lord dispenses comfort just as bountifully. John relates: After this I saw, and, behold, a door opened in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard like a trumpet speaking with me, saying. It seems that after the transport and ecstasy of the first vision there was a slight pause, signifying that a new revelation was now forthcoming. John was again given the privilege to see some of the mysteries of God and of the future, and to transmit them to us. He did not open the door in heaven himself, but it was opened to him, because to him the Lord intended to vouchsafe this grace of revealing the future to him and of showing him the glory of the divine majesty. The voice like the sound of a trumpet which he had heard at the beginning of the first vision, chap. 1:10, was again in evidence, speaking to John and directing his actions: Come up here, and I shall show thee what is bound to happen after this. What John the seer saw and what he afterward described was not the outcome of his own speculation and inquiry, but the result of revelation only. He was called by God to approach and to be a witness, but not to enter.

The beginning of the vision: At once I was in the spirit; and, behold, a throne was placed in heaven, and One was sitting on the throne, and He that was sitting was in appearance like a jasper and sardius, and a rainbow encircling the throne in appearance like an emerald. The ecstasy which was worked by God, which, as it were, separated the mind from the body for the time being, took hold of John again and transported his spirit to the open door in heaven. The imagery of the vision, although expressed in the figures of speech which will best describe the marvelous atmospheric coloring of a gorgeous sunset sky, nevertheless merely indicates the greater glory which no human words can adequately portray. The first object that struck John was a magnificent throne placed in heaven. The name of Him that sat upon the throne is not mentioned, for His majesty transcends human conception and human language. It was the everlasting, almighty Lord, who has prepared His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom rules over all, Psalms 103:13. His appearance was such as to make Him resemble the precious stones jasper and sardius, the jasper being clear as crystal, to indicate the sublime beauty of God, and the sardius being a semitransparent, ruddy gem, to picture the unsearchable depths of His love. A rainbow, the symbol of God's covenant with man, a reminder of His kindness and benevolence, encircled the throne. The peculiarity of this rainbow was this, that it was like an emerald, thus making the green stand out among the prismatic colors, as a symbol of God's kindness and as a token of hope. Altogether, the majesty of this appearance is not one to terrify us, but to remind us of the covenant of grace which He made with us in Christ Jesus, which is shining before us as a beacon light unto eternal hope.

Although the Lord was the central figure in the picture. He had chosen others to share His glory: And round about the throne twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones twenty-four elders seated, clothed in white garments, and on their heads golden crowns. On the great day of the final revelation of God's glory He shall select witnesses and partakers of this glory. As in the Old Testament twenty-four orders of priests had charge of the Temple-service, 1 Chronicles 25:5, so the twenty-four elders in this picture are a type, they represent the royal priesthood of the believers. The Church of all times has its place with God, with the Father, in His immediate vicinity, in the most intimate fellowship with Him. The believers, as here represented by the twenty-four elders, are cleansed with the blood of Christ and clothed with the white garment of His righteousness. And as the reward of grace God has promised to them, and will eventually give them, golden crowns upon their heads, the immortal and unfading glory of heaven. This crown of glory will complete the accession of every believer to the kingship to which he has been an heir by faith.

The impression of awe, which is secondary in the entire description, is now stressed: And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and voices and thunders; and seven torches of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. It is the loving and merciful God that sits upon the throne of glory, but also the just and holy Lord. This is brought out by the description of the noises that John heard, like those of a fierce and terrifying thunderstorm. Flashes of lightning went out from the throne, and the shrieks and the loud blasts of the roaring storm and the peals and mutterings of thunder, all of which proclaimed aloud wrath and judgment and destruction, the almighty power of God in carrying out His sentences. At the same time, however, the lamps, or torches, of the sevenfold Spirit of God were quietly burning before the throne. The Spirit of God, working through the Gospel of the love of God in Christ, comes to us with His illuminating power, and gives us, and sustains in us, the light and the warmth of true spiritual life. Though God is terrible in His justice, yet the Pentecostal fire of His grace and love is a source of light and life to all that receive Christ Jesus as their Savior.