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East Ridge SDA Church

Exploring Revelation 4 and 5

Steven Grabiner

The Throne

The Sanctuary

The Conflict

Tale of Two Women

If you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me back to Revelation chapters 4 and 5.

It's from volume 9 of the Testimonies on page 266 and 267.

Volume 9, page 266 and 267, in which it says, the fifth chapter of Revelation needs to be closely studied.

It is of great importance to those who shall act a part in the work of God for these last days." So here we have divine counsel particularly on this chapter, chapter 5 of Revelation.

She continues to say, those who have permitted their minds to become beclouded in regard to what constitutes sin are fearfully deceived.

To become beclouded or confused as to what constitutes sin.

Unless they make a decided change, they will be founting wanting when God pronounces judgment upon the children of men.

They have transgressed the law, broken the everlasting covenant, and they will receive according to their works." Now, it's just interesting to me in light of what we were studying this morning about Revelation 4 and 5, and my suggestion that we need to look at the first part here, this fountainhead of the Book of Revelation, as introducing for us the beginning of the Day of Atonement, the beginning of the investigative judgment.

And this counsel in Volume 5, excuse me, Volume 9 of the Testimonies, where she encourages us to study this chapter carefully and then connects it with the last days and connects it with the time of the judgment.

Now that quotation by itself wouldn't conclude that, but it's certainly an interesting support in that direction.

Whatever we clearly need to study the chapter carefully because it does have a tremendous amount of meaning for us.

Something else I'd like to say is earlier today when we were talking about chapter 4 and 5 and we talked about the 4 living creatures and we talked about the 24 elders.

There's a quotation from the book, Story of Redemption, which I found very interesting.

4 heavenly angels always accompanied the Ark of God in all its journeyings, to guard it from all danger and to fulfill any mission required of them in connection with the Ark.

So here on earth when the ark, wherever the ark went, of course we know on top of the ark, there were 2 angels.

But here in Story of Redemption, Ellen White says, wherever the ark went on Earth, there were 4 heavenly angels surrounding it.

And of course, In heaven, we see these 4 living creatures, which are cherubim.

If we read Ezekiel chapter 1 and Ezekiel chapter 10 and the 4 living creatures in the book of Ezekiel, we make a very close connection between the living creatures in Revelation and in the book of Ezekiel as being cherubim, angelic beings.

1 other thing that I just wanted to share as well.

This morning when I drew my little diagram of the concentric circles that we see in the sanctuary.

At the end, in the image here in Revelation 4 and 5, it starts with the throne in the center, and then there's the rainbow of promise around it.

And that rainbow is to encourage us when we're discouraged, we need enlightenment, we need guidance.

Then around that, the 4 living creatures, and then of course the 24 elders, and ultimately all the host of the angelic beings, and then finally a larger circle that includes every created being.

And as we were talking about that, and as we were discussing the imagery here of the throne, it's often thought that in the earthly sanctuary, let me just diagram that for us.

You're familiar, of course, with the earthly courtyard.

And in the earthly courtyard, which was a rectangle, Then we had the sanctuary proper, which was also a rectangle.

Then it was divided into a rectangle and a square.

As you would come into the sanctuary, familiar with this of course, there was the altar of burnt offering, and there was a laver.

And then when you walked into the first apartment, What did we find there?

Seven-branch candlestick and the altar of incense, which we see in Revelation 4, the seven-branch candlestick, at least.

And then in Chapter 8, we see the altar of incense in the book of Revelation, and then we see a throne.

Now, in my description, there is no, or in the book of Revelation, there seems to be 1 article of furniture missing.

Table of showbread, which, of course, would be over here, opposite the lamp stand.

Now, it's interesting about the table of showbread.

In its construction, it had a border around it.

In the King James, it describes those borders as crowns.

Some individuals, Mervyn Maxwell and others, individuals that I highly respect, very godly individuals, have suggested the idea that the table of showbread functions as an illustration of God's throne.

And that what you're seeing in Revelation 4 is not the throne of God with the ark, but the table of showbread.

Now, the weakness with that, of course, is Ellen White's very clear, and she says that you're gonna see the emerald around the throne, and remember that quote from this morning, beneath that rainbow is what?

So she's very clear that the throne that has a rainbow around it is the Ark.

Every place the throne and the rainbow is mentioned together in Ellen White's writings, it draws us to the Ark, which would be here.

But some individuals also say there was 2 borders around it, and King James calls them crowns.

Of course, the altar of incense had a border around it or a crown, and there were 2 piles of bread on the table of showbread.

Some believers suggest that that represents the father and the son sitting together on the throne.

The difficulty with that, from my perspective, is there's nowhere in scripture that it says that.

There's absolutely nothing in scripture that indicates that the table of showbread functions as a throne.

And there's nothing in the writings of Ellen White that indicate that the table of showbread functions as a throne.

Now there is 1 reference in scripture that might kind of maybe think about that.

Now as you come into the sanctuary, of course, as you come into the sanctuary, you're facing, you're going west and east, and this of course would be south, and this would be north.

So the table of showbread is on the northern side of the sanctuary.

Chapter in which Isaiah has this poem and almost like a photograph that has a double exposure in it that you can see 2 different things.

He uses the king here, king of Babylon, as a image of Lucifer's great...

As the real King of Babylon who wants to take over heaven.

And in verse 12, Isaiah 14, it says, familiar verses, how you are fallen from heaven, oh Lucifer, son of the dawn, you have been cut down to the earth, you who have weakened the nations.

Verse 13, but you said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven, I will raise My what?

That's what we're seeing in the book of Revelation.

That's what we said last night, that the throne in Revelation is contested territory.

Satan has a throne and he wants to put his throne above the stars of God.

I will sit on the mount of assembly and what does the last part of verse 13 say?

And so in Isaiah chapter 13, here it's talking about Satan wanting to put his throne On the sides of the north.

And so in Isaiah chapter 13, here it's talking about Satan wanting to put his throne on the sides of the north, and then in verse 14, I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will make myself like the Most High." And so some expositors, some brothers and sisters in the Adventist Church, will say that the table here is a representation of the throne, And the fact that this table is on the northern part of the sanctuary, and the fact that Isaiah wants to put his throne, he wants to sit where?

That means that Satan is wanting to usurp God's presence at this place.

The Hebrew word translated sides of the north doesn't mean side, like we would say the side of a building.

It actually has the sense of a corner or an apex of.

So the New American Standard translates it in the recesses, the deepest parts of the North.

Now in the scriptures, the North is a symbol for God's presence.

And notice carefully what's happening here.

If we read Isaiah chapter 12, excuse me, Isaiah chapter 14 verses 12 and 13 carefully, there's a momentum, right?

Notice what Satan is saying in his heart.

Series

Exploring Revelation 4 and 5

The Conflict

Transcript

Parent Series

Sponsor

Recorded

Don’t Lose Heart

50m

Seminar: Lift Him Up

The Uplifted Lamb

1h 17m

The Three Angels' Message for the Millennial Generation

1. Everlasting Gospel and the Three Angels Message

1h

The Price of Blood

56m

Exploring Revelation 4 and 5

Tale of Two Women

43m

Revelation

02 Revelation’s Exhortation for Half-Hearted People

1h 33m

How Heaven’s War Became Ours

1h

Preparing for the Latter Rain: The Judgment Hour Message

Prepare To Meet Your God

1h 15m

Plenary

The Black Wall Street

1h 8m

The Resurrection and Life- Raising Lazarus, Part 2

46m

What is the Faith That Was Once for All Delivered to the Saints?

Saints Throughout Time & At The End Time

49m

Being True to Our Trust

What the Law Could Not Do

50m

Sound Doctrine