“After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold” Revelation 4:1-4
I follow a FaceBook group called “Apologetics: Defending the Faith” although I very rarely contribute to the discussions, I find it interesting what others says on various scriptures. This week the verses above were brought up and the question was asked “Who are the twenty four elders?” Now, I am aware that there are various views on their identity, but ever since I started studying PROPHECY, some 49 years ago now, I have always adhered to certain rules of interpretation. One of those rules is that we should always allow the BIBLE to interpret itself.
Following this GOLDEN RULE, please read very carefully, the following verses:
“The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. Revelation 4:10-11
“And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth” Revelation 5:8-10
Now I would like to ask some questions, based upon these verses.
Who in the Bible are promised CROWNS that they could cast before the throne? (See 1 Peter 5:4)
Who, in the New Testament, are said to wear 'WHITE RAIMENT'? (Rev. 3:5)
Who can truthfully sing the words “for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation” ?
Who can truthfully say these words? “And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth” (See: Rev.1:6)
The answer to each of these questions is obviously THE TRUE CHURCH. So, what we see in Revelation, regarding the TWENTYFOUR ELDERS, is that they are representative of THETRUE CHURCH. That being so, it places the TRUE CHURCH in heaven BEFORE the TRIBULATION actually begins, which is shown in Revelation Chapter 6.
Please correct me if you think I'm wrong on this, but I see no other group of people in the whole Bible of whom it can be said, THEY RECEIVE CROWNS; THEY ARE MADE KINGSAND PRIESTS TO GOD and they can truthfully sing that they have been REDEEMED, out of every nation on earth, BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS.
“In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established” 2 Cor. 13:1
We can now see clearly to ask, “How did the whole redeemed CHURCH arrive in heaven?” Again, SCRIPTURE itself gives us the answer. It's what is commonly known as THERAPTURE OF THE CHURCH.
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also”John 14:3
There are many other 'PROOFS' in the Bible, that the TRUE CHURCH will be taken to heaven BEFORE the tribulation begins upon the earth, but the twentyfour elders remain a very powerful argument. Of course, we can couple that with the fact that you wont find a mention of the Church in the remainder of Revelation, until you get to Chapter 19 where the scene again is heaven and the marriage of the LAMB to His BRIDE, the CHURCH, is described. How does THE BRIDE OF CHRIST, which is the TRUE CHURCH, come to be in heaven in Chapter 19? Again, the answer can only be THE RAPTURE, as they are seen here, in heaven, before Christ comes back to the earth in POWER AND GLORY with all His saints with Him.
“To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints” 1 Thess. 3:13
It's time for all true believers to get ready to meet Him!
Brotherly love.....Pastor Keith
TO REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE, PLEASE 'HIT' THE 'REPLY' BUTTON IN YOUR E-MAIL PROGRAM
