Revelation 4:4-5

⁴ Twenty-four other thrones surrounded the throne, and seated on these thrones were twenty-four elders ⁽the members of the heavenly Sanhedrin), arrayed in white clothing, with crowns of gold upon their heads.

·         We are shown here that there are twenty-four elders in Heaven. I have always heard that these elders represent twelve Old Testament Elders and twelve New Testament Elders. But the scriptures never actually tell us this, it is only assumed. So I believe that they are just elders, they may represent the two Testaments, but we just aren’t told that they do. Here is what is important about the elders though: it is that God has elders in Heaven, our Father has order, and it means that He doesn’t act alone; our Father is accountable. We know that He is because when our Father acts, the elders all agree with His actions, we will study this fact in later verses as well. Our Father established a Truth for us, and it is that out of the mouth of two or three let everything be confirmed, Matthew 18:16, and our Father follows His Truth for us by having twenty-four elders, and they all agree with what they hear and see.  

·         You might be thinking to yourself, well of course they do, they have to agree, they have to be just yes men. How could anyone disagree with God? Remember though when God told Abraham that He was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham kept on reasoning with Him, what if there is fifty righteous people, thirty righteous people, or ten righteous people? (Genesis 18:25-27) God didn’t just kill Abraham off for questioning Him. Think of when God told Moses that He was going to kill off all of the children of Israel. Moses came right back at Him and the Bible teaches us that God repented, Exodus 32:14. God didn’t just kill Moses off or punish him for his challenge to what He wanted to do. Even consider Mary, Jesus told her that it wasn’t His time to act, and she kept right on pressing Him, John 2:4. These twenty-four elders are in Heaven, right by the Throne, seeing and hearing everything that is going on, and because they are, no one can ever say that our Father acts alone and is unaccountable. In the Book of Revelation we see that our Father’s wrath is poured out on the children of disobedience and we see that our Father has accountability and agreement with the elders of Heaven for His actions. 

⁵ Out from the throne came flashes of lightning and rumblings and peals of thunder, and in front of the throne seven blazing torches burned, which are the seven Spirits of God [the sevenfold Holy Spirit];

·         Lightning is a bright light and filled with power.

·         Thunder is a loud noise, heard over miles. Thunder comes with Lightning.

·         The Seven Fold Spirit keeps us and empowers us.

·         We are shown immense power here! We are shown that Jesus is powerful and He is because God is powerful, and the two are One. Our peace is that through Christ we are one with our Father as well! Our Father’s power is not just for Himself, it is for those whom He has chosen as well!  Go and read the parable that Jesus told us of the Prodigal Son and you will see that this is Truth. We are one with our Father’s power, just as Jesus is one with it! We have been given the Holy Spirit to teach us all Truth and to strengthen us and to seal us until the day that Jesus returns. Our power is right from our Father Himself.