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Revelation

About this book
Chapter 4

1 After these things I looked, and there was a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet said: “Come up here so that I can show you what must happen after these things.” 2 Immediately I was in the Spirit, and a throne was standing in heaven with someone seated on it!⁠ 3 And the one seated on it was like jasper and carnelian in appearance, and a rainbow looking like it was made of emerald encircled the throne. 4 In a circle around the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on those thrones were twenty-four elders.⁠ They were dressed in white clothing and had golden crowns on their heads. 5 From the throne came out flashes of lightning and roaring and crashes of thunder.⁠ Seven flaming torches, which are the seven spirits of God, were burning in front of the throne, 6 and in front of the throne was something like a sea of glass, like crystal. In the middle of the throne and around the throne were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back.⁠ 7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second creature like an ox, the third creature had a face like a man’s, and the fourth creature looked like an eagle flying.⁠ 8 Each one of the four living creatures had six wings and was full of eyes all around and inside. They never rest day or night,⁠ saying: “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God, the All-Powerful, Who was, and who is, and who is still to come!” 9 And whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to the one who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders throw themselves to the ground before the one who sits on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever, and they offer their crowns before his throne, saying: 11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, since you created all things, and because of your will they existed and were created!”⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare 1 Enoch 108:12 and Revelation 4:4

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · New Testament

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Summary

Revelation 4 echoes 1 Enoch 108 by portraying thrones in heaven as symbols of honor. In both, the thrones reward faithfulness and show elevated status within the divine realm and its rule over creation.

Passages

1 Enoch 108:12

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
11 And now I will summon the spirits of the good who belong to the generation of light, and I will transform those who were born in darkness, who in the flesh were not rewarded with the honor their faithfulness deserved. 12 I will bring out in shining light those who have loved My holy name, and I will seat each one on the throne of his honor. 13 They will shine for times without number, for righteousness is the judgment of God; for to the faithful He will give faithfulness in the dwelling of upright paths.
300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

Revelation 4:4

New Testament
3 And the one seated on it was like jasper and carnelian in appearance, and a rainbow looking like it was made of emerald encircled the throne. 4 In a circle around the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on those thrones were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white clothing and had golden crowns on their heads. 5 From the throne came out flashes of lightning and roaring and crashes of thunder. Seven flaming torches, which are the seven spirits of God, were burning in front of the throne,
92–96 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Revelation

References

"... In the fifth firmament 'are twelve princes of glory seated upon magnificent thrones, the appearance of their thrones is like that of fire' (Sepher ha-Razim 5.3–4; tr. Morgan, 73). According to 3 Enoch, the angelic being named Metatron is given 'a throne like the throne of glory.' The term 'thrones' is also used as a metaphor for members of the angelic host (Colossians 1:16; Testament of Levi 3:8; Ascension of Isaiah 7:27; Testament of Adam 4:8; Apocalypse of Elijah 1:10; 4:10; 2 Enoch 20:1; Apostolic Constitutions 8.12.8, 27), suggesting some form of dominion subordinate to that of God. Thrones are also metaphors for the heavenly reward of the righteous (1 Enoch 108:12; Apocalypse of Elijah 1:8) ..."
David E. Aune, Word Biblical Commentary: Revelation 1-5 (Dallas: Word, 2008), 541.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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1 Enoch 108:12 and Revelation 4:4

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