How does Saint John depict the celestial liturgy and the sovereign majesty of God's heavenly throne in Apocalypse 4?

Atlas of Saints · Chapter summary

John sees the heavenly throne, the twenty-four crowned ancients and four living creatures praising God, with the ancients casting their crowns before the Creator.

Chapter breakdown

After these things, John sees a door opened in heaven. The first voice he heard, like a trumpet, calls him up to see what must be done hereafter. Immediately he is in the spirit and sees a throne with one sitting upon it, whose appearance is like jasper and sardine stone. A rainbow like an emerald surrounds the throne. Around it are twenty-four seats occupied by ancients wearing white garments and crowns of gold. Lightnings, voices and thunders proceed from the throne; seven burning lamps before it are the seven spirits of God. Before the throne is something like a sea of glass, like crystal.

Four living creatures stand in the midst of and around the throne, full of eyes before and behind. They resemble a lion, a calf, a man’s face and a flying eagle. Each has six wings and is full of eyes around and within. Without rest day or night, they say: Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, who was, is and is to come.

When the creatures give glory, honour and benediction to the one who sits on the throne and lives forever, the twenty-four ancients fall down and adore him, casting their crowns before the throne. They declare the Lord their God worthy of glory, honour and power because he created all things, and for his will they were and have been created.

The story inside

Context: John sees an opened door in heaven after the preceding messages. Stakes: The voice promises to show what must be done hereafter. Action: In the spirit, John sees the throne, crowned ancients, seven lamps, sea like glass and four living creatures. Consequence: The creatures praise without rest, and the ancients adore and cast their crowns before the throne. Limits: No interpretation of the calf, eyes, white garments or glass sea is supplied here.

Lessons worth keeping

1
The one seated appears like jasper and sardine stone, with a rainbow like emerald around the throne.
2
The four living creatures have six wings and eyes before, behind, around and within; their praise continues day and night.
3
The ancients’ declaration grounds God’s worthiness in his creation of all things for his will.

Test your recall

What chant do the four winged living creatures unceasingly repeat day and night before the throne of God in Apocalypse 4?

Source edition and notes

Douay–Rheims, revised by Richard Challoner (1749–1752). Project Gutenberg no. 1581. Locators refer to lines in the admitted pg1581.txt edition. Source notes may include Challoner commentary.

Lines 138763–138773
4:1. After these things I looked, and behold a door was opened in heaven, and the first voice which I heard, as it were, of a trumpet speaking with me, said: Come up hither, and I will shew thee the things which must be done hereafter. 4:2. And immediately I was in the spirit. And behold, there was a throne set in heaven, and upon the throne one sitting. 4:3. And he that sat was to the sight like the jasper and the sardine stone. And there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.
Lines 138775–138785
4:4. And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats, four and twenty ancients sitting, clothed in white garments. And on their heads were crowns of gold. 4:5. And from the throne proceeded lightnings and voices and thunders. And there were seven lamps burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. 4:6. And in the sight of the throne was, as it were, a sea of glass like to crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four living creatures, full of eyes before and behind.
Lines 138787–138795
4:7. And the first living creature was like a lion: and the second living creature like a calf: and the third living creature, having the face, as it were, of a man: and the fourth living creature was like an eagle flying. 4:8. And the four living creatures had each of them six wings: and round about and within they are full of eyes. And they rested not day and night, saying: Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.
Lines 138797–138807
4:9. And when those living creatures gave glory and honour and benediction to him that sitteth on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever: 4:10. The four and twenty ancients fell down before him that sitteth on the throne and adored him that liveth for ever and ever and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: 4:11. Thou art worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honour and power. Because thou hast created all things: and for thy will they were and have been created.