Revelation 4

New American Standard Bible

Scene in Heaven

4 After ^(A)these things I looked, and behold, ^(B)a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, ^(C)like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “^(D)Come up here, and I will ^(E)show you what must take place after these things.” ²Immediately I was ^(F)in the ^[a]Spirit; and behold, ^(G)a throne was standing in heaven, and ^(H)someone was sitting on the throne. ³And He who was sitting was like a ^(I)jasper stone and a ^(J)sardius in appearance; and there was a ^[b]^(K)rainbow around the throne, like an ^(L)emerald in appearance. ⁴^(M)Around the throne were ^(N)twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw ^(O)twenty-four elders ^(P)sitting, clothed in ^(Q)white garments, and ^(R)golden crowns on their heads.

The Throne and Worship of the Creator

⁵Out from the throne *came ^(S)flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were ^(T)seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are ^[c]^(U)the seven spirits of God; ⁶and before the throne there was something like a ^(V)sea of glass, like crystal; and in the ^[d]center and ^(W)around the throne, ^(X)four living creatures ^(Y)full of eyes in front and behind. ⁷^(Z)The first living creature was like a lion, the second creature like a calf, the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. ⁸And the ^(AA)four living creatures, each one of them having ^(AB)six wings, are ^(AC)full of eyes around and within; and ^(AD)day and night ^[e]they do not cease to say,

“^(AE)Holy, holy, holy is the ^(AF)Lord God, the Almighty, ^(AG)who was and who is and who ^[f]is to come.”

⁹And when the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to Him who ^(AH)sits on the throne, to ^(AI)Him who lives forever and ever, ¹⁰the ^(AJ)twenty-four elders will ^(AK)fall down before Him who ^(AL)sits on the throne, and they will worship ^(AM)Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their ^(AN)crowns before the throne, saying,

¹¹“^(AO)Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You ^(AP)created all things, and because of Your will they ^[g]existed, and were created.”

Footnotes

Revelation 4:2 Or spirit
Revelation 4:3 Or halo
Revelation 4:5 Possibly a symbolic reference to the Holy Spirit in His fullness, or to seven key angels
Revelation 4:6 Lit middle of the throne and around
Revelation 4:8 Lit they have no rest, saying,
Revelation 4:8 Or is coming
Revelation 4:11 Lit were

Revelation 4

The Message

A Door into Heaven

4 Then I looked, and, oh!—a door open into Heaven. The trumpet-voice, the first voice in my vision, called out, “Ascend and enter. I’ll show you what happens next.”

^2-6I was caught up at once in deep worship and, oh!—a Throne set in Heaven with One Seated on the Throne, suffused in gem hues of amber and flame with a nimbus of emerald. Twenty-four thrones circled the Throne, with Twenty-four Elders seated, white-robed, gold-crowned. Lightning flash and thunder crash pulsed from the Throne. Seven fire-blazing torches fronted the Throne (these are the Sevenfold Spirit of God). Before the Throne it was like a clear crystal sea.

^6-8Prowling around the Throne were Four Animals, all eyes. Eyes to look ahead, eyes to look behind. The first Animal like a lion, the second like an ox, the third with a human face, the fourth like an eagle in flight. The Four Animals were winged, each with six wings. They were all eyes, seeing around and within. And they chanted night and day, never taking a break:

Holy, holy, holy
Is God our Master, Sovereign-Strong,
The Was, The Is, The Coming.

^9-11Every time the Animals gave glory and honor and thanks to the One Seated on the Throne—the age-after-age Living One—the Twenty-four Elders would fall prostrate before the One Seated on the Throne. They worshiped the age-after-age Living One. They threw their crowns at the foot of the Throne, chanting,

Worthy, O Master! Yes, our God!
Take the glory! the honor! the power!
You created it all;
It was created because you wanted it.

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

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The Message (MSG)

Revelation 4 New American Standard Bible