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In Revelation 6, with the Lamb of God being worthy, He opens the first six of the seven scrolls.  The first four have gained the monicker as the “Four Horsemen of The Apocalypse.”  With each opening of the seal, the four creatures worshipping God in the throne room summons one of the horse and his rider to come forth.  These horsemen are not necessarily demonic forces but one thing is clear, they are the instrument of judgment upon the world.  This is the beginning of the end and the timeline has begun for when Christ will return for His people.  Most depictions of the four horsemen tend to be with these as representations of the devil’s work throughout the earth.  Yet, this would ignore the presence of the creatures summoning them.  Whether it be through the permissive will of God, which allows things to happen, or the active will, which causes things to happen, the seals are the result of the judgment of the Lamb being poured out on the world.  For all whose identity remains with the Lamb of God, the consequences of the judgment will not be felt.  The church will feel the effects of the judgments but our ultimate source of hope and salvation is Jesus Christ who reigns in the throne room of Heaven, speaking with the authority of God the Father.

The events of the throne room in chapter four are rich and exciting but they are constant.  God, although on the throne, makes no real action but simply displays His presence.  Do not be mistaken, however, the presence of God is still immensely more powerful than we can image and is worthy to reign on the throne.  In chapter 5, things begin changing and moving.  The events that unfold here establish the foundation for everything else that is to come in the book of Revelation.  The introduction of Jesus Christ to the throne room sets in motion opening of the scroll which contains the finality of creation and the pronouncement of judgment on the world.  The lamb of God makes its appearance in the throne room of God and the response can only be worship.  The final stages of creation are unfolding before John’s eyes and the presence of God remains sovereign and in control.  

The letter to the church in Laodicea ends with Jesus knocking asking to come in.  Yet, for John, the door is wide open for his invitation to the throne room of God.  In chapters 2 and 3, we see the explicit commands for the church on how they should be the church.  Starting in chapter 4, John describes the visions God gives to him.  It seeks to answer not the how but the why. Thus, John is caught up in the Spirit and given an image of the Throne room of God consistent with other biblical depictions of the Throne Room of God in Isaiah and in Daniel. From the specifics of the gems, the nature of the angelic presence, and various other details, John’s vision aligns with previous apocalyptic literature.  This should not lead a person to feel that the work was plagiarized or simply a parroting, but rather speaks to the internal consistency of John’s vision with the rest of scripture.