THE BOOK OF
REVELATION
(Rev.4:10)
The 24 Elders
Definition: "Elder" –someone who is valued for wisdom and holds a position of responsibility and authority.
There are a few theories as to who these 24 elders are, who are seated on 24 thrones surrounding God's throne in the highest heaven. Some say they are members of the body of Christ, which in my opinion is blatant ignorance of scripture and dispensational truth! Others say they are Jews, which is also a statement that makes very little sense and has no foundational value. I certainly do not claim to be dogmatic about what I believe in these matters, but my understanding and confidence lies in the fact that these 24 elders are high ranking angelic beings who oversee and administer, or execute, God's will and judgements over creation. Just like Moses was able to manage the population of Israel throughout their wilderness journey, by appointing God-fearing men to hold rank and judge in matters over the people, so these 24 elders do the same thing in a heavenly context and in regards to God's will.
Have a look at the pattern provided to Jethro, by God's wisdom, which I can easily believe is based on the original heavenly pattern in operation by the 24 elders,
Ex.18:13 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening. 14 And when Moses' father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even? 15 And Moses said unto his father in law, Because the people come unto me to enquire of God: 16 When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know the statutes of God, and his laws. 17 And Moses' father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good. 18 Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone. 19 Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God: 20 And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do. 21 Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens: 22 And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee. 23 If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace. 24 So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father in law, and did all that he had said.
The 24 elders are in a position of authority, albeit under absolute subjection to the will of God. They govern the creation, (the heavens and the earth), by executing decisions based on their authority given to them by God. However, if a matter requires escalation, then these are brought to the foot of God's throne, and God will issue the final word to which the elders will be responsible to administer.
If you review the above definition of "Elder" again, you will be able to recognize how this complements their position and role around God's throne.
Now, let's tackle the next obvious question. Why are there 24 elders on 24 thrones? This is an interesting number since the number '12', in the Bible, typically relates to governmental perfection. Israel itself is divided into 12 tribes who will eventually govern the nations in the Millennial kingdom. Jesus had 12 disciples (apostles) who governed the Jewish church during the Kingdom dispensation. So, how do we get to 24 then? It surely means that we have 2 sets of 12, not so? Well, yes! That is exactly the case, and let me show you how I get to this conclusion.
Col.1:16 For by him [Jesus Christ] were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Notice two prominent things that come out of the above verses; heaven and earth, visible and invisible. How many realms? Two! Heaven (invisible) and earth (visible). It would make logical sense to have 12 elders administering authority over the heavenly, invisible realm, and 12 elders administering authority over the earthly, visible realm. But wait. If we continue this train of thought, it would make sense that both heaven and earth would then be divided into 12 regions, and each region would be overseen by 1 of the 12 elders of that realm. Are the pieces falling into place? They are for me. At least this is the way I interpret it.
Please remember that I do not claim to be authoritarian here! This is my premise based on the knowledge I currently have and which I stand in confidence with. So, let's continue, because there is more to cover in the verse in Colossians, which says, "whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers:".
Here we have a form of governmental hierarchy. Thrones are at the top of this order. This makes sense as even here on earth we will find a king occupying a throne. The king has the final word in matters of state, law and governance. Is it not interesting to note that these 24 elders sit on thrones. Below the thrones in the hierarchy, we have dominions. What is a dominion? It is defined as the territory of a sovereign or government. This is the boundaries of the rule of the regent on the throne. This would confirm that the 24 elders each have a region or administration over which they rule, 12 in the regions of heaven and 12 in regions on the earth. Within these dominions we find principalities and powers. Now, if we bring this back to the example of Moses and Jethro in the above passage of Exodus, we can relate the principalities and powers with the God-fearing men that were appointed by Moses to serve the people as magistrates, principalities over the thousands, or hundreds, and powers over the fifties, or tens. These principalities and powers would themselves be angelic beings in ranks or positions further down the hierarchy, like messengers and guardians and warriors.
In the next post, I will be delving into the 'structure of creation', which provides a little more detail into these two realms in which the 24 elders execute authority.
For now, let me end this post by briefly mentioning something I have no proof for, but certainly worth a mention for the sake of consideration.
In Revelation chapter 4, the elders cast their crowns before the Lord. They proclaim, "Thou has created all things", referring in their context, to things of government, and ruling over the aforementioned divisions of created things. In Revelation chapter 5, Jesus is about to be handed the 7-sealed title deed to all of creation. The time is come for Jesus to take the reigns and put in place who He chooses (as His elected 'cabinet') to govern over His creation. At this point the 24 elders proclaim, "for thy pleasure". Would it be far from the truth to consider that somehow, the body of Christ would replace the 12 elders who oversee the heavens, and Israel would replace the 12 elders who oversee earth in the new government under Christ? The Bible mentions that we, the body of Christ will judge angels,
1 Corinthians 6:3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?
I'm simply playing with thoughts here. I have no idea what truly will happen at this time, but there are some interesting scripture verses to provide hints on these governmental positions, and Paul provides us plenty to consider regarding the glory and status of the body of Christ in the heavens after our rapture and after the heavens are cleansed. If anything, let this motivate you and excite you to the prospects of our imminent redeemed future.
We will continue in the next post with the structure of creation.
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