I am currently in the process of sharing the grace gospel with someone in China. We connected over a social platform and below is a cross-section of a conversation I am in with them. Please pray that my friend will understand the gospel message and will experience the faith to receive it and believe it. Pray also for their safety and protection as we know that China is a country that can persecute Christians and confiscate Bibles.
In Matthew 13 Jesus teaches the parable of the sower. Although later in the same chapter Jesus interprets the meaning of the parable to His disciples, the context of the parable can be applied in many other ways. While dealing with this topic recently, I recalled a parallel context to the sower parable that I haven't thought about for a long time and I thought it would be worthwhile to share this in a post.
In the actual interpretation, Jesus refers to the seed as the Word of God, the Kingdom gospel. The different soils are the hearts, attitudes, and responses, of people who hear and receive the Word.
Rev.4:6 And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. 7 And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. 8 And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.
I'm not going to even begin to try and understand or make sense of these four living creatures. It is not the primary context of this study. As far as Rev.4 and Ezek.1 goes, all I'll say is that the four Cherubim surrounding God's throne are four angelic beings of the highest order and rank. As part of their privileged functions, they are associated with the worship and praise of God., they are attendants of the Deity, and they are the bearers of God's Throne (Psalms 80:1; 99:1; 1 Samuel 4:4, and elsewhere...).
What is my purpose for discussing this topic? Well, it is certainly not primary doctrine that we need to know and that can save us. But, it can inspire us and provide us with some sense of the greatness of God and His multi-layered creation. We know from scripture, and from our knowledge of the physical realm, that God is ordered and structured, so we can easily accept that when it comes to the invisible and metaphysical realms, this same order and structure would be maintained. We cannot measure and fully understand the nature of things in the spiritual realm, but the principles that govern that realm can be related to by our understanding of the realm in which we live. If we project our knowledge from this realm into the invisible, knowing that the physical realm is a mere shadow, or reflection, of the invisible realm, then we can only stand in awe and wonder at what we can expect to find when we, as the body of Christ, pass over into that realm at our call to come home (Romans 8:23). Remember, you and I have a heavenly destination. Our eternal purpose, as the body of Christ, is to govern this realm. So, this is why it is motivational and insightful to delve into this topic, even though we cannot even fully fathom the basics of it yet.
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.
How can any one of us ever come close to comprehending the sight that John tries to describe in his heavenly encounter. It comes across clearly in the text that what John is finding is difficult to even describe what he is seeing. It's entertaining to note the amount of times John had to use the word "like" in this section of scripture,
3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.
6 And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.
7 And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.
