24 Elders And 4 Beasts
Twenty Four Elders
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The 24 elders wore white raiment and gold crowns, while sitting in 24 seats around the throne of Father God (Jehovah) ( Rev4:4 ).
- When the 4 "beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, The 24 elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him{Father Jehovah} that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created"( Rev 4:9-11 ).
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In Rev5:3-4, reference is made to men in heaven. We know that Enoch, Elijah, & Moses are there and possibly other humans who were raised from the dead at Christ's death. Maybe Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead - not sure. Could the 24 elders of Revelation be human? The Greek word translated "elders" was used 67 times in the Bible. Every time previous to Revelation it was used in reference to a human. So, I find it unlikely that it would be used differently in the book of Revelation.
- Each of the 24 elders, as well as the 4 beasts, had an harp and "golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. And they sing a new song, saying, Worthy art thou to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou{the Lamb(Jesus)} were slain, and purchased unto God, with thy blood, men of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, and made them to be unto our God a kingdom and priests; and they reign upon the earth."(Rev5:8-10).
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Again the 24 "elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever."( Rev5:14;7:11-12 ) - Father Jehovah.
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In Rev7:13, "one of the elders" asked John who the "great multitude" wearing "white robes" are and where they came from. John didn't know, so the elder told him:
- Rev7:14-17 ... These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. 16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. 17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
- This must be the 144,000 spoken of earlier in the same chapter.
- Rev7:14-17 ... These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. 16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. 17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
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In Rev11, the elders speak:
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Revelation 11:15-18 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord,{Father Jehovah} and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. 16 And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, 17 Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. 18 And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
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- In Rev14:3, the 144,000 "sung as it were a new song before the throne{Father Jehovah}, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth."
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In Rev18-19, after God destroyed the "great whore"(Babylon), the 24 "elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Praise the Lord{Father Jehovah} !."( Rev19:4 )
In Summary: The 24 elders wear white clothes and gold crowns, while sitting around the throne of "Lord God Almighty", Father Jehovah, who "created all things" and reins "for ever and ever", "which was, and is, and is to come". They are often seen praising and worshiping Father Jehovah and having harps, and golden vials full of... the prayers of saints. These elders must be human.
Four Beasts
The word translated "beasts" in the KJV from Strong's Greek Dictionary is ζῶον zōon(G2226), which means a live thing that has no gender, such as angels or humans in Heaven. See Matthew22:30; Mark12:25; Luke20:34-35 . In other Bible translations, this Greek word was translated "living creatures" or " living beings".
- The four beasts were with the 24 elders around the throne of the "Lord God Almighty."
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Revelation 4:6-10 ... round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. ... 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. 9 And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, 10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship...
- Could these "beasts"/"living creatures" be human? No, because humans are not "full of eyes".
- Could these "beasts"/"living creatures" be angels? Yes. Understanding that "cherubim"(plural of "cherub") are a type of angel, See below =>
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2 Samuel 22:7-14 In my{David} distress I called upon Jehovah; ... And my cry came into his ears... 11 And he{Jehovah} rode upon a cherub, and did fly; Yea, he was seen upon the wings of the wind... 14 Jehovah thundered from heaven, And the Most High uttered his voice...
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Ezekiel 10:9-22 And I looked, and behold, four wheels beside the cherubim, one wheel beside one cherub, and another wheel beside another cherub; and the appearance of the wheels was like unto a beryl stone. {Note that there are 4 wheels, each beside a cherub. So, there were 4 cherubs(called "cherubim"-plural of cheub)} 10 And as for their appearance, they four{cherubim} ... 12 And their{cherubim} whole body, and their backs, and their hands, and their wings, and the wheels, were full of eyes round about, even the wheels that they four had. 13 As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing the whirling wheels... 15 And the cherubim mounted up: this is the living creature that I saw by the river Chebar... 20 This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the river Chebar; and I knew that they were cherubim. 21 Every one had four faces, and every one four wings; and the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings.
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- Jesus, "the Lamb" was also with the beasts and elders around the throne of God:
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Revelation 5:6-14 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb... 8 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. ... 11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; ... 14 And the four beasts said, Amen.
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- The beasts speak:
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Revelation 6:1-6 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come... 3... I heard the second beast say, Come... 5... I heard the third beast say, Come... 7... I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts...
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- The angels are also with the beasts and elders around the throne.
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Revelation 7:11-12 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and {the angels} fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, 12 Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.
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- Revelation 14:1-3 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion{likely Jerusalem in Israel}, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. 2 And I{John} heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: 3 And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man{reference to humans} could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.
- Who were the "harpers" who sang an "new song" where "no man could learn that song but the" 144,000?
- in Rev5:8 we saw that the beasts and elders had harps. I'm guessing the angels have harps, but can't find that in the Bible. Since we've determined that the elders must be human men and since no humans other than the 144,000 can learn the song, then it seems the elders probably were not singing this "new song". That leaves the beasts and probably the angels, who were singing and harping.
- Also, notice that the Lamb and the 144,000 were on Earth on mount Sion/Zion( Rev14:1 ), while the harpers/singers were in Heaven( Rev14:2 ). So, the 144,000 were not yet singing that song, but, in Rev15:2-4, the 144,000 were sing this song, while standing on the "sea of glass" in Heaven.
- Who were the "harpers" who sang an "new song" where "no man could learn that song but the" 144,000?
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Revelation 15:7 And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
- Revelation 19:4 And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Praise the Lord!
In Summary: The four "beasts"/"living creatures" appear to be special angels called cherubim(plural) or cherub(singular). Like the 24 elders, there seems to always be 4 cherubim sitting near the throne of the Almighty Father Jehovah, often worshiping and praising Jehovah. They speak with authority. They play harps and sing, but have no crowns. One of them gave the 7 vials of Jehovah's wrath to the seven angels tasked with pouring those vials out on Earth as the seven last plagues.
Desiring to live by every word that comes from the mouth of Jehovah ( Deut8:3; Matt4:4 )
-Sid Nash: 03/29/2025. Latest version: http://sidnash.org/docs/24Elders4Beasts.html