Does "come up here" describe the rapture? Study Revelation 4 with context, apologetic analysis, and cross-references.
Dr. Lucas D. Shallua Commentary · REVELATION 4 — THE THRONE IN HEAVEN AND THE WORSHIP OF THE CREATOR
Pre-tribulationists often see a picture of the church being taken up to heaven before the tribulation, since the church is not mentioned on earth after chapter 3. Others hold that the call applies only to John. This commentary holds the pre-tribulational view with humility, and acknowledges that the verse itself addresses John, and that the argument depends on the broader pattern of the book and on other passages such as 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18.
They are probably representatives of the redeemed, particularly the church, though others hold that they are angels or represent all God's people from both testaments. They wear crowns, sit on thrones, and wear white, which fits the promises to the churches. The matter is not settled.
They are angelic beings of the cherubim order, like those in Ezekiel's vision, who guard God's throne and lead worship. They may also represent the creation praising its Creator. Their eyes show omniscient watchfulness, and their wings show swiftness.
Because creation is the foundation of God's right to rule. He made everything and owns everything, and so He is worthy. The affirmation of creation stands against every worldview that denies a Creator, and it shows that the One who judges the world is the One who made it.
Chapters 4 and 5 form the bridge between the letters to the churches and the judgments that follow. They portray the heavenly throne room, where God's sovereignty is established and where the Lamb will be found worthy to open the scroll. The scene is rooted in Old Testament visions of God's throne in Isaiah 6, Ezekiel 1 and 10, and Daniel 7. The aim is to assure suffering believers that the real throne in the universe is not Caesar's but God's, and that all that follows, however terrible, takes place under His control. The chapter marks the beginning of the third division of the book: what will take place after this (1:19). It focuses on the person of God the Creator, as chapter 5 focuses on the Lamb.
The throne-room vision has deep roots in the Old Testament, and John's use of it shows his dependence on the earlier visions of Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. This continuity is an argument for the unity of Scripture. The contrast with Roman imperial imagery is also important. In the cities of Asia, the emperor was worshiped in temples, with sacrifices offered in his honor, and Domitian is reported by Suetonius to have had the title "our lord and god" used in documents and public address. The vision of a heavenly throne, in which God alone is worshiped as Lord and Creator, was a challenge to the claims of Rome, and it would have given courage to believers who were pressed to confess Caesar as lord. The picture of a sovereign God on His throne, in complete control, is also an answer to the problem of evil that the rest of the book describes: even the worst suffering takes place under the rule of the Creator, who will bring about justice.
This study preserves the hard questions, explanations, context, apologetic note, and references from Dr. Shallua's Commentary.