1 AFTER this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
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.
4 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.
5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
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.
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 him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
11 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.

1After this I looked, and beholde, a doore was opened in heauen: and the first voice which I heard, was as it were of a trumpet, talking with me, which said, Come vp hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.

2And immediatly I was in the spirit: and beholde, a Throne was set in heauen, and one sate on the Throne.

3And he that sate was to looke vpon like a Iasper, and a Sardine stone: and there was a rainebow round about the Throne, in sight like vnto an Emeralde.

4And round about the Throne were foure and twentie seates, and vpon the seates I saw foure and twentie Elders sitting, clothed in white rayment, and they had on their heades crownes of golde.

5And out of the Throne proceeded lightnings, and thundrings, and voyces: and there were seuen lampes of fire burning before the Throne, which are the seuen Spirits of God.

6And before the Throne there was a sea of glasse like vnto Chrystall: and in the middest of the throne, and round about the Throne, were foure beastes full of eyes before and behinde.

7And the first beast was like a Lion, and the second beast like a Calfe, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying Egle.

8And the foure beasts had each of them sixe 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.

9And when those beasts giue glory, and honour, and thankes to him that sate on the Throne, who liueth for euer and euer,

10The foure and twentie Elders fall downe before him that sate on the Throne, and worship him that liueth for euer and euer, and cast their crownes before the Throne, saying,

11Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receiue glorie, and honour, and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are, and were created.

 

1 After this I had a vision of an open door to heaven, and I heard the trumpetlike voice that had spoken to me before, saying, "Come up here and I will show you what must happen afterwards." 2 At once I was caught up in spirit. A throne was there in heaven, and on the throne sat 3 one whose appearance sparkled like jasper and carnelian. Around the throne was a halo as brilliant as an emerald. 4 Surrounding the throne I saw twenty-four other thrones on which twenty-four elders sat, dressed in white garments and with gold crowns on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder. Seven flaming torches burned in front of the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. 6 In front of the throne was something that resembled a sea of glass like crystal. In the center and around the throne, there were four living creatures covered with eyes in front and in back. 7 The first creature resembled a lion, the second was like a calf, the third had a face like that of a human being, and the fourth looked like an eagle in flight. 8 The four living creatures, each of them with six wings, were covered with eyes inside and out. Day and night they do not stop exclaiming: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come." 9 Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to the one who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before the one who sits on the throne and worship him, who lives forever and ever. They throw down their crowns before the throne, exclaiming: 11 "Worthy are you, Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things; because of your will they came to be and were created."

The Old Testament focused on the Jews, and the Church Age was a mystery. It also mingled events soon to take place and at the end of the age. Epistles dealt with the Church, but more prophecy was needed to clarify sequence of end time events. The book of Revelation shows the events of Christ’s second coming and eternal reign.
v 1. This begins the prophetic part of the book. The Lord has already opened the door to heaven and the voice John heard had the effect, if not the actual sound, of a trumpet call summoning him. John’s call up may be symbolical of the Rapture. “After this”, after the description of the seven churches which represent the Church Age, “things hereafter” would be after the Rapture of the Church. The apostate church is still here and will be referred to in chapters 17 and 18.
v 2. John’s body was on earth, but in his own spirit, he has transcended time and space, and it is as if he were in heaven. The first thing he sees sitting on a throne is . God the Father, as the Son is not introduced until 5:6. This is not the Judgment Seat of Christ or the Great White Throne in Rev. 20:11.
v 3. A beautiful emerald green rainbow completely encircled the throne, but from the presence of Christ were the two colors at the ends of the rainbow spectrum. Red, possibly spoke of sacrifice and purple of royalty. God presented a rainbow of promise to Noah; Ezekiel saw a similar rainbow to this, and this appears again in 10:1.
v 4. The 24 elders in heaven during the Tribulation cannot represent angels because of their robes and crowns which are both promised to Church Age believers by God. Some think they will be the 12 apostles and  Old Testament saints representing the 12 tribes of Israel. However, they can’t be Old Testament saints because were not in heaven at the time of Isa. 6 or Ezek. 1-10, and they will not have been resurrected yet,. So they have to be representatives of the Church. As David established 24 orders of priests in 1Chron. 24, so these 24 will have priestly duties in heaven. At least 12 or more of these appear to be apostles of Matt. 19:28.  Perhaps some are chosen on merit.
v 5. These phenomenon are seen in Ezek 1 an cloven tongues of fire, Acts 2:3.
Thunder is the voice of the Lord, Job 37:2: 40:9. The sevenfold Spirit of Isa. 11:2. 1 Resting or abiding Spirit, 2 wisdom, 3 understanding, 4 counsel, 5 might, 6 knowledge, and 7 fear of the Lord.
v 6-9. The sea in the temple 2 Chro. 4:2-6 was for cleansing, but those here are already cleansed and have direct access to God. Sea of glass is refined sand, a completed body, the Church, compared to Rev. 20:8, the sands of the sea shore. These living creatures with eyes that could see all are specially created angels nearest to God to guard His holiness. Beasts, ie. living creatures described. Eyes within, nothing hidden from them.
7,8 They resemble the four cherubim of Ezek. 1:10, but there it is four wings. In Isaiah two covered the feet and two the face. They constantly proclaim God’s holiness. 
9. They added thanks (perhaps for their special creation.) to their other praise for the holiness of the eternal Lord.
See  accompanying Rev. 04 Creatures for comparison of heavenly beings in Scripture.
Compare camps of Israel guarding holiness of God around the  tabernacle as to      banner figure,  banner color, color meaning, and what each represents. Then note the same symbols in the Gospels, to whom written and  representation of Christ.
(1)Judah  (2)Ephraim   (3) Reuben  (4)Dan
(1)Lion     (2)Ox            (3)Man     (4)Eagle
(1)Purple (2)Scarlet (3)White (4)Blue
(1)Royalty  (2)Sacrifice (3) Perfect man  (4) Heaven sent
(1)King   (2)Servant  (3)Son of Man   (4)Son of God
(1)reign in power    (2)humble to death       (3)in humanity      (4)Deity
(1)Matthew (2)mark (3)Luke (4)John
(1)Lion  (2)Ox  (3)Man    (4)Eagle
(1)Prophetic (2)Practical (3)Historical  (4)Spiritual
(1)To the Jew  (2)To the Roman    (3)To the Greek  (4)To THE Church, whosoever.
(1)The prophesied  (2)The obedient   (3)The perfect     (4)The divine
(1)Davidic King   (2)Servant of Lord    (3)Son of Man    (4)Word of God
(1)Jer. 23:5,6 _ _  (2)Zech. 3:8           (3)Zech. 6:12    (4)Isa. 4:2

v 10. The elders, following their example, fall at the feet of the Lord and cast their crowns before Him repeatedly to honor God
v 11. As the elders pronounce God Worthy, they honor him as the God of creation, something many in  the world refuse to do today.