Revelation 4–8: Natan’s Commentary Notes

Revelation 4

Revelation 4:3, Jasper…sardius stone. Jasper is brick red in color and sardius (also called sardine or carnelian) is red orange in color. Both have quartz as their base mineral mixed with other minerals to give the color. The face of Yeshua also shines like the sun (Rev 1:16); therefore, his face radiates a brick, red-orange color.

Rainbow. The throne of Elohim is surround by a rainbow. He is bathed in light, a biblical metaphor for truth. That light is split like a prism into the seven main colors of the rainbow, but, in reality, there is an infinite number of color variations. This speaks to the fact that the truth of Elohim is simultaneously gloriously beautiful and infinitely unsearchable in the multiplicity of its dimensions.

Like an emerald. The rainbow isn’t a typical earthly one, though, since it has a greenish hue to it. Green is the color signifying life. 

Revelation 4:8, Holy, holy, holy. We need to shift our thinking to see that holiness not love is the primary or most notable attribute of YHVH Elohim. On what basis can we make such a bold assertion, since it flies in the face of what most Christians teach and believe? The answer is simple. In the throne room of Elohim the seraphim constantly cry, “holy, holy, holy” in reference Elohim and not “love, love, love” (Isa 6:3; Rev 4:8). Certainly, the Scriptures reveal that YHVH is love (1 John 4:8,16), but this is an attribute of his holiness. It would behove us to thoroughly study the scriptural concept of holiness as applied to YHVH. It is more convenient for sinful men to focus on YHVH’s love rather than on his holiness. To the carnal mind, love seems to excuses sin more, while holiness seems to demand more accountability and repentance before a just and righteous Elohim. On the basis of Elohim’s love, we feel that we can come into relationship with him “just as we are.” On the other hand, holiness convicts us of sin and demands that we repent of it if we are to enter into relationship with our Creator. To subscribe to false concepts about the nature and character of Elohim is to create a god in our own image, which is humanism and idolatry. To the degree that we subscribe to false concepts about him is to the degree that he cannot use us for his purposes.

Revelation 6

Revelation 6:2, White horse. In this a reference to the end times Muslim Mahdi Antichrist? Also, it is interesting to not that Muhammad’s horse, name Buraq, was also white.

Revelation 6:9, Under the altar…souls. Souls under the altar, in biblical Hebraic thought, is another way of saying that when you die, your soul dies too and goes into the grave of the earth or ground along with your body awaiting the resurrection when your body and soul (i.e. your personality—your mind, will and emotions) will be reunited with your personal spirit or divine essence that goes back to heaven when you die. 

The altar is a poetic metaphor for the earth. Remember that the Bible says that heaven is Elohim’s throne and earth is his footstool (Isa 66:1; Matt 5:35; Acts 7:49). For example, the altar in the tabernacle was constructed of a pile of rocks placed on the bare earth and the blood of sacrificed animals was poured out on the earth. To me, the phrase “under the altar” (Rev 6:9) speaks of the human body being buried under or in the earth when they die where they await the resurrection. 

We know that souls are not immortal; they don’t go to heaven when a person dies, contrary to what the church teaches—a false teaching they picked up from the Greek philosophers, not from the Tanakh! 

On the contrary, the Tanakh tells us that the soul that sins dies (Ezek 18:4) and goes into the grave (Ps 16:10). Yeshua’s soul died when he went into he grave (Ps 16:10; Isa 53:12), but his spirit (his breath and his personal spirit) went up to heaven to be received of his Father (Luke 23:46) as did Stephen’s (Act 7:59). The same is true for all humans (Eccl 12:7). 

The idea that the altar is the earth is further corroborated in Jewish thought. The Jewish sages teach us that the four horns on the four corners of the altar of sacrifice in the tabernacle symbolically represent the four corners of the earth. “[T]he expanse of the earth is more than a huge altar, dedicated to God” (The ArtScroll Tehilim/Psalms Commentary on Ps 118:27), and at death, the soul is not immortal, but simply goes into the grave with the body awaiting the resurrection (Pss 16:10; 49:15; Ezek 18:4). 

Moreover, if the soul were immortal, than the lie the serpent told the first humans about not dying after going against Elohim’s instructions (i.e. committing sin) would be true wouldn’t it (Gen 3:4)? 

Revelation 6:12–7–14, Great earthquake…four angels…wind…great multitude. See notes at Ezek 37 cp. Matt 24:29–31.

Revelation 7

Revelation 7:2, Seal of the living Elohim. What is the seal of God (Rev 7:3)? A seal is a signature, stamp, sign, brand or identification mark signifying ownership. A seal in the forehead symbolizes that the one who has the mark is completely yielded and subservient to the one who placed the mark. The concept of sealing believers is mentioned several times in the Scriptures.

Revelation 7:5–8, The 12 tribes of Israel. Why is the tribe of Dan not mentioned? (See notes at Matt 16:13.) It is also interesting to note the Ezekiel in his description of the apportioning of the Promised Land to the 12 tribes during, presumably, the millennial period, mentions the tribe of Dan (Ezek 48:1–2) and he even has a gate in the New Jerusalem name for him (Ezek 48:32). Obviously despite Dan’s apostasy, YHVH still has a loving heart for his lost and scattered children and is able to redeem them from the spiritual darkness in which they have been trapped.

Revelation 7:6, 8, Manasseh…Joseph. Why is Manasseh and not Ephraim mentioned? If Joseph encompasses both tribes, then why is Manasseh mentioned? Perhaps it’s because Ephraim was the birthright tribe with the double blessings, and therefore took the place of Joseph.

Revelation 8

Revelation 8:11, Wormwood. There is much speculation as to what this wormwood star is. One consideration is that Satan is the star who fell from heaven (Luke 10:18 cp. 12:9 and Isa 14:12). He is the archenemy of YHVH who has led men into rebellion against his Torah by perverting the Word of Elohim as he did at the tree of knowledge with Adam and Eve. In the Tanakh, the term wormwood is used as a poetic metaphor for the curses that come upon the people of YHVH when they forsake his Torah (Jer 9:13–15; Deut 29:18). The star in this verse falls upon one-third of the fresh waters. Waters can be taken as a metaphor for the peoples of the earth (Rev 17:15). Interestingly, one-third of the earth’s population professes to be Christian, which holds as a fundamental tenet the rejection of the Torah.

 

2 thoughts on “Revelation 4–8: Natan’s Commentary Notes

  1. YHVH gave my 7 children and I a most incredible blessing gift in the late summer of 2017 between the Eclipse and the Rev 12 sign….a series of photos we took on my cellphone captured the Glory of the Lord in His Emerald Rainbow that appeared in great clarity and detail! It is unlike anything seen on earth. After 7 years of researching the closest I find is the Auroras yet they pale in reality. I would love to share it w believers!>
    Maranatha All Glory to God

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