WHO ARE THE 24 ELDERS OF REVELATION?
Revelation 4 says:
“Around the
throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four
elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads…
…the
twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship
him who lives forever and ever…”
Revelation 4:4,
10
The Bible does
not give the identity of these men, or specifies whether they are real or just a
symbolic vision. However, using the brief description of them, we can unravel
their identity to a degree.
DIFFERENT HYPOTHESES
1-ANGELS
This hypothesis
teaches that the 24 Elders are angelic beings, as the four creatures around the
Throne of God.
However, the 24
Elders seem to have three characteristics proper to humans and not angels.
They are old,
which represent linear time. Angels are timeless and are made as they always
exist, they never age.
They reign in
Glory, which is a dignity given to humans and never to angels
(1Corinthians
6:3; Revelation 3:21; 5:10; 20:6)
The possibility
that they are angels is less than if they were glorified humans, even if they
were immaterial. Humans and angles do not share the same nature, function or
future.
2-THE CHURCH
Other hypothesis
says that the 24 Elders are symbolic representation of the whole glorified
Church.
They claim that because
the order of priests serving in the Temple were of 24 groups (1Chronicles 24:1,
7-19), these 24 Elders are a symbolic representation of the whole community of
the saved, who worship God as Kings and Priests (Revelation 20:6).
This is
possible, save two important factors.
It restricts the
view of the Church to a single group, that overlooks the mention of Israel as a
nation. It is true that the saved Israel will be part of the Church of Jesus,
since no salvation can be achieved outside the Lamb of God, but it seems unlikely
to avoid all mention of Israel as part of this community of the saved when the
same book mentions them by name in Revelation 7:4-8.
It adds a
symbolic nature to the image of the 24 Elders without any reason for it. Even
though this is possible, it is not recommendable to give a biblical narrative a
genre without or against biblical basis. In the eyes of John who describes the
vision, these elders are real and not non-existent as it would be the case if
they were simply a symbolic vision. But even if they were, as they are part of
a bigger vision, then the four living creatures and the Throne of God will be
also symbolic.
Even though this
is possible, it remains a hypothesis since no internal ground can be establish
for such a claim.
3-SPECIALLY
ANNOITED
This idea
teaches that only certain individuals will achieve such status as to occupy the
24 thrones around God’s Throne in Glory. They claim these positions will be
taken either by those who will die as a consequence of the persecution of the Great
Tribulation (Revelation 20:4), or by special martyrs selected through history.
This is
possible, even though it gives a vague identity of the Elders, or gives no
explanation of why there are only 24 and not more or less of them.
ANOTHER
EXPLANATION
There is other
theory that contains some aspects of these hypotheses but from a different angle.
1 - The Elders
are considered humans, since only humans are called to Rule with Christ, and
not angel has been created for such an honor (Revelation 1:6; 3:21; Daniel
7:18); and only humans are depicted as old and not angels.
2 - These Elders
rule with Christ, depicted by the type of crowns they possess (στεφάνους) which
are reserved for those who overcome the world and tribulation to the end.
3 - They wear
with garments of holiness (Revelation 7:14) washed by the blood of Lord Jesus,
which indicate they belong to the human race, and are not a vision neither
created in glory away from Adam’s lineage.
4 – The Twelve Apostles of Jesus were promised thrones in Heaven next to their Master and Savior, next to the Father
(Matthew 19:28; Mark 10:40; John 14:3).
5 – Even though salvation
of all humans in ONLY through submission to JESUS as Lord and Savior; Israel
still counts with a special mention in the Plan of Salvation which derives from
the promises God made to Abraham and his descendants forever (Romans 11:25-26).
As such they are recognized under their own identity in Christ in the same book
of Revelation (Revelation 7:4-8) with honor (Revelation 21:9-14) as participants
of this salvation.
CONSIDERING
Considering all
of these details, and the fact that the Twelve Apostles themselves were all
Jews, we can safely assume that Israel is considered worthy to be mentioned,
and that is indeed recognizable in the persons of the Elders as inheritors of
salvation in Christ.
The Twelve
Apostles of Lord Jesus and the Twelve Patriarchs of Israel, represent the
People of God through human history, and the two Dispensations, Mosaic and
Christian.
It is only just,
as the Scripture lets us see, that the two groups should occupy the 24 thrones in
Glory before God, which proclaim for eternity the triumph of God in human
history. Nothing of his plan was frustrated, none was lost.
CONCLUSION
We can safely
say that there is a high probability, that the 24 Elders of Revelation 4, are
indeed the Twelve Apostles, and the Twelve Patriarchs, in their future state of
Glory, representing the whole People of God, through the heads of the two alliances
God had with humanity, now redeemed in Jesus forever, represented by their
garments washed in the blood of Jesus and their crowns of kingship emanating
from God.
The vision is
not symbolic, but a futuristic view of John himself glorified, together with
the other Apostles, and the Patriarchs in Glory
Omar Flores.
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