The 24 Elders Described Revelation, Who Are They???

[Sister]

 

The 24 elders (Revelation 4:4) could be 24 chief angels who, along with the 4 beasts/seraphims, have been worshipping God continually (as in 24 hours a day)

 

 

Bible 2

 

It's really easy to go offtrack, but one thing I have learn't is that theres always a clue in there to help us along.

 

 Revelation 5:2   And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?

 Revelation 5:3   And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.

 

If no man in heaven was worthy to open the book, then there's the clue right there.

It says no man, not no angel.

So the 24 around the throne are men, and the 4 beasts are creatures (spiritual creatures/specific type of angel)

It just doesn't say who the men are.  From here it's just an educated guess.

 

This is my educated guess;

1. Christ is the first to be risen from the dead.  No one before him.

 

2. The holy apostles were chosen to teach Christ's doctrine after his departure. So they are very special and part of the foundation of Christ (Christ being the cornerstone)  They were shown everything to come.

 

3. Not only are there 12 apostles, but more after that.  example - Paul was an apostle not included in the 12 original, but played a big major part. (just something to think on)

 

4.  Those around the throne sung a new song.   - remember those apostles who were shown everything to come by Christ when they received the holy spirit, and to this day they are still teaching us through the scriptures.  This song is "the full truth".  They have been shown everything by the lamb or how else can they teach us?

 

Revelation 5:9   And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

 

Angels don't get redeemed?

 

My guess is that these 24 elders are the original chosen to be witnesses of Christ's teachings in the NT, because they were the first to learn.

My second guess is that they were resurrected altogether at once when the last one died and are a kind of firstfruit, .....not to be confused with the 144,000 firstfruits.

 

 

Hope this helps.

[Littlelambseativy]

There are only Two sets of twelve in Biblical history...12 leaders of 12 tribes of Israel and 12 apostles. To me it is reasonable that these are the 24 elders

[Last Daze]

There are two throne room scenes in Rev 4 & 5.  One is before the Lamb overcame and the other is after.  This is seen in the change in how the seven Spirits of God are depicted.

 

The 24 elders are there before the Lamb overcame.  When the question was asked as to who was worthy to take the book and open its seals, no one was found anywhere; no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth.  This is clearly before the death and resurrection of Christ.  It was only after the Word became flesh and overcame the world that someone was found worthy.  Otherwise, where was Jesus when this question was asked?

 

While this may not answer definitively who the 24 elders are, it does show that they were there before the death and resurrection of Jesus wearing white garments and crowns.

 

Consequently, I think it can only represent beings that existed before the Lamb overcame.

[Sonseeahray]

No speculation needed. The 24 elders were well known in Jesus' day. If you recall the Temple and all of its elements were just a miniature of what is in heaven. This includes the 24 elders. In the temple there were priests that conducted the daily sacrifices. There were 24 groups of 24 or a minimum total of 576 plus any extras. Each group of 24 served 8 days twice a year. The oncoming course started on Saturday morning and conducted the evening sacrifice. The morning sacrifice was conducted by the outgoing group. Each one of these 24 groups has a leader or elder. Of ten they were all of one clan. And so the 24 elders were the leaders of the Priesthood. Likewise in heaven there is a protocol. God the Father, the Four Living beings, and then the 24 elders. Not known is who they are - men - angels or what.

 

The body of believers on earth has been likened to Priests and Kings. Under the Old Covenant there were only two requirements for someone (30 or over) to become a priest. He had to be able to prove that he was a descendant of Aaron and he had to show that he had no physical deformities. This parallels the New Covenant because in order to be a Priest you have to have a relationship with our High Priest Jesus and have to have no defects of character (sin).

 

So the 24 elders represent the Priesthood of the believer both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. 

[WilliamL]

No speculation needed. The 24 elders were well known in Jesus' day. If you recall the Temple and all of its elements were just a miniature of what is in heaven. This includes the 24 elders. In the temple there were priests that conducted the daily sacrifices. There were 24 groups of 24 or a minimum total of 576 plus any extras. Each group of 24 served 8 days twice a year. The oncoming course started on Saturday morning and conducted the evening sacrifice. The morning sacrifice was conducted by the outgoing group. Each one of these 24 groups has a leader or elder. Of ten they were all of one clan. And so the 24 elders were the leaders of the Priesthood. Likewise in heaven there is a protocol. God the Father, the Four Living beings, and then the 24 elders. Not known is who they are - men - angels or what.

More precisely, they served once every 7 days x 24 courses = 168 days. One day of the 8 days was overlapping.

For instance, Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, served in the course of Abijah, Lk 1:5, which was the 8th course, 2 Chr. 24:10.

 

Angels are not redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, only men are. (Angels are either sinless, or else fallen and unredeemable.) And Scripture never uses the term elder to apply to anyone but men. My take is that these men are either the leading Old Testament saints who were resurrected from the dead after the resurrection of Jesus --

 

Matt. 27:52 and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised [G1453 egeiro]; 53 and coming out of the graves after His resurrection [G1454 egersis], they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

 

-- or else they are the 12 Patriarchs of Israel and the 12 Apostles, whose are the names of the 12 gates and 12 foundations, respectively, of the New Jerusalem. The third 12 in the city are the (names of the?) 12 fruits of the Tree of Life. All total, the 36 Tzaddikim of Jewish lore.

 

If this latter understanding is correct, then the third 12 will come from our generation, being the Manchild of Rev. 12:5.

[WilliamL]

 [This is a copy of my post from the other string of the same name.]

No speculation needed. The 24 elders were well known in Jesus' day. If you recall the Temple and all of its elements were just a miniature of what is in heaven. This includes the 24 elders. In the temple there were priests that conducted the daily sacrifices. There were 24 groups of 24 or a minimum total of 576 plus any extras. Each group of 24 served 8 days twice a year. The oncoming course started on Saturday morning and conducted the evening sacrifice. The morning sacrifice was conducted by the outgoing group. Each one of these 24 groups has a leader or elder. Of ten they were all of one clan. And so the 24 elders were the leaders of the Priesthood. Likewise in heaven there is a protocol. God the Father, the Four Living beings, and then the 24 elders. Not known is who they are - men - angels or what.

More precisely, they served once every 7 days x 24 courses = 168 days. One day of the 8 days was overlapping.

For instance, Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, served in the course of Abijah, Lk 1:5, which was the 8th course, 2 Chr. 24:10.

 

Angels are not redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, only men are. (Angels are either sinless, or else fallen and unredeemable.) And Scripture never uses the term elder to apply to anyone but men. My take is that these men are either the leading Old Testament saints who were resurrected from the dead after the resurrection of Jesus --

 

Matt. 27:52 and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised [G1453 egeiro]; 53 and coming out of the graves after His resurrection [G1454 egersis], they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

 

-- or else they are the 12 Patriarchs of Israel and the 12 Apostles, whose are the names of the 12 gates and 12 foundations, respectively, of the New Jerusalem. The third 12 in the city are the (names of the?) 12 fruits of the Tree of Life. All total, the 36 Tzaddikim of Jewish lore.

 

If this latter understanding is correct, then the third 12 will come from our generation, being the Manchild of Rev. 12:5.

[Ezra]

The 24 elders are not 'beings' as such.

It is a vision, not something like a photograph. 

A vision is like a photgraph.  It is certainly not a delusion or a flight of fancy.  Please note carefully that in addition to all the saints and angels in Heaven, we have 24 INDIVIDUALS designated as "elders" (Rev 7:9-17).  We have (1) a great multitude, (2) all the angels, (3) the 24 elders, and (4) the four beasts.  We cannot confuse and confound these groups indiscriminately.

 

God does not desire to confuse us or send us on flights of fancy.  These 24 redeemed men (NOT ANGELS) play an inmportant role in heavenly government and worship, although we may not fully know all the details.

 

⁹After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

¹⁰And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.

¹¹And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,

¹²Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.

¹³And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?

¹⁴And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

¹⁵Therefore 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.

¹⁶They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.

¹⁷For 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.

[Ezra]

There are only Two sets of twelve in Biblical history...12 leaders of 12 tribes of Israel and 12 apostles. To me it is reasonable that these are the 24 elders

Since the 12 apostles have already been given rulership and judgeship over the 12 tribes of Israel in perpetuity, and since God has already established the Church as His instrument of service and praise in Heaven, and since the kingdom of Israel will be redeemed and restored on earth, we should take these 24 elders as 24 Christian shepherds who have served Christ in an outstanding manner, and have truly been elders in their churches.  Since they have crowns which they cast down before the throne of God, we can connect these "crowns of glory" with their faithful service as elders by referring to 1 Pet 5:1- 4):

¹ The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:

² Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;

³ Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.

⁴ And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

 

This passage should be an incentive to every pastor and elder.  Out of the thousands of pastors and elders over the ages, there will be only a few who will receive this crown of glory.  As we know from Ezekiel 34, not all who say they are shepherds are true shepherds, in resembling the Chief Shepherd.

[missmuffet]

 

The raptured Church.

Not likely, because both the 24 elders and the Church are present at the same time in the vision described in Rev 7:9-17. In fact it is an elder who reveals to John the nature of the great multitude in Heaven.

 

There have been many ideas presented about these elders, but the two things that stand out are (1) they surround the throne of God and (2) they are twenty four in number.

 

Since elders are always shepherds of churches, we can be certain that these redeemed men were outstanding genuine shepherds while on earth, and are eternally considered elders worthy of high honor.  That they surround the throne of God indicates that they have a closer connection to His throne than others.  There is no reason to regard them as angels, as some have suggested.

 

Since numbers have spiritual significance in Scripture, and 12 is the number of Divine government and worship, 2 X 12 = 24 indicates an even greater level (double?) of involvement with Divine government.

 

Going beyond these observations would be intruding into things which have not been revealed.

 

Question: "Who are the twenty-four (24) elders in Revelation?"

Answer: Revelation 4:4 declares, “Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads.” The book of Revelation nowhere specifically identifies who the twenty-four elders are. However, they are most likely representative of the Church. It is unlikely that they are angelic beings, as some suggest. The fact that they sit on thrones indicates that they reign with Christ. Nowhere in Scripture do angels ever rule or sit on thrones. The Church, however, is repeatedly said to rule and reign with Christ (Revelation 2:26-27, 5:10, 20:4; Matthew 19:28;Luke 22:30).

In addition, the Greek word translated here as “elders” is never used to refer to angels, only to men, particularly to men of a certain age who are mature and able to rule the Church. The word elder would be inappropriate to refer to angels, who do not age. Their mode of dress would also indicate these are men. While angels do appear in white, white garments are more commonly found on believers, symbolizing Christ’s righteousness imputed to us at salvation (Revelation 3:5,18; 19:8).

The golden crowns worn by the elders also indicate these are men, not angels. Crowns are never promised to angels, nor are angels ever seen wearing them. The word translated “crown” here refers to the victor’s crown, worn by those who have successfully competed and won the victory, as Christ promised (Revelation 2:10; 2 Timothy 4:8;James 1:12).

Some people believe these twenty-four elders represent Israel, but at the time of this vision, Israel as a whole nation had not yet been redeemed. The elders cannot represent tribulation saints for the same reason—not all had yet been converted at the time of John’s vision. The most likely option is that the elders represent the raptured Church which sings songs of redemption (Revelation 5:8-10). They wear the crowns of victory and have gone to the place prepared for them by their Redeemer (John 14:1-4).

http://www.gotquestions.org/24-elders.html

[Rev2015]

Thanks for the welcomes, and your responses

 

 

I think most of you, from reading your post, believe these are 24 literal men. Who they specifically are is only speculation. Possibly 12 patriarchs from the Old Testament and possibly the apostles from the new. I also got the hint that most all of you believe these men have past on and are not alive today. I don’t think their identities is worth a debate, but I did want to establish that they were men. Also………. the topic question was baited. 

 

I am not sure who else has seen the obvious,.... I will go on…

 

 

 

Revelation:4

 

4And 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.

 

The elders have been given white raiment to wear. They also have been given crowns of gold. They have been judged and rewarded with crowns.

 

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.

 

They are described performing physical acts, falling/bowing before the throne, casting there crowns before the throne.

 

 

Revelation:5

7 And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.

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.

 

Here the they are playing harps, another physical feat.

 

9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

 

Here we see that they are absolutely men, for only man has fallen and has been redeemed by the blood. We also see their function for the 1000 year kingdom, to be kings and priest, and they shall reign on the earth.

 

14 And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

 

 

Revelation:7

3 And again they said, Alleluia And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.

4 And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.

 

So it appears these men have been resurrected and have their new bodies. They have been rewarded at the bema. They have their crowns. Their descriptive and actions indicate this.

 

So, have you seen the obvious?

 

We have a group of men redeemed by the blood of Christ:

1. They appear to have their new glorified bodies, and have been given white clothes to wear.

2. They have crowns of gold, rewarded at the bema judgment.

3. They play harps and sing.

4. They cast their crowns before the throne several times, all physical acts.

 

My next question:

 

Can we assume these elders have been resurrected with their new bodies, given white raiment, and have received their crowns in judgment, as we see and read them described?....... I believe so.

Edited July 29, 2015 by Rev2015