The fourth reason for thinking of angelic rulers here, generals of the Heavenly hosts, ‘archangels’ if you like, instead of representatives of the glorified Church, is as follows: They sing a song of praise about people, human beings who are redeemed. They sing a new song in Revelation 5:9 and say: “Worthy are You (the Lamb) to take the book and to break its seals, for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign on the earth.”
But the King James Version renders this: “Thou hast redeemed us to God … Thou hast made us unto our God kingdoms and priests: and we shall reign.” The King James Version (KJV), also known as the King James Bible (KJB) or simply the Authorised Version (AV), is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, begun in 1604 and completed as well as published in 1611 under the sponsorship of King James I of England. If this is the correct translation in the King James Version there is reason to think of the elders as being the glorified Church, but that is not the case! This is one of the places where these older translations, which were made over three hundred years ago, rely for the most part on the basis of only a few Greek manuscripts existing in those days. Many more ancient Greek manuscripts have been found since then. The study of Biblical manuscripts is important because handwritten copies of books can contain errors. The science of textual criticism attempts to reconstruct the original text of books, especially those published prior to the invention of the printing press, with the result that almost all translations now read this verse: ‘With Your blood You purchased for God persons (human beings) from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them (‘autous’ in Greek) to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign.’ This is confirmed in Revelation 5:9–11. There we meet a large crowd of people that no one can count. There three concentric circles of Heavenly beings, of angels, millions of angels1 around the throne; then the twenty-four elders, these angelic rulers; and finally, very near to the throne, the four
living creatures.
The twenty-four elders are standing between two other groups of angelic beings, just as angels surround God’s throne everywhere in Scripture. One of them tells John: the great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, that crowd no one can count, consists of redeemed children of men who have been washed white by the blood of the Lamb. But the twenty-four elders’ white clothes are ‘naturally’ white. That is their natural colour. They are perfectly created. White is the colour of the angels’ raiment.2
Angels are sometimes referred to as rulers, lords, authorities, officials, powers and thrones.3 Daniel speaks about the prince of the Persians and the prince of the Greeks, and about Michael as one of the chief princes.4 God is the Lord of lords. God is greatly feared in the council of the holy ones; He is more awesome than all who surround Him.5 God presides in the great assembly of the ‘gods’.6 He is surrounded by these divine, created beings at His left and right hand.7
The Lord God and His King will reign as King on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and His elders will see His Glory.8 Isaiah 24:23 says “Then the moon will be abashed and the sun ashamed, for the Lord of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and His Glory will be before His elders.” Isaiah 4:5-6 say “…then the Lord will create over the whole area of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, even smoke, and the brightness of a flaming fire by night; for over all the Glory will be a canopy. There will be a shelter to give shade from the heat by day, and refuge and protection from the storm and the rain.” These twenty-four elders are a celestial antithesis of the elders in Israel,9 just as the Tabernacle was made according to the Heavenly model,10 just as there were twenty-four classes of priests and twenty-four classes of Temple singers in Israel, according to the Heavenly analogy.11 Angels, like Gabriel12 stand before God.
The number ‘twenty-four’ is not used in any other context in the Book of Revelation. These twenty-four celestial beings worship God and thank and exalt Him because He has begun to reign and is going to resurrect the dead to judge them, and to give the reward to the great and the small,13 to people, to human beings. They praise the plan of redemption for mankind, which was and is being carried out by the Lamb. They see what they once wanted to look at, ‘things into which angels long to look’.14 They, the Heavenly rulers, cast themselves down and worship when the Lamb takes the scroll with the final chapter of world history.15
Bible References:
1. Revelation 3:11 2. John 20:12; Matthew 28:3; Acts 1:10; Mark 16:5 3. Colossians 1:16; Romans 8:38; Ephesians 3:10 4. Daniel 10:13 and 20–21 5. Psalm 89:8 6. Psalm 82:1 7. 1 Kings 22:19 8. Isaiah 24:23 9. Exodus 12:21, 19:7; Numbers 11:24– 25; Leviticus 4:15, 9:1–2 10. Exodus 24:1, 9, 13–14 11. Exodus 25:8–9 12. Luke 1:19 13. Revelation 11:16–18 14. 1 Peter 1:12 15. Revelation 5:14
