The Throne Room Vision in Revelation 4:1-3 (Notes)

Greek (SBLGNT): Μετὰ ταῦτα εἶδον, καὶ ἰδοὺ θύρα ἠνεῳγμένη ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, καὶ ἡ φωνὴ ἡ πρώτη ἣν ἤκουσα ὡς σάλπιγγος λαλούσης μετ’ ἐμοῦ, λέγων· Ἀνάβα ὧδε, καὶ δείξω σοι ἃ δεῖ γενέσθαι. μετὰ ταῦτα ^[a]εὐθέως ἐγενόμην ἐν πνεύματι· καὶ ἰδοὺ θρόνος ἔκειτο ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν θρόνον καθήμενος, ^[b]καὶ ὁ καθήμενος ὅμοιος ὁράσει λίθῳ ἰάσπιδι καὶ σαρδίῳ, καὶ ἶρις κυκλόθεν τοῦ θρόνου ^[c]ὅμοιος ὁράσει σμαραγδίνῳ.

Μετὰ ταῦτα εἶδον-Henry B. Swete (The Apocalypse of John, page 65) thinks this usage is significant because it signals a new vision that is significant. He draws attention to the employment of  Μετὰ in this verse coupled with εἶδον versus John using καὶ εἶδον in other instances. See Revelation 7:1, 9; 15:5; 18:1. Furthermore, Μετὰ ταῦτα apparently refers back to Revelation 1:12ff and signals the end of Christ's messages to the seven congregations. It occurs again in Revelation 4:2--compare the notes in NET.

Swete interprets θύρα to be "the door of revelation" (i.e., disclosure) in contrast to the imagery we find elsewhere (Enoch 14:13 [possibly 1 Enoch 14:15]; Ezekiel 1:1; John 1:51; Revelation 3:8, 20). In this vision, only a door in heaven is opened, not the heavens themselves; the perfect participle ἠνεῳγμένη could suggest that the door remained open (Swete, 65). Ralph Earle (Word Meanings in the New Testament, page 459) maintains the correct translation of the perfect participle here is "standing open"--so the NASB, NIV, ESV, NET. NWT 2013 says "an opened door in heaven"

ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ-See Matthew 28:18; Revelation 10:1-2; 12:1-5, 7; 15:5. Aristotle writes: καὶ γὰρ ταῦτα ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ εἶναί φαμεν (On the Heavens I.278b).

NET adds: tn Or “in the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).

Ἀνάβα ὧδε-Compare Revelation 11:12.

Buist M. Fanning reckons that the door standing open "in heaven" signifies "unlocked access between heaven and earth" (Revelation, page 196). He invokes Psalm 78:23; Ezekiel 1:1; Matthew 3:16; Acts 7:56; 10:11; Revelation 19:11; 1 Enoch 14:15; T. Levi 5.1, which are some of the verses mentioned by Swete.

εὐθέως ἐγενόμην ἐν πνεύματι-compare Revelation 1:10.

ὁράσει-dative singular feminine of ὅρασις (occurs 4x in the NT).

Abbott-Smith-ὅρασις, -εως, ἡ (ὁράω) [in LXX chiefly for מַרְאֶה, חָזוֹן and cognate forms ;]

1. in Arist. and later writers, the act of seeing, the sense of sight, and by meton., pl., the eyes.

2. appearance (Nu 24:4, Ez 1:5, Si 41:20, al.): Re 4:3.

3. = ὅραμα, a vision: Ac 2:17 ^(LXX), Re 9:17.†

λίθῳ ἰάσπιδι καὶ σαρδίῳ-see Revelation 21:11, 18-20.

ἶρις-occurs only here and in Revelation 10:1 unlike Genesis 9:13, 14, 16 and Ezekiel 1:28 which employ toxon (the Latin is arcus).

Craig R. Koester (Revelation, page 360):



Regarding κυκλόθεν τοῦ θρόνου ὅμοιος ὁράσει σμαραγδίνῳ, Moses Stuart (A Commentary on the Apocalypse, Vol. 2) writes:



Laurențiu Moț (Morphological and Syntactical Irregularities in the Book of Revelation, page 167): "It appears that Rev 4:3 is a sample showing that the path to uniformity, when all adjectives have three endings, as in Modern Greek, was not completed yet. John is much closer to the three-endings pattern, but reminiscences are still to be seen as fading out."