“After these things I looked, and behold a door was opened in heaven, and the first voice which I heard, as it were, of a trumpet speaking with me, said: ‘Come up hither, and I will shew thee the things which must be done hereafter.’ And immediately I was in the spirit: and behold there was a throne set in heaven, and upon the throne one sitting. And he that sat, was to the sight like the jasper and the sardine stone; and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. And round about the throne were four and twenty seats; and upon the seats, four and twenty ancients sitting, clothed in white garments, and on their heads were crowns of gold. And from the throne proceed lightnings, and voices, and thunders; and there were seven lamps burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God.”
Jesus opens the door of heaven, that all that mankind needs to know about God and His ways is unveiled in public revelation, primarily through the Gospel: “Amen, amen I say to you, you shall see the heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man” (John 1:51). You need not forage, Theophila, for what Jesus wants to show you about His Heart outside of what has been revealed in the Scriptures, as interpreted through the teachings of the Catholic Church, for what is sufficient for you is wide open by nature of Jesus’ Ascension into heaven: “And it came to pass, whilst he blessed them, he departed from them, and was carried up to heaven” (Luke 24:51) and the proceeding gift of the Holy Spirit: “And you have no need that any man teach you; but as his unction teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie. And as it hath taught you, abide in him” (1 John 2:27). What was hidden in the Law and the Prophets is then unveiled in the Gospel, that the mysteries of God may be handed to you in simplicity: “To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God” (Luke 8:10), which is the love story of God and His people, consummated in the crucifixion: “It is consummated” (John 19:30), and Jesus’ instruction on how to love being all you need: “This is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you” (John 15:12). St. John then hears a mighty voice, that of Jesus, inviting Him with love’s sweet beckoning: “His throat most sweet” (Canticle 5:16) into the second portion of the revelation. While living in the Spirit is to make one’s life a long act of love, there are particular moments when this love and its mysteries become more striking: “And he was transfigured before them. And his face did shine as the sun” (Matthew 17:2), with the latter being what is happening here. St. John then sees the Father on His throne, an oft-used symbol of divine sovereignty in the book, and the resting place of the King: “While the king was at his repose, my spikenard sent forth the odour thereof” (Canticle 1:11). His appearance is magnificent like jasper, which can be found in many colors, but St. Bede equates it with water, and sardine stone, which is a fiery red gem. This shows the entirety of the life of love, where the water of baptism is a deluge that destroys all that is sinful and brings you to new life: “Amen, amen I say to thee, unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5), the spiritual life reaches its zenith when one’s sole guide is the living flame of love, with the lover always seeking to do the greatest act of love in front of them: “Love is strong as death… the lamps thereof are fire and flames” (Canticle 8:6). Or, this can show that Jesus is the supreme King, majestic as gems, with His first judgment being merciful and gentle as water, the second as ferocious as flame. He is surrounded by a rainbow, that is, the great and beautiful variety of the Saints in heaven who intercede for His people, each taking their own particular shape and beauty, which all together, in the sun’s rays, shine forth in a unified beauty: “I will set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be the sign of a covenant between me, and between the earth” (Genesis 9:13), with the appearance of emerald representing the springtime of blooming green, a look into a life of shining beauty: “For winter is now past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers have appeared in our land” (Canticle 2:11-12), which is the gift of eternal life. The twenty-four thrones which are then seen represent all of the holy people of God, the twelve patriarchs of Israel indicating those that lived in righteousness under the natural law of reason: “For when the Gentiles, who have not the law, do by nature those things that are of the law; these having not the law are a law to themselves” (Romans 2:14) and the imparted Law given by Moses: “And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it to the priests the sons of Levi” (Deuteronomy 31:9), the twelve Apostles representing those that lived lives of love: “A new commandment I give unto you: That you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (John 13:34). There can also be a spiritual meaning, that each of the thrones represents an hour of the day, the elders representing angelic praise, and so you are called to orient yourself at every hour to the love and praise of God: “All whatsoever you do in word or in work, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God and the Father by him” (Colossians 3:17). The elders themselves are clothed in white garments, a common theme in the book, which indicate holiness of life and purity of heart: “Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8), while the crowns show that they share in kingly rule, the mind anointed with the odor of love: “Thy name is as oil poured out” (Canticle 1:2), and thereby reigning over the reason, desires, thoughts, words, and actions, making the lover of God into one with kingly dignity: “Thou shalt be crowned from the top of Amana, from the top of Sanir and Hermon, from the dens of the lions, from the mountains of the leopards” (Canticle 4:8). The lightning and thunder show God’s majesty and glory, which only grows over the course of the book, and when coupled with voices indicate that the more one preaches the Gospel of Christ by word and deed, the more they will come to know His glory and wonderfulness: “We shall be filled with the good things of thy house; holy is thy temple, wonderful in justice” (Psalm 64:5-6). The sevenfold spirit of love is then mentioned, for before the throne of glory lies the fire of love in its utter perfection, which is what is indicated by the number seven, showing that the Father is King, the Word is the voice that speaks the Father’s love into the ears of those that hear, with the Holy Spirit being the animating force of love that drives forward the faithful.