Rev.4:5,6 – Out from the throne *came flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God; and before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind.
John was privileged to see amazing images in heaven. I’m not sure if John knew if it was a vision or if he was actually there, apparently it was very real to him. One of the first things that caught John’s eye was the Crystal Sea which had the appearance of a sea of glass. It must have been quite large, like an ocean, that appeared to go on forever. Some have said that this was the ceiling of the created universe and the floor of heaven, I can’t even begin to grasp that. What it seems to represent was the laver in the temple of Solomon, the place where the priests washed and prepared to minister to the Lord. This could very well refer to our baptism in water that is connected to being justified by faith in the blood of Christ. Here is how Apringius of Beja describes this passage.
“The sea of glass is like crystal, that is, it is transparent, indicating that it is infused by a certain whiteness and an uncommon purity. With good reason we think that this is said of the font of baptism and of the grace of regeneration. For [baptism] cleanses and illumines those who have received it and it clothes those who have been led to purity with the splendor of righteousness. These are the waters of which it is written in the prophets: “In those days living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. They shall continue in summer and in winter.”
Water baptism marks the end of our old life and the beginning of our new life in Christ. We respond in faith to the Lord’s call to baptism, like communion it is a physical picture of a spiritual reality we have found in Christ. Something very special happens to the believer who follows the Lord into the waters of baptism, it carries the sense of permanence as we leave the other world behind. Have you followed the Lord in baptism since you believed? That would be a great place to begin your walk of faith.
