Why 24 Elders?

Wings Like Eagles

Well-Known Member
There are 24 Elders mentioned in the Book of Revelation (Revelation 4:4;10; 5:11). Various commentaries suggest that they are 24 angels but that doesn't really fit because angels are never called "Elders" nor do they wear crowns, as we see the Elders do. It is easy to conclude that these are resurrected and glorified humans representing human believers. But why 24? There weren't 24 Apostles leading the believers in the very early church. John wrote the Book of Revelation as the last surviving Apostle. That is what Irenaeus said and he grew up as a disciple of Polycarp who was, in turn, discipled by the Apostle John. But, the number 24 doesn't seem to have any particular historical or contemporary relevancy for the Church, since we are one people comprised of people from ALL nations, tribes, peoples and languages. Since the number 12 is very significant for Israel (the Twelve Tribes), it seems that 12 of the Elders could represent the Church and 12 would represent believing Israel (who also had Tribal Elders). We see the number 12 come up later (chapter 12) in reference to the woman with 12 stars on her head and it is fairly clear that she represents Israel. What do all of you think about the significance of 24 Elders?
 

Jan51

Well-Known Member
Some possibilities?

Paul appointed elders in every church, Titus 1:5.
24 may point to the mystery of the church including both Jews and Gentile: the 12 tribes and 12 apostles.
There were 24 divisions of the Levitical priesthood; the church is now a priesthood, Israel is not.
 

Chris

Administrator
Staff member
I think Jack Kelley has a good explanations here:

Who Are The 24 Elders?
By Jack Kelley

Question: Do you have anything on who the 24 Elders are? I am studying a booklet by a former pastor of a church I grew up in and he holds they are some form of pre-creation angels who rule the affairs of earth. This seem to me to smell of new age thinking and does not sit easily so I am researching at present so as to try and bring him some truth.

Answer: These 24 elders confuse some people, but they shouldn’t. Their appearance gives them away. They have thrones, so they’re rulers. They surround the Throne of God, so they’re assisting Him. They’re seated, so their work is done. They’re dressed in white, so they’re righteous. They’re wearing the Greek “stephanos” crown, so they’re victors, over comers. They’re called Elders, a title associated more with Christianity than Judaism. So far we have a pretty strong case for them representing the Church. But there’s more.

Throughout the Bible there are a number of “peak-to-peak” prophecies, as Clarence Larkin began calling them over 100 years ago. They take in the first and second comings in a single passage, sometimes in a single sentence. He likened them to mountain peaks between which was a valley, hidden from the prophet’s view. A couple of the best known are Isaiah 9:6-7 and Daniel 9:24-27.

Each of these peak-to-peak prophecies contains a hidden span of time that lasts from the 1st Coming to the 2nd like an otherwise complete puzzle with one piece missing. The Church Age is always the missing piece. In the Bible there are a total of 24 of them, each with a gap where the Church fits, the same number as the elders surrounding God’s Throne.

https://gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bible-teacher/who-are-the-24-elders/

Further...

The 24 Elders
By Jack Kelley

Question: Who are the 24 elders in Revelation 4:4 wearing white raiment with crowns on their heads?

Answer: These 24 elders confuse some people, but they shouldn’t. Their appearance gives them away. They have thrones, so they’re rulers. They surround the Throne of God, so they’re assisting Him. They’re seated, so their work is done. They’re dressed in white, so they’re righteous. They’re wearing the Greek “stephanos” crown, so they’re victors, overcomers. They’re called Elders, a title associated more with Christianity than Judaism. I think we have a pretty strong case for them representing the Church.

When King David realized that the number of priests in Israel was too large for effective service in the Tabernacle, he separated them into 24 rotating groups. These smaller groups were sufficient to carry out the necessary duties and represented the entire priesthood while on duty. 24 is a multiple of 12, a number that represents government.

I think God has done the same thing and in Revelation 4 these 24 elders represent the newly raptured Church beginning our rule and reign with Christ. All the Old Testament views of the Throne of God show only one throne with the exception of Daniel 7:9 which is an end times view, so these elders can’t be some special order of angelic or human rulers in place from the beginning. They appear a total of 12 times throughout the Book of Revelation, and only there, and are always in Heaven.

https://gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bible-teacher/the-24-elders/

I hope that helps. :)
 

JSTyler

Well-Known Member
I think Jack Kelley has a good explanations here:

Who Are The 24 Elders?
By Jack Kelley

Question: Do you have anything on who the 24 Elders are? I am studying a booklet by a former pastor of a church I grew up in and he holds they are some form of pre-creation angels who rule the affairs of earth. This seem to me to smell of new age thinking and does not sit easily so I am researching at present so as to try and bring him some truth.

Answer: These 24 elders confuse some people, but they shouldn’t. Their appearance gives them away. They have thrones, so they’re rulers. They surround the Throne of God, so they’re assisting Him. They’re seated, so their work is done. They’re dressed in white, so they’re righteous. They’re wearing the Greek “stephanos” crown, so they’re victors, over comers. They’re called Elders, a title associated more with Christianity than Judaism. So far we have a pretty strong case for them representing the Church. But there’s more.

Throughout the Bible there are a number of “peak-to-peak” prophecies, as Clarence Larkin began calling them over 100 years ago. They take in the first and second comings in a single passage, sometimes in a single sentence. He likened them to mountain peaks between which was a valley, hidden from the prophet’s view. A couple of the best known are Isaiah 9:6-7 and Daniel 9:24-27.

Each of these peak-to-peak prophecies contains a hidden span of time that lasts from the 1st Coming to the 2nd like an otherwise complete puzzle with one piece missing. The Church Age is always the missing piece. In the Bible there are a total of 24 of them, each with a gap where the Church fits, the same number as the elders surrounding God’s Throne.

https://gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bible-teacher/who-are-the-24-elders/

Further...

The 24 Elders
By Jack Kelley

Question: Who are the 24 elders in Revelation 4:4 wearing white raiment with crowns on their heads?

Answer: These 24 elders confuse some people, but they shouldn’t. Their appearance gives them away. They have thrones, so they’re rulers. They surround the Throne of God, so they’re assisting Him. They’re seated, so their work is done. They’re dressed in white, so they’re righteous. They’re wearing the Greek “stephanos” crown, so they’re victors, overcomers. They’re called Elders, a title associated more with Christianity than Judaism. I think we have a pretty strong case for them representing the Church.

When King David realized that the number of priests in Israel was too large for effective service in the Tabernacle, he separated them into 24 rotating groups. These smaller groups were sufficient to carry out the necessary duties and represented the entire priesthood while on duty. 24 is a multiple of 12, a number that represents government.

I think God has done the same thing and in Revelation 4 these 24 elders represent the newly raptured Church beginning our rule and reign with Christ. All the Old Testament views of the Throne of God show only one throne with the exception of Daniel 7:9 which is an end times view, so these elders can’t be some special order of angelic or human rulers in place from the beginning. They appear a total of 12 times throughout the Book of Revelation, and only there, and are always in Heaven.

https://gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bible-teacher/the-24-elders/

I hope that helps. :)
My beliefs and ideological feet are set in concrete on this point and I'm happy to report that Jack is right on target. I can think of five (at least) other stalwarts of eschatological teaching, whose positions I trust, and they all agree on this point. Amen and amen!

And to think about it...when we read about the 24 elders and the awesome scenes in heaven, we are reading our story, or better stated, Jesus Christ's story of which he has made us a part. We if we try, are picturing ourselves, projecting forward from our current finite positions, are from the right perspective, in the very presence or our Creator, kinda-sorta right now.

WE. WILL BE/ARE THERE. WITH. HIM. FOREVER! AMEN!

If anyone wants to argue this point, my reflexive response is fingers in the proverbial ear (only one of them actually works well) as I prance away shouting, "La la laaa la la...I can't and won't hear you...nanny-nanny-boo-boo!"
 
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