Who are the twenty-four elders in Revelation 4–5? The following are several commonly held interpretations:
1. The Church – This view identifies the elders as the glorified church, a position often supported by pretribulation theology.
2. Twelve Tribes and Twelve Apostles – Some interpret the elders as representing the unity of Old and New Covenant believers: the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles.
3. Levitical Priestly Divisions – Based on 1 Chronicles 24:1–19, the twenty-four elders may correspond to the twenty-four priestly divisions established by Aaron.
4. Heavenly Council / Angelic Beings – This view connects the elders to the divine council or “host of heaven” imagery found in passages like 1 Kings 22:19–20. This would include the four living creatures who are also constantly before God's throne.
Observations on the Twenty-Four Elders:
a. White Garments – The elders are clothed in white garments (Rev. 4:4), symbolizing purity, righteousness, and holiness. Both angels (Mark 16:5; Rev. 15:6) and glorified humans (Rev. 7:14; 19:14) are described wearing white.
b. Worshiping Position Repeated – The elders are repeatedly shown worshiping, moving from their seated thrones to falling down before God (Rev. 4:9–10), and then returning to their seats, only to worship again (Rev. 5:8).
c. Present Before John’s Arrival – When John arrives in heaven (Rev. 4:1–4), the elders are already seated on their thrones, indicating their presence in heaven prior to his vision.
d. Crowns on Their Heads – The elders wear golden crowns (Rev. 4:4) before God's throne, suggesting righteousness and reward. These crowns appear to be literal rather than symbolic. They worship God through praise, song, and music (Rev. 4:9–11; 5:9–14).
e. Authority – Being seated on thrones indicates a level of authority. However, in John’s vision, their role is shown exclusively as worshipers before God’s throne.
The Elders Do Not Represent the Church
There are seven major issues with the interpretation that the twenty-four elders in Revelation 4–5, crowned and seated before the heavenly throne, represent the glorified church having received their bema rewards. Collectively, these problems support the conclusion that the church must enter the 70th week of Daniel.
1. First, Second, and Third Persons (Rev. 5:9–10 and 7:9–17)
In Revelation 5:9–10 (ESV), Scripture states:
“And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are you… for you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.’”
The “they” (v. 9) refers to the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders (v. 8). These individuals are singing about the redeemed, not as the redeemed. The grammatical distinction (first person speakers referring to a third person group) suggests the elders are not themselves part of the redeemed church.
Theological Side Note of Rev. 5:8-10:
Some early manuscripts (and Bible translations) of Revelation 5:8-9 render the song in first person, like (KJV & NKJV based on the Textus Receptus Greek manuscript):
"...you have redeemed us by your blood..." (KJV)
But the best and earliest Greek manuscripts (and modern critical editions like Nestle-Aland (latest 28th Edition (NA28)) favor the third person (Note 1 for deep dive into "us"):
"...you ransomed people for God..."
This affects whether the elders and creatures are including themselves among the redeemed. If it's third person, as most scholars now accept, the singers are not claiming to be the ransomed—they’re observing and praising God's redemption of others.
Conclusion of Revelation 5:8–10 Grammatical Analysis:
The elders, though participants in the heavenly scene, are not the same as the ransom-redeemed people of God mentioned in the third person. This distinction is clear through close grammatical analysis. The common pretribulational claim—that the twenty-four elders, with their golden crowns, represent the glorified church—is undermined by the NA28 text itself. Therefore, it follows that the church is not yet glorified at this point and must enter the 70th week of Daniel.
I encourage you to give this prayerful consideration.
Revelation 7:9–17 (ESV) reinforces this interpretation. One of the elders asks:
“Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?”
“These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation…”
This exchange clearly distinguishes the elder from the group coming out of the great tribulation—again implying the elders do not represent the church. (Note 2)
2. ‘Tēreō’ Is Not ‘Harpazō’ (Rev. 3:10)
If we assume, hypothetically, that the twenty-four elders before God's throne represent the glorified church, then Revelation 3:10 must seemingly refer to a rapture event, according to the pretrib view. However, the Greek word used—tēreō—means “to keep” or “to watch over,” not “to snatch away” (harpazō).
“I will keep (tēreō) you from the hour of trial…” (Rev. 3:10 ESV)
cf. John 17:15 (ESV) – “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep (tēreōs) them from the evil one.”
This usage strongly undermines the claim that Revelation 3:10 supports a pretribulational rapture.
The better interpretation is that this refers to the righteous Jews who flee Jerusalem to a place of divine protection—possibly Petra—for 3.5 years (Rev. 12:13–16; Dan. 12:1; Zech. 14:5; Matt. 24:15–20). No other group in the 70th week is promised such supernatural protection. Therefore, the pretrib claim that Revelation 3:10 implies a rapture is based on allegory, especially given the absence of the word harpazō. (Note 3)
3. No Explicit Bema Before Revelation 4
Assuming the elders represent the glorified church, there is no scriptural indication of a bema judgment occurring between Revelation 3:7–13 and 4:1—no moment where rewards are explicitly given.
The only clear bema event in Revelation is found in 11:18 (ESV):
“…the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints…”
This occurs at the seventh blown trumpet, near the end of the 70th week, and includes all believers. Therefore, identifying the elders in Revelation 4:4 as the already-rewarded church before this moment is an unwarranted, allegorical assumption.
4. No Multitude Rejoicing in Heaven Before Revelation 4
If the elders represent the raptured and glorified church, one would expect a scene of heavenly rejoicing after a hypothetical rapture (Rev. 3:10) and before John’s spirit arrival in heaven (Rev. 4:1–2). Yet, no such scene exists in that interval.
In contrast, Beyond Prewrath presents two distinct heavenly rejoicings, reflecting the two dispensational raptures:
· Revelation 7:9–17 – a multitude rejoicing, from every nation after the great tribulation representing the righteous Gentiles
· Revelation 19:1–5 – a multitude rejoicing, representing the righteous Jews after their decreed 70th week of Daniel of 9:24–25.
The absence of such a multitude rejoicing scene following the supposed pretrib Revelation 3:10 rapture supports the conclusion that this interpretation is based on inference, not textual evidence.
5. There Is Only One Bema Judgment, Not Two
There is only one bema judgment in Scripture, and it occurs once when all believers have finished the race (cf. 2 Tim. 4:7–8). No Christian is rewarded until all have endured to the end.
Pretrib theology proposes a bema judgment for the church prior to the 70th week, represented by the consequence of the seated and crowned elders in Revelation 4. However, their view leaves two more pretrib righteous groups—"tribulation saints" and righteous Jews—to be rewarded later, after the supposed initial bema. This fragmented approach undermines the biblical principle of a unified reward ceremony for all believers.
If the 24 elders in Revelation 4 represent the already-rewarded church before God's throne, as the pretrib view suggests, then what about the legacy of their faith—reaching new believers like their "tribulation saints" and righteous Jews—who are judged at a later bema? Under this framework, the elders would not be unable to receive the full measure of their justly earned rewards, which undermines both the unity of the body and the coherence of the reward.
The Beyond Prewrath view resolves this by identifying one bema with two prior dispensational raptures:
· Righteous Gentiles – Revelation 8:5
· Righteous Jews – Revelation 11:19
These two groups comprise the one bride of Christ and are jointly rewarded at the single, explicit bema in Revelation 11:18.
6. Bema Rewards Are Not Literal Crowns
A. Spiritual Crowns
Paul’s analogy of believers receiving a crown is drawn from Greco-Roman athletic contests, where competitors received perishable wreaths. The Christian “crown” is imperishable and spiritual in nature:
· 1 Corinthians 9:24–25 – Incorruptible crown
· 1 Thessalonians 2:19 – Crown of rejoicing
· 2 Timothy 4:8 – Crown of righteousness
· James 1:12; Rev. 2:10 – Crown of life
· 1 Peter 5:4 – Crown of glory
These are not described as literal, wearable items. Even Christ is described as wearing “many crowns” (Rev. 19:12), which must be symbolic rather than physical, or else impractical. Jesus taught that our rewards are spiritual treasures stored in heaven (Matt. 6:19–21).
B. Physical Crowns Could Be Stolen
If Christians were to wear literal crowns while reigning on earth during the millennium, they could theoretically be stolen or lost. But 1 Corinthians 9:25 says our rewards are imperishable. This supports the idea that bema rewards are spiritual attributes or honors, not literal objects—further distancing the elders in heaven with their literal golden crowns from the church destined to reign on earth with Christ (Rev. 5:10; 20:4–5).
7. Prayers of the Saints Are Still Being Offered (Rev. 5:8; 8:3–5)
After Christ receives the scroll in Revelation 5:8 (ESV), the twenty-four elders are shown holding:
“…a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.”
Then, in Revelation 8:3 (ESV), an angel offers:
“…the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne.”
If all saints had already been raptured and rewarded before the 70th week, why are their prayers still being offered? This makes no sense under a pretribulational framework.
Just two verses later (Rev. 8:5), we see a theophany—a visible manifestation of God’s presence—paralleling the throne scene in Revelation 4:5. (Note 4) This is followed by the first blown trumpet judgment (Rev. 8:7), featuring “fire mixed with blood,” echoing Luke 17:29’s “fire and sulfur” prophecy and alluding to the sudden judgment during the days of Noah and Lot (Luke 17:22–31).
This sequence (Rev. 8:3, 5, 7) suggests a literal, same-day event, strengthening the case for a rapture and divine intervention, in the seventh seal and in the first trumpet, respectively—not before the 70th week.
Conclusion: The Elders Do Not Represent the Church
The interpretation that the twenty-four elders of Revelation 4–5 represent the glorified Church lacks lexical, textual, and contextual support when examined closely.
Lexically, the Greek terms used in key passages—such as tēreō (“keep, guard”) in Revelation 3:10 and not harpazō (“snatch away”)—show that the promise is one of divine preservation through tribulation, not removal from it.
Textually, the critical reading of Revelation 5:9–10 (as reflected in the NA28) reads “you ransomed people for God,” not “you redeemed us,” distinguishing the singers (the elders and living creatures) from the redeemed. This undermines the idea that the elders are the raptured Church already rewarded before the 70th week.
Contextually, no heavenly rejoicing, bema judgment, or rapture scene occurs between Revelation 3 and 4, as the pretrib model would expect. Instead, the prayers of the saints continue to be offered (Rev. 5:8; 8:3–5), implying that believers remain on earth during this period.
Taken together, the lexical precision, textual evidence, and narrative context all point to the same conclusion: the twenty-four elders function as heavenly attendants or representatives—not as the glorified Church. The cumulative evidence supports a posttribulational, prewrath, midtribulation, or beyond-prewrath framework in which the Church endures and overcomes within the 70th week of Daniel.
These three layers — lexical (word choice), textual (manuscript accuracy), and contextual (literary setting) — form the foundation of sound exegesis.
Notes
Note 1 - "us" Deep Dive: The KJV and NKJV are often valued for their historical and liturgical significance. For in-depth study, translations such as the ESV, NRSV, and NASB are preferred, as they are based on the Nestle-Aland 28th Edition (NA28) — the most widely accepted critical Greek text in modern biblical scholarship.
Textual Background:
The Nestle-Aland 28th Edition (NA28) of the Greek New Testament reflects the Alexandrian text-type, derived primarily from early manuscripts dating from the 3rd to 5th centuries, with a few important later witnesses from around the 11th century.
In contrast, the Textus Receptus, used for the King James Version (KJV) and New King James Version (NKJV), is based on the Byzantine text-type, which relies on later manuscripts generally dating from the 9th to 16th centuries.
Textual Variant in Revelation 5:9:
Some manuscripts, such as those underlying the Textus Receptus, include the pronoun ἡμᾶς (“us”) in the phrase καὶ ἠγόρασας ἡμᾶς τῷ θεῷ — that is, “you redeemed us to God.”
However, most modern critical editions, including the Nestle-Aland 28th Edition (NA28) and the United Bible Societies’ Greek New Testament, 5th Edition (UBS5), omit ἡμᾶς, following earlier and more diverse manuscript evidence.
Below is a more detailed explanation of why modern critical editions (NA28 and UBS5) prefer the omission of the Greek pronoun ἡμᾶς (“us”) in Revelation 5:9 (source ChatGPT).
The Textus Receptus (TR) contains roughly 1,800–2,000 more words than the NA28 critical text, though the exact count varies slightly depending on how variants are tallied. Most scholars think these additional words entered the TR because ancient scribes tended to expand the text—harmonizing parallel passages, smoothing grammar, clarifying theology, or incorporating marginal notes and liturgical phrases into the main text. Over time, these small, well-intentioned additions accumulated, making the later Byzantine tradition (from which the TR was compiled) generally longer than the earlier manuscripts that underlie NA28.
Who said the ancient TR scribes didn’t have trouble with their pronouns? :-)
Note 2: Another good source is Dr. Alan Kurschner 25-minute audio on the 24 elders as not representing the raptured church in Revelation 4.
Note 3: The following is from Jesus Returns the Way He Left on page 52: "The Greek word harpazó, from which we derive the term “rapture,” cannot be utilized by any premillennial view to precisely locate its occurrence relative to the (chronological) events described in the seven opened seals and seven blown trumpets. However, the Greek word parousia for coming, found in Matthew 24:27, offers valuable chronological guidance regarding the coming of Jesus, later discussed in chapter 6 (pp. 70–72), seventh (prewrath) chronological reason."
Note 4: Pastor John MacArthur in The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Revelation 1-11 agrees that the four theophanies (Rev. 4:5, 8:5, 11:19, and 16:18) should be viewed as manifestations of God’s presence. He then, without explicit justification, categorizes the last three as “divine wrath.” Moddy Publishers, 820 N. LaSalle Blvd., Chicago, IL 60610, © 1999, 151.
"Beyond prewrath disagrees. The theophanies are distinct in their use of thunder and lightning, which is almost always associated with the righteous, not the wicked (Ex. 19:16–20; Job 36:32; 2 Kings 2:11; Hab. 3:11; Luke 17:24–26; 1 Thess. 4:17)." (Robert Parker, Jesus Returns the Way He Left, Robert's Trumpet LLC, Winter Garden, FL, (c) 2024, 57).