(Updated March 29, 2021)

We first see the 24 Elders in Rev 4:4, “Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads.” NKJV. Who are these 24 elders? Are These divine beings of lesser caliber than GOD? Are these angels?

The Elders at the Throne room.

In this chapter John is in the spirit in the Throne room of GOD. His body is on the isle of Patmos, but he is in heaven, whatever he sees he does it with the eyes of the spirit. He sees without the restrictions and limitations of the body, which means he is watching things as they really are. But he is not writing simultaneously as he sees, because he is without body until the end. Once the vision ends and he returns to his living body, there is an instantaneous download of information from the spirit to his brain. Whatever he really saw in the spirit has to be translated to this world’s parameters. His brain is now a limitation for the truth he saw in the spirit. His vision was given having this under consideration to minimize the loss in translation. That way, his description of the things he witnessed will still be true just not necessarily 100% accurate.

We find the first clue about the identity of the Elders in Rev 1:5-6, when John talking about JESUS says “5 …To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, …”.NKJV. When John says ‘us’ here he means the believers in YESHUA, the Church. And because we believe in JESUS, HE has made us kings and priests.

The second clue is in Rev 3, 21, where JESUS talking to the Church says “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” NKJV. According to this JESUS will share HIS throne with the Church, as the FATHER shared HIS with JESUS.

So far we know that JESUS through HIS sacrifice has made us Kings and priests and we will some time in the future share HIS Throne. But who are these 24 Elders? Are they human? Are they all male? why are they 24?, and most importantly, How did they get to the Throne room in heaven before the beginning of the tribulation?

We find the next clue Rev 4:9-11, “9 Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne… 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him… saying: 11 ‘You are worthy, O Lord,… For You created all things, And by Your will they exist…’”NKJV.Here the living creatures and the elders praise GOD the FATHER for they were created by HIM. These 24 elders are not lesser divinities, they are just a creation of GOD, like angels, humans and animals are.

Finally, the identity of the 24 elders is revealed in Rev 5:9-10, when they sang a new song to the LAMB saying, “9… for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. KJV.

It is clear now that the 24 elders are believers in YESHUA, they belong to the Church and they will reign on the earth in the future.

But I must point out something very important, in verse 9 the word people is used. In KJV, the word “people” is used to identify both the people of Israel and the gentile people. So we can infere that the 24 elders include people from both Israel and the gentiles. The whole Christian nation without excluding anyone.

But we still have a few questions to answer, Are they all male? why are they 24?, and most importantly, How did they get to the Throne room in heaven before the beginning of the tribulation?

In 1 Cor 15:20-23, “20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep… 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.”NKJV.This paragraph uses the concept of the harvest. The harvest is made in 3 stages, the firstfruits, the main harvest and the gleanings or corners of the field. The owner of the field brings a sheaf of the firstfruits to the Temple of the LORD as an offering to bless the whole harvest. In our paragraph JESUS is the firstfruits ascended to heaven as an offering to bless the whole Church. Through HIM we the Church receive by Grace redemption from our sins and become blessed worthy to be taken. The main harvest is gonna be gathered at the time of JESUS’ coming. The gleanings will be left for the poor which means that part of the Church will be left behind.

Because the firstfruits are supposed to come in a sheaf we will explore the possibility that the 24 elders were part of the sheaf.

1 Cor 15:48-50, “48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. 49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man. 50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.”NKJV.In this paragraph a comparison is made between Adam and JESUS and, it is stated that the only way for us to get to heaven is with an incorruptible glorified body just like JESUS. So all in the sheaf of firstfruits must have incorruptible bodies.

We find another important passage in Matt 27:50-53, “50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost… 52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, 53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.”KJV. Here we see that many saints resurrected at the time JESUS died but they came out of the graves after JESUS’ resurrection. If JESUS is the firstborn out of death into eternal life, those saints that resurrected before JESUS could not have had glorified bodies since JESUS is the first one to get a glorified body, then those resurrected at the time of HIS death died again later just like Lazarus did and did not ascended to heaven as firstfruits forming the sheaf with Christ.

The Hebrew version of the book of Mathew (also known as Shem-Tob’s Hebrew Matthew) recounts it this way Matt 27:50-53, “50 Jesus cried another time in a loud voice and sent his spirit to his father… 52 The graves were opened and many of those asleep in the dust arose. 53 They came out of their graves and after (this) they entered the holy city and were revealed to many.” As we can see there is no mention of the time the resurrected people left the graves, so the dialog infers it was immediately after the death of JESUS. Again they couldn’t have had incorruptible bodies.

These paragraphs we just check are very important because they prove that no one else but JESUS could be in heaven before the beginning of the tribulation. OK, maybe Moses, Enoch and Elijah could but they are only 3 and not 24 and they are not part of the church of Christ.

So what happened then? In 1 Thess 1:9-10, “9 …and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.”NKJV.In this paragraph it is clear that by serving GOD, we wait for JESUS to deliver us from GOD’S wrath also called tribulation period.

Let’s also remember that the main harvest is supposed to be gathered at the time of JESUS’ coming so from both conditions we can infer that JESUS will come to gather his church before the tribulation period.

In John 14:1-3, “1 Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”NKJV.Here JESUS clearly promises to come back for HIS Church to take us to Heaven. HE will not come as a judge for HIS Church HE will come as the same loving JESUS who makes the promise to receive us to Himself and not to be judged first.

All these mean that the coming of Christ referred in these last passages is not the coming at the end of the tribulation period when HE comes as judge. They refer to a special coming only for HIS Church.

Only those waiting ready for this coming will see HIM and be taken by HIM.

This special event is described in 1 Thess 4:16-17, “16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”NKJV.This is called the rapture, and it was confirmed to me also through a vision of the night called the King is coming. I didn’t know to much about the rapture at that time because I was raised catholic, but this vision removed all my doubts about it.

This is the only possible way for the 24 elders to appear in heaven before the tribulation period starts, that they be raptured with the Church before the tribulation starts at the time known as the main harvest of the Church. But why are they only 24 elders? If the Church is raptured isn’t it supposed to be always with the LORD? so, Where is the rest of the Church?

In 1 Chron 24:3-5, “3 And David with Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, divided them according to their ordering in their service. 4 And there were more chief men found of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of Ithamar; and thus were they divided: of the sons of Eleazar there were sixteen, heads of fathers’ houses; and of the sons of Ithamar, according to their fathers’ houses, eight. 5 Thus were they divided by lot, one sort with another; for they were princes of the sanctuary and princes of God, both of the sons of Eleazar, and of the sons of Ithamar.” MT&JPS. In this paragraph king David assigns the head positions of service to the Temple of God between the descendants of Aaron, the High Priest. David assigns 24 in total and they are called “princes of the sanctuary and princes of GOD”

The only difference with Rev 5:10 is that the 24 Elders are called Kings and Priests and not princes. The 24 Elders minister to GOD directly in the Throne room, this is the highest position that anyone could attain that is why the Elders are Kings and Priests and not princes.

Well, we now know why the Elders John saw in the Throne room were specifically 24 and not other number; but we still have one more question to answer. Were is the rest of the raptured Church?

In Rev 6:9-11, “9 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.” NKJV. This is the heartbreaking testimony of those who were left behind from the main harvest. They were always part of the Church but were not ready expecting the coming of our LORD. This group of people conforms the third stage of the harvest of the Church called the gleanings or corners of the field.

To understand completely the concept of the harvest:

  1. The firstfruits (JESUS) belong to GOD
  2. The main harvest (raptured Church) belongs to the owner of the field
  3. The gleanings or corners of the field (tribulation Saints) are left for the poor

In (Rev 7:9), ” After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;” KJV.

The description of these multitude is almost the same as in (Rev 5:9) above, but hear, all have an “s” at the end but “people”. This is a big clue, it implies that there are people from Israel and from the nations. Had the word “peoples” been used instead it would have meant that only gentiles were included in that multitude as in (Rev 10:11), and (Rev 17:15). Also notice that all have palm branches in their hands just as the people of Israel did when JESUS enter Jerusalem as King.

Who these people that stood before the throne are is revealed in the next paragraph.

In Rev 7:13-15, “13 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?” 14 And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them.” NKJV.

John in verse 14 answers they come out of the “great tribulation”. With this answer John affirms they are only the remnant of Israel, including the 144,000, because JESUS in (Mat 24:21) stated that great tribulation would start after the abomination of desolation forces the Jews to escape into the wilderness. In the timeline this starts at mid-tribulation and continues until the end. John is excluding the tribulation saints from the group because he is pointing out that the remnant of Israel will marry GOD the father as stated in verse 15 “GOD…, shall dwell among them”. And this is because the tribulation saints were all gathered by mid-tribulation.

But because this must happen at the end of the tribulation, when the great tribulation ends, all the tribulation saints are included in that group, they are those mostly from the nations and tribes and tongues and probably some from the people of Israel that might have converted during the first half of the tribulation.

At this moment we have in the Throne room:

  1. JESUS (firstfruit),
  2. the 24 Elders (visible part of main harvest),
  3. and all the tribulation Saints (gleanings).

So where is the rest of the main harvest (Church)?

If we continue reading from 1 Chron 24, including chapters 25, 26 up to 27 will see that the selection of people to minister the Temple continues, it end up being thousands upon thousands of people being selected. It has to be the same way in heaven. We only see the 24 Elders because they are the head of the ministry, but they represent the whole ministry.

Isn’t the Church supposed to be with JESUS always?. So they have to be there in the Throne room with HIM. The only possible option so the word JESUS gives in John 14:3 is not void is that the 24 Elders are not part but the whole main harvest. They just look like 24 Elders to John but there are millions of people inside of them. Remember Rev 3, 21, “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” NKJV.How are we suppose to sit with JESUS? Is HE gonna get a big seat for millions and millions of people? Wouldn’t it be easier to become one with HIM and share all just HIS seat? A mystery left in the book of Revelation for the faithful to decipher.

Still not convinced? Let’s keep reading.

In Rev 19:1-2, “1 …I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God! 2 …because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.” NKJV. This group of people are the tribulation Saints only, and they have just received what they were asking for, vengeance over those who killed them. This was the reason why the tribulation Saints and the 24 Elders did not mixed. Once the tribulation Saints fixed their vengeance issue they are ready to become the Bride of CHRIST.

In Rev 19:4, “And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, “Amen! Alleluia!”.” NKJV. Here the 24 Elders join into the adoration. This will be the last time they are spoken of. Why? Because now all become the Bride and the Wedding can happen.

In Rev 19:6-8, “6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! 7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” 8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.” NKJV. In verses 6 and 7 the whole Church is talking, no more 24 Elders nor tribulation Saints. The Church is complete again, the Bride is ready.

Finally we end up like this:

  1. JESUS (firstfruit),
  2. the 24 Elders (main harvest),
  3. and the tribulation Saints (gleanings).

And the main harvest and the gleanings become the Bride after the whore of Babylon is punished.

Rev 5:10 is fulfilled in Rev 20:4, “And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.” NKJV. Here the Elders and the tribulation Saints are together reigning with Christ.

There is going to be a rapture. Be part of the 24 Elders. Do not be left behind. Believe in your heart that JESUS is the son of GOD that was resurrected from the dead, repent from all your sins, and ask the LORD to save you and you won’t be left behind.

But if you are left behind remember that your only chance to go to heaven is never to deny JESUS no matter what. They might kill you for it but never under any circumstance worship the Beast or receive his mark.

GOD bless you and keep you.