4:1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
The Divine Mind pulled John’s consciousness from his body in order to show him the visions that are about to be described.
4:2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
Being in the spirit means to be astral traveling. Everything John relays from this point until much later in the book are the experiences he had while astral traveling through Divine Inspiration.
4:3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.
4:4 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.
Now that the Spirit has addressed and awakened all seven centers within the body to the spiritual purification process, it takes the body to a new level of vibration. Now a throne is in the midst of heaven, and the higher, spiritual self is seated upon this throne. Around the higher self and the throne are the twenty-four elders, which are the twelve paired (24) cranial nerves within the brain.
4:5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of the Gods.
Energy is being emitted from the brain (“flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder”), and the seven chakras and glands are turned toward the throne(“seven lamps of fire burning”), which are the seven spirits of the gods in the midst of the throne.
4:6 And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.
4:7 And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.
According to Edgar Cayce, these beasts are “the four destructive influences that make the greater desire for the carnal forces that arise as the beasts within self to destroy.” We have learned what these destructive influences are from the Spirit’s comments to the first four churches: (1) leaving our first love; (2) fear; (3) anger, impulsive reactions, and spirit-killing urges; and (4) living life without spiritual purposes and ideals.
4:8 And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, YHVH God of Hosts, who was, and is, and is to come.
As the Revelation continues, the four lower glands are raised to higher vibrations, turning away from material, earthly pursuits and contributing to the spiritual purification of the body (“the four beasts gave glory and honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne”).
4:9 And when those beasts give glory and honor and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,
4:10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
4:11 Thou art worthy, O YHVH, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
When they do this, it affects the cranial nerves (“the twenty-four elders will fall down before him who sits on the throne”), and they in turn begin to contribute to the spiritual purification of the body (“cast their crowns to him who sits on the throne”).