Who are the Twenty-Four Elders?

Continuing with last week’s theme of investigation into song lyrics, this week I thought I’d turn my attention to, “Shake hands with the elders, The twenty and the four.” Who ARE these 24 elders?

Well, just like last week, the search for “24 elders” takes us right back to the book of Revelation, this time Chapter 4. John witnesses a vision of heaven, which he is told represents things to come. He sees the Son of Man atop a magnificent throne, and in verse 4: “Surrounding the throne were 24 other thrones, and seated on them were 24 elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads.”

So who exactly are these elders? Well, I poked around a little, and there’s lots of debate – some say they are the saints of the faith, some say the twelve apostles plus the twelve tribes of Israel, some say it is the Church itself. Unlike the seven stars, we are never explicitly told who they are, or really even why there are 24 of them. But look at what I found when I kept reading. Verses 10-11: “The 24 elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: ‘Worthy art thou to be praised, Lord of honor and might, for thou hast earth and heaven created, and for thy good pleasure all things have their being and were created.’”


That last part should sound familiar – suddenly, we’re back to the Brahms Requiem, Movement 6. The words we sang immediately following “Grave, where is thy triumph? Death, O where is thy sting?” actually originated from these 24 elders! That interconnectedness in our music is… kind of amazing! So while the full identity of the elders may be debated, here’s what we do know: they are predecessors of the faith, ascended into Heaven; they have been honored with thrones and crowns, and they praise the Almighty Creator.

In that same spirit, may we offer our praise to that same Creator, at ALL times – 24 elders a day! 7 stars a week! Or wait, something like that.

Let’s pray: Father, we anticipate the day when we can meet You, and the elders, and our loved ones who’ve gone on before. Worthy are You to be praised, Lord. We pray for tonight’s rehearsal and for both our services this weekend; we give them ALL to You. In Your WORTHY Name, Amen.