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.
Seats - rather, 'thrones;' of course lower than the grand central throne. So Revelation 16:10, 'the throne of the beast,' in hellish parody of God's throne.
Four and twenty elders. B, 'the (well-known) twenty and four (or, 'Aleph (') A, "twenty-four") elders' (Alford). But Tregelles, 'upon the 24 thrones (I saw: omitted in A B, Vulgate) elders sitting:' more probable, as the 24 elders were not mentioned before, whereas the 24 thrones were. Not angels, for they have white robes and crowns of victory, implying a conflict and endurance - "Thou hast redeemed us" (Revelation 5:9); but the Heads of the Old and New Testament churches-the Twelve Patriarchs (cf. Revelation 7:5-8), not in their personal, but their representative character, and Twelve Apostles. So Revelation 15:3, "the song of Moses and of the Lamb:" the double constituents of the Church, the Old and the New Testament. "Elders" is the term for the ministry, both of the Old and New Testament, the Jewish and the universal Church. The tabernacle was a "pattern" of the heavenly antitype (Hebrews 8:5; Hebrews 9:24); the Holy Place a figure of HEAVEN. Yahweh's throne is represented by the mercy-seat with the Shechinah cloud over it. 'The seven lamps of fire before the throne' (Revelation 4:5) are antitypical to the seven-branched candlestick before the Holiest Place-emblem of the manifold Spirit of God. 'The sea of glass' (Revelation 4:6) corresponds to the molten sea before the sanctuary, wherein the priests washed before entering on holy service: so here in connection with the redeemed "priests unto God" (note, Revelation 15:2). The 'four living creatures' (Revelation 4:6-7) answer to the cherubim over the mercy-seat. So the 24 throned and crowned elders are typified by the chiefs of the 24 courses of priests, 'governors of the sanctuary, and governors of God' (1 Chronicles 24:5; 1 Chronicles 25:31).