The Throne of God (Part 1)
There are two major events surrounding the throne of God in the book of Revelations. Revelation 4 describes the throne of hope and chapter 20 describes the throne of judgement. I want to use this study to examine these two images of God’s throne. Let’s begin by looking at Revelation 4:
1 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things."
2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne.
3 And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance.
4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads.
5 Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God;
When we examine the book of Revelation, we must keep in mind the purpose of the book. In review, the purpose of this book is prophecy (proclaiming God’s purposes); to encourage the persecuted church; to instruct the believers in Christ; to point our hearts toward our eternal goal; and to warn so that we do not follow false doctrine and are not caught unaware. The object of these prophecies is to point to the revelation of Jesus Christ in His glory. It is an error to use prophecies that God has veiled for a reason and add to them in order to create a scenario that places God’s actions into the box we create. What God has revealed, we are responsible to act on. What has been hidden will remain obscured until after God has accomplished His word. We can look back and see clearly what God’s intentions were but it is difficult and sometimes impossible to know God’s intent beforehand.
Having said this, let’s examine what God has revealed and hopefully gain a deeper understanding of God’s word. The foundation of our study of this book comes from Revelation 1:3 “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.” We will be counted blessed if we hear, read and study this book because we will not be caught asleep, but will be found faithful when Jesus returns or calls us home – whichever comes first. So let’s dig in to chapter 4 of Revelations and examine the Throne of God.
John is caught up in the Spirit and the first thing that grasps his attention is the throne of God. John then uses imagery to try to describe the throne of God. As a rule of proper biblical interpretation, when something is described in the Bible, it should be taken literal unless clearly intended to be figurative. To be literal, there must be something of equality to compare to. Nothing on earth can remotely compare to the glory of God. John did not try to compare God to something we can envision in a literal sense because it would demean the reality of God’s glory. So to attempt to give us a glimpse of this glory, John returns to the symbolism God used in the Old Testament. The early church studied the scriptures and they could identify with this symbolic representation of God’s glory. Remember that the early church was filled with converted Jews. They knew that the law, feasts and customs commanded in the Old Testament foreshadowed the coming Messiah. Throughout the book of Revelations, we must revisit the commands that God gave that symbolized what God would one day reveal literally. John used these parallels as a tool to reveal the truth of God.
Looking at Revelation 4, it is obvious that the One on the throne was not made of jasper and sardius, these are symbols to reveal the truth of God that John’s words cannot describe. The precious stones described in this book go back to the beginning of God’s covenant with Israel. Each tribe was assigned a stone that symbolized a piece of the mystery of God’s plan. Each name in of each tribe had a prophetic meaning and each stone represented an attribute of Christ. The stones were placed in the priestly breastplate in order to form a vivid picture of the true High Priest – Jesus Christ. All the stones represent Jesus Christ, and God used these stones to represent this specific scene at the throne John saw. The two stones John saw go back to this picture in the Old Testament.
The tribe of Naphtili’s stone was the jasper. Naphtili’s name means ‘to obtain by wrestling’ and the jasper stone represents glory. The sardius stone is a blood red stone and represents the tribe of Judah. One of the Elders in Revelation 5 called Jesus the Lion of Judah. The picture John is symbolizing a picture of Jesus Christ in His glory. At His first coming, Jesus veiled his glory in order to become our teacher and then our redeemer, but now His glory is revealed. This is the same principle taught in Philippians 2:
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Jesus humbled Himself by putting off His glory and taking the likeness of man. He made Himself a bondservant. A bondservant is the one who willingly puts himself into submission to another for the purpose of service. It is a servant who has the right to be free, but has bound himself by an oath to serve another out of love. Because of this love, a servant would willingly make himself a servant and give up his right to be free for the cause of another. It was Jesus Christ who wrestled and overcame the law on our behalf and being a sinless perfect sacrifice, He laid down His life for our debt. Now that He has completed this work, He is glorified. The jasper is John’s testimony of Jesus’ glory on the throne. The sardius is the blood He shed on our behalf.
“There was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance.” When the Bible mentions a rainbow, it is a symbol of hope and God’s promises. This goes back to the time of the flood. Look at Genesis 9
13 "I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.
16 "The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth."
17 And God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth."
Compare this to Hebrews 10
16 "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,"
17 then He adds, "Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more."
Psalm 105 tells us that the Lord remembers Covenant and His commands forever. Those who submit to His covenant purchased for us and given through faith in Christ have the promise of seeing this first throne of hope. Those who are transformed by Jesus Christ are no longer bound by the law because “His laws have been put into their hearts”. We are no longer under the law because God has transformed us from the inside out. 1 John 2:3 tells us that this is how we know that we know Christ. If we know Christ we will have the desire to imitate Christ and walk as He walked. The law is for those who have nothing on the inside to draw their hearts to the righteousness of God. Those under the law need the law because it is their only guide, it is the only thing that can restrain evil, and it reveals the need for redemption. The law is in our heart and we desire to keep it out of faith alone because we love God and desire His ways.
The rainbow is the hope of God’s promises to those who know and believe on Christ. The emerald was the stone of the tribe of Reuben and this stone represents life, healing and restoration. The name Reuben means, “behold and know a son”. It is the Son that gives us hope and the promise of eternal life and healing. Jesus completely restores us and overcomes all sin so that we have fellowship with God. As the Bible says in 1 John 3:
2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
If we are children of God, we will live like we belong with Him. When He appears, we will be like Him, completely restored, healed and walking in a pure life.
Verse 5 says, “Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God”. In this we see the uncompromising righteous judgments of God. The seven lamps were identified in the book of Zechariah. Look at Zechariah 4:
1 Now the angel who talked with me came back and wakened me, as a man who is wakened out of his sleep.
2 And he said to me, "What do you see?" So I said, "I am looking, and there is a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps.
Verses 6 and 10 give the definition, “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. They are the eyes of the Lord which roam to and fro throughout the whole earth.” 2 Chronicles 16:9 also says, “the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is completely His”. So in this passage, the Holy Spirit is represented by the burning fire and the eyes of God that knows all things.
This scene in the throne room of God is a throne of reward and hope. It is for those who are found watching. The Bible says that He has laid up a crown of righteousness for each person who loves His appearing (2 Timothy 4:8). Those who love His appearing are those who are found watching. Those who are watching are those who are living in obedience and seeking His plan. 2 Timothy 2:12 tells us that if we endure, we will reign with Him. Finally, Jesus gave this promise: “Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them.” (Luke 12:37)
Eddie Snipes
Exchanged Life Outreach
http://www.exchangedlife.com
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