The Throne Of God
The Judge
Verses 1-4: After this, I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this. At once, I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. From the throne came flashings of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God.
A door was opened in heaven: What a glorious gift to be given, a glimpse of heaven. Some people say they have seen heaven after or during a near-death experience. I believe they saw what Jesus allowed them to see, but I don’t believe they saw all of what it holds. John was given more than a glimpse. He was allowed to stand before the very throne of God.
1 Cor. 2:9: But as it is written, “what no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God had prepared for those who love Him.
It is very little that we can know of the future state, but we may be quite sure that we know as much as is good for us. We ought to be as content with that which is not revealed as with that which is. If God wills us not to know, we ought to be satisfied not to know. Depend on it, he has told us all about heaven that is necessary to bring us there; and if he had revealed more, it would have served rather for the gratification of our curiosity than for the increase of our grace.
Spurgeon
Other references to heaven can be found in Isaiah 6:1-8; Ezekiel 1. Passages describing the tabernacle, which symbolically describe heaven, can be found in Exodus 25-32 and 35-40. We should keep in mind the nature of symbolism; the symbol is always less than the reality. The reality of heaven is even greater than the description we have of it.
The Voice
And the first voice which I heard: The first voice that spoke to John in Rev. 1:10 is the same voice that speaks here- the voice of Jesus. Like a trumpet: The voice speaks loud and clear. It was like the trumpet that gathered the congregation of Israel together or gathered an army for battle.
Like a trumpet…come up here: This is seen by many as a symbol of the church’s rapture. John was called up to heaven by a voice that sounds like a trumpet, just as the church will be as we see in 1 Thess. 4:16-17. The pattern is significant. Jesus finished speaking to and dealing with the churches in Rev. 2-3, and all churches are comprehended in the seven. After dealing with the church, he called John up to heaven, “catching him away,” with a voice that sounded like a trumpet. All this happened before the great wrath that will be described beginning in Rev. 6. As that great judgment on the earth unfolded, John- a representative of the church- was in heaven, looking down on earth.
Let Us Remember
“Church”- the body of Christ, not a building. All believers, in the faith that Jesus IS God, is “church.” All believers, not just those who go to church. The Greek word ekklesia in Christian theology means both: a particular body of faithful people and the whole body of the faithful. The root meaning of “church” is not that of a building but of people. Do you see the irony in this, or is it just me? When asked what church they attend, most people will identify a building.
Each of us must know without a shadow of a doubt that Jesus is God. All we must say, like the thief on the cross beside Jesus, is “Jesus remember me when You come into Your Kingdom,” Luke 23:42. And Jesus will answer, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise, Luke 23:43. But He knows your heart, if you are a true believer or not. If you are relying on ANYTHING other than the true, non-negotiable belief that Jesus is God then you will still be sitting in your church when the rapture happens for the rest of us. And that is how the church buildings will still be full during the hour of trial.
Another significant point, the word “church” never occurs in the chapters describing this period of judgment on earth- Rev. 4-19.
What Is To Come
Jesus had finished speaking to and dealing with the seven churches, and now He will show John what is to come. Revelation chapters 4-19 are mainly concerned with God’s judgment upon the world preceding Jesus’ earthly reign, the period known as the Messianic Woes or the Great Tribulation.
What is to take place after this: John will be shown things that concern the future, not John’s present day. Some like to interpret what John saw up through Rev. 19 as fulfilled in what took place before John’s day, in the Roman invasion and destruction of Jerusalem. But here, Jesus clearly told John that what he was about to see will be in the future.
In The Spirit
At once, I was in the Spirit: In Rev. 1:10, we read that John was already in the Spirit. So this “in the Spirit” was a different experience. I feel like in Rev. 1:10 when he first speaks of this, he was praying and talking to Jesus in the Spirit, but here- because he says “at once”- he was taken up to heaven in Spirit but not the body. But this is impossible to know. In 2 Cor:12:1-4, when Paul had his heavenly experience, he didn’t know if he was in the body or not.
The Point Of Focus
And behold, a throne: This throne was what first impressed John. It is the centerpiece of this vision. John was fixated on the occupied throne, and everything else described is concerning this throne.
And the One who sat there: The throne is not empty. THE ONE sits upon this throne. It is a powerful declaration of not merely God’s presence, but of His sovereign, rightful reign, and His prerogative to judge. We can not think rightly about much of anything until we settle in our mind that there is an occupied throne in heaven, and the God of the Bible rules from this throne.
The bottom line of atheism or materialism is that there is no throne, there is no seat of authority or power that the entire universe must give answer. The bottom line of humanism is that there is a throne, but that man sits upon it.
Essentially, man cannot live without the concept of a throne, a supreme ruler. If man de-thrones God, he will inescapably place himself or some other man upon the throne, perhaps a political leader, as was the case with the dictators Lenin, Stalin, and Mao.
I believe we are experiencing this more and more in our lives today. The idea that a sitting president or ruler can save us from ourselves. Also, I believe political affiliation is not an indicator either way as to one’s reason for their belief. Meaning, believers from both parties are putting too much faith, hope, and trust in their political figures and not enough in the ONE who sits on THE THRONE. But this is to be expected when we remove God from his rightful place on the throne.
Once we abolish God the government becomes God.
G.K. Chesterton
The Glory Of The One
… the appearance of jasper and carnelian: John did not describe a distinct figure. Instead, he described glistening light in two colors of gemstones: jasper/white/diamond and carnelian/red/sardius stone or ruby. These two gems may have been used here to communicate the glory of the empty tomb in Matt. 28:1-3 or maybe they represent the last gems in the high priest’s breastplate in Ex. 39:8-13.
…a rainbow around the throne…like an emerald: A green-hued rainbow surrounded the throne. A reminder of God’s commitment to His covenant with man in Gen. 9:11-17. Around this setting of such power, glory, and authority is a reminder of God’s promise to us. His throne says He can do whatever He wants because He is God, but the rainbow shows us He will fulfill His promises to us. Only God can limit Himself, and He chooses to do so by His promises to us.
Oh! Child of God! Thy heavenly Father in His sovereignty has a right to do with you, His child, as He pleases, but He will never let that sovereignty get out of the limit of the covenant. As a sovereign, He might cast you away, but He has promised that He never will, and never will He. As a sovereign, He might leave you to perish, but He has said, ‘I will not leave thee nor forsake thee.’ As a sovereign, He might suffer you to be tempted beyond your strength, but He has promised that no temptation shall happen to you, but such as is common to man, and He will with the temptation make a way of escape.
Charles Spurgeon
Around The Throne
…were twenty-four thrones: Before John saw who sat on the thrones he saw the thrones. They were lesser thrones and upon these thrones sat twenty-four elders. There is some debate as to whether these elders are glorified human beings or angelic beings. All things considered, they seem to represent God’s people.
Especially in the Old Testament, “elders” represent the people of God. The 24 courses of the priesthood represented all the priests, 1 Chron. 24, (is the chapter number coincidental?) and the 12 tribes and the 12 apostles represent all the faithful. In Rev. 5:9-10 the 24 elders sing a song of praise to Jesus declaring that His blood redeemed them to God. For me, it makes more sense that they are 24 human beings that are representatives of all God’s people.
…clothed in white…crowns of gold on their heads: Another point as to the elders’ identity. Angels are sometimes spoken of as being in white robes or garments, but saints/believers also have white robes as symbols of their righteousness. We never see angels crowned, but believers will be. (Mark 16:5; John 20:12; Acts 1:10; Rev. 6:11, 7:9, 13-14; Is. 61:10, Rev. 3:5-18; 1 Cor. 9:25; 2 Tim. 4:8; 1 Pet. 5:4)
And From The Throne
…came flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder: God is awesome. Moses experienced the awesomeness of God first-hand many times. So did the rest of the Exodus party, and yet they never understood it. What if God split the ocean down the middle so you could walk across dry land? Would you be able to understand such awesomeness then? What if manna just fell from the sky for all to eat so no one would be hungry? What if God talked straight to your face from a burning bush? Could you understand it then? No, we can never understand this. Our human minds can never understand the awesomeness of God. That is why faith is so important. It’s what our whole belief rests in. It is why we worship Him, who we can not explain or describe. (Exodus)
…seven lamps of fire burning: Seven burning lamps represent the Holy Spirit. The seven Spirits of God are referred to in Rev. 1:4 & Isaiah 11:2. In other passages, He is represented as a dove, Matt. 3:16, or a flame of fire, Acts 2:3. The” lamps of fire” are important because the Holy Spirit is not ordinarily visible; He represents Himself in a physical form like a dove or fire.
Conclusion
This concludes the first 5 verses of Revelation 4. The rest of the chapter will be in my next Bible Studies blog coming up soon. I pray reading these verses gave you as much peace as it did me. If you truly believe Jesus is God, it should have. Our faith will not betray us. Rom. 10:11; As the Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in Him will never be put to shame.” God is there, on the throne, and He is powerful, all-knowing, and awesome. Jesus and the Holy Spirit are there also, and someday for each of us who believe, we will be there too. What I believe may sound crazy to some, but I’m ok with that. Some of what I believe sounds crazy to me, but I still believe just the same. I don’t have all the answers, but I believe in a God that does. And that’s really all I need to know; all the rest is just instruction for living on earth until He brings me home or catches me away. My prayer is that you know that kind of faith too.