The Throne Room
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
This morning, we preached the first two verses of Revelation 4. We looked at how we are now entering the final section of the Book “The things which shall be hereafter” - At this point, there is a shift from the churches, and John is caught up into Heaven through a door.
He took the trip of a lifetime...
At the close of the message this morning, John had just arrived in the throne room and looking around, he saw one that sat on that throne.
The Lord reigns in heaven and over all the earth!
What John Saw
What John Saw
Let’s look at what John saw:
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.
John can’t describe God—so he uses a simile to help us understand.
In appearance the Lord was like a jasper and sardius stone.
Jasper, on earth, is usually brown in color, but can be found in all sorts of shades of color, but the jasper in Heaven according to Revelation 21:11 is clear as crystal—which would be more like diamonds as we know it.
The Lord’s beauty and brilliance shines like a jasper stone! This is a picture of our Lord Jesus in His righteousness, purity, and holiness. It’s a reference to His glory!
Sardine was a blood red stone that reminds us of the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. He shed His blood for us on the cross and that will be remembered forever in Heaven!
David Levy wrote, “John saw a sparkling light like that of a blue-white diamond mingled with the bright light from a blood-red stone like a ruby, producing a flashing blaze of glorious color.” - Can you imagine how beautiful that would be!?
The Rainbow
The Rainbow
John saw the Lord upon His throne and a rainbow around the throne. He describes it as a rainbow that was like an emerald in appearance. Rainbows on earth are beautiful—they remind us of God’s covenant with mankind never to destroy the earth again by flood! (Genesis 9:13–17) The rainbow served as a reminder to Noah that the awful storm was over—that a covenant had been established! The rainbow that John saw in heaven was not a bow, but it was a complete circle—it went all the way around the throne.
Oh, ya’ll hear me on this!
What usually appears after the storm?
As men who have lived in imperfection, now standing in the very presence of a holy God, this rainbow will be a reminder that the Lord’s throne for us is not a throne of judgment, but a throne of grace. It’ll mean to us that the storm is finally over! We made it!
The rainbow around the throne shows us the storm is over for the child of God, but the greatest storm this world has ever seen is about to begin for this sin sick world!
Adrian Rogers explains it like this, “So when we see this complete rainbow around the throne, a never-ending circle of green, it speaks of the eternal life that belongs to the children of God. It represents the perfection of His grace and speaks of the God who will never break His covenant. Another thing the rainbow means is that the storm is over for the saints of God. But the storm is not over for those on earth, because God is about to judge this world … So a storm is brewing on earth, but round about the throne it is peaceful indeed.”
Hallelujah! You might be wondering why it’s a green color and not multicolored like the rainbow on earth…Well, if you study your Bible, you’ll find that emerald is the fourth stone in the breastplate of the high priest which represented Judah, who was the fourth-born son of Jacob.
Who was Jesus? He is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5).
I believe that the emerald color is a reminder of Jesus Christ, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah and it’s through Jesus we have peace with God!
The Saints
The Saints
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.
Twenty-four seats were around the throne. The word “seats” is the Greek word for thrones. Who are these elders sitting in these seats? I believe they are men who have been saved. I do not believe they are angels. Angels are not redeemed, rewarded, or crowned that we know of.
Why are there 24?
In 1 Chronicles 24, we learn that 24 elders were appointed by King David to represent the entire Levitical priesthood. The priests were divided into 24 groups, each group serving two weeks at a time in the temple which Solomon was to build.
This arrangement was in force when John the Baptist was announced.
Zacharias was of the course Abia, which was eighth in the order (Luke 1:5).
The priests were many thousands in number. They could not come together at one time.
When 24 met, the whole priesthood was represented.
It would make sense that these 24 elders around the throne represent the heavenly priesthood of all believers. The Church and the Old Testament saints are included. The Bible says we are a royal priesthood in 1 Peter 2:9.
These elders had white garments...
5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
These elders had gold crowns on their heads…We are told in the Bible there are several crowns the believer can win…These are crowns we will lay at the feet of Jesus; I’m not going to get into these tonight as I don’t have time to, but we will get to them in another message.
Let’s look on:
The Thunder and Lightning
The Thunder and Lightning
Revelation 4:5 (KJV 1900)
5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices...
You might think there’s nothing peaceful about lightnings and thunderings, but God’s presence in the fulness of His glory is manifested this way:
Daniel 10:6 “...his face as the appearance of lightning...”
Exodus 19:16 “16 And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.”
Exodus 20:18 “18 And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.”
Psalm 29:3 “3 The voice of the Lord is upon the waters: The God of glory thundereth: The Lord is upon many waters.”
The Lamps
The Lamps
Revelation 4:5 (KJV 1900)
5 ...there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
These seven lamps, as we’ve discussed in Revelation chapter 1 are symbolic in nature concerning the Holy Spirit of God.
2 And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and might, The spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;
The Sea
The Sea
Revelation 4:6 (KJV 1900)
6 And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal...
John saw a sea of glass—this was not a liquid sea—no water around the throne—this was a sea of glass. He describes this sea of glass like crystal. Pure, brilliant, dazzling, bright!
The picture given us here is one of beauty.
The Beasts
The Beasts
Revelation 4:6–7 (KJV 1900)
6 ...and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.
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.
The word beast means “living creature” - These creatures are similar to the seraphim found in Isaiah 6...
These four living creatures were perceptive.
Herbert Lockyer wrote, “They are described as having fullness of intelligence … Both foresight and hindsight are theirs. The past and future are open to them as a scroll.”
There are several ideas about these creatures…Some feel they are the leaders of the realm they depict…This gets really interesting, ya’ll listen right here:
* The Lion—the leader of wild beasts.
* The Calf—the leader of domestic animals.
* The Man—the pinnacle of God’s creation.
* The Eagle—the leader of the fowls of the air.
Others feel these four creatures represent the four Gospels in which Christ was portrayed to mankind.
* Matthew depicted Christ as King of Kings (the lion, the ruler).
* Mark depicted Christ as the Suffering Servant (the calf, the beast of burden)
* Luke depicted Christ as the Son of Man (the man)
* John depicted Christ as the Son of God (the eagle, the creature of the heavens)
These creatures gave glory, honor, and worship to the Lord and those around the throne worship the Lord too. The word “worship” means “to ascribe worth.” We will feel unworthy to wear our crowns in the presence of Christ and will cast them at His feet. All that we think we have accomplished will seem so insignificant when we see our Lord.
Conclusion
Conclusion
This scene in heaven should remind us that God is Sovereign, that He is Holy, that He is High and Lifted up and He is reigning as King of kings and Lord of lords! This ought to make us thankful to Him, surrender to Him, live for Him, trust Him, and worship Him.
John took a trip of a lifetime and he lived to tell about it and write about it!
Would you trust Christ today! Would you confess your sins today and trust in the Lord Jesus today? Would you turn to the Lord and believe the gospel?