Revelation(4v2): The Throne Room of God

THE BOOK OF
REVELATION

(Rev.4:2)

The Throne Room of God

How can any one of us ever come close to comprehending the sight that John tries to describe in his heavenly encounter. It comes across clearly in the text that what John is finding is difficult to even describe what he is seeing. It's entertaining to note the amount of times John had to use the word "like" in this section of scripture,

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.

6 And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: 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.

Nevertheless, the picture John paints for us provides us with just a glimpse of information to help us formulate a picture of sorts. But before we get into the descriptive details of the throne room of God, let's just take a moment to discuss why it is of such value to spend some time in this text.

Does the throne room apply to us as the Body of Christ?

Unlike a lot of the details of Revelation, the throne room is a place that is relevant to us as members of the body of Christ. I truly believe that we will be ushered into this room in the near future, so that we too will be able to behold the glory and splendour of this place with our own eyes. After our rapture and the bema seat ceremony, it it quite likely that Jesus Christ will bring us into this room and present us, as holy and unblameable and unreproveable (perfect), to His Father,

Col.1:21-22 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and perfect in His sight.

What a moment this will be, and what an incredible experience we can look forward to! Think of it this way; when you plan a vacation, you'd browse the web for images of your destination, or get pamphlets from your travel agent. Researching and learning about the destination adds intrigue and excitement to the trip. Well, in the same way, God has provided us a glimpse into this heavenly destination to give us a sense of desire and excitement to get there. Revelation, and other prophetic books, can provide us this insight and build a joyous excitement to spur us on in our faith and hope.

Now, let's get into the details of what John saw in the throne room. 

John sees a throne set in heaven. This is the 3rd heaven, the heaven of heavens and the seat of God's presence and reign. John was not able to see the face of God, but he provides us a description of the presence of His glory. Radiating out from God's presence was a luminescence of light that appears to have reddish overtones. Both jasper and sardius stones, as depicted in the above image, are red in colour. On the outer edge of this luminescence we find the colour of emerald green as John tries to create a comparative phrase. The green glow seems to radiate out as a rainbow around the throne. Someone reminded me recently that the the colours that John describes in the throne room are very similar to the appearance of the Aurora Borealis (or Northern Lights). Notice in the images below how the inner colours are like jasper and sardius, and the outer rim of the display is emerald green. Is this a coincidence? Personally, I doubt this very much!

The throne (as we learn in other scripture) is positioned on top of a crystal sea of glass, and upon this same base, and around the throne, we find a few other heavenly details. Around the throne were 24 thrones and upon them were 24 elders. Similarly, in front of the throne were seven lamps burning which depict the seven-fold spirits of God. This passage does not mention the four living creatures (or beasts), but we will also discuss these four angelic beings who stand around the throne, spending some time discussing all these details in more detail in the next few posts.

It is intriguing to compare both Revelation chapter 4 with what Ezekiel saw in his visions of heaven in Ezek.1:10 and chapter 10. We can also find details of heaven in the writings of Isaiah, Zechariah and Daniel. The point I want to make here is that this place is as real as the location you are in right now. This is not fantasy! Heavens throne room is as real as any experience we can have here on earth. It is true that we do need to pinch ourselves from time to time though! This is of course an other worldly location and one that we are certainly not fit and qualified to write about. I hesitate even in writing this post, as it is impossible to do it justice in words.

Heaven is the habitation of God, the governmental headquarters of God. It is the location where God chooses to manifest the glory of His person, even though He is Spirit and omnipresent. Let's hold to the thought that soon we will get to see this throne room for ourselves, in person and up close! For now, how GREAT and wonderful it is to learn about this location, where it is, what it looks like.

In the next post we will continue with details regarding the 24 elders and get into some fascinating information about the structure of creation.