The Vision of God’s Throne
Book of Revelation Chapter 4 Verses 1 through 11
It should be very clear John is speaking the words given to Him by the Holy Spirit!
It is after the Words spoken by our Lord to the Church that the Lord will reveal the “Rapture of the Church” in this passage.
John’s job remained the same! He was to write down the things he heard and the things that he saw.
John is now writing of the things that happen immediately after the Church Age comes to an end.
Remember the purpose of our Lord Jesus in the Book of Revelation, is to reveal the truth. Our Lord Jesus will never hide things from us!
Not many places in the Scriptures have given us the privilege to see into the Throne Room of God and none have been given us the view that John saw!
John saw a door opened into Heaven while the Church was still located upon this earth.
The golden candle sticks were still upon earth.
The seven stars were still upon earth in the hand of Jesus.
Now we get a realistic view of the things in Heaven.
*****Rev 4:1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
It is like John was saying, “I have been looking up toward Heaven all these years and all of a sudden a door was opened, and I could see inside”.
As believers we pray, we feel, we know, that we have a Heavenly Father and one day “we will see Him face to face”!
Not that we will see through some door, but we will see “because we will be at home”.
In this passage the Apostle John is in fact, a type of the Church.
The Church will see what happens immediately after the Church Age ends, with the end of the Laodicean Church Age which is the one we are in now!
We all have a tendency to say, “I know who sits on the throne”, well on this day, we will meet Him.
John did not imagine these things for John saw these things!
The Lord Jesus had been standing in the midst of the seven candlesticks holding the seven stars.
We must also remember that the Lord Jesus Christ is that “Door”, that is now opened to the Church after the end of the Church Age.
Joh 10:9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
The truth is at the end of the Church Age, Heaven will be laid open to receive the Saints of God.
Those that are alive and remaining, and those in the graves whose souls are already with the Lord.
1Co 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
1Co 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
1Th 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
1Th 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
1Th 4:15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
1Th 4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
How do we know?
John says: “the first voice which I heard, as it were a trumpet talking to me; which said Come up hither”
That word “Come” was a command!
When the Lord says “Come”, He has already made the pathway to Him or we could say, the Lord has already built the bridge for safe passage!
The Lord said by the Holy Spirit “Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which “must” be hereafter”.
These will be all the things that take place after the Church is in Heaven with the Lord!
Now we know that no man (or woman) can meet the Lord in the flesh as we have upon this earth, which is sinful, so the Scripture does not fail to mention, that John was in the spirit. John was not in the flesh!
*****Rev 4:2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
Immediately, as in the twinkle of the eye, as in a split second, John found himself in the throne room of God.
We know from the Scriptures that even after our salvation, we will face the Lord at His “Judgment Seat”.
Php 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
Php 1:10 That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;
Php 1:11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.
This not a “Judgment” for salvation, because once we had accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, that cannot be taken away from us.
It is a “Judgment” for what we have done after becoming a child of God, while still upon this earth.
2Co 5:7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
2Co 5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
2Co 5:9 Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.
2Co 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
1Co 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
1Co 3:12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
1Co 3:13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
What we should know is at the same time we are at the “Judgment Seat of the Lamb”, the earth and those who remain have been given over to the Antichrist for seven long years of “Tribulation”!
2Th 2:5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
2Th 2:6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
2Th 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
2Th 2:9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
2Th 2:10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
The Holy Spirit returned to Heaven with the Church, and is no longer a hindrance to that Wicked One, we know is Satan the Devil and his demons!
But, lets save that for later and have a look at our Savior.
Now how is the appearance of our Savior?
*****Rev 4:3 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.
The Jasper stone is a stone that glitters and is a stone of various colors which causes it to glitter and it is the stone most precious and it clear as crystal, as a diamond.
Rev 21:11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
But that is not all. Another color as described by John as he looked upon our Savior was as the sardine stone.
As the Lord glittered crystal clear, He would also have that “red color” to remind us that we had been washed in the pure red “Blood of the Lamb”.
As we see a rainbow upon this earth, we can only see a half circle, but at the Judgment Seat of Christ we will get to see the whole circle of the rainbow. The glow of the Lord as Jasper and as Sardine with the glow of an emerald.
You cannot miss this “emerald glow” if you look close at a rainbow today.
Emerald is known as the glowing stone! The Greek word used here describes this glow as a live coal drawn from a furnace. Glittering and shimmering and announcing the absolute “Grace” of God which is the theme of the “Judgment Seat of the Lord Jesus Christ”.
What a site to behold! Not enough words to give us the full picture, but just enough words to show us the “Glory” of God the Son.
Round about that throne we see the Church.
*****Rev 4:4 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.
We all know that numbers are used in the Scriptures for specific reasons. So then is the number 24.
The number 24 is a multiple of the number 12.
The number 12 can be found in 187 places in the Word of God. The Book of Revelation alone has 22 occurrences of the number 12.
The meaning of 12, which is considered a perfect number, is that it symbolizes God’s power and authority.
The number 12 also serves as a perfect foundation of the Church!
The number 12 also symbolizes completeness!
Completeness in the Church because the Church is built upon the Apostle’s Doctrine! The Lord Jesus chose 12 Apostles when we count the Apostle Paul.
Completeness in the true Israel as Israel had 12 sons!
The number 24 is then associated with the priesthood of the believer!
1Pe 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
1Pe 2:6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
1Pe 2:7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,
1Pe 2:8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.
1Pe 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
The number 24 being a multiple of 12 is then the complete Church!
Since the number 24 it is composed of a multiple of 12, it takes on some of 12’s meaning (which is God’s power and authority, as well as perfect foundation) except in a higher form.
Twenty-four, therefore, is also connected with the worship of God, especially at the Temple.
It was King David who divided those responsible for the music in the Temple services, those who served as priests, and the Levites who aided the priests, into 24 courses (1Chronicles 23 – 24).
These 24 persons are called elders. The number 24 here represents the enlargement of the Church through all the Church Age.
Jehovah is not just the God of Israel, not just the God of the Church by His Son Jesus, but He is God of this entire earth and God of all His creation!
Though saints usually stand upon earth. In Heaven these elders are a symbol of the “dignity and rest” and “Holy happiness”, having overcome the wickedness of Satan and “Redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb”.
They now possess the rewards for their work upon this earth, represented by the crowns upon their head.
Remember there are 5 crowns subject to the work of believers after our Salvation. There are no works before our salvation that account for anything to our God and our Savior, Jesus Christ.
The first crown mentioned is the “incorruptible” crown. This means it is a crown that will never be destroyed; it will never turn to dust. We will be immortal, and so will this crown.
The “crown of rejoicing” is one example of when we, as Christian believers, will be expected to loudly rejoice or exalt. When Christ comes back and we will all be together, we can let everyone else know about it. Our brothers and sisters in Christ will make up the “crown of rejoicing”.
The “crown of righteousness”. Paul says he has fought a good fight — he did not give up, lie down, or quit. He finished his race — he kept believing. Because of this, a crown of righteousness has been reserved for him, and for others who look forward to the appearing of Jesus Christ.
‘Righteousness’ means that something is just and right! How many times have we read a news story, or seen something on television that made us say, “It just isn’t right”? That will not happen even onetime once Christ returns! Paul wrote this to the church in order to exhort them (us) to stand for God in light of the hope of the return of Jesus Christ. If we look forward to our “crown of righteousness”, we can stand firm and sure right now.
Today as this Corona Virus spreads around the world, we as Christians, must stand firm on our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and the promises He has made to us. Remember Jesus said there would be days like this!
Happy is the person that endures (remains behind after others have left) trials, tribulations, and temptations. For when he is proved, he will receive (manifest) “the crown of life” (life in all its fullness, complete). This life will be our Heavenly Life!
Peter writes these lines to the elders of the church, so we see “the crown of glory” will be available to leaders in the Word of God.
They are supposed to feed the “flock” the undiluted and perfect Word of God, not for money or any personal gain, but willingly and out of love.
They are not to be “overlords” of the other believers, but should lead by example! If they do this, Peter says, when Christ (the chief Shepherd) returns, they will receive a “crown of glory” that will never fade away. It is everlasting, and the color and brilliance will abide forever.
The five crowns will be part of our reward we receive after the return of Christ. The Word of God tells us some things about the crowns, but not everything.
A big part of the reward will be the surprise of finding out everything about our new life, and the privileges and responsibilities that go with it. For now, we can do the best we can for God, and look forward to the Hope, the return of Jesus Christ.
As John writes in the Book of Revelation, these elders of the Church are wearing those crowns!
That is not all they are wearing. They are wearing “robes of pure white”!
These White robes are glorious.
These White robes are beautiful. They are white and shining.
These White robes are Heavens loveliest garments!
Then the things of the throne again catch John’s eye!
*****Rev 4:5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
This is the throne of our Creator!
Many people say that the Book of Revelation is the most mysterious book in the Bible, but we must consider that John the Apostle saw things he had never seen and many he did not know how to describe. You cannot take a man from the first century and drop him into the twenty first century and expect him to explain what he sees. It is the same for John in Heaven!
He was led by the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit and if we are filled with the Holy Spirit and understand these things of John and realize that God does not hide things from us, we can accept the Book of Revelation just as it is written!
If we picture in our own mind the words that John says about many things, we can see the many things that resemble what John is saying.
We must also know that the throne he is witnessing here is point blank exactly what John saw!
When God speaks, He will command your attention!
Psa_103:19 The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.
There is not one thing upon this earth that God is not in command of!
If God wanted to stop this virus, this plague, He could do so in the blink of an eye, so we know there is a purpose to what is happening now, and we need to seek that purpose and be busy about it.
One purpose is to realize that what the Lord says is the perfect truth and the world does not ever have perfect truth!
If we stand on the Word of God with the faith that He demands, we will see what the Lord wants us to see!
Psa 91:5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
Psa 91:6 Nor “for the pestilence that walketh in darkness”; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
Psa 91:7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
Psa 91:8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
Psa 91:9 Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
Psa 91:10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
Luk_21:11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
The Lord is serious about the things He says and when we do not pay attention, then He has to show us!
There is an awesomeness to the Word of God and there is an awesomeness in the throne of God!
The throne of God is a throne of “glory” and a throne of “blessedness” but also a throne of “judgment”.
Those that sat before this throne were there for rewards as every saint of God is judged and pardoned before they reach this throne in Heaven.
There were lightnings.
There were thunderings.
There were voices.
The voice of God will be an awesome thing to hear when He speaks to us and says, “have no fear”, “you are home now”.
We should also understand while the Lord welcomes His saints, His voice is also commanding the events to begin in the seven years of tribulation.
The Lord God of this world is always doing things according to His own will!
The will of God is wise, is pure and is just, and is guided by His great love for all those who have trusted Him with their souls!
This throne is a throne of Holiness!
Weak people see this place as terrible, but to the saints of God, this is a place of joy. A place of pleasure. A place to reverence our Divine Majesty.
The seven lamps of fire denoted the fulness and the perfection of the Holy Spirit. The light from those lamps show He is sufficient in His work with the Church, who He has now returned home with those saints of God.
2Th_2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
John was standing some distance from the throne and after observing the throne, John took a look at the throne room.
*****Rev 4:6 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.
Rev 4:7 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.
Rev 4:8 And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.
Rev 4:9 And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,
Many things could be said about this Sea of Glass, which in reality reads “a Glass Sea like crystal”.
This could be a Sea that is clear and calm and prepared as the Lord Jesus walked on the Sea of Galilee.
We know that the Seas upon this earth are never calm as they are driven by winds and storms.
The Scriptures tell us that wicked are like the troubled sea.
Isa_57:20 But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
There is no wickedness in Heaven nor around the throne of God!
The sea before God was clear, deep, and pure!
Now we know the Seven lamps of fire and this Sea of glass and we know that the Holy Ghost, whose powers, and operations, are many times mentioned as fire and water.
Mat_3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: “he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire”:
1Co_6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, “and by the Spirit of our God”.
We know that it is those who are washed and mingled with fire that have gotten victory over the beast!
Rev 15:2 And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: “and them that had gotten the victory over the beast”, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.
Then in the end that pure, crystal clean river of life with flow out of the New Heaven into the New Earth.
Rev 22:1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
Then there were four beasts.
These beasts are the closest things to God in Heaven in distance.
They are Angelic beings who are posted in the middle of each side of God’s throne.
They are the guardians of God’s throne!
They are the guardians of God’s Holy Presence!
Rev 5:6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
They are always found near the throne.
They have six wings (3 pair) and are full of eyes.
Their function has to do with the Holiness or the Wrath of God!
Rev 6:1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
Rev 15:7 And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
They never cease to declare the holiness of Jehovah God!
They never leave God’s presence!
The Holy Spirit decided we did not need any more information about these four beings than what we have here in this Scripture. They belong to God for His specific purpose.
We will all have a purpose in Heaven, just as we have a purpose here upon this earth, though it will be far different then.
They are living creations of our Lord Jesus Christ!
Act_17:24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
Heb_1:2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.
Joh 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Joh 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
Joh 1:5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
What do we know as humans?
1)The lion denotes majesty and power among the animal world.
Pro 30:30 A lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any;
2) The calf whether be calf or ox denote humility and patience.
1Co 9:9 For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen?
1Co 9:10 Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope.
3) The third beast with the face of a man is the highest of all God’s creation, denoting wisdom, reason, and intelligence.
1Co 2:11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
1Co 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
1Co 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
4) The fourth beast with the face of an eagle. The eagle is the wisest of all birds. He flies the highest. His eyes the keenest. He is swift to take action when it is time to take action. He does so then without hesitation.
Job 39:27 Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high?
Job 39:28 She dwelleth and abideth on the rock, upon the crag of the rock, and the strong place.
Job 39:29 From thence she seeketh the prey, and her eyes behold afar off.
Job 39:30 Her young ones also suck up blood: and where the slain are, there is she.
Brother Oliver Green writes that it is these characteristics combined, that express the character of God’s Throne in relation to earth.
We can ask these things of the Lord when we meet Him for, He made them!
For what is their main purpose?
They give glory and honor to Him who sits upon the throne in the Throne Room of God!
*****Rev 4:10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
Rev 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
As those beast give glory to the Lord, those elders, who represent the redeemed children of God, who have received the rewards for the works they did after salvation and realize they are still unworthy of any rewards, fall down on their faces having casts those crowns at the feet of Jesus.
Yes, we can still come under conviction even in Heaven!
If we do not understand today that no matter what has happened in our lives, the fact that we are saved from the wrath of the Father by the actions of His Son Jesus then, we need to verify our salvation!
Our salvation is all about the actions and the love of our Lord and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ!
There certainly is no other way to reach the gates of Heaven and enter into the City of God!
The world is foolish to think anything different!
We must always be ready to acknowledge our obligation to the work of the Gospel no matter our circumstances!
If we are given anything at the “Judgment Seat of Christ” we are still unworthy to receive it!
So the object remains not to earn rewards for our own self, but to earn rewards to cast at the feet of Jesus.
It will be bad enough not to earn a reward after becoming a Christian, but it will be far worse not to have even something small to give back to the Lord for all He has done for me!
It is the Lord Jesus Christ who created all things and it is the Lord Jesus Christ who has done all these things for His own pleasure.
God did not have to save anyone!
He is God, He does not need us!
He saved us just because He wanted to!
He saved us because He loves us!
Amen
Let’s Pray!
LESSONS IN GOD'S WORD 