The Throne Room

Hope, Healing & Freedom Podcast: Episode 95

TRANSCRIPT

The Throne Room Podcast

How many of us read the book of Revelations on a regular basis? If I could see your hands, my guess it would be a small number read Revelations on a regular basis, and I would have to put myself in that category as well. Yet the book of Revelation is filled with words for the future, and words for today. In Today’s podcast we are going to look at one particular chapter in the book of Revelation that is going to bless your socks off and blow your mind all at the same time.

I’m Lee Whitman from Restoring the Foundations and I welcome you into this Hope Healing and Freedom podcast. The verse for today is 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.”  The first thing that is important about the book of Revelation is that it is the testimony of Jesus Christ. Chapter one verse one says, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ”. Then in verse two it says that John “bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.” So, this is a firsthand account of what Jesus said and revealed to John. We look at the gospels as of great importance because they are a firsthand testimony of men that walked with Jesus. These were not stories or fables they were told; these were events and accounts that they witnessed firsthand. The book of Revelation is the firsthand account of what John saw and experienced and was tasked with sharing with the body of Christ for all time. In other words, this is a very important letter from Jesus to us.

The letter starts out by sending messages to the seven churches. We are not exactly sure why God chose to write letters to these particular seven churches, but we can see the purpose in each of the letters. Some of the letters were to encourage and cheer the church onward. Other letters were to warn the church of their problem. Chapter one says, “Blessed is the one who reads, and those who hear the words of the prophecy and keep the things which are written in it; for the time is near.”

Here are the messages to the seven churches:

1. The Church of Ephesus. The church that has abandoned its love for Christ and His teachings.
2. The Church of Smyrna. The church that remains faithful amidst persecution.
3. The Church of Pergamum. The church that compromises its beliefs.
4. The Church of Thyatira. The church that follows false prophets.
5. The Church of Sardis. The church that is spiritually dead.
6. The Church of Philadelphia. The church that patiently endured despite weaknesses.
7. The Church of Laodicea. The church with a lukewarm faith.

I encourage you to read these letters to the 7 churches found in chapters 2 & 3 because of the warnings and encouragement they have for us. It says, “blessed is the one who reads”.

Chapter four of Revelation is our focus for today. It is an amazing description of heaven, and more specifically of the throne room of God. The first thing I want you to do is to crank up your Holy Spirit imagination for a few minutes because you can’t see this picture of heaven without it. Wait a minute, Lee, isn’t using your imagination dangerous. No, not when you are asking the Holy Spirit to give you the pictures. Jesus taught in pictures called parables because that is the way our minds are designed. Many of us have been taught that using your imagination is dangerous, that it could be used by the enemy to deceive us. That is what I was taught growing up. Yet why would Jesus teach using parables that require you to use your imagination if the imagination is bad. Imagination is God given and is a good thing when used by the Holy Spirit to reveal truth to us. So go ahead and crank up that God given imagination.

I am going to pick up quoting John in verse 2 of chapter 4.

“Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance, and there was a rainbow around the throne, like and emerald in appearance.” This is a scene like nothing you have ever seen before, not even in the best George Lucas (Star Wars) movies. John was trying to put words to something that was beyond words. So, he used the best descriptions he could for the One who was sitting on the throne. Struggling for an adequate description he used jewels to describe the person who we know is Jesus, sitting on the throne. John says He was like a jasper stone. Jasper is a precious stone of various colors, some are purple, others blue, others green, and others the color of brass. In other words, multifaceted. Have you ever looked at something and no matter what angle you looked at it, it appeared a different color?  I believe this is describing Jesus as multifaceted. John says he was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance. A sardius a is another type of precious stone. There are two types of sardius stone, the former is called a carnelian (because it is flesh colored) and the latter a sard. In other words, Jesus is brilliantly colored and almost glowing as He sits on the throne. John also describes that there is a rainbow around the throne like an emerald in appearance. Picture a beautiful green glow around the throne. Around the throne were also flashes of lightening and peals of thunder. Remember the times when you have seen the sky being lit up by a lightning strike and then the roar of the thunder that followed. Something like that is around the throne. Can you begin to see it and maybe hear it?

Also around the throne were 24 elders who wore golden crowns which were given to the elders to signify their status and as a reward for their faithfulness. Before the throne was something described as a crystal sea or a lake of glass. And around the throne were four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. Can you see them. It is going to take some Holy Spirit imagination to see this scene.

It gets a bit weirder so hang in there. The first of these living creatures was like a lion, the second like a calf, the third had the face of a man, and the fourth was like a flying eagle. I think John is doing his very best to give words to this incredible scene that is opening before him.

This is where I get blown away by this next part and I may have a hard time getting through this because this scene blows me away. These four living creatures who live in this absolutely other-worldly place are not impressed with the setting or the intense beauty of this throne room. They are not fascinated with each other even though each living creature is spectacular. Their sole focus is on the One who sits on the throne. In fact, they are so taken aback by the sight of the One sitting on the throne they continually cry out “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, Who was, Who Is, and Who is to come.” They live in a science fiction setting and their attention is riveted on the One sitting on the throne.

Then when these living creatures cry out Holy, Holy, Holy, the 24 elders fall on their faces and worship the One who sits on the throne. They cry out “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.” They pay homage by casting their crowns before the throne. These are the crowns given because of who they are and as a reward for their service. They don’t care. The One sitting on the throne is so worthy that they willingly give up all in worship.

Can you see the picture? It is such a spectacular picture. Can you imagine what it will be like when we enter that throne room for ourselves? I love the wonderful song “I can only imagine” by MercyMe that describes what it might be like when we enter the throne room. I am going to quote from the song because I can’t express it any better.

I can only imagine
What it will be like
When I walk by Your side
I can only imagine
What my eyes would see
When Your face is before me
I can only imagine

Surrounded by Your glory
What will my heart feel?
Will I dance for You Jesus
Or in awe of You be still?
Will I stand in Your presence
Or to my knees, will I fall?
Will I sing hallelujah?
Will I be able to speak at all?
I can only imagine
I can only imagine

I am going to end this unusual podcast by reading Revelation 4. As I read, crank up your Holy Spirit imagination. We will be there one day. Why not start experiencing the throne room now.

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 someone was 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 came flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which arethe seven spirits of God;⁶ and before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. ⁷ The first living creature was like a lion, the second creature like a calf, the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. ⁸ And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say,

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.”

⁹ And when the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever,¹⁰ the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and they will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

¹¹ “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”

Prayer

Father God, someday all of your children will stand before this throne, and we will gaze with awe at the One who sits on the throne in all of His glory and splendor. Would you open our eyes so we can begin to see even a glimpse of what John saw about the One who sits on the throne.

 Amen