Heaven's Throne, Part 2

Why do we study heaven's throne? Why do we study the book of Revelation? Is it because we want to know about the end of the world? No, because the book of Revelation is not about the end of the world. The book of Revelation is about Jesus Christ our Lord. If you study the book of Revelation to find out about the end of the world, you've missed the purpose of the book. It's about the revelation of Jesus Christ our Lord. It's all about who He is.

So next time, we said this before, next time you're confused and next time you don't understand something, realize that Satan is going to put all kinds of mumbo jumbo up there in your brain and try to get you all messed up because he doesn't want you to see Christ as He is revealed in the book of Revelation. So important for us to understand.

So, if we are going to set our minds on things above, then we need to understand Revelation 4 and Revelation 5. If we are going to have our affections up there and not down here, then we need to grasp Revelation 4 and 5. For if you miss Revelation 4 and 5, you will be consumed with what's going on around you. You'll be consumed with negative circumstances. You'll be consumed with that which is on the horizontal and not that which is on the vertical. And Paul wants your affections above. And so, John tells us about heaven's throne that somehow we might grasp what he did when the Spirit of God said, "Come up here. I got something I want to show you."

So, in order for us to set our affections on things above, let's go to Revelation chapter 4 and let's finish out this chapter this evening as we begin to understand more about the greatness of Jesus Christ our Lord.

As you recall, we talked about the vision of the throne last week. We talked about what John saw and what John heard. He saw a door open up, and he heard a voice. It was a very familiar voice. "Come up here, John." And so John was transported beyond what we know as reality to another dimension, that he might see something that only a few have ever seen: Ezekiel, Isaiah, Paul. And what he sees, he records, that we might understand heaven's throne.

So last week we talked about the vision of the throne. Then we went on to talk about the description of the throne, and we talked first of all about what or who was on the throne. And John would describe the one on the throne as like a Jasper stone and, like a sardius stone, we talked about that last week. The Jasper stone was that crystal stone, the stone that looked and appeared as a diamond. And what he saw was the clarity and purity of the Lord God Almighty. And what he saw was like a sardia stone, a blood-red ruby kind of stone. And some people believe that that would refer to the atoning work of Christ. There are others who look at it from the standpoint that it pictures the judgment of God, the wrath of God, the fury of God, because Deuteronomy tells us that our God is a consuming fire, and that might be the case, and that's where the place where I would lean to. But we saw that the one on the throne is none other than the Lord God Almighty, according to verse number 8, and the Lord who created all things.

And we want to move tonight from who was on the throne to what was around the throne. So we'll pick up the narrative in Revelation chapter 4, verse number 3. And it says, "He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardiest in appearance. And there was a rainbow around the throne. A rainbow. Like an emerald. In appearance." Interesting. John says, "I see this rainbow." Now, emerald's green. I've never seen a green rainbow before. But as you begin to see this rainbow, you can begin to understand the symbolism that is there.

If you go all the way back to Genesis chapter 9, you understand the significance of the rainbow. God made a covenant with Noah that he would never again destroy the world with water. He made that covenant. So, as long as it rains, for however long it might rain, we had nothing to fear. For God will never again destroy the world with a flood. Never will. Because he made a covenant. And that rainbow symbolizes the faithfulness of God. That's important to understand. It symbolizes God's mercy. It symbolizes God's grace. God made a promise. And because God made a promise, he always keeps his word. Which would lead us to this fact. That rainbow symbolizing the faithfulness of God, the reliability of God, the credibility of God, the fact that God always keeps his word. Although he said he would never destroy the world with a flood, he said he will destroy the world with fire.

We move on to see what else was around the throne. He says, "Then around the throne, verse number four, were 24 thrones. And upon the thrones, I saw 24 elders sitting clothed in white garments and golden crowns on their heads." He says, "I saw 24 thrones." What is that? Somebody has been coronated. Somebody has been elevated. Who is the somebody? The somebody are the 24 elders who sit upon the 24 thrones. Now, the question comes: who are the 24 elders?

If you were with us a number of weeks back, as we talked about why the church won't go through the tribulation, one of the arguments is the description or the identification of the 24 elders in the book of Revelation. If you understand who the 24 elders are, it helps you understand that the church is already in heaven as the seals are broken in Revelation chapter 6, in the great day of God's wrath is being poured out on the earth.

So, what makes us think that the 24 elders are the church? Say, yeah, that's kind of reaching way out there, isn't it? Well, none of you understand that the word elder is a word that represents the church. Angels are never called elders in the Bible. Angels never have reference to age because angels don't age. So we know the 24 elders are not angels. We know that. We also know that the number 24 is the number of representation or a number of completion. This is all review for those of you who were with us a couple of weeks back. In 1 Chronicles 24, it was representation of the Levitical priesthood. In 1 Chronicles 25, there were 24 singers who were representative of all the musicians. The number 24 in the Old Testament was a number of representation or completion. And therefore, the 24 elders would be a representation or a completion of what? The church. And the elders are the ones who represent the church. Jesus Christ.

We also understand that they wear white garments. Who wears white garments? According to Revelation 3:5, Revelation 3:18, Revelation 19:8, it is the dress of the believer, the Christian. And so we understand that the phrase white garments symbolizes Christ's righteousness imputed to believers at salvation. And the text also says that they have crowns upon their heads. Angels are never promised crowns in scripture. But the church is. There's the crown of rejoicing. That's found in 1 Thessalonians 2, 19 and 20. There's the crown of life in James 1:12. There's the crown of righteousness in 2 Timothy 4. There's the crown of glory in 1 Peter 5, and the incorruptible crown in 1 Corinthians 9, 25 and 26. The crown that's described is the Stephanos, the victor's crown. So, when you understand their garments, when you understand the crown, when you understand what the number 24 represents, what the word elder means, you begin to formulate a conclusion that these 24 elders are the church of Jesus Christ.

Some will come back and say, "Well, aren't they the tribulational saints?" Well, turn over to Revelation 7 for a moment. Revelation 7, or verse number 11. "And all the angels were standing around the throne. And around the elders and the four living creatures." So there the angels are distinguished from the elders. "And they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, Amen. Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen. And one of the elders answered, saying to me, These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they? And from where have they come? And I said to him, My Lord, you know. And he said to me, These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." So there are tribulational saints who are martyred that are distinguished from the 24 elders.

Now you will note, those who believe in a post-tribulational rapture, that is, that the rapture of the church takes place after the seven-year tribulation, have a hard time with Revelation 7, 11 to 14. Why? Because they believe that the believer is protected and preserved through the tribulation. There's a major problem with that. And the major problem is that every Gentile believer is killed during the tribulation. If you're a Gentile, you have one or two choices. Take the mark of the beast or be beheaded. There is no other choice. So there are no Gentile believers alive at the end of the tribulation, only Jewish believers. See? So the post-tribulational people have a really hard time with this because they can't answer that question about the tribulational saints. So we know that the 24 elders aren't the tribulational saints. Excuse me. We know that they're not angels. The logic of conclusion is that they are representative of the church.

So who's on the throne? The Lord God of the universe, with an appearance like a Jasper stone and a Sardius stone. What's around the throne? There's a rainbow that's there, signifying God's covenant of faithfulness. Symbolizing his commitment and reliability. And there are 24 elders around that throne. But next comes what comes from the throne. And it says in verse number five, "And from the throne proceed flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder." Wow. What comes from the throne? Lots of noise. Thunder. Lightning. This is not like a thunderstorm. This is the thunder of God. This is the lightning of God. This is an amazing scene. For those of us who have grown up in the Midwest and understand thunderstorms and lightning storms, and you begin to understand the awesomeness of what takes place during a major thunderstorm. This is, that's nothing compared to what's going on in heaven when John sees it.

So we've seen what's around the throne, we've seen what's on the throne, and we've seen what comes from the throne. Now let's look at what is before the throne. It says this, "And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God, and before the throne there was, as it were, a sea of glass like crystal." And we'll stop there.

Seven lamps of fire. And John tells us what those seven lamps of fire are. They are the seven spirits of God. Now, if you're with us in chapter one, if you're with us in chapter 3, you know who the seven spirits of God are. They are representative of the sevenfold ministry of the Spirit of God. And then John says that there was a sea of glass. That's interesting. Because Revelation 21:1 says there is no sea in heaven. So, the sea, of course, is metaphorical. Over in John 15, or excuse me, Revelation 15, John in verse number 2 sees this sea of glass again, and he says, "And I saw, as it were, a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had come off victorious from the beast, and from his image, and from the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, holding the harps of God." This sea of glass is like a big crystal that this throne is upon. And it's before the throne. As you recall back in Exodus 24, when Moses, Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, along with 70 elders, went up into the mounts, and it says, "And they saw the God of Israel, and under his feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as a sky itself." If you read Ezekiel 1:22, Ezekiel saw the same thing.

John gives us the description of the throne. He moves on now to point number three: the adoration at the throne. And I want you to notice two things: those who are present and their praise, those who are present, and their praise.

Thirteen times in chapter four, the word throne is mentioned. 40 times in the book of Revelation, the word throne is mentioned. There are only five chapters in the book of Revelation that don't have the word throne in it. And so we begin to see that the throne is the center of the majestic glory and the worship of the heavenly creatures. And it clearly reveals our primary objective as we understand in Revelation 4 and Revelation 5: that the creation of God is to adore the God of the universe.

But notice with me those who are present. It says, "And in the center and around the throne, four living creatures. Full of eyes in front and behind. And the first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf. And the third creature had a face like that of a man. And the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. 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."

Four living creatures, literally, four living beings. Who are these beings? What are they doing there? What do they represent? They're mentioned several times in the book of Revelation. Chapter 4, verse number 9, chapter 5, verse number 8, chapter 5, verse 11, and verse number. In Revelation 6, they speak to John about the first four sealed judgments. It says this in verse number 2: "And I looked, and behold, a white horse. And he who sat on it had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer." But it says in verse number one: "And I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living beings saying, as with a loud voice, Come." So evidently, these four living creatures are involved in enacting or putting into play the judgment of God. And they are said to be in the center of the throne and around the throne. The angels are around the throne, but these four living creatures are in and around the throne. Ezekiel 1, verses 12 and 17, suggests that there is some kind of constant motion that they have. Now, if you were to ask me to explain all that, I'd be at a loss. Because I don't quite understand all that. But the point of what Ezekiel saw, the point of what John saw is unbelievable, almost beyond description, although Ezekiel tried to give us an idea of what was happening.

But who are these four living beings with eyes all around them? You know, whenever I think of that, I think of my mother. You know, my mother always saw what I did. She used to tell me she had eyes in the back of her head. Guess what? I believed her, man. She saw everything I did. "Don't do that." She'd be in the other room. "Don't pick up that. I see you." "How do you see me?" She goes, "I have eyes in the back of my head." She said, "Tell me, I am one of the four living creatures."

Ezekiel 10, verse number 15. "Then the cherubim rose up. They are the living beings that I saw by the river Kibar." These are cherubim. We know that cherubim is a highly ranked angel. We know that. How do we know that? Ezekiel 28. Remember reading Ezekiel 28? There's a very prominent cherubim in Ezekiel 28. He was the anointed cherub. We all know him by name. His name is Satan. His name is Lucifer. He was a cherubim. He was one of the four living creatures, maybe. I don't know. But a cherubim is a highly ranked angel. That would make them of an exalted order. And that would help us understand the context of Revelation 4. Because these four living creatures are set apart from the other angels. As you recall in the Garden of Eden, Genesis 3, verse number 24, God stationed at the entrance to the garden after Adam and Eve sinned, what? Cherubims to keep them from entering into the garden after they had sinned.

And so we see that the adoration at the throne, there was something present, and that was the four living creatures, these exalted cherubs. And they do something very significant. And what they do is lead the way in the adoration. Everybody else follows their leadership.

The next thing I want you to see is their praise, their hymn of praise. And listen very carefully. Their praise, number one, is instinctive. Number two, it is incessant. And number three, it is instructive. Did you get that? Their praise is instinctive. It's part of what they do. They don't have to think about it. It's incessant. It never ceases. And it is instructive because it tells us what worship should be in our lives.

The hymn of praise begins in verse number eight: "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God the Almighty who was and who is and who is to come." There's a quartet. These four living creatures begin a quartet of praise to God. An ending succession of praise that centers on three things: His Holiness. His power and his eternal nature. Here, God, the Almighty One, is about to hand over the title deed to a son. He's about to give to his son that which he promised him from eternity past. And with the handing of that title deed, which we will see next week, it is the unleashing of the wrath of God. And the four living creatures can only say one thing about God's wrath. It's holy. And because he is holy, He can't even look upon sin. Therefore, he will destroy all those who continue in sin by his mighty power. And these four living creatures trigger a response.

Verse number 9: "And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, the 24 elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne." They follow the lead, they see what's happening. The incessant praise coming from the four living creatures instinctively leads the 24 elders to praise and to worship God and they cast their crowns because nothing can hold a candle to the presence of God. Nothing. Do you understand that? Do you believe that? That's what Revelation 4 teaches us. And the elders join in with the glory and the honor. And it says, "Worthy art thou, O Lord, our Lord, and our God to receive glory and honor and power, for thou didst create all things, and because of thy will they existed and were created."

It's all about God, His power, and His purposes. And so they teach us about what we need to be doing. This is not just about then, this is about now. This is to help us set our affections above in the heavenlies so that now we can better function right here. People say, "Man, I can't make it, man. I'm stressed out. I'm overloaded. It's too hard." They need another perspective. And if you see heaven the way God wants you to see it, everything on earth changes. That's Revelation 4, Heaven's Throne.