A Trip to the Throne
Rev 4:1-8 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. 2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 20:11-13 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
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Sis. Lynn told me recently that her grandfather always taught his family that before you pick up your Bible to read, pray and ask God to help you understand and apply and grasp what you were reading. And he said "it always works except for the book of Revelation, over which you just fast and pray and move on."
Oh, the book of Revelation, that great book of endless mysteries and prophecies of the future! The only reason that it is in our Bible was that the early church fathers knew that it was without a doubt from the Apostle John, therefore it must be from God. It certainly wasn't there because they understood all of what it has to say.
There are some parts of the book of Revelation that are obscure and mysterious, but there are also some parts that are very plain. One thing is clear from the book of Revelation: one day this world will pass away and time as we know it will end. And at that time all of us will stand before God and give an account of the choices of our life. Another thing is clear throughout the book: Jesus Christ may have ascended into heaven but He is coming back one day just as He said He would do, and when He comes back, He is coming to catch away His bride, a cleansed, blood-bought, and holy church! If you get so caught up in the trumpets and mysteries of the book that you miss that, then you miss the main point which is wrapped up in how the book ends:
Rev 22:20 He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! ESV
And so the practical lesson of the book of Revelation is clear: time will not go on forever and forever, but there will be a day when it all wraps up and eternity begins and you and I and every other human being will spend eternity somewhere having either gone to His left or to His right! And if John heard the voice of Jesus saying "surely I am coming soon" in A.D.100, then know that in A.D. 2006 we are very, very, very close!
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What I am intrigued with today is the two trips to the throne room of God that the writer, John, made. Twice, he describes the very throne room of God and twice brings us details of that experience.
John was an exile -- a prisoner on the little isle of Patmos out in the Mediterranean Sea. He had been sentenced there by the Roman government because of his preaching Jesus Christ. He is older now and the only member of the twelve still living. He has written the Gospel of John and three short letters to churches and individuals, but here on this island, God is about to give him the grandest revelation of God's master plan that man ever received.
After three chapters of specific instructions for the churches of the day, we find that John was "in the Spirit on the Lord's Day." Our text in Revelation chapter 4 begins with a door opening and a call from the Spirit of God to "come up here." When John responds, somehow he is teleported into the spiritual heavenlies and he realizes that he has entered the very throne room of God. Despite the splendor, we find that his eyes were immediately drawn to the center of the place:
Rev 4:2 At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. ESV
One throne stood in the middle of heaven, and there was one sitting upon that throne! And then after acknowledging that fact, his eyes scanned outward to notice that around the one who sat on the throne was a rainbow that circled all the way around the One who sat upon it. And then from the rainbow, his eyes took in the twenty-four elders, leaders of the angelic worship who sat on smaller thrones around the one, central throne of God. And then we find that he noticed:
Rev 4:5-6 From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, 6 and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: ESV
These angelic four "living creatures" that were full of eyes on all sides had four heads: the head of a lion, an ox, a man, and an eagle. They worshipped God crying "Holy, holy, holy is the One who was, and is, and is to come." Such is the scene from the throne room of heaven witnessed by John on his first trip.
We tend to forget that John did not die on the isle of Patmos, and would go on to be released and move back to Ephesus where he would die of old age some eight to ten years later. Some preachers preach that this first visit to the throne of God represents the rapture of the church or a soul going into eternity, but I don't agree with that. Because John is alive on the earth before this trip, and He is alive on the earth after this trip. It seems to me that John's first trip to heaven was to witness how heaven is right now, even to this day. His second trip to the throne room in Revelation would be to witness a vision of the future. His second trip to the throne of God that we read about in our other text in Revelation 20 was to witness an event that is yet to happen, but this passage in Revelation chapter 4 is not a future event, but rather how heaven is now, even in 2006.
And so it becomes clear that John's trip to the throne room in this chapter represents a trip that you and I can make in our life on this earth as well. That is, it is a metaphor for a spiritual trip that you and I can choose to take or choose not to take. The second trip that John made, where he witnessed the final judgment, that one is not optional for you and I. We will all one day make that trip to the throne. One day we will all stand before God in the end and John said that he saw the "small and great" stand before God. And they were all judged by the book of life and the books of the written Word of God. The trip to the throne witnessed in chapter 20 and described by John is a future event that every living, breathing soul will one day take. Everyone will end this life with at least one trip to God's throne, on judgment day.
But what Revelation chapter 4 tells us is that that trip to God's throne on judgment day does not have to be your first trip! Because just as John that day had an open door before him to enter into the heavenlies and approach the very throne of God, so do we have the same invitation. We live in a blessed day of great opportunity. The writer of Hebrews wrote:
Heb 4:14-16 So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. NLTse
An open door of mercy and grace has been extended to mankind today! We can come "boldly to the throne of our gracious God!" You can enter before His throne even in this place today because the door of entrance into His presence stands wide open! You can receive mercy. You can feel His presence. You can today get a fresh glimpse of His power and His glory and His majesty. You can go further in God than you ever have been before! You can enter and witness the splendor of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords!
How do I do that preacher? How do I enter before the throne room of God and into His presence? By obeying the call of the Spirit of God! By surrendering and tapping into the Holy Spirit today! By giving in to that gentle nudge in your heart where God is saying "come and see all that I have for you." By being sensitive to what the voice of God is telling you today. You get there through the call and moving of the Holy Ghost! By being "in the Spirit on the Lord's day!" The very fact that His Spirit has met us here today so strongly is proof that the door of mercy and grace is still wide open! You can come boldly in and fellowship with Him!
But just having the door open doesn't mean that you are automatically in! You've got to choose whether or not to enter through. The choice is still up to you! It's your call whether or not you choose to make this trip to the throne of God. He will not force you now to receive His mercy or enter into His presence. He will not force you to walk with His Spirit. He will not force you to obey. And so you have to decide.
One day on judgment day you and I will have no choice. We will be compelled to stand before Him then whether we want to or not. Whether we believe or not. The scripture says that one day, "at the name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord!" You are going to bow then. But God is looking for someone who will bow now without having being made to do so! God is looking for a willing living sacrifice! All will confess His identity then, but God is looking for someone to do it now by choice! Peter stood up on the Day of Pentecost and said:
Acts 2:38-39 And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself." ESV
God is still calling people to Himself! The calling is to come and receive the Spirit of God. The call is to come and make a trip to His throne willingly now in your life! I don't know about you, but when it comes judgment day, I have made up my mind that it will not be my first trip to the throne room of God! I will go now before Him! I will bow now before Him! I will seek Him now! I will answer the call of God today! Like John, I want to make the first trip during my life -- not after it is over!
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And so God is calling someone to be like John and listen to His voice and respond to His Spirit and come boldly before His throne. That is the purpose of this service today, but let's look at what you will find and experience if you will truly heed His call and come before the throne of Grace today. First, like John, you will find:
A clear revelation of who is on the throne of heaven.
If you would come near to God today, it would be the first thing you would find out through looking through the eyes of the Spirit. There is "a throne in heaven," and "ONE that sits upon it." There are smaller angelic thrones of the twenty-four elders, but as to the throne of God, there is only one! To learn the identity of the One who sits on the throne you have to go no further than the book of Revelation. In the 21st chapter, we find that:
Rev 21:5-7 And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." 6 And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. ESV
Turning back to the first chapter, you will find Jesus saying -- if you've got a red letter edition, then it's in red:
Rev 1:8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." ESV
If that's not enough proof for you, then turn to verse 18 where Jesus tells John:
Rev 1:17b-18 "Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. ESV
If you would get a clear glimpse of heaven today and make a voluntary trip through the open door of Grace and to God's throne, then like John, the first thing you would realize is that it is Jesus Christ who rules the heavens as the One God of glory! And it is He who sits upon the throne of heaven!
If you were to make a trip to the throne today, you would also discover as John did:
The circular rainbow of Heaven.
What blasphemy that the symbol of the rainbow has become the rallying sign of the homosexuals who commit perversions and abominations against our God! Their very use of the rainbow is an abomination of the most extreme sort. The rainbow started as a sign of heaven. It was to Noah, stepping off of the ark after the Flood, that God spoke and made a covenant with to never destroy the world with water again. And as He made that promise and covenant with man, God said:
Gen 9:12-16 And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 13 I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." ESV
The rainbow, then, represents God's covenants with man. He is a covenant-making God. He makes His promises and keeps them! He performs what He has said that He will do! He keeps His Word! And the rainbow is the symbol of that. It represents the promises of God.
I'm not going to go into the scientific stuff of why it is so, but on earth, it is impossible to see an entire circle of a rainbow, because the center focal point of the rainbow is always you and because you are standing on the earth, the earth always gets in the way. Therefore you always only see an arc, a part of the circle that would be there but that is hidden.
But in heaven, when John approached the throne, the first thing that he noticed was a rainbow that made a complete circle around the throne. It represents the complete and unfailing promises of God. It represents the unbroken covenants of God to man. And in heaven it is a complete and unbroken rainbow because Jesus is at the center of it!
When you are at the center of everything, then God's promises to you can never fully be fulfilled. But if you make Jesus the center of your life, then God's promises will be revealed completely and wholly to you! If you would make the trip to the throne today, you would get the revelation that I need to do His will not my own. It matters what He thinks more than what I think. I must decrease and He must increase, because only if Jesus is center of my world are the promises of what God wants to do in my life going to be complete and perfectly seen! The circular rainbow of heaven testifies to the power and importance of having Jesus at the focal point of everything that you do!
Also notice:
The lightening and thunders.
These represent the Word and power of God. Throughout the Old Testament, when they refer to thunder, they refer to it as "the voice of God." In the same way, lightening was used to reveal His mighty power to mankind. When God met with Moses on Mt. Sinai, the entire mountain smoked and great thunder and lightening shook the area. The prophet Jeremiah put it like this:
Jer 51:16 When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth. He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses. NIV
In this place today, the Word of God is thundering forth, and the power of God is being revealed! God wants to reveal Himself to you in a mighty way! He does not come and expect you to believe in only a figure from history, but He shows Himself mighty among His people who approach boldly His throne of grace! And through His power and His word, He changes us and transforms us into what we should be!
Furthermore, you will notice that a trip to the throne entails,
The seven spirits of God burning bright.
Now we know from Ephesians 4:4 and many other scriptures that there is only one Spirit of God. These "seven spirits of God" speak to us not of a division of who God is, but rather of seven things that God's Spirit tries to be in the lives of those who have received Him. When a person desires, as John did, to draw closer to God, the Spirit of God begins to work in seven areas within our life. These seven areas are found in scripture, for example:
Isa 11:2 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 the fear of the LORD. ESV
There is only one Spirit of the Lord, but here are three aspects of what the Holy Spirit tries to do in those who come before His throne of grace. To bring about a
Spirit of wisdom and understanding -There are many commandments and passages of scripture that do not make sense until a person has received the Holy Ghost (I Corinthians 2:9-16). After a person receives the Holy Ghost, they must allow the Spirit of God to deal with their heart about areas of their life that they need to change. Wisdom is the application of what you understand. By allowing the Holy Ghost to reveal and apply correction to their life, a person allows God's Spirit to perform this work.
Spirit of counsel and might - The words here for "counsel and might" in the original Hebrew are literally "purpose and power." The second work of the Holy Ghost in a person's life is to bring a new sense of purpose and to give them the power to fulfill that purpose! Priorities should change in a person who has received the Spirit of God!
Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord - The third work of the Spirit of God in a person's life is to cause them to desire in an increase of knowledge of the Lord. We learn more about the Lord through His word, but also by trusting Him through trials and experiencing deeper moves of God. As a person learns more of God, the more reverence and respect or " holy fear" that they develop toward Him!
From John 14:17, we find that the Holy Spirit is to also be a
Spirit of truth - We must allow the Spirit of God to tear away the traditions of men and make sure that we believe everything like the original Early Church that Jesus Christ established!
In 2 Corinthians 4:13, we find that the Holy Spirit tries to bring a
Spirit of Faith - An attitude that says "any promise written in God's Word is for me and can happen today, so I will speak it and believe it!" If you are to come before the throne of God willingly, you need allow the Spirit of God to remove the seeds of doubt in your life!
In Romans 4:1, we find that the Holy Spirit wants to be in us a
Spirit of Holiness - The idea of "holiness" is separation. The Holy Spirit begins to correct things on the inside and outside to match God's word and cause us to be different than those who don't serve God. The true church of God should act, live, look, dress, speak, and go differently than the world! We should allow the Spirit of God to be a spirit of holiness in our daily lives.
And finally, in Revelation 19:10 we read about the
Spirit of Prophecy - We don't have to guess as to what this means because the verse tells us: "the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." The Holy Spirit wants to work through us to testify of Jesus and His great goodness to others! Such is how the Spirit of God works in seven ways throughout our life to perfect us and make us what God wants us to be!
I'm talking about coming willingly before the throne of Grace! On your trip to the throne, we must let the Spirit of God be all that it desires to be in our life. And as you draw closer to God, like John, you will come to one final thing:
A true worship of God.
It is impossible to choose not to worship God and come before His throne and presence. Our text proves that all who make it there worship Him. The twenty-four elders cast their crowns at his feet indicating their allegiance and worship. The four headed "living creatures" that we read about cry out continually "Holy, holy, holy is the One who was, and is, and is to come! We must be as that curious "living creature" in our worship if we are to come before the throne of mercy. They had eyes on all sides so no matter what they were doing or what they were saying, they were constantly fixing their gaze upon Jesus Christ on the throne! When they had to turn this way, or that or go here or there, they still kept their attention and focus on Him! So are we to be!
When you are as the lion in your life and it seems that you are in control and you feel confident of your power and ability, so then you must also worship Him and keeps your eyes fixed upon Him! When you escape the low place and soar as an eagle, so you must also then worship Him and keep your gaze upon Jesus Christ. When you are as a man and back on earth and just having fun and relaxing or within your relationships with other people as a normal human being, yet in all of that we must act in such a way that our lifestyle worships Him and that it is apparent that we are firmly fixing our gaze upon Him! And when you must go as the ox to your field of labor and work for a living and the hours are long and tiring and your mind and body are taxed, so then we must not cease to praise and worship Him and keep our eyes on Him! If we are to live before the throne of grace, then we must learn to worship Him in everything in every day!
Come as John did and make a trip to the throne voluntarily and answer the Spirit's call to walk through the open door of grace and mercy that has been revealed to you today! Come serve Him and worship Him and receive His blessings!
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I close this message with a quick glimpse to the second trip to the throne made by John. He was not a participant of this scene, but rather just an onlooker of what would take place in the future. I read again quickly our other text:
Rev 20:11-13 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. ESV
What startles me is the shocking difference between what John saw on his first trip and what he sees here. This is the same heaven because the new heaven and the new earth does not come until chapter 21. This is the same throne and the same place that he visited before. It is the same One who sat upon it in Revelation 4 that sits here. And yet on this judgment day, there are many things missing. There is no circle rainbow around the throne now. Gone are the thundering and lightning. Missing are the manifestations of the seven spirits of God, and absent is worship. No singing, no crying out "holy, holy, holy" no elders flinging crowns at His feet. No "living creatures" moving to and fro in worship. Just silence. All that remains for this fateful day is the throne, and the great God who sits upon it, and "heaven and earth are fled away from His presence."
There is no circle rainbow because God's promises have all been kept and fulfilled, it's too late to step out in faith and claim the covenant of God.
No lightnings and thunderings because it is too late to hear a warning from God's Word and allow His supernatural power to change you.
No seven spirits of God because the Holy Spirit has already done all of the work and changing of human lives that it is going to do; the age of Grace has ended.
No worship, because those who will stand before Him will have either already done that within their lifetime, or they will not be given the opportunity to do it for eternity.
This last glimpse of the throne is vastly different from John's first trip there because his first trip was made through the entrance of grace, while God's Spirit still worked and His voice still called and the door was still open wide. His first trip was made on a day similar to today: because we are in the Spirit on the Lord's day!" And God's power and Spirit and Word and praise and promises are all here. But there is coming a day that all of this will be gone and it will be too late to try to approach the throne in mercy. And we will stand before Him and our deeds will be judged according to the book of Life and scripture.
Let me let you in on a secret: John will be there on that judgment day, but as an onlooker and not as a participant. Because His first trip to the throne when he received God's Spirit and word and allowed God's mercy and grace to change him, made him ready for the second coming of Christ and so when the day of the white throne judgment comes, John will already have reigned with Christ for a thousand years and been given a glorified body and had his judgment of spending eternity with Jesus pronounced. He'll be there but just as an onlooker. Because he has already been to the throne of God!
All of us will make a trip to the throne, but we decide to do it either now under God's grace and mercy, or later when such things are no longer available. Today the door of salvation is open and God's mercy and grace and promises and Spirit are active and waiting. Make the trip to the throne now. Don't wait until judgment day to make your first trip! Let this morning become a trip to the throne!