Title: Throne of God
Contents
2006' Lecture on Revelation from the pulpit of the tendency (15) (16)
"The Throne of God"
Revelation 4:2
I. What does throne mean?
The word “throne” appears 14 times in Revelation 4, and it is repeated 2-3 times in the same verse (Revelation 4:2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10). It appears three times in Revelation 5 (Revelation 5:1, 7, 13).
“Throne” means seat. In particular, it meant the seat of power in the royal road where the king sat on the throne. In the case of the book of Revelation, “throne” is a word representing the great sovereignty of the majestic glory of the living God Himself having eternal kingship and ruling over all things. The throne is holy, just, eternal, and immutable. It is the center of the entire universe and entire history. That place is heaven. No, it is the center of heaven.
II. Where is the throne?
Revelation 4:2 says, “He has set a throne in heaven… ' he said. The "heaven" here is not a speculative, abstract expression imagining a religious ideal or a simple psychic form. This is a word that clearly points to the placeness of the existing heaven.
1. This throne is where Jesus was before the incarnation.
John 3:13 says, "No one has ascended into heaven except him who came down from heaven, the Son of Man." Here, heaven means ‘the throne of heaven’.
2. This throne is the place where Jesus ascended after his resurrection and ascension.
Acts 1:9 says, “He was taken up from their sight… ' he said. Ephesians 4:10 says, “He who ascended into heaven”. Paul referred to this place as the three-tiered world, that is, the “third heaven” (2 Corinthians 12:1-4). Solomon described this place as “the heavens and the heavens of the heavens” (1 Kings 8:27).
3. This throne is where our Heavenly Father lives forever.
Psalm 80:14 says, “Look down from heaven”. Isaiah 66:1 says, “Heaven is my throne.” Matthew 23:9 also says, “He who is in heaven”. In John 14:1, it says, “In my Father’s house”. Jesus' prayer said, "Our Father in heaven" (Matthew 6:9).
4. This throne is where the angels minister.
In Matthew 24:36, they are called “angels of heaven.” Matthew 28:2 says, “The angel of the Lord has come down from heaven.” In Mark 13:32, it is said that “even the angels in heaven” do not know the date and time of Jesus’ second coming. Luke 22:43 says, “A messenger appeared to Jesus from heaven and gave him strength.”
In many cases in the book of Revelation, the heavenly armies and angels, which are spirit creatures, encamp around this throne and come out with various important signs from this throne.
5. This throne is where the saved saints reside.
Matthew 5:12 says, “Great is your reward in heaven.” Matthew 6:20 says, “But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” In Matthew 18:10 it says, “Do not despise any of the little ones, I tell you, for their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.” Luke 16 compares the believer to entering the bosom of Abraham.
The book of Revelation says that the saved saints will come in with the glory and honor of all nations (Revelation 21:26).
6. This throne is the application site for the second coming of Jesus.
Matthew 24:30 says, “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16 says, “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God… ' he said.
Philippians 3:20-21 says, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from there we await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the work of him who can bring all things into subjection to himself, magnifies our lowly bodies to his glory. He will transform you into the likeness of your body.”
7. This throne is heaven and the center of heaven.
This is the eternal paradise of mankind, the real utopia. That place is the eternal home for the saved saints to enter (John 14:1-3).
It is from here that the cosmic apocalypse will take place.
The Apostle John saw the resurrected, glorious Lord in the inspiration of the Holy Spirit on the Lord's Day on the Isle of Patmos, his final destination. So, he received the mystery of the end-time revelation that must come soon. First, we saw the truth of the seven churches in Asia. And now, coming to chapter 4, I saw the "Throne in Heaven", the application site of the book of Revelation.
Ⅲ. What does it mean to have a throne in heaven?
1. To say that there is a throne in heaven means that it is not on earth.
2. The existence of a throne in heaven means existence belonging to the supernatural world and contrasting with the man-made.
3. To say that there is a throne in heaven means that it is a world of mysterious existence that cannot be understood at all by the operation of reason.
It is the existence of the perfect spiritual realm, impossible to know and understand with the flesh. In this real world, the flesh is really useless.
4. The existence of a throne in heaven means the world of existence that can be perceived only by faith.
Without being born again, it is impossible to hear, see, or speak of this world of existence.
5. The existence of a throne in heaven means that the eternal city exists.
Thrones in this world do not last forever. It is shaking. is changing is declining anxious and terrifying For they are thrones stained with all kinds of absurdity, corruption, and blood.
6. Saying that there is a throne in heaven is trust to the saints.