January 20 - The Throne Room (pt. 3)

January 20 – The Throne Room (pt. 3)
Revelation 4:1-11

We’ll start today at Rev. 4:3. Two of the first colors that John describes are jasper and carnelian. This is the appearance of the one who sits on the throne. Unless you work in the jewelry industry or are addicted to gemstones, you may not realize that these colors are shades of red and orange – the color of flame.

In Exodus 3:2-6, God appeared to Moses in flames of fire from within the bush. When God moved with the people as they traveled, He traveled in a cloud by day and fire was in the cloud by night. (Exodus 40:36-38)

Ezekiel saw a vision of a man on a throne. “I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him.” (Ezekiel 1:27)

In Acts 2:3, tongues of fire separated and came to rest on the people in the crowd.

I love the way God’s symbolism throughout scripture is fulfilled. Jasper and Carnelian – two coors of the fire that God used to signify His presence in both the Old and New Testaments.

From the throne come flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. (Rev. 4:5a)

God manifests Himself to mankind in many ways, but when judgment and the power of His glory needs to be made, thunder and lightning shock humanity to attention ane make us recognize this power throughout the earth and heavens.

There are many passages in Scripture where this is proven. We will only look at a couple of these. If you want to see more, look up: Exodus 9:23, 28; Exodus 19:16; 1 Samuel 2:10, 1 Samuel 7:10, 1 Samuel 12:17-18, Job 37:2-12, “Psalm 18:13-15, Psalm 29:3, Psalm 77:18.

The first time we are exposed to God in this way comes in Exodus 9:23-24. “When Moses streched out his staff toward the sky, the Lord sent thunder and hail, and lightning flashed down to the ground. So the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt; hail fell and lightning flashed back and forth. It was the worst storm in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation.”

“The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. He shot his arrows and scattered the enemies, great bolts of lightning and routed them. The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at your rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of breath from your nostrils.” (Psalm 18:13-15)

God’s sovereignty AND His wrath are seen in thunder and lightning.

Which came first, the rainbow surrounding God’s throne or the rainbow as the sign of a promise to Noah in the book of Genesis? You see, by the time I actually read Revelation as a youth, I knew the story of Noah very well. It didn’t occur to me that the rainbow in heaven was there before God sent it to earth as a promise. God made that promise with a rainbow, something that had only been seen up to that point surrounding His throne. Can you see the great love He has for His people with that gift?

There are seven lamps blazing before the throne.

In Nahum 2:3-4 and Judges 7:16, we find that these lit torches were part of a preparation for battle. God prepares His troops for battle through the Holy Spirit in the Revelation. We have read the entire book (or at least know the book). But, these torches prepare the reader for what is about to take place. This Spirit is an active part of the things to come.